UC Regents

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The 250-Room Whatchamacallit is Back on the Regents Agenda

Byuclafaculty

The Regents’ agenda for the July 17-19 meeting is now posted.  The UCLA hotel/conference center is back on the agenda as item GB2.  It is now called a “conference and guest center.”   UCLA still is in denial that a 250-room establishment is a hotel.  Perhaps it should be called a No-Tel in view of the denial.  The material the Regents will consider is not attached to the agenda in keeping with no tell; at least it is not attached as of 9:30 AM today but the link is: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jul12/gb.pdf Other items of interest: As expected, the proposal for tuition…

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Judge Calls Regents “Duplicitous” in Hannah Carter Japanese Garden Affair

Byuclafaculty

The Beverly Hills Courier is carrying an online story about a court proceeding related to the proposed sale by UCLA of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden: (excerpt) Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Hart Cole today postponed judgment on the fate of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden until July 27. Cole directed attorneys for the heirs of Hannah Carter, who filed a preliminary injunction opposing the sale of the Kyoto-style Garden on June 13, to prepare a supplemental five-page brief on whether the UC Regents are a government entity or a charitable trust. Cole said determining whether the University is a…

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Sacramento Pension Politics Could Open Door to UC Exemption

Byuclafaculty

Governor Brown has a 12-point pension plan for all public pensions in California that would override UC’s own pension solution.  The legislative leaders have a different view on pensions than the governor but they also have shown no sign of being willing to exempt UC so far. However, while the governor and the legislature tussle over the pension issue, voters have imposed pension changes in local elections, notably in San Diego and San Jose.  The governor has indicated that public sector unions should agree to his plan or they will get worse from local voters.  It appears that Senate leader…

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Is it unanimous? Are all the Regents in favor of saving the Japanese Garden?

Byuclafaculty

There is an online petition opposing UCLA’s ongoing effort to sell the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden.  As you can see from the three screenshots below, the Regents seem to have signed on! Well, to be fair, they did seem to want to “test” the idea first before signing on.  Anyway, I am sure the petition sponsors will count them all in: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsdtjdvt1ko&w=320&h=195] PS: What most likely happened was that someone in the Regents office wanted to track what was happening on the Garden issue and thought, incorrectly, that you had to sign the petition to get the information.

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Listen to Updated and Complete Audio of May 16 Regents Afternoon Session

Byuclafaculty

Our earlier post of the May 16 Regents meeting did not include the full afternoon session.  Readers of this blog may recall that the meeting was disrupted in the morning and thus created uncertainty as to when the afternoon session would resume.  The Regents cleared the room and went into closed session elsewhere.  As a result, yours truly – who was recording from the live stream – did not know when the afternoon session would begin. [And a repeat of question made several times on this blog before: If the Regents can live-stream and record their sessions, why can’t they…

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Yesterday’s Letter to the Editor by the Chancellor and Senate Chair: What’s It All About?

Byuclafaculty

Some blog readers may have seen a letter to the editor in the LA Times by Chancellor Gene Block and Senate Chair Andrew Leuchter which responded to an earlier op ed in the Times by John M. Ellis and Charles L. Geshekter of a group called the National Assn. of Scholars and its California branch.  Yours truly suspects that many blog readers did not peruse the letters section of the Times this holiday weekend so here is a summary and explainer.  The op ed was based on a larger document published by that group and sent to the Regents.  It…

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Listen to Audio of Regent Committee on Compliance & Audit: Feb. 28, 2012

Byuclafaculty

The Regents Committee on Compliance and Audit met on February 28, 2012 ahead of the March meeting.  When the Faculty Association requested a copy of the audio for this meeting, as it now always does, it turned out that the meeting had been taped (analog-recorded) rather than recorded digitally.  Thus, the Regents’ office sent the analog recording out for conversion to digital format.  There were then other delays which account for why only now are we able to post the audio.  It remains unclear why the audio of meetings of the Regents, which are streamed live, cannot simply be posted…

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We know the view from Berkeley. From UCLA?

Byuclafaculty

About a month ago, UC-Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau and co-authors issued a report calling for more autonomy for the UC campuses.  Here is the abstract: The University of California (UC) needs to respond to the fundamental and ongoing changes that are occurring around it if it is to remain financially sustainable, accessible, and academically excellent. As the campuses that make up UC have matured in the past 50 years they have, rightly, developed unique strengths and challenges. The uniqueness of individual campuses has been a natural response to the increasing complexity of our world and the highly competitive nature of higher education. These differences have…

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Listen to (Partial) Audio of Afternoon Regents Session: 5-16-12

Byuclafaculty

The Regents met in Sacramento on May 16, 2012.  Sacramento was chosen so they could lobby legislators after the meeting.  The morning session was interrupted by a demonstration.  At that time, the Regents went to another location and moved to the closed sessions on the agenda below, presumably while the room was cleared.  The intent was to resume the open part of the meeting after the room was cleared.  The morning session up to the demonstration has been separated posted (the prior post today). Because items were taken out of order as a result of the demonstration, it was unclear…

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Listen to Audio of Regents 5-16-12 Prior to Demonstration Interruption

Byuclafaculty

The Regents met in Sacramento on May 16, 2012.  Sacramento was chosen so they could lobby legislators after the meeting.  The morning session was interrupted by a demonstration.  At that point, the Regents went to another location and moved to the closed sessions listed on the agenda below, presumably while the room was cleared.  The intent was to resume the open part of the meeting after the room was cleared. Below is a link to the audio up to the demonstration.  The demonstration that interrupted the meeting consisted of yelling from an individual followed by singing from the audience about…