"Bruin Caucus allows us to give back to the University that empowered
us to be all we could be," explains Edward Feldman '63,
JD '66. "Especially in a time of declining
resources, it's all the more important to advocate
for the funding that maintains the vitality of the UC system.
With term limits, new legislators need to learn that UCLA isn't
an expense, it's an investment
that pays dividends to the state and the nation." Feldman
and his wife, Dr. Bonnie Faherty MN '75, MPH '76,
have been volunteer advocates for UCLA since the early 1980s.
"We
take our personal stories to legislators, she adds, so
they can use them in advocating for the UC. I
try to serve as the conscience for nursing and social work when
we address health-care issues. And since I've taught at community
and state colleges, I can discuss the role of the UCs, CSUs and
community colleges in the state's Master Plan for
Education. They realize we're interested in preserving
higher education overall."
State Government Relations
State Government
Relations at UCLA is a crucial contact point with California
legislators and state agencies. In partnership with colleagues
from UC campuses throughout California, we are responsible for
ongoing communication with 12 state senators and 23 state assemblymembers
from the greater Los Angeles region, state agency officials,
and members of the governor’s administration. The many
friends and alumni volunteers who communicate with these officials
and travel to Sacramento to help advocate on UCLA’s behalf
are key to the University’s future.
It is no small task. Because California’s full-time legislature
sets
a new state budget each year – a budget that provides UCLA
with 20% of its operating funds – it is essential that our
interests be represented effectively. Because fully one-third of
the state’s legislators hail from Los Angeles County communities,
sharing the UCLA story with each of these legislators and other
government officials is a massive undertaking. And because term
limits bring new elected officials to Sacramento with every session,
educating legislators about the impact of their funding decisions
on UCLA’s future is more important than ever. The process
begins with staff-to-staff contact between our State Government
Relations professionals and the legislators and agencies to which
we are assigned – both in lawmakers’ L.A. area district
offices and in Sacramento.
State Government Relations Staff:
• Bring legislators to campus to meet with alumni, faculty, staff,
students and volunteers.
• Provide information to legislators and their staffs on the impact
of proposed legislation.
• Enlist the services of UCLA faculty as expert witnesses for legislative
hearings.
• Advocate the UC position on proposed legislation.
• Provide faculty and other experts to testify at committee hearings.
• Present briefings on UCLA research, teaching and community service
activities.
• Help legislators recruit UCLA students for legislative internships.
• Host candidate forums to introduce L.A. area State Assembly and
Senate candidates to potential voters.
•
Connect legislators with community leaders and organizations whose
efforts benefit the legislators’ districts and whose work
often is affected by state funding or legislation.
We build bridges. Make connections. And advocate for UCLA in
Sacramento.
Join the Bruin Caucus - Be a Volunteer
Advocate
As a volunteer advocate, you can help foster UCLA’s success
by joining Bruin Caucus. You will attend on-campus events that
bring members of the UCLA community together with legislators,
state, agency executives and their staffs, to help tell the UCLA
story as only you can tell it. Responding to Internet action alerts
from UCLA Government & Community Relations, you will write
e-letters, place phone calls or visit state
representatives to urge action on specific issues or legislation.
You
will take part in legislative staff briefings in L.A. district
offices. And you will be invited to join the UCLA professional
staff for our annual UC Day in Sacramento, where you will meet
and talk with state legislators “up close and personal” to
advocate for UCLA, our students and faculty, and the entire UC
community.
You will be fully prepared to do the job before every legislative
visit, thanks to Government & Community Relations’ specialized
briefings,
regularly scheduled orientations, frequent subject updates and
action alerts delivered via the Internet.
As a volunteer advocate, you are a credible voice because you
have given your time and resources to champion the University.
Legislators
take your word seriously. They know you are meeting with them
not because it is your job, but because you care about public
education
and about your community – and because you know how essential
UCLA’s success is to both.
To learn more about UCLA’s
State Government Relations activities, and to join Bruin Caucus
as an advocate for the University in
Los Angeles and Sacramento, contact:
UCLA State Government Relations
Ramona Cortés Garza
Executive Director
310-794-6818
ramonag@support.ucla.edu |
