INDEX
2005
December 13 , 2005
(Vol. 26, No. 7)
NEWS
BRIEFS ONLINE
ALL IS WEL: Chancellor Albert Carnesale, who underwent aortic heart valve replacement surgery Dec. 13 at UCLA Medical Center, is in stable condition at this time, said Hillel Laks, chief of cardiac surgery.... LABOR NEWS : University of California officials announced they have reached tentative agreement with three labor unions recently: the California Nurses Association, CWA Local 9119 representing support professionals and technical employees and the University Council – the American Federation of Teachers on a new contract for UC's librarians.... LONGER SURVIVAL TIME : Pairing the targeted therapy Herceptin with chemotherapy in patients with early-stage breast cancer significantly increases disease-free survival time in women who test positive for a genetic mutation that results in a particularly aggressive form of the disease, according to large, international study.... $1-MILLION PLEDGE: The School of Law has received a pledge of $1 million from the international law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP (Paul Hastings) to establish the Paul Hastings Endowed Chair in Corporate and Securities Law.... KATRINA RELIEF : UThe UC is giving employees two ways to assist with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The Emergency Vacation Leave Sharing Program allows an employee to donate accrued vacation credits to another employee if that person is needed to assist family or friends who have been directly affected by Hurricane Katrina.... POST-DOCTORAL STARS : The Graduate Division is accepting nominations from all faculty for the Chancellor’s Award for Postdoctoral Research.... A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY : Nominations are now being accepted for the Gold Shield Faculty Prize, which recognizes and rewards faculty members who have demonstrated extraordinary accomplishments in teaching (especially undergraduates) and in research or creative activity, together with an appropriate level of public service within the university.... NEW TREATMENT FOR ADDICTION : A new study led by researchers at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior suggests the antidepressant bupropion may help treat methamphetamine addiction. No medications presently are approved for treating methamphetamine addicts..... WHO BECOMES A HEAVY DRINKER?: In a new study, UCLA researchers, while noting that heavy drinking declined with age, found it fell more slowly among men compared with women and among smokers compared with nonsmokers..... REDUCE STRESS : Want to feel more energetic, empowered and motivated at work and in your life?.... 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. Members of UC’s Long-Range Guidance Team are seeking input from critical UC stakeholders, including alumni and staff members, on the issues they see facing the university in the year 2025.
NEWS IN BRIEF
WOULD THE LAST ONE OUT PLEASE SHUT THE LIGHTS?: Employees can help save energy by shutting down equipment and appliances before leaving for the winter closure. UCLA will close Dec. 24 through Jan. 2 to save energy in the face of a $12-million to $16-million shortfall in its state-funded utilities budget.... SAFEGUARD YOUR OFFICE: While employees take time off during the winter closure to relax, identity thieves and other criminals can use the opportunity to ply their trade on campus. The UC Police Department has a few tips on how you can make your workspace secure before leaving your office on Dec. 23.
STUDENTS PICK UP PACE TOWARD DEGREE
Hanging around five or six years to earn a degree is no longer the norm for UCLA undergrads eager to move on. A record number of UCLA undergraduates are graduating on time, according to the latest report from the campus’ Office of Analysis and Information Management (AIM).
ACADEMY STRUGGLES WITH COMPLEX COPYRIGHT ISSUES
Quick, take this quiz: The primary purpose of copyright is to (a) protect ideas; (b) make money; (c) promote learning.
SERIOUSLY ILL CHILDREN FOLLOW IN TWINS' PATH
It’s been more than three years since UCLA’s most celebrated twins, Maria de Jesús and Maria Teresa Quiej Álvarez, underwent their landmark 23-hour separation surgery as people worldwide held their breath.
SEARCH BEGINS FOR NEW CHANCELLOR
UC President Robert C. Dynes presided over a 17-member committee of regents, faculty, staff, students, alumni and community representatives on campus Dec. 8 who will help him search for the next chancellor of UCLA.
STAFF LEADER PUSHES FOR FEE WAIVERS
Fee discounts or waivers for the dependents of UC employees, a proposal that has been floated several times in different forms over the last decade by staff and faculty leaders, may resurface as soon as next year, predicted the head of the Council of University of California Staff Assemblies (CUCSA).
PEOPLE
LIFE'S A BALL FOR THIS WOMAN FOR ALL SEASONS
Maybe you’ve seen the tall, striking woman walking through the halls of the School of Public Health and thought, “Gee, I wonder if she plays basketball?”
AFTER HOURS: THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Retired since June 30, 2004, from her position as director of faculty equity in UCLA’s Office of Faculty Diversity, Carol Petersen is busier than ever. A resident of Canyon Point in Sunset Village, Petersen teaches a writing class in the Transfer Summer Program and a Fiat Lux class called “Stage and Screen: The Work of UCLA Students.” But it’s her second career as a photographer that has earned her acclaim — and given her a new perspective on life.
APPLAUSE
Margaret Leal-Sotelo, Bahram Jalali, Robert Goldberg, Raymond Knapp, Susan McClary, UCLA Medical Center, The Southern California Particle Center.
NAMES & FACES
Katherine Baicker, Yahya Rahmat-Samii, Melany Dela Cruz.
IN MEMORIAM
David S. Saxon
OUT & ABOUT
SERIOUS FUN AT THE HAMMER
Anyone who loves “Peanuts” knows exactly what will happen when Lucy holds the football for Charlie Brown to kick. She’ll pull it away at the last second, and the hapless Charlie Brown will fall flat on his back with a great thud.
NOT TO BE MISSED: "A JOHN WATERS CHRISTMAS WITH SPECIAL GUEST PEACHES."
John Waters, legendary filmmaker and the world’s preeminent auteur of dark, gross-out comedy, returns for his second annual yuletide extravaganza, featuring electro-punk, pro-sex feminist Peaches and more in this UCLA Live production of “A John Waters Christmas with special guest Peaches.” It’s on stage at Royce Hall Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $22-$45. For an additional $35, you can attend a special pre-show meet and greet from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in Royce Hall West Lobby. www.uclalive.org or (310) 825-2101.
GOT A GRIPE? TAKE IT TO THE OMBUDS OFFICE
The employee’s complaint, recalled Mauricio “Reese” Ramos, interim director of UCLA’s Office of Ombuds Services, was typical of many he hears these days. What it boiled down to, he said, was a lack of respect, or at least that’s the way it seemed to the employee.
VOICES
RECOGNIZE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO ISLAMS
Part of the challenge that both Muslims and non-Muslims confront is to develop a coherent way of speaking about the differences between what we intuitively know to be the mainstream of Islam and another form of Islam that shocks and disturbs a lot of people.
GETTING FIT REQUIRES THE RIGHT FIT
I think I’m in pretty good shape for someone eligible for Medicare. I bike for an hour or do the Santa Monica steps thrice a week. I walk daily and mow my own lawn. I play tennis and ski. But alas, to the horror of my daughters, I didn’t go to a gym until about a year ago.
YOUR FEEDBACK
Is there an obesity epidemic? Stem cell vision, Hey, where’s the bear?
CARTOON BY MATTHEW HENRY HALL
CAMPUS
BRUIN ANGELS
It’s better to give than to receive” is more than just a shopworn phrase for a lot of Bruins. Often working under the radar and expecting nothing in return, many faculty and staff give of their time, talents and resources to help others. Each year during the holiday season, UCLA Today shares the stories of just a few of UCLA’s most generous employees. They are this year’s Bruin Angels.
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