Weekend Evening Subway Construction

Construction Notice Letter   Lane Closures on Wilshire Blvd Near Veteran Ave  Frontier Kemper Tutor Perini Joint Venture (FKTP) and our subcontractors will be conducting Cone Penetration Tests (CPT) and road restoration on Wilshire Blvd. This work is being conducted at the request of the Metro Transportation Authority for the Purple Line Extension 3 project. The work will be done over the course of 3 weekends at night.  Construction Period: May 10th to May 25th    Work Hours: 8:00 PM – 6:00 AM  Specific Dates (Saturday, Sunday):   May 10th, 11th    May 17th, 18th   May 24th, 25th  Traffic Control:   Multiple-Lane closures along Wilshire Blvd.   Road access is maintained on either side of the construction work area.   Sidewalk access will be maintained.  Noteworthy:   All work has received the necessary permits and approval.   Access to driveways, residences, and business will be maintained at all times unless notified in advance.   Access for pedestrians will be maintained outside of construction zones.    Access for the Fire Department and emergency responders will be maintained.    For construction-related issues needing immediate attention, please call Metro’s 24-hour Hotline at 213.922.6934.  Reference Figure Below for Details  This project will be divided between two separate traffic control plans. Only one plan will be used per construction day.    Orange: Closure Plan 1 (Saturday Work)   Red: Closure Plan 2 (Sunday Work)

Source: https://cloud.sfmc.metro.net/LaneClosure_WilshireBlVeteranAv.

Two Dickson Awards

Alkin (left); Gekelman (right)

From an email by VC Michael Levine:

The Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award is funded from a gift endowment established by the late Edward A. Dickson, Regent of the University of California, to honor outstanding research, scholarly work, teaching, and service performed by an Emeritus or Emerita Professor since retirement.

Two UCLA emeriti professors have been selected to receive the 2024 – 2025 Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award, which includes a prize of $5,000: Professor Emeritus Marvin C. Alkin, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus Walter Gekelman.

Marvin C. Alkin, Professor Emeritus of Education retired in 2004, and at the time of his retirement he had been teaching at UCLA for 40 years. Post-retirement, his scholarship, service, teaching and mentorship has continued unabated, and he has demonstrated leadership and commitment to his field of program evaluation, which he helped establish. He has published numerous articles in top journals in his field, has served in editorial roles, and has been the recipient of numerous grants. Of note, he has edited or co-edited two volumes which are so widely used as textbooks that they have gone through several editions in recent years: The first being, Evaluation Roots in 2004, with a second edition in 2013, and co-edited third edition in 2023 with Christina Christie, which provides a framework to compare and contrast varied approaches to program evaluation. The second, Evaluation Essentials: From A-to-Z, was first published in 2011, with second and third editions in 2017 with Anne Vo, and in 2024 with Vo and Christie. Professor Emeritus Alkin has mentored more than 35 graduate students, including 11 for whom he served as dissertation chair. He has been equally active in the classroom, teaching or co-teaching essential graduate courses in evaluation theory and evaluation procedures, a research apprenticeship course, and designed a new course for undergraduate students. He has been similarly active professionally, serving in various capacities as a member of the American Evaluation Association from his retirement through 2020, and receiving their Research in Evaluation Award in 2016.

Walter Gekelman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy retired in 2020. He has continued to play an essential role in his department, as well as in the scholarly world as a leader in plasma physics. Professor Emeritus Gekelman has stepped in to reassume the directorship of the Basic Plasma Science Facility. With nearly a daily presence in the research laboratory, he provides invaluable service to his colleagues inside and outside UCLA in overseeing the LArge Plasma Device housed at UCLA, which also serves as a national collaborative research facility. The device, which he originally designed and built over the decades, runs constantly and is in high demand. Together with a collaborative team, Professor Gekelman has provided the kind of careful maintenance, repair and oversight continuously since retirement. To that end, he has also been responsible for more than $23 million in federal research grants in plasma physics. His leadership in the field, moreover, has led to a productive and valuable collaboration with private enterprise in the manufacture of computer chips using plasma processing and through the use of specialized equipment has developed new and useful techniques. Not surprisingly, Professor Emeritus Gekelman has maintained his scholarly productivity, publishing more than 14 peer reviewed articles as the lead author, with a student as lead author or to which he has made substantial contribution. In addition, he has given invited talks worldwide. Since retirement, he remains a key research mentor, and students have continued to profit from his teaching and expertise, and praise his intellectual passion, generosity and hands-on approach. 

Source: https://view.bp.e.ucla.edu/?qs=708a11504989a720ff16d1be70f6d50780b716872cd684c119d538b6cedbb24161a0ce093f06df2c09c6ad7e0ea04138b20f97cb4d4588ea782cb3490ff352d2988abe52aa98e190de85cb7ad9171f0123c54acf32a69bc8.

Yet more litigation from the events of last spring

A new lawsuit was filed on April 25th, revolving around the events of last spring including the encampment and an attempt to erect a second encampment. This one is not against UCLA but against the UCLA chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and affiliated groups. Two of the plaintiffs - one an MD at UCLA and the other a local Chabad rabbi - allege physical assault and two plaintiffs allege prevention of access to public spaces.

Damages being sought under federal and state law involve monetary compensation including punitive. Civil cases tend to move slowly so we are likely a long way from an actual trial. Possibly, there may be other related cases. They usually result in long periods of "discovery" hearings. Such cases are independent of recent actions by federal agencies.

The case can be read at https://dn721605.ca.archive.org/0/items/2-final-hjaa-report.-the-soil-beneath-the-encampments/Hoftman%20and%20others%20v%20SJP%204-25-2025.pdf. (Yours truly has been collecting documents related to last spring's events at various universities.)

UC is looking for cash wherever it can be found

Given the state budgetary uncertainties and pressures - combined with the uncertainties and pressures from you-know-where - UC is looking for cash. According to the agenda for the UCRS advisory board, $700 million that would otherwise have gone from the STIP fund to UCRS, won't be going. From the agenda for April 30:

Manager John Monroe and Segal Actuary Todd Tauzer will provide details on an item going before the Regents on May 14, 2025. This item requests authorization for the President of the University to (1) maintain the current University/employer contribution rate to the University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP or Plan) for fiscal year (FY) 2025-26, and (2) modify the previously approved action to no longer transfer $700 million from the Short Term Investment Pool (STIP) to the Campus and Medical Centers (C/MC) segment of UCRP for fiscal year (FY) 2025-26.

Maintaining the current University contribution rate at 14.5 percent of payroll for FY 2025-26 and not transferring from STIP to UCRP the previously approved amount of $700 million for FY 2025-26 is a component of the overall strategic plan to help address the University’s budget issues. It will help provide budgetary relief for campuses and medical centers in a time of significant State and Federal budget cuts...

Goldberg Award Announced

From an email from VC Michael Levine:

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 Robert Gurval has been selected to receive the 2024 – 2025 Carole E. Goldberg Emeriti Service Award, which includes a prize of $1,000.

Robert Gurval, Professor Emeritus of Classics retired in 2019. In the years since then he has developed a second career, putting his renowned scholarly and teaching skills to the service of his department, the campus and the broader UCLA community. Among his many achievements in this period, none stands out more than his dedication to exploring and retelling the historical and architectural origins of the UCLA campus. Through various mechanisms: Fiat Lux courses, lectures, campus tours for the Division of Humanities Dean’s Circle, the Chancellor’s Society, and during UCLA’s Centennial Celebration, and a feature article, Stories in Stone, for the UCLA College of Letters & Science Magazine (Dec 2023), Professor Gurval has brought the history of UCLA to life and introduced many to a fascinating and important story. 

In the same vein, and drawing on the same teaching expertise, Professor Gurval has also become one of the premier faculty lecturers in the UCLA Alumni Travel Program. He is a proud emissary of UCLA and his tours, which include not only regions within the orbit of his scholarly expertise on the Roman empire, but also areas much farther afield, have become extraordinarily popular. His depth of knowledge gives alumni a taste of his exceptional teaching ability, as well as helping to make them feel an important part of the UCLA community.

He also stands out as a mentor to students at UCLA as well as serving as a mentor to high school students through the Collegiate Mentorship Program. Notably, during retirement he has also deployed his talents for the good of his department, shouldering teaching responsibilities and helping maintain the department’s offerings in Latin. Through these endeavors he has shown himself to be a proud, committed and enthusiastic representative of the University.

Source: https://view.bp.e.ucla.edu/?qs=708a11504989a720fa199d0116316bddd7b858f9712a38b05114da7022a1715abf89f319e3b03eafec2fbc7e9b66ab3ceb7db09db76b22615a7a03900e684e392b994749de5cdf1fae6ebe1a3d7ac45888e93fad1adc7215.

Panunzio Awards for 2024-25

From an email by VC Michael Levine: The 2024-2025 Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeriti Award honoring Emeriti Professors in the University of California system has been awarded to Distinguished Research Professor Emerita of Anthropology Diane Gifford-Gonzalez (UC Santa Cruz) and Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus Howard Giles (UC Santa Barbara).

UC Emeriti Professors Gifford-Gonzalez and Giles are the fifty-fourth and fifty-fifth 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.

Diane Gifford-Gonzalez, UC Santa Cruz, Distinguished Research Professor Emerita of Anthropology retired in 2015. Professor Emerita Gifford-Gonzalez is internationally recognized as one the foremost authorities in zooarchaeology and continues to provide intellectual and committed leadership to her discipline. Her expertise intersects archaeology, zooarchaeology, gender, the history of pastoralism in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Indigenous communities in California’s Monterey Bay area. Her research has led to real-world impacts including the successful disposition of ancestral remains for the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of Coastanoan/Ohlone Indians, and an ongoing eco-archaeological project to examine diverse lines of evidence for Indigenous landscape and seascape stewardship practices over 7000 years on the Central California Coast. Having been a founding cohort of zooarchaeology, the study of human-animal interactions, in 2018 she published the leading textbook – An Introduction to Zooarchaeology. Her scholarship continues with publications in leading peer-reviewed journals; she has served as the keynote speaker at three major international conferences, and has given Distinguished Lectures, including at the Institute for Human History at the Max Planck Institute in Jena (2017). Professor Emerita Gifford-Gonzalez has received significant recognition for her research with honors, and among them are election to the National Academy of Sciences (2024), appointed as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Anthropology Section (2023), is the recipient of the Distinguished Social Sciences Emeriti Faculty Award from UCSC (2020), as well as being a Fellow, Centre for Advanced Study, Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, Oslo (2015-2016). Service to her campus continues with supervision of doctoral students, service on UCSC senate committees, the Nature Reserves Advisory Committee, and the Emeriti Association (2023-2024).

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Howard Giles, UC Santa Barbara, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Communication retired in 2017. Since becoming an Emeritus Professor, Howard Giles has retained his influence in the multi-disciplinary fields of social psychology of language and communication; intergenerational communication and aging; and intergroup communication more broadly. He is widely considered the leading scholar in these disciplines and is viewed as the “Architect of Communication Scholarship.” His research productivity since retirement focuses on three domains: aging, Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) which he founded, and police-community relations. Works include a co-authored book, eight special journal issues, 47 coauthored peer-reviewed articles, and numerous other publications and significant editorial work, in addition to national and international paper presentations. Recognition has been bestowed upon him with two professional associations naming awards in his honor, the “Inaugural Giles Mentorship Award” from the International Association of Language & Social Psychology and the “Howard Giles Top Student Paper Award” from the International Communication Association. His contributions include continued service to his campus, teaching, and mentorship. Since 2021 he has been an affiliate of UCSB’s Center for Aging & Longevity Studies. Post retirement he became a fellow in a number of societies, and in 2023 he was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. In addition to his dedication to students and UCSB, his commitment to campus-community relationships is reflected in his service as the Director of the Volunteer in Policing Corp for the Santa Barbara Police Department (SBPD), earning him a nomination as the SBPD Civilian Supervisor of the Year Award. His involvement in this area of police-community relations has also resulted in collaborations with the police department, including a handbook on policing and communication as well as an intervention program called VOICES that promotes dialog between the police and marginalized members of the community.

Direct Pay for Student-Athletes Is Coming (if it isn't already here) - Part 2

From KCCI and AP: The NCAA passed rules...  that would upend decades of precedent by allowing colleges to pay their athletes per terms of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit settlement expected to go into effect this summer. The nine proposals passed by the NCAA board were largely expected but still mark a defining day in the history of college sports. An athlete's ability to be paid directly by his or her university is on track to be enshrined in a rulebook that has forbidden that kind of relationship for decades.

For the NCAA rules to officially go into effect, the changes prescribed by the House settlement still have to be granted final approval by a federal judge, whose hearing earlier this month led to questions about potential tweaks before the new guidelines are supposed to go into play on July 1. The changes will eliminate around 150 rules and alter many others in the NCAA's sprawling rulebook. They essentially codify measures set up by the settlement, including:

• Modifying bylaws to allow schools to pay the athletes directly.
• Eliminating scholarship limits for teams, while also setting roster limits that are designed to replace the scholarship caps. Some details of the roster limits, which were a key sticking point in the April 7 hearing, will be finalized later.
• Establishing annual reporting requirements for schools that pay athletes; a payment pool is set to be approximately $20.5 million for the biggest schools beginning next academic year.
• Setting up a clearinghouse for all name, image and likeness (NIL) deals that come from third parties and are worth $600 or more.
• Granting authority to an enforcement body being developed by the conferences named as defendants in the lawsuit to enforce the new rules passed to implement terms of the settlement. This includes compliance with all the new facets coming into play in college sports — roster limits, payment of direct benefits to players and meeting requirements for the third-party deals.

One change allows for the creation of technology platforms for schools to monitor payments to athletes and for the athletes to report their third-party NIL deals. The board also approved a requirement for athletes to be enrolled full-time and meeting requirements toward their degree to receive the benefits...

Full story at https://www.kcci.com/article/ncaa-athlete-payment-rules/64552879.