UCLA Today: archive 000111

BUREAU BRIEFS
The College – Judith L. Smith, an award-winning teacher and scholar who heads undergraduate programs, has been appointed interim executive dean of the College of Letters and Science… UCLA Library – Gary E. Strong, director of the Queens Borough Public Library in New York, will become the University Librarian at UCLA on Sept. 1, pending regental approval… Athletics – Ben Howland, who led the University of Pittsburgh to a record of 28-5, a No. 4 ranking on this year’s final Associated Press poll and a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season, was named the new men’s head basketball coach at UCLA on April 2.

WAR IS CLOSER TO HOME FOR SOME
For many on campus, the war in Iraq seems a distant confrontation on the other side of the globe. Yet this conflict is closer than we may realize. About 17 staff employees — supervisors, emergency medicine technicians, office workers — are on active military duty, eyewitnesses to and participants in the fury.

THESE TEACHERS ARE AT THE TOP OF THEIR CLASS
The ability to connect with students, no matter how complex or “dry” the subject matter, is what the five winners of this year’s Distinguished Teaching Awards have in common. Their different, but equally dynamic, teaching styles have garnered effusive praise from students, deans, department chairs and colleagues: Robin Garrell, chemistry and biochemistry; Joseph DiStefano III, computer science, medicine and cybernetics; A.P. Gonzalez, film, television and digital media; Mitchell Morris, musicology; and Kirk Stark, School of Law.

HELP BRIDGE THE GAP IN L.A. VIA UNITED WAY
United Way of Greater Los Angeles provides funds for some 200 agencies that deliver services to nearly 4 million adults and children at more than 600 sites in L.A. County.

CAMPUS BRIEFS
Education Abroad Program — In response to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, Education Abroad Program (EAP) administrators have for now advised UC students, including 13 from UCLA, in SARS-affected Asian countries to “hunker down” and stay where they are. Nineteen of those students — six from UCLA — are in Hong Kong, where universities had suspended classes for a week... Tracking 'Near-Misses' — UC is installing a pioneering Web-based medical-event reporting system to improve patient safety and care in the UC medical centers… His Legacy Lives On — The UCLA Latino community will host “César E. Chávez: A Legacy of Leadership” April 9 at Covel Commons to honor his memory and celebrate the achievements of Luis Valdez, this year’s recipient of the UCLA César E. Chávez Spirit Award… Questions about CAP II — CAP II, a benefit to active UCRP members approved by the UC regents to ’02-’03 salary increases, was awarded April 1.

DID YOU KNOW?
The University of California topped the charts among the top 10 universities who were awarded the most patents in 2002, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. UC ranked first with 431 patents, the ninth consecutive year it has led the list. UC outranked MIT, Caltech and Stanford.

UC LEADERS FIGHT TO PRESERVE BUDGET
As the state Legislature wrangles over how to deal with an estimated $35-billion deficit and next year’s spending plan, University of California leaders told the Board of Regents meeting April 3 in San Francisco they are doing everything they can to ensure that UC’s budget does not suffer cuts beyond the $373-million reduction already proposed in Gov. Gray Davis’ 2003-04 budget plan.

MORE EMPLOYEES CARING FOR ELDERS
One in four working Americans are caring for family members and friends over the age of 65. At the same time, many of these caregivers are also caring for children under 18. Often, these caregivers, about 75% of them women, don’t do well in caring for themselves.

YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW — Global harmony in art: The Ford Foundation has awarded a five-year, $1.25-million grant to UCLA’s Center for Intercultural Performance (CIP) to establish an endowment to support the center’s core programs, develop new initiatives and continue its ambitious work; Laurels are Bruins: The UCLA Alumni Association will host its 58th UCLA Awards ceremony May 17 at the UCLA Hammer Museum; Critical Issues: The Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations is offering an unusual course, Honors Collegium 155, based on a series of lectures by distinguished experts from throughout Southern California on the most pressing issues confronting America and the world today.

ECON PROF STUDIES CHILDREN'S WELL-BEING
Economics Professor Janet Currie investigates programs that focus on children's health and leads campus efforts to build the new Krieger Child Care Center.

HIS MUSIC IS A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE
At 75, when life’s metronome typically ticks down from presto to a slower adagio, pianist Vitaly Margulis is maintaining a tempo that others half his age have difficulty matching.

NAMES AND FACES
Excellence: Dennis Slamon, Roman Koropeckyj, Mark Carlson, Benjamin Suchoff, and the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Kudos: Colin Quigley, Thomas Klitzner, and Thomas Klitzner.
In Memoriam: Lawrence H. Aller, William C. Meecham, and Robert “Bob” Tannenbaum.

'ROUND ABOUT
BRUINGO! to expand: Chancellor Albert Carnesale has approved the continuation of the BruinGo! program for 2003-04. When it starts up again in the fall, the Culver City Bus Lines will be added

L.A. A LEARNING LAB FOR CLUSTER COURSES
Exemplifying a growing trend in the College of Letters and Science to weave service learning — real-life experiences in the field — into undergraduate education, more than 2,000 UCLA undergraduates each year take courses involving fieldwork. That number is likely to increase next fall when the College launches the Community Learning and Service Center, dedicated to this approach.

BEYOND BRUIN WALK
Kwhat's next? — “ucla: next,” a student-produced television show that gives viewers a unique perspective of the Westwood campus, is now on the air more than ever before... Postdoc Winners — Winners of the Chancellor’s Award for Postdoctoral Research were honored at a reception at the Faculty Center on March 19… Top Teaching Assistants — Selected to receive this year’s Distinguished Teaching Assistant Awards are Louis H. deRosset of philosophy; Ramela Grigorian of art history; Gordon Haramaki of musicology; Bryan W. Lockett of classics; and Theresa Romens-Woerpel of geography.

WAR PUTS INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AT RISK
Historians may well come to look back on the 18 months from Sept. 11 to the Iraq war as fundamentally realigning the tectonic plates of world politics.

HUMAN FEARS, WARTIME AND THE ECONOMY
In times of war, we should consider the impact of human biases in order to help consumers and investors make wise economic decisions.

WHAT'S ON MY MIND
IRAQ AND BIOWEAPONS: WHEN WILL EVIDENCE BE ENOUGH?
There are many excellent reasons both for and against going to war with Iraq. Among these, the most important fact is that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, particularly bioweapons, and would be willing to use them or sell them to others.

CLOSEUP:
HUNTER GROUP OFFERS RX FOR FISCAL STABILITY
UCLA’s academic medical center faces significant fiscal challenges prompted by recent changes in the health-care industry. To that end, UCLA Healthcare engaged The Hunter Group to conduct a comprehensive assessment of its operational, financial and organizational systems.