Campus still attracts staff despite
budget
BY MARINA DUNDJERSKI
UCLA Today Staff
Even as UCLA grapples with state budget cuts and cost-of-living
increases are nowhere in sight for the near future, the university
remains a highly sought-after employer for those looking for staff
jobs, according to Campus Human Resources (CHR) officials.
“In tough times, it’s sometimes easy to forget, but
UCLA remains very competitive and a great place to work,”
said Lubbe Levin, assistant vice chancellor for CHR. “People
still seek us out in great numbers.”
Levin said she has been conducting an informal survey, asking
people who recently began new jobs at UCLA what drew them here.
“One of the most important factors is the prestige of the
institution,” Levin said. “People on the outside often
hold both UCLA graduates and campus employees in high regard. They’re
given serious consideration wherever they go.” On average,
career staff stay with UCLA for eight years.
Employees also cite health and retirement benefits as a big draw.
Providing employee choice in selection among quality health-care
plans, as well as a generous retirement benefit, has had a positive
impact on recruitment and retention, Levin explained. And since
1990, UC employees have not been asked to contribute to the plan.
Another benefit, say employees who have recently been promoted internally
or offered a higher position, is the opportunity to grow professionally.
Here is a glimpse of staff with new jobs at UCLA:
Traci Considine. As manager of the Chancellor’s
Residence, Considine oversees its operations, plans special events
and provides support to Robin Carnesale.
Considine, who was at MIT before her husband relocated to Los
Angeles, said she was looking for a similar environment with a chance
for “intellectual discourse with various people.”
Her first job at UCLA was with Conference Services. But after
enrolling in the Professional Development Program and learning about
the broader university environment, she moved to the Anderson School
to run alumni events before assuming her current position.
“I’m so impressed that the professional development
here is really well supported, not just in writing, but in action,
as witnessed by me,” Considine said. “Even if you’re
not in a particular program, there are a lot of people willing to
mentor and assist their colleagues.”
Mark Klein. As manager of finance and administration
for the Center for Health Policy Research, Klein is a liaison between
the university and funding agencies for contracts and grants.
Previously Reebok’s Los Angeles division finance director,
Klein had worked for ASUCLA in the early ’90s before moving
to the corporate world. “Having come back to UCLA from the
private sector, I realized there’s a lot of opportunity at
the university if you choose to make the effort,” Klein said.
And he has. Klein, who was promoted to his current job a year
after starting at UCLA as a financial reporting manager, has completed
the contracts and grants administration certification program offered
through human resources. He’s now applying for the Professional
Development Program.
“I want to learn, gain the experience and then move on,”
Klein said. “There’s a lot of room for growth at UCLA.
You can come here at ground zero, but over 20 to 25 years, you can
really move your way up the system.”
Jean Lee. An auditor with the Audit and Advisory
Services’ health-care team, Lee helps audit operations at
the hospital and the David Geffen School of Medicine. Previously
Lee worked with Deloitte and Touche for two years.
In the for-profit world, Lee said, “profit is always about
the bottom line.” But her mission now runs deeper as she checks
“that taxpayer monies are used correctly and that university
guidelines are followed to protect it and maintain its integrity.”
Lee, who recently became a certified public accountant, must now
take 80 hours of continuing education every two years. Her supervisors,
she’s found, are receptive. “They reward [you for] wanting
to grow professionally,” she said. |
