Author: uclafaculty

| | | |

More on the pension initiative “coordination”

Byuclafaculty

Leone Baxter and Clem Whitaker, founders of Campaigns, Inc. You probably have never heard of the couple above, Clem Whitaker and Leone Baxter, who founded what some regard as the first modern political advertising firm – Campaigns, Inc. – right here in California in the early 1930s.  You may not have heard of the great “EPIC” campaign of 1934 – their first big target.  (They ran the opposition.)  I will leave it to you to read up on the history of all of that which you can find in http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/09/24/120924fa_fact_lepore?currentPage=all  However, a key tactic they developed was distributing information favoring…

|

UCLA will appeal eviction from VA baseball stadium

Byuclafaculty

UCLA ROTC cadet in 1930s From the Westwood-Century City Patch: UCLA will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that effectively locks the university out of Jackie Robinson Stadium—which is on Veterans Administration land in West Los Angeles —where Bruin baseball has been played for decades, it was announced Tuesday… If appeals fail, the university may have to vacate the stadium after the 2014 season… U.S. District Judge S. James Otero ruled in August that by not using the land to provide health care for vets, the VA is in violation of federal law. Otero issued a written ruling Monday rejecting efforts…

| | | | |

Anti-Pension Cabal? Smells that way

Byuclafaculty

We have noted in past posting on the filing of a public pension initiative that there appeared to be a good deal of “coordination” in the effort, including a Stanford-Hoover MOOC (online course) on personal investments that somehow ends with a session on public pensions.  There appeared to be more involved than a few California mayors who are the official face. The fact that UC is swept into the initiative – although it is not a city and has its own set of pension modifications adopted by the Regents in 2010 – seems to be evidence of a larger agenda….

| |

Alternative Entrance

Byuclafaculty

From the Daily Bruin: University of California student leaders are proposing a new admissions criterion that would give preference to applicants from low-income schools that have special partnerships with UC campuses. Under the criterion, UC campuses would look at whether an applicant comes from a Title I high school – a school that serves a significant number of low-income students – or a community college with low transfer rates that has a partnership with a UC campus. The partnerships would involve academic preparation and outreach programs that the UC would create for these schools. Students proposing the new factor, including…

| | | | |

More Let Me Outta Here Re: Pension Initiative

Byuclafaculty

I want out! Yours truly has been posting about the recently filed public pension (and retiree health care) initiative which covers UC.  UC needs a strategy including first attempting to see if the sponsors will amend it or file a revised version that omits UC.  This is a political battle it would be best to avoid if possible. The initiative has the potential to become a “symbol” of intergenerational conflict as a recent article in calpensions.com points out.  Once things become symbols of something that goes beyond the issue at end – think “ObamaCare” – the pros and cons get…

| |

Don’t worry about us here at UCLA! Take all the time you need!

Byuclafaculty

Back in December 2011, commuters on the 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass drove by an unusual sight. A retaining wall built for the new car-pool lane was collapsing, the gray concrete panels visibly buckling and falling.  Alarmed by the discovery, construction crews tore down the wall. At least 14 other walls also came down and were rebuilt. State officials moved quickly, banning the construction of similar retaining walls throughout California. Today, the 405 Freeway project is more than 15 months behind schedule, a timeline that has Angelenos bemoaning the traffic congestion caused by construction of the 10-mile car-pool lane. …

Another don’t click reminder

Byuclafaculty

Don’t click! Another reminder that when you get emails – such as the one above – that seem to have some official connection to UCLA and invite you to click here, download here, etc., be very cautious.  The one above may just be harmless commercial spam but the best thing to do is to delete it.  It clearly is not from a UCLA source.  Clicking and downloading may infect your computer and cause damage to it.

|

One report airs some dirty laundry. Another doesn’t air.

Byuclafaculty

The LA Times picks up story on UCLA report circulated by email to faculty: UCLA’s policies and procedures are inadequate to deal with increasing complaints of racial bias among faculty — nearly all of whom surveyed said they had experienced some level of discrimination, according to an internal report obtained by The Times.  The report also found that allegations of overt racism were not investigated and, if they were, they rarely resulted in sanctions or punishments… The review, which was launched by Chancellor Gene D. Block in 2012 after he was approached by a group of concerned faculty, found that…

|

Going Up?

Byuclafaculty

UC president Napolitano, on her campus tour, says she hopes not to press her luck and see tuition go up. Not a guarantee, of course. See: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_24341488/new-uc-president-keep-eye-costs Tuition will either go up, stay the same (likely for now), or go down (has happened in the past but very unlikely under current conditions).  In fact, past UC presidents have gone with the (budget) flow: