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July 2024 UCLA Academic Senate Updates

Royce Hall

 

To: Members of the Los Angeles Division of the Academic Senate

Dear Senate Faculty:

As summer begins, I hope all of you have time to take a deep breath and take some time for yourselves. It has been an incredibly difficult quarter. While there are deep divides amongst and between us on many issues, we are united in our commitment to the academic mission.

I appreciate the dedication each of you has shown to our students and our campus when just getting through the next day felt next to impossible. As we move through summer, I hope we can try to find common ground as colleagues, give each other the benefit of the doubt while navigating difficult situations, and understand that there are a broad range of views.

Since the Legislative Assembly meetings in May, we have been working to understand the events of late April and May, to understand the conduct processes for students and faculty who were arrested in campus protests, to have Senate faculty voices in discussions about time, place and manner policies, and to advocate for transparency and consistency in decision making surrounding demonstrations and protests moving forward.

Notably, the Executive Board sent a list of questions to Chancellor Block, EVCP Hunt and Administrative Vice Chancellor Beck about the campus events since late April, with a request to respond by the end of July. I hope we will have significant updates for all of you by Fall.

By now, you have heard that Dr. Julio Frenk will become the next Chancellor of UCLA in January 2025. I had the chance to speak with him briefly when his appointment was announced, and I look forward to working with him under the robust tradition of shared governance for which UCLA is known.

The California Legislature recently approved the budget, and while there are significant cuts to the UC, the outlook is not as bleak as it was earlier this year. That said, it will continue to be important for the Senate to exert its formal advisory role over the budget and ensure that decision making is centered on the academic mission.

Please read on for more information on the elections, changes to the incomplete policy, the Academic Senate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion awards, and volunteering with the Senate.

Have a great summer, and please let us know what you think, alert us to issues, and stay in touch!

All the best,

Andrea Kasko
Chair, UCLA Academic Senate

Academic Senate Updates
July 2024

In this issue:

Save the Date

Chair Office Hours

Drop by the final monthly informal "office hours" with Senate Chair Kasko at the Playa Café in the UCLA Faculty Club from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.

Senate Elections Info

We have completed the Academic Senate elections. Thank you for your interest, nominations, and voting for candidates for the Vice Chair/Chair Elect, Committee on Committees members, and at-large members of the Executive Board. The Senate Election Results are available on our website.

By now, your department should have completed election by secret ballot of its Legislative Assembly representatives. If not, please work with your department chair and colleagues to do so.

Changes to Incomplete Policy

The Graduate and Undergraduate Councils recently approved changes to academic policies governing Incomplete grades. Effective Fall 2025, student transcripts will display the final assigned grade from a resolved or lapsed Incomplete in the term the course was enrolled. Transcripts will no longer include notations for grade changes associated with Incompletes.

The Graduate Council also voted to change the deadline for graduate students to resolve Incompletes to the first day of instruction of the corresponding term in the subsequent academic year. As this change requires amendments to Senate regulations, the Graduate Council has authorized a process for graduate students to petition their home department for an extension. For complete details, visit the Senate website.

Academic Senate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards

We are proud to announce the recipients of the 2023–2024 Academic Senate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards. Professor Courtney S. Thomas Tobin from the Department of Community Health Sciences has been selected for the Faculty Award for Student Development. Professor Cheryl I. Harris from the School of Law has been awarded the Faculty Award for Career Commitment to Diversity alongside Professor Anna S. Lau from the Department of Psychology.

Congratulations to the winners!

Your Academic Senate

The Academic Senate is only as strong as its engaged faculty. We uphold the principle of faculty governance in higher education only when faculty exercise their governing authority. We welcome you to volunteer, contact your Legislative Assembly representatives, reach out to your Faculty Executive Committee Chairs who serve on the Council of Faculty Chairs, visit the Academic Senate website, and follow us on X at @UCLASenate.

Download this BruinPost PDF Here.