News & Issues

UC Funding and Administrative Transparency
The UC Office of the President has recently come under fire for providing senior administrators with hefty raises. At a time when faculty salaries remain below competitor institutions and student fees are climbing, decisions to disproportionately reward those in the University's top echelons erode morale and lessen confidence in the leadership of the institution. We have compiled a number of articles dealing with this issue. More...

Security Plans Worry Colleges
New federal proposals would significantly change how research is conducted at universities, placing tough restrictions on foreign-born scientists and tightening access to equipment and computers. More...

FCC Reviews Costly Rule
Schools, libraries would be forced to pay for upgrades so government could wiretap data. More...

In the Matter of Scripture v. Scholarship
Christian plaintiffs sue the University of California over its refusal to approve certain religion-based high-school courses in admissions decisions. More...

Ignacio Chapela Granted Tenure at Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley's Chancellor, Robert Birgeneau, has announced his administration's intention of granting Ignacio Chapela tenure. More...

What's Behind the "Student Bill of Rights?"
-David Bacon - t r u t h o u t | Perspective: Tuesday 07 June 2005
David Horowitz' website warns that "while a professor is on campus or in an academic setting, he or she has professional responsibilities that make partisan political action unacceptable," and that "all too frequently, professors behave as political advocates in the classroom, express opinions in a partisan manner on controversial issues irrelevant to the academic subject." In an era in which Governor Schwarzenegger has gone to war with the state's teachers, Horowitz's admonitions would silence protest against him. On April 20, SB 5 failed to pass the Senate Education Committee. More...

Update Regarding Assembly Bill 992
- Around The Capitol: Tuesday 28 June 2005
On June 22, AB 992 was amended to specifiy the use of such surveillance for purposes of criminal investigations related to sexual assaults and other sexual offenses). More...

Protection vs. Piracy: Proposed Legislation Would Permit Snooping by Campus Cops
- Sean Roach - San Diego City Beat
Police officers at University of California and California State campuses could soon be able to wire-tap and record telephone and cell-phone calls made by students and faculty on campus. Assembly Bill 992, proposed by Orange County Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, gives campus officers the same rights as local law enforcement to use surveillance without consent to gather evidence relating to violent crimes.

Critics of the bill worry that giving campus cops such powers means an unchecked ability to monitor any campus activities, including protests and activist meetings. More...

News from our colleagues at Santa Cruz:
Neutral Arbitrator’s In-Depth Analysis Sides with UC Clerical Workers
-Adapted from the website for the Coalition of University Employees
In August 2004, the State of California established a fact-finding panel to recommend a settlement of the current impasse between the University of California (UC) and the union representing UC clericals -- the Coalition of University Employees (CUE). More. . .

Regents Adopt Budget Proposal
-UCOP press release
The University of California Board of Regents today (Nov. 18) adopted a state budget proposal for 2005-06 that would halt the cuts of the last several years and provide modest new funding for enrollment growth, student instructional programs, and faculty and staff compensation. Full press release . . .