Year: 2011

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    Careless Words: An Internet Reminder

    Byuclafaculty

    In yet another lesson in being-careful-about-what-you-say-on-the-Internet, UCLA Law School Prof. Stephen Bainbridge’s blog complaint about service he didn’t get from FedEx produced the following from the Daily Bruin last Friday: UCLA law students are reacting with frustration to the law school dean’s response to a professor’s xenophobic blog posts, according to a student law organization. The post, made by Stephen Bainbridge, professor of corporate law, began with complaints about FedEx Express Office online services. Bainbridge described the customer service representative he spoke with as a “moron with an impenetrable accent,” and asked, “What third world shithole do they have him…

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    Waiting for my comment to register with the Register

    Byuclafaculty

    Above is a screen image of an article of 4-14-11 from the Orange County Register. The article deals with the governor’s comment – noted in an earlier post on this blog – that UC tuition could rise substantially in the absence of a deal on the state budget. However, the OC Register inserted in the text of the article – and to the right of the headline – a link to a database of all UC salaries. Yours truly posted the following comment/request on the article this morning: Can we please see the database of all salaries of employees of…

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    LAO provides options for quality reduction at UC

    Byuclafaculty

    The Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor continues to provide helpful suggestions for higher ed including UC regarding budgetary options:Reduce personnel costs by 10 percent at UC and 5 percent at CSU: $408 million • Could require UC faculty to teach more and research less • Could reduce sabbaticals and release time • Could increase employee benefit contributions at CSU Full list of options at http://www.lao.ca.gov/handouts/education/2011/Review_of_Budget_Reduction_Options_for_Higher_Education_41211.pdf [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qrjtr_uFac&w=320&h=195]

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    Possible Deal on State Budget Reported

    Byuclafaculty

    Capitol Weekly is reported that a deal between the governor and Republican legislators is being discussed/negotiated in which the GOP would agree to extend the temporary taxes due to expire in July until November. In November, voters would be asked if they wanted to extend the taxes beyond that point. A majority vote can pass the budget which would assume, presumably, the tax extensions would pass in November. However, this is a report, not a definite fact. Details at http://capitolweekly.net/article.php?1=1&_c=zmrye1u2fjhsk6&xid=zmpzz7akq1pkwi&done=.zmq26xjhtm7yq4&_ce=1302787353.bf5f992d0229ede3494e3b6ef281820d&_c=zmrye1u2fjhsk6 Update: A related report is at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2011/04/at-gop-fundraiser-good-vibes-for-brown-budget.html

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    Former UC President Kerr Recalls Legislative Ban on UC Sales That Compete with Private Sector

    Byuclafaculty

    The issue of the proposed hotel/conference center planned to replace the existing Faculty Center has raised the question of the degree to which UC entities can provide services that compete with private providers. Prior posts on this blog have noted that issue. In an interview in the 1990s, which dealt in large part with the development of UC-Davis, former UC president Clark Kerr recalled a legislative ban on such sales. He noted that agricultural products produced at Davis could not be sold, especially wine. But the campus could hold free wine tastings which members of the legislature were happy to…

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    No pay increase for faculty to ensure UC quality says LA Times

    Byuclafaculty

    The LA Times ran the editorial below today. It starts out well enough. But the LAT editorial committee apparently believes that UC should be managed as wisely as a bankrupt newspaper when it gets to conclusions: Highly esteemed worldwide, the University of California is among the state’s most valuable assets, but it is in danger of being sharply devalued as its budget undergoes continual cuts and uncertainty. UC President Mark Yudof hopes to bring some stability to the university by using whatever budget he is granted this year as the starting point for a five-year deal with state government, with…

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    Follow Up

    Byuclafaculty

    The dismissal (or is it nonrenewal of funding?) of a researcher at UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has periodically made the news, particularly on the right, over the past year or so. His website at UCLA no longer operates but the Google-cache function produces the past page with the following description: Since 1974 Dr. James Enstrom has conducted research on the epidemiology of cancer, particularly examining the health practices and cancer risk in several well-defined populations within California and the United States. His significant findings relevant to cancer include: identification of unusually low-risk populations, like health-conscious Mormons; measurement of an…

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    Gambling on Online?

    Byuclafaculty

    Prof. Michael Meranze pointed me to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed concerning UC’s apparent change in policy regarding funding for its online education initiative. Apparently, there will now be borrowing to launch the project, although previous plans were to rely on fund raising. Dan Simmons, chair of the Academic Senate, was quite cautious about the initiative in the Chronicle article: (excerpt) Daniel L. Simmons, chair of the system’s academic senate, said on Friday that he supported the pilot program and understood the need to experiment with online education even during times of crisis. The senate formally endorsed…