News

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Non-Budget Bills on UC Introduced in the Legislature

Byuclafaculty

The prior post on this blog noted the progress of the state budget in the legislature. Below are some bills introduced related to higher ed and UC. There was a February 18 deadline for members to introduce bills although there are ways around that restriction. As yours truly has noted in the past, the legislature has never taken to the notion of “no pay/no say.” That is, even though the proposed state budget would contribute roughly 1/8th of the UC budget (and less if the tax extensions do not pass), the legislature feels free to micro-manage. Yours truly has noted…

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Progress Report on the State Budget

Byuclafaculty

In case you are wondering where things are concerning the state budget, the Sacramento Bee reports that, “…famed primatologist Jane Goodall paid a visit to the Senate floor during a short floor session Thursday, greeting lawmakers with the call of a wild chimpanzee…” Full report at: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/03/herbie-hancock-jane-goodall-wo.html#ixzz1FjzoJO6q No invitation has been extended yet to Goodall from the Academic Senate so the audio – enhanced from the Bee website – is below: More seriously, there are rumors about deals being cut with selected Republicans to obtain the 2/3 vote necessary to put the governor’s proposed tax extensions on the ballot. Exactly…

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The $40 Million Question: Two More Emails on the Faculty Center Issue

Byuclafaculty

A blog post yesterday featured an email exchange on the proposed demolition of the Faculty Center between Prof. Dora Costa (Dept. of Economics) and Prof. Ann Karagozian (Chair of the Academic Senate). Here are two more emails, these related to the use of $40 million in gift funding, in the interest of our fair and balanced reporting. = = = = = = = = = = = = = From: Daniel J.B. Mitchell Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2011 9:05 PM To: Ann Karagozian Subject: Re: petition to CPB and FW on proposed RCC/hotel Ann: This project surfaced last spring…

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April 14th Undergrad UC Budget Protest/Event Announced

Byuclafaculty

Below is the text of an email received by yours truly announcing an undergraduate-sponsored UC budget protest/event scheduled for April 14: Dear friends, family, and community supporters, This year, the UC Regents passed the fourth consecutive fee increase in the past two years, and as a further blow, Governor Jerry Brown recently released his budget proposal, initiating a massive $500 million cut to the University of California. The University of California used to stand as the model for higher education, but education has clearly fallen in the list of state priorities. It is time that we organize. Small protests and…

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Email Exchange on Faculty Center Issue

Byuclafaculty

Below is an exchange of emails between Ann Karagozian, chair of the Academic Senate, and various faculty members who wrote to her and others expressing concern about the proposed demolition of the Faculty Center and its replacement by a conference center/hotel. Various document links are noted in the email below. ================================ Dear Prof. Costa and other Senate colleagues, Thank you for your email message, below. As you are aware, the Senate has received a number of presentations from the administration regarding the proposal to build a Residential Conference Center/Faculty Club on the site of the present Faculty Center. Presentations that…

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Community Colleges Push to Offer 4-Year Degrees, But Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting for It to Happen

Byuclafaculty

Under the 1960 Master Plan, California community colleges were reorganized and given an explicit mission of AA and vocational degrees plus providing the first 2 years of college. Students who could not gain admission to UC or CSU could enter a community college and, if successful in completing the two year program, transfer to a UC or CSU campus. As is well known, the Master Plan has been eroding, certainly on tuition. There has also been some erosion of the notion that PhDs would be offered only at UC. There has been a push by some community colleges to expand…

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It’s Nice to Be Paid Above the Median; Too Bad Only 50% Can Be

Byuclafaculty

Some news from the National Bureau of Economic Research: After a court decision on California’s “right to know” law, the Sacramento Bee newspaper established a website in early 2008 that made it possible to search for the salary of any state employee, including both faculty and staff at the University of California (UC). To determine how the availability of such salary information may affect workers’ job satisfaction, researchers David Card, Alexandre Mas, Enrico Moretti, and Emmanuel Saez contacted a random subset of employees at three UC campuses, informing them of the existence of this website. A few days later, they…

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More on the U of Wisconsin Autonomy Story

Byuclafaculty

As prior posts have noted, while the current big drama in Wisconsin revolves around Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to curtail collective bargaining for public workers, there is a second story in Wisconsin dealing with the U of Wisconsin. In fact, the two stories are joined. Insider Higher Ed pointed yours truly to Gov. Walker’s budget address given yesterday in which he said: Competing globally also means enhancing higher education. To do this we will give our flagship, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the tools it needs to remain a world leader in research and instruction – while continuing to be a…

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LA Conservancy Expresses Concern About Faculty Center Demolition/Replacement Proposal

Byuclafaculty

The LA Conservancy has expressed concern about the replacement of the Faculty Center. The item below summarizes the organization’s position.UCLA FACULTY CENTER THREATENED The 1959 UCLA Faculty Center, now threatened with demolition. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has proposed a Residential Conference Center project that would demolish the campus’ 1959 Faculty Center. Many nearby residents and members of the faculty oppose the project, including more than 200 people who signed a petition asking the Faculty Center Board of Governors to poll its members to gauge support for the demolition. An ad hoc committee called Save the Faculty Center…

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Former Chancellor Young on Modified Self Sufficiency

Byuclafaculty

The 2011 edition of California Policy Options is now available and contains a chapter by former UCLA Chancellor Charles Young entitled “Policy Options for University of California Budgeting.” Click on the website address below (not the picture on the right) and go to chapter 5 for the Young chapter in which he advocates “modified self sufficiency.” You can also find a chapter on the state budget (chapter 1) by yours truly entitled “Government by (Hot) Checks and (Im)Balances.” Go to http://issuu.com/uclapubaffairs/docs/cpo2011 Other chapters on current California issues are included as well.