To: Members of the Academic Senate
Dear Colleagues:
Below please find a special edition of the Academic Senate newsletter that focuses on two key issues: campus expansion and ensuring the centrality of the “academic” in UCLA’s academic planning, broadly construed. We hope that the principles, parameters, and process presented in our Executive Board letter will guide current and any future campus expansion. We also hope that, building on the foundation of shared governance and including Academic Senate consultation early in planning processes, our campus will address an unmet need to define academic planning more clearly and to implement a more intentional and deliberative approach to academic planning at UCLA.
Thank you,
Jessica Cattelino
Chair, UCLA Academic Senate
Academic Senate Updates
October 2022
In this issue:
Campus Expansion
Recently, the Chancellor announced the campus expansion of UCLA to two sites in Rancho Palos Verdes and San Pedro. The Executive Board of the UCLA Academic Senate held a closed session meeting in mid-August to provide the Chancellor with a letter titled Campus Expansion Principles and Process (PDF) that advised on parameters, principles, and shared governance processes. We emphasized, among other things, that campus expansion must serve the academic mission and our public mission, must involve faculty hiring, must be undertaken through shared governance, must not drain the Westwood campus of resources, must keep UCLA united, and must advance values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We provided this letter to the Chancellor, at his request, for his recent presentation to the UC Regents, who approved the land acquisition.
We share this letter now with all Academic Senate members to encourage a transparent and deliberative shared governance process during this historic moment, a process we particularly welcome given that the Academic Senate did not have an opportunity to provide substantive advice in the critical early stages of the decision-making process.
Academic Planning
Academic Senate Leadership initiated a collaboration with the Chief Financial Officer and the Academic Planning and Budget office to create a joint letter to new Executive Vice Chancellor/Provost Hunt (PDF) about key academic planning issues facing the campus and about the goal of proactive, academically focused, and strategic academic planning at UCLA. Key issues include enrollment growth; budget issues and models, and revenue streams; the health enterprise, medical education, and research; graduate education funding; and infrastructure to support the academic mission. We will continue advocating for a robust academic planning process wherein the Academic Senate is a partner in these and other areas, including campus expansion, athletic conference realignment, land use, and new research initiatives.
Legislative Assembly Meeting
Chancellor Block and Executive Vice Chancellor/Provost Hunt will present at the Fall 2022 meeting of the Legislative Assembly on October 27, from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Bruin Reception Room in Ackerman Union. Although each department and School has formal voting representation to the Assembly, all members of the Academic Senate are welcome to attend. In the spirit of shared governance, we encourage you to do so.
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 (PDF), 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 Twitter at @UCLASenate.
Download this BruinPost (PDF) Here
