| INDEX 2002
August
13 , 2002 (Vol. 23, No. 1)
NEWS
BUREAU BRIEFS
Remembering Sept. 11 – A 9/11 Commemoration
will be held noon-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, in Dickson Plaza, to
mark the one year anniversary of the terrorists’ attacks when thousands
of innocent lives were lost and the nation’s sense of security was
shattered … NanoSystems Institute – The UC
regents approved July 18 the environmental impact report and design for
the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) building, to be located just
south of Boelter Hall and west of the Court of Sciences … School
of Medicine – Melissa J. Spencer, assistant professor in
pediatrics, was among 60 honorees who received the Presidential Early
Career Award for Scientists and Engineers at a White House ceremony July
12 … Jonsson Cancer Center – Researchers
at the Jonsson Cancer Center and in the Department of Urology have demonstrated
for the first time that they can locate difficult-to-detect prostate cancer
metastases in laboratory models.
BUDGET STALLED, BUT PROSPECTS FOR UC IMPROVE
While legislators battle over the state’s stalled
2002-03 budget in the Assembly, the Senate’s version offers some
good news for the University of California: restoration of some outreach
funds and $2.5 million in new money for the Dual Admissions Program.
TWINS LEAD SEPARATE LIVES
All their young lives, conjoined twins Maria Teresa and
Maria de Jesus were only able to see each other with mirrors. When they
regain consciousness this week after undergoing more than 22 hours of
separation surgery, they will be able to see each other as individuals
for the first time.
VALLEY LATINO PARENTS LEARN
ROUTE TO COLLEGE
A recent study found that many Latino parents do not know
what it takes for their children to get into college. Undaunted, the organizers
of a daylong conference at the James West Alumni Center tried to change
that disturbing trend for more than 180 parents with children in some
40 different elementary and high schools in the San Fernando Valley.
NEWS 2
DATELINE UC SYSTEMWIDE
Margin of Safety — University of California Treasurer
David H. Russ, vice president for investments, reassured UC employees
last month that the UC retirement plan equity remains strong and employees’
pension benefits, current and future, are secure, despite the stock market’s
volatility and WorldCom losses ... To your Health —
UC has selected Blue Cross of California to provide an array of medical
plans to UC employees, retirees and their eligible family members beginning
Jan. 1, 2003 … Scientist wins UC Medal — Richard
A. Lerner, president of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, recently
received the University of California Presidential Medal, the highest
award the system can bestow …
DID YOU KNOW?
Helping to meet California’s growing demand for interpreters in
the judicial system, business and government are UCLA Extension’s
Interpretation and Translation Programs for Spanish-, Chinese-, and Korean-language
speakers. This month, 39 students completed the certificated programs.
COLLEGE BOARD AGREES TO REVISE
SAT I
The trustees of the College Board, the makers of the
SAT, have agreed to revamp the admissions test — a year-and-a-half
after University of California President Richard C. Atkinson ignited a
firestorm of controversy on the issue of standardized testing by calling
for the UC to drop the test as a condition of admission.
ANTI-LATINO IMAGES COLOR NEWS
REPORTS
“The relentless flow of immigrants.” “Awash
under a brown tide.” “Human flows ... remaking the face of
America.” In the past decade, such deprecating metaphors have permeated
media accounts of the growing Latino population in the United States,
paving the way for the victories of three state ballot propositions targeting
immigrants and Latinos, a UCLA linguist argues in a new book.
YESTERDAY, TODAY
& TOMORROW – Best in the West for 13th year
— UCLA Medical Center ranks as the best hospital in the western United
States for the 13th consecutive year, according to a U.S. News & World
Report nationwide survey of 2,550 board-certified physicians … Whistle-Blower
Protection — New provisions have been added to the California
Whistleblower Protection Act to help employees report improper activities
that violate state or federal law or regulations, waste money or involve
gross misconduct, incompetency or inefficiency … Job Seekers’
Security — UCLA will participate with 26 other institutions
in testing a new suite of online services – a job-posting feature,
résumé database and interview-scheduling system –
being launched by two nonprofit groups, the National Association of Colleges
and Employers and the E-Recruiting Association
PEOPLE
THEIR VACATION SPOT IS ISLAND
IN NEED
This month the Small family — Kent,
wife Frances and daughters Natalie and Leslie — will spend almost
20 hours traveling to Vanuatu, a group of 83 islands located east of
Australia and west of Fiji. This is not, however, your typical family
vacation. The Smalls are not going as tourists. They are a family on
a mission — a medical mission.
NO REST FOR HEALTH ACTIVIST
At 86, Ruth Roemer continues to be everywhere, taking
on Goliaths no less than the tobacco industry and anti-abortion lobby.
In her fifth decade as a member of the School of Public Health faculty,
she seems not to have slowed a step.
NAMES AND FACES
Kudos: Hillel Laks; Jurgen Unutzer; Michael E.
Phelps; Jorge Barrio
Applause: Jeffrey Cooper; Allan J. Tobin; Nikki
Keddie
In Memoriam: David Cohen; Kenneth Ross MacKenzie
15 SECONDS
Jerome A. Zack, Professor of Medicine;
Associate Director for
Basic Sciences, UCLA AIDS Institute
'ROUND AND ABOUT
Glimmer of Hope — UCLA AIDS Institute researchers
are predicting that widespread use of anti- retroviral drugs can eventually
stop the HIV epidemic in its tracks — even in African nations with
a high prevalence of infection … Trading Spaces—
Construction of the Edye and Eli Broad Art Center is under way …
Summer of Discovery — More than 300 youths from
32 cities spent a few days last month at Covel Commons attending the National
Urban League Youth Leadership Conference, co-hosted by UCLA … A
Warm Welcome — The International Visitors Bureau, formerly
under the auspices of External Affairs, Special Events and Protocol, has
moved to the UCLA International Institute in the College of Letters and
Science …
TECH WATCH
TRACKING BUSES
A LESSON ON WHEELS
Managers of UCLA’s campus shuttle
services wanted a high-tech tool to more efficiently monitor their bus
routes. A computer science professor and his graduate students wanted
hard data from embedded computers to advance their research. Working hand
in hand, everybody’s getting what they want, thanks to an experiment
that is improving service to passengers as well.
SANDBOX OFFERS
COMMON GROUND FOR IT
There’s serious stuff going on in the Technology Sandbox,
a gathering of technologists from across the campus who have been digging
in to do a lot more than play. The Sandbox, which will soon have a physical
location in the Math Sciences Building, is revolutionizing the way innovations
in information technology are being explored on campus.
WEB WATCH
The UCLA News Web site has a new look with more features. It includes
a growing online experts directory for journalists, more graphics and
a new feature, “Closer Look,” with in-depth reports on university
news. Through the Web site, journalists can find current and past news
releases, university experts and general information about UCLA.
CAMPUS
STAGE IS SET FOR LARGEST
LINEUP OF CULTURAL EVENTS
In David Sefton’s, director of UCLA Performing Arts, search to bring
L.A. audiences important cultural pieces that were embraced by audiences
in Europe and the East Coast, he has created a lineup of an eclectic array
of world-class artists, a mix of living legends, provocateurs, traditional
favorites, ground-breaking artists and daring world premieres
PROGRAM TURNS FACTORY LUNCHROOM
INTO CLASS
Don Van Hiel, owner of a South Gate foundry and machine shop, arraged
for UCLA Extension's American Language Center to conduct English classes
in the company lunchroom between shifts.
VOICES
DON'T EXEMPT STOCK OPTIONS
FROM RULES
Earlier last month, corporate lobbyists worked overtime
to kill bipartisan legislation that would require firms to treat stock
options like any other business expense. You may be thinking: So what?
In fact, the ability of companies not to report these options —
which grant an employee the right to purchase discounted company stock
in the future — remains a critical defect in corporate governance.
DEATH AT THE HANDS OF JUDGE OR JURY
Whatever one thinks about the death penalty, the recent
Supreme Court decision in Ring v. Arizona is true to the history of
capital punishment in the United States. The court
held that the facts necessary to impose a death sentence must be found
by the jury, not by a judge. The decision will require several states
to change their sentencing procedures and will most likely require hundreds
of death row inmates to be resentenced.
WHAT'S ON MY MIND:
HER SPIRIT SOARS WITH ATHLETE'S DUNKED
BALL
The dunk is the most exciting play in basketball.
I wrote this poem last year, inspired by a dunk by Michelle Snow, then
with the University of Tennessee. However, it truly captures the spirit
of fans at the Staples Center July 30, especially for us “ballers.”
Lisa Leslie’s first dunk in professional women’s basketball
at the Miami Sol-L.A. Sparks game commemorated the 30th anniversary
of the passage of Title IX, which has greatly advanced gender equity
in sports.
OUR WORLD By V.S. HIXSON
CLOSEUP:
PROFS MIX WORK, PLAY AT BRUIN WOODS
Dawn-to-dusk activities for kids, under the leadership
of UCLA student camp councelors, are part of the lure of Bruin Woods,
where faculty are invited to lecture to vacationing
Bruins. |
