In recent weeks, we have devoted much space in our newsletter to the plight of undergraduates from poorer homes or those who don’t have any homes to go to, graduate students who will face a job market without jobs, and precariously employed lecturers. But our concerns...

Even as we begin to adapt to the shift to remote instruction, Berkeley faculty know how much time and energy have been involved in transforming our pedagogy-and how much time it has taken away from other activities, especially research. Yet as tough as the adaptation...

On April 1, Chancellor Christ announced a hiring freeze at Berkeley. Her message primarily concerned non-academic positions, but warned that open faculty searches "may receive additional scrutiny." Departments in the midst of or planning faculty searches anxiously...

As we prepare to reassemble (virtually) after Spring break, some of the long-term probable consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the campus are beginning to come into focus. Higher education will surely feel the impact of the recession that will grip the world's...

It’s Spring break. We definitely need a breather. As our Chancellor has said, the university has pulled together. As far as we know, UC Berkeley has reported only one positive case of COVD19. Yes, the university has pulled together-but it is closed. And for many,...

These are trying times -- times that put the discourse of "resilience" on trial. Our first priority, of course, must be the health of our community. We should work to forge and reinforce networks of mutual aid. We should seek out those especially isolated by social...

Campus is in turmoil. With the possibility of a strike by graduate student workers on the horizon*, now activities on campus will be partly suspended in response to health concerns about the possible spread of COVID-19. Starting tomorrow, faculty are called upon to...

As many of you know, around 80 graduate students have been terminated from their jobs at UC Santa Cruz (see Newsletter below and last week's commentary). In support of the striking graduate students, the Faculty Organizing Group at Santa Cruz has called for...

UC Santa Cruz graduate students have been striking since December 9th for a cost of living adjustment (COLA) that would meet the rising cost of living, especially increasing rents. Early on, the administration failed to meet with graduate student instructors,...

Should UC affiliate with religious health systems that prohibit choice in reproductive health care and LGBTQ-inclusive care? Those prohibitions are based on policies written by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and not on any recognized medical standard of...

On Friday, Vice Provost, Benjamin Hermalin sent a Cal Message to all tenure-track faculty, giving an update on the contract negotiations between UCOP and the UC-AFT. By parroting the UCOP press release on the Unit 18 Lecturers and not presenting the perspective of the...

If you have served on a faculty search committee recently, you know that we ask applicants to write a few different statements as part of their application - a statement on teaching, research, and these days, a statement on diversity. We ask for these statements...

Following the very successful Town Hall of last semester that discussed the qualifications to be considered in choosing candidates for the next UC President, the Berkeley Faculty Association will be staging a discussion with Chancellor Carol Christ and Chair of the UC...

For many years, and for several Chancellors, the orthodoxy in California Hall has been that rising tuition can be socially progressive if it is coupled with “return to aid” grants and other forms of financial assistance for low-income families. When tuition was low,...

Governor Gavin Newson presented his 2020-21 state budget proposal last Friday. The full budget summary is here. The detailed budget is also online, and the UC portion can be found here. UC Board of Regents Chair John Pérez and UC President Janet Napolitano quickly put...

Graduate Students are on strike at UC Santa Cruz, demanding a cost-of-living adjustment to meet cost-of-living increases in the city that have outstripped wage increases by a factor of 5. The Santa Cruz Faculty Association  supports the student’s demand for a COLA....

As we have repeatedly pointed out, when revenue seeking and cost cutting assume priority in the operation of the university, its core mission suffers. Here are a few steps in the ineluctable logic: (1) Students face increased fees and other costs of attendance,...

The excellence of the university depends on the excellence of its academic departments and programs, but their success, in turn, depends in part on an effective administration. While academic programs are subject to regular review, this is not the case for...

Last Wednesday, the Berkeley Faculty Association, the Latinx Faculty Association, UC-AFT (representing lecturers and librarians), and the Academic Senate sponsored a Town Hall to discuss the choosing of the next UC President. The meeting was opened by invited speaker...

AFSCME, the union that represents so many of our low-paid service workers, will be holding a 24-hour strike on Wednesday (November 13). They have been in negotiation with the university administration for two and a half years.  The specific focus of the Wednesday...

Janet Napolitano plans to step down as President of UC. In accordance with the Regents’ Policy 7101, the Academic Senates of each UC campus are charged with gathering information about each campus’s concerns, priorities, and recommendations and communicating this...

We all know that Graduate Student Instructors are vital to the mission of the University of California. Graduate students depend on the remuneration and health insurance they receive for working as teachers to pursue their degrees. In recognition of the value of their...

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and if you were minding your in-box last summer for official statements from the UC Berkeley Administration, you may have noticed Vice Provost for the Faculty Benjamin E. Hermalin's "Guidelines for Preventing and...

The BFA Board has just signed on to a proposal to provide paid family leave to all who work at the University of California. Most working residents of California have access to financial support for pregnancy, bonding with a new child, and caring for a sick family...

Janet Napolitano is standing down as President of UC. In accordance with the Regents’ Policy 7101, the BFA, along with Faculty Associations from the other UC campuses, has proposed the formation of Academic Advisory Committees.  On each campus, such a committee would...

On September 17, the Regents announced that they will divest both the endowment and pension funds from fossil fuels.  The announcement was made in an Opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times, authored by UC Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher and Chairman of...

The University of California is a public institution, accountable to its students, faculty, and the larger community. This is part of the reason that it is so important that union negotiations are public too. Last week, the UC-AFT, which represents lecturers and...

IMPORTANT! On Friday September 20th, students across the world will be marching and rallying in support of stopping carbon emissions and addressing the climate crisis, as part of the youth-led Global Climate Strike. UC Berkeley students are planning a walk-out...

The Board of the Berkeley Faculty Association had its first meeting last Thursday, welcoming three new board members: Anne-Lise François, Amanda Goldstein and Mara Loveman. Among the issues we discussed was the increasing reliance on Public-Private Partnerships to...

Some further thoughts to add to last week's statement, reflecting on the past year at Berkeley, and the issue of public-private partnerships: They may allow the campus to build without going in to further debt, but they do so at the expense of students. All the...