Furlough Information and Process Overview

UCLA

Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost
Academic Senate

Dear Colleagues,

We recently communicated information about the salary reduction/furlough plan that went into effect on September 1, 2009.  The Office of the President made the decision that faculty should not take furloughs on instructional days.

Some faculty have expressed concern about the process through which this decision was reached.  We are therefore forwarding the attached open letter to faculty from Interim Provost Lawrence Pitts (click on this sentence to view).  As this letter makes clear, the decision about instructional days was reached through close consultation with the Academic Council, which represents the Academic Senate on each of the ten campuses.

The Senate Leadership and administration at UCLA believe that Provost Pitts has provided an accurate account of the process, and that the principles and practices of shared governance have been adhered to.  For a more detailed account of the consultation process, please see the Furlough documents posted on the Senate website, www.senate.ucla.edu.

We take this opportunity to remind you of two other aspects of the furlough plan that were developed through consultation with the Academic Senate.  First, faculty will be able to engage in compensated outside activities on furlough days.  Second, as part of the Furlough Exchange Program (FEP), they will also be able to use grants and other funds to offset their salary reduction.  The specifics on how the FEP will be administered are still being worked out and will be communicated shortly.

We hope this information is useful to you.

Sincerely,