UC's Hidden Wealth: Why is UC Pleading Poverty?

Donohue points to UC's unrestricted assets at CUE event at UCI. Photo © Daniel C. Tsang 2009.

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Irvine -- It sure sounds like the University of California is in financial crisis, with layoffs, paycuts/furloughs, massive student fee increases and campus protests. But economist Peter Donohue thinks otherwise.

Looking at the UC's own financial reports, he has discovered billions hidden away in its unrestricted reserves. The UC likes to say these funds are already committed, but Donohue says these are not legally restricted. They could be freed up to offset the massive loss of state funding. But unlike the CSU system, UC funding is only 13% -18% dependent on state sources. We'll talk to Donohue about why the UC is pleading poverty.

The show airs Monday 28 September 2009 from 9-10 a.m. on KUCI, 88.9 FM in Orange County, California, and is simulcast via kuci.org.

Peter Donohue is an economist and head of San Francisco’s PBI Associates. Since 1982, he has assisted union, nonprofit, community and business groups with research, financial analysis, bargaining, arbitration and government relations. He advises clients in transport, construction, semiconductor, utility, printing, health care, retail, design, engineering, hospitality, transit, insurance, education and government. Donohue has taught at Portland State University, San Francisco State University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin and University of Missouri-Columbia.

He is currently compiling, for CUE (Coalition of University Employees), an updated analysis of the UC budget; see his earlier 1992 study: UC's Hidden Wealth: An Analysis of 10 Years of UC's Financial Reports.

See also Prof. Emeritus Charlie Schwartz's web site that tracks UC budget issues: UniversityProbe.org.

CUE's website, contains links to other resources, including our 20 July 2009 Subversity interview with CUE local president at UCI, Dianna Sahhar, and with Juan Castillo, union organizer with AFSCME local 3299.

Meanwhile, UC janitors are seeking to be in-sourced and represented by SEIU-United Service Workers West. A noon rally at UCI's flag pole is slated for October 2, 2009. 37 UCI janitors are under threat of layoff by cleaning contractor ABM. With workers laid off, UCI Labs are slated to be cleaned weekly only, but UCI offices only three times a year!

On the broadcast show, we also aired a clip from the 24 September 2009 rally at UCI of popular Sociology lecturer Chuck O'Connell talking about neoliberealism.

Ngugi on Being a Writer in a Society in Crisis on the occasion of his 70th Birthday

Irvine -- As UC Irvine prepares to celebrate "Ngugi's Spirit," on Saturday (see below), for our Martin Luther King Day show this Monday at 9 a.m., Subversity converses with Distinguished Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong'o on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Ngugi is the Director of the acclaimed International Center for Writing and Translation at UCI. He is also a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature with Comparative Literature as his home department.

Joining us in the conversation on "Being a Writer in a Society in Crisis" is Gabriele Schwab, Chancellor's Prof. of English and Comparative Literature at UCI. We'll focus on the current turmoil in Kenya.

One of the foremost contemporary African writers and an exile of Kenya and former political prisoner, Ngugi's work as literary figure, activist, and academic testify to his relentless passion and commitment to deliver much needed critique. In 2006 Ngugi published his first novel in nearly two decades, the critically lauded and lengthy The Wizard and the Crow, which went on to win the California Gold Award for fiction in 2007.

To listen to the entire show, click here:

In Ngugi's Spirit: Saturday 26 January 2008 at UC Irvine
The University of California, Irvine is delighted to announce the event, In Ngugis Spirit, to be held at the University of California, Irvines Crystal Cove auditorium on January 26th. Gabriele Schwab, Chancellors Professor of English and Comparative Literature, and David " Theo Goldberg, Professor of Comparative Literature and Director of the Humanities Research Institute, invite the community to join them in honoring the life and work of the world-renowned poet, playwright, novelist and post-colonial theorist Ngugi wa Thiongo on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Ngugi is the Director of the acclaimed International Center for Writing and Translation at the University of California, Irvine, a university treasure originally made possible through the endowment of Humanities alumnus Glenn Schaeffer. He is also a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature with Comparative Literature as his home department.

One of the foremost contemporary African writers and an exile of Kenya and former political prisoner, Ngugis work as literary figure, activist, and academic testify to his relentless passion and commitment to deliver much needed critique. In 2006 Ngugi published his first novel in nearly two decades, the critically lauded The Wizard and the Crow, which went on to win the California Gold Award for fiction in 2007.

Opening at 5:30 pm, In Ngugis Spirit will begin with remarks from UC Irvines Chancellor Michael Drake and Kenyan Ambassador Zachary Dominic Muburi-Muita and proceed with a special talk from Professor and fellow activist Angela Davis, poetry readings by poet, critic and activist Mukoma Wa Ngugi (Ngugis son) and acclaimed indigenous poet, writer and activist Simon J. Ortiz. Following this opening, guests will be invited to a reception and book signing with Ngugi and the guest speakers. At 8 pm, Humanities Dean Vicki Ruiz will open the next session, which will include poetry readings from much-admired African American poets Sonia Sanchez and Jerry Quickley. The evening will conclude with Chinese Music/African Dance: Translation and Performance, a unique event featuring Liu Sola, internationally reknowned Chinese composer, singer, writer and performer, and Koffi Koko, internationally acclaimed African Dancer.

In Ngugis Spirit is sponsored by The UC Humanities Research Institute; The Executive Vice Chancellors Office; The Dean of Humanities; The Departments of Comparative Literature, English, African-American, East Asian Languages and Literatures, German, Spanish and Music; The Critical Theory Institute; The Critical Theory Emphasis; and the Chancellor Professors Research Fund.

UCI Law School Saga continues: Unanswered Questions

Irvine -- While the UCI community seems happy that the UCI Chancellor has rehired (last Monday) as law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky, and then apologized to the academic senate for making a mistake in earlier rescinding the job offer, some faculty remain unconvinced that Chancellor Michael V. Drake has provided all the answers about the law school hiring/firing/rehiring debacle.

We talk with one such doubter, Sociology Prof. David S. Meyer, a specialist on social and political protest. We discuss how faculty protest at UCI quickly fizzled out after Chancellor Drake made an apology to the faculty senate last Thursday.

We also air highlights from the emergency session of the faculty senate, which passed a resolution reminding the UCI administration of the need to uphold academic freedom, but tabled any resolution that hinted at any criticism of the Chancellor. The body did adopt a motion, put forth by a founding law school faculty member, Prof. Joseph F. Dimento, to create a committee to investigate the Chancellor's actions.

Despite the "love fest", others outside UCI have continued their criticism of the Chancellor's action earlier this month, which brought national attention to UCI, amidst allegations of the university caving in to outside pressures.

A Los Angeles Times editorial writer continued to call on the Chancellor to " 'Fess Up" while one commentator called him "The Most Corrupt Man in California". See also:

L'affaire Chemerinsky:href="http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2007/09/19_opinion.shtml" www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2007/09/19_opinion.$
OC Register on last week's show:Google News

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Political Pressure and UCI Law Deanship Hiring/Firing

The developments over the hiring and firing of a liberal new law school dean at UCI threatens to derail not only the opening of the law school, but endangers UCI's reputation as a site of renowned scholarship free from political interference.

Faculty and newspapers, such as the New York Times, have already called for the UCI Chancellor, Michael Drake, to reverse his decision and say he made a mistake. Subversity has learned the chancellor may already be flying to North Carolina to meet with the hired and fired dean, Duke University Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky and renew negotiations with the latter. We are seeking confirmation of that unconfirmed account.

In our next show, slated for Monday, 17 September 2007, at 9-10 a.m., we talk with two key faculty members about this sad saga.

We talk with a founding faculty member at the forthcoming law school, Distinguished Prof. Elizabeth Loftus, who talks about one way out of this impasse.

We also talk with Prof. David Theo Goldberg, who heads the UC-system's Humanities Research Institute headquartered at UCI, and who drafted the "open letter" in the form of an online petition, calling for the Chancellor to re-offer the dean's position to Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky.


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Recent Articles linked on Google News:

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=UCI+law+school&btnG=Search+News

Teaching Sexuality

On our next Subversity show on KUCI, 88.9 FM in Orange County, California, we chat with Kassia Wosick-Correa about a sociology of sexuality class she has taught at UC Irvine. Wosick-Correa is a Ph.D candidate in Sociology.

The show airs from 9-10 am on Monday, 9 April, 2007 on KUCI, 88.9 fm in Orange County.

New University story on her class: Students React to Watching Pornography in the Classroom

ACADEMICS: A recent lecture featuring pornographic films and performers resulted in mixed responses.

By Julian Camillieri, New University, March 13, 2007.

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Elizabeth Loftus on Academic Freedom and Recovered Memory

On our next show, March 5, 2007, in the wake of the California Supreme Court affirming UCI distinguished pschology prof. Elizabeth Loftus' academic freedom to conduct research, we re-air our 2002 interview with Loftus, when she first arrived on the UCI campus. The case, Taus vs. Loftus et al, continues on one count, however. See details and links in press release. To listen to the show, click here:

The original 2002 interview is here (in RealAudio): .