UC Academic Senate’s efficacy, role to be evaluated

Tuesday, January 14, 1997

ADMINISTRATION:

Relations with regents, jurisdiction among the issues facing
task forceBy Brooke Olson

Daily Bruin Staff

The UC systemwide Academic Senate is undertaking an extensive
review of its overall effectiveness as a partner in the UC’s system
of shared governance.

In one of the most substantial self-examinations in over 30
years, the senate’s structure, operations and interactions between
the regents and administrators will be closely reviewed by the
Senate Task Force on Governance.

"(The senate) needs to make sure that it is adequately dealing
with any and all issues that arise within the university," said
Duncan Mellichamp, academic council chair.

The Academic Senate is composed of all regular rank faculty and
major campus and administrative officers, and functions as the
voice of the faculty in the university governance.

The senate also advises the university president and the
chancellors on academic policy issues, including budget matters,
library administration and advancement of faculty members.

In addition, the senate authorizes, approves and supervises all
undergraduate and some graduate courses, and determines the
conditions for university admission and degrees.

Approved last November, the Senate Task Force on Governance was
divided into three panels.

The first panel will be responsible for evaluating the senate’s
structure, another for reviewing senate operations, and a third
will examine shared governance, faculty members said.

Although membership for the first two panels has not been
determined, the shared governance panel plans to meet within the
next few weeks.

Composed of senate faculty, including UCLA Director of Black
C.A.R.E. Psychology Vickie Mays, regents and UC President Richard
Atkinson, the shared governance panel will examine how the senate
interacts with both the regents and the administration.

The panel was quickly formed after last November’s meeting in
part because debate over whether or not the senate can censure the
regents has divided many faculty members for the last few
years.

Most UC faculty agreed with the regents that the Academic Senate
would have authority over admissions, courses and curricula, and
conditions for degrees.

However, last May, Atkinson announced that faculty would have
only limited authority in deciding the conditions for admissions,
upsetting many Senate members, faculty members said.

In addition, the regent’s July 1995 decision to end affirmative
action in all UC hiring and admissions procedures has angered some
faculty members who feel that the regents are usurping senate
power, faculty members said.

"The shared governance panel had in its origins the regent’s
decision to end affirmative action, but it became broader than that
as the senate felt its power being taken away from it," Mellichamp
said.

The work of all three panels is scheduled to be completed in
stages next spring and summer. Members of the task force will make
recommendations regarding improvements within the senate
system.

"I think it will be quite interesting," Mellichamp said. "The
whole idea here is to bring the best ideas of a number of people
together so that the Academic Senate may continue to effectively
and efficiently work with the University as a whole."