Regents to discuss sexual violence, investment in sustainable companies

The University of California Board of Regents will meet Wednesday and Thursday at UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus to discuss plans for hundreds of millions of dollars in investments in sustainability companies and plans for addressing sexual violence on campuses, among other issues.

The board meets bimonthly and oversees the University’s activities. It controls the University’s budget and tuition levels, among other matters. The meeting is open to public.

On Wednesday, the board will discuss recommendations put forward by a systemwide task force for addressing sexual violence on campus. The task force, launched in June, includes three regents, survivor advocacy groups, students, administrators and law enforcement officials.

The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating UCLA and UC Berkeley for possible mishandling of reported sexual violence incidents on campus.

The regents will also discuss recommendations from the University’s Task Force on Sustainable Investing about fossil fuel divestment and sustainable investments. Last week, the task force recommended that the University keep its investments in fossil fuel companies and invest $1 billion over five years in companies that promote sustainability, despite calls from student advocates for fossil fuel divestment.

The regents are also set to discuss the following:

• The board will have a preliminary discussion on the 2015-2016 budget for the University, which will be approved by the board in November. According to a UC document from the Office of the President, the University is expecting a $120-135 million increase in its mandatory costs for next fiscal year, the majority being pension payments.
• UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks will lead a presentation on how autonomy for five richest conferences in the NCAA will affect the Pac-12.
• The board will officially appoint Howard Gillman, a political scientist who currently serves as an interim chancellor, as the permanent chancellor for UC Irvine and set his salary.
• The regents will discuss whether to give the UC president the power to oversee the appointments of and compensations for coaches and other athletic employees. The UC president would also have the ability to delegate this power to chancellors.
• The board will discuss UC President Janet Napolitano’s recommendation to adopt a policy that would make chancellors’ compensations more competitive if they fell significantly behind the salaries offered by comparable institutions.
• The regents will submit a request to the state for $297.9 million for its 2015-2016 program for capital improvements, including $25 million for David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA’s seismic renovation project.

Compiled by Jeong Park, Bruin senior staff.