In his role as Chair as UC Board of Regents, and previously as the Chair on the UC Investment Committee - Parsky is drawing a line between Cal PERS - which is underfunded by $6 Billion - and the UC Pensions - which are overfunded by hundreds of millions of dollars. Net: Cal Pers is broke - and the UC Pension system can actually pay the benefits on the books.
UC is the single largest employer in the state - 133,000 jobs. Since Parsky became a UC Regent in 1996 - according to the RAND institute, the University of California has ranked in the top 10 higher ed institutions receiving the MOST federal Research & Development dollars, regardless of which Department of Agency was awarding the funds.
Parsky has gone around the country and eliminated all the serious competition for the UC Nuclear Lab bid - and so, thanks to Parsky - the UC System will remain competitive - despite the fact that the faculty receives on average 14% less in salary than faulty at private institutions. (which is why the benefit package is so important)
Parsky has at least delivered federal dollars --- Governor Schwarzenegger has nothing to show except for a COmmon Cause endorsement for redistricting. A proposition that coudld cost us seats, or one of the three committee chairmanships we have. As if it isn't bad enough to live in a donor state.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)