Author: admin

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    The Really Exciting 405 Project (More or Less)

    Byadmin

    The Westwood-Century City Patch brings us this news of the I-405 project near UCLA: The investigations that resulted in the denial of 71 percent of damage claims related to the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project have been handled with careful attention to documentation and responsibility, according to a spokesman for Kiewit Construction, the main contractor for the $1 billion project.  Last week, the Metro Board of Directors approved Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s motion calling for the inspector general’s office to audit Kiewit’s claims since the project began in 2009. Dan Kulka, community relations manager for Kiewit, said 90…

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    Nobody Noticed the Pledge and Maybe That’s a Good Thing

    Byadmin

    It looks like none of the LA City mayoral candidates decided to take the environmental pledge that a UCLA report seemed to suggest they should.  We previously posted about the pledge at: http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/12/mayoral-campaign-pledges.html and http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/12/more-on-ucla-studys-request-for-mayoral.html Our posts noted that the seeming posture of UCLA pushing for political candidates to take particular positions and actions (in this case, creation of a new city agency was among the actions) goes beyond just posing the options that candidates might consider.  Although yours truly did not see the event, in an article describing a recent TV debate among the mayoral candidates appearing in the…

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    The Logo Was Part of an Elaborate and Now-Disappeared “Branding” Program at UC

    Byadmin

    Above is the screenshot – taken today – of the video used to introduce the new and now-“suspended” UC logo.  It’s an official video on the UC YouTube channel “UCofficeofpresident” http://www.youtube.com/UCofficeofpresident. The video there is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt-hO-y4PhA.  In case it disappears – see below on things that seem to be disappearing – we have preserved it as part of our earlier posting at: http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/12/who-needs-light-anyway-or-gravitas.html Since the text below the video is not clear from the screenshot, here is the text that appears underneath it:Published on Nov 14, 2012 This video explains the genesis of the University of California systemwide logo….

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    The New UC Logo Is Gone; We’ll Miss It

    Byadmin

    From the Capitol Alert blog of the Sacramento Bee this morning:  The University of California system announced this morning it has suspended its controversial new logo in the wake of complaints from students and alumni, some of whom derisively compared it to a “toilet bowl.” Daniel M. Dooley, senior vice president for external relations at the UC Office of the President, said in a statement that a replacement monogram “could require a measure of time to complete.” Dooley seemed a bit defensive, however, suggesting people misunderstood the logo’s purpose and that it was only intended for use on “systemwide communications…

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    Cautionary Tales for the Regents

    Byadmin

    The New York Times today runs cautionary tales today about universities that go on building booms, build up debt, and get into trouble.  The opening lines give you the flavor:  Some call it the Edifice Complex. Others have named it the Law of More, or the Taj Mahal syndrome. A decade-long spending binge to build academic buildings, dormitories and recreational facilities — some of them inordinately lavish to attract students — has left colleges and universities saddled with large amounts of debt. Oftentimes, students are stuck picking up the bill. Overall debt levels more than doubled from 2000 to 2011…

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    Radio Interview About David Geffen

    Byadmin

    Susan Lacy and David Geffen PBS recently ran an “American Masters” episode about David Geffen who just donated $100 million to the UCLA med school.  [See yesterday’s post.]  Yours truly did not see the PBS program but there was a radio interview with the program’s director, Susan Lacy, aired on KPCC on Nov. 20.  One amusing anecdote is that Geffen got his first (mailroom) job by stating (apparently falsely) that he was a UCLA grad.  I’m sure he could have an honorary UCLA degree at this point if he wanted one.  The interview can be heard at the link below.

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    Legislative Analyst Says Everything’s OK With UC Faculty Pay

    Byadmin

    Legislative Analyst’s summary: In this report, we assess UC’s ability to recruit and retain tenured and tenure-track faculty. We find that (1) UC has been hiring candidates who have received their highest degree from some of the most selective universities in the nation, (2) UC has a long history of hiring its top choice faculty candidates, (3) most new entry-level faculty stay at UC long enough to earn tenure, (4) less than 2 percent of faculty resign from UC each year, and (5) UC’s faculty compensation is competitive with other top universities. These findings indicate that UC generally has been…

  • California has a “529” Tax-Favored College Savings Program

    Byadmin

    In case you didn’t know it, California maintains a tax-favored “529” savings program for college tuition (and related college expenses) that works something like an IRA.  It can be used for any qualified institution nationwide, not just UC. Details are at https://www.scholarshare.com/home.shtml Excerpt: Contributions and Any Earnings Used to Pay for Qualified Higher Education Expenses are Federal and California Income Tax-free. The earnings portion of any distributions used to pay for qualified higher education expenses will be free from federal and California income tax. Federal Estate and Gift Tax BenefitsContributions to ScholarShare may reduce the taxable value of your estate. For…

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    The Gift of Human Capital is Good News for UCLA and for the Donor

    Byadmin

    The Good News By the time you read this posting, you will likely have heard or read about David Geffen’s gift of human capital – in the form of scholarships – to the UCLA med school. From the official UCLA media release: Entertainment executive and philanthropist David Geffen has established an unprecedented $100 million scholarship fund that will cover the entire cost of education for the very best medical students attending the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (DGSOM). The school was named in his honor after his $200 million unrestricted gift in 2002. With this recent gift, Geffen’s total philanthropic support…