June 2015 News Archive

Tearing down the walls

Pioneering UC Santa Cruz professors and staff challenged convention and traditional academics. In the process, they helped reform American higher

Scholarships available for UC Santa Cruz organic farming apprenticeships

Aspiring organic farmers and gardeners are invited to apply for the 2016 Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture at UC Santa Cruz. Now in its 48th year, the Apprenticeship is

A summary of summery things to do at UC Santa Cruz

Exotic plants, quiet library halls, Grateful Dead memorabilia, friendly sharks, and a gigantic set of whalebones greet visitors to UC Santa Cruz in the off-season when most students

UC Santa Cruz archivist contributes essay to Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary box set

On July 3-5, more than 200,000 people attending the final “Fare Thee Well” shows of the Grateful Dead will be able to walk across the street from Soldier

A 'hydrothermal siphon' drives water circulation through the seafloor

A new study explains previous observations of ocean water flowing through the seafloor from one seamount to

Alumni Profile / Kris Perry: Standing for equality

Kris Perry (Merrill '86) doesn’t think about the way historians will tell her story. Instead, she thinks how life will be different for children nationwide because of her

Caffeine culture: Anthropology student traces coffee’s route from farm to cup

When Katie Slocum, an anthropology major at UC Santa Cruz, got her first espresso fix at Verve, the specialty Santa Cruz coffee bar, she had no idea that

Film grad lands fellowship at Democracy Now!

Next week, 2015 graduate Juan Dávila Santiago will embark on a new chapter in his life--he’s off to New York where he landed a one-year News Production Fellowship

Original thinkers shifted paradigms, changed the world

From discovering a cell’s molecular motor to showing women’s role in evolution, UC Santa Cruz professors have made world-changing contributions through their research and

Memorial service for Joseph Bunnett on Saturday, June 27

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 27, for Joseph Bunnett, professor emeritus of chemistry and biochemistry.

UCSC and SRI release new game for DARPA crowd-sourced software verification program

Sophisticated gamers can help improve security of the country's critical software by playing a new game created by UC Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz partners with UC Merced in nanotechnology center

Nanotechnology researchers at UC Santa Cruz are partners in a new center for nanomaterials research funded by NASA and based at UC

Summer projects support our mission

By Sarah Latham, Vice Chancellor, Business and Administrative Services – With the start of summer comes the launch of many campus facilities projects, from construction of an important new building to resurfacing the bike path. While this work may cause temporary disruptions, it is critical to our ability to support and advance the UC Santa Cruz mission and to provide a safe, efficient, and functional campus.

UC Santa Cruz team introduces new web-based tools for finding videogames

The proliferation of videogames has created a "discoverability" problem for game enthusiasts and others, but help is now just a click

A visionary, a genius, and the human genome

In 2000, two dogged researchers at UC Santa Cruz defied the odds to become the first in the world to assemble the DNA sequence of the human

California Whistleblower Protection Act- Annual Notice

The University established a systemwide independently operated whistleblower hotline to allow for calls or web-based reporting from faculty, staff and students with a provision for anonymous reporting.

Robert Sinsheimer: sequencing the human genome

Women’s basketball coach attends invite-only leadership program

UC Santa Cruz Head Women's Basketball Coach Todd Kent was part of a select group of head coaches who attended The Center for Coaching Excellence held at Columbia University from June 8-10.

Original vision

Reflections on the tumultuous '60s, the heady days of UC Santa Cruz's beginnings, and the ways the campus has stayed true to its mission through the decades

Selection process begins for new restaurant operator at Quarry Plaza

Healthy fare, with soups, salads, sandwiches, and espresso – especially espresso and coffee drinks – are the preferred options from a survey of customers last year for a

Social Sciences division launches first annual summer reading list

What happens when you ask UC Santa Cruz faculty, staff, alumni, and students from the Division of Social Sciences - and even the Chancellor - for book recommendations

Freshly minted grads revel at commencement

Bubbles floated in the air and fresh-flower leis ruffled in the breeze as scholars and their supporters gathered over the weekend for a very special edition of UC

Graduate to help urban teens find path to college

Brittany Alba is poised to help many other Californians follow her path to higher education by serving a two-year fellowship that will have her advising San Jose high

Time to Renew Parking Permits and Metro Bus Passes

It is time for staff and faculty to renew or purchase parking permits and Metro bus passes for 2015-16.

Call for 2014-15 staff performance appraisals

Annual performance appraisals are an essential tool for effective management of employees. They are required for all university career staff employees.

Eight faculty members honored with Excellence in Teaching awards

The Excellence in Teaching Awards given each year by the UC Santa Cruz Academic Senate Committee on Teaching are among the highest honors faculty members can receive. This

Police ambassador program helps students with career plans

Graduating students Wesley Huynh and Jessica Bauman found that the UC Santa Cruz Police Ambassador Program helped prepare them for careers in law enforcement and accounting.

History professor Kate Jones receives Dizikes Award for teaching in Humanities

History professor Kate Jones was presented with the John Dizikes Teaching Award in Humanities at the Humanities Division’s 2015 Spring Awards

Campus earns systemwide environmental health and safety award

The University of California President’s Award for Campus Excellence in Environmental Health and Safety is given to the UC campus with the greatest reduction of Cal/OSHA recordable cases (medical treatment beyond first aid) in the past year and the overall reduction in injury rate from previous years.

Chancellor's Achievement Awards for Diversity honor commitment

Two campus programs, staff, faculty, and a student are winners of 2015 Chancellor’s Achievement Awards for Diversity for 2105 for their efforts to promote diversity and inclusion at

Parking during year-end activities

As the campus prepares for the many commencement and year-end celebrations this weekend, I wanted to alert you to the impact this will have on traffic and parking.

Celebrating outstanding teachers

By George Blumenthal, Chancellor – Eight faculty members have earned distinction for outstanding teaching this year, receiving accolades for instruction in fields as diverse as introductory computer programming, documentary film production, and physics for non-majors.

Fish declines linked to effects of excess nutrients on coastal estuaries

Offshore fisheries that depend on the health of fish nurseries in coastal estuaries are adversely affected by excess nutrients in runoff from

Bike path closures planned for maintenance

The Great Meadow Bike Path will be closed for maintenance twice during the month of June.

9th annual screening of Soc Doc graduate films at Del Mar Theater

UC Santa Cruz presents the ninth annual exhibition of thesis films from the Film and Digital Media Department’s masters program in Social Documentation on June 10, at

Campus ranks No. 1 among Peace Corps’ top volunteer-producing Hispanic-serving institutions

Forty-two alumni are serving in the Peace Corps. More than 800 UCSC alumni have traveled abroad to serve as volunteers with the Peace Corps, which was founded four years before the campus opened in 1965.

TAPS Parking Fare Proposal

Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback on the TAPS Parking Fare Proposal.

Student entrepreneurs pitch business ideas at annual Silicon Valley event

The Center for Entrepreneurship held its third annual Business Design Showcase on Saturday, May 30, at the UCSC Silicon Valley

Sleuthing a killer shrub

Students like Jennifer Thompson—who researched why Scotch Broom is toxic to Douglas fir—take advantage of a unique opportunity at UC Santa Cruz: the ability to do research as

Community Crime Bulletin: UPDATE -- Kresge College Investigation

An arrest has been made in connection with the assault and hate crime investigation at Kresge College.

Community Crime Bulletin: Peeping in Bathroom, College 10

The UC Santa Cruz Police Department is seeking the community's assistance in obtaining suspect information connected to a peeping incident at 8:45 p.m. Saturday, May 30 in the fourth floor restroom of College 10, House 5.

In memoriam: Laura Garciacano Sobrino, alumna became the 'Mariachi Queen'

Laura Garciacano Sobrino (Porter, ’81, individual music major), who became one of the best-known female mariachi musicians in the United States and Mexico, died May 21 in Whittier,

What's new in academic programs and online education

By Herbie Lee, Vice Provost Academic Affairs – Every year, faculty add, update, and occasionally discontinue academic programs to ensure our students get the best possible education. This year, we are making changes to the graduate and undergraduate curriculum, as well as to our online offerings.

Campus deploying cellular water meters to aid in conservation

The project is another example of the campus commitment to sustainability and to saving water in the midst of a historic drought.

In Memoriam: Robert Durling

Robert M. Durling, professor emeritus of Italian and English Literature at UC Santa Cruz, died May 21st.

Undergrads experience the rewards of research

Students such as Sanjin Mehic showcase one of UC Santa Cruz's most valuable opportunities—the chance to do original research as an

Volunteer profile: Shelley Alingas

I volunteer because, like most of us, I have an inexplicable heart-connection to Santa Cruz.