A UC Board of Regents committee approved changes to make it easier for the University’s most senior employees to receive systemwide pay increases during its March meeting.

The board met at the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center from Tuesday to Thursday for its bimonthly meeting. Three committees – on investments; finance and capital strategies; and governance, respectively – voted on action items relating to the allotment of University funds.

The investments committee reviewed the second quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal year performance report for UC retirement, endowment and working capital assets.

Jagdeep Singh Bachher, the UC’s chief investment officer, began the presentation by saying the University’s assets experienced a $4 billion increase from July 1 to March 14.

The UC Working Capital, which includes the Total Return Investment Pool and the Short-Term Investment Pool, decreased by $600 million, going from $12.8 billion the fiscal year before to $12.2 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024, according to the report. The General Endowment Pool increased by $800 million to average $23.4 billion in the same time frame, according to the report.

Despite volatilities in the market from global wars and the COVID-19 pandemic, Bachher said investors should think long term.

“A week can be volatile. A month can be volatile,” Bachher said. “But in the business we’re in, we have to keep our eye on the longer time period.”

Bachher also added that his views have changed since a Sept. 18 investments committee meeting, where he said the University should prioritize American markets over global markets. Global equity markets are now likely to keep pace with the volatile United States market, he said.

“In the next five years, my view is it could be a different game,” Bachher said. “In that different game, it’s not just about the United States of America.”

[Related: UC Regents disclose investments in weapons manufacturers amid calls to divest]

The regents’ finance and capital strategies committee approved an increase in the Commercial Paper Program from $2 billion to $4 billion. The program, a component of the University’s debt program, covers smaller costs on capital project construction expenses to avoid interest on debt, according to the item.

“We’re all interested in making sure we have sufficient liquidity, and my understanding is this will get us through, at a minimum, the next couple of months,” said Regent Michael Cohen.

Under present market conditions, the CP Program saves campuses approximately $6 million in interest costs on a $100 million project over two years of construction, according to the item’s agenda description.

The finance and capital strategies committee also reviewed the midyear report of the UC Office of the President’s budget in comparison to actual expenditures, along with a second-quarter forecast for fiscal year 2024-2025.

According to the midyear report, the actual expenditures for the six-month period that ended Dec. 31, 2024 are below the budget of $544.6 million by $30.1 million. The University underspent by $13.4 million on programs and initiatives, $13.2 million in systemwide and core services and $4.9 million in UCPath, offset by $1.4 million overspending in the strategic priorities fund, according to the report.

First-half expenditures represent 46% of forecast full-year spending, but higher expenditures are anticipated in the second half of the year, according to the report.

The finance and capital strategies committee then discussed the triannual Significant Information Technology Projects report, which covered the period from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 of last year.

The report covered 26 University-wide IT projects costing between $5 million and $25 million, with 11 additional projects requiring a budget of $25 million or more, according to the item. UCLA and UCLA Health made up four of the above $25 million projects, with an additional two estimated to budget around $7 million to $9 million each, according to the report.

The governance committee also approved a retroactive administrative stipend for Yolanda Gorman, a senior advisor and the chief of staff to UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk. The stipend, consisting of $56,057, amounted to 15% of her annual base salary, for a total cash compensation of $429,773 effective Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024, according to the item.

Gorman had previously been a senior advisor to former Chancellor Gene Block since 2016 and had been Block’s chief of staff from 2017 until his 2024 retirement. She also served as senior advisor and chief of staff to Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt.

The governance committee then approved an amendment to Regents Policy 7701, which details senior management group appointment and compensation guidelines.

The amendment eliminates the need for the regents to approve systemwide salary increases for level one senior management group employees – who include campus chancellors and medical center chief executives – if the increases are part of a general salary program, Board Chair Janet Reilly said.

The policy previously required members of the SMG Level One to have a meeting separate from other systemwide upper management increases to have their salaries approved, said UC President Michael Drake. The SMG Level One position salaries were almost always raised in tandem with systemwide raises, President Drake added.

“In the past, it was almost always the case, but sometimes there were things that came up that caused challenges,” Drake said.