From today's Chronicle comes the news of an unprecedented round of fee hikes that, as the article notes, will likely deny access to the University of California system for a large segment of middle and lower-income students in California. That the UC is facing a budget deficit (mirroring one for the State of California as a whole, and exacerbated by the statewide shortage) is not news; that both UC Executives and Regents will be keeping their exorbitant salaries in place while pricing out 10 public universities is a more recent development and one that makes my blood boil. I'm safe - having bid farewell to UCLA 4 years ago - but I cringe when thinking of the future of what was once the most robust and vibrant public university network in the country.
