UCLA History: New Coach in 1948

John Wooden and family after he is named head coach in 1948.

Time to Admit

Data are now out on UC freshmen admissions for fall 2011. Some interesting numbers are available, particularly regarding UCLA.

UCLA had the lowest admission rate for fall 2011 (25.3%) among freshmen applicants of any UC campus. It got more applications for freshmen admission than any other campus. Of the 106,186 applicants to UC, 57.9% applied to UCLA. (Applicants can apply to more than one campus.)

The number admitted to UCLA in percentage terms over the past one or two years grew faster than any other campus (19.5%; 28.7%). Berkeley had the lowest proportion of California admits of any UC campus (68.8% - the rest being out-of-state or foreign) and the number of California admits declined at Berkeley over the past one or two years. UCLA had the second lowest proportion of California admits (70.2%) but all categories (California, out-of-state, foreign) rose absolutely over the past one or two years.

See http://www.ucop.edu/news/factsheets/2011/fall_2011_admissions_table1.pdf and http://www.ucop.edu/news/factsheets/2011/fall_2011_admissions_table_2.pdf

One out-of-state student made a particularly memorable plea to the UCLA admissions office:

Messing with the (U of) Texas

Inside Higher Ed today points to a story on efforts by Texas Governor Rick Perry to micro-manage the U of Texas. Summary at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/04/18/qt#257247

Perry emails tell a different story: Regents were pressed to adopt list of higher ed 'reforms' (excerpt)

Patricia Kilday Hart, April 17, 2011, Houston Chronicle

Contrary to his public statements distancing himself from a brewing controversy in higher education, Gov. Rick Perry continually pressed his appointees to university boards of regents to promptly adopt "reforms" that critics say are simplistic and harmful to research institutions, according to emails obtained by the Houston Chronicle. In May 2008, Perry summoned all Texas university regents and chancellors to a higher education summit and to hear Austin businessman Jeff Sandefer, a major Perry campaign contributor, explain "Seven Break-through Solutions" to shake up higher education.

Many of the ideas — measuring a professor's "productivity" based on numbers of students and linking compensation to positive student evaluations — received a chilly reception, but the emails, obtained from the University of Texas and Texas A&M University, show Perry's office continued to demand strict implementation of Sandefer's ideas. The emails covered July 2008 through April 2009. In a Dec. 5, 2008, email, Perry aide Marisha Negovetich invited regents and chancellors to a "Seven Break-through Solutions Follow-up Meeting."

"The Governor is anxious to put together a cohesive plan of action … and also learn from you what progress you have made to move these reforms forward," she wrote…

Full story at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7524955.html

The guv's just making sure everything at the university is under control:

UPDATE: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7529216.html

Rocketing Tuition at UC Forecast Under All-Cuts State Budget Scenario

Higher education leaders fear an all-cuts budget will be devastating (excerpt):

Beige Luciano-Adams, 4/16/11, Pasadena Star-News

As students across the state continue protesting cuts to higher education, state senators on the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee convened this past week for a depressing look at the devastation an "all-cuts" budget could unleash on California's public education system. The damage for higher education, as outlined in recommendations from the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office, would approach $3 billion, including about $800 million slashed from community colleges and $1 billion dollars each from the California State University and University of California systems

…In the UC system, which might have to impose an 18.3-percent fee increases for students, things could also get ugly, said Patrick Lenz, vice president for budget at the University of California.

Lenz told the committee the $500 million reduction for UCs amounts to a 22.5-percent drop from 2007-2008 levels - equal to 1998 funding levels, when the university served 73,000 fewer students. Attrition, layoffs, academic and administrative program eliminations, efficiency and austerity measures are already maxed, he said. But Lenz added that UC would continue to search for creative ways to fill part of a $2.5 billion budget gap caused by the reduction in state funding.

If the state can't help close the remaining gap of about $1 billion, Lenz said, the next step is the 18.3-percent increase in student fees. "Our only other option - and one we don't think is very palatable at this time - is to downsize the university," Lenz said. "And we're not prepared to do that. We see what the economic needs are for California, we think we can be that engine that helps with the state's fiscal stability, and we think students deserve the opportunity to come to the university and get a degree."

====

In short, we may be in for a wild ride:

Update: A somewhat harsher sentiment is expressed in an op ed by Chancellor Block:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-block-uc-20110417,0,1984529.story

Careless Words: An Internet Reminder

In yet another lesson in being-careful-about-what-you-say-on-the-Internet, UCLA Law School Prof. Stephen Bainbridge’s blog complaint about service he didn’t get from FedEx produced the following from the Daily Bruin last Friday:

UCLA law students are reacting with frustration to the law school dean’s response to a professor’s xenophobic blog posts, according to a student law organization. The post, made by Stephen Bainbridge, professor of corporate law, began with complaints about FedEx Express Office online services. Bainbridge described the customer service representative he spoke with as a “moron with an impenetrable accent,” and asked, “What third world shithole do they have him penned up in?” …

School of Law Dean Rachel Moran sent a letter to concerned student organizations in response. In the letter, Moran said the comments do not reflect the views of UCLA School of Law. She also said UCLA Law cannot censure his views because they were posted on his personal blog. Moran was not available for comment…

Bainbridge has since posted another blog entry, stating that he deleted the “offending passages” and offered his apologies. “Some folks thought the excised comments were racially insensitive. I don’t see it myself but … I don’t want to offend readers unnecessarily,” Bainbridge wrote in the post. “I think a fair assessment of the many thousands of my blog posts over the years would demonstrate that the post in question was an ill-considered aberration,” he added in an email statement to the Daily Bruin…

Full article at http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2011/04/student_groups_protest_ucla_law_professor_stephen_bainbridge039s_heated_blog_remarks_law_school_dean

Prof. Bainbridge’s original post on his blog http://www.professorbainbridge.com/ seemed more aimed at poor service and at outsourcing of call centers than any particular group – unlike the recent YouTube video by a UCLA student that got major attention and a video response from the chancellor. (See prior posts on this blog.) In the YouTube case, moreover, the video was reported to have been made, with some collaboration of a parent, as part of a planned business venture of some type. In fact, the posted comments on the Bruin article as of today – which appear to come from law students – express annoyance with the controversy and are supportive of Prof. Bainbridge.

The original http://www.professorbainbridge.com/ entry was dated 3/27/11 and – now redacted and with an apology – reads (excerpted):

FedEx Office Print Online SUCKS

I've got a 400 page document that I wanted printed on 3-hole pre-punched paper. Since I'm working at home, I thought it would be easy to print it using FedEx Office online printing and pick it up at my local FedEx office instead of schlepping all the way down to my office at UCLA. WRONG. Instead of printing at my local FedEx/Kinkos store, their automated system decided to print it at a store in Poway California. Approximately 100 miles--and a 3 to 4 hour drive in traffic--from my house.

Then I call Federal Express customer service and get some moron [excised] who, as near as I can tell, kept asking for the tracking number on my package! Where did they hire this guy? [Excised] When my repeated efforts at basic communication failed, I gave it up as a bad job. I'll just print the damned thing at work on Monday. One thing's for damned sure. I'm never using Federal Express Office online printing again.

…Update: Score one for social networking. Although neither a phone call nor 2 emails elicited any help, blasting this post all over Twitter did. So thanks to FedEx for stepping up to the plate and making it right.

…Update: Apparently, some folks thought the excised comments were racially insensitive. I don't see it myself, but since I don't want to offend readers unnecessarily, I've struck the offending passages and offer my apologies.

Full entry at http://www.professorbainbridge.com/professorbainbridgecom/2011/03/fedex-office-print-online-sucks.html

= = =

So, again, this episode seems to serve as a reminder about the ability of the Internet to spread communications that may, in retrospect, be regretted. Prior posts on this blog have noted that emails sent through the UCLA system may be subject to outside Public Documents requests (as occurred at the U of Wisconsin – see earlier posts). Even seemingly-private communications are not private.

UCLA History: The Physics Building in the 1930s

A 1930s view of the Physics Building and the bridge over the campus ravine. The structure is now the Humanities Building.

Waiting for my comment to register with the Register

Above is a screen image of an article of 4-14-11 from the Orange County Register. The article deals with the governor's comment - noted in an earlier post on this blog - that UC tuition could rise substantially in the absence of a deal on the state budget. However, the OC Register inserted in the text of the article - and to the right of the headline - a link to a database of all UC salaries.

Yours truly posted the following comment/request on the article this morning:

Can we please see the database of all salaries of employees of the OC Register? Thanks.

The Register is so well managed that it fell into bankruptcy a couple of years ago and ended up in the hands of its lenders as part of the resulting settlement. As soon as the Register sends me the database I requested, I will post the link. :)

(A similar longstanding request to the Sacramento Bee has so far gone unanswered.)

Update: From California Watch: Professors earn far more at Stanford than at University of California 4-15-11

Full professors at Stanford University make on average $39,000 more than their counterparts at UC Berkeley, reinforcing fears about UC's ability to recruit and retain top professors in the face of deep reductions in state support...

The salary gap has existed for years, but Berkeley officials worry that as the endowments of private universities recover and Sacramento inflicts ever-deeper budget cuts on UC, the gap will continue to widen...

Full article at http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/professors-earn-far-more-stanford-university-california-9843


Note that no newspaper has access to a database for Stanford salaries by employee or for any other private university. That fact gives those universities another advantage in recruiting apart from pay. It's called "personal privacy."