April 23, 2001 Housing and compensation dominate discussion at brown-bag lunch By Jennifer McNulty At her quarterly brown-bag lunch with staff last week, Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood proposed a "very aggressive project" that would develop the campus's northern section to provide housing for UCSC students, staff, and faculty. Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood said UCSC would like to work jointly with the city of Santa Cruz on adding new housing. Photo: Don Harris Although efforts are already under way to house an additional 1,600 students on campus in the next few years and to build housing for faculty and staff in an area near the base of campus known as Inclusion Area D, Greenwood emphasized that "there is not going to be enough" housing to meet demand. Greenwood suggested that UCSC would like to work jointly with the city of Santa Cruz on developing a portion of the campus to provide housing for upper-division students, graduate students, faculty, staff, and perhaps city teachers and safety officers. The goal of constructing new campus housing for faculty and staff, she said, would be to "make us a little independent of the housing market pressures of the city of Santa Cruz." "It's not going to be easy, and there will be barriers along the way, but I would like to see us work with the city as quickly as is financially and politically feasible to pull it off," said Greenwood, who discussed the idea formally with city officials during the campus's annual "town-gown" meeting on April 18. About 250 people attended the brown-bag lunch, the latest in Greenwood's series of informal lunch-hour discussions with staff. Housing and compensation issues dominated the discussion, but other topics included parking and transportation, the state budget, and the energy crisis. The need for more housing is linked to campus growth as UCSC prepares to accommodate its share of the influx of students expected to enroll at the University of California in the next decade. Current campus enrollment stands at about 12,000 students, a figure that is expected to grow to 16,900 students by 2010-11. "It is critical that we not fail the public trust," Greenwood said of UCSC's obligation to accommodate more undergraduates. "We must educate these students. We must not close the doors." On the subject of compensation, Greenwood expressed support for staff salary increases and noted that all of the UC system's chancellors are "very concerned about wage lags that are emerging." She promised that the campus is nearing completion of a salary comparison study with public and private employers in the local area. As local housing costs rival those of San Francisco and Berkeley, Greenwood noted that UCSC has been trying for some time to acquire apartments in Santa Cruz that it could rent to faculty and staff. And she acknowledged that Santa Cruz is now considered part of the San Francisco Bay Area. "We used to be a more isolated market than we are now," she said. "If we do not change some of the patterns of housing availability in this city, this will be a very different place 10 years from now, and few UCSC faculty or staff will be living in the city of Santa Cruz," said Greenwood. She added that the campus is "actively in discussion" with the city of Watsonville as well as other "outlying areas" about acquiring housing for staff and faculty. Responding to a question from the audience, associate vice chancellor of Planning and Budget Meredith Michaels said the University of California's systemwide budget proposal to the governor includes proposed staff salary increases of 3.5 percent, which includes a 2 percent cost-of-living increase and a 1.5 percent merit. In May, an additional 1 percent would be requested for all faculty and staff, and the systemwide budget includes a "$10 million pot" to fund various staff adjustments and market increases. Greenwood also again reminded the audience of the nonsalary benefits of being a university employee, including retirement benefits and health coverage. On the transportation front, Transportation and Parking Services director Wes Scott announced that two-way Metro bus service will begin on campus, hopefully in the fall after bus stops are widened this summer. The introduction of Metro bus service from west campus to east campus will be a first, and the restoration of two-way traffic on Hagar Drive is expected after the bookstore construction project is finished. The cost of a monthly "A" campus parking permit will increase July 1 to $57 from $54, Scott said, and efforts are under way to limit student parking in the West Remote Parking Lot, thereby making more space available for faculty and staff. Regarding labor negotiations, Greenwood emphasized her appreciation of all UCSC staff members, and she underscored her own commitment to "civility" as talks progress. "In the final analysis, the welfare of the university is all about us," she said. "All of us." Finally, Greenwood also asked staffers to help the campus conserve energy. "We are going to have a $1 million shortfall in our energy costs for this year alone," she said. Acknowledging that UCSC is already an energy-efficient campus that doesn't draw much electricity for things like air conditioning, Greenwood said, "The next steps we can take to conserve energy are very personal. If you see lights on, turn 'em off. If someone asks you about it, tell 'em 'The chancellor told me to do it!'" Return to Front Page