Reinvest In The Mission: Town Hall Series

UCFA and its associated chapters are launching a systemwide campaign calling on the University of California to reinvest in the UC’s mission. This campaign carries the argument felt across the UC system: that excellence in research, teaching, and shared governance should once again guide university priorities and the allocation of university resources. 

We built our demands on UC’s own projections, and followed them up with extensive reports that back our claim that change is possible. Now, we want to hear from you.

The Challenges Facing Teaching Professors

Wed, Oct 28, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM PDT via Zoom

Join fellow Teaching Professors from across the UC system for a conversation about the challenges we share in our roles. Together, we’ll name the issues we can tackle collectively and connect with colleagues from other campuses.

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AI, Overwork, and Shared Governance. Image of person holding a sign that reads "Shared governance means giving faculty a seat at the table"

Mon, Nov 9, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM PST via Zoom

Join UC faculty as we discuss how to strengthen faculty AI governance and make sure we have resources we need to uphold quality UC education and research, followed by break-out group discussions and a roadmap to action. 

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Protect research budgets. Image of a person holding a sign that reads "Excellence in research means protecting research budgets"

Thu, Nov 12, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM PST via Zoom

UC faculty need a stable cost environment to perform research. Unexpected increases in the costs of benefits, facilities, services, and especially labor create strains on research budgets. Yet UC administrators have treated faculty grants as a flexible pool of money to solve other budgetary problems. 

Join us as we discuss the Rutgers faculty union contract standard in which the central administration covers the difference between budgeted expenses and unexpected increases. 

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Hire more faculty. Image of a person holding a sign that reads "excellence in teaching means smaller class sizes"

Mon, Dec 7, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM PST via Zoom

In 2005, when the student-faculty ratio was 25.5 to 1, UC promised that they would not let that number deteriorate further. Twenty years later, it is now 29.6 to 1 — meanwhile, the number of senior administrators has more than doubled. Worsening student-faculty ratios have had severe effects on the education and research mission of the university. Faculty report low morale, high workloads, and burnout. These conditions are unsustainable for faculty and harmful to our students. 

Join us as we discuss how we can hire more faculty, improving student-faculty ratios and ensuring that faculty have adequate resources and time to continue producing world-class research.

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