Author: uclafaculty

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Tobacco Tax for UC/CSU Student Aid Initiative Filed

Byuclafaculty

Note: We posted this story yesterday although blogger now shows it as today for reasons unknown. An initiative has been filed that would raise tobacco taxes to fund student aid at UC and CSU.  The usual caveats apply.  It takes $1-$2 million to pay signature gathering firms to get such a petition on the ballot (as opposed to $200 to file it).  A tobacco tax initiative brings out big money opposition from tobacco companies.  Recall the tobacco tax that failed last June.  So a sponsor – if serious – would have to have deep pockets to carry out an effective…

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Proponents of Tobacco Tax for UC/CSU Scholarships May Not Just Be Blowing Smoke

Byuclafaculty

Yesterday (although blogger now shows it as today and later than this posting for reasons unknown), we noted an initiative had been filed that would tax tobacco to provide scholarship aid for UC and CSU students.  We noted in particular that the initiative was professionally drafted, unlike many that are filed and, so, might have serious backers that could really fund a campaign. The San Francisco Chronicle picks up the story today and notes the Lt. Governor Newsom seems linked to the initiative.  The initiative’s spokesperson is someone named in an earlier item in the Chronicle as a key aide…

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UCLA History: Winter 1932

Byuclafaculty

Now that we have survived a supposed Mayan prediction of the end of the world and are in the first full day of winter, here is a snow scene of Powell in 1932. If you are curious about why we survived, NASA has some answers:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY_Gc1bF8ds?feature=player_embedded] And, by the way, as far as I can tell, the correct pronunciation of WINTER is WINTR:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwgEY2JJXV8?feature=player_detailpage]

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The Money That Danced Away

Byuclafaculty

USC recently announced a gift from philanthropist Glorya Kaufman to establish a new school of dance.  In a radio interview on KCRW, Kaufman said she had given money for renovation of a dance building at UCLA but the building wasn’t being used as intended.  Excerpt: …Glorya Kaufman, the philanthropist funding USC’s new dance school, won’t reveal exactly how much money she’s putting into it. “That’s not the important part. The important part is what it’s doing … that’s why I’m withholding that amount,” she says. But whatever the pricetag, it’s large enough to pay for a brand new building and at least…

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It’s Budget Leak Time

Byuclafaculty

There are formal and informal elements of the state budget process.  One formal part is the requirement that the governor present a budget proposal to the legislature in early January (Jan. 10).  The legislature is supposed to enact a budget by mid-June.  But there are also informal elements.  For example, it is traditional that the governor present the legislature with a “May revise” modified proposal for the budget in mid-May.  Another tradition is that bits of news about the budget begin to leak out around this time. Given the realities of the complexities of the state budget, by now the…

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Lessons from NYU for Murphy Hall, UCOP, and the Regents to Ponder

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed today has an interesting and lengthy article on a pending NYU faculty vote of no-confidence in that university’s president which relates to a construction project of the university.  We have reported in this blog about the large capital project agenda that is routinely approved by the Board of Regents for UC campuses without real independent oversight capability on the part of the Board.  Perhaps there are lessons from NYU to be learned.  The recent extended brouhaha about the UC logo – clearly a minor issue compared to the NYU matter – suggests that folks in Murphy Hall,…

Pay Premium for Higher Ed in California Particularly High

Byuclafaculty

The chart above comes from a recently-released study on pay premiums by level of education by state.  California shows up as having a relatively high premium for college grads and advanced degree grads relative to high school grads.  The data are based on median wage & salary adjusted to 2010 dollars for 2006-10.  The study groups workers by their broad occupational field: arts & humanities, business & commerce, health, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math).  It is interesting to note that the high premium in California shows up within each of these broad areas as well as for all combined….