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January 6, 2009
UCOP Restructuring Update for Week of January 5, 2009
January 6, 2009
- Happy New Year - welcome back
- Budget update
- February UCOP town hall
- Communications unit appointments
- Questions and answers
Happy New Year, and welcome back - I hope you had a good, restful holiday break. This week's update includes an update on the state budget situation, an announcement of a UCOP town hall meeting we are planning for next month, an update on staffing for the new Communications unit, and a reminder about the importance of employee feedback during this restructuring process.
Budget update
During the holidays, Governor Schwarzenegger released his initial state budget proposal for the 2009-10 fiscal year, which his office has deemed "the most challenging budget in the state's history". As you know, the state is facing huge financial challenges, and the governor's proposed budget for 2009-10 contains a combination of budget cuts, revenue increases, borrowing, and cash management strategies intended to help the state close a budget deficit now projected to reach more than $41 billion during the 2009-10 fiscal year unless action is taken. A statement from President Yudof responding to the proposed budget, including a summary of budget impacts, is available online. The significant funding shortfall for UC reflected in the proposal underscores the importance of the work we are doing to consolidate operations, achieve efficiencies and reduce costs, and the need for us to continue to demonstrate our accountability and strategic use of resources to the people of California. The governor's budget proposal marks the beginning of the annual state budget process, and it now goes to the Legislature for consideration. A revised budget proposal is issued in early May. A copy of the governor's 2009-10 budget proposal is available online.
February UCOP town hall
We are planning another UCOP town hall meeting for late February, following the Regents February 3-5 meeting. The town hall is being co-sponsored by the UCOP staff assembly (UCOPA) and discussion topics are expected to include highlights of some of President Yudof's key goals and priorities for 2009, an update on the budget situation, and the UCOP restructuring. There also will be plenty of time for questions and answers. As with previous town halls, we are planning one morning session at or near the Kaiser Center, and an afternoon session near the Franklin Street building. We are in the process of finalizing the details and we'll have more information on this soon.
Communications unit appointments
As was announced just prior to the holiday break, a number of leadership positions in the new Communications unit have been filled. Lynn Tierney will serve as Associate Vice President for Communications, overseeing all activities in the new Communications unit including media relations, marketing, integrated communications, internal communications, graphic design, web design, multimedia production, and speechwriting. Lynn currently is Assistant Administrator for Communications with the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, D.C. Jason Simon has been hired as the new Director of Marketing and Communications Services. Jason will be joining UC from North Carolina State University where he currently serves as the Executive Director for Marketing and Creative Services. Both Lynn and Jason will start at UCOP in early February. Katherine Edwards, who has held a variety of communications leadership positions within Academic Affairs at UCOP over the past six years, has been hired as Director of Integrated Communications, responsible for directing efforts to surface compelling UC stories, and to integrate and coordinate communications across UCOP departments. Paul Schwartz has been named Director of Internal Communications, responsible for developing communications that keep employees informed about institutional priorities and employment-related matters, and that help build a shared sense of value and pride within the UC community. Paul brings to the role more than seven years of experience working with UCOP and campus colleagues on a range of complex internal and employee communication matters.
Katie
Katherine N. Lapp
Executive Vice President, Business Operations
Questions and answers
A reminder to all employees that your feedback about the UCOP restructuring process is important and we welcome your input. Employees with questions, ideas and suggestions are encouraged to submit their comments through the feedback page. Messages sent through the feedback are anonymous (unless employees choose to identify themselves).