Alejandra Santoyo is drawn to the thrill of scientific discovery: identifying challenging questions and seeking her own answers. But even after declaring a major in cognitive science, the interdisciplinary study of how the mind works, the UC Merced student still didn’t know if she wanted to be a researcher. “I...
Walters: UC Imposes Political Litmus Test
If you’ve never heard of the Levering Act, you’re not alone. Few Californians are old enough to remember that during the years immediately after World War II, a Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States and its allies generated a wave of popular fear about communist subversion....
UC System Accepts Record Number of California Applicants
SAN FRANCISCO — The University of California system accepted a record number of freshmen and transfer students that includes the most ever from California for the 2019-20 academic year, officials announced. The university system's nine undergraduate campuses accepted 71,655 California freshmen and 26,700 students who will transfer from California community...
Soul-Crushing Cost of College in California, Explained
It’s not your grandparents’ — or even your parents ’— higher-ed system. A young Californian of the Baby Boomer generation, bolstered by the post-war economic boom and the state’s investment in public higher education, could often emerge from college with little to no debt and a clear path to a...
San Francisco Billionaire Gives $30M to Study Homelessness
SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco billionaire is donating $30 million to the University of California, San Francisco, to research root causes of homelessness and potential solutions. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, a city native, has embraced homelessness as a philanthropic cause, pumping millions into a 2018 city measure to tax...
LA Universities Quarantine Over 1,000 After Measles Exposure
LOS ANGELES — More than 1000 students and staff members at two Los Angeles universities were quarantined on campus or sent home this week in one of the most sweeping efforts yet by public health authorities to contain the spread of measles in the U.S., where cases have reached a...
The #RealCollege Guru Offers Three Ways to Fix California’s Student Financial Aid
If the plight of hungry and homeless college students has lately caught the national media’s attention, it’s in no small part due to the efforts of Temple University professor Sara Goldrick-Rab. Goldrick-Rab, who describes herself as a “scholar activist,” has been trying to get policymakers to address the cost of college for...
California Lawmakers Debate How to Prevent Another College Admissions Scandal
When state legislators grilled University of California staff at a hearing Tuesday about the university’s response to the recent college admissions scandal, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty asked the question that’s been reverberating since the story broke last week. “How do we reassure the public that the system is not totally rigged?” It’s...
My Turn: Higher Ed Is a Prerequisite for Our Future. Community Colleges Are Key to That.
Pick an issue, any issue, and you’ll hear from the well-meaning throngs that theirs is a top priority for California’s long-term success. But the multitude of issues and solutions won’t bring about real, lasting change without addressing the common denominator that could make or break the Golden State: higher education....
Come 2050, Californians Will Wish They Had More Dams
A new University of California report forecasts kick-to-the-gut climate-change realities for California farmers, especially those who grow permanent crops in the Central Valley. In a nutshell, the report anticipates big trouble ahead for crops such as almonds, peaches, table grapes, corn and rice. Scorching summer heat and longer periods of...