UC Santa Cruz has a new interim campus provost and executive vice chancellor (CP/EVC). Facing a structural budget deficit of $79.9 million and frequent constriction from the Trump administration, one thing is clear: during the one year he plans to have this job, he’ll be busy.
Paul Koch, a distinguished professor of earth and planetary sciences, and former dean of the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences, takes on the role of interim CP/EVC after Lori Kletzer stepped down last year.
Koch did not apply for the continuing position. The Office of the Chancellor sent out a newsletter on Oct. 8, announcing the search for the permanent CP/EVC, which will formally begin later this fall.
The CP/EVC is one of the most powerful roles in administration, a sort of second in command. Koch describes it as two jobs: One is more academic and involves overseeing department deans, and the other more operational, working with the chancellor on the “business side” of the university.
As part of the academic senate, Koch used to chair the committee on planning and budget, an experience he might need to leverage going into this year.
Since the budget deficit was announced in 2024, it has been reduced by roughly $70 million, according to Koch. This was largely done by not refilling positions when employees of the university left, a process known as attrition. Layoffs in the library, grant management and the languages department have also occurred, but do not make up the bulk of cuts.
Going forward, the university wants to focus on building revenue to avoid cuts, pursuing opportunities to enroll students in summer session courses that might also attract students from other UC campuses.
But even with few layoffs and new revenue, cuts by attrition affect faculty.
Last spring, the committee on teaching and the committee on educational policy released a report reflecting faculty concerns with budget management on campus. Major findings of the report indicate that morale is “low and trending lower.” Faculty describe having to cut various programs and research opportunities for undergraduates.
“It’s turning into the ‘hunger games,’ said one faculty member surveyed in the report.
The apprehension that faculty feel towards administrative budget management revealed in the report did not go unnoticed with upper administration.
“Faculty are feeling it. They’re missing colleagues that aren’t getting replaced, and they’re feeling the loss of support that made research easier to do,” Koch said. “But student-facing effects aren’t really apparent yet.”
They might not be. But with fewer faculty, Koch says class size and availability could be affected and student degree progress could slow down. The number of available writing tutors has already fallen and graduate student enrollment has been greatly diminished. Students interested in German or Persian language classes will have to look elsewhere.
To compound tensions around the campus budget, several funding grants for Hispanic Serving Institutions, such as UCSC since 2014, have been cancelled by the Trump administration.
Programs that encourage and advocate for diversity outright hold an uncertain future at all higher education campuses, including at UCSC. Koch expressed a desire to keep diversity programs alive, without putting a target on the university’s back. Many systems of support for underrepresented communities will continue, but likely be less noticeable as “diversity” programs.
“To the extent possible, we’re here to protect the mission — not to protect words,” Koch said. “We’ll find ways to continue funding access to UC Santa Cruz without being targeted by the feds.”
Koch says he came to this university because it seemed like a place where people thought about problems in new ways. He’s been here since the 90s, and watched the campus transform as Latino enrollment grew from 15 to 28 percent and the number of Pell and first-generation students increased. But, as attacks on higher education from the federal government continue, that path forward isn’t quite so clear.
“Hearing that the federal government doesn’t want us considering background — it’s hurtful,” Koch said. “But we have to protect our mission: being a place that’s welcoming to everybody.”
