A new initiative from Chancellor Julio Frenk provides students with a platform to directly voice their ideas and concerns. With the installment of the Chancellor’s offfice hours, Frenk will engage with students directly, using 20-minute one-on-one sessions conducted throughout the quarter. An email was sent on Jan. 12 to inform the wider UCLA community about the opportunity. The email detailed that a randomly selected group of students who sign up at this link will be chosen to meet Frenk in Murphy Hall throughout the quarter. Sign-ups will continue in future quarters and are open for two weeks at the start of each quarter. For this first quarter, Winter 2026, sign-ups were due by Jan. 26.
Students interested will find an opportunity to highlight the ideas, issues or concerns they plan to discuss within the form. The Chancellor’s Office Hours initiative symbolizes a means of connection and allows individual students to discuss a wide array of topics directly.
Being a student in such a large student body can be overwhelming. With over 30,000 undergraduate students, it can be understandable to feel overlooked. However, these focused office hours sessions offer students a portal for individualized growth. Especially in such a large school, it is imperative that we voice our opinions, experiences and ideas for the betterment of our community.
This opportunity will give students the chance to speak up for themselves and on matters that affect them. This is a chance to influence decisions going on at administrative levels that impact students day-to-day.
In the introductory video, Frenk mentions that this opportunity is meant to allow students’ ideas and experiences to shape the community and to play a significant role in decision making.
These conversations are intended to build on a series of 38 discussions called “Listening Exercises.” The exercises aim to develop conversations with students through a variety of different student groups and programs, spanning from conversations with student athletes to those involved in research and film and television. Speakers typically expand on concerns or issues regarding a specific topic of interest. In one Listening Exercise meeting, the International Institute speaker raised concerns about federal budget cuts, as well as support needed for international students. In April 2025, a “lively discussion concerning various issues impacting the university community” ensued, giving international students the space to speak about their experience and be heard. This is just one example among numerous others.
In another Listening Exercise meeting with Chancellor Frenk and the Herb Alpert School of Music in March 2025, “speakers focused on the vital role of music education and the need to elevate the profile of the Herb Alpert School of Music on a local, national and global stage.”
These are just two of several other sessions. If you want to voice your opinion on a matter that is important to you, you can fill out the survey to schedule a Listening Exercise of your own.
Both the Listening Exercises and office hours are part of a larger initiative that highlights Frenk’s plan for engagement with students, called One UCLA. Its goal is to enrich education and develop a more effective solution by strategically engaging with the community, enhancing research and creative activities, and elevating teaching.
There are four initiatives central to the plan, including UCLA Connects, UCLA Research and Innovation Blueprint, UCLA for Life and Effective UCLA.
One aspect to note is the plan to acquire and build a research park in the former Westside Pavilion shopping mall. The research park is just one example of the extensive plan for the expansion and betterment of students on campus.
Whether it’s talking to students one-on-one or developing a research park with more than $500 million dollars in intended investment, Frenk’s vision is a focus of community.
