Whether you like it or not

Gavin Newsom will be the next governor. And it's going to happen, whether you like it or not. His rival in November will be a no-name Republican who doesn't have a prayer, but was supported by both Newsom and Trump. The former wanted to coast to victory in November. The latter wanted to have a Republican on the top of the ticket to inspire a GOP turnout in November that might aid Republicans in retaining control of the House in some swing California districts.

Some folks may remember the like-it-or-not line which Newsom said in marrying gay couples as a test of Prop 22 - the anti-gay marriage proposition (which passed). When 22 was voided by the state supreme court, his line was used in the campaign for the second anti-gay marriage proposition - Prop 8 - which passed. Newsom later said he regretted that choice of words.

As lieutenant governor, Newsom has been attending regents meetings fairly regularly. He predictably votes against tuition increases on the premise that UC should get the money from the legislature. But he presents no Plan B on what to do if the legislature doesn't come through. How he will be on UC funding as governor is anyone's guess.

It's going to happen:

UCLA History: Before the move

The Vermont Avenue campus of UCLA shortly before the move to Westwood in 1929

Getting to the line

...After six years, fewer than half of first-time, full-time Pell recipients receive a bachelors degree at the school where they first enrolled...

Some school systems have been able to buck this trend: of the 1,566 institutions studied, 242 reported higher grad rates for their Pell students.

The University of California system is a good example, with UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Irvine leading the way. UCLA boasts an 88 percent graduation rate for its Pell recipients, and 85 percent of Pell students graduate from UC San Diego and UC Irvine...

Full story at:
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/06/03/610399546/we-now-know-a-lot-more-about-students-who-receive-federal-college-grants

It never rains (or snows) in Southern California...

...except in 1929 and 1932, as above.

UCLA History: Sunset Canyon

Construction of Sunset Canyon Recreation Center in 1966

Up the ladder

UCLA ranked No. 9 in Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings

UCLA is one of the world’s leading universities, according to leading academics from around the world. In the newest Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, published today, UCLA placed No. 2 among U.S. public universities and No. 9 among all universities worldwide, public or private. UCLA joins the top 10 for the first time since 2014.

The reputation survey, completed by more than 10,000 senior academics from 138 countries, was established in 2011 as a spinoff of the annual Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The questionnaire targets published scholars for their views on excellence in research and teaching within their disciplines and at institutions with which they are familiar…

Full story at http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-ranked-no-9-in-times-higher-education-world-reputation-rankings

Concerns over UC science research funding

From CALmatters: Since President Donald Trump took office, scientists have criticized his administration for reportedly allowing political appointees and their aides to spike grants at the Environmental Protection Agency and Interior Department, proposing deep cuts to climate research, and barring government employees who study global warming from presenting their findings.

But how might such decisions affect funding for scientific research at California universities? That’s the question University of California faculty raised in a recent letter to university chief Janet Napolitano.*

Calling the political vetting of federal research grant applications “a significant threat to academic freedom,” the letter, endorsed by UC’s Academic Council and sent earlier this month, urged the university to better track whether and why its proposals are turned down. It also said tenure committees should avoid penalizing professors if they miss out on funding because their research interests clash with Trump administration priorities.

“It has long been the case that funding priorities change from one administration to the next,” the letter reads. “What is new is the present administration’s open hostility toward science, particularly science that touches on climate change, that examines the impact of fossil fuels on public health, or that entails international collaboration.”

UC Davis law professor Christopher Elmendorf, who wrote the letter on behalf of the university’s academic freedom committee, said his committee has not yet uncovered any instances of UC grant applications being denied for political reasons. But he said the committee heard reports of faculty members trying to avoid “certain magic words” when asking the government for funding.

“If you can write your grant application describing it as being about climate science or write it as being about something that you don’t describe as climate science, maybe you choose not to use those words,” he said.

UC received about $3.4 billion in federal research funding in the 2016-17 academic year, with the bulk of it coming from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. More than $200 million of those federal dollars support climate-related research, according to a UC report. Both UC and California State University have benefited from fellowships and research partnerships sponsored by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—two agencies running climate science programs that Trump has targeted for budget cuts in 2019.

Because application processes can be lengthy, and many grants run for multiple years, the choices federal officials make today could take a while to hit universities’ pocketbooks...

Full story at https://calmatters.org/articles/uc-faculty-trumps-hostility-toward-science-could-cost-us-research-grants/
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Letter: https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/reports/SNW-JN-UCAF-changes-science-funding.pdf