News

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    Listen to (Part of) Morning Session of UC Regents

    Byadmin

    I had some trouble with recording this morning’s meeting of the Regents.  It began with a statement by UC President Yudof which included reference to the impending strike at UC hospitals (which UC is trying to enjoin).  During the public comment period, however, various union spokespersons said a strike would take place next week and the public comment session ended in a demonstration which led to a halt in the meeting (and transmission) while the room was cleared.  I did record the later meeting of the Committee on Finance.  Below is a summary and a link to a recording. Before…

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    The official response

    Byadmin

    If you are wondering about the official UC response to the governor’s May Revise budget proposal, here it is:  Patrick Lenz, the University of California system’s vice president for budget and capital resources:   With this proposal, the governor is continuing his multi-year funding commitment to increase the University of California by 5 percent in the 2013-14 fiscal year and then 5 percent, 4 percent, and 4 percent in the subsequent fiscal years. In addition, the administration is continuing its support for UC restructuring debt to achieve $80 million in annual savings. Those savings will provide not only the additional…

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    Straws in the Wind

    Byadmin

    The Regents are meeting today and tomorrow.  While they are considering UCLA’s loss of the neurology lab (see our earlier post), they can also consider this headline from a USC news release that was highlighted today in Inside Higher Ed::  Music Industry Icons and Entrepreneurs Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre Give $70 Million to Create the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation http://universityofsoutherncalifornia.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/j/99843C9CB6AD3D5B/636A2070300EA8D9C67FD2F38AC4859C http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/05/15/two-music-industry-icons-give-usc-70m-start-music-business-center And they might also want to consider the new USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy: http://schwarzenegger.usc.edu/ Our earlier post on the neurology lab raid is…

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    A Quick Review of the May Revise and an Inadvertent Lesson on Online Education

    Byadmin

    As per our previous post this morning, the governor’s May Revise budget was released today in a presentation by the governor and his finance director.  But before we get to the numbers and issues relating to UC’s budget, yours truly cannot resist the following observation: There is nothing per se about online education in the latest summary document that accompanies the May Revise.  (More budget details will come out in the days to come.)  However, the online transmission of the news conference was a fiasco of jerky images, frozen audio, and total breaks in the transmission.  The effort in real…

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    Governor’s May Revise (State Budget) Unveiling at 10 AM Today

    Byadmin

    You can see it live-streamed at 10 AM at www.calchannel.com.  As noted in prior posts, bits and pieces have been leaking out as is traditional.  From the UC perspective, the elements to watch are contingent allocations based on performance goals and earmarks such as for online education. Another tradition is advance interpretation in the news media:http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/05/jerry-brown-to-propose-1-billion-for-common-core-education-standards.html http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/14/5417832/browns-revised-budget-has-more.html http://www.californiascapitol.com/2013/05/where-has-all-the-surplus-gone-gone-to-classrooms-everywhere/ http://www.news10.net/rss/article/244970/525/5-key-things-worth-watching-in-Browns-revised-budget http://www.edsource.org/today/2013/school-funding-will-be-focus-source-of-contention-of-browns-revised-budget/31977 

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    Verily, verily, Harvard seems to be in the news these days

    Byadmin

    First there was the Ferguson apology: http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-to-be-really-famous-at-harvard.html. And now there is the Richwine PhD.  From Inside Higher Ed today: Veritas: Goddess of Truth Debate over a new Heritage Foundation report critical of proposed change in immigration laws has set off scrutiny and criticism of Harvard University for approving a dissertation in 2009 by one of the report’s authors. Some critics say that the dissertation’s suggestion of a long-term gap in the IQs of Hispanic immigrants and their descendants and the IQs of other groups is based on discredited theories that have been used to justify many forms of discrimination over…

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    May Revise Tomorrow

    Byadmin

    Word has it that the governor will release his “May Revise” proposal for the state budget tomorrow (on Tuesday).  It is a tradition that the governor presents a revision of his constitutionally-mandated January state budget proposal about this time of the year.  The revised budget typically reflects both updated economic, revenue, and expenditure information and a political reading of what is feasible.  Tradition also has it that outlines of the budget are leaked in advance.  The leaks, as far as UC is concerned, is that there will be a contingent budget for UC linked to performance of various goals.  Note…

  • We have a winner!

    Byadmin

    Jerry’s Mom Earlier today – Mothers’ Day – we had a contest to identify the woman in the photo.  She was the mother of someone famous, but the question was who she was.  Our winner correctly identified her as Bernice Brown, mother of Governor Jerry Brown and wife of former Governor Pat Brown. For information on Bernice Brown, go to: http://firstladies.library.ca.gov/30-brown.html And since we promised acclaim on this blog to the person who identified the woman in the photo, click below for the appropriate fanfare:

  • Fired With Enthusiasm on Gray Day?

    Byadmin

    From the Contra Costa Times: The public-private partnership that runs Lawrence Livermore Laboratory must pay five former employees $2.7 million for wrongfully terminating them during a 430-employee reduction in May 2009, an Alameda County jury decided. Ending a trial that lasted more than two months, a jury found that Lawrence Livermore National Security wrongfully discriminated against the five employees because of their age and terminated their employment without good cause. In making the finding, the jury decided that the company, a public-private partnership between the University of California and Bechtel Corp., must pay the plaintiffs a total of $2.7 million…

  • Mothers’ Day Contest

    Byadmin

    Yesterday, we posted a story related to Mothers’ Day.  Today, we have a contest.  Let us know the whose mother is shown in the photograph and who she is.  The first to do so will win acclaim on this blog.  Answers can be sent to daniel.j.b.mitchell@anderson.ucla.edu. While you are working on the contest – and with Memorial Day just two weeks away – here is some World War I music aimed at cheering up mother.