In January, UCLA issued new travel guidelines and circulated them among its deans and executives. The guidelines add restrictions on spending that go above and beyond the policies that govern all University of California campuses.Prayitno/Flickr Even after UCLA was publicly exposed and criticized for approving lavish travel and entertainment expenses by its top academic officials, […]
Erica Perez
Higher Education Reporter
Erica Perez is an investigative reporter focusing on higher education for The Center for Investigative Reporting. She came from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where she covered the University of Wisconsin system, the Wisconsin Technical College system and private colleges. A California native, Erica previously covered K-12 education for the Orange County Register. Before earning her master’s degree in journalism, she taught high school English for two years. Erica graduated from Stanford University and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication.
Posted inMoney and Politics
Calif. Sen. Leland Yee’s collision course of political ambition and debt
California Sen. Leland Yee leaves the federal courthouse in San Francisco after posting bail. He is accused of political corruption and gun trafficking.Ben Margot/AP The sun was shining on a brisk January day when Leland Yee took a seat at an undisclosed San Francisco coffee shop. Across from him sat a Cosa Nostra crime boss. […]
Posted inU.S. Education
UC endowment has worst investment returns among largest US college funds
The University of California’s $11.2 billion endowment has produced the worst investment returns of any of the richest colleges in the country over the past decade, an analysis by The Center for Investigative Reporting shows. From the 2004 through 2013 fiscal years, the investment payout for the UC endowment ranked last among the 10 U.S. universities […]
Posted inU.S. Education
UCLA officials bend travel rules with first-class flights, luxury hotels
At UCLA, Chancellor Gene Block and 17 deans who oversee the schools of business, film and theater, law, medicine and others spent about million on travel and entertainment from 2008 to 2012.Prayitno/Flickr Thirteen years ago, the University of California changed its ban on flying business or first class on the university’s dime, adding a special […]
Posted inEducation, U.S. Education
State’s community colleges spend millions on duplicative administrators
Richard Raasueld studies at Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree. The district broke from the Desert Community College District in 1999. The region’s two districts, with one college each, are among the state’s smallest.Carlos Puma/California Watch The state’s 72 community college districts spend tens of millions of dollars on administrative positions that could be consolidated […]
Posted inUncategorized
How we analyzed community colleges’ administrative costs
To get a better idea of possible savings that could be achieved by consolidating executives at geographically close community college districts, we chose to dig in deeper on a group of 16 districts.
Posted inUncategorized
Community college boards lose power, stature as system changes
California community college trustees are entrusted with making sure districts meet the needs of the community. They help shape a district’s goals and review policies, but since 1978, they have not had control over revenues – the state does.