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The Regents of the University of California
 

campus briefs

NUCLEAR TERRORISM

Graham Allison, the Douglas Dillon Professor of Government at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, will discuss his latest book, “Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe” (2004), Dec. 2 at 4 p.m. in the Faculty Center’s California Room. During President Clinton’s first term, Allison served as assistant secretary of defense for policy and plans and coordinated Department of Defense strategy and policy toward Russia, Ukraine and other states of the former Soviet Union. His book, “Essence of Decision: Exploring the Cuban Missile Crisis” (1971) was recently released in an updated second edition and ranks among the best-sellers in political science, with more than 350,000 copies in print. Allison served as dean of the Kennedy School from 1977 to 1989. A reception will follow the lecture. Seating is limited. To reserve space, call (310) 794-6241 or e-mail gwaterman@support.ucla.edu.

IN THE WORKS

There are three major initiatives under way on campus currently that will have campuswide impact, Academic Senate Chair Kathleen Komar told faculty representatives attending the Legislative Assembly meeting Nov. 16. First, the Committees on Research and Faculty Research Grants are revising on a pilot basis the way in which faculty research grants are assigned, given that funding has been reduced and that reviewing the grants took much of the faculty’s time and energy. Second, a study is under way to examine how the campus uses information technology. Third, there has been a reorganization of the institutional review boards that are responsible for reviewing, approving and overseeing all human subjects research on campus, Komar explained. “All of this activity is part of our ongoing effort to do the best job of research and teaching that we possibly can with the resources we have.” To learn more, go to www.senate.ucla.edu.

BENEFITS ALERT

Open Enrollment 2005 will close at midnight on Nov. 30. If you still have to make a change in your benefits coverage, go to the At Your Service Web site (http://atyourservice.ucop.edu). The site has sections for California faculty and staff, California retirees, LANL employees, LANL retirees, COBRA enrollees, and Core Benefits employees. Online highlights for California faculty and staff are available in Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Tagalog. Before you can make any Open Enrollment transactions, you will need to follow directions to change your UC PIN to a password. If a PIN reset is needed, call the UCLA Campus Human Resources benefits staff at (310) 794-0830. To reset a PIN can take as long as 24 hours, so plan ahead. Also call the benefits office if you’re a non-computer user and need assistance.

UC LAWSUIT

The University of California filed a lawsuit Nov. 1 against a number of major natural gas providers for allegedly manipulating retail natural gas prices during California’s energy crisis in 2000-2001. In the lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court, the university claims that the energy companies — primarily producers, marketers, traders, transporters, distributors and sellers of retail natural gas — engaged in “unfair and deceptive conduct (that) caused California gas retail prices to escalate to about six times the national average.” “The university and other California consumers should not bear the costs of unlawful price gouging of these energy providers,” said James E. Holst, UC’s general counsel. The law firm which filed suit on the university’s behalf has filed similar suits on behalf of the counties of Alameda, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara.