Week of celebration showcases student achievement at UC Santa Cruz

Everything from opera to environmental research will be on display as UC Santa Cruz celebrates Student Achievement Week May 30-June 5 with live performances, exhibitions, symposia, and an awards ceremony.

"Recognition of the outstanding achievements of our students is one of the ways in which UCSC demonstrates its commitment to excellence in teaching and research," said interim vice provost and dean of undergraduate education William Ladusaw.

The Undergraduate Achievement Awards ceremony is a highlight of the annual celebration showcasing the scholarly and creative activities of UCSC's undergraduate and graduate students, Ladusaw said. "It is an opportunity to pay tribute to their success and to honor the commitment of the faculty who so successfully engage students in learning through discovery," he said. Hundreds of students will be honored at the ceremony on Friday, June 3, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Colleges Nine and Ten Multipurpose Room.

A new event this year is the Graduate Research Symposium, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 2 at the Graduate Student Commons. The event is designed "to bring together the graduate student community and celebrate the interesting, useful, and diverse research activities that our graduate students carry out," said Lisa Sloan, associate dean of graduate studies. "We also hope that this event will showcase these research activities to the larger campus and local community, and that it inspires our undergraduates to consider pursuing graduate education in their own futures."

A wide variety of undergraduate research projects conducted by students in the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences and the Jack Baskin School of Engineering will be showcased at the Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium. The symposium will be at the Thimann Courtyard on Thursday, June 2, 2-4 p.m. In the event of rain, the posters will be displayed in the lobby of the Earth and Marine Sciences Building.

Research will also be the focus of a crowded June 1 schedule including the Environmental Studies Program Symposium, Undergraduate Linguistics Conference, Humanities Undergraduate Research Award Colloquia, Faculty Mentor Program Undergraduate Research Colloquium, and Literature Undergraduate Colloquium.

Live theater takes center stage with performances of Mozart's tragicomic opera Don Giovanni, presented June 2-5 by the UCSC Music Department at the Music Center Recital Hall. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday's performance is at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18 general, $14 seniors, and $10 students. Seating is reserved. John Dizikes, professor emeritus and author of Opera in America, will present a preperformance talk in the Music Recital Hall at 1:10 p.m., before the final matinee performance on Sunday, June 5. Tickets are on sale at the UCSC Ticket Office (831) 459-2159.

Other events include:

Spring 2005 Open Studios. The UCSC Art Department presents student work in the studios and courtyard of the Elena Baskin Visual Arts Center. All media, including painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and book arts. Friday, June 3, noon to 4 p.m.; free.

Print sale/photography sale. The annual Print Sale is an opportunity to see the professional quality of UCSC's printmaking program and facilities. Hundreds of original prints will be for sale in a variety of media. Friday, June 3, and Saturday, June 4; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m, Baskin Visual Arts Room G-101. The event runs in conjunction with the Photography Sale, featuring students' work in Baskin Visual Arts on Friday, June 3, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Additional information on individual events is available at currents.ucsc.edu/04-05/05-23/achievement.asp.