October 8, 2001
Chancellor calls for an increase in graduate students
By Louise Donahue
Chancellor Greenwood took a look back Tuesday before laying out her vision for UCSC's
future--a future with significantly more graduate students and increases in fundraising,
diversity, and housing availability.
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| Chancellor Greenwood, left, talks with members of the audience at Stevenson Dining Hall before her speech. Lynda Goff, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education, is in the center, and Charlotte Moreno, assistant dean, Division of Natural Sciences, is at right. Photo: Ann Gibb |
She lauded Student Affairs staffers for welcoming students to campus during a
time of crisis and cited the helpful commentary in media outlets by the many UCSC
faculty members who have shared their expertise. "Our universities need to play
an ever-larger role in combating ignorance," she said in an address before a
capacity crowd at Stevenson Dining Hall. "There is no better place to be in
the days to come than in one of the nation's best research universities."
It was five years ago that Greenwood arrived at UCSC, and the chancellor reminded
her audience of several key accomplishments during her tenure, including creation
of an engineering school, the addition of 16 new undergraduate programs, enrollment
growth, and a 43 percent increase in annual research income.
"We have grown gracefully, albeit with some stress," she said, adding that
these successes should add to the campus community's confidence in UCSC's ability
to reach an enrollment of 16,900 by 2010.
During the next five years, Greenwood said, UCSC must pay more attention to its goal,
stated in the Millennium Report, of becoming an outstanding public research institution.
A key element in achieving this goal will be expanding graduate student and postdoctoral
education. "This new emphasis should not be misinterpreted as a de-emphasis
on undergraduate education," she said, stressing that she sees a quality graduate
program as essential to the quality of undergraduate education.
UCSC is on the low side of comparable research universities in overall numbers of
graduate students, and California is last among the 15 largest states in growth of
graduate education in the last decade, she said.
The campus has already made a start toward boosting its graduate student ranks, increasing
support by 32 percent since 1996. In 2001-02, funding from a combination of sources
is up 20 percent, to almost $14 million. Responding later to a question from the
audience, Greenwood said she realizes still more financial support will be needed
and that she plans to be part of a major effort to increase support.
Advanced degrees are the key to upward mobility and enhancing diversity, Greenwood
said. "As leaders produced by UC graduate programs increasingly come--and must
come--from more diverse communities than in the past, they in turn will create jobs
and opportunities for many other people. Those educational opportunities for diverse
groups are part of the great legacy of the UC system, and UCSC can and must play
a greater role."
Answering a reporter's question on increasing diversity, Greenwood pointed to UCSC's
success in that area. "We are still the most diverse faculty in the UC system,
and we continue to build on that."
Greenwood proposed doubling UCSC's annual production of Ph.D.s in the next 10 years,
while enhancing diversity in both graduate students and faculty and continuing to
nurture the intellectual environment for undergraduates.
The chancellor noted that these goals will require additional outside support and
said the campus must aim to at least double its extramural research funding over
the next five to seven years. "Our new vice chancellor for research, Bob Miller,
will work with faculty to make this goal a reality. He and vice chancellor for University
Relations Ron Suduiko will work together to garner private foundation and individual
philanthropic support."
Greenwood said she has asked Suduiko to begin a "major fundraising campaign"
with the help of the UCSC Foundation, alumni, and the development staff. The administration
will also be calling on divisions, deans, and faculty members to secure research
and training grants and encourage students to take maximum advantage of opportunities
for fellowships and research assistantships.
Greenwood acknowledged that some have said the stock market slump makes this a difficult
time to ask for money, but she believes a strong argument can be made for support.
"Never since World War II has it been more important to invest in higher education
than it is right now."
She expects only "a rough year or two" in state funding. "UC's budget
was not everything we wanted, but education is still a priority."
The chancellor also fielded several questions on a variety of topics from the audience
of faculty, staff, and students.
- The impact on federal funding prompted by the national response to terrorism.
Greenwood said there are no signs yet that federal funding of such things as student
financial aid will be affected, adding "I think we will have a much better idea
in about six months." Some security-related changes, such as an increase in
language training, could actually bring more money into universities, Greenwood said.
- Staff compensation levels and related retention and hiring problems. Greenwood
expressed concern about the level of staff salaries and noted that she was pleased
to provide bonuses to staff members last spring. "We're certainly going to look
at every opportunity to be fair and help our staff."
- Hate crimes in the wake of the terrorist attacks, recourses in addition to
the Equal Employment Office. Greenwood emphasized that the campus has a "zero
tolerance policy" on hate crimes and urged anyone who has been targeted to report
the incident to campus authorities. "I think we all have to be extremely cautious,"
Greenwood said, observing that sometimes bad behavior doesn't happen immediately
after a crisis. (An online form
for reporting a hate crime and the campus policy
on hate crimes are available online.
- Housing and the possibility of setting aside some spaces in new faculty/staff
housing for staff. "We intend to build more faculty and staff housing on
campus. This is just a start," Greenwood said of new units planned for Inclusionary
Area D. The existing priority system in faculty housing could be examined, she said.
(The policy on existing faculty/staff housing is that priority is given for the recruitment
and retention of faculty, but the campus has not adopted a policy for any future
housing.) "We are also looking at opportunities in town and opportunities in
the near vicinity," the chancellor said, noting that campus officials are talking
to the city about a project on the west side that could include retail space and
affordable housing.
- Legislative audit of UC, ways to reporting improper spending. Greenwood
said audits are routine for UC and that the most recent action by the legislature,
requested to see if UC is spending increased state funding on administrators rather
than undergraduate education, is not a major problem. "We're always being audited,"
either internally or by the legislature, she said. Responding to a question about
how to report campus spending that taxpayers might not support, Greenwood explained
that there is a process for making "whistleblower" complaints. She noted,
though, that ideas of what is reasonable spending vary widely.
- Ensuring that teaching remains a priority as the emphasis on research grows. Greenwood said she sees improved research as complementing good teaching. "The people who are best known internationally are also the best scholars."
