April 2023 News Archive

Rejecting hate on our campus

We unequivocally condemn these – and all – antisemitic and anti-LGBTQIA+

Fulbright scholarship will bring distinguished philosophy professor Paul Roth to Manchester, England this winter

Paul Roth, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy, has been awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Fellowship—the most distinguished appointment in the Fulbright program. He will be at

Genome of famed sled dog Balto reveals genetic adaptations of working dogs

Still a good boy nearly 100 years after historic sled run, Balto has now helped scientists explore the genetics of working dogs and demonstrate the power of comparative

As the California sea lion population got bigger, so did male sea lions

Unlike other marine mammals, male California sea lions have gotten bigger over the past 50 years as their population has

Announcing the SAB Election Results

The Staff Advisory Board is excited to admit seven campus staff to the Staff Advisory Board.

Enhancing communication across communities

UCSC Ph.D. candidate Andrew Guydish pursues psychology and conversational dynamics with the help of the Fredrico and Rena Perlino Memorial

UCSC Chemical Screening Center symposium features drug discovery talks

The center will hold a Grand Reopening Celebration and Research Symposium on Friday, May 5, marking a major upgrade with new state-of-the-art

One of the planet’s most important carbon sinks is revealing its secrets

New research clarifies how tiny organisms in the Southern Ocean play an outsized role in moderating Earth’s

Anticipated salary increase policy-covered staff, academic appointees

We are pleased to share the news from the UC Office of the President that for the second year in a row, all eligible policy-covered staff employees, senate faculty and policy-covered academic appointees will receive a salary increase, pending approval of the state budget.

Visits set for Vice Chancellor for Research finalists

Beginning May 1 and continuing through May 11, the UC Santa Cruz community will have the opportunity to meet, hear from, and ask questions of the finalists for Vice Chancellor for Research.

Summer Session is launching Pay for Only 10

UCSC Summer Session is launching Pay for Only 10, in which payment is capped at 10 credits in tuition—making summer degree progress less expensive .

New annual testing program to verify our water quality

In an effort to promote openness related to our drinking water and provide assurance that it continues to meet or exceed state and federal quality standards, I am pleased to share that we will begin a new annual testing program.

Peter Bratt announced as 2023 Social Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award recipient

Rockefeller Fellow, Peabody Award winner, Emmy-nominated film producer, writer, director, community organizer, and social justice activist Peter Bratt is UC Santa Cruz’s 2023 Social Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award

Electrical engineer wins award to support improvement of efficient, low-cost agricultural soil sensor systems

UC Santa Cruz Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Colleen Josephson is a recipient of the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research’s (FFAR) 2022 New Innovator in

From the ground up: UCSC Men's Rugby finishes historic season

Jeremy Sanford, Patrick Halpin, Guido Bordignon, Simon Nicholls, and Marcus Viscardi are the forces behind one of UCSC's most historic and competitive sports teams on campus: Rugby. UCSC

New stable isotope map of Angola helps archaeologists trace individual life histories across the African Diaspora

UCSC researchers' methods could provide significantly more detail and certainty in identifying first-generation enslaved individuals in the Americas and tracing back their origins within Africa than was previously

Alumni Reunion Weekend: Celebrating Slugs of the past, present, and future

Over 150 alumni from the classes of 1965-1973 returned to campus April 14 & 15 to participate in Alumni Reunion Weekend. The class of ’73 celebrated their 50th

Elephant seals drift off to sleep while diving far below the ocean surface

Brainwave patterns show elephant seals take short naps while holding their breath on deep dives, averaging just 2 hours of sleep per day while at

UC chemistry departments gather at UCSC to discuss DEI issues

The first UC-wide conference on diversity, equity, and inclusion in chemistry, held April 15 at UCSC, brought together chemistry faculty and students from across the UC system to

Biologist Beth Shapiro elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Beth Shapiro, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest

National Endowment for the Humanities honors Watsonville Is In The Heart with a prestigious $75,000 project grant

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded a prestigious $75,000 Public Humanities Projects: Exhibitions Planning grant to Watsonville Is In The Heart (WIITH), a community-driven public history

Indirect cost recovery changes for fiscal year 2024

Attention Principal Investigators: UC Santa Cruz recently updated its federal Facilities and Administration (F&A) agreement approving indirect cost recovery rates for sponsored contracts and grants.

Two film and digital media faculty receive 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship Awards

Sharon Daniel and Anna Friz were among 171 artists, scholars, scientists and writers selected from nearly 2,500 applicants for the award.

Director of Athletics and Recreation Susan Harriman stepping down

Director of Athletics and Recreation Susan Harriman will be stepping down effective May 5th, 2023.

No lead detected in water samples

We're happy to report that this sensitive and accurate testing of our water samples did not detect any lead. The tests conducted were extremely rigorous.

Banana Slugs seek to advance conversational AI in all three Amazon Alexa Prize challenges

Three teams of UC Santa Cruz Baskin School of Engineering students are developing next-generation, multimodal AI-powered systems for a chance to win $500,000 or more per challenge.

In Memoriam: Margaret I. Fitzsimmons

Annual climate change event takes aim at heat and human health for 2023

The ninth annual Confronting Climate Change event gathered top scholars to discuss the health impacts of climate change and the social and economic transformations needed to address them.

Helen Tran: A term of firsts

Helen Tran (Rachel Carson ’04, American studies), a daughter of Vietnamese refugees, is the first Asian American mayor of San Bernardino and the first Vietnamese American woman to be elected mayor of a U.S. city.

Ensuring our water quality

We take seriously the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff, and want to do all we can to ensure our water quality continues to meet or exceed all regulatory requirements. We will provide updates as we learn more.

Rebecca London testifies in support of bill that would guarantee recess for California students

Associate Professor of Sociology Rebecca London testified before the California State Senate Education Committee on April 12 in support of SB 291, which would guarantee at least 30

Study pushes back the emergence of African grasslands by more than 10 million years

An international team of scientists has documented the earliest evidence for local abundance in eastern Africa of the types of grasses that now dominate grassland and savannah ecosystems

Coming to Fruition

UCSC alumni Tallula Preston and David Purgason founded Watsonville based Fruition Brewing in 2019. Four years later, the duo’s establishment is a staple in the Santa Cruz and

Campus Update: Celebrating Earth Day, thanks for Spring Give supporters, astrophysicist on ‘60 Minutes’

Our campus has long championed environmental justice and sustainability, and continues to teach and train some of the nation's top environmental professionals and practitioners.

Naming system for transfer RNA fragments will increase research productivity, standardization

UC Santa Cruz Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Todd Lowe and his group created a new naming scheme for tRNA fragments aimed at standardizing

Representing her community

A daughter of a Vietnamese refugee and a Mexican immigrant, Kim Bernice Nguyen advocates for her community as the youngest person to hold a seat on the Garden

Undergrad Samantha Contreras wins prestigious Goldwater Scholarship

Samantha Contreras, a junior majoring in physics at UC Santa Cruz, has been named a 2023 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education

Drugs in the Bronze Age: NPR podcast

UCSC Associate Professor of History Benjamin Breen delved into the use of psychoactive drugs in the Bronze Age in a podcast for National Public Radio this

A lifetime of service

Louie Campos graduated from College Seven—now Oakes College—with a cohort of seven other students. Oakes College’s mission deeply resonated with Campos, and after graduating he led a life

Final Report of the Implementation Task Force for Inclusive Excellence in Graduate Education (the ITF)

It is my pleasure to transmit the final report of the Implementation Task Force for Inclusive Excellence in Graduate Education (the ITF).

Faculty and staff course material open house

The process for faculty to post their reading and resource lists has been streamlined. Akademos representatives will be on campus this Thursday, April 13, to answer your questions.

Colombian all-female team uncovers naturalist Elizabeth Kerr’s long-forgotten legacy

Many fields of study have long been dominated by men but a team of eight female Colombian researchers are committed to uncovering the story of naturalist pioneer Elizabeth

Banana Slug Day parking restrictions

Banana Slug Day is on Saturday, April 15, a day that also coincides with our Alumni Reunion Weekend and a few other events. As you can imagine, campus parking and facilities will be heavily impacted.

Decarbonization & Electrification Town Hall Meeting

On May 9th, the Decarbonization & Electrification (D&E) Task Force will host their second town hall gathering. Task force members will talk about their work to date and collect comments and suggestions to ensure we reach our community climate goals.

Fireworks not allowed on campus, pose significant fire risk

On Saturday evening, an unknown person set off a firework in a grassy area near the West Remote Parking Lot.

Two major stem cell research projects supported with more than $2.6 million in funding

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) will provide more than $2.6 million in total funding for two major stem cell research projects led by scientists at UC

Challenging the costs

While at UCSC, Marisol Ornelas (Stevenson ‘24, politics and legal studies) is working to remedy the many obstacles on the road to higher

Food system researcher Julie Guthman wins distinguished career award

Professor of sociology and community studies Julie Guthman was recognized with the Distinguished Career Award by the Cultural and Political Ecology speciality group of the American Association of

White House cites Rob Fairlie’s research in annual economic report

Economics Professor Rob Fairlie’s research on race and ethnicity in higher education was cited in the 2023 Economic Report of the

Milestone land acknowledgement event brings campus, local tribe and community members together

On Wednesday, April 12, the campus will host its first Land Acknowledgment event, recognizing the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and its place in the local history of the

April in Santa Cruz Music Festival goes beyond the norm

This year's April in Santa Cruz Contemporary Music Festival takes up forces of dedication and imagination featuring wide-ranging musicians. The festival opens on Thursday, April 13, 2023 and

Big Questions: Astronomer Father and Artist Daughter

An astrophysicist, musician, mentor, and inspiration, Bill Mathews died in September 2021. His daughter, Amey Mathews, began drawing portraits of him in his

NASA’s search for life in the cosmos is focus of April 17 lecture and discussion

‘Whispers from Other Worlds,’ a public lecture and discussion at the Rio Theater, features NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen and science journalist Nadia

Ocean scientist Kenneth Bruland recognized for pioneering research paper

The 2023 John H. Martin Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography celebrates an influential 1998 paper on the role of iron in coastal