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VOLUME 148, ISSUE 21 | TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2025, 2024
UC system announces hiring freeze amid projected $271 million cut in state funding The news came as universities across the country brace for changes in federal policy in education spending BY VINCE BASADA campus@theaggie.org The University of California announced a systemwide hiring freeze on March 19, citing higher education policy changes from the Trump administration and cuts to the UC’s budget allocation from the state. The news was announced by UC President Michael V. Drake, who said the freeze will be part of the system’s wider efforts to manage costs and conserve funds. The UC is facing $271 million in proposed cuts from the state of California for the 2025-26 academic year. “[Our] efforts have allowed us to stave off some of the immediate and projected financial impacts — but not all,” Drake said in a statement. “As we face funding reductions at both the state and federal levels, the Chancellors and I are preparing for significant financial challenges ahead.” Drake, who is set to step down at the end of this academic year, has also directed all UC campuses to initiate other costsaving measures, which he acknowledges will vary from
Mrak Hall at UC Davis. (Quinn Spooner / Aggie File) location to location. They include delaying maintenance and restricting business travel. The austerity measures will affect all nine undergraduate campuses, UC San Francisco (a graduate medical school) and several other affiliated locations. In a message to UC Davis employees and staffers, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May said that he had directed Human Resources to design a new “centralized
hiring process” for staff positions; A centralized hiring review is already in place at UC Davis Health. May also noted that he anticipates fewer faculty hires than in recent years. “We know this news is unsettling, and many of you may have questions about how this will impact your teams and departments,” May said in the statement. “Please know that UC Davis is committed to navigating
What does the future of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion look like at the University of California under Trump?
As educators interpret recent executive orders and Department of Education guidance regarding DEI, the UC system responds and provides system-wide guidance for students BY KHADEEJAH KHAN campus@theaggie.org A “Dear Colleague” letter from the United States Department of Education on Feb. 14 threatened federal funding for schools’ race specific programs, including scholarships, financial aid, dormitory floors and graduation ceremonies. Now, as community members are interpreting the impact of new guidelines, the University of California has provided systemwide guidance. The letter followed President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order, which called for the termination of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Diversity Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) and environmental justice positions, describing them as “illegal and immoral.” “The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent,” the letter reads. “The Department will vigorously enforce the law on equal terms as to all preschool, elementary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions, as well as state educational agencies that receive financial assistance.” While the “Dear Colleague” letter followed the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision which barred the use of race in admissions decisions, this letter targets programs not included in the 2023 ruling, including dormitory floors, graduation ceremonies and scholarships. UC Davis Education Professor Michal Kurlaender described the letter as “overreach on the interpretation” of the 2023 Supreme Court decision. Kurlaender’s work focuses on ways to make the pathway into college more equitable amidst racial and socioeconomic inequity. She said that racial affinity programs are one step closer to achieving that equity. “While we might think college is just about taking classes and completing, it turns out, it is not,” Kurlaender said. “Students experience college in a number of ways, and they need to feel psychological safety. They need to feel like they can navigate the complex system with deadlines and fees and any number, registration and constraints administrative burdens. They also want to feel like they see themselves in the
curriculum.” Kurlaender said students from historically marginalized backgrounds pursuing higher education, often coming from unequal K-12 environments, frequently experience imposter syndrome and isolation. While California’s K-12 student population is 80% students of color, Kurlaender noted that same diversity is often not represented in higher education environments. She believes it is essential to protect aspects of student life, including the beginning of the student experience through themed dormitory floors, all the way to their graduation to “celebrate the accomplishment of completion.” At UC Davis, the Center for Chicanx and Latinx Academic Student Success, Center for African Diaspora Student Success, Native American Academic Student Success Center, Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian Student Resources and more have held graduation ceremonies celebrating graduating students from various communities. These centers will continue to hold their 2025 graduation ceremonies according to their websites. A Feb. 20 statement signed by UC President Michael Drake responded to the “Dear Colleague” letter. “We encourage UC staff to continue with their work in alignment with all applicable state and federal laws,” the statement reads. “We will continue to ensure that every Californian has the opportunity to join the UC community and feels welcome at our campuses. We are committed to ensuring that our campuses benefit from the talents and aspirations of all, as we create a vibrant workforce for future generations.”
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On March 7, the UC Office of the President (UCOP) released an FAQ page addressing how DEI might be impacted at the UC. When asked whether or not the UC is planning to scale back or eliminate DEI efforts or positions, the FAQ page states that “UC remains fully committed to equal opportunity and broad participation in its education, employment and contracting opportunities,” in compliance with Article 1, Section 31 of the California Constitution. In regards to DEI titles, the statement wrote that for staff employees the job titles on UC Career Tracks may be updated, while academic job titles will remain the same. In response to questions regarding outreach and pipeline programming by race and sex, the UC will continue to use informational outreach strategies for those groups, with the programming being accessible to all students. Individual campus departments offering courses or programming “related to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging” can continue to do so “as long as those programs are open and available to all,” according to the UCOP website. These programs include Ethnic Studies departments, speaker series, research institutes and more. The statement also addressed affinity-based registered student organizations (RSOs), offering support to RSOs who continued to comply with current student organization rules and regulations, as well as being accessible to all students. The same applies to resource programs and centers for specific identity groups, according to the statement. EXECORDER on 8
these challenges together as a community, guided by compassion and transparency.” In a February communication from UC Davis administration to staffers, university leaders said that UC Davis is facing a $37 million reduction in state funding. Additionally, the report noted that unless significant action is taken, UC Davis’ budget deficit will more than double, up from $40.3 million at the
close of fiscal year 2024-25 to approximately $90 million by the end of 2025-26. The announcement comes as colleges and universities across the country are bracing for cuts in higher education spending and aid from the federal government amid calls from President Donald Trump to abolish the Department of Education. AFSCME Local 3299, the UC’s largest labor union representing some 35,000 employees, called the announcement representative of “more of the same institutional failure.” “UC has effectively had a hiring freeze in place for the past four years, and its Chief Financial Officer acknowledged as much when he told the Board of Regents in 2023 that staff vacancies had tripled since the pandemic,” AFSCME Local 3299 President Michael Avant said. The university has clarified that employment offers made by the UC on or before March 19, 2025 will be honored. This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
Our national parks and park workers are under threat amid recent presidential administration actions
Students and faculty discuss the ramifications of Trump’s recent actions against national parks CRYSTAL CHEN / AGGIE
BY JENEVAH HARRISON features@theaggie.org As the busy season for national parks approaches, concerns are rising over the impact of recent government actions on park preservation and management. The Trump administration’s decision to cut approximately 1,000 National Park Service employees in February 2025 has sparked debate about the future of these treasured landscapes. Critics argue that these cuts are part of a broader strategy that threatens the integrity of America’s natural spaces. Jill Laufer, a UC Davis Ph.D. candidate, believes that the move is less about efficiency and more about creating instability. “[It is a] ploy to generate headlines — a nanny state for chaos,” Laufer said. “Trump’s overall motive for this act is most likely to encourage citizens to come together to protect the national parks and remove government interference altogether. However, the politics of it is chaos — to seem like they’re doing something — and essentially burn it down.” Laufer points out Trump’s attempt to limit the amount of federal workers as a ploy to minimize the government and increase his own power, which has been frequently discussed during his past and current presidencies. This decision from Trump could potentially also lead to more dangerous parks, which Austyn Gaffney discussed in an article for the New York Times.
“Among those whose jobs were eliminated were river and wilderness rangers, scientists who help keep forests healthy to minimize fire danger, analysts, attorneys and administrators,” the article reads. “Many were trained to assist firefighters, possessing skills that are required each summer as climate change causes bigger and more severe fires.” Without these essential roles of workers in our national parks, Gaffney argues that the safety of visitors could be affected. This will likely include unsupervised activity resulting in an increase of accidents due to an overall lack of park maintenance and supervision. Kalen Hale, a first-year environmental policy analysis and planning major, also voiced concern over the implications of these layoffs. Hale emphasized the essential role national parks play in environmental sustainability and local economies. “National parks are the preservation of the natural environment, and [they] can greatly support the surrounding land and soil due to insects, animals, pollen and so much more,” Hale said. “Considering all of the national parks in America, it is valid to say that they greatly support the world’s climate.” Beyond environmental concerns, the layoffs raise pressing questions about park maintenance and visitor education. “To put it simply, if workers of any kind are fired, how will things be able to run? NATIONALPARKJOBS on 8