Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Flock
From the Daily Californian: Resistance to UC Berkeley’s employment of controversial surveillance technology company Flock Security is intensifying as campus faces growing criticism and a lawsuit over records related to its data-sharing practices. The UC Board of Regents is facing a lawsuit over UC Berkeley’s alleged failure to disclose certain public records relating to UCPD’s automated license plate reader system. At the same time, student organizers have begun calling for campus to DeFlock, or end its contract with Flock. The petition was filed Friday, Aug. 28 in the Superior Court of Alameda County by Daniel Negrete, director of The Ellis Collective, a student-led research group under the Students’ Civil Liberties Union...
Campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof said UC Berkeley had received the suit. He said in an email that campus does not generally comment on litigation but that “the records have been released.” ... Mogulof told The Daily Californian in May that UC Berkeley does not permit sharing of ALPR data for immigration enforcement purposes and that it does not share data with federal agencies. According to Mogulof, campus’s Flock system has been used in more than 100 investigations to generate leads, identify suspects and make arrests. He also noted that Flock cameras have been “instrumental” in closing several “significant” felony investigations.
According to Negrete, a separate lawsuit he filed over UC Riverside’s alleged failure to furnish similar public records remains ongoing...
Straws in the Wind - Part 459
From Inside Higher Ed: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has ended a study abroad program with Fudan University in China “out of an abundance of caution” after the Department of Defense ordered the university to review relationships with foreign institutions that it says could be a threat to national security. In a letter... to Joseph S. Sewell, the DOD assistant secretary for science and technology, UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts said the institution reviewed the scope of its relationship with Fudan after the Shanghai-based institution was added to the department’s Section 1286 list of “foreign institutions engaging in problematic activities” at the end of July.
“The identified relationship was a study-abroad program for undergraduate students and was unrelated to research activities, including sensitive research, Department of War-funded research or export-controlled research,” Roberts wrote. “Out of an abundance of caution, UNC decided on August 12, 2026 to cancel the study-abroad program with Fudan University.” ...
Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/08/31/unc-ends-study-abroad-program-china.
New Interim Provost
University of California President James B. Milliken today announced the appointment of Ralph J. Hexter as systemwide interim provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, effective September 1, 2026. Hexter will serve in the role until the University’s next permanent provost is appointed.
“Ralph is an accomplished scholar and experienced academic leader who understands the University of California and shares our commitment to its public mission,” Milliken said. “His sound judgment, collaborative approach, and breadth of experience as a faculty member, dean, provost, chancellor and college president will serve UC exceptionally well. I am grateful that he has agreed to return to help lead the University’s academic mission during this important period.”
As interim provost, Hexter will work closely with campus leaders, the Academic Senate, Regents, UCOP leaders, and other partners to advance the University’s academic mission...
Full news release at https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/ralph-j-hexter-appointed-interim-provost-university-california.
Presumably, the new provost will play some role at the upcoming September Regents meetings.
More information at https://complit.ucdavis.edu/people/ralph-hexter.
Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 198
From the Harvard Crimson: Harvard faculty in the humanities and social sciences expressed broad concern over an email Harvard College Dean David J. Deming sent students... suggesting that artificial intelligence be integrated into “writing-intensive” courses. Deming identified “AI use policies” as a priority for the academic year in the... message, saying he hoped to roll out College-wide advisory guidelines on AI by the end of the year and proposing “AI acceptance or even encouragement” in writing- and project- heavy classes. He added that the approach would help affiliates avoid “the AI-detection business because it damages trust between faculty and students.” ...
In interviews and written statements, most faculty in writing-intensive fields agreed that they wanted to avoid policing student AI use but remained divided on Deming’s broader proposal for “AI acceptance, or even encouragement.” Faculty in the humanities and social sciences have generally shied from incorporating AI into their courses...
Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/9/3/humanities-ai-pushback-deming/.
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
No Additional News
Internet search and AI indicate no further developments in the case of the two missing Davis faculty members about which we posted on Sept. 5th.
ICE Barrier
Note that the item below, while referring to UC-Berkeley, presumably would apply to all UC campuses.
From the Daily Californian: Campus international undergraduate students can no longer receive academic credit for most internships completed in study abroad programs, including the University of California Washington Center program, or UCDC. This comes as a response to two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement guidance memos sent to campus in August. The federal guidance memos stated that international students can only use internship experience to receive academic credit if it is integral to the completion of their degree, and is “directly related to the student’s major area of study.” If campus does not ensure this requirement is followed, it may lose its ability to enroll international students.
As a result, campus indefinitely paused the processing of applications for Course Credit Curricular Practical Training, or CPT, a program that allows international students to receive credits toward their degree when pursuing internships and work experience. “We will need more time to consult with legal counsel, and to develop new processes that align with ICE requirements,” said Berkeley International Office Director Ivor Emmanuel.
Under Department of Homeland Security standards, international students living in the United States through an F-1 visa are required to enroll in a full-time course load to keep their visa status, unless exempted by special circumstances. According to Emmanuel, international students who had planned to use current internships for academic credit still have to meet this requirement and “will have to identify alternate courses.” ...
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