The Partisan Divide on Higher Ed

The Gallup poll finds declining public confidence in higher ed as can be seen above. There is a strong partisan divide underlying the results:

From Gallup: ...Confidence in higher education among Republicans today is nearly a mirror image of what it was nine years ago. In 2015, 56% of Republicans had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence, and 11% had little or none. Now, 20% are confident and 50% have little or no confidence.

Republicans are not alone in having reduced confidence in higher education, as 35% of independents, down from 48% in 2015, and 56% of Democrats, down from 68%, are confident.

In the past year, all party groups have shown at least some increase in the percentage with very little or no confidence, and a decrease in the percentage saying they have some. None of the party groups shows meaningful change in high confidence over the past year...

Full story at https://news.gallup.com/poll/646880/confidence-higher-education-closely-divided.aspx.

TikTok Pay

Yours truly hasn't seen wage bargaining via TikTok before but a lecturer at UCLA in astrophysics is trying it out. 

It's unclear when this video went up on the web, but you can see it below.*

Or direct to https://www.tiktok.com/@danielastrophysics/video/7386606069969194271.

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*It was written up in a web article dated July 14, 2024: https://www.yourtango.com/self/ucla-physics-professor-told-get-second-job-after-asking-raise.

Watch the July 16, 2024 Regents Health Services Committee

The Regents began their July 16-18 meetings at UC-San Francisco with a session of the Health Services Committee.

During public comments, there was support for collegiate recovery programs involving substance abuse, concern about antisemitism, and support for item J2 (limits on department political statements). There was also a pitch for creating a new UC campus in Redding.

After a closed session, the committee resumed in open session to approve an agreement with the state attorney general regarding the takeover by UC-San Francisco of St. Mary's and St. Francis hospitals. Various guarantees by UC have been made concerning investment in these facilities, continued charitable care, and caps on rate increases.

The committee also approved a change in executive pay formulas for health CEOs that put more weight on local goals relative to UC-wide goals: 70-30 vs. 50-50.

As always, we preserve videos of Regents meetings since the Regents have no policy regarding retention duration. You can see the two open sessions at the links below:

Public Comments are at https://ia904503.us.archive.org/9/items/1-regents-health-services-committee-3-30-pm-7-16-2024/1-Regents%20Health%20Services%20Committee%203_30%20PM%207-16-2024.mp4.

Action items are at https://ia904503.us.archive.org/9/items/1-regents-health-services-committee-3-30-pm-7-16-2024/2-Regents%20Health%20Services%20Committee%204_30%20PM%207-16-2024.mp4.

The general website for this meeting is at:

https://archive.org/details/1-regents-health-services-committee-3-30-pm-7-16-2024.

Adding up the cost

From the LA Times: The University of California shelled out more than $29 million to handle this spring’s protests over the Israel-Hamas war, with 90% of that paying for law enforcement, private security and other safety measures, according to preliminary estimates obtained by The Times.

The costs were higher than many UC leaders expected as they struggled to respond to protests that exploded across the system’s 10 campuses after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants and Israel’s retaliation with a massive ongoing assault on Gaza...

UCLA topped all 10 campuses in costs, spending $10 million on safety and security and $400,000 for building repairs, graffiti removal and other cleanup between March 1 and June 25...

UCLA hosted two regents meetings during that period, which contributed to the significantly higher security costs... UC Board of Regents Chair Janet Reilly said regents were aware that the costs of handling protests could be high but they backed efforts to do what was needed to restore campus safety...

When a university brings in outside law enforcement agencies, it must pay not only for officers’ time, including overtime, but also for lodging, transportation and meals for those who are deployed from outside the area. For large protests, such “mutual aid” is often necessary, since campus police forces are relatively small, ranging from 66 sworn officers at UCLA to 19 at UC Merced...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-18/uc-unveils-price-tag-for-this-springs-campus-unrest.

The times they are a'changing - Part 7

From Inside Higher Ed: The National Collegiate Athletic Association faced a major setback July 11 as a U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia ruled that college athletes whose efforts primarily benefit their schools may qualify as employees deserving of pay under federal wage-and-hour laws. It’s the latest challenge to the NCAA’s long-standing concept of amateurism, according to the Associated Press. The NCAA had hoped to have the case dismissed, but it will instead go back to the trial judge for fact-finding.

In a unanimous opinion that came nearly a year and a half after the case was argued before the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the three-judge panel declared that a test should be developed to differentiate between students who play college sports for fun and those whose effort “crosses the legal line into work.” ...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/07/16/appeals-court-rules-ncaa-athletes-may-qualify-employees.

Biggest donation in (Department of) History

As blog readers will know, we especially like to take note of donations to the university that don't involve bricks and mortar. So here is one from the LA Daily News:

The UCLA College Division of Social Sciences has received a $25 million donation from Meyer Luskin and his wife Renee to support faculty, students and public-oriented programs in the department of history, it was announced Tuesday. It is the largest single donation to the history department and to the College Division of Social Sciences at UCLA ever made. The funds are intended to guarantee UCLA’s role as a national leader in providing historical resources beyond its campus.

The Luskins are graduates of UCLA and among the university’s most generous donors, according to a release from the university. Meyer Luskin is a noted business leader in Southern California. “Meyer and Renee Luskin are cherished members of our Bruin family who have long helped UCLA live up to its highest ideals, changing countless lives through their generosity and leadership,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. “This visionary gift speaks volumes about their dedication to our academic community and their recognition that both UCLA students and the general public benefit greatly from a rich understanding of history.” ...

Full story at https://www.dailynews.com/2024/07/16/luskins-donate-25-million-to-ucla-history-department/.

Not on the home page

We'll be providing more commentary on the Regents meetings this week as time perrmits. However, Item J2 on departmental political statements was passed in committee yesterday. From the LA Times:

University of California regents voted Thursday to ban political opinion from main campus homepages, a policy initially rooted in concern about anti-Israel views being construed as official UC opinion. Political opinions may still be posted on other pages of an academic unit’s website, according to the policy approved at the regents meeting in San Francisco. It will take effect immediately.

The main homepage of a campus department, division or other academic unit will be reserved for news about courses, events, faculty research, mission statements or other general information. Opinion must be published on other pages specifically labeled as commentary, with a disclaimer that they don’t reflect the entire university or campus. Those who want to post statements on their department websites must follow specific procedures and allow faculty members to weigh in through an anonymous vote...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-17/uc-regents-move-to-ban-anti-israel-views-other-political-opinion-on-university-home-pages.