Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has until Oct. 11 to sign or veto SB 218. This is a bill introduced by State Senator Leland Yee, D-Calif., following questions raised about the business practices of foundations on California State University campuses from Fresno to San Francisco, Sonoma to Sacramento. "Taxpayers and students deserve to know how their public universities are run," Yee said… The CSU is very concerned about SB 218’s impact on fundraising especially at this time when state funding is at a historical low. In the current moment of state budget austerity, of course, a bad situation can easily worsen. "The big problem comes next year, when the federal stimulus funding is gone and leaves a big hole in CSU’s budget," said Steve Boilard, director of higher education with the non-partisan state Legislative Analyst’s Office.
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by Seth Sandronsky, New America Media.
Posted: October 7th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
When asked whether he blamed Governor Schwarzenegger for the situation of the university, Yudof replied, "I do not," and then went on to state that the crisis in higher education is "systemic," it has to do with the graying of America, large shifts in the culture and so on. In other words, this is something no one is really responsible for; it’s too big for any one person to try and fight. Yudof’s cheery resignation in the face of catastrophe is an exemplary instance of a public leader trying to avoid the mention of political responsibility. For the reality is that the defunding of public education is not an impersonal, "systemic" effect of some large cosmic machine. It has been carefully set in place over several decades by leaders and intellectuals on the political right who have worked tirelessly to convince us that everything, from Little League to the education of the soul, must immediately be "economically productive."
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by Timothy Hampton, The Daily Californian.
Posted: October 6th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
It’s going to be harder to get into UC Riverside next fall. State budget cuts had university officials planning to cut the freshman class by 550, to 3,750 students, said Jim Sandoval, vice chancellor of student affairs. That’s on top of a cut of 125 freshmen this fall. That 2010 admissions number likely will drop further because the number of students returning this fall is 14 percent higher than expected, Sandoval said. He declined to say how much the admissions would drop. The surge in students has put the university at a "potential breaking point," he said. The higher-than-expected retention rate means the UCR will enroll 2,000 students, instead of the 1,400 planned for, without state help, Sandoval said. That will cost the university about $8.3 million, he said.
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by Sean Nealon, The Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Posted: October 6th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
I stand in support of Californians adversely affected by cuts to higher education. Pulling over a billion dollars out of colleges and universities across California has real implications, and we’re just now starting to see the unrest that accompanies such drastic cuts. I believe in fully funding the UC, CSU and community college systems in this state. It will be my top priority upon taking office to roll back these fee increases. Our state’s greatest asset is the vast concentration of human potential that’s defined us for generations. We’ve always been a land of dreamers and doers.
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by Gavin Newsom, The Daily Californian.
Posted: October 6th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
The importance of basic scientific research was driven home Monday when three Americans won the Nobel Prize for medicine in recognition of their work, much of it done at UC Berkeley, that inspired new lines of research into cancer. As California political leaders grapple with devastating budget cuts, they must not forget that the state’s universities are not only teaching institutions but also world research leaders. And as the nation struggles with immigration policy, we must remember that many of the nation’s brilliant minds, including two of the three Nobel recipients, have come from abroad… What’s interesting is that Blackburn was born in Australia and Szostak in London. Blackburn told The New York Times that she came to the United States in the 1970s because it was "notably attractive" as a place to do science.
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by MediaNews editorial, The Contra Costa Times.
Posted: October 6th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
University Librarian Thomas Leonard said cuts to the library’s operating budget forced the Saturday closures. Elizabeth Dupuis, associate university librarian and director of Doe and Moffitt Libraries, said the library lost about 18 percent of its operating budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
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by Allie Bidwell, The Daily Californian.
Posted: October 5th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
With the University of California system’s budget crisis generating fee increases, layoffs, furloughs and frustration, a group of faculty and staff members and students at UCSB have organized a teach-in to debate the issues and to provide a public forum for discussion. "Defending the University: A ‘Teach-In’ on the Current Crisis" will be from 3 p.m. to midnight Oct. 14 in Campbell Hall at UCSB. Panels, workshops and break-out sessions will be held in nearby classroom buildings.
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by staff, Noozhawk Newsletter.
Posted: October 5th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
When the budget was passed in July, critics decried the deal as "catastrophic" and "devastating." But some of the grim impacts that many prognosticated haven’t come to pass because cuts can change after a budget is passed, said Daniel J.B. Mitchell, professor emeritus in the UCLA School of Public Affairs. Sometimes, threats at the time of a budget’s passing are "kind of a negotiating thing," he added. Not all state programs have been able to sidestep the cuts. A nearly $2 billion budget reduction to the state’s higher-education systems has led to faculty furloughs and fewer class offerings.
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by Ryan Knutson, The Wall Street Journal.
Posted: October 5th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
California’s community-college system is by far the largest college system in the country, with nearly three million students. And transfer students from two-year colleges here play an unusually large role in the state system of higher education. They make up nearly half of those who graduate from Cal State or the University of California with bachelor’s degrees, and they tend to be a more diverse group than their nontransfer counterparts. For decades, regional transfer pipelines in San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, Long Beach, and elsewhere have been central to the state’s promise of upward mobility. But California’s budget crisis has damaged those pipelines and exacerbated long-known problems with the transfer process, such as a poor statewide transfer rate and a confusing set of requirements. A landmark came in June when Cal State announced that it would reduce its total enrollment by 40,000 students, or 9 percent, forcing nearly all 23 of its campuses to essentially close admissions during the spring, when transfer students typically arrive.
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by Josh Keller, The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Posted: October 5th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
You have a university that enrolls 31 percent of low-income kids and which is simultaneously one of the great research universities in the world. It would not take much to make this a mediocre place. All it takes is some key professors to leave. Remember, I’ve cut their salaries around 5 – 10 percent this year. And all it will take is your inability to get your degree in a timely fashion, or for the student services to fall. So to me, the challenge is to not accept mediocrity for the University of California. I am not going to do it. I hate raising fees. I think it is horrible that we are going to lay off 2,000 people. I think it is horrible that our faculty and staff are taking furloughs. But we are living in a very difficult time… It would be a thrill if the state would live up to its responsibility and allow us to reduce fees. Realistically, what I’m hoping to do is to slow the rate of increase beyond 2011.
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by David Lumb, The New University.
Posted: October 5th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
