1.4 billion

That's the total amount that the Governor's proposed budget cuts from higher education in California: $500M each from UC and CSU, and $400M from the community colleges.

That is also the amount of restored funding for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a fact that reveals much about the Governor's priorities.

The State of California might not be able afford to take care of these kids by providing affordable, quality education at a public university;  but it sure can afford to take care of them later, as they enter the Corrections system.

The day after

Yesterday's rallies and demonstrations were heard around the state and across the country. While mostly peaceful (except for a car window smashed at UCSC, the 880 freeway blocked in Oakland, and a tense confrontation at UCD), participation was somewhat less than expected. At each event numbers were in the hundreds, not the thousands. First-hand accounts can be found elsewhere, I just want to point out John Garamendi's expression of support for UC in the HuffPo, renewing calls to support Alberto Torrico's AB 656 introducing an oil-severance tax to support higher eduction in the state. Garamendi is one the few rational voices left in California politics.

More on the California "brain drain"

Capitol Weekly has a piece on expected student brain drain. In 2007-08, for the first time ever, there were more California students going out of state for college than there were out-of-state students coming to California for the same purpose. The trend will only get steeper with the recent hikes in tuition and fees accompanied by enrollment cuts at UC and CSU.

Any similar trend among the faculty is still perhaps too small to detect. But the writing is on the wall. People used to come to the University of California, in spite of salaries historically lagging 10% to 15% behind those at comparable institutions, because of its public mission, the tradition of faculty governance, its outstanding retirement system, and the endless sunshine. If recent events are a signs of things to come, all that will be left is the sunshine. And if we allow global warming to do its work, there will be palm trees growing in Toronto at some point, so even that comparative advantage will be gone.

What higher-ed cuts really look like

An LA Times piece by Carla Rivera on Sunday highlighted what cuts in higher ed really look like from the point of view of the students and the faculty. It's compelling reading. As much as we decry the situation at UC, it's useful to be reminded that it's much worse at Cal State schools, without a $20B budget and the power to borrow against future revenue (that such a power is misused at UC is another story).