Author: uclafaculty

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Alternative Choices

Byuclafaculty

Yesterday, we ran this photo from a recent Regents meeting with a kind of multiple-choice test for incoming UC President Napolitano on what song was (now former) President Yudof likely NOT thinking of in the scene shown above.  But it has been suggested that he might not have been thinking about songs at all.  It might have been movie scenes.  So we will repeat the basic question modified to be “What movie scene below was President Yudof most likely NOT thinking about?” Selection A Selection B Or maybe he could have been thinking about some more recent films by an…

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At recent Regents meetings, Jerry left his Mark…

Byuclafaculty

And now, Mark has left Jerry.  (The Yudof term concluded at the end of August.)  Today is September 1, so we are now in the era of Janet Napolitano.  And since she is coming from the Obama administration with its emphasis on objective performance standards for higher ed, it might be useful if she took a short multiple-choice quiz.  So below is a modest offering. Question: When the photo above was taken, which song was most likely NOT running through President Yudof’s mind? a. You’re Mean to Me [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k429BOuUGo?feature=player_detailpage] b. You Can’t Always Get What You Want [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkGrkNu6mDg?feature=player_detailpage] c….

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More than you wanted to know about the state budget?

Byuclafaculty

It may be more than you wanted to know, but a draft chapter for California Policy Options 2014 on the California state budget (with some references to UC) is available at: http://www.employmentpolicy.org/topic/402/research/californias-sleep-well-state-budget-draft-8-31-2013  [Click on pdf to download.]

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Supreme Court Challenge to Michigan Proposition Could Void Prop 209

Byuclafaculty

Prop 209, banning affirmative action in public university admissions, was passed by California voters in 1996.  The final vote count in favor was actually slightly higher than the chart here – from preliminary data shortly after the election – shows.  (54.6% yes rather than 54.5%.)  Prop 209’s history goes back to an earlier action by the Regents banning affirmative action at UC.  (The Regents later repealed the ban but, by that time, Prop 209 took precedence and the repeal had no effect.) The LA Times today carries a report of a challenge at the Supreme Court to a similar proposition…

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The Secret of Groundbreaking

Byuclafaculty

Apparently, there can be big secrets in groundbreaking as the headline above indicates.  And the big secret of the Sept. 10 groundbreaking for the UCLA Grand Hotel is that you have to break ground before the groundbreaking.  So although not much seemed to happen on the site of the Grand Hotel at the Ackerman bus turnaround and parking structure #6 after it was blocked off last July 8, now work actually seems to be occurring.  I wouldn’t say that I saw feverish activity when I passed by yesterday, but there was work being done. A view of the Great Wall…

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Waiting to find out what it means

Byuclafaculty

Room for waiting Inside Higher Ed is reporting today that the reason the higher ed establishment has been relatively quiet about the Obama plan for higher ed performance standards, tuition, etc., is because no one really knows what it means or what in detail is in the plan. They’re all waiting to find out. See http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/30/after-obamas-announcement-higher-ed-lobby-offers-cautious-response It’s tough to wait:

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Note for the Regents

Byuclafaculty

Here’s a quote from Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters.  Might be something for the Regents (and our incoming UC president Janet Napolitano) to keep in mind: …Tom Hayden, the politician/journalist who protected Brown’s left flank when he was paddling his political canoe to the right three-plus decades ago, points out in a new Rolling Stone article about Brown that the governor tends to become very stubborn when he’s wrong on an issue. “He does have a problematic side,” Hayden told Rolling Stone. “He’s the kind of guy who, when he knows he’s wrong, argues harder.”… Walters’ column deals with Brown’s…

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No clear outcome from court hearing on UCLA Japanese Garden

Byuclafaculty

This seems to be the season for uncertain outcomes of court proceedings, as our prior post notes.  The Beverly Hills Courier is reporting that a hearing on Aug. 28, apparently about continuing the current injunction barring the sale of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden in Bel Air by UCLA, resulted in claims by opposing attorneys but no outcome. Blog readers will know that the garden, once the property of a former Regent – Edward Carter – was given to UCLA which at a later point said it would maintain it in perpetuity.  An associated residence on the property was occupied…

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Unclear Consequences of Ruling on VA Uses for UCLA Sports & Other Events

Byuclafaculty

There is a news report today that a court has ruled that the VA property that is almost adjacent to UCLA has been improperly used for purposes other than veterans’ health care. UCLA rents space at the VA for sports programs. Over the years, there have been uses for theaters and other events for the general public.Some commercial businesses have also rented space. Recently, there was a Shakespeare theater group at the VA in an open-air venue.  Exactly what the ruling – which is temporarily stayed for 6 months – might mean for such uses, including those by UCLA, is…

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Various UC Campuses Cleared of Anti-Semitism Charges

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed reported yesterday that UC campuses at Berkeley and Santa Cruz had been cleared of charges of allowing an anti-Semitic atmosphere due to anti-Israel student activities.  The campuses received letters from the US Dept. of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) clearing them on free speech grounds.  An article appeared later in the LA Times indicating the same conclusion was reached for UC-Irvine. The Inside Higher Ed article is at http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/08/28/education-dept-rejects-charges-anti-jewish-bias-u-calif-campuses The LA Times article is at http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-uc-fed-probe-20130829,0,936811.story You can find an official letter to one of the campuses from OCR through the first link.  But the unofficial…