Second thoughts at the legislature

The governor will soon be presenting his May Revise budget proposal. From the perspective of the legislature, despite all the PR that UC gives its research agenda, the typical legislator hears from parents whose kids didn't get into the UC of their choice. The fact that what gives prestige to the campuses that are disappointing parents is research doesn't register. 

Back in the Good Old Days, people are told - maybe by grandparents - it was easy to get into, say, UCLA. Now it is hard. It is also true, however, that the population of California has grown by a factor of around 2.5 since 1960, the date of the Master Plan. And more kids finish high school and want to go to college now. 

It is also true that the state has a lot more on its plate than it did in the early 1960s. Example: The state didn't worry about funding Medi-Cal back then because there was no Medi-Cal. So, despite the Master Plan's promise of no tuition, i.e., full state funding, UC gets a mix of tuition and funding. It gets a lot more money from out-of-state and international students than it does from in-state enrollees. 

To make room for more in-state students at the prestige campuses, the state required fewer out-of-state admissions and promised to reimburse UC for the loss or revenue. But that turns out to be expensive. So now the legislature is having second thoughts about the deal. From CalMatters:

In 2022, faced with mounting criticism from California parents and students who couldn’t get into the state’s three premier public universities, legislators and UC officials struck a deal. UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC San Diego would admit a combined 900 more in-state students a year, and the state would up their budgets to cover the loss of revenue from non-resident students, who pay three times what in-state students pay. 

That deal has since cost taxpayers $276 million and allowed around 3,000 more students to enroll at the three universities. While the costs were expected, the number is far higher than the annual $31 million figure Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators routinely cite for funding the in-state student expansion, a CalMatters analysis shows. Now, with one year to go in the five-year plan, some are wondering whether the program’s high costs should continue as-is, particularly as California faces several years of multibillion-dollar deficits...

Full story at https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2026/04/uc-admission/. (Dan Hare was nice enough to forward this article to yours truly.)

The fact is that you can always say that the marginal cost of adding one more kid in the back of the lecture hall is essentially zero. But that doesn't mean that adding thousands more will cost zero. And from UC's perspective, even if it were zero, those seats in the lecture hall could go to out-of-state students who pay more than in-state students. Since there are many in-state kids turned away, and many out-of-state kids turned away, the opportunity cost for UC of a seat is the difference between what the two kinds of students pay.

It has always been the case that you could "process" lots more undergraduate students cheaply. That's what CSU does. That's what the community colleges do. And that's why - as we have said on this blog umpteen times - the state needs a new Master Plan in which all the trade-offs are thrashed out rather ad hoc legislative directives.

Straws in the Wind - Part 331

From Florida's Voice: Barry University School of Law has reversed its earlier denial and will allow students to form a chapter of Turning Point USA, complying with demands from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier that the private Catholic institution had engaged in viewpoint discrimination. The law school notified students of the decision Wednesday, ending a months-long dispute that began when administrators rejected a student request for official recognition of the conservative group in November. School officials had cited Turning Point USA’s emphasis on political advocacy and “ideological confrontation” as inconsistent with the university’s educational philosophy of reflective dialogue, intellectual humility and respect for human dignity, rooted in its Catholic and Adrian Dominican heritage.

Uthmeier sent a sharply worded letter to Dean Leticia M. Diaz on April 9, accusing the law school of “blatant viewpoint discrimination” that could violate its own student handbook guarantees of free expression and association, as well as Florida consumer protection laws. He noted that the school had approved other student organizations, including OUTLaw, a group focused on legal issues facing the LGBTQ+ community. Uthmeier welcomed the reversal in a statement Wednesday on X. “Great to see Barry Law School come around and provide its students with an opportunity to engage with and exchange diverse ideas,” he said...

Full story at https://flvoicenews.com/exclusive-barry-law-agrees-to-recognize-turning-point-usa-chapter-following-ag-uthmeier-pressure/.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 156

From the Harvard Crimson: The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study implemented a series of staffing cuts Wednesday, laying off employees and reducing positions as it grapples with mounting financial uncertainty. The Institute laid off four employees, shifted three staff members to part-time roles, and eliminated eight vacant positions, according to a Radcliffe employee familiar with the matter.

In [an] email to staff — which was obtained by The Crimson — Radcliffe Institute Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin described the decision as “painful,” citing “a wide range of federal actions targeting Harvard, cost pressures, and market volatility.” She said Harvard’s central administration had directed units to pursue “structural cuts.”

“We will operate with substantial financial uncertainty for the foreseeable future — years, not months — and we have been asked to respond accordingly,” Brown-Nagin wrote... 

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/30/radcliffe-layoffs/.

Poof! You're a Pauper!

The link to the article shown in the image is below. It's a sad tale of a computer SNAFU that isn't fully explained but was eventually corrected. However, in between the point where the accounts disappeared and when they were resurrected, there was a lot of anxiety, to say the least.

Some UC employees and retirees have their tax-favored savings accounts at Fidelity. And Fidelity provides other services for UC related to retirement accounts. But the glitch seems like something that could occur in any large computer system.

The moral of the tale would seem to be that it would be a good idea to keep some kind of external record of your accounts so that when someone tells you that they can't find any trace of your accounts in the system, you have a screenshot or a paper copy to prove otherwise. In this case, the victim of the SNAFU was told that because there was no record that she ever had existed, there was nothing to be done.

You can find the story at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/your-money/fidelity-investments-fraud-alert.html.

===

Straws in the Wind - Part 330

From Fortune: The assignment involves no laptop, no chatbot and no technology of any kind. In fact, there’s no pen or paper, either. Instead, students in Chris Schaffer’s biomedical engineering class at Cornell University are required to speak directly to an instructor in what he calls an “oral defense.” It’s a testing method as old as Socrates and making a comeback in the AI age. A growing number of college professors say they are turning to oral exams, and combining a variety of old-fashioned and cutting-edge techniques, to help address a crisis in higher education. “You won’t be able to AI your way through an oral exam,” says Schaffer, who introduced the oral defense last semester.

Educators are no longer naively wondering if students will use generative AI to do their homework for them. A big question now is how to determine what students are actually learning. College instructors across the U.S. are noticing troubling new trends as generative artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated. Take-home essays and other written assignments are coming back perfect. But when students are asked to explain their work, they can’t...

At the University of Pennsylvania, Emily Hammer, an associate professor of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, now pairs oral exams with written papers in her seminar classes...  Hammer forbids AI use on all writing assignments but tells her class she knows she can’t enforce that. However, if they haven’t written their papers themselves, defending the material face-to-face will likely be “a very stressful situation.”

Hammer’s class is part of “a massive shift toward in-person assessments,” both written and oral, at Penn, says Bruce Lenthall, executive director of the school’s Center for Teaching and Learning. The Ivy League school is one of a small but growing number of universities that have started running faculty workshops on oral exams...

Full story at https://fortune.com/2026/04/23/the-gen-z-stare-meets-the-mysterious-perfect-homework-assignment-in-the-age-of-chatgpt-enter-the-oral-exam/.

The Way We Live Now

A message from Associate Vice Chancellor Steve Lurie

Dear Bruin Community, 

The UC Regents will hold a two-day meeting at the Luskin Conference Center from Tuesday, May 5, through Wednesday, May 6, 2026. We are excited to welcome University leaders as they convene to do their important work. Traditionally, these meetings have been a focal point for individuals and groups who wish to express their concerns, goals, and vision for the University of California.

For those who wish to communicate with the Regents, public comment periods will be available to address the Board directly. For details on how to sign up, please click here: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/meetings/public-comment.html.

There will also be designated areas for public expression activities near the Luskin Conference Center. Signs will be posted to delineate these zones. If you plan to engage in First Amendment activity during the Regents meeting, please take a moment to review our time, place, and manner policies and related laws at https://tpm.ucla.edu/.

To ensure a safe, successful meeting, the Office of Campus and Community Safety will partner with other UC campuses, the California Highway Patrol, and contracted security personnel to increase available resources during the two-day event. Our community members will see officers in police vehicles, on bicycles, and on foot, as well as security officers throughout the area.

We remain committed to implementing UCLA's tiered response to all events and will utilize uniformed police officers only when absolutely necessary.

Please join me in welcoming the Regents to UCLA, and feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Steve Lurie

Associate Vice Chancellor, Office of Campus & Community Safety

Problems on the 405 this weekend

From Santa Monica Patch: Traffic will be affected on the 405 Freeway and nearby roads this weekend when construction will shut down several lanes of the interstate near the Sepulveda Pass beginning Friday.The northbound freeway will be reduced to three lanes from 10 p.m. Friday, May 1 through 5 a.m. Monday, May 4. Additionally, one ramp will be closed. 

The planned closures are as follows:

Northbound 405 Freeway

• The interstate will be reduced to three lanes between Skirball Center Drive and Ventura Boulevard.
• The Skirball Center Drive on-ramp to the northbound 405 will be closed.

The southbound freeway will not be affected by the closure...

Full story https://patch.com/california/santamonica/s/k9gav/major-lane-closures-to-snarl-405-freeway-this-weekend-what-to-know.

Klitzner

From a recent email:

The Carole E. Goldberg Emeriti Service Award, established in 2015, recognizes UCLA emeriti for exemplary service by an emeritus/emerita professor to the academic enterprise after retirement. The award honors outstanding service in professional, University, Academic Senate, emeriti, departmental or editorial posts, or committees.

UCLA Professor Emeritus Thomas S. Klitzner has been selected to receive the 2025 – 2026 Carole E. Goldberg Emeriti Service Award, which includes a prize of $1,000.

Thomas S. Klitzner, Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics retired in 2016. Dr. Klitzner has sustained a vigorous record of service to UCLA, the medical profession, and the broader community. At UCLA, he remains an active research collaborator focused on complex care for children, advancing national models for home and care coordination. In 2022 he endowed the Thomas Klitzner Medical Home Lectureship for Complex Care, bringing leading scholars to campus to strengthen education and practice. Beyond campus, Dr. Klitzner serves on the Strategic Planning Committee of the Venice Family Clinic and chairs the board of Seeds to Plate, a nonprofit providing garden-based education in Los Angeles public schools, fostering meaningful engagement between UCLA pediatric residents and local students. His continued participation in professional and advisory roles reflects decades of leadership in pediatric health system innovation.

Please join me in wishing Professor Emeritus Klitzner a well-deserved congratulations for outstanding service to UCLA since retirement and for serving as a powerful example of intellectual and professional achievement.

Sincerely,

Michael S. Levine

Chair, Carole E. Goldberg Emeriti Service Award Selection Committee

Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Personnel

Straws in the Wind - Part 329

From California Post: A growing revolt is unfolding at the the University of Southern California’s prestigious Marshall School of Business, where faculty are warning of the program’s downward slide. In a sharply worded letter to USC Dean Geoffrey Garrett, 52 tenured professors flagged falling enrollment and graduate program cuts as signs of deeper trouble at the school, according to L.A. Material. “There are clear signs of our downward trajectory in terms of academic reputation, commitment to excellence in research, and the demonstrated academic excellence of the students which graduate from our programs,” the letter states.

While faculty pushback isn’t unusual on college campuses, current and former USC administrators described the warning as rare, high-level rebuke that could force leadership to take a hard look inward. The tensions have arisen amid a strained financial backdrop at the college. USC carried out layoffs last July to close an operating deficit that had swelled to $251 million...

Full story at https://nypost.com/2026/04/24/us-news/doomsday-letter-from-faculty-at-usc-business-school-warns-of-distrubing-trend/.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 155

From the Harvard Crimson: Harvard faculty are weighing an amendment to a proposed cap on undergraduate A’s that would substantially reduce the number of A’s awarded in smaller courses, the latest revision to a policy faculty have debated for months. The current proposal would cap the number of A’s in any course at 20 percent of enrolled students plus four. The amendment, drafted by Physics professor Matthew D. Schwartz, would replace the flat addition of four with 0.6 times the square root of the total number of students.

Across all courses, the two formulas would produce roughly the same overall share of A’s — 31 percent under the amendment, compared with 32.3 percent under the current proposal. (The current share of As awarded to undergraduates is substantially higher at 63 percent.) But the amendment’s impact would be far more pronounced in smaller courses. In courses with 12 or fewer students, the maximum allowed share of A’s would fall from 70.8 percent to 51.1 percent. In larger classes, Schwartz’s formula would slightly increase the cap, raising the allowed share of A’s by one to three percentage points in courses with more than 30 students...

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/27/grade-cap-amendment/.

===

From the Harvard Crimson: Enrollment in Harvard’s Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies program has fallen to a more than 15-year low, as cuts to teaching positions and federal scrutiny of gender and sexuality-related programming raise questions about the program’s long-term sustainability. 22 undergraduates are currently concentrating in WGS, including joint and double concentrators, according to data from current and past concentration handbooks. The figure is the lowest since 2010 and represents a more than 50 percent decline from the program’s 2022-23 peak of 55 concentrators.

Only two are sophomores — the most recent class to declare their concentrations...

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/22/wgs-concentrators-drop/.

And he got it! Feedback ==> Food

Blog readers will recall that it was only a short time ago that the food went away.* But now it's back!

From the Daily Bruin: UCLA’s Early Care and Education centers reversed a decision to discontinue meals, diapers and formula for children... The reinstatement of UCLA ECE’s services came after Tashon McKeithan, ECE’s executive director, announced April 16 that ECE would eliminate its food service program and stop providing diapers and formula starting July 1 to cut costs amid UCLA’s budget deficit. The ECE centers provide child care for UCLA community members, including faculty, staff and students.

The cuts to ECE’s programs sparked concern among parents, leading them and their children to protest outside Chancellor Julio Frenk’s residence Tuesday morning. The protesters – who held signs reading, “Little Bruins need snacks” – called on UCLA to provide more funding for ECE. UCLA ECE reinstated the services after receiving feedback from parents...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/04/27/ucla-early-care-and-education-admin-announce-reinstated-food-formula-programs.

===

*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2026/04/food-for-thought.html.

Straws in the Wind - Part 328

From the Daily Pennsylvanian: Penn is moving forward with budget reductions across all schools, centers, and administrative units as part of its planning for fiscal year 2027, according to [an] email sent to University faculty. Announced on April 21 by Provost John Jackson Jr. and Executive Vice President Mark Dingfield, the decision formalizes cross-cutting measures first introduced in January. The reductions — which may include staffing changes or modifications to programs and services — will vary across schools and units.“All Schools, Centers, and central administrative units will be making reductions as part of a shared effort to meet this moment,” they wrote in the email, citing rising institutional costs, federal policy changes, and broader economic uncertainty.

According to Jackson and Dingfield, the reductions will be implemented as part of Penn’s finalized FY27 budgets. They wrote that the cuts are intended to address “structural costs deliberately.” ...The latest message highlighted how forthcoming policy changes, such as an increase in the endowment excise tax and to federal student loan program updates, contributed to the University’s financial strain. 

In 2025, Penn implemented several “proactive financial measures,” including a hiring freeze and a review of capital spending. Faculty have since raised concerns that continued reductions could restrict research programs and departmental resources...

Full story at https://www.thedp.com/article/2026/04/penn-announces-budget-cuts-trump-federal-uncertainty-2026.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 154

From the Harvard Crimson: Harvard Medical School faculty offered diverging assessments of the school’s revised mission statement, with several professors welcoming a tighter focus on patient care and research while others said the rewrite stripped out language central to the practice of medicine. HMS dean George Q. Daley ’82 unveiled the new statement on April 9, defending it as a “leaner” articulation of the school’s purpose. The previous version opened with a pledge to “nurture a diverse, inclusive community dedicated to alleviating suffering.”

The revised statement removes that language and centers the school’s work on improving “health and wellbeing,” with the diversity commitment relocated to a separate community values statement that affirms HMS as “a diverse and inclusive community.”

Several faculty members said the revision was an improvement... HMS professors Hao Wu and Joseph P. Newhouse offered similar assessments. Wu wrote that the previous statement “sounded a bit sad,” while Newhouse called the revision “appropriate.” ... Other faculty were sharply critical... David S. Jones, a professor of the culture of medicine at HMS... questioned whether political pressure had driven the revision... Christophe O. Benoist, a professor of immunohematology, said he understood the criticism but saw the changes as a strategic concession... Stephen Lory, a retired microbiology professor, said the revisions would not change the day-to-day work of the school’s labs...

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/27/hms-mission-faculty-reactions/.

So they won't be what they're cracked up to be?

From the Daily Bruin: Long-awaited sidewalk repairs are coming to Westwood this year, according to documents from the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering. The city will repair sidewalks in areas in Westwood, including parts of Veteran Avenue, Levering Avenue, Landfair Avenue and Gayley Avenue, according to a pending request document from the bureau.

The design period for the repairs ended in April after beginning in October 2025. Construction will last from October 2026 to October 2027, according to the repair program package...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/04/23/westwood-sidewalk-repairs-will-start-this-year-city-says.

Straws in the Wind - Part 327

From the Columbia Daily Spectator: Amid a national reckoning with grade inflation, Columbia’s undergraduate schools have been considering changing the way the University weighs A-pluses. It is unclear when these changes would take effect if approved. The Committee on Instruction, which governs the curriculum for Columbia College and the School of General Studies, has considered decreasing the weight of A-pluses for at least the past year, three COI members told Spectator. While the registrar currently weighs A-pluses as a 4.33 in its cumulative grade point average calculation, the COI proposed weighing A-pluses as a 4.0—the same as an A. Under this proposal, individual professors could still award A-pluses, which would continue to appear on students’ transcripts.

The proposal comes as peer institutions consider drastic efforts to curb grade inflation. This fall, a report issued by Harvard University found that over 60 percent of grades awarded to Harvard undergraduates were A’s. Harvard proposed capping the proportion of A’s awarded for each class at 20 percent, though it delayed voting for the proposal until fall 2027...

Full story at https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2026/04/21/columbia-proposes-reducing-weight-of-a-pluses-amid-national-reckoning-with-grade-inflation/.

As we have noted in the past, the problem with grade inflation - unlike price inflation - is that grade inflation is capped. With a cap, everyone ends up with the same grade. Lowering the cap as a "solution" is, quite frankly, a ridiculous idea. But de facto, that's what the proposal above amounts to.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge - Part 153

From the Harvard Crimson: Harvard deliveries have been disrupted... as graduate student workers picket loading docks across campus — at times prompting drivers to turn away rather than cross the line. Some delivery drivers declined to complete drop-offs after speaking with picketers, while others attempted to reroute shipments through alternate routes. According to Evan R. Lemire, a HGSU executive board member, drivers from companies including UPS, USPS, Airgas, Taylor Oil, and Arrow Paper Corporation have been unable to access multiple docking sites in Cambridge since the strike began.

A UPS driver said packages scheduled for the Harvard Yard Mail Center at 1 Oxford St. were not delivered Wednesday because drivers were unwilling to cross the picket line. Instead, the packages are expected to be retrieved from a UPS facility by Harvard Transportation Services staff. UPS drivers are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, whose contracts allow workers to honor picket lines...

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/24/delivery-delay-hgsu-strike/.

I'll just give you the links: Not an Endorsement - Just FYI

https://www.dailycal.org/news/state/uc-berkeley-professor-satish-rao-enters-california-gubernatorial-race/article_11e5028f-5c3a-44ab-a874-9d154c0b2044.html#disqus_thread

https://satish4guv.org/

https://satish4guv.org/course/lecture1

https://x.com/SatishForGuv

Food for Thought

From the Daily Bruin: UCLA’s Early Care and Education centers will raise tuition, pause hiring for vacant positions and stop providing food for children in response to university-wide budget cuts, its executive director announced to families [last] Thursday. UCLA ECE will discontinue financial support for formula and diapers, and it will not backfill vacant staff positions starting July 1, UCLA ECE’s Executive Director Tashon McKeithan said in a Thursday email to parents. McKeithan said in the email that UCLA ECE – which provides child care to UCLA students, faculty and staff – will increase tuition across all age groups, including infant, toddler and preschool levels, by 4% for the 2026-27 academic year.

Tuition for infants and toddlers will cost around $3,300 and $3,000, respectively, for UCLA affiliates, McKeithan said in the email. Monthly tuition for infants will cost around $3,800 for non-UCLA affiliates, and tuition for toddlers will cost around $3,200, she added. Campus administrators asked all university departments to reduce costs in response to UCLA’s ongoing budget deficit, McKeithan said in the email...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/04/21/ucla-child-care-centers-cut-food-for-children-raise-tuition-amid-budget-deficit.

Straws in the Wind - Part 326

From the Brown Daily Herald: Economics Professor Roberto Serrano normally holds in-person exams for his ECON 1170: “Welfare Economics and Social Choice Theory” class, but this semester he decided to assign a take-home, closed-book exam for the first midterm to alleviate pressure for students after the Dec. 13 shooting. But after the class’s grade distributions indicated widespread cheating, Serrano has decided to return to in-person exams for all of his courses. The median for the exam was 98%, with 40 out of 86 students scoring 100%. Compared to previous data, the distribution for his first ECON 1170 midterm was “absolutely ridiculous,” especially since he had designed a more challenging exam for the take-home format, Serrano said in an interview with The Herald. “Historically, the average grade in the midterm exams ranged from 65 to 85,” Serrano said. After investigating the exam results, Serrano said he found signs of AI use and collaboration amongst students...

Pakzad-Hurson also suspects student AI use on homework assignments. “The biggest shift is just that students are seemingly a lot better at homework now,” Pakzad-Hurson said. He has noticed “perfect performance” on homeworks and “poor performance” on tests. Pakzad-Hurson lowered the weight of homeworks on students’ overall grades to reduce the incentive to submit AI work.

Economics Professor Rajiv Vohra noted that AI does not appear to be a problem with in-person exams, but may be an issue with homeworks or take-home exams. Teaching Professor of Economics Sylvia Kuo has also noticed potential AI usage on her homework assignments, even though they are graded based on effort. She said she has seen “weird answers” that still arrive at a solution, but use terminology that is inconsistent “with what was taught.”

In the last year, Kuo has also seen a decrease in exam scores, despite the fact that the content of exams has been “roughly” the same since she started teaching the course more than a decade ago. She said this suggests students are not using their “own brain” to do the “learning in order to perform well on exams.” ...

Full story at https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2026/04/after-ai-cheating-concerns-economics-professors-see-in-person-exams-as-a-path-forward.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 152

From the Harvard Crimson: Leaders of Harvard’s non-tenure-track faculty union quietly called off plans for a spring strike, overriding a membership vote after concluding the walkout risked failing to win approval from the United Auto Workers. At a... general membership meeting attended by roughly 150, workers represented by the Harvard Academic Workers-UAW voted to close an ongoing strike authorization vote on Friday and begin striking as early as next week, according to an attendee. But in an abrupt about-face, the union’s bargaining committee extended the voting timeline the following day — a move that rules out any strike this semester.

...The committee said the combination of low participation and a tight turnaround between the proposed vote closure and strike date created a “substantial” risk that UAW’s international leadership would not authorize its strike in time. Without that approval, workers would be ineligible for strike pay and other union support — and the authorization process would have to start over.

...The move strips HAW-UAW of a key source of leverage this semester as negotiations for its first contract with Harvard stretch into a second year. It also means that the non-tenure-track faculty will not picket alongside Harvard’s graduate student union, which previously began striking... 

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/24/haw-strike-vote-override/.

News: Possible Mid-May UC Strike - Part 2

UC continues its policy of publicizing its latest offer in union negotiations. As the May 14 threatened deadline of the AFSCME strike approaches, UC has upped its offer and put out a news release. Excerpt:

Demonstrating its commitment to delivering proposals to address affordability concerns for employees, the University of California has expanded its contract offer to AFSCME-represented patient care and service workers, delivering even stronger wage growth, new financial protections, and meaningful improvements to working conditions. 

Building on its earlier proposal, UC’s latest package, an increase of more than $12 million over the previous offer, now delivers up to nearly 33% total pay growth over the life of the contract when annual raises and step increases are combined. In addition to the 5% wage increase already provided to AFSCME-represented team members in 2025, UC’s offer includes across-the-board raises of 5% in 2026, 4% in 2027, 4% in 2028 (up from 3.5%), and 3% in 2029, alongside step increases each year of the contract to support steady wage progression. 

The updated offer also includes up to a $1,000 ratification bonus for eligible employees, paid within 90 days, providing immediate financial support...

Full release at https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/uc-expands-afscme-offer-address-affordability-nearly-33-pay-growth-and-lower-health.

He won't be there

At the upcoming May meetings of the Regents, one Regent won't be there. From the Daily Cal: 

When Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed four new UC regents last month, the public statement overshadowed the quiet departure of a veteran of the body, Gareth Elliott, who left his post without announcement 11 years before the end of his term. A partner at the California lobbying firm Sacramento Advocates, Elliot served on the Board for over a decade prior to his departure and was reappointed by Newsom in 2025 to a new 12-year term.

Elliott’s exit from the board, however, was not a traditional resignation or termination. Rather, the regent left through a relatively rare procedural mechanism after just one year. Regents may assume their positions immediately upon the governor’s appointment, and an appointment is valid only if confirmed by the State Senate within a year. As he was reappointed by Newsom on Feb. 27, 2025, Elliott’s new term was never confirmed in this process, forcing him out of his seat last March.

According to UC Office of the President spokesperson Rachel Zaentz, Elliott “chose not to pursue confirmation for personal reasons.” Elliott did not respond to a request for comment...

Full story at https://www.dailycal.org/news/uc/uc-regent-quietly-exits-board-11-years-before-end-of-appointment/article_53c5d1cf-93db-4125-9821-22524cdb704d.html.

Straws in the Wind - Part 325

From the Columbia Daily Spectator: In her student advising meetings in recent years, Wendy Schor-Haim, director of Barnard’s First-Year Writing program, has noticed a shift in her advisees. Schor-Haim, who has taught in the program since 2009, said she saw a “notable decrease” over the past few years in first-year students voicing interest in humanities majors. Instead, more were arriving on campus with clear plans to pursue STEM fields.

Schor-Haim’s experience reflects a broader trend faculty say is emerging at Barnard: declining interest in traditional humanities majors alongside sustained growth in hard and social sciences. As Barnard continues to invest in scientific infrastructure and resources, professors across disciplines are wondering what this shift means for the college’s identity and the future of humanities in a liberal arts framework...

In her advising conversations, Schor-Haim said interests are skewing “overwhelmingly” toward natural sciences. Social sciences, particularly economics, follow. By contrast, she said she could “count on one hand” how many of her students enter Barnard expressing interest in fields such as literature, history, philosophy, or other humanities...

Full story at https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2026/04/19/as-barnard-advances-stem-initiatives-humanities-professors-express-enrollment-concerns/.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 151

From the Harvard Crimson: Harvard College Dean David J. Deming said [last] Thursday that he would cut administrative functions before scaling back student-facing programming as the College braces for significant reductions tied to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ $365 million structural deficit...

Deming pointed to the federal endowment tax — raised to eight percent last summer under the Republicans’ tax and spending bill — as a major driver of the FAS’ budget shortfall. “That blew a hole of roughly $100 million per year in the FAS budget,” Deming said. “That’s not a one-time thing. That’s an every year thing that is enshrined into legislation.” ...

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/24/deming-administrative-functions-budget/.

Exchange of Letters

 

From the California Post: The Undergraduate Students Association Council claimed hosting Hamas torture survivor Omer Shem Tov “obscured the broader reality of ongoing state violence.” UCLA was quick to slam the group’s comments and one member broke ranks to brand it “blatantly disrespectful” and revealed it was released without everyone present to vote on it. The council president also said he was not present when it was decided. The college’s Hillel brought in the 23-year-old to discuss his harrowing 505 days in the tunnels under Gaza at the hands of the terrorists after he was snatched during the October 7 massacre. He spoke at an event to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 14 — which was attended by chancellor Julio Frenk — and was widely celebrated by the university’s Jewish students.

...[Undergraduate Student Association Council] president Diego Bollo told The Post he was not present at the meeting, and that the councilmember who introduced the letter did so on a day when a councilmember who had promoted Omer’s event was not present to share her perspective and knowledge of the event. Bollo also said the letter was passed by a “bare majority.”

“I acknowledge that this reflects a lapse in oversight on my part as President, and I take responsibility for that institutional shortcoming. To address this issue, I am initiating a review immediately of our internal processes for drafting and releasing public statements,” Bollo told The Post. “I deeply value free speech and free expression on our campus. I have worked throughout my term to ensure that the university supports all student groups in hosting speakers and a wide range of programming. Free speech is a principle I do not compromise on — regardless of the nature or subject of any given event,” he added. ...Talia Davood, who is Jewish and on the council, said: “What left me particularly speechless was the decision to bring this forward on the night of Yom HaShoah — a day dedicated to mourning the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust... She added: “I want to recognize that not all officers present tonight were at the meeting last week. I also want to make it clear that my office condemns doxxing of any kind.” ...

...UCLA released a statement following the student body’s letter, saying: “The event’s message was one of resilience and respect for human rights and dignity — a message we support. “We stand by UCLA Hillel, UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and the UCLA chapter of Students Supporting Israel’s invitation to have this very important dialogue, which occurred on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. “We firmly stand against violence of any kind. Omer Shem Tov spoke with students and other members of the community with the chancellor and Dr. Felicia Knaul in attendance, and the event occurred without any disruption.

“We will review the process by which this letter was issued. The condemnation of such a peaceful event to share a story of resilience in the face of extreme suffering is antithetical to the values of our Bruin community.” ...

Jewish students make up an estimated 9% of UCLA’s undergraduate population, or roughly 3,100 to 4,000 students.

Full story at https://nypost.com/2026/04/22/us-news/ucla-students-protest-israeli-hostages-campus-visit/.

And there was one more letter yours truly found on the web:

Source: https://x.com/yashar/status/2047737036568969352.

Straws in the Wind - Part 324

From Inside Higher Ed: The Department of Education released its third and final set of regulations related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for public comment... This proposal fleshes out a new accountability metric designed to test the return on investment of each degree program at more than 4,000 colleges and universities. (The previous two—for which public comment has already closed—outlined new graduate student loan caps and an expansion of the Pell Grant for short-term job training programs.) If the regulations are finalized, undergraduate programs would be required to show that their average graduate earns more than a working adult with only a high school degree. The same would be true for graduate programs, but students’ earning would be compared to a bachelor’s degree holder.

Programs that fail the test for two out of three consecutive years would lose access to federal student loans, and in certain circumstances a program could eventually lose access to the Pell Grant as well...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/04/20/new-college-accountability-metric-published-public-comment.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 150

From the Harvard Crimson: Members of the Harvard faculty subcommittee that drafted a proposal to cap A grades said Yale’s recent recommendation of a 3.0 mean GPA would cut deeper into student transcripts than Harvard’s own plan — even as they welcomed Yale’s entry into a debate that has so far unfolded largely in Cambridge.

The Yale Committee on Trust in Higher Education, in a report released April 10, urged Yale College to adopt “a 3.0 mean, or some other college-wide standard” to address grade inflation, alongside a new percentile-rank metric on transcripts. A Harvard committee proposed a different instrument: a 20 percent cap on A grades per course, with four additional As permitted, and no mandated distribution across other grades.

Government professor Alisha C. Holland, a member of the Harvard subcommittee, said the two proposals would land in very different places on student transcripts. “I would expect — especially in the short term, as instructors make adjustments – that the median grade at Harvard will be an A-minus,” Holland said. “That is far off from the mean of a 3.0 that Yale is recommending.” ...

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/23/yale-report-harvard-reacts/.

The Regents are Coming to UCLA May 5-6, 2026 (Tuesday-Wednesday)

Agenda: May 5-6, 2026 - Luskin Conference Center, UCLA

===

Tuesday, May 5, 2026

10:00 am Health Services Committee (open session- includes public comment session) 

Public Comment

--

Upon end of open session:

Health Services Committee (closed session) 

H1(X) Discussion: Strategic Planning, UCLA Health: Future Alignments and Acquisitions

H2(X) Discussion: Litigation Update: Evolving Risk in Reimbursement

H3(X) Discussion: UC Health Litigation Update

H4(X) Discussion: UC Irvine Health Acquisition Integration and Risk Review

--

Upon end of closed session:

Health Services Committee (open session) 

Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of March 17, 2026

H5 Discussion: Review of the UC Health Division 2025-28 Strategic Plan and Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budget

--

1:00 pm Board (open session) 

Remarks of the Chair of the Board

Remarks of the President of the University

Remarks of the Chair of the Academic Senate

B1 Discussion: UC Inspires: Leveraging the Power of UC Alumni

B2 Discussion: UCLA Bruins NCAA Champion Women’s Basketball Team

--

2:45 pm Governance Committee (closed session) 

Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of March 18, 2026

G1(X) Discussion: Collective Bargaining Matters

NOTE: A potential AFSCME strike is scheduled for May 14.

G2(X) Discussion: Appointment of and Compensation for Laboratory Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

--

Upon end of closed session:

Governance Committee (open session) 

Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of March 18, 2026

G2 Action: Approval of Appointment of and Compensation for Laboratory Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as Discussed in Closed Session 

--

3:45 pm Board (open session) 

Committee Report Including Approvals of Recommendations from Committees: Governance Committee

--

4:00 pm Investments Committee (open session) 

Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of March 17, 2026

I1 Discussion: Review of Third Quarter 2025–26 Fiscal Year Performance for UC Retirement, Endowment, and Working Capital Assets

===

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

8:30 am Board (open session - includes public comment session) 

Public Comment Period (30 minutes)

Approval of the Minutes of the Meetings of November 19, 2025 and March 17 and 18, 2026

Remarks from Student Associations

B3 Discussion: UC Research Landscape and Impact

B4 Discussion: Balancing Environmental and Financial Sustainability Considerations to Build Next-Generation University Energy Systems 

--

10:15 am Board (closed session) 

B5(X) Discussion: External Funding Litigation and Legal Issues

NOTE: This item refers to the current UC/UCLA conflict with the federal government. Normally, a special committee of the Board deals with this conflict between full Regents sessions. This discussion, in contrast, is with the full Board.

--

11:15 am Compliance and Audit Committee (closed session) 

C1(X) and C2(X) Review of various medical malpractice and other cases. Included is a pre-lawsuit case involving UCLA and a software/hardware company, Oracle America (and likely refers to the failed Ascend 2.0 matter), and what are referred to as "Remote" cases (which may refer to requests for tuition refunds due to the COVID pandemic). Also included are private and federal cases involving antisemitism, cases related to protests, and a case concerning UCLA's attempt to move out of the Rose Bowl.

C3(X) Information: Settlements and Separation Agreements under Delegated Authority Reported from February 1, 2026 to March 31, 2026

--

12:15 pm Board (closed session) 

Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of March 17-18, 2026

Committee Reports Including Approval of Recommendations from Committees:

- Compliance and Audit Committee

- Governance Committee

- Health Services Committee

Officers’ and President’s Reports:

- Personnel Matters

- Report of Interim Actions

- Report of Materials Mailed Between Meetings

--

1:30 pm Finance and Capital Strategies Committee (open session) 

Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of March 18, 2026

Consent Agenda:

- F1A Action: Consent Item: Fiscal Year 2026-27 Bond Issuances

- F1B Action: Consent Item: Advanced Work Phase of the Mission Bay Education Center and Dental Clinics, San Francisco Campus: Construction Funding, Scope, and Design Following an Exemption Determination Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act

- F1C Action: Consent Item: Adoption of Expenditure Rate for the General Endowment Pool

- F1D Action: Consent Item: Adoption of Endowment Administration Cost Recovery Rate 

F2 Action: Heller Student Housing South, Santa Cruz Campus: Budget, Scope, External Financing, and Design Following Consideration of an Addendum to the Student Housing West Environmental Impact Report Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act

F3 Action: Mission Bay Block 16A Building, San Francisco Campus: Budget and External Financing for UCSF’s Contribution to the Project, Scope, Design Following Consideration of an Addendum to the UCSF Long Range Development Plan Environmental Impact Report Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, and Acceptance of Gift of Real Property

F4 Action: University of California Retirement Plan – Amendment to Previously Approved Action: Suspension of $550 Million Short Term Investment Pool Transfer In 2026–27 

F5 Action: Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budget for the University of California Office of the President 

--

3:00 pm Academic and Student Affairs Committee (open session) 

Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of March 18, 2026

A1 Discussion: UC Center Sacramento and UC Washington Center: Cultivating Future Leaders for the State and Nation

--

3:30 pm Public Engagement and Development Committee (open session) 

Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of January 20–21, 2026

P1 Discussion: State Governmental Relations Update 

--

3:45 pm Board (open session) 

Committee Reports Including Approvals of Recommendations from Committees:

- Academic and Student Affairs Committee

- Finance and Capital Strategies Committee

- Health Services Committee

- Investments Committee

- Public Engagement and Development Committee

Resolutions

Officers’ and President’s Reports

Report of Materials Mailed Between Meetings

===

Source: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/meetings/agendas/may26.html

Panunzio Awards

The 2025-2026 Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeriti Award honoring Emeriti Professors in the University of California system has been awarded to Professor Emerita of Anthropology Monique Bogerhoff Mulder (UC Davis) and Professor Emeritus of Agricultural and Resource Economics Alain de Janvry (UC Berkeley).

UC Emeriti Professors Borgerhoff Mulder and de Janvry are the fifty-sixth and fifty-seventh recipients of the Constantine Panunzio Award. Both awardees have especially long and notable records of research, teaching, and service to the University of California, their disciplines, and their communities. The late Dr. Panunzio, a Professor of Sociology at UCLA for many years, has been described as the architect of the UC Retirement System and was particularly active in improving pensions and stipends for his fellow Emeriti. The award bearing his name was established in 1983 and includes a $5,000 prize. The Panunzio Award exemplifies the tremendous contributions of Emeriti to the continued excellence of the UC System.

 

Monique Borgerhoff Mulder, UC Davis, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, retired in 2018. She has sustained an extraordinary level of scholarly productivity and leadership in the interdisciplinary fields of human behavioral ecology, conservation science, and sustainability studies. Her research continues to illuminate the intersections of poverty, inequality, and environmental conservation, particularly in East Africa, where she has conducted long-term collaborative fieldwork with pastoralist, fishing, and forest dependent communities. Professor Emerita Borgerhoff Mulder has secured multiple competitive research grants from the National Science Foundation, the UK Natural Environment Research Council, and the Global Challenges Research Fund. These awards, totaling several million dollars in research support, reflect the confidence of international funders in her methodological rigor and interdisciplinary vision. Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2021, she continues to shape global scientific discourse through invited lectures, international workshops, and leadership roles in organizations such as the Cultural Evolution Society and the Santa Fe Institute. Her work also has substantial impact beyond academia. Through organizations she co-founded and advises, such as Watu Simba na Mazingira (WASIMA) and the Ngezi‑Vumawimbi Heritage Organization, she has advanced community driven conservation efforts in Tanzania and Zanzibar, strengthening local governance and supporting sustainable livelihoods. Her editorial work has set field standards and amplifies emerging voices, broadening interdisciplinary dialogue, and accelerating community engaged research.

--

Alain de Janvry, UC Berkeley, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural & Resource Economics, retired in 2017. Professor Emeritus de Janvry has sustained a field defining presence in development economics, agricultural policy, poverty alleviation, and the political economy of institutions. Through ongoing collaborations with scholars and international development organizations, he remains an influential voice in the global conversation on economic development, evidence-based policy, and risk management for vulnerable populations. Additionally, he has published landmark studies in the American Economic Review and AEJ: Applied Economics on bureaucratic incentives, disaster recovery, technology diffusion, and insurance adoption. His service on scientific councils has anchored rigorous, policy relevant editorial curation and broadened access for applied research communities worldwide. Professor Emeritus de Janvry’s field experiments on subjective performance evaluations in China, index-based disaster funds in Mexico, and the diffusion of climate resilient rice varieties in India exemplify his rigorous empirical approach. He has shaped research agendas through major monographs on disaster risk finance, and impact evaluation methodologies. His experimental and quasi experimental studies, ranging from randomized farmer training interventions to regression discontinuity analyses of disaster funding, have directly influenced program designs across governments and NGOs. He remains a dedicated mentor, advising graduate students, junior faculty, as well as practitioners, and continues to advance the use of evidence in policy design and implementation.

Straws in the Wind - Part 323

From the Daily Californian: The number of computer science graduates at UC Berkeley is expected to decrease to 851 for the 2025-26 academic year, down from 1,029 graduates in 2024-25. According to electrical engineering and computer sciences chair Jelani Nelson, as of late March, the CS department is slated to graduate approximately 350 students in 2027. These figures represent a 59% decrease in CS enrollment from the 2025-26 to 2026-27 school years. The decline in campus computer science graduates mirrors a trend across the UC system, with CS major enrollment across the university decreasing in 2025 for the first time since the early 2000s. It also contributes to a larger nationwide decline in CS majors, with an 8.1% drop at four-year colleges in fall 2025.

...Since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, employment for computer science and math majors aged 22 to 27 has fallen by 8%. However, campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore noted that student interest in CS-related majors is “still strong” despite the rise of AI. Gilmore cited rising instructional costs, campus budget constraints and faculty availability as contributing factors in the reduction in enrollment.

...In an X post, [Electrical engineering and computer sciences chair Jelani] Nelson identified the high cost of instruction as the primary cause of campus’s decision to reduce CS major enrollment. Undergraduate teaching assistants now cost the department between $71.95 and $80.51 per hour. Since winning a grievance in January 2020, campus EECS and data science undergraduate TAs receive proportional tuition waivers depending on how many hours they work. According to Nelson’s post, this change significantly increased department costs, which led campus to reduce undergraduate CS enrollment and decrease the number of undergraduate TAs...

Full story at https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/academics/uc-berkeley-cs-major-enrollment-on-pace-to-drop-by-59-as-part-of-nationwide/article_8ceded3c-d939-4f60-8aa4-110be003c4e3.html.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 149

From the Harvard Crimson: A Harvard Medical School working group on open inquiry found that students and faculty frequently self-censor on controversial topics and recommended a series of changes to strengthen classroom and laboratory discourse, according to a report released Tuesday. The 16-member group, chaired by former HMS Dean Jeffrey S. Flier, called on the school to host regular public forums modeling debate on controversial issues, expand a recently adopted non-attribution rule for classroom discussions, and develop explicit guidelines on the boundaries of student and faculty activism in clinical settings.

...The institution’s push to examine open inquiry followed sustained pressure from the White House last spring to curtail diversity, equity, and inclusion programming and what the administration called left-leaning political bias in higher education. But Flier said in an interview before the report’s release that the effort was driven by concerns internal to HMS, not federal pressure. “There was an obvious need for internal reform, unrelated to the Trump administration,” Flier said. “Some people will look at some of the things that are recommended and say, isn’t that something similar to what is being demanded? Maybe that’s true in a few instances, but that just is not a reason to deny the issues that we take up.”

...Anonymous feedback indicated that students struggled to “disagree respectfully and understand other perspectives” and often hesitated to share views on controversial topics. Faculty reported similar reluctance, citing fear of offending colleagues or facing backlash. Flier described the findings as “major issues” for the school. Self-censorship was especially pronounced in required courses on medical ethics, health care policy, and social medicine — topics the report described as “politically and socially charged.” Some students felt those courses presented contested topics without sufficient viewpoint diversity, while others felt there was too much.

...Recommendations include articulating informal “social compacts” to guide classroom and laboratory interactions and establishing awards recognizing affiliates who advance open inquiry. Some of the working group’s recommendations are already underway at HMS. The school updated application essay prompts for its M.D. and master’s programs in late 2025 to place greater emphasis on applicants’ ability to engage across difference, and it has partnered with the outside organizations to train faculty, staff, and student leaders...

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/22/hms-open-inquiry-findings/.

The deadline that wasn't

As blog readers will know, April 24 - today - was supposed to be the deadline for converting all instructional materials to meet disability access standards.* But the deadline has been postponed one year. From Inside Higher Ed: 

Citing heavy administrative burdens for institutions, the government is giving colleges, universities and other public entities another year to comply with new federal accessibility guidelines designed to reduce the hurdles students with disabilities face in accessing increasingly complex information on web pages and mobile apps.

The Department of Justice “overestimated the capabilities (whether staffing or technology) of covered entities to comply with the rule in the time frames provided,” the department wrote in an interim final rule published to the Federal Register [last] Monday. “This [interim final rule] will lead to greater predictability and certainty as covered entities work towards accessibility of their websites” and “greater accessibility for individuals with disabilities.” ...

Though there are some exceptions for “archived” content, compliance with [the regulations meant] that every PDF file must be accessible to a screen reader, every video accompanied by captions and audio descriptions, every photograph coded with alternate text, and every sound clip paired with a transcript. All third-party platforms have to meet the guidelines, too...

==

*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2026/04/coming-april-24th-part-2.html; https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2025/12/coming-april-24th.html. 

Caution Advised

There have been reports of phone calls that purport to be from Navitus, the company that manages drug costs for some of UC's health insurance plans.

If you get a call that indicates a problem with your prescriptions, the best thing to do is to avoid responding directly. The general number for Navitus for those covered by its plan is 844-268-9789. If you get a message on your voicemail, call that number - not the number that may have been indicated in the phone call message - and ask if there is really a problem. 

If you answer the original call, do not provide any information to the caller. Call back at the 844 number above.

Straws in the Wind - Part 322

From the Chronicle of Higher Education: A state legislature says a new ban on “staging walkouts” at public universities will protect free speech by preventing protesters from disrupting campus speakers. But some faculty members and speech advocates believe it’s inappropriate to prohibit what they see as a legitimate form of protest at public campuses. That, and they argue that a walkout is one of the most peaceful and least disruptive forms of protest. The Tennessee legislation, sent to Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s desk Friday, is dubbed the Charlie Kirk Act — adding to a growing number of red states that are using the conservative activist’s legacy to reform campus speech. Despite HB 1476’s name association, Tennessee Rep. Gino Bulso, a Republican and the bill’s sponsor, said it is nonpartisan in nature.

The legislation directs public colleges to formally adopt certain elements of the University of Chicago’s policy on free expression, including one stating that students and others “may not obstruct or otherwise interfere” with viewpoints they don’t like. The Chicago Principles have been embraced by a number of colleges in the past dozen years. The bill then describes what it considers to be obstruction, including “staging walkouts” during an event or in the middle of an invited speaker’s remarks. It defines walkouts as “considerable disruption or distraction or the need to pause the event for any period of time, however short.” If a student or faculty member violates the walkout provision, they may be subject to disciplinary probation, followed by suspension and expulsion for subsequent violations, according to the legislation.

HB 1476 also prevents colleges from disinviting speakers due to their beliefs or in response to opposition from students or faculty...

Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/sit-and-stay-seated-walkouts-at-one-states-public-universities-could-soon-be-banned.

Milliken-Gillman-Chermerinsky on Free Speech and Academic Freedom Issues

The UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement sponsored a webinar-conversation on free speech and academic freedom on April 22, featuring UC President Milliken, UC-Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman, and Berkeley law school dean Erwin Chermerinsky. The three speakers were introduced by Center director Michelle Deutchman.

Below you can find an audio link to the program. The tendency was to focus on legal issues and the distinction between free speech and academic freedom. Yours truly would have preferred more emphasis on higher education values - not legal rights - of knowing what you are talking about before opining. But that's just me.

The one area of controversy that surfaced is the use of departmental political statements. Gillman indicated some reservation about where the Regents wound up on that issue, i.e., banning such statements if they appeared on the landing page of a department's website. He suggested that he would have gone further because such statements may impinge on the freedom of minority views. Milliken indicated that the issue might be revisited in the future. You can hear that exchange at the link below:

The entire one-hour event can be heard at:

https://ia801506.us.archive.org/0/items/newsom-03-04-2026/Milliken-Gillman-Chermerinsky%20free%20speech%204-22-2026.mp4. The excerpt above occurs around minute 27.