UC Regents

In a nutshell, the UC Board of Regents is a 26-member board with 18 governor appointees, seven ex-officio members and a student regent. Any major systemwide changes (i.e., fee increases, salary boosts, etc.) to the University of California must be considered and voted on by the regents. A full spread of the board can be found here (although it's out of date). The regents are typically men who have a wealth of business experience. They are essentially appointed to ensure that the UC runs efficiently as a business, which leads many to believe they are detached when it comes to understanding student-related issues. To gain student perspective, however, they employ a student regent who has voting privileges equal to full-fledged members of the board. UC Davis law student Adam Rosenthal served as student regent before recently being appointed as an official regent.

The board of regents most often meets at UC San Francisco-Laurel Heights campus, because the main UC headquarters is located in Oakland (every now and then, however, the board meets at UC San Diego or UCLA). Those wishing to attend these meetings must pre-register for a credential by phone. The meetings can also be heard live via audiostream at the regents' website. Regents meetings are traditionally split into three-day segments, falling on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Time is alotted for public comment each day, but members of the public seeking to comment must register in advance.

In most recent news, the UC Board of Regents has been working toward regaining the public's trust in regard to executive pay and compensation disclosure. UC Davis brought a lot of attention on such issues with the Celeste Rose settlement, because the campus did not report this case to the regents. The regents recently adopted a new policy requiring that all settlements, regardless of their circumstances, be reported to the board.

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2005-11-17 23:18:41   How can you have a favorite? They are all so nice, stealing from one of the most disinfranchised and under-represented groups of Americans today. And all so they can make a pittance. [/dripping with sarcasm] —AllisonEriksen

As someone pointed out below, it is an unpaid position... so... not really stealing is it? And which group of americans are you talking about? College age students? (cue violin music) —PhilSpear

2005-11-18 14:53:33   The Regents also decide who gets the coveted "UC Regents Scholorship". the freshmen go ballistic for it every year. —MyaBrn

2005-11-18 15:03:57   There needs to be a walkout or major protest— fees have been raised across the board five consecutive years now, and they are simultaneously awarding bonuses and giving pay raises to top brass and other UC bureaucrats. This comes in conjunction with reduced federal aid, thanks to Congress. —CentralDavisite

Isn't that what happened in 1991 when the students trapped the Regents in Freeborn? I thought that was the main reason the regents primarily meet at UCSF since then. There are practically no undergrads, and little political activity on that campus since it is primarily a med school. - RogerClark


They didn't let the regents into freeborn, at least as far as I know. I've been trying to find out more about this event, but there's not much out there.

2005-11-18 15:17:57   There are many variables as to why student fees have continued to increase. (not that I am defending either side) Schools are facing the loss of Perkins Loan funding, The Dep. of Ed. has not increased loan limits for students, the list goes on and on. But UCD is still has the lowest cost of attendance of the UCs. —MyaBrn

2005-11-18 16:31:24   Actually, UCD has the highest fees by $1,000 —JamesSchwab


2005-11-18 16:56:44   When i say cost of attendance, that is taking into account more than just the fees. It is the total cost, sorry for the confusion. —MyaBrn

2006-04-07 05:07:56   Just to clarify, the regent position is actually unpaid. These guys are already loaded; some of them own large businesses...They voted to raise UC senior faculty members' salaries, which doesn't include them. (Not that I'm defending them). —BrianChen