Not our Halloween Posting

We previous posted a Halloween item. Below is not one:

http://dailybruin.com/2019/10/29/donald-trump-jr-to-visit-ucla-to-discuss-upcoming-book-at-student-group-event/

Our Halloween Posting

Above is a scene from "The Caterpillar" which you can see below. Summary:

A man takes steps to get rid of a woman's husband when he becomes attracted to her. Laurence Harvey and Joanna Pettet guest star.

Low quality:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqml1m

Better quality but with ads:
https://www.nbc.com/night-gallery/video/the-caterpillar/3972469

(There is a medical error at the base of this story, but ignore it if you spot it. Poetic license.)

ACT up or down at UC? SAT up or down at UC?

A Threat Over Standardized Testing: Civil rights groups say they will sue University of California if it continues to use SAT and ACT.

By Scott Jaschik, October 30, 2019, Inside Higher Ed

A coalition of civil rights groups on Tuesday sent a letter to the University of California threatening to sue the university system if it continues to require either the SAT or the ACT for admissions. (The university uses both exams.)

"Research demonstrates that the SAT and ACT systematically prevent talented and qualified students with less accumulated advantage -- including students with less wealth, students with disabilities, and underrepresented minority students -- from accessing higher education at the University of California," the letter said. The letter goes on to says that the tests produce "meaningless results."

"The SAT and ACT fail to deliver on their chief purpose: the prediction of student performance in college," the letter says. "Put simply, the scores do not provide any meaningful information about a student’s likelihood of college success. The College Board, for instance, defends the use of the SAT primarily by asserting that SAT scores are a strong predictor of first-year grades. That is already a dubious metric: no person attends college in order to get first-year grades, and no university should seek to design its student body around that measure."

The letter continues, "The fact that SAT and ACT scores measure socioeconomic status and race -- rather than ability or mastery of curriculum -- results in part from biases built into the development of the exams themselves."

And it notes that test prep exacerbates inequalities in the system by favoring wealthy students.

“Today’s legal action finally changes the conversation from a policy one to a legal one,” said Mark Rosenbaum, directing attorney at Public Counsel, a nonprofit law firm. “Use of the SAT/ACT is not merely bad policy; it violates the California Constitution and antidiscrimination statutes, and is therefore legally and morally impermissible."

The letter notes that California law bars racial discrimination and says that will be the basis of a lawsuit if the Board of Regents doesn't stop requiring the SAT or ACT.

Most actions against the SAT or ACT to date have simply been to convince colleges to stop requiring them. Litigation, if successful, would raise the stakes.

The University of California Academic Senate is currently studying whether it should continue to require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores.

A University of California spokeswoman noted that review in saying that there would be no comment on the letter.

"The Senate has since established a task force to determine whether SAT and ACT tests are useful measures of academic performance for the admissions process," said Claire Doan, executive director of strategic communications and media relations.

"The university is currently waiting for the assessment and recommendations from the Academic Senate’s Task Force before determining whether any steps should be taken on this important issue. We expect the task force to provide its recommendations to the Academic Senate in academic year 2019-20," she added.

ACT released a statement that said in part, "The ACT test is not discriminatory nor biased. We work diligently to make sure the test questions are not biased against any group of students … Group differences in test scores mirror differences found in most other measures of educational attainment and success (e.g., college grades, graduation). And research has repeatedly shown that ACT scores are predictive of and related to important educational outcomes including college grades, retention, and graduation. ACT test results reflect inequities in access and quality of education, shining a light on where they exist. Blaming standardized tests for differences in educational quality and opportunities that exist will not improve educational outcomes."

The College Board said, “The notion that the SAT is discriminatory is false. Any objective measure of student achievement will shine a light on inequalities in our education system. Our focus, with our members and partners, is combating these longstanding inequalities. More than 140 school districts and county offices of education across California, including some of the largest and most diverse districts in the state, support using the redesigned SAT as part of their efforts to improve college readiness and break down barriers to college -- connecting their students to the College Board’s free personalized practice tools and unlimited college application fee waivers. We will continue to work with the University of California as it addresses the challenging task of admitting students from among thousands of qualified applicants and supporting their success when they arrive on campus. Regrettably, this letter contains a number of false assertions and is counterproductive to the fact-based, data-driven discussion that students, parents and educators deserve.”

Source: https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/10/30/civil-rights-groups-threaten-u-california-lawsuit-unless-it-drops-sat

UC Prez Profiled on Immigration Case

From CNBC: Janet Napolitano used to set records for the number of people she deported from the United States in a single year, angering immigrant-rights groups.

In her new role, the former Homeland Security secretary under President Barack Obama has those groups on her side.

Next month, Napolitano will head to war against President Donald Trump in a blockbuster fight at the Supreme Court that will impact the lives of millions of immigrants and their family members.

The court fight is over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields about 700,000 young people who were brought to the country unlawfully from deportation and allows them to receive work permits...

Full story at https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/27/how-obamas-border-enforcer-is-fighting-trump-at-the-supreme-court.html

NCAA Defied - Part 3

In a prior post, we noted that the governor signed a bill allowing student athletes to profit from the use of their names/likenesses.* The bill defied NCAA policy. But now that policy appears to be changing:

NCAA Board of Governors opens door to athletes benefiting from name, image and likeness

Steve Berkowitz, USA TODAY, 10-29-19

The NCAA's top policy-making group on Tuesday voted "unanimously to permit students participating in athletics the opportunity to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness in a manner consistent with the collegiate model," the association said in a news release.

The release followed a Board of Governors meeting at which the group received a report from a special committee that had been appointed in May to examine the name, image and likeness issue.

The statement about the board action did not provide specifics, but said changes to NCAA rules in each of the three divisions could occur immediately, as long as they occur within principles and guidelines that include: 

►Assuring student-athletes are treated similarly to non-athlete students unless a compelling reason exists to differentiate.

►Maintaining the priorities of education and the collegiate experience to provide opportunities for student-athlete success. 

►Ensuring rules are transparent, focused and enforceable and facilitate fair and balanced competition.

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2019/10/29/ncaa-board-opens-door-athletes-use-name-image-and-likeness/2492383001/
===
*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2019/10/ncaa-defied-part-2.html

Open

Apart from the UCLA alert, news reports last night indicated that the 405 is open again. The only person unhappy about the alert above is Grammar Girl after seeing "...that may impact students, faculty...":

https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/impact-verb

No Classes at UCLA Today Although Campus is Open

From the latest UCLA email:

UCLA is cancelling classes today. While the fire remains west of the 405 and poses no immediate threat to campus, we know members of our campus community live in evacuation areas or may be impacted by road closures. 

Employees should report to work if they can get to work safely.

And, on a lighter note, if you have kids who have no school today, here is a radio show by that very name from the 1950s:
https://archive.org/details/NoSchoolTodaycompletePrograms

Fire Zone

From UCLA:

UCLA operating normally, monitoring fire in Sepulveda Pass

October 28, 2019

The Los Angeles Fire Department is working on an active and growing brush fire on the west side of the 405 Freeway, north of Sunset Blvd. UCLA Emergency Management is working with LAFD and there is no immediate threat to campus from the fire.

The fire is burning away from campus, and UCLA is outside the evacuation area. 

Commuting to the campus from the north could be challenging. UCLA officials will continue monitoring the situation and will provide updates as we learn more.

Source: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-operating-normally-monitoring-fire-in-sepulveda-pass

Fire news: https://www.lafd.org/news/getty-fire

Note: There have been conflicting reports as to whether the southbound 405 through the Sepulveda Pass is closed.

UPDATE: According to local radio reports as of 8:30 am, the southbound 405 through the Sepulveda Pass IS closed. Drivers are discouraged from using the northbound lanes, although they are not closed. UCLA's general campus is open including the health center. K-12 facilities, however, are closed.

Quiet News Day for UC

When things are relatively quiet on the UC/UCLA news front, we bring you recent pictures of the new Anderson building (still under construction):

Telescope Impasse Continues

If you're wondering what is happening with regard to the Hawaiian telescope in which UC has an interest, the answer is "not much."

The union for deputy sheriffs stationed at Mauna Kea as the TMT protest drags on have filed a grievance claiming the law enforcement officers are being underpaid. The grievance is the second in as many weeks. About 50 deputy sheriffs have been assigned multi-day, extended shifts ― with fewer days off in between. The union says the Department of Public Safety has been computing the overtime incorrectly ― and not paying them what they are due...

Full story at:

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/10/26/union-deputy-sheriffs-stationed-mauna-kea-file-grievance-over-pay/

Opposition to the Thirty Meter Telescope may be at the forefront of Mauna Kea protests, but some native Hawaiian practitioners are questioning the cumulative effects of development on the mountain.  Is the construction of 13 telescopes on the summit an appropriate use of conservation lands? The state Land Use Commission takes up that issue beginning today at its hearing in Hilo. Hawaiian cultural practitioners Kuʻulei Higashi Kanahele and her husband ʻAhiʻena Kanahele are challenging what they say are “industrial” uses on Mauna Kea’s conservation lands for astronomy-related development...

Opponents of the petition argue these issues were thoroughly vetted by the Board of Land and Natural Resources through its conservation district use permit process and later by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court in the TMT case. The court affirmed last year that the state had properly issued a construction permit for the project, clearing the way for building of the $1.4 billion telescope.

Building of TMT has been blocked for the past three and a half months by protesters who believe Mauna Kea is sacred... 

Full story at https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/post/why-mauna-kea-s-conservation-land-classification-under-scrutiny#stream/0

Timely Pay

From the Bruin: ...The new bill, Senate Bill 698, requires the UC to pay employees no later than 5 days after the end of the month, or else face fines or other legal fees. Last year’s error-plagued rollout of the UC’s payroll system, University of California Payroll, Academic Personnel, Timekeeping and Human Resources, or UCPath, caused paychecks to arrive late, smaller than expected or not at all, according to the bill. Many UC employees who lived paycheck to paycheck faced financial difficulties and were unable to pay rent or health insurance.

Student employees affected by issues with UCPath staged protests last December to voice their frustrations to UCLA after payment errors left them without pay for months.

The protesters felt their complaints went unheard and unresolved, though the UC assured them at a town hall that those affected were in the slim minority of employees, and it was also taking proactive steps to curb payroll problems in the future.

California law recognizes late paychecks as a form of wage theft, said the bill’s author, California state Sen. Connie Leyva, in a press release...

Full story at http://dailybruin.com/2019/10/25/uc-no-longer-exempt-from-wage-theft-code-bringing-further-accountability-to-process/

Deuteronomy 24:15

At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.

The Next Democratic Debate Will Be At UCLA

From the LA Times:

...PBS NewsHour and Politico will co-host the Dec. 19 debate at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. The moderators and format have not been announced.

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-10-25/democratic-party-makes-it-harder-for-candidates-to-qualify-for-december-presidential-debate

Note: There is no room "at" the Luskin School building comparable in size to the auditoriums used in the debates so far. Presumably, the location will be at some larger venue on campus.

Extraction (of 2020 health cost info)

Open enrollment is approaching on October 31. As we have noted, to make choices and decisions, you need cost/premium information for the various plans being offered in 2020. The plan costs for active employees was posted online a couple of days ago. (Why the delay? Surely the rates were negotiated some time back.)

The links - I have to say - are not easy to find. Getting the info was like pulling teeth. So, to spare you the time, I have extracted the info below:

If you are an active employee, you can find cost/premium info at:
https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/health-plans/medical/employee-plan-costs-2020.html

And if you are retired, the link is at:
https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/health-plans/medical/retiree-plan-costs-2020.html 

For many emeriti and retirees, however, the rates at that link will not apply. The info on the link says that the info those folks will need will be on UCRAYS but not until October 31. (Again, surely the info is available somewhere in the depths of the UC administration now.) Of course, as our previous posting indicated, UCRAYS may or may not function.

All that needs to be said about the new website for retirees

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Particularly, an enlarged picture:

(Yet it worked yesterday - although there was nothing of use available on it.)

Athletic Scandal Touches UCLA - Part 2

Our earlier post on the athletics/admissions scandal noted a UCLA coach's involvement.* Below is an update from the Bruin:

Jorge Salcedo was indicted on additional charges Oct. 22 in relation to the college admissions scandal. The former UCLA men’s soccer coach was previously charged for racketeering in May after allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for several students’ admissions into the university.

The attorney’s office announced Oct. 22 that Salcedo, along with two other athletics officials, had been further charged with conspiring to commit federal programs bribery. All seven indicted officials were also charged with conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, and also with conspiring to commit honest services mail and wire fraud. Six, including Salcedo, were charged with substantive wire and honest services wire fraud...

Full story at http://dailybruin.com/2019/10/23/jorge-salcedo-charged-with-fraud-and-bribery-in-ongoing-admissions-scandal/
===
*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2019/03/athletic-scandal-touches-ucla.html

Sounds a bit ominous - Part 2

We posted yesterday about the somewhat-mysterious closing of parking structure #18 in the medical center area due to "structural" concerns.* The official announcement said those parking in that structure would be redirected to other structures.

Yesterday, yours truly had occasion to visit the parking structure that services the medical plaza (doctors' offices, etc.) It was jammed way beyond normal. Whether parkers from #18 are being directed there or are just going there is unclear. But if you have a medical appointment at UCLA, allow extra time for parking or use alternative transportation.
===
*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2019/10/sounds-bit-ominous.html

Taxing Times at Harvard

New federal taxes will cost Harvard $50 million 

By Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe, October 24, 2019

Harvard University is preparing to write a check to the federal government for an estimated $50 million in new taxes, including one for the first time levied on its massive endowment. The anticipated cost of the new taxes, approved by President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress in late 2017, was included in Harvard’s annual financial report, released Thursday. Even for Harvard, with its $41 billion endowment, the tax payout represents a sizeable sum. The university estimates that the tax burden accounts for about 1 percent of its operating revenue.

“Viewed in the context of maintaining affordability, less money is now available for the university to maintain financial aid, which totaled $193 million for undergraduates this past year,” Thomas Hollister, Harvard’s vice president of finance co-wrote in a statement included as part of the annual report.

Harvard is still awaiting final details from the Internal Revenue Service about how the taxes will be calculated, but the first payments are scheduled to go out by the end of November. The expense must be reported in the year it occurred, which in this case is for the fiscal year that ended on June 30.

Harvard’s federal tax bill includes $37.7 million due to the endowment tax; the remaining $12.1 million comes from other new taxes on universities that were part of the 2017 tax reform package. Harvard and other endowment-heavy institutions continue to lobby Congress to reverse the endownment tax, which they argue is unfair for nonprofits to pay and will ultimately reduce how much they can spend on students.

The federal government expects this new 1.4 percent tax on university investment income will affect fewer than 40 institutions; it applies only to schools that enroll more than 500 students and have endowments worth at least $500,000 per student. The schools expected to take a hit include many of the country’s wealthiest, including Yale University and Amherst College...

Harvard officials said for the first time this year they have asked the individual colleges and departments to start planning for a possible recession. Similar to stress tests, the US Federal Reserve has required banks to ensure they can withstand a severe economic downturn. Harvard has asked its budget managers to consider how they would navigate a financial disruption.

“The prospect of a long-running period of economic expansion coming to an end is very real,” Harvard President Lawrence Bacow wrote in the financial report, highlighting other concerns including the endowment tax and uncertainty about federal research funding. “While our financial resources remain strong, we, along with all of our colleagues in higher education, must be conscious of the challenges in our current climate.”

Full story at https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/10/24/new-federal-taxes-will-cost-harvard-million/jLtxaBrcnIT9SAGQzLWpEP/story.html

Sounds a bit ominous

Email received yesterday:

Dear faculty and staff:

Please be advised that Parking Structure 18 located on Le Conte Avenue, between the Doris Stein Eye Research Center and Geffen Hall, was closed today as a precautionary measure due to recent findings of a structural engineering evaluation.

Permit holders affected by the closure are being notified and will continue to be provided with alternative parking locations for the duration of the project. Health Sciences leadership (Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Public Health) have been engaged to ensure we have solutions for patients, visitors, and vendors who use this structure and updates will be provided in these areas.

If you have any questions, please call UCLA Transportation at (310) 794-7433.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Beck
Administrative Vice Chancellor

Carl Newth
Building Official

Dana Johnson
Fire Marshal

One-off problem or symptom?

The item below is reproduced with permission of the individual involved:

[Click to enlarge]

A UC retiree sent yours truly a sequence of messages involving health coverage of a dependent. I have reproduced one item above (with names removed). I am told the problem was eventually resolved after much back-and-forth with the assistance of someone from UCLA's HR office. 

From time to time, the "RASC" (UC Retirement Administration Service Center) has issued glowing customer satisfaction surveys. The issue may be a variant of the problem that arises with self-driving cars: Ninety percent of the time, routine issues are resolved. But when it comes to the unusual or irregular, you get a car wreck. Thus, most customers are satisfied, except for the small minority who are wrecked. Wrecks, however, have much more important consequences than routine issues.

UCLA has a fire risk indicator

Geospatial @ UCLA developed the following interactive map showing all buildings in California, as classified by the CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone to which each building belongs. You can find this map and your location at:
https://gis.ucla.edu/blog/fire-hazard-every-building-in-california-interactive-map

Confusion

Apart from the confusion above, where are the premium costs for the various UC plan options? Open enrollment is almost here.

Another 100th Birthday

We recently took note of some 100th birthdays. Here is another:

Trailblazing astronomer Margaret Burbidge turns 100 years old

By Cynthia Dillon , UC-San Diego, Thursday, October 17, 2019

Space. The proverbial final frontier. “These are the voyages” of new centenarian and renowned astronomer Margaret Burbidge. Her mission to understand the stuff stars are made of has taken her boldly where no woman has gone before …

The first female to serve as the director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. The first female member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. The first female president of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). The first woman to receive the Bruce Medal. The first director of the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences (CASS) at UC San Diego, where she helped develop some of the Hubble Space Telescope’s original instruments.

Burbidge’s remarkable trek of firsts began in an era when women were all but eclipsed in science. It continues as this professor emeritus of physics at UC San Diego has reached the age of 100.

"Margaret Burbidge is a giant in the field of astronomy and physics,” said George Fuller, distinguished professor of physics and director of CASS at UC San Diego. “She is one of the giants of the transformation of astronomy in the 20th century into a major branch of physics."

According to Fuller, in the middle of the last century, Burbidge was a pioneer in stellar spectroscopy—the study of the spectra of starlight. Her research offered science its first understanding of the elemental makeup of stars. In the 21st century, the influence of this bright light in science remains vast. 

Meg Urry, director of the Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Yale University shared her observations about Burbidge.

"Margaret was like a star in the firmament, shining the light on all of us, making one impactful discovery after another. She seemed always open to discovering new things and thinking about them in new ways.”

Richard Rothschild, research scientist in the High Energy Astrophysics Group at CASS, said one of Burbidge’s main contributions—other than being one of the first great woman observational astronomers—“was going after distant galaxies and other galaxies trying to understand what was going on there."

Stardust, it’s elemental

Dubbed by some as “Lady Stardust” for famously teaching people they are made of it, Burbidge’s work advanced the understanding of nucleosynthesis—the process by which elements are created within stars by combining the protons and neutrons from the nuclei of lighter elements.

According to UC San Diego Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Mark Thiemens, the 1950s was an era in which scientists, including UC San Diego chemistry faculty Harold Urey, Hans Suess, and Maria Goeppert Mayer, were working to better understand the elements.

“Maria Mayer played a big role in figuring out the stability of the elements,” explained Thiemens. “Harold Urey and Hans Suess worked on elements in geochemistry and wrote a paper called ‘The Abundance of the Elements’ in 1956. It showed that the elements came from stars.”

Thiemens said that the process of how that occurred, however, remained unknown. Then in 1957, Burbidge, along with her husband, the late theoretical astrophysicist Geoffrey Burbidge, and late physicists Willy Fowler and Fred Hoyle, published a paper titled, “The Synthesis of the Elements in Stars,” which was published in Reviews of Modern Physics.

“It was the first, and still is, the most important paper that’s ever been written on that subject,” noted Thiemens, “giving you the cookbook of how you make the elements and why.”

Fuller explained that the theory of Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler and Hoyle—known as B2FH (each of their initials)—set the stage for understanding the origins of the elements. It also brokered the deep relationship between observational astronomy and nuclear physics. Finally, according to Fuller, it connected the physics lab and the observations that could establish the location of various elements in the universe.

A prominent scientist among her generation of mostly male colleagues, Burbidge is also renowned for her findings on quasars.  

“Her work on quasars helped establish their distance, luminosity and internal physical processes,” said Urry. “I remember her excitement over some of the first quasar spectra taken with the Hubble Space Telescope—they were very unusual spectra, with strong absorption by dust, really strange looking compared to what we had seen before. She found that exhilarating.”

Roots in science

Burbidge’s passion for cosmic scholarship is rooted in family. She grew up in England, where her father was a teaching chemist; her mother a student when they met. Reportedly, during a family trip when the young Eleanor Margaret Peachey saw the nighttime sky during a ferry crossing, she was “star-struck.” By the age of 12, Burbidge (née Peachey) was reading books written by her mother’s distant relative Sir James Jeans, an astronomer and mathematician.

Having worked in her father’s chemistry lab, which advanced her interest in science, Burbidge attended the University of London. There she met fellow graduate student and future husband Geoffrey Burbidge. Together, they moved to the U.S. to work in observatories at the University of Chicago and at Harvard University. After returning to the United Kingdom for a time, they accepted posts at CalTech, where they worked on the paper with Hoyle and Fowler and eventually had their daughter Sarah. The family settled in California, where the spouses accepted faculty positions at UC San Diego.

“One kind of interesting fact at UC San Diego, when my parents joined the faculty in 1962, is that there was an anti-nepotism rule that prevented a married couple from being in the same department,” explained Sarah Burbidge. “So Roger Revelle, who recruited my parents, placed my dad in the physics department and my mom in the chemistry department. The rule was changed shortly afterward, and they moved her right away into the Department of Physics.”

According to Sarah Burbidge, Margaret Burbidge was also given the rare and high distinction of “University Professor,” an honorable title transferable to faculty positions at other University of California campuses.

“I think my mother received about 13 honorary degrees from many universities,” recalled Sarah Burbidge. “And of course the Medal of Science from President Reagan, fellowship in the Royal Society, director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society.” 

CalTech Professor Emeritus of Astronomy Anneila Sargent said she looked to Burbidge as a mentor. “For my whole life, Margaret has been my model of a successful woman and a successful scientist. Just as impressive for me was her successful and happy family life. She certainly made it seem possible to have it all.”

Eclipses

As during most worthy treks, however, Margaret Burbidge encountered challenges. For example, among her firsts was being the only director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory not to be named Astronomer Royal in its 300-year history. Additionally, she was denied a Carnegie Fellowship because it required observations at Mount Wilson Observatory, which at the time was reserved only for men. To gain access, she was required to pose as her husband’s assistant and to live in a separate cottage on the grounds.

She frequently collaborated with her husband, Fowler and Hoyle. For example, their seminal paper on stellar nucleosynthesis was initially penned by Lady Stardust and her husband, with revisions made by all four scientists. Years later, only Fowler became a Nobel Prize winner “for his theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe.”

In a rare twist for women in science, in 1963 Burbidge’s UC San Diego colleague Maria Goeppert Mayer won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. A local news headline announced it as, “San Diego Housewife Wins the Nobel Prize.” In similar fashion, a 1964 newspaper article about Burbidge described her as “petite,” working in a “lightweight blouse, sweater and skirt,” and as wearing “hundreds of clothes” to work.

 “One of the things that most struck me about her was how determined she had to be about doing astronomy, in the face of rampant discrimination against women. Yet it never made her bitter or resentful,” noted Urry, who is also an award-winning advocate for increasing the number of women and minorities in science. “She just found a way around any obstacles and went on with the work she loved. That’s an excellent model to follow. I don’t think individuals often have the power to change the world around them, but she did, by being an outstanding scientist and blazing a path for others to follow.”

World-Changing Leader

Finding her way around the obstacles launched Burbidge’s leadership in advancing women in the field of astronomy. In 1972, for example, she declined the AAS’s Annie J. Cannon Award because it was awarded only to women. Her letter of rejection stated, “It is high time that discrimination in favor of, as well as against, women in professional life be removed.” Her stance raised awareness of discrimination against women and other minority groups in astronomy.

 “When she declined the Annie Jump Cannon award by the AAS, it sparked a conversation about gender bias in the field that eventually led to the creation of the AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy several years later,” said Alison Coil, physics professor and associate dean for equity, diversity and inclusion for the physical sciences at UC San Diego. “That committee still exists today and is very actively engaged in promoting and supporting women in the field. Margaret's impact on both the science and climate of astronomy has been immense.”

According to Sargent, while Burbidge undoubtedly faced obstacles, she dealt with them in very effective and rarely confrontational ways.

 “Even as a graduate student, I was impressed by how senior, usually male, scientists listened attentively to her opinions and, perhaps, even more important, sought her out,” said Sargent.

At UC San Diego, the impact of Burbidge’s influence is apparent in the Margaret Burbidge Visiting Professorship, a new program in the Division of Physical Sciences. Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation, the professorship brings eminent female physicists to the university for collaborative research and mentorship within the Department of Physics. Three visiting professors from Columbia University, ESPCI Paris and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will fill the inaugural role during the current academic year.

According to the Heising-Simons Foundation, the goal of its support for women in physics and astronomy is to increase the number of women in these fields, both in colleges and in academic and research careers in the United States.

Burbidge was a professor of astronomy at UC San Diego from 1962 until 1988. A recent compilation of commentary put together by the Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA), features a number of anecdotes about her.

Source: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/trailblazing-aastronomer-margaret-burbidge-turns-100-years-old

Earthquake Issues on UC Campuses

Nearly 600 Structures on California Colleges Have Seismic Deficiencies: Report

...UC CAMPUS BUILDINGS

The UC system is currently in the midst of a comprehensive review to inspect every structure on all nine campuses and address any seismic problems by 2030. Thus far, engineers have found 526 buildings on five campuses that pose a serious threat to safety, according to records provided to NBC Bay Area... In September, school administrators sent an email to all students and faculty detailing the seismic inspection results... 

In a statement, the UC Office of the President said it is “exploring sources of funding to help with building retrofits,” and hopes to receive money from a bond measure scheduled to go on the ballot in March 2020. “After the updated ratings on a substantial number of buildings are thoroughly evaluated and confirmed by engineers, each campus will start prioritizing and planning its retrofitting work to meet the location-specific needs," the statement said. "For buildings that may pose serious concerns following the validation of updated ratings, each campus will prepare action plans that may include retrofits or interim relocation as warranted. While the updated ratings are being assessed, previously planned upgrades will progress as the university continues to take appropriate safety measures."

"University structures meet the applicable California Building Code in effect at the time of their construction and at the time of a seismic renovation. UC believes it is important to proactively upgrade its buildings to incorporate the best guidance, knowledge and science available to protect its community,” the UC statement reads in part...

Full story at https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Nearly-600-Structures-on-California-Colleges-Have-Seismic-Deficiencies-Report-563247291.html

For info on UCLA, see our earlier post:
https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2019/08/campus-earthquake-danger.html

Draft "Climate" Guidelines from American Economic Assn.

Draft Guidelines from American Economic Association (AEA), the leading academic/professional association for economists:

Best Practices for Diversifying Economic Quality

Conducting Research

1. Organize inclusive conferences, seminars, and visitor programs.
Each conference, panel, seminar series, or other forum should feature a diverse group of economists.

2. Host constructive conference and seminar discussions.
Setting and enforcing rules of responsible behavior by attendees at conference and seminar presentations can increase the quality of the intellectual exchange.

3. Provide equitable access to journals. 
Ensuring that boards of editors at journals are diverse and that referees follow appropriate instructions may help reduce the documented biases in the editorial process.

4. Read and cite diversely. Think inclusively.
Committing to citing a diverse set of authors on syllabi and bibliographies, to naming all authors, and to finding value in alternative research approaches can improve your research and the discipline.

5. Share research opportunities broadly.
Seeking diversity when identifying research assistants and potential collaborators can help counter existing biases.

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Serving as Colleagues

1. Discuss and enforce a code of conduct.
Establishing rules for unbiased conduct facilitates important conversations, sets clear expectations, and creates a more productive and inclusive environment.

2. Be an effective bystander.
Signaling a willingness to listen and speaking up when you observe poor behavior can help set norms for fair conduct.

3. Be a good mentor.
Improving your mentoring ability encourages those around you to do the same. A more supportive environment attracts better colleagues and creates productive work relationships.

4. Create room for your colleagues' work-life choices.
Supporting each other's need for fulfilling professional and personal lives makes for good mental health and efficiency.

5. Meet your colleagues where they are.
Valuing difference helps individuals, and the profession, thrive. There is no set profile of what an economist should look like and there is no rulebook for what constitutes economics research.

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Working with Students

1. Teach your students to hold a growth mindset.
When students and faculty understand that ability is malleable and is developed through education and persistence, academic performance and enjoyment increase, and race and gender gaps decrease.

2. Use outreach to counter stereotypes about economics and fix other information gaps.
When faculty provide more information about the breadth of the field of economics upfront, more students from underrepresented groups study economics. Simple changes can help students who arrive with less information about academia.

3. Offer course content that is relevant for diverse students.
Students come to our classes with a wide range of life experiences and interests, but standard economics curricula often fall short of engaging diverse students.

4. Employ effective and inclusive classroom techniques.
Active learning and other evidence-based pedagogical approaches are effective, inclusive, and straightforward to implement. These techniques have especially large benefits for members of underrepresented groups.

5. Build a sense of belonging for all students.
The extreme demographic imbalances of economics departments present an unhealthy environment and an unlevel playing field. When students from underrepresented groups receive explicit and implicit messages that they belong in the field, their performance and persistence increase.
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Leading Departments and Workplaces

1. Establish and use a structured and fair recruiting process.
Adopting best practices in recruiting can increase the diversity of candidate pools and decrease the influence of human biases on hiring decisions.

2. Conduct promotion, tenure, and annual performance reviews in a transparent and equitable manner.
Clear and consistent communication about the criteria that determine evaluation outcomes, and giving careful thought to what those criteria are, can reduce the myriad of biases that are known to infect evaluation processes.

3. Establish and use an inclusive process for admitting and developing graduate students.
Departments can structure admissions and advising processes to identify, recruit, and develop a much wider range of talent.

4. Be proactive in creating an inclusive, constructive culture, and deal firmly with instances of exclusion, harassment, discrimination, or disrespectful treatment.
Clear and consistent communication about what behavior is expected, and firm action when someone does not live up to those expectations, facilitates the emergence of a positive, productive, and inclusive culture.

5. Structure  inclusive meetings and workplaces.
Establishing new procedures and practices can help elicit a wide range of perspectives and avoid marginalizing some voices, increase the sense of collective ownership and understanding, and ensure all members of the community can access the resources and opportunities they need to thrive.

Source: https://www.aeaweb.org/news/member-announcements-oct-18-2019 and https://www.aeaweb.org/resources/best-practices

Open Enrollment

Reproduced from an email circulating on campus:

Open Enrollment begins on Oct. 31, 2019, and goes through Nov. 26, 2019. ...The UCPath Center is hosting a series of interactive webinars that will provide important information regarding Medical Plan changes.

Webinar dates include:

·         Oct. 29, 2019, 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.

·         Nov. 5, 2019, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m.

·         Nov. 12, 2019, 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

·         Nov. 19, 2019, 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

·         Nov. 21, 2019, 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.

Employees can register for a webinar at: https://www.ucop.edu/ucpath-center/_files/mypath/oe/registration.pdf

For a preview of Open Enrollment highlights, including changes to the prescription drug formulary for UC’s non-Medicare PPO Plans and new Supplemental Health Plans, visit UCnet at: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2019/10/a-halloween-open-enrollment,-with-good-news-and-new-options.html.

[NOTE FROM YOURS TRULY: You won't find cost information - at least as of this morning - at that link, other than a vague statement suggesting not to worry. It seems awfully late, with open enrollment starting October 31st, not to have that information. Just saying...]

Open Enrollment Fair for UCLA Campus on Nov. 12, 2019

Be sure to mark your calendars for Nov. 12, 2019, for the 2020 Open Enrollment Fair. The event will be held at Covel Commons, Grand Horizon Room, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Representatives from the UC Health & Welfare Plans will be on hand to answers questions about plan benefits so employees can make better informed choices as to what options are best for their needs.

All UCLA campus staff and faculty are welcome to attend.

Health Services is hosting an Open Enrollment Benefits Fair for UCLA Health employees on November 14, 2019. Please check with UCLA Health Human Resources for details.

Listen to the Regents' Health Service Committee meeting of October 10, 2019

In case you were wondering, yours truly did not forget to archive the audio of the Regents' Health Services Committee meeting of October 10th. However, it takes time to go through the recording.

The meeting started with public comments devoted to union issues and calls for treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).* Dr. Jack Stobo, EVC of the UC Health system, is retiring and was praised for his work. His replacement as of November, Dr. Carrie Byington was introduced.** Executive pay issues were discussed, including a performance bonus for Stobo. It was reported that a working group to study UC policy on affiliations with non-UC health providers had been formed. (This development likely is the result of a failure of a proposed merger with a Catholic health network that didn't provide abortions or other sex-related procedures on religious grounds.) There was discussion of plans for issuance of taxable bonds. New developments in cancer treatments were discussed. And there was discussion of financial issues facing UC-Riverside's new med center, although a new building was approved for that campus.

You can find the audio at the link below:

or direct to:
https://archive.org/details/regentshealth101019edited

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*https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/symptoms-diagnosis/index.html
**https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/distinguished-academic-health-science-professional-appointed-executive-vice-president-uc

Shake

Partial instructions for today's earthquake drill at 10:17 am:

During the ShakeOut drill, UCLA’s Office of Emergency Management will activate the BruinAlert notification system and outdoor sirens will sound an alert on campus. Messages will be sent out simultaneously to faculty, staff and students using e-mail, text and Twitter. The ShakeOut drill will also be simulcast on the AM 1630 Radio Station and UCLA Cable TV Channel 3. To sign up for BruinAlert Text Messaging, please visit https://www.oem.ucla.edu/bruinalert

If you are on campus when the ground begins to shake, "DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON" under a piece of sturdy furniture or in a corner away from a window.  If an evacuation is ordered after the earthquake, head to the nearest exit using the stairs.

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The students at UC-Santa Cruz used to know a lot about finding faults: