UCLA History: Janss Steps in 1930
The area around the Janss steps looks pretty bleak in this 1930 photo from the UCLA digital archives.
UCLA
Prof. Shoup’s Campaign Against Sidewalk Parking Around UCLA
Prof. Donald Shoup in the Dept. of Urban Planning has been campaigning to end illegal parking on the sidewalks around the UCLA campus. Prof. Shoup, the author of The High Cost of Free Parking, began trying to get Jack Weiss – when he was the LA City councilman for the area – to have the police enforce the law against such parking. Parking on sidewalks blocks access for ordinary pedestrians and, particularly, for handicapped persons. A lawsuit against the City has been filed on that basis. Let’s just say that when Weiss was in office, he was not known for…
UC & UCLA Political Contributions Go Very Heavily to Democrats
Eighty-six percent of individual contributors to political candidates at UC have given to Democrats in the current election cycle. See http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/09/politically-active-professors-dont.html The Huffington Post allows you to search for contributors by name or employer. When I entered UCLA as employer, 89% (as of today) of those identifying UCLA as employer gave to Democrats. See http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/ (As the info is updated, this figure could change. And, it’s a good idea to remember that when you donate to political campaigns, your personal information regarding the donations appears on the web.)
LA Times Festival of Books Moving from UCLA to USC
LAObserved.com is reporting that both UCLA and the LA Times developed contentious relations over the cost of the Festival and the desire of both sides to cut the cost. Full story at http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2010/09/times_moving_festival_of.php Editor’s Note: It was never obvious to me what UCLA got out of the Festival other than weekend traffic congestion and trampled lawns. But that’s just me. UPDATE: The Daily Bruin reports loss of ASUCLA revenue as a result of the move. http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2010/09/loss_of_festival_to_affect_revenue Departure Music:
University Spending on Athletics
Today’s Inside Higher Ed alerted me to a database maintained by USA Today on revenues and expenses of university athletics programs around the country. For UCLA in 2008-09, operating revenue of $66,177,866 is reported. Sources for that revenue in dollars and percent are: Ticket sales $24,996,824 37.8% Student fees $2,498,877 3.8% Guarantees $1,454,128 2.2% Contributions $10,006,048 15.1% Direct institutional support $210,000 0.3% NCAA/conference distributions including all tournament revenues $5,253,849 7.9% Broadcast, television, radio, and internet rights $5,900,665 8.9% Program sales, concession, novelty sales, and parking $1,318,925 2.0% Royalties, licensing, advertisements and sponsorships $9,179,351 13.9% Sports camp revenues $2,960,664 4.5% Endowment…
LA Times Editorial Frets About Privatizing UCLA Anderson and Implications for UC
The writer of the LA Times editorial today on the “self sufficiency” model for the UCLA Anderson School of Management seems conflicted. (See earlier posts on the Anderson proposal – a proposal yet to be approved by UCOP and the Regents.) On the one hand, the editorial seems sympathetic to the School’s proposed plan, given current budgetary realities. It seems sympathetic to the idea of diverting money saved from state funding of Anderson to educational programs that are less able to support themselves. On the other hand, the Times is concerned that de facto privatization is occurring throughout UC via…
Size Matters: UCLA is the Largest Higher Ed Institution in LA County
UCLA has 30,000 employees and 2,700 full-time faculty. It is the largest higher ed institution in LA County with over 39,000 students. There is another university downtown which has almost 35,000 students. Indeed, the LA Business Journal lists the top 25 institutions (public and private) in LA County including community colleges and UCLA is #1. You can find comparative data on the top 25 at http://www.cbjonline.com/a2labj/lists/2010-Colleges-1-25.pdf
UCLA Anderson Self Sufficiency Plan Getting Media Attention
In an earlier post, initial media reports of the UCLA Anderson School’s plan to move away from state funding (“self sufficiency”) were noted. Since that time, there has been a jump in media attention. A public radio report is the latest. You can hear it by clicking on the video (really an audio) below. UPDATE: Coverage in the LA Times http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uc-bizschool-20100909,0,1340589.story Coverage in Business Week http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/blogs/mba_admissions/archives/2010/09/ucla_anderson_says_no_to_state_aid.htmlCoverage in LA Business Journal http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2010/sep/07/ucla-anderson-become-more-self-sufficient/
UCLA Management School Plans to Move Away from State Funding Due to California’s Budget Crisis
Giving Up State Funds (excerpts)September 7, 2010Inside Higher Ed How bad are things in California? The budget cuts and fiscal uncertainty are so severe that the University of California at Los Angeles’s business school is proposing that it give up all state funding — in return for greater budget flexibility and the right to raise out-of-state tuition to the levels of private institutions. The plan has been approved by UCLA, but is awaiting a review by Mark G. Yudof, president of the university system. Leading public universities regularly complain about the decline in the shares of their budgets that come…