UC-Davis

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Audio of Regents Meeting of 3-17-11

Byuclafaculty

At the Regents meeting of 3-17-11, the session started with open comments. (A student from a class co-taught by yours truly in winter quarter was a speaker.) There was then a presentation by the UC-Davis chancellor, Linda Katehi, about developments on that campus, including budget concerns. The Finance Committee approved options for borrowing for the pension fund from STIP and possible pension bonds. Oddly, but consistent with earlier presentations, the primary motivation is described as a kind of interest arbitrage. In fact, the original motivation for these options was the $2 for $1 issue; roughly each $1 of contributions by…

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Letter to Yudof: UC Davis may ax 500 jobs to cope with budget cuts

Byuclafaculty

UC Davis may ax 500 jobs to cope with budget cuts Mar. 1, 2011, Sacramento Bee, Laurel Rosenhall UC Davis will probably eliminate 450 to 500 jobs, charge students extra fees and make it harder for California students to be admitted as a result of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to cut $500 million from the University of California’s statewide budget. UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi listed those changes in a letter to UC President Mark Yudof that outlined how the cuts would affect the campus. UC Davis’ plan assumes the campus will face a $107 million shortfall in 2011-12, Katehi…

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The Mother of All Faculty Boo-Boos

Byuclafaculty

The internet is buzzing today about an email sent on behalf of a professor in the veterinary medicine dept. at UC-Davis concerning how to grade a student who was absent due to giving birth. It was sent to all students in the class. Here is a sample:——-Davis officials confirmed the authenticity of an e-mail that was first quoted on the blog “On Becoming a Domestic and Laboratory Goddess” by a female scientist at a major research university who blogs, as “Isis,” about issues in academic science, particularly for women.The e-mail was sent by the presidents of the third-year class to…

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LA Times Characterizes Pension Demand as “Gimme, Gimme”

Byuclafaculty

LA Times Editorial: Tone-deaf at UC (excerpt) UC is rightly balking at granting additional retirement perks to about 200 highly paid administrators. A group of highly paid executives at the University of California has adopted an unseemly attitude best described as “gimme, gimme.” Although each of them already earns at least $245,000 a year, along with generous pension benefits, they’re threatening to sue if the university, which has imposed hefty tuition increases on its students over the past two years, doesn’t give them more. …Legislation has been introduced to take away some of UC’s historic independence from state government. Those…

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How Green Is My Campus?

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed points today to something called “College Sustainability Report Card 2011” which offers web “green” grades for various universities and colleges, including the UCs below. The folks behind the ratings tend to downgrade UCs for having foundations with investments that are not specifically green. The foundation trustees, I am sure, would argue that they are pursuing another type of green. Anyway, the ratings with some explanation are at the web addresses below. The folks behind the ratings are at the “Sustainable Endowments Institute.” It describes itself as follows: Founded in 2005, the Institute is a special project of…

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Richard III Might Be Out of Luck at UC-Davis Thanks to Budget Cuts

Byuclafaculty

From the Sacramento Bee: A few horses munched quietly on feed Wednesday morning in a dusty pasture tucked away on the University of California, Davis, campus. It was likely one of their last meals at the university’s Equestrian Center before they’re shipped to new homes as the center deals with heavy cuts to its funding. “These pastures used to be full,” said Julie Smith, the center’s assistant director. “And now these are the stragglers that are left.” Loss of funding to UC Davis’ department of campus recreation has meant cuts to the Equestrian Center, which opened in 1962 and has…

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This Lecture Brought to You By…

Byuclafaculty

Californiawatch reports UC-Davis deal with US Bank at: http://www.californiawatch.org/watchblog/01-uc-davis-offers-marketing-76-access-perks-us-bank-exchange-royalties Excerpt This fall, University of California Davis students, faculty and staff will get new photo ID cards emblazoned with the US Bank logo. They can use the cards to check out books from the library and, if they choose, withdraw money at an ATM from a new US Bank checking account… The university stands to gain millions of dollars in cash for student services from US Bank by giving the bank exclusive access to marketing opportunities, free advertising and signage and other perks. Under the 10-year agreement, the more people at…

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UC Davis Chancellor cautious regarding online degrees

Byuclafaculty

July 19, 2010UC Davis Chancellor cautious regarding online degrees From The Swarm blog, Sacramento Bee The editorial board met with University of California, Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi this afternoon in a wide-ranging recap of her first year on campus. Last year, she spoke to the board about the challenges of fulfilling the public mission of the university in an era of reduced state funding. “That mission,” she said, “has been compromised by the inability to fund it. … The struggle is to keep quality in place and to keep it affordable.” That challenge remains. On Monday, she handed out a…