Academic Senate Supports Revised Athletic Grant-in-Aid Proposal
By Paul K. Mueller | June 16, 2006
The UC San Diego Academic Senate, meeting for the
last time this academic year on June 8, expressed
support for a revised proposal that would allow a
majority of undergraduates to vote for – or
against -- an increase in student activity fees, which
would in turn fund athletic grants-in-aid for qualified
athletes.
The motion to approve the revised proposal was preceded
by a detailed discussion of the original proposal
and UC San Diego’s history of involvement in
Division III, and then Division II, athletics, which
carry different NCAA obligations for athletic scholarships.
Division II schools must offer at least $250,000 in
annual student athlete grants-in-aid, for example.
UC San Diego’s one-year waiver from this rule
has expired, spurring campus groups to respond.
UCSD competes in 23 sports and has about 600 student
athletes. The 2005 intercollegiate athletic budget
was $2.7 million, of which $2.5 million came from
student fees.
Before that senate business, Chair Jean-Bernard Minster, conducting his last meeting as chair, thanked colleagues for a productive session, and paid special compliments to the senate staff. “We come and go,” he said, speaking of chairs and committee members, “but they remain, and carry the vital institutional memory.”
The Academic Senate also approved nominations presented by the Committee on Faculty Research Lecturers, naming Ken Kaushansky and V.S. Ramachandran; approved enactment of regulations for the Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Audiology degrees; received the annual report of the Committee on Academic Personnel; and heard an explanation of the state budget process, and its effect on the UC system, from Professor Andrew Dickson (chair of the Committee of Planning and Budget).
Chancellor Marye Anne Fox addressed the assembly
early in the meeting, and remained to hear the senate’s
reports, discussions and votes. She spoke enthusiastically
about the recent Town Halls she’s conducted
with students and faculty (and the scheduled meeting
with staff on June 22 at Eucalyptus Point), and pointed
to the pressing issues raised at the meetings, including
environmental sustainability, fair trade, parking,
campus day-care, and faculty searches. She stressed
the importance of endowed chairs for attracting and
retaining the best faculty, and noted that the Chancellor’s
Endowed Chair Challenge has resulted in 17 faculty
chairs through June 1. She also gave updates on key
vice chancellor and dean searches; and was pleased
to report a $890 million mark, to date, in the university’s
billion-dollar capital campaign. She discussed ongoing
collaboration with the Los Alamos labs, and praised
Marsha Chandler, senior vice chancellor for academic
affairs, for her leadership in arranging more faculty-student
interaction and in addressing faculty diversity.
Before the Academic Senate adjourned its final meeting of the year, Chancellor Fox rose to ask for an expression of appreciation for Chair Minster, and the assembly enthusiastically obliged, applauding as he brought his gavel down, smiling broadly, for the last time in a busy session.
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