January 19, 1998

Managers participate in first-of-its-kind retreat

By Jim Burns

The newly established Administrative Council invited unit managers and supervisors from across the campus to a "leadership convocation" at Stevenson College last week. The half-day informational session on January 13, attended by some 200 managers, was the first event of its kind held specifically for campus managers.

The retreat was organized to foster a "common understanding" of the issues facing the campus and the efforts under way or needed to meet those challenges, observed Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood, who opened the morning with a talk titled "Fiat Lux: Defining Our Values and Partners for the Future."

Repeating a primary theme of her administration, the chancellor said the quality and viability of UCSC's programs will increasingly rely on the campus's success at fostering additional public and private partnerships. "The mantra for our future will be how can we help each other," she added.

Chaired by Executive Vice Chancellor Michael Tanner, the Administrative Council was titled the Change Management Team the past four years and operated in an ad-hoc capacity; renamed this month, the Administrative Council will provide ongoing advice to the chancellor and EVC. Other members include Tom Vani, vice chancellor for Business and Administrative Services (BAS); Francisco Hernandez, vice chancellor for Student Affairs; Richard Jensen, associate chancellor for Planning and Budget; Julia Armstrong-Zwart, assistant chancellor for Human Resources; and Leslie Sunell, executive assistant to the chancellor.

In addition to the chancellor, the following members of the senior administration made informational presentations at the retreat:

• Hernandez, who spoke about the rapid transformations units on campus will need to make to accommodate the next "tidal wave" of students. "We need to plan, and we need to plan to change, while retaining our twin goals of diversity and excellence," he said.

• Tanner, who spoke about the challenge of developing tomorrow's curriculum, integrating subjects that are critical for society's evolution with those that students demand. As a knowledge-based activity, he added, "information technology will be key to the generation and dissemination of knowledge."

• Armstrong-Zwart, who spoke of the challenge of attracting, retaining, and retooling a skilled workforce. The campus, she also said, must still travel some distance before its workforce represents the diversity of the labor pool.

• Karen Eckert, budget director, who stressed the diverse fund sources that support UCSC's range of expenditures. In today's budget climate, she added, it has become critical that the campus educate and train managers to become "leveragers" of new resources--support that will be essential to maintain existing programs and develop new ones.

• Vani, who discussed the rationale for systems of financial management and controls and offered a historical look at UCSC's physical planning. In addition to outlining the principles behind the physical development of the campus, Vani described a capital budget that, if forecasts prove correct, will fall far short of need.

• Marc Mangel, a professor of environmental studies and cochair of the Millennium Committee, who challenged managers to seriously consider how the campus's development, transmission, and application of knowledge can be done "more effectively" and "more nimbly."

• Martin Chemers, dean of social sciences, who employed his background in leadership psychology to discuss the characteristics of a thriving--and surviving--organization. "We have to somehow find this common vision...to think collectively about the mission of the whole organization and the best way to achieve it," he said.

At the close of the convocation, the managers broke into small groups to discuss questions about planning and growth, communication, technology, vision, and financial management. In the days and weeks that follow the January 13 retreat, the groups are to meet and continue discussions on their assigned topics.

Representatives of the small groups are scheduled to make their reports at a retreat follow-up meeting on February 4.

Linda Kittle, who chaired the planning team that developed the retreat, said organizers are also exploring ways to disseminate the presentations to the broader campus audience.

In addition to Kittle, the planning team comprises Sharon Cohen Barry of Human Resources, Catherine Faris of BAS, Sheila Gottehrer of the Ombudsman's Office, Gail Heit of Student Affairs, Ernie Hudson of the Executive Vice Chancellor's Office, and Keith Muscutt of the Arts Division.

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