PAY RAISE: For the first time in three years, non-represented UC staff employees who are merit-eligible will be granted salary increases based on a 3.5 percent funding pool that took effect Oct 1, and will be distributed according to local compensation programs. Efforts this year by UC President Robert Dynes, members of the UC Board of Regents, the UC system chancellors and many others throughout the UC community have resulted in the adoption by state leaders of a new state budget that reflects the critical importance of continued state funding for UC salaries. Specific 2005-06 salary plans will be announced at each location. Salaries for represented employees are governed by collective bargaining agreements, and UC officials said they will continue to negotiate with the unions in good faith to arrive at mutually acceptable salary programs. Professional and Support Staff contract and limited appointment staff are not merit eligible. Next week, Dateline will carry a full story on the pay raises...

PRIVATE FUNDS: The UC Board of Regents gave initial approval Sept. 22 to a proposal to boost all employee salaries to market levels within a decade but put off a decision on the plan's most contentious aspect, the idea of using private donations to supplement the pay of UC's top executives. According to the Los Angeles Times, a committee of the governing board had been scheduled to vote on the recommendation, but delayed that until at least November after several regents and faculty representatives raised concerns about using private funds to pay public employees. UC officials say years of tight state funding have left UC salaries on average about 15 percent below those of comparable public and private universities, and have made it difficult to retain the best employees. ...

TENURE MODELS: Because many scholars believe that tenure systems need revision — especially for those in the arts and humanities — Imagining America recently announced a project to develop new systems of tenure. The group, a consortium of colleges that encourage faculty members to be active members of their local and national communities, will set up a national commission — to be led by Nancy Cantor, chancellor of Syracuse University, and Steven Lavine, president of the California Institute of the Arts. The commission will develop new ways to evaluate faculty members in the arts and humanities. ...

NEW CAMPUS BLUES: The Associated Press reports that UC Merced enrolled 875 students for its first semester — 125 fewer than expected, according to its first census. The university got 1,051 commitments from students in June who said they planned to attend, but many universities see a decrease throughout the summer as students change plans, so officials expected an inaugural class of about 1,000. Also, nearly a month after classes started at UC Merced, the campus bookstore is not open. Officials say it will be ready for students in mid-November, according to the Modesto Bee. Campus planners had hoped to finish the bookstore before classes began Sept. 6, but had to change their plans. ...

DOCTORAL DEGREES: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation that will allow the California State University System, for the first time, to independently offer a doctoral program. The legislation allows the system to award a doctorate of education to help the state meet its needs for teachers and administrators for public elementary and secondary schools and community colleges. The action marks a departure from California's Master Plan for Higher Education, drafted in 1960, which had originally awarded individual doctoral programs solely to the UC system, while California State University was to participate only in joint programs with UC. ...

RESEARCH INTEGRITY? The Iowa Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Sept. 30 that the University of Iowa could be sued for its role in a notorious research project, started in 1939, in which orphans were taught to stutter. The notorious research project, started in 1939, involved teaching orphans to stutter. Many of them grew up not realizing where their stutters originated. The research became known as the "Monster Study" to graduate students who helped with it, and to a wider public when the research was revealed in 2001 by The San Jose Mercury News.

DIGITAL LIBRARIES: The UC and Yahoo! are joining together in a partnership to build a freely accessible digital library with materials drawn from across the world. The various UC libraries will contribute books and resources in order to build a collection of out-of-copyright American literature that will include works by notable American authors. The materials will be available from http://www.opencontentalliance.org, the Web site of the Open Content Alliance, a global consortium.