Page Contents:

UCenter invites faculty and staff to after-work get-together August 12

Forum to focus on adding antennas to improve cell-phone reception

Cable work may cause traffic delays

Humphrey Fellows offer presentations

UC College Prep partners with Seattle firm to offer online high school classes

IT holding contest to name new consolidated organization

UCSC firefighters help with Angeles National Forest fire

UCTV to air video from Jewish Studies Program

Greenhouse curators meet at UCSC

Reminder: Update your information in the campus directory

Benefit dinner to help injured assistant police chief

August 9 , 2004

News Briefs

UCenter invites faculty and staff to after-work get-together August 12

Join coworkers, friends, and family at the University Center for a mid-summer get-together on August 12 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Beat the heat with refreshing drinks, which are one dollar off for the occasion, as well as beer and wine for $2.75.

For more information, go to the University Center web site.
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Forum to focus on adding antennas to improve cell-phone reception

Photo: Louise Donahue

The campus community is invited to a forum on the plan to improve cell-phone reception by installing microcellular antennas at Porter College, College Eight, Cowell College, Science Hill, and the base of the campus. Additional antennas would be added later, if needed. (See earlier Currents story)

The forum will be at noon on Thursday, August 12, in Conference Room D of the Bay Tree Building.

UCSC telecommunications manager Ed Titus; project manager Courtney Grazian of Physical Planning and Construction; Ken Smith, radiation safety officer for Environmental Health and Safety; and a representative of NextG, the firm that makes the antennas, will be available to answer questions.
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Humphrey Fellows offer presentations

Visiting Humphrey Fellows made presentations to the community on their fields of expertise--and their own ambition and determination--August 4-5 at the Humphrey Fellows Global Forum. The event took place at the University Town Center on Pacific Avenue.

Twenty-three Humphrey Fellows arrived on July 17 to begin a rigorous three-week preacademic program at UCSC Extension. The Fellows Program brings accomplished professionals to the United States for a year of nondegree academic study and related practical professional experience.The presentations were videotaped for later broadcast. Areas of expertise for the group include public health, law, drug rehabilitiaton, journalism/communication, and banking.

Extension's English Language and International (ELI) Programs are specially designed for Humphrey Fellows. They include language refinement and study skills sessions as well as special seminars led by top faculty. In addition, ELI has provided each fellow with a local Santa Cruz mentor who will provide networking opportunities in the student's field of study. This year's fellows come from all across the globe, including Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Kenya, Mongolia, Ecuador, Egypt, Malawi, Nigeria, Yemen, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Benin, Russia, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Estonia, Swaziland, Bahrain, Brazil, and Guinea. For additional information, call (831) 427-6629.
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Cable work may cause traffic delays

Traffic may be delayed on campus during the week of August 16 as crews inspect underground equipment accessed through manhole covers. Each inspection is expected to take about half and hour, and drivers will be alerted to drive around the areas and to slow down. The crews plan to start at the base of campus and work their way up.
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New CruzMail sessions scheduled

Training and Development has scheduled several new sessions to help staff and faculty members learn more about the CruzMail system being expanded on campus (see earlier Currents story).

Although these are drop-in sessions, those planning to participate are asked to RSVP to instructor Frank Widman at fwidman@ucsc.edu if possible.

Sessions for PC users will be held in Room 247 of Kerr Hall on Tuesday, September 28, from 4 to 5 p.m.

Sessions for Macintosh users will be in Room 159 of Kerr Hall from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, September 28, from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, October 13; from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, October 28; and from 4 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 9.

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UC College Prep partners with Seattle firm to offer online high school classes

The University of California College Prep Initiative (UCCP) has partnered with Seattle-based Aventa Learning to offer online courses through the California Virtual High School.

"We are pleased to work with Aventa Learning to add breadth to our course offerings for California students. Together with Aventa Learning, we will offer top-quality, engaging courses throughout the state," said UCCP director Moisés Torres.

"We are excited to partner with UCCP said Michael Axtman, president of Aventa Learning. "UCCP has been a leader in online education within California. UCCP will build on this reputation with high-quality online courses to support school districts throughout the state.

Founded in 1999, UCCP was created in response to a state mandate to provide equity in access to rigorous curriculum. The mission of UCCP is to provide online college preparatory courses to high school students who otherwise would not have the opportunity to achieve eligibility for admission to the University of California, California State University, and other top universities.

Based at UC Santa Cruz, UCCP develops media-rich online courses and provides test-preparation and academic support to students and teachers from eligible schools. UCCP also offers professional development to teachers through an annual summer institute.

Aventa Learning offers K-12 online courses in 64 subjects, including 20 AP subject areas. It also offers classroom resources for AP teachers and AP exam review for AP subjects.
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IT holding contest to name new consolidated organization

All UCSC staff, faculty, and students are invited to participate in a contest to name the new IT organization. The winner will receive an iPod (works with Windows or Mac), thanks to Dan Snodgrass and Apple Computers.

The name should indicate that it is a professional IT organization and reflect the "Who We Are" document describing the new IT organization. Individuals may submit more than one name.

All names must be submitted via the IT Transformation web site by Sunday, August 15. The IT Culture, Values, and Symbols Team will review all names and select finalists; the winner will be chosen by Larry Merkley, vice provost for Information Technology Services, and announced in September. If you have any questions regarding the contest, contact Vicki Davis at vldavis@ucsc.edu or (831) 460-2148.
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UCSC firefighters help with Angeles National Forest fire

Three UCSC firefighters were part of a five-engine Santa Cruz County team helping put out the Pine Fire in the Angeles National Forest in mid-July.
Captain Brookes, engineer Tim Batinovich, and firefighter Coleen Canright responded with Engine 2730.

Brookes said that while the fire was still active in some areas when they arrived, “we were involved in lots of mop-up operations, and holding-the-line types of things.”

In 2003, UCSC firefighters also responded to a call for assistance, sending a team to battle the devastating Cedar Fire east of San Diego (see Currents story). Grateful residents of the Julian area later expressed their appreciation to Santa Cruz County firefighters (see Currents story).
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UCTV to air video from UCSC's Jewish Studies Program

UCTV will broadcast a new program from UCSC's Jewish Studies program, titled "War and Democracy in the Ancient and Contemporary Middle East." In it, Victor Davis Hanson, a professor of classics at California State University, Fresno, and a UCSC alumnus, leads a discussion on the nature of war throughout civilization and how it might enlighten us about the contemporary troubles in the Middle East. The program was presented as part of UCSC's Jewish Studies Lectures.

"War and Democracy" will air nationwide on Dish Network satellite, channel 9412, on Thursday, August 26, at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. It will air on local cable in Santa Cruz, Comcast channel 25, on Tuesday, August 24, at 7:30 a.m.; Friday, August 27, at 10:30 a.m.; and Sunday, August 29, at 10:30 a.m.

For more information, go to the UCTV web site.
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Greenhouse curators hold annual meeting at UCSC

The annual meeting of the Association of Education and Research Greenhouse Curators brought 90 greenhouse managers and curators from throughout the United States and Canada to Santa Cruz last month.

Linda Locatelli, manager of the Plant Growth Facility at UCSC, organized the meeting, which included talks and tours.

Attendees toured the UCSC Arboretum, the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), and the Plant Growth Facility, as well as facilities at Cabrillo College.

"They were awestruck with the campus and the beautiful setting we are located in," Locatelli said.

The meeting was held at the University Inn and was hosted by the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences, Plant Growth Facility, Arboretum, CASFS, and the Cabrillo College Environmental Horticulture Center.
--Tim Stephens
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Reminder: Update your information in the campus directory

It's time to update your information in the printed UC Santa Cruz Campus Directory. Do you have a different position on campus? Did your name change? Are you a new employee? Now is the time to update those changes to the directory. Even if you haven't had any changes, it's best to double-check your listing to make sure it's accurate.

All changes can be made on the directory web page: http://cats-nts2.ucsc.edu/infcom/login.cfm

Changes must be made by Wednesday, September 1, to appear in the next printed edition of the campus directory. If you have any questions or comments about individual directory listings, please send -email to phonebk@ucsc.edu or call (831) 459-5225.
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Benefit dinner to help injured assistant police chief

The Fallen Officer Foundation is sponsoring a benefit dinner for Robert Jones, UCSC's assistant chief of police who was severely injured when the bicycle he was riding was struck by a car in January. The benefit will take place on Friday, August 20, in the Sun Room of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. For more information, see the flyer describing the dinner or contact Terry Moore at (831) 688-3382.

Jones was a member of the 2003-04 class of Leadership Santa Cruz County, and the organization has offered to assist Jones's family in finding volunteers to help with his care during what will be a long recuperation period. Prospective volunteers may direct their questions to Dave Kramer-Urner at dkramer@health.co.santa-cruz.ca.us

Contributions for Jones's care may also be made to the Fallen Officer Foundation and sent in care of Mickey Aluffi, at the UCSC Police Department, 1156 High St., Barn H, Santa Cruz, California 95064.
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Student apartments, Engineering 2 almost finished

Two major campus construction projects--student apartments at three colleges and the Engineering 2 Building--are on track to be completed this summer.
Construction update story

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