Author: uclafaculty

Searching for Merced

Byuclafaculty

Still expanding in Hard Times, UC-Merced needs a new chancellor. From a UCOP press release of 10/15/10: University of California President Mark G. Yudof has named a committee of university faculty, staff, students, alumni and community representatives to advise him in the national search for the next chancellor of UC Merced. Russell S. Gould, chairman of the UC Board of Regents and a member of the committee, appointed five regents to serve. Sung-Mo “Steve” Kang, who has been chancellor of UC Merced since March 2007, announced in September that he plans to step down on June 30, 2011. He will…

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Nice Profile in LA Times of Prof. Don Shoup & His Campaign Against Free Parking

Byuclafaculty

The LA Times today profiled Urban Planning Prof. Don Shoup whose book on “The High Cost of Free Parking” is widely cited, including this nice photo. As a previous post has noted, Prof. Shoup has also campaigned against parking on sidewalks around UCLA. The article is at http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-1016-shoup-20101016,0,4071324,full.story An interesting local observation from the profile: In Shoup’s view, Old Pasadena and Westwood Village illustrate the effects of different parking policies. In 1993, Old Pasadena installed $1-an-hour meters and began using the revenue to spruce things up. Many area employees who had parked on the street and moved their vehicles every…

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You Might Not Know It But We Are In the 3rd Year of a 4-Year Plan to Raise Faculty Salaries to Market Competitiveness

Byuclafaculty

Nostalgia Department: Just to let you know, below is a letter from then UC-President Robert Dynes to campus chancellors: September 25, 2007 CHANCELLORS Dear Colleagues: I am writing to convey good news with regard to faculty salaries. Now that the California State budget has been passed, The Regents have approved the first year of a four-year plan of faculty salary increases designed to raise faculty salaries to market competitiveness and to restore the integrity of the rank and step system of faculty advancement. In 2006, the Academic Senate systemwide Committee on Academic Personnel prepared a report on the present status…

Berkeley Faculty Association Calls for “Process D”

Byuclafaculty

The UC Berkeley Faculty Association (BFA) issued a report yesterday roundly criticizing the proposals of the Post Employment Benefits task force (PEB).  The report recommends rejecting options A and B put forth by the PEB majority, and also finds Option C (the faculty/staff dissenting report) lacking.  BFA calls for “Process D.”  You can download the full report (PDF) here, or read the short version on the BFA website.

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More Focus on the Outside Political Scene Needed When We Review Retirement Options?

Byuclafaculty

Uncomfortable Question: Are we too focused on internal UC politics in evaluating the various pension and retiree health care proposals? Is it a form of UC GroupThink? That issue was raised in a conversation with an administration official. We have tended to worry about what President Yudof thinks, what the Regents think, what various UC officials think, what Academic Senate leaders think, what UC unions think, etc. But in fact we could come up with a plan that somehow balances all these views but fails a public sniff test. Below is a straw in the wind from the San Diego…

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UCLA Blog Reports Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Has Been Added to Google-Transit

Byuclafaculty

Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus is a major transit line into UCLA. For some reason, it was not included in Google’s public transit information until now. UCLA’s official “Be a Green Commuter” blog reports this problem has been resolved. See: http://www.beagreencommuter.com/blog/?p=2716

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CSU Seeks to Ban Commercial Sales by Students of Class Notes

Byuclafaculty

The LA Times reports that a student at Cal State who sells notes taken in classes as a business was warned by CSU to cease doing so on the grounds that the materials are the property of the instructors under California law. Excerpt: Entrepreneur gets a stern lecture from Cal State October 15, 2010, Carla Rivera, Los Angeles TimesRecent graduate Ryan Stevens sought to put his business degree from Cal State Sacramento to use by creating a website where students can buy and sell lecture notes, old homework, study guides and other class materials. The site, NoteUtopia.com, which was launched…

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Applied Semantics: UCLA Senate Considers “Fees” vs. “Tuition”

Byuclafaculty

Academic Senate to vote on renaming ‘fees’ to ‘tuition’ (except) Kelly Zhou, Daily Bruin, 10/13/10 The UCLA Academic Senate will vote this week on a UC-wide proposal to officially change the term “educational fees” to “tuition,” which would clarify a confusing term for many students in the UC system. All UC campuses are currently evaluating the proposal, said Ann Karagozian, chair of the Academic Senate. After the schools provide input on the proposal, the Systemwide Academic Senate will make a recommendation by Oct. 22 to the UC Office of the President, according to Undergraduate Council Vice Chair Richard Weiss. “My…

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Audio of UCLA Academic Senate Forum on Post-Employment Benefits: 10-14-10

Byuclafaculty

Audio is now available of the UCLA Academic Senate forum on Post-Employment Benefits and the various options for the pension system and retiree health care. Cellphone photo from the forum is at the left. The audio (video with a still picture) is divided into seven parts due to time limits of Yahoo-video. Participants were Chancellor Block (welcoming remarks), Senate Chair Ann Karagozian, Chair of the campus Council on Planning and Budget David Lopez, Chair of the campus Committee on Faculty Welfare Shane White, and VC for Finance, Budget, and Capital Programs Steve Olsen. Click on the various parts below. PEB…