Blog: Sharing NEWS & PERSPECTIVES

Stay up to date with the latest news and information on California higher education. Plus, blogs that are unabashedly pro-higher education, offering what you need to know to be a passionate advocate for our colleges and universities.

Resurrecting California’s Public Universities

Posted on May 1st, 2013 at 1:22am UTC

New York Times editorial urges California lawmakers “to change budget priorities that have been moving in the wrong direction for a long time.”

A March 30, 2013 New York Times editorial castigated the California State Legislature for cutting the higher education budget “to ribbons, while spending large sums on prisons.” The editorial challenged the idea that online education is an answer to the budget crisis.  It cited warnings contained in a May 2012 report by the Public Policy Institute of California that the state’s defunding of public higher education would leave California one million college graduates short of economic demand by 2025.

Read the full article at: Resurrecting California’s Public Universities

Posted under In the News. Tag:

Brown has New Goals for Higher Ed

Posted on May 1st, 2013 at 1:20am UTC

The Los Angeles Times reported Gov. Jerry Brown plans to increase the state’s higher education budget contingent upon tuition freezes and faster graduation rates.

In an April 23, 2013 story, the Los Angeles Times reported Governor Jerry Brown will propose four and five percent increases to the University of California and California State University over four years, as long as tuitions are frozen and graduation rates improve.  While the Coalition is pleased the Governor’s proposal begins to restore needed resources, its leadership does not believe these amounts are enough to allow the University of California and California State University to take necessary steps, including hiring and restoration of classes.

“It is important to keep in mind just how deeply public higher education budgets have been decimated over many years,” said Coalition Co-Chair Mel Levine.  “The Governor’s budget for next year of $2.8 billion for the University of California, for example, is $400 million below the $3.2 billion figure for UC in 2000, when the UC educated fewer students than it does today.”  California spends more on corrections today than it does on public higher education.

Read the full article at: Brown wants to tie some funding…

 

Posted under In the News. Tag:

Coalition and its supporters make strides

Posted on April 30th, 2013 at 2:19am UTC

California Coalition for Public Higher Education supporters helped two issues committees elect six pro-higher education legislative candidates and raised needed funds to secure passage of an important ballot measure.

In the November 2012 election cycle, many California Coalition for Public Higher Education supporters helped two issues committees elect six pro-higher education candidates and raised needed funds to secure passage of Proposition 30, which restored needed funding to the state’s public higher education system.

Coalition Political Action Committee co-chairs Wally Knox, a former state assemblymember, and Kate Anderson, education advocate, developed a bipartisan questionnaire sent primarily to non-incumbents. In addition to supporting legislative leadership, the Coalition’s PAC financially supported eight candidates – six Democrats and two Republicans.

A total of six candidates were elected. They are:

• Assembly District 8 (Sacramento) – Ken Cooley, Democrat
• Assembly District 13 (Stockton) – Susan Eggman, Democrat
• Assembly District 20 (Hayward) – Bill Quirk, Democrat
• Assembly District 44 (Ventura County/San Fernando Valley) – Jeff Gorell, Republican
• Assembly District 58 (Southeast LA County) – Christina Garcia, Democrat
• State Senate District 19 (Santa Barbara) – Hanna Beth Jackson, Democrat

Additionally, given the support for Proposition 30 by the Community College League of California, California State University’s Board of Trustees and the University of California’s Board of Regents, the Coalition created a separate associate committee, the California Coalition for Public Higher Education Issues Committee – Yes on Prop 30.

Co-chaired by former California congressman and state legislator Mel Levine, former University of California alumni regent Jeff Seymour and former chair of the California Postsecondary Education Commission Howard Welinsky, this issues committee solicited contributions from more than 650 alumni, friends, supporters, foundations, faculty and administrators from throughout the state.

Ultimately, the California Coalition for Public Higher Education Issues Committee – Yes on Prop 30 delivered a total of $175,000 to the successful Yes on Proposition 30 campaign, which prevented hundreds of millions of dollars in additional budget cuts, and helped Governor Jerry Brown restore needed funding to colleges and universities.

The Coalition thanks its many supporters for their work safeguarding public higher education as an engine for our economy and quality of life.

Posted under What's new with the Committees. Tag:

LA Jewish Journal publishes CCPHE Issues Committee Pro Prop. 30 Op-ed

Posted on October 11th, 2012 at 11:08pm UTC

Co-chairs make the case for public higher education’s importance to the state…

Former Congressman Mel Levine; Jeffrey A. Seymour, former University of California Alumni Regent; and Howard Welinsky, former chair of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, are co-chairs of the California Coalition for Public Higher Education — Yes on Proposition 30 Committee.

Here’s an excerpt from their opinion piece in the Jewish Journal:

“We’re worried.

“That’s what we Jews do, of course. Often, for good reason. While we’re pleased to see California voters currently favor Gov. Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 initiative to restore a measure of fiscal stability to the state, polls show that support is precarious. That is worrying because our system of higher education is counting on Proposition 30.

“Since 1960, when the State of California adopted its Master Plan for Higher Education, California has been the envy of the world for its visionary commitment to a high-quality, affordable and accessible educational system for all. It has performed miraculously for us, the citizen owners, and for us, personally, and our families. California’s system of higher education is a big reason why California has attracted such a large and vibrant Jewish community….”

Read the full article at The Jewish Journal’s website>

Posted under In the News. Tag: Prop 30

L.A. Observed covers Prop. 30 Donation

Posted on October 11th, 2012 at 7:52pm UTC

Blogger Kevin Roderick mentions Yes on Prop. 30 donation by CCPHE Issues Committee in his “Morning Buzz” roundup in L.A. Observed.  Read more on the L.A. Observed website….

– CCPHE Issues Committee – Yes on Prop. 30

Posted under In the News. Tag: Prop 30

HIGHER EDUCATION COALITION BACKS PROPOSITION 30

Posted on October 1st, 2012 at 4:35pm UTC

Los Angeles, CA – October 1, 2012 – A broad coalition of alumni, supporters and stakeholders of the University of California, California State University and California Community College systems has weighed in with a $100,000 contribution in support of Proposition 30 on the November 6 ballot in California.

“Governor Jerry Brown’s proposal to restore fiscal stability to the state is imperative,” said former Congressman Mel Levine, co-chair of the California Coalition for Public Higher Education Issues Committee – Yes on Prop. 30. “If Proposition 30 fails, our colleges and universities, students and their families, will face massive cuts, yet again, that will result in steep tuition increases, course reductions, hiring freezes and layoffs.”

Levine, a University of California, Berkeley alumnus, added: “Ultimately, we need to restore support for public higher education as an engine of growth and opportunity for the people of California. We need to say ‘yes’ to public higher education.”

In addition to Levine, Jeffrey A. Seymour, former University of California Alumni Regent, and Howard Welinsky, former Chair of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, are serving as co-chairs of the California Coalition for Public Higher Education Issues Committee – Yes on Prop. 30.

Donations come from alumni, faculty, business and civic leaders, parents, staff, students, foundations and former public officials who support all three segments of the state’s public higher education system.

Members of the public who wish to support the California Coalition for Public Higher Education Issues Committee – Yes on Prop. 30 can go to www.yestohighered.org/yesonprop30.

Posted under In the News. Tag: Funding, Prop 30

CCPHE Issues Committee – Yes on Prop. 30 supports Governor Jerry Brown’s revenue-raising initiative on the November 6, 2012 ballot

Posted on August 14th, 2012 at 7:43pm UTC

Proposition 30: The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012 will provide increased funding to the University of California, California State University, and California Community College systems, helping to protect quality and student access, and stabilize California public higher education as an engine of economic growth and opportunity.

Should the measure fail to pass, the University of California, California State University and California Community College systems will lose more than a billion dollars a year, resulting in further erosion of needed services to students, steep tuition increases, course reductions, cuts to academic programs, hiring freezes and layoffs, and ultimately reduced educational opportunity.

The California Coalition for Public Higher Education Issues Committee – Yes on Prop. 30 believes the measure is an investment in California’s public higher education systems, and in our quality of life.

The California Coalition for Public Higher Education Issues Committee – Yes on Prop. 30 is co-chaired by three highly respected leaders with long histories of advocacy for California public higher education:
• Hon. Mel Levine, former U.S. Congressman and California State Assemblyman
• Jeffrey A. Seymour, former Alumni Regent, University of California
• Howard Welinsky, former Chair, California Postsecondary Education Commission

To donate to the California Coalition for Public Higher Education Issues Committee – Yes on Prop. 30, click here.

Posted under What's new with the Committees. Tag: Action, Budget Cuts, Economy

Watch: See how Jim Kardach used his California State University education to help invent Bluetooth

Posted on November 9th, 2011 at 2:04am UTC

James Kardach, a Fresno State alum, works as chief power architect at Intel Corporation. In celebration of the CSU’s 50th anniversary, the video captures how the CSU prepares graduates who make a difference.

Posted under Real-life Stories. Tag: Economy, Innovation, Stories

UCSD loses 3 star scientists to Rice University

Posted on November 8th, 2011 at 12:27am UTC

Lured in part because of ongoing budget cuts to California public higher education, three leading UC San Diego biomedical scientists were recruited to Rice University to lead a major new cancer research center established by voters.

Read the full article from the San Diego Union-Tribune>>

Posted under In the News. Tag: Budget Cuts

Dozens of community college students representing thousands more share their personal success stories

Posted on September 1st, 2011 at 8:32pm UTC

Community college students across California are sharing their stories with legislators about the impact of cuts and what community college has meant to them.

Posted under Real-life Stories. Tag: Students Action Stories