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Vivek Shetty, the new chairman of the UCLA Academic Senate, said he plans on increasing collabora

After speaking about his plans for the year, his goals for the UCLA Academic Senate and major issues going on at UCLA, Vivek Shetty leaned forward to emphasize one more point.

The new 2006-2007 chairman of the Academic Senate said his first goal is to uphold the original meaning of the word “university” by fostering an educational environment at UCLA that champions learning above getting a good GPA and by creating effective communication between all UCLA faculty.

“The word ‘university’ is derived from ‘universitas magistrorum et scholarium,’ ... a Latin phrase meaning ‘a community of masters and scholars,’” Shetty said.

Shetty is a surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center who hopes to create stronger ties between UCLA faculty from all over campus. His specialty is working with students who have received facial injuries as a result of substance and alcohol abuse.

Though he works in the Medical Center and does not meet with professors in the UCLA College or UCLA professional schools outside of senate meetings, colleagues say his wide-reaching perspective will help unify the Academic Senate.

Shetty said he hopes his appreciation for other UCLA departments and schools will help him open communication and promote collaboration.

Shetty said his experience in undergraduate humanities classes showed him how important it was to get a good liberal arts education.

“Professors in the humanities ... build the moral and philosophical structures that we base our lives on,” said Shetty, who has been a professor at UCLA for 16 years and has worked on other Academic Senate committees.

The UCLA Academic Senate is comprised of UCLA faculty who maintain “shared governance” of the university and have authority in academic decisions.

“Basically the (Academic) Senate is responsible for the academic quality of the university,” said Kathleen Komar, a professor of comparative literature and the 2004-2005 chairwoman of the Academic Senate.

The senate determines academic policy; sets conditions for admission and the granting of degree; authorizes and supervises curriculum; and advises the administration on faculty appointments, promotions and budgets, according to the Univeristy of California Systemwide Academic Senate Web site.

“(Shetty) has been very active in making sure shared governance is upheld,” said Ajit Mal, a professor in the UCLA Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, who chaired a committee within the Academic Senate.

Though chairing the Academic Senate is a considerable amount of responsibility in addition to his other activities, Shetty said it is worth the effort because of the support from faculty and staff.

“It’s hard but I flourish on challenges, ... like many of the other faculty,” Shetty said.

Shetty said he plans on continuing his research into violence-related facial injuries and seeing patients, in addition to chairing the Academic Senate.

Members of the Academic Senate say Shetty’s ability to collaborate with other schools and departments at UCLA will allow him to chair the Academic Senate responsibly.

“I was really impressed by (Shetty) because he is from the medical side of campus, ... but he has a really complete vision of the university as a whole,” Komar said. “The chair is the main liaison between the faculty as a whole and the administration of UCLA and the entire UC system.”

Komar added that Shetty’s ability to collaborate will be very helpful when he has to represent UCLA faculty opinion to the UC Office of the President.

“One of the reasons I encouraged Vivek to run for senate chair is that he is passionate about UCLA being a community,” said Adrienne Lavine, former chairwoman of the Academic Senate and chairwoman of the mechanical and aerospace engineering department at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

“(Shetty) has a vision of bringing faculty expertise to bear on the challenges facing the university,” she said.

This year, Shetty said the Academic Senate will continue to focus on ensuring academic freedom for students and professors as well as obtaining funding despite a decrease in the amount of state money given to the UC system.

“We are working hard to sustain our university’s excellence in the face of diminishing resources,” Shetty said.