Author: admin

miscellaneous | UCLA

UCLA Professor Charged in 2008 Lab Fire Death
Byadmin December 28, 2011

From the LA Times: On Dec. 29, 2008, Sheharbano “Sheri” Sangji, 23, was severely burned over nearly half of her body when air-sensitive chemicals burst into flames during an experiment and ignited her clothing. Sangji, who was not wearing a protective lab coat, died 18 days later. Her death raised questions about lab safety practices at UCLA and about Sangji’s training and supervision by Professor Patrick Harran, a prominent researcher who joined the faculty in July 2008. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office charged Harran and the UC regents with three counts each of willfully violating occupational…

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State Budget | UC budget crisis

Young at Heart (of Lawsuit Challenging Prop 13)
Byadmin December 28, 2011

Proposition 13 of 1978 – the brainchild of Howard Jarvis (at right) and Paul Gann – drastically cut and limited local property taxes and imposed a two-thirds vote rule in the legislature for tax increases. Various court cases have challenged it over the years. However, UCLA’s former chancellor, Charles Young, is part of a lawsuit to overturn it on (state) constitutional grounds. Obviously, if that were to occur, it would have a major impact on fiscal affairs of state and local government in California. It would surely affect the UC budget. From Mother Jones: Back when Proposition 8 — the…

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State Budget | tuition | U of Michigan | U of Virginia | UC Berkeley | UCLA

Don’t Look for Holiday Cheer from the Washington Post
Byadmin December 27, 2011

The Washington Post has looked west of late: UC-Berkeley and other ‘public Ivies’ in fiscal peril Daniel de Vise, Dec. 26, 2011, Washington Post Across the nation, a historic collapse in state funding for higher education threatens to diminish the stature of premier public universities and erode their mission as engines of upward social mobility. At the University of Virginia, state support has dwindled in two decades from 26 percent of the operating budget to 7 percent. At the University of Michigan, it has declined from 48 percent to 17 percent. Not even the nation’s finest public university is immune….

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pension | pensions | UC Regents | UCRS

Goodbye Crane – And Thanks for Your Kind Remarks
Byadmin December 27, 2011

Pension reform crusader David Crane steps down today as a member of the University of California Board of Regents. That’s because the state Senate didn’t confirm his appointment to the post within the year prescribed by law. …Crane, a Democrat, was Schwarzenegger’s point man on public pensions. He contended that the state’s three largest funds, including UC’s, were committing “generational theft“ by understating their liabilities and siphoning money from schools and social programs…Full article: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/27/4146490/the-buzz-pension-reform-crusader.html

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audio | politics | Yudof

UC Excerpt from Dec. 14 Legislative Pepper Spray Hearing
Byadmin December 26, 2011

As readers of this blog are aware, an incident in which student demonstrators at UC-Davis sparked concerns and received wide public attention. A joint legislative hearing was held on December 14. Below is an audio of the testimony of UC president Mark Yudof and General Counsel Charles Robinson at the “Legislative Hearing on California University Campus Police Policy.” The excerpts include the formal statements of the two witnesses from UC plus a question and answer session which followed similar testimony by CSU witnesses. The main information to be found in these excerpts is that there is likely to be a…

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Uncategorized

Ice Skating in Westwood: 1949
Byadmin December 25, 2011

At one time there was ice skating in Westwood at what was originally known as the Tropical Ice Garden at Weyburn and Gayley Avenues. The photo shows it in 1949, when it was known as the Sonja Henie Ice Palace, named after the ice skating movie star of that era. The rink was closed shortly after the photo was taken to be demolished. It burned down before demolition in 1950. In the contemporary view of the Weyburn-Gayley intersection, the rink would have been located on the near right where a coffee shop now operates.

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faculty recruitment | UCLA

Handy Tool for Anyone Doing Faculty Recruiting in Winter Quarter
Byadmin December 24, 2011

Just show this webcam view to anyone you are recruiting from the cold Midwest or East Coast:Venice Beach

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new hotel-conference center | UCLA

It can’t hurt to make a holiday wish…
Byadmin December 24, 2011

…can it?

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Uncategorized

Chain Link Fence Around UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital Gone
Byadmin December 23, 2011

Although the new wing of the UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital was dedicated some time ago, the Wilshire side remained surrounded by an ugly chain link fence until recently. Yours truly passed by yesterday and took this photo. The Wilshire gate is still locked, however, and a sign declares the front landscaped area to be a construction zone. It’s unclear what is being constructed.

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miscellaneous | UCLA

UCLA History: Map
Byadmin December 22, 2011

The map shown above represents Westwood and UCLA in 1934. It is a component of a larger LA-area map available for manipulation at http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/los-angeles-the-wonder-city-of-america-1934/

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