Public Comments: Possible Preview

There are two public comment sessions on the Regents agenda for this week.  One is on Wednesday morning and the other is on Thursday morning.  (The opening committee meeting today does not list a public comment session on the agenda.)  At public comment sessions, anyone can say anything about anything that concerns UC.  It's hard to imagine that no one will have anything to say about the new nominee for UC president.  But there are other pending issues.  For example, there are ongoing UC labor negotiations; some blog readers will recall the short strike last month at UC med centers.  In addition, there is an active campaign to have the regents reject the nominee for student regent because of her anti-Israel position: http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&b=4441467&ct=13221517.  That nomination first comes up on Wednesday immediately after the public comment session: http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/jul13/sreport.pdf.  Following that session, the Committee on Finance will be considering a bump up in pension contributions which might also be a subject of public comment on Wednesday: http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/jul13/f5.pdf.  It will also consider increases in tuition of certain nursing/medical programs: http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/jul13/f3.pdf.  Either or both of those items could be a subject of public comment.

Official action on the new UC  prez does not happen until Thursday: http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/july18.html.  But nothing prevents someone bringing it up in the Wednesday public comment session. 

Note finally that at public comment sessions the Regents don't respond to comments made or otherwise discuss the issues raised.