Chronicles Newsletter of the UCSD Emeriti Association
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Chronicles Newsletter of the UCSD Emeriti Association December 2010 Volume X, No. 2 Confronting UCSD’S Budget CriSiS By Paul Drake as social services and K-12, above UC. Professor Emeritus of Political For UCSD to expect a rescue from Science UCOP seems an equally slim hope. That office has finally mounted a funding UCSD continues to suffer from the campaign in Sacramento, but to little worst budget crisis in its history. This avail. Although the President and the financial disaster consumed my just- Regents recently approved vital hikes ended term as Senior Vice Chancellor (of 8 percent) in student fees, they are for Academic Affairs. In the last few unwilling to charge enough to cover our years, the budget for academic person- costs. The only other money available to nel and programs has been depleted by Oakland is taken from the campuses. decisions made by the state, by the Uni- UCOP’s financial decisions are just versity of California Office of the Presi- as likely to harm as to help UCSD. Ex- dent (UCOP), and by UCSD. During amples include four recent initiatives the devastation wrought by the “Great that we vigorously opposed. Three years Recession,” I learned four key lessons ago, UCOP imposed an across-the- resources to pay for it. Although we sup- about how the academic core of the uni- board, rather than merit-based, increase ported boosting salaries, we deplored the versity can survive and revive. in faculty salaries that confiscated our First, UCSD must craft its own so- methodology. Then UCOP jacked up lutions to the economic downturn. Even graduate student fees, which are more if the state and UCOP eventually bring of a cost to us than a source of income. us some relief, it is unlikely to be suffi- Thereafter they escalated employer con- cient to realize our aspirations. For the tributions to the strapped retirement foreseeable future, we cannot rely on system, which the campuses will have bailouts from Sacramento or Oakland. to underwrite. Now they are proposing Although we should continue to a cap on non-resident student enroll- lobby the state government to revive its ments, our major new prospect for rev- funding for the UC system, we would enue gains. Meanwhile they continue to be naïve to count on it. Our state has channel to other campuses substantial v v v v v v nearly reached the bottom of a twenty- Inside dollars produced by UCSD. In many re- year decline in allocations for public spects, we would be better off if UCOP Budget Changes. .3 universities, reflecting a national trend. would just let us keep the funds we earn, After each plunge in our support, Sac- Discovery of America. 4 especially student fees and indirect cost ramento has failed to restore previous recovery, to deploy for our own priorities In Case You Missed It. 4 levels. Even when the state’s economy and projects. recovers, its government could remain Franz Liszt. 5 In the absence of salvation from dysfunctional and burdened with defi- above, UCSD must emphasize three Anecdotage . .7 cits. Even if the state replenishes its strategies to preserve and enhance the coffers, politicians, voters, and taxpay- Mark Your Calendar . 8 sterling academic foundation that has ers may well rank other priorities, such Continued on p.2 ➝ UCSD Emeriti Association Page 2 December 2010 v Chronicles made it a world-class institution. Hir- most significant source of new income allocate the reductions selectively with ing and nurturing fabulous research for Academic Affairs. Rather than being the goal of sustaining the academic core faculty has been the origin, engine, and distributed by UCOP, incremental NRS and its highest-quality components. As trademark of this upstart institution. A monies belong to the campus. Without much as possible, the campus should relentless emphasis on rigorous stan- those funds, we could not have resur- prune non-essential, non-academic ser- dards for the quality of the faculty and rected faculty recruitments on the general vices first. Thereafter, the faculty, de- their programs has propelled us upwards campus this year. We had to return to the partments, programs, and deans must in the rankings of research universities. academic marketplace in order to begin continue to streamline their operations, The star faculty members attract the stu- replacing the scores of precious positions eliminate redundancies, and make tough dents and the grants, the fame and the lost to budget cuts during the regrettable decisions about which specialties to cul- fortune. They drive the university from but mandatory freeze on hiring the year tivate for the future. For example, we the bottom up. They are our best invest- before. can further jettison excess regulations ment in the future. To continue this as- Within reasonable limits, augment- and administrators, consolidate staff and cent requires that we concentrate our ing the ranks of non-resident students at IT among departments, programs, and dwindling dollars on that academic core. UCSD should not provoke an unbear- ORUs, weed out unnecessary courses To achieve that objective, the sec- able political backlash. NRS currently and majors, reduce exaggerated require- ond lesson I learned is that UCSD account for less than 10% of our un- ments for majors and degrees, employ should stop whittling away at the aca- dergraduates, compared to over 20% at more online instructional mechanisms, demic core and instead focus on obtain- Berkeley and 35% at places like Michigan and achieve other efficiencies, without ing underutilized resources. The campus and Wisconsin. They are being brought damaging our most essential educational must mobilize every effort to garner more in on top of our funded California under- offerings. revenues from outside sources to support graduates, whose education will benefit At the same time, we must make the academic core, including the Gen- from the higher tuition and distinctive very hard choices about what types of eral Campus (GC), the Health Sciences perspectives provided by students from faculty, research, and teaching to em- (SOM), and the Marine Sciences (SIO). other states and countries. These NRS phasize in the coming years. We must Many of our peers, such as Michigan and dollars can also help finance efforts to not only build on strength but also foster Virginia, are far ahead of us in develop- diversify the faculty and student body. innovation. We can be the best in many ing alternative sources to the state trea- Just before the end of my tenure as things, but not everything. In large part, sury. We should amplify our intake from SVCAA, I forged an agreement with the UCSD became an academic powerhouse non-resident student tuition and fees, Chancellor to guarantee 68% of all ad- by promoting certain niches and com- high-fee Masters programs, indirect cost ditional NRS revenues to Academic Af- parative advantages, as well as gambling recovery, non-state forms of faculty com- fairs. That is where those dollars should on bold ventures. Now we can re-invent pensation (similar to the system in the go because their purpose is to fund the the UCSD of Tomorrow with that same Health Sciences), auxiliaries, tech trans- students’ education. In the years ahead, entrepreneurial and individualistic ap- fer, partnerships with the private sector, the biggest challenge will be to recruit proach. and philanthropy. more non-resident students to UCSD Fourth, UCSD should improve its All of these complex and controver- (and our national ranking as the top uni- budgeting process. It must make its bud- sial revenue-generating proposals will versity for surfing may help). geting tradeoffs in a more transparent require careful planning, discussion, and Third, until we overcome the cur- way so that the faculty can weigh in, espe- implementation between Academic Af- rent crunch of austerity, UCSD must cially in hard times when every financial fairs and the Academic Senate. UCSD carry out the remaining painful budget choice is a zero-sum game. In addition, must make sure that these endeavors cuts in a very targeted manner. We must UCSD should adopt an Executive Vice contribute to the quality of the academ- Chancellor for Academic Affairs (EVC)/ ic core. We must also insure that they Provost model like all the other UC cam- benefit all departments, not just those Emeriti Website puses and most major research universi- most capable of tapping non-state dol- The UCSD Emeriti Association ties. Having all the non-academic Vice lars. However, we must take action with maintains a website: Chancellors report to that official would all deliberate speed to bring a halt to the http://emeriti.ucsd.edu establish the primacy of the faculty and hemorrhaging. Clicking the News, Programs & their research and teaching programs in Thankfully, we have already reached meetiNgs button will allow you to all budgetary planning, deliberations, and view past issues of this newsletter. agreement with the Academic Senate on The website also provides the con- decisions. the urgent need to expand the enroll- stitution and by-laws, lists of mem- With an effective EVC structure, all ment of non-resident graduate and espe- bers, and minutes of meetings. ancillary programs would have to justify cially undergraduate students (NRS), the their expenditures based on their crucial UCSD Emeriti Association The Discovery of America Chronicles v December 2010 Page 3 contributions to the academic enterprise. All the non-academic Vice Chancellor Executive Committee Adopts areas perform vital functions, but every option for savings needs to be up for Budget Changes for 2010/2011 consideration in order to safeguard the academic heart of the university. One non-academic operation that should be The Emeriti Association’s budget for 2010/2011, approved by the Executive bostered is fundraising for academic pur- Committee on July 14th, 2010, contains several changes that will impact the poses through External Relations.