By Vic Cox

Noting that the 2006-07 academic year was the last year in the current cycle of permanent budget reductions, Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Lucas told a May 14 audience of administrators and staff that he “hoped” some funds would be restored in the coming year. “I do expect to see significant funding increases for graduate student support to UC as a whole,” he said at the annual End-of-the-Year Report, though he could not predict the impact on UCSB.

Chancellor Henry Yang also presented an optimistic picture when he summarized campus achievements over the past year. The Campaign for UC Santa Barbara had raised $410.9 million to date, he reported, more than 80 percent toward its goal of $500 million. Student diversity has increased significantly over the past decade, with underrepresented minorities growing from 15 percent of the student body in 1995 to 21 percent this year. Also, the proposed UC 2007-08 budget funds 5,000 new students.

Yang then spoke about the “$1 billion in construction on campus” that represented projects completed or in the pipeline between 2003 and 2010. He applauded the new, student-financed Student Resource Building, which he helped open earlier this month, and praised all who had worked on getting the North Campus faculty-staff housing project approved by the California Coastal Commission. “We’re looking for a developer now,” said Yang.

With the background set, Lucas and Marc Fisher, associate vice chancellor for design and facilities, presented “Vision 2025,” an outline of the campus’s new Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) that will extend to the year 2025. Based on the academic section of the LRDP, the student population is projected to grow at a rate of 1 percent a year to a total of 25,000; faculty FTEs will increase by 250. However, over the next 18 years some 550 faculty are expected to retire, so selecting the right faculty members to fill these openings will be “a big challenge,” said Lucas. “Staff will also increase,” he added, but gave no numbers.

Fisher sketched the physical and housing sections of the LRDP, based on campus land holdings of around 1,050 acres, 400 of which is called the core campus. With the Urban Design Associates 2003 plan, which “continues to evolve,” said Fisher, the placement of new buildings would increase core campus density while opening up view corridors and adding recreational fields.

Housing, which will include staff as well as faculty and students, has ambitious goals: roughly 1,800 new units of faculty and staff housing, and enough units to house half of the student body. Current UCSB housing stock includes 66 faculty units (on West Campus) and units for around 35 percent of the 20,000-plus students.

“The most exciting thing about this (housing) plan is that we will essentially self-mitigate” expected future growth, said Fisher, meaning that the planned units would cover all new student growth, and much of the growth in employees.

Other speakers included Michael Young, vice chancellor, student affairs, and Michael Witherell, vice chancellor for research. Young lauded the expanded capabilities his division has for serving students due to the new Student Resource Building while reminding the audience that distressed students are everyone’s responsibility. “Trust your instincts and call for help” when you think someone might need it, he advised, giving social worker Burt Romotsky’s number (x3380).