What's the Matter with UCOP?

What's the Matter with UCOP?

On the use of furlough days, all UCOP had to do was keep quiet. Why couldn't it?Faculty around the system spent weeks discussing whether 6 or 10 or some other number of their up to 26 days of furlough might be applied to instruction, and Academic Council's August 5th statement on furlough implementation recommended that 6 furlough days be assigned to days of instruction and that...

UCSB Call for Campus Response to UCOP Furlough Ruling

UCSB Call for Campus Response to UCOP Furlough Ruling

Dear Henry, Gene, Melvin, David [UCSB's Chancellor, EVC, Dean of Social Sciences, Executive Dean]:As you know, there has been support on this campus for taking some furlough days during instructional days (and, as I and others argued at the town meeting, a strong argument can be made for taking all furlough days on instructional days). The 8/21 message from Interim UC Provost...

UCOP Mandate Morally and Politically Unacceptable

UCOP Mandate Morally and Politically Unacceptable

UCOP’s decision to ban taking furlough days on teaching days is entirely unacceptable, comprising one more egregious assault on the mission of the CA public universities. The most unsettling piece of Interim Provost Pitts’ statement is contained in the quote below, which displays a shocking misrepresentation of the mission of the state's research universities. Asking the...

UC Berkeley Shortens Teaching Term

UC Berkeley Shortens Teaching Term

The Berkeley EVC's announcement that 3 teaching days per term will be converted to reading days has been posted on Brad de Long's blog. The EVC also states that the recommendation comes from a study group recommendation delivered to him in May, before the current budget crisis, summer-long furlough debate, and recent UCOP decision to ban furloughs on instructional days.The official...

The Faculty Stands Alone

The Faculty Stands Alone

The administration at UCI, following UCOP's lead, has been driving a wedge between faculty and students-staff since this whole budget crisis began. Unfortunately, according to Mary Croughan's response to the Pitt memo, the faculty seems to stand, like the proverbial cheese -- completely alone. When the furloughs were first implemented, I remember talk that this was not going...

UCOP on Furloughs: We're the Deciders!

UCOP on Furloughs: We're the Deciders!

Commentary shall be forthcoming.CHANCELLORSACADEMIC COUNCIL CHAIR CROUGHANColleagues:After speaking at length with all of you and a number of other people with an interest in the issue, we have decided that faculty furlough days will not occur on instructional days (days for which a faculty member is scheduled to give lectures, lead classes or workshops, have scheduled office...

Chris Newfield in Chronicle not today but some ten months ago (corrected and updated)

Chris Newfield in Chronicle not today but some ten months ago (corrected and updated)

I draw your attention to Chris's commentary in the Chronicle a prescient ten months ago, which is archived under the "UC and CSU Statements." You can also read it here. This is probably somewhere on the site already, since it is a historical document, but it's worth reading again. (Thanks, Anonymous, for the correction! I still wish I had a strike-through option.)While I'm...

From UC-AFT: Call for No Confidence Vote

From UC-AFT: Call for No Confidence Vote

60,000 UC Union Members Call for Vote of No Confidence in Yudof (from UC-AFT)WHEREAS University of California (UC) President Mark Yudof has declared his intention to force crippling cuts on UC’s vital services and programs, andWHEREAS the furloughs, layoffs , and student fee increases proposed by President Yudof are unnecessary and extremely harmful to the University and its public...

Turn it around; don’t give it away: AAUP Statement on Budget Transparency and Pay Cuts

Turn it around; don’t give it away: AAUP Statement on Budget Transparency and Pay Cuts

The Executive Board of the AAUP has issued a statement calling for full information and transparency regarding campus budgets, and for faculty to resist cutting salaries to avoid cuts in areas not central to higher education or to achieve budgetary "flexibility". Sounds very familiar, but very well put. Here is the first paragraph:Recent decades have witnessed: (a) a systematic...

Letter to Gary Strong, UCLA University Librarian

Letter to Gary Strong, UCLA University Librarian

August 19, 2009Gary StrongUniversity LibrarianUniversity of California, Los AngelesDear Mr. Strong:This letter is intended to express our outrage and dismay at the impending closure of the Arts Library, an entity that is unique on the West Coast in its offerings and resources. As instructors—at UCLA and beyond—in the arts, architecture, art history, film, television, theater and...

And Sometimes We Get Boethian Dream Visions

And Sometimes We Get Boethian Dream Visions

Headlines and QuotesBy Gerald BarnettI was working through Chapter 8 of the Clark Kerr’s The Uses of the University and had just gotten to the discussion of how universities in Michigan and Texas were already viewed more as “private” when my head grew heavy and my sight grew dim and I had to put the book down and rest. I guess I must have actually fallen asleep right there at...

University of North Carolina Administration Grows Disproportionately Faster...with a Kicker

University of North Carolina Administration Grows Disproportionately Faster...with a Kicker

The Chronicle of Higher Education's Ticker points to a story coming out of the University of North Carolina. The full story is here.It seems that the administration there has been growing faster than the faculty and student enrollment. Not news, right? Here's the kicker, though: "The university now admits that some of these people were in jobs that were not vital." And this is...

on-line education, the 11th campus

on-line education, the 11th campus

In the coming months, on-line education is going to being receiving a lot of attention and some funds, especially in light of the Edley proposal for the 11th campus of UC. I think we all have to look closely at the new Dept of Ed study that claims that on-line education is more effective than face-to-face, develop studies of our own, as faculty of bricks and mortar institutions....

Who Are the High Earners in the UC System (x-post)

Who Are the High Earners in the UC System (x-post)

Cross-posted from Robert Samuels, Changing UniversitiesMonday, August 17, 2009Who are the High Earners in the UC SystemLike many people, I was wondering about who exactly are the people making more than $200,000 a year in the UC system. Using Jeffrey Bergamini’s great salary data (http://ucpay.globl.org), I analyzed the different categories of employees in the over 200K club....

Byron Williams: University of California Regents demonstrate tone deafness with raises

Byron Williams: University of California Regents demonstrate tone deafness with raises

Oakland Tribune columnist on the recent administrative pay raises. Are UCOP and UC Regents "tone deaf"? And does calling the salaries "necessary to retain top-tier talent" justify the...

We Get Letters: UCSC Loses Its Child Care

We Get Letters: UCSC Loses Its Child Care

August 14, 2009 Chancellor George Blumenthal Dear George: I write to express my grave disappointment at the decision to cease the Early Education Services program offerings to faculty and staff, effective January 2010. I make my points briefly here, and document them further in an attachment: This action will make UCSC the only UC campus that does not offer child care for faculty...

University of Southern Miss is considering the elimination of its...economics department?

University of Southern Miss is considering the elimination of its...economics department?

According to Inside Higher Ed (you can read the story here), the University of Southern Mississippi is considering the elimination of its economics department, so that it can reach a goal of reducing spending by $12 million. Note this: "Tenured and tenure-track faculty are legally required to a year's notice prior to termination, and economics faculty say they've already received...

Should Berkeley Be Michigan? Dialgoue on Privatization and Budget Studies

Should Berkeley Be Michigan? Dialgoue on Privatization and Budget Studies

This discussion has taken off as Berkeley faculty call for leveraging the campus's unique strenghts in the downturn. This is thought to include a greater draw on out-of-state students than other UC campuses, and an ability to charge higher tuition. Others argue that higher tuition for a handful of the senior campuses would lead to the stratification of the system, wasteful competition,...

Emerging Furlough Standards and Goals

Emerging Furlough Standards and Goals

One of the big midsummer issues is what to do with the furloughs. A large majority of the email I've received advocates "making the cuts visible" by putting furloughs on teaching days. Many writers report some faculty opposition, mostly invoking fear of a public backlash that will hurt the university even more than it already has been.The systemwide Academic Senate has now posted...

I Have Some Questions

I Have Some Questions

My vacation greatly improved my general attitude. Then I caught up on my UC email.Hence some queries:Does the UC community define the Regents' fiduciary responsibilities to include rebuilding decimated state revenues, or has it given up on them?Are the Regents OK with the fact that the most destructive, humiliating cuts in modern higher education history didn't slake Sacramento's...

Sign Up Time

Sign Up Time

...

The Economist Takes Notice

The Economist Takes Notice

The CA public higher education budget crisis has made it into the pages of The Economist, for what it's wort...

Option Four Videos of Yudof Q & A and Lisa Hajjar Press Conference

Option Four Videos of Yudof Q & A and Lisa Hajjar Press Conference

From the Option 4 folk, video of the Aug. 6 Yudof and Option 4 press conferences.The Yudof Q&A is broken into two videos: part 1 here and part 2 here.There are some questions about restricted versus unrestricted funds that need to be answered clearly, once and for all, so that UCOP cannot continue to claim that their hands are tied. Without wanting to play into the bozonet...

CSU Chancellor in SF Chronicle

CSU Chancellor in SF Chronicle

From Charles Reed, Chancellor of CSU, an opinion piece on the budgetary priorities of the state of California. (Thanks to S.N. for spotting this...

News from the Santa Barbara Yudof Protests

News from the Santa Barbara Yudof Protests

Some highlights from our fearless leader:From the Daily Sound:Yudof: “I don’t care what you write about how much I get paid,” Yudof said at a news conference...

I just wanted to call your attention to our colleague Bob Samuels' blog, "Changing Universities," which has an important post on what kind of departmental and programmatic changes we can expect in the coming year. It's not pretty.

SF Chronicle: Execs Still Get Raises

SF Chronicle: Execs Still Get Raises

The story on executive pay raises is starting to get wider circulation, as this article from SF Chronicle show...

Recession Realities in Higher Education

Recession Realities in Higher Education

Ray Schroeder, retired professor at U Illinois, has a blog that is chronicling the higher education budget crisis throughout the countr...

Eagle-eyed reader N.H. sends in this recent blog posting by our colleagues at edgeofthewest.

So...what business are we in again?

So...what business are we in again?

From the SF Chronicle, a report that UC is lending $200 million to the state of California. Reall...

We Sometimes Get Letters Addressed to Other People

We Sometimes Get Letters Addressed to Other People

From Jeffrey Bergamini Programmer/SysAdmin, Hart Interdisciplinary Programs, UC Davis Dear Mr. Yudof: I appreciate your reply to my letter. I am sure we all agree that pay cuts should only be implemented carefully and after much consideration. Unfortunately, your letter contains a significant amount of spin and mischaracterization that needs to be addressed, which I will do...

Show Me the Money

Show Me the Money

By Robert SamuelsPresident, UC-AFTUCLA, yes the same school that just last week sent layoff notices to most of its long-term lecturers, and yes, the same school that says that it is considering suspending all undergraduate requirements, has announced that it will be using $25 million of student fees to help pay for the renovation of a sports arena. See the story from the Los Angeles...

Another great piece by Jeffrey Wasserstrom

Another great piece by Jeffrey Wasserstrom

This time, it's in Huffington Post. Wasserstrom (History, UC Irvine) makes a number of valid points, but I think #5 is particularly worth singling ou...

UC / CSU budget cuts from Associated Press (corrected)

UC / CSU budget cuts from Associated Press (corrected)

Associated Press has a hard-hitting piece on the budget cuts. You can read it here, on Salon's websit...

Option 4: 1st Annual Bad Business Award

Option 4: 1st Annual Bad Business Award

From the folks at UC Community Coalition for Option 4 -- if you wish to pass out flyers or to play the part of billionaires, see the contacts below.FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 5, 2009Contact:Rodney Orr (805) 455-2813Elizabeth Robinson (805) 570-6028http://option4.ning.com/events/bbq-bailout-press-releaseThe UC Community Coalition for Option 4 will present University of California...

Please read Gerry's 2nd comment in previous post

Please read Gerry's 2nd comment in previous post

I'd just like to call attention to Gerry Barnett's comment in the preceding post on language study (I mean the sixth comment overall, and his second comment for that particular post -- though all of Gerry's comments are always well worth reading!). Gerry is making the important point that if UCOP / UC campuses are going to start lowering undergraduate requirements in order to...

The Real Reasons to Support Language Study

The Real Reasons to Support Language Study

This piece, published July 27, 2009, in Chronicle, is particularly relevant given the recent announcement by UCLA to issue lay-off letters to its state-funded, post-six lecturers (lecturers who have taught for more than six years and thus require one year's notice for termination). Most of the affected lecturers are, not surprisingly, in the humanities and social sciences. In...

We Get Letters: On Dean Edley's Distance Learning Proposal

We Get Letters: On Dean Edley's Distance Learning Proposal

The problem with this, as I see it, is not inherently the pedagogical pros and cons of on-line learning, nor even a particular dispute with Dean Edley's assertion that this will open UC to a larger proportion of the mythical 12.5% of California high-school graduates.Rather, I am concerned that this is being hawked as a way to "solve the problems at U of California". Our problems...

From CUCFA: Legal Update on The Emergency

From CUCFA: Legal Update on The Emergency

THE “EMERGENCY” –A LEGAL UPDATE Robert Meister President, Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA) Emergency powers are typically used to impose secrecy and sidestep normal procedures. The “Extreme Financial Emergency” declared by the Regents allows President Yudof do this. He can “suspend the operation of any existing Regental or University policies …inconsistent with the...

Robert Williams: Press Conference Statement (7/29)

Robert Williams: Press Conference Statement (7/29)

Press Conference Statement (on behalf of faculty participants in the Option 4 Coalition)29 July 2009Robert Williams, UCSBThe faculty members of this Coalition wish to emphasize that the current crisis, while seemingly the result of cutbacks in funding authorized by the State legislature, is primarily the work of the Regents. The Regents are not professional educators, they are...

Robert Samuels: Giving Up on Education at UCLA?

Robert Samuels: Giving Up on Education at UCLA?

Giving Up On Education at UCLA?By Robert Samuels, President of UC-AFTThe UCLA undergraduate College has sent layoff notices to almost all of its continuing appointment lecturers. In the layoff notice, it explicitly states that the university is considering suspending all of its undergraduate requirements. This is a drastic move that needs to be resisted, and this type of change...

Option 4: Follow the Money

Option 4: Follow the Money

UC COMMUNITY COALITION FOR OPTION 4 Santa Barbara campuswww.option4.org “The mind and intellect of man is the very essence of the soul.” --St. Thomas AquinasFOLLOW THE MONEYBy the UC COMMUNITY COALITION FOR OPTION 41. The recently-proposed oil extraction tax would have maintained CalWorks, In Home Support Services and Healthy Families at current levels with...

Marc Bousquet on the Rise of the Executive Class in Academia

Marc Bousquet on the Rise of the Executive Class in Academia

A great piece by Marc Bousquet, author of the blog howtheuniversityworks, in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Bousquet calls out faculty governance for the myth that it has been, and points to the ascent of an executive class in academic culture -- one that sees the need for austerity and LIKES it. Read it here or here. An earlier piece on the politics of austerity can be...

From Michael Meranze, Professor of History at UCLA, a meditation on what Jefferson thought significant among his life's achievements and what the budget cuts mean for higher public education in California.

Charlie Schwartz, as our readers will know, has an important blog on campus finances at http://universityprobe.org/, where he's been tracking and investigating how money is spent at UC. He has a new piece summarizing his findings on The Daily Beast, which is Tina Brown's new online journalistic venture.