Social Sciences

Farm apprentice shares national award in White House presentation

Karen Washington, a 2008 graduate of the apprenticeship class of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz was honored at the White House December 17 for her work with urban gardens in the Bronx.

UCSC professors urge passage of the DREAM Act

Eleven UC Santa Cruz professors and lecturers are among more than 300 university scholars across the nation who have signed an open letter urging passage of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.

SocDoc student documents Myanmar's young people

UC Santa Cruz social documentation graduate student Rian Dundon slipped into Myanmar last April, blending in with the backpack crowd. His photographs from his time there are now featured in a photo essay on Time.com.

UC Santa Cruz featured in report on green-energy credits

Analysis by environmental studies chair Daniel Press was key to a report by an energy and environment news network based in Washington, D.C., that selected UC Santa Cruz to feature in its investigation into green-energy credits.

Professor taps protégés for new book exploring national identity

Eight of the 11 essays in a new book co-edited by UC Santa Cruz sociology professor Herman Gray are contributed by scholars who studied with him.

Butterflies featured at Museum of Natural History Collections open house

The extraordinary collection of butterflies at the UC Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History Collections will be on display as part of an open house set for Sunday, December 5 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Natural Sciences II and Interdisciplinary Sciences building.

Alum's company named philanthropic corporation of the year

Earthbound Farm, founded by UC Santa Cruz graduate Drew Goodman and his wife Myra, has been selected as the outstanding philanthropic corporation of 2010 for the Central Coast as part of National Philanthropy Day, Friday November 12.

New book investigates violence against women in Latin America

A new book, coedited by Rosa-Linda Fregoso, professor of Latin American and Latino studies at UC Santa Cruz, investigates the escalation of violence against women in Latin America over the past two decades.

Sustainability fellowships support student research

Seventeen UC Santa Cruz graduate and undergraduate students have received more than $87,000 in Sustainability Fellowship grants from the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) to help fund research that includes water quality protection in Italy and the United States, environmental justice in California, salmon farming in Chile, and farming practices in Wisconsin.

Limiting salmon fishing may help ecosystems and economies

A group of conservation biologists led by a researcher from UC Santa Cruz and Canada’s Raincoast Conservation Foundation has proposed limiting the fishing of Pacific salmon off British Columbia in order to improve the ecosystems of protected coastal areas where spawning occurs and help coastal economies.

Professor's new book explores the political discourse of Russia's elite

In a new book, UC Santa Cruz politics professor and post-Soviet-era expert Michael Urban interviewed 34 prominent members of the administrations of Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Vladimir Putin.

Patricia Zavella awarded career achievement prize

Patricia Zavella, chair of the Latin American and Latino studies department at UC Santa Cruz, has been named co-winner of the 2010 Prize for Distinguished Achievement in the Critical Study of North America by the Society for the Anthropology of North America. North America.

UCSC farm and garden cart winds down for the season

The UC Santa Cruz farm and garden cart will be open for purchases of fresh organic produce and flowers for two more days, Fridays October 22 and 29, then close for the season.

UC Santa Cruz social scientists honored for teaching, research

Three social scientists at UC Santa Cruz were honored for outstanding teaching and research Thursday, October 14 at the annual fall convocation breakfast hosted by dean of the Social Sciences division, Sheldon Kamieniecki.

SF mayor honors alumnus Peter Bratt with Latino heritage award

Filmmaker Peter Bratt, a UC Santa Cruz alumnus, and his TV star brother Benjamin were named recipients of the 2010 Latino Heritage Month Award in the arts by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

UCSC research funding hit record levels in 2009-10

UCSC researchers attracted a record $148 million in external grants and contracts to the campus in the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Annual economics conference Oct. 22

Ocean protection expert to give Keeley Lecture on Environmental Policy

Amber Mace, a leading expert on ocean protection policy, will present the fifth Fred Keeley Lecture on Environmental Policy Wednesday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the UC Santa Cruz Music Recital Hall.

Campus food and student gardening guides now available

The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), the Food Systems Working Group, and the Student Environmental Center have worked together to produce the first UCSC Student Garden Guide.

UCSC names new Associate Vice Chancellor for Strategic Philanthropy

Jeffrey J. Shilling, former chief development officer for Stanford University’s Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation, has been named associate vice chancellor for strategic philanthropy at UC Santa Cruz.

Rod Ogawa wins lifetime achievement award for education research

Rodney Ogawa, professor of education at UC Santa Cruz, has been named winner of one of the most prestigious awards in the field of education research.

Eminent social psychologist Elliot Aronson publishes memoir

In a candid and engaging new memoir, "Not by Chance Alone, My Life as a Social Psychologist" UCSC emeritus professor Elliot Aronson recounts the people who have made him who is today.

UCSC farm apprentices create their own jobs in the field

A new study that looks at 20 years of the Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture program at UC Santa Cruz finds that a large percentage of its alumni are still involved in growing and marketing organic food and teaching others how to do so.

Alison Galloway named campus provost at UCSC

The University of California Regents today (Thursday, September 16, 2010) approved the appointment of Alison Galloway as campus provost/executive vice chancellor (CP/EVC) of UC Santa Cruz. The appointment is effective immediately.

Annual UCSC Farm Harvest Festival set for September 26

The annual Harvest Festival at the UC Santa Cruz Farm is the biggest open house of the year for the pioneering organic and sustainable agriculture programs run by UCSC’s Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems. This year it takes place Sunday, September 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Six UCSC students win Fulbrights

Six UC Santa Cruz students – five in anthropology, one in environmental studies – have been awarded Fulbright scholarships for a year's study and research abroad. Five doctoral degree candidates and one 2010 graduate will travel to China, the Krygyz Republic, Korea, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela to conduct their research projects.

Professor wins prestigious fellowship for education research

George Bunch, an assistant professor of education at UC Santa Cruz, has won a prestigious fellowship to study the language demands faced by English learners in community college.

Plant sale kicks off fall gardening season

UCSC Farm & Garden’s Fall Plant Sale will offer a rich and timely selection of organically raised vegetable seedlings, perennials, and California natives. Sponsored by the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems, the sale takes place Friday and Saturday, September 10 and 11 from noon to 6 p.m. on Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, in the Barn Theater parking lot at the intersection of Bay and High Streets in Santa Cruz.

Fall gardening workshop set for Saturday, August 28

Join gardener Trish Hildinger for a lecture and demonstration workshop on “Planting the Thanksgiving Feast” at the UC Santa Cruz Farm on Saturday, August 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Chancellor helps fund Olive Tree Initiative

Two UCSC politics majors want to understand the Arab-Israeli conflict, but they refuse to put their blind trust in TV, blogs, and newspaper coverage.

UCSC research in international economics ranked 7th globally

The UC Santa Cruz Economics Department was ranked seventh in the world in July -- and sixth among all academic institutions -- for research in international finance, according to an analysis of research papers. Only the University of Chicago, MIT, UC Berkeley, and Harvard University and its Kennedy School of Government ranked higher. The International Monetary Fund was ranked third.

UC Santa Cruz researchers win $580,000 grant to document educational success stories

Two UC Santa Cruz education researchers will study successful school organizations and teaching approaches that engage urban low-income Latino high school students in academically challenging work thanks to a $580,000 grant from the W.T. Grant Foundation.

Bats facing regional extinction in the northeast from rapidly spreading disease, UCSC researcher finds

A new infectious disease spreading rapidly across the northeastern United States has killed millions of bats and is predicted to cause regional extinction of a once-common bat species, according to the findings of a University of California, Santa Cruz re

Politics professor named campus director of UC Washington D.C. program

Eva Bertram, associate professor of politics, will become the new UC Santa Cruz campus director for the UC Washington Program (UCDC).

UCSC grad's Washington Post articles investigate 'Top Secret America'

The first installment of "Top Secret America," co-written by UC Santa Cruz alumna Dana Priest, sparked an atmosphere of anxious anticipation in Washington D.C. and across the country long before it appeared online and in the <i>Washington Post</i> Monday.

UCSC professor examines how dysfunctional politics drive defense spending up

In a new book, UC Santa Cruz professor Daniel Wirls writes that the "peace dividend" the nation was supposed to enjoy after the end of the Cold War was hijacked by dysfunctional national security politics that continue to push the defense budget ever high

Four UCSC professors elected as Fellows of California Academy of Sciences

Four UC Santa Cruz professors have been elected as fellows of the California Academy of Sciences.

UCTV show featuring UC Santa Cruz now available for viewing

The television magazine show "State of Minds" produced by UCTV and featuring several segments filmed last month on the UC Santa Cruz campus is now online and available for viewing.

Tom Pettigrew honored by International Society for Political Psychology

Thomas F. Pettigrew, research professor of social psychology at UC Santa Cruz, has been named winner of the 2010 Harold Lasswell Award by the International Society for Political Psychology.

Education professor's book set explores art and science of classroom teaching

Brad Olsen approaches the art and science of teaching from his personal experience as both teacher and student. The associate professor of education at UC Santa Cruz, is editor of a new six-volume set of books on the craft of teaching called the <i>Teache

UC Santa Cruz anthropology professor Anna Tsing wins Guggenheim Fellowship

UC Santa Cruz anthropology professor Anna Tsing has won a Guggenheim Fellowship to further her research into the commodity chain and global ecology of the matsutake mushroom.

UCTV hosts next State of Minds from UC Santa Cruz

Cowell College courtyard, Terra Fresca restaurant, Earth and Marine Sciences building, the Great meadow, and the Digital Arts Research Center all serve as backdrops for the next edition of State of Minds, a 30-minute video magazine produced by UCTV.

UC Santa Cruz grad Peter Bratt returns to premiere La Mission

Filmmaker Peter Bratt returns to UC Santa Cruz Friday as part of the local premiere of <i>La Mission</i>, his heartfelt portrait of San Francisco's Mission District, the neighborhood where he grew up.

UCSC economist Rob Fairlie tells U.S. Senate lack of access to capital hampers minority-owned businesses

Minority-owned businesses are being especially hurt by a lack of access to capital in the current economic downtown, UC Santa Cruz Economics Professor Rob Fairlie told a U.S. Senate committee Thursday.

New institute prepares science and engineering grad students to teach

The Institute for Scientist and Engineer Educators prepares science and engineering graduate students for teaching.

Articles by UCSC alumna Dana Priest named in top 10 for the decade

A two-part series by <i>Washington Post</i> reporter Dana Priest, a 1981 UC Santa Cruz graduate, on the woeful treatment of wounded war veterans, was named one of the top 10 works of journalism of the decade, 2000-2009.

Economic meltdown prompts a rethinking of capitalism

Two dozen scholars from around the world will gather at UC Santa Cruz April 8-10 to explore the social and political effects of modern-day capitalism and the global economy in light of esoteric financial instruments that nearly brought it down.

Social Documentation director is executive producer of new PBS documentary

Professor Renee Tajima-Pena, graduate director of the Social Documentation program at UC Santa Cruz, is executive producer of <i>Whatever it Takes,</i> a new documentary airing on PBS March 30 at 10 p.m. The films follows an retail executive who becomes p

UCSC wins $2.1 million to collaborate with Watsonville High School teachers

A multidisciplinary team at UC Santa Cruz has been awarded a $2.1 million grant to foster collaborations between UCSC graduate students and Watsonville-area high school teachers to develop innovative approaches to teaching math and science through hands-o

M. Brewster Smith selected to receive Social Sciences emeriti award

Social psychologist M. Brewster Smith, whose ground breaking insights into the ways in which people's political ideas relate to their personalities, has been selected to receive the 2010 Distinguished Social Sciences Emeriti Faculty Award.

Politics professor's new book explores branding in big-city politics

A new book by politics professor Eleonora Pasotti explores the emergence of "brand" politics taking hold in cities that have historically been entrenched in poor government, patronage, corruption, lack of development, social conflict, and political apathy

Professor's documentary on folkl&oacute;rico premieres Saturday

As a Merrill College undergraduate, Olga N&aacute;jera-Ram&iacute;rez discovered Mexican folkl&oacute;rico dance and was immediately captivated. It has become a lifelong interest. Now, the UC Santa Cruz professor of anthropology has produced a documenta

Psychology faculty honored by American Psychological Association

Two psychology faculty members have received major recognition by divisions of the American Psychological Association (APA), the largest organization for psychologists. Each will receive their awards and deliver an address at the annual APA meetings in Sa

Psychology lecturer aids displaced children in Haiti

A UC Santa Cruz specialist in developmental psychology is working in Haiti with the American Refugee Committee International to help children displaced by the January 12 earthquake.

UCSC Scholarship Benefit Dinner raises more than $160,000 to support students

More than 300 people turned out for the seventh annual UC Santa Cruz Scholarship Benefit Dinner that took place Saturday night at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose.

New UCSC training program fosters ethics and justice discourse in science and engineering

This spring, UC Santa Cruz, will launch a unique graduate-level training program funded by a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to cross-train scientists and engineers in humanities and social sciences, and vice versa.

Economics professor's book selected as an outstanding academic title for 2009

A prestigious publisher of academic book reviews has selected Race and Entrepreneurial Success: Black-, Asian-, and White-Owned Businesses in the United States (MIT Press) by economics professor Rob Fairlie and research associate Alicia M. Robb as one of

7th annual Scholarship Benefit Dinner to support UCSC students--Feb. 6 at Tech Museum in San Jose

UCSC will host its seventh annual Scholarship Benefit Dinner on Saturday, February 6, at the Tech Museum in San Jose.