LAUC-B Spring Assembly Minutes
May 5, 2004, 3:30-5:00 PM
Morrison Library
Guests: Kathleen Moazed, Executive Director, Government Affairs and Community Relations, UC Berkeley
1) Call to Order
LAUC-B Chair Allan Urbanic called the meeting to order at 3:30pm.
2) Approval of Minutes, LAUC-B Fall Assembly
A correction Dan Wilsons name was read and accepted (Dan replacing Don). The minutes were approved and will be distributed by email and posted on the LAUC-B website.
3) Call for Additional Agenda Items and Announcements from the Floor
Lincoln Cushing announced the Affiliated Librarians Spring Assembly on May 6, 2004, 8am-11am, in the Goldberg Room, Boalt Hall.
4) Committee Reports
Reports from CAPA, Committee on Affiliated Library Affairs, Committee on Professional Development, Committee on Research, and from Ron Heckart, UCB Representative to the LAUC Statewide Committee on Professional Governance, were distributed to the LAUC membership via email. Randal Brandt, co-chair of the Nominations & Elections Committee, gave their committee report to the membership, announcing the slate of candidates for the upcoming LAUC-B elections and proposed revisions to the LAUC-B Bylaws.
5) Report from the Chair
a) Highlights of LAUC-B activities since the Fall Assembly
Chair Allan Urbanic circulated his report via email, discussing: 1) Planning for the LAUC-B Conference, 2) Emeritus Status for UC Librarians, 3) Reporting of Statistics to ARL, 4) Principal Investigator Status, and 5) Townsend Center Fellow Process. Urbanic noted that ExComm will confer about an appropriate forum for discussion of the Peer Review Process. Urbanic promised to disseminate guidelines compiled by the Distinguished Librarian Award Committee, and noted that in addition to the LAUC-B slate, the Nominations & Elections Committee will be recruiting for positions for Statewide Committees.
b) Announcement of New Appointments and Retirements
Urbanic announced two new librarians, Lynette Stoudt (Bancroft) and Ramona Martinez (Boalt). He also announced Cindi Wolff (Research, Reference, & Collections), who should have been announced at the Fall Assembly. Urbanic announced one retirement: Terry Dean of Institute of Governmental Studies.
c.) Other Announcements
Urbanic reported on the recent meeting that he and Chris Tarr (LAUC-B Vice Chair) had with University Librarian Tom Leonard. The Academic Senate Committee of Academic Planning and Resource Allocation (CAPRA) recently recommended no budget cuts to the program to modernize classrooms, student services, and the Library.
Urbanic thanked and acknowledged the current members of ExComm, and Randal Brandt as the LAUC-B web manager.
6) Discussion of the Future Agenda of LAUC
Terry Huwe (Institute of Industrial Relations), newly elected President of LAUC Statewide, could not be present at the LAUC-B Assembly, but Urbanic read his remarks to those present. Huwe is interested in improving the quality of LAUC Statewide Assemblies. To this end, Huwe proposes to move procedures and policies to another venue for discussion, schedule the statewide assembly so that discussion is limited, and, most importantly, raise the level of discussion toward substantive issues. Huwe feels that LAUC has an important role to play in the concept of shared collections.
Urbanic opened the floor for comments from LAUC-B members. Members mentioned that LAUC should be working on the recruitment and retention of librarians, striving to attract and keep professionals. Another issue raised was that of sabbaticals for librarians.
Huwe asked that LAUC-B members email him with their ideas: thuwe@library.berkeley.edu
7) Program: Kathleen Moazed, Director, UC Berkeley Office of Government Affairs
Urbanic introduced guest speaker Kathleen Moazed, who spent 16 years on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. as Chief of Staff of a congressional committee, 2 years working in Silicon Valley, 1 year in a public relations firm, and three months at UC Berkeley.
Moazed felt that beginning in February, there was a turning point in Sacramento and Washington regarding UC Berkeley. California had a new Governor, and the Chancellor wanted a new vision for UCB. The Chancellor, along with the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and trustees, felt that UCB needs to be more proactive, that UCB needs to be out there fighting, and not taking budget cuts lying down. Moazed is working to get the message out that cutting higher education hurts the entire state. Moazed described her activities in getting everyone advocating for UCB to use the same message, to organize complimentary or secondary messages to bolster the main message, and to collect the community -- find the people who are advocates for UCB.
This campus has not been good at capturing its stories that need to be told to government in Sacramento and Washington. The perception of UCB in Sacramento is that UCB is elitist. Moazed wants to create a different vision: that UCB turns out contributors to society, that UCB is about public service, that UCB research helps legislators with the problems that they face every day in regard to traffic, water, health, etc. Moazed wants them to see UCB as a partner in policy-making.
Moazed outlined an advocacy strategy that included raising money for advertising, calling the Governor and our representatives, testimonials by students, op-ed pieces written by professors, sending emails (Cal Advocacy http://www.ucforcalifornia.org/campaign/calaction/3gb5ei4ljxedtd), visiting Sacramento, spreading the message via websites. Moazed mentioned that three committees in Sacramento will have a hearing here on the UCB campus on May 14, which is unprecedented. Coincidentally, May 14 is also the date that the revised state budget (the May Revise) is released. UCB will probably not get more funds, but we are trying to stave off cuts. The state budget deadline is June 15th, and Moazed felt that it would be enforced this year.
Moazed encouraged people to contact her with their comments and ideas:
Kathleen Bertelsen Moazed
Executive Director of Government and Community Affairs
University of California, Berkeley
101 Sproul Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
510-642-7016 office
510-910-1536 mobile
510-643-7461 fax
kbm@pa.urel.berkeley.edu