UCLA Today: archive 000111

BUREAU BRIEFS
Health Care – Chancellor Albert Carnesale and RAND President and CEO James A. Thomson signed a partnership agreement Sept. 5 that will strengthen joint research and training efforts on health-care initiatives… UCLA Labor Center – Marking a new era of outreach to L.A.’s working families, the downtown UCLA Labor Center was dedicated at a Labor Day ceremony attended by Gov. Gray Davis, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, labor leaders, and elected and campus representatives… The College – Research teams from UCLA and the Space Telescope Science Institute have used data from the Hubble Space Telescope to develop the strongest evidence yet for the existence of an intermediate sized class of black holes … The Anderson School – The UCLA Anderson Forecast garners an unparalleled record of accuracy for its quarterly outlook on the nation, according to the latest release of the National Income and Products Accounts issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

UC EXECS CITE AREAS OF CONCERN
In the first of a series of discussions on planning and policy issues that will shape the university over the next two decades, University of California administrators identified for the Board of Regents, meeting in San Francisco Sept. 19, several key "warning" areas they are closely monitoring.

UCLA RAISES RECORD $509M FOR ITS NEEDS
UCLA achieved its most successful fund-raising performance in campus history, setting a record for the University of California system, by receiving more than $509.4 million in private gifts and grants during the past fiscal year.

DATELINE UC SYSTEMWIDE
Course Inquiry — University of California President Richard C. Atkinson announced during the UC Board of Regents meeting Sept. 19 that he would be appointing a task force — comprised of regents, faculty and administrators — to review the university’s policies governing academic freedom and academic responsibility with respect to course descriptions ... $40M Settlement — On behalf of Enron Corp. investors, the University of California tentatively reached a $40-million settlement with Arthur Andersen’s international umbrella organization in the Enron securities and pension class-action lawsuits … New UC Press Director — Lynne Withey will be the new director of the University of California Press, the largest academic publisher on the West Coast. She succeeds James H. Clark, who retired from UC Press in February after leading operations for the last 25 years.

DID YOU KNOW?
Joining the UCLA campus community this month are 4,300 entering freshmen, 2,350 transfer students, 3,800 graduate and professional students and 232 newly appointed faculty members. Welcome!

ROBOTIC SURGERY ON CUTTING EDGE
A robot, guided by surgeon Joe Hines, successfully performed surgery on heartburn patient David Ritchie at UCLA Medical Center. Ritchie was on hand a week later during the opening of UCLA's new Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology.

U.S. LABOR CHIEF COMMENDS TWINS' NURSES
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao visited UCLA's Mattel Children's Hospital Sept. 18 to meet with the nurses who have been providing round-the-clock care for the Quiej Alvarez twins, who were once joined at the head but were successfully separated last month after 22 hours of surgery.

YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW – Growing Gap — Comparisons between 1990 and 2000 Census data point to a widening gulf between the two ends of the economic ladder in California, according to Paul Ong, director of UCLA’s Ralph and Goldy Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies … UCLA Boot Camp — For the first time, students from Antelope Valley participated in summer academic enrichment programs at UCLA … Enrich your Career — Campus Human Resources is accepting applications for the Staff Enrichment Program, a yearlong career-enhancement program for motivated staff members.

STRIVING TO IMPROVE CHILDREN'S WELFARE
Social Welfare Professor Duncan Lindsey is intrigued by children's poverty and social welfare issues. His interest in these issues shapes his teaching and research, as well as much of his spare time, during which he runs a Web site updating what's happening in the child welfare field.

LIVES DEPEND ON HER SKILLS
Barbara Van de Wiele recently found herself in the intense glare of the media as the lead anesthesiologist in the separation surgery of the conjoined twins from Guatemala. But Van de Wiele knows that what was at stake for the twins is the same for all her surgical patients: human lives depend on her skills.

NAMES AND FACES
Applause: John Mazziotta; Jean B. deKernion; Kogie Moodley. Kudos: Victoria Sork; Deborah Silverman; Malcolm Lesavoy
In Memoriam: Elizabeth Marmorston Horowitz; Roslyn B. Alfin-Slater; Yuji Ichioka; Shohig Sherry Garine Terzian.

15 SECONDS
Michael Ollson, Assistant Dean, Administration, School of Theater, Film and Television

'ROUND AND ABOUT
Viking-age discovery — A UCLA-led team of archaeologists has discovered a 1,000-year-old Viking Age farmhouse in north Iceland that may have belonged to Snorri Thorfinnsson, the first European born in the New World and the son of prominent figures in Viking sagas… Fowler 10/40 — To celebrate two anniversaries — 10 years at its current location and 40 years in existence — the Fowler Museum of Cultural History will waive its admission fee beginning next month … Meet me toll-free — Communications Technology Services now offers “Toll-Free Meet-Me Conference” service, a host-paid audio conference service that allows from three to 120 conferees to use a toll-free dial-in number to join a pre-arranged conference call … Vendors Fair — Come see what businesses are offering you Sept. 25 at the 2002 Business Opportunity Fair, hosted by the UCLA Small Business Development Office in conjunction with the Campus Purchasing Department … Fertile Minds — Want to become a volunteer docent for the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden and its public education program for schoolchildren and community groups?

STUDENTS BRING HOPE TO REMOTE CHINA
UCLA Political Science Professor Richard Baum and 11 students traveled to northeastern China to teach English to children in six remote villages, bringing them hope for a better future.

ANCIENT ARTIFACTS DRAW TRIBAL LEADERS TO CAMPUS
Tribal leaders of the Timbisha Shosone of Death Valley are among the many Native Americans visiting the Fowler Museum of Cultural History to seek pieces of their heritage.

COMMUNITY BULLETINS
Right on time — The late passage of the 2002-03 state budget had financial aid officers throughout the state on edge, with no firm state funding in place until Sept. 5. But Pamela Martin, associate director of UCLA’s Financial Aid Office, and her team were able to distribute nearly $59 million in loans, scholarships, work/study and institutional grants to roughly 21,000 students by Sept. 16, in time for the new school year … Smokers at risk — UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center recently launched the largest prevention study in the country to focus on bladder cancer in current and former smokers.

TOUGH TIMES REQUIRE SERIOUS STRATEGY
News about the state's budget deficit raises fear in the minds of many for the University of California. The state is UC's most important funding source. If UC is to remain the greatest public university and not fall behind private ones, its administrators must develop both short- and long-term contingency plans.

WAR REQUIRES CONGRESS' VOTE
On Sept. 17, Constitution Day, a delegation of American historians presented a petition signed bu 1,337 scholars urging Congress to assume its Constitutional responsibility to debate and vote on whether to declare war on Iraq.

OUR WORLD By Matt Hall

WHAT'S ON MY MIND: RETURNING TO NEW YORK TO BEAR WITNESS TO SEPT. 11
When Social Welfare Professor Jorja Prover and 65 students traveled to New York on the anniversary of Sept. 11, they learned a valuable lesson on the meaning of that event.

CLOSEUP:
UC, UCLA RESPOND TO TERRORISM, ATTACKS
This has been a year of extraordinary response as the work of engineers, bioterrorism experts and public health professionals took on new urgency. Since 9/11, the University of California, UCLA and its sister institutions have been at the forefront of that response in California to the war effort against terrorism.