Author: uclafaculty

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Can a State Take Away Promised Pension Benefits?

Byuclafaculty

It has generally been accepted that accrued pension benefits promised by a state or local government cannot be reduced. That has certainly been the situation in California. Pension plans can be terminated going forward or scaled back going forward. The article excerpted below from the Wall Street Journal reports on legal tests in other states of this principle. The recent UC Post-Employment Benefits (PEB) Task Force report suggests reduced benefits for new hires (and for existing employees who choose to go into a reduced two-tier plan). It does not contemplate takeaways from retirees or from accrued benefits of current employees….

New Data on Grad Education: Women Dominate at Masters Level; 50-50 for Doctorates

Byuclafaculty

A study by the Council of Graduate Schools looks at graduate enrollments in the U.S. in 2008-09. The 100+ page report contains charts and tables showing breakdowns by race, sex, and foreign vs. domestic students. It is available at http://www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/R_ED2009.pdf

We’re Number 17! (Among Recruiters)

Byuclafaculty

A Wall Street Journal survey of employer recruiters ranks various universities. UCLA comes in as number 17. UC-Berkeley is number 15. USC is number 24. For the full list, go to http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435563989873060.html An accompanying description of the survey is at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575478074223658024.html?mod=WSJ_PathToProfessions_TopLEADNewsCollection Nowadays jobs are tough to get:

UCLA History: Neutra’s Landfair Apartments

Byuclafaculty

The Landfair Apartments were designed by architect Richard Neutra and constructed in 1937. On the left below is a 1939 photo of the apartments. On the right is a contemporary photo. From the web at http://www.m2a-architects.com/portfolio/multifamily/landfair.html Designed by Richard Neutra in 1937 as five townhouses and two flats, this structure was poorly converted to post-war educational housing and then to co-operative housing for 73 UCLA students. The balconies and glazing on the exterior were removed and restored to their original configurations while adding full upgrades for disabled access and seismic codes. The interiors were carefully converted to dormitory-style housing while…

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PEB Report Continues to Get Press Coverage

Byuclafaculty

The latest news item to cover the aftermath of the Post-Employment Benefits Task Force report is in the Sacramento Bee. No mention of the faculty dissenting report, however, or the $2-for-$1 problem. UC targets pension benefits (excerpt) Sacramento Bee, Sep. 11, 2010, Laurel Rosenhall Confronting a $24 billion unfunded liability in its retirement plan, leaders of the University of California are poised to make significant changes to pension and health care benefits for the system’s retirees. The first step comes Thursday, when UC’s governing board of regents is scheduled to vote on a proposal to increase the amount current employees…

Size Matters: UCLA is the Largest Higher Ed Institution in LA County

Byuclafaculty

UCLA has 30,000 employees and 2,700 full-time faculty. It is the largest higher ed institution in LA County with over 39,000 students. There is another university downtown which has almost 35,000 students. Indeed, the LA Business Journal lists the top 25 institutions (public and private) in LA County including community colleges and UCLA is #1. You can find comparative data on the top 25 at http://www.cbjonline.com/a2labj/lists/2010-Colleges-1-25.pdf

Crest Theater in Westwood Remains Open

Byuclafaculty

In early August, a post on this site indicated that the Majestic Crest theater in Westwood – with its elaborate art deco decor – was about the close. It is still operating, however, and the latest email from the owner indicates that a theater chain will continue to operate it after it changes hands on Sept. 17. You can find a history of the theater at the earlier post.

Regents to Allow Recording/Videoing of Meetings

Byuclafaculty

Modern technology makes it easy to record audio and video. Now, after a brouhaha in which an individual attending a public meeting of the Regents was barred from recording the session, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the policy barring such activity is about to be officially changed. See http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/09/BABD1FBEFU.DTL Audio from the Regents meetings is streamed live. But the audio is not made available after the meeting ends. Any reason why not? For that matter, video could be streamed and then archived, as is done at many other public meetings nowadays in California. Any reason why not? Just asking.

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SF Chronicle Account of PEB Report

Byuclafaculty

The news item below on the Post-Employment Benefits Task Force report is more extensive than most. It does, however, omit discussion of the $2-for-$1 problem, i.e., the fact that roughly two dollars out of three collected for the pension come from non-state sources and cannot be collected retroactively. Contentious plan for sagging UC pension fund (excerpts) Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle, September 10, 2010 A tidal wave of unfunded retirement obligations that could top $40 billion in four years is washing over the University of California, forcing employees to pay far more for those benefits and threatening students with the…