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Final day of UC Regents meeting draws mixed reactions on appointment

Janet Napolitano, center, speaks at her first press conference as the UC president-designate.

By Katherine Hafner

July 18, 2013 5:42 p.m.

The University of California Board of Regents ended its three-day board meeting at UC San Francisco on Thursday with the much-anticipated appointment of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano as the next UC president.

Napolitano will be the first female and 20th overall UC president.

Many public commenters at a special session held to appoint Napolitano expressed their dissatisfaction with Napolitano, claiming she had “deported millions of undocumented individuals.”

A couple of public commenters then jumped over the rope barrier and ran toward the regents’ table, prompting the regents’ meeting to take a temporary recess. After ignoring repeated warnings to disperse, four protesters, as well as the two who jumped the barrier, were arrested for unlawful assembly and disturbing the peace.

They chanted “Undocumented is not a crime, Napolitano it’s not your time.”

At the special session before the final vote, many regents applauded the choice. Student Regent Cinthia Flores was the only regent to vote against the otherwise unanimous appointment, saying she did not feel comfortable voting for Napolitano when so many students are opposed.

Lt. Gov. and Ex-officio Regent Gavin Newsom, who is also acting governor while Gov. Jerry Brown is in Europe, said he thinks Napolitano’s past political experience as the former governor of Arizona and in her current position will prove an asset when working with Sacramento officials to face the UC’s financial challenges.

“I think we’re lucky to have her,” Newsom said at the meeting. “That being said, I think the concerns raised in this room (by commenters) have validity, and we should respect them.”

The regents also set Napolitano’s annual base salary as UC president at $570,000 per year, about $370,000 more than she makes in her current position.

At the press conference, Regents Chair Bruce Varner said Napolitano’s new salary package is about 10 percent lower than the package Yudof currently receives, which has an annual base salary of $591,000.

Current UC President Mark Yudof steps down on Aug. 31. Yudof attended and participated in his last meetings as president this week. Napolitano will retain her current position with the Dept. of Homeland Security until Sept. 6.

Napolitano spoke about her new role at a press conference after her appointment.

“I acknowledge that I come to this job as a nontraditional candidate,” Napolitano said. “But (I come) as someone who has a long history of managing big, complex institutions, and who is passionate about higher education.”

When asked how she responds to the opposition of many students, Napolitano said she will support all students, regardless of their legal status.

“We welcome all students to the UC. … We’re in the business of education,” she said. “And I will be an advocate for that.”

Putri Siti, a student at Diablo Valley College who said she plans to attend UC Berkeley in the fall as a transfer student, said her family has been in deportation proceedings before, and that Napolitano’s history with this issue would make her feel uncomfortable having Napolitano at the head of the UC institution. Siti was outside UCSF on Thursday to protest.

“This school is not a safe space for me anymore,” Siti said.

Earlier today, more than 30 organizations that represent undocumented students and demographics across the UC and state – including Improving Dreams, Equality, Access and Success at UCLA – released a statement arguing against the appointment.

“Ms. Napolitano’s legacy of overseeing a record number of deportations concerns our student community and jeopardizes the safe educational environment that we expect of our university system,” the press release states.

The organizations in the press release also criticized the regents for a lack of transparency in the UC presidential search process.

Not all members of the public who came to UCSF today were against the appointment, however.

Susan Fry, a San Francisco native who was out on Thursday in support of Napolitano, held a sign that read “You helped fix FEMA, now fix the UC: Welcome Janet.”

She said while she respected protesters who argued against Napolitano, she thought they hadn’t done enough research on Napolitano as a candidate herself, including her policies as Arizona governor.

Since she was nominated last week, regents and political figures including President Barack Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senator John McCain have all applauded the regents’ choice in Napolitano to lead the system.

Throughout the regents meeting this week, regents and public commenters alike brought up issues they hope Napolitano will address as the next president, or challenges she will face, including bridging a longstanding University budget deficit gap and delving into UC accountability issues.

 

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Katherine Hafner
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