Six years after banning tobacco investments, the University of California Board of Regents discussed serving another blow to the tobacco industry ““ banning faculty from accepting research funding from tobacco companies.
A vote on the potential ban ““ opposed strongly by faculty ““ was tabled until September after an impassioned debate drew on longer than scheduled during Wednesday’s regents meeting on the UC Santa Barbara campus.
The Academic Senate, which represents faculty, roundly rejected the ban recently on the grounds that it would ebb away at their academic freedom and clear the way for future restrictions on funding.
“I really believe (faculty) have the ability to self-govern,” Regent Sherry Lansing said.
Tobacco companies such as Phillip Morris currently help pay for almost 20 studies on UC campuses.
Proponents of the ban say tobacco companies are exploiting the university system’s prestige to cherry-pick favorable findings and collect a stable of expert witnesses to defend tobacco interests in court. Funding research, they say, allows tobacco companies to spin research findings.
The tobacco industry has a “history of distorting science,” said Sharon Eubanks, a prominent anti-tobacco lawyer invited to address the regents. “Academic freedom must coexist with academic honesty.”
UC President Robert Dynes all but formally sided against the ban, calling on the regents to hash out a compromise by September that would increase research transparency without restricting funding.
Tuesday’s meeting also marked the arrival of new student Regent-designate D’Artagnan Scorza, an incoming doctoral student in education at UCLA. Scorza will sit in on meetings for one year before he is allowed to vote.
The former UCLA undergrad is the second black student regent in the university’s history, and one of only three black regents currently serving on a board that has grappled in recent years with sinking black enrollment.
After taking his place at the regents’ table to booming applause, Scorza said he aims to provide a critical perspective on the regents’ work and improve dialogue among students, the university and state residents.
“We’re here to serve the families of California,” Scorza said of the members of the university’s governing board.
In other actions Wednesday, the regents discussed experimenting with campus building construction led by the private sector, a move recent studies predict would be cheaper and quicker.
Private developers would manage, finance and design the construction of new buildings before leasing or selling the property back to the university ““ a system that proponents of the plan say would limit the UC’s risks in a volatile market.
The shift, however, wouldn’t be without its drawbacks, as developer-led buildings often have more standardized layouts. If the regents shift toward private sector construction ““ a move officials are careful to point out is just one part of an overall plan to cut costs ““ new university buildings would likely look less like the Broad Art Center and more like some of the more standard South Campus fare.
“It’s time to be more cookie cutter,” said UC San Francisco Vice Chancellor Bruce Spaulding, a major supporter of developer-led building.
Outside Wednesday’s meeting ““ behind UCSB’s iconic Storke Tower and across from the campus lagoon ““ more than a hundred students and union members gathered to rally for stronger staff representation in determining retirement benefits.
“We’re here to let UC know they can’t mess with our pensions,” said Lakesha Harrison, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299.
Harrison was surrounded by dozens of other AFSCME members ““ most clad in green ““ and representatives from other unions, including the American Federation of Teachers.
During the meeting’s public comment period, students and union members broke out into loud, extended chants on at least three occasions, one of which lasted an entire five minutes before the regents restored order.