Atop 300 Medical Plaza, UCLA seems to have discovered a new Roman numeral for 4: IIII. Update: Laura G. Mitchell pointed out that the IV may be in use inside the medical building. And then there is:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHsb6SylPNw&w=320&h=195]
You may see some headlines about revenues falling short of expectations for the first six months of the fiscal year, based on the state controller’s latest statement. The legislature assumed phantom money in June so it could pass a budget more or less on time. Now, however, all of the major taxes are performing within a margin of error relative to estimates made in connection with the latest budget proposal. Forecasting is not an exact science, even when done without phantoms. Spending is also running about as now forecast. The real problem the state faces is that revenues are short…
The Regents are a less-staid group than they were in the 1950s when the photo on the left was taken. (They are discussing the loyalty oath controversy of that era in the picture.) Thanks to the UC-Davis pepper spray incident, Regent Chair Lansing has been seeking alternative avenues of communication with students.In any event, the Daily Bruin asked yours truly and two others to write little op eds on such communications. You can read about it at http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/01/_on_the_record_
You may have seen an article in the LA Times about a possible change in direction at California community colleges. UCLA says about 40% of its graduates (undergrads) are transfer students. Not all of these transfers come from California community colleges, however. But poking around on the web suggests that around 90% of them are from the state’s community college system. The original Master Plan viewed community colleges as colleges of last resort. Anyone with a high school degree could enroll. (Indeed, some enrollees may not have high school degrees.) If an enrollee got on an academic track (some courses…
The American Economic Association – at its annual meeting in Chicago this past weekend – adopted conflict of interest disclosure guidelines for the various journals it publishes. Debate on this issue developed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and complaints that views expressed by economists might be influenced, or perceived to be influenced, by sources of support. The guidelines require authors to disclose financial support, not only for the research presented in the article, but also more generally over the prior three years. Inside Higher Ed has a brief story with links at http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/01/09/economists-adopt-conflict-interest-guidelines
Our favorite ex-Regent, David Crane, is now comparing himself to Galileo for his unhelpful stand on the Regents regarding pensions. Readers of this blog will know that Crane was appointed in the fleeting minutes of former Governor Schwarzenegger’s term to the Regents. But he was never confirmed by the state senate and his term thus ended in late 2011. While on the Board, Crane – who evidently wanted to make government pensions generally his issue – was not helpful in differentiating the steps the Regents had taken in modifying UCRP from other state pensions such as CalPERS. UC is in…
Another color photo of Westwood in the 1940s. The top picture shows Westwood Blvd. approaching Wilshire Blvd. back then. Below that is the current view from Google maps.
As readers of earlier blog posts will know, Governor Brown line-item vetoed CPEC (California Postsecondary Education Commission) out of existence by eliminating its funding in the current year state budget. CPEC was created to coordinate and evaluate the provision of higher ed in California under the Master Plan – public and private. Now the LAO (Legislative Analyst’s Office) thinks that some kind of replacement for CPEC is needed to monitor higher ed. LAO seems to want performance standards, much of which deals with flows into and out of higher ed institutions. It is interesting that the state generally, not just…
A movie opens in Westwood in 1937.
Normally, the governor’s budget proposal (reminder – it is a proposal, not an enacted budget) would be made public January 10. Someone in the governor’s entourage apparently goofed and posted it on the web today. So there was a hasty unveiling without the usual leaking of bits and pieces for days before January 10. As it happens, yours truly is about to go to Chicago for three days so only a rough perusal of the budget was possible. But here are some highlights. First, take a look at the chart on the left. The dark part of the bars are…
