Winners & Losers: Happy Thanksgiving
Apologies to vegetarians.But it can be tough on the carnivores, too:
News
Why You Get Paid on Jan. 3; Not Dec. 31
Faculty and staff recently received an email from UCLA Corporate Financial Services reminding them that their paycheck will arrive at the beginning of January rather than the end of December. All other paychecks arrive at the end of the month – not the beginning of the month – so why the exception? I can’t tell you the date in which this occurred, but it was probably in the early 1960s. At that time, everyone was paid in all months at the end of the month – including December. Then someone had a bright idea. If the Dec. 31 paycheck was…
More Terrorism Against UCLA Researchers Reported
UCLA researcher receives threatening package; animal activists said to claim responsibility November 23, 2010, LA Now blog of LA Times A UCLA neuroscientist who conducts animal research received a package with razor blades and a threatening message, a university spokesman said Tuesday afternoon. David Jentsch, who does research on rodents and primates, received the package earlier this month, spokesman Phil Hampton said. In a news release issued Tuesday, the Animal Liberation Front said it had obtained statements from animal activists called “The Justice Department of UCLA,” which claimed responsibility for sending AIDS-tainted razor blades to Jentsch, whom the group alleges…
If They Build It (With Federally Subsidized Bonds), Someone Will Come
If only we could get the LA-area unemployment rate up higher, maybe UCLA could get some of those bonds. See below: UC Merced turns to federal bonds (excerpt) Jamie Oppenheim, November 23, 2010, Modesto Bee MERCED — Merced County’s recent classification as an economic recovery zone has been a boon to the University of California at Merced — making its future expansion more affordable. That could mean lots more construction jobs and a positive trickle-down impact on the area’s economy. Merced County supervisors recently gave the OK for UC Merced to use low-interest recovery zone bonds, designated for areas with…
Another Take – This One from Insider Higher Ed – on Pushback on Anderson’s Self-Sufficiency Plan
Inside Higher Ed’s take on the Anderson self sufficiency issue (with a nice plug for our blog) Pushback on a B-School’s Bold Plan (excerpts) November 23, 2010, Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed The blog of the Faculty Association of the University of California at Los Angeles features a video, labeled “a little self-sufficient music” — the Supremes singing “Stop in the Name of Love.” The clip starts not with the famous title line of the song, but with the refrain: “Think it o-o-ver.” The reference to “self-sufficient music” is a play on the plan of the business school at UCLA…
Guest Op Ed: The UCRP Train Wreck
The UCRP Train Wreck Professor Steven LippmanGeorge W. Robbins Chair in ManagementUCLA Anderson School of Management UCOP intends for the employers’ contribution to UCRP be ratcheted up to 20% by July 1, 2017. The now-planned contribution of 20% from all employers of UC personnel (which includes NIH and other granting agencies as well as the hospitals and medical centers) and 7% from all employees falls short of preventing the current $13 Billion underfunding at UCRP from worsening. At present, employees plus employers pay in 6% of the $8 billion covered compensation (CC) which amounts to $480 million per year. This…
Show Me the Money: Public Attitudes Toward Campus Programs After Tuition Hikes
When tuition goes up, questions get asked about where exactly the money is going. Below is an example from our friends at Berkeley: UC Berkeley vows to build museum despite finances (excerpt) Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross, San Francisco Chronicle. November 22, 2010 Even as financially strapped UC Berkeley is preparing to raise tuition 8 percent next fall, it has pledged to spend as much as $20 million in campus funds to help build a $96 million art museum. Just where $20 million will come from, however, remains unclear – with campus spokesman Dan Mogulof saying only that it will depend…
End of the Line for Anderson Self Sufficiency?
The LA Business Journal carries a report today on the Academic Senate’s negative report on the Anderson plan for self sufficiency. (See earlier post on this topic.) Dean Olian characterizes the report as “misinterpretations.” The report suggested a more detailed review was needed, which would delay the plan. On the other hand, Senate chair Ann Kargozian said the Senate ultimately “isn’t closed” to self sufficiency. One has a sense that underneath the debate, the Anderson plan is seen (feared?) by some as quasi-privatization that could spread to other schools or the larger UC system. Some excerpts below: UCLA Business School…
UCLA History: Overflight
The Goodyear blimp has been a familiar sight over UCLA for many years. How many? This photo – from the UCLA digital archives – was taken in 1936.
Straws in the Wind on External Pension Agitation
From time to time, I post a reminder that the pension reform movement could lead to a state ballot initiative that could override UC’s apparent move to a two-tier plan modeled on Option C. Here are two recent illustrations. Sanders proposes no pensions for new city hires: New employees would get 401(k) accounts; current workers not affected (excerpt) By Craig Gustafson November 19, 2010, San Diego Union-Tribune Mayor Jerry Sanders has proposed eliminating pensions for new non-public safety hires and giving them 401(k) accounts instead… Sanders said Friday he’ll gather signatures to put a measure before city voters that would…