First guiding premise: Our mission is immutable. Structures and cultures change.
Since its founding in 1919, UCLA has pursued an enduring mission: to educate future generations, advance research and creative activity, provide outstanding healthcare and serve society. Those four pillars have long defined the essence of the university, and they remain as relevant today as they were at UCLA’s founding. Our strength has always come from bringing together different disciplines, perspectives and expertise in pursuit of a common mission.
Our mission will never change. However, our structures, organizational model and culture — the way we do things — must evolve so we can better fulfill that mission in a rapidly changing world.
Institutions, including universities, are the vehicles through which societies pursue shared missions and goals across generations. They endure beyond any individual leader, carrying forward ambitions that no one person or generation can accomplish alone. Institution-building does not end at the founding moment; it is a continuous process through which institutions adapt to the dynamic circumstances of each moment. Every generation, therefore, inherits a responsibility: to continue building the institution, strengthen it and prepare it for those who will follow.
Today’s generation of UCLA leaders has assumed that responsibility at an extraordinary moment in history. Inspired by a remarkable legacy built over 107 years, our duty now is to ensure that our essential mission is preserved, not through complacency or conformity to past practices, but by applying the type of critical examination we excel at in academic institutions to our own structures and processes of work, so they can meet the opportunities and challenges ahead.
Second guiding premise: Our future must be shaped by purpose — not by pressure.
The second half of the 20th century was defined by remarkable technological innovation, rising standards of living, lengthened lifespan, major economic development, and unprecedented levels of global cooperation. Even though deep inequalities within and among countries have persisted, such progress improved the lives of billions of people around the planet.
The first quarter of the 21st century has unfolded very differently. Alongside continuing advances in science and technology, the world has experienced a succession of geopolitical, economic, public health and societal disruptions that have challenged institutions and shaken public trust in them.
As UCLA enters the second quarter of the 21st century, higher education is grappling with changes wrought by shifting demographics, artificial intelligence, public expectations and increasing financial strain. The question is no longer whether universities must adapt to pressure. The question is how they adapt — and how quickly — while remaining true to their purpose.
Thoughtful adaptation is critical to the work of institution-building, allowing UCLA to leverage its strengths and position the university to fulfill its mission for decades to come. Institution-building requires resilient and efficient organizational structures; a culture that values openness, critical self-examination, collaboration and adaptability; and a willingness to improve how we work so UCLA can continue leading in education, research, healthcare and service.
Immediate Actions
Based on this framework, several institution-building projects are underway at UCLA. The following five efforts represent short- and longer-term steps toward strengthening, protecting and renewing the university:
1. Organizational Effectiveness
Goal 5 of our strategic plan has identified the need to improve the effectiveness of the structures and processes through which UCLA supports its academic mission – to “minimize the red tape,” as I repeatedly heard during my early Listening Exercise. We must now accelerate this effort. We are modernizing our organizational structure to improve effectiveness, strengthen collaboration and, indeed, reduce that red tape. Leadership responsibilities are being thoughtfully matched and consolidated where appropriate, while research and creative activities are being more closely aligned with innovation to accelerate our ability to move ideas into impact, while diversifying the financial sources that support basic research and scholarship. Searches are currently underway for two vice chancellor positions critical to fostering efficiency and the research innovation ecosystem (Administration/Finance and Research/Creative Activities/Innovation), with candidates to be identified during the fall.
2. Budget Model
We have been undertaking a comprehensive assessment of our financial model to ensure UCLA remains strong for decades to come. This work includes developing a new budget model while reviewing capital planning and major administrative functions.
The goal is to strengthen the foundation that supports UCLA’s excellence and ensure that we can sustain and extend that excellence through changing economic conditions.
3. UCLA for Life
Dynamic labor markets are fundamentally altering the existing models of higher education. We can no longer view college as a one-way journey to a single destination represented by graduation. As careers evolve, learning must continue throughout life, and UCLA must strive to meet these dynamic educational needs. Through UCLA for Life, we are expanding opportunities for engagement, continuing education, workforce preparedness and professional growth.
UCLA for Life is a strategy for educational innovation — a place to pilot, test and rigorously evaluate new ideas that help prepare Bruins not only for their first jobs, but for successful careers and meaningful lives. Degree Plus is the first major UCLA for Life initiative to be introduced to students. Building on the traditional undergraduate degree, it will connect academic credentials with career readiness and internship pathways, beginning in areas of employer demand. More broadly, UCLA for Life reflects the belief that education is no longer a one-time experience but a lifelong relationship between the university and every Bruin.
4. Research Park and the Westwood Expansion
The recent acquisition of Westwood properties by UC Investments presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance UCLA’s academic mission by significantly expanding our main campus presence for the first time since the move to Westwood in 1929. The vision extends well beyond the acquisition itself. These properties create opportunities for new classrooms, graduate student housing and innovation spaces that translate research into startup ventures. They also deepen the important connection between our main campus and the UCLA Research Park.
In sum, this initiative represents an investment in UCLA’s next century while creating a more vibrant Westwood for Bruins and the broader Los Angeles community.
5. Athletics
As I updated you a few weeks ago, the modernization of UCLA Athletics reflects the same philosophy of institutional stewardship outlined before. Organizational restructuring, improved financial management and strategic expertise will ensure that UCLA Athletics remains competitive, financially sustainable and aligned with the university’s broader mission.
Together, these five efforts reflect a shared purpose: strengthening and protecting the institution we have inherited so UCLA can continue fulfilling its immutable mission for generations to come.
Implementation
Purposeful and ongoing institution-building depends on the engagement of UCLA leadership, faculty, staff, students and alumni. The UCLA community must understand the urgency of the moment and the importance of our mission, contribute to a culture of openness and agility, and see a meaningful role for themselves in shaping the university’s future. It is up to all of us to reflect these principles in our internal and external communications and actions.
Three themes will guide our collective efforts during this time of institution-building and renewal:
1. Communicating Confidence through Clarity
Confidence begins with honesty. UCLA leaders will communicate candidly about the challenges facing higher education and the opportunities before the university, while remaining focused on what it can control. The objective is not to promise certainty, but to demonstrate trustworthiness by explaining today’s difficult decisions in service of tomorrow’s mission.
2. Agility with Purpose
John Wooden’s quote — Be quick, but don’t hurry — captures the spirit of resilient institution-building at this time. UCLA should move with urgency while remaining thoughtful and disciplined. Agility and adaptability should always be balanced with deliberation and evidence.
3. One UCLA
UCLA succeeds as a singular institution united by a shared mission, while drawing strength from the distinctive expertise, perspectives and traditions of its diverse community. This philosophy begins with leadership. Every challenge should be approached with a team-first mentality, with leaders working across organizational boundaries and embracing the long-term success of the institution as the common goal to which every individual school, unit or division contributes its unique strengths.
These themes also reflect the qualities that UCLA expects of its leaders. Every communication should help our community understand why change is necessary, inspire confidence in the university’s direction and invite every member of the UCLA community to help create the future together.
UCLA enters this period of unprecedented challenge in a position of considerable strength, derived from the quality of our students and faculty, the breadth of our research and creative enterprise, the excellence of UCLA Health, and the impact we have in Los Angeles, across California and around the world. Precisely because of such strength, this is the best moment for us to join together to undertake significant transformations. The ability to change is a sign of institutional fortitude, not, as some may think, of weakness. However, if we fail to act with boldness at this unique moment, we may find ourselves in a more vulnerable position. There is a wise dictum that I find compelling: We must change before we have to change.
Ultimately, institution-building is an act of stewardship. Every generation inherits an institution shaped by those who came before, with a responsibility to preserve what is essential, transform what needs improvement and build for what lies ahead. Those of us who have the privilege to serve at UCLA during this unprecedented period also have an obligation to continue building our extraordinary institution for those who will come after. If our mission is immutable, then our duty is equally clear: to leave UCLA stronger, more resilient and better prepared for the future than when it was entrusted to our care.