governor

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At recent Regents meetings, Jerry left his Mark…

Byuclafaculty

And now, Mark has left Jerry.  (The Yudof term concluded at the end of August.)  Today is September 1, so we are now in the era of Janet Napolitano.  And since she is coming from the Obama administration with its emphasis on objective performance standards for higher ed, it might be useful if she took a short multiple-choice quiz.  So below is a modest offering. Question: When the photo above was taken, which song was most likely NOT running through President Yudof’s mind? a. You’re Mean to Me [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k429BOuUGo?feature=player_detailpage] b. You Can’t Always Get What You Want [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkGrkNu6mDg?feature=player_detailpage] c….

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Note for the Regents

Byuclafaculty

Here’s a quote from Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters.  Might be something for the Regents (and our incoming UC president Janet Napolitano) to keep in mind: …Tom Hayden, the politician/journalist who protected Brown’s left flank when he was paddling his political canoe to the right three-plus decades ago, points out in a new Rolling Stone article about Brown that the governor tends to become very stubborn when he’s wrong on an issue. “He does have a problematic side,” Hayden told Rolling Stone. “He’s the kind of guy who, when he knows he’s wrong, argues harder.”… Walters’ column deals with Brown’s…

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Listen to the Special Regents Meeting of Aug. 8, 2013

Byuclafaculty

A special meeting of the UC-Regents was held by teleconference to approve the appointment and compensation of incoming Riverside chancellor Kim A. Wilcox, formerly provost at Michigan State U.  There were no public comments made by non-regents at this session, although time was available for such comments.  Governor Brown voted “no” on the compensation package which included an 8.9% raise in salary relative to the previous chancellor.  He cited concerns about growing income inequality in society, the fact that there were chancellors on other campuses who were paid less, and the labor dispute with AFSCME.  Lt. Gov. Newsom also voted…

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I know it’s unpleasant to hear but…

Byuclafaculty

When you listen to Regents’ comments at their meetings on the state budget, you have the impression at times that they think that the state and governor have reversed course and now acknowledge responsibility for the UC pension plan.  So, for the record, here is the Legislative Analyst’s summary of the latest state budget and the UC pension: Contains Intent Language Regarding UC Retirement Costs. The budget plan does not designate any funding for UC employer retirement costs, though the university expects these costs to increase by $67 million in 2013-14. Budget trailer bill language states, however, that the absence of…

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Why Jerry Should Love Higher Ed

Byuclafaculty

Gov. Brown often seems a bit exasperated with UC at Regents meetings. But the latest Field Poll indicates higher ed is doing a great job for him:Percent of Voters Supporting Brown’s Re-Election in 2014: High school graduate or less…..37%Some college/trade school……..37%College graduate……………..45%Post-graduate work……………57% Poll results at http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2446.pdf So, the more we teach, the more they love him:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KiO42i7uVM?feature=player_detailpage]

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Pay for the New UC Prez: Mellowing Newsom Likes It

Byuclafaculty

Gov. Brown is out of the country and missed yesterday’s Regents meeting and won’t be at the meeting today.  At the meeting scheduled for later today, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom might well attend.  In the past, he has been against high pay for UC executives.  But now he seems to have mellowed in the case of Janet Napolitano, the nominee for UC president.  The Sacramento Bee Capitol Alert blog indicates that Newsom thinks the pay in store for Napolitano is OK: …UC has not yet revealed how much Napolitano will be paid. That information will be made public tomorrow after…

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Contest Winner!

Byuclafaculty

We have a winner of today’s contest.  The winner noted that Mike Curb, shown here, was Lieutenant Governor during Jerry Brown’s first two terms in office in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  One of the oddities of California political institutions is that the governor and lieutenant governor don’t run as a slate.  So it is possible that the two come from different parties.  Mike Curb was a Republican.  Another oddity is that whenever the governor is not in the state, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor with all the powers of the governor.  (Communications were not easy when California…

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Contest

Byuclafaculty

Awhile back, we had a contest on this blog involving identification of someone in a photo.  Let’s try another contest.  At one time, Jerry Brown had to curb his enthusiasm for the man shown in the picture here.  Who is that man and what problem did Jerry Brown have with him?  The first person to answer correctly will win our undying admiration.   Send answers to daniel.j.b.mitchell@anderson.ucla.edu. Here is a hint that may help or confuse.  There is another hint in the text above:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuCrkFeHbQc?feature=player_detailpage]

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Brief Welcome

Byuclafaculty

Governor Brown, who sometimes has much to say about UC matters, seems short on words concerning the appointment of the new UC president – a former governor and fellow Democrat:Governor Brown Issues Statement on Nomination of New UC President7-12-2013 SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued the following statement on the nomination of Secretary Janet Napolitano as president of the University of California: “Secretary Napolitano has the strength of character and an outsider’s mind that will well serve the students and faculty. It will be exciting to work with her.” Source: http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18140 Everyone else had a lot to say: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/07/rapid-response-homeland-security-secretary-to-head-uc-system.html…

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Reconcile Yourself to the State Budget

Byuclafaculty

You might as well reconcile yourself because you won’t find a reconciliation from any official source between the governor’s accrual budget (released in late June) and the state controller’s cash budget (released today). In theory, there are advantages to accrual accounting over cash accounting in judging performance, whether of a state budget or a corporation.  Accidents of timing of receipts and expenditures can distort the results for any given period.  For example, there really is no difference in a check arriving on June 30 or July 1.  But if you are on a July 1-June 30 fiscal year and look…