Academic Senate Starts New Year Facing “Dire” Budget, Tough Choices

Paul K. Mueller | Nov. 3, 2008

The incoming chair of UC San Diego’s Academic Senate, Dan Donoghue, opened the assembly’s first meeting of the academic year on Tuesday by reminding his colleagues of the “dire” budgetary outlook, and emphasizing the vital importance of shared governance.

The current UC budget reflects a $48-million reduction in state funding and requires another $100 million in internal savings to cover cost increases not funded by the state – and UC President Yudof has cautioned that additional reductions are likely.

The faculty, the administration and others will have to work together, Donoghue said, to make some “tough choices” in this and following years.

After that somber introduction, the senate applied itself briskly to hearing and accepting committee reports, and approved a number of amendments to bylaws and regulations proposed by college faculties.

They OK’d the request of the Committee on Affirmative Action and Diversity to change its title to the Committee on Diversity and Equity, as being more descriptive of the group’s real focus.

A proposal by the Graduate Council to increase its membership from nine to eleven was also approved, as was a revision to the council’s duties involving the allocation of Graduate Division fellowship-support funds.

The faculty of Eleanor Roosevelt College asked for and received approval to amend general-education requirements for transfer students.

Finally, Health Sciences faculty requested and were granted amendments to bylaws of the Health Sciences Faculty, the School of Medicine and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy – amendments intended to bring the separate groups’ bylaws into better compliance with Academic Senate policies, and to make them “as efficient and inclusive as possible.”

There were no student petitions, or other unfinished business, and the senate adjourned until its next meeting at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2, in the conference room of the Center for Molecular Genetics.