Reshuffle of Academic Senate Committees' Functions

Yours truly missed this letter of December 1, 2021. But here it is now (below), detailing a "realignment" of Academic Senate committees:

Re: Realignment of UCLA Academic Senate Committees

Dear Committee and Council Chairs,

At its meeting on October 28, 2021, the Legislative Assembly voted on a proposal for realignment of Academic Senate committees, which included multiple actions to repeal specific committees and update the bylaws of others. The Legislative Assembly voted 85 In Favor, 3 Against, and 1 Abstained. This proposal included divisional bylaws and thus required a 2/3 majority of the 125 voting members present for approval. As 68% of eligible members present voted in favor, the proposal was approved.

As the notification of action period has ended, these actions of the Legislative Assembly are now official. Any proposed revisions to your committee or council bylaws are in effect. We will publish them soon, providing you with notification. Any repeals of bylaws will be effective on September 1, 2022.

The following committees will cease operations by August 31, 2022, as their functions will be incorporated into the committees and councils noted in the parentheses:

• Committee on Continuing and Community Education (Graduate Council, Undergraduate Council)

• Committee on Development (Council on Planning and Budget)

• Committee on Emeriti Affairs (Faculty Welfare Committee)

• Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics (Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools, Graduate Council, Undergraduate Council)

• Committee on Teaching (Graduate Council, Undergraduate Council)

• Faculty Research Lectureship (administration to be determined)

The Senate staff will continue to work with you and your committees to ensure a

successful and effective transition. More information will be forthcoming about next steps.

I am grateful to previous Senate Chair Michael Meranze and Immediate Past Chair Shane White as well as your predecessors for their leadership and vision in moving the Senate forward by sharpening the focus and authority of the Senate’s role in shared governance. I extend my gratitude to Executive Director April de Stefano and the Senate staff for their significant, on-going work on this initiative.

Sincerely,

Jody Kreiman, Chair, UCLA Academic Senate

Yesterday we posted about other universities outside the UC system that were slipping beyond UCLA's current date of January 18 for a return to in-person instruction.*

UC-Merced, which is on a semester system that starts January 18, now indicates that the first week of classes will be online.** No word yet from UC-Berkeley which also starts its semester on January 18.

Yours truly spoke with a high UCLA official yesterday who said determination of what to do beyond January 18 is still under study. Yours truly emphasized that instructors need adequate advance warning of changes in plans. Switching back and forth from online to in-person instruction is not like toggling a light switch; it is instead disruptive. The fact is that there is still a surge going on with hospital rates also going up in the LA area. It's hard to imagine there will be more conclusive data available a few days from now with which to make a decision.

* http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2022/01/other-universities-beginning-toslide.html.

** https://doyourpart.ucmerced.edu/spring-2022-plans.