News

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Goodbye Crane – And Thanks for Your Kind Remarks

Byuclafaculty

Pension reform crusader David Crane steps down today as a member of the University of California Board of Regents.  That’s because the state Senate didn’t confirm his appointment to the post within the year prescribed by law. …Crane, a Democrat, was Schwarzenegger’s point man on public pensions. He contended that the state’s three largest funds, including UC’s, were committing “generational theft“ by understating their liabilities and siphoning money from schools and social programs…Full article: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/27/4146490/the-buzz-pension-reform-crusader.html

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UC Excerpt from Dec. 14 Legislative Pepper Spray Hearing

Byuclafaculty

As readers of this blog are aware, an incident in which student demonstrators at UC-Davis sparked concerns and received wide public attention. A joint legislative hearing was held on December 14. Below is an audio of the testimony of UC president Mark Yudof and General Counsel Charles Robinson at the “Legislative Hearing on California University Campus Police Policy.” The excerpts include the formal statements of the two witnesses from UC plus a question and answer session which followed similar testimony by CSU witnesses. The main information to be found in these excerpts is that there is likely to be a…

Ice Skating in Westwood: 1949

Byuclafaculty

At one time there was ice skating in Westwood at what was originally known as the Tropical Ice Garden at Weyburn and Gayley Avenues. The photo shows it in 1949, when it was known as the Sonja Henie Ice Palace, named after the ice skating movie star of that era. The rink was closed shortly after the photo was taken to be demolished. It burned down before demolition in 1950. In the contemporary view of the Weyburn-Gayley intersection, the rink would have been located on the near right where a coffee shop now operates.

Chain Link Fence Around UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital Gone

Byuclafaculty

Although the new wing of the UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital was dedicated some time ago, the Wilshire side remained surrounded by an ugly chain link fence until recently.  Yours truly passed by yesterday and took this photo.  The Wilshire gate is still locked, however, and a sign declares the front landscaped area to be a construction zone.  It’s unclear what is being constructed.

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UCLA History: Sept. 1930 Extension Catalog

Byuclafaculty

In earlier posts (scroll to bottom), we reproduced some UC Extension catalogs from the early 1930s from the LA area.  I have now located another catalog – this one from September 1930. The Extension operation operated out of a building on 8th and Hill Street in downtown LA with sites for courses scattered around the County and out to Ventura and Riverside.  Extension appears to have been run out of Berkeley (UCLA was still the “Southern Branch” of UC and had just moved to its Westwood location) but the UCLA provost was later represented on its controlling board.  He is…

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Efforts to Designate Faculty Center as Historic Structure Continuing

Byuclafaculty

CurbedLA reports that in the aftermath of the controversy over demolishing the UCLA Faculty Center for a hotel/conference center (now proposed to be located elsewhere), the LA Conservancy is continuing efforts to protect the building.  In part it is doing so by holding events there – see below.  In part it is trying to get a designation of the Faculty Center as an historical resource – also see below.  The photo shows tea on the opening day of the Faculty Center in 1959. WESTWOOD: The LA Conservancy’s Modern Committee is giving out its third annual set of Modern Masters Awards…

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UCLA as Cornell

Byuclafaculty

As anyone who has been on the UCLA campus for a period of time knows, the campus is often used for movie and TV locations.  Recently, in the 2011 film “Water for Elephants,” UCLA briefly became Cornell, as the photo from the film shows.  (The plot involves a veterinary student at Cornell whose studies are interrupted by a family tragedy and joins the circus during the 1930s.)  UCLA has rules about filming on campus, reproduced in italic below. FAQs for Film and Photography Shoots at UCLA Summary: Here are the answers to your most frequently asked questions. How much notice…