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UCLA Faculty Decide Not To Rebuke Chancellor Gene Block Over Handling Of Protests
Gene Block has been UCLA chancellor since 2007. He plans to retire in 2024.
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Amanda Friedman/UCLA web site
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Topline:
The UCLA Academic Senate rejected a bid to vote "no confidence" in Chancellor Gene Block, and also rejected a censure. Both resolutions were designed to address Block's leadership through recent campus protests.
What's the debate? Faculty were considering whether Block failed to lead during and after counterprotestors attacked students in a pro-Palestinian encampment.
Who voted: The legislative assembly of UCLA's academic senate voted Thursday night, and released the results Friday evening. According to a notice from Academic Senate Secretary Linda Sarna, faculty rejected the vote of no confidence 103-79, with some members abstaining or voting present. The censure measure came in at a tie, 88-88 with some members not voting, but needed a majority to pass.
What did the resolutions mean? A censure is a public rebuke. Faculty at the University of Southern California recently censured their president, Carol Folt, over similar concerns. But UCLA faculty also considered a vote of "no confidence," which would have meant the faculty had lost faith in Block.
What happens now? Block announced last year that he'd retire this summer.
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