Minutes for June 25, 1997 Meeting

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Members Present: J. Carethers, E. Comisso, P. Drake (Co-Chair), Y. Espiritu, P. Gourevitch, D. Gutierrez, D. Magde, A. Mansuri, A. Marshall, H. Mehan, D. Miller, N. Spitzer (Co-Chair), J. Steindorf (Executive Secretary), M. Walshok, J. Watson Others Present: R. Dynes, D. Fanestil Members Absent: R. Gutierrez, S. Kirkpatrick, J. Woods, K. Martinez Introductions and Discussion with Chancellor Dynes and Professor Fanestil Following introductions, Co-Chairs Paul Drake and Nick Spitzer welcomed Chancellor Robert Dynes and Professor Darrel Fanestil, Vice-Chair of the divisional Academic Senate. Dynes expressed his appreciation to the members of the Task Force and encouraged development of a substantial proposal that will enable UCSD to amplify it's role in public preparatory education in San Diego. Dynes challenged the group to suggest an initiative that will result in a new and effective mechanism to capture the attention of prospective students who might otherwise not aspire to enroll at a UC caliber campus. In response to a question from Drake regarding the nature of the recommendations expected to emanate from the Task Force, Dynes indicated that he believed it would be healthy and appropriate for the Task Force to formulate a programmatic recommendation couched in conceptual terms rather than issuing an extremely detailed plan for a specific program. Dynes asked that the Task Force define a model that will both elicit support from the campus community and be sufficiently detailed to guide subsequent work by faculty, students, and administrators who will be responsible for fleshing out the details of the recommended and ultimately adopted program. Chancellor Dynes discussed the widespread interest among members of the general public, local media, University Regents, and elected officials which followed the decision not to adopt the Charter school proposal in light of the results of the advisory vote of the Academic Senate, and he asked that the Task Force endeavor to communicate widely throughout its tenure. He then responded to several questions. Professor Ellen Commiso asked whether he had any preconceived expectations and Dynes indicated that he had previously expressed firm support for the Charter school proposal and believes that it continues to merit serious consideration, but he urged the Task Force to remain open to all worthwhile ideas -- including a Charter school. To an inquiry from Professor Yen-Le Espiritu regarding the process that will be followed to review the Task Force's report, the Chancellor asserted unequivocally that UCSD's decisional framework of shared governance will remain unchanged and that the faculty will be asked to provide input and advise on the merits of the recommendations that advance. In response to a query from Professor Jim Carethers regarding funding issues, Dynes expressed the firm belief that incremental funds would be acquired from both public and private sources and implementation of a new program would not result in funds being diverted away from existing academic, support, or outreach activities. Regarding an inquiry from Professor David Guiterrez about UCSD's interest in increasing the numbers of undeserved students who enroll at UCSD as a result of these efforts, Dynes reiterated his commitment to that Meeting Minutes and to advancing a new UCSD initiative to enhance K-12 public education in San Diego. Toward achieving those ends, the Chancellor looked forward to working with the Task Force periodically over the next two months. Professor Fanestil then reviewed the three main issues that arose during the Academic Senate's 1996-97 consideration of the Charter school proposal: the potential impact of the school, both in terms of additional numbers of students that would enroll at UC and the qualitative effects that might be seen over time funding, uncertainties regarding the extent of expertise that UCSD's current research faculty could provide to ensure the success of the proposed school. Professor Hugh Mehan acknowledged the accuracy of Fanestil's summary analysis but noted that at least a dozen faculty have specialized research interests that could be directly advanced or applied to structuring and evaluating a Charter school. Further Vice Chancellor Watson noted that additional expertise in germane fields could be developed and Mehan noted that proposals to allocate resources to expand UCSD's academic strengths in the area of educational public policy have been discussed periodically by UCSD's academic planners. Continuing the review of the Senate's recent assessments, Fanestil encouragingly noted that the Representative Assembly of the UCSD Academic Senate was nearly unanimous (by a vote of 57-2) in a May 1997 vote to support intensification of UCSD's outreach efforts. Spitzer thanked Chancellor Dynes and Professor Fanestil for providing their perspectives and indicated that the Task Force would be developing an interactive WWW site that would afford yet another means for them to participate in the discourse as ideas unfold over the next few weeks. Before departing, the Chancellor indicated that a public announcement regarding the Task Force would be issued imminently. Conceptualization of Strategies to be Employed by the Task Force Spitzer and Drake distributed and reviewed a strategy to guide the deliberations of the Task Force. The proposed strategy entails defining a number of conceptual program options or models that would then be developed and analyzed by Task Force subcommittees; e.g., specify key program components, describe the targeted populations, delineate potential academic effects (e.g., anticipated benefits to K-12 and UCSD students, academic or evaluation research linkages with UCSD faculty, etc), characterize likely public impacts, and summarize estimated operating and capital resource requirements. The models offered for initial consideration included: a Charter school (either on or off campus) new academic partnerships with existing schools a new summer academy at UCSD Watson observed that the former two models could be categorized as options entailing formal interactions with the San Diego Unified School District whereas the third option could be categorized as an independent UCSD entity. Associate Dean Miller noted that development of a new campus Outreach Center to enable significant enhancement and consolidation of existing outreach programs might offer another paradigm worthy of consideration. Several members expressed support for Associate Vice Chancellor Walshok's inquiry about the possibility of blending several aspects of these options into a hybrid alternative. The Task Force accepted the suggestion to structure its subsequent brainstorming around distinct program options and Drake asked the members to give thought to the general models to be studied so that selection of the options and formation of the subcommittees may advance. Logistics and Communications Spitzer reviewed, and the Task Force generally endorsed, a draft calendar for meetings with interested members of the campus and Greater San Diego communities, as well as other individuals unaffiliated with UCSD who may have germane expertise. Assistant Vice Chancellor Steindorf briefly reviewed an outline for a WWW site that will be constructed to provide information about the status of the Task Force and to enable information and ideas to be readily exchanged. Steindorf hopefully indicated that the site would be available for review by the Task Force next week. Prior to adjournment, it was agreed that the Task Force would continue to meet on Wednesdays from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Prepared by: Jeffrey A. Steindorf Executive Secretary