When someone in power praises the principle of free speech, it’s wise to be on the lookout for weasel words. The phrase “I favor constructive criticism,” is weaseling. So is, “You can express your views as long as they’re respectful.” In those examples, “constructive” and “respectful” are modifiers concealing that the speaker really doesn’t favor free speech at all. The targets of free speech never think it’s constructive or respectful. Quite the contrary. So now here’s Nicholas Dirks, chancellor of UC Berkeley…

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by Michael Hiltzik, The Los Angeles Times.

Posted: September 9th, 2014, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Faculty at many colleges and universities, however, said they are becoming more aware that many students can’t afford to buy all of the books they’re assigned and that it could be a barrier to completing their education. “The goal in every professor’s mind is getting the best material and the best book to provide a quality education,” said Samuel Dunietz, a research and policy analyst for the American Assn. of University Professors. “But I think they are becoming more mindful that it’s a potential obstacle to getting a quality education if a student doesn’t have the money and they just may not buy the books.”

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by Carla Rivera, The Los Angeles Times.

Posted: August 31st, 2014, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

On Friday night, the Legislature approved $50 million each for the University of California and Cal State University systems. The money is intended for projects like overdue maintenance work. State taxes have generated nearly $500 million more than expected — a combination of money left over from the last fiscal year and strong receipts in July — and supporters say there’s enough cash available to send more to universities. But Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration opposes the bill, said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the Department of Finance… Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-Sacramento), a primary proponent of the new funding, said she’d work to overcome Brown’s objections. “I’ll do whatever lobbying I have to do to get it done,” she said.

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by Chris Megerian and Melanie Mason, The Los Angeles Times.

Posted: August 29th, 2014, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Sacramento State University President Alexander Gonzalez announced Thursday that he will retire next year. Gonzalez announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2014-15 academic year. He has led California State University’s Sacramento campus for 11 years.

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by Carla Rivera, The Los Angeles Times.

Posted: August 28th, 2014, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Following other states, the UC system began aggressively increasing the numbers of non-California undergraduates five years ago to offset reductions in state support and a freeze on in-state tuition. Although critics contend it hurts Californians and reduces political support for the campuses, UC officials insist no California residents are being pushed out to make room for these students. The $23,000 non-Californians pay on top of the regular $12,192 tuition will provide about 6% of UC’s core educational budget and help maintain classes and financial aid for Californians, administrators say.

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by Larry Gordon, The Los Angeles Times.

Posted: August 17th, 2014, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

It is a sad contradiction that America’s universities and colleges have always introduced students to the most enlightened theories of economic justice in the classroom, but staff a majority of its faculties with vastly underpaid and undervalued adjunct professors. For those unfamiliar with this stripe of professor, adjuncts are hired on a part-time semester-to-semester basis and are only paid a fraction of what a full-time tenure-track professor would receive to teach the same courses… Saddling adjuncts with these stark economic challenges hinders their performance and ultimately undermines the overall educational experience for students.

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by Alan Kennedy, OpEdNews.

Posted: August 17th, 2014, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Oregon’s attention-getting proposal to offer students tuition-free college if they agree to repay a small portion of their earnings for years afterward got the official thumbs down from Oregon’s higher education board this week… The commission will give the Legislature a report next month, as required, spelling out how a trial version of Pay It Forward would work and recommending that the state try it, if it somehow finds the necessary millions. But given the commission’s lack of support, and the numerous logistical problems such a program would entail, it is unlikely to launch in Oregon any time soon.

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by Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian.

Posted: August 15th, 2014, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Over much of the past half-century, state governors have helped keep public college tuition artificially low during gubernatorial election years, according to a new peer-reviewed article. But the study suggests more is at play than a governor’s own career. The study, published in the June issue of Empirical Economics by Kent State University Professor C. Lockwood Reynolds, found inflation-adjusted tuition is 1.5 percent lower in gubernatorial election years than in other years.

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by Ry Rivard, Inside Higher Ed.

Posted: August 12th, 2014, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Universities have been grappling with how to treat extramural statements for years, and the proliferation of social media makes the issue more urgent. But it doesn’t really alter the principle set down by the AAUP in 1958, which is that “a faculty member’s expression of opinion as a citizen cannot constitute grounds for dismissal unless it clearly demonstrates the faculty member’s unfitness to serve.” Whether Salaita’s position is unpopular, even offensive, doesn’t enter into the discussion–unpopular views are exactly what demand protection.

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by Michael Hiltzik, The Los Angeles Times.

Posted: August 11th, 2014, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

While the University of California ponders just how it will make direct investments in some of the companies and technologies spun out of the 10-university system, it will benefit from looking at what works elsewhere… the council could easily take a look at Stanford University, Stanford’s investments in startups are credited with aiding Silicon Valley’s rise. But there’s another institution — tucked deep in the industrial Midwest — that members of the UC Innovation Council shouldn’t overlook: the Cleveland Clinic. The academic medical center since 2000 has spun off nearly 70 companies and manages more than 450 active royalty-bearing licenses.

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by Ron Leuty, The San Francisco Business Times.

Posted: August 7th, 2014, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.