Senate Rules Committee

Thank you. The Senate Committee on Rules will come to order. Before we begin today's agenda, can we please establish quorum? Secretary, can we please call the roll? Limon?

Grove?

Laird?

Ochoa Bog?

Thank you. A quorum has been established. If there are no objections, I'd like to take up first on today's agenda, Governor's appointments not required to appear, starting with item 2F, the appointment of Arthur Baguette Jr. J.D. as a member to the Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region. I'll entertain a motion.

Thank you, Vice Chair Grove. Can we please call the roll?

Limon, aye. Grove? Aye. Grove, aye. Laird? Aye. Laird, aye. Ochoa Bog? Aye. Ochoa Bog, aye. Reyes? Aye. Reyes, aye. 5-0. All right. That item is approved 5-0. Next item for governor's appointments not required to appear is item 2G, Elena Lee Reeder, to the Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region. I'll entertain a motion. Thank you, Vice Chair Grove. Can we please call the roll?

Limon, aye. Grove? Aye.

Laird, aye. Ochoa Bog? Aye.

Reyes, aye. 5-0. Thank you. That item is approved 5-0. Next item for Governor's appointments not required to appear is Item 2H, Nancy Wright, to the Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Basin Region. Can we please call—actually, I need a motion, please.

Thank you, Vice Chair. Grove, can we please call the roll?

Limon, aye. Grove? Aye. Grove, aye. Laird? Aye. Laird, aye. Ochoa Bogue? Aye. Ochoa Bogue, aye. Reyes? Aye. Reyes, aye. 5-0. All right. That item is approved. 5-0. Next item for governor's appointments not required to appear is item 2-I. Gregory Giusti to the Water Quality Control Board, North Coast Region. Can I please get a motion? Thank you, Vice Chair. Grove, can we please call the Grove?

Laird, aye. Ochoa Bogue? Aye. Ochoa Bogue, aye. Reyes? Aye. Reyes, aye. 5-0. All right. That item is approved 5-0. Next item for governor's appointments not required to appear is item 2J. Molly Myers to the Water Quality Control Board, North Coast Region. Can I please get a motion? So moved. Thank you, Senator Laird. Can we please call the roll?

Laird, aye. Ochoa Bogues, aye. Ochoa Bogues, aye. Reyes, aye. 4-1. All right. That item is approved 4-1. Next item for governor's appointments not required to appear is item 2K, Dale Romanini, to the Water Quality Control Board, North Coast Region.

Thank you Senator Laird can we please call the roll Limon Aye Limon aye Grove Not voting Grove not voting Laird Aye Laird aye

Not voting.

Reyes?

Reyes, aye. Three to zero. Thank you. That item is approved. Three to zero. The last item for governor's appointments not required to appear is item 2L, Mark Ransom, to the Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region. I will entertain a motion.

Can we please call the roll?

Limon, aye.

Grove, aye.

Laird, aye.

Ochoa, Bogue, aye.

Reyes, aye. 5-0. All right. That item is approved 5-0. Next, I'd like to take up item 3, reference to bills to committee. I'll entertain a motion. Thank you Vice Chair Grove. Can we please call the roll? Limon? Aye. Limon aye. Grove? Aye. Grove aye. Laird? Aye. Laird aye. Ochoa Bogue? Aye. Ochoa Bogue aye. Reyes? Aye. Reyes aye. 5-0. All right that item is approved. 5-0. We will now turn to governor's appointees required to appear we have item 1a through 1e we have the appointments as members to regents of the University of California we have rusty Reyes Malabelle Houston Janet Riley Chip Robertson Gregory Soros PhD I welcome you all to come forward you each have a nameplate And I think... All right. You'll each have one to two minutes to provide your opening testimony. in that opening testimony. If you have any guests who are here, you're welcome to make those introductions. We'll flag for you, especially since there are five of you. We will flag for you if you are approaching those two minutes. They do go fast. And then we will ask some questions and open it up for public testimony after we ask our questions or make our comments. So with that, we are going to start with Rusty Reyes.

we are just over your time

thank you so much and sorry but we do have a few so I apologize for having to interrupt now we will yeah

Good afternoon, Chair and Committee members. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I want to express my deepest gratitude to Governor Newsom for nominating me to serve on the University of California Board of Regents. I'm deeply honored to serve as a UC regent to help advance the University of California's mission of teaching, research, public service, and patient care throughout my career in student affairs. I've had the privilege of working alongside students, families, faculty, and staff, and I've seen firsthand the student success is strengthened when campuses foster opportunity, belonging, and the support needed for every student to thrive. As a Native woman and a leader dedicated to preserving and revitalizing Indigenous languages, I understand the importance of cultural heritage, community partnership, and ensuring that our institutions reflect and respect the diverse communities they serve. Those experiences have reinforced my belief that higher education has a unique responsibility to expand opportunity while honoring the many perspectives and traditions that enrich our university As a regent I committed to thoughtful governments careful stewardship and working collaboratively with my fellow regents students faculty staff and university leadership. I look forward to listening, learning, and contributing to decisions that strengthen educational opportunity to support student success and ensure the University of California continues to serve California with excellence, integrity, and steadfast commitment to its public mission. Thank you very much.

Well, good afternoon. My name is Janet Riley, and I want to thank you so much for the opportunity to appear before you and for you to reconsider my reappointment to the Board of Regents. And I think I speak for all of my colleagues here today, and probably every single person who has come before you for the Board of Regents that this really is a privilege of a lifetime. And I say that because it's true. It really is. I am a first-generation college graduate. I'm one of six children. I grew up right here in Sacramento, not far from here. Neither of my parents attended college, and they were determined that all six of their children would have a college education, and we all do, and most of us have graduate degrees. as well. And so I went to UCLA. I am indebted to the University of California. It really laid the foundation for everything that has come later in my life. And I am particularly thankful and so happy that I had the chance to serve as chair of the Board of Regents for the last two years. And that was quite an experience. And as you know, the University of California is facing an enormous amount of challenges. And it's not just the University of California, but it's universities across the nation. And we're under attack like we've never been before, I think, in the 158-year history of the University of California. And so I think the Board of Regents and the work that we do has never been more important. And so, you know, we're navigating a challenging fiscal environment. You know, our families and our students are experiencing pressures that they've never dealt with before. I think the cost of living and how expensive things are and the threats to to our research enterprise and academic freedom, you know, are real. And we are trying to fend off those attacks and those threats every single day. And so it is my hope that I am reappointed. I think I still have something to to to bring to the university, particularly with my experience as chair. And, you know, my biggest priority is really making sure that we can expand access to the university. and that we are finding talent wherever it is in the state of California, that we continue our campuses to be engines of economic and social mobility, and that we can continue to be the greatest research enterprise and engine really around the globe. And so those are big aspirations, but, you know, we have always done it at the University of California, and I hope to continue that legacy if I'm reappointed. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you. I'm Chip Robertson from Los Angeles and honorable members. Thank you for taking the time today. I appreciate the effort each of you put forth toward my confirmation process. It means a great deal to me. I am truly honored to be selected by Governor Newsom as a UC region. Before I make some general comments about my desire to serve on the board, I'd like to thank my wife, Carrie, who has joined me today. She's not only my strongest advocate, but the only person who has been patient enough to tolerate me through this journey. I'd also like to acknowledge my kids. Lou Rose and Lila who have joined online as well. I bring a unique combination of higher education governance experience, public policy expertise, and a lifelong connection to the university. I'm a product of the UC system, a three-time graduate, close to a decade as a student. I've experienced what the system has to offer, and I've the best of what the system has to offer and I've seen it endure periods of profound turbulence. I was afforded tremendous opportunities being taught by some of the world class professors. And simply put, my time at UC was transformative. My desire to become a regent was born from my wish to ensure the opportunity as my generation experience remain accessible for those that follow. In 2011, I was appointed to the board of UC Law SF, formerly Hastings, an autonomous affiliate of UC. And through my service, I've become familiar with governance, state budget process, compliance issues, student housing, collective bargaining, and academic policy. In 2019, I worked closely with the legislature to develop the UC CSU Collaborative for Neurodiversity and Learning based at UCLA. The collaborative is a unique co-equal, co-managed, intersegmental collaboration focusing on teacher training for neurodiverse K-12 students, a significantly underrepresented population in higher education. To be able to act in the capacity of a fiduciary at one of the greatest university systems in the world, one which provides such extensive social mobility and economic vitality, is an absolute honor. I am truly humbled. Thank you again for your time and consideration in my appointment.

Good afternoon, committee. I'm so honored to be here. And Senator Grove, it was just three years ago, but it seems shorter. I don't want to use our time, but it's been busy. My name is Greg Sarris. I'm chairman of the Federated Indians of Creighton Rancheria and also a former professor of UCLA. I grew up on the streets. I didn't read a book until 11th grade. I went to Santa Rosa Community College, transferred to UCLA, then went to Stanford, got a master's, and then was hired as an adjunct lecturer, as we used to say, a junk lecturer, at UC Santa Cruz, and developed the EOP essay writing program for students there, and oversaw that for five years before I realized I wanted to be able to have some power in the university and I needed to be on a tenure track. So I went back to Stanford, got another master's and PhD, and then in record time became a full professor of English at UCLA. My experience as a young person and as my record of teaching and my experience, What UC has given me, both as a student and ultimately what I was able to give back as a professor, is now manifested in this incredible opportunity to serve on the UC Board of Regents with all that I know and that I've experienced. It's been a remarkable time of the last three years. I've learned a lot, a lot of what I didn't know before, things that I wasn't familiar with, but certainly my experience has helped me with discussions that had to do with faculty student learning and now the big issues that we facing around student learning not to mention SAT and those other questions that are coming up the challenges that we have But at the end of the day, I can't be prouder to have the opportunity to be the employee of this incredible university once again in order to give back what was given to me.

All right, Senator Grove. Thank you. The former chair of natural resources deferred to me to start. But not on a single natural resources issue. So the first question I have is to Regent Riley. In 2020, you voted to support a proposition. or repealing Proposition 209, which prohibits California institutions from granting preferential treatment based on race and other aspects. The voters rejected that. And so I guess my question to you is what concrete oversight enforcement measures can you support or can you support that would ensure the university fully complies with Proposition 209, as they're also, I believe, being sued by the federal administration, I could be wrong, and Title VI of the students' fair admissions?

And a different question to Ms. Riley and Ms. Houston. You, in 2025, UCLA reached about a $6.13 million settlement on the handling of the encampment issue the DOJ filed. that it was against Jewish students and teachers. How are you going to make sure that Jewish students and Jewish teachers are protected in the future as a board? Talking about that great diversity.

Ms. Houston?

Thank you. Mr. Areas, I've been on this committee for six years and I have never in my life received so many phone calls about this appointment for you. after the second day, I'm like Googling you because I'm, who is this guy? So just FYI. And the latest one was this, actually there was like eight this morning, but the latest one on my way into work today was one of my farmers from the Central Valley and Modoc area, who's actually on a cruise to Canada in Canada with his wife. And he bought the internet so that he could call me and tell me to support your nomination, which was crazy to me. Not that they support you, but that somebody would go out of their way that much to do that. So I appreciate your heart for the Central Valley. I appreciate your heart for Merced. I think that if we train up students in the medical facilities, they'll stay there. They'll treat people there. The Central Valley needs doctors, nurses. Like, we need that. We have some of the – we have great hospitals, but they're financially distressed, and we have very few people to fill those slots. And so what are your thoughts about UC Merced specifically and the steps that you would support to make sure that that came to fruition?

that that medical facility was established and came to fruition. I know it's on its way, but, like, how are you going to complete it?

Thank you. Thank you, sir. Last question to you, Ms. Riley, and I'm sorry I'm focusing on you. I don't mean it like that. I have confirmed them before, so I'm good. I'm good with them. So the last question I have for you in 2020, you voted to phase out the SAT and the ACT, which you guys just mentioned. And given the concerns now being raised by the UC faculty, are you open to reconsidering that decision or are you still plowing ahead with that vote?

Okay. I guess, Mr. Sarris, you voted in 2025 to increase tuition for incoming students at an inflation plus 1%, 1%. But there was also UCs have the highest paid executives. Again, we have to pay those professors, those educators. We need the quality that we have there for education. Given the UC budget pressures that we have right now, what's your cost constraints? What's your plan to make sure that the board meets those cost constraints that we have without raising costs to students?

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Senator Laird. The opposite direction from in your office. I appreciate you noticing. With all due respect, to answer your question, you answered your question to some extent. because, again, if we're going to accommodate, and we have the largest incoming class this fall that we've ever had, but the issues remain of housing. And there's, you know, so what are we going to do in terms of housing? And, of course, that all becomes budget stuff, as you well know. How do we pay for the housing and for the students? We have students who are housing-challenged, food-challenged, And this, again, has to do in large ways with us unable in many ways to accommodate the growing numbers. I believe that, of course, we should have more as many out-of-state students. We get the tuition. That's important. But that's still the element in the room is still what do we do with the students when they come here. We're already exploring things like online education, online classes, and things like that. But then, of course, the question is to what degree do you compromise the university experience if the student isn't able to experience on-campus life?

Thank you for the question, Senator. I think as we discussed in your office, this is a lot here. I think with regard to enrollment growth, as I mentioned, there's a variety of ways to look at it. Since the compact with financial stability, the university has been able to enroll 19,000 students, which is the size of a full campus. As I mentioned, I'm very interested in looking at traditional and non-traditional routes for enrollment. And I think that is a way to moderate growth that you see, especially in particular, non-traditional routes of enrollment. And then there's the modalities. We have to get efficient. We're going to face constrained state and federal budgets funding, and we're going to have to be more efficient in the way we deliver teaching. And that will require online. That will require specialization at campuses. that will require different ways different experiences for students With regard to housing we have 9 beds ready to go The housing bond fully leveraged will provide us with million So we appreciate the Senate and your work

But we do have 9,000, but we do have 9,000 beds ready to go.

And then with regard to basic need, as Regent Saris responded, we need to work with the legislature to broaden the definition of basic need so it covers more, that it's more holistic, that it covers child care, housing, you know, that we can respond to our students' needs because the demographic is not a typical student. 70,000 students required basic need in 2024. So we need to be responsive to that, and if we are, then we can increase enrollment as well by supporting them and meeting them where they are.

Thank you. I think one of the biggest frustrations that we have at the Board of Regents is that we just cannot accept every qualified student that wants to be at the University of California. Last year we had 200,000 applications at the university. And so we are clearly leaving some talent on the table. And so I believe that we have to continue to expand enrollment. But we have to be very careful the way that we do that because we in no way want to diminish the quality of a UC education. So not only does more students require more faculty, more infrastructure, more housing, more wraparound services, but we have to have the resources to do that. And we want to make sure that we grow in a way that is responsible. Really, the number one responsibility of the University of California Board of Regents is that we are fiscally responsible. And we leave this place in a better state than it was when we got here. So future generations can benefit from the UC education that many of us had here. I'm really proud that we have 85% of our students this year are Californians. So I think, you know, I love that we have, I think having the cap is terrific. I think we need out-of-state students as well. I don't want to by any means say 100% of California students, but that's really wonderful. And we've worked out the buyout where we cap it, but three of our universities receive some money for taking more in-state students than out-of-state students. So I think it's terrific. You know, we need to work with you, the legislature, and hopefully this bond, housing bond, will pass because it is an absolute necessity. I mean, you know, you see the housing insecurity, you know, that kids are living in accommodations that are not ideal. And we always have to make sure that the student experience is one that we want our students to have, you know. And so housing is a big issue. It's not the cost of tuition, you know, that really is the barrier to entry for many of these students. It's the housing. It's the transportation. It's the food. It the books It all of that And so having more housing on campus would be an absolute you know win for the state of California for the University of California

Hi. And I don't have anything to add to what they have said. However, I'm thinking what comes to mind are two things, and they're not things that are being brought up yet. One is the housing for people that actually work at the schools, because since I've been here in May, I've heard the people working in the medical centers saying how they had to travel two hours just to get to work. And I think that a lot of students might have those issues as well. And then the other thing is there's a population, the native population that's in California that doesn't have access to the UC school system as much as many of the other populations in California, and I keep that in mind as well. So I have other issues that I would like to bring to the forefront, including the ones that you have recognized.

Thank you, Senator Laird.

If people question the value proposition, then they're not going to want to get a college education. They're going to go off and do something else. And then the impact of artificial intelligence. I think that's another iceberg that is facing us. I'm trying to get up to speed on that issue, as I think we all are as public policymakers. and it changes monthly. It changes monthly what its potential, what its threats are. It is an ongoing education just to keep up with it all and how we adopt policies that adopt for the opportunities, that take advantage of the opportunities as well as the dangers of artificial intelligence and how that affects the delivery of higher education. Thank you. Then I have a couple more questions in the next one. I know there's a couple of you that have a particular interest in what I'm about to ask about, but I just hope one or two of you will step up that have been regents, and that's that there this long problem about the repatriation of Native American artifacts and there was an audit recently It been the subject of hearings over years and years And I just wondered what the status was and whether you're all committed to try to get this to the end, because I never understand why it's still going. And I can see who's leaning toward the microphone.

I would prefer you come to me than my Native American spouse who will be really worked up about this. So I appreciate that response. Then the last question I had was there have been just ongoing labor relations issues at the university and the previous president, I know because I was chair of the Education Budget Subcommittee for five years, and he would say to me, well, we have 25,000 vacancies. We have 25,000 positions we can't fill because it's struggled to fill. And of course, The labor organizations are convinced it's because they don't pay enough in some of the high-income areas. Just maybe a couple of you, and I don't know, maybe we'll start with Regent Riley, who had the misfortune of being chair during some of this, to just sort of talk about what your view is about sort of labor relations in the university.

I don't know if anybody has anything they want to add to that. That was a very good response. Then I'm at the outer limits of my time. So let me just make a comment about one issue and I won't ask about it, and that is that one of the most popular things the University of California does is UC Cooperative Ag Extension. And there was a time when I was first in the Senate where it had not been given a cost of living increase in 20 years. It was a 58% reduction. And the Farm Bureau in one of my counties was debating tithing its own farmers to be able to raise money to fill in behind the cuts that were done. And so in that year, we did a 58% increase. We made good the cuts by no COLA in 20 years, and they have hired something like 150 or 170 of farm advisors and other staff. And it's very important because small farmers, they can't hire a scientist for pesticides. They don't have the advice to do water management better. They can't pay for the 4 H's that are paid for. That sort of is a way that there's a track for people to come into agriculture. And it's ironic because the very first year after we did this restoration, and finance wanted to not give a cost of living increase again. And I went to the mat saying that's how we got in this mess in the first place. And former President Drake pointed out that when he was head of Ohio State. I'm so sorry. I just didn't know they were that trendy in Bakersfield. It's his ringtone. Just, you know, I gave her a birthday cake a few months ago here in the Rules Committee with an oil rig on it, and she has never let anything go since then. So the point being that President Drake went to every Ohio County when he was president of Ohio State to call out how important cooperative ag was. And I just wanted to just put it on you to, you have partners here, and we need to, and it's one way the university gets a good rap in places where there's not a campus or anything else because they're really helping people. I think somebody from the Central Valley has a comment.

We can provide for the committee of your class picture. Yeah, there you go.

We'll do it together then, Greg. We'll do it together. On that note, since that wasn't designed to elicit responses, I will thank you for your comments. I appreciate the responsiveness, and I appreciate the indulgence of the committee to let me ask those questions. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Next, we have Senator Ochoa Bogb.

The former chair. But, yeah, my chair was up on July 1st. No, that's okay.

And it is transparent. It is transparent. We have very clearly stated on our website about what the requirements are to be eligible for the University of California, talking about the A to G requirements, talking about how we do the comprehensive review. and we publish data every year on what the admissions have been for every single campus. So there is that I think where some of the difficulty and where we could be better is sometimes we don't distinguish between eligibility and selection. And like I said, I know we're leaving talent on the table. So we could be maybe giving profiles of students who have been accepted to talk a little bit more about what does comprehensive review mean. So what do we take into consideration? We don't necessarily rate them like GPA is 10% of your, you know, what we count. You know, extracurricular activities is another. It's not broken down in that way. So maybe we could give a little bit more information around that. I think that may be important. But it is there. It is there. And, you know, we, when the UC San Diego, you know, study came out or a report came out, of course it's troubling. Of course it's troubling. And so we're talking a lot about the regents. So how does something like that happen? Is that, you know, is it, you know, how prevalent is that issue? We also have, and the regents have spent a lot of time and resources on making sure when students get to the University of California that they're supported, that they are supported. So if they need some tutoring, if they need peer-to-peer tutoring, if they need advising, if they need a summer bridge program, we are providing that. And so not everybody comes into the University of California with exactly the same qualifications. They never could. But what we're looking at is what is the student success rate? Are these students successful? Are they graduating? Are they workforce ready? So those are the outcomes that I think that we should be looking at. And we just had at our last board meeting, we just had a full report on graduation rates. And they're up. And we're lowering the gap, equity gap, not as fast as we want to in terms of graduation and time to graduation. So, of course, there's more that we can be doing, but I also think sometimes we're criticized for things that really are available. The other thing that the university should do I think is we do have these we have great relationships our admissions folks on the campuses with high school counselors We need to get this information to the counselors in every single high school as quickly and as early as possible What does it take to get into a University of California or a CSU school? So they know that not when they're starting to look at colleges when they're juniors, but with the freshmen. So if that's an interest, that these college counselors are fully prepared with the most up-to-date information. And that's a place where I think UC could maybe do a little bit better. Thank you.

Sure. If you look back at the history, you know, whether it's Clark Kerr or David Gardner or Atkinson or any other president, their greatest frustration was admissions policy. And I don't think there's any panacea. I don't think we're going to find a panacea. I think it's something that you've got to be adjusting for cultural and economic and demographic changes all the time. And admission policy is something that we've got to be just, you know, moving the dials on constantly and contemplating. You know, we're studying it now. the Academic Senate is studying it now. I've gotten, I don't know how many messages from physics and physics teachers and others that are saying that their high school students, that their students don't know basic high school algebra and they've got to go back and teach it. Well, it didn't surprise me to hear it from physics teachers, but when I start hearing it from social science teachers that kids can't read and write. That got my attention. And then former President Napolitano said, we tried to get rid of the SAT and it didn't work. It's time to bring it back. That all got all of our attention. But it begs the basic question also. We're talking about bringing in college tutors to get kids up to speed. Why aren't these kids prepared? what's going on with K-12 so I mean that raises all kinds of questions that's the 800 pound elephant in the room and you know look at the post-secondary education commission why did we get rid of it in 2014 it was a report card on student achievement in California somebody didn't want a report card so you know maybe it's time to bring it back Thank you.

How are you? We talked about some of these things for quite a while the other day, but there are some things we can really look at. Proficiency tests should be strengthened in high school, so we see exactly where these students are and to what extent they are proficient or not. And as Regent Riley indicated, our graduation rates are up. They are up. If you want to see a little bit of a slide that aren't quite as up, it's often among some of the first-generation students. It has nothing to do with their ability. I would argue that those are the same students that are working, taking jobs to support themselves outside. So how can they carry a heavy load and be working more than lots of other students? So those are just some of the, shall I say, nuances that we have to consider when we're looking at these students. But again, I think there's issues that we, there's opportunities to strengthen summer bridges. I did that at Stanford. I did it at UC for Santa Cruz, Senator Laird, for five years. And I saw the results of what can happen there to raise the proficiency rates that are going on. And I do have to say as a As a person who's taught university English for over 30 years, I have seen a decline that began about 15 years ago in reading and writing proficiency. There are certain authors that you can't teach because the language is too dense. Students don't want to read it. And now I think, remember, there's something else. There's the online. Everything's Twitter. So we're competing with students who from 10 years old now are on Twitter rather than reading Hemingway or Shakespeare. And so we're up against those huge challenges.

I agree with my colleagues. I would just like to tag on two comments. One is we need to have a larger discussion with the SBI, State Board of Education, and the legislature. We need to look at the AG requirements, how they're being implemented, how they're being taught. And then we also need to look at our other segment resources. Some of our bridge programs done by UC are fine, but they're also, we can't afford to do it in a manner which might not be as effective as we want it to be. So we need to look to the community colleges to provide programming for our students as well. And so I think there's a solution here. We're in a rubric right now. You asked about the SAT. It's under study, but we're in a rubric where we have to respond to the student that we have, and we have a moral obligation to make sure they're successful, and we need to provide those direct services to them in any way we can. And if that means bringing in resources from another system, then we should be doing that. Thank you, Mr. Robertson.

I'm learning something new all the time and looking forward to learning more. I obviously am catching up to speed, and I appreciate the expertise of the people that have brought us information about the very issues that we find very important, and I'm still looking forward to learning more. Thank you.

I think there is room for the UC to collaborate more and really try to strengthen the education pipeline with K-12, with our community colleges. You know, we're all really, you know, after the same thing. And I think sometimes, you know, we're working in silos. And I think we've gotten better about that. I mean, you see our college transfer, you know, pipeline is better than it was, certainly when I started as a regent in 2019. But the same kind of thing. And I think, you know, we have to take the lead on that. Not waiting for somebody else to come to us, but really trying to help our K-12 colleagues. How can we strengthen this educational pipeline so everybody has a shot at the UC or CSU? And I think so a couple of thoughts on that end, and I'm going to follow up with some questions with that,

I know, it's kind of loaded. I apologize. I'm trying to get it all in so that... But I think that Chair Riley said it well earlier, especially with working with the community colleges. I'm a person who had to go to community college because I was not academically prepared, having not gone to ninth and tenth grade, basically. But I also am an example of what the community colleges can do to prepare one, to make one prepared. I think that what Regent Riley said was quite on, that we are doing much better at working, at doing the work that you suggested. Why should you be doing some of these things that we should be doing, right? And I will say I know that we should be doing those things and more. One of the things we really need to do is be working more closely with community college, but also high school counselors so that the people who advise these students who want to transfer to make sure that they're prepared, to make sure they have the requirements. And I think we can do more there and should do more there to help for us to get the students, the best students, and the students who are best prepared. And I think that, to be fair, I think it's best prepared. And I say that because it is not the intent to discriminate, right? It's not a question of discrimination, but it's about preparation. Preparation. And when we remove SATs with the, to me, assessments, test assessments are an assessment of where that student is, whether it's in first grade, second, third, fourth grade, which I think holds people accountable. But also in the higher grades is where can they best perform? Because, yes, we can give them the support system and they can be successful, but it becomes very stressful. and also for some students, and this is where I think it's very important to note, success and the definition of what that means for graduation rates for a student. A student that comes in and has a desire growing up to be a doctor, to be a scientist, to be an engineer, and then gets to college, gets to the university, realizes that they cannot do the math or the science, and changes their course to, say, a social science because there's no math requirement or science requirement, that they're being challenged, is not success. That is an actual lack of fulfillment of what their desire was. To me, a child or a student who goes into university with a goal and then they cannot perform and say, I'm going to change the social because it's easier, Is that truly a success? And yes, we're graduating those students, but not in what they desired. And I want folks to have that income. Because we talk about graduation rates. But how many of them actually go and finish with a degree that they desire to have? And how many changed because it was too hard to be able to do that? I was one of them. And that's why I speak from first experience. I wanted to be a veterinarian. I wanted to be an architect. But guess what? the math was not something that I could fulfill. And so we have to be honest about what success in graduation means and whether or not the intent and why those students chose what major And that why I think it important to have these conversations because there it needs to be a role and by admitting students who are not prepared who are not prepared interior just so that we can say we inclusive we're diverse but we're not really giving that child we're also implicating that our community colleges are not up to par because we're saying no you you know well let's admit you here let's not give you an opportunity to to get better at reading and writing and math before you come to the UCs and compromising the integrity and the rigor of our UC students. So that's something just to just to consider but please feel free to continue your responses. Well I don't want to take all the time here but I think we talked about

Mr. Arias?

campus and everyone was commuting but the brightest students went on to go to at their PhDs or their master's in UC schools. And these are our brightest kids, right? The ones that are hardworking. They're all hardworking, but, you know, these could have a job but still have these amazing grades, and we're proudest of them. And the other place that we spent a lot of energy were on the students that were very promising and needed the extra care and needed a lot of extra assistance in a lot of their classes. And the fact that they were able to go on and move on and get master's degrees, especially in social work, are really proud moments for us. And for me, it's not a disappointment when they came in wanting to be doctors and lawyers and engineers and had these high dreams and then decided to change their minds once they got to campus because they have other talents that they didn't know about. And luckily for them, they found somebody on campus at Cal State Long Beach who was able to say, hey, listen, you're amazing in art. You're super amazing in social work. You have a much better opportunity of success if you want to change routes. And it's not a failure. You just have to kind of change, pivot a little bit. Like my husband is an amazing attorney, but when we were undergrads, we went to college together. He really wanted to go into psychology. If he ever did, he would have been the worst. Luckily, he changed his mind, and somebody was able to give him the information about, you know, it's okay. You'll still be successful. It's okay to change your mind. And I think you need that as well. You need that kind of person to have your back. And I think you can find that at a lot of the schools. You just need to look for them. And we have them. They're available. We just need to match them up with the students.

I think that's an interesting metric, you know, and see if we can drill down on that and see, you know, if we can actually figure out how many of, you know, our graduates we think are changing majors because they don't have the aptitude. You know, one of the questions that I asked when we were presented with the data about the increasing number of graduates, the four-year graduates, was what's the grade point average? What's the average grade point average? Not that grade point average means everything, but are they just getting by, just passing? Has the median grade point average lowered? So I think that adding some of these, instead of just saying our graduation rates are up, adding some of these metrics would maybe tell more of the story. So I think that really interesting and I ask for that The other thing is I just didn want us to with the impression that there not collaboration We have a whole menu of they called SAPEP programs If you ask me what that, exactly what that meant, that acronym meant, I couldn't tell you. But they're basically outreach programs to our K through 12 schools. And there are things like UC Scout. We know that in California, not all high schools, I'm going to botch the percentage, don't have A to G requirements. They don't offer them. So right there, it eliminates your ability to get into a UC. But with UC Scout, it's online. We offer that to every single school free of charge, those A through G requirements. Getting that word out. The peer tutoring programs have proven to be really, you know, incredibly. Taking our students into the high schools and do tutoring programs have been incredibly successful. We talked about the summer bridge programs, MESA programs, where kids need help with STEM particularly. And so we do have a lot of that outreach, and we've put a lot of money, thanks really to the legislature, in giving us more money to have these programs to try to collaborate with K-12. One of the things that I would like to see us do, and I am the vice chair to Regent Saris for academic affairs, and I haven't been on that committee before, just for maybe six months when I first got to be a regent, but was let's actually evaluate those programs, those 30 programs that we're offering. Which ones are working? Which ones are we actually seeing that it's moving the needle? And that's instead of throwing money at, you know, a whole bunch and saying we've got 30 programs. Well, how about taking 12 of those that are actually we see that there is a significant, you know, benefit to those programs. So that's something that I'm going to ask for. I am an absolute yes, 100%. We had conversations about that, and I think that's what we need to do because we are expanding programs and allocating more and more funding. But the question that we need to start really addressing is, well, what is currently working? And if they're not working, toss them out and continue forward because we just have a lot of it. And just, you know, for the record, when it comes to the same thing with our K-12-14 education system, Right now, I think the allocation is, well, hopefully, I don't know exactly yet the final, but the goal is to have about $28,000 per pupil, per student in California, which is unprecedented. And so that's why I'm saying we really, it's not an issue of money. It's how we're spending it and how we're using it, ensuring that we are accountable to ensuring that those programs work. Yes. I just want to tag on two items. One is that we have a Transfer Plus program with certain community colleges that guarantee admission to certain campuses. I'd like to see that expanded. I think that addresses some of your concerns and is an interesting way. Also, concurrent enrollment at community college while in high school, I think, is a great opportunity for students to gain those skill sets that make them successful in a University of California setting. And I think that's something that we should be working with the community colleges. Time is of the essence, so I'm not going to continue. But I do, just a final thought, the tuition rates and the inflation. I think it was alluded to by my colleague, Senator Grove, on there. when you look at the data and what it costs and what it been going up it way too much So the ability in evaluating the programs but also how do we streamline and be more cost effective when it comes to running our universities I think that is going to be at your purview, and I strongly encourage that you folks look at, you know, how can you best utilize today's technology, AI, to an evaluation of programs to ensure that we are running the most effective, most rigorous institution that is worldwide renowned. Thank you for your time today. Senator Reyes.

Thank you for the question, Senator Reyes, without sounding flippant. So much also depends on what happens in the meantime as we're navigating these challenges that go forward. But I think the most important thing here is that we work collaboratively, and we will need the support of the governor and the legislature to ensure that this university remains the best public university in the world, and that we adhere to its mission of equity for all of our students. I mean, you know, I don't want to prognosticate about the future because I don't know. I think I know who the next governor may be, but, you know, I'll be like you, so I won't say anything. but I think that I feel very positive about that and that relationship that possible or potential relationship should I say so I think going forward but when I was called about this reappointment for 12 years I said oh my god I'll be dead and the response was we'll get enough out of you Mr. Sarris but I am looking forward to it and if I have to go down this way fighting for our students and I want to say something that I may a little not to address something you said earlier what we haven't talked about are the parents you talked about third grade education parents with third grade education so many of our parents want the American dream education for their children but they don't quite know how to ask the questions They don't even know how to support their students, but they want them to do that. And that's the other thing. We have to make sure the parents are engaged as much as possible if our students are going to succeed, particularly coming from these populations of people.

Well, thank you for the question. I had a similar, not such a dire response when I was told that I was going to be a... you know, would be maybe reappointed to another 12-year term. Mine was, well, I'll definitely be an assisted living by then. Not that I'd be dead, but an assisted living for sure. Just a little bit. But, you know, you think 12 years. You're talking about the demographic of some committee members, and you're really on thin ice. That's all I can say. But look at the issues that we're talking about. Like, you think 12 years is a long time, which it is a long time. But these are big issues. You know, the future of the master plan, you know, does that still, you know, resonate, you know, 60 years later? These, you know, we're not going to decide that in a day. And will my perspective change? I hope so. I hope so because I think as, you know, members of the Board of Regents or members of the legislature, we better be open to new information. You know, we have to be open-minded. The question was, would you reconsider, you know, reinstituting the SAT? Of course. I'm going to look at the data. Of course I am, you know, and, you know, to come in with some sort of, you know, a closed mind, I think, would be detrimental to the university that is best known for innovation and discovery and change, you know. And so but one thing that we cannot change and that we really must abide by, and I'm really proud to be on a board that understands the fundamental mission of the University of California, understands that it is our responsibility to make sure that we have excellence in academic teaching, in research, in health care, and that we are a public university for the public good. And so as long as we keep those core values intact, other things can change. But it's really important that we adhere to those core values. And if we start straying from that, you know, our university would not be, we would not be, you know, good leaders of this great institution.

I think they're doing a pretty good job of that right now at UC Merced. I visit it often, and it's just wonderful to see 70% of the kids are the first generation in their family to go to college. We're talking about medical schools now. medical schools. But yes. Well, I think the same thing. If you look at the population in the Central Valley, I mean, they're likely, you know, we talk about the affordability issue, they are likely to go to a medical school in close proximity. And, you know, you look at the opportunity that I talked about earlier at UCSF Fresno and working with the largest trauma Center in the state and the ability to add 1,500 fellows and residents. You know, there are going to be students from that area. And it's a great opportunity. Residents know that they're going to get a great education in an area where there's a lot of industrial accidents and sadly a lot of gunshots. You know, I remember the nursing program when I was in college. The nursing program at CSU Chico was at Fairfield during the Vietnam War. And the education that those nurses got working at the hospital, the Veterans Hospital in Fresno, putting our soldiers back together, served them and all American health all their lives. So that opportunity exists in Merced and Fresno, and I'm sure in Riverside as well. And, you know, I think we've, you know, people are always going to be more comfortable when they're working with a doctor that understands their culture and their background. And so it's just like our admissions policies. You know, we constantly have to be adjusting them to address the cultural, economic, and demographic changes in California. And, you know, as I said, there is no panacea. It's something we've got to be adjusting to all the time. you know, to serve our students, to serve our population.

But it's important, and it's something that we're going to have to address, and I need to learn more about it, And I am depending on the information that we get to figure out what it is that we have to do. I'm really confident that if we get the issues to talk about and discuss, that we'll come up with something that keeping the UC mission in mind, we can work together moving forward. And I don't have an answer for you.

I would relate back to Regent Riley's comments. We need to have a collaborative relationship with labor and really bring them into the conversation. and have an open and honest conversation about our financial trajectory, the needs of our students, the needs of our medical centers, and how the labor constituency fits into the picture, because they're very important. And then, as fiduciaries, let the university negotiate those contracts, but set the policy as a collaborative policy.

It's not true anymore. It isn't. It's not true. Our students graduate. They've got those big loans. They can't buy a home. They can't take that vacation they earned after studying all those years. It's such a disservice to our students. And we've got to find, as was mentioned earlier, how we take care of the students, maybe what it is that California needs to do specifically to help with making sure that that education, at least at many levels, is a free education. I think that's something we need to work towards.

Thank you. So thank you all for answering a series of questions. A lot of my colleagues have had the chance to touch on a variety of issues that I think are important for us. And you've also heard some themes, themes related to access, themes related to wanting good and productive relationships with labor. Certainly, as we think about access, the implication it has for all of our students and scholars at the university to enter world-renowned academic and research institutions. I oftentimes have described that sometimes there have been moments that have been moments between the legislature and the regions in particular that cause a lot of conversation and discussion. But they always are rooted from a very good place, from a place of recognition that this legislature understands that we want more of the UC, more opportunities for students, and sometimes the limits that we've had are what cause a lot of debate. How do we get more of our constituents, more of the students that we want to see at the university, at the university, more Californians, all of those things, but they're rooted from a place of good and place of wanting the same outcome that you all have. Over the last few months, the conversation around SAT has reignited. And I say reignited because as someone who spent almost 11 years working at the UC, this is not a new conversation. It's actually decades-old conversation for the university in terms of the metrics that we use to consider admission to these institutions. And as we followed over the last few months some of this that's come up, I also think a lot about, you know, the experience of our students who are applying, how we determine whether they are ready, prepared, or able to be productive scholars at our institutions. And I also think about the fact that metrics differ. As someone who also spent time looking at graduate admissions, it turns out that you can get really qualified and prepared students not using the exact same metrics because it depends on a program by program. And so there is not one universal form to determine whether a scholar, a researcher, or a student is going to be ready. There are different things that tell us and give us information about what that admission process looks like. In 2024, this legislature passed a bipartisan bill, SB 1195. And that bill was signed by our governor into law. And it was a bill that was generated from a lot of students who wanted to get into the UC. that required the same entity that administers the SAT to offer the AP exams more than once a year. Because for a lot of students, and it turns out thousands of parents felt like, hey, this is actually a barrier to admissions. It's a barrier to admissions not to have it be offered more than once a year. It's a barrier, and we see that at the K-12 system, and we want our students to be competitive. It turns out that that law went into effect, signed by the governor, bipartisan support, and the same institution that administers the ACT has actually not implemented the law. They've been very reluctant to find a way to solve a problem about access. And you are now faced with the decision to allow the same entity that has not offered access to our students on the exams, on the AP exams, to say that potentially their product, which is the SAT, might actually be used as a metrics. Why do I share this? These items are not necessarily connected, but they are related. And I want to know if there are a group of legislators, of a member of the public, that don't have full trust in one of the tools that you may or may not, use how do you as regents respond to the fact that you may be moving down a path of instituting a metric that has resisted access in other places and has lost the trust of the same people that you and I want to serve here in California. How do you navigate that and how do you build trust on potentially asking for a new metric to be introduced, one that has previously been used from an entity that there is a lack of

Thank you. I'd love to hear from others on how you bridge trust. How is California going to trust that if you go down the path of the ACT, SAT, that it is one that Californians can trust will offer access to the university and that it will indeed be a system that is equitable. And I'm not asking for your answer on how you will vote when the time comes. This is a process, but I want to make sure that that's –

At least you're not catching me off guard. I think what the question is assuming is that we just have limited information about these decisions that we're making. And I think in my head, I'm trying to figure out basically to answer your question. That's more than just one question that we have been presented with. So we can't answer your question because we still have so much other information to sift through before we can come up with a decision. And yes, you're right. We may not all agree on the same thing, but I think collectively, I think we make a pretty decent job in making the right decision for the students as well as the UC schools. and I'm confident we're going to get to that point. And eventually we're on public record that we're going to be making a decision and that decision is going to be made public. But even in that, we're not going to all be in agreement. Thank you Madam Chair It a very good question I interested in knowing more about the tests and your concerns about it and what they are But it comes down to basic fairness. It comes down to it's basic to everything we do, ensuring equal access to everybody, a meritocracy that is the great equalizer in our society. And if we fail at that, we fail at everything. So, you know, I have a colleague who served on the Board of Regents for many years, and she asked me, when she found out I was appointed, she said, Rusty, when you figure out who runs the Board of Regents, let me know. Or who runs the university, let me know. And is it the academic senate? Is it the office of the president? Is it the regents? Well, it's supposed to be the regents. It is supposed to be the regents if we have an active, interested, involved, prepared group of regents. And that's your job, to make sure that we know what our responsibilities are and we carry them out and we're capable of doing it. And that's what you're doing here today. So the question you're asked is basic to everything we do. Fairness. It's about fairness. And in a multicultural society like we live in, fairness can be elusive. Fairness can be a mirage. We've got to work on it all the time. And that's why I say when it comes to admissions policies, I think we've got to have our hands on the dials all the time. I'm going back and reading the recollections and memories of Sproul and Clark Kerr and Gardner and Atkinson and all of them. And every one of them, every one of them, their greatest frustration was admissions policy. It's been consistent over the years. And I think it will be a theme of our experience as long as we're here. It is politically charged. There's no question about it. It's hard to take the politics out of politics. Somebody told me once, you know, we had a governor that was later president of the United States that fired the president of the University of California and was popular for doing it. He was popular for doing it. He cut UC funding. And his successor, a Democrat, cut UC funding. And it took a Republican, George Duke Magin, to increase funding 32% in his first year as governor. Unheard of. Unexpected. But the university had fallen out of favor. That compact between the public and the university had eroded for the prior 16 years. And in one year, to his credit, working with President Gardner, they restored 32% funding to the university. And this university would look a lot different today if it weren't for him. So it is something we've got to be doing all the time, working on all the time, and we look forward to working with you. And I'd love to have an offline conversation about your concerns and how we address them. You know, on our board, we have a faculty representative, as you know. And so as Boris is looking at the data and analyzing and making a recommendation ultimately to the academic council, which will then come to us, I going to ask the faculty representative about this issue and see if that is any way factored into the analysis or just what the response is But I was not aware of this So it it new information but we certainly can make some inquiries Yeah, I would like this to be factored by boars too. I mean I have a fundamental problem that The SAT is ignoring California law which is sort of probably a step before the admissions policy, but it does raise some significant issues. But as being respectful of the co-governance process, I think we need to let Boers do their job and see where it comes out. But this is a much bigger discussion. I mean, having access is critical, and providing that access through multiple bites of the apple for the AP exam seems pretty an easy ask. And so if they're not going to do it, then we need to look at other options that will qualify our students to be admitted. I mean, and that I'm pretty certain about.

Hi my name is Ethan M I recently graduated high school and I be headed to University of Arizona in just a week from now And I just wanted to say, you know, thank you all of you guys for serving California. It means a lot. Both of my parents are immigrants and they're also Bruins and they're able to grow and become doctors and service not only to build wealth but also service back, give back to their community. And they have a lot of pride for servicing towards California. But I'm here today to just mainly ask, what is the long-term goal for the UCs? What are the UCs, what is the look that UCs want to have in 20, 30 years from now? You know, there's a lot of things that...

Sure thing. Yeah, I support, you know, all the, you know, efforts that you guys have for not only, you know, ensuring diversity, but also, you know, funding, you know, making sure that you're, you know, less vulnerable from federal cuts. You know, I know it's really hard. It's hard to run an institution. I can't imagine that. So thank you all for.

And I will begin by entertaining a motion for Rusty Reyes as a member to the Regents of the University of California.

Can we please call the roll? Limon?

Limon, aye. Grove?

Grove, aye. Laird? Laird, aye. Ochoa Bogue, not voting. Reyes, aye. Reyes, aye. Four votes. Congratulations. That appointment has been approved to move to the full Senate for confirmation with a 4-0 vote. Next, I'll entertain a motion from Mabel Houston. As a member to the Regents of the University of California, do I have a motion?

Thank you, Senator Reyes. Can we please call the roll? Limon, aye.

Grove, not voting. Laird, aye. Laird, aye. Ochoa Bogue? Not voting. Ochoa Bogue, not voting. Reyes? Aye. Reyes, aye. 3-0. Congratulations. That appointment has been approved to move to the full Senate for confirmation with a 3-0 vote. Next, I will entertain a motion for Janet Riley as a member to the Regents of the University of California. Can I please have a motion? So, no. Thank you, Senator Laird. Can we please call the roll? Limon? Aye. Limon, aye. Grove? No. Grove, no. Laird? Aye. Laird, aye. Ochoa Bogue? No. Ocho Bogno. Reyes? Aye. Reyes, aye. 3-2. Congratulations. That appointment has been approved to move to the full Senate for confirmation with a 3-2 vote. I will entertain a motion for Chip Robertson as a member to the Regents of the University of California Can I please have a motion Thank you Vice Chair Grove Can we please call the roll Limon Aye Limon aye Grove Aye Grove aye Laird Aye Laird aye Ochoa Bogue? Aye. Ochoa Bogue aye. Reyes? Aye. Reyes aye. 5-0. Congratulations. That appointment has been approved to move to the full Senate for confirmation with a 5-0 vote. I'll entertain a motion for Gregory Saris as member to the Regents of the University of California.

Can we please call the roll? Limon?

Limon aye. Grove?

Grove aye.

Ochoa Bogue aye.

Aye.