Author: admin

health care | pension | pensions | UC Regents | uc retirement | Yudof

Newspaper Editorial Unhappy With “Happy Talk” About UC Pension Fix
Byadmin December 20, 2010

Yet another reminder that the pension/retirement issue at UC did not end with the December Regents meeting below: UC president’s happy talk not helpful (excerpt) San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial December 20, 2010 Like so many public agencies in the Golden State, the University of California has promised vastly more in retirement benefits for its employees than it can afford. Taxpayers should find the UC system’s woes particularly appalling because of this fact: For two decades, the state and UC employees didn’t put aside any money at all toward future pension costs, leading to a current overall shortfall of $13.4 billion….

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State Budget | tuition

Virginia Governor Proposes a De Facto 50% Tax on Tuition Increase for a State-Funded University
Byadmin December 20, 2010

Inside Higher Ed today points to a conflict in Virginia in which Virginia Commonwealth University raised tuition and the governor proposes to cut its state appropriation by half of the added tuition revenue. One can look at this take-away as a punishment for raising tuition, as the article below does. Or one can consider it to be a way in which the state effectively grabs some tuition money for its own budgetary purposes. Your choice. Either way, this development is a cautionary note about the politics of tuition increases at public universities. The article: McDonnell punishes VCU for tuition increase…

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UCLA

UCLA History: Jackie Robinson Plays Football for UCLA in 1940
Byadmin December 19, 2010

Although Jackie Robinson is best known as a major league baseball player – as per the YouTube song embedded below – while at UCLA he played several sports including football. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-7Ac2LVVYU&fs=1&hl=en_US]

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politics | State Budget

Budget Strategy Risks for Jerry Brown (and Therefore for UC)
Byadmin December 18, 2010

The blog Calbuzz.com pointed me to two items, both related to the state budget. One is the cartoon on the right, which suggests the political challenge for incoming-Governor Brown. [If you can’t make out the captions, go http://www.calbuzz.com/2010/12/swap-meet-jerry-and-santa-meet-landslide-harris/ and scroll down until you see the cartoon.] The other is an article that appeared last week pointing to another aspect of the challenge. The two budget-related meetings Brown has had (see earlier posts) – plus statements during the election campaign – suggest that his strategy is to get the legislature to pass a budget with no tax increases that would have…

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miscellaneous | UCLA

UCLA History: Composer Arnold Schoenberg Teaches at UCLA
Byadmin December 18, 2010

Photo from the UCLA History Project, probably from the early 1940s An interesting video of a former UCLA student reflecting on being in Schoenberg’s class is available below:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt56WVygpBs&fs=1&hl=en_US]

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politics | UC-Riverside

Aftermath of Recently-Ended Political Season at UC-Riverside: Provost Candidate in the Soup
Byadmin December 18, 2010

Campbell withdraws as UCR provost candidate Duane W. Gang, Dec. 17, 2010, Riverside Press-Enterprise Former California congressman and U.S. Senate hopeful Tom Campbell withdrew today as a candidate for UC Riverside’s open executive vice chancellor and provost position, the university announced. Campbell interviewed on campus Dec. 10, but some faculty and students raised objections to his candidacy because of his stance on immigration. During his unsuccessful primary campaign this year for the Republican Senate nomination, Campbell expressed support for Arizona’s SB1070, a controversial law targeting people suspected of being in the country illegally. In a statement, UC Riverside spokeswoman Kris…

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miscellaneous | UC | Yudof

New Funding Model for UC: Details Uncertain
Byadmin December 18, 2010

Word has been circulating on campus of a new systemwide funding plan for all the campuses coming out of Oakland and President Yudof. It is referred to as a “revenue allocation model” for the campuses, whereby each campus will retain its own revenues. A “tax” will be imposed on each campus to support the central UCOP operation. The new model is slated to go into effect as a pilot program in 2011-12, with full implementation in 2012-13. Exactly what is entailed in this model is not clear, nor are its implications for campus operation or the faculty. Since we are…

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fund raising | UC-San Diego

Congratulations to UC-SD: But are they sure there what they are getting?
Byadmin December 17, 2010

Geisel gives $2 million to fix chancellor’s residence: House used in fundraising and UCSD events is currently uninhabitable Pat Flynn, Dec. 16, 2010, San Diego Union-Tribune Audrey Geisel, a longtime benefactor of the University of California San Diego, has donated $2 million to jump-start renovation of University House, the currently uninhabitable residence meant for use by the campus’ chancellor. Geisel, the widow of Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, author of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” among many other books, was given in honor of the university’s 50th anniversary, which is being celebrated this year. In 2004, engineers determined that University House…

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privatization | State Budget | UC budget crisis

In Radio Interview with Marketplace Yudof Eschews Privatization; Says Most State Politicians Don’t Understand UC
Byadmin December 17, 2010

In a radio interview today, UC President Mark Yudof discussed UC in the context of the state budget crisis. Issues that came up include privatization, faculty pay, and relations with the state in the context of the budget crisis. The portion aired was an excerpt. A full transcript – not just the excerpt – and audio of the full interview is below: Yudof Full Interview on Marketplace Jeremy Hobson: Mark Yudof is the President of California’s system and he joins us now. Mark Yudof, welcome to Marketplace. Mark Yudof: Well thank you. Thank you for inviting me. Hobson: The University…

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CalPERS | pension | pensions | politics

Observations and Worries Over at CalPERS
Byadmin December 16, 2010

The excerpt below from calpensions.com deals mainly with a state contribution cut to CalPERS, ostensibly due to increased employee contributions. Some things to note: 1) the state contribution rate to the plan is already roughly at our “normal cost.” 2) CalPERS may come down to UC’s assumed 7.5% rate of expected earnings – or possibly lower. Lower would put pressure on UC to do the same. 3) CalPERS is concerned about federal legislative proposals in the new Congress regarding public pension plan discount rates used for estimating unfunded liabilities. CalPERS state rate hike cut by $200 million (except) Ed Mendel,…

Read More Observations and Worries Over at CalPERS

Author: admin

Newspaper Editorial Unhappy With “Happy Talk” About UC Pension Fix

Virginia Governor Proposes a De Facto 50% Tax on Tuition Increase for a State-Funded University

UCLA History: Jackie Robinson Plays Football for UCLA in 1940

Budget Strategy Risks for Jerry Brown (and Therefore for UC)

UCLA History: Composer Arnold Schoenberg Teaches at UCLA

Aftermath of Recently-Ended Political Season at UC-Riverside: Provost Candidate in the Soup

New Funding Model for UC: Details Uncertain

Congratulations to UC-SD: But are they sure there what they are getting?

In Radio Interview with Marketplace Yudof Eschews Privatization; Says Most State Politicians Don’t Understand UC

Observations and Worries Over at CalPERS

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

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