Ex Officio: A Brief Look at the Governor's Proposal

An Ex Officio Brief

Most of the UC Regents are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate for 12-year terms. However, there are also alumni and student Regents who serve as voting members for one year. And finally, there are the ex officio Regents: the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the State Assembly, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the president of UC who serve as long as they are in office.

Except for the last, the other ex officio Regents are all elected, statewide officials whose positions are enshrined in the state constitution. The governor and the Speaker of the Assembly are generally busy with their main duties and - with the exception of former governor Jerry Brown - typically don't attend Regents meetings. The Lieutenant Governor - currently Eleni Kounalakis - doesn't have much to do under the constitution. She would become governor on the death or resignation of the governor. She also becomes acting governor whenever the governor is out of state. (That situation is becoming more frequent during the current governor's non-campaign for president.) So, without much else to do, she often does attend Regents meetings.* 

The Superintendent of Public Instruction primarily is involved in matters related to K-12 on a day-to-day basis. However, Governor Newsom recently proposed downgrading the responsibilities of Superintendent, essentially moving his responsibilities to the governor and his cabinet. Undoubtedly, he would have proposed eliminating the position entirely, but since it is enshrined in the constitution, that step would take a constitutional amendment. Depending on where you stand, the proposed downgrading of the Superintendent could be seen as a power grab or, alternatively, as a reform designed for good governance and efficiency. Either way, we would primarily be talking about governance of K-12 education.

As it happens, however, the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) has generally endorsed the governor's proposal. You can find the details at:

https://edsource.org/2026/newsom-education-restructuring-california/754254 and

https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2026/5165/2026-27_Re-Envisioning_State_Education_Governance_031826.pdf.

What is absent from the LAO's analysis of the plan is higher education. As noted, the Superintendent is an ex officio Regent. If the governor and LAO have their way, the role of the Superintendent would become some kind of external evaluator of K-12 operations. He would, however, continue as an ex officio Regent. So we would then have two ex officio Regents with day jobs that don't give them much else to do, as opposed to only the Lieutenant Governor now.

Is that a Good Thing for UC? Yours truly doesn't know. If you think of the Superintendent of Public Instruction as a link between UC and the K-12 system, a weakened Superintendent, as proposed by the governor, would mean a weakened link. Maybe that doesn't much matter; maybe it does. But now you know.

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*Lieutenant Governors often have gubernatorial ambitions. (Newsom was Lieutenant Governor for 8 long years before being elected governor.) But those ambitions don't always work out. Lieutenant Governor Kounalakis is currently running for State Treasurer after dropping a campaign for governor. (Tony Thurmond, the current Superintendent of Public Instruction, is running for governor.)

Straws in the Wind - Part 292

From the NY Times: The Trump administration is pursuing a civil rights investigation into antisemitism at Cornell University, months after the Ivy League school signed a settlement intended to end a pressure campaign by the federal government. The inquiry, which the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is leading and that Cornell publicly acknowledged on Thursday, appears focused on whether the university allowed antisemitic discrimination against workers. As a part of the investigation, the federal agency sought this week to survey current and former Cornell employees... One question asked workers whether they had been subjected to a range of behaviors, including “antisemitic or anti-Israeli protests, gatherings or demonstrations” that left them feeling threatened, “because you practice Judaism, have Jewish ancestry, are Israeli” or are associated with an Israeli or Jewish person.

Other questions inquired whether a person had reported potential antisemitism to Cornell; believed that Cornell was using “rubrics or programs” to give preference to people on the basis of religion, national origin or other protected classes; or participated in university training that addressed antisemitism. The E.E.O.C., which reached many people through personal email addresses, asked Cornell employees to respond by March 31, and it urged recipients not to take the survey during work hours or on university-owned devices. The E.E.O.C. declined to comment...

Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/us/trump-administration-cornell-employees-antisemitism-eeoc.html.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 134

From a US Dept. of Education Press Release: ...The U.S. Department of Education (the Department)’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened two new investigations into Harvard University (Harvard) amid allegations that it continues to discriminate against students on the basis of race, color, and national origin in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI).  OCR will investigate whether Harvard continues to use illegal race-based preferences in admissions despite the Supreme Court’s definitive ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. OCR will also investigate alleged ongoing antisemitic harassment on Harvard’s campus and the institution’s purported failure to protect Jewish students. The Trump Administration will evaluate both complaints and, if continued discrimination is found, take action to hold Harvard accountable for any illegal policies or actions.  

OCR also issued a Letter of Impending Enforcement Action to Harvard today for its continued refusal to provide requested information relating to its admissions process. In May 2025, OCR opened a review to determine if Harvard is still using racial stereotypes and preferences in undergraduate admissions. Despite OCR’s repeated requests for data, Harvard has refused to provide responsive information, which is necessary for OCR to make a compliance determination. Harvard has 20 calendar days to comply with OCR’s information requests or the school will face enforcement actions, including referral to the U.S. Department of Justice...

Full release at https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-educations-office-civil-rights-opens-two-new-probes-harvard-university-continued-discrimination-campus.

Watch the Regents Meeting of March 17, 2026

The March meetings of the Regents took place at UC-San Francisco on March 17 and 18 rather than the March 17-19 period originally scheduled.

The meeting on the 17th was somewhat reduced in length, beginning at 10:30 AM rather than 8:30 AM. It began with public comments. Commenters spoke on return of Native American artifacts, funding for the UCLA Advancement Program, out-of-state tuition, immigration enforcement, food assistance, Basic Needs, ending of the UC-Davis equestrian program, the AMCHA antisemitism report, processing of antisemitism complaints, student housing projects, UC funding for grad students, a property dispute with a farm near UC-Davis, Teamsters' issues including violence against hospital employees, doctor bargaining issues including protection of immigrants, anti-Israel, and divestment from fossil fuels.

Public Comments were followed by the Investments Committee. The Investment Academy at Merced was described. CFO Bachhar made generally bullish remarks about AI from a long-run perspective. It was noted that on a market basis, thanks to increases in the stock market, the pension plan was 92% funded on a market basis and 86% of an actuarial basis, i.e., with 5-year smoothing of returns. Regent Makarechian nonetheless raised the issue of a need for increased pension contributions.

Regent Hernandez suggested that the committee should discuss demands for divestment from "military" assets. If you are a really faithful reader of this blog, you may recall a discussion of this matter during the May 14, 2024 meetiong of this committee. At that time, CFO Bachhar came up with the tabulation in response to a student letter demanding various military and Israel divestments. He said that UC at that time held $32 billion of such assets of which $12 billion were US Treasury obligations.* This time, however, Bachhar went further and said that a literal divestments of military assets would essentially involve selling off all US holdings. You can see his remarks at:

Or direct to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj-Fsaqa7y8.

There was a very brief open meeting of the Health Services Committee in which information on the potential impact of the state Office of Health Care Affordability on UC hospitals was on the agenda in written form. There was no discussion.

Finally, the full board session started with remarks about the effect of that Office and other factors as it related to student health care, particularly students eligible for Medi-Cal, and the need to allow such students to utilize student campus health care programs. 

Chair Reilly went over the upcoming agenda. President Milliken spoke about concerns regarding public perceptions of higher education which were colored by issues of cost and tensions over limited admissions. He cited UC's transfer programs as one way UC was addressing such perceptions and referenced "lifetime learning" as another. Faculty representative Palazoglu, in his remarks, referenced federal research funding concerns and rising labor costs of graduate student workers. He noted the possibility of a state bond measure that would fund research.

The Regents then heard a presentation on the UC Inspires Program which is supposed to bridge the gap between research and commercialization of research findings. Various examples were presented such as a new laser treatment for glaucoma. 

Finally, the Regents approved funding for upgrading a hospital purchased by UC-San Diego.

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As always, we preserve recording of Regents meetings since the Regents have no policy on duration of retention. You can find the video recordings for March 17 at:

https://archive.org/details/regents-3-17-2026.

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*See our discussion of that meeting at https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2024/05/watch-regents-meeting-of-may-14-2024.html. If you go to the link there for the Investments Committee, this discussion occurs primarily at 1:45:25 to 1:54:00 with scattered remarks thereafter.

Straws in the Wind - Part 291

From the NY Times: One year ago, the Trump administration froze $400 million in federal research funding for Columbia University because of what the White House called an antisemitism and harassment problem on its campus. The move sent shock waves through higher education, as Columbia became the first major target of a Trump campaign to bring elite universities to heel. Columbia decided to negotiate, reaching a preliminary agreement with the White House on March 21 and then a final deal in July.

The atmosphere at Columbia is quite different from what it was in March 2025, in part because of these agreements. The leadership has also changed. A year ago, Dr. Katrina Armstrong was the interim president, but she was replaced by Claire Shipman, who is the acting president. Another change is imminent: Jennifer Mnookin, the chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was chosen in January to lead Columbia and will start in July. But did Columbia follow through on all of its pledges? One year on, where does Columbia stand?

...In its March 2025 letter, the Trump administration demanded a mask ban for protesters, comprehensive rules for demonstrations to prevent them from being disruptive, and strict punishment — meaning expulsion or multiyear suspensions — for the students who had participated in pro-Palestinian encampments or occupied a campus building in April 2024. Columbia agreed, with some modifications, to these conditions. But not everything has worked out as planned. Columbia overhauled student discipline by moving the panel that oversees rules infractions from the jurisdiction of the 111-member university senate, which is led by faculty members, to the provost’s office. Students no longer serve on the judicial panels. Columbia administrators also took control of establishing protest rules, removing the senate’s role. The Trump administration, and other critics, believed the senate was insufficiently committed to cracking down on rule violations by demonstrators.

...While Columbia did not ban masks at demonstrations, it did agree to punish masked student protesters who break rules and refused to identify themselves when asked. That happened during the Butler Library protest, when demonstrators who did not show identification were held in a room and arrested...

...A class called History of Modern Israel, taught by Avi Shilon, a visiting professor from Israel, was disrupted in January 2025 by masked pro-Palestinian demonstrators, who accused the class of whitewashing Israeli actions and handed out fliers that said “Crush Zionism.” Professor Shilon said that he had expected at least some disruption at a symposium he helped to organize nine months later, titled “The State of Zionism after October 7,” which included scholars from Israel, the United States and Europe. Instead, he said by email this week from Tel Aviv, the symposium was constructive and well-attended. Columbia provided security, but it wasn’t needed...

...The Trump administration demanded that Columbia’s Middle East, South Asian and African Studies Department be placed under academic receivership for five years, an extreme step that would remove its independence. From the start, Columbia did not assent, viewing the order as a threat to academic freedom, one of its red lines. In its March 2025 agreement, Columbia pledged only to review the department, and to suggest new programs and teaching positions. It then appointed a new senior vice provost, Miguel Urquiola, who in turn selected a committee of experts — including a scholar from the Middle East studies department — to recommend reforms. Those recommendations, issued in February, focused on hiring more professors in the social sciences with expertise in the Middle East. Timothy Mitchell, the Middle East studies professor who served on the committee, said that “nothing has been done to curtail the academic independence of the department.” ...

As part of its pledge to punish student groups for violating its rules, Columbia adopted a “zero tolerance policy” toward organizations “that promote violence or encourage disruptions of our academic mission.” The primary target was Columbia University Apartheid Divest, or CUAD, the coalition behind the 2024 encampments... CUAD now has no link to the university...

Columbia agreed in July to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance definition of antisemitism in its disciplinary system, a step that the Trump administration had demanded... Columbia officials disagree on whether this rule chills academic discourse. None of its anti-discrimination policies may be construed to “abridge academic freedom and inquiry or principles of free speech, or the university’s educational mission,” the university wrote in an August statement...

Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/nyregion/one-year-after-trumps-400-million-ultimatum-a-different-columbia.html.

Westwood Boulevard Project

As blog readers will know, there is a plan to rejigger traffic on Westwood Boulevard from UCLA all the way to the light rail station on Exposition Boulevard.* The changes involve carving out bus lanes and bicycle lanes. A Zoom meeting last Thursday evening which yours truly attended provided more detail.

City staff on the Zoom call referred to a ballot proposition passed by voters that required certain elements at a minimum. These included bus lanes between UCLA and Wilshire and a protected bicycle lane between Ohio and Santa Monica Blvd. Between Santa Monica Blvd. and the light rail station at Exposition Blvd., bicycle lanes (apparently not protected) are required.

However, the City plans to go beyond the minimums and will install protected bike lanes over the entire route. Bus lanes will extend from Santa Monica Blvd. to UCLA. Bus lanes will be earmarked for buses 24/7.

It was said that emergency vehicles, such as ambulances going to UCLA hospital, would be able to use the bus lanes. (It wasn't clear to yours truly how this would work. Normally, when an ambulance siren is heard, vehicles are supposed to pull over to the right to allow passage. But the bus lane will be at the right against a protected bike lane. If there is a bus in the lane, how would it pull over for the ambulance?)

In any case, the goal is to get all this work done before the 2028 Olympics. However, City staff indicated that the work might not be complete by then. If it isn't complete, construction equipment, etc., would be removed. (It wasn't clear how a half-done construction job wouldn't adversely affect traffic flows in the UCLA area during the Olympics.)

City staff said their models of traffic flow would only increase travel time by a minute and a half at peak hours and directions.

There is information about the Westwood Project at:

https://ladotlivablestreets.org/projects/westwood

City staff said the slides from the Zoom would be available there and maybe a recording. As of the writing of this posting, they weren't there.

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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2026/03/changing-westwood.html.

Straws in the Wind - Part 290

From the LA Times: College Republicans have sued the University of Florida’s president on free speech grounds over the school’s decision to deactivate its chapter after being notified that at least one member engaged in an antisemitic act.

The University of Florida College Republicans filed the lawsuit... in federal court against interim president Donald Landry, asking a judge to stop the enforcement of the school’s decision and to restore access to facilities on the Gainesville campus. “The University of Florida punitively deactivated and shut down the UFCR, in response to alleged viewpoints expressed by a member of UFCR, and in an effort to silence the club and chill its future speech,” the group said in its lawsuit...

When the Florida Federation of College Republicans is ready, the university will assist with reactivating the campus chapter under new student leadership, UF officials said in a statement. The deactivation wasn’t based on any university policy or rule, and it was only based on a member’s expression of a viewpoint “which was alleged to be antisemitic,” the lawsuit said...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-03-17/college-republicans-sue-university-of-floridas-president-over-deactivation-of-its-chapter.