News

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Food for Thought on Retirement at UC

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed today unveiled a survey of human resource executives in higher education.  The full survey can be downloaded from that source and the link is at the bottom of this post.  But start with the observation that much of higher ed operates with defined contribution pension plans such as TIAA-CREF.  Thus, there is no particular incentive for older faculty to retire built into the pension. As can be seen below, higher ed HR execs thus worry that older faculty are not retiring, making it difficult to recruit new faculty.  UC, with its defined benefit system, does have a…

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Explanations Needed

Byuclafaculty

Yours truly has updated two posts that appeared yesterday on this blog and both need more explanation and information. First, there is the prosecution of a UCLA professor in connection with a lab fire.  An article at the UCLA newsroom said the judge was entering a plea of not guilty for the faculty member over the objections of his lawyer.  That seems odd since the position of not guilty has always been the stance.  But no explanation for the oddity is to be found in the article.  Perhaps a reader can add some enlightenment. Second, there is the rejection of the…

Not Guilty Plea in UCLA Lab Fire Case

Byuclafaculty

A UCLA chemistry professor has pleaded not guilty in a December 2008 laboratory fire that killed a staff research assistant. Patrick Harran was ordered to return to Los Angeles Superior Court Oct. 9 for a preliminary hearing. Source: http://centurycity.patch.com/articles/ucla-professor-pleads-not-guilty-in-laboratory-death-case Earlier posts on this story have indicated that UCLA is defending Prof. Harran and that the local DA seems to be overreaching on two UCLA matters. http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/07/has-worm-turned-in-ucla-lab-fire-trial.htmlhttp://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/04/too-much-old-radio.html http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/03/da-overreaching.html UPDATE: UCLA’s media release indicates the plea was entered over the objections of Prof. Harran’s lawyer, but no explanation is given: Judge enters not guilty plea on behalf of UCLA professor By UCLA Newsroom September 05,…

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Service With a Smile? UC is Encouraged; CSU is Mandated

Byuclafaculty

It may seem self-evident, but it’s nevertheless a matter of state law that teaching is an “essential responsibility,” along with research, for members of the University of California’s faculty and “a primary responsibility” for those in the California State University system…  But if Gov. Jerry Brown signs a bill that whipped through both houses of the Legislature in the final, hectic hours of the 2012 session, that will change – radically, perhaps. A third element would be required in the hiring and promotion of faculty members. It’s called “service.” The specifics of Assembly Bill 2132 appear to give great weight…

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No one wants to talk

Byuclafaculty

More and more news items are appearing about the roadblock at the systemwide Academic Senate to the Anderson School’s MBA self-sufficiency funding plan. The LA Times has now picked up the story:…Allison Holmes, an Anderson school spokeswoman and assistant dean, said Tuesday that the school was looking at the implications of the committee ruling and that it was too soon for a response. Steve Montiel, a UC system spokesman, said (UC President Mark) Yudof also needed time to study the committee’s decision and to consult with other UC officials before deciding what to do.Full article at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0905-ucla-mba-20120905,0,1578391.story Inside Higher Ed did…

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Settling Pepper

Byuclafaculty

Among the various items on the Regents agenda in September is a review of litigation affecting UC. Included is a tentative settlement of the UC-Davis pepper spray incident. Another bit of litigation from the “occupy” demonstrations at Davis involving a bank branch there is also up for discussion. The Japanese Garden litigation is on the list as is the UCLA lab fire incident involving a faculty member being prosecuted by the local DA (and defended by the university).  And there is a lawsuit arising from demonstrations at Berkeley. The full list is at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/sept12/finx.pdf but note that all of this discussion will…

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Impressive!! The UCLA Hotel-Brick-Grande Unveiled on Regents Agenda

Byuclafaculty

As noted on yesterday’s blog, the Regents agenda was posted but without the detailed items.  Now we can see the images of the UCLA Hotel Grande and it turns out to be brick.  The prior conceptual images were not clear.  There is also a grand report to the Regents which surely they will read, page by page.  Those who testified at the June hearing will be happy to note that “no substantive comments were received in comment letters or the public hearing that required changes to the conclusions of the Draft EIR.”   The Regents item can be downloaded at:http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/sept12/gb3.pdf or…

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More Info on the Rejection of the Anderson Self-Sufficiency Plan

Byuclafaculty

The systemwide Academic Senate rejection of the UCLA Anderson School’s self-sufficiency funding plan appears in the letter you can read at the link below.  A prior post on this blog indicated that there was a rejection.  However, the Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs (CCGA) defends its rejection as a technical interpretation of existing UC policy and indicates that it recommends that the policy be re-examined to cover situations such as Anderson’s.  On the other hand, it expresses a variety of reservations about the Anderson plan that seem independent of whatever policy may be in place.   Since the Regents are…

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The Regents Shouldn’t be Shocked If Tax Problems Arise from the UCLA Hotel

Byuclafaculty

As our previous blog post noted, final approval of the UCLA Hotel Super-Grande is to be rubber stamped at the Regents Sept. 11.  The business plan was previously approved in July (after being deemed unacceptable in March) so this approval is just for the architecture.  At Regents meetings and numerous other venues, the Regents and UCLA have been given public notice of the tax problems potentially embedded in the hotel plan.  There was an editorial on the subject in the LA Business Journal previously.  And this week there is an op ed in the same newspaper.  You can read an…