The fact that the quick preview appears blank doesn't give yours truly a good vibe.
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Straws in the Wind - Part 33
The updated website now consists of one central homepage displaying three annual reports on the Belonging at Yale initiative, issued in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Multiple links included in those reports are now inaccessible. The reports appear to be restricted to users who can log in through Yale’s central authentication service. The other pages that were previously accessible on the site are no longer visible on the homepage and are inaccessible through direct links...
Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/06/27/yale-concludes-dei-initiative-as-scheduled-scrubs-website/.
Health Negotiations - Part 2
So, for those interested in a follow up, we can now report that as the July 9 deadline approached, the parties moved it to August 9. From the San Francisco Chronicle:
...Late last week, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and Supervisor Matt Dorsey waded into the matter, urging Blue Shield to finalize an agreement with UC Health so that the roughly 5,000 city employees and retirees who go to UCSF for medical care will not lose access to critical medical services. Last year, UC Health and Anthem Blue Cross, another major insurer in California, similarly had a dispute over contract terms that lasted months. The two sides eventually reached a new contract... Both UC Health and Blue Shield said Monday that they hope to reach a new agreement and avoid interruptions for their patients and members.
Full story at https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/ucsf-blue-shield-extend-contract-deadline-20401688.php.
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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2025/05/health-negotiations.html.
Monday, July 7, 2025
Will Columbia Make a Deal?
More recent discussions, however, have involved the possibility of a monitor or outside observer who would have less power than a federal judge... Columbia previously agreed to an earlier set of demands from the Trump administration, including restricting masks, empowering campus police with new powers to arrest students, and appointing a senior vice provost with broad authority to oversee the department of Middle East, South Asian and African Studies. But those concessions only kicked off formal negotiations and didn’t restore Columbia’s federal funding...
Acting President Claire Shipman... said... it was essential for the school to restore its research partnership with the government. “Our red lines remain the same,” she said. “We must maintain our autonomy and independent governance. We decide who teaches at our institution, what they teach and which students we admit.” As word of the outlines of a possible deal circulated over the weekend, some members of Columbia’s Jewish community expressed frustration that a consent decree might not be part of it...
Full story at https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/columbia-federal-funding-negotiations-deal-trump-consent-decree-88427d9a.
UCLA Pushes the Subway Option
Although it doesn't quite say so, UCLA is pushing the "heavy rail" (subway) option for a line through the Sepulveda pass over alternatives such as a monorail. The tweet above* notes that the UCLA station on a proposed subway line would be heavily used. And the link in the tweet is to an article that strongly favors the subway option.
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Straws in the Wind - Part 32
Ronald J. Daniels, the president of Johns Hopkins University, which receives the most federal funding of any American university, has been listening. For years, he has been warning that higher education should make efforts to attract more conservatives to the ranks. His school has pushed for more viewpoint diversity and has touted a partnership with the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.
Those efforts do not appear to have protected the university. Johns Hopkins, the first research university in the United States, has been one of the hardest hit by a Republican effort to reduce federal funding flowing to schools. The Trump administration has not singled out Johns Hopkins with lists of demands or threats that it would be cut off from funding, as the administration has done with Harvard and Columbia. Still, Johns Hopkins has already laid off more than 2,000 people in the wake of an $800 million research cut. And officials of the university are bracing for deeper cuts to the $4.2 billion it receives in annual federal research money.
The university’s troubles show how a Republican campaign against higher education could decimate the nation’s research enterprise...
Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/us/johns-hopkins-university-federal-funding-cuts.html.
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Brown Took the Bait: It couldn't happen here, right? - Part 3
Remember the tale of Brown University's investigation of an undergraduate who decided to play DOGE and sent emails to administrators asking what they actually do?* Instead of shrugging it off, the university turned it into a big brouhaha and then ended the investigation when too much bad PR erupted. Apparently, that wasn't the end of the story:
From the Brown Daily Herald: In a... letter to President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20, the House Judiciary Committee requested all documentation and communications related to the University’s investigation into Alex Shieh ’27 after he launched Bloat@Brown, a database aiming to evaluate the necessity of administrators’ jobs. The request is part of an ongoing congressional probe accusing Ivy League institutions of collectively hiking tuition prices and limiting financial aid packages in violation of U.S. antitrust laws...
“The Committee seeks to understand Brown’s rationale for attempting to silence a student raising questions about how student and taxpayer dollars are being used...” [It] requested that Brown send over any relevant documentation by July 10, including communications “between or among employees of Brown.” ...
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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2025/05/brown-took-bait-it-couldnt-happen-here_0481454026.html; https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2025/05/brown-took-bait-it-couldnt-happen-here.html.
Straws in the Wind - Part 31
From the Chicago Sun-Times: Northwestern University is planning to reduce staff and make other cuts as it grapples with rising costs and federal funding uncertainties. The plans have angered some staff and faculty who say the university should be consulting with them before making any significant announcements. ...Northwestern University sent an email to staff and faculty announcing it would implement cost-cutting measures, including a hiring freeze and “decreases in the total number of staff positions.” It also said staff would not get bonuses next year, that the university was switching health insurance companies and there would be changes to the tuition benefits program, which provides employees with financial assistance toward the cost of courses.
“Like a number of our peer universities, we have now reached a moment when the university must take a series of cost-cutting measures designed to ensure our institution’s fiscal stability now and into an uncertain future,” the email said. “These are not decisions we come to lightly.”
The university is facing financial pressure due to the federal funding freeze of $790 million implemented by the Trump administration in April...
Full story at https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2025/06/25/northwestern-university-budget-cuts.
From Detroit News: Three University of Michigan regents confirmed to The Detroit News they have 24-hour security as protests continue on campus and off over the ongoing bloodshed in the Middle East, including Israel's war with Palestinians in Gaza after the militant group Hamas launched the Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel that killed mostly civilians. UM regents Jordan Acker, Mark Bernstein and Sarah Hubbard said during separate interviews that the university, on the advice of legal counsel, security experts and local law enforcement, assigned them around-the-clock protection in response to serious, ongoing threats to their personal safety...
In a general statement about the need to protect regents and executives, however, UM public affairs officials cited protests that began Nov. 17, 2023, when hundreds of protesters demanding UM divest from companies that fund military operations in Israel swarmed the university's administration building. The protests have continued on an "unacceptable level," they said. University spokeswoman Colleen Mastony said the Michigan Constitution classifies regents as constitutional officers, which means they must be able to carry out their duties free from intimidation and threats. The same commitment extends to the university’s executive officers, Mastony said...
UM's eight regents, who serve without compensation, are among a rare group of university board members who are elected in partisan, statewide races to eight-year terms. Across the rest of the United States, university board members are appointed...
Two Quarterly Reminders
https://archive.org/details/blog-apr-30-21-2025/0-Cover/.
We also keep track of the governor and his videos (along with related information) on a quarterly basis:
https://archive.org/details/becerra-announces-for-governor-4-2-2025.
Saturday, July 5, 2025
Preliminary Regents Agenda: July 15-17, 2025
July 15-17, 2025 Luskin Conference Center, UCLA
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Tuesday, July 15, 2025
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12:30 pm Investments Committee (open session - includes public comment session)
Public Comment Period (30 minutes)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of May 13, 2025
I1 Action: Amendment of Regents Policies on Investment Policy Statements
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2:00 pm Health Services Committee (closed session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of May 13, 2025
H1(X) Discussion: Administrative Stipend for Chief Nursing Executive and Vice President of Patient Care Services, UCSF Health, San Francisco Campus
H2(X) Discussion: Appointment of and Compensation for Senior Vice President and President – Adult Services, UCSF Health, San Francisco Campus
H3(X) Discussion: UC San Diego Health Letter of Intent
H4(X) Discussion: UC Health Litigation Update
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Upon end of closed session:
Health Services Committee (open session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of May 13, 2025
H1 Action: Approval of Administrative Stipend for Chief Nursing Executive and Vice President of Patient Care Services, UCSF Health, San Francisco Campus as Discussed in Closed Session
H2 Action: Approval of Appointment of and Compensation for Senior Vice President and President – Adult Services, UCSF Health, San Francisco Campus as Discussed in Closed Session
H5 Action: Establishment of a New Level Two Senior Management Group Position of Associate Vice President – Strategic Partnerships, UC Health, Office of the President, and the Market Reference Zone for the Position
H6 Discussion: UC Medical Center Pharmacy at the Crossroads of Innovation and Rising Cost
H7 Discussion: Medical School Curriculum: Accreditation Requirements, University of California Academic Senate Oversight, and Attainment of Competency
H8 Discussion: UC Health Policy Update
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Wednesday, July 16, 2025
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8:30 am Board (open session - includes public comment session)
Public Comment Period (30 minutes)
Remarks of the Chair of the Board
Remarks of the Chair of the Academic Senate
NOTE: Usually, the UC president would make remarks in this session. However, with President Drake stepping down, it may be that he is not planning to attend.
Committee Report: Special Committee to Select a Student Regent: Appointment of 2026–27 Student Regent
B1 Discussion: Introducing Catharine Baker and the UC Student and Policy Center
NOTE: The Center was created in 2023: "The new center will allow UC to go even deeper by facilitating more effective collaborations between the university and state leaders. It will also foster greater civic engagement throughout the region by serving as a place for public dialogue, speaker series and other community events. And perhaps most importantly, it will provide life-changing experiences for UC students." Source:
"Baker, a former California State Assemblymember who represented the 16th Assembly District from 2014 through 2018, established a strong bipartisan record of service while passing significant legislation focused on transportation, the environment, and government accountability. As vice chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, she advocated for educational quality, affordability, and accessibility and worked with state leaders to promote more funding for and admissions opportunities at UC. She has served as a commissioner with the California Fair Political Practices Commission since 2020, following her appointment by then-State Controller Betty Yee." Source:
B2 Discussion: Overview of the University of California Tuition Stability Plan
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10:30 am Finance and Capital Strategies Committee (open session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of May 14, 2025
Consent Agenda:
F1A Action: Consent Item: 901 Levering Student Housing, Los Angeles Campus: Preliminary Plans Funding
F1B Action: Consent Item: Berkeley Innovation Zone – North Building, Berkeley Campus: Scope and Design Following Consideration of an Addendum to the Berkeley Innovation Zone Environmental Impact Report Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act; and Acceptance of Gift of Real Property
F2 Action: Clean Energy Campus Utility Improvement Project – Phase 1, Berkeley Campus: Scope and Design Following Consideration of an Addendum to the 2021 Long Range Development Plan Environmental Impact Report Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act
F3 Action: 2018 La Jolla Campus Long Range Development Plan, San Diego Campus: Amendment #1 Following Certification of a Subsequent Environmental Impact Report Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act
F4 Discussion: The Final 2025-26 State Budget and Update from the Systemwide Budget Management Workgroup
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Upon end of open session:
Finance and Capital Strategies Committee (closed session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of May 14, 2025
F5(X) Action: Use of University Facilities, Los Angeles Campus: Business Terms
F6(X) Discussion: Member Substitution in Arts Organization, Irvine Campus: Acquisition
F7(X) Discussion: UC San Diego Health Letter of Intent
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12:45 pm Academic and Student Affairs Committee (closed session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of May 14, 2025
A1X Discussion: Update on UC Davis Faculty Discipline Matter
NOTE: Since this session is closed, there is no direct way of identifying the incident involved. However, there is this item from the LA Times in January 2025: "The University of California is aiming to speed up the faculty discipline process amid criticism that cases take too long to complete — including one involving a UC Davis professor accused of posting threats to Zionist journalists that included emojis of blood and a hatchet..." Source:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-23/uc-davis-antisemitism-faculty-discipline.
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Upon end of closed session:
Academic and Student Affairs Committee (open session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of May 14, 2025
A2 Action: Approval of Delegation of Authority for Limited Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition Multi-Year Plans
A3 Discussion: Alumni Outcomes—Top Employers Across UC Campuses
A4 Discussion: Science, Solutions, Santa Cruz: How the Seymour Marine Discovery Center Powers Community-Driven Climate Resilience Through Research
A5 Discussion: Campus Climate Resources and Incident Reporting
NOTE: "Climate" in A5 likely refers to events such as occurred in Spring 2024.
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2:30 pm National Laboratories Committee (open session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of January 22, 2025
N1 Action: Allocation of LLC Fee Income to Be Expended in Fiscal Year 2025–26
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Concurrent Meetings
2:45 pm Compliance and Audit Committee (open session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of May 14, 2025
C1 Action: Compliance Plan for 2025-26 and Internal Audit Plan for 2025-26
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Upon end of open session:
Compliance and Audit Committee (closed session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of May 15, 2025
C2(X) Discussion: Digital Risk – Cybersecurity Investment Plan Update
C3(X) Action: Recommended Settlements for Board Action
C4(X) Discussion: Appellate, Trial Court Developments and Updates
NOTE: Included is litigation resulting from the UCLA/Heaps medical malpractice cases, the UCLA/Gordon Klein trial currently underway involving the aftermath of the 2020 George Floyd events, and a case accusing UC of violating the Supreme Court's anti-affirmative action decision and Prop 209 with regard to admissions:
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2:45 pm Public Engagement and Development Committee (open session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of March 19, 2025
P1 Discussion: Update from the Senior Vice President of External Relations and Communications
P2 Discussion: The Student Regents’ Voice at the Table: Advocacy in Action
P3 Discussion: State Governmental Relations Update
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4:20 pm Special Committee on Nominations (closed session)
S1(X) Action: Appointment of a Regent to Standing Committees and Resignation from the Public Engagement and Development Committee for 2025-26, and Appointment of Regents-designate, Faculty Representatives, and a Chancellor as Advisory Members to Standing Committees for 2025-26
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4:30 pm Governance Committee (closed session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meetings of May 2 and May 14-15, 2025
G1(X) Discussion: Collective Bargaining Matters
G2(X) Discussion: Appointment of and Compensation for Vice Chancellor for University Development and Alumni Relations, Berkeley Campus
G3(X) Discussion: Appointment of and Compensation for Vice Chancellor for Marine Sciences, Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Dean of the School of Marine Sciences, San Diego Campus
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Upon end of closed session:
Governance Committee (open session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of May 14-15, 2025
G2 Action: Approval of Appointment of and Compensation for Vice Chancellor for University Development and Alumni Relations, Berkeley Campus as Discussed in Closed Session
G3 Action: Approval of Appointment of and Compensation for Vice Chancellor for Marine Sciences, Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Dean of the School of Marine Sciences, San Diego Campus as Discussed in Closed Session
G4 Action: Establishment of a New Level Two Senior Management Group Position of Associate Vice President – Strategic Partnerships, UC Health, Office of the President, and the Market Reference Zone for the Position
G5 Action: Amendment of Bylaw 40.3 and Standing Orders 105.1 and 105.2
G6 Action: Amendment of Regents Policy 4105: Policy on Settlement of Litigation, Claims and Separation Agreements
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Thursday, July 17, 2025
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8:30 am Board (open session - includes public comment session)
Public Comment Period (30 minutes)
Approval of the Minutes of the Meetings of May 2, 14, 15, and 28, 2025
Remarks from Student Associations
B3 Discussion: UC Inspires: UC Grad Slam: Making University of California Research Accessible to All - Annual Council of University of California Staff Assemblies Report
Committee Reports Including Approvals of Recommendations from Committees:
-Academic and Student Affairs Committee
-Compliance and Audit Committee
-Finance and Capital Strategies Committee
-Governance Committee
-Health Services Committee
-Investments Committee
-National Laboratories Committee
-Public Engagements and Development Committee
Special Committee on Nominations
Resolutions
Officers’ and President’s Reports:
-Report of Interim, Concurrence, and Committee Actions
-Report of Materials Mailed Between Meetings
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10:40 am Board (closed session)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meetings of May 14-15 and May 28 and the Meeting of the Special Committee on Selection of a President of May 2, 2025
Committee Reports Including Approval of Recommendations from Committees:
-Academic and Student Affairs Committee
-Compliance and Audit Committee
-Finance and Capital Strategies Committee
-Governance Committee
Health Services Committee
B4(X) Discussion: Research and Programs Funding Legal Issues
Officers’ and President’s Reports:
Personnel Matters
Report of Interim, Concurrence, and Committee Actions
Report of Materials Mailed Between Meetings
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Source: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/meetings/agendas/july25.html.
Robert Dynes
In Memoriam: University of California President Emeritus and Former University of California San Diego Chancellor Robert C. Dynes
It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of University of California President Emeritus and Former University of California San Diego Chancellor Robert C. (Bob) Dynes, on June 30, 2025. He was 82.
A first-generation college graduate and globally renowned physicist, Dynes served as the 18th president of the University of California system between 2003 and 2007, and sixth chancellor of UC San Diego from 1996 to 2003. He was passionate in his commitment to service and scientific discovery, and distinguished himself as a champion for educational opportunity for students from all backgrounds. An active research physicist until his death, Dynes’ long and prolific career within the University of California system was notable for advancing the university’s reputation for innovative, impactful research aimed at solving society’s biggest challenges; expanding connections between science and industry; and nurturing a culture of institutional accountability.
Dynes joined UC San Diego as a Professor of Physics in 1991 after a 22-year career at AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he served as department head of semiconductor and material physics research and director of chemical physics research. He served as chair of the Department of Physics and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UC San Diego before being named as Chancellor of the university in 1996.
Dynes contributed significantly to the growth of UC San Diego during his time as chancellor. He is credited with significant growth in student enrollment; establishing the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rady School of Management and Sixth College; increasing research expenditures by 36 percent; launching the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (CALIT2) in partnership with UC Irvine; increasing income from technology transfer by 76 percent and spearheading UC San Diego’s first successful $1 billion fundraising campaign.
He also played a key role in the establishment of The Preuss School UC San Diego, a unique charter middle and high school on the UC San Diego campus for low-income scholars who strive to become the first in their families to graduate from college. Founded in 1999, The Preuss School has consistently been recognized as one of the best high schools in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
“Bob Dynes touched so many lives personally and professionally. It was one of my career highlights when he appointed me to serve as chancellor of UC Irvine,” said UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D. “His bold vision and unwavering commitment to academic excellence positioned the University for national impact and future success that is still evident today. His legacy will live on through new opportunities for students to access a world-class UC education.”
As a distinguished member of UC San Diego’s faculty, Dynes founded an interdisciplinary laboratory where chemists, electrical engineers and private industry researchers, joined by graduate and undergraduate students, collaborate to investigate the properties of metals, semiconductors and superconductors.
Dynes also served as vice chair of the University of California President’s Council on the National Laboratories and a member of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Oversight Board. In addition, he had longstanding association with the national laboratories as an adviser and consultant.
Dynes’ numerous scientific honors include the 1990 Fritz London Award in Low Temperature Physics. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1989. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society, the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dynes earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from the University of Western Ontario and master's and doctorate degrees in physics from McMaster University.
A Lasting Legacy
Together with his wife, Ann Parode Dynes, Dynes established the Robert C. Dynes and Ann Parode Dynes Scholarship, designated for undergraduate students conducting research in physics. He also played a key role in helping raise awareness around the need for undergraduate scholarships and encouraging others to join in supporting future generations of students.
Dynes is survived by his wife, Ann Parode Dynes, daughter Victoria and three grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Dynes’ honor be directed to support The Preuss School UC San Diego. A memorial tribute event will be held on the UC San Diego campus at a later date.
Pradeep K. Khosla
Chancellor
Joan and Irwin Jacobs Chancellor’s Endowed Chair
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Source: https://adminrecords.ucsd.edu/Notices/2025/2025-6-30-4.html.
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From the San Diego Union-Tribune: ...[Dynes] achievements didn’t go unnoticed by the UC Board of Regents, which chose him to succeed Atkinson as the system’s president in 2003. It was a difficult moment in the UC’s history. The state was facing a huge budget deficit that led lawmakers to slash the university system’s funding to help stabilize the state’s finances. It was also facing political turmoil. In a recall effort, voters removed Gov. Gray Davis from office and replaced him with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, with whom Dynes had a deep friendship. That friendship helped Dynes, along with others, to negotiate a compact with Schwarzenegger that stabilized and eventually increased funding for the UC and California State University systems — but that also faced criticism from students and families for ushering in significant fee hikes.
Dynes also prevented the UC from losing the right to manage and operate two national laboratories that were being scrutinized for safety and security problems. And in 2005 he oversaw the opening of UC Merced, the first new UC campus in a generation. That same year he made another move that proved consequential — appointing Michael Drake chancellor of UC Irvine. Drake would later become the first Black president of the University of California system.
...But Dynes’ tenure leading the university system also was marked by controversy, notably a scandal over executive compensation that surfaced in 2006. A state audit revealed that the UC’s system for paying top managers and professors was filled with irregularities, including the awarding of pay or perks without proper approval. Dynes introduced changes in an effort to fix the problems. But his handling of the matter cost him the support of some members of the Board of Regents and the state Legislature. In August 2007, he announced that he would step down the following year. He didn’t attribute the decision to the scandal...
Full obituary at https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/07/02/robert-dynes-who-built-a-research-power-at-uc-san-diego-and-led-uc-system-dies-at-82/.
Much Ado
Or direct to https://www.instagram.com/p/DLVWkfoPnej/.
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Note: The NY Post article shown above is at:
Straws in the Wind - Part 30
“[The new body] will upend the monopoly of the woke accreditation cartels, and it will provide institutions with an alternative that focuses on student achievement, rather than the ideological fads that have so permeated those accrediting bodies over the years,” DeSantis said at an event at Florida Atlantic University...
DeSantis said leaders of the new body have been working with the Department of Education under the Trump administration to receive expedited federal approval for the new accreditation model to undergo a “trial run” that will entice more states to join...
Full story at https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5371204-southern-public-universities-accreditation-panel/.
Friday, July 4, 2025
Just a Reminder: Your July 4th Will Be Happier...
...if you ignore and delete phone messages such as the one above.
Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 29
Administrators called the losses catastrophic. “The situation is far more dire at the Chan school than any other Harvard school,” said Sarah Branstrator, Chan’s managing director of academic strategy and research partnerships. “That has prompted immediate action out of sheer necessity.” Layoffs started this spring and are continuing, Branstrator said, and unless cuts are reversed, the school expects to wind down half of its federally funded research in the next fiscal year.
The cancellations come amid months of tension between Harvard and the Trump administration, which has cited concerns about antisemitism and DEI efforts as the reason to cut or freeze more than $2 billion in Harvard funds, threaten its tax-exempt status and try to revoke its ability to enroll international students...
Branstrator said that even if funding is restored, Chan will “absolutely stay the course” in seeking outside sources for funding to decrease its reliance on government support. The focus on corporate sponsorship at Chan, which is further along in its planning, is a big shift for a school that typically gets between 14% and 18% of its annual research budget from nongovernment funders. Previously, Chan’s administrators scrutinized and often renegotiated corporate partnerships to avoid conflicts of interest for its scientists. Now, the school is aiming to tap alumni who work in corporate R&D labs and its deep bench of faculty who serve on scientific advisory boards to broker conversations at companies across the life sciences.
“We’re hoping for them to play door-opener,” Branstrator said. The school aims to preserve the independence of university scientists, for example with agreements that guarantee scientists can publish their findings with no input from companies, Branstrator said...
Full story at https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/harvard-funding-corporate-sponsors-4ee36388.
Straws in the Wind - Part 29
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed S.B. 1 into law on March 28 after it quickly passed the House and Senate earlier this year. S.B. 1 creates post-tenure reviews, puts diversity scholarships at risk, sets rules around classroom discussion, and creates a retrenchment provision that blocks unions from negotiating on tenure, among other things. The law affects Ohio’s public universities and community colleges...
Some of Ohio’s public universities have started making decisions because of the new law. Ohio University announced it will close the Pride Center, the Women’s Center and the Multicultural Center. The University of Toledo is suspending nine undergraduate programs. Kent State University is closing its LGBTQ+ Center, Women’s Center and Student Multicultural Center...
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From the NY Times: The University of Virginia’s president, James E. Ryan, has told the board overseeing the school that he will resign in the face of demands by the Trump administration that he step aside to help resolve a Justice Department inquiry into the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, according to three people briefed on the matter. For the leader of one of the nation’s most prominent public universities to take such an extraordinary step demonstrates President Trump’s success in harnessing the investigative powers of the federal government to accomplish his administration’s policy goals.
The New York Times reported... that the Justice Department had demanded Mr. Ryan’s resignation as a condition to settle a civil rights investigation into the school’s diversity practices. In a letter sent on Thursday to the head of the board overseeing the university, Mr. Ryan said that he had planned to step down at the end of the next academic year but “given the circumstances and today’s conversations” he had decided, “with deep sadness,” to tender his resignation now, according to one of the people familiar with the matter who was briefed on the contents of the letter...
Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/us/politics/uva-president-resigns-jim-ryan-trump.html.
The Money
...California’s top universities can pay their athletes directly — a dramatic shift in college sports that blurs the line between amateur and professional play. Schools have yet to say how much individual students will actually make or when checks might arrive, though a CalMatters estimate suggests some student-athletes at UC Berkeley could make roughly $200,000 a year... At public universities, such as UC Berkeley or UCLA, schools could use taxpayer dollars to make these payments. State or institutional funds already support roughly 30% of UC Berkeley’s athletic budget...
UC Berkeley currently has about 900 athletes but will eventually need to cut roughly 100 players to meet the requirements of the [House legal] settlement, Chancellor Rich Lyons said in a statement on June 11. Using a mix of current revenue and new fundraising, he said the university hopes to pay $12 million to its football players, $3 million to men’s basketball players and $1 million to women’s basketball players. If UC Berkeley were to divide it evenly — which is unlikely — that means this year, each men’s basketball player would receive roughly $200,000, each football player would receive roughly $100,000 and each women’s basketball player would receive around $60,000. Lyons did not mention paying any other athletes, though they could still receive a scholarship and, if approved, certain brand deals or donations.
UC Berkeley declined to respond to CalMatters’ questions seeking further clarification... UCLA is not saying how much it will allocate to each of its athletic teams but Athletic Director Martin Jarmond has said that the school will distribute a total of $20.5 million, the maximum yearly amount allowed...
Some of the money for sports at California’s public universities comes from TV deals, ticket sales and parking fees, but some also comes from the college’s general fund, which is taxpayer-supported, and from fees that all students pay to their university...
Full story at https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2025/07/college-athletes-california/.
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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2025/06/tomorrow-is-money-day.html.
UC's Budget Response
UC seems to be developing a new PR arrangement, at least with regard to the state budget and UC's allocation. UC's senior VIP for external relations tweets out a response. Thanks for no (nominal) cut but the deferral of what should be provided is only a true deferral if the legislature keeps its promise to repay the deferral next year. As we have often noted on this blog, no legislature can obligate future legislatures to do anything. See below:
Thursday, July 3, 2025
Drake Letter
Letter from UC President Drake:*
July 2, 2025
CHANCELLORS
Dear Colleagues:
Upholding the values of freedom of speech and inquiry are core commitments of the University of California. Members of the University community have the right to express their views on matters of public importance. In addition, University policies provide mechanisms for groups such as academic campus units and student governments to take public positions on issues (Regents Policy 4408 https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/governance/policies/4408.html; PACAOS 63.00 https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/2710526/PACAOS-60).
University policies also require that financial and business decisions be grounded in sound business practices including competitive bidding (BFB-BUS-43 Purchases of Goods and Services https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3220485/BFB-BUS-43; Supply Chain Management). This principle also applies to student governments, where University policy provides that “any financial and business activity under the control of student governments is operated in accordance with sound business practices and is consistent with legal requirements and University policies and procedures” (PACAOS 67.00). Actions by University entities to implement boycotts of companies based on their association with a particular country would not align with these sound business practices.
The right of individuals and groups to express their views on public matters is distinct from the responsibility of University entities to conduct their financial affairs in a manner consistent with University policy and applicable law.[i]
This letter reaffirms both: the rights of students, faculty, and staff to express their views, and the University’s obligation to ensure that its units do not engage in financial boycotts of companies associated with a particular country.
Sincerely,
Michael V. Drake, MD
President
Michael V. Drake, MD
President
cc: Division Leaders
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[i]https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/university-california-statement-divestment; UC Chancellors Statement on Israeli Academic Boycott (Dec. 2018):
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From the Bruin: UC President Michael Drake announced in a Wednesday letter that student governments at all UC campuses are banned from boycotting companies associated with Israel. The letter followed directives from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health that promise to deny grants to organizations with anti-Israel boycotts and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The University has previously expressed opposition to boycotts and divestment from Israel, including in an April 2024 statement released the day after the Palestine solidarity encampment at UCLA – the organizers of which called on the UC to divest from companies with ties to the Israeli military – began...
Kira Stein, the chair of the UCLA Jewish Faculty Resilience Group, said in a statement over text message that official student government boycotts against specific countries are “discriminatory and divisive” and do not promote peace. She added that the University’s decision promotes inclusivity and respectful discourse in an academic setting. “Since UC student governments are funded by student fees and operate with university recognition, it is both reasonable and necessary that they represent all students and refrain from discriminatory practices,” Stein said.
USAC President Diego Emilio Bollo declined to comment on Drake’s directive...
Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2025/07/03/student-governments-across-uc-campuses-banned-from-anti-israel-boycotts.
Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 28
In the short term, a deal would preserve some semblance of continuity on campus, no small matter as the university plans its fall course schedule and contemplates the loss of thousands of students and billions in grants. In the long run, a deal would avoid the uncertainty and expense of yearslong court battles that could reshape the relationship between higher education and the federal government on matters of academic freedom, civil rights, and institutional autonomy...
Already, several Harvard professors say they’re concerned because they have not been given any information about possible negotiations or whether their perspective is being considered... Other faculty members are more hopeful about a potential deal. Jeffrey D. Macklis, a neurobiologist, thinks an agreement that maintains Harvard’s academic freedom and restores research grants could “be a wonderful and a beneficial outcome for the nation and the world.”
The termination of Harvard’s government funding has been “devastating” for his lab, which examines brain development and had received grants to study the causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and frontotemporal dementia, among other conditions. “That has canceled research that, in my view, is not Harvard research,” he says. “It’s research for which I was hired by the citizens of the United States.”
He trusts Harvard’s leaders. And he is unwilling to frame the interactions between his university and the government as a “fight.” “Is it a fight when a married couple or partner pair disagree on family priorities?” he said. “Maybe it is a discussion. Maybe it’s even negotiation. Maybe it is educating each other so that both parties understand with empathy the views of the other.” ...
Outside of Harvard, higher-education leaders are also torn between faith in Garber and skepticism that the government would agree to a deal that preserves the sector’s independence and ideals...
Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/what-a-harvard-deal-would-mean-for-higher-ed.
Straws in the Wind - Part 28
The new rates will go into effect for the fall 2025 semester, Rosser wrote. The letter offered no further guidance about how institutions might comply...
Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/06/25/texas-colleges-asked-identify-undocumented-students.
And from the NY Times: The cyberattack that caused a widespread shutdown of Columbia University’s computer systems last week appears to be the work of a “hacktivist” — a hacker who also stole student data with the apparent goal of furthering a political agenda, a Columbia official said on Tuesday. During the outage, which began on June 24, a smiling image of President Trump appeared on some computer screens at the university, including on public monitors in the student center. The Columbia official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, did not provide a motivation for the attack.
But Bloomberg News, which received messages from the apparent hacker, said that the person described stealing student data in order to see if Columbia was using affirmative action in its admission policies, a practice the Supreme Court effectively barred in 2023... The university is in the midst of trying to negotiate a settlement with the Trump administration to unfreeze more than $400 million in federal funding for research, which the administration pulled over its claims that Columbia had not done enough to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment...
Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/nyregion/columbia-university-hacker.html.
From Yale Daily News: Yale is implementing an immediate 90-day hiring pause, reducing non-salary expenses by 5 percent, delaying several construction projects and lowering annual salary increases for faculty and staff members. Faculty and staff received an announcement of those changes on Monday afternoon in a message signed by Provost Scott Strobel, Vice President for Finance Stephen Murphy and Senior Vice President for Operations Jack Callahan. The message was also posted to the Office of the Provost’s website.
The message referred to Congress’s present consideration of a steep increase to the rate at which Yale’s endowment will be taxed, one of the proposals in President Donald Trump’s sweeping “big beautiful bill.” Since the House of Representatives advanced a version of the legislation in May, Yale administrators have warned that the tax hike could imperil the University’s research budget and student financial aid...
Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/07/01/yale-pauses-hiring-tightens-budget-in-anticipation-of-endowment-tax-hike/.
Where's the Money? - Part 2
Three months ago, DOGE employees wrested control of a key federal grants website, grants.gov, which serves as a clearinghouse for more than $500 billion in annual awards, The Post reported. For most of the program’s existence, federal agencies including the Defense Department posted their funding opportunities directly to the site, where thousands of outside organizations could see and apply for them — until April, when DOGE staffers changed the website’s permissions to give themselves power to review and approve all grants across the government.
But [last] Thursday, federal officials were instructed to stop routing the grant-making process through DOGE, according to emails obtained by The Post and the two people, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive situation. The decision follows fears that months of DOGE-linked delays would lead to what critics allege would be the illegal impoundment of federal funds...
Full story at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/27/doge-loses-control-federal-grants/.
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Straws in the Wind - Part 27
From the San Diego Union-Tribune: Citing rising inflation and the uncertainty of federal funding, UC San Diego Health eliminated approximately 230 positions Monday, notifying its 14,000 employees of the layoffs in the late afternoon... The action came amid a nationwide wave of retrenchment in health care that, as some industry medical sources have documented, started in January, growing as the budget debate in Washington, D.C., focused on cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and benefits granted by the Affordable Care Act.
And those costs have inflated quickly, with vital workers who fought through the COVID-19 pandemic demanding better compensation, especially in California, where housing costs make it difficult for young and well-paid workers in the health sector to buy their first house. Patricia Maysent, UC San Diego Health’s chief executive officer, said in an all-hands memo to staff Monday that the university health system’s financial picture demanded action...
Full story at https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/06/23/layoffs-hit-uc-san-diego-health-other-systems-may-follow/.
The Trial
A UCLA lecturer suing UC administrators for over $22 million will see his case go to trial Tuesday. Gordon Klein, a continuing lecturer in accounting, filed a lawsuit against Antonio Bernardo, the dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and the UC Board of Regents in September 2021. Klein was suspended in June 2020 for his response to a student’s request for grading accommodations for Black students, and was reinstated in September 2020. The trial date has been pushed back several times. The trial will be a bench trial – meaning that a judge, rather than a jury, decides the outcome – at the Santa Monica Courthouse...
Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2025/06/30/trial-to-begin-in-lawsuit-filed-by-ucla-lecturer-against-administrators.
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*For past blog coverage:
https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2021/09/reinstated-year-later-now-lawsuit.html; https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2020/09/reinstated.html.
Tough Credit
...Proponents of the loan program argue that growth is a sign of its success in expanding access; its critics say it’s because colleges saw an opportunity to boost enrollment in highly profitable programs. Federal graduate loans can be used for any postgraduate degree, including Ph.D.s. But master’s degrees and professional degrees, such as those in law and medicine, tend to be far more expensive. Graduate students also have much less access than undergraduates to institutional and public aid, meaning low- and middle-class students almost always have to borrow.
Some universities, Kelchen said, rely heavily on their graduate programs for tuition revenue—particularly large private institutions such as New York University and the University of Southern California, both of which enroll more graduate than undergraduate students...For some smaller universities that have struggled to maintain undergraduate enrollment, including Simmons University in Boston and Nova Southeastern in Florida, boosting graduate program offerings has become a key revenue stream.
...Conservatives aren’t the only ones skeptical of the current graduate loan system. Sandy Baum, a nonresident senior fellow at the liberal-leaning Urban Institute and a longtime scholar of student debt, believes that unlimited loans have enabled more students to borrow heavily to pay for degrees whose economic returns are often dubious. Graduate students make up about 15 percent of all higher education enrollment in the U.S. but account for nearly 40 percent of all outstanding student debt, according to a 2020 report from the Congressional Budget Office...
Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/admissions/graduate/2025/06/26/can-graduate-programs-survive-federal-loan-caps.
Hard Times for New College Grads? Is there an AI story?
Yours truly decided to look at macro-level labor market data to see what might be revealed. Specifically, he looked at unemployment, vacancies (job openings), hiring, quits, and firings. Let's take a look in a series of charts with some commentaries. All data are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Shown below are just charts, but yours truly also looked at the underlying numbers. Each chart below has a little commentary towards the upper right corner.
The chart below summarizes what the charts above seem to be saying. If you take a flash photo of the labor market using the unemployment rate, it would say conditions are good - the rate is relative low - although trending in the wrong direction (up). The flash photo is like what you would have seen during the later stages of the recovery from the Great Recession of 2009, but before the boom times just before the pandemic. The vacancy rate is similar in that regard to the unemployment rate. It is consistent with economic conditions as they were in the later stages of the recovery from the Great Recession, but trending in the wrong direction (down). Hiring and firing, in contrast, are similar to the earlier (depressed) stages of the recovery from the Great Recession.
Basically, the vacancy rate now is too high for underlying conditions. But note that the vacancy rate is the most subjective of the labor market measures we have looked at. It is what employers say it is. Is a job really open because the employer has listed it somewhere? There are lots of reasons why employers might want to keep a finger in the labor market even if they really don't have openings. It is easy to cite uncertainties about where the labor market and economy are headed now. Some uncertainties have to do with policy variation over things like tariffs. Some are residues from the pandemic and its aftermath, e.g., supply chain disruptions. Given those uncertainties - will we have Good Times or Hard Times ahead? - an employer might be reluctant to fire employees who might be needed in the future. But it might also be reluctant to hire new people who might turn out to be redundant.
Still, if you list vacancies, presumably you will be getting applications. And those applications could be viewed as standby candidates - you don't actually want to hire them now but you might want to have them in reserve for the future. For that, you need to process the applications, at least to the level of deciding who to call in the future if there is real need. AI is a potential tool for pre-screening. And to the extent it lowers the cost of basic pre-vetting of applicants, you might want to have more of them. So, yes, AI may be replacing some jobs. But its immediate effect on the labor market is to make it easier for employers to process vacancies and thus provide an incentive to maintain more seeming job vacancies than in the past.
At least, that is where yours truly would look for an explanation of why vacancies seem high, given other aspects of today's economy and why - even as unemployment has crept up - vacancies have moved up to match them. A summary of this interpretation can be found below:
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*See, for example, "Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market: A new sign that AI is competing with college grads," The Atlantic, April 30, 2025, at:
https://www.theatlantic.com/economy/archive/2025/04/job-market-youth/682641/;
Danielle Kaye, "Job Market Is Getting Tougher for College Graduates: Researchers attributed some of the difficulty finding jobs to larger societal shifts, including the growing use of artificial intelligence," New York Times, June 6, 2025, at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/business/job-market-college-graduates.html.
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Budget: The Missing Piece - Part 2
The budget contained a provision that it would only come into effect if a seemingly-unrelated bill pertaining to housing and infrastructure were signed by June 30th. The idea was to force the legislature to adopt the bill quickly without the usual procedures.
And, given the threat of the whole budget unraveling, the legislature - with grumbling - did enact the bill yesterday. So now there really is a budget, including the provisions for UC. Note, however, that midcourse corrections and adjustments are always possible. And the revenues and expenditures in the budget, those that actually occur as opposed to what's on paper, will in fact depend on economic developments.
You can read about the bill signing at https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article309722755.html.
The signing ceremony for the housing/infrastructure bill is at:
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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2025/06/budget-missing-piece.html.
Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 27
...Both incoming and returning international students would be able to study remotely, while returning students would have the option to attend the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy to finish their Kennedy School degree... The inability to host foreign students would have a significant impact on the Kennedy School, where international students make up roughly 52 percent of enrollment...
Full story at https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/25/metro/harvard-kennedy-school-contingency-plans-international-students/.
And from the NY Times: The Trump administration determined that Harvard University violated federal civil rights law by failing to address the harassment of Jewish students on campus, increasing the pressure on the Ivy League school as it negotiates a possible settlement with the White House. The administration sent a letter on Monday to Alan M. Garber, the president of Harvard, informing the school of the findings of its investigation. The administration said the university ignored the concerns of Jewish and Israeli students who felt threatened during protests on campus over the war in Gaza, according to two people briefed on the letter who insisted on anonymity to discuss the determination...
Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/us/politics/trump-harvard-civil-rights-law.html.
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