March 13, 2000
Growth is subject of Leadership Convocation
By Jim Burns
When the inaugural Leadership Convocation took place on campus in 1998, the managers
and supervisors who attended discussed the growth that was on UCSC's horizon. The
200 people who attended the third annual convocation last week grappled with the
challenges that the growth--already in evidence on campus--will present in the first
decade of the new century.
In her opening remarks, Chancellor Greenwood said UCSC will be expected to share
in the responsibility of educating the so-called "Tidal Wave II" students--the
children of the Baby Boom Generation--who will become eligible for college between
now and 2010. Projections indicate that the University of California system, just
one of three branches of higher education in the state, will need to find space for
63,000 additional students by the year 2010.
Greenwood said she believes the UC system has a clear obligation to accommodate those
students, adding that reducing that number would rob tomorrow's students of the same
opportunities that she and the convocation attendees enjoyed.
According to preliminary estimates put forth by UC's Office of the President, UCSC's
share of the Tidal Wave II students will push enrollment from the 15,000 figure projected
in UCSC's current Long Range Development
Plan (1988-2005) to 16,900 by the year 2010.
Greenwood said it may be possible to accommodate the additional 1,900 students through
a variety of strategies: enrollment at the proposed Silicon
Valley Regional Center, enhancement of UCSC's Education
Abroad Program, and additional field-study placements. "We are not, as of
this point, talking about having additional students on the campus itself,"
the chancellor told the managers and supervisors present for Leadership Convocation
2000, held in the Stevenson College Dining Hall on March 6.
Still, UCSC will face budgetary, space, workload, and other challenges as it accommodates
the additional students, reported members of UCSC's senior administration, which
meets as the campus's Administrative Council. The recruitment of people--both faculty
and staff--will be one of the challenges, said John Simpson, campus provost and executive
vice chancellor.
According to Office of the President projections, the growth in students from the
current 11,000 to 16,900 will require that the campus recruit 310 faculty in the
next ten years. That doesn't count the "more than 310" recruitments that
will be needed to replace faculty vacancies created during that same period of time,
Simpson added.
In an increasingly competitive job market, UCSC will also need to recruit and retain
staff to support the growth in students and faculty, said Julia Armstrong-Zwart,
assistant chancellor for Human Resources. UCSC's turnover rate has been climbing
in recent years, she added. "We're on a trajectory that is not a good trajectory."
Simpson chairs the Administrative Council, which is comprised of Armstrong-Zwart;
Francisco Hernandez, vice chancellor for Student Affairs; Meredith Michaels, associate
vice chancellor for Planning and Budget; Ron Suduiko, vice chancellor for University
Relations; Leslie Sunell, assistant chancellor; and Tom Vani, vice chancellor for
Business and Administrative Services (BAS).
Simpson, who led a question-and-answer session between members of the council and
the convocation participants, suggested that the transition from a campus of 11,000
students to one with an enrollment of 16,900 will require a transformation in the
campus's mode of operation. As the campus grows, for example, more decision-making
must take place at the unit or individual level, he said.
Simpson also challenged attendees to become less fearful of "risk-taking,"
collaborate when possible, and "tilt the balance" from problem identification
toward problem resolution.
Two new members of the council, Suduiko and Michaels, were attending their first
convocation, and both delivered informative presentations related to their respective
divisions. Suduiko described the workings of University Relations and outlined the
division's fund-raising goals; Michaels detailed the complex process by which UC's
budget is determined.
An interactive performance, which concluded the convocation, turned the spotlight
on many of the growth-related challenges that UCSC has already begun to confront.
The performance--"Act on It," by Orlando-Ward & Associates--provided
humorous but relevant insights into the organizational failings of a make-believe
hi-tech company experiencing rapid expansion.
The planning committee for this year's Leadership Convocation was chaired by Catherine
Faris of BAS. Also serving on the committee were Sharon Cohen Barry, Staff Human
Resources (SHR); Sheila Gottehrer, Ombudsman; Kiyomi Inouye, Office of the Chancellor;
Gail Heit, Student Affairs; Kathy Jefferds, Natural Sciences; Jo Ann McFarland, Economics;
Peter McMillan, BAS; Willeen McQuitta, SHR; Linda Rhoads, Planning and Budget; Jean
Marie Scott, Porter College; and Beau Willis, Office of the Provost.
