Efrain Solis, middle. Image courtesy of Chapman University.

Chapman University junior Efrain Solis, a widely admired 19-year-old baritone from Santa Ana, has been chosen for the title role in “Le Nozze de Figaro” this summer at the Operafestival di Roma in Rome.

Solis will perform “Figaro,” the opera’s signature song, during a production that will be directed by Chapman voice professor Peter Atherton. (Click here to watch Solis perform.)

The performances will be held July 21-25 in the courtyard of S. Ivo della Sapienza, a Roman Baroque-style church in central Rome that’s listed as one of the world’s greatest buildings for the stunning architecture of Frencesco Borromini.

Did you miss …

• Will $70 million in budget cuts damage UC Irvine
• Chapman attracting more socially liberal students
• Chapman economists: Governor overstated budget deficit by $12 billion
• UCI freshmen enrollment to plunge 14 percent this fall
• Cal Poly Pomona cancels summer quarter, affecting O.C. students

From the Sciencedude blog …

• Popular O.C. game fish offers insights into nature of climate change
• El Nino developing rapidly
• Fiesty, tasty barracuda a mysterious no-show off Orange County
• UCI budget cuts soar to $70 million; deeper layoffs likely

Budget cuts might force UCI to offer far fewer courses this fall. Image courtesy of UCI.

UC Irvine said today that it may have to cut as much as $70 million to help the state balance its budget, a figure that could lead to bigger classes, fewer courses, deeper lay-offs and the elimination of some academic programs.

The political science department has already trimmed class offerings for the fall, and financial support might be cut for UCI’s research in Alzheimer’s disease.

Today’s  news comes less than a month after UCI said that it would have to reduce spending by $40 million to help the state. That figure rose to $55 million, then to $70 million.

“As the state’s true fiscal situation becomes clearer, the cuts to the UC system become bigger,” says Cathy Lawhon, director of media relations at UCI, Orange County’s largest employer, with a full and part-time workforce of 20,000 (including students).

The full extent of the cut backs probably won’t be known until the UC Board of Regents meets in mid-July.

UC President Mark Yudof says the overall cuts to the 10-campus system will result in major pay cuts or furloughs, and possibly both. The pay cuts, for those earning $46,000 or more could amount to 8 percent of their pay. Those earning below $46,000 would experience a pay cut of 4 percent. The size of the cuts have not been finalized because the state Legislature has yet to pass a budget, and the UC must do some bargaining with its unions. (Read earlier pay cut story.)

Gov. Schwarzenegger says California must close a $24.3 billion budget deficit.

The proposed cuts have infuriated many UCI workers, including union members who say that such cuts are unnecessary because the UC system supposedly has $5.3 billion in unrestricted funds.

Yudof responded to the criticism Friday, saying that the budget crisis doesn’t represent a one year problem. Rather, the problem could last 2-5 years and that UC must keep the reserve funds to maintain liquidty.

Yudof says it’s also possible that the UC will have to further raise student fees for the 2009-10 academic year. Fees were raised by 9.3 percent in May. (An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the figure was 10 percent.) UCI has already reduced the size of the freshman class for this fall. (Read full story.)

The situation concerns David Lumb, editor of New University, UCI’s campus newspaper.

“As a student, I’m paying $662 more in tuition a year, and I hope for my fellow Anteaters’ sake that the Regents won’t approach student fee raises in order to close the gap …I hope all UC students understand that their education is being stressed and strained by forces that threaten some of the services the UC provides and, in a perfect situation, should be providing for much less.”

UCI neurobiologist Frank La Ferla. Image courtesy of UCI.

Also expressing concern was Frank La Ferla, a noted UCI neurobiologist who is worried that funding of will hurt the Irvine branch of the Alzheimer’s Research Centers of California.

“I think the main focus of the story should be the devastation that the cuts will have to our community,” La Ferla said by email.  “Right now, there are 60,000 individuals suffering from AD in Orange County, and essentially we are the only memory assessment clinic that is able to differentiate among the different forms of dementia and that also conducts clinical research.

“I think the citizens of OC need to decide if they want to lose a clinic like ours (which is non-profit), particularly as we are facing an epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease.  In OC, it is anticipated the number of new AD cases will grow by 99% over the next 20 years.”

It’s unclear whether the $70 million figure will rise further; the precise condition of the state’s finances is not known. In fact, Chapman University president and economist James Doti recently said that the state deficit is about $12 billion, or half the figure claimed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Read story about Doti’s claim.)

Click here to read explainer from UC President Yudof about budget cuts

Click here (and scroll to the bottom) to read a UC system story about the size of President Yudof’s personal compensation package.

Salary factoids: UCI Chancellor Michael Drake’s salary, before recent budget cuts, was $378,791, or $21,209 less than the salary of President Barack Obama.

Chapman will enroll about 1,000 freshmen this fall. Image courtesy of Chapman

The political outlook of freshmen enrolling at Chapman University in Orange has become progressively more liberal over the past decade, on issues ranging from abortion to the death penalty, says an annual survey that UCLA takes of freshmen across the country.

The survey of Chapman students also shows that the high school grade point average of Chapman freshmen has slipped some in recent years, when it comes to students who reported earning As, and that the percentage of students who watch TV has edge upward — a surprising finding considering the growth of electronic games and other distractions.

The survey, conducted nationwide by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute (HERI), shows distinct ups and downs in some categories. Here’s a sample that gives you a sense of how the attitude and behavior of Chapman students changed from 1998 to 2008. The figures represent students who felt “strongly” or “somewhat agreed” on a particular issue.

• The percentage of students who believe that abortion should be legal(ized) rose from 62.3 percent to 72.2 percent over the past decade. (Editor’s note: The question had to do with abortion in general, not just in the U.S.)
• There was a roughly 22 percent spike in the percentage of students who say the death penalty should be abolished. In 2008, the figure was 42.4 percent.
• CLARIFICATION: All day, we’ve reported that almost 78 percent of the student respondents say it is important to have laws prohibiting homosexual relationships, a drop of about 6 percentage points since 1998. This was a misinterpretation of a poorly produced chart that Chapman included in a brochure. The actual figures state the the number of students who believe it is important to have laws prohibiting homosexual relationships fell from 18.7 percent in 1998 to 11.9 percent in 2008.
• About 12 percent said they that the federal government should do more to control the sale of handguns.
• In a different portion of the survey, titled “Political Orientation,” the number of students who identified themselves as being far left of liberal rose from 29.4 percent to 44.5 percent.

Did you miss …

• Chapman economists: Governor overstated budget deficit by $12 billion
• UCI freshmen enrollment to plunge 14 percent this fall
• Cal Poly Pomona cancels summer quarter, affecting O.C. students
• UCI freezes faculty hiring as budget cut soars to $55 million
• 31,500 student spots could be eliminated at O.C. community colleges
• UCI endowment — a key source of scholarships — plunges $45 million
• As O.C. public colleges shrink, Chapman grow

Local science news ….

• DON’T MISS: Eye-catching satellite and telescope photos of the sun, a volcano, a huge plankton bloom and penguin poop in the Antarctic.
• Watch a squirrel dog paddle across an O.C. river
• Barracuda are mysterious no shows in Southern California waters
• El Nino brewing, raising possibility for wet winter in O.C.

UC Irvine has about 20,000 full and part-time workers (including student employees), making it the largest employer in Orange County.

UC Irvine faculty and staff could have their pay cut by 8 percent, unless they earn below $46,000,  in which case the cut would be 4 percent,  says University of California President Mark Yudof.

Yudof issued a letter (read document) that says the cuts are needed at all 10 UC campuses to help balance the state budget, which currently has a $24.3 billion deficit. (Chapman University economist James Doti says the real deficit is $12 billion.)

It’s possible that the pay cuts would be smaller; the Legislature could raise taxes and create other  forms of revenue to soften the blow. But that would take a two-thirds majority vote by lawmakers, and the public soundly defeated ballot initiatives in May that would have raised some additional public revenue.

UCI — Orange County’s largest employer — has about 1,200 full-time faculty, all but 29 of whom earn more than $46,000 for their 9 month salary. The university also has about 9,200 staff workers, 56 percent of whom earn less than $46,000, the campus says.

Many of the staff workers are union members who do face cuts, but additional bargaining would have to be done for anything to be formalized. About 41 percent of UCI employees are represented by a union.

Yudof’s letter offers  a variety of options that range from cutting salaries across the board to saving the equivalent of 8 percent through unpaid holidays and furloughs. Either way, employees would lose about the same amount of money.

Yudof’s letter also says that the cutbacks could affect employee retirement plans unless the UC Board of Regents takes action was taken to protect them.

Click here to read UC  release about furloughs and pay cuts.

“I think an 8 percent cut is higher than most people anticipated,” said Bill Parker, chair of the Department of Physics. “A figure of 4 to 5 percent was expected.

“Yudof is preparing us for a worst case scenario … I think the way people will react will depend on what happens throughout the rest of the state. Will legislators take an 8 percent pay cut?”

Parker also said the university’s reaction to the cuts also depends “on how quickly the state recovers. If this were a one-time reduction, it’d be different than if it is a multi-year reduction. The real question is does the leadership exist to lead the state to economic recovery.”

UCI’s physics department has 41 full-time faculty. They earn between $72,000 and $145,000. On average, the scientists would lose about $7,000 if their salary is cut by 8 percent.

• UCI freshmen enrollment to plunge 14 percent this fall
• State hints at big fee hike for California community colleges
• Cal Poly Pomona cancels summer quarter, affecting O.C. students
• UCI freezes faculty hiring as budget cut soars to $55 million
• 31,500 student spots could be eliminated at O.C. community colleges
• How state budget crisis might affect O.C. college students
• UCI endowment — a key source of scholarships — plunges $45 million
• As O.C. public colleges shrink, Chapman grow

Local science news ….

• Fullerton Arboretum’s corpse flower killed by kindness
• Barracuda are mysterious no shows in Southern California waters
• El Nino brewing, raising possibility for wet winter in O.C.
• NEW: Astronauts photograph O.C., Southern California from space station
• Time-lapse photos of skies clearing in O.C.
• Health risks from freeways worse than scientists once thought
• Poll: Does your pet experience regret?
• Animation of scenario earthquake slamming O.C.

Chapman University President Jim Doti, an economist who was among the first to identify the start of the current recession and when the economy might turn around, received a gift Wednesday for his research. A gag gift, this is. Someone basically PhotoShopped Doti’s  image on to a box of Wheaties. The gift was presented to Doti during the university’s mid-year Economic Forecast Update, held at the Costa Mesa Hilton. The cover of the “box” shows Doti in mountain climbing gear. He has climbed some of world’s tallest peaks, including Mt. Aconcagua in Argentia and Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa.

The gift might cause some long-time cereal lovers to do a double take because only athletes grace the cover of a real box of Wheaties. Among those who’ve been featured on the box are Nolan Ryan, who spent part of his career pitching for the Angels, former Lakers  Shaquille O’Neal and Dennis Rodman, and former baseball slugger Mark McGuire, who used to live in Orange County.

By the way, if you want to read Chapman’s latest economic forecast, just click on  View the Press Release (PDF)

Did you miss …

• UCI freshmen enrollment to plunge 14 percent this fall
• The Angels have the least educated team in baseball
• Cal Poly Pomona cancels summer quarter, affecting O.C. students
• UCI freezes faculty hiring as budget cut soars to $55 million
• 31,500 student spots could be eliminated at O.C. community colleges
• How state budget crisis might affect O.C. college students
• UCI endowment — a key source of scholarships — plunges $45 million
• As O.C. public colleges shrink, Chapman grow

O.C. science news

• NEW: Astronauts photograph O.C., Southern California from space station
• Health risks from freeways worse than scientists once thought
• Space station snaps pretty photo of Catalina Island
• June cooler, cloudier than normal — so far
• El Nino brewing, raising possibility for wet winter in O.C.
• Poll: Does your pet experience regret?
• Minor earthquakes near LAX, Loma Linda
• Animation of scenario earthquake slamming O.C.