UC regents delay final decision on UCLA’s Big Ten move until December
The Academic Senate has held final meetings and will hold a vote in December to support UCLA’s Big Ten move, but Chancellor Gene Block and other top officials are holding back final details on the decision until late next year.
The Academic Senate will hold its final vote on UCLA’s request to join the Big Ten on Friday, Sept. 18.
“The Academic Senate will hold its final vote on the Big Ten proposal for the University of California this Friday, Sept. 18,” UCLA Regents Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Paul Alivisatos said. “The vote for this proposal will be based on the findings of the Academic Senate’s public review, and I am confident the Academic Senate’s review and vote will be thoughtful and appropriate.”
Alivisatos said that there is a possibility that the vote will be postponed until the end of the year, or even into 2009. He said that he has asked the Regents to hold out until the end of the academic year to allow the campus to absorb the financial impact of the change, and for the time necessary to consider the feedback received.
Alivisatos said that the UCLA campus has received more than 1,000 letters and emails from Cal students and alumni over the last couple of months. Those letters and emails, along with a new group of students, are being reviewed by the campus to determine how the community might vote on the proposal.
“Because this is a major change for our campus, I want to gather the community feedback directly, so I do not have to ask for it,” Alivisatos said. “I want to make sure the community knows what we are going to do in this process.”
Alivisatos said that the decision will “not involve changes in the way we do things.” However, he said, that the campus will have to re-evaluate the way it teaches and the way it administers student financial aid in light of the new Big Ten affiliation.
The Regents will have final authority over the decision to join the Big Ten over the next few weeks. University of California President Steven B. Sample will give the regents the go-ahead on Friday at the final meeting of the Academic Senate.
What does it mean if UCLA becomes the 12th school in the Big Ten? In a nutshell, the decision involves the Big Ten schools joining with the University
