Senate Quick Takes

·        The chair of our Faculty Welfare Committee, Shane White, has contributed an article  concerning the resumption of employee contributions to our retirement plan.  I am appreciative that our local and systemwide Faculty Welfare Committees are strong advocates in this and other matters of great importance to the faculty.

·        The results of the systemwide memorial on Non-Resident Tuition have been announced.  The memorial passed with a vote of 3447 to 720.  On our campus the vote was somewhat closer – 289 to 107 – but still strongly in favor.  The memorial requests “that The Regents of the University of California structure and advocate a budget for the University that eliminates non-resident tuition for academic graduate students.”

·        The Senate has recently convened a joint Student-Senate Admissions Workgroup consisting of faculty Darnell Hunt and Jeannie Oakes; students Eric Barba, Lucero Chavez, Jason Osajima, and Jenny Wood; consultant Rosa Pimentel, Assistant Director, Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools (UARS); and faculty consultant Jennifer Sharpe, Vice Chair of the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools (CUARS).  This workgroup was initiated by students who wanted to be involved in thinking about modifications to our admissions policies to further mitigate the effects of educational inequalities within the K-12 educational system and ensure that students from low socio-economic backgrounds or students having experienced limited educational opportunity are afforded equitable opportunity to be admitted to UCLA.  In consultation with Jane Chang, Chair of CUARS, and Vu Tran, Director of UARS, I decided to convene this small group of students and faculty to focus its attention solely on this aspect of admissions policy.   The workgroup’s recommendations will be reviewed and evaluated by CUARS, and in light of CUARS’ own analyses will be considered for possible implementation.