DECEMBER 2023

UC SANTA CRUZ VOICE

Coral reefs along U.S. states and territories are now considered national infrastructure thanks to a new resolution that UCSC researchers helped to draft. (Getty stock photo)

Reef recognition

UC Santa Cruz played a part in an effort to designate coral reefs as national infrastructure, making it easier to direct federal funding to reef conservation and restoration to protect people, property, and livelihoods.

FEATURED STORIES

The UC Santa Cruz iGEM team at the 2023 Jamboree in Paris.

That golden glow

A team of UC Santa Cruz students won gold at the 2023 International Genetically Engineered Machine competition—their fourth consecutive year of bringing home the prize.

Aaron Aruck, Ph.D. Candidate in History, served as a THI Public Fellow with the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) Historical Society in San Francisco in 2020.

Humanities scholars demonstrate real-world value

An innovative public fellowship program at The Humanities Institute is showing the important real-world impact of doctoral students’ humanities skills and expertise and offering exciting possibilities for the future of graduate education and career pathways.

ALUMNI UPDATES

Leo Merle competes at the Parapan American Games on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, in Santiago, Chile. (Joe Kusumoto, USOPC)

Setting sights on the Paralympic Games

Alumnus Leo Merle won the gold medal for Team USA in the men’s T38 1500-meter race at the Parapan American Games in November, a key stop on the road to the Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024.

Linda Koval (Merrill ’76, community studies) is a staunch supporter of UCSC students.

‘Supporting our students is my number one priority’

Alumna Linda Koval—who was a single, working mother in the early 1970s when she returned to school—understands the challenges students face and wants to help break down barriers. She has supported UCSC through her time and resources for nearly three decades.

STUDENT SUCCESS INITIATIVE

The UCSC Center for Economic Justice and Action's new leadership role in basic needs efforts at the system level will also bolster the campus’s multi-pronged approach to basic needs for UCSC students. Photo: Carolyn Lagattuta

Campus to lead new basic needs consortium

UC Santa Cruz’s Blum Center on Poverty, Social Enterprise, and Participatory Governance will become the UC Santa Cruz Center for Economic Justice and Action, taking on a new leadership role in UC basic needs efforts that enhance students’ access to food, housing, and other essential resources.

UC Santa Cruz students take notes in a lecture hall.

Strengthening pathways, bridging equity gaps

The Central Coast K–16 Regional Collaborative was awarded an $18.1 million grant to establish new or expand existing pathways for career opportunities and to address long-standing equity gaps for students across the region.

UC SANTA CRUZ MAGAZINE

Emily Sieu Liebowitz (photo by Joshua Simpson)

A love letter long overdue

Alumna Emily Sieu Liebowitz used the writing skills she developed at UC Santa Cruz to cowrite But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?, a book celebrating the songs and achievements of American girl groups of the ’60s.

Conti training on a rebreather for underwater research for Autodesk’s Maritime R&D project (photo courtesy Maurice Conti)

Diving into the future

Alumnus Maurice Conti is a futurist, so he helps clients prepare for what’s coming, while also combining technology with storytelling to protect one of his lifelong loves—the ocean.