News

  • This Could Never Happen at UCLA Given Our Moral Minds

    Byadmin

    August 20, 2010, NY Times (excerpt) Harvard Finds Scientist Guilty of Misconduct By NICHOLAS WADE Harvard University said Friday that it had found a prominent researcher, Marc Hauser, “solely responsible” for eight instances of scientific misconduct. Hours later, Dr. Hauser, a rising star for his explorations into cognition and morality, made his first public statement since news of the inquiry emerged last week, telling The New York Times, “I acknowledge that I made some significant mistakes” and saying he was “deeply sorry for the problems this case had caused to my students, my colleagues and my university.” Dr. Hauser is…

  • ASUCLA Bookstore Beware

    Byadmin

    Excerpt picked up from Inside Higher Ed & from dailypress.com/news/newport-news/dp-nws-cnu-bookstore-20100819,0,745171.storyAugust 19, 2010 NEWPORT NEWS — Students wandering Christopher Newport University’s campus next year looking for the bookstore won’t find one. The annual college tradition of buying and selling textbooks will have to take place online for CNU students. The university announced Thursday that it’s shutting down its bookstore in the David Student Union and launching a textbook website instead. The change happens Jan. 1, 2011. The decision to close the store is based on student buying patterns and the proliferation of online competition, according to CNU. Students have begun flocking…

  • |

    UC Will Front Cal Grants Held Up By Lack of State Budget

    Byadmin

    Excerpt from Sacramento Bee, 8/20/10. It is a perilous time to be a college student depending on the state of California to get through school. Some 335,500 students going to California colleges this fall have qualified for Cal Grants because their family incomes are so low. They need the grants to pay tuition, buy books or cover basic living expenses. But without a budget for the 2010-11 year, the state is not sending out any Cal Grants. State budgets have been late for so many years now that larger institutions have adapted. Campuses in the University of California and California…

  • | |

    Two Prominent Dems Join With Governor on Public Pensions

    Byadmin

    From http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?xid=z2hom7ay9rt20f# The call for pension reform received an unexpected boost from an unlikely source this week — former Gov. Gray Davis. In an interview with Reuters, Davis said reforms advocated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will make it easier for whomever holds the job next, and he praised Schwarzenegger for pushing for changes in the state pension system — changes that Davis said were now inevitable. “With … the open primary and redistricting reform, at least 20% of the Legislature will have its interests properly aligned, and they will be punished [by voters] if they don’t solve big problems,” he…

  • Furloughs of State Workers Resume

    Byadmin

    The hold on state furloughs was lifted by the California Supreme Court while it considers various legal challenges to the governor’s furlough orders. With UC furloughs ending soon, this development potentially puts the university in a difficult position. However, absent a change in Regental policy – which realistically is not on the table – UC furloughs will end on schedule. On the state Supreme Court’s action, see http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/2010/08/breaking-news-furloughs-back-o.html

  • | |

    Likely Death of Public Pension Anti-Spiking Bill Will Keep Issue Alive When New Governor Arrives

    Byadmin

    From the LA Times today at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0818-pension-reform-20100818,0,3115924,print.story comes the word that a pension “spiking” reform bill has been watered down. The governor says he won’t sign it. Such a bill might have defused some of the tension and controversy around the public pension area – which could easily lead to a ballot initiative that would encompass UC’s pension. This development underlines the need – emphasized in prior posts – for the Regents to have a plan for UC in place by January. Note: “Spiking” refers to an ability by employees to inflate final earnings for the pension calculation by adding…

  • | |

    Help for the UC Budget? The Pension Fund?

    Byadmin

    From President Yudof’s Facebook page today comes the information below. Question: Can we use the coin for the UC budget? Maybe put it in the pension fund? Rare Coin Discovered in Israel by Mark Yudof on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 11:45am Congratulations to my good friend Andrea Berlin, a distinguished archeologist, who was part of an American team that discovered the heaviest gold coin ever found in Israel. The find, at Tel Kedesh archeological dig site, near Israel’s border with Lebanon, dates to 190 BCE, exactly when a final peace treaty was established between the Ptolemies of Egypt and…

  • That Rank Smell Is From US News & World Report

    Byadmin

    The US News & World Report rankings of universities by name are available at http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/order+college_sort_name/page+7 Ranks are as follows:UC-Berkeley 22, UCLA 25, UC-San Diego 35, UC-Santa Barbara and UC Davis tied at 39, UC-Irvine 41, UC-Santa Cruz 72, UC-Riverside 94. Apparently, UC-Merced doesn’t rank. Music at:

  • | |

    Sweeping Pension Changes by New Governor Could Cover UC if Regents Don’t Act

    Byadmin

    While the article below refers only to CalPERS and CalSTRS, as has been noted in prior posts, UC is in danger of having its pension system covered by some sweeping initiative that would cover all public pensions in California. A new governor takes office in early January 2011. Unless UC has a plan of its own – and unless the Regents push for UC autonomy as other statewide policies are debated – the consequences could be unfortunate. Note part in bold italics below. — Pension reform: Brown picks up where he left off (excerpts) By Ed Mendel calpensions.com 7/31/10 In…

  • “Transparency” Bill Would Affect UC Campus Foundations

    Byadmin

    Bill aims to increase transparency at UC, CSU (excerpts from full article) By ROBIN HINDERY, Associated Press Writer August 16, 2010, San Francisco Chronicle (08-16) 17:29 PDT Sacramento, Calif. (AP) — Foundations and auxiliary organizations linked to California’s public colleges and universities would be subject to increased scrutiny under a bill approved Monday by the state Assembly. Lawmakers voted unanimously to require those organizations to comply with the California Public Records Act. A loophole in the law previously has allowed the nonprofits to bypass the disclosure requirements that apply to higher education institutions. In a 2001 case involving Fresno State…