:: UCLA TODAY Home

©2004
The Regents of the University of California
 

January 22 , 2002 (Vol. 23, No. 8)

NEWS

BUREAU BRIEFS
Health Sciences – A UCLA research team has discovered that a popular health supplement and antioxidant vitamins may help prevent atherosclerosis, or blockage of the blood vessels … External Affairs – Jack O’Connell, the new state superintendent of public instruction, gave an inaugural speech Jan. 16 at Covel Commons during weeklong festivities in honor of his taking office … Public Policy – American Indians in Los Angeles County are disproportionately concentrated in low-income communities and remain disadvantaged by low educational attainment, poor employment outcomes and higher poverty rates, according to researchers at the School of Public Policy and Social Research.

DAVIS' BUDGET CUTS $299M MORE FROM UC
Gov. Gray Davis announced $299 million in proposed cuts to the University of California’s 2003-04 budget on Jan. 10 — bringing UC’s overall budget shortfall to almost $1 billion less than called for in its Partnership Agreement with the governor.

MINING THE RICHES OF NANOSCIENCE
Three University of California campuses, including UCLA, have formed the Center for Nanoscience Innovation for Defense (CNID) to boost discoveries about infinitesimally small-scale nanosystems, develop new ways to apply their findings in advanced technology and support graduate students.

OLD HOME COMPUTER COULD BRIDGE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Got a new home computer for the holidays? Before you haul the old one to the garage or junkyard, think about donating it to someone in Los Angeles who cannot afford to merge onto the information highway or who lacks directions on how to get there.

NEWS 2

DATELINE UC SYSTEMWIDE
Advising the Feds — Edward R.B. McCabe, physician-in-chief at Mattel Children’s Hospital, will chair the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society ... Winter Offerings — The university’s new Fiat Lux program continues in the Winter Quarter with 44 innovative courses designed for small groups of students … Lab Shakeup — Susan A. Wilbur, director of admissions and relations with schools at UC Irvine, has been named UC’s director of undergraduate admissions… The Search in On — The General Accounting Office has been asked by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is investigating the University of California’s management of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, to examine the UC’s management of the Lawrence Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley labs as well.

DID YOU KNOW?
The full texts of 500-plus University of California Press books are online and available for downloading free to faculty, staff and students through a partnership between UC Press and the California Digital Library. By this fall, 1,500 others will become available. Browse the bookshelf at http://escholarship.cdlib.org/ucpress.

CENTER FOCUSES ON NONPROFITS
The School of Public Policy and Social Research formally launched the Center for Civil Society on Jan. 9 with a wide-ranging discussion on the role of nonprofits and community organizations in Los Angeles and the release of two reports, including the first-ever overview of the nonprofit sector in Greater Los Angeles and the economic challenges it faces.

UC GRADUATE ENROLLMENT GROWTH ON TARGET
The University of California is on target to increase graduate enrollment and is even ahead of schedule in boosting graduate science and engineering education

YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW — Rejoining the Team: Former Bruin wide receiver Karl Dorrell was selected as the 15th head football coach in UCLA history, Athletic Director Dan Guerrero announced last month; Cutting off Cancer: A drug designed to cut off a tumor’s blood supply showed promising results in patients with advanced colorectal cancer when paired with standard chemotherapy, according to a Jonsson Cancer Center study; Arrest Update: As of press time Jan. 17, a court hearing was to have been held to decide whether three Carson high school students arrested for allegedly raping a female student in her dorm room in the De Neve Plaza complex Dec. 5 should be tried as adults.

PEOPLE

NEW AD IS READY TO MAKE TOUGH CALLS
It’s been only six months, and already Athletic Director Dan Guerrero has had to step up to the plate.When he took the reins of the UCLA Athletic Department on July 1, replacing the retiring Pete Dalis, Guerrero was well aware of the pressure to excel at a university like UCLA, which leads the nation with 87 national championships and 108 conference titles.

ASKING BIG QUESTIONS WITH A SMALL FLY
When it comes to scientific breakthroughs, con- sider the lowly fruit fly. Kitchen pests to the rest of us, for researchers like Lawrence Zipursky, the diminutive members of the genus Drosophila constitute a scientist’s gold mine, promising to reveal secrets about the nature of life and even pave the way to cures for human disease.

NAMES AND FACES
Kudos: Ronald Mito, Arthur Geoffrion, Department of Information Studies
Accolades: Kathryn A. Atchison, Amos Lakos, David Aboody
In Memoriam: Edgar L. Brokaw Jr., Gerald Lamb, Douglas A. Martin, William George McMillan

15 SECONDS
Kathleen Kiser, Associate Dean for Administration, School of Public Health

CAMPUS

'ROUND AND ABOUT
Grants Available: The Council on Research is taking applications online for the 2003-2004 Faculty Grants Program (FGP) to help support research by eligible UCLA faculty; Cheaper Seats: Faculty and staff can now receive discount tickets to UCLA Live’s global mix of theater, music, dance and spoken-word events; Do you 403(B)?: A New Year’s reminder: The 2003 403(b) Maximum Annual Contribution increases to $12,000. If you will reach age 50 by Dec. 31, 2003, your max this year rises to $14,000. Also, employees who reached 15 years of UC service by Dec. 31, 2002, may be eligible to contribute up to an additional lifetime limit of $15,000 — $3,000 per year for five years; Eldercare Conference: Learn about caring for aging family members and for yourself, too, as a caretaker at the second annual Eldercare Conference on Feb. 18, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the James West Alumni Center.

WEB WATCH
For more than 10 years the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging has been dedicated to improving the understanding of the brain in health and disease. Laboratory Director Arthur W. Toga and his multidisciplinary staff have more than 15 years of experience in neuroimaging. The Laboratory of Neuro Imaging provides for analyses of brain mapping data at the regional, national and international level. View some of its accomplishments.

SHE TAPS POWER, RAGE OF SOLO DANCER
Dancer Homer Avila has been “running” ever since cancer took his right leg and part of his hip. Nearly two years after amputation changed his life, Avila, a top professional dancer based in New York, has redefined what he can achieve with his new body and has rediscovered virtuosity.

FINDING A PLACE OF THEIR OWN
Lauri Fitz-Simmons used to idly spend her time in Westwood as her 3-year-old son Patrick attends a social skills program for autistic children at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital. With the opening of the Nathanson Family Resource Center, however, she now spends her time perusing the growing resource library or surfing the Internet via high-speed DSL lines for the latest information on autism.

VOICES

CLOSE-UP:
SHARPENING UCLA'S COMPETITIVE EDGE
It is a question of vital interest to the entire university community: How can UCLA maintain its academic excellence at a time of shrinking resources? Chancellor Albert Carnesale asked campus leaders to consider this challenge at a retreat held in Ventura last September.