Listen to the Morning Regents Session of July 18, 2013

We continue to provide alternative archiving of Regents meetings due to the regental policy of maintaining archives for only one year.  For the record, you can find this policy at http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/videos.html. 

The statement there currently reads:

Video Archives of Regents Meetings: 2013
Video files for past open session meetings of The University of California Regents and its Committees are available for one year after the dates of the meetings.

Below is the official agenda for the morning session:

8:30 am Committee of the Whole - Public Comment (open session)

8:50 am Committee on Compensation (open session)

9:00 am Committee on Educational Policy (open session)

10:45 am Committee on Long Range Planning (open session)

11:00 am Committee on Oversight of the DOE Laboratories (open session)

11:30 am Board (open session)

Surprisingly, at both this morning’s public comment session and yesterday’s session, there were only off-hand comments on the appointment of the new UC president.   (The appointment was an afternoon agenda item, however, and that is when there were protests about the appointment both in the form of comments and demonstrations at various points.) Today there was discussion of transfers from community colleges, concerns about increases in tuition of professional programs, use of online education, the lawsuit by UC against certain financial firms for manipulation of the LIBOR interest rate to the university’s detriment, opposition to the tuition increases for certain nursing programs, and opposition for use of animals for medical research.  There were complaints by AFSCME concerning executive pay, understaffing, and other matters such as tuition. 

There was approval for appointment and compensation of two acting co-chief investment officers to replace the executive who suddenly resigned.  No word on why the resignation occurred.

The Committee on Educational Policy heard a report on online ed at UC.  One Regent noted that most of the courses reported to be given were non-credit extension classes.  The committee also reviewed a food center at Davis.  The code of faculty conduct was modified explicitly to protect the right of faculty to speak on matters of UC policy in response to a U.S. Supreme Court that limited rights of public employees to speak on agency policy. 

The Committee on Long Range Planning heard an accountability report.

There was a lengthy report on climate change research from the national labs.  In reaction, the new student regent-delegate indicated it might be a good idea to adopt divestment of fossil fuel companies, a suggestion that has been pushed by student speakers in prior public comment sessions at Regents meetings.  One Regent seemed to endorse that suggestion.  No other Regents commented on the suggestion.  The committee adopted exclusions of regents without security clearance from certain information about the labs.

In the open session, outgoing president Yudof reported on various UC faculty and other accomplishments.  Two Regents voted against the tuition increase for certain nursing programs which was adopted.

You can hear the meeting audio at the link below: