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Farm hosts Strawberry Shortcake Festival May 26

Newsletter highlights role of faculty in fundraising, communi-cations, other advance-ment activities

Campus community invited to comment on draft 'Strategic Futures' report

Comedy show to benefit KZSC Radio

Celebrate graduation at the University Center

Grad students gather for workshop on climate change and precipitation

Fundraiser scheduled to help injured assistant police chief

New graduate degrees in biology approved

Staff Advisory Board election results are in

Preparation work under way for Humanities and Social Sciences Building

 

May 24, 2004

News Briefs

Farm hosts Strawberry Shortcake Festival May 26

The Farm's strawberry shortcake is a hit with all ages.

Grab the kids and head to the Farm on Wednesday, May 26, at 4 p.m. for the annual Strawberry Shortcake Festival.

Enjoy a big helping of shortcake and organic strawberries smothered in fresh whipped cream and homemade lemonade, all for a donation of $5 per person. Adding to the festivities will be homegrown bluegrass music and free Farm tours.

Donations support low-income shares in the UCSC Farm's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, which makes fresh organic produce grown at the UCSC Farm & Garden available to low-income households.

The festival is sponsored by the UCSC Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems with generous support from Swanton Berry Farm. Parking is available in the Campus Facilities or Blacksmith Shop parking lots off Coolidge Drive. For more information or to volunteer, please call 459-3240. Rain cancels.
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Newsletter highlights role of faculty in fundraising, communications, other advancement activities

In an e-mail newsletter distributed last week, University Relations provides UCSC faculty with information about the campus's work in fundraising, strategic communications, and relationship building. The newsletter also details a few of the recent gifts to UCSC--part of the approximately $29 million in private gifts raised since the beginning of this fiscal year. "This record-breaking achievement reflects the effort of many faculty and deans, in collaboration with our chancellor and others," notes Ron Suduiko, vice chancellor for University Relations.
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Campus community invited to comment on draft 'Strategic Futures' report

In a memo to the campus, Gary Griggs, chair of the campus Strategic Futures Committee, invites the campus community to review and provide feedback on the committee's draft report.

The report presents rationale for the future development of campus academic programs and outlines the principles and the background data that have informed an initial recommendation to the Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) Committee that the campus examine the implications of reaching an enrollment of up to 21,000 FTE by 2020.

See full text of message.
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Comedy show to benefit KZSC Radio

The award-winning hosts of KZSC's the Sound of Young America have organized a show on Friday, May 28, to benefit the radio station. The KZSC Laugh Riot will feature comics from all over the Bay Area, hand-selected by Jesse Thorn and his cohost, Jordan Morris, "Boy Detective." "We've been hosting a comedy talk show for years now," Morris said. "We know the interest is here. So we asked the funniest people we know to play this show, and they said yes."

The performers will include:

  • Sketch comedians Kasper Hauser, a four-man sketch comedy troupe from San Francisco that has performed stage shows throughout the U.S. and in Canada and the U.K., including the Vancouver International Comedy Festival and an award-winning run at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe
  • Stand-up comic W. Kamau Bell, a favorite at the Punchline and Cobb's Comedy Club in San Francisco, who focuses his comedy on social commentary from his African American, Generation X perspective
  • Standup comic Jasper Redd
  • Two winners of the campus Joke-Off contest held earlier in May

The Laugh Riot will take place at 8 p.m. at the Kresge Town Hall. Tickets are $8 in advance, available at Streetlight Records, and $9 at the door.
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Celebrate graduation at the University Center

Graduating? Parents in town? Need a classy yet festive place to eat, drink, and be merry? Want to avoid the hassle of going off campus? The University Center is extending its hours and offerings to serve grads and their families.

Saturday, June 12

  • Buffet Brunch/Lunch, 10:30 a.m.–3 p.m.
  • Patio and Lounge open 3–5 p.m., serving "Graduation 2004" specialty drinks, with selected wine and beer on special for $2.75; alumni wines by the glass
  • Dinner, 5–8 p.m. Special four-course prix-fixe menu with vegan/vegetarian options. Child's menu also available.

Sunday, June 13

  • Champagne Buffet Brunch/Lunch 10:30 a.m.–3 p.m. Call now for your reservation—spaces are filling up fast!

For reservations, call (831) 459-4321. The University Center (directly above Colleges Nine and Ten Dining Commons) features a full-service restaurant, full bar, patio, and spectacular views of the redwoods.
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Grad students gather for workshop on climate change and precipitation

Ten graduate students from seven states will converge on UCSC this week for a two-day workshop on climate change science and policy.

The May 27-28 workshop is being cosponsored by the STEPS Institute for Innovation in Environmental Research at UCSC and PrecipNet, an international network for precipitation change research. Students working in PrecipNet labs were invited to apply to participate in the intensive workshop.

The interdisciplinary workshop, organized by assistant professor Michael Loik of environmental studies, will provide an opportunity for a number of graduate students from PrecipNet research groups to investigate the overlapping physical, ecological, political, and societal aspects of their climate change research.
In addition to UCSC participants, attendees are working in PrecipNet labs that address ecosystem, plant physiology, biogeochemistry, and earth science aspects of climate change.

The goal of the workshop is to increase understanding of climate change and to help graduate students prepare to share their thesis research with a broad audience outside of academia, said Loik.

"We want to give particpants the tools to help them communicate their research findings and concerns to local and regional land managers, the media, and elected officials," he said.

The workshop is part of the STEPS Climate Change and Water Initiative.
It is the first STEPS-funded workshop focused on graduate students rather than established researchers.
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Fundraiser scheduled to help injured assistant police chief

A fundraising dinner has been organized to help Robert Jones, UCSC's assistant chief of police who was severely injured when the bicycle he was riding was struck by a car on Highway 1 in January. The benefit will take place August 20 in the Sun Room of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

See flyer, which was provided by UCSC Police Chief Mickey Aluffi, for additional information.

Contributions may also be made to the Fallen Officer Foundation and sent in care of Aluffi, at the UCSC Police Department, 1156 High St., Barn H, Santa Cruz, California 95064.
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New graduate degrees in biology approved

UCSC has received formal approval from the UC Office of the President to establish an M.A./Ph.D. program in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology (MCD) and a second one in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB).
Although the campus will retain the existing biology degree title, no new students will be admitted to the M.A./Ph.D. program in biology. Current students have the option of completing the biology program or transferring to one of the new programs.

The Ph.D. degree in biology was inaugurated with the founding of the Santa Cruz campus in 1965. In 2000, the Department of Biology was divided into two departments, MCD and EEB. The new MCD and EEB degrees reflect the emergence of these distinct disciplines within biology.

The EEB program emphasizes fundamental issues that relate to ecology, evolutionary biology, and physiology. In particular, EEB training recognizes that the most important questions of the next 50 years are likely to be those concerning the effect of humans on the environment. Current research foci include: population and community ecology; evolutionary biology; physiology and behavior, especially of marine mammals; and systematics and biodiversity. The program's research crosses traditional academic boundaries and often involves collaborations with faculty in chemistry, ocean sciences, Earth sciences, environmental studies, and environmental toxicology.

The MCD biology program is organized into six research clusters: RNA molecular biology; structural biology; developmental genetics and neurobiology; cell biology and signalling; microbiology and pathogenesis; and molecular biology of gene expression. The cluster organization permits students and postdoctoral fellows to engage the distinct experimental approaches, points of view, and expertise provided by multiple faculty and researchers working in related areas. The MCD biology program emphasizes collaborative research approaches that may involve interactions with faculty in chemistry and biochemistry, computer science, environmental toxicology, and biomolecular engineering.
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Staff Advisory Board election results are in

The Staff Advisory Board has announced the results of its recent board election. Ceil Benedetto and Scott Loosley were chosen to take the two open positions on the board. For more information about the Staff Advisory Board, go to www2.ucsc.edu/sab.
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Construction to begin this summer on Humanities and Social Sciences Building

Construction of the $29 million Humanities and Social Sciences Building will begin this summer and continue through summer 2006.
Construction update story
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