Many California jobs ’saved’ by stimulus funds weren’t in jeopardy
November 6, 2009
The Sacramento Bee
By Phillip Reese
Up to one-fourth of the 110,000 jobs reported as saved by federal stimulus money in California probably never were in danger, a Bee review has found.
California State University officials reported late last week that they saved more jobs with stimulus money than the number of jobs saved in Texas – and in 44 other states.
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Chico State students build bridge at Marsh
November 6, 2009
Chico Enterprise Record
By ROGER H. AYLWORTH
A team of five student engineers came to Marsh Junior High School Thursday to demonstrate they can build, test, and disassemble a steel bridge in less than an hour, and to persuade a gathering of eighth graders that math and science can be fun.
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Man in charge when Saddam captured remembers
November 6, 2009
He was in charge when soldiers found Saddam Hussein.
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THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
By MICHAEL MELLO
Published: 11/5/09
Ricardo S. Sanchez readily admits he signed on with the military to get away from the poverty of southern Texas’ Star County, a plot on the map that perennially tops the list of the United States’ poorest areas.
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Darwin conference hosts noted biologist
November 6, 2009
San Diego Union-Tribune
By Bruce Lieberman
Francisco Ayala, an internationally known biologist from UC Irvine, will be the keynote speaker at Palomar College’s Exploring Darwin Conference scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, the college has announced.
The third annual event is expected to attract hundreds of students and community members. The conference includes several talks on Charles Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection.
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Cal Poly has weathered hard times over the years
November 6, 2009
San Luis Obispo Tribune
By Dan Krieger
Published: 11/05/09
Plummeting milk prices and state budget cutbacks were forcing Cal Poly to reduce the milking herd to 30 animals from 150. The announcement earlier this month came amid other cutbacks, work furloughs and project delays and cancellations that have shaken our university and the greater community. More »
College Leaders Offer Blunt Advice for Campuses Hit by Hard Times
November 6, 2009
Chronicle of Higher Education
By Goldie Blumenstyk
Published: 11/05/09
“Dumb public policies,” like mandatory-sentencing laws that drive up states’ costs for prisons and leave less for education, may be part of the reason colleges are in such financial straits, the leader of the California State University system said at a forum here on Thursday, but that’s just a piece of the problem. More »
Vision threatens CSU, Stanislaus
November 6, 2009
Modesto Bee
By Bret Caroll
Published: 11/05/09
California State University, Stanislaus, has been a gem in the valley and earned national recognition because of its history of close faculty-student interaction and high-quality faculty scholarship. More »
Priorities remain in focus
November 6, 2009
San Bernardino Sun
Dr. Albert K. Karnig
Published: 11/5/2009
This fall, Cal State San Bernardino currently has 17,852 enrolled students, which is the most in the university’s 44-year history.
The enrollment indicates just how vital CSUSB has become to the communities we serve, as increasing numbers of students are making our campus their first choice for higher education.
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Steve Scauzillo: The swine flu waiting game
November 6, 2009
The Pasadena Star-News
By Steve Scauzillo
Published: 11/05/2009
THE young college student walked right up to my desk and announced:
“I have the swine.”
I tried not to recoil. As her teacher, I stayed in my role. I accepted the student’s assignment which she handed me, and asked her how she was feeling.
“It was bad. But I’m no longer contagious,” she said. She looked thinner and much paler since I’d seen her last week in the Wednesday night class I teach at Cal State Fullerton. We both agreed she was excused that night and she left the classroom.
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College games
November 6, 2009
A spat between Mr. Fenty and Mr. Gray imperils gains at UDC.
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Washington Post
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray are playing political chicken with the University of the District of Columbia. That is a real shame, because for the first time in its troubled history, UDC is showing hopeful signs of progress. More »
UC Berkeley faculty endorse cut in athletic aid
November 6, 2009
The San Francisco Chronicle
By Nanette Asimov
UC Berkeley professors voted Thursday night to urge the school to stop subsidizing its money-losing athletics department as soon as it legally can.
The university is facing a $150 million deficit this year, but plans to pay $7.7 million to help the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics make ends meet, in addition to loaning the department an additional $5.8 million.
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Nurses group files complaint over UC Davis Medical Center staffing
November 6, 2009
The Sacramento Bee
By Bobby Caina Calvan
Registered nurses at UC Davis Medical Center filed a formal complaint Thursday with state regulators accusing the hospital of routinely violating state laws requiring minimum nurse-to-patient ratios.
“We have staffing problems in all UC hospitals, but there is no hospital in the UC system that has this gross and deliberate understaffing,” said Beth Kean, director of the University of California division for the California Nurses Association. “We’ve tried to work with the administration at UC Davis, and they have been resistant.”
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Stanford’s biggest building boom ever: 87 projects worth $1.5B under construction
November 6, 2009
The Mercury News
By Lisa L. Krieger
Due to gifts from donors, Stanford University is undertaking its biggest building boom ever, with 87 projects worth $1.5 billion in design or under construction.
A dramatic decline in its endowment caused the campus to suspend about $1.3 billion in planned projects.
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CalPERS board chief urges colleagues to steer clear of investment go-betweens
November 6, 2009
Rob Feckner asks fellow directors not to meet privately with so-called placement agents while the public employees pension fund conducts an investigation of the intermediaries’ activities.
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Los Angeles Times
By Marc Lifsher and Evan Halper
The board president of the nation’s biggest public employee pension fund is urging his fellow directors to avoid private meetings with go-betweens who help pitch private-equity investments to the fund.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System board has ordered an outside investigation of the role of those intermediaries, known as placement agents, in the agency’s massive investments, and board President Rob Feckner said members should not associate with the agents, at least for now.
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Educating inmates apparently pays off, but draws some criticism
November 6, 2009
The Daily Bulletin
By Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino
Published: 11/05/09
When Jeremy Moose gets out of prison in 2012, the state will have spent more than $611,000 for his 13-year stint behind the bars – plus an additional $1,560 in waived tuition fees for his college education.
While the extra money may seem like pocket change compared to the total cost of his incarceration, some argue that spending any education dollars on convicts while some students in the community are turned down for financial aid makes no sense.
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Cuesta OKs furloughs for nonteachers
November 6, 2009
Plan will save the district about $215,000 and prevent layoffs during the budget shortfall
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San Luis Obispo Tribune
By Sona Patel
Published: 11/05/09
The Cuesta College Board of Trustees has approved furloughs for nonteaching employees as a way to stave off layoffs and reinstate positions and assignment reductions made in the past couple of months.
The move comes after heated board meetings and staff combing budgets to determine how to save jobs amid a nearly $6 million budget shortfall. More »
Part-timers hit hardest by community college faculty cuts
November 6, 2009
Ventura County Star
By Jean Cowden Moore
Part-time college faculty members, usually called adjuncts or lecturers, are being hit the hardest by layoffs prompted by state budget cuts. More »
U-Md. students protest diversity official’s ousting
November 6, 2009
Washington Post
By Daniel de Vise
Several hundred University of Maryland students marched on the administration building at lunchtime Thursday to protest the ouster of a popular diversity officer, Cordell Black. More »
Kaine announces new job
November 6, 2009
Washington Post
By Anita Kumar
As reported earlier, Gov. Tim Kaine announced today that he will resume a teaching career in law and leadership at the University of Richmond after the end of his term in January.
Kaine accepted a joint appointment in the university’s law school and Jepson School of Leadership Studies. He will also have additional responsibilities in advancing the university’s strategic plan, The Richmond Promise. More »
AP NewsBreak: Panel rejects Vt. college merger
November 6, 2009
San Luis Obispo Tribune
By LISA RATHKE
Published: 11/05/09
A panel considering the governor’s proposal to consolidate the University of Vermont with the five state colleges has recommended against merging the institutions.
In a draft report released Thursday, the 5-member task force concluded that UVM and the five Vermont state colleges can continue to work together to become more efficient and offer better programs. But, they decided, a merger wouldn’t work because of the difference in the cultures of the institutions and the students they serve. More »
A comedian with a serious delivery
November 6, 2009
L.A. entertainer encourages Hispanic students to strive for college
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Washington Post
By Michael Alison Chandler
Los Angeles comedian Ernie G has a message for first-generation college-bound students in Washington.
“No matter how much education you get and how much success you achieve, if you grew up in the barrio, if you grew up in the ‘hood, you will always have a little ghetto in you.”
The message is not meant to discourage. It’s meant to show that college and ghetto can coexist. More »
