INDEX
2005
November 22 , 2005
(Vol. 26, No. 6)
NEWS
BRIEFS ONLINE
OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS: Education Abroad Program is currently accepting applications for 13 study center
directorships.... NEW INSIGHTS INTO SCHIZOPHRENIA: In new research that helps to reveal the nature of schizophrenia at the cellular
level, UCLA scientists report the discovery of unique DNA sequence variations
associated with increased risk for schizophrenia, impairments in short- and
long-term memory, and other cognitive deficits.... NO EASY FEAT: A very massive star collapsed to form a neutron star and not a black hole as expected, according to UCLA research from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.... COMPENSATION CRITICIZED: The San Francisco Chronicle recently published several critical stories on UC
compensation issues, particularly involving senior management.... CARDS FOR A CAUSE : Unique holiday cards designed by pediatric patients from Mattel Children's
Hospital with messages of hope and healing are now on sale.... HELP FOR LOCAL SCHOOLS : The UCLA School Management Program has received grants from the Arthur Vining
Davis Foundations and the California Community Foundation for a combined total
of $244,913.... BLUE-RIBBON GROUP: The UCLA Library has created a Board of Visitors composed of prominent
businesspeople, philanthropists and educators. .... NEED TO BORROW A LAPTOP?: Any UCLA student, staff or faculty member with a BruinCard and a Bruin OnLine ID/password can check out a laptop for up to four hours.... WEIGH IN ON UC'S FUTURE:President Robert C. Dynes has launched a long-range planning process that is focusing on what UC will need to do by the year 2025 to meet the needs of the state and to preserve academic quality..... BRAIN TUMORS : Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer have identified key characteristics in certain deadly brain tumors that make them 51 times more likely to respond to a specific class of drugs than tumors in which the molecular signature is absent.... HONORS FROM ITALY: Professor Massimo Ciavolella, chair of the Italian Department, has been named Grande Ufficiale dell'Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana (Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity) by the president of the Italian Republic, His Excellency Carlo Ciampi.
SHORT TAKES
PROGRAM RESTORES: The state Department of Health Services agreed Nov. 17 to restore funding to a health-care program for low-income men with prostate cancer.... ONGOING NEGOTIATIONS : UCLA Medical Center and the UCLA Faculty Practice Group, collectively known as UCLA Healthcare, are negotiating new contracts with Blue Cross, with the goal of continuing as providers under the Blue Cross Plus and Blue Cross PPO medical plans.
REGENTS APPROVE PLAN FOR BRINGING FACULTY/STAFF SALARIES TO MARKET LEVELS
The Board of Regents unanimously approved a proposal aimed at bringing the salaries for all UC faculty and staff to market levels, while establishing an orderly, transparent and impartial process for determining compensation for senior leadership.
WINTER CLOSURE AHEAD
Facing a shortfall of $12 million to $16 million in its state-funded utilities budget, UCLA will close Dec. 24 to Jan. 2, 2006, to conserve energy over the winter holidays. The closure is unchanged from that proposed June 22 in a memo to deans and directors.
NURSING SCHOOL A STEP CLOSER TO REINSTATING UNDERGRAD DEGREE
Taking the first step toward alleviating a nursing shortage in California, the UC Board of Regents voted Nov. 16 to adopt a 2006-07 budget proposal that includes funding for a UCLA School of Nursing initiative that would implement two new degree programs here: a bachelor of science degree in nursing and a master’s entry-level degree.
REGENTS TO TAKE UP DIVESTMENT ISSUE
Prompted by a UCLA-based student group fighting genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, a UC Board of Regents committee has agreed to look into divestment of the university’s holdings in companies doing business in the East African country.
PEOPLE
HE CARES FOR TORTURED AND ENSLAVED AMONG IMMIGRANTS
While the White House, Congress, the military and the public vigorously debate how far U.S. interrogators should go to extract information from political detainees, few have looked directly into the faces of victims of political violence.
APPLAUSE
UCLA Medical Center, Neil Morley, Gerald Buckberg, Terry Morello.
OUT & ABOUT
HEAR THE VOICE OF A PEOPLE
Roughly 22,000 songs that are part of the largest collection of Mexican and Mexican-American vernacular recordings in existence are literally at your fingertips if you are sitting at a UCLA computer.
WORLD AIDS DAY
How will you observe World AIDS Day?
On Thursday, Dec. 1, dozens of groups from every corner of the UCLA campus will meet at various locations to mark World AIDS Day 2005. The campus community will have a mix of eclectic activities to choose from — performances, workshops, HIV testing, multimedia displays and a lunchtime march and rally.
NOT TO BE MISSED: BLUE AND GOLD WEEK
Combine the tradition and pomp of Homecoming with the spirit and enthusiasm of Beat ’SC Week, and what do you get? The first-ever Blue and Gold Week, Nov. 28 to Dec. 3. Join in the fun with a series of festivities designed to promote Bruin pride. Highlights include the “Strongest Bruin Contest,” “The Amazing Peanut Butter and Jelly Adventure” race, a Beat ’SC car smash, a Trojan piñata, and a Beat ’SC parade, bonfire and rally. Don’t miss out on a chance to wear your blue-and-gold gear and show everyone what it means to be a Bruin. All this excitement culminates with the long-awaited UCLA vs. USC football game on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Los Angeles Coliseum. For details, check out www.uclalumni.net/CalendarEvents/BlueGold.
VOICES
OPPOSING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION NOT A BLACK OR WHITE ISSUE
With few exceptions, the vast majority of research in race relations focuses on attitudes between blacks and whites. The overwhelming weight of research focuses on the preferences whites show for policy issues regarding race relations. Few studies address the viewpoints of blacks, performing side-by-side comparisons between blacks and whites..
THE TYRANNY OF SLENDERIZING
One in three Americans is estimated to be overweight, and treating obesity costs $70 billion a year. The situation is so dire that the U.S. surgeon general has called for sweeping changes in schools, restaurants, workplaces and communities to help combat the growing obesity epidemic. Fat is our secular sin, and millions of Americans are enrolled in formal dieting programs.
PERSONAL JOURNEY: A PARENT JOINS THE BRUIN FAMILY
When my daughter Hailey recently began her freshman year at UCLA, my husband, Michael, and I wanted to support her and learn more about what UCLA has to offer. We got our chance during the 2005 Parents’ Weekend. Held on campus in October, the annual event allowed us to spend three days on campus. We returned home with the fondest memories of our stay.
CARTOON BY CAROLE CABLE
CAMPUS
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM STRESS
You’re sweating bullets just before you give the most important presentation of your career to senior managers, or your heart is pounding as you’re about to step into the middle of the latest crisis at work.
DOCTOR RACES AGAINST TIME TO SAVE QUAKE VICTIMS
In one of the best-known scenes from the epic film “Gone With the Wind,” the screen fills with the sight of countless dead and wounded soldiers from the Confederate South. For years, Zeba Vanek, an assistant clinical professor of neurology, thought of that haunting sight as a tragic symbol of war’s unimaginable suffering.
BLAIR ADVISER: THE TRUTH ABOUT GLOBALIZATION
When acclaimed sociologist Anthony Giddens began debating globalization with his colleagues in the late 1980s, hardly anyone outside academia appeared to be interested in the issue. Not even Tony Blair, who became Britain’s prime minister and a passionate proponent of globalization a decade later, seemed to care. |
