The University of California is sitting on $26 billion in liquid and short-term capital and $41 billion in endowments.¹ While leadership enjoys generous pay increases and boasts of strong financial growth, they leave the patients, students, and workers of UC to make do with less and less.

The cost of UC’s misplaced priorities is high. Will we let them make us foot the bill?

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“***We love our patients***, and that’s why we went into this field. We only want to provide the best possible care for these animals, but when we’re short-staffed, ***we can miss things***.
We just ***want to be able to live up to our reputation*** as the #1 veterinary hospital and provide the care people expect from us.”

**LaShell Alpaugh**
Registered Vet. Tech.
UC Davis

UC Davis

UCD executive compensation keeps surging

Last year, the UC Board of Regents approved a nearly 34% salary increase for UCD Chancellor Gary May.²

Ongoing short staffing harms patient care

The state median for patient visit duration before leaving the emergency department (ED) is 206 minutes. At UCD, the average is 342 minutes.³
The average length of patient stay rose from 5 days in 2018 to 7 days in 2023, a 28% increase.⁴

Ongoing short staffing harms patient care—including animals

Around 50,000 animals⁵ receive care at UC Davis’s William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH), and that care is in crisis.
The Small Animal Intensive Care Unit is occasionally forced to close unexpectedly due to lack of staff. On some weekend night shifts, as few as two technicians may have to care for as many as 60 recovering animals. At least one animal has died as a result of this critical understaffing.⁶

“I have had to tell ***far too many*** patients in the last few years that their delays in obtaining diagnostic testing and care ***negatively impacted*** their chances at recovery.
***How much longe***r can UC turn a blind eye or deaf ear to these issues?”

**Matt Stephen**
Sr. Physician Assistant
UC San Francisco

UC San Francisco

UCSF executive compensation receives a steep hike

Last year, the UC Board of Regents approved a one-year 17% salary increase for UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood.²

Financial growth remains stronger than ever

By 2033, UCSF Health’s net operations income is set to be $1.42 billion, an increase of nearly 118% from this year.⁷
As of this March, UCSF Health held $2.5 billion in cash.⁸
During the 2023 - 2024 fiscal year, UCSF earned $30 million from the royalties and licenses on research developments.⁹

Ongoing short staffing harms patient care

The percentage of patients who leave the emergency department (ED) without being seen is 150% greater than the state and national averages.¹⁰
Patients wait almost four hours on average to be seen and discharged from the ED, which is 13% and 21% greater than the state and national averages, respectively.¹⁰

“*Students* ***need support,*** to be and feel seen.
Scenarios...of moderate mental health concerns spiraling into full-blown suicidal ideation in the absence of care ***will only continue to increase*** without a committed effort to hire
more therapists.”

**Juliana Carranza**
Clinical Social Worker 3
UC Los Angeles

UC Los Angeles

UCLA executive compensation swells again

Johnese Spisso, President, UCLA Health System, and CEO, UCLA Hospital System, received a 17% base salary increase in March 2025, raising her annual compensation to $2,783,560.¹¹ This comes after the nearly 17% raise she received in 2023.¹²

Financial growth remains stronger than ever

Between 2019 - 2024, the market value of UCLA’s total endowment went up by 82%, which is a $4.4 billion increase.¹³
By 2033, UCLA Health’s net operations income is set to be $515 million, an increase of 148% from this year.¹⁴
As of this March, UCLA Health held $2 billion in cash, with $3 billion in current assets.¹⁵
In 2022, UCLA made the largest land acquisition in its history, shelling out $80 million for two defunct Marymount California University campuses.²⁰

Ongoing short staffing harms patient care

The percentage of patients who leave the emergency department (ED) without being seen is 250% greater than the state and national averages.¹⁰
Patients wait more than five hours on average to be seen and discharged from the ED, which is 56% and 66% greater than the state and national averages, respectively.¹⁰

“We’ve seen patients ***wait for days on end*** in chairs and on gurneys in the ED hallways waiting for space to become available.

UC must take this staffing crisis seriously ***before more patients suffer the consequences***.”

**Liz Beaton**
Nurse Case Manager
UC Irvine

UC Irvine

Executive compensation continutes to climb at UCI

Last year, the UC Board of Regents approved a nearly 32% salary increase for UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman.²

Financial growth remains stronger than ever

Between June 2019 - June 2024, the market value of UCI’s total endowment skyrocketed 165%. That’s $1.7 billion in just five years.¹³
From this year to 2030, UCI Health’s new operations income is projected to increase by 168% to $153 million.¹⁶

Ongoing short staffing harms patient care

The state median for patient visit duration before leaving the emergency department (ED) is 206 minutes. At UCI, the average is 307 minutes.¹⁰
That’s on top of ambulance diversion rates (when EDs direct an ambulance to go to another hospital instead). In 2019, the state average for ambulance diversion per ED hours was 2.7%. For UCI, it was 7%. By 2023, that rate was 5.7% for the state and 26.6% at UCI.⁴

“If UC continues to ***prioritize acquisitions*** ***and executive pay*** over the well-being of frontline workers, patients, and students, we will be forced to take further action.

We are committed to ensuring that ***UC fulfills its responsibility*** to provide the quality healthcare, research, and education that Californians deserve.”

**Wan-Ting Huang**
Pharmacist 5
UC San Diego

UC San Diego

UCSD prioritizes executive compensation

From 2019 - 2024, the salaries of UCSD’s top leadership ballooned, with base salary increases ranging from 50% - 137% within that period.¹⁷
For example, UCSD Health CEO Patricia Maysent received a base salary of $1.4 million last year.¹⁷

Financial growth remains stronger than ever

In that same period (2019 - 2024), the market value of UCSD’s total endowment went up by 74%, which is a $1.3 billion increase.¹³
In 2024, UCSD projected their total annual revenue would grow from $3.72 billion to $7.25 billion within the next ten years.¹⁸
Earlier this year, UCSD Health extended $30 million to Palomar Health. They’ve admitted they will consider this money an investment rather than a loan.¹⁹

Ongoing short staffing harms patient care

The state median for patient visit duration before leaving the emergency department (ED) is 206 minutes. At UCSD-Hillcrest, the average is 305 minutes.¹⁹
In 2024, 6.9% of patients who registered at UCSD-Hillcrest’s emergency department left without being seen—nearly triple the state average of 2.4%.⁴
The average length of patient stay rose from 5 days in 2017 to 7 days in 2024, a 28% increase.⁴

Sources

The cost of UC’s misplaced priorities

UC Davis

UC San Francisco

UC Los Angeles

UC Irvine

UC San Diego

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