Actually, battleships can turn around but it depends on the captain giving the order

We’ve all heard the expression about how hard it is to turn a battleship around. Giant ships moving forward have momentum to keep going in a straight line. But they can be turned around.

Yesterday we posted about the Judge Cunningham case. It is symptomatic of a larger problem in Murphy Hall. What should have occurred in that case is a prompt apology by the chancellor and appropriate internal action. If you were reading this blog at the time of the event, you would have found that suggestion. Instead, what occurred was defensive legalism which is still going on. So now we have a claim against the university for $10 million. The episode is also marked by a complete sense of divorce from all the supposed concern about “campus climate.”

An extra $10 million could have nicely resolved the UCLA Japanese Garden affair – see our posts on that matter – still in litigation, by the way, because the ship just sailed on in that case, too.

And let’s not get started on the colossal hotel project underway in the center of campus that could have been scaled back to something appropriate and better suited to the wishes of the donor and the needs of the campus. But instead we have more litigation there. Another battleship.

In each case, the battleship could have been turned before damage was done. But there was no order from the top to do so. Where is the captain?

==
UPDATE: The Daily Bruin now carries the Cunningham story in which the university responds with vague statements about being “distressed” that the judge feels bad but continues its legalistic approach – with no sign of intervention by the captain.
http://dailybruin.com/2014/02/03/judge-files-10m-claim-against-ucpd/

“We are distressed when anyone feels disrespected by our officers or anyone who represents UCLA,” university officials said in a statement Monday. “As in this case, feedback to UCLA Police provides them the opportunity to review their actions, tailor future trainings and improve performance to reflect the department’s commitment to excellence.”

$10 million in “feedback”?

Advice to Whoever is Appointed Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Buckle Up!

You may have gotten today’s email from Chancellor Block: [excerpts]

Today I am announcing a significant step in our efforts to respond to incidents of bias and discrimination on our campus and to build an environment of inclusion and tolerance: the creation of the new position of Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. The new Vice Chancellor, who will report directly to me, will provide leadership across the campus in these important areas. Although we have many dedicated individuals deeply committed to this work, I have come to see that we need a clear and powerful voice at the highest levels of the campus administration in order to advance our fundamental commitments to equity, diversity and full inclusion…

We also have begun to implement recommendations advanced by the independent committee chaired by former California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno…

All of this was precipitated by various incidents that led to the Moreno report on the climate on campus for minority faculty. Now we don’t know for sure what advice Justice Moreno might give to the new Vice Chancellor when he or she is appointed. But we do know what advice Judge Cunningham, recently stopped DWB* by UCLA police in Westwood for driving without a seat belt. (Faithful readers of this blog will know about that event but others can simply scroll back on this block.) The Cunningham advice is at the link below. And by the way, whatever happened to the campus climate survey for UC (and UCLA)?

*DWB? Google it.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq3cQVrnaWs?feature=player_detailpage]

Unsolicited Follow-Up for Our Unsolicited Traffic Stop Advice

Devoted blog readers will recall our unsolicited advice of last Wednesday to the folks in Murphy Hall. We suggested that they spend their Thanksgiving weekend trying to figure out what happened when a UCLA police car stopped a motorist in Westwood for driving without a seatbelt buckled. According to the Huffington Post, African-American Judge Superior Court Judge David Cunningham exited L.A. Fitness Gym around 10 am on Wednesday. [“Start” on the map above.]

Presumably, he pulled out of the garage you can see above in his Mercedes – beltless – and proceeded north on Gayley. According to the press release issued by UCLA later in the day, he was stopped by UCLA police in front of 1050 Gayley. [“Stopped” on map.]

Although the press release does not identify that address, it happens to be the busy Whole Foods market shown above. So it is likely that there are witnesses to what happened next. [Hint to Murphy. Better find out what they saw. Judge Cunningham’s lawyer probably will be doing just that.]

Huffington Post account is at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/ucla-police-superior-court-judge_n_4345185.html

UCLA press release is at http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/statement-249534.aspx

The map shows that the southern edge of the UCLA campus is not in the immediate vicinity of the Whole Foods market. We noted in our previous post that although UCLA police may have the legal right to stop cars for minor traffic infractions, there is an interesting question of whether such efforts are a good use of campus resources. Does a Mercedes traveling two or so blocks in Westwood without a buckled safety belt really involve a threat to the campus?

It appears that things got out of hand with the judge handcuffed for a time. We can’t imagine how that could happen:

Anyway, we look forward to a preliminary report by the end of this weekend for the sake of – you know – “campus climate.“

Climate Delayed

Remember the campus climate survey taken last winter. There were concerns expressed at UCLA about the length of the survey and what biases might be introduced. The survey seemed to be the result of Regents’ concerns stemming from racial/ethnic incidents at various campuses.

In any event, the Daily Bruin is reporting that the results, which were supposed to be released by now have been delayed until next year.

…UC officials will present the survey findings to the UC Board of Regents before making them public, Montiel said. The results are expected to be reported to the regents in early 2014…

Full story at http://dailybruin.com/2013/10/08/uc-campus-climate-survey-results-to-be-released-in-2014/

PS: There are about 191,000 full and part time employees of UC. See:
http://legacy-its.ucop.edu/uwnews/stat/headcount_fte/oct2012/er1toth.pdf

There are about 239,000 undergrad and grad students.
http://legacy-its.ucop.edu/uwnews/stat/statsum/fall2012/statsumm2012.pdf [page 3]

The Bruin article says that “officials expect the survey will include responses from more than 430,000 individuals.” If so, a statistical miracle of something like a 100% response rate will have occurred. All yours truly knows his what he reads in the papers.

What Ever Happened to the Campus Climate Survey?

The Chronicle of Higher Ed published the chart above back in January based on national freshmen reports about the neighborhoods from which they came. [http://chronicle.com/article/BackgroundsBeliefs-of/136771] The data were gathered by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute (HERI). [Click on the chart to enlarge and clarify.] It was around that time that UCOP sponsored a “campus climate” survey of all the campuses. The survey had been announced with great fanfare after various racial incidents: http://www.ucop.edu/newsroom/newswire/img/16/16489629294e7b6333135a8.pdf. As we have pointed out on this blog from time to time, there is no sign of any results from that survey as yet despite the considerable expense in taking it. (At least yours truly found no data from the survey on the UCOP website as of this morning.) UCLA’s faculty welfare committee expressed reservations about the survey methodology, particularly its length and whether a representative sample would result.

But maybe there is no use in wondering about what happened to the survey:

Another Campus Climate Incident Reported

The story above can be found in more detail at

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/04/26/uc-irvine-fraternity-issues-apology-after-blackface-video-sparks-outrage/. So far, yours truly found no official response on the UC-Irvine website. Blog readers may recall a somewhat-related video that became known as “Asians in the Library” at UCLA and which sparked an official reaction from Chancellor Block. Possibly, this matter will be discussed at the upcoming May Regents meeting, possibly in conjunction with results – are there any yet? – from the campus climate survey taken this past winter.

Campus Climate Survey Promotional Materials

Blog readers will know that a UC-wide campus climate survey was developed after various incidents on the campuses. There has been concern that because of the length of the survey instrument, participation would be low and mainly confined to those with concerns. According to the promotional materials for department chairs and similar administrators – see the link below – there are lottery-type financial and non-financial prizes available to participants to obtain at least a 30% participation rate. Use the search engine on this blog to find earlier posts on the survey including audio of a presentation by the woman conducting the survey, Susan Rankin.

Open publication – Free publishing – More ucla

Campus Climate Survey is Coming

Some readers may remember that after a series of incidents aimed at minority students on various campuses, including UCLA, the UC president was pressed by the Regents to “do something.” (Some readers will recall the “Asians in the library” incident at UCLA.) What emerged was an elaborate all-campus survey of “campus climate.”

In late December and early January, it will be coming to UCLA.

There have been reservations raised about the participation rate and biases in participation caused by what appears to be a rather lengthy survey. The campus faculty welfare committee at UCLA, for example, raised such issues. Apparently, offering prizes is the solution that has been adopted.

There was a program at the Faculty Club back in March on this process. You can find audios of that program on this blog at:
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/03/uc-and-ucla-campus-climate-survey.html

There is an announcement of the survey schedule, etc., at:
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/28503

And there is a website devoted to it at:
http://campusclimate.ucop.edu/index.html

What isn’t on the website at present, although you find links to “take the survey” on it, is the survey itself. When you click on “take the survey,” nothing happens. So whether the survey instrument is as lengthy as earlier versions that were circulated for Academic Senate review is unclear. The campus faculty welfare committee was told that something like a million dollars was being spent on this effort. In any event, the Regents wanted the university to “do something” and so “something” is being done. Whether we will have an accurate measure of the climate or do anything more with the results of the survey once they are gathered is another matter yet to be determined.

Hot Potato for Yudof

UC report on anti-Semitism draws ire

Nanette Asimov, August 9, 2012, San Francisco Chronicle(excerpts)

Katherine Orr had just started her freshman year at UC Berkeley last August when she was stunned to see five students in military fatigues carrying what looked like rifles and stopping students at Sather Gate. “They were asking people, ‘Are you Jewish?’ They were trying to be like soldiers interrogating Palestinians along the border,” Orr said. “They were re-enacting what was happening on the West Bank.” To students who regard Israel as an essential Jewish homeland, this event and others like it that are staged each year on University of California campuses seem hostile, like poorly concealed anti-Semitism – especially when the Israeli flag with its Star of David is paired with a Nazi swastika, says a new report by a UC fact-finding team seeking to understand Jewish students’ experiences. But to students who oppose Israeli policies and support such sensational protest methods, some recommendations by the team – that UC adopt a definition of anti-Semitism, prohibit hate speech and consider banning campus sponsorship of offensive activities – have become a new subject for protest.

The dispute is a collision between civil rights and free speech, where allegiances can’t always be sorted out by religion. And it suggests a microcosm at UC of the conflict in the Middle East: angry, defensive, intractable. …(President) Yudof convened an Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion to study students’ experiences and offer solutions. On July 9, two teams of experts reported to the council on the experiences of Jewish students and of Muslim and Arab students across UC. One team concluded that Muslim and Arab students feel “marginalized and alienated on campuses” and that many experience “daily harassment,” from classmates, faculty and staff.

…(T)he report on Jewish students offers dramatic solutions to a more circumscribed brand of animosity: anti-Israel virulence and its ripple effect. …(A) willingness to denounce Israel is often a litmus test for acceptance into social-justice groups on campus, the report found. Tension also exists with faculty, the authors found, with students describing “instances of overt hostility toward Jewish or other students” who express pro-Israel views.

…”I am a vigorous defender of free-speech rights,” (Yudof) wrote. “While hurtful speech may make that goal difficult to achieve at times, the answer is not to restrict speech, but rather to see that all our community members feel supported.” His office is reviewing the recommendations…

Full article at http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/UC-report-on-anti-Semitism-draws-ire-3774302.php

Chancellor at Staff Town Hall on Hotel, Climate Survey, Pensions, Donor-Community Relations

Chancellor Block, Vice Chancellor Steve Olson, and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Campus Human Resources Lubbe Levin participated in a staff Town Hall on April 4. The session was videoed but the video works poorly and the commercial service utilized includes ads. Below is a link to the audio of the session which works much better. There were no exhibits at the session so nothing is lost in the audio-only format.

There were specific questions, some in-person/some submitted in advance, on the proposed hotel/conference center, the upcoming (systemwide) campus climate survey, pensions, and donor-community relations. Links just to those questions are also available below. They are video/audios, i.e., a video with a still picture.

The hotel question came up after the embarrassing refusal of the Regents to ratify the project at their recent meeting. The chancellor seemed to imply that if you just called the project a conference center rather than a hotel, all would be well. However, the number of rooms in the project is comparable to the local Westwood area hotels so more than a wording change needs to be considered. You can hear his response at the link below:

On campus climate, the chancellor expressed concerns about the extreme length of the survey which could discourage participation:

On pensions, the chancellor noted that incumbent employees are not affected by the two-tier modification of the pension plan but also noted that state ballot propositions might affect the plan:

The question on donor-community relations came from an anonymous employee involved in fundraising. The question may have been a veiled reference to frictions regarding the proposed sale of the Japanese Garden and the hotel issue. The chancellor, however, made no direct reference to those issues and it is not clear that he picked up the inference. It is notable that a fundraising employee raised the question. Link to the response below:

The full audio (about 50 minutes) can be heard at the link below:

If you want to try the video version (ads and all), it is at:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/21594421