Summer Message

June 10, 2011

As we come to the end of my first year, I would like to thank you once again. We have just had a great staff meeting, especially with the new format that allows for more questions and thus dialogue. I thought I’d supplement it with this message.

As you know, our security officers have raised issues of potential issuance of firearms, expansion of jurisdiction, purchase of a motor vehicle, and various other changes to their responsibilities. In addition to the concern for safety, these issues present considerations of liability, costs, and compensation. I have sought to create a decision-making process that allows all of our stakeholders to present their views, before the governing Board of Directors resolves matters in the best interests of the institution. Accordingly, we have begun by conducting an e-survey. That instrument is only part of the process.

Along with the e-survey, I have asked the Faculty Executive Committee to summarize the sense of the faculty following a meeting with ample discussion. We have engaged with the community around us at various neighborhood meetings. We have had discussions with the UC Hastings Foundation Board of Trustees and Alumni Association Board of Governors, as representatives of our many graduates. Students will be represented through ASUCH, as usual.

As I have discussed, I have proposed to the Board that they consider this issue over the course of two regular meetings to allow for thorough deliberation. In September, I expect that they will be presented with the survey and other information such as the results of the inquiries to the many constituencies described above. I plan to invite the security officers to present their arguments. Then in December, I expect that they will bring matters to a conclusion. It is likely that much of the discussion will occur in closed session, because they concern collective bargaining and terms of employment.

I am pleased to be headed to China. With Professor Carol Izumi and Alumni Center Executive Director Shino Nomiya, I’ll be visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Hong Kong. We are meeting our exchange partners, seeing alumni, recruiting students, and promoting the school with potential employers and influential government agencies. Academic Dean Shauna Marshall will be responsible for all aspects of the institution during my absence, from June 17 through July 1.

What a wonderful year it has been. We have completed the work of the US News Task Force and are just about to finish on strategic planning and the feasibility study for the capital campaign. We have started to develop a long-range campus master plan. We have an emerging consensus on important changes to adapt to the dynamic marketplace.

As institutions of higher education stand before a crossroad, surrounded by challenges, we have a plan to move forward, with the most positive spirit.

Sincerely,

Frank H. Wu

Chancellor & Dean