Open Letter to the UC Regents from UCSF Nursing Students on Oct. 7 Day of Action

October 7, 2010

To the University of California Regents:

We, the undersigned from the UCSF School of Nursing, are writing to express our deep concern about the management of UC funds, particularly risky unregulated investments on Wall Street (with which some regents have conflicts of interest), tuition increases promised to the Bank of New York Mellon Trust and other investment rating companies as collateral on construction loans, widespread faculty and employee lay-offs, and millions in bonuses to top executives concurrent with benefit cuts to the lowest-paid workers.

These actions are contrary to the long-term interests of the university, the quality of UC education, and student and employee conditions. They also appear to breach the Board of Regents’ state constitutionally mandated fiduciary responsibility to the university and its employees to oversee UC’s investment activities, as well as your pledge to uphold the UC Standards of Ethical Values and Ethical Conduct. UC’s mission includes making undergraduate programs “available to all eligible California high-school graduates and community college transfer students who wish to attend the University of California.” However, UC is now failing to achieve its mission. Because of the increase in tuition associated with the above decisions, UC undergraduate student enrollments by underserved minority students and by in-state students from California are now dropping precipitously. By making secure employment and quality education less accessible to Californians overall, and vulnerable minorities in particular, these funding decisions also threaten the general wellbeing of the population we serve as nurses-- children and families in California.

Therefore, together with our fellow UC colleagues—students, faculty and employees who have come forward in protest over the past year—we at UCSF demand greater fiscal responsibility, transparency, equitability, and investment in the quality of education at UC. We expect measurable and systematic improvement in the management of general UC funds, specifically the reversal of the above-mentioned fiscal investments and policies, in this coming school year and those to follow.

We appreciate your attention to our concerns and corresponding objectives.

Sincerely,
[Signed by 123 Registered Nurses and masters-level students at the UCSF School of Nursing, see attached PDF.]


For more information, see Peter Byrne, "The Investors' Club: How the University of California Regents Spin Public Money into Private Profit"

Professor Bob Meister, "UC on Wall Street: Another Reason Your Tuition Goes Up"