Governor Proposes Major Cuts for UC
Vernon Ng | Jan 19, 2004 | Comments 1
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a $372 million cut in funding to the University of California which will result in dramatic fee increases for students and cuts in educational funding.
In addition to a 10 percent undergraduate tuition increase of $498, a 40 percent graduate tuition increase of $2,088 and a 20 percent increase in student fees for non-residents of $2,744, deep cuts are slated for financial aid, faculty spending and the limiting of freshman enrollment.
In spite of the cuts, the governor has promised to give UC Merced a one-time supplemental fund of $10 million in addition to $10 million in permanent funding to help the campus meet its startup costs as the campus prepares to open in fall 2005.
‘I can’t express anything but disappointment at these cuts, and their impact on student access,’ said Manuel Gomez, vice chancellor of student affairs. ‘We have to sustain the quality and core of the university with regard to instruction
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It is time for Chancellor Birgeneau to move on. The UCB budget gap has grown to $150 million, and still the Chancellor is spending money that isn’t there on expensive outside consultants. His reasons range from the need for impartiality to requiring the “innovative thinking, expertise, and new knowledge” the consultants would bring.
Does this mean that the faculty and management of a world-class research and teaching institution lack the knowledge, impartiality, innovation, and professionalism to come up with solutions? Have they been fudging their research for years? The consultants will glean their recommendations from interviewing faculty and the UCB management that hired them; yet solutions could be found internally if the Chancellor were doing the job HE was hired to do. Consultant fees would be far better spent on meeting the needs of students.
There can be only one conclusion as to why creative solutions have not been forthcoming from the professionals within UCB: Chancellor Birgeneau has lost credibility and the trust of the faculty as well as of the Academic Senate leadership that represents them. Even if the faculty agrees with the consultants’ recommendations – disagreeing might put their jobs in jeopardy – the underlying problem of lost credibility and trust will remain.