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faculty center | UCLA

Consultant’s Report on the UCLA Hotel/Conference Center Now on the Web: More Questions Need to Be Answered
Byadmin March 13, 2011

Prof. Dora Costa of the UCLA Economics Dept. sent the message below to faculty who signed the petition expressing concern about the proposed hotel/conference center. It is reproduced below. She notes that a redacted version of the report by the consultant hired by those who propose the project is now available at the Senate website and she expresses various concerns. You can find that report at http://www.senate.ucla.edu/documents/UCLACONFCENTERSTUDYDRAFT-RedactedbyPKF03102011.pdfYours truly would add the following three points to those made by Prof. Costa. 1) Because the report has just become available as a public document, you can be sure that neighboring commercial hotels…

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miscellaneous | UC

UC Students in Japan
Byadmin March 12, 2011

UC awaits word from 80 students in Japan3/11/11 Sacramento Bee, Laurel Rosenhall University of California officials are working to locate 80 students and 32 employees who are studying or working abroad in Japan, where a large earthquake and tsunami struck yesterday causing significant damage to the north part of the country. UC students are studying in seven different locations around Japan, said university spokeswoman Lynn Tierney. UC contracts with private companies to track students and employees while they are abroad. The university is awaiting word from campus officials and the private companies to find out how UC’s students are doing….

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pension | pensions | uc retirement

Will the State Budget Deal Cut the Heart Out of UC’s Recent Pension Changes? Are We Too Chicken to Make a Case With the Governor?
Byadmin March 12, 2011

Perhaps you know of the old radio show in which a chicken heart grew until it took over everything and covered the world. As previous posts on this blog have noted, although the true deadline for getting the governor’s proposed tax extensions on the June ballot is somewhat flexible, we are coming close to the point where it becomes administratively impossible. The governor and the Democrats have evidently concluded that proposed strategies for doing the deal without a 2/3 vote for the ballot measure are impractical. So bargaining is going on with a few Republicans on the price for their…

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faculty center | UCLA

Just one more thing: The eleventh question to add to the other ten
Byadmin March 11, 2011

The item below containing 10 questions on the Faculty Center issue was circulated by UCLA communications. Here is an 11th question: Can it be said that in the midst of a major budget crisis, UCLA’s top priority is to build a hotel/conference center whose downside financial risk in one way or another will be assumed by the campus? 10 Questions: Scott Waugh on the residential conference center and faculty club project UCLA is planning a residential conference center featuring 33,000 square feet of meeting and conference space and 282 hotel rooms. Project plans also include a new faculty club with…

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transportation | UCLA | UCLA bus fares

The Empire Strikes Back (at BruinGO)
Byadmin March 11, 2011

Below is an article from the online edition of the Daily Bruin regarding the BruinGO program, a system of subsidized public transit for UCLA students and employees. Note that the announcement reported by the Bruin is being made at the end of classes and just before exam week when students are not paying attention. There is no paper edition of the Daily Bruin at this time of year. The UCLA transportation powers-that-be have never been happy with BruinGO, precisely because it displaces the parking empire. Prof. Donald Shoup of Urban Planning has been a leader, both in the creation of…

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U of Wisconsin

More on the Other Wisconsin Story
Byadmin March 11, 2011

Inside Higher Ed has been tracking the story of the pursuit by the University of Wisconsin-Madison for more autonomy from the larger U of Wisconsin system. That story has been submerged due to the controversy over the collective bargaining issue. As prior posts on this blog have noted, this effort has the support of Governor Walker but has not been cheered by the system’s regents. In fact, they were opposed. However, today’s Inside Higher Ed notes that the system’s regents have now come up with their own plan for more autonomy of the campuses, reproduced below. But, as the bold…

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CalPERS | pension | pensions | uc retirement

CalPERS reported to be planning to cut its assumed investment return to seven and half
Byadmin March 11, 2011

Pension funds, such as UC’s, use an assumed rate of return to estimate future earnings and calculate their unfunded liability. In the past, UC has had the most conservative rate of 7.5% as compared with CalPERS and CalSTRS. It was useful for UC to be able to note that it was more conservative than the others. Now it is reported that CalPERS will cut its assumed rate to the same level as UC, i.e., CalPERS will assume that for each dollar in the fund, it can earn seven and a half cents. Although there is no direct effect on UC…

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community colleges | CSU | LAO | UC | UC enrollment

Unpreparedness: Report by the LAO
Byadmin March 11, 2011

The Legislative Analyst’s Office has release a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Are Entering Freshmen Prepared For College-Level Work?” On UC: Unpreparedness rates of freshmen at UC have declined slightly in recent years. * In 2009, about 25 percent of regularly admitted freshmen arrived unprepared for college-level writing. * The percentage of freshmen needing remediation varies considerably across UC campuses. In fall 2009, the unpreparedness rates ranged from a low of 9 percent at UC Berkeley to a high of 59 percent at UC Merced. On CSU: The CSU currently admits many students who are unprepared for college-level writing and math. Of…

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miscellaneous | UCLA

UCLA History: The 1961 Bel Air Fire
Byadmin March 10, 2011

The 1961 Bel Air fire burned very close to UCLA. LAObserved today pointed to a film made by the Fire Dept. of that era. Some footage taken by UCLA appears around minute 22. The LAObserved link is at http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2011/03/lafd_film_on_the_1961_bel.php

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governor | politics | State Budget

Deadline day for the state budget has arrived without a budget vote. Is everything out of control?
Byadmin March 10, 2011

As prior posts have noted, Gov. Brown set a deadline of 60 days after his budget proposal was announced to have a budget passed and to obtain a 2/3 vote from the legislature to put his tax extensions on the ballot. Today is deadline day and he still has no deal for the Republican votes needed for the tax extensions. Democrats could pass a budget by majority vote that assumes there will be tax extensions but if there is no ballot vote, the budget would be out of whack. You can read about it at http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/10/3463706/day-60-what-now.html We also noted in…

Read More Deadline day for the state budget has arrived without a budget vote. Is everything out of control?

News

Consultant’s Report on the UCLA Hotel/Conference Center Now on the Web: More Questions Need to Be Answered

UC Students in Japan

Will the State Budget Deal Cut the Heart Out of UC’s Recent Pension Changes? Are We Too Chicken to Make a Case With the Governor?

Just one more thing: The eleventh question to add to the other ten

The Empire Strikes Back (at BruinGO)

More on the Other Wisconsin Story

CalPERS reported to be planning to cut its assumed investment return to seven and half

Unpreparedness: Report by the LAO

UCLA History: The 1961 Bel Air Fire

Deadline day for the state budget has arrived without a budget vote. Is everything out of control?

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

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