Chancellor addresses staff concerns in first town hall

By Wendy Soderburg

In his first Town Hall meeting since arriving at UCLA eight months ago, Chancellor Gene Block met with staff members from all over campus to answer questions ranging from transportation to staff engagement to keeping the campus green.

The chancellor relaxed in a comfortable chair on stage as he was introduced by Sabrina Lux Wright, president of the UCLA Staff Assembly, before a crowd of 150 at the James West Alumni Center on April 1. After jokingly bemoaning the responsibilities of his new job — which included attending February's Academy Awards ceremony and going to the Final Four in San Antonio — Block shared his insights on several of the campus' primary issues before taking questions from the audience.

High on Block's list is staff progression, the ability of staff to move up through the ranks. He mentioned Campus Human Resources' (CHR) Staff Enrichment Program and Professional Development Program as ways in which employees can work toward management positions. "The one thing we always want to be certain of is that there are opportunities at all levels for individuals who want to progress to different positions within the university," he said.

Also in the works is the chancellor's new problem-solving institute, an interdisciplinary group that will pool expertise on campus to deal with solving such regional problems as health-care and educational disparities in Los Angeles.

Questions for the chancellor ranged all across the board. He talked about day care and mentioned the university's efforts to look into on-campus housing for staff and faculty. "If you build housing on campus, that's going to have to go along with day care," he said. "For many people, day care is just not affordable. One way to [remedy] this is to get it endowed. We're going to have to go to our friends to help us."

Steve Olsen, vice chancellor of finance, budget and capital programs, addressed one staff member's question about the budget crisis. "The university is doing everything it can to communicate the importance of the state budget on higher education to our elected officials," Olsen said. "The size of the problem is so large, though, it seems unlikely that the university will escape from this unscathed. ... On balance, I expect it's going to be a very tough year."

One bit of good news was the possible reinstatement of the START (Staff and Academic Reduction in Time) program, which would allow staff to voluntarily reduce their time in order to generate temporary salary savings for their departments while still accruing retirement, vacation and sick leave credit.

"That's an excellent program," said audience member Lee Walton, a consultant in the Staff Affirmative Action Office. "I was on it for two years, and during that time it saved a substantial amount for my department and also gave me free time to write my book. So when it goes to the regents [in May], I'm going to be hoping because I would really love to see that program reinstated. The whole thing is positive because it doesn't just benefit the employee — it benefits the department and the university as a whole."