Chancellor Frenk shared a message with the Bruin community.
Dear Bruin Community:
By now, you are all familiar with the challenges facing UCLA: the suspension of federal research funding, as well as the U.S. government’s demand of $1 billion from our university.
I want to be clear: The costs associated with this demand, if left to stand, would have far-reaching consequences. The impacts to society are very real, as it could threaten our ability to conduct life-saving and life-changing research. But the impacts to our university are just as real, damaging our ability to carry out our public mission, harming the work and careers of our scholars and staff, and putting great strain on the budgets of departments and units across our institution.
Unfortunately, the challenges we now face come on top of a difficult few years for our university’s finances. Even before the suspension of our research funding, we were undertaking efforts to reduce operational costs — instituting a hiring review process, limiting travel expenditures, and putting in place a 10 percent budget reduction for administrative units.
We will need to take additional steps — and make difficult choices — to balance our budgets, particularly if the university must operate without a significant portion of its research funding for a longer period. We are evaluating our options, and I have asked Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Darnell Hunt and Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer Steve Agostini to communicate updates to the Bruin community.
We are doing everything we can to meet this moment head on and restore UCLA’s federal funding. I am routinely meeting with UC President Milliken, members of the UC Board of Regents, and the chancellors of the UC campuses to take a clear-eyed, strategic look at our options and find the best path forward for our community. We will keep our values and principles front and center in any decision we make. I know uncertainty about the future brings anxiety and fear for many in our Bruin family, and I commit to being in constant communication with you throughout this challenging period.
I also want you to know that this is a moment when your voice carries weight. The pride Bruins feel for UCLA is a force of its own, and we need our community to stand up for our institution and all the good it does in the world. I hope you will join me in advocating for UCLA by:
- Calling or writing your legislators to explain the value of UCLA’s research so they can help us defend it
- Sharing stories about our world-changing research on social media using the #ResearchPowersProgress hashtag
- Sharing with us short testimonials about how UCLA research has affected your life
- Making a commitment to Stand Up for UCLA
In difficult times, we find strength in staying connected. UCLA’s excellence comes from the collective dedication of its students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends — Bruins around the world united by a belief in the transformative power of education, research and service. By standing together, speaking with one voice and lifting one another up, we can protect our mission and ensure our university thrives for generations to come.
We are One UCLA.
Julio Frenk
Chancellor