News

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    One report airs some dirty laundry. Another doesn’t air.

    Byadmin

    The LA Times picks up story on UCLA report circulated by email to faculty: UCLA’s policies and procedures are inadequate to deal with increasing complaints of racial bias among faculty — nearly all of whom surveyed said they had experienced some level of discrimination, according to an internal report obtained by The Times.  The report also found that allegations of overt racism were not investigated and, if they were, they rarely resulted in sanctions or punishments… The review, which was launched by Chancellor Gene D. Block in 2012 after he was approached by a group of concerned faculty, found that…

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    Going Up?

    Byadmin

    UC president Napolitano, on her campus tour, says she hopes not to press her luck and see tuition go up. Not a guarantee, of course. See: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_24341488/new-uc-president-keep-eye-costs Tuition will either go up, stay the same (likely for now), or go down (has happened in the past but very unlikely under current conditions).  In fact, past UC presidents have gone with the (budget) flow:

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    Unbranded

    Byadmin

    Odd that the undergraduate advertising and marketing group would get the Anderson School “brand” wrong, since branding is a big part of advertising and marketing.  The word “business” has not been part of the School’s title (or “brand”) since the 1970s.  The name used now is Anderson School of Management or just Anderson or Anderson School, although the name carved in stone on the Anderson complex is Anderson Graduate School of Management. 

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    Let’s Start With This Idea on the Pension Initiative: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

    Byadmin

    Don’t buy it. Editorial: The pension (and retiree health) initiative on which we have been reporting on this blog sweeps in UC for no particular reason.  Yet all the propaganda concerning it so far deals with mayors and cities.  UC has no mayor and isn’t a city. Were the Regents consulted by initiative proponents?  Was anyone at UCOP consulted?  Anyone at UC at all?  Yours truly sincerely doubts it.  Did anyone in the group pushing the initiative look at such issues as faculty recruitment, compensation, or any other UC issue?  Did they look at the issue of the constitutional autonomy…

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    Pension Initiative Backstop

    Byadmin

    We have been covering the pension initiative that has now been filed with the state and, in an earlier post, discussed some key elements of the initiative (including the coverage of UC).  An interesting element in the initiative is a provision that provides for defense in court of the initiative by private parties.  It is quite likely that if the initiative passed, it would be challenged in court.  And the attorney general might well refuse to defend it, given the politics of the initiative. In the case of Prop 8 – the anti-gay marriage initiative – the attorney general did…

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    Planning for a Shake

    Byadmin

    You probably saw this notice but here is a reminder.   On October 17th, at 10:17 a.m., the UCLA campus community, along with millions of other Californians, will participate in “The Great California Shakeout”–a statewide earthquake drill. As part of our participation, the UCLA Office of Emergency Management (OEM) will test the BruinAlert system while airing a simulcast Shakeout drill on the campus AM radio station (AM 1630). To fully participate and maximize the effectiveness of the drill, we ask that you take these simple and potentially life-saving steps: DROP to the ground (before the earthquake knocks you down) Take COVER…

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    It appears that publish or perish doesn’t characterize the 2nd Appellate District California Court of Appeal

    Byadmin

    Appellate Court Verdict For Hannah Carter Garden Unique  Beverly Hills Courier, Laura Coleman, 10/14/13* The 2nd Appellate District California Court of Appeal yesterday denied a request to publish the Court’s decision to uphold a preliminary injunction against the University of California, Los Angeles from selling the 1.5-acre Hannah Carter Garden. The traditional Japanese garden, which was bequeathed to the university in 1964 by former UC Regent Edward Carter sparked the ire of garden preservationists and the heirs of Hannah Carter, who subsequently filed suit against UCLA to maintain its promise, when the university undertook efforts to begin the process of selling the…

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    Affirmative Action Case at Supreme Court

    Byadmin

    Blog readers will undoubtedly know that the U.S. Supreme Court is looking at the constitutionality of  Michigan ballot proposition that bans affirmative action in, among other things, public university admissions.  The Michigan proposition was a copy of California’s Prop 209.  Were the Michigan proposition voided, the same would likely happen to Prop 209.  Most observers seem to expect the court to uphold the Michigan proposition.  Prop 209 followed the UC Regents’ action banning affirmative action in admissions.  (The Regents later repealed their ban after 209 was enacted on the grounds that it was redundant.) Inside Higher Ed has an article…

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    Abrams on the Law of Terrorism

    Byadmin

    Yours truly will be traveling today.  However, below is a link to a talk given by former acting chancellor Norman Abrams on issues related to terrorism, courtesy of the UCLA Emeriti Association. See the cellphone picture.  The talk was given at the UCLA Faculty Center on October 10.  The audio isn’t broadcast quality but is understandable.  Abrams was introduced by Judith Smith. Note: You can also find the link or download at http://archive.org/details/FormerActingUclaChancellorNormanAbramsOnTheLawOfTerrorism