miscellaneous

Tales of a Confusing Academic Job Market: Up or Down? Actually, Both.

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed today posts a review of the confusing and mixed picture in academic job openings in various fields. Among the findings as you can see below – this will anger some folks! – the job market for economists is much improved but for historians it remains dismal. Job Freefall, Job Recovery (excerpt)Jan. 3, 2011, Scott Jaschik There has never been a single academic job market: variation among disciplines, institutions and regions has always mattered. The reality of radically differing job markets may be especially clear as 2011 begins with disciplinary associations gathering for job interviews at annual meetings…

| |

New Funding Model for UC: Details Uncertain

Byuclafaculty

Word has been circulating on campus of a new systemwide funding plan for all the campuses coming out of Oakland and President Yudof. It is referred to as a “revenue allocation model” for the campuses, whereby each campus will retain its own revenues. A “tax” will be imposed on each campus to support the central UCOP operation. The new model is slated to go into effect as a pilot program in 2011-12, with full implementation in 2012-13. Exactly what is entailed in this model is not clear, nor are its implications for campus operation or the faculty. Since we are…

Yahoo’s Decline Will Affect the Blog

Byuclafaculty

In the past, various meetings of the Regents and hearings related to UCOF, Post-Employment Benefits, and the general budget situation have been posted on this site by way of Yahoo-video. Yahoo is generally in commercial decline, thanks to competition from Google and others such as YouTube. As a result, Yahoo has discontinued its video service. Any video content embedded from Yahoo-video will be unavailable on this blog after March 14, 2011. I will decide whether to try to move the video/audio content – which is a royal pain to do – to some other site. If you have an interest…

They Love Me; They Love Me Not

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed today steered me to the article below: Students stretch truth on teacher evaluations, UNI professor’s study finds STACI HUPP • Des Moines Register • December 13, 2010 Dennis Clayson’s college students have picked apart everything from his “impossible” tests to his choice of neckties. The University of Northern Iowa marketing professor says he doesn’t take criticism personally when students grade him on teacher evaluations, but he has wondered: Do they always tell the truth? The answer is no, Clayson and a Southeastern Oklahoma State University marketing professor found, in what they say is the first study of…

| |

Court Upholds Prop 209 Ban on Affirmative Action in University Admissions

Byuclafaculty

Federal judge upholds Calif affirmative action ban Dec. 8, 2010, Fresno Bee, Terence Chea – Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit challenging California’s voter-approved ban on affirmative action in public university admissions. U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Conti on Wednesday ruled against the challenge to Proposition 209, which banned the consideration of race and ethnicity in public education, employment and contracting… Full article at http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/12/08/2190629/federal-judge-upholds-calif-affirmative.html

Comparing Public vs. Private Pay

Byuclafaculty

The two charts you see on this post come from a press release issued today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The charts break out the pay (wages and benefits) of state and local employees vs. private employees as of Sept. 2010. (The bars labeled “civilian” refer to the two groups combined. Federal workers are not included.) The data do not allow California to be broken out. The figures underlying the charts are for the total U.S. In a sense, the charts explain the seeming public anger at public employees who earn in total compensation about $40 per hour…

|

Interesting Profile of a UC-Berkeley Professor Said to be a YouTube Sensation

Byuclafaculty

The San Francisco Chronicle published the story below on Sunday. But the Chronicle keeps certain stories for subscribers only for a couple of days. So here are some excerpts. By way of background, UC-Berkeley puts lectures on YouTube for some classes. The story refers to such a class. One YouTube lecture is embedded below the story excerpts. Marian Diamond – Anatomy Professor a YouTube Hit Debra Levi Holtz, Sunday, December 5, 2010 Each fall, Marian Diamond walks into UC Berkeley’s Wheeler Auditorium holding a round hatbox, a gift from the staff of Lawrence Hall of Science, where she used to…