The LA Times recently reported a litigation settlement restoring about $19 million in research grants to UCLA, UC-Berkeley, and UC-San Francisco by EPA:
The Environmental Protection Agency agreed to permanently restore about $19 million in University of California research grants, including studies into wildfire-smoke health effects and water management, that it canceled... The settlement would resolve one part of a broader lawsuit, brought by a legal team that includes UC law school professors and additional attorneys, challenging roughly $2 billion in funding cuts across seven federal agencies...
From the NY Times: One of 19 professors laid off by the New School in June as part of a reorganization to address its financial difficulties is suing the university, arguing that his tenure and accomplishments should have protected him. Filed on Thursday in Manhattan State Supreme Court, the lawsuit makes the case that what is at stake extends beyond the New School, a small, unconventional university founded in 1919 as a progressive alternative to traditional institutions. If a university can fire any tenured professor simply because it says it is reorganizing, the suit argues, who does tenure really protect? “The New School has once again placed itself at the cutting edge of a new age in higher education: the dismantling of tenure,” the suit says.
The professor behind the lawsuit, Paul Kottman, has been tenured at the downtown Manhattan university since 2010. He is a professor of comparative literature, teaching courses on philosophy and Shakespeare, among other subjects, and chairs the university’s master’s program in liberal studies. He received six months’ notice in June... A New School spokesman, Will Wilbur, said... that the layoffs had been done “transparently and in partnership with academic departments, and in accordance with New School rules and regulations.” He declined to comment on the specifics of the litigation...
From The Dartmouth we learn the provost wanted to get his writing done quickly:
In an email to campus..., College President Sian Leah Beilock wrote that she is initiating a “rigorous, objective review” of College Provost Santiago Schnell’s use of artificial intelligence in his “academic publications and public writing.” Her announcement follows reporting by The Dartmouth... which showed that several of Schnell’s recent publications, including op-eds and academic articles, were flagged as “AI-written” by AI detector Pangram.
In an opinion article in The Dartmouth on Friday titled “What I’ve Learned About AI and Academic Integrity,” Schnell wrote that, “in retrospect, I now realize I should always explicitly disclose use of AI in my public writing and be attentive to the expectations of AI use set by publications.” “I am sorry that this was not my standard practice and, moving forward, it will be,” Schnell wrote...
An investigation by The Dartmouth of academic articles and opinion pieces published by Provost Santiago Schnell in 2026 found a median “AI-written” text percentage of 96% using artificial intelligence detector Pangram...
Semi-apology (hopefully self written) in The Dartmouth by Provost Schnell:
I know that some in the community are concerned after reading recent news stories about my use of artificial intelligence, including the article that appeared this week in The Dartmouth. I understand that my use of AI in writing is raising important questions about the standards of scholarly and professional work...
From the LA Times: California high school students are increasingly taking the SAT, as more universities are again requiring standardized tests for admission and as the University of California is debating whether to reinstate its test requirement amid concerns over academic preparedness. In all, 138,763 California class of 2026 students took the SAT, up 12.6% from the prior year — and the largest gain in three years — according to data released Tuesday from the College Board, the nonprofit organization that develops and proctors the SAT.
Though the UC and California State University systems do not use the SAT or other standardized tests in admissions decisions, an increasing number of universities have reinstated testing requirements after many suspended them during the height of the pandemic, including the University of Texas, all Ivy League schools, Stanford and Caltech...
Campus cooling measures will be in place through at least Oct. 9 as the region prepares for prolonged extreme heat.
This BruinADVISORY is being issued on behalf of UCLA Facilities Management.
Dear Bruin Community:
To protect critical campus facilities during times of high heat and humidity, UCLA has established a three-stage cooling response plan for non-critical spaces.
In anticipation of a major, prolonged heat wave, UCLA will implement Stage 1 of the cooling curtailment plan beginning Saturday, Oct. 3 at 6 a.m., through at least Friday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m.
The National Weather Service is forecasting significant heat across the Los Angeles region beginning Friday and expects to issue Extreme Heat Warnings for parts of Los Angeles County beginning Saturday.
Implementing Stage 1 proactively will help UCLA manage campus cooling demand and preserve chilled water capacity for critical facilities and operations as temperatures rise.
What to Expect During Stage 1
Under Stage 1, fan systems in impacted buildings serving non-critical areas will be reset from their existing temperature settings to 74°F. All exterior windows and doors in impacted areas must be closed immediately and remain closed to help maintain cooling efficiency.
Students, staff and faculty in these spaces should be prepared for the adjusted indoor conditions, use fans if available and dress lightly and appropriately for warmer temperatures.
Critical facility areas — including hospital and patient care settings, research spaces, vivariums, general assignment classrooms and data centers — will continue to receive priority cooling.
UCLA Facilities Management will closely monitor weather conditions and campus cooling capacity throughout the heat event. Stage 1 is expected to remain in effect through at least Friday, Oct. 9. The university will provide additional updates through Bruin Advisory if conditions require a change in the cooling response stage or when curtailment measures have ended.
Preventing Heat Illness
With cooling reduced in some spaces, indoor temperatures may be warmer than normal. UCLA Environment, Health & Safety maintains guidance on recognizing and responding to heat illness, including symptoms, first-response steps and the temperatures that trigger employer requirements.
Keep cool water within reach and take rest breaks in a cooled area as needed.
Know the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, including heavy sweating, dizziness, nausea, headache, or hot, dry skin. Heat stroke is a medical emergency; call 911.
From the Columbia Daily Spectator: In early September, we—the chairs of Literature Humanities and Contemporary Civilization—announced to our fellow instructors a new policy restricting the use of digital technology in the two Core Curriculum courses we oversee, respectively... As instructors, we have witnessed firsthand the gradual deterioration of collective intellectual exchange in classrooms hastened by the widespread presence of networked technologies. A number of Core instructors had already adopted similar policies before our announcement. In short, a broad consensus on the deleterious effects of screens is beginning to emerge.
We decided it was time for Columbia to establish a precedent for itself and for higher education: to adopt a consistent and general policy for the use of technology in Core classrooms and to take back student attention being lost to screens. What does this mean? No more temptation to skim social media feeds, shop, doomscroll, work on problem sets for other classes, and everything else devices are used for in class other than taking notes. No more reading pirated copies and bad translations of Plato and Kant downloaded from the dark corners of the web. No more staring and tapping furtively at one’s lap as the instructor competes with virtually the entire world for students’ attention.
Now all in-class texts must be in print. Notes must be written by hand. What this decision means most of all is that students must bepresent in the moment—in mind, in body, and for each other...
After all the controversy about A-G admissions requirements and reliance on high school grades versus SATs, this item about UC-Berkeley seems to have passed under the radar. From the Daily Cal:
The [UC-Berkeley] College of Letters and Science has changed how students can fulfill foreign language requirements. For those admitted fall 2026 and beyond, L&S students now must complete two semesters of a college-level foreign language course, or meet an equivalent competency through various exam scores. Accepted exam scores that fulfill the requirement include specific AP, IB or SAT subject tests and scores. For students admitted before fall 2026, three years of high school foreign language instruction still satisfies the requirement. The requirement is also fulfilled “by completing at least three years of secondary school in which the primary language of instruction was a language other than English, starting from grade 6 or above as verified by transcripts,” said campus spokesperson Sarah Fullerton.
The change reflects the shift to California General Education Transfer Curriculum, created by Assembly Bill 928, which standardized transfer requirements needed to enroll in a UC or a CSU, according to UC Office of the President spokesperson Omar Rodriguez... The L&S Executive Committee also determined that high school language instruction is not consistent or standardized, so students could come in with the same amount of language instruction time, but varying degrees of ability...
