News in brief

New virtual book club

Have you read a good book lately that you'd like to recommend to others? Or are you looking for recommendations yourself? Staff, faculty, students and other members of the campus community are invited to join like-minded readers in UCLA's new virtual book club, which is being spearheaded by Marian McKenna Olivas, program manager in the history department. All types of reading recommendations are welcome, including recreational, literary, scholarly, etc. While the club is "virtual," members are welcome to also use the list to create lunch groups or book exchanges. To join, go to http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/virtualbookclub.

It's great to be green

Come meet your suppliers and see their latest products and technologies while also learning what you can do to be green. The 2008 Alliance Supplier and BruinBuy Trade Show will feature more than 75 vendors and suppliers that have been awarded long-term strategically sourced supplier agreements based on providing UCLA the best blend of pricing, service and quality. The show will take place March 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ackerman Union Grand Ballroom. There will be free lunch, iPod and $50 BuinCard giveaways, gift certificates from Whole Foods and Amazon.com and seminars by Steelcase/Tangram & Invitrogen that will start at 11:30 a.m. The show is sponsored by UCLA Campus Purchasing and BruinBuy. See the Web site for more information. Or e-mail StrategicSourcing@finance.ucla.edu or or call Michelle Lee at (310)794-8071.

Student dance-a-thon raises $385,000 to fight AIDS

As an exercise in raising awareness about HIV/AIDS, few events can beat the annual UCLA Dance Marathon, a student-organized affair that pays tribute to the struggle of children suffering from HIV/AIDS. On Feb. 16-17, about 800 people, mostly students, danced nonstop for 26 hours, egged on by 1,300 "moralers" — students whose job was solely to motivate the dancers. To help the dancers remain on their feet, the event's theme changed every three hours as the dancers were encouraged to dress differently for each theme. The themes included "Sunset Strip," based on the well-known area on Sunset Boulevard that is the center of L.A.'s nightlife, and a beach-party routine in which students dressed up in swimsuits and grass skirts. Held in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom and attended by some 2,800 people, the dance-a-thon helped raise $384,507.80, handsomely beating last year’s figure of $330,245.70. As the largest dance marathon on the West Coast, the epic event has raised a total of more than $1.37 million since its 2002 debut. As in past years, 75% of the proceeds will go to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which fights HIV/AIDS in children through research, advocacy, prevention and treatment programs. The remainder of the funds will go equally to Camp Heartland, a national non-profit organization helps children, youth and their families facing HIV/AIDS, and Project Kindle, which provides cost-free services to children, adolescents and families affected by HIV/AIDS. Find more information.

$1-million gift to Anderson

William H. Gross, founder and co-chief investment officer of the fund-management company PIMCO, has given an unrestricted gift of $1 million to the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Dean Judy Olian said she will use these funds to support several areas vital to the school's strategic plan, including fostering global partnerships, recruiting and retaining top faculty and students, and enhancing the curriculum. "Since earning my M.B.A. at Anderson, I've enjoyed maintaining a close relationship with the school and its students," Gross said. "I wanted my gift to have an immediate impact in the areas that will most benefit from a boost in funding, and I strongly believe that unrestricted funds are essential to advance the school." Actively involved in alumni and student activities, Gross delivered the 2007 commencement address for the M.B.A. and Fully-Employed M.B.A. programs. He has also served as keynote speaker for the UCLA Anderson Forecast. Gross was recently honored as Morningstar's Fixed Income Manager of the Year for an unprecedented third time.

Union access to medical centers

The UC is deciding what its next step will be after the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees obtained a court order Feb. 14 that allows the union specific access to university medical centers at UCLA and UC San Francisco in order to distribute union leaflets that are misleading, according to UC officials. AFSCME has been distributing flyers at a number of university medical centers, and in some cases, union members have been asked to relocate in order to accommodate the necessary functions of the hospital. While the university respects the First Amendment rights of the union and UC employees, said UC spokesperson Nichole Savickas, it is important that UC medical center entrances and hallways be kept clear for everyone's safety and well-being, so that UC may continue to best serve patients and their families.

Champions of an open academic environment

Nominations are being accepted for the UCLA Academic Senate 2008 Fair and Open Academic Environment Award. Any member of the campus community may nominate faculty, administrators, students and staff to receive this award, which celebrates the enormous contributions made by those have helped promote a fair, open and diverse academic environment. The Committee on Diversity and Equal Opportunity will name three members of the campus community to receive an award of approximately $2,000. Entries must be received by 5 p.m. March 31. Information describing the purpose, eligibility, criteria and nomination process is available on at www.senate.ucla.edu/awards/awardspage.htm. For more information, contact Brandie Henderson at (310) 206-3802 or e-mail her at henderson@ucla.edu.

Benefits of the workout

Men with jobs that require them to be physically active may be getting benefits beyond salary and health insurance — they may be at a decreased risk of developing prostate cancer, according to a study at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center. Researchers studied more than 2,100 men who worked at the Rocketdyne facility in the San Fernando Valley, many of whom were exposed to radiation and chemicals that may have increased their risk for certain cancers. The research team identified 362 men who developed prostate cancer and compared them to 1,805 men of similar age and socioeconomic status who did not get prostate cancer. "The message from this study for today is that if you’re more active, you may be able to prevent this cancer from happening," said Beate Ritz, a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher, an associate professor of epidemiology in the UCLA "If you have a desk job, do something physically active to counterbalance it." The study, done in conjunction with researchers at the Olive View-UCLA Education and Research Institute and the University of Michigan, appears in the February issue of the journal Cancer Causes Control.

Endowed Chair in Jewish Music

UCLA alumnus Ron Katz and Madelyn Katz have donated $1 million to establish the Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music, honoring the late master musician and performer. The endowed chair will help to preserve and expand the study of Jewish music. A longtime donor, Ron Katz said, "A whole new generation of musicians and scholars are being drawn to the work my father did, the music he created, and it just makes sense for UCLA to be at the forefront of the resurgence."

Said Dean Christopher Waterman, the legacy of Mickey Katz, a genre-bending approach to music, comedy and composing, is a perfect fit for UCLA Arts, a school known for its commitment to the study of global and diverse music.