Message from the Chancellor and Provost

1.23.12

Dear Colleagues:

This year as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act, the federal legislation that created the land-grant universities, we are all acutely aware that the great public research university that evolved from this and other far-sighted measures is under siege as never before. Financial support from the State of California continues to decline precipitously. Ongoing tuition increases have placed undue hardships on our students and their families and sparked growing unrest and turmoil on our campuses. Indeed, increased dependence on student tuition and private funding to meet our education and research missions puts in question the very nature of the university and its relationship with the state and public.

The development of the California Master Plan for Higher Education in 1960 led to the creation of what is recognized widely as the best public research university in the world.  As such, the University of California historically has met the needs of the nation's largest and most dynamic state as it pushed enormous social, economic and technological progress throughout the state, nation and world. Today, the University of California is not only the envy of other nations but the intellectual trademark of a society that believes in the right of the citizen to equal opportunity and the freedom to choose, learn and express oneself.

But in the past twenty years, the commitment to the Master Plan has eroded and continues to do so. The State's contribution to students on the UC campuses has been reduced from $17,000 per student in 1990-1991 to less than $7,000 per student in 2010-2011. In the past 4 years, our campus alone has lost 40% of its state budget, while tuition has increased by 84%. UC Davis has lost more than $150 million annually and for the first time in the history of the University of California, student fees have surpassed the state contribution to the University's budget. In addition to steep tuition increases, which ask more of our students and their families, these cuts have led to furloughs, layoffs and reductions, putting tremendous pressure on educational and other support programs.

Despite the state cuts, our campus is working very hard to provide substantive student financial aid. Through return to aid and extensive fundraising for scholarship and fellowships, UC Davis alone provides $250 million annually to financial aid, not including loans. Yet, this is not enough to alleviate the stresses that are felt by the students and their families, particularly as they are also hard hit by the bad economy of the state.

Over its 107-year history, the University of California, Davis has transformed the agricultural economy of our state and has become the center of learning and discovery that will drive economies of the state and region in the 21st century.  It is also the place where students learn the skills to become the citizens of the state's future society and the workforce of our next economy. In other words, the future competitiveness of both California and America depend on a healthy and widely accessible UC system. Moreover, in today's academic environment, research is a vital part of this learning. For a nation that wants to be a global leader through innovation, this must be a skill accessible to all citizens. The ability to think creatively, act entrepreneurially and drive change when needed must be part of our public identity.

Over the past several years, the systematic disinvestment in California's higher education system has generated a robust but somewhat ad hoc dialogue on the UC Davis campus and elsewhere about the best strategy for dealing with this ever-more-serious crisis that puts the public research university increasingly at risk. We have received many interesting proposals for new ways to address budget issues and related concerns. As such, we believe it is now time to create a formal mechanism for developing additional ideas and strategies so these can all be evaluated as possible specific initiatives, programs and/or practices that could help us develop a roadmap for the campus to achieve our vision of providing access to an excellent education and becoming the engine for economic prosperity in our communities, the region and state.

It is in that spirit that we are creating a study group to be led by Professor Ann Stevens, chair of Economics and Director of the Poverty Institute. The group will also include representatives of the Academic Senate recommended for their expertise along with representatives from students, staff and other campus constituencies. This study group, which will meet regularly with the provost, will help us identify and evaluate strategies for handling our present situation especially regarding financial stability, affordability and accessibility.

Particularly as we seek, across the campus and in multiple forums, to evolve new ideas and concepts for achieving our long-term goals and vision, it will be important to understand the history and significance of public education as well as the broader social and economic contexts of the challenges facing it today. To this end, the provost will soon be putting out a call to faculty to create at UC Davis one or more entities that would, in ways that are appropriate to a land-grant institution with a strong commitment to the highest levels of teaching, research, public service and social justice, make our campus renowned for study of the place of higher education - especially public higher education - in our society.

This is an idea inspired by discussions we have already begun to have with faculty, and it is our faculty, along with our students and staff, who are best able to frame the questions that need addressing, and then to answer them. It is our role to assist, not only by identifying resources but by supporting the creation of the proper institutional frameworks for such study. This we intend to do, over the coming months and years with the intention of making UC Davis the preeminent institution for understanding the Future of the Public University and how it is being transformed as society itself is changing.

As these efforts unfold, we look forward to working with and hearing from as many of you as possible.

Sincerely,

Linda P.B. Katehi
Chancellor, UC Davis

Ralph J. Hexter
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor