CUCFA statement on the selection of Janet Napolitano as incoming UC President

The Council of the University of California Faculty Associations (CUCFA) urges brisk and open discussion within and without the university community of the Board of Regents’ choice of Janet Napolitano to replace Mark Yudof as the new President of the University of California.  We also urge Janet Napolitano to join in these discussions. She was chosen by the Regents in the course of a secretive process that largely excluded the meaningful participation of UC faculty; now she has been asked to refrain from dialogue with the press, and the university community she hopes to lead, until her appointment is officially confirmed.  But Janet Napolitano is a member of the public we serve, and transparency of information and the free exchange of ideas are of the utmost importance to the University of California.  We ask her to demonstrate her own commitment to these values by confirming her support of the Master Plan and meeting with representatives of the academic community, CUCFA among them, to discuss our concerns and hopes for the future of our university.