Academic Senate OKs Degree
Program Changes, Hears Grim Budget News from Chancellor

Paul K. Mueller | February 4, 2008

In their second meeting of the academic year, the UCSD Academic Senate elected a member, James R. Bunch, to the Senate Council, unanimously approved several committee recommendations, and heard reports from Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, Campus Counsel Daniel Park, and Vice Chancellor Penny Rue.

The chancellor’s budget update was grim. “The budget challenge is large,” said Fox. “The UC system is still recovering from major budget cuts earlier this decade. Our faculty are very concerned about the continuing quality of the academic enterprise.” As illustration, Fox said, the $417 million budget problem for UC is more than the state funding for two of our smaller campuses. Dealing with the shortfall could entail some very painful choices, from freezing enrollment growth -- as well as faculty and employee salaries – to increasing student fees well beyond the projected seven percent. “There could be other, or deeper, impacts than these,” she said, emphasizing that those choices are, for now, only options that might be considered to close the budget gap.

Administrative savings, Fox said, would help. UC has committed to increasing administrative savings from $28 million to $68 million in 2008-09, she said.

The chancellor also discussed progress on the University House project – discussions with Native American tribes continue, and a UCSD committee is preparing a recommendation – and welcomed Gary Matthews as new Vice Chancellor of Resource Management and Planning and Dr. Sandra Daley as new Associate Chancellor and Chief Diversity Officer.

Chair James Posakony also welcomed presentations from Park and Rue, who gave reports on recognizing conflicts of interest and student mental-health issues, respectively.

Campus Counsel Park’s presentation explained the complex, tortuous and tricky conflict-of-interest rules to which unsuspecting faculty can fall prey; and Vice Chancellor Rue discussed UCSD’s resources for recognizing and dealing with student mental-health issues, and agreed to Chair Posakony’s request to distribute the presentation more widely among the faculty.

Winning Academic Senate approval was a recommendation to merge the degree program in computational neurobiology from Biological Sciences with the computational neurosciences degree in the Neurosciences program. The merger’s goal is to augment the neuroscience applicant pool and “to provide them with a focused, extended curriculum that prepares them for a research career.” A program of graduate study in management leading to a Ph.D. at the Rady School was also approved, as was an amendment increasing from eight to 10 the members of the Committee on Research.

In conclusion, the senate heard informational reports from the Committee on Educational Policy, which is examining the academic-integrity process and enrollment management among other issues and, there being no other reports, petitions, or new business, adjourned until its next meeting on Feb. 26.