No Passing Zone

The Legislative Assembly met on May 14 via teleconference. On the agenda was a consolidation of Senate committees, primarily justified by the difficulty of getting all the seats on committees filled by faculty. However, after much prior effort, there apparently was doubt that the consolidation would fulfill the goals of committees that would be abolished:

From the official report on the vote (distributed via email):

Proposal to Realign Select Committees of the Academic Senate

Legislative Assembly members voted via the Academic Senate Data Management System on the motion to repeal Divisional Bylaw 67.1 International Education (commonly known as Committee on International Education) and amend Divisional Bylaw 65.1 Undergraduate Council. The Legislative Assembly voted 35 Approve, 71 Oppose, and 33 eligible members abstained. This motion included divisional bylaws and thus required a 2/3 affirmative vote of 139 eligible voting members present for approval. As only 25% of eligible members present voted in favor, the Legislative Assembly did not approve this motion.

Legislative Assembly members voted via the Academic Senate Data Management System on the motion to repeal Divisional Bylaw 75.2 Library and Scholarly Information (commonly known as the Committee on Library and Scholarly Communication) and amend Divisional Bylaw 75.3 Council on Research. The Legislative Assembly voted 56 Approve, 44 Oppose, and 39 eligible members abstained. This motion included divisional bylaws and thus required a 2/3 affirmative vote of 139 eligible voting members present for approval. As only 40% of eligible members present voted in favor, the Legislative Assembly did not approve this motion.

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The Assembly DID approve a new Digital Humanities undergrad degree and department.

Straws in the Wind - Part 354

From Inside Higher Ed: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees [last] Wednesday voted to reject the appointment of a women’s studies professor whose hire had been approved by faculty and administrators. The decision is the latest example of the UNC trustees using what is typically a rubber-stamp vote to deny the hire of a green-lighted faculty candidate. Kiran Asher, a professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, first interviewed for the distinguished professor position in January 2025 and followed what she called a “perfectly normal” hiring process. Provost Magnus Egerstedt told her two weeks ago that her hire would be put up for the board’s approval at the May 13 meeting. During an open-session voice vote at the meeting, one unnamed tenure candidate was rejected.

[As of] Saturday, Asher had yet to receive an official notification about her employment outcome... 

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty/tenure/2026/05/19/unc-board-rejects-hire-women-and-gender-studies-professor.

Two (Closed) Meetings Today

#1: NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING 

There will be a Closed Session1 meeting of the Special Committee on the Selection of a Student Regent on May 26, 2026, beginning at 10:00 a.m. at 1111 Franklin Street, Oakland.

Source: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/may26/notice-special-committee_may-26.pdf.

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#2: TO THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 

Because the membership of the Advisory Group on Research and Programs Funding Legal Issues (“Advisory Group”) includes five members of the Regents’ Governance Committee, there exists the potential for having present a quorum of a Regents’ Committee when the advisory committee meets.

This notice of meeting is served in order to comply fully with pertinent open meeting laws. 

On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, there will be a Closed Session, Special Meeting of the Regents’ Governance Committee concurrent with the Advisory Group to discuss Research and Programs Funding Legal Issues 

(Closed Session Statute Citation: Litigation [Education Code section 92032(b)(5)].) 

The meeting will convene at 4:00 p.m. at 1111 Franklin Street, Oakland and adjourn at approximately 5:00 p.m. 

(Advisory Group members: Regents Anguiano, Cohen, Hernandez, Matosantos, Milliken, Reilly, Robinson, Sarris, and Sures)

Source: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/may26/meeting-notice_federal-may-26-2026.pdf.

Graduation Speakers

We noticed two announcements of UCLA graduation ceremony speakers recently:

One of UCLA’s most iconic alumni is coming home to celebrate the next generation of Bruins. Six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee will deliver the keynote address at the 2026 UCLA College commencement ceremonies on Friday, June 12, in Pauley Pavilion... 

“It is truly an honor to return to my alma mater, UCLA, and speak to such an extraordinary group of graduates,” Joyner-Kersee said. “UCLA helped shape not only my athletic journey but also the woman I have become. To stand before the students and share a message of perseverance, purpose and belief reminds me that greatness begins with faith in yourself. Always believe that your dreams are possible and then go out and make them a reality.” ...

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Dr. Julio Frenk will deliver the keynote address for the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health’s commencement ceremony on Friday, June 12, 2026. Frenk, chancellor of UCLA and a distinguished professor in the department of health policy and management at the Fielding School, is also a fourth-generation physician.

Prior to joining UCLA as chancellor in January 2025, Frenk served as president of the University of Miami, from 2015 to 2024, and was the dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 2009 to 2015. In addition to Frenk’s leadership in higher education, he served as the federal secretary of health of Mexico, from 2000 to 2006, and was the founding director-general of the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico, one of the leading institutions of its kind in low- and middle-income countries... 

Full announcements at https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/jackie-joyner-kersee-speaker-2026-ucla-college-commencement; and https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/julio-frenk-2026-ucla-fielding-school-commencement-address.

Straws in the Wind - Part 353

From The Dartmouth: Former communications office assistant director of social media Micky Bedell posted three projects she used as part of a “knowledge base” to create and edit social media content for the College on the Dartmouth Claude enterprise portal. One of the projects, titled “Dartmouth Social Caption Writer,” was last edited in March 2026, while the two other projects — titled “Dartmouth Social Carousel Brainstorm” and “Dartmouth Social Caption Editor” — were last edited in April 2026, according to documents obtained and reviewed by The Dartmouth. 

A “knowledge base” consists of prompts and files uploaded to a Claude project, which other members of the enterprise group with access to the project can use to “provide context” to the Claude chatbot in their own individual chats, according to Anthropic’s website. In this case, the enterprise group includes “all campus community members,” including students, professors and staff, according to an email announcing the creation of the enterprise group sent to campus by the Information, Technology and Consulting office on March 30.

College spokesperson Jana Barnello wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth that Bedell... departed for reasons unrelated to her use of AI...

Full story at https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026/05/dorton-sapper-claude-comms.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 166

From the Harvard Crimson: Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences could lay off up to one quarter of its staff this summer as part of a sweeping administrative overhaul that would consolidate departments, centers, and institutes into shared administrative “clusters,” according to two people familiar with the plans. The proposed structure, developed by the FAS Task Force on Workforce Planning with support from McKinsey & Company, would likely replace many unit-level administrative roles with staff who serve multiple academic units, according to an internal slide deck obtained by The Crimson.

The overhaul is intended to help close FAS’s projected $365 million budget deficit. But it would also mark one of the school’s most significant staff reorganizations in years, with layoffs likely to strongly impact department administrators — staff members who manage finances, human resources, and personnel matters for individual FAS units...

The proposed reductions in FAS staff positions would follow similar cuts at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, which laid off roughly 15 percent of its staff in October. But many FAS department administrators are not represented by a union, leaving them with few formal protections if their positions are eliminated. Several have worked at Harvard for decades...

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/5/20/administrative-restructuring/.

Confident Retiree Webinars

Confident Retiree Webinars provide you with the knowledge, tools and resources to enjoy a comfortable retirement.

Attend the final webinar in our new Legacy Planning series, Essential Steps for Survivors of UC Retirees: Accessing UC Benefits and More and learn about: 

• What UCRP (pension) payments are made after a retiree’s passing
• How to apply for UCRP benefits
• Important documents needed to access UCRP benefits 
• Health and Welfare benefits for survivors  
• Other sources of income 
• Important contacts and resources 

Thursday, June 11, 2026 
1:00 p.m. PT
Register

Friends and family are encouraged to attend.

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About the Legacy Planning Series
This webinar is the last in UC’s three-part Confident Retiree series called Legacy Planning–Peace of Mind for You and Your Loved Ones. 

Together, these sessions are designed to help UC retirees and their families prepare for the future by protecting savings, organizing personal affairs, and ensuring survivors can access UC benefits when it matters most.  

Additional resources 
We’ve included some helpful links below to resources mentioned in the upcoming Part 3 webinar, Essential Steps for Survivors of UC Retirees: Accessing UC Benefits and More: 

• Essential Steps to Access UC Benefits: A Checklist for Survivors of UC Retirees

• UCRP Special Durable Power of Attorney Fact Sheet

• Social Security Administration

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Taking Control of Your Finances: Help for Surviving Spouses

The slide decks and recordings for Part 1: Preserving Your Savings for Future Generations and Part 2: Getting Your Affairs in Order: Essential Planning for Peace of Mind are currently being updated to meet accessibility standards. Once available, they will be posted on the  Webinars Overview page of myUCretirement.com.