President Napolitano announces changes for UC ANR governance and funding

[The original letter from President Napolitano in pdf is attached below.]

Dear Colleagues,

One of the hallmarks of UC's excellence is its commitment to continuous improvement, and over the past few years we have been committed to making changes that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the UC Office of the President (UCOP) and align our work in support of the University's core missions.

In late 2017, I initiated a holistic UCOP review by Huron Consulting Group to assess our organizational design, alignment, portfolio and strategy. The goal of this review was to determine the best ways to carry out our complex set of functions and services and make sure we have an organization that supports the future of UC - not merely for the next budget cycle, but for generations to come. The report was completed in January 2018, and one of the options listed in this report was that we consider UC ANR's location to enhance its overall efficiency and effectiveness.

In April 2018, I commissioned the UC ANR Advisory Committee to consider location options for UC ANR, and to review and make recommendations about the Division's scope and funding model and its academic interface with the campuses. The Committee's efforts would help the University to better understand the challenges facing the Division and to consider future state options that may better position it to surmount its challenges and ensure adherence to UC's land grant mission over the years and decades to come.

The UC ANR Advisory Committee, chaired by UCSB Executive Vice Chancellor David Marshall, included one UC Regent, two UC Chancellors, one UC Academic Senate Representative, the PAC Chair, the UC Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, and two campus AES Deans. After developing an extensive Charter to guide its research, analysis, discussions, decision points and responsibilities, the Committee reviewed numerous documents, reports, and data supplied by UC ANR and UCOP, and also conducted its own analyses in consultation with UC ANR and UCOP. The Committee met and consulted with Dr. Glenda Humiston, UC ANR Vice President, who served as an Advisor to the Committee, and greatly benefited from information provided by and presentations from Vice President Humiston and her senior staff, including Wendy Powers, Associate Vice President; Tu Tran, Associate Vice President for Business Operations; and Jan Corlett, Chief of Staff to the Vice President. UC ANR's advice and assistance was very much appreciated.

In addition to UC ANR leadership, the Committee consulted widely with internal and external stakeholders to learn from their perspectives and to ensure that it had a thorough understanding of the benefits and risks of potential options before developing recommendations. These stakeholders included current and recent leadership from UCOP, campuses, the Academic Senate, and the UC ANR community. These and other stakeholders were provided an opportunity to review the Committee's draft report and provide comments before the final report was sent to me for review.

The Committee recognized that UC ANR has a distinguished record of research accomplishments and service to the State of California. However, over the course of its inquiry, and after broad consultation, the Committee saw opportunities to strengthen governance, increase budgetary transparency for both UCOP and UC ANR, provide more stable and predictable funding models, and expand collaborations between UC ANR with the University's broader academic and research enterprise.

I agree with the Committee that these measures, along with a strengthened partnership with the Academic Senate and broader collaboration with all ten UC campuses, will support UC ANR's efforts to fulfill its statewide mission and strategic plan.

In alignment with the UC ANR Advisory Committee's recommendations, I have made the following decisions:

  1. UC ANR will remain a systemwide program within the UC Office of the President, reporting to the President.

  2. We will create a UC ANR Governing Council in early 2019 to support Presidential oversight and promote greater understanding of and participation in UC ANR's mission across the University.

  3. We will fund UC ANR using a model that will establish more stable and sustainable budgets while enhancing governance.

  4. Campuses will maintain oversight of and reporting responsibility for State AES Funds.

UC ANR is integral to the historic and ongoing land-grant mission of the University of California. Grounded in UC's history, it is an important part of the University's future. These decisions are intended to build upon UC ANR's successes, provide budgetary stability, and sustainability through improved financial and governance models, and increase its systemwide standing, effectiveness, and impact.

Thank you for your role in UC ANR's success within the University and across the state of California.

Yours very truly,

Janet Napolitano
President

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

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