Responding to widespread disappointment with UC administrative leadership, the California Legislature has passed two measures to increase transparency in UC governance. Senate Concurrent Resolution 52 recently passed in both the state Senate and Assembly. It memorializes the UC Regents to provide for “shared governance” in the management of the UC retirement funds. Senate Bill 190 passed in both chambers and was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It mandates increased openness in Regents’ discussions of high-level executive compensation. The Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA – of which the DFA is a member) supported both of these measures. Most recently, CUCFA participated in a press conference with Senator Yee, Assembly Member Portantino, and other supporters of SB 190 who successfully called upon the Governor to sign SB 190.
The Regents may feel that they have considerable latitude in when and how they respond to SCR 52. CUCFA wrote to the Regents requesting that they take immediate action to implement it by creating a UCRS governing board that includes faculty and staff representation. The advantages of such a board include creative input from a diversity of viewpoints; open discussion of investment goals and risk management; widely available background material, analyses, and rationale for decisions; and increased confidence in the integrity of processes.
The letter is available at http://www.cucfa.org/news/2007_nov16.php
As always, member comments and input will be highly valued.