2022 in review: A year of transformative change

March 31, 2022

First complete, gapless sequence of a human genome reveals hidden regions

Karen Miga organized an international team of scientists—the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium—to finish the first truly complete sequence of a human genome, covering each chromosome from end to end with no gaps and unprecedented accuracy. Miga was recognized as one of the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2022 and joined a panel with former President Bill Clinton and U2 lead singer Bono at the 2022 Clinton Global Initiative meeting.

June 7, 2022

UC Santa Cruz Distinguished Professor of the Arts Isaac Julien knighted by Queen Elizabeth

UC Santa Cruz Distinguished Professor of the Arts Isaac Julien was granted knighthood by Queen Elizabeth for services to diversity and inclusion in art. Julien also received an invitation of membership from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the international organization best known for the Academy Awards.

September 21, 2022

Committing to lasting change

Over the past year, UC Santa Cruz had the honor of naming one of its residential colleges after civil rights icon and late Congressman John R. Lewis and a research center in honor of Dolores Huerta. Recognizing the honor and the responsibility, the UC Santa Cruz community must strive daily to live up to the legacies of Lewis and Huerta.

Huerta is the founder and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation and, in 1962, co-founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez.

September 30, 2022

UC Santa Cruz earns prestigious Seal of Excelencia certification for work as a Hispanic-Serving Institution

The campus is one of only six institutions in 2022 to earn the seal for the first time, in recognition of utilizing data, practice, and leadership to intentionally serve Latinx students. The campus also joined with other leading universities to form the Hispanic Serving Research Universities Alliance to increase opportunity for those historically underserved by higher education.

A Latinx student in a lab working with a pretri dish

September 1, 2022

NASA releases Webb telescope's first exoplanet image

UC Santa Cruz astronomers led the analysis of the first exoplanet images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and continued to make scientific breakthroughs with data from the JWST. Natalie Batalha led teams that discovered the first unequivocal detection of carbon dioxide in an exoplanet atmosphere and the first photochemical by-product detected on an exoplanet.

This image shows the exoplanet HIP 65426 b in different bands of infrared light, as seen from JWST.

February 7, 2022

UC Santa Cruz tops ranking of women in leadership at R1 universities

Santa Cruz is one of just six Research 1 universities that have had at least three women at the helm. In addition to Chancellor Cynthia Larive and Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Lori Kletzer, sixty percent of the Chancellor's Cabinet, 38 percent of the academic deans and 36 percent of tenured professors are women.

Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Lori Kletzer, John R. Lewis College Provost Flora Lu, and Dean of the Arts Division Celine Parreñas Shimizu are among the leaders at UC Santa Cruz expanding the definition of a leader.

November 1, 2022

Humanizing the metaverse

A Humanities Institute fellowship brings trained humanists into high-tech companies, providing firms with creative and fluid thinkers while also giving scholars a view into how their expertise can be used in different positions.

Student wearing a futuristic virtual reality headset

November 16, 2022

UC Santa Cruz earns Agricultural Experiment Station designation

The designation marks more than 50 years of industry-leading research in organic agriculture and sustainable farming practices at the campus and opens doors to expand community impact. UC Santa Cruz is leading a project that will support a University of California collaboration to improve and expand undergraduate education in organic agriculture, with an emphasis on supporting underrepresented students.

Farm apprentice works in a field of tall grass

November 14, 2022

UC Santa Cruz marine sciences professor to lead new Center for Coastal Climate Resilience

The National Science Foundation awarded an interdisciplinary team of researchers a $20 million grant to assess climate risks and identify where coral reefs and mangroves can best protect underserved coastal communities. Michael Beck, a research professor who holds the AXA Chair in Coastal Resilience at UC Santa Cruz, will serve as co-director of the new Climate Risks and Equitable Nature-based Solutions Hub. Beck was also tapped to lead the campus' recently announced Center for Coastal Climate Resilience.

Michael W. Beck, director of the new Center for Coastal Climate Resilience.

April 4, 2022

Genomics Institute tool becomes primary method to identify lineages of COVID-19 worldwide

Widespread use of the UShER tool will enable public health officials to more accurately identify and track the virus's variants.