(Correction appended)

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signing of the California state budget the morning of July 28 confirmed University of California, Davis a $114 million cut.

The grand UCD total is just a fraction of the $1.15 billion the UC must cut systemwide. Eighty point five million dollars has already been cut from the UCD budget through academic and administrative cuts, an increase in student fees and employee furlough days. This leaves an additional $33.5 million yet to be cut.

At the UC Board of Regents‘ July 16 meeting, a plan to implement systemwide furlough days – effective Sept. 1 with the exception of student employees – was approved, forcing UC employees around 13 to 15 unpaid days off.

An area that students will most affect in: the classroom.

The psychology department, the most popular UCD major, will be one of many departments that will see an increase in class size, as well as a decrease in class availability.

“We don’t have the money to have as many lecturers,” said Debra Long, chair of the psychology department. “Our cut back will be handled by increasing the size of some courses and canceling others.”

Long spoke about how the department will look to find larger classrooms to better accommodate the extra students that will be shuffled around. Wait lists will be common, she said, and professors won’t be able to accommodate as many students.

“What’s happening now is taking us a step back. Psychology is the largest major on campus and the student increases is very visible,” said Long. “We’re going to have to do more with less for a long time.”

The UC Davis Academic Senate took a survey from faculty members that suggested possible ways to implement furlough days. One option is to shut the campus down during holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas so that students will not be affected by their professors‘ absences.

“The ultimate authority comes from the Office of the President,” said Robert Powell, chair of the academic senate. “This whole thing can change in a week. There’s lots of work going on to see what is going to be possible and what isn’t to get some agreement with administration and faculty.”

Powell confirmed that classes will be harder for students to enroll in and faculty will be difficult to contact or meet with due to increases in class sizes.

“I have a hunch that it will take longer to make appointments with staff advisors. We’re hoping it won’t affect how long it takes for students to get degrees,” Powell said.

Lower division classes will also see a major hit, Powell said. Teaching assistants or lecturers who may teach these courses will not be hired as frequently.

“These are temporary positions that have to be cut in times like these, which is unfortunate because they enrich our curriculum,” he said.

Currently, there are no definite plans for layoffs, though the people who retire or leave positions won’t be replaced, Powell said. He mentioned that around 350 positions since January were left vacant.

“We have to reorganize to get along with the same amount of work with less people,” he said.

Other UC campuses like Berkeley are also facing cuts around $100 million, while Irvine is looking at a $77 million cut.

The total UC cut of $1.15 billion breaks down to $813 million cut from the general fund with an additional $335 million in costs not funded by the state. Twenty-five percent will come from student fees, another 25 from UC employee pay cuts and furlough days, 10 percent in systemwide savings and the remaining 40 percent divided among the campuses.

ANGELA RUGGIERO can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Correction: August 10, 2009 – The original article stated that the University of California was facing a systemwide shortfall of $1.5 billion. In fact, the budget shortfall is $1.15 billion. 

A large portion of California’s crops might be in danger in the near future as a result of global climate change.

A recently released study states that the number of chilling hours required for the production of orchards in the Central Valley has decreased 30 percent since 1950. It also states that plants that are dormant in the winter do not grow as well with fewer chilling hours.

“Winter chill is decreasing and will decrease further because temperatures are rising,” said Eike Luedeling, lead author of the study. “By the end of the 21st century many species might have a hard time surviving [in the Central Valley]”.

Only 4 percent of the Central Valley is now suitable for apples, cherries and pears, all high-chill fruits that could once be grown in half the valley, according to the study. Large areas with winter chill may soon completely disappear.

The current study from UC Davis compliments another study done by scientists Dennis Baldocchi and Simon Wong of UC Berkeley. According to Luedeling, they surveyed hourly data from networks of weather stations throughout California to calculate chilling hours.

“Our results are similar,” Luedeling said. “The difference is our study is more sophisticated because we used a different model to calculate the chilling hours.“

To plant their crops, farmers calculate the number of hours the temperature drops below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Luedeling and his team followed that standard, and used the Dynamic Model to measure a wider range of temperatures.

However, according to Luedeling, farmers can adapt to the differences in chilling hours by employing different plant breeding techniques and using chemicals that can influence micro-climates.

Despite the similar results from UC Davis‘ and UC Berkeley’s studies, some people disagree with the results and what it means for the Central Valley crops.

“These chill models are so unsophisticated,” said Steve Southwick, a former UC Davis fruit science professor who now works for OG Packing, a major cherry and walnut distributor. “The way a tree behaves doesn’t much match what the models say, and the level of research on fruit trees is meager.“

As of right now, there hasn’t been too much preparation for the decrease in chilling hours, Luedeling said.

“What is at stake here for global climate change is our food security and that is what we need to focus on,” he said.

CORY BULLIS can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

TODAY

Cal Aggie Band-uh! Summer Jam-uh!

7 to 9 p.m.

Lawn in front of Rec Pool, near Rec Pool Lodge

Join the UC Davis Band-uh! every other Monday during the summer for live entertainment. Bring a blanket or chair to relax on while listening to the Band-uh!’s award-winning music.

WEDNESDAY

Wellness Wednesday: Meditation

Noon to 1 p.m.

314 North Hall, UC Davis

Go learn about how the ancient art of meditation can be used to quiet the chatter in your head to achieve calm and greater productivity in this student-based workshop. Wellness Wednesdays are limited to the first eight students who drop in each week during the summer.

D.R. Wagner performs at Poetry Night at Bistro 33

9 p.m.

Bistro 33, 226 F. St.

Author of over 20 books of poetry and letters, D. R. Wagner is the founder and editor of Niagara Press and Runciple Spoons Press. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to secure a table. Poetry Night at Bistro 33 occurs every first and third Wednesday with an open mic beginning at 10 p.m.

Full Moon Bike Ride

9:30 p.m.

Meet at the oak tree in Central Park

Join others for a moonlight bike ride through Davis. Bring your lights, friends, a portable radio or sound system and sense of adventure!

FRIDAY

Arboretum Music: Folk Music Jam Session

Noon to 1 p.m.

Wyatt Deck, Old Davis Road

All skill levels are welcome to go play some lunchtime music in this acoustic jam session.

SATURDAY

MAD CITY CHICKENS

6:30 p.m.

Richard Brunelle Center for Performing Arts – Davis High School

To benefit the Davis Farm to School Connection, go to a screening of this sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical documentary about the people who keep urban chickens in their backyards. Adults $10, students $7 and children 11 and under are free.

To receive placement in the AGGIE DAILY CALENDAR, e-mail dailycal@theaggie.org or stop by 25 Lower Freeborn by noon the day prior to your event. Due to space constraints, all event descriptions are subject to editing, and priority will be given to events that are free of charge and geared toward the campus community.

In the past months, reporting has divulged an admissions scandal at the University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana – the university where UC Davis chancellor-designate Linda Katehi formerly presided over as provost.

The scandal, first reported in a series for The Chicago Tribune on May 29, linked Katehi to the university’s admittance of Category I admissions, or applicants affiliated with politicians or wealthy families. Approximately 800 students appearing on the “clout list” were admitted despite low test scores or sub par qualifications, according to The Tribune’s article, “Clout Goes to College.”

Katehi’s connection

In one applicant’s case, Katehi was included in an e-mail list involving an applicant she identified as “the daughter of a fairly prominent Greek family in Chicago.” When informed of the girl’s admittance, Katehi replied to the e-mail by saying “excellent.”

In response to allegations of a Category I admission, Katehi first stated that she had no involvement in the admissions decisions reported in the Tribune article.

Katehi later reiterated this statement in a press release, saying that she “never attempted to alter, influence or interfere with the admissions decision of any applicant to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.”

Since the initial Tribune article, further reporting on evidence gained does not suggest that Katehi had a significant role in the scandal. Of the 1,800 documents relating to the case, Katehi was included in 14. The Chicago Tribune reported that this evidence “does not suggest” a significant role in the clout case, and Illinois’ Admissions Review Commission will not be investigating Katehi since she did not overrule any admissions decisions.

What Katehi left in Illinois

The Commission has instead chosen to investigate other faculty members of the University, including Chancellor Richard Herman and the Board of Trustees. Following the hearings held in early July, Chair of the Board of Trustees Lawrence Eppley resigned, urging his fellow trustees to do the same.

Eppley admitted in his testimony that inquiries about applicants and recommendations provided an “underground system” for admissions.

Herman also stated in his testimony that the clout list has “existed for decades.”

Katehi stated in a letter to Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Fred Wood that she was not involved with the Category I admissions, rather they were handled at a higher level.

“Provost Katehi, to my knowledge, was and is not involved in this controversy,” said Joseph White, president of the University of Illinois system in a letter to president Yudof. “The reason is that the Chancellor [Richard Herman] handled these matters directly with the admissions director and, in some cases, deans. I do not believe that Provost Katehi’s name has appeared in the press for the simple reason that she had no involvement in admissions cases that are fueling the controversy.”

The need for an investigation

However many student and community members feel that an investigation by the UC Regents is still necessary due to her association with the admissions office at Illinois.

“We’re not saying that she’s guilty, we just want her to comply with an investigation [by the UC Regents} to show that she is a person of integrity,” said Johnathen Duran, senior community and regional development major and creator of the Facebook group, Students For Truth: Investigation or Resignation at UC Davis.

“She should at least apologize for all those put on the waitlist in place of those who were admitted because of their wealth and status.”

The group also believes that the admissions case disempowered the lower and working classes because a clout list such as Illinois’ gave priority to students affiliated with prominent politicians and wealthy families.

Commissioners in the review commission have suggested a code of conduct that would monitor such conflicts, should they occur in the future, according to an article in the News-Gazette.

UC’s treatment of clout

UC officials have expressed confidence that such a scandal would not occur in their system, due to specific policies barring any consideration of development from influencing admissions decisions and a monitored Admissions and Enrollment Committee.

The policy states that “admissions motivated by concern for financial, political or other such benefit to the University do not have a place in the admissions process.”

Should knowledge of such behavior occur, the Academic Senate must be notified, according to the policy, which is available on the UC Office of the President webpage.

“There are specific policies that prohibit what happened at Illinois from happening at a UC school,” said Frank Wada, the executive director of Undergraduate Admissions. “Even if it did happen, the reporting structures specifically state that if a chancellor makes that kind of decision, it must go to the Board [of Regents].”

Though Wada has only been director for one month, he said that the previous director never received any request to overturn requests or recommendations made by lawmakers or outside parties.

In her letter to Wood, Katehi expressed appreciation for the Regents’ code, which she said supports a transparent admissions process.

“I was very pleased to learn … that the University of California and UC Davis have a well-established process that does not allow for special categories outside of what is defined by the campus admissions process,” Katehi said.

LAUREN STEUSSY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

The University of California’s financial crisis is finally hitting employees where it hurts – the paycheck.

Almost all UC employees will take pay cuts between 4 and 10 percent beginning Sept. 1 as part of a furlough plan approved by the Regents last month.

The furlough plan requires faculty and staff to take between 7 and 26 unpaid days off per year. The exact pay cut and number of days off will depend on employees’ salary levels.

Systemwide, 108,000 full-time-equivalent positions will be affected. Most student employees, including graduate students, will be exempt from the program, as will employees whose funding comes entirely from contracts and grants.

UC Davis employs about 27,000 people at its Davis and Sacramento campuses. Approximately 1,775 of those are faculty and staff funded through grants, and another 7,000 are exempted student jobs.

“There is no doubt that these reductions will be painful for our faculty and staff,” said UC President Mark Yudof in a statement.

“Unfortunately, the university is facing a financial crisis unprecedented in the past quarter century, and everyone is going to be called on to be part of the solution. No plan is perfect, but we have worked hard to make it as fair as possible while preserving, to the extent possible, excellence and access to opportunity for students, researchers and patients.”

The furlough plan will last one year and is expected to net $184.1 million in payroll savings, resolving roughly 25 percent of the university’s $813 million budget shortfall.

On the UC Davis campus, the furloughs will save $22 million.

A survey of UC Davis faculty conducted by the Davis Division of the UC Academic Senate found strong support for furloughs as opposed to layoffs or other forms of pay cuts.

“We fully recognize the severe budget problems we face as a university and that steps must be taken to resolve these problems,” wrote Robert Powell, the chair of the Academic Senate’s Davis Division, in a report to the systemwide Academic Senate. “However, it should be emphasized that the proposed budget cuts and proposed salary reductions will have a damaging effect on our teaching and research as well as the access to the university that the citizens of California currently have.”

Campus officials have not yet determined how the furlough days will be distributed. The entire campus could close on specified days, or individual departments and units could close on their own schedules. No decisions have been made on whether any of the closure days would be on instruction days.

The total budget shortfall for UC Davis is estimated at $114 million. The campus already has plans to address $80.5 million of that, leaving $33.5 million still to be resolved.

About 25 percent of the UC system’s $813 million budget shortfall will be addressed with previously approved student fee increases. Debt refinancing and other administrative cost controls will save another $100 million. The remaining $300 million will be cut from individual campus budgets.

JEREMY OGUL can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

The California Aggie published its final issue of the 2008-2009 academic year on June 4. While we will not publish during Summer Session I, we will be back to our normal summer publication schedule at the start of Summer Session II. The first issue of the year will appear on August 3. To contact our managing staff in the meantime, please see the contact page.