Republican Assembly leader Mayes crosses party lines, a look at hiring practices following the USC medical school dean scandal, how Comic-Con has changed since 1970.
State of Affairs: Chad Mayes gets flack, Harris and Paul team up, could Trump take tips from Brown?
This week, on State of Affairs:
- Republican Assembly leader Chad Mayes crossed party lines this week, lending his vote to Jerry Brown's cap-and-trade extension — but activists in his party aren't taking kindly to the break in ranks.
- Some CA members of the House GOP are in a rock and a hard place this week after the health bill they kicked to the Senate gets stuck there.
- California Democrats scored another win with cap-and-trade, but could it be one victory too far for those in swing districts?
- Also: She's a liberal Democrat from California; he's from Kentucky and a Libertarian Republican. Senators Kamala Harris and Rand Paul are teaming up to reform the nation's bail system. Maybe bipartisanship isn't dead after all.
Guests:
- Carla Marinucci, senior editor for Politico's California Playbook
- Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, professor of public policy at USC
How do universities hire high-ranking officials?
Earlier this week, the LA Times published a shocking expose into the hidden life of Dr. Carmen Puliafito, the former dean of the USC medical school.
He spent his time partying hard with drugs like meth and ecstasy, according to the Times account. And in one case, it led to the overdose of a prostitute in Pasadena hotel.
But since being hired a decade ago by USC, he also had a profound, positive impact on the school.
We spoke with Jack Stripling, senior reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education. He's been writing about this case, and about how colleges hire high level talent.
Walk us through the steps by which a college fills in a position like a dean. Who oversees the process?
"For the most part, outside executive search firms get involved in this. . . The school is the one who is probably going to put out the job description and it is the job of the headhunter to find candidates that are both diverse and have the qualifications to meet these needs that the institution is putting forward."
How does that firm go about figuring out whether someone's personal life might be a liability on the job?
"The way this often works is you’ll have a few finalists who have put forth a references that they want you to check, and people assume that [these references] are going to say nice things about them. So what a search firm will do is check those people, but they'll also go outside of that immediate cohort. Faculty members who later have buyer's remorse about someone who gets hired in these situations will tell you that they don’t think this process necessarily get you the straight skinny on someone, and in a lot of cases, faculty members are kind of discouraged from doing their own background checks. These are very tightly controlled searches, and are often very secretive. You may have a professor who thinks he might have a lot of luck if he just calls up a buddy at the other school where the person used to be to find out the real dirt, and they are actively discouraged from doing that - I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but search firms try to keep a tight control on this process."
Are university officials always willing to trust, or distrust, the rumor mill?
"It is a difficult question in a lot of ways, because it is one thing if you have a dean whose had a DUI or been arrested, that's something that becomes part of the public record, and certainly part of the discussion before hiring happens. It is more difficult if you’re dealing with a personality or behavior issue, because in a lot of cases, with respect to people on university campuses, they hold grudges, like everybody else, and they may have disagreements about policy, and so when someone says something negative about a potential candidate it is often filtered through that lens. I do think in some cases, even when there is consistent feedback about a person in leadership that's negative, a board may ignore that because of the fact that they really are impressed with the credentials of this person."
In general, how much would you say fundraising prowess is considered by an academic institution when hiring a dean or president?
"From the dean level and up, it is a huge deal. The evidence for this story is the USC medical school this is its own universe of fundraising, and so it is imperative that this person shows an ability to do this. . . and folks in this world are expected to raise money in situations that are quasi-social, they're going to be in situations where alcohol is around, presumably not methamphetamine, but they are going to be in situations that are quasi-social, and this is part of the job, is your ability to schmooze in those situations."
In the case of the USC story, Dr. Puliafito was highly regarded as a surgeon and recognized as someone who could boost the profile of the school. But, according to the Times, he was was on record for being, at times, an explosive personality. Have you seen cases where universities are willing to take on someone who's a top performer professionally, despite red flags in their personal life?
"Yes, certainly - this personality issue you mentioned is something that I encounter all the time. We'll see a college president who ends up on the ropes with faculty, or coworkers and you’ll check back and find out that this was the case. . . A lot of times someone will get hired because the board thinks they’re an effective person, but this cloud hangs over them, and usually if there is a pattern of behavior it re-exhibits itself."
No Place like LA: Luisa, forgetting how to use windshield wipers
No Place Like LA is our series that asks transplants and immigrants to LA, "When was the moment you felt that Los Angeles was truly home?"
I was driving on highway one day and it started to rain.
My first thought was, "Oh good, rain!"
And my second thought was, "Uh, I...don't know how to turn on my windshield wipers..."
I knew there was no going back.
I knew I was an Angeleno.
What's your story? Tell us at No Place Like LA
How Comic-Con has evolved in almost 50 years
It's hard to believe, but Comic-Con is turning 47 this year.
Since 1970, nerds like A Martinez have descended upon San Diego during the late summer months. At first, the convention focused mainly on seminars and workshops for people trying to get into the comic book industry. Only 300 people showed up the first convention in August 1970.
But over the years, the emphasis shifted away from comic books, and more toward movie and TV show previews, along with panels featuring big-name stars.
The crowds grew larger ... MUCH larger. In recent years, attendance has averaged at about 130,000. This year's convention kicked off Thursday and KPCC's resident Comic-Con expert Mike Roe spoke to A Martinez about this year's trends and how the event has evolved.
2017 trends
Netflix
"Netflix has really increased their presence. They did a big movie premiere for their new anime series 'Death Note' and they also are doing a lot of panels for shows like Marvel's 'The Defenders,' The 'Stranger Things' panel is expected to be the most popular panel of Comic-Con ... they've got a big off-site too where you can actually go inside the world of 'Stranger Things.'"
Rise of the 'off-sites'
"Speaking of off-sites, they're really blowing up as well. It used to be that everything at Comic-Con was AT Comic-Con. Now, they sort of take over the whole city in sort of these immersive experiences they put off-site so that people can go and really be part of those worlds.
Those are some of the craziest lines this year. In past years, off-sites have been interesting but they weren't as big of a deal. I feel like this year, the hot lines at Comic-Con aren't at Comic-Con...they're off-site all over the city.
I saw someone on Twitter the other day mention they were in line for eight hours to get into the 'Game of Thrones' off-site."
Comic-Con's evolution
"Comic-Con ... the existence of it is somewhat because of fans but ever since any company came there to present something, it's always been a little bit corporate hijacking.
They presented footage from Star Wars there back in the '70s so, there's always been a little bit of corporate stuff to it as well. But I think that it's because there are problems in the comic book industry. A lot of comic book fans aren't hyped about what's happening in comics, which makes it easier to get into these movies and TV shows.
It'll be interesting to see if the comic book industry manages to capture fan's imaginations again. Will comic books be a bigger deal again?"
To listen to the full segment, click the blue play button above.