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Chancellor Albert Carnesale announced a plan Thursday to launch a $250 million fund-raising campaign over a five-year period to attract and retain prestigious professors and graduate students at UCLA.

The plan, termed the “Ensuring Academic Excellence” initiative, was formulated to give UCLA a competitive position among wealthy private universities, as well as compensate for recent state budget cuts.

The initiative is aimed at closing the growing gap in resources available in elite private schools compared to public schools, Carnesale said.

“In recent years, private universities have been trying harder than ever before to recruit away from the UC,” and offer financial packages to prospective students, Carnesale said, adding that the campaign was an “even more concentrated effort” to stay competitive.

Of the $250 million, $100 million is allotted to hire new endowed chairs, $100 million to finance fellowships and scholarships for UCLA colleges, and the remaining $50 million is designated for fellowships and scholarships for UCLA professional schools, according to a press release issued by the university Thursday.

Currently, the university has 211 endowed chairs, and money for another 20 has been pledged. Funds from the $250 million campaign would bring the total to about 330.

This plan was formulated in reaction to a recent flight of esteemed professors, and a lack of ability to attract new distinguished faculty and graduate students.

“The heart and soul of UCLA’s reputation depends on the reputation of its faculty,” said Professor Glen MacDonald, head of the geography department.

MacDonald reported the loss of one geography professor for the 2004-2005 year, who was offered a lucrative financial package from Ohio State University, a public institution.

“There was no way we could match the offer,” MacDonald said. “It’s pretty troubling if we can’t even compete with public universities.”

The caliber of professors teaching at a university is just as important to the university as the quality of graduate students attending the school.

According to the press release, “Graduate students are the lifeblood of a research university. They help attract faculty, they collaborate as research partners and in the teaching of undergraduates,” said Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, vice chancellor of graduate studies and dean of the graduate division.

Others echoed concern for the need of graduate students.

“It has been a huge problem to attract graduates to UCLA. We don’t have the money to compete, even with top public schools. It has been a crisis,” MacDonald said.

Twenty-seven million dollars have already been donated to the fund, which has been in the process of formulation and execution for the past two years, Carnesale said.

The initiative takes off from the momentum created by Campaign UCLA, a 12 year-long plan started in 1997, which has raised more than $2.5 billion and will terminate at the end of 2005.

Wealthy donors historically have preferred putting their money into new facilities and programs rather than such areas as financial support for graduate students, Carnesale said, adding that as a result, UCLA is launching the “Ensuring Academic Excellence” initiative to encourage donations toward faculty support.

“It is harder to raise money for support for people, but I would point out out we have raised $287 million,” Carnesale said. “I am confident our alumni and friends will step up.”

But even if successful, George Blumenthal, the vice chair of the UC faculty senate, said UCLA’s effort would not be able to bring faculty salaries up to the level of comparison institutions since the UC system has a stepped pay scale for professors.

Faculty salaries at the UC lag an average of 14.5 percent behind salaries at the eight institutions the UC compares itself to, according to a 2004 report from the American Association of University Professors.

“We need an infusion of state funds to raise the pay scale system wide,” Blumenthal said, adding that the fund-raising program will likely be most important for recruiting and retaining graduate students.

David Longanecker, executive director for the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, said, while lagging salaries are a serious concern – he noted that the University of Washington lost a lot of their best faculty when they went five years without pay increases in the 1970s – the UC is not particularly at risk.

Longanecker said the UC’s prestige, the benefits of living in California, and the fact that its salaries are reasonable despite the lag often keep people at the UC once they have found their niche.

“(The fund-raising initiative) is probably worth doing to avoid a crisis, but I don’t think you are facing a crisis today,” Longanecker said.

Some other UC campuses are raising funds to support faculty and graduate students, but there is no unified effort system wide.

With reports from Menaka Fernando, Bruin senior staff.