Social Sciences

New California Academy of Sciences worth a visit--or two, or three

The newly reopened California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park is receiving rave reviews and giving many UCSC professors their own cause for celebration.

Dick Cheney's indictment signals need for a federal civil grand jury

We need a civil grand jury at the federal level to investigate allegations of government wrongdoing that reach beyond the limited judicial boundaries of state jurisdictions.

Nurturing Change: Nidya Ramirez works to empower those most in need

Alumna Nidya Ramirez feels a responsibility to help people in difficult circumstances --including immigrants, the poor and working class, refugees, children, and abused women.

Undergraduate Danielle Soto elected to Pomona City Council

Graduating senior Danielle Soto is preparing to take a seat on the Pomona City Council.

Confessions of a non-foodie at Thanksgiving

As talk turns to free-range turkey and heritage vegetables harvested by unionized labor, anthropologist Melissa Caldwell says Thanksgiving is about more than the food.

Joy and hope greet Obama victory

The campus community greeted news of President-elect Barack Obama's victory with joy and enthusiasm on Wednesday morning.

Aspiring teachers to learn novel approach to science instruction

Aspiring teachers will learn cutting-edge techniques for teaching science to young children in a collaboration led by UC Santa Cruz.

Anthropologist Melissa Caldwell to address Nov. 8-9 international conference on global food security

Food policy expert Melissa Caldwell will discuss the global food crisis during an international conference sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Black men tell tales of transformation in new book Ain't I a Feminist?

Black men tell tales of transformation in the new book <i>Ain't I a Feminist?</i> by Aaronette White, associate professor of psychology.

Next president must scrutinize counterterrorism initiatives, says alumna Dana Priest

Alumna Dana Priest discussed national security issues before a capacity crowd in the Namaste Lounge on Friday.

How children learn to 'think like scientists' is focus of prof's work at Children's Discovery Museum

Psychology professor Maureen Callanan is partnering with Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose to explore the ways kids learn to "think like scientists."

Four social scientists honored for teaching and research

Four social scientists were honored for teaching and research today (Tuesday, October 7) during the annual fall convocation hosted by the dean of the Division of Social Sciences.

Mr. President . . .

The 44th president will have tremendous challenges before him. UCSC experts offer their advice on topics ranging from education to climate change.

UCSC wins NSF grant to train more math and science teachers

Regional schools in need of qualified math and science teachers will benefit from a $750,000 grant to UCSC from the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholars Program.

Robin Toma: executive director of Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission

UCSC graduate Robin Toma says the values of social justice and equality he gained at Santa Cruz have guided his decisions and shaped his life's work.

Catherine Cooper honored for contributions to field of human development

Psychology professor Catherine Cooper traveled this summer to Germany, where she was honored for her contributions to the field of human development.

Helping minority entrepreneurs succeed would reduce wealth inequality, economist says

African Americans aren't getting the same boost from self-employment that Asians and whites enjoy, and the racial disparities demand new policy initiatives, says economist Robert Fairlie.

UC Santa Cruz team developing a high-tech dictionary for the classroom

Dictionaries in the classroom may go the way of typewriters if researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have their way.

Anthropologist explores plausibility of bulbs and tubers in diet of early human ancestors

Anthropologist Nathaniel J. Dominy painstakingly measured the mechanical properties of nearly 100 plant species across sub-Saharan Africa as part of his investigation of the diet of early human ancestors.

UCSC grad student receives Princess Grace award

UCSC graduate student Kimberly Bautista has been awarded a 2008 Princess Grace Honorarium. She is one of 44 recipients across the country who were recognized for distinction in the fields of theater, dance and film.

Dream lecture to air on Community TV

Research professor G. William Domhoff's recent campuswide lecture about dreaming will be broadcast on Community TV of Santa Cruz County several times in July and August.

Free poetry reading at Chadwick Garden on June 28

Enjoy the beauty of early summer in the historic Alan Chadwick Garden on Saturday, June 28, when a bevy of accomplished poets will read their work at "A Garden of Poetry and Music."

Psychology professor M. Brewster Smith receives 2008 award for professional contributions

M. Brewster Smith, professor emeritus of psychology, has received the 2008 award for Distinguished Theoretical and Philosophical Contributions to Psychology from a division of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Midwest factory tour brings learning to life for students of environmental policy

Educators who encourage their students to get out of the classroom don't typically direct them to steel mills, glass factories, and soda-pop bottling plants.

Campus provost gives early outline of budget cuts

UC Santa Cruz will need to cut between $7 million and $12.3 million from its 2008-2009 budget, Campus Provost and Executive Vice chancellor Dave Kliger told the Academic Senate Friday.

Sale of fresh organic produce begins June 3

Berry lovers will celebrate the opening on Tuesday, June 3, of the UCSC Farm's Market Cart at the base of campus.

Chancellor conveys awards for achievements in diversity

Four individuals and two campus units were honored for their efforts in supporting and increasing diversity at UC Santa Cruz. Chancellor George Blumenthal conveyed the awards during a luncheon May 21 at University House.

Geographer Jeff Bury studies human impacts of climate change in central Andes

For residents of Peru's remote villages high in the Andes mountains, climate change is right outside the back door.

Most teen girls still experience sexual harassment and sexism, according to new study

Nine of 10 teen girls report experiencing sexual harassment, and majorities also say they have received discouraging comments about their abilities in school and athletics, according to a new study that appears in the May/June issue of the journal <i>Chil

UC Santa Cruz to lead pioneering study of pumas in the Santa Cruz Mountains

A pioneering study of pumas in the Santa Cruz Mountains will generate unprecedented insights into the behavior of one of the region's top predators.

Renee Tajima-Peña's film wins documentary prize at film festival, premieres May 4

Renee Tajima-Peña's film <i>Calavera Highway</i>, named the best television documentary by the San Francisco International Film Festival, will premiere during the festival on Sunday, May 4, at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas.

Economist contributes to report on business startups

Entrepreneurial activity among women dropped sharply last year, while the rate of activity among men and immigrants surged, according to a national index developed by UCSC professor of economics Robert Fairlie, and published in a report by the Ewing Mario

Films by four UC Santa Cruz students featured during Reel Work Film Festival

Films about the immigrant experience and last fall's writers' strike are among the works by four UC Santa Cruz students that will be screened during the seventh annual Reel Work May Day Labor Film Festival, which takes place April 25-May 11.

Anthropologist Erin Vogel featured on Animal Planet May 6

Field work in Borneo can be hot, sweaty work. Just ask the <i>Animal Planet</i> crew that filmed anthropology's Erin Vogel for a program scheduled to air Tuesday, May 6.

Americans willing to sacrifice to reduce gap between rich and poor, doctoral candidate finds

Contrary to the stereotype of Americans as self-interested individualists, the majority care more about growing economic inequality than we've been led to expect, and many would sacrifice personal gain for the well-being of others, according to research b

Campus hosts Black Brown Roundtable

Activists from within and outside the university came together April 19 to discuss relations among African Americans and Latinos.

Three environmental studies graduate students win Fulbright Awards

Environmental studies graduate students Timothy Krupnik, Michelle Olsgard, and Anna Zivian have received 2008-2009 Fulbright Awards that will help fund their overseas research.

Tune in for the latest from the Social Documentation Program

Briana O'Higgins is a public radio junkie.

UCSC students team up with public radio producer Nikki Silva

For eight lucky students last quarter, award winning independent radio producer Nikki Silva offered the ideal blend of inspiration, instruction, and encouragement.

Ecological landscaping workshop April 17

Join three graduates of UCSC's Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture on April 17 for a free public workshop on ecological landscaping.

Go East, young man: Alumnus Mark Headley says UCSC prepared him for work he never dreamed of--investing in Asia

When he graduated from UCSC in 1983, Mark Headley (B.A. politics and economics, Stevenson College) had a mean fencing game and a deep understanding of the political and economic factors shaping Asia.

Improve teacher quality and retention by broadening teacher preparation, professor says

Aspiring teachers come to the profession with a wealth of life experience that shapes their training, their work in the classroom, and their longevity in the occupation, says the author of the new book <i>Teaching What They Learn, Learning What They Live<

Shopping Our Way to Safety: Sociology professor Andrew Szasz says 'buying green' may be lulling consumers into a false sense of security

Like a marketer's dream come true, Americans have responded to environmental degradation by shopping, as if buying bottled water and organic vegetables will protect them from pollution.

UCSC alumna Dana Priest wins Pulitzer Prize for Walter Reed exposé

Dana Priest, the <i>Washington Post</i> reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for her work exposing the government's secret 'black site' prisons, has won journalism's highest honor again, this time for her exposé of the mistreatment of wounded veteran

Social psychologist Thomas Pettigrew receives faculty award from Division of Social Sciences

Social psychologist Thomas Pettigrew's pathbreaking research on racism has earned him international honors as well as the admiration of his peers at UC Santa Cruz, who have named him the recipient of the 2008 Distinguished Social Sciences Emeriti Faculty

Blood and Oil: New environmental studies class proves popular with students

In only two years, the new class <i>Blood and Oil: Energy, the Middle East, and War</i> has become legendary on campus.

Eighteen talented undergraduates travel to Costa Rica with anthropology class

Imagine slogging through humid rainforests so dense your pace slows to a crawl, encountering spiders as big as your hand, plants that burn your skin, and mud so deep you sink up to your knees. And loving it.

UC Santa Cruz honors Joseph Berney with Distinguished Social Sciences Alumni Award

Innovative educator and social justice advocate Joseph Berney has received the 2008 Distinguished Social Sciences Alumni Award from the Division of Social Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

UC Santa Cruz anthropologists confirm link between diet and teeth of chimpanzees and orangutans

For the first time, anthropologists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have measured the mechanical properties of foods eaten in the wild by orangutans and chimpanzees to test assumptions about the link between diet and the teeth of primates.

New book spotlights the experiences of Mexicans in Chicago

Chicago is home to one of the largest populations of Mexicans in the United States, and the experiences of Mexican immigrants in the Windy City offer a revealing lesson in how the forces of racism work, according to the author of the new book <i>Mexican C

Become a docent at the UCSC Farm & Garden

Do you enjoy gardening, learning about food and farming issues, and sharing your enthusiasm and knowledge with others? If the answer is "yes!," then consider becoming a tour guide at two of Santa Cruz's most beautiful locations.

Sign up for fresh, organic produce from the UCSC Farm

The UCSC Farm is enrolling members in this year's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. By purchasing a "share" of the season's harvest, members receive a box of fresh-picked, organic fruits and vegetables every week for 22 weeks.

Harvard backs open access initiative similar to one passed by UCSC in 2005

On February 13, 2008, Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences unanimously carried a resolution supporting a form of free online access, termed "open access," for scholarly articles. Harvard's resolution brings into practice the principles put fo

Doctoral candidate heading to DC after graduation

Lauren Malone will be heading to Washington, D.C., after earning a Ph.D. in economics this spring.

EOP launches textbook drive to benefit low-income students

In an effort to help low-income students achieve academic success, the Educational Opportunity Programs Office is launching a textbook drive to provide books to students who can't afford to buy them.

Why does popcorn cost so much at the movies?

Movie theaters are notorious for charging consumers top dollar for concession items such as popcorn, soda, and candy. Are moviegoers just being gouged?

Max M. Levin, former psychology instructor and Crown preceptor, dies at 91

Max M. Levin, a lecturer emeritus of psychology whose ties to the campus go back to 1967, died on Saturday, February 16, in Portland, Oregon. He was 91.

'Finding their niche' is critical to underrepresented student success, study reveals

A new study has produced an unusually intimate portrait of the college experience for UCSC students from underrepresented groups, including those who are among the first in their family to attend college.

Animated tutors help remedial readers, language learners, autistic children

Tools developed by researchers exploring language and speech comprehension can become powerful aids for remedial readers, children with language challenges, and anyone learning a second language, according to psychology professor Dominic Massaro of the Un

UCSC project aims to provide a virtual speech therapist via cell phone

UCSC researchers have received funding from Microsoft Research to develop a virtual speech therapist, accessible on a cell phone, to aid stroke survivors in Malaysia.

UCSC's new Center for Integrated Water Research will help cities and regions secure safe and reliable water

A new interdisciplinary research center at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is bringing an innovative, regional approach to the challenge of meeting the demand for safe and reliable water.

Frank Child, former dean of social sciences, dies at 86

Frank C. Child, a professor of economics who served as dean of the UCSC Division of Social Sciences from 1983 until 1987, has died of congestive heart failure. He was 86.

Four UCSC faculty selected to represent National Women's Studies Association at international conference

Jonathan Fox publishes new book about accountability politics

In his new book, <i>Accountability Politics: Power and Voice in Rural Mexico</i>, Latin American Studies professor Jonathan Fox explores how the seeds of accountability grow in authoritarian environments.

Undergraduate offers empowerment classes for girls at three Santa Cruz middle schools

In a unique town-gown collaboration, a UCSC undergraduate has teamed up with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education to offer empowerment classes to girls at three local middle schools.

Graduate student's film featured at Sundance Film Festival

Documentary filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura can't wait to see his film screened at the Sundance Film Festival. He just wishes he could get his hands on enough tickets for all his friends and family.

Undergraduate makes the most of opportunities at UCSC

Overcoming obstacles and pursuing her dreams are two of the life skills Katie Roper says she acquired at UCSC, where several professors encouraged her to take a hands-on approach to her education.