October 2004

This newsletter is available on the web at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/newsletter/issue14.html.

Dear UC Colleague:

Welcome to a new academic year at the University of California. This newsletter is intended to bring you up to date on various happenings at the University from over the summer, and to look ahead to a few issues as well.

Personally, I am marking not only the new academic year, but my first anniversary as president as well. It has been a challenging but ultimately positive year. Among other things, we now have a “compact” with the governor that promises an end to the state budget cuts of the last few years and a new period of stability and growth. That means we can once again start planning for salary increases, enrollment growth, and a general recovery from the accumulated budget cuts.

It also means, in my second year in office, we can start planning for the longer term. It’s time for us to start thinking about what the University of California should look like in 10, 15, 20 years and what decisions we need to make today in order to get there. I envision a university that has an even deeper, even more robust impact on California – an institution that serves the people of California better and better. I’ll be talking with many of you this next year about how we accomplish that.

As you know, I spent part of my first year in office on an “inaugural tour” around the state – visiting the campuses, their surrounding communities, and regions of the state without a UC campus. I just finished a visit with our alumni, friends, and representatives in Washington, D.C., and later this month I will visit the Redding/North State and Napa/Sonoma regions of California. These are great opportunities for me to spread the word about UC’s impact on California’s economy, health, and quality of life. But more importantly, these visits are opportunities for me to hear directly from Californians about their relationship to the University and how the University can serve them better. I intend to continue that conversation with all of you, too.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be in touch -- through video on the web, through this newsletter, or in person -- over the course of the coming year. And likewise, I hope you’ll be in touch with me.

Sincerely,

 Robert C. Dynes
 President

New honors for UC community

• Two UC researchers are among this year’s winners of the Nobel Prizes. David J. Gross, director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara, is one of this year’s winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics. And Irwin Rose, researcher in the UC Irvine College of Medicine, was named one of this year’s winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. (http://nobelprize.org/)
• UC researchers were six of the seven national recipients of this year’s E.O. Lawrence Awards, given to scientists and engineers for exceptional contributions in the field of atomic energy. (www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/sep22.htm.)
• Joseph DeRisi, associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF, and Maria Mavroudi, assistant professor of history at UC Berkeley, are among this year’s 23 recipients of the MacArthur Fellows award, the so-called “genius grants.” (www.macfdn.org/programs/fel/fel_overview.htm)
• Federal officials recently recognized energy and environment initiatives taken by the University of California, one of the first university systems in the country to institute a policy of energy-smart and environmentally responsible building practices. (www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/sep09.htm.)
• All eight UC undergraduate campuses ranked in the top 40 for best public national universities, according to the 2005 U.S. News & World Report rankings. (www.usnews.com)
• Michael V. Drake, vice president of health affairs for the UC system, received a top honor from the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Herbert W. Nickens, M.D., Award, in recognition of his lifelong advocacy for diversity in the medical profession. (www.aamc.org/newsroom/pressrel/2004/040803.htm)
• Steven W. Relyea, vice chancellor for business affairs, has been named the 2004 Distinguished Business Officer by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. (www.nacubo.org/x4081.xml)

Freshman eligibility changes approved

The UC Board of Regents, acting on the recommendation of the Academic Senate and President Dynes, has approved changes to UC’s freshman eligibility requirements. Among the changes is an increase from 2.8 to 3.0 in the minimum grade point average required for UC eligibility, beginning with the fall 2007 entering class. The changes were made in response to a state study that found UC’s current eligibility requirements were making 14.4 percent of California public high school graduates UC-eligible, compared to the 12.5 percent target in the Master Plan for Higher Education. Details are at www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/sep23.htm.

UC at the Olympics

UC sent 110 athletes -- winning 35 medals -- to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. UC students and alumni won a total of 12 gold, 10 silver, and 13 bronze medals at the Summer Games. In fact, if UC were a country, its 2004 medal total would have been exceeded by only 11 other nations! Among Olympic athletes winning multiple medals were swimmers and UC alums Natalie Coughlin of UC Berkeley, who led the UC participants with five medals including two gold and two silver, and Jason Lezak of UC Santa Barbara, who won one gold medal and one bronze. Details are at www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/sep01.htm.

Update on leadership changes

Over the summer, Robert J. Birgeneau was appointed chancellor of UC Berkeley (www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/jul27.htm) and Steven Chu was named director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/jun17.htm). Gov. Schwarzenegger appointed two new members of the Board of Regents, Frederick Ruiz and Paul Wachter (www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regbios/). UC Irvine Chancellor Ralph Cicerone was nominated the next president of the National Academy of Sciences (http://today.uci.edu/news/release_detail.asp?key=1175). And the search process continues for a new chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, replacing M.R.C. Greenwood, who is now of provost and senior vice president for academic affairs for the UC system.

In late July, the governor and Legislature adopted a final state budget for 2004-05 that still made cuts to UC’s budget but restored some funding for student enrollments and K-12 academic preparation. The Regents adopted a final UC budget, based on the state budget outcome, at their September meeting. Details are at www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/aug2.htm.

Among other things, the final state budget allowed UC to offer freshman admission to UC-eligible students who previously had only been offered deferred admission as transfer students, due to a threatened reduction in state funding for UC enrollments. “It is great news that so many additional students will be able to begin their college careers at the University of California, as they originally hoped,” commented Susan Wilbur, UC director of undergraduate admissions. Details on this issue are at www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/sep03.htm.

Looking ahead, the Regents in November will be reviewing a proposed 2005-06 budget plan for the University. While details are not yet available, in general this budget plan will be based on the “compact” between Gov. Schwarzenegger, UC, and the California State University system. Among other things, the compact calls for funding for enrollment growth and for faculty and staff salary increases over a multi-year period. Background on the compact is at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/compact/.

In addition, the University will continue building the advocacy network that played an important role in this year’s budget discussions. At the web site www.ucforcalifornia.org, friends of the University and members of the UC community can sign up to learn about issues the University is facing in Sacramento and Washington and help make the case for the University’s needs. People who joined the web site this year sent thousands of emails to Sacramento during the budget season, demonstrating the importance of UC to their lives and to their communities. We’ll be looking to expand this circle of friends in the year ahead.

UC also has some good news to report about 2005 health care benefits and costs. Even though health care costs continue to rise, increases for next year’s rates are less dramatic than they have been recently. Additionally, the University’s contribution to the premiums will be enough to cover most of the increases this year, so most California employees will not see an increase in their 2005 medical plan rates (Los Alamos employees will see some increases due to New Mexico market characteristics). UC also will continue to pay the entire premium for dental and vision insurance for employees, and those enrolled in UC’s Supplemental Life and Supplemental Disability plans will actually see a decrease in their 2005 rates. Employees may find detailed medical plan information in the October issue of the HR/Benefits Review newsletter at http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/forms_pubs/categorical/newsletters.html, and in Open Enrollment materials due out in the next several weeks.

Dynes’ Desk is a way for anyone to email a comment, idea, or suggestion to President Dynes. While he is not able to respond personally in most instances, President Dynes does read each email submitted. In each edition of “Our University,” he will respond to a couple of Dynes’ Desk emails addressing issues of broad interest to the UC community.

To submit an email to Dynes’ Desk, visit www.universityofcalifornia.edu/president/desk.html. Below are President Dynes’ responses to a few recent submissions.

Email: UC recently touted a proposed Bonus Leave Program as part of its “ongoing effort to recognize the many contributions and continued dedication of its employees.” Anyone who takes the time to read the announcement, though, will discover that this recognition only applies to “non-represented" employees. Does UC think that represented staff are not as dedicated and therefore less deserving?

Bob Dynes: The Bonus Leave Program is, as you point out, one of several measures the University has undertaken recently to help recognize all employees – represented and unrepresented alike – given disappointing state funding for salary increases. Other measures include utilizing a salary-based approach to health care costs, which is particularly important for our lower paid staff, and two deferred retirement income programs (CAPs) that will boost employees’ future income. We hope that all employees will be able to participate in the two extra paid days off that the Bonus Leave Program offers, but because paid time off is a condition of employment, under the law it must be negotiated with unions for all our represented employees.

Email: I am part of the third generation of four generations in my family to proudly work for Los Alamos and UC. Thank you for standing with us after all that has happened. I have worked hard to improve the safety culture here since before Admiral Watkins sent the “tiger teams” and will continue as long as I have the opportunity.

Bob Dynes: Thank you for your message. I know the past few months have not been easy for Los Alamos National Laboratory employees, given some of the ongoing criticisms leveled at the lab while you and other lab employees have worked very hard to address safety and security concerns. As a scientist, I know the recent suspension of laboratory work to address some of these issues is challenging. But I will also tell you that the actions the laboratory and the University are taking are critical to ensuring safety and security and to restoring the nation's confidence in the laboratory's phenomenal scientific work. The laboratory is making significant progress in restarting activities and expects the vast majority of all activities to resume by mid- to late October. Thank you for your continuing commitment.

FEEDBACK TO PRESIDENT DYNES
www.universityofcalifornia.edu/president/desk.html
BUDGET NEWS
www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/budget
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies/labor_relations/index.html
UC NEWS
www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news
UC SYSTEM
www.universityofcalifornia.edu