The Light That Failed (at the ITC)

Edison

We have from time to time noted UC's patent litigation over an energy-saving light bulb design.* Things did not go well recently. From Reuters:

A group of companies including General Electric Co., Ikea Supply AG, and Home Depot Inc. on Tuesday defeated a request by the University of California for a U.S. appeals court to block imports of light bulbs that allegedly infringe its patents. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the U.S. International Trade Commission's decision that the companies' light bulbs did not include a key element of the university's patented technology...

The university lodged the ITC complaint in 2020. It also filed related patent infringement lawsuits in federal court in 2019 against the companies and others including Amazon, Walmart and Target. Those cases have been paused for the ITC proceedings...

The commission entered a final decision against the university last year. The Federal Circuit agreed Tuesday that the companies' light bulbs did not infringe because they lacked a "molding" around the LED described in the university's patents.

Full story at https://www.reuters.com/legal/ge-ikea-home-depot-defeat-university-california-bid-light-bulb-import-bans-2023-05-16/.

*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2019/07/let-there-be-light-and-appropriate.html; https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2020/01/light.html.

Looks Like the Regents Will Respond to Calls for Hiring Undocumented Students

We noted earlier that the agenda for the Regents this week appears to include taking up the calls for UC hiring of undocumented students. There is a legal theory that such hiring by a state entity would not violate federal law. (There were calls for such hiring at yesterday's meeting of the Regents' Investments Committee during public comments.) From EdSource:

Following months of urging by undocumented students, the University of California next week will consider a proposal to allow the hiring of those students for jobs across the 10-campus university system. If the UC board of regents takes that step, UC would become the first known institution to argue that a federal statute’s ban on the hiring of undocumented persons does not apply to states. The issue could result in a court challenge, experts said.

If the proposal is adopted, the students say it would greatly benefit undocumented immigrant students who currently can’t work on-campus jobs because they don’t have legal status. Not only does that make it more difficult to afford college, but those students also miss out on job opportunities that are critical to their learning experiences, such as research positions and internships.

Since last fall, a coalition of undocumented students and legal scholars has been calling on UC to authorize those students to work across the university system. They say UC is free to do so because, in their view, a 1986 federal statute that bans the hiring of immigrants without legal status doesn’t bind states and their entities like UC. That’s because, according to the theory, states historically have had the power to determine qualifications for state employees, and the 1986 statute only specifies that it applies to federal entities...

UC’s Office of the General Counsel, which didn’t make a representative available for an interview, hasn’t yet publicly taken a stance. Privately, lawyers with the office haven’t disagreed with the theory but have expressed some wariness...

Full story at https://edsource.org/2023/university-of-californias-undocumented-students-push-for-right-to-work-campus-jobs/690413.

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Note: As always, we will be preserving recordings of Regents meetings and discussing them as time permits.

Dickson Awards

Yvone Bryson, Carole Goldberg, Sander Goldberg

2022 – 2023 Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award Recipients Named

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.

Three UCLA emeriti professors have been selected to receive the 2022 – 2023 Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award, which includes a prize of $5,000.

• Yvonne J. Bryson, Distinguished Research Professor in Pediatrics
• Carole E. Goldberg, Jonathan D. Varat Distinguished Professor of Law Emerita
• Sander Goldberg, Distinguished Research Professor in Classics

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Yvonne Bryson, MD, has been a long-time outstanding faculty member in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine. She joined UCLA as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases in 1976. Prior to her retirement was the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. She has continued to have significant research funding post retirement, with ongoing National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Specifically, since becoming an emerita, she helped lead the study of a relatively new medication in premature and term infants that may help block mother to child transmission of HIV. She was also Vice-Chair of a study of early treatment therapies for newborn infants and helped test new cutting-edge treatment strategies. She has also explored the impact of cutting-edge therapies (treatment for HIV beginning within days of birth and stem cell transplantation) in moving medicine closer to making cure of HIV infection a reality and disease-free survival with a normal lifespan possible for infected newborns. These translational studies alone show her impact during this period in the ongoing battle on behalf of the 2.7 million children living with HIV worldwide (2021 WHO estimate) and in the goal of eliminating the tens of thousands of new cases of HIV infection of infants that occur per every month throughout the world. This research has resulted in over 20 publications. Dr. Bryson continues to mentor both undergraduate medical school and postgraduates, presents lectures domestically and internationally, and to be a role model to faculty. Since retirement, Dr. Bryon has also led the revitalization of Women in Science and Doctors in Medicine (WISDOM). She has been effective in bringing solutions and discussions to engage all women in the department and beyond.

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Carole E. Goldberg, J.D., Jonathan D. Varat Distinguished Professor of Law Emerita, and Distinguished Research Professor officially retired in 2018 from the UCLA School of Law after 40 years as an integral member of the law faculty. A widely respected scholar of federal Indian and tribal law, Carole has continued to make important contributions to the field in the years since her retirement, including continuing to serve as a Chief Justice, Justice and an Evidentiary Hearing Officer in several Native American Courts. Contributions also include two recent co-authored works, the second edition of Captured Justice: Native Nations and Public Law 280 (with Professor Emeritus Duane Champagne, first edition 2012, second edition, 2020), and A Coalition of Lineages: The Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians (with Professor Emeritus Duane Champagne, 2021.) History Professor Emeritus, Stephen Aron, and now President and CEO of the Autry Museum, notes that “A Coalition of Lineages is a book that is informed by wide reading in historical and anthropological scholarship,” and that it “has emerged as a key text” for the curatorial team at the Autry as they seek to enhance their understanding of “Southern California Indians before the settlement of Los Angeles.” In addition, Carole has been instrumental in her post-retirement years in obtaining for the Law School, the receipt of significant gifts amounting to $19.625M from the Federal Indians of Graton Rancheria – to fund two endowed faculty chairs in Native American Law and to advance the study and practice of Native American law through student support for the Graton Scholars Program.

Professor Goldberg has continued to work closely with Law faculty to support and advance the Tribal Legal Development Clinic and the Native Nations program. She served on several important campus-wide committees, such as the Chair of the UCLA Centennial Celebration Steering Committee and was also appointed to the UCLA Campus Honorary Naming Advisory Committee. Additionally, she served as a Special Assistant to the EVC/Provost (2018-2022), and currently she serves as a Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Personnel to help mentor and onboard senior leaders across campus. Throughout her career, and in post-retirement, Carole has demonstrated a deep commitment to the university’s mission and the significance of her leadership has been invaluable.

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Sander Goldberg, Ph.D., Distinguished Research Professor in Classics, retired in 2013 after 28 years at UCLA. Since retirement, Professor Goldberg has continued to publish scholarly articles, books, and reviews at a remarkable pace. He is considered one of the most important scholars working in the field of Early Republican Roman literature, and it is a field in which his voice has remained active and groundbreaking. He added contributions to his body of work on the Roman playwright Terence with books on Terence, Hecyra (The Mother-in-Law) (2013), Terence: Andria (2019) and Terence, Andria (The Woman from Andros) (2022), as well as a co-edited book on the “father of Roman poetry,” Ennius. The Fragments (with Gesine Manuwald, 2018). Professor Goldberg has also penned articles on topics as diverse as the Odyssey in opera, the future of antiquity, the language of early Latin epic, and Roman poets and scholars such as the satirist Lucilius and the ancient commentator Donatus. Notably, he has served as editor-inchief of the Oxford Classical Dictionary (a massive reference work, and the premiere work of its kind in the field of Classics). During his editorship, the world-renowned reference transitioned from a print to an online resource. Professor Goldberg is a literary critic and editor who has tackled some of the most challenging Roman poets; he is also well-known for making early and decisive inroads in his field by combining literary analysis with digital humanities and archaeology in order to make celebrated breakthroughs as to the layout and function of the Roman theater. In addition to this scholarly output, he models an academic generosity that supports the work of emerging scholars in the field. And even after retirement, Sander has unflaggingly and repeatedly stepped in to help his department as a mentor, teacher, and advisor.

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Please join me in wishing them all well-deserved congratulations for outstanding contributions to their respective fields since retirement and for serving as powerful examples of intellectual and professional achievement.

Sincerely, Michael S. Levine, Chair, Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award Selection Committee, Vice Chancellor, Academic Personnel

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Source: https://files.constantcontact.com/0c822253501/8535fb69-f098-4a1e-9a7c-80a718eebeb7.pdf.

Grateful (as always)

As predicted, the UC response to the governor's budget allocation is (as always) official gratitude. We are likely to hear similar expressions from the Regents during their meetings which start today through Thursday.

University of California President Michael V. Drake, M.D., [last Friday] issued the following statement on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised 2023-24 budget proposal:

I am grateful that Gov. Newsom’s revised budget proposal maintains critical funding for the University of California. This budget reflects our strong partnership with the Governor and his recognition of the University’s role in maintaining the state’s economic competitiveness and solving California’s most urgent issues. This level of funding is particularly extraordinary given the many competing priorities the Governor must balance this year.

If supported by the state Legislature, this budget will provide funding for the urgent priorities we share, increasing California undergraduate and graduate student enrollment, expanding on-campus student resources, building additional student housing, and hiring more faculty and staff. 

We are also pleased that the Governor’s budget includes $100 million for the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at UCLA and $2 million for the UC Riverside School of Medicine. These investments will translate into lifesaving research and patient care for many Californians.

The University of California looks forward to working with the Governor and state legislative leaders to achieve a final budget that maintains this critical funding. This state support will allow the University to continue educating the next generation of leaders, producing cutting-edge research for the benefit of our communities, and delivering high quality health care to Californians.

Source: https://universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/uc-statement-gov-newsoms-2023-24-revised-budget-proposal.

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The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) is less keen about the overall May Revise budget proposed by the governor last week. (We haven't seen specific LAO comments on higher ed or UC.) Basically, LAO is projecting about $7.6 billion less in general fund revenue for the current year and $3.3 billion less in revenue for 2023-24. So, it cautions the legislature that come next January, the budget the governor will propose then for 2024-25 will have sharp cuts. See:

https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4769 and https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/774.

On the other hand, state senate Democrats issued a budget plan in late April with a more ambitious agenda which included an increase in corporation taxes on larger firms. In his May Revise news conference, the governor rejected tax increases. However, the senate Democrats' proposal included:

• Rejection of funding delays for campus projects at UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Riverside and UC Merced and instead shift to Housing and Infrastructure Fund.
• Increases in funding for basic needs, rapid rehousing, disabled students support, and mental health supportive services for CCC, CSU, and UC students.
• Provision for a COLA for UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and categorical programs at community colleges such as Puente, Mathematics, Engineering, Umoja, Science Achievement (MESA), Student Equity and Achievement Program, Part-time faculty office hours and Part-time faculty compensation. 
• Funding for a statewide UC based depository & public database for police records.

So, even if new taxes are off the table, there could be some legislative adjustments to the final UC allocation.

The senate Democrats' proposal is at:

https://sbud.senate.ca.gov/sites/sbud.senate.ca.gov/files/Protect%20Our%20Progress%20Senate%20Budget%20Plan.pdf.

If the pay increase for nonunion staff is going to be 4.6%...

...what will be the general increase for faculty? From Campus Human Resources:

In accordance with UC President Drake’s announcement regarding the FY 2023-24 Salary Program, the following guidelines are designed to assist departments in implementing the program for eligible staff. This program applies to policy-covered non-probationary staff in career, partial-year career, and eligible contract appointments. Student employees in casual-restricted positions and staff holding limited appointments are not included, nor are employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

In order to recognize the extraordinary efforts by our policy-covered staff members during these challenging times, the University is providing a 4.6% general increase to all eligible employees. Increases will be effective June 25, 2023 for employees on bi-weekly payroll and July 1, 2023 for those paid monthly. Accordingly, the new rates will be reflected in the July 19 or August 1, 2023 paychecks.

Although individual increases under this year’s salary program are not merit-based, the importance of the performance review process should not be discounted. All policy-covered staff must continue to receive performance reviews at least annually as required in Staff Personnel Policy...

Salary increases will be processed centrally by Campus Human Resources (CHR) or UCLA Health Human Resources (HHR).

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Eligibility Criteria

Policy-covered staff appointed and on payroll by January 3, 2023, are eligible for the general increase except as noted in paragraph 2 below.

Contract appointees who are subject to PPSM 30: Compensation... under the terms of their employment contract are eligible for the general increase and for those who are not subject to PPSM, it is the responsibility of the department to notify CHR of the need for exclusion prior to the effective date of the increase. Contract employees at UCLA Health are not eligible for the increase as PPSM-30 coverage is no longer applied to any new or renewed contracts.

For Senior Management Group (SMG) employees, salary actions are in accordance with delegated authority established by the Office of the President and must be approved by the Chancellor, the President, and/or the Regents...

Full announcement at https://chr.ucla.edu/hr-administration/compensation-and-classification/2023-salary.

Note: The national Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) was up 4.9% for the twelve months ending April 2023. The Los Angeles CPI-U was up 3.8% over the same period. 

Sources: https://www.bls.gov/regions/west/news-release/consumerpriceindex_losangeles.htm; https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf.

More UCLA Cats

Blog readers will recall our post on the demise of Powell Cat (including its links to US financial stability).* There are other cats, apparently being fed in violation of official policy. From the Bruin:

UCLA’s current policy on taking care of stray cats on the Hill has left student caretakers and fans worried about their furry companions’ futures.

The cats on the Hill, with student-given names such as Sproul Cat, Big Mama – also known as Tux – and Cali, have become well-known to residents. Sproul Cat, which has striped tan fur, first received attention on the UCLA subreddit in February. His friend – Cali, a calico cat – is known for her feisty personality, whereas Big Mama, a black cat with a white tuxedo underbelly, is very friendly around humans, said a student caretaker, who wished to remain anonymous because of the restrictions placed on feeding.

The caretaker originally started feeding the stray cats at the beginning of the academic school year. They said they noticed a previous UCLA Residential Life staff member had left cat food on the steps of Delta Terrace after they were no longer able to care for the cats.

Since then, the caretaker said they buy cat food with their own money once a month. Other students at Delta Terrace have also pitched in their own money to pay for food, toys, treats and even a small bed, they said. Both Big Mama and Cali typically hang around near Delta Terrace, while Sproul Cat roams around the entire Hill throughout the day, the caretaker said...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2023/05/10/hill-policy-on-feeding-stray-cats-sparks-worry-concerns-among-residents.

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*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2023/03/dead-cat-part-2.html; http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2023/03/dead-cat.html.

Again, no news on the recession front

Still no sign of recession - at least based on new weekly claims for unemployment insurance in California. We are still in pre-pandemic (boom) territory by this measure. The next UCLA Anderson Forecast is due out on June 7. As blog readers will know, recent Forecasts have provided two scenarios: recession and no recession. Of course, before we get to June 7, we may have a federal debt-default drama.

As always, the latest claims data are at https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf.