The biggest challenge facing UCLA at this time of economic uncertainty is to continue to recruit and retain the very best students, faculty and staff, Chancellor Albert Carnesale told about 100 staff members at a noontime town hall Jan. 30 at the James West Alumni Center.

In a wide-ranging talk hosted by the UCLA Staff Assembly, UCLA's chief executive touched on many topics of concern, including Gov. Davis' 2002-03 budget proposal, which falls $171 million short of the amount requested by UC; executive searches; and UCLA's e-mail policy.

While the immediate impact of the governor's budget on UCLA may be minimal, Carnesale said, the campus must strategically plan for the possibility of deeper cuts next year. But employees should not panic, he said, because no one knows when the economy will recover. "I hope that people don't assume that because we plan for this, we anticipate and expect it will happen," although, he added, "It is a real possibility."

Several searches are getting started or are already under way to fill key executive positions, the chancellor said. To find a new executive vice chancellor, Carnesale is assembling an advisory committee to assist him in identifying and evaluating candidates during a UC-wide search. A selection will be made before the academic year ends.

To find a new vice chancellor of student affairs, a committee is first reviewing the job description, which expanded greatly during Winston Doby's 19 years on the job. A search committee is also being formed and will begin its work once the job is defined. In the interim, Vice Chancellor Claudia Mitchell-Kernan of the Graduate Division has agreed to head Student Affairs.

Searches also are under way for a dean of engineering, associate vice chancellor for faculty diversity, associate vice chancellor for community partnerships, assistant vice chancellor for Campus Human Resources and a new athletic director to replace Peter Dalis, who is retiring.

Also covered by the chancellor:

• Contrary to rumors, there has been no official word on an early retirement program. Attorneys for the Office of the President have advised that, under IRS regulations, the university is not eligible to offer employees early retirement unless the university is in dire financial straits, the chancellor said. "We are certainly not in such straits now."
• UCLA's e-mail policy remains unaltered following an incident in which a library staff member was wrongly put on leave without pay by his supervisor for sending out what many felt was an offensive e-mail following Sept. 11. University policy allows employees to use e-mail for incidental personal purposes, but not for illegal activities or personal gain, the chancellor explained. The supervisor's actions were immediately reversed once the matter reached higher levels, the chancellor said.