After speaking about his plans for the year, his goals for the
UCLA Academic Senate and major issues going on at UCLA, Vivek
Shetty leaned forward to emphasize one more point.
The new 2006-2007 chairman of the Academic Senate said his first
goal is to uphold the original meaning of the word
“university” by fostering an educational environment at
UCLA that champions learning above getting a good GPA and by
creating effective communication between all UCLA faculty.
“The word “˜university’ is derived from
“˜universitas magistrorum et scholarium,’ … a Latin
phrase meaning “˜a community of masters and
scholars,'” Shetty said.
Shetty is a surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center who hopes to
create stronger ties between UCLA faculty from all over campus. His
specialty is working with students who have received facial
injuries as a result of substance and alcohol abuse.
Though he works in the Medical Center and does not meet with
professors in the UCLA College or UCLA professional schools outside
of senate meetings, colleagues say his wide-reaching perspective
will help unify the Academic Senate.
Shetty said he hopes his appreciation for other UCLA departments
and schools will help him open communication and promote
collaboration.
Shetty said his experience in undergraduate humanities classes
showed him how important it was to get a good liberal arts
education.
“Professors in the humanities … build the moral and
philosophical structures that we base our lives on,” said
Shetty, who has been a professor at UCLA for 16 years and has
worked on other Academic Senate committees.
The UCLA Academic Senate is comprised of UCLA faculty who
maintain “shared governance” of the university and have
authority in academic decisions.
“Basically the (Academic) Senate is responsible for the
academic quality of the university,” said Kathleen Komar, a
professor of comparative literature and the 2004-2005 chairwoman of
the Academic Senate.
The senate determines academic policy; sets conditions for
admission and the granting of degree; authorizes and supervises
curriculum; and advises the administration on faculty appointments,
promotions and budgets, according to the Univeristy of California
Systemwide Academic Senate Web site.
“(Shetty) has been very active in making sure shared
governance is upheld,” said Ajit Mal, a professor in the UCLA
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the UCLA
Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, who
chaired a committee within the Academic Senate.
Though chairing the Academic Senate is a considerable amount of
responsibility in addition to his other activities, Shetty said it
is worth the effort because of the support from faculty and
staff.
“It’s hard but I flourish on challenges, … like
many of the other faculty,” Shetty said.
Shetty said he plans on continuing his research into
violence-related facial injuries and seeing patients, in addition
to chairing the Academic Senate.
Members of the Academic Senate say Shetty’s ability to
collaborate with other schools and departments at UCLA will allow
him to chair the Academic Senate responsibly.
“I was really impressed by (Shetty) because he is from the
medical side of campus, … but he has a really complete vision of
the university as a whole,” Komar said. “The chair is
the main liaison between the faculty as a whole and the
administration of UCLA and the entire UC system.”
Komar added that Shetty’s ability to collaborate will be
very helpful when he has to represent UCLA faculty opinion to the
UC Office of the President.
“One of the reasons I encouraged Vivek to run for senate
chair is that he is passionate about UCLA being a community,”
said Adrienne Lavine, former chairwoman of the Academic Senate and
chairwoman of the mechanical and aerospace engineering department
at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied
Science.
“(Shetty) has a vision of bringing faculty expertise to
bear on the challenges facing the university,” she said.
This year, Shetty said the Academic Senate will continue to
focus on ensuring academic freedom for students and professors as
well as obtaining funding despite a decrease in the amount of state
money given to the UC system.
“We are working hard to sustain our university’s
excellence in the face of diminishing resources,” Shetty
said.