UC needs Help

Eduardo-

I'm writing to share UC news on several fronts — and to ask for your help.

First, the state budget debate in Sacramento is now beginning in earnest. Last Friday, the governor issued a “May Revise” that is very favorable for the University — restoring $305 million in previous cuts to the UC budget, providing $51 million to support access for 5,100 students, and offering funding for critical capital facilities construction. It also fully funds the Cal Grant program. But the budget proposal also contains serious cuts in other areas of state spending, and the Legislature is going to face some extremely difficult choices this summer as a result.

The budget for UC in the May Revise and the funding of Cal Grants are both critical to the University and its students. The funding level proposed by the governor is needed to maintain student access and course availability, protect financial aid, cover inflationary cost increases, and reduce our need to resort to even more program cuts and employee layoffs in 2010-11.

Please take action today by writing your representatives in the Legislature and urging them to support the governor's budget for higher education -- click here.

Even if the governor's May Revise for UC is adopted, UC still faces a sizeable gap between its needs and its resources. So, second, this week I am calling on our top staff to embark on a new and expanded phase of efficiencies at the University, building on the remarkable progress already being made across the system.

As I've said since the beginning of the state fiscal crisis, we at UC need to do our part to find solutions. Already our efficiency efforts are achieving nearly $250 million in cost savings across a variety of fund sources, allowing us to improve service in some areas, redirect dollars from administrative costs to our academic and research missions, and help fill the budget gap that remains even if the governor's May Revise is adopted by the Legislature.

We're now going to push these efficiency efforts into new areas (see box). This won't solve our state budget problem -- but it will help preserve UC's quality in a period of severe fiscal stress. You'll be hearing more details about these efforts in the coming months.

Finally, we are releasing this week our second annual report giving the public a window into the performance of the UC system. The UC Annual Accountability Report pulls together, in one place on the web, data showing how well we're doing in areas such as affordability, student success, research innovation, and diversity, among many others. It's a critical part of the transparency we owe the people of California as their public research university.

As the state budget debate heats up this summer, I hope you'll stay engaged and express your support for public higher education to the decision makers in Sacramento. California and the world are going to experience an epoch of major transformation in the coming decades, and I truly believe that the University of California represents the state's best shot at coming through those decades as a dynamic, innovative, and competitive society. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mark G. Yudof
President
University of California