Month: April 2012

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    Time to Learn from Students?

    Byuclafaculty

    On the one hand, from spin central, there is: Faculty committee backs plan for conference and guest center  An Academic Senate committee has expressed support for UCLA’s proposal to build a conference and guest center, calling the project a potentially valuable enhancement to the campus. In its review of the proposed operating plan, the Council on Planning and Budget determined that the financing model for the project is sound and that UCLA could benefit from additional conference space and affordable guest rooms. Vice Chancellor Steve Olsen, UCLA’s chief financial officer, was appreciative of the committee’s review…   Full press release at…

  • UC-Davis Occupy protesters ordered to court

    Byuclafaculty

    A dozen UC Davis Occupy protesters linked to the shutdown of a U.S. Bank branch on campus were notified Friday by Yolo County district attorney’s officials to appear April 27 in Yolo Superior Court in Woodland… The conspiracy allegation carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail. Each access allegation carries a maximum six-month jail term… Full story at: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/31/4380629/uc-davis-occupy-protesters-ordered.html [Photo shows Yolo County courthouse]

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    Misinformed?

    Byuclafaculty

    Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum sounded off against California higher education in Wisconsin Monday, saying that some of the state’s universities do not teach American history.  “I was just reading something last night from the state of California. And that the California universities – I think it’s seven or eight of the California system of universities don’t even teach an American history course,” Santorum said. “It’s not even available to be taught.”  But UC spokesperson Brooke Converse told Think Progress, which originally reported the story, that all University of California undergraduate programs require students to study American history and institutions, though the…

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    UCLA Among Top 10 Universities in R&D Spending in Fiscal Year 2010

    Byuclafaculty

    Inside Higher Ed reports that UCLA is among the top ten universities in research and development spending.  It has been in that group for some time.  Basically, the key determinants are having a med school and getting a lot of federal research funding. The top ten are: Johns HopkinsU of Michigan (Ann Arbor)U of Wisconsin (Madison)U of Washington (Seattle)DukeUC-San DiegoUCLAUC-San FranciscoStanfordU of Pennsylvania Data from http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/04/02/hopkins-again-leads-rd-spending.  There is a link in this article to NSF data.  When you click on the link to the article, go to Table 5. It’s good to be among the tops:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6oGytt0Hiw&w=320&h=195]

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    Inconsistent Construction?

    Byuclafaculty

    When UCLA presented its plan for the Weyburn Terrace Grad Student Housing in 2009, it included a $2,193,000 parking buyout.  You can find a link to the plan below.  The parking buyout is reported in footnote “e” of Attachment 1.  The business plan for the hotel/conference center deviates from the parking buyout policy.  Undoubtedly, when UCLA  comes back to the Regents with answers to questions raised at the Regents meeting last week, it will want to explain the deviation. (Or maybe it won’t; we will see.) Open publication – Free publishing – More parking

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    Protest Reported Planned Today for Carter Open House at Japanese Garden

    Byuclafaculty

    Bette Billet passed me a link to a Curbed LA article reporting that there will be a protest at the open house of the Carter residence adjacent to the Japanese Garden. Readers of this blog will know that UCLA is planning to sell both the house and the garden, a matter of controversy. The Curbed LA article is at:http://la.curbed.com/archives/categories/belair.php(Scroll down a bit to find it.) A similar article appears in the Beverly Hills Courier athttp://www.bhcourier.com/article/Local/Local/Open_House_Protest_Sunday_to_Stop_the_Sale_of_the_Hannah_Carter_Japanese_Garden/86879 Excerpt:Supporters of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden will stage a protest at the Open House of the property on April 1st from 2:00pm to 5:00pm….

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    And on your left…

    Byuclafaculty

    The LA Times today carries a story by higher ed reporter Larry Gordon about a conservative critique of leftist politics at UC: The University of California is a hotbed of leftist faculty and politically correct thinking where many students are receiving a weak and unbalanced education, according to a report by a conservative organization of professors and administrators.  The study by the California Assn. of Scholars repeats objections conservatives have had for decades over what they see as an overwhelmingly liberal academia that stifles dissent. Especially in UC humanities departments, study of classics and rigorous analysis have been replaced by advocacy…