Author: admin

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    Off Message?

    Byadmin

    UCLA often points to its environmentalism, particularly when construction projects are an issue.  But in the case described below, someone in the Housing and Hospitality empire seems off message. Below is an email sent today by Prof. Donald Shoup of Urban Planning to Robert Gilbert, Special Assistant to AVC & Sustainability Manager, UCLA Housing and Hospitality Services. It was the latest of a series of emails that went back and forth on the student housing project described in the message. Subject: Master metering wastes electricity in UCLA apartment buildings Dear Robert, Thanks for your message. As I understand our correspondence,…

  • Online

    Byadmin

    There is growing interest in outline higher education, as readers of this blog will know.  UC has been experimenting with it for some time.  Recently, NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman touted a new venture called coursera.org which apparently has linked to some major universities, as the picture above indicates.  His column is at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/opinion/friedman-come-the-revolution.html.  If the NY Times wants to charge you to look, the same column appears in the Sacramento Bee at http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/17/4495739/online-revolution-in-higher-education.html Clearly, it’s the in thing: Indeed, NY Times columnists seem to be on a kick about this topic.  Below is David Brooks’ version (also as reprinted…

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    Hobgoblin Pensions

    Byadmin

    Yours truly is not exactly sure what a hobgoblin is, except that consistency was said by Emerson to be the hobgoblin of small minds. As readers of this blog will know, the Regents and UCOP have been effusively praising the governor for somehow committing to funding the UC pension system fully, even though all he has done is said that UC could use some of its state allocation for the pension (which was always the case).  Absent some larger understanding between UC and the powers-that-be in the state on funding UC operations generally as well as the pension, such statements…

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    Listen to (Partial) Audio of Afternoon Regents Session: 5-16-12

    Byadmin

    The Regents met in Sacramento on May 16, 2012.  Sacramento was chosen so they could lobby legislators after the meeting.  The morning session was interrupted by a demonstration.  At that time, the Regents went to another location and moved to the closed sessions on the agenda below, presumably while the room was cleared.  The intent was to resume the open part of the meeting after the room was cleared.  The morning session up to the demonstration has been separated posted (the prior post today). Because items were taken out of order as a result of the demonstration, it was unclear…

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    Listen to Audio of Regents 5-16-12 Prior to Demonstration Interruption

    Byadmin

    The Regents met in Sacramento on May 16, 2012.  Sacramento was chosen so they could lobby legislators after the meeting.  The morning session was interrupted by a demonstration.  At that point, the Regents went to another location and moved to the closed sessions listed on the agenda below, presumably while the room was cleared.  The intent was to resume the open part of the meeting after the room was cleared. Below is a link to the audio up to the demonstration.  The demonstration that interrupted the meeting consisted of yelling from an individual followed by singing from the audience about…

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    UCLA Legislative Assembly to Consider Appeal on MBA Self Sufficiency Proposal

    Byadmin

    An earlier post today reproduced an excerpt from an article by former UCLA Chancellor Young in which he endorses self sufficiency for at least some UC academic programs.  UCLA already has that issue before it.  As the notice below indicates, an appeal to the Legislative Assembly has been filed concerning the Anderson School’s MBA Self Sufficiency proposal which the Graduate Council rejected. UCLA Academic Senate May 15, 2012 RE:      Important announcement regarding June 7 Legislative Assembly meeting Dear Colleague: I am writing to you in your capacity as a representative to the Legislative Assembly (LgA).  We have an important meeting on…

  • E-I E-I Out: Berkeley Farm Invasion Seems Over

    Byadmin

    UC police arrest 9 as they clear Occupy the Farm Michael Cabanatuan, Ellen Huet Tuesday, May 15, 2012, San Francisco Chronicle (excerpt) A three-week-long protest on UC Berkeley agricultural research land in Albany came to a quiet close early Monday when police cleared out a small group of protesters who had set up an urban farming camp. University police officers in riot helmets arrested nine people after giving protesters 10 minutes to leave the Gill Tract near Marin and San Pablo avenues about 6:15 a.m. When officers fanned out across the fields, the few protesters who had not obeyed the police…

  • Former UCLA Chancellor Charles Young on UC’s Budget Dilemma

    Byadmin

    In an article in the CUCEA newsletter, former UCLA Chancellor Charles Young discusses the budget problems facing UC and some possible solutions: (excerpt) Raising out ­of ­state and international student enrollments as a greater source of revenue. Increasing tuition levels uniformly throughout the system to a level that would cover state budget cuts AND maintain quality and fully meet the costs of additional enrollments. Allowing individual campuses to impose a premium above the uniform base to provide for appropriate distinctive needs and opportunities, commensurate with market conditions and ability to provide the increased aid necessary to make increases neutral with…

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    How Big is a 250-Room Hotel? Ask a Duck

    Byadmin

    Above is the “Radisson at USC” which has 240 rooms.  It is right across from the USC campus on Figueroa.  It isn’t shy about calling itself a “hotel,” even though it has ten fewer rooms than the proposed facility at UCLA which the administration insists is not really a hotel but rather a “residential conference center” and sometimes just a “conference center.”  And yes, the Radisson at USC has conference rooms including a 7,000 square foot ballroom. Do we really need to pretend about what UCLA’s proposed facility is? There is a saying about such pretense… UPDATE: There will be…