Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef, Provost Virginia Hinshaw and other campus leaders discussed campus and community issues over a Brown Bag lunch session Monday.

Speaking to an audience of about 70 campus community members, Vanderhoef touched on a range of issues, including the UC budget, salaries, student fee increases, the upcoming comprehensive capital campaign, the new university neighborhood, sustainable agriculture, foreign student admissions and his recent trip to Iran with other campus officials.

Held in Wyatt Pavilion, the event was the first in what's intended to be an ongoing series that will give the campus community a chance "to come together and to ask questions," said Vanderhoef. The next Brown Bag is slated to be held in early fall quarter.

The chancellor said the recent budget agreement with the state will "help stop the bleeding." Budget cuts will continue for another year, but the UC system will receive modest budget increases in the ensuing years. "The budget compact is the first step to doing better," Vanderhoef said.

He also expressed concern about rising student fees, particularly at the graduate and professional school level. The question of visa delays and obstacles is another urgent issue that has arisen in the wake of Sept. 11 and new U.S. security regulations, he added.

"It is an intolerable circumstance," he said, about the difficulties foreign students face in admissions. "There isn't a university in the country that is not upset about this." (See related story on page 1.)

Vanderhoef said the upcoming capital fund-raising campaign of $900 million will help support the academic mission of UC Davis. Funds will be steered toward student aid, scholarships and research programs, among other activities.

"We have to spend money if this is going to be successful," said Vanderhoef, noting that the university is studying how best to apply a 6 percent gift tax on funds raised.