From larger classes to forced furlough days, the UC faculty have experienced their fair share of sacrifice in dealing with budget cuts. But we hope that in responding to these struggles, the faculty protest in ways that don’t exacerbate the problems students are already facing. A letter written by UC Berkeley Professor Catherine Cole addresses how UC President Mark Yudof’s allocation of budget cuts has undermined the university’s democratic character and how UC stakeholders should respond. The letter also mentions that "the Academic Council unanimously supported the concept that furloughs should affect instructional days."

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by Senior Editorial Board, The Daily Californian.

Posted: September 4th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Stanford’s woes are mild by comparison to the troubles of its public counterparts. Substantial reductions in state support for the University of California, California State University and the community college systems have led to hundreds of courses being canceled, employee furloughs, pay cuts and deep layoffs at public colleges and universities up and down the state. Yet Stanford isn’t the only well-heeled private university grazed, however lightly, by public-school-style budget cuts. The wealthiest, Harvard, estimates that its $37 billion endowment also fell by 30 percent, said spokesman John Longbrake. And Yale, at No. 2, recently estimated a loss of 25 percent, leaving its endowment at $17 billion. "This is a terrible time for American higher education," said Nancy Shulock, director of the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy in Sacramento. "We’ve built our currency as a major economic power on educated individuals. The problem is real, and it’s serious."

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by Nanette Asimov, The San Francisco Chronicle.

Posted: September 3rd, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Union officials said Thursday the measure was approved by 96 percent of the roughly 10,000 employees who cast ballots over the past week. University spokesman Pete King called the vote a publicity stunt by unions that don’t want to participate in a furlough program. He says Yudof has no plans to resign. The vote was organized by unions representing about 60,000 custodians, nurses, clerks, technicians and other workers at campuses, hospitals and research facilities.

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by The Associated Press, The San Jose Mercury News.

Posted: September 3rd, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

On Thursday, the union leaders tried to deliver their no-confidence statement to Yudof at his office at 111 Franklin St. in Oakland but were barred from entering the building. "Basically, these are antics. Nothing more than a publicity stunt," said Dwaine B. Duckett, a UC vice president, as the employees chanted "Lay off Yudof!" outside. Duckett said that many employees had expressed support when Yudof was trying to formulate a fair furlough plan earlier this summer. He said their suggestions helped create a graduated plan with those earning the most money, including Yudof, taking a 10 percent pay cut, and those earning least a 4 percent cut. "We think it’s fair," he said. "You can throw a tantrum, or you can help solve the problem."

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by Nanette Asimov, The San Francisco Chronicle.

Posted: September 3rd, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Talk about rolling out the welcome mat for new students. Some University of California professors are so peeved that UC’s Office of the President has forbidden them from taking furloughs on teaching days that they’re planning to walk out on their classes later this month. The date they’ve chosen – Sept. 24 – is the first day of class at several UC campuses, including UC Davis. Professors advocating for the walkout say they can make political inroads by forcing students to feel the impact of budget cuts prompting the furloughs… John Oakley, a UC Davis law school professor and vice chairman of the Academic Senate at Davis, said walkout organizers do not officially represent the UC faculty; the Academic Senate does. "It’s too soon to say whether this is a marginal movement or a popular movement," he said. "(A walkout) would be a grave step in defying the administrative leadership of the university." A spokesman for the Office of the President said the letter is "simply a threat."

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by Laurel Rosenhall, The Sacramento Bee.

Posted: September 3rd, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

It’s been nearly a half century since the late Clark Kerr, who helped build the University of California into the world-class institution it became, made his classic observation that California’s universities, were "bait to be dangled in front of industry, with drawing power greater than low taxes or cheap labor." But that was then and this is now. The university Kerr built, probably the brightest jewel in California’s crown, with its great labs, its Nobel laureates and its global reach, is in serious trouble, a victim of what comes close to criminal neglect. Maybe the governor and legislature, its tax-cutting fanatics most of all, never knew the value of that asset. If they did, they seem to have long forgotten it. Or maybe they just don’t care.

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by Peter Schrag, California Progress Report.

Posted: September 2nd, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Woo joined hundreds of other SDSU students, faculty and staff who vented their frustration at a noontime rally yesterday on the university’s Hepner Hall Quadrangle. A committee comprising members from all three groups hatched the idea for the opening-day rally with the support of President Stephen Weber, SDSU spokeswoman Gina Jacobs said. A parade of campus leaders urged those attending to fight back against state budget cuts that have shrunk class offerings, swelled class sizes and boosted fees this fall. At the same time, officials said, SDSU was forced to turn away thousands of qualified students. "We need to stand up and tell Sacramento we’re not going to take it anymore," said Gene Lamke, a professor in the department of hospitality and tourism management.

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by Steve Liewer, The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Posted: September 1st, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

A San Francisco judge refused Monday to stop California State University from raising student fees by 20 percent to help offset losses in state funding, but said students at some campuses may eventually get refunds… At Monday’s hearing, Leonard said three-quarters of CSU students hold jobs – 20 percent of them full-time – and said the higher fees would force many of them to work longer hours. She also contended that the university had overstated its claims of hardship and could survive without cutting programs until the spring semester, when it could legally raise fees after proper notice. But Daralyn Durie, the university’s lawyer, said CSU would have to reduce classes and student services if fee levels were frozen. "There is a genuine crisis here," she told the judge.

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by Bob Egelko, The San Francisco Chronicle.

Posted: August 31st, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

City College of San Francisco’s on-again, off-again plan to revive some of its 800 canceled classes by soliciting donations of $6,000 per class is on again – mostly. The college is holding out the hat to anyone willing to pony up $6,000 to pay for any semester-long- class canceled for next spring, Chancellor Don Griffin told The Chronicle. So far, eight donations have come in.

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by Nanette Asimov, The San Francisco Chronicle.

Posted: August 29th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

UC professors had requested that their furlough days be spread out across the time they spend on all their duties. The Office of the President issued a decision last week saying furloughs cannot interrupt teaching… Some professors are miffed. "At some point, the budget cuts to the university mean the work has to stop getting done," said Daniel Simmons, a UC Davis law school professor… "Even though we’re calling this a furlough, for faculty it’s really just a pay cut," he said. Debra Long, chair of the UC Davis psychology department, said the ban on teaching-day furloughs shows a lack of respect for faculty research. "The value of the UC degree really comes from the research mission," she said. "What would really harm (students) would be if the value of the degree erodes."… The furlough program at Sacramento State is different. CSU faculty are unionized and negotiated an agreement to take two furlough days per month.

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by Laurel Rosenhall, The Sacramento Bee.

Posted: August 29th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.