November 2020 News Archive

Exceptions to campus closure 2020-2021

This year the campus will be closed from Thursday, December 24, 2020 through Sunday, January 3, 2021, re-opening on Monday, January 4, 2021. The campus community is reminded to turn off lights, shut down computers and other office equipment, and close and lock exterior windows before leaving for the break.

UCSC iGEM team wins gold, nominated for best environmental project

Thirteen undergraduates were recognized for their research accomplishments at the world’s largest competition in synthetic

Erick Melara: Healing words

Medical student Erick Melara (Cowell ’15, human biology) hosts Behind the White Coat, a podcast highlighting underrepresented and low-income people in the medical field.

Psychology research shows ‘water cooler talk’ can have big benefits

In settings where people are working together on a task, making time for small talk allows for a newly-described behavior called "reciprocity in conversation," which is associated with

An unflinching look at America’s tragic past

Journalist and bestselling novelist Ta-Nehisi Coates drew an audience of 1,200 for a live discussion about his new novel, the legacy of slavery, and the aftermath of the

Extended time to use expanded paid administrative leave

In recognition of the extraordinary demands placed on our employees during this pandemic, President Drake has extended the expiration date of the Expanded Paid Administrative Leave from December 31, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

Two UCSC professors elected 2020 AAAS Fellows

Linguist Matthew Wagers and microbiologist Fitnat Yildiz have been awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of

UC Santa Cruz celebrates its first Rhodes Scholar

Spring 2020 graduate Garima Desai was named among the top 32 scholars from across the U.S. who will have all of their expenses paid to attend graduate school

Giving thanks as the holidays near

As the holiday season approaches, I want to extend my very best wishes to all in our campus community.

TestMe: Keeping our community healthy, one test at a time

In an effort to support the community’s health and well-being and forge a responsible path forward, UC Santa Cruz is launching a public awareness campaign to remind students, faculty, and staff to get a COVID–19 test regularly, .

Direct visualization of quantum dots reveals shape of quantum wave function

UCSC researchers used a scanning tunneling microscope to visualize quantum dots in bilayer graphene, an important step toward quantum information

Office of the President Plan for Jobs Protection during the Pandemic

Today, UC President Michael Drake communicated his plan for Jobs Protection during the Pandemic to minimize, to the extent feasible, layoffs associated with diminished revenues due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Announcing 2020 Campus Elections

The Dean of Students Office is pleased to announce the 2021 Campus Elections process.

Winter break reverting to Dec. 24 to Jan. 3

We very much appreciate the feedback we received from so many of you regarding UC Santa Cruz's planned winter curtailment.

Arts dean search

I write today to update you on our search for a new Dean of the Arts Division.

Campuswide initiatives for 2020-21

Through this past summer, the campus leadership team discussed the challenges of the emerging budgetary environment and began to look for opportunities that could broaden access to our educational programs, improve our financial outlook, and advance the efficiency and effectiveness of our processes during uncertain and constrained budget times.

'Living in a Frayed Democracy': Ethics lecture to feature noted alumnus Ezra Klein

UC Santa Cruz will present "Living in a Frayed Democracy," a trans-Atlantic public dialogue, featuring noted UCSC alumnus and journalist Ezra Klein and London political economist William Davies,

Materials theorist Yuan Ping wins grant from Air Force Young Investigator Program

Ping’s research on spin dynamics in two-dimensional materials has applications for spintronics and quantum information

Statement on UC Regents session on faculty dismissal

Holiday travel and guidance to support a healthy Slug community

The holiday season is usually a time when our Slugs gather with family and friends, and many of us travel to spend time with loved ones. This year, as we face the COVID-19 pandemic, there are other serious considerations we must take into account.

List of most highly cited researchers features 19 UCSC scientists and engineers

A new list of the world's most highly cited researchers includes 19 scientists and engineers at UC Santa Cruz.

Geologist David Rubin elected fellow of the American Geophysical Union

David Rubin, a researcher in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, has been elected a fellow of the American Geophysical

Update on community safety

UC Santa Cruz, like many universities and cities across the country, is in the midst of critically examining our structures so that we can address real concerns about policing, community safety, and the barriers to creating a sense of belonging for all in our campus community.

Deadline for Benefits Open Enrollment is Soon!

This is the time of year when you can change your benefits coverage to better meet your medical needs and personal budget. Since the medical coverage is one of the best benefits UCSC offers its staff, we want to ensure you take full advantage of this benefit.

Approval of Proposition 14 boosts funding for stem cell agency

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has provided major funding for research and training at UC Santa Cruz since its creation in

Interim chief to focus on listening, building understanding

Lt. Mary Garcia, who will serve as interim police chief at UC Santa Cruz beginning Dec. 5, said she wants to strengthen the relationship between the campus community

UC Santa Cruz leads interdisciplinary consortium for astrobiology research

With funding from NASA, the UCSC-led team will lay the foundation for detecting the signatures of life in the atmospheres of other

Protection of Human Subjects in Research

The Office of the President has issued major revisions to the Protection of Human Subjects in Research policy. The revised policy provides the following

Two UC Santa Cruz programs win funding for public interest technology

The Human Rights Investigations Lab and Everett Program at UC Santa Cruz will receive new grant funding through the Public Interest Technology University Network.

Spring and Summer 2021 Instruction and Housing Planning

Much like we did in fall and winter, UC Santa Cruz will continue to offer most courses remotely or online for spring and summer 2021, providing in-person instruction for a small number of courses that may not be effectively delivered remotely, such as some laboratory, studio, field-research and field-study courses. E

Email Scam Alert - Part time work assistant needed/Internship

The UC Santa Cruz Police Department and ITS Information Security are asking members of the campus community to beware of email scams being perpetrated on students offering part time work assistance and/or internships.

Barbara Ferrer

Humanities Institute to host acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates in special post-election event

Coates will be in conversation with Adam Serwer, staff writer at The Atlantic magazine, to discuss his acclaimed novel "The Water Dancer"—as well as the state of the

Research breakthrough achieves fish-free aquaculture feed that raises key standards

A new aquaculture feed formula eliminates conventional fish meal and fish oil ingredients by combining ingredients derived from two species of marine

Computer scientist Lise Getoor receives research funding from Google

A new project on recommender dialogue systems led by Getoor and her collaborators at UC Santa Barbara and USC will receive $1 million in funding over three

New genome alignment tool empowers large-scale studies of vertebrate evolution

Important new studies of the evolution of birds and mammals relied on Progressive Cactus, a genome alignment tool developed at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics

Presidential Policy Business and Finance Bulletin IS-12 IT Recovery.

Radioactive elements may be crucial to the habitability of rocky planets

Earth-size planets can have varying amounts of radioactive elements, which generate internal heat that drives a planet’s geological activity and

Campus to host telecommuting roundtable on Nov. 20

Topics will include ergonomics, wellness and safety, technology and cybersecurity, accommodations, and leading hybrid and remote teams.

Increasing campus COVID-19 testing accessibility and requirements

Frequent, free, and easy COVID-19 testing is a critical component in containing the virus’s spread. We are thankful for those in our UC Santa Cruz community who have been regularly getting tested. Participation in the asymptomatic testing program continues to be a cornerstone to our campus recovery and resiliency plans.

The 2020 new Slug reality: Handling adversity and transitioning to a virtual learning experience

Remote learning has its challenges, but the newest class of Banana Slugs is making the most out of this uncharted

Stories in the ashes

Radio producer and alumna Nikki Silva teams up with photographer Shmuel Thaler to collect stories evoked by objects salvaged from the wreckage of homes destroyed in the CZU

ITS Update from VC Williams

The campus has been through a lot this year: strikes, COVID-19, fire evacuations, and other momentous events both internal and external that have had an effect on our work. How we support you and the role that technology plays in your work are more important than ever.

Elaine Sullivan awarded American Historical Association prize for innovation in digital history

UCSC associate professor of history Elaine Sullivan and alumnus Vincent DiGirolamo have each received a 2020 prize from the American Historical

Arts professor micha cárdenas wins IndieCade Award for climate art game

Sin Sol (No Sun), an art game by UCSC assistant professor of Art & Design: Games and Playable Media, micha cárdenas, has won the Impact Award at the

2020 Presidential Election Outcome

This morning the Associated Press declared former Vice President Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

Film professor Jennifer Taylor’s new documentary to screen online at DOC NYC film festival

America’s largest documentary film festival will be screening 'For the Love of Rutland'—the new documentary feature by UCSC associate professor of film and digital media Jennifer Maytorena Taylor—online throughout

Biology Teaching Labs wins honorable mention for Freezer Challenge 2020

Julio Harvey, biology teaching laboratories manager in the Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Department, has won an honorable mention in the 2020 Freezer Challenge.

Computer science grad student wins LaunchPad Fellowship for startup

Fatemeh Mirzaei, a graduate student in computer science and engineering in the Baskin School of Engineering, is one of 40 student entrepreneurs selected for the Fall 2020 LaunchPad

Expanding the lines of communication

Muratcan Cicek, a Ph.D. candidate in computer engineering who won a prestigious 2020 Google Ph.D. fellowship, is working to improve head-based pointing methods for those who cannot use

Award-winning poet Morgan Parker to read at 11th annual Morton Marcus memorial event

Acclaimed poet, essayist, and novelist Morgan Parker will be the featured guest at the 11th annual Morton Marcus Memorial Poetry Reading, which takes place this year as a virtual event

UC to continue to champion diverse student body despite rejection of Prop. 16

The University of California is disappointed that Proposition 16, the state ballot measure and constitutional amendment that would have repealed Proposition 209, did not pass in this election.

Post-election events, resources

While we wait the outcome of the president election, UC Santa Cruz is providing several opportunities for students to gather and get support. This page will be updated as more events are scheduled. 

Awaiting the presidential election results

Election Day 2020 has come and gone, and as many expected, we do not yet know the winner of the presidential election. The record number of absentee and mail-in ballots cast means it’s possible we will not know the official election outcome for days.

Quantitative ecologist wins Tansley Medal for plant science contributions

Environmental studies assistant professor Kai Zhu was recently chosen from a global field as one of two recipients of the Tansley Medal for Excellence in Plant Science, presented

Student housing environmental review affirmed by the courts

A UC Santa Cruz project that will significantly increase campus housing options for current graduate and undergraduate students has cleared a crucial hurdle in the

Novel technique spotlights neuronal uptake of amyloid beta in Alzheimer’s disease

Study finds a short section of the amyloid beta protein is recognized by the cellular prion protein, which mediates its uptake into neurons and subsequent

Shaping our country’s future, exercising your rights

On Tuesday, Americans will decide for themselves the direction they’d like to see our country head. Voting is a hard-fought right in the United States, and I urge all who are eligible to exercise it, either through mail-in balloting or by going to the polls.

Wildfire brings destruction and opportunity to researcher’s field site

Hydrologist Margaret Zimmer has received NSF funding to study the impact of wildfire on the site where she has been studying how water moves through the

Best practices for hybrid and remote teams

Our work environment has changed dramatically. Our management and supervision practices are changing as a result.