Financial Aid, Diversity Focus of Chancellor’s Town Hall with Students
Ioana Patringenaru | February 1, 2010
Financial aid for graduate students and low-income students, as well as programs to boost diversity were on the mind of students who turned out for a town hall meeting with Chancellor Marye Anne Fox Wednesday at the Price Center East Ballroom.
Chancellor Marye Anne Fox fields questions from students with Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs during Wednesday town hall.
Audience members said they had concerns about how a recent increase in fees was going to impact students. Fox sought to reassure them. She pointed out several programs designed to help undergraduates and graduate students with financial needs. She also reaffirmed the university’s commitment to providing a top-notch education for all.
“I’ve always pledged that the quality of your education would not be impacted,” Fox told the audience.
UC San Diego has launched a wide-ranging effort to raise $50 million to help the campus stay competitive in attracting outstanding graduate and undergraduate students. Dubbed “Invent the Future,” the campaign is largely on track for its first year, Fox said. It’s also part of a larger initiative to raise $1 billion in scholarships and fellowships throughout the University of California system.
In addition, UC’s Blue and Gold opportunity program covers system-wide fees for all undergraduates whose families make $60,000 or less. This fall, that figure will go up to $70,000. That doesn’t cover books, housing and living expenses, Fox said, but the campus’ Financial Aid Office is there to help address those needs.
A student pointed out that the UC Regents recently voted to increase system-wide fees and asked where the money is going. The UC system has taken an $857 million budget cut, Fox said. UCSD’s share of that was $85 million, coming from furloughs for faculty and staff, loans and program cuts. The intent is to eliminate furloughs and have a modest increase in fees, Fox said.
Asked what she thought about what happened during the Regents’ last meeting at UCLA, Fox praised UCSD students who made their case appropriately. “I was very proud of our students,” she said.
Audience members asked about financial aid, fee increases and diversity efforts.
Fox urged audience members to help the university lobby the state legislature for additional funding. “The legislature has to be told again and again and again that public education is truly a right,” she said.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Penny Rue echoed Fox’s comments.
"We would welcome your help in advocating for greater state funding," Rue said. "We recognize that the fight really is in Sacramento."
Another student asked how the university was handling diversity efforts in this difficult budget climate. Fox said it was one of the campus’ highest priorities. “It’s impossible to have a high-quality institution which is not diverse,” she said.
Community centers and ethnic studies majors took smaller cuts than other campus programs, Rue said. Campus officials are running a number of initiatives to boost diversity, she also said. Data for UC San Diego freshman applications of underrepresented students for fall 2010 show an 8.8 percent increase.
After the town hall, Rodolfo John Alaniz, a graduate student in the history of sciences, said he appreciated administrators opening up to student participation.
“We’re both on the same side, but we’re coming at it from different angles,” he said.
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