|

Too Many in the UC Lifeboat?

Byuclafaculty

Mike Lofchie pointed me to this article which questions the one-system view of UC and, in particular, UC-Merced, in a period of budget stringency.

February 12, 2012, Chronicle of Higher Education

Fault Lines Form Among Campuses as Finances Strain U. of California (excerpt):

By Eric Kelderman

President Mark G. Yudof of the University of California often says that the system he oversees is one university with 10 campuses.  But some higher-education experts say the economic strains and budget cuts of the past three years are fraying the ties that hold the system together. Several campus leaders have proposed measures to increase their financial independence from the system, in some cases at the cost of the other campuses.

…Meanwhile, the system’s youngest campus, at Merced, was shielded from the latest round of budget cuts, causing some people on other campuses to grumble that it is not financially viable and is weighing the system down.  None of the institutions openly suggests that it would leave the system, says David L. Kirp, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley. But if the state’s budget situation continues to force cuts, there could be “more drastic proposals for disentanglement,” he says.

…While six of the institutions are members of the Association of American Universities­—a selective group of research institutions—the Merced campus is still struggling for a perception of legitimacy.

…Because it is still so young, system officials spared Merced from the most recent budget cuts, which caused some in the state to gripe about whether it should remain a part of the system or even remain open…
Full article at http://chronicle.com/article/Fault-Lines-Form-as-Finances/130742/

Always room for debate:

Similar Posts

Faculty call for pause on budget & network security changes at UCLA

Byhigbie

Over 250 UCLA faculty, including a large number of department chairs and center directors, have written Chancellor Block with a detailed critique of plans for administrative centralization. The letter follows earlier exchanges between department chairs and Executive Vice Chancellor/Provost Emily Carter and other top administrators. “Although we appreciated the fora that EVC/P Carter recently organized in response to an earlier letter requesting more time to evaluate the re-organization plans she is proposing, we continue to feel that there has been insufficient time or detail to evaluate their consequences and that we have not been adequately involved in the consultation process,”…

| | | | | | | | |

Tradition!

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has issued a report on UC and CSU funding.  LAO is usually viewed as a neutral agency.  But it is a component of the legislature.  So it tends to favor approaches that add to legislative control as opposed to, say, gubernatorial control.  This report is no exception. LAO seems to want to return to what it terms the “traditional” approach to funding, but with bells and whistles added to monitor legislative goals.  The traditional approach seems to be one focused on undergraduate enrollment.  But in fact the tradition – such as it is – has…

| |

Contemplating Tuition, Motherhood, and Apple Pie

Byuclafaculty

Tuition is being studied up in Oakland by the UC prez, according to yesterday’s Daily Bruin: …“I want tuition to be as low as possible, and I want it to be as predictable as possible,” Napolitano said at a UC Board of Regents meeting in November.   In a recent Google Hangout with students from various UC campuses, students asked Napolitano to talk about her current work in reforming the UC’s tuition policy.  They also asked Napolitano how she plans to include student ideas in the reorganization of the tuition plan. Napolitano did not specify how student input would be…

| |

Travel Focus Misses the Money Train

Byuclafaculty

You may have seen the article in yesterday’s Daily Bruin about UCLA tightening up its rules on travel reimbursements.  Why the tightening up? …Public records documenting the travel expenses of the university’s top brass, obtained and published by the Center for Investigative Reporting in August, drew national scrutiny last summer for the luxurious travel accommodations of UCLA’s leadership, sometimes in violation of University policy. The accommodations and pricy travel arrangements bloated the university’s travel budget by hundreds of thousands of dollars… Full story at http://dailybruin.com/2014/02/04/months-after-controversy-ucla-clarifies-travel-guidelines/ The problem with the original story is that it focuses on budget dust compared to…

| | | |

She Sure Didn’t Bumble Her Meeting with the Bee

Byuclafaculty

UC prez Napolitano had a meeting with the editorial board of the Sacramento Bee recently and, evidently, said the right things:  Editorial: Janet Napolitano is showing a clear-eyed view of UC mission By the Editorial Board Published: Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014  UC President Janet Napolitano has her priorities for the university system in correct alignment; the question will be in the execution.  In a visit to The Sacramento Bee’s editorial board on Wednesday, Napolitano showed she is a quick study… Importantly, Napolitano was clear-eyed on the basic point that UC was “designed to build California,” and that its role in…