Looming Autocracy at the University
Looming Autocracy at the University of California
by Charlie Schwartz, UC Berkeley, May 7, 2009
These are hard budget times for the University; and they may continue and even worsen in the future. The President of UC, Mark Yudof, has proposed a startling new set of powers, for himself and for the Chancellors of the several campuses, to deal with those contingencies. Under the heading, “Furloughs and Salary Cuts”, posted on the web site of the systemwide Academic Senate [1], we find the following summary of the plan:
During a declared financial emergency and consistent with applicable legal requirements, the President would have the authority to suspend the operation of any existing Regental or University policies otherwise applicable to furloughs and/or salary reductions as needed. Any request for a declaration of emergency submitted to the Regents would be required to describe the emergency conditions, the effect of such conditions on campus or University operations, the expected duration of the declaration, the plan for implementing the proposed furloughs and/or salary reductions, and the expected outcome of the proposed plan.
Under the proposed amendment, unless circumstances prevent it, prior to submitting the request for a declaration of emergency to the Regents, the President must engage in a consultation and review process with representatives of the systemwide and/or divisional Academic Senate and the appropriate systemwide and/or campus-based staff and non-Senate academic representatives. …
This proposal is being distributed throughout the Academic Senate, asking for review and comments to be sent back to the Academic Council by May 25, 2009.
I am sure that responsible faculty leaders will have much to say about this. I only want to offer a few suggestions based upon my own studies of how the University operates.
I. Be Aware of the Limits of Shared Governance
Yudof’s plan calls for “consultation” with the Academic Senate and other representative groups before activating such a financial emergency. I am sure that all those with experience at committee service in the Academic Senate are reasonably aware of the limits of “shared governance” as implemented through consultation with senior administrators. Nevertheless, I would offer as a general reminder the following remarks by a colleague who has had extensive experience on both sides of the business.
Let me quote from the Oral History recorded by William R. Frazer [2]; he was Chair of the Senate’s Academic Council 1978-79 and then served in the administration as UC’s Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs 1981-1991.
And he said he was worried about that. I said, “Walter, there’s nothing to worry about. You simply consult, and consult, and consult, and consult. And if you consult long enough, you can do whatever you want to do. But you better make sure that you’ve talked, and talked, and talked it through with the senate. Just be very patient and consult.”
With this understanding, it should be clear that the authorities proposed by Yuduf, in the event of a “financial emergency”, would be autocratic. The President answers only to the Board of Regents and they, as we know, are attuned to the ways of corporate governance – all power at the top.
II. Insist on Full Honest Financial Disclosures
This is the topic that I have been studying for some years; and it is a glorious mess – not just at UC but also at research universities across the country. No question is more important than this: Where does the money come from and where does it go? The great lesson is that academic administrators frequently lie about these matters. It is an essential part of their authoritarian armor that they alone have access to the true financial state of affairs. My previous piece, “Budget Lies …”[3], gives several examples of this duplicity, coming from the President’s Office and timed to sell his priorities in the current budget squeeze.
I have written extensively about this subject over the past decade and it appears that some others are beginning to pay attention; but there is still a long way to go. Those who wish to be in a position to oppose the threatened autocratic moves of the new policy, might want to have their own budget experts, well studied in the devious ways of university finance and ready to challenge the words from above.
III. The Need for New Organization
Who are the people put at risk by this new autocratic putsch? They are faculty and other academic staff and non-academic staff employed by UC; also students, who pay increasing amounts of the budget and get shrinking returns on that investment; also parents of students, who are footing much of that cost; and the taxpaying public as well.
One can expect that, in exercising their new “emergency” powers, the UC administrators will try to play these groups off against one another. The best counterforce will be some sort of concerted positioning (and perhaps action) by all those stakeholders together. That will require some ongoing organization not now in existence. I don’t know the best form for such an organization or how to get there; but it is something people should be talking about starting now.
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[1] http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/senate/ (04/09)
[2] http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt6z09p034/ ROHO 1997-98
[3] http://UniversityProbe.org April 2009
Bronwen Rowlands said,
May 7, 2009 @ 8:20 pm
Prof. Schwartz,
Thank you for your thoughtful analysis. I saw the stealth announcement of Yudof’s proposed acquisition of special powers on the Cal website’s NewCenter yesterday, and nearly fell out of my chair with alarm.
I’ve been a clerical worker at Cal for 25 years, and have long been cynical about the workings of the OP and the Regents (this may have something to do with the fact that I can no longer afford to feed my family on my salary), but this shocks me.
I appreciate your inclusion of non-academic staff in the discussion. Many of us have become accustomed to food and job insecurity . What is different about this development is that faculty and lecturers are also at risk. I’m not sure what we can do; we can at least talk.
Bronwen Rowlands