They disagreed over whether UC Davis should continue to have a campus police force and whether chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi should resign following the Nov. 18 pepper-spraying of student protesters.

But faculty and staff members who spoke during a town-hall-style meeting Tuesday seemed to agree on the need to work together to curb rising tuition and to lobby for increased public funding for higher education.

"We should not lose sight of the battle being waged before this happened," said economics professor Ann Stevens.

Many decried rising costs that are pricing students out of a higher education.

"I see the dismantling of everything that we in the 1960s fought for," said Irva Hertz-Picciotto, a professor of epidemiology, recalling the movement to make college accessible to disadvantaged students.

Katehi and four other campus administrators, including the interim chief of police, listened to comments and fielded questions from an audience of approximately 500 faculty and staff members.

Following the format of an earlier meeting with students, audience members were chosen by lot for the opportunity to speak.

The chancellor said the meeting is one of many she plans to hold in an effort to heal the wounds caused by the pepper-spraying, an incident that she said "has tested the soul and torn at the heart of our community."

Nathan Brown, an English professor, was among those calling for Katehi's resignation.

Although Katehi has said she did not authorize the use of pepper spray to remove an encampment of Occupy protesters from the campus quad Nov. 18, Brown said she should not have been surprised by the police tactics.

Police used force against student protesters on the campus two years ago, he said, and the Nov. 18 action came only a week after police had used force to break up an Occupy protest at UC Berkeley.

"We don't think calls for the chancellor's resignation are premature or ill-advised," he said.

Other speakers said those calling for the chancellor's resignation represent a small fraction of the faculty.

Tilahun Yilma, a professor of virology who has been at UC Davis since 1965, praised Katehi's academic and administrative leadership, saying he had waited 40 years for such a person.

He urged people to withhold judgment until investigations into the incident are completed.

Katehi said five investigations are under way: by UC Davis; a UC systemwide task force led by UC President Mark Yudof; a systemwide review of all campus police policies; a review by the UC Davis Academic Senate; and a review by the Yolo County Sheriff's Department and Yolo County District Attorney's Office.

The sheriff and district attorney, in a letter to Katehi dated Tuesday, said they are requesting that the state attorney general's office handle the investigation.

"In light of the significant statewide issues involved in these events, we join in asking you to bring the full resources of the state of California to bear on these events so that the public will have full confidence in the outcome," the letter states.

Some speakers called for UC Davis to disband its police force, but others said such a move would be irresponsible.

Although Police Chief Annette Spicuzza and two officers who used the pepper spray have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of investigations, Katehi said a campus of 32,000 students and 30,000 faculty and staff needs police to ensure safety.

Acting Chief Matt Carmichael said he is scheduling meetings with groups of students.

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