Quantum Funding

UCLA computer scientists take key roles in $75 million quantum computing efforts

The NSF initiatives aim to overcome critical barriers between today’s quantum systems and practical computing

UCLA Samueli / UCLA Newsroom

Two UCLA computer scientists will help lead major national efforts to address some of quantum computing’s biggest challenges, serving as co-principal investigators for separate research institutes backed by five-year, $37.5 million grants from the National Science Foundation.

The two institutes are among eight NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes receiving more than $290 million in new funding to advance U.S. quantum science and accelerate the development of technologies with practical applications. UCLA Samueli School of Engineering professors Jason Cong and Jens Palsberg will each help lead one of the initiatives.

Cong is a co-principal investigator for the newly established Institute for Fault-Tolerant Quantum Systems, Architectures and Applications, led by Harvard University with UCLA Samueli and MIT as co-leads. Researchers will work to make quantum computers capable of performing useful calculations reliably despite the errors and noise that plague current systems. Cong will head UCLA efforts to develop software, algorithms and AI-based tools to improve their reliability and efficiency.

Palsberg, meanwhile, is co-principal investigator for the NSF Challenge Institute for Quantum Computation, a UC Berkeley–led research network that includes UCLA Samueli, UC Santa Barbara, Caltech and Stanford. Renewed with a five-year, $37.5 million grant, the institute will investigate the capabilities of quantum computation and develop new quantum technologies and applications. Palsberg, co-director of the Center for Quantum Science and Engineering at UCLA, and the UCLA team will focus on overcoming bottlenecks in current trapped-ion quantum computing systems and developing software that can compare different quantum technologies.

“Quantum computers have the potential to solve problems that are out of reach for today’s computers, but we still have a lot of work to do to get there,” Palsberg said.

The UCLA researchers hope their work will help identify where quantum computers can ultimately make the greatest difference.

Source: https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-computer-scientists-take-key-roles-quantum-computing.

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Background from the Daily Bruin:

...The federal government suspended $584 million in UCLA’s federal research grants in July 2025, alleging that the university allowed illegal affirmative action, “men to participate in women’s sports” and antisemitism. Chancellor Julio Frenk denied the federal government’s allegations... Hiring freezes across labs also reduced research opportunities for postdoctoral researchers and graduate students. Some researchers who were already working in research labs lost their salaries until their grants were restored later in 2025. A federal judge restored most of the grants in August and September 2025...

“This grant really cements UCLA as a leading player in the whole quantum computing field,” Palsberg said. “Out of the eight institutes that are going in the second round of QLCI (Quantum Leap Challenge Institute), two of them have participation from UCLA. There are not so many universities that can say that.”

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/09/26/ucla-receives-75-million-in-nsf-grants-for-quantum-technology.

Tempest in a Teapot? Still Boiling.

Blog readers may recall our earlier post on this matter of Sept. 4. From the Daily Bruin:

Seven current and former UCLA employees alleged in at least 22 separate whistleblower and retaliatory reports that the university’s head of strategic communications fostered a toxic work environment and mismanaged department funds, according to court documents. Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications since 2019, filed a lawsuit against the UC Board of Regents on Aug. 26 to block the release of an investigative report that she claimed would damage her reputation. The investigation – which was conducted by Grutman Law, P.C. and commissioned by the UC Board of Regents – includes details about Osako’s conduct and workplace relationships, according to court filings. 

UCLA posted in its whistleblower portal Feb. 20 that Grutman’s investigation substantiated multiple allegations brought forth in the whistleblower reports and that they forwarded the findings to Chancellor Julio Frenk’s office, according to court documents. Osako has remained in her position since... Paul Rigali, Osako’s lawyer, said in an emailed statement on behalf of Osako that the accusations are false and that Osako has not faced any disciplinary action. He added that Frenk’s support of Osako “speaks volumes.” ...

During the spring 2024 pro-Palestine encampment, Osako removed a team of strategic communications staff from UCLA’s emergency response center due to personal disagreements with other leaders, Wileen Wong Kromhout, associate director of operations in the strategic communications department, alleged in an April 2025 whistleblower report... “This directly impeded information flow and essential team coordination during a high-risk campus event that turned out to be one of the worst crisis in the university’s history,” Kromhout said...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/09/19/a-narcissist-ucla-employees-alleged-top-administrator-misused-funds-bullied-staff.

Although the reports leaking out are unclear, one wonders whether what occurred is connected to the campus events of 2023-24.

Entertainment

From the California Post: ...By last month, as it became increasingly obvious that major changes to UCLA athletics were necessary, [Chancellor] Frenk asked [Tim] Harris to take over the operation. Harris agreed to do so — on a pro-bono basis until a more permanent arrangement could be worked out. As he sat behind the desk in his corner office inside the Morgan Center this week, having taken over as CEO and athletics director, Harris unveiled his vision.

The idea is to reimagine his department as an entertainment company whose product is college athletics. If such a move sounds transformative, that’s exactly the point... Just as Frenk was drawn to Harris, the man who replaced Martin Jarmond realized his new boss would be a major asset in this reinvention. Harris compared Frenk to the new owner of a professional sports franchise that just got sold.

“This new owner is very engaged,” Harris said, “and this new owner values the student-athletes and this new owner values the coaches and this new owner values the entity and this new owner understands the value of what UCLA athletics is to the overall university in terms of a global marketing piece.” ...

Full story https://nypost.com/2026/09/20/sports/ucla-ad-tim-harris-intends-to-wake-up-the-giant-in-new-role/.

Or direct to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRcLwHSmU80.

Here's Looking at You, Kid

Email notice recently circulated at a campus building complex:

We are pleased to announce that our new campus security camera system is now operational following a great deal of effort and time in planning and implementation.

This significant investment enhances campus safety and security by providing coverage at many primary building entrances.

Please note:

• Cameras are intended to support campus safety and security efforts.
• Cameras are not actively monitored. No one is routinely watching live camera feeds.
• In accordance with California law and university policy 133, footage is reviewed only in response to safety, security, or other authorized investigative matters.
• Recorded footage is retained for 30 days, after which it is automatically overwritten unless needed for an active investigation.
• Requests for footage must be processed through UCPD. Individuals seeking review of footage should first file a police report. Building Services cannot provide or review footage upon request.
• Camera locations were determined based on security priorities, infrastructure, and available project funding. While we understand there may be interest in additional camera coverage, the current system reflects the locations identified as providing the greatest overall security benefit to the campus.
• As a reminder, personal security cameras (including Ring cameras and similar devices) are not permitted on campus unless reviewed and approved through the established campus and UCPD process. Approved security cameras must be installed through the university and be accessible to UCPD in accordance with policy. This does not apply to cameras used for routine video conferencing, virtual meetings, or instructional purposes.

Thank you for your support as we continue our efforts to maintain a safe and secure campus environment.

Straws in the Wind - Part 475

From an email received by yours truly: ...I am writing to share an important update regarding the Jenessa Shapiro Fellowship Fund, which you generously supported to honor Jenessa’s legacy.

 

Due to recent changes in federal guidance, we had to make revisions to the fund criteria to ensure the fund can continue to be awarded in compliance with current regulations. The new fund description is: “To support UCLA Anderson students with demonstrated interest and/or experience in inclusion, access and impact. UCLA administers scholarships, fellowships, and any other student financial award in compliance with federal, state, and university regulations.”

 

All other award criteria has been removed.

 

Please know that our intent is to steward your gift responsibly and to ensure that it continues to benefit students in a manner consistent with both your philanthropic intent and applicable requirements.

 

If you have any questions or concerns about this change, please contact me within 30 days of this letter's date. If we have not heard from you by then, we will move forward with the understanding that you are in agreement...

Free Bus - Part 2 (history)

Back on Sept. 17, we posted about a free bus program at UCLA for employees below a specified pay level. Now a bit of history:

In the early 2000s, UCLA had a more comprehensive BruinGo free bus program financed out of parking fees. The late Prof. Don Shoup evaluated the program and found it to be a success by any measure. See:

https://dn760109.eu.archive.org/0/items/CompetitionForNaturalResourcesInCaliforniasSierraNevada/Unlimited%20Access%20-%20An%20Evaluation%20of%20the%20UCLA%20BruinGo%20Program%20and%20its%20Lessons%20for%20California.pdf 

But the program was nonetheless terminated.

So now we have a lesser version of what we once had. Just saying...

Source of image above: 

https://www.facebook.com/UCLA/posts/pfbid02MqA3rJwTYTbG32qLDdea5KHQieiKyvXcCN15dmBbxXepS94JQ6JPyoHaGT9f4Zval.

Food for Thought - Interpretation

From the California Post concerning Chancellor Frenk's statement on the law school 9/11 conference:

“I chose the words of my statement carefully and deliberately,” [Frenk] said. “Some subsequent accounts have characterized it as a condemnation, rebuke or repudiation of the symposium. A careful read of my statement will fail to find any of those words..."

A rep for Frenk told The California Post that the chancellor’s statement was “absolutely a condemnation” of the 9/11 event when asked if the academic leader’s statement was in fact a condemnation...

Full story at https://nypost.com/2026/09/18/us-news/ucla-chancellor-pressured-to-retract-rebuke-over-event-with-9-11-mastermind-lawyer/.

Watch the Regents Meeting of Sept. 15, 2026

We continue catching up with the Regents meetings of September 14-16. Below is a summary of the meeting of the 15th. 

The meeting began with public comments. Topics included a nurse payroll system problem, opposition to testing for admission, concern about the closing of a UCLA childcare program, a nurse AI scheduling problem, opposition to project labor agreements, support for SB 98 (emergency alerts to ICE on campus), aid to undocumented students, internships for international students, anti-Israel, dropping of Medi-Cal patients at UCLA, Philippine military investments, support for reinstating the SAT for admission, a nurse issue related to floating holidays, and disabled student funding.

After public comments, Chair Anguiano reviewed the upcoming agenda including A-G requirements. President Milliken discussed goals for students including the ability to evaluate evidence. He also referred to UC infrastructure needs. Faculty rep Susannah Scott spoke about admissions issues, shared governance, and political issues facing UC. She also referred to overcrowded classes as enrollments rose faster than faculty. And she took note of awards won by junior faculty.

There was then a presentation by two UC Pulitzer winners and discussion of the UC accountability report. Concerns were expressed about cutbacks by the federal government in research. Regent Makarechian asked why student debt load varied across the UC campuses. There was no clear answer. He also noted that student debt load at the various UCs compared favorably to other public universities.

At a joint meeting of Health Services and Finance and Capital Strategies, a major health facility development at UC-San Diego was approved. There was discussion - but general support - for planning of this development including adverse developments in federal health research funding. UCLA provided an update on the West Valley Medical Center that was acquired for $290 million in 2024 to reduce overcrowding at Reagan Hospital and UCLA Santa Monica Hospital. The plan is for it to service various UCLA clinics in the San Fernando Valley. The acquired facility needs seismic and other upgrading. UCLA has also acquired neighboring office buildings near the acquisition for doctors' offices.

The Health Services Committee reviewed the public payor situation (Medi-Cal, Medicare) in view of coming federal cutbacks. Spokesperson from the various health campuses made individual observations regarding the impacts. There was mention of a possible $1 billion/year cost. Some Medi-Cal participants will lose coverage due to work requirements and the paperwork needed to document work. UC is a major provider of Medi-Cal services in the state.

Finally, the Governance Committee, in a brief open session, approved an executive pay matter and changes in documentation of various UC rules. It was said that the Academic Senate approved the cleanup of the rules since no substantive changes were involved.

As always, we preserve Regents meetings since the Regents have no policy on duration of retention. You can find the September 15 meeting at:

https://archive.org/services/img/uc-regents-9-15-2026.

Lonely App

From the Daily Bruin: ...Resonance, an app created by psychology professor Matthew Lieberman, is partnering with UCLA Student Affairs and Enrollment Management to help users form friendships based on their compatibility. The app, which will be free for all UCLA students for the 2026-27 academic year, matches users with potential friends based on their answers to a series of questions about their personalities, Lieberman said. Lieberman said he created the app in 2022 after asking his students about their experiences with loneliness. About 65% of the students in his UCLA class reported experiencing loneliness, having difficulty making friends and not having as many close friends as they wanted, he said...

Following a pilot test of Resonance in 2023 – which involved about 2,000 UCLA transfer student users – students reported a 41% reduction in loneliness, Lieberman said. In addition to one-on-one connections, users can join specific online communities based on shared characteristics or interests, he said. At UCLA, for example, students can join groups with people of the same year or major...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/09/17/ucla-partners-with-professor-designed-friendship-app-to-combat-student-loneliness.

Also - From the Daily Targum (Rutgers): ...The platform does not fully reward total similarity. Due to how the algorithm works, identical survey responses will only score two people at 78/100 compatibility. To reach the 95/100 score required for a match between two people, they will need to differ in the right ways. That way, this app will not simply section off people with identical personalities but will instead serve as a means to bring people together who complement one another...

Full story at https://www.dailytargum.com/article/u-alum-launches-new-app-to-increase-social-connection-on-campuses-worldwide-20260916.

Free

From the LA Times: In a bid to pack the Rose Bowl and Pauley Pavilion, tickets to all UCLA home football and men’s and women’s basketball games will be free for undergraduate, graduate and extension students going forward... Previously, the Bruins had to purchase a Den Pass for $199 to gain access to home football and men’s basketball games. Students who have already purchased the Den Pass for the 2026-2027 academic year will be reimbursed...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/story/2026-09-16/ucla-to-give-all-students-free-tickets-to-football-basketball-games.

They asked but got NIL - Part 2

From CalMatters: CalMatters is suing the second UC campus — UC Berkeley — in as many months to force the institution to release financial data on how much its student athletes earn from name, image and likeness deals. The suit, filed last week in the Alameda County Superior Court, is nearly identical to the one the nonprofit news outlet filed against UCLA in August. In both cases, the campuses refused to divulge how much they pay athletes after a national legal settlement last year that permits U.S. colleges to compensate their athletes directly. “We are reviewing the complaint and are going to decline comment at this time,” wrote Janet Gilmore, a spokesperson for UC Berkeley...

...Campuses can direct up to $20.5 million to student-athletes. At UC Berkeley, that pool of money is made up of athletics revenues, philanthropic funds, and “some campus funds,” the school’s chancellor, Richard Lyons, wrote last year... 

CalMatters spent almost a year seeking the data from UC Berkeley. It filed numerous California Public Records Acts requests to public universities across the state. Several campuses offered paltry data in response. Others, however, produced at least partial records, indicating that the payment records and contracts the newsroom seeks are public records, the lawsuit said. For example, UC Riverside reported that it provided its male athletes about $200,000, including multiple payments to the men’s basketball team, plus $70,000 for its female athletes. 

A Congressional Research Service paper noted that the new name, image and likeness payment era raises questions about federally mandated sex-based fairness in university sports... UCLA and UC Berkeley’s athletics programs were in the red in 2024-25, despite using their endowment or general fund dollars to subsidize their budgets...

Full story at https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2026/09/nil-california/. 

I Never Promised You a Rose Bowl? - Part 20 (Vibe Shift)

When last we looked at the litigation regarding UCLA's desire to shift from the Rose Bowl to Sofi Stadium for football on August 1, it appeared there would be some kind of court activity in early September. Yours truly couldn't find any news sources about that activity occurring, but there seems to be a vibe shift with the advent of new personnel at UCLA: a new interim CFO, a new AD, and a new coach. The new AD, Tim Harris, bought 300 Rose Bowl tickets and distributed them for free (for one game):

https://nypost.com/2026/09/07/sports/how-uclas-new-ad-is-personally-invested-in-big-rose-bowl-crowd/.

The Rose Bowl unveiled a new Field Club facility for premium seat holders (revenue from which will benefit UCLA):

...New UCLA AD Tim Harris, noting that as a Lakers executive he had spent the last few decades around two of the most iconic arenas in sports in the Forum and Cryto.com Arena, said he “pinched myself” that he now got to be associated with the most iconic college football stadium in the country...

https://nypost.com/2026/09/10/sports/rose-bowl-unveils-impressive-field-club-ahead-of-ucla-home-opener/.

In short, maybe a deal can be reached involving continued use of the Rose Bowl.

Letter from Academic Senate to Chancellor / Letter from Chancellor to Senate

September 16, 2026

Dear Chancellor Frenk,

We are writing to express our concerns and reservations about the press release you issued on September 11, 2026, titled “Chancellor Julio Frenk comment regarding media coverage on Sept. 10.” The document contained several statements that have been interpreted as criticizing the law school event “25 Years After 9/11: Reimaging Freedom, Justice, and Security” and its organizers.

The University of California’s (UC) policy (APM 010) on academic freedom is clear and unequivocal:

The principles of academic freedom protect freedom of inquiry and research, freedom of teaching, and freedom of expression and publication. These freedoms enable the University to advance knowledge and to transmit it effectively to its students and to the public.

Academic freedom requires that teaching and scholarship be assessed by reference to the professional standards that sustain the University’s pursuit and achievement of knowledge. The substance and nature of these standards properly lie within the expertise and authority of the faculty as a body. [emphasis added]

The AAUP has long affirmed “its belief that the freedom to hear is an essential condition of a university community and an inseparable part of academic freedom” and that “the right to examine issues and seek truth is prejudiced to the extent that the university is open to some but not to others whom members of the university also judge desirable to hear.”

The UCLA Senate’s Committee on Academic Freedom (CAF) laid out guidelines last year for dealing with challenging material in the classroom, which also apply to other academic endeavors:

Classroom materials dealing with sensitive topics such as religion, nationality, ethnicity, or deeply held political views may sometimes be taken as disrespectful and hurtful. Those materials dealing with violent, even horrific, events may be emotionally disturbing and their sudden introduction may retraumatize survivors.

In a November 2025 response to CAF’s May 2025 statement “In Defense of Academic Freedom and the University,” you and EVCP Hunt wrote:

We fully agree that academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and shared governance are essential to the University's mission of discovery, learning, and public service. These values have long enabled UCLA to advance knowledge across disciplines and foster open, rigorous, and respectful debate in the pursuit of truth.

We recognize the challenges currently facing higher education, both nationally and globally, and share the committee's concern for preserving an environment in which faculty, students, and researchers can pursue their scholarly work free from undue interference. UCLA remains committed to these core values and to working collaboratively with the Academic Senate to ensure that they continue to guide our community.

As elected leaders of the Los Angeles Division of the UC Academic Senate, we reiterate and reinforce these foundational policies and values related to academic freedom. Particularly during times of grief, stress, political division and pressure, it is of the utmost importance for the UCLA Administration and Senate faculty to work collaboratively to uphold our deeply held principles and protect academic freedom. As you observed, “When we face difficult challenges and tough decisions, we find strength in staying connected.”

Sincerely,

Tim Groeling, Chair

Catherine Sugar, Vice Chair

Megan McEvoy. Immediate Past Chair

===========================

September 17, 2026

Dear Chair Groeling, Vice Chair Sugar, and Immediate Past Chair McEvoy,

Thank you for your thoughtful letter. I take the concerns you raise seriously, particularly because they touch upon one of the most fundamental principles of a university: academic freedom.

Let me begin unequivocally: UCLA is committed to academic freedom. It is a core tenet of our mission and a bedrock of higher education. My September 11 statement does not change that fundamental commitment or the protections it affords faculty, symposia organizers, speakers and participants.

Faculty must remain free to pursue difficult questions, organize academic programs, select speakers and engage ideas that may be controversial or deeply contested. Those protections are essential to the work of a great university, including the role of the School of Law in examining consequential questions of law, justice and policy.

The School of Law symposium operated within the protections of academic freedom and proceeded as planned, with its program, speakers and academic content unchanged.

The statement expressed my support for Professor Judea Pearl and others in our community who carry their own lived experiences of September 11 and its aftermath. It also reaffirmed UCLA’s opposition to antisemitism and terrorism.

I chose the words of my statement carefully and deliberately. Some subsequent accounts have characterized it as a condemnation, rebuke or repudiation of the symposium. A careful read of my statement will fail to find any of those words. Furthermore, the statement did not criticize the School of Law or question the validity of legal representation, including for individuals accused of horrific acts.

My statement underscores that UCLA’s protection of academic freedom does not constitute institutional endorsement of every speaker’s viewpoint or program presented under those protections. That principle applies broadly to events across our campus, and we will make that distinction clear in our communications.

The key point of my statement is that we can uphold academic freedom while also expressing support for members of our community who are hurting. A university is more than a collection of individual rights and freedoms. It is a community, and community carries with it obligations of reciprocity.

What do we owe one another, particularly when we profoundly disagree? For me, the answer begins with mutual respect, empathy and recognition of one another’s humanity. Academic freedom protects our ability to engage the most difficult ideas. It does not require indifference to one another or to the impact felt by members of our community. We must safeguard the freedom to pursue scholarship, invite speakers, test assumptions and express views that others may find deeply objectionable. At the same time, we must foster a culture of reciprocity in which those freedoms coexist with respect for the dignity and humanity of others.

At this moment of extraordinary polarization, reciprocity is essential to what holds a university community together. I am committed to safeguarding academic freedom and preserving free expression. I am equally committed to sustaining the mutual respect, care and reciprocity that allow those freedoms — and our community — to flourish.

Sincerely,

Julio Frenk

Chancellor

---

Source: https://dms.senate.ucla.edu/issues/issue/?11554.Academic.Senate.Leadership.Letter.on.Academic.Freedom.

Bond. Prop 38

From the Sacramento Bee: Three former employees of the California Legislative Analyst’s Office came out in strong opposition against Proposition 38 Thursday, arguing that the ballot measure that seeks to support medical research lacked appropriate provisions for transparency and accountability. Instead, they said, it seemed to “steer public funds” to its billionaire backer’s “philanthropic project” and then “hide its tracks.” The proposition will ask voters in the November election to allow the state to borrow $8.4 billion to support medical research in immunology and immunotherapy conducted by California research institutes and universities.

...CalMatters reported only one research institute in California appeared to meet the criteria included in the measure for the nonprofit that would be awarded half the bond proceeds. That institute is the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy [CIII], an independent medical research organization affiliated with UCLA. Gary Michelson, a billionaire philanthropist and medical inventor, is both the co-founder of that institute and the chief backer of Proposition 38...

First announced in 2024, the CIII is currently under construction and scheduled to open soon...

Full story at https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article317199654.html.

Reminder - From the UCLA Newsroom (2024):

Key takeaways

The UCLA Research Park will occupy the former mall site, a 700,000-square-foot property 2 miles from the Westwood campus.

The research park will house the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at UCLA and the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, as well as programs across the disciplines.

This acquisition was made possible in part by an intended $500 million investment from the state of California, with $200 million already allocated.

The California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy is also supported by a group of founding donors led by Meyer Luskin, Dr. Gary Michelson, Dr. Eric Esrailian, Dr. Arie Belldegrun, Sean Parker and Michael Milken...

Full news release at https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-to-transform-empty-mall-into-research-park.

Parallel Blogs / Subscribing / Blog Song

We have been putting out this blog since 2009 under the heading "UCLA Faculty Association" using the link:

https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/

The blog site was originally created by the then-executive director of the Faculty Association. As such, yours truly does not have control of the site; he is simply a blogger on it. So when technical issues arise, that can be a problem. Given that issue, we have been adding a parallel site with the same blog entries since July 23rd:

https://danmitchellsblogcontinues.blogspot.com/

We will be running the two in parallel for the indefinite future. Possibly, at some point we will switch to the new link.

If you read the blog using the Facebook page of Yousee Elayemeriti, you can continue to do so:

https://www.facebook.com/yousee.elayemeriti

===

Want to subscribe?

You can't subscribe directly. But you can subscribe indirectly to this blog via a service called Blogtrottr. Go to blogtrottr.com and fill in the URL for the blog:

https://danmitchellsblogcontinues.blogspot.com/ 

or

https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/

and put in your email address. 

You will then receive an email at the email address you provided asking you to confirm. After you confirm, you will receive an email notification of new postings whenever they appear. If there are, say, three postings on a particular day, you will receive three notifications (one for each one). 

Note and full disclosure: There are ads on these notifications. 

==

And here's a little song, based on the information above, composed by Gemini:

"Sharp and Clever Pen":

Or https://archive.org/details/sharp-and-clever-pen

Verse 1

I scroll the screen looking for some light

A voice that cuts right through the noise

They talk about the taxes and the spin

But Dan Mitchell has a different kind of truth

He talks about the spending and the waste

The parallel blogs that keep us truly free

Independent channels are the only way to go

To find the analysis the mainstream never shows

--

Chorus

Get real economic facts!

Escape the corporate tracks!

Subscribe and find the key!

To keep your mind free!

Get real economic facts!

Escape the corporate tracks!

Subscribe and find the key!

To keep your mind free!

--

Verse 2

He analyzes policy with a sharp and clever pen

Decentralized and honest, standing on his own ground

You don't need their filters and you don't need their spin

Just some liberty and facts to help you really win

Bookmark the connection and let the truth begin to flow

A parallel alternative to the status quo we know

Fiscal sense and freedom are waiting on the page

The perfect antidote for a confusing modern age

--

Chorus

Get real economic facts!

Escape the corporate tracks!

Subscribe and find the key!

To keep your mind free!

Get real economic facts!

Escape the corporate tracks!

Subscribe and find the key!

To keep your mind free!

--

Outro

Yeah, find the facts for yourself

Dan Mitchell's blog is out there waiting

Just click and subscribe and see the difference

Get free and stay informed always. 

Free Bus

From UCLA Newsroom: UCLA is helping ease employees’ commute to campus — and reducing their carbon footprint — by expanding access to its fare-free public transit program. UCLA employees earning less than six figures annually are now eligible for a free quarterly transit pass that provides unlimited access to 13 major Southern California transit systems, including L.A. Metro’s bus, rail and Metro Micro services, Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, Culver CityBus, Long Beach Transit, LADOT Transit, Antelope Valley Transit Authority, Santa Clarita Transit, Foothill Transit, Gardena GTrans, Montebello Bus Lines, Norwalk Transit System, Pasadena Transit and Torrance Transit.

...Modeled after income-based health insurance tiers, the Tier 1 Plus program provides a free quarterly transit pass to UCLA and UCLA Health employees who hold at least a 43.75% appointment and earn less than $100,000 annually. Roughly 20,000 employees are eligible...

Full announcement at https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-transportation-free-public-transit-employees-less-than-100000.

Particularly if you take the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, just be careful what bus you get on:

Or direct to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKJa-KQNjQU.

Watch the Regents Meeting of September 14, 2026

We will catch up with the Regents as time permits. As blog readers will know, their meetings were shifted to a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday schedule this week. Usually, regular meetings of the Regents do not occur on Mondays.

The Monday meeting began at 3 pm in the UCLA Luskin Hotel and Conference Center with public comments. Topics included the announced closure of a childcare center at UCLA, a complaint that the ACT requires students to sign an unfair contract, accommodations for disabled students, UCLA Health's discontinuation of a contract providing coverage to Medi-Cal patients, calls to protect international students, and a thank you for Chancellor Frenk's expression of concern about a law school conference related to the 25th anniversay of 9-11.

After public comments, the meeting of the Investments Committee began. Chair Makarechian - who has mainly attended Regents meetings by Zoom after a major accident - appeared in person and introduced a student observer. CFO Bachhar reviewed investment returns during the 2025-26 fiscal year and beyond, which were strong. In particular, on a market basis, the pension became fully funded due to those returns. Data presented indicated that the portfolio was 63.3% in stocks, 14.5% in bonds, 1% in cash, and 21.2% in private assets (private equity, real estate, other real assets, and private credit). It might be noted that "private" means that the assets' value is more subjective than stocks, bonds, and cash which have regular objective market prices.

The Committee had Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone as a guest speaker via Zoom. Among other things, he echoed the general public discussion about AI being a Big Deal including - he noted - affecting the demand for electricity and thus utilities. 

Because Blackstone was the parent of the BREIT that UC bailed out to the tune of $4.5 billion, there was a defense by Bachhar of that investment. I won't go through all the controversy about BREIT but he emphasized that UC was getting an 11.25% return as promised. The return itself was not the controversial element. What was controversial was that it was objectively a risky investment that Bachhar made entirely on his own initiative. 

Moreover, his explanation now indicates that the 11.25% was somehow being maintained by drawing down "collateral." Exactly what that means is not clear. But let's assume that in the end, the investment pays off as promised. That outcome does not mean it was an advisable investment given the circumstances at the time. If the CFO took a big chunk of UC assets and bet on a horse, we would not say that decision was appropriate even if the horse came in. As our numerous blog posts at the time pointed out, there was very little discussion of the financial aspect of the bailout at the Investments Committee - although presumably it is the job of that Committee to ask questions about risk and return.

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As always, we preserve recordings of Regents meetings on the Internet Archive since the Regents have no policy on retention. Their YouTube recordings are unlisted, i.e., not searchable by the public. You can see the Sept. 14 recording at:

https://archive.org/details/regents-investments-committee-9-14-2026.

Does the Barnum Rule Still Apply? - Part 2

From the Daily Bruin: Dozens of physicians protested on campus at noon Tuesday to denounce the termination of a Medi-Cal contract that allowed low-income patients to access UCLA Health services. Nine thousand patients lost access to UCLA Health providers after it did not renew its contract with Health Care LA, a non-profit group of doctors, on June 30... The Committee of Interns and Residents, a local affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, and Doctors United organized the protest, which coincided with a UC Board of Regents meeting, outside the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/09/15/ucla-physicians-protest-end-of-contract-providing-free-care-for-low-income-patients.

Note: Absent other information, this appears to be a contract dispute between an outside healthcare provider* and UCLA Health. It's unclear from what has appeared in the news whether the termination is in some sense the "final" outcome or whether - as in other types of negotiations - the external publicity is being used as a negotiating tactic in a dispute that remain unresolved, but is ongoing.

Exactly what the contractual relationship with UCLA Health consisted of before the June 30 expiration is unclear. Yours truly used the Wayback Machine of the Internet Archive to look for a reference to UCLA before that date. He found one for the previous June (2025) that lists contracts with various insurers but does not mention UCLA:

https://web.archive.org/web/20250613192011/https://healthcarela.org/our-health-plans

So it remains unclear what the relationship with UCLA was, even apart from the (unknown) monetary terms of the agreement.

He also used the Wayback Machine to look at hospitals that had contracts with Health Care LA as of Nov. 2025:

https://web.archive.org/web/20251118194049/https://healthcarela.org/contracted-hospitals

There is no listing of UCLA there, although other hospitals are listed. (Olive View-UCLA Medical Center was listed for "limited scope" - whatever that means. But it continues to be listed beyond June 30, 2026.)

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*https://healthcarela.org/ 

Court decision plays ball with UCLA

The latest on the Westside VA litigation seems to favor UCLA's continued use of its baseball stadium:

From the LA Times: ...The 2022 lawsuit alleged that the VA discriminates against disabled veterans by not providing housing on campus near the medical services they need to access. It also challenged the VA’s leases of portions of the 388-acre campus to non-veteran interests, including UCLA and the private Brentwood School for athletic facilities. 

In his October 2024 final judgment, Carter ruled those leases invalid. He ordered the VA to create up to 750 units of temporary housing in 18 months and an additional 1,800 permanent units over six years, all in addition to 1,200 units ordered in the settlement of a previous lawsuit. Later that month, hoping to get some housing built before the rainy season, he ordered the VA to secure a contract within three weeks to install at least 100 modular units, some on the parking lot of UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Baseball Stadium.

The VA appealed, and the 9th Circuit panel stayed the order. After oral arguments in the spring, the three judges issued a complex decision affirming Carter’s finding of discrimination but overruling his order invalidating UCLA’s lease for its baseball stadium. In the Friday order, the three-judge panel unanimously rejected the VA request for an en banc hearing. A judge requested a vote on that decision, and it failed to receive a majority, the order said. Three judges who were not on the panel all appointees of President Trump, dissented in 57 pages of argument characterizing Carter’s ruling as whimsical and judicially flawed. “We have no business ordering the VA to build thousands of housing units on a whim,” they concluded. “This is not the Ninth Circuit Court of Appropriations.” ...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-09-11/order-to-build-thousands-of-housing-units-on-vas-west-la-campus-stands-on-appeal. 

25th Anniversary: September 11, 2001 - Part 3

The fallout from the Sept. 11th UCLA Law School event continues:

https://dailybruin.com/2026/09/12/julio-frenk-condemns-symposium-featuring-attorney-for-alleged-9-11-conspirator 

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https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-09-12/ucla-chancellor-law-school-9-11-event

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https://x.com/yudapearl/status/2098927762669215919

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https://newsroom.ucla.edu/chancellor-julio-frenk-comment-event-coverage-sept-10