Author: admin

UC Berkeley

For Your Information: Request from Berkeley Faculty Assn.
Byadmin November 17, 2013

The request to circulate the item below was received by Prof. Meranze of the UCLA Faculty Assn. board from the UC-Berkeley Faculty Assn.: Berkeley Faculty Association Calls for Increased Support of Grad Student Employees: At the end of September, the current 3 year-contract of UAW 2865 representing UC Academic Student Employees (GSIs, readers and tutors) expired and ASEs are now working without a contract. UCOP Labor Relations and UAW 2865 have not yet reached an official “impasse.” But the Berkeley Faculty Association is concerned that UCOP’s last offer of a 2% rise doesn’t come close to eliminating the gap with…

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athletics | UC Berkeley

Did Wiseman Catch This? (Check Prior Post)
Byadmin November 16, 2013

UC Berkeley, the world’s top-ranked public university, is admitting student athletes with shockingly low grades and scores if they show promise as revenue-generating football or basketball players, say two Cal scholars whose new study helps explain why athletes on campus have the worst graduation rates in the country. While the highly competitive university routinely turns away applicants who earn straight A’s in high school, it has also been admitting student athletes on full scholarship even if their average high school grade was a B-minus. Its policy, in fact, permits a C average.Also disparate is the way Cal evaluates students’ scores on the…

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UC Berkeley | UC budget crisis

“At Berkeley” Opens
Byadmin November 16, 2013

The Frederick Wiseman documentary, “At Berkeley,” opens at the Royal Theater in West LA. Warning, it runs over four hours! Yours truly suspects the theater opening is a prelude for a public TV showing later. Running as a movie in a theater is probably to qualify for an Academy Award. (That’s a guess!) From the Kenneth Turan review in the LA Times: Master documentarian Frederick Wiseman makes his films his way, and the way he makes them is reflected in how we experience them. “At Berkeley” is Wiseman’s 38th doc in 43 years, and each of them, as titles like…

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audio | community colleges | enrollment | governor | Napolitano | politics | State Budget | tuition | UC budget crisis | UC Regents

Listen to the Regents Morning Session: Nov. 13, 2013 (including the Napolitano speech)
Byadmin November 15, 2013

As noted in prior posts, yours truly is out of town and behind on listening to, and recording, the Regents meeting. I am now current through the morning of Nov. 13. That was the morning in which UC president Napolitano gave her speech on her goals for UC. Blog readers will recall that there was supposed to be a similar unveiling of goals in a speech awhile ago, but that turned out to be a booster/dud. This one was more significant, but more on that below. Again, we provide audio archives of Regents meetings because regental policy is to preserve…

Read More Listen to the Regents Morning Session: Nov. 13, 2013 (including the Napolitano speech)
traffic | transportation | UCLA

The Power of Positive Thinking on the I-405
Byadmin November 15, 2013

From the Westwood-Century City Patch: Good news about traffic on Sunset Boulevard near the 405 Freeway! (Yes, you read that right — there’s good news about traffic on the Westside.) Starting tomorrow, LADOT will begin changing the signaling and striping at one of the more congested intersections in the area, allowing drivers exiting the 405 Freeway more time to make a right on red from southbound Church Lane to westbound Sunset. Currently, there is a “No Right Turn on Red” sign at the intersection, significantly contributing to the maddening traffic bottleneck we all endure. This small change is expected to…

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miscellaneous | UCLA

TA Union Strike May Accompany Other Strike on Nov. 20
Byadmin November 14, 2013

The Daily Bruin is reporting that the union representing TAs may strike along with the larger AFSCME one-day strike on Wednesday, November 20. Excerpt below: University of California teaching assistants, tutors and other unionized academic student workers will go on strike on Wednesday in solidarity with another UC workers union. Many discussion sections for undergraduate coursework scheduled for Wednesday could be cancelled, said Cody Trojan, a recording secretary for UC Student-Workers Union Local 2865 and vice president of academic affairs for the Graduate Students Association. Unionized teaching assistants will not show up to class to teach their sections, Trojan added….

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miscellaneous | UCLA

UCLA History: Bel Air View
Byadmin November 14, 2013

Aerial view of Bel Air looking towards (new) UCLA campus in 1929.

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audio | health care | Napolitano | tuition | UC Regents

Listen to the UC Regents: Nov. 12, 2013
Byadmin November 13, 2013

As blog readers will know, we post audio of Regents meetings because the current regental policy is only to post their meetings for a year. But the meetings live on here! Yours truly has various commitments this week that will slow the posting. But a link to yesterday’s meeting is below. The public comment session included speakers complaining about lack of affirmative action at UC (blocked by Prop 209), inadequate services for disabled students (including those with mental problems), and complaints about the appointment of Janet Napolitano. The last took up a good deal of time with demands that the…

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transportation | UCLA

Waiting for the Subway to Come to UCLA?
Byadmin November 13, 2013

It’s coming!!! … in 2035. In the meantime… there is one in Westwood already. Source of the schedule: http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/10/heres_the_schedule_for_work_on_the_purple_line_to_la_cienega.php

Read More Waiting for the Subway to Come to UCLA?
ballot propositions | pension | pensions | politics | ucrp

Clock is ticking away on chance to get UC out of anti-pension initiative
Byadmin November 13, 2013

Previous posts on t his blog have noted the filing of an anti-pension initiative, fronted by some mayors, that would include UC along with other state and local plans. We have noted that it would be best if UC were omitted from the initiative on the rationale that the Regents have implemented their own plan for modifying their retiree programs (back in 2010). We have also noted that once an initiative gets on the ballot, it cannot be amended. However, groups filing pension initiatives sometimes file amended versions. The group behind the initiative has now filed a second version, illustrating…

Read More Clock is ticking away on chance to get UC out of anti-pension initiative

Author: admin

For Your Information: Request from Berkeley Faculty Assn.

Did Wiseman Catch This? (Check Prior Post)

“At Berkeley” Opens

Listen to the Regents Morning Session: Nov. 13, 2013 (including the Napolitano speech)

The Power of Positive Thinking on the I-405

TA Union Strike May Accompany Other Strike on Nov. 20

UCLA History: Bel Air View

Listen to the UC Regents: Nov. 12, 2013

Waiting for the Subway to Come to UCLA?

Clock is ticking away on chance to get UC out of anti-pension initiative

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

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