Berkeleyan
News Briefs
17 November 2005
Chronicle series on UC compensation prompts online response from UCOP
In the wake of a multi-part series in the San Francisco Chronicle critical of "extra" compensation allocated to the University of California's highest-paid employees, the UC Office of the President has set up a website (www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/compensation/welcome.html) that both addresses systemwide compensation issues generally and responds directly to questions raised by the newspaper in its recent editions.
The Chronicle series - which UC President Robert Dynes, in a letter to the UC community posted on the site, says "omitted or mischaracterized some important facts" - took aim at high salaries, bonuses, and such perks as free housing and maintenance, paid moving expenses, and low-cost loans for top administrators and other employees throughout the UC system. It suggested a lack of transparency in how compensation packages are awarded and pointedly noted the near-doubling of student fees over the past four years.
The stories, Dynes acknowledges in his letter, "point out the need for us to consider whether we need to improve some of our public disclosure policies and internal practices." He adds, however, that "it is important that everyone understand the broader context of the higher education market in which we operate."
The UC Board of Regents meets on Berkeley's Clark Kerr Campus this Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 16 and 17, to discuss and vote on a number of budget issues, including proposed student-fee increases for 2006-07. For information, or to listen online, visit www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/nov05.html.
The Chronicle's compensation series, including a database of the 2,000 most highly paid UC employees, can be found at www.sfgate.com; enter "UC compensation" in the search field near the top of the page.
New publication highlights student-affairs issues
The inaugural issue of a campus student-affairs quarterly newsletter, The Bridge, was recently published by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. The first edition includes departmental news, a piece on admissions counselors' efforts to integrate students displaced by Hurricane Katrina into the Berkeley campus, and links to daily news digests on issues in higher education. The Bridge is online at http://students.berkeley.edu/files/thebridge/theBridgeOct2005.pdf.
New sexual-harassment training for staff and faculty in supervisory positions
UC Office of the President has developed new online training on sexual harassment. All employees who supervise in administrative and academic units, and faculty members who supervise graduate-student instructors, researchers, or other staff, are required to complete two hours of sexual-harassment prevention training. Faculty and supervisors who have received sexual harassment training since 2003 - either in person or via the previous online program - need not participate in training again this calendar year. However, the new law requires that after Jan. 1, 2006, every supervisory employee be trained in sexual-harassment prevention once every two years. Policy further dictates that all new supervisors must receive training within six months of assuming supervisory duties. In-person training of at least two hours is still acceptable.
A message from Workplace Answers (the firm that partnered with UC to create the new training) with links to the online training is being e-mailed to campus employees. For information, contact the campus Title IX Officer, Nancy Chu (nchu@berkeley.edu) or Compliance Education Coordinator Maria Padilla (mlucerop@berkeley.edu).
Capital Projects plans benefit raffle for Katrina victims
Capital Projects employees are holding a fundraising raffle to benefit the families of colleagues in that unit who were adversely impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Raffle tickets are $5 each, or five for $20. The prizes - featuring items and services offered by Capital Projects staff - include a landscape evaluation of the winner's property; a home inspection; and a roofing, decking, and waterproofing evaluation, among others.Tax-deductible donations, as well as donations of items or skills for the raffle, are also welcome. For information, contact Valerie Neumann at 643-3584 or vneumann@cp.berkeley.edu.
CalMail Team issues mass e-mailing requirements
While campus departments sometimes need to send mass e-mailings (such as an online newsletter) on and off campus, large-scale mailings not coordinated with CalMail administrators may cause significant problems for the system.
The CalMail Team defines a mass mailing as a single mailing to more than 100 recipients with substantially the same message. Campus units should contact the CalMail Team at consult@berkeley.edu prior to sending the first mailing of this type. Mass mailings should be sent during non-peak CalMail hours (after 6 p.m. and before 8 a.m.); the best window is midnight to 8 a.m.
For specific details, see the Campus e-Berkeley policy section on Use of Electronic Mail (http://itpolicy.berkeley.edu:7015/e-Berkeley.policy.html#mass). For help in assessing the potential impact of a mailing on network performance, or to request assistance, contact consult@berkeley.edu.
Townsend Center seeks proposals for research awards
The Townsend Center for the Humanities is currently accepting applications for research fellowships from Berkeley grad students and from assistant professors whose research projects have a significant bearing on the humanities and who will not be under consideration for tenure in 2006-'07. Faculty Fellows receive a 50-percent research leave from teaching responsibilities. Grad-student fellowships come with an $18,000 annual stipend. The Fellows, together with several tenured faculty, form a fellowship group that meets regularly to discuss work in progress.
Applications must be received by 5 p.m., Monday, Dec. 5. For information, see townsendcenter.berkeley.edu/ or contact Aileen Paterson (paterson@berkeley.edu or 643-7236).