UC Regents

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Inching Toward Michigan

Byuclafaculty

The main event of the upcoming Regents meeting is discussion (not decision) on the Yudof recommendation of Option C on the pension plan. But there is also scheduled a discussion of enrollment of out-of-state students at UC. You can find the announcement at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/nov10/e1.pdf It is scheduled on the morning of Nov. 17, after an open public comment session. (Those open comment sessions have tended to be a bit raucous of late.) If you click on the link above to the out-of-state student session, you won’t find any back-up material. The announcement just says Provost Pitts will review past enrollment…

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More Reality Comes to the Regents on Nov. 18

Byuclafaculty

Even more reality will arrive on the morning of Nov. 18 at the Regents, when they take up pensions and retiree health care. The documentation for that session is at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/nov10/j3.pdf A quick review of that documentation suggests that the $2 for $1 issue is not well explained when borrowing from STIP is discussed. But that is not new; it wasn’t well explained at the campus sessions. In a previous post, you can hear yours truly make that point at the UCLA session. Anyway, in a few decades we can all sing:

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Take a Hike (in Tuition)?

Byuclafaculty

From today’s LA Times: Faced with flagging state funding and a $1-billion budget hole, University of California officials on Monday proposed several actions to preserve programs and stabilize finances, including far-reaching pension reforms and an 8% student fee increase for next school year. Under the plan, undergraduate student fees for 2011-12 would rise by $822 to $11,124 annually — about $12,150 when campus-based fees are included. Some professional school fees would also rise, depending on campus and program. The fee hikes would generate about $180 million in annual revenue. The UC Board of Regents will consider the plan when it…

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UC Regents Join Stanford in Lawsuit Over Patent Rights

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed reports on a lawsuit over patent rights to an invention of a Stanford medical researcher. The case is on appeal and will be heard by the US Supreme Court. The Regents of UC have filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Stanford. Stanford lost at a lower level and the case is reported to be significant for patent rights more generally of US univerities. Excerpt from the report: In a ruling last October, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had directed a lower court to dismiss a lawsuit Stanford had brought accusing the pharmaceutical…

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Schwarzenegger on Pensions: An Unusual Address Which May Help UC

Byuclafaculty

Governor Schwarzenegger’s weekly radio address of 10/15/10, which is also posted on YouTube, slammed various Republicans by name for voting against the bill in the legislature that was needed to approve the deals he has cut with SEIU and other unions and was part of the budget agreement. (See earlier post.) In the YouTube version, he not only names errant Republicans but puts pictures of them on the screen. Below is the text of the address. A link to the YouTube version is also below. However, note that whatever the Regents come up with in December as the UC version…

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More Focus on the Outside Political Scene Needed When We Review Retirement Options?

Byuclafaculty

Uncomfortable Question: Are we too focused on internal UC politics in evaluating the various pension and retiree health care proposals? Is it a form of UC GroupThink? That issue was raised in a conversation with an administration official. We have tended to worry about what President Yudof thinks, what the Regents think, what various UC officials think, what Academic Senate leaders think, what UC unions think, etc. But in fact we could come up with a plan that somehow balances all these views but fails a public sniff test. Below is a straw in the wind from the San Diego…

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The Great GASB

Byuclafaculty

Accounting standards for public entities such as UC are set by GASB, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (pronounced gaz-bee). Calpensions.com is reporting that GASB is considering rules that could impinge on the UC pension. One proposed rule would require a change in the way unfunded liabilities are discounted. Another would affect the period of amortization of past unfunded liability which the Regents have pushed out to 30 years. The rules proposed would appear not to affect the “normal cost” of the plan (essentially, an estimate of what incremental liability is being added annually). Apparently, the discount rate applied to that…

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More on Chez UC

Byuclafaculty

UC weighs what to do with abandoned president’s mansion: Luxurious 13,200-square-foot Blake House near Berkeley has been deteriorating for years. Officials are considering alternatives to avoid $2 million for basic maintenance, $10 million for a full renovation (excerpts) By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times, October 4, 2010 Blake House is a lonely, empty place these days. The Mediterranean-style mansion near Berkeley that is intended to be the official residence of the University of California president has not been occupied since 2008. Apart from three UC Berkeley social events this year, its grand entertainment rooms are chilly and silent, with most…

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More on Growing Public Pension Issue In California

Byuclafaculty

As noted in previous posts on this blog, the UC pension funding issue may be difficult to isolate from the more general issue in California, particularly if the Regents don’t have a policy in place when the next governor takes office. Below is an excerpt from a piece reporting on a variety of local ballot initiatives on the pension topic, especially a high-profile San Francisco ballot measure. Pension cost cuts on ballot in eight cities (excerpt) Ed Mendel, calpensions.com, 9/30/10 Proposals to cut public employee pension costs are on the November ballot in at least eight California cities and one…