November 21, 2000
Chancellor holds fall forum with staff
By Jennifer McNulty
Higher salaries for university employees are on the horizon, according to UCSC Chancellor
M.R.C. Greenwood, who attended the first staff forum of the academic year on November
20.
More than 250 people turned out for the meeting, which addressed topics that included
salaries, parking rates, campus growth, and union negotiations.
The university is working in Sacramento to get an additional $24 million to "close
the gap" and make staff salaries more competitive, said Greenwood, who was hopeful
that the negotiations will be successful.
"I do believe the Regents, the chancellors, and many legislators understand
the significant need to enhance staff salaries," said Greenwood. "The time
to close the gap is right now and in the next year or so."
That news, coupled with the anticipated ratification by employees of a new contract
with clerical union members, prompted Greenwood to announce that she believes the
university has entered a "new era" of working with unions. Clerical employees
can expect to see bigger paychecks beginning as early as February, if all goes well,
said Greenwood, noting that some retroactive increases go back to 1999.
All of the topics that were discussed during the hour-long meeting had been submitted
in writing in advance to the Staff Advisory Board (SAB). Topics that were unaddressed
due to time constraints will be posted on the SAB web
site soon, said Willeen McQuitta, director of Staff Human Resources. One query
focused on the upcoming winter closure, which its author disliked. In response, Campus
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor John Simpson said his own research into the
matter had suggested that the break is "enjoyed, indeed treasured, by most UCSC
staff." Greenwood echoed that impression.
"Most of what I hear is that many staff want the discretion to be with
their families this time of year," she said.
This year, the closure will require most employees to take two vacation days--or
two days of unpaid leave, as Simpson pointed out. Employees also have the option
of using compensatory time off to cover the two days. Both administrators
expressed a willingness to revisit the issue, however. "People do differ in
their opinions on this," said Greenwood.
Regarding recruitment and retention of staff, Greenwood said the campus is considering
the feasibility of offering bonuses to employees who recruit new staff members. In
addition, changes have been made to simplify and streamline the reclassification
system, she noted.
A question about parking fees, which Greenwood jokingly described as her "favorite
topic," prompted Greenwood to clarify that ongoing union negotiations with two
groups of campus employees--faculty and clerical workers--have created disparities
in what some employees are paying for "close-in" parking. Until negotiations
are completed, faculty will continue to pay $32 per month and clerical workers will
pay $29 per month, compared to the $54 per month that a standard "A" permit
costs. Greenwood expressed her hope that those negotiations would be resolved soon.
In the meantime, Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) has bolstered alternative
transportation options and introduced a cost-free parking
alternative for employees who are willing to park at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
and take a university shuttle up to campus. "Nobody is requiring you to spend
$650 a year to be able to park next to your building," said TAPS director Wes
Scott. "There are options."
Scott advised against a graduated, or sliding scale, parking fee system, which he
said is in use at only two universities in the country. They report that the system
"sets people against each other," said Scott. "I'm not sure you want
to go there."
Regarding campus growth, Greenwood emphasized that a recent systemwide proposal
to increase enrollment of community college transfer students has not yet been approved,
and even if it is, it will not increase UCSC's long-range enrollment targets. The
campus, which has 12,100 students enrolled this quarter, is poised to grow to 15,000
students by 2005-06 and 16,900 students by 2010-11.
Such growth is necessary to meet "the responsibility we have as a public institution"
to provide access to a UC education to the growing number of qualified students in
the state, said Simpson.
Systemwide, the university is speeding up the scheduled opening of the Merced campus.
Locally, Greenwood emphasized that plans to accommodate the jump from 15,000 to 16,900
students do not include "growing" the Santa Cruz campus. Instead, students
will be accommodated by:
- Enrolling at the new regional center in Silicon Valley
- Participating in the Education Abroad Program
- Taking advantage of increased summer course offerings
- Enrolling in distance-learning classes and "testing out" of some courses
To bolster the academic side of the campus, nearly 50 new faculty members are
being recruited this year, and staff are being hired, too, said Simpson.
"I don't want people to get the feeling that the students are coming but the
staff, faculty, and buildings are not coming," said Greenwood. "They are,
but there is a lag."
Finally, responding to a question from an audience member, Greenwood said she could
not promise not to build housing at the site of Long Marine Laboratory formerly known
as Terrace Point.
"I wish I could justify not planning housing of any sort on that site,"
she said. Given the current housing crisis in Santa Cruz County, though, she said:
"I'm not prepared to give up any option now." Any development on the site
would, however, be modest and situated away from the bluffs toward the railroad tracks,
she said.
