Month: June 2012

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    Dodd

    Byuclafaculty

    Many blog readers will know that Murphy Hall is named after former UCLA Chancellor Franklin Murphy. But what about Dodd Hall which is across the street from Murphy Hall? Dodd Hall is named after Paul A. Dodd (1902-1992), an economist who joined the UCLA faculty in 1928, i.e., just before the move to Westwood.  Dodd was known for early research on health insurance and health costs in California.  He was the first director of the UCLA Institute of Industrial Relations (now the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment).  Later, he was dean of the College. Dodd left UCLA to…

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    The Best Laid Plans

    Byuclafaculty

    Hmmm.  A proposed course on Community and Conflict in the Modern World has been rejected. (See below.) Maybe this now-defunct course could have usefully reviewed the pending proposal for a UCLA hotel/conference center!  Certainly, there has been conflict over thatproposal in various communities.  And there will be more to come at the Tuesday, June 5, 7 pm hearing on the proposed hotel project at the Faculty Center. From UCLA Today, June 1, 2012: Faculty in the College of Letters and Science have voted downa proposal to require all undergraduates to enroll in a general education course in a new sub-category called Community…

  • Two exciting things happening this coming Tuesday, June 5

    Byuclafaculty

    First, there is the Transit of Venus, which the LA Times calls a “twice in a lifetime experience.”  Check it out at  http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-venus-transit-20120601,0,3065385.story The other “twice in a lifetime experience” (since we had a “scoping” hearing last fall) will be the upcoming environmental review on the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center, 7 PM, at the Faculty Center.  It is supposed to be built opposite the Transit of MTA and other bus lines near Ackerman and, as this blog has endlessly pointed out, is based on a questionable business plan which could end up costing the campus.  We have yet to find…

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    Weekend Cheer from the New York Times

    Byuclafaculty

    California Cuts Threaten the Status of Universities Jennifer Medina, 6/1/12, NY Times Class sizes have increased, courses have been cut and tuition has been raised — repeatedly. Fewer colleges are offering summer classes. Administrators rely increasingly on higher tuition from out-of-staters. And there are signs it could get worse: If a tax increase proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown is not approved this year, officials say they will be forced to consider draconian cuts like eliminating entire schools or programs.  For generations, the University of California system — home to such globally renowned institutions as Berkeley and U.C.L.A. — has been…

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    Moguls

    Byuclafaculty

    The historically minded might have looked at the headline above in the LA Times today and thought it had to do with increased admissions of international students: http://www.asianartmall.com/mogulempire.htmBut no, it was a different kind of mogul’s kid. Not clear there is a story here.  The mogul in question is hip-hop singer Sean Diddy Combs, sometimes known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy. At one time, he performed with a rap group known as “Diddy-Dirty Money” that recorded on a label called “Bad Boy Records.”  (The Times did not make an issue of that.) Anyway, his son got a football scholarship to…

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    Psychic Income

    Byuclafaculty

    Old time faculty who remember UC during Jerry Brown’s earlier terms as governor will get nervous when he talks about “psychic income.” Jerry Brown on pay cut: ‘I derive a lot of psychic income’ Don’t expect Gov. Jerry Brown to lose much sleep over the Citizen Compensation Commission’s decision to slash his salary by $8,699.  “I’d run for governor whether it was a paid job or not,” he said today. “I derive a lot of psychic income.” The seven-member panel, which sets pay levels for legislators and constitutional officers, voted 5-1 today to reduce pay for the elected officials by…