Uh Oh!

Henry Moore in UCLA Sculpture Garden:
Two-Piece Reclining Figure (What was he thinking?)

Back in 1968, student unrest spread from Columbia U westward around the country. Will our Sculpture Garden be the site of a repeat? From Inside Higher Ed:

Columbia students are signing a petition and speaking out against plans to install a Henry Moore sculpture, "Reclining Figure" (at right in another installation of the sculpture), in a prominent place on campus. "The bronze monument, titled 'Reclining Figure,' was sculpted by the noted English artist Henry Moore. It 'is meant to suggest the form of a woman with her legs outstretched before her, propping herself up with her forearm,'" the petition says. "As both inheritors and wards of our beautiful campus, we object to this desecration of our home..."

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/04/05/columbia-students-oppose-henry-moore-sculpture

More Bad PR

Inside Higher Ed continues - with a very lengthy article - to discuss a case of a UCLA History Dept. faculty member who was penalized (too mildly students and other faculty complain) for sexual harassment:

Should a professor who can’t be trusted to be alone with students be trusted to teach at all? Students at the University of California at [sic] Los Angeles say no, and they’re protesting the university’s decision to allow a professor accused of serial sexual harassment and assault to return to campus, despite a university agreement that stipulates he must leave his door open when meeting with students, among other requirements...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/04/05/ucla-students-and-faculty-protest-return-professor-accused-sexual-assault-and

But it could be worse. Old timers will remember Tallman Trask, a VC at UCLA in the 1970s and 1980s who is now having his problems at Duke:
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/04/05/apology-duke-sit-continues

A Fine Mess

Thanks to the fuss at UC-Davis about Chancellor Linda Katehi's outside board memberships, there will be a legislative hearing today on outside income of senior management at UC. (Toby Higbie alerted me to this hearing.) The featured witness will be none other than Chancellor Katehi. One of the documents under review at the hearing will be the latest report (2014) on such compensation. You can read it at the link below:

We're sure all the other folks listed in the document above will want to thank Chancellor Katehi:

50 Minutes

There must be a reason why the clock atop the 300 Medical Plaza building was fifty minutes slow and read 8:10 as of 9:00 AM this past Friday. (But then, as we have pointed out before, there must be a reason why the Roman numeral 4 on that clock is written as IIII.) The obvious hypothesis to explain the fifty minute lag is that someone forgot to change the clock to daylight saving time. However, that time change occurred awhile ago and, in any case, the discrepancy is 50 minutes, not 60.

Surely, Wendy and Leonard Goldberg, after whom the building was recently named, would be disappointed.

Time for a new clock?

Our Quarterly PDF

As we have done on a quarterly basis, we make available below a pdf alternative for reading the blog. Of course, in that version, all video, audio, and animated gif pictures are omitted. To obtain the omissions, you have to use the blog directly. Below is the link to the pdf version for the first quarter of 2015:

The Empire Strikes Back...

Email of April 1 (boldface added) received after that nasty state audit:

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Dear Friend of UC,

I’m writing to share the good news that UC is on track to enroll an additional 5,000 California undergraduates in 2016 – and 5,000 more over the following two years.

Admissions offers to California high school seniors are up 15 percent over last year, according to preliminary results. The numbers show that UC’s efforts to boost enrollment of California students are working – efforts made possible, in part, because of additional funding provided by the State in last year’s budget.

Given the ongoing debate about nonresident students at UC, you may be surprised to learn that California students make up about 85% of our student body. Nonresidents – who pay three times as much in tuition and fees – are critical to our efforts to serve Californians. Last year, nonresident students contributed $800 million to the university’s overall budget, an amount equivalent to the entire budget for UC Riverside. Clearly, this level of funding allows UC to maintain access, affordability and excellence for California students.

While revenues from nonresident students remain an essential part of UC’s budget, UC has capped the level of nonresident students at UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC San Diego – the campuses with the most nonresident students. Moreover, it is important to understand thatUC admissions policies overwhelmingly favor Californians. Consistent with UC’s obligation in accordance with the California Master Plan for Higher Education, we continue to admit all of the top 12.5 percent of California public high school graduates who apply. UC has honored this commitment even in the leanest of budget years when the state didn’t fund enrollment for all eligible California students. Our admissions policies put California students first:

If eligible California students aren't admitted to their campus of choice, UC refers them to another UC campus. Nonresident students are never guaranteed admission to UC.

• California residents need only a 3.0 GPA to be considered for admission. Nonresidents are required to have at least a 3.4 GPA.
• All eligible California students that apply are guaranteed admission to the University.

You can read a comprehensive, data-driven report about our admissions and finances here:http://universityofcalifornia.edu/news/straight-talk-report.

The bottom line is that state funding is the determining factor in how many California residents UC can enroll. The university, in partnership with the state, has always been in service to California, and that is still true today:

• 55 percent of UC undergraduates have all systemwide tuition and fees covered by financial aid, grants and scholarships
• 42 percent are among the first in their families to earn a college degree
• 40 percent come from low-income households
• 30 percent are California Community College transfers

On Wednesday, April 6, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee will be hearing from the State Auditor about the report recently issued that is critical of UC’s admission of nonresident students. We believe that we have a very positive story to tell about our admissions policies and practices and accordingly, I would enlist your help by asking you to reach out to the Committee with communication supporting our efforts.

Thank you for your help with this important issue.

Yours very truly,

Nelson Peacock

Senior Vice President

Governmental Relations

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So - as we go into legislative hearings, keep this inspiration in mind: (Won't work in iPhone.)

The DC Disconnect

As we get into the implementation stage of the Tier 3 pension, you will hear a lot about the need to "train" employees to do their own investing, whether it's investing within the DC supplement or the DC-only option. Much of this talk will come from the administration. When you hear it, think about the chart below, particularly the discrepancy on the right-hand side of the figure:

And, of course, no matter how much training you might have, it can't shield you from all longevity and investment risk.

Source of study underlying chart: http://squaredawayblog.bc.edu/squared-away/401ks-an-employer-employee-disconnect/