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2021 Donor News

July 30, 2021
Climate change poses threat to ‘tuna dependent’ Pacific Islands economies
Shifting distributions of key tuna species could have serious economic impacts for island nations in the Western and Central Pacific, according to a new paper coauthored by Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Katherine Seto.
July 29, 2021
Oakes Founding Provost J. Herman Blake receives lifetime achievement award
Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Founding Provost of Oakes College J. Herman Blake is being recognized by the American Sociology Association for his distinguished career spent advancing access and equity in education.
July 22, 2021
Racial and colonial histories offer insights on refugee crisis in ‘The Black Mediterranean’
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Camilla Hawthorne coedited a first-of-its-kind new book called "The Black Mediterranean," which examines the African diaspora within the region.
July 21, 2021
UC Santa Cruz Foundation Board of Trustees has elected Richard Moss to serve as chair, and Linda Peterson as vice chair; Paul Simpson elected as new member
The UC Santa Cruz Foundation Board of Trustees has elected Richard Moss to serve as chair, Linda Peterson to serve as vice chair, Kamil Hasan to serve as immediate past chair, and re-elected Paul Hall to serve as parliamentarian.
July 15, 2021
Statistical analysis quantifies how chemistry undergraduates benefit from graduate student diversity
A study of chemistry lab courses at UC Santa Cruz suggests that diversity among graduate student teaching assistants may be among the most essential factors in retaining underrepresented minority undergraduates in STEM courses.
July 13, 2021
‘Precarity & Belonging’ captures insights from global discussion of citizenship, migration, socioeconomic mobility
A new book from an interdisciplinary group of UC Santa Cruz scholars culminates more than five years of collaborative research and discussion that positioned the university as a convener of global thought leaders.
July 09, 2021
Seymour Center welcomes new executive director
After an extensive search, the UC Santa Cruz Seymour Marine Discovery Center has chosen Jonathan Andres Hicken to be its new executive director.
July 06, 2021
Library’s new Community Archiving Program to broaden scope of Regional History Project
The University Library has announced the establishment of a new Community Archiving Program that will build on the foundation of its decades-old Regional History Project.
July 02, 2021
Unusual currents explain mysterious red crab strandings
New findings suggest that abnormal ocean currents cause the occasional appearance of pelagic red crabs outside their native range.
July 02, 2021
Quantitative ecologist Kai Zhu wins NSF funding for climate change research and education
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Kai Zhu won an NSF CAREER award to support research and education focused on the interconnections between climate change and plant phenology.
July 02, 2021
New research on aquaculture feed will test alternative ingredients to help minimize water pollution
A new grant will support UC Santa Cruz’s ecological aquaculture lab in their efforts to increase the variety and quality of low-polluting aquaculture feed options available to fish farmers.
June 29, 2021
Jonathan Fortney garners Simons Investigator in Astrophysics award
The $500,000 award from the Simons Foundation will support Fortney’s research on planetary atmospheres.
June 23, 2021
Tracking data show how the quiet of pandemic-era lockdowns allowed pumas to venture closer to urban areas
During regional shelter-in-place orders, declining levels of human mobility emboldened local pumas to use habitats they would normally avoid out of fear of humans.
June 21, 2021
New study shows how loss of drought-sensitive species could affect health of California grasslands
At a grassland site near San Jose, scientists studied experimental research plots to determine what might happen if the plants that ecologists expect to be hit hardest by drought actually disappeared.
June 16, 2021
Hydrologist Margaret Zimmer wins NSF CAREER Award
Margaret Zimmer, assistant professor of Earth and planetary sciences, has received an award from the National Science Foundation to support her research on the role of Earth’s subsurface in regulating the water cycle.
June 15, 2021
Dialogues, collaborations, and the success of 'slow science'
With funding from the Henry Luce Foundation, the new Southeast Asian Coastal Interactions Initiative takes a methodical approach to worldwide social and environmental challenges
June 10, 2021
Pulitzer Prize-winning UCSC alumnus Jeffrey Stewart gives keynote address at Humanities Spring Awards
UC Santa Cruz alumnus Jeffrey Stewart (Cowell College ’71, philosophy) delivered the keynote address at the annual event celebrating the achievements of students, faculty, and alumni of the Humanities Division.
June 09, 2021
Doctoral student wins Ford Foundation fellowship for work on gender, race, and policing
Uriel Serrano recently won a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship to support his research on how gender ideologies are formed in relation to carceral violence.
June 09, 2021
Research partnership will highlight STEM learning in local community garden
A grant from the Spencer Foundation will help UC Santa Cruz researchers document the many types of STEM learning taking place in a Latinx immigrant-led community garden in Watsonville.
June 07, 2021
Snowflake morays can feed on land, swallow prey without water
While most fish need water to feed, the unique anatomy of moray eels gives snowflake morays the ability to grab and swallow prey on land.
June 02, 2021
Social Sciences Division celebrates outstanding students
The Social Sciences Division is recognizing 21 students for excellence in scholarship and research.
June 01, 2021
Celebrating Pride Month
With the start of June, which is Pride Month, we reaffirm our support of UC Santa Cruz’s LGBTQIA+ community, and the push to build an inclusive, and more equitable world, where all are respected, treated equally, and provided equal opportunities regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
May 28, 2021
Professor Karen Holl wins MacArthur Foundation endowed chair to support work on natural climate solutions
Environmental Studies Professor Karen Holl has been awarded the MacArthur Foundation Chair at UC Santa Cruz for her work to increase the effectiveness of forest restoration efforts in combating climate change.
May 26, 2021
Visualizing global representation for Indigenous nations
A new book by Professor of Sociology and Legal Studies Hiroshi Fukurai shows how Indigenous “original nations” around the world are fighting for sovereignty and the ecological preservation of their ancestral homelands.
May 26, 2021
Somalia’s fight for God-given rights
The latest book from Politics and Legal Studies Professor Mark Fathi Massoud challenges Western notions of Islam and secular law-making by revealing how Somali Muslims have embraced Sharia as a force for progress and liberation.
May 25, 2021
Growing heritage and healing through traditional Asian vegetables
Faculty, staff, and alumni are drawing upon and strengthening their cultural heritage and connection to Asian foodways to cultivate traditional vegetables.
May 23, 2021
UC collaboration launches first online course in the Punjabi language
The first online Punjabi language course for University of California students that launched earlier this year is a collaboration of several UC campuses, centered on UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis.
May 20, 2021
A shot in the arm
Six UC Santa Cruz community members tell the tale of getting the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.
May 20, 2021
Study shows which North American mammals live most successfully alongside people
Researchers analyzed camera trap data from across the continent to better understand how particular species of mammals respond to different types of human disturbance.
May 19, 2021
UC Santa Cruz names Celine Parreñas Shimizu new dean of Arts Division
UC Santa Cruz has appointed award-winning filmmaker and film scholar Celine Parreñas Shimizu as dean of the Arts Division, effective July 1.
May 17, 2021
Climate change sends tropical species racing to higher elevations while temperate counterparts lag behind
A new paper shows that, in mountain habitats, species' responses to rising temperatures vary by latitude, but researchers fear there may be no clear winners among these strategies.
May 14, 2021
Student-led mentorship program offers holistic support
The Kuya-Ate Mentorship Program is a student-initiated retention project targeted to, but not limited to, Pilipino/x students at UC Santa Cruz. In addition to providing mentorship opportunities, KAMP also offers academic and social and cultural support.
May 12, 2021
Virtual reality warps your sense of time
Psychology research demonstrates the unique "time compression" effect of virtual reality.
May 05, 2021
UCSC achieves fair-trade status through the work of students
UC Santa Cruz passed a fair trade resolution that reflects its commitment to join the efforts of the Fair Trade Colleges & Universities, a division of Fair Trade Campaigns.
May 04, 2021
Strauss Foundation award recognizes student’s work with families affected by incarceration
Legal studies undergraduate Matt Sioson recently won $15,000 in funding from the Donald A. Strauss Public Service Scholarship Foundation.
May 04, 2021
Preserving the legacy of Watsonville’s first Filipino immigrants
In partnership with the university, the community-led Tobera Project will develop an oral history archive and digital exhibition to be housed at McHenry Library.
April 29, 2021
Fellowship win supports doctoral candidate’s research on national security policy
Cesar Estrella, a Ph.D. candidate in Latin American and Latino studies, won an American Council of Learned Societies fellowship to support his study of the ideologies that drive U.S. national security policy.
April 27, 2021
Faculty experts share pandemic-era lessons for the future of K-12 education
UC Santa Cruz researchers who have studied the pandemic’s impact on K-12 education share lessons they hope will be remembered for the future.
April 23, 2021
Professor Anne Kapuscinski will speak at upcoming Nobel Prize Summit
Environmental Studies Professor Anne Kapuscinski, director of the UC Santa Cruz Coastal Science and Policy program, will present recommendations on strengthening sustainability education during the “Our Planet, Our Future” Nobel Prize Summit next week.
April 21, 2021
UC Santa Cruz and United Way partner to empower youth through research in local communities
A research partnership between UC Santa Cruz and United Way of Santa Cruz County will offer local youth and UCSC undergraduates new leadership platforms and support college-readiness and success.
April 20, 2021
Enabling women and girls to achieve their potential
Alumna Ann Starrs, director of family planning at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, came to reproductive health work from a steadfast commitment—strengthened by her time at UC Santa Cruz—to feminism, gender equality, and women’s empowerment.
April 19, 2021
Live reading of The Comedy of Errors to benefit new scholarship for theater students
UCSC’s Arts Division will present a live virtual reading of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors on Friday, April 23, to honor Theater Arts professor Danny Sheie, who is retiring this year after three decades at the campus.
April 16, 2021
Alumna Terri McCullough, chief of staff to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will make a virtual campus visit for Alumni Week
This year’s Alumni Week will feature a virtual fireside chat with Terri McCullough, an Oakes '91 politics alumna who is now chief of staff to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
April 13, 2021
Study of U.S. tuna fisheries explores nexus of climate change, sustainable seafood
A new study by researchers at UC Santa Cruz and NOAA examines traditional aspects of seafood sustainability alongside greenhouse gas emissions to better understand the carbon footprint of U.S. tuna fisheries.
April 12, 2021
UCSC's Van Williams discusses diversity in IT at Stanford event
Speaking at the second “Conversations with Extraordinary Leaders” at Stanford University last month, Van Williams, vice chancellor of information technology and strategic technology initiatives at UC Santa Cruz, said designing for diversity and inclusivity within organizations requires planning.
April 12, 2021
Sharing insights from more than six decades of social psychology research
New book by Professor Emeritus Thomas Pettigrew distills themes across his storied career
April 09, 2021
Inaugural Hayden White lecture to explore the afterlife of slavery with author Saidiya Hartman
Award-winning literary scholar and cultural historian Saidiya Hartman will be the featured guest at the inaugural Hayden V. White Distinguished Annual Lecture, a virtual event that takes place on April 19.
April 06, 2021
UC Santa Cruz to launch new support center to advance the university’s innovation, industry engagement
UC Santa Cruz is launching a new support center to advance innovation, entrepreneurship and business engagement that will leverage the campus’s innovative spirit and be guided by its deep commitment to environmental and social justice.
April 06, 2021
Marco Rolandi appointed faculty director of UCSC Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Development
UC Santa Cruz has appointed Marco Rolandi, professor and chair of the department of electrical and computer engineering, to serve as faculty director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Development (CIED).
April 02, 2021
Event to focus on the case for Black reparations
“Reparations for Black Americans: The Road to Racial Equality in California and Beyond,” hosted on April 15 by the Institute for Social Transformation, will feature a discussion with leading experts and advocates of reparations.
March 31, 2021
Seymour Center plans for physical reopening as virtual programs continue to expand their reach
Seymour Center Outdoors!, a new in-person outdoor education program, is scheduled to open to the general public on April 24.
March 30, 2021
Marking fifth year, Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning plays vital role in campus mission
The center will celebrate its fifth anniversary April 14 with a convocation featuring Estela Bensimon, professor of higher education at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education and director of the Center for Urban Education, which she founded in 1999.
March 29, 2021
Teens describe their gender and sexuality in diverse new ways, but some are being left behind
Psychology Professor Phil Hammack’s latest research shows how regional differences and other social factors can either hinder or support expression of diversity in sexual and gender identity among teens and young adults.
March 25, 2021
Staff member guides students on path to higher education
Osiris Ortiz has spent nearly two decades helping the regions high school students pursue four-year degrees through her work at the Educational Partnership Center.
March 25, 2021
UC Santa Cruz faculty recognized for excellence in ecology
The Ecological Society of America announced its 2021 Fellow and Early Career Fellow awards, and UC Santa Cruz’s faculty were the most decorated of any university on this year’s list.
March 24, 2021
Three decades of connections, encouragement, and programs
UCSC's African American Resource and Cultural Center, this year celebrating its 30th anniversary, has created meaningful change for students of color and become a key part of the university community.
March 18, 2021
UC Santa Cruz joins new consortium to ensure future of SlaveVoyages database
UC Santa Cruz has joined a newly formed consortium of institutions to ensure the preservation, stability, and future development of what has become the single most widely used online resource for anyone interested in slavery across the Atlantic world.
March 18, 2021
UCSC professor contributes to new study showing how parts of the US will ‘tropicalize’ as climate changes
Environmental Studies Professor Michael Loik is a coauthor on a new paper describing how warming winters are allowing some tropical plants and animals to replace temperate communities in southern portions of the country.
March 18, 2021
New analysis shows potential for ‘solar canals’ in California
UC Santa Cruz researchers and their partners published a new study that suggests covering California’s water delivery canals with solar panels could be an economically viable means of advancing renewable energy and water conservation.
March 18, 2021
UC Regents approve UC Santa Cruz plan to increase student housing, expand child care
Recognizing the critical role housing plays in supporting student success, the University of California Board of Regents reapproved a project that will significantly increase the number of current UC Santa Cruz students who are able to live on campus.
March 16, 2021
Campus holds first Sexual Violence Sexual Harassment Research Symposium
UC Santa Cruz will hold its first-ever research symposium — and a first for a UC campus — highlighting research by campus scholars on issues of sexual violence and sexual harassment Friday, April 2.
March 15, 2021
Systemwide review of revised policy on the classification of gifts and sponsored awards
The University of California Office of the President invites comments on a proposed Presidential Policy on Classification of Gifts and Sponsored Awards.
March 11, 2021
Disrupting harmful food systems to prevent future pandemics
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Maywa Montenegro de Wit is exploring how lessons from the abolition movement could help agroecology combat the agro-industrial complex to prevent future pandemics.
March 03, 2021
Girl activists are more visible than ever. Is this progress?
In the past decade, there’s been an explosion in media coverage of girl activists. Professor Jessica Taft, a leading expert in youth activism, sees opportunity in this visibility, but her research has also identified many troubling trends in how girl activists are portrayed.
February 26, 2021
Massive debris flow swamps Big Creek Reserve as heavy rains follow summer wildfire
Boulders the size of vehicles and decades-old redwoods were ripped from the banks of the Big Creek drainage when an atmospheric river inundated the Landels-Hill Big Creek Natural Reserve on the Big Sur coast in late January.
February 25, 2021
Forest monitoring efforts contribute to new understanding of climate change impacts
Data collected by student interns at UC Santa Cruz’s Forest Ecology Research Plot recently contributed to a breakthrough in understanding how climate change affects forests.
February 11, 2021
Annual Jewish Studies Diller Lecture to feature award-winning author Sarah Stein
This year’s Helen Diller Distinguished Lecture in Jewish Studies will feature guest author and scholar Sarah Abrevaya Stein—in conversation with UCSC’s Neufeld-Levin Chair of Holocaust Studies, Alma Heckman—on Wednesday, February 17, at 5 p.m.
February 11, 2021
Listening and bringing change
Aaron Jones, interim Educational Opportunity Programs director, founded the orientation program Black Academy, which has dramatically increased African Black Caribbean students' retention rate at UCSC.
February 05, 2021
Troupe dynamic
UC Santa Cruz's African American Theater Arts Troupe, which is celebrating its 30-year anniversary, has not only staged plays but also taken up works that deal with issues of race, injustice, and discrimination; brought its performances into the community; and awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships.
February 04, 2021
Rob Fairlie testifies before Congress on inequality in pandemic economic impacts
Rob Fairlie testified before the House Committee on Small Business to share his latest research on the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, including the disproportionate hardships faced by minority-owned businesses.
February 02, 2021
Robert Bocking Stevens, fifth UCSC chancellor, dies at age 87
Robert Bocking Stevens, a legal scholar in England and the United States who served as the fifth chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, died Jan. 30 in Oxford, England, at age 87.
February 02, 2021
Seawater intake replacement, bike path improvement projects win public works awards
A $1.1 million project to replace the seawater intake structure at the UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Lab was selected as environmental project of the year by the Monterey Bay chapter of the American Public Works Association.
February 01, 2021
Green New Deal architect Rhiana Gunn-Wright will make a virtual campus visit
Gunn-Wright previewed some of the insights she'll share on climate policy and environmental justice during her February 10th event with the Institute for Social Transformation.
January 29, 2021
In Memoriam: Robert Shepherd (1938-2021)
Robert Shepherd, a teaching professor emeritus from the UC Santa Cruz Economics Department, passed away at 82 years old. Shepherd taught at UC Santa Cruz for more than 30 years and was instrumental in the development of both the accounting path and the business management economics major.
January 29, 2021
Sociology researcher seeks solutions for Public Safety Power Shutoffs
Sociology researcher Les Guliasi’s most recent paper shows how “microgrid” technologies could reduce the impact of outages, if regulatory challenges can be resolved.
January 28, 2021
With record applications, UC Santa Cruz poised to build exceptional, diverse fall class
The competition to earn a spot at UC Santa Cruz will increase this year, with the campus receiving a record number of applications and nearly 200 students approved last year to defer their enrollment to fall 2021.
January 26, 2021
Digital NEST founder to serve as external adviser to chancellor
Jacob Martinez is bringing his insight on economic opportunity, community empowerment and digital innovation to UC Santa Cruz as an external special adviser to Chancellor Cindy Larive.
January 25, 2021
Energy spent avoiding humans linked to smaller home ranges for male pumas
New research shows that fear of humans causes mountain lions to increase their energy expenditures as they move through the landscape, and this can ultimately limit the size of the home ranges they’re able to maintain.
January 25, 2021
A year of generosity
In 2020, UCSC donors demonstrated how giving can make a positive difference even in a period of turmoil.
January 20, 2021
Italian newspaper ranks sociology professor among top women of the year
Camilla Hawthorne is being recognized for shedding light on emergent Afro-Italian identities and activism during a time of racial reckoning in Italy and beyond.
January 19, 2021
Grant funding will advance aquaculture research in UCSC’s new state-of-the-art facility
Researchers won a USDA grant in support of their efforts to develop ocean-friendly feed formulas for farm-raised rainbow trout. This work will take place in the team's new aquaculture facility at the UCSC Farm.
January 08, 2021
UCSC’s Living Writers Series a place to shelter in the storm
“Shelter and Place” is the theme of the 2021 winter installment of the Living Writers Series at UC Santa Cruz. Curated by Micah Perks, professor of literature and director of the Creative Writing Program, the now virtual series will run from January 14 through March 4, on Thursday nights throughout the winter quarter.
January 08, 2021
Professor recognized among the art world’s top influencers for 2020
Anthropology professor Anna Tsing won international acclaim for an interdisciplinary project that documents drivers of the Anthropocene in creative new ways.
January 07, 2021
Students, staff, faculty contribute nearly 160,000 meals through Holiday Food and Fund Drive
UC Santa Cruz students, staff, and faculty contributed nearly $40,000 to the 2020 Holiday Food and Fund Drive sponsored by the Staff Advisory Board, enough to provide nearly 160,000 meals to local residents.
January 04, 2021
Uncovering the social factors lurking within diabetes risk
Assistant professor of sociology James Doucet-Battle's new book challenges assumptions about race within diabetes research and delves into the issue through the lens of African American experience.
January 04, 2021
Shedding light on one of environmental policy’s most under-the-radar strategies
Associate professor of environmental studies Sikina Jinnah studies the environmental provisions contained within trade agreements and wants to help policymakers better navigate this space.