March 2017 News Archive

Campus Wireless Outage April 1

UCSC and Chinese officials sign agreement for Graduate Student Scholars Program

New program will bring top Chinese students to UC Santa Cruz for graduate studies in astronomy and

Arboretum holds Spring Plant Sale on Saturday, April 8

Gardeners will find hundreds of varieties of drought-tolerant and extraordinary plants at the sale, as well as expert garden advice from the Arboretum's

Art imitates life: The Black Panther Party and the birth of a comic book series

A Special Collections exhibit organized by graduate students examines the famed Marvel Comics Black Panther series and its connections to black history, including the Black Panther

Grad student composer wins commission to create new piece for Other Minds Festival

UC Santa Cruz grad student Brian Baumbusch has received a grant to create a new composition that will be performed at the acclaimed Other Minds Festival of contemporary

Honoring the legacy of César E. Chávez on campus

The legacy of César Chávez, who would have been 90 years old this Friday, includes deep and lasting relationships with many UC Santa Cruz alumni, faculty, and staff,

Career Tracks Event Update

Following is a quick update of our upcoming Career Tracks Support Events.

Prop. 8 plaintiff Kris Perry receives Distinguished Social Sciences Alumni Award

"You only win your civil rights by fighting for them," says alumna Kris Perry, who will be honored at a reception on Friday, April 28.

Astronomers observe early stages of Milky Way-like galaxies in distant universe

New observations reveal massive, dusty galaxies with high rates of star formation and large, extended layers of

Universe's ultraviolet background provides clues about missing galaxies

A new technique to detect the cosmic ultraviolet background radiation may show why there are so few small

Colorful new species of sea slug named after Long Marine Lab's Gary McDonald

McDonald, who has spent decades studying and documenting California nudibranchs (sea slugs), was honored by fellow researchers.

Rescuing data and shoring up environmental agencies in the Trump era

Sociologist Lindsey Dillon is part of a network of data champions monitoring federal websites to preserve scientific data and track changes made by the Trump

Water wizards: Building an underground savings account to bolster water supply

An innovative water-conservation strategy diverts water from overflowing rivers to fallow farmland, where it seeps into the soil and replenishes depleted aquifers.

Men’s rugby headed to playoffs

The Banana Slugs will play the Chico State Wildcats on April 1.

Alumnus takes students into Africa

Melvin Cox's Focus on Africa class has taken more than a dozen students to the continent over the past two years, showing another side of Africa—one that is

UC Santa Cruz ranked among top schools for game design

UCSC is featured on Princeton Review's 2017 lists for top undergraduate and graduate programs in game

Nominations for Excellence in Teaching Award

Is there an instructor who you think deserves special recognition from your spring quarter 2016? If so, nominate that person for an Excellence in Teaching Award!

Formal review of proposed systemwide policy on export controls

The Office of the President invites comments on a proposed new systemwide policy on Export Controls.

Scotts Valley Center open house

Open dialogue on religions to foster understanding

The UC Santa Cruz Interfaith Council will host an open dialogue on religion from 7–8:30 p.m. on April 6 in the Crown College/Merrill College Community Room.

California's Tsunami Preparedness Week starts March 27

Members of the UC Santa Cruz community should know how to be prepared for tsunamis and what to do to be safe.

Report highlights strategic plan’s successes

A report about Envision UC Santa Cruz summarizes the many accomplishments in key target areas since the strategic planning process began in the 2013–14 academic year.

Interim vice provost for global engagement

Richard Hughey, UC Santa Cruz vice provost and dean of undergraduate education, has agreed to also serve as our interim vice provost for global engagement, effective Jan. 1.

UC Santa Cruz alum named executive director of largest international society of Jewish Studies

UC Santa Cruz alumnus Warren Hoffman has been named the next Executive Director of the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS)--the largest international society of students and scholars of

Tropical reforestation and climate change

Tropical reforestation is an important part of the global effort to mitigate climate change, but ecologist Karen Holl says current international goals may be overly

Scientists reveal how an ancient biological clock works

Scientists at UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced, and UC San Diego have determined the molecular basis of the cyanobacterial circadian

Gun safety advocate Shannon Watts to speak at Gabriel Zimmerman Award benefit

Gun safety advocate Shannon Watts will be the keynote speaker at a campus reception to celebrate the life of alum Gabriel Zimmerman.

Recruitment for campus position of Vice Provost for Student Success

I'm happy to announce that we have initiated a campus-only recruitment for the position of Vice Provost for the Division of Student Success.

Need for speed may contribute to dolphin and whale strandings

The energetic cost of swimming at high speed when startled may be a factor in strandings of dolphins and

Lick Observatory offers new Public Evening Tours of telescopes in 2017

Growing demand has led to expanded opportunities for the public to see and view through the observatory's

Graduate applications hit new high

The Office of Graduate Studies has received 4,744 applications for the 2017-18 academic year. In the last five years, the campus has marked a 36 percent increase in

Grad programs rank among best in nation

UC Santa Cruz graduate programs in literature, engineering, and education ranked among the nation’s best in a new survey by "U.S. News and World Report."

UC Santa Cruz named one of the country’s best colleges for undergraduate film majors

UC Santa Cruz is featured in a Top 10 list of Best Bachelor’s Program for Film, Video and Photographic Arts along with USC, NYU, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and

Alumni Weekend keynote to feature co-chair of Women's March on Washington

Alumna Carmen Perez, longtime community organizer, activist, and a national co-chair of one of the largest demonstrations in history, will speak on the role and importance of protest

Flowering times shift with loss of species from a grassland ecosystem

Loss of biodiversity may exacerbate changes in the timing of biological events already being driven by climate change, study

Study shows how river channels adjust to large sediment supplies

New findings undermine a common assumption about gravel-bedded river

Community Crime Bulletin: Attempted Robbery (664PC/211PC 17–263)

The UC Santa Cruz Police Department is seeking community assistance in identifying a suspect who attempted to take a cell phone and keys from a student walking on Coolidge Drive, near the 20 mph curve.

Reef madness: A coral grows at UC Santa Cruz

Hundreds of students and community members are contributing their handiwork to the Crochet Coral Reef, a massive participatory art project that combines higher geometry with handicraft while calling

ITS Service Announcement: Canvas at UCSC is now available

The new UCSC Learning Management System, Canvas, is now available. Faculty who are teaching in spring may log in and begin adding content to their pre-created course shells. Faculty who wish to work on courses for future quarters or experiment with Canvas can request a test course.

Giving Day 2017 raises more than $520,000 for a wealth of worthy projects

The spirit of friendly competition added excitement to this 24-hour online giving fest, which raised money for a wide array of good

Study supports increased funding for long-term ecological research

Despite critical importance to scientists and policymakers, funding for long-term ecological and environmental studies has declined while funding for short-term studies has

Saving victims of deadly toxic mushrooms

Alumnus Todd Mitchell headed a clinical trial on using an extract of milk thistle seeds to overcome toxic mushroom poisoning and developed what has come to be known

Restorative justice circle to foster dialogue around sexual violence/sexual harassment

The session, part of the campus’s Beyond Compliance initiative, will be from 7–9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15 at the Namaste Lounge in Colleges 9/10.

Swipes for Slugs

The Dean of Students Office in collaboration with the Global Food Initiative and UCSC Dining is set to launch Swipes for Slugs this week.

Film professor Shelley Stamp wins 2017 international media and history book prize

Film and digital media professor Shelley Stamp has been named the recipient of the 2017 Michael Nelson Book Prize, presented by the International Association for Media and History

Need a Career Tracks Huddle?

As we continue to work together to complete the launch of Career Tracks at UC Santa Cruz, we are pleased to offer additional "My Classification" Individual Employee Forums this week.

Social Sciences dean candidates visiting campus

During their visits, candidates will present a Dean’s vision talk as well as a scholarly presentation that will be followed by a public reception.

Astronomer Ruth Murray-Clay appointed to chair in theoretical astrophysics

Investiture ceremony honors Murray-Clay as the inaugural holder of the E. K. Gunderson Family Chair in Theoretical

Sexual violence/sexual harassment community building circle

Students, staff and faculty are invited to participate in our Community Building Circle to open the potential for dialogue and healing regarding the impact of incidents of sexual violence and sexual harassment on campus.

Dean Paul Koch receives 'Insight Into Diversity' magazine's Giving Back Award

National award honors university administrators for their commitment to diversity and for giving back to

Gift from Narinder Kapany will establish Sikh book collection and study room at McHenry Library

UC Santa Cruz has received a gift from Dr. Narinder Kapany to establish the Sundar Singh Kapany Book Collection and the Sundar Singh Kapany Group Study Room in

UCSC Grad Slam winner envisions surfing on shrimp shells

John Felts, a second year Ph.D. electrical engineering student, earned top marks for his talk about creating environmentally friendly surfboard foam from shrimp

ITS Announcement: Protecting your laptop and ensuring data security

In carrying out the mission of UC Santa Cruz, many of us work with confidential and restricted data. All of us must remain vigilant in protecting this information.

Red Cross staff and faculty blood drive this month

The Staff Advisory Board is sponsoring a Red Cross blood drive for staff and faculty on March 15 at the Stevenson Event Center.

With more than 100 featured projects, UC Santa Cruz hosts Giving Day 2017

The website site will go live at 12:01 a.m. on March 8 for donors to make gifts and track their favorite projects in real-time. Giving Day 2017 builds