Staff in the Department of Developmental & Cell Biology got a visit from K-EARTH 101 Friday, Nov. 20, thanks to their upbeat attitude and poetic communication style. The group was chosen as the radio station's "Office of the Day," which entitled them to an on-air interview and serenaded brunch. Loyal K-EARTH listener Kathy Deal, contracts & grants analyst, entered her office in the contest with the following verse: We're a positive group of ladies,/You'll see!/If you pick us,/We'll jump up and down with glee!/We've weathered the budget cuts,/Doom and gloom,/And would love some bagels,/As well as Antonio's tunes!   More »

UCI has received a limited amount of H1N1 flu vaccine, which will be made available to students, faculty and staff who fall under the following Centers for Disease Control-selected priority groups: Persons ages 18-24; pregnant women; people who live with or care for children 6 months old or younger; healthcare and emergency medical personnel; and persons ages 25-64 with existing medical conditions that put them at higher risk of flu-related complications. Walk-in vaccination clinics are scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, at the Anteater Recreation Center and Monday, Nov. 23, at the Student Center Pacific Ballroom. A valid UCI ID is required. Campus officials ask that people who are not in a priority group contact their health care provider or Orange County Health Care Agency for further vaccination information.   More »

The "Clash of the Cans" food drive competition between UC Irvine and California State University, Long Beach will kick off Monday, Nov. 2. Sponsored by the parking and athletics departments at both institutions, the drive is part of the Black and Blue rivalry series, allowing UCI donors to demonstrate Anteater pride while helping the needy. All food collected through Friday, Dec. 18, will be donated to the Orange County Food Bank. Look for collection bins at parking kiosks, the main parking office, Crawford Hall and, during sports events, the Bren Events Center. Donation bags will be available at all parking kiosks during the campaign. Full bags returned with a business card or email address attached will make donors eligible for prize drawings.   More »

UC Irvine's identity theft/IRS tax fraud team has been awarded the second-runner-up prize for investigative excellence by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The team comprised UCI Police Department Sgts. Tony Frisbee, Shaun Devlin and Manse Sinkey and Cpl. Caroline Altamirano; UCI information technology security manager Isaac Straley; and Dallas County district attorney's investigator Patsy Williams. The award was presented at the IACP annual conference Oct. 6 in Denver. The selection committee complimented the team on its tenacious probe into the 2008 filing of false federal income tax returns using the Social Security numbers of 198 UCI graduate students. A suspect was arrested that July. The winners were chosen from 100 submissions of excellent investigative work.   More »

Anteaters Against Autoimmunity will stage a fundraising fashion show to benefit lupus research and education from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, in the Pacific Ballroom of the UC Irvine Student Center. This is the third event of its kind planned and executed by Tandis Soltani, a senior biology major. "The idea started as a small project in high school for me and my friends to fill the 10-hours-of-community-service requirement to graduate," Soltani says. "It turned out that putting on a fashion show takes more than 10 hours. We raised $800 and gave it all to the Lupus Foundation of America." She tried it again last year and more than doubled the proceeds. Tickets range from $10-$35 and can be purchased at   More »

A dedication ceremony for the new Humanities Gateway building will take place at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, followed by a reception and open house. There will be readings by English professors James McMichael, Jack Miles and Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Hossein Omoumi, Maseeh Professor of Persian Performing Arts, will play classical Persian music, and acclaimed video artist Bill Viola will exhibit his 2005 work Tempest (Study for the Raft). Information: 949-824-1342.   More »

UC Irvine's Anteater Recreation Center expansion has earned LEED NC Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. Gold certification is the second-highest rating possible, and "NC" signifies that the project met standards for new construction. "I am delighted with this accomplishment and how well our efforts merge with UCI students' recent Green Initiative for sustainable projects that reduce the campus's carbon footprint," says Manuel Gómez, vice chancellor for student affairs.   More »

Liz Toomey is one proud Anteater. As assistant vice chancellor of community & government relations, she builds alumni support for programs and projects and advocates for legislation that advances UC Irvine's teaching and research missions. A former middle school history and English teacher, Toomey has deep ties to the UC system: She's the daughter of UCI's founding chancellor, Daniel G. Aldrich Jr., and a graduate of UC Davis. She says of UCI's impact: "the community benefits from the health care we provide, the educated workforce we produce and the research that leads to tomorrow's new industries."   More »

UC Irvine maintained its status among the nation's top 50 colleges and universities in the U.S. News & World Report's ranking released Thursday, Aug. 20. The annual report rates 262 public and private universities based on 15 academic and financial criteria. UCI ranked 46th among all universities and 14th among public universities. Undergraduate research opportunities at UCI were lauded as worth watching, and the campus was cited in the best-values section. Its undergraduate engineering program jumped into the country's top 50 this year, ranking 45th.   More »

UC Irvine has been named one of the "best college buys" in Forbes magazine's 2009 review of America's best colleges. Among 600 U.S. colleges and universities surveyed, UCI rated 36th for its combination of academic quality, fee structure and graduation rates. Overall, UCI ranked 18th among U.S. public universities for the quality of its student experience, which takes into account graduation rates, number of national and international awards to students and faculty, student satisfaction, average debt upon graduation, and postgraduate success. Forbes' second annual ranking of America's best colleges was compiled by the magazine and the Center for College Affordability & Productivity. In January UCI was chosen as among the 100 "best value colleges" in 2009 by USA Today and The Princeton Review.   More »

Energy-efficient features and the use of recycled building materials in Donald Bren Hall have earned UCI its fourth LEED Gold certification since March 2007 from the U.S. Green Building Council. The certification denotes environmentally responsible building design, construction and operation. The 147,975-square-foot facility houses the School of Information & Computer Sciences. "These prestigious awards reflect UCI's commitment to green building design," said Wendell Brase, vice chancellor for administrative & business services. "To date, every UCI construction project to complete the LEED process has achieved a Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council."   More »

A $21 million posthumous gift from the estate of a man whose values included integrity and passion for life has enabled UC Irvine to reach its fundraising goal for the university hospital at UC Irvine Medical Center. The largest single-cash gift in campus history comes from the estate of M.A. Douglas (shown), formerly a resident of Orange. In recognition of the generous donation, the university’s new seven-story hospital in Orange will be renamed UC Irvine Douglas Hospital. “Our long-held commitment is to deliver the finest healthcare to our Orange County community and beyond; this transformative gift dramatically improves our ability to do so,” said Chancellor Michael Drake.   More »

A forum on Irvine's efforts to embrace its diversity and address the resulting issues will be led by Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang from noon-1 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, at the UC Irvine Cross-Cultural Center. Kang kicks off the Office of Equal Opportunity & Diversity’s Campus Conversation Series, which provides opportunities to talk about equal opportunity and the varied ethnic groups and cultures at UCI and in surrounding communities. Event co-sponsors include Cross-Cultural Center, Office of the Vice Chancellor Student Affairs, Difficult Dialogues, Asian American Studies, Staff Assembly/Staff Ambassadors, UCI ADVANCE Program, and the Office of Community & Government Relations.   More »

UC Irvine's graduate program in literary criticism is tops in the nation, according to the U.S. News & World Report ranking released Thursday, April 23. The engineering program at UCI also moved up from 37th to 35th in the nation. Other UCI programs ranked this year remained relatively stable. They include: criminology, fifth; organic chemistry, 10th; chemistry, 22nd; English, 22nd; sociology, 27th; physics, 29th; psychology, 29th; computer science, 31st; biology, 34th; and medicine/research, 45th. Highlights of graduate school rankings are scheduled for publication in the May print issue of U.S. News & World Report magazine, available for newsstand purchase as of Tuesday, April 28. The America's Best Graduate Schools guidebook also will be available for purchase on that day.

The UCI Alumni Association has named former undergraduate dean James N. Danziger as its Extraordinarius awardee for the 39th annual Lauds & Laurels ceremony set for Thursday, May 14, at the Hilton Irvine/Orange County Airport. Seventeen other distinguished individuals also will be honored. Danziger, political science research professor, joined the UCI faculty in 1972 while completing his doctorate from Stanford University. An expert in the relationship between information technologies and political change, he won the 1979 Alumni Association teaching award and eight years later earned the UCI Academic Senate Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award for Teaching. “Jim is a man for all seasons,” said William R. Schonfeld, political science professor. “He is a first-rate scholar, arguably the best teacher on campus, a long-serving administrator who has had an important impact, and a profoundly decent, moral, caring human being who is a role model for us all.”   More »

UC Irvine marketing professor Connie Pechmann has been named winner of the fourth annual Richard Pollay Prize for Intellectual Excellence in the Study of Marketing in the Public Interest. The prize, awarded by the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, is named for Sauder professor Richard Pollay in recognition of his contributions to marketing, advertising and the public interest. Pechmann, who has received nearly $1.5 million in grants to study anti-smoking ads and adolescents, focuses on tobacco, pharmaceutical and direct comparative advertising. As part of the award, she will speak on "Smokescreen: Making sense of youth-geared messages about tobacco in entertainment and advertising" at the University of British Columbia March 20.   More »

UC Irvine English professor Richard F. Kroll, a major figure in Restoration and 18th century literary studies, died Feb. 5 after a prolonged battle with pneumonia. He was 56. Born in Kenya, Kroll joined the UCI faculty in 1992. His books, "The Material Word" and "The Circle of Commerce," reshaped the field as they challenged accepted paradigms and helped open literary works to rhetorical, economic and political analysis. In 1999, students named him the Outstanding Professor in the Humanities -- a testament to his dedication and teaching abilities.   More »

UC Irvine economics and management professor Richard B. McKenzie's book, "Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies, and Other Pricing Puzzles," has been selected by Inc. magazine as one of its 2008 Best Books for Business Owners. McKenzie's book solves a handful of pricing puzzles shoppers encounter daily, including after-Christmas sales, coupons and, of course, the price of movie popcorn. In its story, Inc. magazine writes: "To an entrepreneur facing the mystery of setting prices, this book contains a wealth of important ideas."   More »

When UC Irvine joined the California Climate Action Registry last year, two staff members, Fred Bockmiller and Erin Lane, set out to answer the question: How much carbon dioxide equivalent does the university emit into the atmosphere? The measurement, calculation and verification it took to find the answer - 162,000 metric tons - has qualified UCI as a Climate Action Leader, according to the registry. Bockmiller, facilities management engineer, and Lane, administrative and business services analyst, found that 68 percent of the campus emissions come from power generation, while 16 percent come from air travel paid for by the campus and 12 percent from employee and student commuting.   More »

UCI has been named one of the “Best Value Colleges for 2009” by The Princeton Review. The list salutes 50 public and 50 private colleges and universities. Schools were chosen based on surveys of administrators and students at more than 650 colleges and universities. Selection criteria covered more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs of attendance and financial aid.   More »

David J. Morris, a 2008 graduate of UC Irvine's M.F.A. fiction writing program, has been awarded the prestigious Staige D. Blackford Prize. Established in 2003, the award honors the top work to appear in the Virginia Quarterly Review in the past year. Morris, a former Marine, spent a handful of summers in Iraq before writing his thesis, titled "My Baby." Past recipients of the Staige D. Blackford Prize include Philip Caputo, Pauline W. Chen and Roger Wilkins.   More »

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine ranked UC Irvine 21st this year in its annual listing of the top 100 values in education nationwide. Analysts looked at freshman test scores, student-faculty ratios, graduation rates and education costs to compile the rankings, which included six other University of California campuses. Only eight campuses had a lower "student debt at graduation" number than UCI's $13,383. More than 500 public, four-year colleges and universities are considered in the evaluation.   More »

UC Irvine's Parking and Transportation Services and ZEV-NET recently were honored in the 2008 Clean Air Awards' Innovative Transportation Projects category. Presented by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the awards recognize efforts to limit area air pollution. UCI was honored for its Sustainable Transportation program, which reduces campus and community vehicle congestion. ZEV-NET, or Zero Emission Vehicle Network Enabled Transport, is a transportation system that combines mass transit with low-emissions, shared-use vehicles.   More »

Dr. Rania Nasis, UC Irvine Heath Care Executive MBA student and founder of start-up Wanzo, recently beat 40 other entrants to win first place and $75,000 worth of prizes and services at Survivor 4, a competition by Tech Coast Venture Network for entrepreneurs with “elevator pitches” about the value proposition of their companies. Wanzo's concept is a motion-sensing electronic toy that combines gaming, fitness and social networking to help children aged 5 to 13 be more physically active. Nasis will next travel to Palo Alto Oct. 17 to give a presentation to the Venture Capital/Private Equity Roundtable, one of California’s most active investment groups.   More »

Lavonne Edwin Cox, the first employee of UC Irvine, died Aug. 26 of complications from a fall. He was 94. Better known as L.E. Cox, he had helped build 24 air bases for the Army Corps of Engineers before then-UC President Clark Kerr hired him to oversee the $30 million campus construction. He arrived at the future site of UCI in a station wagon filled with office supplies and set up his desk in a second-floor bedroom of the Irvine Ranch house on Myford Road. “He was a meticulous man, who believed in following rules and regulations,” recalled Jean Aldrich, widow of UCI’s first chancellor, Daniel Aldrich. “Nothing escaped him. He was a very important man on campus and a friend.” He retired in 1978. He is survived by his wife, Edna; sons Allan and Stephen; and four grandchildren.   More »

It wasn't quite the Olympics, but it was a volleyball game with medals. And the perennial powerhouse -- the Department of Environmental Health & Safety -- took the gold Wednesday, Aug. 20, at the UC Irvine Campus Recreation Department Staff Volleyball League championships. EH&S defeated the Department of Chemistry in both games (25-21 and 25-23) in front of participants at the 2008 Staff Assembly Picnic in Aldrich Park. It was chemistry’s first appearance in the finals. This year, 23 teams and more than 200 players signed up for the season, which began in July. The two other teams in the semi-finals were physics and astronomy, and mechanical aerospace engineers.

In a field of 1,400 national colleges and universities analyzed by US News & World Report for its "Best Colleges" issue, UC Irvine came in 44th - the same spot held last year. The results became public today. Among public national universities, UCI's ranking improved slightly from 13th to 12th. The university also scored 14th in a new category called "Up-and-Coming Schools," for innovative programs and strategic improvement. In engineering, one of two undergraduate academic programs ranked in this year's issue, UCI scored 51st.   More »

Myron Simon, a longtime English professor noted for his work in ethnic literature, died Monday, Aug. 18, at the age of 80. Simon taught at UCI for 25 years starting in 1969 and for some of that time held a joint appointment in the Department of Education because of his interest in how English is taught. He was known as an attentive professor who demanded the best from his students, said Brook Thomas, English department chair. His groundbreaking anthology of ethnic literature Ethnic Writers in America was published in 1972. He lived in University Hills at the time of his death.

Rajeev Tyagi, professor of marketing, has been appointed senior associate dean of UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business. Tyagi is an accomplished professor in the areas of new product introductions and distribution channels; he publishes regularly in the top marketing journals. He also is an associate editor at Management Science and an editorial board member at Marketing Science. An experienced teacher, Tyagi has won four awards at the Merage school and has served the school in many capacities, including his most recent role as chair of the personnel committee. His three-year term as senior associate dean took effect July 1.   More »

Adriana Briscoe, ecology and evolutionary biology associate professor, uses the beauty of butterflies and their spectacular biology to attract and mentor underrepresented minorities in science. For her efforts, she has won a $10,000 Diversity Award from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Guy Fogleman, executive director of FASEB, said Briscoe was chosen from an exceptionally strong pool of scientists. The award is funded by the Burroughs Wellcome fund. Her research has made major contributions to the understanding of butterfly vision as a model for the evolution of color vision.   More »

The Beatle’s “Hey Jude” was probably playing on Dave Tomcheck’s transistor radio when he started working as a student programmer at UCI in 1966. Today, 40 years later, he is vice chancellor for space management, and he joined hundreds of long-time colleagues at the Annual Staff Service Awards in Aldrich Park. Service awards are granted in 5-year increments, and honorees this year have contributed a total of 6,920 years. Tomcheck (pictured right, with Chancellor Michael V. Drake) was saluted as the only 40-year employee. “The thing that makes the engine run on this campus is the people who are here today,” said Chancellor Drake. “No one represents the heart of UCI more than Dave.”   More »

Emile Pilafidis, lecturer and Experiential/Management Practicum Coordinator at The Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine, will present a paper detailing the benefits of an experimental UCI course that enables second-year MBA students to take on real consulting projects sponsored by executives at top local organizations. Pilafidis' talk, scheduled during the International Conference on Business in Athens, Greece in July, describes his six-year experience leading the course, which has included student projects on issues like business improvement, new product launches, outsourcing and strategic planning. In his paper, "Experiential Learning in Graduate Management Education: MBA Student Team Projects," Pilafidis concludes the hands-on learning experience is invaluable for students' development, career prospects and understanding of complex, managerial decision-making.   More »

Sharon Nakamura-Brown has been named associate director of UC Irvine's Center for Real Estate at The Paul Merage School of Business. In her new role, Nakamura-Brown will run day-to-day operations as well as outreach programs for the center, which is designed to produce graduates with specialty training in real estate. For the past seven years, she served as director of development and outreach at UCLA’s Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate.   More »

Consumers want to know – or may think they already know: “Why do men make more money than women?” or, “Why do so many prices end with the number nine?” And, as the summer movie season approaches, “Why do movie theaters charge so much for popcorn when it’s cheap to make it at home?” The answers to these and other pricing puzzles shoppers encounter daily are typically much more complicated and surprising than they may appear. UC Irvine economics and management professor Richard B. McKenzie has solved some of the most puzzling pricing enigmas in his new book, Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies, And Other Pricing Puzzles. The work, published this month by Copernicus (Springer), includes examinations of a handful of common pricing scenarios, including after-Christmas sales, cheap computer printers and pricey ink cartridges, coupons and manufacturers’ rebates.   More »

Oakley Hall, English professor emeritus at UC Irvine, passed away May 12 in Nevada City, Calif. The legendary author of critically-acclaimed works such as Warlock, Hall spent more than 20 years involved with UCI and the humanities community. As director of UCI's Programs in Writing, he was instrumental in the development of the university's renowned creative writing program. Students Hall mentored include Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Michael Chabon and Richard Ford. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Hall, four children and seven grandchildren.   More »

UC Irvine history professor Sarah Farmer was recently awarded a fellowship from the National Humanities Center. The fellowship provides funding for Farmer and 41 other humanities scholars to travel to the center in Research Triangle Park, N.C., to conduct an individual research project and share ideas with other academics through seminars, lectures and conferences. Farmer’s research project is titled “Frenchmen into Peasants: Yearning for Country Life in Twentieth-Century France.” The National Humanities Center is a privately incorporated independent institute for advanced study in the humanities.   More »

Paul Gray, visiting professor of information systems at UC Irvine, has published a new book called What They Didn't Teach You in Graduate School: 199 Helpful Hints for Success in Your Academic Career. Gray's book includes insider tips and advice about building a successful career in academia, including information about what academic life is really like, how to develop habits and networks for success, and how higher education is changing. The book is co-authored by David E. Drew, a sociologist and professor at Claremont Graduate University, and includes illustrations by cartoonist Matthew Henry Hall.   More »

Orange County college leaders and a menagerie of mascots converged on Sacramento Thursday, May 8, to demonstrate the importance of higher education to the state’s economy and urge legislators to protect the higher education budget. UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake (center) and UCI mascot Peter the Anteater joined representatives from Cal State Fullerton and three Orange County community college districts in meetings with State Sens. Dave Cogdill and Dick Ackerman. They delivered 2,000 letters written by students, staff and faculty to Gov. Schwarzenegger's office. On the State Capitol Building steps, the Orange County contingent held a press conference to communicate the collective value of higher education to workforce preparation and the economic well-being of the county and the state.   More »

Rafael L. Bras, a prominent MIT hydrologist and hydroclimatologist, has been named dean of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine, effective Sept. 1. Bras is currently the Edward A. Abdun-Nur Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT, and he also holds an appointment in the university’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. “Rafael Bras is an internationally renowned scientist and educator with extensive expertise on water and the environment – two tremendously important topics to our community, state and to the world at large,” said Chancellor Michael V. Drake. “I am excited to welcome this distinguished leader and scholar to our university.”   More »

Robert Hine, history professor emeritus at UC Irvine, has received the 2008 Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeriti Award, which honors emeriti professors in the University of California system. Hine is an iconic figure in the historiography of the American West and a prolific writer whose retirement publications include a critically acclaimed biography of philosopher Josiah Royce, two undergraduate textbooks in history, two memoirs and two soon-to-be-released historical novels.   More »

Two UC Irvine chemistry professors, Fillmore Freeman (pictured) and Gregory Weiss, were recently awarded a National Science Foundation grant to promote undergraduate chemistry research. The $235,000, 3-year grant will be used to support the Chemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, or Chem-SURF. Each year, it will allow eight students to spend their summer at UCI to conduct hands-on, cutting-edge research. Fellows will receive a $3,500 stipend as well as funding for housing and travel expenses. Chem-SURF is designed to introduce students from universities and community colleges to faculty-mentored and collaborative research in the chemical sciences that's unavailable at their home campuses.   More »

Jone Pearce, professor of organization and management at UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business, has been appointed to the Experts Panel of the European Union’s new Advanced Investigator Grants Programme. The program will award grants that are intended to support and advance European research. Administered through the European Research Council, this rigorous, merit-based program is intended to support the best high-risk, high-reward scholarship and science. Pearce is serving on the first panel awarding grants in the “Individuals, Institutions and Markets” area, which includes the fields of economics, finance and management.   More »

David Hirshleifer, professor of finance at UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business, has been appointed as the first Merage Chair in Business Growth. Hirshleifer, who joined the UCI faculty in 2006, has focused his recent research on psychology in firms and markets, including how mood and emotions affect stock prices. The five Merage Chairs in Business Growth at UCI will be used to recruit and retain top tenured scholars whose research is consistent with the school's business growth thematic approach, and who will help promote the future vision for the school. Hirshleifer's appointment was effective March 1.   More »

Vicki L. Ruiz, a UC Irvine historian specializing in Chicano/Latino studies, has been named dean of the UCI School of Humanities. The UC Regents confirmed Ruiz’s appointment at their meeting today (Wednesday, March 19) at UC San Francisco. As dean, Ruiz hopes to strengthen interdisciplinary activities across academic units and to foster cross-school initiatives involving multi-ethnic community engagement. “The School of Humanities at UCI has a distinguished reputation for both its global research and community connections,” Ruiz said. “I prize the diversity in excellence that characterizes the school and share with colleagues an unflagging commitment to promoting dynamic, imaginative collaborations.”   More »

Three UC Irvine professors – Mahtab Jafari, Maria Feng and Linda Vo – were tabbed as “Women to Watch” by OC Metro. The list of "20 Women to Watch," published March 13, recognizes Orange County women making a difference. Jafari (pictured), assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences, is researching how an herbal extract can extend the life of fruit flies. Feng, professor of civil and environmental engineering, is working with the U.S. Army to improve body armor. Vo, associate professor of Asian American studies, works to educate and mobilize the Asian American community in Orange County.   More »

The UC Irvine Police Department held its 2nd Annual Awards Celebration Thursday, March 6, at the University Club. Friends, family, community partners and campus staff heard Chief Paul Henisey describe partnerships with campus departments such as the Office of the Dean of Students, C.A.R.E and Environmental Health and Safety as well as neighboring police agencies and the Orange County Fire Authority. He also highlighted safety programs including rape prevention, alcohol education and car theft prevention. Receiving top UCIPD awards were Sgt. Eladio Acuna, Supervisor of the Year; Administrative Manager Marla Purcell, Civilian of the Year; and Cpl. Charles Chon, Officer of the Year. Star Awards also were presented to UCI staff members and community partners.   More »

UC Irvine's senior America Mock Trial Association team will advance to the national championships in St. Paul, Minn., in April after winning second place in the regional championships Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 23-24. Only the third year that teams from UCI competed in a field of 30 teams, both the veteran team and the junior team placed in the top 10. The veteran team's 7-1 record tied for first place with UCLA, but after tie-breaking procedures were implemented UCI emerged in second place. The junior team placed eighth and won the Spirit of AMTA award. Club President Marissa Oxman also won an Outstanding Lawyer award. The team prepares from September through February with a set of facts supplied by AMTA. Members meet five to 10 hours a week and practice on their own time as well. "We have to commit the Federal Evidentiary Code to memory," Oxman said. While team members would seem like naturals to populate UCI's first law school class in fall 2009, Oxman says participants represent a wide range majors. She is a junior majoring in dance.   More »

A team representing UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business recently earned second place at the Association for Corporate Growth's annual Cup Competition. The UCI team, which was composed of Dimitri Krikelas, Vishal Mehra, Jiangbing Xie and William Ryan, earned a $5,000 prize for acting as financial analysts and advisers in making recommendations to a hypothetical company facing a complex and difficult business decision. The investment banking case study competition also required the team to defend its positions when challenged by an expert panel of judges.   More »

UC Irvine professors Alan F. Heyduk and Bill Tomlinson (pictured) have each been awarded a 2008 Sloan Research Fellowship, one of the most prestigious awards given to young researchers. Heyduk, an assistant professor of chemistry, is researching fundamental chemistry problems related to alternative energy. Tomlinson, an assistant professor of informatics and Calit2 affiliate, is interested in the relationship between information technology and environmental issues, human-computer interaction and educational technology. A total of 17 University of California faculty members received the honor this year. UCI researchers have received nine fellowships in the past five years.   More »

Richard McKenzie, professor of economics and public policy at UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business, has written a new book released today called In Defense of Monopoly: How Market Power Fosters Creative Production. The work, published by The University of Michigan Press, argues that conventional models exaggerate the harm perpetrated by real-world monopolies, and also shows why a degree of monopoly is necessary to maximize the improvement of human welfare over time. McKenzie's co-author, Dwight Lee, is a professor of economics at the University of Georgia.   More »

Vijay Gurbaxani, professor of business and computer science and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business, has been selected to a task force charged with developing a viable economic sustainability strategy to ensure today's data will be available to analyze and study in the long-term future. The group, composed of international experts from the academic, public and private sectors, will participate in quarterly discussion panels and is scheduled to publish two substantial reports with its findings, including a final one in late 2009. The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation was launched by the National Science Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in partnership with the Library of Congress, the Joint Information Systems Committee of the United Kingdom, the Council on Library and Information Resources and the National Archives and Records Administration.   More »

The construction of University of California, Irvine Health Affairs’ new university hospital in Orange is on budget and ahead of schedule by approximately three months. Hospital administrators expect that the building will be completed in October and ready for patient occupation by February 2009. In January, the UC Board of Regents approved a proposal for an additional $242 million in Phase II financing that will expand the number of beds and operating rooms in the new hospital and pay for renovations to existing medical center buildings. Phase II is expected be completed in mid- to late-2011. When finished, the medical center will contain 424 licensed beds, 19 operating rooms, 36 pre- and post-operative beds and a 24-bed limited stay unit.   More »

Students, faculty and staff received text message alerts and subsequent "all clear" messages on their cell phones Sunday after an armed robbery in the Mesa Court Residence Hall. Such emergencies are exactly why campus administrators created zotAlert, an emergency alert system that uses text messages to quickly notify the campus community of a natural disaster, crisis response or need to secure the campus. To be used only in an emergency, zotAlert adds to the university’s existing emergency communications network. Faculty and staff can sign up for zotAlert messages by visiting PhUpdate, logging in and updating their profile with an emergency cell phone number. Students are strongly encouraged to provide their cell phone numbers to the university by visiting StudentAccess, clicking "Change of Address" and updating their contact (including emergency) information.   More »

UC Irvine researchers received $134,622,587 in award funding during the first half of fiscal year 2007-08, a 25.4 percent increase over the same period a year earlier. In addition to having more investigators submitting more proposals that led to more awards, Christina Hansen, associate vice chancellor for research, attributes the gain to faculty efforts to develop competitive, innovative programs featuring larger, interdisciplinary research teams. Highlighting the 1,173 awards are a $26 million grant from the NIH for the National Children’s Study and a $14.5 million NIH award over five years to support the Center for Complex Biological Systems (center director Arthur Lander pictured). UCI also received $12 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine for the campus’s growing stem cell research effort.

John Graham, professor of marketing and international business at UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, has co-authored a book titled Doing Business in the New Japan – a guide to thriving in that country's rich business market. The book is part of Graham's recent trilogy of works related to succeeding in business abroad. The first installment, China Now, was published earlier this year, and the third book covering the rest of the world, titled Global Negotiation: The New Rules, is due out in February.   More »

Local firefighters, including those from Orange County Fire Authority Station 4 which protects the UC Irvine campus, were treated to lunch Wednesday, Dec. 5, as a thank-you for battling the wildfire in nearby Santiago Canyon. “These guys protect our campus, and during the Santiago fire, they saved our homes, too,” said Marc Gomez, director of Environmental Health & Safety, which hosted the barbecue. Campus community members showed up to personally thank the firefighters. They included Wendell Brase, vice chancellor of administrative & business services; Richard Demerjian, campus & environmental planning director, and James Hay, assistant vice chancellor of facilities management. The homes of Demerjian and Hay narrowly survived the fire.   More »

UC Irvine could one day claim it helped discover the next Picasso and Shakespeare, thanks to a $828,219 grant to improve English and arts instruction in K-2 classrooms. The four-year grant from the California Postsecondary Education Commission is for a UCI project titled “ArtsCore K-2: Teachers as Artists” and will provide 180 teachers with two years each of summer and school-based professional development in the visual and performing arts and English/language arts. Artists also will help teachers deliver these standards-based lessons in their classrooms. More than 7,000 K-2 students in the San Diego Unified School District will be affected. The project is patterned after a similar project in Orange County classrooms.   More »

UC Irvine ranks among the best in the country for faculty productivity, according to Academic Analytics, a for-profit company that partners with the State University of New York. Computer and information sciences ranks first; information science/studies ranks fourth; mathematics, geology and Earth science, and urban and regional planning ranks fifth; psychology ranks sixth; social sciences ranks ninth; and human development and family studies ranks 10th. The rankings measure how productive faculty members are in publishing books and journal articles, having their work cited by other journals, obtaining federal research funding, and earning various awards and honors.   More »

Chancellor Michael V. Drake has announced the recipients of the fall 2007 Living Our Values Awards, which honor UC Irvine community members whose actions embody the university’s values. The program was expanded this fall to include student and faculty awardees. Recipients of individual awards are Chetan Chowdhry, fourth-year political science/environmental analysis student; Karina May Hamilton, UCI Sage Scholars Program director; Cecelia M. Lynch, Center for Global Peace & Conflict Studies director and political science associate professor; and Mandy K. Mount, Campus Assault Resources & Education director. The team honor was awarded to psychiatry and human behavior’s Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic, which includes Jolene K. Arroyo, Thaddeus Barrow, Tara J. Finn, Santiago Gomez, Richard Ruelas and Joann Thuy Trinh. A message from the chancellor, recipient profiles and an honor roll of nominees can be found at: www.chancellor.uci.edu.   More »

The School of Humanities hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Humanities Gateway Building Friday, Nov. 16. Scheduled to be completed by summer 2009, the 70,000-square-foot, four-story building will include a 110-seat auditorium, a film screening room and two open-air interior terraces. The back of the building facing West Peltason Drive will feature undulating glass walls and an outdoor courtyard for events and receptions. Humanities Gateway will sit in the northwest corner of the Humanities Plaza. “Humanities Gateway symbolizes energy and accessibility,” said Vicki Ruiz, history professor and interim dean of humanities. “The building will also embody critical engagement with the public.”   More »

Leading intellectuals in the arts and sciences will give public talks on the UC Irvine campus during the ninth annual Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellows Series this academic year. The series kicked off Nov. 13 with a talk by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. Each year the series brings respected scholars and nonacademics to the campus to share their insights and expertise with the UCI community. The event continues in the spring with Ernst von Weizsäcker, dean of the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UC Santa Barbara; Michael S. Turner, Rauner Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago; Philip Bennett, managing editor, The Washington Post; Thomas C. Schelling, 2005 Nobel Laureate and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland; and award-winning singer and composer Meredith Monk (pictured).   More »

UC Irvine history professor Mike Davis recently received the 2007 Lannan Literary Award in Nonfiction and $150,000 for making “significant contributions to English-language literature.” The Lannan Literary Awards and Fellowships, established in 1989, recognize both up-and-coming and established writers who show potential for continued outstanding work. The Lannan Foundation supports artists and writers and promotes cultural freedom, diversity and creativity. Davis’s research interests are in world history, environmental history and U.S. urban history. He is currently working on a book about climate change, water and power in the American southwest.   More »

Penelope Maddy, professor of logic & philosophy of science and of mathematics at UC Irvine, has been named a Distinguished Professor in recognition of her study of the philosophy of mathematics and logic and what justifies our most basic assumptions of mathematics. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and president of the International Association of Symbolic Logic. The Distinguished Professor title is reserved for senior faculty members who have achieved the highest levels of scholarship over the course of their careers.   More »

Brush fires this week in northeast Irvine prompted many calls to campus asking if classes would be held Monday. Such emergencies are exactly why campus administrators created “zotAlert,” an emergency alert system that uses text messages to quickly notify the campus community of a natural disaster, crisis response or need to secure the campus. To be used only in an emergency, zotAlert adds to the university’s existing emergency communications network. Had the campus been closed, anyone signed up for zotAlert would have received a text message on their cell phone. Faculty and staff can sign up for zotAlert messages by visiting PhUpdate, logging in and updating their profile with an emergency cell phone number. Students are strongly encouraged to provide their cell phone numbers to the university by visiting StudentAccess, clicking "Change of Address" and updating their contact (including emergency) information.   More »

UC Irvine oncologist Dr. Randall Holcombe has been appointed as the associate vice chancellor for research. In this position, Holcombe will oversee research compliance in all aspects of campus research programs, including human and animal subjects, stem cell research and issues related to conflict of interest. A professor of medicine and chief of hematology/oncology with UC Irvine Healthcare, Holcombe is director of clinical research for the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and the School of Medicine’s Office of Clinical Research and Trials. He also runs his own laboratory research into cancer immunology and clinical studies on natural compounds that may prevent colon cancer. Holcombe will assume his new role Jan. 1, 2008.   More »

Vicki Ruiz, professor of history and Chicano/Latino studies and interim dean of humanities at UC Irvine, was recently elected to a three-year term on the advisory board for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The museum collects and studies objects that reflect the experience of Americans. Ruiz is an expert in 20th century U.S. history, specializing in Chicana/o studies, oral narratives, gender studies, labor, immigration, and California and the West. In addition, Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia, a three-volume set co-edited by Ruiz and published in 2006, recently won two awards: “2007 Best in Reference,” by the New York Public Library, and “Outstanding Title,” by the American Association of University Presses.   More »

Elisa Tamarkin, associate professor of English at UC Irvine, has been awarded the title of Chancellor’s Fellow, effective Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2010. The title honors and recognizes scholars of exceptional value to the university, whose achievements in scholarship demonstrate extraordinary promise for world-class contributions to knowledge. The three-year honor includes $25,000 per year to support research efforts. Tamarkin will use the funding for her new book project “Irrelevance: The Scholarly Life in the Age of News,” which focuses on topics of relevant and irrelevant knowledge since 1830, and on the relationship between the academy and the press.   More »

From a polar ice sheet specialist to a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, UC Irvine strengthened its academic ranks by hiring 86 professors since October 2006. The School of Humanities, School of Physical Sciences and School of Social Sciences added the most faculty members with 17, 12 and 11, respectively. Some of the new scholars include political science professor Deborah Avant, an expert on civil-military relations and the politics of controlling violence, and Jack Miles (pictured), distinguished professor of English and religious studies, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning book God: A Biography.   More »

Joseph L. Mahoney, associate professor of education at UC Irvine, was recently appointed to serve a four-year stint on the Committee on Policy and Communications for the Society for Research in Child Development. SCRD promotes interdisciplinary research in child development. Mahoney joined UCI’s Department of Education this fall, coming from Yale University. His research focuses on the social and educational development of school-aged children, and how young people spend their out-of-school time.   More »

Julia Lupton, English and comparative literature professor at UC Irvine, has been awarded the title of Chancellor’s Fellow effective Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2010. The title honors and recognizes scholars of exceptional value to the university, whose achievements in scholarship demonstrate extraordinary promise for world-class contributions to knowledge. The three-year honor includes $25,000 per year to support research efforts. Lupton is a Shakespearean scholar and Humanities Out There founding director.   More »

UC Irvine professor emeritus Tarow Indow, an internationally known expert on the human visual system and semantic memory, passed away Sept. 22 following a month’s hospitalization for a throat and lung disorder. He was 84. Born in Tokyo Aug. 22, 1923, his early education and career centered at Keio University in Tokyo, where he received a Ph.D. in 1945 and rose to a full professorship. He married Minako Kawamura, a private high school language teacher, in 1953, and she survives him. He became a professor of cognitive science at UC Irvine in 1979 and was a founding member of the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences. He is best known for his clever, unambiguous empirical demonstration that our visual space is not the Euclidean geometry of high school, but rather of a curved nature.   More »

Ali Shakeri, founding board member of UC Irvine’s Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, was released after 138 days of incarceration in Iran’s Evin Prison. Shakeri first called his wife with the news, and then telephoned his son, Kaveh Shakeri, who was in New York and had the night before urged the Iranian president in person to release his father. The Orange County Register reported that Shakeri is staying with family members until he returns home to the U.S. Shakeri was supposed to leave Iran and fly to Europe in May but never arrived at his destination.   More »

All 10 UC campuses are teaming up to tackle sexual assault issues, thanks to a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week. UC will use the money to find the best strategies to respond to campus violence and prevent sexual assault. Over the next three years, the campuses will work with the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. The flagship grant comes from the DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women.   More »

Erwin Chemerinsky, a nationally renowned professor of constitutional law and federal civil procedure at Duke University, has been named founding dean of the Donald Bren School of Law at UC Irvine, effective July 1, 2008. “Professor Chemerinsky’s deep grounding in constitutional law, extensive teaching experience and wide-ranging contributions to legal scholarship over three decades uniquely qualify him to lead the growth and development of our new law school,” said Chancellor Michael V. Drake. “I am absolutely thrilled that he will be joining us at UC Irvine.” As dean, Chemerinsky will be responsible for the law school’s academic and administrative leadership.   More »

Albert F. Bennett, an evolutionary and comparative physiologist and two-time acting dean, has been named dean of the UC Irvine School of Biological Sciences, effective immediately. Bennett, 63, will lead a rapidly growing school that is home to more than 4,600 students, 100 faculty members and $39 million in annual grant and contract funding. Since joining the UCI faculty in 1974, Bennett has chaired two departments and has served twice as acting dean of the School of Biological Sciences, the most recent stint from August 2006 to present. He has spent his entire faculty research career at UCI.   More »

Anteater Tower, the signature piece of UC Irvine’s new Student Center, was adorned Aug. 30 with a nine-foot long bronze sculpture of the campus’s beloved mascot. The sculpture overlooks West Peltason and Pereira Drives and resembles the 3-dimensional Anteater in front of the Bren Events Center. At night the sculpture will be lit and visible from a distance. A 13-foot companion sculpture (pictured) also was installed on a second tower overlooking the Student Center terrace and Ring Mall. A grand reopening celebration for the Student Center is scheduled for Oct. 24-26.   More »

Environmental Heath & Safety's Spiked Punch volleyball team captured UC Irvine's department staff volleyball championship Tuesday, Aug. 28, at the annual staff picnic in Aldrich Park. Spiked Punch defeated Physics & Astronomy (25-18, 25-19) to take home its first title since the volleyball league started in 1995. The league, open to faculty and staff, is held every summer at the Anteater Recreation Center. This summer, 23 UCI departments and more than 160 staff and faculty members competed in the league.   More »

Kenneth Small, professor emeritus of economics at UC Irvine, is the subject of a special issue of the Journal of Urban Economics, which published a selection of essays in his honor. Small was named a fellow of the Regional Science Association International in 2006 and was recently recognized as the 2007 UC Irvine Lauds & Laurels Faculty Achievement honoree. He is best known for his work on how charging drivers a toll can reduce congested highways.   More »

UC Irvine psychologist Roxane Cohen Silver will receive the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Service at the group's leadership conference in October. The honor, bestowed to one individual annually, was initiated by the APA Board of Scientific Affairs to recognize outstanding service to psychological science. Silver is a national expert in the field of stress and coping and has spearheaded the longest-running national study of psychological responses to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. She serves on a federal advisory committee created by the Homeland Security and State departments that is developing travel policies for people visiting the United States. The APA cited her "dedicated pursuit ... of bringing the value of psychological science to the government's attention and the public eye" and her role in "mentoring students and faculty."

The latest edition of You Are Here: A Guide to Over 380 Colleges and Unlimited Paths to Your Future lists UC Irvine among the top 25 cutting-edge schools with an eye toward the future. The designation was awarded on the strength of student polling. Students going online to access information on Kaplan courses were asked what careers interested them or what they intended to pursue. Schools were then chosen on the basis of whether they offered an undergraduate program in that “hot” career. UCI was cited for its strength in biomedical engineering, earth science, environmental science and its interdisciplinary approach to learning.

Peter the Anteater has a new friend in Washington, D.C. A giant anteater was born July 24 at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. According to a zoo Web site, giant anteaters at birth weigh about three pounds and are covered in hair, looking much like miniature adult anteaters. When a baby rides on its mother's back, similar coloring helps keep the baby camouflaged. Giant anteaters, native to Central and South America, can eat as many as 30,000 ants a day. Zoo officials have not yet named the baby anteater.   More »

University of California President Robert C. Dynes, a first-generation college graduate and renowned physicist who rose to become president of the world’s most prestigious public university system, has announced his intention to step down as president by June 2008. The Dynes presidency, which began in October 2003, will end at the nearly five-year mark he initially set for himself for serving as head of the 10-campus system. The move paves the way for the 64-year-old Dynes to focus on his personal life as well as his continuing research into superconductivity, a passion the internationally recognized physicist continued to pursue even throughout his presidency. The Board of Regents will name a new president after a national search.   More »

UC Irvine today announced a $20 million gift from business leader and philanthropist Donald Bren to support the university’s recently established law school. In recognition of the gift, the school will be named the Donald Bren School of Law. "The gift provides tremendous momentum for our new law school," said Chancellor Michael V. Drake. Bren's gift endows 11 distinguished faculty chairs and a dean's chair for the school. This is the first public law school to open in California in more than 40 years, and it is expected to welcome its first class of students in fall 2009.   More »

Space Shuttle Endeavour blasted off into space Wednesday, Aug. 8, carrying its flight crew, teacher Barbara Morgan and UC Irvine's mascot, Peter the Anteater. The 3-inch stuffed anteater hitched a ride aboard the shuttle in a small box designated for items from colleagues of the astronauts. Tracy Caldwell, one of the astronauts, came to UCI in 1997 as a Dreyfus Environmental Postdoctoral Fellow with Barbara Finlayson-Pitts and John Hemminger, who now head AirUCI, the campus’s atmospheric chemistry research group. Caldwell asked AirUCI if it wanted to contribute something to the Endeavour box, and AirUCI sent her Peter with an AirUCI patch on his belly and a flag in his paw that says, "First EMSI in Space." EMSI stands for Environmental Molecular Sciences Institute, the National Science Foundation-funded program that supports AirUCI.   More »

Chancellor Michael V. Drake announced that UCI raised $120.1 million in private gifts and grants for the 2006-07 fiscal year, a nearly 19 percent increase over last year. Not only is this dollar total an all-time high, but the number of individual gifts was a record 26,881. At a celebration of the campus's successes Wednesday, Aug. 1, the chancellor said he aims to see the university continue on this trajectory, and ascend into the ranks of the top 1 percent of universities nationwide.   More »

The hosts of the Kevin and Bean morning show on KROQ 106.7 FM spoke for about 10 minutes Wednesday, July 25, to Ted Huntington, a programmer analyst with UC Irvine's Science Library. The subject? You name it. Huntington covered everything from his antipathy for violence to the importance of science education. Huntington came to the attention of the rock jocks because of the more than 40 questions he posted on YouTube for the Democratic presidential debate. To see some of his videos, go to   More »

Vicki Ruiz has been named interim dean of UC Irvine's School of Humanities, which includes 12 departments and 2,650 students. A professor of history and Chicano/Latino studies and chair of the history department, Ruiz’s research focuses on Latinas' role in 20th century America. In addition to her scholarship, she has served as director of outreach programs including Humanities Out There and U.S. History Seminar for the California History/Social Science Project. Ruiz is president of the American Studies Association and a fellow of the Society of American Historians. UCI will continue recruiting for a permanent dean to replace Karen Lawrence, who has been named the next president of Sarah Lawrence College.   More »

Fly on in on your Nimbus 2000 (or walk or drive if you must) to the UC Irvine Bookstore for your copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. The last book in J.K. Rowling's seven-volume tale of wizardry has been highly anticipated, prompting fans to camp out on other bookstore's door sills over the weekend to make the purchase. UCI's Bookstore is holding a more civilized sale of its 250 copies, which began Saturday, July 21, with Harry Potter music, cookies, punch and even a flying candle or two. Want to know if it's worth the wait? Go to   More »

UC Irvine Chancellor Michael V. Drake traveled Friday, July 20, to Beijing, China, where he will be the American keynote speaker at the 2007 Silk Road to the Future Olympic banner presentation Friday, July 27. Designated as an Ambassador of Peace by the Legends of China Foundation, Drake said, "It is with great pride that I accept the foundation’s gracious invitation to speak at this monumental event. Creating opportunities for cultural exchange and understanding among students and educators in our two nations is essential to our university’s mission." The Silk Road to the Future presentation has been held annually since 2001 in preparation for Beijing’s first Olympic Games in 2008. Each year, students from the U.S. and China create works of silk art representing world peace, which are added to a banner depicting China’s Silk Road. The completed banner will be carried during the games’ opening ceremony.   More »

Brent Yunek will serve as UC Irvine's acting assistant vice chancellor, enrollment services and will immediately assume oversight of the offices of Admissions and Relations with Schools, the University Registrar, Financial Aid and Scholarships, and the Center for Educational Partnerships. He joined UCI in 1990 and makes this move from his role as director of financial aid and scholarships. Under Yunek's leadership, financial aid operations were reorganized and technology updated to better serve students and their families. He has more than 17 years experience working with academic administration, faculty, staff and students.   More »

UC Irvine garnered $276 million in contract and grant funding for the fiscal year ending June 30, continuing a strong upward trend in support for research, education and public service projects. Although dropping slightly below last year, when a single $19.7 million award boosted the total, this year’s funding included more than $197 million from federal sponsors for projects including research, clinical trials, training and fellowships. “We are very pleased to see our UC Irvine investigators achieving such success in this fiercely competitive environment,” said Susan V. Bryant (pictured), vice chancellor for research.   More »

If you saw dozens of police officers stirring about the Claire Trevor School of the Arts and the Mesa Court student housing community July 11, there’s no need to worry. They were part of a campuswide emergency response training effort, which involved nearly every administrative department on campus. The exercise provided an opportunity for campus personnel to work with the Orange County Fire Authority, Irvine Police Department and Newport Beach Police Department to practice emergency response procedures that would apply to many types of emergency events. “With the potential for natural disasters or events like the one at Virginia Tech, universities nationwide are continuously working to improve preparedness and response capabilities,” said Linda Bogue, emergency management coordinator (pictured). “UC Irvine takes preparedness and emergency response very seriously, and the exercise was a very successful one.”   More »

UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business has received an endowment gift of $6.6 million from The Beall Family Foundation. Donald R. Beall is a former chief executive officer of Rockwell International Corp. The gift will expand current activities and launch new programs of the Merage School’s Don Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. One of the new programs will be “open source” studies on innovation that will appear on the Merage School Web site. The Beall Center will synthesize current research around the globe to help business, academia and the community understand common problems of innovation.   More »

UCI Police and Campus Recreation will again offer the popular radKIDS Safety Academy for children of UCI employees and the campus community. The radKIDS Safety Academy covers home, school, bike and fire safety, bullies, stranger awareness and some basic principles of self-defense (pictured). The 10-hour academy will be held July 23-27 at Anteater Recreation Center. Hours are 10 a.m. to noon for ages 5-7 and 1 to 3 p.m. for ages 8-12. For fees and other information go to   More »

UC Irvine officially opened the doors to Donald Bren Hall, the newest building in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, Wednesday, June 20. The university celebrated with a dedication ceremony, ribbon cutting and open house, where students and faculty members showcased new technology under development in ICS. Attending were Donald Bren (pictured), chairman of The Irvine Co.; Michael V. Drake, UCI chancellor; Thomas Mitchell, vice chancellor for University Advancement; and Debra Richardson, dean of the ICS school.   More »

UC Irvine's Academic Senate Council on Student Experience and Division of Undergraduate Education honored faculty and graduate students for excellence in undergraduate teaching at the 14th annual Celebration of Teaching May 31. Attended by more than 100 guests, the event was held at the University Club and sponsored by the Teaching, Learning & Technology Center. Honorees included: Michael Leon, neurobiology & behavior, Professor of the Year; Kimberly Edwards, chemistry, Lecturer of the Year; Diane O’Dowd, developmental & cell biology, TA Development Award; James Herbert, art history, Instructional Technology Innovation; Becki Scola (pictured), political science graduate student, and Kristin Young, ecology & evolutionary biology graduate student, Most Promising Future Faculty Member Awards.

UC President Robert C. Dynes visited Saddleback High School in Santa Ana June 8, along with representatives of UCI’s Center for Educational Partnerships, to hear from students, parents and teachers about the benefits of academic preparation programs. Dynes later urged support for funding such programs, which was cut from the 2007-08 state budget. In 1996, UC Irvine was the first UC campus to set up a Center for Educational Partnerships in response the regents’ call for strategies that would recruit and empower disadvantaged students. Pictured: Dynes, right, with Saddleback High School student Juan Flores.   More »

Chancellor Michael V. Drake will be honored as a 2007 Champions of Health Professions Diversity recipient by The California Wellness Foundation. His efforts to increase diversity in the University of California’s health-profession schools have elevated him as an expert and leader in recruiting and retaining minority students, and he played a key role in the creation of Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community, a groundbreaking UC Irvine program that prepares clinical leaders focused on improving health care for California’s Latino population. Drake shares this award with Drs. Hector Flores and Ernest C. Levister Jr., and each will receive $25,000 for their leadership in increasing diversity in the health professions. They will be honored Monday, June 11, at a ceremony in Los Angeles.   More »

In a show of support for free expression and diverse spiritual and religious practices, members of the campus community joined hands at a “Stand Together for Tolerance” demonstration in Aldrich Park Wednesday, May 30. Sponsored by the UCI division of the UC Academic Senate, the event drew hundreds of faculty members, staff, students and local community leaders. Martha Mecartney, chair of the Academic Senate, led the crowd in forming a human chain and singing The Beatles’ “All You Need is Love.” The event culminated with the release of 20 white doves.   More »

Sociology lecturer Chuck O’Connell was recently selected as the graduating senior class’s Outstanding Professor in the social sciences. This marks the ninth year O’Connell has been named Outstanding Professor, quite an accomplishment for a lecturer who has only been with the university for 12 years. Other honorees include Catherine M. Famiglietti, mathematics lecturer; Jennifer J. Fisher, dance assistant professor; Michael Franz, computer science associate professor; Michael McCarthy, mechanical and aerospace engineering professor; Lauren M. Steimer, film and media studies lecturer; Cameron J. Talley, criminology, law and society lecturer; and Arthur Weis, ecology and evolutionary biology professor.   More »

Chancellor Michael V. Drake announced the recipients of the spring 2007 Living Our Values Awards, which honor university employees who embody the values of respect, intellectual curiosity, integrity, commitment, empathy, appreciation and fun. Recipients of the individual awards are Darlene Bradley, director of emergency/trauma services, UC Irvine Medical Center; Linda Truong Le, management services officer, Department of Spanish and Portuguese; and Alberto Roca, assistant project scientist, Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry. The team award goes to a facilities management team that includes William Mitchell, Brian Grochow, Corey Turpin, Rhonda Espinosa, Scott Pribyl, Kevin Brown, Roger Beaty, Hipolito Barrera and Michael Guerra. To see a message from the chancellor, profiles of the award recipients and an honor roll of nominees click   More »

The School of Medicine has announced this year’s Athalie Clarke and Junior Physician Scientist Award recipients. Sponsored by the Research Associates – the School of Medicine’s longest-standing support group – the awards acknowledge researchers who are making a notable impact on medical science. The 2007 Athalie Clarke Achievement Award winners are Sue Piper Duckles, professor of pharmacology, and Steven Wechsler (pictured), professor of ophthalmology. The Dean’s Junior Physician Scientist Award will go to outstanding researchers, Dr. Devin K. Binder, assistant professor of neurosurgery, Dr. Bang Hoang, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery, Dr. Pietro Galassetti, assistant professor of pediatrics and Dr. Krishnansu S. Tewari, assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology. An awards ceremony to honor these faculty members is scheduled June 7 at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. Cost is $70. Info: 949-824-4313.   More »

Twenty teams of UC Irvine students will compete Friday, May 18, in the finals for the 2007 Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth Business Plan Competition. The teams taped oral presentations of their business plans on campus last week. The videos are posted on ocregister.com where the public can view them and vote on the best plan. Winners of that vote will be submitted as the Register's People's Choice candidate. Plans range from molecular imprinting to a search engine for tutors. The winning plan will receive $15,000. Five other plans will receive cash prizes as well. Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, a Newport Beach law firm, donated the prize money. Two student teams also will vie for up to $1 million in seed financing. To see the videos, click   More »

A Wellness and Safety Fair for UC Irvine faculty and staff will be held Wednesday, May 16, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Anteater Recreation Center. Demonstrations, prize drawings and healthy snacks will spotlight on-campus and off-campus businesses and services available to help with questions about personal wellness, safety and financial fitness. The ARC is located on California Avenue between Campus Drive and Anteater Drive. Parking is in Lot 1-B.

UCI has introduced “zotAlert,” an emergency alert system that uses text messages to quickly notify students of a natural disaster, crisis response or need to secure the campus. To be used only in an emergency, zotAlert adds to the university’s existing emergency communications network. Students are strongly encouraged to provide their cell phone numbers to the university by visiting www.reg.uci.edu/studentaccess, clicking “Change of Address” and updating their contact (including emergency) information. Faculty and staff also are invited to sign up for zotAlert messages by visiting www.uci.edu/phupdate, logging in and updating their profile with an emergency cell phone number. Everyone who signs up by Wednesday, May 16, can be part of a system test planned for later that week.

Chancellor Michael V. Drake has named five individuals to the University of California Senior Leadership Institute, a residential program for academic and administrative leaders who have the potential to serve the university at the highest levels. They are Ramona Agrela, assistant dean, Claire Trevor School of the Arts; Michael Arias, assistant executive vice chancellor of Academic Affairs; Kristen Day, professor of planning, policy and design in the School of Social Ecology and a fellow of the American Council on Education; Jim Earthman, associate vice chancellor for research and professor of chemical engineering & materials science and biomedical engineering; and Cathy Lawhon, media relations director in the Office of University Communications. Carolyn Boyd, dean of graduate studies, is an alternate.The institute runs June 17-21 in San Diego.

Recipients of UC Irvine's highest honor, the Medal, were announced Wednesday, May 9, and will be feted at a gala in the fall. The honorees include Gavin S. Herbert, founder of Allergan Inc.; Edward H. Newland, collegiate water polo's all-time leader in coaching victories; Audrey M. Schneiderman, community leader, philanthropist and longtime UC Irvine supporter; and William L. Pereira, first posthumous recipient and visionary architect and planner for the campus and the City of Irvine. "The 2007 honorees deserve our highest recognition for increasing the campus's ability to serve its students and provide ongoing benefits for the community, the nation and the world," Chancellor Michael V. Drake said.   More »

Former President Jimmy Carter called on UC Irvine students Thursday to make peace in the Middle East their passion and to demand action from congressional and presidential candidates in the 2008 election. "Long-term prospects for peace in the Middle East are not discouraging," he told a crowd of students, faculty and staff in the Bren Events Center, but he added that the issue is not debated enough in the national arena. Missed the talk? Hear the former president and the question and answers session at www.kuci.org.   More »

UC Irvine Chancellor Michael V. Drake and professors Peter Li and Yvonne Rainer have been named 2007 fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. They join 32 other honorees affiliated with UCI who have been elected to the 227-year-old academy of scholars, scientists, academics and business people. Fellows and foreign honorary members are nominated and elected to the academy by current members.This year’s new fellows also include Sandra Day O’Connor, Robert Redford and UC Irvine benefactor Donald Bren.   More »

The UCI Alumni Association will recognize National Medal of Science winner R. Duncan Luce with its Extraordinarius award at the 37th annual Lauds & Laurels ceremony. Luce, a pioneer in mathematical behavioral sciences, and 16 others will be honored May 10 at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. Since 1971, UCIAA has bestowed awards to those alumni, colleagues, faculty, staff, students or community friends that demonstrate heartfelt dedication and commitment to UC Irvine.   More »

The Joan Irvine Smith and Athalie R. Clarke Foundation has made a $1 million gift to the new School of Law at the University of California, Irvine. The gift will support the establishment of the law library’s core collection. Smith, like her late mother, Athalie R. Clarke, has been a longtime advocate of the UCI and of establishing a law school on the campus.   More »

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized the University of California’s environmental sustainability work with an Environmental Achievement Award. UC was among 37 recipients selected from among 160 West Coast, or EPA Region 9 nominees. “Resource sustainability is of vital importance to the University of California, as well as to the State of California and the nation," said UC President Robert Dynes. "UC remains committed to continuing our leadership role in the area of environmental stewardship.” The EPA took special note of the work of Lesley Clark, systemwide commodity manager, who developed environmentally preferable purchasing programs.

UC Irvine today rolled out a shuttle bus that runs exclusively on fuel made from soybeans. Irvine Mayor Beth Krom, members the UCI administration and student government leaders led a noon-time event celebrating the switch to 100 percent biodiesel fuel, which is better for the environment than traditional diesel fuel. UCI plans to convert its entire shuttle bus fleet to run exclusively on biodiesel fuel.