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By Marcelle Richards

DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF

mrichards@media.ucla.edu

Chancellor Albert Carnesale is using his hiring opportunities to switch gears and patch the UCLA piggy bank.

The transition from current executive vice chancellor Rory Hume to successor Daniel Neuman signifies the last look back at the hey day of a lucrative stock market as the impending state budget crunch unfolds.

Neuman’s main focus will be the strategic planning and budget process; this determines what the university prioritizes.

“That is one of his most, if not the most, important priority,” Carnesale said, explaining the changing role of the new EVC.

Hume, who made information technology the university’s pet project during his term, served during more profitable days when investments in the sector were turning in substantial profits. The market took a plunge in 1999 and is still recovering.

Carnesale, who takes the chief role in soliciting financial support, has already fine-tuned the administration to take on a more finance-conscious role.

The creation of the associate vice chancellor of community partnerships this week ties into the UCLA in L.A. initiative, which works to create “mutually beneficial ties to the broader community, and (to create) new ones.”

These “partnerships” are what fuel Campaign UCLA, the campus effort to raise $2.4 billion by 2005.

Neuman will not be as involved in the process, but he is no stranger to the game.

During his term as dean of the School of Arts and Architecture, he secured the largest donation in the nation’s history to benefit the dance art form. The $18 million gift paid for renovating Kaufman Hall; it houses the world arts and cultures department.

A more recent notch on his belt is the $20 million gift for a new namesake for the Dickson Art Center. It will take on the names of donors Edythe and Eli Broad.