Social Sciences
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Social Sciences Division honors student awardees at annual luncheon
26 students were recognized with awards from the Social Sciences Division and Division of Undergraduate Education.
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Horse teeth hold historical clues about military power and trade in Western Africa
Undergraduate Elyse Venerable won the Chancellor’s Award and Dean’s Award for her research using strontium isotope analysis to uncover the origins of Oyo Empire war horses.
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Celebrating the Class of 2025: Innovators, advocates, and future leaders
Highlighting a handful of graduates who are ready to make a difference
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Saúl Ordaz reflects on wide-ranging experiences ahead of graduation
With numerous organizational leadership experiences under his belt, UC Santa Cruz student Saúl Ordaz is ready to tackle life beyond the redwoods
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Anthropology professor emerita recognized for extraordinary continuing contributions to the university
Diane Gifford-Gonzalez, one the foremost authorities in zooarchaeology, recently received the Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeriti Award.
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For future teachers, state funding puts dreams within reach
A four-year grant is removing financial barriers and creating professional pathways for students in UC Santa Cruz’s Master of Arts in Education and Teaching Credential program.
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Experimental economist explores overlooked aspects of human behavior
Alumna Alessandra Cassar, now a professor at the University of San Francisco, found her path by working with UC Santa Cruz’s Learning and Experimental Economics Projects (LEEPS) laboratory as a graduate student.
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Research uncovers local labor issues that may be driving increased unionization
Surveys show young workers suffer from scheduling instability, and those who are LGBTQ+ are more likely to experience wage theft and workplace injuries. Meanwhile, census data show a harmful pay gap for Latina workers.
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Innovative and artful rainwater harvesting nourishes gardens and hope
UC Santa Cruz cosmologist leads widely interdisciplinary project funded by the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience to turn urban runoff into low-cost irrigation
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Applying the science of social impact
UC Santa Cruz alumna Jennifer Rigney uses her Ph.D. in Psychology to support mission-based organizations in making effective, data-based decisions about their programs. She has helped advance the ocean conservation goals of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and now supports early childhood development as the director of evaluation and learning for First Five Monterey County.
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Saritaan: Preserving Filipino migration stories across oceans and generations
A new UC Santa Cruz initiative called Saritaan—meaning “to talk story” in Ilokano—is preserving the untold migration stories of Filipino families.
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New book explores social impacts, public health lessons from Peru’s fight against AIDS
Assistant Professor Justin Perez’s latest book focuses on local engagement with HIV prevention efforts in Peru during the early 2010s. During this time period, as global health leaders began to envision an “end of AIDS,” the course of the epidemic in Peru took a turn for the worse.