Dear Colleagues,
Today, UC President Michael Drake communicated his plan for Jobs Protection during the Pandemic to minimize, to the extent feasible, layoffs associated with diminished revenues due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this plan, each campus is directed to establish a baseline Relief Fund to be used to forestall COVID-related layoffs. UCSC’s Relief Fund is set at $2.5 million. We are grateful that the President gave the leadership at each campus the discretion to determine the appropriate strategy to achieve their Relief Fund target, such as through cost-cutting measures, temporary salary reductions, campus based furlough programs, or additional curtailment days.
We believe the fiscally conservative measures our campus adopted beginning in March to limit hiring through position management and curb spending for travel and other items, in addition to our initially solid financial position at the start of the pandemic, has positioned us to be able to meet our Relief Fund target through central funds. Importantly, the central financial commitment in support of the campus redeployment program already comprises a significant component of that target. This approach will allow us to meet the Relief Fund target without applying additional budget cuts to units or initiating campus-wide pay reduction, furlough, or curtailment programs in this fiscal year. We will seek consultation with the Academic Senate Committee on Planning and Budget, and ask for input and feedback from the Staff Advisory Board, the Chancellor’s Cabinet and others in the days ahead.
We are grateful to the faculty and staff who provided feedback through our survey in early November regarding the President’s initial curtailment proposal. This feedback from UCSC and the other campuses clearly contributed to the flexibility inherent in the President’s plan. We are also grateful to the staff in Staff Human Resources who have worked tirelessly to create a robust temporary redeployment program to help keep staff — impacted by COVID-19 reductions in workload — employed and engaged at UCSC.
Sincerely,
Cindy and Lori
