Watch the Afternoon Regents Meeting of Nov. 13, 2024

We (finally) conclude our coverage of the November Regents meeting with the afternoon of November 13th which included sessions of the Governance Committee, Compliance and Audit, Public Engagement and Development, and the Special Committee on Athletics.

Governance approved pay and position for a VP of PR and then turned its attention to diversity in executive hiring. It was reported that 27% of such hiring involved "underrepresented groups" and 41% female. Concerns were expressed by some Regents on low rates of Latino hiring. Regent Perez said that the DEI statements used in such efforts were becoming "performative." A proposal to include disability within the definition of diversity as approved.

At Compliance and Audit, Regent Makarechian noted that the frequency of "corrective actions" in response to audits was increasing along with periods of noncompliance. Regent Cohen said that while he was pleased that compliance with training requirements had improved, he was concerned about deficiencies in compliance concerning cyber training. There was in contrast no discussion or (apparently) concern about fiscal audits.

At Public Engagement and Development concern was expressed at various points about the outcome of the election and the potential impact on undocumented students. UC reported receiving across the system donations of $3.45 billion of which $1.8 billion came from foundations unrelated to alumni. The protests of last year were said to have a negative effect on philanthropy but specifics were not given. It was said that UC would be working with the legislature concerning budget cuts under the "compact." Finally, a presentation on wine research and teaching at UC-Davis was made. It was noted that the legislature had passed a "sip and spit" law allowing students in the program under 21 to sample the product. (Now there's something you probably didn't know!)

The Special Committee on Athletics heard reports on UC-Riverside and UC-Berkeley. The former reported a 6-year 92% graduation rate for student athletes. Berkeley reported 91%. Berkeley - after the tumult that followed UCLA's shift of athetic conferences - ended up in the ACC which entails considerable travel. But there was no aggressive questioning about the impact of such travel by Committee members. They were assured that nutrition and sleep support was being provided to athletes. The Committee met late in the day, which may have accounted for the lack of hard questions.

As always, we preserve recordings of Regents meetings since the Regents have no policy on duration of retention:

The general link for the afternoon of November 13 is:

https://archive.org/details/regents-public-engagement-and-development-11-13-2024.

Governance and Compliance & Audit are at:

https://ia600606.us.archive.org/26/items/regents-public-engagement-and-development-11-13-2024/Regents%20Governance%20Committee%2C%20Compliance%20and%20Audit%2011-13-2024.mp4.

Public Engagement and Development is at:

https://ia800606.us.archive.org/26/items/regents-public-engagement-and-development-11-13-2024/Regents%20Public%20Engagement%20and%20Development%2011-13-2024.mp4.

Athletics is at:

https://ia800606.us.archive.org/26/items/regents-public-engagement-and-development-11-13-2024/Regents%20Special%20Committee%20on%20Athletics%2011-13-2024.mp4.

Animal Research: Proposed New Guidelines

Colleagues in the medical and biological areas who conduct animal research should be aware of a  systemwide 17-page proposal for revised guidelines on such research. Comments are due February 18.

Excerpt: ...The updated Policy on the Use of Animals in Research, Teaching, and Testing:

• Reiterates UC’s commitment to the responsible, humane use and care of animals in research, teaching, and testing.

• Includes considerations for wildlife and agricultural animals in research, teaching, and testing.

• Establishes a minimum set of procedures that all campuses are expected to maintain for administering a successful Animal Care and Use Program.

• Updates the list of currently applicable laws and regulations relevant to the health and safety of animals used in research, teaching and testing...

[The] 3Rs [are] internationally accepted principles for the ethical consideration of animals in

research. The 3Rs principles are:

Reduction = minimizing the number of animals used, without jeopardizing statistical validity

Refinement = use of methods which minimize the pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm that research animals might experience

Replacement = avoiding the use of animals in an experiment where possible, and substituting with non-animal method (e.g., computer simulation) or lower animal species where appropriate...

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Full document at https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/underreview/use-of-animals-research-teaching-policy-review.pdf. 

Petition to Dismiss

As blog readers will know, UCLA is under a temporary injunction stemming from last spring's encampment and protests. Last Monday, UCLA asked the court to dismiss claims against individual defendants in the underlying lawsuit (Michael Drake, Gene Block, Darnell Hunt, Michael Beck, Monroe Gorden, Jr.) on grounds - among others - that as government employees, they have immunity in carrying out their duties. Separately, UCLA asked that claims against Rick Braziel be dismissed on the grounds that the encampment was removed before he was appointed. 

Nothing about this petition appeared on the UCLA Newsroom website, but - of course - word gets out, even when filings occur on the week of Thanksgiving.

The petition to dismiss the claims is at:

https://ia600402.us.archive.org/9/items/2-final-hjaa-report.-the-soil-beneath-the-encampments/UCLA%202024-11-26-108-01-Defs-Memorandum-of-Points-and-Authorities-in-Support-of-Motion-for-Judgement.pdf.

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As we noted in a blog post on Nov. 28, to the degree that UCLA and UC have responsibility for what occurs in student government and the entities it funds, there are serious issues as to whether the university is in compliance with state and federal law antidiscrimination law, let alone the fall temporary injunction.* Student government is funded with fees collected by the university and is given special recognition and privilege by the university. Rather than leaving it to litigation - always a blunt and uncertain route - to resolve the issues at hand, it would be better for UCLA and UC to reach a settlement with the plaintiffs.

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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2024/11/not-good-way-to-end-fall-quarter.html. Since our posting, the Daily Bruin has picked up the student-government story:

https://dailybruin.com/2024/11/29/usac-cultural-affairs-commissioner-faces-allegation-of-antisemitic-discrimination.