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INDEX 2004

January 21, 2004 (Vol. 24, No. 8)

NEWS

BUREAU BRIEFS
INSTITUTE OF THE ENVIRONMENT: Mary D. Nichols, a national environmental leader who shaped California clean air, water and land conservation programs most recently as the secretary for resources (1998-2003), is the new director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment.… GEOPHYSICS & PLANETARY PHYSICS: An international team that includes a UCLA seismologist has been able to predict the magnitude and timing of earthquakes months ahead of the actual temblors, including the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that struck Central California on Dec. 22.... PROPOSITION 55: A measure on the March 2 ballot would, if passed, raise $12.3 billion to build and renovate facilities at California public schools, community colleges and universities. UC’s share would be $688 million for critical seismic and life safety improvements to aging buildings, among other projects.

UC SETS BUDGET PRIORITIES
Faced with painful decisions to raise fees and reduce freshman enrollment targets, the Board of Regents on Jan. 14 identified priorities that will become the basis for UC’s own budget proposal in March and for its message to Sacramento in response to proposed cuts of $372 million.

OUTREACH DEFENDED IN CAPITAL HEARING
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to eliminate funding for outreach programs at the University of California and California State University drew sharp criticism Jan. 7 from legislators, university representatives and students at a press conference and joint hearing of three legislative committees in Sacramento.

NEWS 2

CAMPUS BRIEFS
WEB WORLDWIDE: In the first appraisal of its kind of the social, political and economic effects of the Internet in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States, a new study has found that television viewing is down among Internet users in all survey countries while trust in online information is running high.... CAPITAL STUDIES: The University of California Center Sacramento (UCCS), which was established by the regents last year, recently welcomed its first group of students as part of an innovative program that will provide hands-on learning and research opportunities in Sacramento’s public policy arena to UC undergraduates.... WORKING TOGETHER: Over the last five months, 18 directors of Chicano and Latino research centers within the University of California have been meeting to discuss collaborative efforts and areas of mutual interest.

DID YOU KNOW?
eScholarship Editions, a California Digital Library program at the University of California, has completed a project to electronically publish nearly 1,400 UC Press digital books, making it the world’s largest collection of university press electronic books.

IT WAS QUITE A DAY IN L.A. FOR UCLA
Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky recently received the inaugural UCLA Local Legislator of the Year Award at a reception culminating UCLA Day with Local Government, an annual effort dedicated to communicating UCLA’s messages to Los Angeles city and county elected officials.

EMPLOYEES URGED TO VOTE IN UPCOMING ELECTION
An election is in the process of being scheduled for approximately 12,000 Administrative and Professional Staff systemwide so that they can decide whether or not they wish to be exclusively represented by the University Professional and Technical Employees/Communication Workers of America (UPTE/CWA), one of UC’s labor unions.

YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW
10 YEARS AFTER NORTHRIDGE: While Los Angeles County did not lose population or housing stock in the long term following the Northridge earthquake 10 years ago, residential recovery was not uniform, according to a UCLA study.... UCLA IN LA: The Center for Community Partnerships is accepting proposals from faculty, professional staff and graduate students for collaborative, community-based initiatives, research or projects that address pressing social issues in Los Angeles.... NURTURING OUR NATURE: The second in a series of annual symposia by UCLA’s Center for Society, the Individual, and Genetics will explore whether genetic information will have broad implications for the choices people make regarding lifestyle and nutrition.

PEOPLE

LIVING IN SOLAR COMFORT
For Scott Bartchy, professor of Christian origins and the history of religion, having the Center for the Study of Religion on campus makes perfect sense. After all, religion is taught in numerous courses, from philosophy to anthropology to art.

15 SECONDS
OCTAVIO VALLEJO: Community Health Program Manager, UCLA/Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center.

NAMES AND FACES
Kudos: Ronald W. Busuttil ... Rebecca Beatty ... Nikki R. Keddie.
Congrats: Curtis Hanson ... Paul J. da Silva ... Valerie Bross ... UCLA Medical Center.
In Memoriam: Mario Baur ... Paul Hoffman ... Mary Reres.

CAMPUS

'ROUND AND ABOUT
CHANCELLOR'S TOWN HALL: All staff are invited to attend the Chancellor’s Town Hall hosted by the UCLA Staff Assembly Jan. 29 from 11:50 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Northwest Auditorium in Sunset Village.... CHR TRAINING CLASSES: If your resolution for the new year is to make betteruse of your time at work and at home or to come up with a safe, but money-making, investment strategy, then Campus Human Resources can point you in the right direction in 2004.... CAMPUS CAR SHARE: Beginning Feb. 2, staff, faculty and students will be able to rent three new Honda Civic Hybrid cars on campus by the hour.... NEW DIRECTORIES FOR 2004: To help meet budgetary constraints and still maintain quality of service, UCLA and the UC Office of the President have made changes to the systemwide and UCLA telephone directories.

ART AND SCIENCE BLEND IN 'NANO' EXHIBIT
Nanotechnology, the stuff of scientists’ dreams and science fiction nightmares, has entered another realm. Call it the fun zone.

STUDENT'S WORK COULD LEAD TO MIGRAINE RELIEF
UCLA biology major Shahrouz Ganjian likes his classes, but is he content to learn science just in the classroom?

ENGINEERING 1 WAS HOME TO CAMPUS VISIONARIES
For five decades, the unassuming Engineering 1 Building was a unique research site on campus where scientists could launch large-scale, visionary experiments on smog, transportation, solar energy and a host of other topics.

VOICES