January 2006

Dear UC Colleague:

Welcome to the new year. I hope you are refreshed from the holidays and eager to tackle the challenges and opportunities of 2006!

Recent weeks have brought good news to the University, including completion of contract agreements with four of our unions; the awarding of the Los Alamos management contract to the team led by UC and Bechtel; and a budget proposal from the governor that fulfills the compact, provides for faculty and staff salary increases, and proposes to “buy out” student fee increases. You can read more about the new budget and other recent developments below.

As you may know, in recent weeks we also have been re-examining a range of compensation issues at the University, prompted by a series of stories in the San Francisco Chronicle. I issued an open letter on December 19th about these issues, and I want to emphasize once again that we are going to use this opportunity to review, re-think, and improve, where necessary, our policies and practices regarding compensation and its public disclosure.

I am committed to providing competitive compensation so that we can continue bringing the very best faculty and staff to UC. I also am committed to fulfilling the University’s responsibilities to openness and accountability as a public institution. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be working hard to support the quality of the University, ensure the public’s confidence in us, and meet our obligations to you, the members of our UC family.

Sincerely,

 Robert C. Dynes
 President

Union agreements achieved

In December, the University was able to reach new contract agreements with four unions representing UC’s research support professionals and technical employees, nurses, librarians, and clerical employees. These agreements ensure that these employees will be able to receive well-deserved wage increases for 2005-06.

UC’s research support professionals and technical employees as well as nurses ratified their contracts before the holidays. UC’s librarians and clerical employees are scheduled for contract ratification votes in January.

Los Alamos contract awarded to UC-Bechtel team

Also in December, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded the contract to manage the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to Los Alamos National Security LLC, a team that includes the University of California, Bechtel National, BWX Technologies and the Washington Group International.

“I believe this was an excellent decision and one that is right for both Los Alamos and the country,” President Dynes told the press. “The University chose to compete for the Los Alamos management contract because we believed we could make a vital contribution to the country by applying scientific excellence to national security.”

The new contract takes effect June 1, 2006, and carries a seven-year term; an additional 13 years can be earned through successful performance under an award term provision. Michael Anastasio , president of Los Alamos National Security LLC , is the designated director for Los Alamos . He previously served as director of the UC-managed Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

For additional information on the Los Alamos contract award, please visit http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/labcontract/lanlcontract.html

UC addresses compensation issues

In December, the University announced a series of actions designed to provide greater oversight and understanding about UC compensation policies and practices. Among the actions ordered by Board of Regents’ Chairman Gerald L. Parsky:

• The creation of a Regents’ committee on compensation to provide ongoing oversight of university compensation;
• The launching of an outside audit of senior manager compensation and departure agreements; and
• The appointment of distinguished representatives from business, government, media, and education to a task force initiated by President Dynes to review UC compensation policies and practices, including disclosures, and provide recommendations to the Regents.

“The Regents recognize the University of California’s unique public trust,” Parsky told reporters. “While UC must maintain its ability to compete with top universities across the nation for outstanding researchers, teachers and administrators, we must do so in ways that are transparent and understandable to the public. These actions set us on the road to achieving those objectives.”

The actions follow a series of stories in the San Francisco Chronicle on UC compensation issues. While the Chronicle has reported that UC “quietly” distributed $871 million in “bonuses, administrative stipends and other hidden compensation” in 2004-05, however, employees should know that this description is a mischaracterization. Of the $871 million cited by the Chronicle, roughly one-half was paid to doctors and clinical faculty for the patient care they provide under the Health Sciences Compensation Plan; another roughly one-third was paid either (a) to general-campus faculty for research and teaching they did in the summer, beyond their normal 9-month appointments; (b) to employees, mainly at the UC medical centers, who earn “differential pay” for working evening, night, or weekend shifts; or (c) to employees leaving the University who were owed a payout of their accrued vacation or severance pay. Only $7 million, less than 1 percent of the $871 million, was paid to senior managers at UC.

Those interested in getting more information about these issues and sharing their views may do so at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/compensation/.

UC campuses work to combat avian flu

In response to growing concern around the world and in California about a deadly strain of avian influenza, or “bird flu,” the campuses, medical centers, and national laboratories in the University of California system have been working to address the causes, spread, risk factors and prevention of the disease.

Avian influenza is a contagious viral infection found primarily in wildlife birds that, if passed on to domestic waterfowl or poultry, can potentially infect humans. Working closely with key health organizations, researchers across the UC system are making an important contribution to understanding and containing this threat to human and animal health. To read more about their work, please visit a new UC web site at http://universityofcalifornia.edu/everyday/avianflu/.

Faculty diversity task force completes visits

The University of California President's Task Force on Faculty Diversity recently completed visits to UC campuses as part of its ongoing effort to assess the challenges in recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty.
 
During these two-day visits, a team of three to four task force members met with chancellors, senior academic administrators, members of Academic Senate committees, deans, department chairs, directors, and faculty to discuss the under-representation of women and ethnic minorities among UC faculty. The task force is scheduled to meet with other senior academic administration groups in the spring. The findings will be summarized in a report and disseminated via the task force Web site (www.universityofcalifornia.edu/facultydiversity/) and through a systemwide President's Summit on Faculty Diversity.
 

Apply to become Staff Advisor to the Regents

All eligible UC staff and non-Senate academic employeeswho are interested in serving as the 2006-2007 Staff Advisorto The Regents may apply during the period Jan. 17, 2006 through Feb. 15, 2006 at 5:00 p.m.

The UC Staff Advisor pilot program, a two-year program approved by the Board of Regents and instituted in 2005-2006, is intended to allow The Regents to benefit from hearing staff and non-Senate academic employee perspectives on relevant matters that come before Regents’ committees and the Board.

The Staff Advisor will be selected from all eligible UC staff and non-Senate academic employees by President Dynes in consultation with the Chairman of the Board of Regents.

Complete information about the Staff Advisor Pilot Program can be found at: http://www.ucop.edu/staffadvisor/. The application form will be made available under “How to Apply” beginning Jan. 17.

UC Day in Sacramento set for March 7

UC Day in Sacramento will take place on March 7 this year. It is the one time of the year when all of the UC alumni associations come together with alumni, donors, and friends to carry the UC message to Sacramento and discuss with elected representatives issues of concern to the University. More information is available at www.ucday.org.

Passing of President Emeritus David Saxon

David S. Saxon, a physics scholar who rose through academia at UCLA to become president of the University of California and leader of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, died Dec. 8 at the UCLA Medical Center after a lengthy illness. He was 85.

Saxon joined the UCLA faculty in 1947 as assistant professor of theoretical nuclear physics. He later served as chairman of the physics department and dean of physical sciences before being named to UCLA’s top academic post, now known as executive vice chancellor. He served as UC president from 1975 to 1983 and chairman of the MIT Corporation from 1983 to 1990. More information on his life and passing can be found at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2005/dec08.html.

Governor Schwarzenegger today (Tuesday, Jan. 10) issued a 2006-07 state budget proposal that fulfills his “compact” with UC, funds enrollment growth, uses state funds to “buy out” student fee increases, provides additional state funding for UC’s initiative to train more science and math teachers, and invests in UC health care to underserved regions of the state.

The governor’s budget includes funding that, when combined with other University revenue sources, will fund an average 4 percent increase in employee compensation in 2006-07, subject to collective bargaining requirements.

The governor’s proposal does not include funding for UC’s K-12 academic preparation programs or labor research programs in 2006-07. The University will actively seek restoration of this funding as the budget moves through the Legislature this year.

Read more about the effect of the governor’s budget on UC at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2006/jan10.html.

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 #1: Please consider that, by invoking market relations and market parity of salaries as unquestioned policy guides, you abandon other moral and political criteria that should inform decisions about university pay, and join an ethical race to the bottom in which "market necessity" justifies any degree of inequality and greed. People should be willing to work for the University of California for comfortable middle-class and upper-middle-class salaries, knowing that this is a great institution and a worthy cause. If they can be bribed with money to leave a good and satisfying job at this institution, do we really want them? In what does their "talent" consist?

Email #2: I appreciate the actions and communications you made with the UC community after the article in San Francisco Chronicle. I would like to, however, express my opinion that we should not ever sacrifice the quality of top leadership in UC for compensation issues. The impact of decisions made by top leadership is measured in millions or maybe billions of dollars…. I am not saying that we can ignore the compensation issue with the regular faculty members (I am one of them). My point is that addressing this issue should not come at the price of sacrificing compensation of top executives to the extent that it might compromise the quality of UC leadership.

Bob Dynes: Thank you for your thoughts; both of you make excellent points that demonstrate the challenges inherent in this issue. As I mentioned above, I am committed to keeping the University of California competitive for the best people around, because having great people at UC has been fundamental to making California such a great state. At the same time, I believe we must work to achieve more transparency in our compensation practices, and we must work to ensure full public trust in our institution. That requires change and honest self-assessment, and I am committed to both of those.

Email: In order for UC to preserve and enhance its contribution to California and the world, it should look into further expanding not only locally but also around the world…. Since we live in a knowledge-based economy, the University should introduce and promote its product, knowledge, more extensively, aggressively and globally. How about a world-class research university, University of California in Madrid, Spain? Introducing new UC locations abroad will encourage and enhance awareness and appreciation of diversity. It will create and cultivate a generation with a wider mind horizon who will be introduced to 'other ways' of living life. It will nurture a generation that will live to make the globe their country.

Bob Dynes:  It’s an intriguing idea.  Actually, we already have initiated a systemwide international strategy development process, and we have a great deal of exciting work underway.  As the world’s premier public research university, we must have an international strategy with exceptional research capacity at its core. We need to become more creative in the way we structure our international research collaborations, by being more strategically focused, by involving far greater numbers of students, and by focusing on translating the results of our collaborative research into real products and services for our societies. We are exploring pilot projects in a number of regions. Our most developed effort is in China. The so-called "10+10" is a newly formed alliance that brings together the 10 UC campuses with 10 important research universities in China on a research and educational agenda to address common challenges facing both of our regions, such as air and water quality, energy, and emerging infectious diseases. As we move forward with our international strategy development, we will be open to considering a wide variety of models and potential partners.

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