• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

BY RICHARD CLOUGH

Bruin senior staff

rclough@media.ucla.edu

SAN FRANCISCO — The UC Board of Regents affirmed its support for President Robert Dynes during the board’s meeting Thursday and pledged to move forward as the regents attempt to repair the university’s compensation system that has been at the heart of an ongoing controversy.

“The regents are convinced that President Dynes can correct the compensation problems confronting us and will implement a long-range vision for the university that ensures both its continuing academic quality and its ability to meet the needs of California and its people,” said Regents Chairman Gerald Parsky, speaking on behalf of the university’s entire governing board.

“The regents hold President Dynes accountable for the university’s compensation problems and he has acknowledged his responsibility,” Parsky said.

At the conclusion of the two-day meeting in San Francisco described by regents as “difficult” and “unusual,” the regents focused less on compensation than they did Wednesday, but the issue was somewhat unavoidable.

As part of their discussion, the regents voted on a salary for outgoing UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale.

Despite taking criticism for giving lavish leave packages to outgoing officials, the regents chose to stick to their existing policy and approved a salary of $323,600 for Carnesale – his current base salary – while he is on a one-year sabbatical. When he returns to UCLA in July 2007 as a professor of public policy and mechanical and aerospace engineering, he will earn $201,700.

In their meeting Wednesday, the regents agreed to review the policies that govern sabbatical pay. Regent Judith Hopkinson said that to be “fair and equitable” the regents would honor the existing policy for Carnesale since the regents have yet to revise those procedures.

Carnesale’s sabbatical pay is consistent with the provisions of the UC’s personnel policy for employees holding qualifying positions for at least five years.

The compensation controversy which dominated this week’s regents sessions started when a series of newspaper reports beginning in November revealed that the UC has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives, bonuses and other extravagant forms of compensation to top-level executives in violation of university policy and often without the knowledge of the regents or the public.

The regents met with Dynes in closed session Wednesday, where Dynes laid out his understanding of how and why the compensation problems occurred. In Wednesday and Thursday’s meetings, Dynes repeatedly accepted blame for the controversy.

“I made mistakes. That’s a hard thing to own up to, but I did,” he said.

In recent weeks, Dynes has taken criticism for his role as leader of the UC system when many compensation violations took place.

In a meeting with reporters after the regents issued their statement, Dynes said he has taken to heart the criticism he has received but he is also pleased with the vote of confidence from the regents.

Dynes said he thought about stepping down but decided not to because he is “totally committed to the University of California.”

Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, who has recently called for Dynes’ resignation, issued a statement after Thursday’s meeting saying that by supporting Dynes, the regents “are thumbing their nose at taxpayers and students of California.”

The regents laid out several definite actions they will take to avoid future violations.

“Moving forward, the regents will not rely on voluntary compliance or promises of reform,” he said.

Parsky presented three specific actions that the regents intend to take: restructuring the Office of the President to help correct deficiencies, establishing a Compensation Committee to create transparency and accountability in the university’s pay procedures, and creating a Compliance Office to assure compliance with UC policies.

But the regents discussed more than compensation at their Wednesday meeting.

With the partial handover of the UC’s nuclear lab management only weeks away, the regents heard a presentation on the contributions of the UC-managed labs – Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories – to the world of science.

After management for Los Alamos, which had been the sole domain of the UC for more than 60 years, was put up for bid by the Department of Energy last year, the UC renewed the management contract by teaming with Bechtel National, BWXT and Washington Group International. The new management team will take over June 1.

“The university has created, nurtured, developed and is now the custodian of a priceless national asset,” said Los Alamos Director Robert Kuckuck to the regents.

There was concern that the management transition would lead to an exodus of employees from Los Alamos, but Kuckuck said 9,100 of 9,500 employees had signed contracts to return to the lab. Three hundred will retire and 100 have yet to respond, he said.

During discussion of the labs, a group of about 20 students in attendance became rowdy, protesting what they believe is the labs’ – and by extension the UC’s – role in creating nuclear weapons. No weapons are created at the labs.

As the students yelled, clapped and hissed, the regents asked them to be quiet. After they refused, the regents cleared them out of the room and about 10 police officers entered, telling the students to leave or face arrest. The students left without incident, and the meeting resumed about 10 minutes later.

For more information on UC compensation, visit www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/compensation.