UC regents recoil at idea of annual steep tuition increases
Newsom is convening meetings of UC, California State University system and community college officials, along with labor and business leaders, to try to come up with a plan for better higher education funding. He said that might include an oil and gas production tax dedicated to colleges and universities. Newsom said the higher tuition projections could alarm parents and students. “This is not the way to get the voters to say, ‘I love supporting the [UC] system,’ ” he said. Regents Richard Blum and Eddie Island urged university leaders to launch a fundraising campaign to persuade California businesses to donate billions for student financial aid. “There is money in California. There is an opportunity to save this university,” said Island, who said higher tuition would especially harm UC’s growing population of minority and low-income students. In other action Thursday, the regents approved hefty incentive awards and pay raises for eight UC financial and medical center executives. Marie Berggren, the university’s chief investment officer, was given the largest bonus, $744,950, bringing her total annual cash compensation to $1.2 million.
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by Larry Gordon, The Los Angeles Time.