For the first time, staff members or non-Senate academic employees from the UC campuses will officially be appointed as advisers on each of two regents committees. The Board of Regents approved the two-year pilot program last quarter, and the adviser terms will begin this summer.

The statewide Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) hailed the decision as a step forward -- for more than a decade the group has advocated a staff voice at the regents' table. There are nearly 160,000 staff members working at UC's 10 campuses, ranging from clerical employees to researchers and lecturers. About 13,000 work at UC Davis.

"This is an historic opportunity for UC staff to provide thoughtful input at the highest level of the university," wrote CUCSA chair David Miller, from UCLA and one of the regental appointments, in a statement. "CUCSA has persevered for more than 10 years on behalf of all UC staff to create a means by which the regents can benefit from the voices of every member of the UC family -- students, faculty, alumni and staff."

As of July 1, Miller and former chair David Bell (from UCSF) will each serve a year's term on a regents' committee to be determined by UC President Robert Dynes. Dynes has suggested that they be the committees on educational policy and grounds and buildings. The method for selecting Miller's and Bell's replacements for the second year of the pilot program has not yet been decided upon.

Miller said he will bring many issues to the board's attention, including the need to increase staff development and training and to prepare for the significant number of staff members approaching retirement age.

"Past CUCSA chairs and delegates, as well as the current council delegates, did much of the heavy lifting that brought us to this exciting moment," he noted. "This is indeed a time for celebration and pride."

The Board of Regents is composed of 26 members: 18 are appointed by the governor, one student is appointed by regents and seven hold positions that automatically make them regents, including the governor, lieutenant governor, the speaker of the Assembly and alumni representatives. Two faculty representatives attend board meetings as nonvoting members.

In approving the arrangement, regents agreed with the need for the "voice and perspective of such employees on matters that come before the committees and the board," according to documents.

At the end of the two-year pilot phase, the regents will then determine whether to continue, modify, or cease the program.

Collaborative approach

While students and faculty both have a formal representative on the Board of Regents -- the student regent as a voting member, the faculty regent as a non-voting member -- staff has not until now.

As it stands today, the CUCSA officers deliver a brief annual report to regents, and staff can offer public comment at regents' meetings. The new arrangement, it is hoped, will yield more opportunities for dialogue among staff and regents.

The issue gained momentum in July 2004 when the regents' finance committee received a report on communications between staff and the regents. Prepared by the Office of the President, the document analyzed the nature and effectiveness of those communications and included suggestions on establishing the position of staff adviser and other opportunities for staff to express their views to the regents.

Because bylaws prohibit a regent from holding an appointment to any position in connection with the university for which a salary or other compensation is paid, the staff adviser position has to be non-voting. The role of the staff advisor will be different from that of the Faculty Representatives, as the Academic Senate has a shared governance role in the UC system.

Former Regent Ward Connerly has supported the concept since the late 1990s when he expressed his support for a staff adviser.

At the January meeting in which the position was approved, Connerly said that the board could benefit from the talent that resides within the faculty and staff, and that universities are unique in the sense that it is not just the trustees who govern, but a collection of people who have special interest in the outcome of decisions that affect the institution.

Critics of the position say they are concerned about too many voices with special interests joining the board. They argue that staff members have plenty of venues to communicate with the UC leadership.

"It troubles me," regent John Moores told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Every time we add someone else, it doesn't add a lot of clarity. It's hard for me to imagine that good information isn't reaching us about staff issues."

To view the proposal submitted to the regents, visit http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jan05/1rp.pdf.