Board of Regents Chairman Gerald Parsky, during a recent visit to UC Davis, said less take-home pay for staff "is not a given" when the university starts collecting again for the UC Retirement Plan.

"What can we do to phase it in (contributions), and at the same time increase compensation?" Parsky asked. "The issue of compensation is going to be looked at."

He spoke outside a Sept. 7 meeting of the Council of UC Staff Assemblies, or CUCSA. Some two dozen delegates from around the UC system had gathered that day at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center for the council's quarterly conference; they met one day on the main campus and the next at the medical center in Sacramento.

The regents decided in March to renew retirement contributions starting in July 2007, saying that without new contributions the retirement plan was in jeopardy of paying out more than what it takes in.

The regents' decision will bring to an end the contribution "holiday" that began in 1990; since then, retirement plan members have paid nothing into the plan. During this time, the plan has used its surplus and investment returns to cover liabilities.

The UC Union Coalition asserts that the university is jumping the gun on restarting contributions. The coalition asked Venuti & Associates of Los Altos to study the issue, and the actuarial and benefits consultant declared in a June report that UC "has not justified the need to restart retirement contributions at this time."

The UC Board of Regents' actuarial consultant, The Segal Company of San Francisco, responded in August by calling Venuti's conclusion and analysis "severely flawed."

"The key strategic policy underlying the regents' schedule for restarting contributions is their decision not to wait until the surplus runs out before starting contributions. This 'soft landing' policy allows for better budget planning, mitigates the cost impact on employees and the university, and provides for a more gradual and predictable transition from no contributions to full contributions.

"The Venuti report makes no mention whatsoever of this crucial aspect of the regents' contribution policy."

Whereas Venuti took UCOP to task for assuming a future return on investment of only 7.5 percent, Segal responded by saying that Venuti had "misled" its client by suggesting that the retirement plan could generate a return of 10 percent or higher over the long term.

The unions also assert that renewed contributions will amount to pay cuts.

University officials say contributions will be phased in, and that the first collections are likely to be the same as what workers now are required to put into self-governed defined contribution plans. For most workers, this is about 2 percent of wages.

Eventually, university officials say, retirement plan contributions must equal 16 percent of wages. The university itself would contribute part of that; the split has not been determined.

The issue of renewed retirement plan contributions did not come up during Parsky's first-ever meeting with CUCSA delegates.

Parsky's remarks included some related to the executive compensation controversy that enveloped the UC system earlier this year. He said the public debate seemed to be more about secrecy than whether executives deserved what they were getting.

He said regents often did not know themselves about UC pay packages, but that is changing. "If we can't defend our actions publicly, then we better think twice about whether we want to do it," he said.

Being a regent, he said, is more than an honor. The job also comes with responsibility, he said, and that extends far beyond the regents' meetings every other month.

"I think you will see more and more of the regents engaged in helping the university between meetings."

Parsky said two issues are critical for UC:

• Financial planning to ensure the university has the resources it needs to remain a quality institution. To make available resources go further, he said, "There ought to be a discussion" of whether multiple campuses need to focus on the same disciplines.
• Changing demographics, which he said will lead to a Hispanic majority in California — and more Hispanics eligible for a UC education. "How do we get more of them prepared to qualify to go to UC?" Parsky asked. "And how do we ensure that they go to UC?"

Some may end up at other universities, he said, perhaps if those other universities are better at recruiting and if they offer better financial aid. "We need to do it better," he said, to keep those students at home.

The CUCSA meeting on the main campus also featured remarks from Virginia Hinshaw, provost and executive vice chancellor; and Dennis Shimek, senior associate vice chancellor for Human Resources.

Hinshaw called UC staff "the golden keys that enable the university to get the job done."

Shimek outlined several training programs that deal with a thinning of the ranks due to retirement and turnover — especially among management service officers and student affairs officers. The goal, he said, is to provide the skills that employees will need to become part of the applicant pools for MSO and SAO positions.

Shimek also spoke of the university's lactation sites and a new commitment to put showers in new buildings, to give employees a place to freshen up after they bicycle to work. He also commented on the administration's good working relationship with staff. "The way we get better is by including staff in the decision-making process," he added.

The Web address is http://intranet.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/assembly. The Office of the President's retirement plan site is at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/ucrpfuture.

STAFF RECOGNIZED

During its quarterly conference, CUCSA took time out to recognize three UC Davis employees for their contributions to staff assembly.

CUCSA honored two employees on the main campus:

• Zack O’Donnell, customer services manager for Communications Resources, a unit of Information and Educational Technology. O’Donnell, a 27-year employee of UC Davis, served as chair of Staff Assembly from 2002 to 2004.
• Kathy von Rummelhoff, resource analyst in the Academic Senate office. The 20-year campus employee has been co-chair of the annual Thank Goodness for Staff celebration, and served on the Citations for Excellence and Staff Scholarships committees.

The third honoree works at the health system:

• Teri Low, computer resource specialist for the Department of Surgery, honored for her volunteer work in designing the first-ever Web site for the UC Davis Health System Staff Assembly. The Web address is http://intranet.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/assembly.