Latest news with #Frenk
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chancellor Julio Frenk suggests he'll be actively involved with UCLA athletics
Julio Frenk does not appear to be a university administrator content to watch his school's athletic program from the sidelines. In his last stop before becoming UCLA's chancellor, Frenk led an overhaul of the University of Miami's athletic department, bringing in a new athletic director and football coach after the Hurricanes were criticized for not making football a priority under Frenk's leadership. Advertisement That shakeup resulted in coach Mario Cristobal leading his team to a 10-3 season in 2024 that represented the Hurricanes' best finish in nearly a decade. Can UCLA fans expect a similar level of involvement in athletics from their new chancellor? In a word, yes. Read more: UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk vows to restore campus trust amid 'nervousness and anxiety' During a recent interview with The Times, Frenk indicated that he would be hands-on with UCLA athletics because of its importance to the university as a whole. 'I am [going to be involved] because I think athletics plays a very central role,' Frenk said. 'It is, first, an avenue for recruiting very talented students. Secondly, it benefits the other students. It enriches the student experience of everyone. But let me tell you, when we talk about the contribution to society, part of the reason many universities have a deficit, it's not because of football. Football actually has a positive cash flow for the university. Advertisement 'What we do in the United States that no other country that I know of does, is that universities are the place where we train Olympians, Olympic competitors, competitors who go to the Olympic Games. That function — just like the research function — has been delegated to universities and we are investing in having Olympic athletes. In most of the other countries, it's government-run high-performance centers. 'But here the federal government doesn't have to worry about that because universities do that and they fund that. And when we have the Olympics every four years, everyone is very proud to see the United States top the medal chart. That work starts in universities and that's why we also fund that. It's an intrinsic part of education. It enriches everyone's experience. It builds community. It also produces the best performing Olympic teams in the world.' Frenk's comments would seem to suggest that he is not considering any cuts to UCLA's Olympic sports even at a time when the school's athletic department has run up a $219.5-million deficit over the last six fiscal years. That deficit would be even higher had the university not agreed to provide $30 million to its athletic department as part of its most recent fiscal budget. Frenk also said that federal legislation was needed 'to create a much more predictable model' for football and men's basketball, controlling expenses while propping up the rest of an athletic department. UCLA chancellor Julio Frenk speaks during his inauguration ceremony at Royce Hall on June 5. (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times) 'I acknowledge this costs money,' Frenk said of allocating resources to the revenue sports, 'but the money goes to be able to have all the other disciplines that do not generate money. The most direct way to do that would be to find other sources of funding. Right now, we use the revenue from football and that requires investments to fund the entire athletic operation. Advertisement 'It is time to have a conversation and create a legal framework that doesn't leave it to each institution or each state to find their own way in this. We're part of an ecosystem. I think the move to the Big Ten has been very positive in that respect. And those are the conversations we are having. How do we generate other sources of revenue — mostly to be able not just to maintain the excellence of the sports that are widely followed by the public, but also all the other sports, including, very importantly, the Olympic sports, which are such a source of pride?' Frenk has shown he will not tolerate failure in high-profile sports — or the perception that he is not doing everything he can to help his teams. As Miami's president, he led an upheaval of the school's athletic department after ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit criticized the Hurricanes during a September 2021 broadcast, mentioning a Miami Herald article stating that football was not a priority for Frenk. Herbstreit went on to say that Miami's athletic director, football coach and president were not in alignment about team needs like other powerhouse programs. Five days later, Frenk issued a statement saying that he wanted 'to make clear that the board of trustees and I, as president, recognize the essential part of our brand and reputation derived from athletics and we are fully committed to building championship-caliber teams at the U.' Frenk added that he would have his chief of staff and senior advisor engage with the athletic department to enhance his own commitment to sustain winning teams. Advertisement With the football team headed for a 7-5 finish that fell far short of preseason expectations, athletic director James Blake was fired before the end of the season and football coach Manny Diaz was dismissed a little more than a week after the final game. The Hurricanes then gave Cristobal a 10-year, $80-million contract, with Frenk attending the introductory news conference and calling his new coach's selection 'a bold vision for the future.' UCLA football went 5-7 last season under first-year coach DeShaun Foster. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Last month, while making his first public remarks about UCLA athletics at a UC regents meeting, Frenk referenced the role athletics played in the school's institutional identity, mentioning legendary basketball coach John Wooden and the Bruins' dominance in Olympic sports with the school set to host the athlete village for the 2028 Olympics. Frenk also mentioned how UCLA's recent move to the Big Ten Conference was made with 'the goal of stabilizing the program and positioning it for long-term success.' The chancellor referenced the school's national championship in men's water polo, a Final Four appearance in women's basketball and a national runner-up finish in women's gymnastics as part of a haul that also included six team and four individual conference titles, the most of any Big Ten team. Advertisement Ultimately, an athletic department is only as healthy as its highest-profile sports. UCLA's football team needs to fully capitalize on the recent buzz created by the arrival of transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava after finishing 5-7 in coach DeShaun Foster's debut season. The men's basketball team must maximize the ability of transfer point guard Donovan Dent to make everyone around him better if it hopes to make it to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2023. Going forward, every UCLA team seems assured of one thing: Their new chancellor will be watching. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Chancellor Julio Frenk suggests he'll be actively involved with UCLA athletics
Julio Frenk does not appear to be a university administrator content to watch his school's athletic program from the sidelines. In his last stop before becoming UCLA's chancellor, Frenk led an overhaul of the University of Miami's athletic department, bringing in a new athletic director and football coach after the Hurricanes were criticized for not making football a priority under Frenk's leadership. That shakeup resulted in coach Mario Cristobal leading his team to a 10-3 season in 2024 that represented the Hurricanes' best finish in nearly a decade. Can UCLA fans expect a similar level of involvement in athletics from their new chancellor? In a word, yes. During a recent interview with The Times, Frenk indicated that he would be hands-on with UCLA athletics because of its importance to the university as a whole. 'I am [going to be involved] because I think athletics plays a very central role,' Frenk said. 'It is, first, an avenue for recruiting very talented students. Secondly, it benefits the other students. It enriches the student experience of everyone. But let me tell you, when we talk about the contribution to society, part of the reason many universities have a deficit, it's not because of football. Football actually has a positive cash flow for the university. 'What we do in the United States that no other country that I know of does, is that universities are the place where we train Olympians, Olympic competitors, competitors who go to the Olympic Games. That function — just like the research function — has been delegated to universities and we are investing in having Olympic athletes. In most of the other countries, it's government-run high-performance centers. 'But here the federal government doesn't have to worry about that because universities do that and they fund that. And when we have the Olympics every four years, everyone is very proud to see the United States top the medal chart. That work starts in universities and that's why we also fund that. It's an intrinsic part of education. It enriches everyone's experience. It builds community. It also produces the best performing Olympic teams in the world.' Frenk's comments would seem to suggest that he is not considering any cuts to UCLA's Olympic sports even at a time when the school's athletic department has run up a $219.5-million deficit over the last six fiscal years. That deficit would be even higher had the university not agreed to provide $30 million to its athletic department as part of its most recent fiscal budget. Frenk also said that federal legislation was needed 'to create a much more predictable model' for football and men's basketball, controlling expenses while propping up the rest of an athletic department. 'I acknowledge this costs money,' Frenk said of allocating resources to the revenue sports, 'but the money goes to be able to have all the other disciplines that do not generate money. The most direct way to do that would be to find other sources of funding. Right now, we use the revenue from football and that requires investments to fund the entire athletic operation. 'It is time to have a conversation and create a legal framework that doesn't leave it to each institution or each state to find their own way in this. We're part of an ecosystem. I think the move to the Big Ten has been very positive in that respect. And those are the conversations we are having. How do we generate other sources of revenue — mostly to be able not just to maintain the excellence of the sports that are widely followed by the public, but also all the other sports, including, very importantly, the Olympic sports, which are such a source of pride?' Frenk has shown he will not tolerate failure in high-profile sports — or the perception that he is not doing everything he can to help his teams. As Miami's president, he led an upheaval of the school's athletic department after ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit criticized the Hurricanes during a September 2021 broadcast, mentioning a Miami Herald article stating that football was not a priority for Frenk. Herbstreit went on to say that Miami's athletic director, football coach and president were not in alignment about team needs like other powerhouse programs. Five days later, Frenk issued a statement saying that he wanted 'to make clear that the board of trustees and I, as president, recognize the essential part of our brand and reputation derived from athletics and we are fully committed to building championship-caliber teams at the U.' Frenk added that he would have his chief of staff and senior advisor engage with the athletic department to enhance his own commitment to sustain winning teams. With the football team headed for a 7-5 finish that fell far short of preseason expectations, athletic director James Blake was fired before the end of the season and football coach Manny Diaz was dismissed a little more than a week after the final game. The Hurricanes then gave Cristobal a 10-year, $80-million contract, with Frenk attending the introductory news conference and calling his new coach's selection 'a bold vision for the future.' Last month, while making his first public remarks about UCLA athletics at a UC regents meeting, Frenk referenced the role athletics played in the school's institutional identity, mentioning legendary basketball coach John Wooden and the Bruins' dominance in Olympic sports with the school set to host the athlete village for the 2028 Olympics. Frenk also mentioned how UCLA's recent move to the Big Ten Conference was made with 'the goal of stabilizing the program and positioning it for long-term success.' The chancellor referenced the school's national championship in men's water polo, a Final Four appearance in women's basketball and a national runner-up finish in women's gymnastics as part of a haul that also included six team and four individual conference titles, the most of any Big Ten team. Ultimately, an athletic department is only as healthy as its highest-profile sports. UCLA's football team needs to fully capitalize on the recent buzz created by the arrival of transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava after finishing 5-7 in coach DeShaun Foster's debut season. The men's basketball team must maximize the ability of transfer point guard Donovan Dent to make everyone around him better if it hopes to make it to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2023. Going forward, every UCLA team seems assured of one thing: Their new chancellor will be watching.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk vows to restore campus trust amid 'nervousness and anxiety'
Since he took the helm this year at UCLA, Chancellor Julio Frenk has found himself in a vortex of unprecedented obstacles not only to his campus, but also to the nation's institutions of higher education. "Higher education in the United States faces its moment of greatest challenge in living memory," Frenk said Thursday to more than 1,300 guests gathered at Royce Hall as he was inaugurated UCLA's seventh chancellor during a ceremony replete with professors in academic robes and regalia. "We must meet the moment with courage, resilience and wisdom." Days after he started Jan. 1, the worst fires in Los Angeles history erupted. A mandatory Palisades fire evacuation zone expanded to the edge of the sprawling Westwood campus. Frenk's first major decision: He pushed for classes to go online for two weeks, allowing students to flee to safer ground. He then approved the university's donation of its under-construction UCLA Research Park, on the site of the former Westside Pavillion, to serve as a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster recovery center, where more than 1,000 students, faculty and staff volunteered. Within 10 days, President-elect Donald Trump would be inaugurated. Trump's administration soon began slashing medical research funding to universities — the first act of the president's political battle to remake higher education and rid elite universities of what he sees as their liberal bias, hostility to conservatives and abetting of antisemitism. The research cuts are one of a fusillade of federal actions and threats — coupled with state budget cuts — that led to a UC-wide hiring freeze and austerity measures that have put into question the very core of the University of California's mission as among the nation's premier and most diverse research institutions. Today, UCLA is one of 10 universities under the microscope by a federal task force that has canceled billions in research funding and tried to block foreign student enrollment at Harvard the name of fighting antisemitism. The campus is the focus of two federal investigations over allegations that UCLA illegally considers race in admissions. The UC system as a whole is also facing a Trump investigation over allegations of antisemitic employment discrimination. The university has also supported suits against the Trump administration's funding cuts. Tensions are still fresh since UCLA was propelled into the global spotlight when a pro-Palestinian encampment came under violent attack a year ago. The melee and the encampment are the subject of multiple lawsuits against UCLA and police as smaller protests demanding divestment from financial ties to the war in Gaza have continued. And under Frenk's leadership, the university banned Students for Justice in Palestine after pro-Palestinian demonstrators vandalized a UC regent's Brentwood home. On Thursday, that group and dozens of UCLA organizations and community members, including faculty and labor groups, released an open letter demanding Frenk "put people over profit." A few dozen pro-Palestinian protesters then rallied outside Royce Hall and nearby Kaplan Hall, where UCLA police said they detained three individuals for "illegal use of amplified sound." During his speech, Frenk said he envisions a UCLA that is committed to broadening "access and success for students from all walks of life." He spoke Thursday of "restoring public trust in universities" and a "determination to end all forms of prejudice and intolerance." "Good universities not only tolerate but cultivate diversity of thought," Frenk said. "They stand against dogma, conformity and indoctrination. We can disagree, passionately, even vehemently, but always respectfully." UCLA's first Latino chancellor, Frenk was president at the University of Miami for nine years and the dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health for six. A scholar of public health who was born in Mexico City, he served as Mexico's federal secretary of health from 2000 to 2006. In extensive interview with The Times last week, Frenk said he is positioning UCLA to be "at the service" of the "local community, the national community and the global community," pointing to its fire disaster response and ongoing university research into issues including racial disparities related to the fire, damage to small community water systems, and disaster recovery planning. Within campus, he wants to "restore the bonds of trust among members of the UCLA community." During the interview, he laid out his vision for UCLA and addressed the Trump administration's attacks on American higher education. "There's a strong sense of belonging to the institution and a great pride in UCLA.... At the same time, there's a lot of nervousness and anxiety because there is uncertainty," said Frenk, who has held dozens of "listening sessions" with thousands of UCLA community members. His responses have been edited for length and clarity. The encampment went up April 25, 2024. Just days earlier, you accepted the offer to become chancellor. What were your impressions of the encampment? What was your conversation with UC President Michael V. Drake? After the demonstrations began, President Drake asked if I was going to change my mind about taking the role. My answer was unequivocal: No, of course not. Great universities like UCLA bridge divides. They are connective institutions that foster debate and dialogue while always prioritizing respect. This is an opportunity to lead an extraordinary university at an extraordinary time — to build a truly connective, impactful and exemplary university. Together, we will do just that. Read more: UCLA has a new chancellor: Julio Frenk, University of Miami president, global health expert About 10% of UCLA's $11-billion budget comes from federal funding. How do you respond to the Trump administration research cuts? We need to explain how the research enterprise based in universities like UCLA operates, because it has been the most successful arrangement for producing life-saving research in human history. Common citizens benefit from that technology — but they're not aware of everything that is behind that. When the government threatens to reduce research funding, of course, it affects universities and the researchers that work there. But the main losers are the citizens who are going to stop benefiting from the clinical trials to develop new drugs, from all the technology — and it's the economy of the United States. The largest and most dynamic economy is innovation. All that innovation starts with research. Most of that research is carried out in universities. So cutting research is truly a self-inflicted wound. It doesn't mean we cannot do things better. Of course we can, but just cutting in a major way is going to backfire badly on the well-being, the prosperity and the security of the country. Harvard has gone to court against the Trump administration to fight funding cuts and a ban on foreign student enrollment, publicly decrying federal actions. Columbia University has negotiated and largely complied with Trump demands, including an overhaul of discipline, hiring new safety officers and conducting a review of admissions and Middle Eastern studies programs. Will UCLA respond like Harvard or Columbia if sanctioned by the Trump administration? You know, it depends on what are the specific requests. We are a public institution. We engage with government, local government, the city of L.A. and the county, state government and federal government. Now, we do that within the frame of the rule of law. So anything that violates the rule of law, we won't do and, if we are required to do that, we will do what we have already been doing, which is also participating in lawsuits.... I signed a statement from the American Assn. of Colleges and Universities where we actually say that we want to engage, we're open to observations and criticism ... and we're very focused on improving. The government has accused UCLA of enabling antisemitism. What is the status of the federal task force investigation? First of all, let me say one thing: There has been an increase in antisemitism in universities. This is well-documented, and I am acknowledging that and facing that directly. I have been very active since I started in January — it's been a top priority of mine — to fix that problem. Fix it means eradicate antisemitism from, in this case, the UCLA campus, which is the one I'm responsible [for]. I hope it happens not just in universities but in society in general. This is very personal for me. My family was a victim of antisemitism. They had to leave Germany in the 1930s. I'm married to the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. But in addition to being personal, I think it's the right thing to do. So, while we acknowledge the problem — definitely acknowledge — we are also actively taking action, making decisions to deal with it. Read more: UCLA students and faculty raise alarm on antisemitic and anti-Palestinian hate amid ongoing protests We had a task force internal to UCLA with very clear recommendations. We've now instituted an initiative from that group along four lines. One is to improve education on antisemitism and innovating the way we educate. Secondly, is to facilitate the reporting of incidents. We're hiring a Title VI officer so that the reporting can be easier. Third is enforcing the rules and policies, including disciplinary rules. And fourth is connecting with the community so that we can act together, not in isolation from our community. And in response to the federal government, that's what I have always stated, yes, there is a problem, and we are working very hard and very diligently and very focused to fix it. Are you talking to the federal investigators? The top one, Leo Terrell, says that because of "resistance" to his group, the government will sue the UC system. We will always cooperate with the federal government. I cannot comment on ongoing investigations, as you know, but we are not resisting cooperation. As I said before, we engage with government. How do you respond to the Trump administration's attacks on DEI, including accusations that UCLA is illegally using race in admissions? Diversity does not mean discrimination. We do not discriminate. In fact, being in California, we are subject to the provisions of Proposition 209 and the University of California complies with those elements. [Proposition 209 is the voter-approved state law barring all public educational institutions in the state from considering race in admissions.] Now, a lot of the discussion has implicit the assumption that diversity can only be advanced at the expense of excellence. That is not the case at UCLA and, frankly, at any of the top universities that I'm very familiar with, including the other UC universities. We believe in what we call inclusive excellence. Excellence is at the beginning. We don't gain anything by admitting students who are going to fail. For us, diversity is an integral part of excellence and it does not require any of the accusations that the acronym has led to. So, my invitation to society is, let's leave the acronym aside. Let's talk about the values. What is the opposite of diversity: uniformity. Do we want only everyone to be identical? I don't think that's what anyone wants. What's the opposite of inclusion? Is it exclusion? Who would we exclude? Let's have that conversation as a society. What's the opposite of equity? Equity means everyone deserves a fair chance in life. What about the increasing restrictions on international students? Knowledge is a global good that benefits everyone. Research is intrinsically global. Part of what's made the American universities the top universities in the world is exactly the fact that they attract talent from everywhere. That, by the way, again, has served the United States very well. Any restriction on that kind of movement, any targeting on the basis of national origin, is obviously not ethical but it's also to the detriment, not of only the universities, but to the detriment of all the other students. Having students from many parts of the world enriches the experience of everyone. Not only that, some of those students pay full tuition and help us with the financial aid to American citizens and residents. If there's concerns about security, let's deal with that case by case. Blanket measures are never good. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk vows to restore campus trust amid ‘nervousness and anxiety'
Since he took the helm this year at UCLA, Chancellor Julio Frenk has found himself in a vortex of unprecedented obstacles not only to his campus, but also to the nation's institutions of higher education. 'Higher education in the United States faces its moment of greatest challenge in living memory,' Frenk said Thursday to more than 1,300 guests gathered at Royce Hall as he was inaugurated UCLA's seventh chancellor during a ceremony replete with professors in academic robes and regalia. 'We must meet the moment with courage, resilience and wisdom.' Days after he started Jan. 1, the worst fires in Los Angeles history erupted. A mandatory Palisades fire evacuation zone expanded to the edge of the sprawling Westwood campus. Frenk's first major decision: He pushed for classes to go online for two weeks, allowing students to flee to safer ground. He then approved the university's donation of its under-construction UCLA Research Park, on the site of the former Westside Pavillion, to serve as a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster recovery center, where more than 1,000 students, faculty and staff volunteered. Within 10 days, President-elect Donald Trump would be inaugurated. Trump's administration soon began slashing medical research funding to universities — the first act of the president's political battle to remake higher education and rid elite universities of what he sees as their liberal bias, hostility to conservatives and abetting of antisemitism. The research cuts are one of a fusillade of federal actions and threats — coupled with state budget cuts — that led to a UC-wide hiring freeze and austerity measures that have put into question the very core of the University of California's mission as among the nation's premier and most diverse research institutions. Today, UCLA is one of 10 universities under the microscope by a federal task force that has canceled billions in research funding and tried to block foreign student enrollment at Harvard the name of fighting antisemitism. The campus is the focus of two federal investigations over allegations that UCLA illegally considers race in admissions. The UC system as a whole is also facing a Trump investigation over allegations of antisemitic employment discrimination. The university has also supported suits against the Trump administration's funding cuts. Tensions are still fresh since UCLA was propelled into the global spotlight when a pro-Palestinian encampment came under violent attack a year ago. The melee and the encampment are the subject of multiple lawsuits against UCLA and police as smaller protests demanding divestment from financial ties to the war in Gaza have continued. And under Frenk's leadership, the university banned Students for Justice in Palestine after pro-Palestinian demonstrators vandalized a UC regent's Brentwood home. On Thursday, that group and dozens of UCLA organizations and community members, including faculty and labor groups, released an open letter demanding Frenk 'put people over profit.' A few dozen pro-Palestinian protesters then rallied outside Royce Hall and nearby Kaplan Hall, where UCLA police said they detained three individuals for 'illegal use of amplified sound.' During his speech, Frenk said he envisions a UCLA that is committed to broadening 'access and success for students from all walks of life.' He spoke Thursday of 'restoring public trust in universities' and a 'determination to end all forms of prejudice and intolerance.' 'Good universities not only tolerate but cultivate diversity of thought,' Frenk said. 'They stand against dogma, conformity and indoctrination. We can disagree, passionately, even vehemently, but always respectfully.' UCLA's first Latino chancellor, Frenk was president at the University of Miami for nine years and the dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health for six. A scholar of public health who was born in Mexico City, he served as Mexico's federal secretary of health from 2000 to 2006. In extensive interview with The Times last week, Frenk said he is positioning UCLA to be 'at the service' of the 'local community, the national community and the global community,' pointing to its fire disaster response and ongoing university research into issues including racial disparities related to the fire, damage to small community water systems, and disaster recovery planning. Within campus, he wants to 'restore the bonds of trust among members of the UCLA community.' During the interview, he laid out his vision for UCLA and addressed the Trump administration's attacks on American higher education. 'There's a strong sense of belonging to the institution and a great pride in UCLA.... At the same time, there's a lot of nervousness and anxiety because there is uncertainty,' said Frenk, who has held dozens of 'listening sessions' with thousands of UCLA community members. His responses have been edited for length and clarity. The encampment went up April 25, 2024. Just days earlier, you accepted the offer to become chancellor. What were your impressions of the encampment? What was your conversation with UC President Michael V. Drake? After the demonstrations began, President Drake asked if I was going to change my mind about taking the role. My answer was unequivocal: No, of course not. Great universities like UCLA bridge divides. They are connective institutions that foster debate and dialogue while always prioritizing respect. This is an opportunity to lead an extraordinary university at an extraordinary time — to build a truly connective, impactful and exemplary university. Together, we will do just that. About 10% of UCLA's $11-billion budget comes from federal funding. How do you respond to the Trump administration research cuts? We need to explain how the research enterprise based in universities like UCLA operates, because it has been the most successful arrangement for producing life-saving research in human history. Common citizens benefit from that technology — but they're not aware of everything that is behind that. When the government threatens to reduce research funding, of course, it affects universities and the researchers that work there. But the main losers are the citizens who are going to stop benefiting from the clinical trials to develop new drugs, from all the technology — and it's the economy of the United States. The largest and most dynamic economy is innovation. All that innovation starts with research. Most of that research is carried out in universities. So cutting research is truly a self-inflicted wound. It doesn't mean we cannot do things better. Of course we can, but just cutting in a major way is going to backfire badly on the well-being, the prosperity and the security of the country. Harvard has gone to court against the Trump administration to fight funding cuts and a ban on foreign student enrollment, publicly decrying federal actions. Columbia University has negotiated and largely complied with Trump demands, including an overhaul of discipline, hiring new safety officers and conducting a review of admissions and Middle Eastern studies programs. Will UCLA respond like Harvard or Columbia if sanctioned by the Trump administration? You know, it depends on what are the specific requests. We are a public institution. We engage with government, local government, the city of L.A. and the county, state government and federal government. Now, we do that within the frame of the rule of law. So anything that violates the rule of law, we won't do and, if we are required to do that, we will do what we have already been doing, which is also participating in lawsuits.... I signed a statement from the American Assn. of Colleges and Universities where we actually say that we want to engage, we're open to observations and criticism ... and we're very focused on improving. The government has accused UCLA of enabling antisemitism. What is the status of the federal task force investigation? First of all, let me say one thing: There has been an increase in antisemitism in universities. This is well-documented, and I am acknowledging that and facing that directly. I have been very active since I started in January — it's been a top priority of mine — to fix that problem. Fix it means eradicate antisemitism from, in this case, the UCLA campus, which is the one I'm responsible [for]. I hope it happens not just in universities but in society in general. This is very personal for me. My family was a victim of antisemitism. They had to leave Germany in the 1930s. I'm married to the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. But in addition to being personal, I think it's the right thing to do. So, while we acknowledge the problem — definitely acknowledge — we are also actively taking action, making decisions to deal with it. We had a task force internal to UCLA with very clear recommendations. We've now instituted an initiative from that group along four lines. One is to improve education on antisemitism and innovating the way we educate. Secondly, is to facilitate the reporting of incidents. We're hiring a Title VI officer so that the reporting can be easier. Third is enforcing the rules and policies, including disciplinary rules. And fourth is connecting with the community so that we can act together, not in isolation from our community. And in response to the federal government, that's what I have always stated, yes, there is a problem, and we are working very hard and very diligently and very focused to fix it. Are you talking to the federal investigators? The top one, Leo Terrell, says that because of 'resistance' to his group, the government will sue the UC system. We will always cooperate with the federal government. I cannot comment on ongoing investigations, as you know, but we are not resisting cooperation. As I said before, we engage with government. How do you respond to the Trump administration's attacks on DEI, including accusations that UCLA is illegally using race in admissions? Diversity does not mean discrimination. We do not discriminate. In fact, being in California, we are subject to the provisions of Proposition 209 and the University of California complies with those elements. [Proposition 209 is the voter-approved state law barring all public educational institutions in the state from considering race in admissions.] Now, a lot of the discussion has implicit the assumption that diversity can only be advanced at the expense of excellence. That is not the case at UCLA and, frankly, at any of the top universities that I'm very familiar with, including the other UC universities. We believe in what we call inclusive excellence. Excellence is at the beginning. We don't gain anything by admitting students who are going to fail. For us, diversity is an integral part of excellence and it does not require any of the accusations that the acronym has led to. So, my invitation to society is, let's leave the acronym aside. Let's talk about the values. What is the opposite of diversity: uniformity. Do we want only everyone to be identical? I don't think that's what anyone wants. What's the opposite of inclusion? Is it exclusion? Who would we exclude? Let's have that conversation as a society. What's the opposite of equity? Equity means everyone deserves a fair chance in life. What about the increasing restrictions on international students? Knowledge is a global good that benefits everyone. Research is intrinsically global. Part of what's made the American universities the top universities in the world is exactly the fact that they attract talent from everywhere. That, by the way, again, has served the United States very well. Any restriction on that kind of movement, any targeting on the basis of national origin, is obviously not ethical but it's also to the detriment, not of only the universities, but to the detriment of all the other students. Having students from many parts of the world enriches the experience of everyone. Not only that, some of those students pay full tuition and help us with the financial aid to American citizens and residents. If there's concerns about security, let's deal with that case by case. Blanket measures are never good.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
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Once inevitable collision between Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies now seems less likely, astronomers say
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. A collision between our Milky Way galaxy and its largest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, predicted to occur in about 4.5 billion years, has been anticipated by astronomers since 1912. But new research suggests that the likelihood of this galactic clash, dubbed 'Milkomeda,' is smaller than it seems. At first glance, it appears likely that the galactic duo — separated by about 2.5 million light-years — is on an inevitable collision course. The Milky Way and Andromeda are barreling toward each other at about 223,694 miles per hour (100 kilometers per second). However, the Local Group, or our corner of the universe, includes 100 known smaller galaxies. A team of astronomers factored in some of the largest among them, including the Large Magellanic Cloud, or LMC, and M33, or the Triangulum galaxy, to see how much of a role they might play on the chessboard of our galaxy's future over the next 10 billion years. After factoring in the gravitational pull of Local Group galaxies and running 100,000 simulations using new data from the Hubble and Gaia space telescopes, the team found there is about a 50% chance of a collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda in the next 10 billion years. There is only about a 2% chance the galaxies will collide in 4 to 5 billion years as previously thought, according to the study published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy. A merger of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies would destroy them both, eventually turning both spiral structures into one elongated galaxy, the study authors said. Collisions between other galaxies have been known to create 'cosmic fireworks, when gas, driven to the center of the merger remnant, feeds a central black hole emitting an enormous amount of radiation, before irrevocably falling into the hole,' said study coauthor Carlos Frenk, professor at Durham University in England. 'Until now we thought this was the fate that awaited our Milky Way galaxy,' Frenk said. 'We now know that there is a very good chance that we may avoid that scary destiny.' However, there are many unknown factors that make it difficult to predict the ultimate fate of our galaxy, according to the study authors. And, Frenk warns, the Milky Way has a greater chance of colliding with the LMC within 2 billion years, which could fundamentally alter our galaxy. The LMC orbits the Milky Way, while M33 is a satellite of Andromeda. The LMC's mass is only about 15% of the Milky Way's. But the team found that the satellite galaxy has a gravitational pull, perpendicular to Andromeda, that changes the Milky Way's motion enough to reduce the chance of a merger between the two giant galaxies. It's a similar case for M33. 'The extra mass of Andromeda's satellite galaxy M33 pulls the Milky Way a little bit more towards it,' said lead study author Dr. Till Sawala, astronomer at the University of Helsinki in Finland. 'However, we also show that the LMC pulls the Milky Way off the orbital plane and away from Andromeda. It doesn't mean that the LMC will save us from that merger, but it makes it a bit less likely.' Previous research also has assumed most likely values for unknown data, such as the uncertainties in the present positions, motions and masses of the Local Group galaxies. In the new study, the team accounted for 22 different variables, including those unknowns, that could contribute to a collision. 'We ran many thousands of simulations, which allowed us to account for all the observational uncertainties,' Sawala said. 'Because there are so many variables that each have their errors, that accumulates to rather large uncertainty about the outcome, leading to the conclusion that the chance of a direct collision is only 50% within the next 10 billion years.' In just over half of the simulations predicting what could occur in 8 to 10 billion years, the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies initially sailed somewhat closely past each other before circling back and then losing enough orbital energy to collide and merge as one galaxy. These initial close encounters between each galaxy's halo — a large envelope of gas — would eventually lead to a collision. 'In general, the merger would most likely involve a strong starburst, during which many new stars would form, followed by a period of intense radiation caused by exploding young stars and the newly active supermassive black hole, eventually shutting down star formation completely,' Sawala said. 'A few billion years later, any traces of the former Milky Way and Andromeda would disappear, and the remnant would be a largely featureless elliptical galaxy.' In the other simulations, both galaxies crossed paths without disturbing each other. Geraint Lewis, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Sydney's Institute for Astronomy, finds the results showing the gravitational influence of M33 and the LMC interesting. He has previously authored research on a potential collision between Andromeda and the Milky Way. 'We won't know if the collision is definitely off in the future, but this clearly shows that the story that people tell — that there will be a collision that will destroy the Milky Way and Andromeda — is not as clear or certain that people think,' Lewis said. 'But even if there is a pretty close encounter rather than smashing head-on, the gravitational tearing that each will assert on each other is likely to leave the two large galaxies in a sorry state.' While including the LMC's gravitational effects on the Milky Way is important, accounting for uncertainties is the most important aspect of the new study, said Scott Lucchini, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian. 'Here, they've sampled from the uncertainties in the positions, velocities, and masses of the galaxies to obtain the relative probabilities of different outcomes,' Lucchini wrote in an email. 'This really gives us the whole picture of what could happen in the future.' Galaxies are full of intricacies. Their shapes can become distorted, interactions can change their orbits and they can lose mass in different ways. Such complexities make predictions difficult, Lucchini said. That essentially leaves the fate of the Milky Way 'completely open,' the study authors wrote in the new paper. However, more data coming from the Gaia space telescope in the summer of 2026 will provide measurements that refine some of the uncertainties about the speed and direction at which Andromeda is moving across the sky, Sawala said. The fate of the sun may have a bigger impact on Earth's future than the motions of galaxies, according to the researchers. Our sun is 4.5 billion years old. When it starts to die in another 5 billion years, it will swell into a red giant that engulfs Mercury, Venus and potentially Earth, according to NASA. 'The short answer is that the end of the sun is far worse for our planet than the collision with Andromeda,' Sawala said. 'While that merger would mean the end of our galaxy, it would not necessarily be the end of the sun or the Earth. Although our work also shows that earlier studies, that purported to predict precisely what the fate of the solar system would be after the merger, were clearly premature, in general, collisions between stars or planets are extremely rare during galaxy mergers. And while the end of the sun is certain, our study shows that the end of the galaxy is anything but.' While the team didn't model a merger between the LMC and the Milky Way in detail, they found a 'virtual certainty' that a merger between the two galaxies will occur within the next 2 billion years, which aligns with previous research, Sawala said. But the effects will likely be more minor than a merger between the Milky Way and Andromeda. 'The merger (between the Milky Way and the LMC) will not destroy our galaxy but it will change it profoundly, particularly impacting our central supermassive black hole and the galactic halo,' Frenck wrote in an email. He also served as a coauthor on a 2019 paper on the potential merger.
