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The Regents of the University of California
 

THE VALUE OF GREEN TEA

A UCLA study on bladder cancer cell lines showed that green tea extract has potential as an anti-cancer agent, proving for the first time that it is able to target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. The study, published in the Feb. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, also uncovered more about how green tea extract works to counteract the development of cancer, said senior author JianYu Rao, a Jonsson Cancer Center member and an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine. “Our study adds a new dimension in understanding the mechanisms of green tea extract,” Rao said.

EMPLOYEE COLLAPSES

A 33-year-old Parking Services employee collapsed outside of Murphy Hall around 7:42 a.m. Feb. 15 while collecting change from parking meters. After being alerted by another employee, the UC Police Department, EMS and fire department personnel and paramedics responded, but they found Richard Champion of Antelope Valley in full cardiac arrest. He was transported to UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8:38 a.m. A memorial service for Champion, a seven-year employee, is being planned by his coworkers at Parking Services.

LATINO ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION

UC President Robert C. Dynes told several hundred Latino educators and students Feb. 8 that UC academic preparation programs and community partnerships are critical to improving Latino students’ access to higher education. Dynes appeared in the Bay Area at the California Chicano-Latino Intersegmental Convocation. Dynes noted that a large proportion of UC students come from immigrant families and that UC graduation rates are strong across all ethnic groups. However, UC eligibility rates for Latino high school students lag the statewide average. “We clearly have many challenges, and a significant one is that we have a K-12 school system in California that is marked by many inequities in opportunity,” Dynes said. “But far from just pointing the finger, we in higher education need to be part of the solution.”

LABOR NEGOTIATIONS

The UC has been in negotiations with the Coalition of University Employees (CUE) since July 2003, including formal mediation and impasse (“fact-finding”) proceedings with a state-appointed mediator, in an attempt to reach an agreement regarding 2003-04 wages for UC clerical employees and other issues. The fact-finding phase of negotiations has concluded and the fact-finding panel’s recommendations have been delivered to the parties. For details about these negotiations, including a letter of rebuke to CUE for “the unauthorized and unlawful disclosure of a draft of the Neutral Fact-Finder’s Report” during a period of confidentiality, visit: http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies/labor_relations/CUEfact_find.html.