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The Best Laid Plans

Byuclafaculty

Hmmm.  A proposed course on Community and Conflict in the Modern World has been rejected. (See below.) Maybe this now-defunct course could have usefully reviewed the pending proposal for a UCLA hotel/conference center!  Certainly, there has been conflict over thatproposal in various communities.  And there will be more to come at the Tuesday, June 5, 7 pm hearing on the proposed hotel project at the Faculty Center. From UCLA Today, June 1, 2012: Faculty in the College of Letters and Science have voted downa proposal to require all undergraduates to enroll in a general education course in a new sub-category called Community…

Two exciting things happening this coming Tuesday, June 5

Byuclafaculty

First, there is the Transit of Venus, which the LA Times calls a “twice in a lifetime experience.”  Check it out at  http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-venus-transit-20120601,0,3065385.story The other “twice in a lifetime experience” (since we had a “scoping” hearing last fall) will be the upcoming environmental review on the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center, 7 PM, at the Faculty Center.  It is supposed to be built opposite the Transit of MTA and other bus lines near Ackerman and, as this blog has endlessly pointed out, is based on a questionable business plan which could end up costing the campus.  We have yet to find…

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Weekend Cheer from the New York Times

Byuclafaculty

California Cuts Threaten the Status of Universities Jennifer Medina, 6/1/12, NY Times Class sizes have increased, courses have been cut and tuition has been raised — repeatedly. Fewer colleges are offering summer classes. Administrators rely increasingly on higher tuition from out-of-staters. And there are signs it could get worse: If a tax increase proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown is not approved this year, officials say they will be forced to consider draconian cuts like eliminating entire schools or programs.  For generations, the University of California system — home to such globally renowned institutions as Berkeley and U.C.L.A. — has been…

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Moguls

Byuclafaculty

The historically minded might have looked at the headline above in the LA Times today and thought it had to do with increased admissions of international students: http://www.asianartmall.com/mogulempire.htmBut no, it was a different kind of mogul’s kid. Not clear there is a story here.  The mogul in question is hip-hop singer Sean Diddy Combs, sometimes known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy. At one time, he performed with a rap group known as “Diddy-Dirty Money” that recorded on a label called “Bad Boy Records.”  (The Times did not make an issue of that.) Anyway, his son got a football scholarship to…

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Psychic Income

Byuclafaculty

Old time faculty who remember UC during Jerry Brown’s earlier terms as governor will get nervous when he talks about “psychic income.” Jerry Brown on pay cut: ‘I derive a lot of psychic income’ Don’t expect Gov. Jerry Brown to lose much sleep over the Citizen Compensation Commission’s decision to slash his salary by $8,699.  “I’d run for governor whether it was a paid job or not,” he said today. “I derive a lot of psychic income.” The seven-member panel, which sets pay levels for legislators and constitutional officers, voted 5-1 today to reduce pay for the elected officials by…

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A Real Good Bet

Byuclafaculty

From today’s Daily Bruin: The university will hold a hearing next week to allow public comments on the proposed UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference and Guest Center’s environmental impact report. A 700-page draft of the report, which was released by UCLA earlier this month, outlines the environmental consequences of the conference center and hotel project… All comments voiced at the hearing will be recorded and addressed in the final version of the report. Drafters of the report will also include comments that are sent in by June 29, said Tracy Dudman, a senior planner for UCLA capital programs.While the hearing will let community members address…

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Two Thirds?

Byuclafaculty

There are two bills kicking around in the legislature that would, if both are passed, provide a $1 billion subsidy for tuition at UC, CSU, and the community colleges financed by a change in corporate tax law.  However, one of these bills – the tax bill – would require a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature.  Assembly speaker Pérez claims he has the necessary Republican votes, although that seems unlikely.  It is unclear from an account today in the San Francisco Chronicle whether that claim also applies to the state senate: Assembly Speaker John Pérez, who introduced AB1501,…

Eh?

Byuclafaculty

As the image to the left suggests, grade inflation doesn’t get good press for academia.  Inside Higher Ed today points to an interesting story on grade inflation concerns at the U of Minnesota that appeared in the The Star Tribune: A University of Minnesota chemistry professor has thrust the U into a national debate about grade inflation and the rigor of college, pushing his colleagues to stop pretending that average students are excellent and start making clear to employers which students are earning their A’s. “I would like to state my own alarm and dismay at the degree to which…

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Tobacco Tax Ahead in Poll for June Has Indirect Implications for November

Byuclafaculty

The USC-LA Times poll is reporting that the initiative that would raise tobacco taxes with the funds earmarked for cancer research is supported by 62% of voters. Since the funds raised by the tax would not go into the general fund, there is no direct benefit for UC (except perhaps for future UC cancer researchers).  However, a defeat of this tax, especially since it affects only the minority of Californians and voters who smoke, would be taken as a symptom of an anti-tax mood of voters more generally. Obviously, the tobacco industry opposes the initiative and is spending a lot…

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Listen to Updated and Complete Audio of May 16 Regents Afternoon Session

Byuclafaculty

Our earlier post of the May 16 Regents meeting did not include the full afternoon session.  Readers of this blog may recall that the meeting was disrupted in the morning and thus created uncertainty as to when the afternoon session would resume.  The Regents cleared the room and went into closed session elsewhere.  As a result, yours truly – who was recording from the live stream – did not know when the afternoon session would begin. [And a repeat of question made several times on this blog before: If the Regents can live-stream and record their sessions, why can’t they…