Dear Colleagues:
Back in 2010, a Senate-Administration Task Force recommended unanimously that UCLA move to a campuswide electronic system to generate faculty dossiers and review personnel actions. Since Fall 2011, my office has been working to develop such a system, guided by a steering committee of faculty and senior staff that is chaired by Professor Fred Zimmerman of the Fielding School of Public Health. I am pleased to announce that in December 2014, the new system, named Opus, launched a platform and set of infrastructure tools that begin our transition to this more streamlined process:
- Faculty Roster Management (to manage academic affiliations distinct from payroll affiliations)
- Integration of UC Recruit (the existing electronic academic hiring system) to Opus (so final job candidates can move seamlessly into Opus)
- Pre-Onboard UID (To assign UIDs to new faculty hires so that they can onboard before they are in the payroll system)
We fully embrace the importance of consulting the faculty at every step of this process. In light of that, we are hosting Faculty Town Halls to give an update on Opus and provide a venue for questions. Among other matters, these Town Halls will address the expected benefits to faculty, data privacy issues, timelines for implementation, and strategies for moving from paper-based to electronic dossiers. These Opus Town Halls will be held at the following dates and times:
- Thursday, January 22: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. [California Room of the Faculty Center]
- Wednesday, January 28: 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. [School of Medicine, 13-105 CHS]
- Wednesday, February 4: 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. [California Room of the Faculty Center]
There is much work still to be done, and subsequent versions of Opus will further improve your experience with academic review. I am grateful to Meg Buzzi, the Opus Project Director, and her team for carrying out this very challenging assignment.
Because we all have a vital interest in ensuring that Opus is properly implemented, I encourage you to attend one of these sessions and RSVP. Please respond to opushelp@ucla.edu to let us know your attendance.
Sincerely,
Carole Goldberg
Vice Chancellor, Academic Personnel
Jonathan D. Varat Distinguished Professor of Law
