Regents Special Meeting With UC Faculty Canceled

One week after calling a special meeting of the UC Board of Regents to seek more faculty input on affirmative action, Regent Ralph Carmona canceled it Tuesday, saying he believes his concerns will be addressed at the regents’ meeting in January.

Faculty members who had sought the meeting reacted with disappointment, calling the cancellation “a clear rejection of rational dialogue with the faculty” and announcing that in order to get the regents’ attention, they are considering becoming more militant.

Larry Wallack, a professor of public health at UC Berkeley who has organized a faculty petition drive, said that he and others are discussing whether to seek a vote of no confidence in the regents.

He said other possible actions include joining with civil rights groups to sue UC for its decision to roll back affirmative action, lobbying to make regents elected rather than appointed, and organizing faculty to refuse to comply with the regents’ order banning racial preferences in hiring, contracting and admissions at UC.

“I hope that this can be resolved without any of these things happening,” Wallack said. “But the faculty have gone through all of the appropriate channels only to have the door slammed at the last possible minute. We want to maintain the idea that we’re willing to talk without a threat hanging over. But there’s a lot of frustration.”

Carmona proposed the meeting after California and national faculty groups condemned the regents’ decision to abolish affirmative action, saying the board did not adequately consult the UC faculty. The meeting was set for Thursday at the request of four regents.

Tuesday’s cancellation, the result of several days of behind the scenes lobbying by other regents and administrators, bespeaks more than a mere scheduling change. In short, it also illustrates the power and influence of certain UC officials.

From the moment the meeting was proposed, Regent Roy Brophy and UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young--both strong supporters of affirmative action--worked the phones to convince regents that the meeting was a bad idea.

Hoping that they might someday persuade other regents to reconsider the decision, they feared that a high profile meeting with the faculty now might solidify board opposition.