November 2018 News Archive

Kepler telescope captures extraordinary observations of a star's death throes

Kepler's observations of the supernova known as SN 2018oh showed an unexpected fast rise in brightness that may be an important clue to understanding the progenitors of Type

Reminder—Dec. 3 town hall focused on chancellor search

The UC Santa Cruz Chancellor's Search Advisory Committee invites and encourages all staff members to attend a town hall at the Stevenson College Event Center at noon on Monday, Dec. 3. The event is an opportunity for you to offer your feedback on the selection of a new chancellor to members of the search committee.

Summer abroad programs offer hands-on learning opportunities

UC Santa Cruz has significantly expanded its faculty-led summer abroad programs, now offering seven different opportunities for students to further their education in other countries.

Racial bias taints neighborhoods—and residents, research reveals

In her research, Courtney Bonam explores the assumptions people make about neighborhoods and schools that are either predominantly black or white, and she has uncovered racial bias in

Introducing New SAB Members

I am excited and delighted to introduce our new board members. Elections were held back in the summer and our new members have hit the ground running.

UC Santa Cruz receives significant Hunter S. Thompson collection

An 800-volume collection of works by famed author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson has been donated to Special Collections & Archives at UC Santa Cruz.

Campus Power Outage Impacts Data Center Services

Power in the Data Center is currently shut down due to an early morning campus power outage. ITS technicians are closely monitoring the situation.

Campus meeting on proposed revisions to the systemwide Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment

Public hearings tonight, Wednesday on Kresge College renewal project

UC Santa Cruz will host two public hearings to give members of the campus community and beyond a chance to give oral comments on the draft environmental impact report for the Kresge College renewal project.

In Memoriam: Stuart A. Schlegel

Stuart A. Schlegel, a retired professor, died Nov. 8 at his Santa Cruz home. He was 85 years old.

Retention specialist recognized by student affairs association

Aaron Jones, a retention specialist for African, black, and Caribbean students, was recently recognized by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators for his service in its African American Knowledge Community.

Ocean scientist Jonathan Zehr elected 2018 AAAS Fellow

Jonathan Zehr, professor of ocean sciences at UC Santa Cruz, has been awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Staff member receives inaugural Silver Slug award

A new scholarship from the UC Santa Cruz Retirees Association aims to make a university degree more affordable for UC Santa Cruz staff and their dependents.

High surf advisory and high wind watch this week

Wednesday to Friday: The National Weather Services has issued a high surf advisory beginning today and into Friday. Peak levels are expected on Wednesday. These conditions can produce dangerous swells and breaking waves of 18 to 24 feet.

Prescribed burn today at Wilder Ranch State Park

The California Department of Parks and Recreation with assistance from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection plan to begin a prescribed burn at Wilder Ranch State Park starting today (Monday, Nov. 26) as conditions allow.

Alumni listening session on Dec. 4

The UC Santa Cruz Chancellor’s Search Advisory Committee invites and encourages alumni to join a listening session from 4–5 p.m. on Dec. 4 via video conference.

Massoud elected trustee of Law and Society Association

Mark Fathi Massoud, associate professor of politics and legal studies, has been elected to the board of trustees of the Law and Society

Holiday Open House

Chancellor George Blumenthal and his wife, Professor Kelly Weisberg, invite faculty, staff, and friends to join together for a special holiday gathering on Tuesday, December 18, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Porter Dining Hall.

Grassland expansion—not human hunting—drove ancient African extinctions

A new study revealed ecological changes in the African savanna, not the emergence of our hominin ancestors, led to the extinction of African ‘megaherbivores’ millions of years

Dec. 3 town hall focused on chancellor search

The UC Santa Cruz Chancellor’s Search Advisory Committee invites and encourages faculty, staff, and students to attend town hall sessions at the Stevenson College Event Center on Monday, Dec. 3.

Review and Comment—Presidential Task Force Recommendations for Universitywide Policing

I am sharing with you a memo from Senior Vice President Alexander Bustamante regarding recommendations from the Presidential Task Force on Universitywide Policing.

2018 UCSC Holiday Food Drive

Greetings and cheer from the UCSC Holiday Food Drive. The UCSC holiday food drive works in cooperation with Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County providing healthy meals to our friends and neighbors in need.

Study reveals importance of 'cryptic connections' in disease transmission

Innovative study of fungal disease in bats quantifies unseen interactions that play a key role in the spread of disease through populations and between

Required Stronger Account Security Coming 2019

I am writing to inform you about a new security measure that will be rolling out across campus called Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). By October 2019 of next year, MFA will become mandatory for key UCSC services.

Air quality update—Nov. 19, 2018

As weather patterns have changed, the EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) for Santa Cruz has begun to improve, and is currently near the lower end of the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” range.

New director of Sponsored Projects

Deirdre Beach has been appointed director of the Office of Sponsored Projects.

Troubled by proposed Title IX changes

I am deeply concerned by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's proposed rewrite of the rules governing sexual harassment and assault allegations on college campuses. The changes are incongruous with our values as an academic community.

Campus monitoring air quality

Santa Cruz continues to experience poor air quality as a result of smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County.

Last chance to see 'Forest Law' by Ursula Biemann and Paulo Tavares at UC Santa Cruz

Forest Law 2014, a 38-minute multi-channel video installation and photo text assemblage based on research carried out by Ursula Biemann and Paulo Tavares in the Ecuadorian Amazon, is

Land use scenarios for input

For more than a year, we have been gathering feedback as we work on a new Long Range Development Plan. An LRDP is a land use map that designates campus land according to various uses, such as academic and housing.

Air quality update

Smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County continues to impact our local air quality. The Air Quality Index (AQI) continues to indicate that Santa Cruz air quality is in the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” range.

American Council on Education's Internationalization Laboratory

We're delighted to announce an exciting opportunity for our campus: UC Santa Cruz's participation in the American Council on Education's 16th Internationalization Laboratory cohort.

Podcast: Founding Oakes professor draws a crowd at provost house renaming ceremony

Founding Oakes College Provost J. Herman Blake had a warm homecoming recently at UC Santa Cruz when he was the guest of honor in a ceremony rededicating the

Astronomers find the progenitor to a unique type of supernova

Astronomers may have finally uncovered the long-sought progenitor to a unique type of exploding star called a type Ic

Sad news regarding campus benefactor Will Webster

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the death of Will Webster, a gifted inventor whose deep generosity has helped shape modern-day UC Santa Cruz.

From chicken guts to ape anatomy: Adrienne Zihlman's emerita lecture

Adrienne Zihlman delivered the 29th annual Emeriti Faculty Research Lecture, "The Inside Story of the Apes," to a capacity crowd in the Music Center Recital Hall on November

Student pushes for authentic representation of deaf community

Chrissy Marshall became interested in making videos about deaf culture because as a child, she saw very little representation of deaf people in the media or on YouTube.

Campus opens new hub for student food security, support

A new basic needs cafe at Cowell College offers free coffee, prepared meals, a juicing station and pastries—all intended to provide low income students with healthy options and

Air Quality Status

Smoke from local fires and the Camp Fire in Northern California has been impacting our local air quality over the past week. At this time, the AQI indicates that Santa Cruz air quality is in the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” range.

Planet discovered orbiting the second closest stellar system to the Earth

Measurements from high-precision instruments, including Keck's HIRES and Lick's Automated Planet Finder, reveal a cold super-Earth around Barnard’s

Entrepreneur and UC Santa Cruz benefactor Will Webster dies at 90

Webster, a major donor who invented revolutionary cardiac devices, established a foundation that spearheaded significant campus

Rebecca Covarrubias of Psychology to receive early-career award

Rebecca Covarrubias, assistant professor of psychology, has been selected to receive the 2019 Latino Caucus Early Career Award from the Society for Research in Child Development.

Supporting those affected by wildfires

California is once again seeing communities around the state ravaged by massive wildfires. We mourn all that has been lost in these cities and towns that so many members of our campus community call home.

New opportunities for faculty to engage with Beyond Compliance initiative

UC Santa Cruz faculty members have two new opportunities to help eliminate sexual harassment and sexual violence on

Solar panels, storage system to further campus sustainability

The solar photovoltaic canopy and battery storage system will help provide the campus with clean, reliable electricity for at least 20-years and save the campus an estimated $6

Showcasing our sustainability

The campus, through the Sustainability Office, is in the midst of collecting information to submit for our 2019 report to the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS).

2018 photo contest winners

There were over 100 entries this year in the chancellor's holiday photo contest. Here are the

Escape responses of coral reef fish obey simple behavioral rules

Loom-sensitive neural circuits characterized in previous lab studies are shown to underlie complex evasive behaviors observed in a natural

In Memoriam: Frank Talamantes (1943–2018)

Frank Talamantes, professor emeritus of molecular, cell, and developmental biology at UC Santa Cruz, died October 8 in El Paso, Texas. He was 75.

ENVS doctoral candidate Paulo Quadri takes top honors for NYC talk

Paulo Quadri, a doctoral candidate in environmental studies, was recognized for giving one of the three best talks during the American Museum of Natural History’s annual Student Conference

Lit prof offers true love and dreams of miraculous escape

The latest book by UC Santa Cruz literature professor Micah Perks, is a unique anthology of her short stories that sometimes reads like a novel. Written over the

Ancient DNA evidence reveals genetic exchanges between the Americas

Unprecedented details about the story of the peopling of Central and South America have been revealed in a new study published in the journal Cell.

Oil and gas development off California's coast—Is more in our future?

The Ken Norris Memorial Lecture at the Seymour Center on Tuesday, November 13, features a moderated discussion with an expert

Summer Session team earns awards for work

UC Santa Cruz Summer Session recently won five awards at the 2018 North American Association of Summer Sessions (NAASS) conference held in Portland, Oregon.

SocDoc alumna’s film about Syrian women refugees to have world premiere at DOC NYC

We Are Not Princesses, the first feature film by UC Santa Cruz alumna Bridgette Auger (SocDoc ’11) will have its world premiere on November 14 at DOC NYC,

Beyond campaign rhetoric: What's really needed to secure California's economic future

With the world's fifth-largest economy, California has legitimate bragging rights as it proudly leads the "resistance" to federal attacks on immigrant rights, environmental policy, and progressive values in

Fire in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, near campus

The UC Santa Cruz Police Department is closely monitoring a new wildland fire near the main campus. This one is in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, which is just east of campus.

Fire near campus near full containment

Fire officials report they have near full containment of a roughly 4-acre vegetation fire that is burning in a steep, heavily wooded area just east of campus, where Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and Santa Cruz’s Pogonip greenbelt area intersect.

Long noncoding RNA identified as a key regulator of inflammation

New findings add to growing evidence that previously dismissed "junk DNA" actually produces RNA molecules with important regulatory

New website offers resources to support campus teachers

A new campus website connects faculty, graduate student Instructors, and teaching assistants with a host of resources, both on campus and off, to support their teaching.

Hear the "Inside Story of the Apes" on Tuesday, Nov. 13

Adrienne Zihlman had a hunch 30 years ago that the study of human evolution would benefit from the analysis of more than skeletons. That hunch set her on

Request to update directory and CruzAlert contact information

The University of California, Santa Cruz, continues to undertake efforts to log the work locations of all employees in campus Directory and CruzAlert.

SAB Staff Mentorship Program: Mentee Application Period Open

The application period is now open in order to apply to be mentee in the 2019 SAB Staff Mentorship Program.  The deadline to apply is November 26th, 2018. 

From asexuality to heteroflexibility: 21st century ushers in new openness about intimate relationships

The 21st century has ushered in a "quiet revolution" in the diversity of intimate relationships, and a leading scholar says the scale and pace of this social transformation

SAP: Academic priority areas and oversight

With fall quarter in full swing, I'm delighted to provide this brief update about our Strategic Academic Plan.

Wildland fire near campus

The UC Santa Cruz Police Department is closely monitoring a wildland fire near Highway 9, north of Paradise Park.

Vote in Nov. 6 mid-term election!

Tuesday, Nov. 6 is Election Day in California. There are important matters on the ballot—candidates for governor as well as federal, state, and local offices in addition to several local and state initiatives. Voting is a citizen's fundamental right, and UC Santa Cruz urges you to let your voice be heard.

Legendary poet Gary Snyder to read at UC Santa Cruz for annual Morton Marcus event

Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet, essayist, and environmental activist Gary Snyder will be the featured guest at the ninth annual Morton Marcus Memorial Poetry Reading on Thursday, November 15,

UCSC chemists develop safe alternatives to phthalates used in plastics

Growing concern over the health effects of phthalates has spurred a search for alternatives that can add flexibility to plastics without leaching

Exhibit showcases art inspired by the UC Santa Cruz Natural Reserves

'Reserves of Inspiration: Exploring UC Santa Cruz Natural Landscapes' opens November 6 at the Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery in Cowell

Community Crime Bulletin — Residential Burglary

Burglary at the Crown/Merrill apartments

In Memoriam: Helene Moglen (1936 – 2018)