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FOR YOUR BENEFIT

Next month, Open Enrollment begins with some good news. The amount most UC employees will pay for their medical plan participation will not increase next year. While health-care costs continue to rise some, UC has been able to increase its contribution toward employees’ medical plans for 2005. And employees will again pay no premiums for UC’s dental plans, Delta Dental and PMI Dental Plan (California only), and vision plan. There will also be no premium changes to the ARAG legal plan, which employees may enroll in next month. UC is extending coverage eligibility to qualified opposite sex domestic partners and their children or grandchildren, and for disabled children past age 23 who meet certain Social Security or SSI qualifications. For details and a personalized statement of your current benefit coverage, go to http://atyourservice.ucop.edu. Employees can change their benefits from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30. Questions? Call Campus Human Resources at (310) 794-0830 or Healthcare Human Resources at (310) 794-0500.

HEROES OF “SPARTACUS”

Kirk Douglas and Edward Lewis, producers of the movie “Spartacus,” will be presented with the Freedom of Expression Medal at the James Bridges Theater in Melnitz Hall Nov. 8 for having broken the “Hollywood Blacklist” by using screenwriter Dalton Trumbo’s name in the film’s credits. Douglas also played the title role. Students, staff and faculty are invited to attend the 7:30 p.m. presentation by the Institute of Modern Letters. That will be followed at 8 p.m. with a screening of the restored 1960 movie. The event is part of a celebration of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the School of Theater, Film and Television. For details, see www.tft.ucla.edu.

LEARN AS YOU SHOP

In addition to the Professor in the Union lunch-and-lectures, ASUCLA is hosting Thursday@Noon, featuring lectures by faculty and staff, book signings and other free events open to the public. Just pull up a folding chair and hear Professor Gary Small Nov. 4 advise you on innovative strategies to keep your brain young. Small is director of the Center on Aging and author of “The Memory Bible” and “The Memory Prescription.” Then on Nov. 18, Stephanie Pincetl, visiting professor at the Institute of the Environment, will speak on living “green.” To keep updated on future events, go to www.asucla.ucla.edu/proser_pro.asp?ref=thurnoon.

GORILLAS OF THE ‘NET

Eric Schmidt, Google Inc.’s chairman of the executive committee and chief executive officer, will be the keynote speaker at UCLA’s celebration of the 35th anniversary of the first Internet message, an Oct. 29 symposium packed with thought-provoking sessions and presentations. “The Bright Side: Gorillas of the Internet,” featuring some of the industry’s heaviest hitters, will focus on the Internet’s role in today’s tech-driven economy and include representatives from Broadcom, Intel, Microsoft and Cisco. In “The Future Side: Pioneers and Visionaries,” the four fathers of the Internet, including UCLA computer science Professor Leonard Kleinrock in whose lab the first Internet message was sent, will predict what the future holds for this technology. To register as a guest or for more information on the event, go to www.internetanniversary.com.