October 2024 News Archive

Open Enrollment 2024 for UC Faculty & Staff Starts Today

The University of California’s annual Open Enrollment (OE) period takes place from October 31 through 5 p.m. on November 22. All medical, dental and vision plans will be open for enrollment as well as Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, Legal and Flexible Spending Accounts.

How researchers can maximize biological insights using animal-tracking devices

Biologgers allow us to see with unprecedented precision how animals move and behave in the wild. But that's only part of the picture, according to a UC Santa

UCSC’s Season of Giving - Three ways to give

We’re about to enter a season of giving to various efforts that uplift folks in Santa Cruz County, both on and off campus.

UC Santa Cruz named a U.S. National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps Hub for the Northwest Region

UC Santa Cruz has been selected as one of eight partner institutions in the newly established U.S. National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Hub for the Northwest

Gearing up for Giving Day

The ninth annual 24-hour crowdfunding campaign will host more than 175 project teams, 20 challenges and is poised to amplify and support thousands of students.

Three UCSC alumnae named in SF Business Times Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business of 2024

Three alumnae, Judith Bell, Katherine Evans, and Ruby Bolaria Shifrin have been named in SF Business Times Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business of 2024.

UC Santa Cruz HSI team secures $3 million grant to support Latiné and low-income student success

CULTURA grant seeks to close post-pandemic equity gaps and support pathways to graduation, graduate school, and high-demand careers for Latiné and low-income

Rooted in resilience: Alumna Natalie Nguyen reflects on her journey

Recent UC Santa Cruz graduate Natalie Nguyen (Kresge ’23, economics) reflects on her UC Santa Cruz journey and post-graduation endeavors.

Transit systems in Kenya demonstrate some potential upsides of worker monitoring technologies

In a new paper for the October issue of the American Economic Review, UC Santa Cruz economist David Schönholzer shared findings from an experimental application of a worker

Winter Curtailment 2024-2025

Our 2024-25 winter curtailment will run from Monday, December 23, 2024, through Wednesday, January 1, 2025.

Professor A.M. Darke creates groundbreaking work in Black representation

A.M. Darke, an associate professor of Performance, Play, & Design at UC Santa Cruz, has spent her career becoming one of the leading voices of diversity in games,

Modern politics reexamined through classic play ‘Inspector General’

Michael Chemers’, a professor of Performance Play and Design and chair of the department at University of California, Santa Cruz, most recent project adapts The Inspector General, a

Engineers awarded CDC contract to build pathogen-tracing public health tools

The CDC has awarded Corbett-Detig and his team at the UCSC Genomics Institute a two-year, $2.52 million contract to continue their work tracking the COVID-19 virus’s evolution and

A popular Humanities course is unwrapping the strange and fraught history and cultural afterlife of Egyptian mummies. 

In their co-taught course, LIT 159M/HIS 159M: The Curse of the Mummy, UC Santa Cruz Associate Professor of Literature Renee Fox and Associate Professor of History Elaine Sullivan

California General Election

Tuesday, November 5th is Election Day in California for the General Election.

Innovation Impact Award Nomination Deadline

The nomination window for the Innovator of the Year award closes on Friday, November 15.

Award-winning poet and author Ellen Bass will be the honored guest speaker at the 15th annual Morton Marcus Poetry Reading on November 7 (UPDATE: EVENT CANCELED)

The celebrated poet and longtime Santa Cruz resident Ellen Bass is the latest in a long list of poetry luminaries to speak at the Morton Marcus Poetry Reading.

Parking permit scams and anonymous citation information collection

It has come to our attention that some individuals are attempting to sell fraudulent parking permits to students.

Dolphins sense military sonar at much lower levels than regulators predict

For the first time ever, a team including several UC Santa Cruz scientists have directly measured the behavioral responses of some of the most common marine mammals to

Ultra-small spectrometer yields the power of a 1,000 times bigger device

UC Santa Cruz researchers are designing new ways to make spectrometers that are ultra-small but still very powerful, to be used for anything from detecting disease to observing

UC Santa Cruz receives NSF grant to transform diversity and inclusion in STEM graduate programs

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded nearly $1 million to researchers at UC Santa Cruz to advance equity and inclusion by fostering a more inclusive, culturally rich

New mapping techniques empower bird conservation in Colombia

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela, assistant professor of environmental studies, and a team of Colombian researchers have introduced a transformative approach to mapping bird species distribution across Colombia, harnessing community science

David Lee appointed inaugural Director of Research Pathways for Baskin Engineering

To increase undergraduates’ engagement with research opportunities within the Baskin School of Engineering at UC Santa Cruz, Assistant Professor of Computational Media David Lee has been appointed as

Notice of open comment: Interim Conduct Regulations Policy

The division of Finance, Operations, and Administration is now accepting the campus community's feedback in advance of removing the interim status.

Renowned higher ed researcher Dr. Adrianna Kezar to visit campus November 7-8

Adrianna Kezar is the Dean’s Professor of Leadership, Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education, at the University of Southern California and Director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education within the Rossier School of Education.

Grasslands live in the climate change fast lane

A new paper that built upon prior research efforts in the Environmental Studies Department shows that grassland communities across the California Floristic Province are transitioning toward plants that

Fraud alert and security steps for Fidelity accounts

We want to inform you of recent reports of fraudulent activity involving UC Retirement Savings Program accounts maintained by Fidelity.

New book California Catastrophes challenges coastal communities to confront reality

It's no secret that Californians live with the reality of earthquakes, landslides, wildfires, and other natural disasters. This confronts those who choose to stay, and the many who

Powerful new analyses improve breast cancer risk assessment on a massive scale

A new feature on the BRCA Exchange, a platform which consolidates data on the genes associated with breast cancer, is rolling out a new feature to make cancer

California Academy of Sciences Honors Dan Costa with Fellows Medal

The California Academy of Sciences presented UC Santa Cruz’s Dan Costa, distinguished professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, with its highest honor at an awards ceremony on October

Former UC Santa Cruz physicist Michael Riordan honored for historical narratives of his field

The American Physical Society awarded former UC Santa Cruz physicist Michael Riordan on October 15 with its Abraham Pais Prize for History of

Invitation to the SAB Virtual Fall Forum on October 24

UC Santa Cruz professor Anna Friz wins international prize in radio

Anna Friz, an associate professor of Film and Digital Media, has been raking in awards and honors. The multi-disciplinary artist who took a sabbatical last winter after receiving

Dickens Project gets prestigious $200,000 NEH grant to host institute for high school teachers

A $200,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities is funding a new Dickens Project initiative, an in-person institute for 25 high school teachers from across the

Understanding landslides: a new model for predicting motion

Along coastal California, the possibility of earthquakes and landslides are commonly prefaced by the phrase, “not if, but when.” This precarious reality is now a bit more predictable

Prepare for the Great California ShakeOut

International ShakeOut Day is an annual event that teaches earthquake preparedness and response activities for everyone.

Science Division debuts ‘degree-defining experiences’ drawing on UC Santa Cruz’s unique strengths

The Science Division has received a $1 million donation to begin a major new program on “degree-defining experiences.” The program will pilot 17 projects across campus that aim

Genomics Institute provides seed funds for six multidisciplinary projects

The Genomics Institute has awarded grants of up to $50,000 to six multidisciplinary research projects in the inaugural year of its seed funding

Local Childcare Facility Openings Available to faculty and staff

UC Santa Cruz is happy to announce that openings are available for toddlers to preschool-aged children at two area facilities through the new Childcare Placement Waitlist

Nominations open for Chancellor’s Innovation Impact Awards

2024 Notification of republication of the Clery Act Annual Security & Fire Safety Report

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act), an updated version of the 2024 Annual Security & Fire Safety Report is available for viewing.

Astronomy postdoc to develop technologies that mold starlight to better detect exoplanets

The Astronomy & Astrophysics Department welcomes postdoctoral scientist Emiel Por, who invents technologies that mold the starlight captured by ground- and space-based telescopes to improve imaging of planetary

2024 CITRIS Interdisciplinary Innovation Program supports wide range of campus research

The CITRIS Interdisciplinary Innovation Program (I2P) provides UC Santa Cruz Principal Investigators with funding for projects focussed on developing information technology solutions to significant societal challenges.

O Sister!

Throughout a two-decade long creative partnership, alumna Gillian Welch (Porter ’90, art) and Rawlings have mostly recorded and performed under the name “Gillian Welch.”

Meet your 2024-25 Alumni Council

Twenty-two members make up this year’s Council, with each councilor serving two-year terms upon being

Global warming is happening, but not statistically ‘surging,’ new study finds

The new study, published on October 14 in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment, confirms the broad consensus that the planet is getting warmer, but at a

UC Santa Cruz professor Derek Conrad Murray appointed Editor-in-Chief of leading arts publication

Derek Conrad Murray, Professor of History of Art & Visual Culture (HAVC), has recently been appointed editor-in-chief of Art Journal. After previously serving on the journal’s editorial

Study of a large public university in the Northeastern U.S. finds that students who feel more university connection may be more likely to binge drink

Universities should ensure they are providing ample opportunities for students to feel connected through sober activities and environments, researchers recommend.

UC Santa Cruz and Hartnell College awarded grant to strengthen transfer pathway for Central Coast students

UC Santa Cruz and Hartnell College have long shared a commitment to empowering students from California’s Central Coast to achieve their educational and career goals. Now, thanks to

UC Santa Cruz professor helps set national research agenda for atmospheric methane removal technologies that could help fight climate change

Environmental Studies Professor Sikina Jinnah was a co-author on a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) that recommends a national research agenda

New AI-driven multimedia lab bridges art and technology

This year the UC Santa Cruz Art Division is introducing a state-of-the-art AI multimedia lab. The Ai Art Augmentation and Acceleration Lab, also known as A4, is aimed

Welcome the new faculty in the Arts Division

As a new quarter starts, the Arts Division is welcoming eight new faculty members who represent the creativity, diversity, and thoughtfulness that are key pieces of the division’s

Annual reminder of emergency preparedness

The start of a new academic year is a good time to review your emergency preparedness for a range of possible scenarios we might face as a community, to update your emergency contact information, and to think about your own role in supporting a safe environment for everyone.

New apps will enable safer indoor navigation for blind people

Two new apps will enable blind people to navigate indoor buildings with spoken directions from a smartphone app, providing a safe method of wayfinding where GPS doesn’t work.

Will AI tools revolutionize public health? Not if they continue following old patterns, researchers argue.

A new paper published in the journal Social Science & Medicine shares findings from an extensive literature analysis of AI’s current trajectory in health care.

Search underway for new executive director of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum

UC Santa Cruz has begun the search for a new executive director to lead the Arboretum & Botanic Garden. This role will guide the Arboretum’s mission of advancing plant science and conservation, promoting genetic diversity, and supporting sustainable horticultural practices.

In Memoriam: Professor Zsuzsanna (Zsuzsi) I. Abrams

Zsuzsanna I. Abrams, Professor of Applied Linguistics and German, passed away on Sept. 23, 2024. Abrams was an esteemed scholar, dedicated educator, and cherished colleague whose passing leaves

Professor Stacy Philpott leads U.S. delegates for “Agri-Young Hackathon” at G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Agriculture

Environmental Studies Professor Stacy Philpott led the U.S. delegation for a youth hackathon at the recent G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Agriculture in Italy. Philpott was asked by USDA

Recognizing outstanding faculty and staff in the Division of Social Sciences

Social Sciences Dean Katharyne Mitchell and award committee members recently announced the recipients of the 2024 Social Sciences Division faculty and staff awards, which are dedicated to honoring

Experts on drone research discuss future challenges and opportunities at UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley campus

An interdisciplinary and multi-institutional group of academics, researchers, and practitioners discussed challenges and opportunities in using drones at an event hosted at the UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley

2025 CITRIS CIDER Pilot Training Program open for applications

The application period for the UC Santa Cruz CIDER Pilot Training Program is open through Nov. 4. In late November, 35 students will be selected to participate in an immersive experiential learning program centered around the use of drones and their application.

Notice of Open Comment: UC policy on Seismic Safety

The University of California Office of the President invites comments on a proposed Presidential policy on Seismic Safety.

UC Santa Cruz launches new degree program in Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Technologies, Applications, and Research

UC Santa Cruz is launching a new Master of Arts program in Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Technologies, Applications, and Research (GISTAR), designed to meet the growing demand for expertise in geospatial technologies.

Social Sciences Division welcomes new faculty

UC Santa Cruz’s Social Sciences Division is welcoming 10 outstanding new faculty members this academic

UCSC artist micha cárdenas sounds the alarm on climate catastrophe in Toronto exhibition

micha cárdenas’s "Probability Engine,” opening in Toronto, explores climate tipping points through immersive art and augmented reality, urging audiences to imagine a more just and survivable

Baskin Engineering welcomes a cohort of 12 new faculty

Twelve new faculty members join the Baskin School of Engineering for the 2024-25 academic

UC Santa Cruz Humanities Division welcomes new Associate Dean of DEI Eric Porter

Eric Porter, a professor of History, History of Consciousness, and Critical Race and Ethnic studies at UC Santa Cruz, has a longstanding fascination with power and resistance.

Electioneering on Campus

Important information about time, place, and manner policies and student conduct

Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students Garrett Naiman shares information about time, place, and manner policies, emphasizes the importance of following conduct regulations, and underscores the need to ensure a safe and respectful environment for free expression at UC Santa Cruz.

New policy essay: subsidies’ hidden costs for the environment

Government subsidies for business practices and processes should be approached with caution, even when they seem to be environmentally friendly, a team that includes a UC Santa Cruz

New exhibition honors groundbreaking artist and professor emeritus Doyle Foreman

As part of the Mary Sesnon Porter’s Sesnon Art Gallery’s goal to place a greater emphasis on faculty, students, and alumni, they are opening the new school

A message from UC President Michael V. Drake: Working together toward inclusive excellence

We recognize and indeed cherish our responsibility to honor our free speech traditions. We are resolute in our commitment to cultivating academic spaces of intellectual curiosity and moral courage.

Students fired up for Downtown Day

As the fall 2024 quarter begins, students wrapped up Welcome Week with Downtown Day, presented by campus and business leaders to connect students with downtown Santa Cruz

Student Health Services announces expanded services, updated locations, and new initiatives for the 2024-25 academic year

Student Health Services (SHS) is enhancing support for student wellness with 24/7 healthcare kiosks, relocated CARE and SHOP offices, upcoming vaccine clinics, and a continued expansion of mental

Sparking creativity: Clinch Fuentes’s lasting impact on arts education at UCSC and beyond

Clinch Fuentes, founder and president of nonprofit organization Chance to Excel, supports UC Santa Cruz’s ArtsBridge program, which connects university faculty and scholars with classroom teachers and diverse

UCSC Dining celebrates 20 years

UC Santa Cruz Dining celebrates 20 years as a self-operated service. With 18 locations and a focus on community, the milestone highlights the dedication of its staff, resilience

2024 Notification of the Clery Act Annual Security & Fire Safety Report

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act), the 2024 Annual Security & Fire Safety Report is available for viewing.

Be CyberSafe - Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is UC Cybersecurity Awareness Month (UCCAM), the perfect time to protect yourself and our campus from cyber threats and to support our campus’s efforts to comply with new cybersecurity requirements.