While Congress continues to debate an extension of the 2011 payroll tax cut, the UC Office of the President announced that the UC system has already processed its Jan. 1 payroll — and reverted back to a Social Security deduction of 6.2 percent.

That is 2 percentage points higher than what the government has been collecting in 2011. Thus, employees will see a corresponding reduction in take-home pay.

Congress is debating an extension of the 4.2 percent deduction for either a portion of or all of 2012. If Congress and the president approve an extension, UC will implement it as soon as possible, according to a Dec. 20 statement from the UC Office of the President.

“Thus, any change in rate will be reflected on the employee’s paycheck after implementation of the rate change in our payroll system, along with any needed correction to retroactively withhold at the lower rate,” the statement reads.

UC Davis ranks 7th in Best Colleges assessment

UC Davis ranks seventh among public universities and 27th among public and private universities in a new listing from The Best Colleges, a website for prospective students.

In presenting the 2011-12 listing of the top 50 colleges and universities in America, the website declares that UC Davis “has developed into a world leader in science and engineering research while expanding opportunities for qualified low- and middle- income California students by covering the cost of tuition and fees of students from families making less than $80K a year.”

UC Davis is also ranked highly for being in one of the most highly educated cities in America. “Davis, CA is known for its liberal politics and bike-friendly streets and manages to keep its cost of living fairly low,” the site writes.

The Best Colleges uses both standard indicators of academic quality and student satisfaction and also considers the economic value of a school and the quality of life offered by the city or town it is located in.

UC Global Health Day

The registration deadline is Monday, Jan. 16, for UC Global Health Day, showcasing a cross-section of the work that is being carried out across disciplines at all 10 UC campuses.

The UC Global Health Institute presented its first Global Health Day in 2010, and now comes the second, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, in Dwinelle Hall at UC Berkeley. Faculty, students and staff are invited.

The keynote speakers are listed as Sir John E. Sulston, Nobel laureate and chair of the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation at the University of Manchester, England; and Eliya Zulu, executive director of the African Institute for Development Policy and president of the Union for African Population Studies, Kenya.

The program includes morning session along the theme of population growth and global health, and afternoon presentations on a broad range of global health topics.

More information and registration (general, $50, and students, $25).

CUE ratifies 5-year contract

The UC Office of the President announced Dec. 12 that the Coalition of University Employees, or CUE, representing more than 12,500 clerical staff, had ratified a five-year agreement on wages, benefits and other issues.

UCOP announced a tentative deal with CUE in early November, after negotiations that began in May 2008 and included the assistance of a state-appointed mediator.

CUE members voted on the agreement from Nov. 18 to Dec. 9, and, with its approval, UC has multiyear contracts in place with all of its major unions for the first time in many years.

“We are pleased our clerical unit is finally under contract,” Dwaine B. Duckett, vice president of systemwide Human Resources, said in a news release. “The efforts between CUE-Teamsters and the university produced a fair agreement where both sides made difficult choices.

“We are particularly pleased they proactively came to the table with us to reach agreement on the new pension tier” (for people hired after July 1, 2013).

The CUE agreement, effective through Nov. 30, 2016, includes the following highlights, according to the UCOP news release:

• Wages — To make salaries more market-competitive, employees will receive a 3 percent wage increase for the 2011-12 fiscal year retroactive to July. Additionally, CUE workers will receive 3 percent wage increases for the next three years, and a 2 percent increase for the final contract year of 2015-16. Step increases will be given to eligible employees based on years of service and performance.

• Pension — Employees will contribute to the UC Retirement Plan at the same rate as the general UC employee population. Contributions will be 3.5 percent of pay retroactive to July 1, 2011; 5 percent of pay starting July 1, 2012; and 6.5 percent starting July 1, 2013. If new rates are approved for 2014 and 2015, CUE members will pay the same rates as the general employee population.

CUE members hired after July 1, 2013, will fall under the new pension benefit tier, in which employees will contribute 7 percent of pay. This is the same rate that will apply to unrepresented faculty and staff who are hired after July 1, 2013.

Read the complete news release.

Insects in winter

With winter just a couple of days away, the Bohart Museum of Entomology is presenting a program this weekend on what insects do and where they go in cold weather. Also, visitors will have the opportunity to make holiday insect cards, the museum announced.

Tabatha Yang, the museum’s education and outreach coordinator, cited these examples of insect behavior in cold weather: Monarch butterflies cluster together in Mexico or on the California coast, and honeybees can stay warm in their hives, living off stored honey.

“Insects in the Winter Wonderland” is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 18), as part of the museum’s series of weekend open houses, free and open to the public.

Visitors are invited to experience the entire museum, including its live “petting zoo” — featuring such residents as Madagascar hissing cockroaches and walking sticks.

The Bohart houses more than 7 million specimens from around the world — making it the seventh largest insect collection in North America. The museum also is the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of insect biodiversity.

The museum is in 1124 Academic Surge. Regular hours: 9 a.m.-noon and 1- 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday; closed on Fridays and major holidays.

More information is available online, or by contacting Yang, (530) 752-0493 or tabyang@ucdavis.edu.