UCLA Faculty Association

UCLA History: Mayor Speaks

2012-02-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Not all demonstrations on the UCLA campus during the Vietnam War opposed the war. Above in 1966, LA Mayor Sam Yorty speaks to group supporting the war.

UCLA History: Fowler

2012-02-11T18:57:00.000-08:00

Before the Fowler Museum moved to the UCLA campus, it stood on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills as this 1978 photo shows.

UCLA History: Children's Hospital

2012-02-11T18:43:00.000-08:00

Photo from LA Public Library collection. Photograph caption dated January 9, 1958 reads, "Marion Davies presents check for $1,500,000 to build a new Marion Davies Children's Wing at UCLA Medical Center to Edwin W. Pauley, chairman of the board of regents. Watching are Vern O. Knudsen, UCLA vice chancellor, and Dr. Stafford L. Warren (right), dean of the UCLA Medical School. An architect's sketch of the medical center is in the background." In 1998, the hospital was renamed the Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA in recognition of the gift made to the hospital by Mattel, Inc.

Audio of Regents Meeting of January 19 (Day 2 of 2 days)

2012-02-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

Unlike Day 1, there was ademonstration during the public comment session during Day 2. The room was cleared by the police. Subsequently the Regents continued themeeting but apparently could not exit. During Part 3 it was announced that the demonstrators had left the UC-Riversidebuilding in which the Regents were meeting.

There are remarks in therecord in Part 3 in which the governor is praised for giving UC permission touse general fund allocations for the pension system. As noted previously on this blog, UC did notneed permission and so the governor’s action meant little. Indeed, UC – not that long ago – was told bythe state that the state had no liability to the pension and that it was up toUC to fund it – presumably from general fund allocations. What has changed, as readers of this blogwill know, is that the Legislative Analyst has gradually come to acknowledgethe need for the state to take some responsibility for the pension as it didbefore the two-decade contribution “holiday.” Unlike the governor, the Analyst did not insist that UC be put undersome statewide one-size-fits-all pension arrangement.

Agenda:

Part 1

8:30 am Committeeof the Whole - public comment [ends in demonstration]

Part 2 [dealt withoverview of UC-San Francisco]

8:50 am Committeeon Finance (open session)

11:00am Committeeon Educational Policy (open session)

Part 3

1:00 pm Board - opensession [discussion of whether Regents might endorse governor’s tax initiative;concern expressed about Cal Grants cuts]

Full agenda with backgroundmaterials is at:

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jan12.html

Audio links:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Latest State Cash Statement

2012-02-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

There will be headlines about the latest cash statement - July 2011-January 2012 - issued by the state controller. Somewhat less revenue came in than forecast in the governor's January budget proposal (which contains estimates for 2011-12 as well as a proposal for 2012-13). But expenditures were a bit less than forecast, too, although some of that reduction was due to delayed payments by the controller. Nonetheless, it is still quite possible that the current fiscal year's budget will be in rough balance, using common English parlance (inflow = outflow). The issue remains of financing the past negative balance in the general fund that developed at the height of the Great Recession.

So before panicking over headlines, let's see how the budget goes over the next few months.

The controller's report is at:
http://sco.ca.gov/Files-ARD/CASH/fy1112_jan.pdf

Golly!

2012-02-10T08:32:00.000-08:00

Arizona legislators areconsidering a bill that would punish college instructors whose speechor actions would violate broadcast obscenity standards...

Full story from Inside Higher Ed:

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/02/10/arizona-debates-legislation-classroom-obscenitiy-political-discrimination#ixzz1lzq3qZof

Audio of Regents Meeting, January 18 (Day 1)

2012-02-10T07:41:00.000-08:00

The Regents met on January 18 at UC-Riverside. Day 1 was relatively calm. The agenda is below. (An angry demonstration occurred in thesecond day.) You can hear Day 1 at thelink below.

As usual, we raise the issueof why – since the Regents live-stream the audio of their meetings – they donot archive the audio. The UCLA FacultyAssociation has to request the audio files and post them – which inevitablymeans a significant lag in availability.

The full agenda with links to relevant documents is at:

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jan12.html

Click on the links to listen:

Part 1

8:30 am Committee of theWhole (public comment)

9:30 am Committeeon Educational Policy (open session)

Part 2

10:00 am Committee onFinance (open session)

10:45 am Committeeon Health Services (open session)

11:15am Committeeon Oversight of the DOE Laboratories (open session)

11:30 am Committeeon Governance (open session)

Part 3

3:15 pm Committee on Groundsand Buildings (open session)

Second Coming of the Hotel/Conference Center Business Plan

2012-02-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

Readers of this blog will know that the hotel/conference center business plan originally released when the structure was planned to replace the Faculty Center did not make sense.

Since then, although UCLA has released conceptual hints about the hotel design and plan, no actual plan has been produced.

Below is what appears to be the schedule for the second coming of the business plan and other elements of the proposal:

March 27: Plan goesto the Regents for Budget Review. So far, the business planis apparently still in preparation (!) and so it has not been released to the UCLA FacultyAssociation which made a Public Records Act request for it. It will be releasedbefore the March 27 date - but when is unknown. The project will use taxexempt financing. That creates a barrier to commercialactivities.

Draft EnvironmentalImpact Report: late April.

Public hearing:Mid-May

Final EnvironmentalImpact Report: late July or early August

Design Approval:Regents' September Meeting

UCLA History: Level Parking

2012-02-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

Parking in the pre-parking structure age on the UCLA campus (1961).

Letters Arriving on Proposed UCLA Japanese Garden Sale

2012-02-08T21:54:00.000-08:00

Click on the letter to enlarge it.

Anti-Pension Group Admits it Has No Money for its Ballot Initiatives

2012-02-08T21:41:00.000-08:00

A group pushing ballot initiatives that would have swept UC into a statewide pension formula turns out to have no money for signature gathering.

Excerpt:
A conservative group announced Wednesday that it was suspending its campaign to put public employee pension reform on the November ballot. Dan Pellissier, president of California Pension Reform, said his group could not raise enough money to mount a petition-signature drive. A successful drive typically requires at least $2 million... "California Pension Reform is suspending its effort to qualify an initiative for the 2012 ballot after determining that the attorney general's false and misleading title and summary makes it nearly impossible to pass," Pellissier said in a statement. The group submitted two measures that qualified for signature gathering. One would have put new public employees into defined contribution plans, while the other would have put new workers into a hybrid plan that blends pensions with a 401(k)-style system...

Full story at http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_19921630

LAO Report on Higher Ed Contains Significant Pension Recommendations

2012-02-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

The state’s Legislative Analyst has released a lengthyreport on funding higher education which covers UC, CSU, and the communitycolleges (as well as CalGrants). Thereport is essentially a response to the governor’s January budget proposal withregard to higher ed.

Generally, the report tends to disagree with the governor’sapproach which the Legislative Analyst views as giving too much autonomy to UCand the other segments with regard to enrollment and other matters. On the other hand, it documents the trendtowards reduced state funding and thus seems to continue the pay-less/say-moreapproach which is odd on its face.

The Legislative Analyst does raise questions about thetrigger cuts proposed by the governor in case his tax initiative does not passin November.

There is a lengthy section on pension matters, especiallyfor UC which has not received explicit state funding for its pension for overtwo decades and which has had to divert other funding to deal with resumedpension contributions. The report seemsto favor some state funding for the UC pension and – significantly - does notcondition it on UC being covered by the statewide plan proposed by thegovernor. That is a step in the rightdirection if followed by the legislature in the final budget. The report favors somewhat less of a pensioncontribution than UC has requested. However,establishing the principle of some state responsibility would be an advance.

Excerpts from the pension portion are below:

Retirement Costs

The Governor proposes major changes to the way in which some retirementcosts are funded for higher education. For CSU, the Governor proposes to nolonger make base adjustments to reflect changing retirement costs. For UC, theGovernor proposes (1) a $90 million base augmentation that could be used forpension costs or other purposes, and (2) no out–year adjustments for retirementcosts. The budget proposes no changes to the way retirement is funded for CCC.

Background

CSU Pension Benefits. CSU employees are members of theCalifornia Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS)—the same retirementsystem to which most state employees belong. Funding for this system comes fromboth employer contributions and employee contributions. Each year, as is thecase with other state departments, CSU's employer contributions to CalPERS arecharged against its main General Fund appropriation. The employer contributionis based on a percent of employee salaries and wages that is determined byCalPERS and specified in the annual budget act. The Governor's budget annuallyadjusts CSU's main appropriation to reflect any estimated changes in theemployer contribution. For example, the Governor's budget reduces CSU's mainappropriation by $38 million due to a lower employer rate and lower payrollcosts in the current year. The CSU is expected to contribute $404 million toCalPERS in 2012–13.
UC Pension Benefits. Employees of UC (and Hastings) aremembers of the University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP). This retirementplan is separate from CalPERS and under the control of UC. Prior to 1990, thestate adjusted UC's General Fund appropriation to reflect increases anddecreases in the employer's share of retirement contributions for state–fundedUC employees. Starting in 1990, however, UC halted both employer and employeecontributions to UCRP because the pension plan had become"superfunded." Specifically, the plan at that time was enjoyingexceptionally strong investment returns, resulting in assets that exceededliabilities by more than 50 percent. This "funding holiday" lastednearly 20 years until the plan's assets had declined considerably andcontributions once again became necessary. In April 2010, both UC and itsemployees resumed contributions to the plan. The state, however, has notprovided UC with any additional funding specifically for that purpose.

Governor Proposes New Approach To Funding Retirement Costs

The Governor proposes two major changes related to funding for universityretirement plans:

A $90 million base budget augmentation for UC that, according to the administration, "can be used to address costs related to retirement program contributions." The administration emphasizes that this funding is not being provided specifically to fund costs for UCRP. Rather, UC could use it for any purpose related to its state–related programs—including, but not limited to, UCRP.
A new policy that the segments' budgets no longer be adjusted for changes in retirement costs in the future. Instead, state–related retirement costs would be funded entirely from the segments' unrestricted base appropriations.

Unclear Which Retirement Costs Are Affected. The Governor'sproposed language refers simply to "retirement costs." At the timethis analysis was prepared, the administration had not provided sufficientclarity on whether this would include costs for retiree health and dentalbenefits. For example, funding for CSU's retiree health care costs arecurrently bundled together with funding for other CalPERS retiree health carecosts. Since the administration has not yet indicated how it would split outfunding for CSU, we are unsure whether the proposal applies to these costs. Theadministration also was unable to provide information regarding base fundingfor retiree health costs for UC. For these reasons, our budget analysis onlyfocuses on funding for pension costs for UC and CSU.

UC Proposal Has More Merit,But Raises Several Questions

The request for pension–related funding for UC is more difficult andcomplicated than that for CSU. This is because (1) the state currently is notproviding any pension–related funding to UC, and (2) UC has full control overits pension system. To address the Governor's proposal, the Legislature shouldconsider the following questions:

What is the main justification for the state to provide funding for UC's retirement costs? In other words, why is funding for these costs a state responsibility?
Given that UC controls its own pension plan, are UC's pension benefits reasonable? How do they compare to the pension benefits the state provides state employees?
How much funding should the state provide UC in 2012–13? More specifically, what methodology or calculations support the request for $90 million?
Finally, should the state lock in the pension amount provided UC at the 2012–13 contribution level or provide UC with budget adjustments for pension costs in future years? …

Pension Costs Should Be Funded as Part of Workload Budget. Thestate currently provides funding for pension–related costs for all other stateagencies as part of a normal, workload budget. In other words, the stateprovides funding to state agencies for the salaries and benefits (includingpension benefits) related to their budgeted positions. Given that the stateprovides UC with funding for the salaries and benefits of some of itsemployees, it would make sense from a standard, workload budgeting perspectiveto also provide funding related to pension costs. As noted earlier, the statedid provide such pension–related funding to UC for many years prior to thepension holiday that began in 1990. (As we discuss in the nearby text box, thestate has repeatedly deferred a final budget increase for pension costs sincethat time.) Given that the university has had to restart its contributions toits pension plan in recent years, we find justification in its request that thestate also resume providing pension–related funding.
UC Pension Benefits Similar to State Employee Pension Benefits. Althoughthe state does not control UC's pension system, actions taken to date by theRegents have largely mirrored recent changes to state employee pensionbenefits. For example, the Regents have taken action to reduce pension costs inthe long term by increasing the minimum retirement age for new employees. Inaddition, …the Regents have approved increases to employee contribution ratesthat are beginning to bring them in line with state employee contributionrates, which are now generally 8 percent. (Some of UC's proposed employeecontribution increases are still subject to collective bargaining.) Additionalcontribution increases beyond July 2013 will also likely be necessary to reducethe plan's significant unfunded liability that has accrued due to thedecades–long pension funding holiday and recent market downturns.

UC's Estimate of State's Share of 2012–13 PensionCosts Is Overstated. The $90 million that UC requested from theadministration is only a fraction of the $255.6 million that UC estimates to bethe state's share for 2012–13. The UC states it requested the lower amount inrecognition of the state's severe fiscal shortfall. The university furtherindicates that it will likely seek the full amount of what it estimates to bethe state's share (which it calculates could rise to roughly $450 million) infuture years...

We find two issues that the Legislature should carefully consider withrespect to how the university has estimated the state's share of UC retirementcosts.

First, we find that the request for $90 million in 2012–13 is overstated. …UC's estimate of the state's share of its 2012–13 retirement cost increase totals about $78 million. The UC appears to be requesting a greater amount because it believes that the state should provide contributions to account not only for incremental retirement costs in 2012–13, but also for part of the cost increases in the two prior years. We take a different view. The UC has managed—by both redirecting internal resources as well as increasing student tuition—to fund all of its employer contributions in both 2010–11 and 2011–12. If the Legislature were to provide funding related to prior years, the funding would in effect free up existing UC base funding for other purposes. In our view, given the state's fiscal shortfall, such an augmentation would be unwise.
Second, the university's calculation of the state's share of retirement contributions includes employer costs related to tuition–funded salaries. From a workload budgeting standpoint, the state portion of retirement costs should only be related to state–funded payroll costs. Given, however, that the Governor's budget assumes no increases for tuition in 2012–13, the Legislature may wish to consider providing the funding for pension costs related to tuition–funded salaries in 2012–13. In future years, higher pension costs—just like any other UC cost—presumably would be covered by the General Fund and tuition fees in proportion to their current funding levels.

Timing Not Right to Lock In Base Funding for Pensions. Aswith the CSU proposal, now would be a poor time to choose to lock in a basefunding level for UC pensions, given that the Governor is separately proposingto modify public employee pensions to reduce costs in the long run. Inaddition, as noted earlier, UC intends to increase its employer contributionsover the next few years, although it has not yet reached agreement with all ofits union–represented employees on the employee contribution rate. In our view,the Legislature should carefully evaluate future requests from UC for pensionfunding on a year–by–year basis in the context of the university's currentpension benefit and contribution structure. In the long term, however, it couldmake sense to expect UC to fund its pension costs out of its base budget, giventhat the university's retirement system is separate from the state's. Thiscould only work once a reasonable funding level has been identified andcontribution amounts have stabilized.

Recommendations

…Recommend Restarting Budget Adjustments for UC. Asdiscussed above, we find that there is sufficient justification on a workloadbudget basis to provide UC with an augmentation that the university could useto address its pension costs. We recommend, however, that the Legislature onlyprovide funding for the incremental change in 2012–13 in UC's pension costs forstate– and tuition–funded employees—which we estimate to be $78 million. Thiswould mean reducing the Governor's request for $90 million in General Fundsupport by $12 million. In addition, we recommend that the Legislature adoptintent language in the budget specifying that in the future funding for UCretirement costs (1) shall be determined annually by the Legislature, (2) shallbe contingent on such factors as the comparability of UC's pension benefits andcontributions to those of state employees, and (3) shall not necessarilyinclude funding for tuition–supported employee pension costs or pension costsincurred prior to 2012–13.

The full report is at http://lao.ca.gov/analysis/2012/highered/higher-ed-020812.pdf

A video presentation of the report highlights is availablebelow:

More History Lessons (from Faculty Association Chair Dwight Read)

2012-02-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

As Chair of the Faculty Association at UCLA, I would like to emphasize againthe point that was made in the Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 Blog on this site,“Plenty of Nothing.”

The Governor wrote in his proposed budget: "The University of California(UC) will receive an increase of $90 million from the General Fund for baseoperating costs, which can be used to address costs related to retirementprogram contributions."

The main purpose of the public employee retirement law (PERL), passed in 1931,was to separate pension funding from all other kinds of funding. Early on, thestate recognized that pension funding is long-term funding and must followclear guidelines and sound actuarial principles to ensure that the state hasthe resources to keep its pension promises. Those principles require that theplan estimate many factors: the cost of service for the current year, the rateof return earned on investments, mortality rates, projected salary and benefitincreases, etc. Based on these estimates and the plan design, the state can setthe employee and employer contributions necessary to meet the fundingrequirements.

Each year public retirement plan sponsors need to ask the state to make aspecific contribution to their retirement plan based on the actuarialprinciples agreed upon. This contribution is not lumped together with any otherfunding. Each year the State evaluates those requests and makes a separateallocation to the retirement plan, which can be used for nothing else.Retirement is and should be separate.

The same was always true for UC. In the past, before 1990 when contributions toUCRP were suspended or, one could say, dropped to "zero," the UCRegents like all other public pension plans in the state requested retirementfunding from the state. And the state allocated UCRP funding annually as partof the budget category, "Fixed Costs and Economic Factors," asubcategory of "Unallocated Adjustments." The accounting categorieswere different for UCRP than they were for CSU or other public pension plans inCalifornia, but the principle was exactly the same: retirement funding isseparate, not to be comingled with any other use of the funds. Althoughthe Regents can spend General Fund allocations as they wish, given theirautonomy in the state, they never wavered in the past from using statecontributions for UCRP for anything other than the employer contribution unlessgiven specific permission by the Legislature to do otherwise. They honored thefounding principle of public retirement funding.

Contrary to this principle, the Governor now wants to fund UCRP by way of anincremental increase to the General Fund. Although the Regents regarded theGovernor’s gesture positively -- “This represents a major step forward in termsof securing the State’s participation in employer contributions for UC employeesupport which is automatically provided for employees of California’s other twohigher education segments.” -- it neither recognizes the obligation ofthe state to support retirement of the public employees at the University ofCalifornia, nor does it provide actual funding for retirement based onactuarial principles. What the Governor awards can just as easily be removed bya legislative reduction in UC funding. How will budget decisions such as theminus $100 million trigger in the current budget affect long-term pensionpromises?

That is exactly why the forefathers and mothers of public pension funding inCalifornia knew that funding retirement is a serious business and must followseparate financial principles from all other kinds of funding in order to keepthe state and the employee pension plans on a sound financial basis.

I urge clarity and transparency in talk about public pension funding. Anaugmentation to UC’s budget from the state General Fund is welcome, but it isnot the same as state support allocated specifically for UCRP. And I urge theLegislature to do the right thing: fund $90 million to UCRP directly as part ofthe long tradition of supporting public employee retirement in California andin accordance with PERL principles of retirement funding.

Dwight Read,
Chair, UCLA Faculty Association

UC Tuition: His Way or the Conway?

2012-02-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

The photo shows Assembly Speaker John Pérez talking to GOPminority leader Connie Conway. Given theexcerpt below from today’s online San Francisco Chronicle, let’s hope he isbeing super-persuasive.

==============
Excerpt:

California students from middle-income families wouldreceive massive breaks on tuition and fees at the state's colleges anduniversities under legislation Assembly Speaker John Pérez plans to introducetoday at the Capitol. Under the plan,undergraduate students from families with household income of less than$150,000 would have their tuition and fees cut by two-thirds, bringing the costbelow what it was nearly a decade ago. Itwould amount to a $4,000 annual savings for California State University studentsand just over $8,100 for students attending the University of California andwould take effect as soon as this fall. Both new students and current studentswould be eligible…

The speaker's office estimates the program would cost thestate about $1 billion per year, which would be raised by eliminating acorporate tax break that was approved in 2009 as part of budget negotiationsbetween Democrats and Republicans. That tax break allows corporations to choosethe cheaper of two formulas for calculating the taxes they owe…

Any change in the tax requires a two-thirds vote of the Legislature,which means at least two Republicans in each house must agree…

Full story at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/08/MNOJ1N2D0B.DTL

Actually, we have some audio of what Pérez is saying to Conway:

Regents' Court Petition to Allow Sale of UCLA Japanese Garden

2012-02-07T15:43:00.000-08:00

As readers of this blog know, we have been posting documents related to UCLA's proposed sale of the Japanese Garden. The university's ownership of the garden followed from a donation by Regent Edward Carter in the 1960s. Carter's wealth arose from his department stores. You can see his signature on the stock certificate from Broadway-Hale and later one from Carter-Hawley-Hale.

The donation by Carter was modified by an agreement in the early 1980s. However, because the sequence of agreements required that the university maintain the garden in perpetuity, once UCLA determined to sell the garden, it had to go to court to show that the sale should be allowed due to changed circumstances. The prior post on this blog included a 2009 task force report seeking sources of revenue during the budget crisis. The court filing followed that report.

You can read the petition made on behalf of the UC Regents to allow the sale below.

Open publication - Free publishing - More ucla

The 2009 "Toolbox" Report and the Japanese Garden (& Other Issues)

2012-02-07T08:18:00.000-08:00

Given the ongoing budget crisis, UCLA formed a task force to look at various revenue-generating options. The report of the task force is dated April 24, 2009. Among the possibilities considered was the sale of various properties including the Japanese Garden. The report indicates that consultations with the state Attorney General were underway well before the 2010 court decision that permitted the sale, even though it was inconsistent with the existing terms of the donation.

The report explores other areas such as faculty pay, fund raising, "branding," and tuition. You can read the full report at the link below (scroll towards the bottom of this post.

Below is the Table of Contents. Below that is the section on the Japanese Garden:

I. Task Force Chargeand Process p. 1

II. Principles forReview of Revenue Creation Proposals p. 2

III. Summary ofRecommendations p. 4

IV. Major Issues andRecommendations

Student Fees p. 6

Enrollment of Nonresident Undergraduates p. 14

Development of New Academic Programs & Services p. 15

Research Funding p. 19

Faculty Compensation Plan p. 21

Brand Extension Licensing p. 23

Fundraising Opportunities p. 25

Sale of Underutilized Property p. 27

Appendix A: UCLAApproval Process for Revenue-Generating

Courses and Programs p.30

Appendix B: RevenueGenerating Course and Programs

Administrative Guide p.34

Appendix C: Guidelines for endowedchairs p. 36

=============

Task Force Membership:

Kathryn Atchison, Vice Provost for Intellectual Property and Industry Relations
Hilu Bloch, Associate Dean & CAO, Anderson Graduate School of Management
Robin Garrell, Professor and Vice Chair, Academic Senate
Janina Montero, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Sam Morabito, Administrative Vice Chancellor
Steven A. Olsen, Vice Chancellor, Finance, Budget & Capital Programs (chair)
No-Hee Park, Dean, School of Dentistry
Cathy Sandeen, Dean, University Extension
Michael Schill, Dean, School of Law
Rhea Turteltaub, Vice Chancellor, External Affairs
David Unruh, Assistant Provost, Academic Program Development
Kang Wang, Professor, School of Engineering and Applied Science

===========

Section on Japanese Garden

From pp. 27-28:

The Carter Estate:

The Carter Estate, located at 626 Siena Way, Bel Air, about one milefrom campus, is situated on 0.85 acres and includes a two story residence andan adjacent guest house in approximately 7300 gross square feet. The house wasvacated by Mrs. Carter in early 2006. The house, which has remained vacantsince Mrs. Carter’s departure, is currently being managed by UCLA AssetManagement.

In June, 2007, the value of this property was appraised at $9,000,000.The University is free to sell this property (via a competitive public bidprocess) but the proceeds must fund seven endowments specified by Mr. Carterincluding endowed chairs in the College, Anderson and the School of Medicine, amaintenance endowment for the Japanese Gardens, the establishment of an arthistory research center in the College, a student awards fund for Anderson anda discretionary fund for the director of the Jules Stein Eye Institute. In2006, the estimate of the amount needed to fund the corpus for these endowmentswas $4.7 million. As such, the net proceeds from the sale of the home would benet of the $4.7 million.

The Japanese Gardens:

The UCLA Hannah Carter Japanese Garden and the UCLA Carter House(described above) were, prior to December 1964 part of a single parcel ofapproximately 1.94 acres. In 1964 the Gardens portion of the site was separatedfrom the Carter House portion. The 1964 grant deed transferring the property tothe Regents was amended in 1982 with the requirement that the University namesthe garden for Mrs. Carter and retain it in perpetuity.

Significant research has beencompleted on the process (via the California Attorney General) required toremove the restriction on the Garden so that the University could then sell theproperty. We are advised that it would be possible to remove the restriction butthe outcome is not certain. And, there would likely be some politicalramifications from various groups about the sale of the Gardens as a potentialbuilding site.

In 2007, the MAI appraisal indicates a value of $5.7 million if theproperty can be sold without the deed restriction to maintain it as the Gardensand $3.4 million with the restriction intact.

The combined value of selling both the Carter House and the Gardens(with the restriction on the Gardens in place) was $12.5 million. The value ofthe combined properties without restrictions was estimated in 2007 at $14.7million. Of course property values since 2007 have declined, thus an updatedappraisal would be required to ascertain the current value of these properties.

==============

Link to report:

Open publication - Free publishing - More branding

It is not known how much time was spent by the Task Force specifically on the Japanese Garden issue. During the period in which the task force operated, UCLA had a website for the garden which has since been taken down. However, you can see the website as it was - and as it was available to the task force at:
http://web.archive.org/web/20100815093728/http://www.japanesegarden.ucla.edu/

We're still waiting for the hotel business plan

2012-02-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

The UCLA Faculty Association requested the hotel/conference center business plan documentation a long time ago under the state's Public Records Act.

Time seems to go by so slowly in Murphy Hall:

A Word from Our Sponsor

2012-02-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

You can join the UCLA Faculty Association!

http://www.uclafaculty.org/FASite/Join.html

http://www.uclafaculty.org/FASite/Join_files/FAApplication.pdf

UCLA History: Bunche Instructor

2012-02-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

Photo of an unidentified professor at UCLA's Vermont Avenue campus in 1925 said to be one of the instructors of Ralph Bunche.

Official UCLA E-mail Response to Complaints About the Japanese Garden Sale

2012-02-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

I have so far been forwarded two responses to communications sent to Chancellor Block about the proposed sale of the Japanese Garden. Apparently, when such complaints are received, a response is sent under the name of EVC Waugh. The text was the same in both cases so I assume others have received the official response. The recipient of one of the official responses gave permission for the text to be reproduced. If you scroll towards the bottom of this posting, you will find it in italics.

The response indicates that consultation was conducted with the local neighboring groups. At the community forum - whose audio you can find on an earlier blog post - residents seemed not to have been aware of the proposal until the very recent news items appeared. There is reference to consultation with the Carter family which also seems to be contradicted by the spokesperson from the family at that forum. Finally, there is reference to consultation with academic leaders. However, it appears from a recent Academic Senate action that the matter has only very recently been referred to an appropriate Senate committee.

The court decision to which the official response refers occurred in the late summer of 2010. The fact that only now are protests coming from the Carter family, neighbors, and others and only now is there a referral to a Senate committee suggests that the whatever consultation there may have been was extremely limited.

Some people yours truly has talked with have tended to view the process - particularly the 2010 court filing in Alameda - as a conspiracy to keep this matter secret until it was too late to object. But since there has already been one letter of protest from a current member of the LA City Council (Paul Koretz - see an earlier blog post), I am reminded of an old quote from a former City Council member - Ruth Galanter (photo above left) - suggesting an alternative explanation:

"I used to believe in conspiracies until I discovered incompetence."

As noted in earlier blog posts, the UCLA Faculty Association has not taken a position on this matter. But it does seem to have been badly handled. Brad Erickson, the director of campus administrative services, has been left to be the spokesperson on the garden sale. (He appeared at the community forum, for example, representing UCLA.) But he really isn't responsible for the decisions that have been made and at this point it really is unfair to leave him to be the defender. It's time for the chancellor to take a hand in finding a resolution.

Below is the official response from EVC Waugh:

From: Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost <provost@ucla.edu>
Date: February 3, 2012 12:53:03 PM EST
To: {name of recipient}
Subject: Hannah Carter Japanese Garden

Dear {name of recipient}:

Chancellor Gene Blockhas asked me to respond on his behalf to your message about the pending sale ofthe Hannah Carter Japanese Garden.

While we are sensitiveto your concerns and those of others who value the garden as a special place,it is not used for our primary mission of teaching and research. Each year,UCLA spends approximately $120,000 to maintain the garden. It is located in aresidential neighborhood and has no dedicated on-site parking; the onlyavailable parking (three spaces) is on adjacent property leased to theUniversity on a short-term basis. These facts, which were unknown in 1964 whenthen-UC Regent Edward W. Carter made his gift to the University, now make ourcontinued operation of the garden extremely problematic. A sale at thistime will help us realize Regent Carter’s expressed philanthropic intent tobenefit UCLA’s academic programs.

The process wefollowed in reaching a decision to sell the residence and garden wasdeliberate, exhaustive and open. The Restructuring Steering Committee, a body Ichair to evaluate ways to adjust to sharp reductions in state support, in 2009publicly identified the garden and residence for potential sale, as well asother properties owned by the Regents and managed by UCLA. Since thattime, we have consulted with a broad array of interested groups andindividuals, including representatives of the Carter family, academicleadership on campus and the Bel-Air Homeowner’s Association, to discuss thereasons we need to sell. We also have been in contact with groups andindividuals interested in maintaining the garden, allowed them to view theproperty and encouraged bids. At this time, the bidding process is expected tobegin in early February and conclude in May, allowing all prospective biddersto review the property and gather resources toward a purchase.

Throughout theprocess, we were mindful of our obligation to Regent Carter, who died in 1996and whose gift to the University included both a commitment to provide theresidence and funding to acquire an adjacent Japanese garden. The originalagreement with Carter expressly envisioned the University’s sale of the home ifthe University did not desire to use it as a Chancellor’s residence. Asubsequent agreement noted that the UC Board of Regents did not wish to use thehome as a residence and stipulated that proceeds from its sale would be used toestablish specific professorships in support of UCLA’s academic mission and anendowment to maintain the garden. Regent Carter could not have envisioned thatthe garden’s maintenance costs would exceed the estimated payout from theendowment by approximately $100,000 per year. Nor could he have envisioned thecomplete lack of available parking, the result of a mistaken propertydescription, and the constraints it placed on operating a public garden.

For all these reasons,we determined that continued maintenance of the garden was impractical and animpediment to our ability to meet Regent Carter’s intent that his gift benefitour academic mission. In September 2010, a judge agreed with our reasoning andcleared the way for the sale.

I want to assure youthat we are wholeheartedly committed to honoring the philanthropic intent ofRegent Carter to benefit UCLA’s academic programs. Together, the garden and theresidence are valued at approximately $15 million. Consistent with theagreement, $4.2 million from the proceeds of the sale will be used to establishprofessorships and endowments for programs across campus, from the arts tomedicine to management. Any additional revenues from the sale of the residenceand garden will be available for other campus priorities at the discretion ofthe Chancellor.

To further honorRegent Carter’s gift and Mrs. Carter’s passion for the garden, we have removedfour representative artifacts and are caring for them at the Fowler Museum atUCLA while we determine an appropriate method and location for their publicdisplay.

While we value thebeauty, serenity and cultural heritage of the garden, we have concluded that itis best to use our limited resources for our core priorities of teaching andresearch rather than to maintain a public garden that serves no academicpurpose. We have taken reasonable and responsible steps to address concerns andshare information and have followed all necessary and appropriate legal andinternal channels to evaluate the feasibility of the sale. I trust you willappreciate our position and understand that we have treated this issue with thecareful consideration and respect it deserves.

Sincerely,

Scott L. Waugh, Executive Vice Chancellor andProvost

Duly Noted

2012-02-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

Dostoyevsky's notes did get published. But did you know that UC has rules against students publishing notes taken in class? There are websites which make a business of publishing student classnotes. Scroll to the bottom of this entry for an example. UC threatens legal action when notes from its classes are distributed.

According to CaliforniaWatch:
...The policies raise questions about whether instructors or students have copyrights to the notes students take in class. While the California Education Code prohibits students and others from selling class notes – and many campuses have policies that also ban unauthorized note-selling – critics say students, not instructors, own the copyright to their own notes.

Some university officials say faculty members have the right to protect their professional reputation – they don't want inaccurate or low-quality notes to be attributed to them. But others say the university policies are restricting students' free speech...

See the full article at http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/colleges-crack-down-selling-sharing-notes-14744

"That Which Cannot Go on Forever Must Come to an End"

2012-02-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

So said Herbert Stein, who was President Nixon's chief economist for a time. He wasn't speaking about rising tuition back then. However, President Obama's remarks on rising university tuition at the State of the Union address - which were roughly along those lines - continue to generate controversy.

Inside Higher Ed today has a long piece on responses in the U.S. Senate. The article concludes with: Perhaps sensing a popular cause to champion with an election looming, senators in both parties seemed eager to continue discussions on how to hold down college prices. Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, promised more discussion on the subject. “This," he said, " is the first of many hearings."

Full article at: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/02/03/senate-help-committee-hears-college-affordability-testimony

We Missed the Boat on Pensions With the Governor: Time to Talk to the Legislature

2012-02-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

We missed the boat when it came to getting the governor to exempt UC from his statewide pension plan. His plan, which now goes to the legislature, includes UC explicitly (p. 13), involves a hybrid plan (defined benefit plus defined contribution) for new hires, and has a 75% cap on retirement benefits.

A summary of the plan: The changes would kick in Jan. 1, 2013. Labor agreements that contradict the governor's plan would prevail until the pacts expire.

The statutory language includes these proposals:
• Ends additional retirement service credit purchases, or "airtime."
• Forfeits all or part of pensions for elected officials or civil servants convicted of a felony associated with their offices or jobs.
• Ends retroactive pension enhancements.
• Ends "pension holidays" for employers and employees.
• Mandates that all employees pay "at least one-half" the normal costs for defined benefit plans or the defined portion of a hybrid plan. Employers may not pick up the employee share.
• Limits the hours and wages for retirees who return to government work.
• Calculates benefits based on a 36-month average of an employees' wages.
• Narrows the definition of wages that can be included for pension calculation purposes.
• Establishes a hybrid pension system for new hires. It would replace 75 percent of an employee's income after 30 years of service and a "normal" retirement age of 57 for public safety employees or, for all other workers, 35 years of service at age 67.
• Sets 5 years and 52 years old as the minimum length of service and age that safety classes can qualify for retirement, 57 years old for all other groups.
• Eliminates seats on the CalPERS Board of Administration now occupied by a member of State Personnel Board and an insurance industry representative
• Gives CalPERS board membership to the Department of Finance director.
• Adds an independent health insurance expert and a representative from a contracting agency to the CalPERS board, both appointed by the governor.
• Adds three public representatives to CalPERS' board, two appointed by the governor and one jointly appointed by the Assembly speaker and the Senate Rules Committee.
• Sets 25 years of service as the threshold to receive 100 percent of the state's retiree health benefit. Applies to new hires only.

Full article at http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/2012/02/jerry-brown-delivers-pension-reform-language-to-legislators.html

Some of the plan would be in a constitutional amendment which requires a 2/3 vote of the legislature if it is to be put on by the legislature. (It could be done by initiative but the governor is already putting a tax measure on the ballot by initiative and might have trouble getting the money for an additional pension initiative.)

In any event, as noted in a recent blog post, UCOP and the Regents need to be talking to the legislature.

The governor's proposal is at:
http://gov.ca.gov/docs/Pension_Language_part_1.pdf

UPDATE: Union reaction http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/03/4235853/unions-howl-at-details-of-jerry.html

No Bee Link Here

2012-02-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

The Sacramento Bee has updated its database of all state salaries by name, including UC employees. No, I won't give you the link although you can readily search it out.

Yours truly writes a weekly blog for a group called the Employment Policy Research Association. As it happens, this week's blog for that group tells you why I won't supply the link to the Bee's database. (The fact that the blog entry and the database appeared in the same week was a coincidence.)

=====================

http://www.employmentpolicy.org/topic/402/blog/mitchell%E2%80%99s-musings-1-30-12-matters-degree

Mitchell’s Musings1-30-12: Matters of Degree

Daniel J.B. Mitchell

Let’s start with the admission that I am not a lawyer, letalone a constitutional scholar. So Ican’t really evaluate the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent unanimous decision whichvoided the conviction of someone apparently dealing drugs that was obtainedbased on GPS evidence. All I can say isthat the justices seemed upset with the idea of the police attaching a deviceto a private car which allowed tracking of the car’s movements and eventualfinding of incriminating evidence. Trustme; I will ultimately relate that decision to an employment concern.

It appears (to me) that the degree of efficiency in thetechnology utilized played an important role in the GPS decision although partof the discomfort of the court seemed related to the intrusion on the vehicleneeded to attach the device. It alsoappears (to me) that if the police had done old fashioned following of thevehicle around with another car - and eventually found incriminating evidenceas a result - that approach to obtaining evidence would have been OK with theCourt.

If that interpretation is correct, there seems – to thisnon-lawyer at least – to be only a matter of degree between high-techsurveillance - which produced massive amounts of data according to the Courtdecision – and old fashioned tailing. But obviously the former was much more efficient and much less costlyand labor intensive, than the latter. Ifprivacy violations are cheap, they are more likely to occur than if they areexpensive.

There are analogies in other controversies in the newsinvolving evolving technology. Therecent brouhaha surrounding the congressional political battle betweenHollywood and Internet providers over measures to prevent piracy of films andsuch has similarities to the GPS decision. If you saw the film, The King’sSpeech, you may recall the scene – taking place in the 1930s – in which thespeech therapist, using a new home phonograph record device said to be fromAmerica – records the King.

So it technically was possible in the 1930s, with what musthave been an expensive device, to copy phonograph records – possibly violatingcopyright. After World War II, lessexpensive home tape recorders and wire recorders became available. It was becoming easier to copy, say, radio broadcastsof the top-ten tunes, again possibly violating copyright. But record companies didn’t panic since themeans of copying and distributing was cumbersome involving reels of tape orspools of wire.

More concern concerning copyrights and intellectual propertyarose when home video cassette recorders came along and movies might thereforebe copied from TV broadcasts. TheBetamax case ultimately went to the U.S. Supreme Court on that issue. But home cassette recorders were allowed inthe Court’s 1984 decision. Thatcontroversy occurred before there was an effective Internet which would allowrelatively easy distribution of copied movies by digital means.

In short, courts and legislators are now continually facedwith changes in technology which make past transgressions that were onceinherently limited much easier. Exactlywhere you draw the line between what is and what isn’t going to be allowed is amatter of degree and discretion. And adecision at one point in time may be made obsolete as technology advances. There really is no absolute, timeless rule.

That observation brings me to issues of privacy andtechnology – and employment. A number ofnewspapers and other organizations have obtained court judgments saying thatpublic payrolls and public pension rolls are public documents – and presumablyalways were. Therefore, it is OK to postthem wholesale on the web with the namesof the employee or retiree included.

Now it may well have been the case in a simpler age that onecould have gone to a public office and obtained information on payments toemployee X or retiree Y, using state and local equivalents of the federalFreedom of Information Act. But copyingdown the entire payroll of an agency would not have been a simple matter. And wholesale and easy distributing theinformation, if one had the patience to copy it, would also have been difficultand costly. But currently such wholesalecopying and distribution has become easy, thanks to computer technology and theInternet. With that technologicaladvance, the process today raises issues of privacy and potential identitytheft.

Most private employers would not think that publishing theirpayrolls wholesale, disclosing pay named employee by named employee, was a goodidea as a human resource practice. Weknow that no private employers do it. Andamong the employers who do not choose to do it are the very newspapers makingavailable public employer databases. Surely, their readers might like to find out what they (the newspapers)pay their editors, columnists, reporters, and – who knows – even their floorsweepers. But the fact that readersmight be interested and that the newspapers already have the data on their ownpayrolls has not impelled any newspapers I know of even to contemplate suchpublication.

When pushed, the newspaper response is that the public has aright to know where its tax money goes.[1] But actually there are lines drawn. So far there have been no court decisions –again that I know of – that make wholesale health records of public employeesavailable by name, even though taxpayers fund public health insurance benefitsfor employees. Internal personnel fileswith performance appraisals are not routinely made public on a wholesale basis.But couldn’t it be argued that the public has a right to know about healthexpenses and performance reviews? So, infact, as in the GPS case, it is a matter of degree and balance. Not everything funded by taxpayers is in facta public document.

There are ways of balancing publication of public payrolldata against privacy and identity theft concerns. Pay rates by occupation can be made available– but without names – so that outsiders can judge whether public pay rates arebeing set correctly. The Californiastate controller, for example, has published municipal pay rates without names. One can learn, for example, that one “policeevidence clerk” in the City of Santa Monica in base salary and overtime earned$60,228 while the other earned $59,923.[2] But no names are provided. If you are worried about whether Santa Monicaoverpays or underpays its police evidence clerks, now you have the data todecide.

The general exception about naming names in the privatesector, at least for publically-traded firms, is that top executive pay is madepublic (with the names known). Thatpractice might also be followed in the public sector. And it typically is - and has been. What the President of the United States ispaid has not been top secret. And notethat presidents, governors, mayors, or Supreme Court justices are publicfigures. Police evidence clerks are not.

Undoubtedly, the GPS decision by the Supreme Court will berevisited in the future as technology changes. What if it becomes possible to track a car without actually attaching adevice? Cars of the future may havedevices built in that transmit information for internal operating reasons. What if the police pick up those signals anduse them for tracking?

Bottom line: The public employee payroll issue also needsrenewed court and legislative attention. Many more people are affected. That is, many more people work in the public sector than there are drugdealers who police might want to tail. It is clear that those newspapers that are publishing payrolls by nameare set on doing so. Sometimes they simplysay it is legal – which it apparently is at present. But they don’t routinely publish, say, thehome addresses of crime victims or the names of rape victims even though thesecan be obtained in public police records. So they cannot really take the position that they simply publisheverything that is legal without making any judgments about what is appropriate. Since their good judgment on crime victims isevidently not going to be applied to public payroll records, only if courts andlegislators say it is not legal would wholesale public payroll publishing byname come to an end.

[1]I rather doubt that the fact that subsidized mailing rates would be viewed bynewspaper publishers as grounds to force them to make their payrolls public,even though one might argue that public money is involved in the subsidy. Newspapers also receive other public benefitsincluding antitrust exemptions in some circumstances and, of course, FirstAmendment protections.

[2]Figures are for 2010. The full databaseis at http://lgcr.sco.ca.gov/.

Regents Will Consider UC-Riverside Student Plan for Alternative to Tuition in March

2012-02-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

Back in 1967, the Regents were curious about the goings on in the Los Alamos Nuclear Lab aas the photo on the left shows. According to a report in today's Inside Higher Ed, the Regents' curiosity this March will focus on a plan (reported in an earlier blog post) by UC-Riverside students for an alternative to tuition.

Essentially, the students' plan would involve payment after graduation as a share of income rather than the current system of upfront payment, either in cash or through a loan. The proposal is not a new idea. And it raises issues of logistics, i.e., how actually to collect those payments.

There are also cash flow issues. What would finance university operations during the period before the payments first began to arrive? Could the university borrow against an uncertain flow of future payments? Note that some of those operations involve recycling of tuition receipts to low-income students.

The article is at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/02/02/uc-system-weighs-shift-tuition-payments-after-graduation

Japanese Garden Meeting Follow Up

2012-02-01T17:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's blog featured the audio from a local meeting concerning the proposed sale of the UCLA Japanese Garden.

As a follow up, you can read some documents that were distributed at the meeting below. Also, reference was made at the meeting to the legal action that was taken by UCLA (technically by the Regents) to allow the sale. Some legal documents from that action can also be found below. Note that there is reference in the documents to there being no opposition from the state Attorney General. Obviously, there has been opposition from other quarters including the Carter family. Whether the Attorney General might have responded differently had the opponents known of UCLA's action at the time it occurred is another matter. It is likely they would have made their concerns known to the Attorney General and the court.

Three documents distributed at the meeting can be read below:

Open publication - Free publishing - More ucla

Legal documents can be read below. These items were obtained from the web. UCLA has not made public whatever arguments it submitted to the court.

Open publication - Free publishing - More ucla
Update: Coverage in the Japanese-American community of this matter can be found at:
http://www.nichibei.org/2012/01/ucla-to-sell-treasured-japanese-garden-amid-financial-difficulty/

UC Needs to Get Off the State Pension Train Before It Goes Too Far

2012-02-01T09:56:00.000-08:00

As we have noted many times, the Regents modified the UC pension plan back in December 2010 to deal with its funding issues. Since that time, the risk has been that UC would be swept into some statewide pension reform really aimed mainly at CalPERS and CalSTRS. UC needs to get off that train before it is too late.

The excerpt below from a recent news report indicates that the train is rolling and so far we are on board. UCOP and the Regents need to be involved in legislative discussions.

...At a hearing of the Legislature's Conference Committee on Employee Pensions last week, an executive of the State Teachers Retirement System spelled out a possible way forward.It's called a "cash balance" retirement plan, a little-known tax-advantaged option available to both public and private employers. It works like a 401(k) plan in that each worker has an individualized account and his or her benefits are determined by how much it has accumulated at the time of retirement. It is superior to a 401(k) plan in that the funds are administered at very low fees by professional managers with a large, well-balanced portfolio. Because of that, workers are guaranteed a small return on their accounts.

There would be a near-zero risk for taxpayers, because even the harshest critics of the current system acknowledge that public pension funds can safely guarantee a rate of return higher than a benchmark rate of interest on certain U.S. government securities. The idea being floated in Sacramento is to create a hybrid system in which a cash balance plan would be stacked on top of a traditional pension.

Employee and employer retirement contributions on the first tier of income — say, the first $60,000 or $80,000 or $100,000 — would go into the existing pension fund, and retirees' pensions would be capped at whatever level that ceiling is set.

Retirement contributions on income above that level would go into a cash balance account for each employee. Taxpayers would no longer be on the hook for making up the difference if pension funds are unable to attain their projected rate of investment returns... Full article at http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/jan/31/herdt-the-seed-of-a-pension-compromise/

Worries About the Obama Tuition Plan Seem Confined to Private Universities

2012-02-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

Earlier posts on this blog noted the remarks of President Obama indicating that the federal government would somehow penalize universities whose tuitions were rising. But yours truly also opined that it was very unlikely that public universities, such as UC, would be penalized since their tuitions were lower than the privates and they tended to enroll a greater percentage of lower income students.

A short piece today in Inside Higher Ed seems to reinforce that view. It seems that it is presidents of private universities that are upset.

See http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/02/01/white-house-adviser-takes-questions-obamas-plan

In short, it's one less thing to worry about. So be happy:

PS: An earlier blog post also gave you some assurance about the kind of headlines depicted below:

Audio of Meeting on Sale of UCLA Japanese Garden: 1-31-12

2012-01-31T20:54:00.000-08:00

A hearing or meeting was held today at the Community MagnetSchool in Bel Air on the proposed sale of the Japanese Garden. Representatives of the Carter family (theoriginal donor) were there. HannahCarter’s son Jim was the spokesperson and strongly condemned the sale. Also presented were histories and photographsof the garden.

UCLA was represented byBradley Erickson, Executive Director, Campus Service Enterprises. Almost all ofthe individuals in the audience were from the neighborhood and almost all wereopposed to the sale.

UPDATE: The Daily Bruin has a summary of the meeting at:
http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/02/local_residents_faculty_alumni_oppose_sale_of_the_hannah_carter_japanese_ga

Audio of the meeting can be heard at the link below. Some cellphone photos are below the link.

State Out of Cash?

2012-01-31T14:42:00.000-08:00

You may see some headlines about the state running out of cash. The state controller today sent a letter to the legislature supporting passage of a bill allowing for more internal borrowing. What does this development mean?

As we have noted in past blog posts, in the current fiscal year and the past two years, in common English parlance the general fund of the state has been in rough balance, i.e., inflow = outflow. But prior to that there were big deficits that ultimately left the state with a negative reserve in its general fund.

When the general fund has a negative reserve, borrowing from somewhere must occur. It comes in two flavors: external borrowing from outside financial markets and internal borrowing from funds the state has outside the general fund. There are many such funds. But the biggies are in transportation where the gas tax and other related revenue flows into earmarked funds for roads and other transportation activities.

Essentially, internal borrowing consists of the controller putting an IOU into these other funds and using the money for general fund purposes. However, if you go too far in that direction, you begin to interfere with the functioning of the activities geared to the special funds.

Apart from the fact that we have ended recent fiscal years with negative reserves in the general fund, there are seasonal issues of timing since outflows and inflows from the general fund do not match within the fiscal year. The controller wants the legislature to give him more authority to dip into special funds with IOUs. From the UC perspective, the fact that the controller is having cash management problems is just more evidence that we should not be looking for budgetary salvation from the state any time soon.

You can read his letter at http://www.sco.ca.gov/Files-EO/Controller_letter_01_31_2012.pdf

UPDATE: Just to drive home the point on the UC perspective, consider:
http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/02/uc_may_loan_200_million_to_state

UCLA History: Come and Park Wherever

2012-01-31T09:10:00.000-08:00

A great photo in the new history book on UCLA, "UCLA: The First Century," shows the campus covered with cars (and no apparent parking structures) in 1956. (See an earlier blog post on the book.)

By the way, President Obama will be back on the Westside Feb. 15, so your future commute that day may not be so free and easy.

Listen to Radio Program on Japanese Garden

2012-01-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

At the link below, you can listen to Which Way LA? on KCRW which featured a program this evening on the UCLA JapaneseGarden. Guests are Martha Groves of theLA Times, R. Michael Rich – research astronomer, and EVC Scott Waugh. The program does not have anyone from theCarter family or background on the source of the original gift. It runs about 10 minutes at the beginning of the link below.

UCLA's position is that it would like to see the garden preserved but wants to sell it. No guarantee is made, however, that the sale would be to some preservation group.

The lack of ready public access is given as the prime reason for the sale.

Imitation is Not Always Flattery

2012-01-30T09:46:00.000-08:00

The LA Times today carries a story about the UCLA Anderson's School's use of the Turnitin.com system for catching plagiarism in essays of applicants for the MBA program. The system is more commonly used for checking reports written for class assignments by already-enrolled students. Excerpt:

..."The more we can nip unethical behavior in the bud, the better," said Andrew Ainslie, a senior associate dean at UCLA Anderson. "It seems to us nobody ought to be able to buy their way into a business school." In the school's first review of essays from potential MBA candidates this year, Turnitin found significant plagiarism — beyond borrowing a phrase here and there — in a dozen of the 870 applications, Ainslie said. All 12 were rejected...

Full article at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-plagiarism-20120129,0,2954802.story

Faithful readers of this blog will note that Turnitin itself has a questionable practice of its own:
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2011/09/turnitin-or-turncoat.html

UPDATE: Anderson rejected 52 applicants for plagiarism. See:
http://poetsandquants.com/2012/02/01/ucla-rejects-12-mba-applicants-for-plagiarism/

UCLA History: Fundraising

2012-01-29T07:42:00.000-08:00

The issues of the sale of the Japanese Garden and the construction of the hotel/conference center both point to fundraising and gifts to UCLA. The recent history of UCLA - UCLA: The First Century - has a section on the early days of fundraising. (See an earlier blog post on the book.)

In the book is the undated photo on the left of Dean Neil Jacoby of the business school promoting his idea of a building for the school. The book, incidentally, incorrectly gives his dates as dean as 1948-73. In fact, when yours truly arrived on campus in the summer of 1968, Jacoby was no longer dean although he remained a faculty member. The deanship had been recently assumed by George Robbins and then later by Harold Williams, all before 1973. (Jacoby managed, however, to be both dean and a member of President Eisenhower's Council of Economic Advisors simultaneously during his actual term as dean.)

In any event, Jacoby first went to the local business community in a fundraising effort for the new building. The private universities screamed about UCLA - which got state support - competing with them for private funds. Various accords were reached over time - described in the book - limiting the ability of UC and UCLA to solicit private funds. In the end - not reported in the book - Jacoby went around the university bureaucracy that controlled priorities for capital projects and took his case for the building to the Regents. By the time I arrived in 1968, the structure had been built. (It is now the Luskin School of Public Affairs.)

Of course, nowadays UC campuses fund raise at will. However, one suspects that in the era when fundraising was restricted by the deals with the privates - gifts in kind - such as the Japanese Garden got around whatever constraints there were.

Audio Recording Indicates that UC Needs to Talk With Legislative Leaders on Pensions

2012-01-28T08:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday’s State Worker blog of the Sacramento Bee carried a story about remarks by California StateSenate President Darrell Steinberg on public pensions. It includes a link to a recording ofSteinberg’s remarks on pensions at a press conference of 1-26-2012. Good luck with that link; the IT guy at theBee must have gone home for the weekend. Nevertheless, yours truly has come to the rescue and you can hear itwithout hassle by clicking on the link below.

There is a back story which state politicos will understand regardingSteinberg’s remarks. Last year, thelegislature kept waiting for Gov. Brown to negotiate a deal with Republicans –which never happened. When it becameclear it wouldn’t happen, the legislature slapped together a budget just beforethe June 15 deadline so its members would get paid. (Voters had earlier approved a propositionthat cut off legislative pay if the budget deadline was not met.) The governor then vetoed the budget and thestate controller said it wasn’t technically “balanced” and thus cut off pay fora few days until another budget was enacted. Reporters in the recording ask Steinberg if the legislature wants towait for Brown to come up with a specific legislative bill on pensions (asopposed to the general concepts he {Brown} has proposed). Steinberg in effect says that the legislaturehas learned its lesson about waiting for Brown and this time will work on itsown.

Steinberg indicates that the legislature is willing tocontemplate Brown’s hybrid concept (mix of defined benefit and definedcontribution for new hires) but he also indicates he likes definedbenefit. However, the details are notimportant at this point. You can readthe Bee blog at http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/2012/01/darrell-steinberg-says-pension-reform-must-pass-strength-test.htmlfor more detail and listen to the recording. The main point is that if UCwants to carve out some kind of exemption for the changes in its pension system that theRegents already enacted in December 2010, UCOP and the Regents need to starttalking with Steinberg & Co. With some creativity, we can adjust the Regents’ plan to be a hybrid ifneeded, say, by adding a small defined contribution element along the lines ofwhat we had during the two-decade contribution “holiday” which got us intotrouble.

Bottom line: Thegovernor is not the only player. Indeed,he may not be the key player on pensions; UCOP and the Regents need to engagethe legislative leaders.

Listen to therecording below:

LA Councilman Koretz Opposes Sale of Japanese Garden

2012-01-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

LA City Councilman Paul Koretz, whose district includes UCLA and the surrounding area, has written a letter to Chancellor Block opposing the sale of the Japanese Garden.

The letter is reproduced below.

By way of further historical background, the photo at the right appears in the new history book on UCLA, "UCLA: The First Century," in a section entitled "Artful Transformation" dealing with Chancellor Franklin Murphy's interest in campus beautification during his regime. The caption to the photo reads in part:

Murphy had long wanted to acquire a Japanese garden in neighboring Bel-Air, and in 1965, it was donated to UCLA by Regent Edward Carter and his wife, Hannah.

Open publication - Free publishing - More koretz

UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times article on the proposed sale (see an earlier blog post) has been picked up by a newspaper in Bellingham, Washington. See
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/01/25/2365595/uclas-plan-to-sell-japanese-garden.html

See also http://blogs.artinfo.com/lacmonfire/2012/01/25/can-hannah-carters-garden-be-saved/

and
http://rafu.com/news/2012/01/uclas-sale-of-carter-japanese-garden-protested/

UC-Davis in the Post-Pepper Era

2012-01-27T09:03:00.000-08:00

Afterthe pepper spray incident at UC-Davis, the administration is apparently takinga hands-off attitude toward Occupy demonstrators. From the student paper at Davis:

Blockades by Occupy UC Davis protesters haveled to speculation that U.S. Bank may leave the Memorial Union (MU) if protestspersist. In the past week, protestershave blockaded the door to the bank eight times, according to a protester.These blockades have resulted in the early closure of the bank and involvementof campus police. The closure of thebank could also mean the departure of funds for student activities.

“The occupiers claim theyare working for students, but they are actually disrupting funding for the sameservices they want to be improved,” said ASUCD Senator Justin Goss. Occupy protesters assert that the presence ofU.S. Bank on campus is uniquely harmful because students may opt for theconvenience of obtaining a high-interest loan there, rather than shopelsewhere. Ultimately, the protesters say that they want the bank closed. Critics like Goss have called that notion“ridiculous” and believe it is the student’s responsibility to find the bestloan…

Full storyat http://www.theaggie.org/2012/01/26/occupy-uc-davis-protesters-repeatedly-close-down-u-s-bank/

UPDATE: The occupation was reported ended as of Jan. 31. See:
http://www.theaggie.org/2012/01/31/occupy-moves-out-of-cross-cultural-center/

More on the Obama/Tuition Issue

2012-01-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

As a prior blog post noted, President Obama's State of the Nation address earlier this week contained a threat to cut federal support to universities whose tuitions were rising. But it was not clear what exactly was involved.

Insider Higher Ed has a brief story - with a link to a NY Times iece and a link to a White House fact sheet about the proposal. In fact, to the extent that the proposal is implemented - always a question given Congressional gridlock - UC and UCLA are likely to benefit. Our tuition is rising but it is still low compared to the privates and many publics. And we have a good record at this campus with low income student enrollment and support. The issue is whether UC would be rewarded for relatively low tuition or penalized for percentage increases in tuition starting from a low base. The tuition under consideration is not the sticker price - which is what gets aired at Regents meetings - but the net price after student aid from the university.

The Insider Higher Ed story is at http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/01/27/full-details-obamas-college-affordability-proposals-updated

Below is (most of) the fact sheet:

For ImmediateRelease

January 27, 2012

FACT SHEET: PresidentObama’s Blueprint for Keeping College Affordable and Within Reach for AllAmericans

“Ofcourse, it’s not enough for us to increase student aid… States also need to dotheir part, by making higher education a higher priority in theirbudgets. And colleges and universities have to do their part byworking to keep costs down.”

President Barack Obama

State of the Union, January 24, 2012

Inhis State of the Union address, President Obama laid out a blueprint for aneconomy that’s built to last – an economy built on American manufacturing,American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.As an important part of keeping the American promise alive, the Presidentcalled for a comprehensive approach to tackling rising college costs. Intoday’s global economy, a college education is no longer just a privilege forsome, but rather a prerequisite for all. To reach a national goal ofleading the world with the highest share of college graduates by 2020, we mustmake college more affordable.

PresidentObama has emphasized the responsibility shared by the federal government,states, colleges, and universities to promote access and affordability inhigher education, by reining in college costs, providing value for Americanfamilies, and preparing students with a solid education to succeed in theircareers. Over the past three years, the Obama Administration has taken historic steps to help studentsafford college, including reforming our student aid system to become moreefficient and reliable and by expanding grant aid and college taxcredits.

This year, President Obama is calling on Congress to advance new reforms that will promote shared responsibility toaddress the college affordability challenge. If these proposals are passed,this will be the first time in history that the federal government has tiedfederal campus aid to responsible campus tuition policies.

President Obama will begin the third day of his post-State of the Uniontravels with an event at the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor,focusing on the importance of tackling rising college costs to ensure America’sstudentsand workers can obtain the education and training they need so that we have aworkforce prepared for the jobs of the 21^st century.

Shared Responsibility toTackle Rising College Costs

Rewarding Schools thatKeep College Affordable

· ThePresident’s proposal to reform student aid to keep tuition from spiraling toohigh and drive greater value will improve distribution of federal financial aid and increasecampus-based aid. This reform will reward colleges that are succeeding inmeeting the following principles:

1) Settingresponsible tuition policy, offering relatively lower net tuition prices and/or restrainingtuition growth.

2) Providinggood value to students and families, offering quality education and training that preparesgraduates to obtain employment and repay their loans.

3) Servinglow-income students, enrolling and graduating relatively higher numbers ofPell-eligible students.

The campus-based aid that the federal government provides to collegesthrough Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Perkins Loans, andWork Study isdistributed under an antiquated formula that rewards colleges for longevity inthe program and provides no incentive to keep tuition costs low. The President is proposing to change how those funds are distributed byimplementing an improved formula that shifts aid from schools with risingtuition to those acting responsibly, focused on setting responsible tuitionpolicy, providing good value in education, and ensuring that higher numbers oflow-income students complete their education. He is also proposing to increasethe amount of campus-based aid to $10 billion annually. The increase isprimarily driven by an expansion of loans in the federal Perkins program –which comes at no additional taxpayer cost.

Colleges that can show that they are providing students with good long-termvalue will be rewarded with additional dollars to help students attend. Thosethat show poor value, or who don't act responsibly in setting tuition,will receive less federal campus-based aid. Students will receivethe greatest government grant and loan support at colleges where they arelikely to be best served, and little or no campus aid will flow to collegesthat fail to meet affordability and value standards.

Creating New Incentivesto Promote Affordability and Quality

· The Raceto the Top: College Affordability and Completion will promote change instate systems of higher education. The President is proposing a program thatwould spur systemic state reforms to reduce costs for students and promotesuccess in our higher education system at public colleges. This $1 billioninvestment would incentivize states to:

o Revamp the structure of state financing forhigher education.

o Align entry and exit standards with K-12education and colleges to facilitate on-time completion.

o Maintain adequate levels of funding forhigher education in order to address important long-term causes of cost growthat the public institutions that serve two-thirds of four-year college students.

The Race to the Top forCollege Affordability and Completion would incentivize governors and statelegislatures around the nation to act on spurring this innovative reform.Through cost-saving measures like redesigning courses and making better use ofeducation technology, institutions can keep costs down to provide greateraffordability for students.

· TheFirst in the World competition will improve long-term productivity in higher education by investing$55 million to enable individual colleges (including Minority-ServingInstitutions) and nonprofit organizations to develop, validate, or scale upinnovative and effective strategies for boosting productivity and enhancingquality on campuses. This initiative would provide modest start-up funding forindividual colleges, including private colleges, for projects that could leadto longer-term and larger productivity improvements among colleges anduniversities – such as course redesign through the improved use of technology,early college preparation activities to lessen the need for remediation,competency-based approaches to gaining college credit, and other ideas aimed atspurring changes in the culture of higher education.

EmpoweringFamilies and Students to be Informed Consumers

· New actionsto provide consumers with clearer information about college costs and qualitywill improve the decision-making process in higher education for Americanstudents and allow families to hold schools accountable for their tuition andoutcomes. President Obama is proposing new tools to provide students andfamilies with information on higher education, presented in a comparable andeasy-to-understand format:

o The Administration will create a CollegeScorecard for all degree-granting institutions making it easier forstudents and families to choose a college that is best suited to their needs,priced affordably, and consistent with their career and educationalgoals.

o We will also make an updated version of the‘Financial Aid Shopping Sheet,’ announced in October, a requiredtemplate for all colleges, rather than a voluntary tool, to make it easier forfamilies to compare college financial aid packages.

o The President is also proposing to begin collectingearnings and employment information for colleges, so that studentscan have an even better sense of the post post-graduation outcomes they canexpect.

RedoublingFederal Support to Tackle College Costs

· Ashighlighted by the President in his State of the Union address, we are callingon Congress to:

o Keep student loaninterest rates low: This summer, the interest rates on subsidized Stafford studentloans are set to double from 3.4% to 6.8% – a significant burden at a time whenthe economy is still fragile and students are taking on increasing amounts ofdebt to earn a degree. The President is asking Congress to prevent that hikefrom taking place for a year to keep student debt down, a proposal that willkeep interest rates low for 7.4 million student loan borrowers and save theaverage student over a thousand dollars.

o Double the number ofwork-study jobs available: The President also proposes to double the number ofcareer-related work-study opportunities so that students are able to gainvaluable work-related experience while in school.

o Maintain our commitmentto college affordability: Over 9 million students and families per year take advantage ofthe Obama Administration’s American Opportunity Tax Credit – supporting up to$10,000 over four years of college. In his State of the Union address,the President called on Congress to make this tax credit permanent and preventit from expiring in 2012.

Building on Progress

President Obama has worked throughout hisAdministration to expand access to college and provide greater resources andsupport so that more students graduate with the skills and knowledge they needto succeed in the workforce:

· Helpingstudents and families pay for college: The Obama Administration has raised the maximum Pell Grant awardto $5,635 next year – a $905 increase since 2008.

Making collegeloans more affordable: The Obama Administration’s “Pay as You Earn” plan will enable 1.6million students to take advantage of a new option to cap student loanrepayments at 10% of monthly income as soon as this year. Borrowerslooking to determine whether or not income-based repayment is the right optionfor them should visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/ibr.

UPDATE: NPR has a report at
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/01/27/145985134/college-presidents-have-problems-with-obamas-message-on-tuition

UPDATE: President Yudof's response:

The University of California appreciates President Obama's focus on higher education and his efforts to assure that college is within reach for all Americans. We are pleased that the president is looking at ways to reward institutions that are doing a good job graduating more low-income students.

The University of California already has tuition that is highly redistributive: One third of every tuition dollar goes to financial aid, and more than half of our students pay no tuition. We have a strong record of providing high-quality education to students from families from a broad range of income levels, and we look forward to working with the Obama administration and Congress on these proposals as they move forward.

UC is proud of the robust state and institutional financial aid our enrolled students receive, and the university is continuously working to ensure that college costs remain low and affordable. Over the years, UC has cut costs and become significantly more efficient, while serving a historically high number of students. UC will continue to take actions to reduce costs and maintain its high quality and will work with the state of California to ensure a strong commitment to funding public higher education.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150510256328379

Shooting Arrows

2012-01-27T07:29:00.000-08:00

The Daily Bruin carries a story today about possibleconstruction of an archery range on campus as a component of a large donation which is raising some ecology concerns. Apparently, the area currently contains California native plants and is usedin some coursework and has raised some faculty objections. As pressures for fundraising ramp up –reflective of the larger university/state budget situation – these kinds of conflictsover university property and land use seem to keep cropping up. Earlier - and still-current - examples involvethe hotel/conference center project and the proposed sale of the JapaneseGarden.

Excerpt:

Just behind ParkingStructure 11 and the Hitch residential complex – on the northwest tip ofcampus – is a four-acre patch of land. Knownas Sage Hill, UCLA geographers have designated the area as the only functioningecosystem of native Californian plants and animals on campus. Professors takestudents on official field trips to the area at least once a quarter, and usethe land to teach students how to take soil samples and biological inventories… Discussions are currently underway regardingthe building of an archery range “somewhere along Veteran Avenue,” said BradErickson, executive director of UCLA Campus Service Enterprises. He added thatthese plans are still in a conceptual stage, and no formal planning process hasbegun. University spokesman Phil Hamptonalso confirmed that the university is considering utilizing donated funds toprovide what he described as much-needed recreational space on the northwestside of campus…

The full Daily Bruin article is at http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/01/sage_hill_site_facing_pressure

Back in 1930, we had plenty of space for archery on campus. But in our modern circumstances - with much less open space - one is reminded ofthe old Twilight Zone episode – “I Shot an Arrow in the Air.” As it turned out in that story, where it came down provedunfortunate:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Regent Carter Background & the Japanese Garden Issue

2012-01-26T13:41:00.000-08:00

Because of the Japanese Garden issue, blog readers might be interested in Regent Carter (at left in the 1966 photo above with UC President Clark Kerr at right giving presentation to Prince Philip). Ultimately, the Japanese Garden was a gift of the Carter family.

Here are some excerpts and links:

From the HarvardBusiness School:

Carter developed thefirst suburban shopping center in 1947 in Los Angeles and popularized regionalchain stores. Carter started with three regional stores in Los Angeles in 1946,and by 1980, had grown that number to 47. Carter expanded the companynationally through acquisitions, such as the Weinstock stores, Neiman-Marcus,and Waldenbooks. When Carter took over the Broadway Company, annual sales were$30 million. By 1980, the chain under a new name, Carter Hawley Hale, was thenation’s fourth largest department store chain with sales of $2.4 billion.

http://www.hbs.edu/leadership/database/leaders/edward_w_carter.html

From LACMA:

In Los Angeles, thepresence in the community of a museum devoted entirely to art was little morethan a hope before 1945. Only in 1965 did a proper building, LACMA, open itsdoors to the public. The late Edward W. Carter was a successful businessman andphilanthropist, and an indefatigable promoter of cultural institutions in LosAngeles. It was Carter who negotiated with the County of Los Angeles for thenew museum’s site in Hancock Park, for the funds to maintain the new museum,and for the transfer of art from the museum’s parent institution, the LosAngeles Museum of History, Science, and Art. Carter was LACMA’s foundingpresident (1961–66) and trustee (1962–96). In these capacities, and as chairmanof LACMA’s board of trustees, Carter exercised profound influence on themuseum’s creation and evolution. In 1989, the year he was replaced as an activetrustee by his wife, Hannah Locke Carter, Edward Carter was named Honorary LifeTrustee.

http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=501403;type=802

From the New YorkTimes:

He was appointed tothe University of California's Board of Regents in 1952 by Gov. Earl Warren. Heserved for 36 years, helping guide the university through the student unrest inthe 1960's and advising it on financial matters and investments.

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/27/us/edward-w-carter-84-retailer-and-a-pioneer-of-shopping-malls.html

From the LA Times:

A Hollywood HighSchool graduate, Carter attended UCLA while working 40 hours a week atSilverwoods on Wilshire Boulevard, becoming in his own words "a damnedgood salesman." By 1932, he rang up about 25% of the store's sales. Carter went on to Harvard Business School,where he received his master's degree cum laude in 1937.

Even before joiningthe Broadway Department Store as executive vice president in 1946, Carter waswell known in retailing circles. Besides his six years with Silverwoods, healso spent eight years at May Co., rising to the post of divisional merchandisemanager. In addition, he was an account manager with the Scudder, Stevens &Clark investment firm in Boston. Carterbecame president of the three-store Broadway chain in 1947, taking charge of aconcern that he later said ranked "last among Los Angeles departmentstores in both size and in stature."

Within months, Carterbuilt one of the nation's first suburban shopping centers, the Crenshaw Center,on a former golf course. (The Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Plaza sits there now.)During the boom years after World War II, Carter studied the freeway map andbuilt his stores accordingly. To financehis ambitious expansion plans, Carter sold stock to Hale Bros. Stores of SanFrancisco in 1949, and the two chains merged in 1950 to become Broadway-HaleInc. As with all of Broadway's later acquisitions, the Hale operation retainedits name and management and was run as a separate division. Other acquisitions followed with suchrespected names as Emporium Capwell, Neiman Marcus, Waldenbooks and BergdorfGoodman. Carter was considered well versed in consumer trends and an innovativemerchant who chose a decentralized approach to retailing that allowedBroadway-Hale's various chains to operate independently with substantialautonomy.

http://articles.latimes.com/1996-04-26/news/mn-63073_1_los-angeles-department-stores

OMG! Whoops. Oh My Whatever-You-Are!

2012-01-26T07:31:00.000-08:00

InsideHigher Ed pointed to this story:

"It'sno wonder President Obama wants every kid to go to college," said… formerPennsylvania senator (Santorum.) "The indoctrination that occurs inAmerican universities is one of the keys to the left holding and maintainingpower in America. And it is indoctrination. If it was the other way around, theACLU would be out there making sure that there wasn't one penny of governmentdollars going to colleges and universities, right?"

Hecontinued: "If they taught Judeo-Christian principles in those collegesand universities, they would be stripped of every dollar. If they teach radicalsecular ideology, they get all the government support that they can possiblygive them. Because you know 62 percent of children who enter college with afaith conviction leave without it."

Santorumwent on to encourage his audience not to "give money" to colleges anduniversities that he said are causing harm to the country. "I'll bet you there are people in thisroom who give money to colleges and universities who are undermining the veryprinciples of our country every single day by indoctrinating kids withleft-wing ideology," he said. "And you continue to give to thesecolleges and universities. Let me have a suggestion: Stop it." …

Fullstory at http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57366219-503544/rick-santorum-left-uses-college-for-indoctrination/

The Inside HigherEd reference is at http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/01/26/santorum-attacks-colleges-religion-politics

Well, maybe some ofthese folks would like to donate:

CSU establishes salary cap for campus presidents

2012-01-25T14:01:00.000-08:00

CSU has adopted a salary cap for its campus presidents, equivalent of UC chancellors. Will the Regents take similar action?

The California State University board of trustees on Wednesday capped salaries of newly hired campus presidents at $325,000 after an outcry over a $400,000 pay package approved for a new president last year when tuition shot up 12 percent. The new policy will establish a salary ceiling of $325,000 or raise the salary by no more than 10 percent of the pay received by the outgoing president...

Full story at http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/25/4214329/csu-trustees-consider-capping.html

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/25/4214329/csu-trustees-consider-capping.html#storylink=cpy

New Payroll System Coming: Maybe You Should Save Some Cash Just in Case

2012-01-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

The Daily Bruin today carries an article about a new systemwide payroll system that is supposed to be installed in stages through 2013. However, an initial phase is starting soon at UCLA:

Although details for the program are still being sorted out, the UCPath Project will essentially create a more simplified process for paying university employees than in the past.Proposed changes to the current system include standardized pay cycles among all 10 campuses. For example, all academic employees and postdoctoral scholars within the UC will be paid bimonthly. Temporary employees and health systems staff will be paid biweekly. Right now, UCLA departments follow different timetables for awarding payrolls, said Allison Baird-James, associate vice chancellor and controller.The first phase of the project will be implemented at UCLA and several other campuses in 2013 and will slowly integrate into the rest of the UC system over a period of three years. In addition, UCLA employees will see a streamlined biweekly payroll schedule in the coming months.

Full story at http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/01/ucwide_payroll_system_to_be_implemented

Yours truly has some indications from those in the pit who are dealing with the transition that maybe all the hiccups have not been worked out. Those living paycheck to paycheck might want to put a little cash aside just in case pay is delayed.

Meeting on UCLA Japanese Garden Announced

2012-01-25T09:25:00.000-08:00

The photo on the left shows UCLA students in the Japanese Garden in 1965.

It has been reported to yours truly that there will be a meeting about the proposed sale of the garden next week, possibly including UCLA officials. Below in italics is the announcement I received:

Tuesday, January 31

5-7 p.m.

Auditorium

Community Magnet School

11301 Bellagio Road

Los Angeles, CA 90049

Garden lovers, neighbors, and the interested public are invited to a meeting in Bel-Air on Tuesday evening, January 31, to discuss the future of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden. UCLA has announced plans to sell the garden, and challenged the community to help identify a buyer who will maintain it and keep it open to the public. The Garden Conservancy, a national garden preservation group, has joined the Los Angeles Conservancy, California Preservation Foundation, the California Garden and Landscape History Society, and concerned individuals to gather public interest and support to save the garden.

Kendall Brown, noted authority on Japanese gardens in America, will discuss the history and significance of the garden at this gathering. We have invited UCLA officials to join us and share their perspective. We welcome your ideas and help in saving this garden treasure.

Please RSVP to Paulette DuBey at the Bel-Air Association Telephone 310.474.3527

As noted in prior blogs on this matter, the UCLA Faculty Association has no position on this issue. However, it seems to have bubbled up from below in the administration without full consideration. Exactly who would buy the garden, particularly in view of the controversy, is unclear. And a longstanding issue is the very limited public access that has characterized the garden. Neighborhood and conservancy groups will need to consider the access issue as well as the proposed sale and removal of objects from the garden.

Obama on Higher Ed Tuition and State Support

2012-01-25T07:56:00.000-08:00

In the State of the Union address last night, President Obama called on states to enhance their higher ed budgets and universities to hold down tuition. Whether the California state legislature is going to heed that request is another matter, of course. The President talked about less federal aid if tuition goes up, although in what form that would come about was not clear.

Video clip below.

"When kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college. At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July. Extend the tuition tax credit we started that saves middle-class families thousands of dollars. And give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work-study jobs in the next five years.

Of course, it’s not enough for us to increase student aid. We can’t just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition; we’ll run out of money. States also need to do their part, by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets. And colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down. Recently, I spoke with a group of college presidents who’ve done just that. Some schools re-design courses to help students finish more quickly. Some use better technology. The point is, it’s possible. So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury – it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford."

UPDATE: Inside Higher Ed has a report on reactions to the statement at:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/01/26/obama-plan-tie-tuition-prices-aid-eligibility-draws-criticism

PPIC Poll on Taxes

2012-01-25T06:48:00.000-08:00

Above is the latest PPIC poll dealing with taxes and Gov. Brown's proposed initiative to raise them temporarily. Keep in mind that polls tend to be full of contradictory attitudes. And this is January but the actual initiative won't be on the ballot until November. There will be lots of events between now and then.

The full poll is at http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/survey/S_112MBS.pdf.

Note: If you click on the image above, you will see a clearer picture.

UCLA History: Vermont Graduation

2012-01-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

Photo shows a UCLA graduation ceremony in 1927 at the former Vermont Avenue campus.

On the Japanese Garden: Let's Hear It from the Top

2012-01-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

OK. It appears – after the embarrassing LA Timesarticle yesterday on the Japanese Garden proposed sale by UCLA – that the shiphas run aground.* We have angry heirs ofa donor, a major Regent of his time. Wemay discourage future donors because of this episode. We have a statement that it was not theintent to destroy the garden, but – in contrast to that statement - the removalof objects from it in an amateur way. Andit is unclear that folks at the Fowler Museum want those objects. There are angry neighborhood groups andconcerned preservation groups. Therecould be litigation which would discourage any sale. We also had a resource in the Japanese Gardenwhich – unlike, say, the Fowler Museum – was difficult for the public toaccess. Any solution will need toaddress that issue as well as the sale/removal.

UCLA has long had a management problem with independentunderlings operating with a “call-me-if-you-have-a-problem” relationship to thetop. Since no underling wants to makethat call, the result is that problems don’t surface until the situation becomesworse than it has to be. Would you wantto call your boss and say you just created a problem?

Some folks will remember the body parts scandal of yorewhich resulted from that management style.** And - more recently - there was(is) the hotel/conference center – still yet to be resolved. Reforming the management structure is alarger challenge that UCLA needs to address. But in the interim, on this particular issue involving the JapaneseGarden, we need to hear from the chancellor. He may not be able to right the ship at thispoint. But at least he can help with therescue.

- - - - - - - - - - -

*See yesterday’s poston this blog concerning the garden (which has links to the still-earlier postsand the LA Times article).

**One LA Timesheadline on that situation read, “Businessman found guilty in UCLA's willedbody-parts program scandal: The body broker collected $1.5 million by sellingcadaver parts to private medical research companies. A juror also faults theuniversity for 'allowing something like this.'”

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/15/local/me-willedbody15

Deal to End UC-Berkeley Library Hours Dispute

2012-01-22T09:48:00.000-08:00

From the Contra Costa Times:

Protesters occupying the UC Berkeley's anthropology libraryon campus claimed victory Saturday night when university administrators signedan agreement meeting the protesters' demands for a fully restored libraryschedule. …Under the agreement, thelibrary will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 1 to 6 p.m. onweekends, the same hours that were kept in the Fall 2011 semester. As part ofthe agreement, administrators also will hire a full-time librarian…

Full story at http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_19793290

Music and poetry at:

LA Times Picks Up Japanese Garden Story: Not the Best PR for UCLA

2012-01-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

Excerpts from the LA Times articlebelow and link to the full article:

For nearly half a century, theUCLA Hannah Carter Japanese Garden in Bel-Air has served as a serene stopoverfor visitors from locations as varied as Newhall, Nashville and the Netherlands. But the decision by UCLA to sell the steephillside property and an adjoining house to raise money for endowments andprofessorships has the garden world in an un-Zen-like uproar. The Garden Conservancy, an organization basedin New York and San Francisco, has lambasted the university's transfer to theFowler Museum of a five-tiered stone pagoda and other garden objects and hasurged the public to contact UCLA Chancellor Gene Block…

The garden wasdonated by Edward W. Carter, a retailing magnate and former chairman of the UCBoard of Regents, and his second wife, Hannah Locke Carter, under a 1964agreement that the university would maintain it in perpetuity. In 1982, theparties agreed that proceeds from the sale of the house would be used to fundcertain endowments and professorships…

…The UC Regentsasked the Superior Court of Alameda County, where the university system isbased, to allow the properties' sale and to lift the "in perpetuity"requirement. The regents argued that "changed circumstances" madecontinued ownership and maintenance "impracticable." The court agreed. That is a sore point for Jim Caldwell ofWoodside, Calif., one of five children of Hannah Carter.

"There was nocommunication with any of Hannah Carter's children," he said.

…(B)id packages (will) beavailable in early February and that bidding would begin in May. …ColdwellBanker Previews International in Beverly Hills has the listing…

Full story at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ucla-japanese-garden-20120122,0,6654788.story

Editorial note: Apartfrom the merits of the garden itself, the fact that the heirs of a past major figure on theBoard of Regents feel that a past donation is not being treated properly couldgive pause to other prospective donors to UCLA. In addition, unless it is clear that UCLA can find buyers who willpreserve the garden in a manner the heirs will accept, it is unclear who wouldbuy it. Given the controversy, any buyerplanning to use the facility for some other purpose would likely facelitigation costs and delays. So maybesomeone in authority needs to take a deep breath and announce a time out. Like the hotel/conference center project, we seem to have a case here where underlings just roll along with a plan that seemed like a good idea to someone - until the idea surfaces and trouble erupts.

It might be noted that on a recent broadcast, Chancellor Block pointed to an emphasis on philanthropy for the UCLA funding model:
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/chancellor-block-on-kpcc-airtalk.html

For those who haven’t followed this issue, here are links toprior blog posts:

http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/removals-of-objects-began-today-from.html

http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/info-on-plans-for-japanese-garden.html

http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/ucla-japanese-garden-web-address-has.html

http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/impending-sale-of-uclas-japanese-garden.html

http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/afterlife-of-website-for-ucla-japanese.html

http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/eye-witness-report-concerning-removals.html

Meanwhile, the LA Times editorial board thinks the sale should go ahead given the university budget situation but that some preservationists should buy the garden:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-0122-garden-20120122,0,116027.story

Bit of a Departure from UC Regents History

2012-01-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, the Regents were a relatively placid group, even when there was controversy. The photo on the left shows themin 1950 dealing with the loyalty oath issue. But nowadays, we learn that “theUniversity of California Board of Regents will rally on the steps of the stateCapitol in May alongside students, faculty, staff, alumni and other UCsupporters, chair Sherry Lansing announced Wednesday (Jan. 18). In remarks opening the regents' two-daymeeting at UC Riverside, Lansing said the regents will meet in Sacramento May16 and 17. She said the rally at the state Capitol is intended to spotlight theadverse effects that cuts in state funding have had on the university and tobuild public support for re-investment in higher education…”

Full media release at: http://today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/regents-to-join-all-uc-rally-at-222800.aspx

[Thanks to Bette Billet for spotting this release.]

Plenty of Nothing

2012-01-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

Here is a quote from the governor’s recent budget proposal: "The University of California (UC) willreceive an increase of $90 million General Fund for base operating costs, whichcan be used to address costs related to retirement program contributions."

Question: What does it mean? Answer: Nothing. UC has always been free to take its generalrevenue and put it into the pension fund. Indeed, since the state has so far refused to resume paying the employercontribution for state-funded employees into the pension fund, that is what UChas been doing.

Question: If it means nothing, why are you discussingit? Answer: It appears that some folksup in Oakland view this statement as a kind of recognition of a stateliability for the UC pension. As we havedocumented repeatedly, before the two-decade pension contribution “holiday,” the stateroutinely paid its contribution, even putting in IOUs when it was short ofcash. When the state paid in, whether in cash or in IOUs, that action allowed UC to collect from non-state sources, currently roughly $2 fromnon-state for every $1 of state.

Earlier in the state budget crisis, then-GovernorSchwarzenegger put a token $20 million in his budget proposal for the UCpension. But the legislature – acting onadvice of the Legislative Analyst – deleted the $20 million and insertedbudgetary language that there was no state liability. That perverse language was later removed, butsince then there has been zero progress in getting state recognition of itsliability. Note that CSU, which is partof CalPERS, does not have this burden since the state does not dispute itsliability to the giant CalPERS system.

If UC depicts the governor’s non-statement as amounting tomore than nothing, we will continue to get just that: nothing. As we have noted before, if the state wantsto privatize UC, not taking responsibility for the pension liability is a goodway to do it. The Regents can’t createmoney. They cannot raise taxes. They can only keep raising tuition.

So let’s not pretend nothing is something. This song sums it up nicely:

The quote from the budget is at http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/StateAgencyBudgets/6013/6440/department.html

A history of UC pension funding by Faculty Association Executive Director Susan Gallick is at http://www.uclafaculty.org/FASite/Home_files/UCRPCAPolicyOpt2012%20.pdf

No Students to be Charged in Pepper Spray Incident

2012-01-20T16:25:00.000-08:00

The Yolo County District Attorney's office announced today that it will not file charges against any of the 10 protesters arrested during a Nov. 18 pepper-spraying incident on the University of California, Davis, campus. The standoff between campus police and occupy protesters on the campus quad resulted in 10 arrests and a number of demonstrators being pepper-sprayed. Those arrested were cited by campus police with unlawful assembly, illegal camping or both, said Michael Cabral, assistant chief deputy district attorney... (T)he Yolo DA office's investigation into the use of pepper spray is ongoing...

Full story at http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/20/4203208/no-charges-will-be-filed-against.html

USC covers UC Regents Protest at UCR

2012-01-20T07:59:00.000-08:00

USC news service seems to have the most complete story onyesterday’s protest at the Regents meeting

See: http://www.neontommy.com/news/2012/01/students-shut-down-uc-regents-finance-meeting

The LA Times also has a story http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uc-regents-rally-20120120,0,4723240.story

Meanwhile, at UC-Berkeley: UC Berkeley faculty stand between protesters, police crackdown:
http://www.mercurynews.com/occupy/ci_19779401

Update: The Riverside Press-Enterprise carried a detailed report on the Regents meeting: http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20120119-riverside-protesters-and-arrests-at-uc-regents-meeting.ece

Let me go, says UC-San Francisco

2012-01-20T07:16:00.000-08:00

From today's San Francisco Chronicle:

Unlike the other nine campuses of the University of California, UCSF enrolls no undergraduates, offers no history classes and gets so much money from government grants that it barely depends on the tuition its students pay to attend the medical school on a windy San Francisco hill.

...At Thursday's meeting at UC Riverside, UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann told the regents, delicately, that she wants out.

Under her proposal, UCSF's medical school, hospital, clinics and research facilities would remain a public university connected to UC, the chancellor assured the regents. But the tendrils connecting the two entities should be thinner than they are today...

We have some audio of the chancellor's presentation from the meeting:

Full story at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/20/MNF11MR2KE.DTL

Eye Witness Report Concerning Removals of Objects from the Japanese Garden

2012-01-19T19:59:00.000-08:00

Ina previous blog entry, we published photos by astronomer R. Michael Richshowing the removal of art objects from the UCLA Japanese garden which isproposed for sale. I invited Dr. Rich towrite up his version of what occurred when he visited the Garden area where theremovals are taking place. It might benoted that the UCLA Faculty Association has taken no position on this action byUCLA. But blog readers will have aninterest in recent events. Below is Dr.Rich’s report:

=================

R. Michael Rich

I am writingconcerning my encounter with Brad Erickson and reporters from the Los AngelesTimes at the Japanese garden, at noon on 18 January 2012. Ericksonwas initially upset at me for having photographed the improper removal of astone fountain on 17 January. However, we were able to have aconstructive conversation following the initial exchange, and that conversationwas illuminating. It raises some questions about the recollections ofevents, and therefore I share it with you. Erickson permitted me to tourthe gardens without cameras or cell phone (I had wanted to record the wonderfulsound of the water), but forbade LA Times photographers from photographing me(but they may have photographed me without my being aware). I wasimpressed that Erickson was polite and sensitive; I was given time to bidfarewell to the gardens - these are my recollections.

Erickson insistedthat both the Academic Senate and the Bel Air Association Board were informedof UCLA's intent to sell the gardens in April of 2011, by then EVCMorabito. I have heard that many Senate members were unaware of an suchcommunication. He insisted that the sale would go through and that itwould not be stopped. Erickson then indicated that the Lohan stone(Buddha in 16 positions) would not be removed. Evidently, my photographsof the removal of the stone fountain may have had an impact.

It is interesting that on17 January 2011, the workers who were removing the fountain told me that theydid concrete work for UCLA (they had just removed the pagoda) and thataccording to them, the Fowler museum did not want to remove the objects. The Fowler's position on this matter should be explored as it appears to meimproper interference with the museum, by administrators. The sameworkers informed me that on Wednesday 18 January, the Lohan Buddha stone, acenterpiece of the garden, would be craned out.   Erickson told methat the removed objects were not important to the garden, but it had just beenrealized that the Lohan stone might be damaged in removal, and was important.He compared the removal of objects to "saving a lock of hair" andstated that UCLA had to sell the gardens out of extreme financial need. Isuggested that photographs might be a better memorial. What if I had notbeen there on Tuesday to take photographs and protest? The Lohan stonemight be damaged and the garden's remaining integrity compromised evenmore.

I pointed out toErickson that the State gives UCLA a block grant to maintain grounds, but heindicated that they needed a highly paid gardener to maintain the site,especially since there were many rare and endangered plants that requirespecial treatment for disease, from time to time, and that one had to carefullydo this, as treating one plant potentially harms another.   One ofthe objects removed was a Chinese hand carved Buddha from the 18th C, taken fromthe hokora near the crest of the hill. Erickson showed me that a gardenerhad carved a wonderful wooden Buddha that was gold leafed and left where theother had been removed. In front of the Buddha were candles. It wasstriking how much power the gardens have on those who work there, as well asthe highly educated scholars. This also raises potential religiousaspects to this site that I had not previously considered.

I began to becomesympathetic to Erickson's comparison with retaining a lock of hair, and hisassurance that facsimiles of lesser value would replace the objectsremoved. But then I remembered the brochure/catalog written by the laterenowned Prof. Koichi Kawana. I realize that as an astronomer not acurator, I cannot evaluate the importance of objects. But Prof. Kawanahad the qualifications to do so.

Indeed, the removedobjects are obviously important enough to warrant specific entries in hisbrochure:

"7. Thestupa, a five-tiered pagoda, stands above white stones representing Buddha'sbones. There are five elements-sky, wind, fire, water, and earth, andfive cardinal virtues-humanity, justice, politeness, wisdom, andfidelity. Above the stupa stands a deciduous spring-flowering Chinesemagnolia."   Need I state that these cardinal virtues would be agreat model for all of us in the campus community. Witness, for example,the insensitive youtube posting by a UCLA undergraduate shortly after thetragic 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The stone basinremoved by truck on 17 January is called out as part of site 16: "Thestone water basins, or tsukubai, are for ritual washing before entering. A dry streambed of white stones runs beneath the house. At its sourcebehind the house is a symbolic arrangement of 16 carefully chosen large stonesin an area especially conducive to intense meditation" (the fountainwas at the center of this composition).

We next turn to thewooden Buddha:

"10. Like the main gate, the hokura or family shrine is made of Cryptomeria wood andthe roof is Cryptomeria bark (my note: the roof is perfectly restored by UCLAgroundskeepers). The materials are deliberately left unpainted to mellowwith age. The antique hand-carved Buddha inside the shrine is decoratedwith gold leaf. The two stone lions are carved in China during the 18th C."

Prof. Kawanaidentified these objects as special and integral to the garden, and thereforebased on scholarship and curatorial objects, these objects should be conservedand replaced.

In closing, pleasenote that our family has strong connections to the art world. We aredonors and lenders to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and my sister inlaw is an Associate Curator of contemporary art at the Metropolitan Museum ofArt in New York.   Having been involved in installations of art andsculpture, I was truly horrified at the improper handling of objects that Iwitnessed on 17 January 2012, as I have told our children that art objects arefor all humankind; we are brief curators of every object in our hands, but theybelong to the generations.

In my opinion, theJapanese garden should be handled along the lines of deaccessioning animportant object from the Fowler or Hammer collections. An appropriatescholarly committee should consider how to do this - not an administrator withno education in art history or conservation. Erickson stated that"when Hannah Carter donated the garden to UCLA, she could never foreseehow valuable the property would become.”   This can be fairly statedabout many of UCLA's priceless collections, from its artwork in museums, to itslibraries, and to departmental collections. Do we auction all of theseobjects off? The argument for grave financial need does not ring true. The proceeds are to be used to endow professorships in the business and medicalschools, which are very well off and are not in danger of closing their doorsdue to lack of funding.

The administrationinsists that the gardens will be sold, likely into private hands. Thiswould be regrettable. First, I am deeply concerned that only anorganization can commit to curating this very complicated assemblage of livingplants and ancient objects. Witness Erickson's statement that a highlypaid, experienced senior gardener is required to maintain the site. Second, it is clear that an afternoon spent here teaches one more about theculture of Japan than the reading of numerous volumes. As I said in anearlier missive, the decision to write off Japan is a grave error, and I amhappy to write a lengthy essay on why this is so. This garden speaks to amillennium of high culture and refinement that is at the core of Japanesesensibilities and its loss to UCLA collections is potentially devastating.

In the aftermath ofdevastating floods of 1969, the garden was restored thanks to many significantgifts beyond Carter's bequest. How do we deal with those individuals, whobelieved they were saving a garden in perpetuity?

If UCLA wished tokeep the gardens, the institution could raise an endowment that could meet theroughly $150,000/yr in operations cost. If the $500,000 endowment weresupplemented with an additional $2,000,000, the gardens would be selfsustaining. Admission fees and gift shop sales (very lucrative) couldoffset some costs. If UCLA cannot keep the gardens, perhaps aninstitution like the Getty or the Huntington can be found, but this willrequire approaches by the proper individuals and a faculty committee tooversee.

I deeply hope thatUCLA will rise to the challenging retaining and curating its art treasures, butif it cannot do so, I hope that the gardens will be carefully conveyed to anorganization capable of curating them. I fear that a private individualmay have commitment today but that their heirs may not. These gardensdeserve to be curated for the generations, just as all great Japanese gardensare.

Update: Latetoday I spoke with Emily Young of the LA Times who indicated she had been in touch with one ofthe Carter heirs who was upset with UCLA's decision; he was evidently told itwas a "fait accompli." (See below for a link to her piece on the Garden and the removals.)

Soundfamiliar? Perhaps this train can be stopped as well.

=================

Thephotos originally taken by Dr. Rich are at: http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/removals-of-objects-began-today-from.html

The LA Times piece is at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2012/01/ucla-japanese-garden-sale.html Excerpt:

...“We’re extremely disappointed that UCLA didn’t come and tell us there was a problem and ask how we can deal with it,” said Jim Caldwell, one of Hannah Carter’s five children, who lives in Woodside in the Bay Area. “My mother really loved that garden, and my stepfather was extremely generous with UCLA. I’m hoping the university will step up to its original commitment and keep the garden open in perpetuity.”

UCLA has signed a listing agreement with real estate broker Coldwell Banker Previews International in Beverly Hills, Erickson said. The garden and adjoining home are expected to be listed for sale during the first week of February, with sealed bids to be accepted through May 1.

The Garden Conservancy and the California Garden and Landscape History Society have written a letter to Block expressing concerns about the sale. The Bel-Air Assn., a homeowners group, and the Los Angeles Conservancy also have called for alternatives.

“We want to have a conversation to determine whether there’s a potential win-win situation here,” said Adrian Scott Fine, director of advocacy at the Los Angeles Conservancy. “There are a lot of creative things that might be possible to bring in the revenue necessary to run the garden.” ...

Not Worth a Mention?

2012-01-19T08:54:00.000-08:00

Gov. Brown delivered his “State of the State” speechyesterday. Click below for thespeech. Lots of topics arediscussed. Higher ed, however, is notone of them. An earlier post noted thatUC is like a flea on the back of an elephant when it comes to state budgetingand such. That message was reinforcedyesterday. But perhaps our absence willmake the governor’s heart grow fonder. Valentine’s Day is coming up after all. Thegovernor did mention his public pension plan in the speech – which would sweepUC into a larger state change. Withregard to that plan, however, we would rather be absent.

Part 1 of the Speech:

Part 2:

Update: With regard to pensions (mentioned in part 2 of the speech), presidential politics are beginning to creep into the issue http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/vulture-capitalists-dominate-california-pension-reform-funders-links-bain-revealed

Hotel Rumors

2012-01-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

Rumors are floating around about a change in the possible bond funding arrangements for the proposed campus hotel/conference center. Possibly, alternative bonds - presumably not tax-favored muni bonds - would be used, thus allowing commercial use of the hotel. That step would put the hotel in direct competition with Westside commercial hotels, of course, raising the level of opposition from them. Since the hotel would still be subsidized - free land, no property tax, donor gift - such competition would be controversial. Would local hotel taxes be paid? Parking for a full service operation? Traffic flowing into campus for a full service operation?

Commercial operation and a change in the financing model would be a departure from the vague description released last fall. Would there be other such departures? A commercial operator (Hilton, Sheraton, etc.) as was once envisioned for the original hotel proposal that would have been where the faculty center now stands? Contract employees rather than UCLA employees?

Rumors are just that at this point - rumors - but they could be spiked with the release of the business plan which is still not available. As readers of this blog will know, the Faculty Association has filed a public documents request for the plan, so far without success.

Is it true?

Cough, Cough

2012-01-18T09:39:00.000-08:00

LA Times editors think that if Santa Claus can smoke, folksat UC should be able to smoke, too.

There's nothing to say in defense of cigarettes. Smoking isa detestable, dangerous habit — but it's also a legal one, and there is plentyto say in defense of allowing adults to make bad decisions if they're notbreaking the law or harming others. The University of California should havetaken that into account before UC President Mark G. Yudof announced that all 10campuses would become smoke- and tobacco-free within two years. As long assmokers aren't filling others' lungs with second-hand smoke, the universityshouldn't outlaw them…

Full editorial at http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-smoke-20120118,0,880814.story

Sing along with the LAT!

UC History: Connerly

2012-01-18T07:29:00.000-08:00

Former UC Regent Ward Connerly who led the move to abolishaffirmative action at UC in 1995 is back in the news, albeit not in a positiveway.

http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/01/18/allegations-against-prominent-foe-affirmative-action (There is a link within that link to a NYTimes article with more detail.) A related news item appeared in the Sacramento Bee this morning:

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/18/4195636/connerly-financial-misdeeds-alleged.html

The news clip below describes the Regents’action but focuses on then-Governor Pete Wilson. (Connerly is briefly shown.) The Regents’ resolution was made redundant bythe later Prop 209 and the resolution was subsequently repealed. However, since UC is covered by Prop 209, therepeal was symbolic.

As a prior blog post noted, this week's Regents meeting is likely to be less controversial.

News video from 1995:

Removals of Objects from Japanese Garden Began Today

2012-01-17T16:15:00.000-08:00

UCLA Research Astronomer R. Michael Rich took these two photos of an object being removed from the Japanese Garden today. He reports that non-expert personnel are involved in the removals. He identifies the object as follows:

Japanese Square Stone Water Basin, a Buddhist carving dating from the 15th or 16th Century, Object #19 in the catalog you can find an earlier post on the Garden issue. See the catalog at http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/info-on-plans-for-japanese-garden.html

UPDATE: The Daily Bruin picked up the story http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/01/ucla_moving_toward_sale_of_hannah_carter_japanese_garden_in_bel_air

UC-Riverside Students Propose Tuition Alternative Based on Future Pay

2012-01-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

From the Riverside Press-Enterprise,1/16/12. As the excerpt below notes, theidea described has been around for awhile in various forms. There would need to be a legally-bindingmechanism for verification of income and payback including for grads who left California. And there could be variations in the formula used. It will be interesting to see what UCOP andthe Regents have to say:

It tooknine months of late-night meetings, data crunching, calculations andconsultations by a small group of UC Riverside students to hammer out what theysay is an antidote to state cutbacks for higher education and tuition that hasnearly quadrupled in 10 years. They callthemselves FixUC. Their manifesto is the UC Student Investment Proposal, whichcalls for eliminating the upfront costs of college and having working graduatespay 5 percent of their salary back to the system for 20 years…

Theproposal has caught the attention of UC honchos, primarily because it wasconceived by students, UC spokesman Steve Montiel said. Two UC vice presidentsare scheduled to meet with the group before the regents meeting…

A similaridea was raised in 2009 by UC Berkeley economist Robert Reich, a laborsecretary in the Clinton administration who was appointed to a UC commission toaddress state funding cuts…

Full article at http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20120117-riverside-ucr-students-plan-gets-attention.ece

UPDATE: The story of the plan was picked up by the San Francisco Chronicle at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/18/BAF11MR30P.DTL
and by the LA Times http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uc-regents-20120119,0,7115732.story

UCLA History: Home Economics

2012-01-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

Home economics course at UCLA's Vermont Avenue campus in 1923.

LA Times Discloses ID of Tenured UC Tenured Faculty Member Regents May Fire

2012-01-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

Perhaps firing a tenured faculty member is not quite asexplosive as the atomic test the Regents in the photo on the left are showngetting ready to attend (1956). Nonetheless, such firings are unusual. One suspects that there are other such cases that lead to resignationsettlements that are not widely reported.

From the LA Times today:

The University ofCalifornia Board of Regents is scheduled this week to discuss a highly unusualproposal to fire a veteran tenured professor and deny him the perks of emeritusretirement. The case involves a UCRiverside international finance professor who has been in lengthy courtdisputes over UC allegations that he improperly received outside income duringsabbaticals. Because of confidentialityrules covering personnel actions, the regents' agenda item mentions only anunnamed UC Riverside professor; it does not give a reason for the possiblediscipline. University officials refuse to release those details, saying thatwould violate privacy rules. However, Sarkis Joseph Khoury and one of hisattorneys confirm that he is the professor in question and contend that theregents' discussion is the result of his long-term disagreements over hissabbaticals; his Republican political views and Lebanese heritage; and hisadvocacy for hiring minority professors, among other matters…

In roughly the lasttwo decades, regents have dismissed half a dozen tenured faculty members forvarious reasons, UC system spokesman Steve Montiel said…

Full story by reporter Larry Gordon is at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uc-prof-20120116,0,5155277.story

An earlier post on this blog reproduced the Regents’upcoming agenda. The specific item aboveis at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jan12/edpolx.pdf

And now a word from our sponsor...

2012-01-16T08:11:00.000-08:00

If you are a reader of this blog and a UCLA faculty member, consider joining our sponsoring organization, the Faculty Association at UCLA. An application with further information is at http://www.uclafaculty.org/FASite/Join.html.

UCLA History: Martin Luther King

2012-01-16T07:39:00.000-08:00

Martin Luther King, Jr. on campus with UCLA Chancellor Murphy, April 27, 1965

A Different Meaning of Occupy at UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital

2012-01-15T08:20:00.000-08:00

An earlier blog posting noted that the construction fencinghad come down around the UCLA Santa Monica hospital’s new wing. According to the Santa Monica Mirror,there was an actual move-in of patients a week ago - the wing was officially occupied:

There was a hive ofactivity at the new UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica on Sunday as itofficially opened its doors. As part of the opening, about 125 adult andpediatric patients were carefully transported into new hospital buildings onthe Santa Monica campus, as well as the existing Merle Norman Pavilion…

Full article at http://www.smmirror.com/#mode=single&view=33878

The Mirror basically picked up the press release fromUCLA http://today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/move-in-day-goes-smoothly-at-santa-221576.aspx(which yours truly missed as he was out of town last Sunday).

Info on Plans for Japanese Garden Objects

2012-01-15T07:16:00.000-08:00

UCLA provided a listing with pictures of various objects –with valuations – located at the Japanese Garden to the California Garden &Landscape History Society. The firstpage of the listing is shown above. Apparently, the original plan was to removeand perhaps sell all the objects. Now itappears that three objects will be removed and put in the Fowler Museumcollection on campus. Numbers 11, 21,and 22 on the listing (see link below) are definitely to go to Fowler. Numbers 2 and 19 will, for the moment, remainin the garden and might later be removed (maybe to Fowler? – unclear). Certain bonsai plants are apparently going tobe given to heirs of former Regent Carter who donated the garden. Other objects listed will remain in thegarden when it is sold.

There is some reference to photographic or other “documentation”of the garden that would be (may already have been?) undertaken, possiblyarranged by the California Garden & Landscape History Society, before thegarden is sold.

The vagueness in this blog entry is due to incompleteinformation. It is also unclear who thebuyer of the garden might be, what preservation conditions – if any - mightattach to the sale, what the Carter family’s input has been, legalitiessurrounding the original donation of the garden, how much revenue the salemight bring, how the particular uses of the sale proceeds were determined, etc.

Below is the listing with pictures from UCLA. It will appear sideways on your screen. But you can download the file from the linksource.

Open publication - Free publishing - More ucla

Afterlife of the Website for the UCLA Japanese Garden

2012-01-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

Update from our prior post: Things on the Internet don't completely die. Above is an image of the first page of the now-removed UCLA website for the Japanese Garden. Below is a link where you can see other parts of the website:

Open publication - Free publishing - More ucla

UCLA Japanese Garden Web Address Has Disappeared

2012-01-14T07:54:00.000-08:00

==============================

As our prior blog post noted, plans are afoot to sell UCLA's Japanese Garden. When you Google "Japanese Garden UCLA," one of the first page entries is www.japanesegarden.ucla.edu. However, when you try to go to that address, the error message above appears. Since someone at UCLA has shut down the site, the sense that the sale of the garden is imminent is reinforced.

If you go to the UCLA faculty handbook at http://www.apo.ucla.edu/facultyhandbook/5.htm the garden website is still listed:

UCLA HANNAH CARTER JAPANESE GARDEN

The two-acre UCLA Hannah Carter Japanese Garden, located one mile from campus in Bel Air, is an authentic Kyoto-style garden and considered to be one of the most notable Japanese gardens in the United States. Major features in the garden include the main gate, garden house, family shrine, and a pond with colorful koi. The garden averages over 4,500 visitors annually and is featured in numerous garden books, magazines and garden shows. Reservations are required for parking. Call (310) 825-4574 or visit us at http://www.japanesegarden.ucla.edu.

The phone number listed just rings. No voicemail message responds with any information. Most UCLA numbers, if no actual person is available to answer, have voicemail responses.

Various Academic Senate officials and committee chairs have been requested to look into this sale. I am told that the Committee on Planning and Budget will be taking up the garden issue.

UPDATE: An alternative phone number (310) 794-0320 is given on some UCLA websites. You get a voicemail message with that one but no information and directions indicating you should not leave a message.

UPDATE: Letter to Chancellor from California Garden and Landscape History Society:

Open publication - Free publishing - More ucla

Response from UCLA to Letter from California Garden and Landscape History Society:

Open publication - Free publishing - More ucla

Tuition Shares

2012-01-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

The Legislative Analyst's Office released the chart above on tuition shares of the state and the student. Economists will be quick to note that the figures refer to average costs, not marginal. Nevertheless, the chart tells a story.

The full presentation (which notes that many lower income students pay no fees) is at http://www.lao.ca.gov/sections/higher_ed/FAQs/Higher_Education_Issue_05.pdf

Note: Clicking on the link above may provide a sharper picture.

UCLA History: Fair

2012-01-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

A Westwood Street fair near UCLA in 1980.

Upcoming Regents Meeting Jan. 18-19

2012-01-13T07:57:00.000-08:00

The Regents will be meeting in Riverside on January 18-19. Their agenda is posted and looks rather tame. No tuition discussion. Some discussion of the state budget. Seismic upgrades. Proposal to move some MOP loan loss reserves - said to be in excess of needs - to the general budget.

Wednesday, January 18
8:30 am	Committee of the Whole (public comment)
9:30 am*	Committee on Educational Policy (open session)
10:00 am*	Committee on Finance (open session)
10:45 am*	Committee on Health Services (open session)
11:15am*	Committee on Oversight of the DOE Laboratories (open session)
11:30 am*	Committee on Governance (open session)
11:45 am	Lunch
12:45pm*	Committee on Compensation (closed session)
1:00 pm*	Committee on Oversight of the DOE Laboratories (Regents only session)
1:15pm*	Committee on Governance (Regents only session)
1:20 pm*	Committee on Finance (Regents only session)
2:00 pm*	Committee on Educational Policy (Regents only session)
3:00 pm*	Board (Regents only session)
3:15 pm*	Committee on Grounds and Buildings (open session)

Thursday, January 19
8:30 am	Committee of the Whole (public comment)
8:50 am*	Committee on Finance (open session)
11:00am*	Committee on Educational Policy (open session)
1:00 pm*	Board (open session)

*or upon adjournment of previous session

The agenda notice is at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jan12.html

Photo above shows the Regents visiting the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in 1967. As usual, we will eventually provide the audio of the meeting after it is received. And as usual, we again raise the issue of why, since the audio is live streamed and recorded, the Regents website doesn't post the recordings.

UPDATE: The meeting might be more exciting than the tame agenda suggests: http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20120112-region-protests-planned-for-uc-regents-meeting-in-riverside.ece

Chancellor Block on KPCC Airtalk

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

Noshockers emerged from the KPCC Airtalk panel on higher ed yesterday that includedChancellor Block. There was a fairamount of discussion of online courses and related items. Chancellor Block spoke about the need tochange the “funding model” given the state cutbacks. However, he used philanthropy, not tuition,as the example of the change. Description and link below:

What is the future of highereducation in America? Is the four-year degree model with students living on ornear a campus, is the idea of creating a well-read, well-rounded cohort ofcritical thinkers perhaps outdated? Can the nation's colleges and universitiesprepare students for the competitive challenges of a global economy?

A distinguished panel of universityheads that represent the diversity of California’s higher educationinstitutions joins Larry Mantle to discuss. The event was sponsored byCommunity Advocates Inc. It was made possible by generous grants from the RighteousPersons Foundation and the California Wellness Foundation.

Guests:

Chancellor Gene Block becamechancellor of UCLA in August 2007.

President C. Max Nikias has beenpresident of USC since 2010.

Chancellor Jack Scott ischancellor of the California Community Colleges.

President Laura Skandera Trombley is in hertenth year as president of Pitzer College.

Thebroadcast can be heard at http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2012/01/12/22092/education-forum/

Impending Sale of UCLA's Japanese Garden

2012-01-13T06:21:00.000-08:00

Bette Billet passed along the item below:

A place of natural beauty and quiet retreat in the Los Angeles community of Bel Air for more than fifty years, the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden was designed by noted Japanese landscape architect Nagao Sakurai* in 1959. The beautiful hillside garden, one of the finest examples of Japanese gardens in America, evokes the gardens of Kyoto and was donated to the University of California in 1982. Its survival is now under imminent threat.

Although the University accepted this gift of this garden, including an endowment to help support its maintenance, the garden is now closed to the public. The situation has become urgent: before the end of January 2012, the University plans to sell the garden and the adjoining house after first removing valuable objects that are integral to the design of the garden...

Full article at http://www.gardenconservancy.org/about/news/156:hannahcarterthreatened

The official announcement was made back in November http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/campus-to-sell-japanese-garden-218545.aspx

UPDATE: One source indicates the sale is to take place by the end of January http://belaironline.blogspot.com/2012/01/help-save-ucla-hannah-carter-japanese.html

No smoking at UC by 2014

2012-01-12T09:42:00.000-08:00

The University ofCalifornia will ban smoking and chewing tobacco on all 10 campuses within twoyears, President Mark Yudof told campus chancellors this week. Nearly 600 other campuses nationwide havebanned smoking, and many California universities either limit smokers toisolated parts of campus or keep them from lighting up at all.

…The university likely would have banned smoking earlier, butsmokers vehemently argued against it, said Trish Ratto, a health educator andmanager of UC Berkeley's Health Matters Wellness Program. The university will implement the ban instages to help smokers quit gradually rather go cold turkey. By 2014, however, nobody -- students,professors, custodians or conference attendees -- will be allowed to smoke orchew tobacco on campus…

Full article at http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_19723520

UC Like a Flea on an Elephant in Latest LAO Budget Report

2012-01-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

Maybe the biggest lesson to take away from the LegislativeAnalyst’s Office latest report on the state budget – responding to the governor’sbudget proposal – is that UC is a flea on the back of an elephant. We are hardly mentioned, other than a referenceto possible trigger cuts next year if Governor Brown’s tax initiative isn’tpassed by voters.

Much of the report focuses on the world of Prop 98, i.e.,K-14 schools, not surprisingly since that is such a large chunk of the budget.

The LAO is concerned about possible over-optimism in Brown’sbudget projections. Just a few days ago,however, the Brown projections were criticized by a highly-regarded privateforecaster as too pessimistic. Thedivergence underscores the point made in an earlier post on this blog on the budget:forecasting cannot be precise.

Editorial comment: The uncertainty over budget forecastsshould give pause to various do-good groups who think our budgetary problemswould be solved by going to a two-year budget. Note that in the current one-year regime, we have considerableuncertainty forecasting 18 months ahead (since the budget year begins July 1,2012 and ends June 30, 2013). Theproposed two-year regime would require a forecast 30 months ahead,substantially raising the level of uncertainty.

Editorial prediction: It should give them pause, but it won’t.

The LAO report is at http://lao.ca.gov/reports/2012/bud/budget_overview/budget-overview-011112.pdf

Comments on the Brown budget proposal by forecaster Chris Thornberg are at http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/01/economist-says-jerry-browns-budget-underestimates-revenue.html

Discovery of a New Roman Numeral at UCLA

2012-01-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

Atop 300 Medical Plaza, UCLA seems to have discovered a new Roman numeral for 4: IIII.

Update: Laura G. Mitchell pointed out that the IV may be in use inside the medical building.

And then there is:

Don’t Panic About News Stories on State Cash Flows

2012-01-10T17:32:00.000-08:00

You may see some headlines about revenues falling short ofexpectations for the first six months of the fiscal year, based on the statecontroller’s latest statement. The legislature assumed phantom money in June so it could pass a budget moreor less on time. Now, however, all of the major taxes are performing within a marginof error relative to estimates made in connection with the latest budget proposal. Forecasting is not an exact science, even when done without phantoms. Spendingis also running about as now forecast.

The real problem the state faces is that revenues are short oflast year’s total due to the expiration of the temporary tax increases. The drop for the first half of the year isover $4 billion relative to the same time period this year. But, of course, the taxexpirations were known when the estimates were made. So that drop is not a surprise - but it is a problem.

The actual report of the state controller is at http://sco.ca.gov/Files-ARD/CASH/fy1112_dec.pdf

There are other things to be scared of:

Yours Truly and Others Comment on Student-Regents Communications

2012-01-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

The Regents are a less-staid group than they were in the 1950s when the photo on the left was taken. (They are discussing the loyalty oath controversy of that era in the picture.) Thanks to the UC-Davis pepper spray incident, Regent Chair Lansing has been seeking alternative avenues of communication with students.
In any event, the Daily Bruin asked yours truly and two others to write little op eds on such communications.

You can read about it at http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/01/_on_the_record_

New Plan Could Affect Transfers to UCLA

2012-01-10T08:38:00.000-08:00

You may have seen anarticle in the LA Times about apossible change in direction at California community colleges. UCLA says about 40% of its graduates(undergrads) are transfer students. Notall of these transfers come from California community colleges, however. But poking around on the web suggests that around90% of them are from the state's community college system.

The original Master Planviewed community colleges as colleges of last resort. Anyone with a high school degree could enroll. (Indeed, some enrollees may not havehigh school degrees.) If an enrollee goton an academic track (some courses offered are vocational/2-year terminal orrecreational), he/she could transfer to a CSU or UC campus. The reality is that many students don’t getthat far. Some community colleges seem to be more effective than others at producing transfers.

What the Times articlerefers to is a report – cover shown at right above - that proposes that communitycolleges in effect prioritize and focus on students who are making tangible progresstoward transfer. The Times story is at:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-community-colleges-20120110,0,5859282.story

The actual report whichwill go to the legislature is at:

http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/StudentSuccessTaskForce/SSTF_FinalReport_Web_010312.pdf

Data on 2011 transfers to UCLA are at:

http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof11.htm

(Note that there is a difference between applicants, accepted applicants,and actual enrollees in the UCLA report.)

A more detailed analysis of the issue than appeared in the LA Times is at:

http://toped.svefoundation.org/2012/01/10/sweeping-changes-okd-for-community-colleges/

New Conflict of Interest Rules Adopted by the American Economic Assn.

2012-01-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

The American Economic Association - at its annual meeting in Chicago this past weekend - adopted conflict of interest disclosure guidelines for the various journals it publishes.

Debate on this issue developed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and complaints that views expressed by economists might be influenced, or perceived to be influenced, by sources of support.

The guidelines require authors to disclose financial support, not only for the research presented in the article, but also more generally over the prior three years.

Inside Higher Ed has a brief story with links at http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/01/09/economists-adopt-conflict-interest-guidelines

Crane Dropped the Ball and Now Sees Himself as Galileo

2012-01-09T07:21:00.000-08:00

Our favorite ex-Regent, David Crane, is now comparing himself to Galileo for his unhelpful stand on the Regents regarding pensions. Readers of this blog will know that Crane was appointed in the fleeting minutes of former Governor Schwarzenegger's term to the Regents. But he was never confirmed by the state senate and his term thus ended in late 2011.

While on the Board, Crane - who evidently wanted to make government pensions generally his issue - was not helpful in differentiating the steps the Regents had taken in modifying UCRP from other state pensions such as CalPERS. UC is in danger of being swept into some statewide ballot proposition on pensions that would override the Regents' actions.

Generally, the non-political members of the Board of Regents focus on UC's needs as their function. Occasionally, one has some grander goal in mind and sees the Board as a platform. Crane fell into that category. So he starts a recent op ed on pensions in the Sacramento Bee with, "In the 17th century the Catholic Church attacked Galileo for advocating Copernicus' view of the universe. Three centuries later, Pope John Paul II apologized for that persecution..."

You can read the full op ed at http://m.sacbee.com/sacramento/db_99544/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=m5FU7nEy

UCLA History: More Color

2012-01-08T05:39:00.000-08:00

Another color photo of Westwood in the 1940s. The top picture shows Westwood Blvd. approaching Wilshire Blvd. back then. Below that is the current view from Google maps.