This post was updated Oct. 3 at 4:45 p.m.
The ASUCLA Board of Directors held its third meeting of the 2024-2025 term Sept. 27.
The board, composed of a student majority, has financial oversight over ASUCLA entities, including the Undergraduate Students Association Council, the Graduate Student Association and the ASUCLA Communications Board – which oversees UCLA Student Media. ASUCLA also has responsibility for the UCLA Store, on-campus restaurants and some UCLA trademarks. Meetings of the board are open to the public and are normally held in Kerckhoff Hall, although this meeting was held in the North Campus Student Center due to a power outage in Kerckhoff.
Public comment:
- There were no public comments at the meeting.
Executive director/CEO remarks:
- Executive Director and CEO Pouria Abbassi spoke about the power outage on campus. The outage, which occurred Friday, impacted Kerckhoff Hall, Ackerman Union, the Student Activities Center and the Anderson School of Management, he said. Abbassi added that power was now running again and thanked the ASUCLA team for checking emergency generators, backup and lighting systems.
- Abbassi also asked a business economics student and senior student supervisor at ASUCLA Catering to speak about her experience as an ASUCLA employee. The student said she has worked for catering for the past three years and has been promoted to student supervisor. Working at ASUCLA has allowed her to build a support network on campus and build skills to put on her resume, she added.
Committee reports:
- Finance Committee Chair Tiara Weedagama said the committee met Sept. 20 and discussed space needs for the Executive Board.
- Personnel Committee Chair Merhawi Tesfai said the committee met to discuss programs that best support employees at ASUCLA. He added that surveys have been sent to ASUCLA student employees to determine what support services are needed.
Executive director’s report:
- Abbassi said the board has focused on serving campus and community employees through UCLA’s strategic plan. He added that everything the board does throughout the year will build on these strategic initiatives using the board’s financial resources. Abbassi added that the UCLA Store will continue to collaborate with content creators and UCLA Athletics to support the transition of UCLA to the Big Ten athletic conference.
- Abbassi said the board has worked with UCLA Event Services in using new artificial intelligence software to schedule program spaces and support events. He also discussed partnering with Student Affairs to provide services in the face of increasing financial costs across campus. The board hosted graduate student orientation and presented final budget reports to five student government offices to make it easier for both the GSA and USAC to report systems and services, he added.
Financial updates:
- Abbassi said ASUCLA’s gross income for the month of August was $5.2 million, with retail operations at ASUCLA restaurants performing strongly compared to last year but licensing performing below expectation.
- ASUCLA Finance Director Donna Baker said the organization had $18 million in cash levels in August according to their records. She added that ASUCLA had a $9 million surplus with respect to energy assets and money owed. Baker said the financial statements show that ASUCLA is back at pre-pandemic profits and margins.
Action and discussion:
- The board voted to make ASUCLA a member of the Sepulveda Transit Corridor For All coalition.
Executive session:
- The board entered executive session at the end of the meeting.
Contributing reports from Noah Massey, Daily Bruin contributor.
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