Berkeleyan

News Briefs

06 June 2007

Applications, nominations sought for L&S undergraduate dean position

The campus invites applications and nominations for the position of dean of the Undergraduate Division of the College of Letters and Science to oversee undergraduate education in the college. The Undergraduate Division consists of three functional areas: Undergraduate Advising (for the college's population of approximately 18,000 undeclared and declared undergraduate students), Academic Enrichment (including Freshman and Sophomore Seminars, the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program, and L&S Discovery Courses), and Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Studies (including 12 interdisciplinary major programs). For more information about this position, visit vpaafw.chance.berkeley.edu/deansearches.html.

Candidates should apply with a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and a list of references. Faculty, students, alumni, and staff are encouraged to nominate current tenured members of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate. The position is open until filled.

The deadline for nominations and applications is Aug. 1, 2007. Direct correspondence via e-mail to undergrad_dean_search@berkeley.edu, or by campus mail to Undergraduate Division Search Committee, attention A. Bucknam, 200 California Hall #1500.

UC, union agree on wage increases for lower-paid employees

The University of California and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees have agreed to special wage increases for lower-paid employees.

The agreement affects approximately 14,300 UC service and patient-care employees earning less than $40,000 per year, and represents a total cost to the university of approximately $8.9 million.

The agreement, effective April 1, 2007, includes $4.3 million in raises for nearly 3,000 UC custodians. At three campuses - Berkeley, Santa Cruz, and Santa Barbara - custodians will receive a $1.25 per hour increase, followed by a $0.50 per hour increase on Oct. 1, for a total wage increase of $1.75 per hour. Custodians at other UC campuses (except UCSF Medical Center) will receive a $0.50 per hour base-building wage increase.

In addition to special raises for custodians, other AFSCME-represented employees earning up to $39,999 per year will receive increases of between 0.5 percent and 2 percent, with the larger increases going to the lowest-paid.

In March, UC reached an agreement with the Coalition of University Employees union regarding special raises for more than 11,800 UC clerical employees and also provided similar raises to approximately 4,000 non-represented lower-paid employees.

Five graduate units ranked most productive in U.S.

Berkeley doctoral programs made a strong showing in a new ranking of faculty members' scholarly output, the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index.

The index, produced by the for-profit firm Academic Analytics, rated faculty "productivity" int more than 7,000 doctoral programs by measuring such factors as published books and journal articles, citations by other scholars, grants, and awards. In contrast to the better-known National Research Council rankings and other academic indexes, the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index weighs only objective measures of scholarly output, without regard to departments' reputation or benefits for grad students.

Berkeley's School of Social Welfare and the departments of astronomy, plant and microbial biology, mechanical engineering, and education were all ranked No. 1 in their respective fields. The campus placed No. 12 overall.

The rankings and an accompanying story on their methodologies featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education are available at www.academicanalytics.com.

No more pay stubs for employees who use direct deposit

As of July 1, paper copies of earnings statements ("pay stubs") will no longer be automatically printed for employees who have their pay directly deposited into their bank accounts. The change is being made to reduce departmental workloads and cut back on clutter and paper use.

Employees who receive paper checks will not be affected by this change. Those who have automatic deposit but prefer to continue receiving paper statements can find more information online at payroll.berkeley.edu.

For general information about this change, contact payhelp@berkeley.edu or Pam Heintzleman, manager of payroll, at pheintzleman@berkeley.edu.

New policy governs vehicle access to campus

On June 1, the campus implemented a new vehicle-access policy, to promote a safer environment for pedestrians and to better secure the physical safety of the campus by restricting driving and parking on its grounds.

The new policy, which has been posted on the campus policy website (campuspol.chance.berkeley.edu/policies/vehicleaccess.pdf), limits vehicle access to designated unrestricted roadways. These roads can be seen on an updated campus access map (police.berkeley.edu/PDFs/UCBPPCSAccess060302.pdf); they include the West Crescent, Wickson Road, Frank Schlessinger Way, University Drive, the Haas and Hilgard access roads, Optometry Lane, Barrow Lane, and Eshleman Road.

Access to restricted areas is controlled by UCPD and permission to access and park in these areas is granted by UCPD exclusively.

Berkeley team forming for AIDS Walk, July 15

All faculty and staff are encouraged to join Cal Walks, the campus team for the 21st Annual San Francisco AIDS Walk on Sunday, July 15. Supporters may register as a walker, sponsor a team member, volunteer for the event, or make a donation in the Berkeley team name. A minimum contribution is not required for participation.

Last year almost $34,000 of the $4.2 million raised by the San Francisco AIDS Walk was raised by the Cal Walks team. The hope is to pass the $35,000 mark this year. Money raised will go to support the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and other Bay Area AIDS service organizations.

The 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) walk, which begins in Sharon Meadow in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park at 10:30 a.m., takes about two to three hours to complete. Berkeley walkers should come to the Cal table before and after the walk to introduce themselves, sign in, meet the organizers and other participants, and pick up T-shirts, breakfast, and lunch. The table will be available by 8 a.m.

There are three ways to sign up:

. Register online at www.aidswalk.net/sanfran (Choose Teams/2007 Registered Teams/University of California, Berkeley).

. Register by phone at (415) 615-9255.

. Register by mail: Pick up a registration card at one of many offices and lobbies across campus (look for the AIDS Walk display stands).

When registering by phone or mail, be sure to enter the Berkeley team number, 0087. Registrants will automatically be sent a sponsor form and additional information.

For more information about the walk or specific information about campus HIV/AIDS resources, e-mail the Health Promotion unit at University Health Services, hp@uhs.berkeley.edu.