(July 22, 2009) California Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Allan Zaremberg has been appointed to a University of California (UC) commission whose goal is to ensure excellence and access to UC in the future while addressing financial challenges resulting from the state's fiscal woes.
The Commission on the Future of UC will be co-chaired by UC Board of Regents Chairman Russell S. Gould, a former CalChamber chair, and UC president Mark G. Yudof, a member of the CalChamber Board of Directors. The commission was created in conjunction with Board of Regents actions approving a plan to offset an anticipated $813 million reduction in support from the state General Fund.
"We need to act now to ensure that, through the state's budget crisis and long-term pattern of disinvestment, we don't sacrifice one shred of quality of this university system," Gould said. “We can do this. We are the very same people who create knowledge and innovation, and we intend to apply the same ingenuity and determination to shaping the future of this university.
"A critical focus of the commission, in addition to preserving the excellence of UC while facing the economic realities, will be to find ways to maintain and even expand our substantial contributions to California's economy and cultural life. UC is the model upon which all other public university systems are built. It's worth fighting for, and this commission will help craft our battle plan."
The commission will use working groups to reach out to the entire UC community and experts inside and outside the system - including California State University and the state's community colleges - to re-examine key questions, including:
- How can UC best meet the needs of California and at the same time maintain access, quality and affordability in a time of diminishing resources?
- What educational delivery models will both maintain quality and improve efficiency for the university's future?
- What is the appropriate size and shape of the university going forward?
- How can traditional and alternative revenue streams be maximized in support of UC's mission?
Appointees to the commission in addition to Zaremberg are: Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO; UC Regents Jesse Bernal, Sherry Lansing, Monica Lozano and Yolanda Nunn Gorman; Student Regent-designate Jesse Cheng; UCLA Chancellor Gene Block; UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake; UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry Yang; UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Chris Edley; Academic Senate Chair Mary Croughan; Academic Senate Vice Chair Henry Powell; UC Regents staff advisor Edward Abeyta; and Warren Hellman, an alumnus of UC Berkeley.
Ex officio members from the UC Office of the President are Provost Larry Pitts, Executive Vice President Katie Lapp and Executive Vice President Peter Taylor.
Chairman Gould has asked the commission to provide its recommendations early next year. Some recommendations may be developed earlier, with more complex issues being addressed later.