News

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No “mandate” but maybe some arm twisting

Byuclafaculty

We have been posting about Governor Brown’s interest in UC as expressed at Regents meetings lately and in the proposed state budget.  From the Sacramento Bee on what the governor wants from UC: …It is unclear how receptive UC regents will be to Brown’s involvement in their affairs. The university system is administered independently by the regents and subject to only limited legislative oversight. “You can’t, and we wouldn’t want to, impose some sort of mandates on them,” the state Department of Finance’s Nick Schweizer told reporters in a conference call after the budget’s release. “But at the same time…

Worried about the money in your UC 403b or 457b plan?

Byuclafaculty

  Yours truly was particularly impressed with the forecast carried in the Westwood-Century City Patch today: “Financial Expert Warns of Market Ups and Downs in 2013” (http://centurycity.patch.com/articles/financial-expert-warns-of-market-ups-and-downs-in-2013) J. Pierpont Morgan Actually, that advice is a bit stale.  Consider the forecast of J.P. Morgan some time ago  When asked what the stock market would do, he said, “It will fluctuate.”  (http://www.memorable-quotes.com/it+will+fluctuate+,a1192.html)

Java Warning

Byuclafaculty

Warnings are circulating in the news media about a computer security threat from Java plugins in your browsers.  I am no computer expert but here is a link to one such article:http://business-news.thestreet.com/daily-news/story/experts-urge-pc-users-disable-java-citing-security-flaw-1/1 And here is a link to an article that tells you how to disable Java in your web browsers:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2414191,00.asp

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Push to Freeze Tuition in Legislature (That Isn’t Likely to be Enacted)

Byuclafaculty

From the Ventura County Star: Republicans in the state Legislature have proposed freezing tuition at California’s public universities and community colleges for the next seven years. The legislation, which was introduced this week before the governor announced his budget, also would increase funding to California State University, the University of California and community colleges so they don’t have to charge more to make ends meet. But it doesn’t give any specifics on how to do that… The bill originally would have penalized the UC system if it raised tuition by decreasing state funding… But (the bill’s author) said he removed…

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Listen to What the Governor Said About the Higher Ed Budget

Byuclafaculty

In an earlier post, we described the elements of the state budget for 2013-14 proposed by the governor and noted that his remarks at the news conference where the budget was presented largely mirrored prior statements he made at the Regents. Below is a link to an audio of his remarks on higher education (UC and CSU).  Although most of the time at the news conference was devoted to other aspects of the budget, higher education came up several times including once at the portion of the event with Budget Director Ana Matosantos. You can hear his remarks – and…

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UC-Riverside Apparently Still Dogged by No Meds

Byuclafaculty

We have produced prior posts from time to time on UC-Riverside’s quest to get some state money to set up a new medical school.  Apparently, the governor’s budget proposal that was released yesterday did not provide that money: …State Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, said he was “very disappointed not to see specific funding identified” for the medical school, where classes for the first group of 50 students are set to begin this fall.…Local officials have sought state money for the medical school since 2008. In 2011, officials delayed the first freshman class because of the lack of state funding, and…

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He said/she said official rebuttal misses the big issue on the Grand Hotel

Byuclafaculty

An earlier post noted an op ed in the Daily Bruin by Laura Lake on the grand hotel project slated to occupy a location roughly across from Ackerman where a parking structure now sits.  A rebuttal op ed ran yesterday by Steve Olsen, UCLA’s chief financial officer (and a very capable individual).  Here is an excerpt: The Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference and Guest Center will become a reality at UCLA in 2016 thanks to a generous gift from two alumni who share UCLA’s vision of creating a place where academics from all across the world can gather to share…

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Quick Summary & Reaction to the Governor’s Budget

Byuclafaculty

Here is some preliminary analysis of the governor’s budget proposal.  Note that it is a proposal and not an enacted budget.  Typically, the proposal is revised in May and not passed until close to the June 30 deadline. At the state level, the general fund is said to have had a negative balance of $1.615 billion as of last June 30.  The governor is proposing and forecasting that at the end of this fiscal year (2012-13), there will instead be a positive reserve of $0.785 billion.  That swing tells you that he is projecting a surplus this current year (inflow…

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A Shake for Higher Ed in the Forthcoming State Budget?

Byuclafaculty

According to the LA Times (and consistent with prior posts on this blog regarding the governor’s attitude toward higher ed costs and online education), Brown plans a less pleasant shake for public higher ed than depicted in the photo: …Brown is expected to use his spending plan to shake up California’s public university systems, according to administration officials. The governor has long complained that they are bloated and inefficient, and he wants to attach strings to some of their funding… Full story at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-state-budget-20130110,0,746142.story We will know more later today when the budget is presented. Until then, a little music:[youtube…

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UCLA to Host LA Mayoral Debate Jan. 28

Byuclafaculty

Parade for Opening of LA City Hall in 1928 LA’s City Hall and UCLA’s Westwood campus were under construction at about the same time.  This coming January 28, UCLA will host a mayoral debate at Royce Hall:UCLA and the Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy & Jobs have joined together to co-host a jobs-focused mayoral debate on Monday, Jan. 28, at UCLA’s Royce Hall. The debate will be broadcast live, commercial free, on NBC4 from 7 to 8 p.m. and will continue as a live webcast from 8 to 8:30 p.m. at www.nbcla.com. The debate, moderated by NBC4 chief political reporter…