Dateline archive:

Photo contest, benefits forum, oiled birds — 11.6.09

UC Davis FRIDAY UPDATE

11.6.2009

News and information for faculty and staff


Spotlight on…

Vote for your favorite study abroad photos A hairy encounter

If a picture paints a thousand words, then the UC Davis community is in for a good tale or two with the Education Abroad Photo Contest 2009. From now until Nov. 15, everyone is invited to choose their favorite photos taken by UC Davis students who traveled abroad last year. [ More… ]

NEWS

Moving big ideas into the market

The UC Davis Graduate School of Management has $2 million in new seed money to spark entrepreneurship in California, thanks to a gift from the estate of Charles J. Soderquist, a UC Davis alumnus who founded and led high-tech companies in the Sacramento area. [ More… ]

Vets lead bird rescue in oil spill

UC Davis wildlife experts have been working since last Friday to rescue and treat 39 birds oiled by a tanker spill on San Francisco Bay. The U.S. Coast Guard called the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center into action shortly after an oil sheen was seen spreading from the anchored tanker Dubai Star. [ More… ]

Retirement forums to tackle weighty issues

The UC Retirement Plan's funded status is expected to decline from 95 percent to 61 percent by 2013, while the cost of retiree health benefits is expected to grow by about $37 million a year. The UC President's Task Force on Post-Employment Benefits is coming to UC Davis Nov. 9 to discuss the issue with staff, faculty and retirees. You can register to attend a forum or watch online. [ More… ]

Parent and Family Weekend is the first such event in more than a decade

Edie Halenbeck won't be packing textbooks or a laptop, but the Los Altos mother of three is thrilled to be heading back to school on Saturday — to Parent and Family Weekend at UC Davis. More than 500 parents are expected at the sold-out event Nov. 7-8, part of a growing effort to more closely embrace parents as members of the UC Davis family. [ More… ]

Bank agreement to help fund student services

UC Davis has entered into a 10-year agreement with U.S. Bank that will provide nearly $3 million to support student services and bring the campus its first bank branch. U.S. Bank is counting on advertising privileges and a new campus identification card — with a bank logo on the back and optional ATM access — to help generate new customers. [ More… ]

'Something wicked this way comes' to the Deathstar

Studio 301 Productions, UC Davis' independent, student-run theater company, is presenting Macbeth with a modern twist in a modern venue: the "Deathstar," otherwise known as the Social Sciences and Humanities Building. The play is being staged in the building's sunken interior courtyard, with the audience taking seats on the ultrawide staircase, amphitheater-style. [ More… ]

Study reveals how plants and bacteria 'talk' to each other to thwart disease

Unwrapping some of the mystery of innate immunity in plants, UC Davis scientists have identified the bacterial-signaling molecule that matches up with a specific receptor in rice plants to ward off a devastating disease known as bacterial blight of rice. [ More… ]

Genome sequence for the domestic horse unveiled

The whole genome sequence of the domestic horse has been completed by the genome-sequencing center of The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with an international team of researchers that includes scientists at UC Davis. The feat has important implications for improved horse breeding and human health studies. [ More… ]

Blood drive pits longtime rivals

UC Davis and California State University, Sacramento, are out for blood in the Causeway Classic — not in the football Causeway Classic, but in the blood drive Causeway Classic. In last year's inaugural event, UC Davis came out on top with 1,300 pints of blood. This year's UC Davis Causeway Classic blood draw is scheduled for Nov. 17 and 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days in Freeborn Hall. All students, staff, faculty and alumni are invited to donate. The campus organization with the most participation will win $500. [ More… ]

DIRECTIVES

No new directives were issued this week.

EVENTS

At the Mondavi: Causeway Band Festival

Sunday, Nov. 8, 7 p.m., Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center

The UC Davis Concert Band and the Sacramento State Wind Program host this concert band weekend extravaganza featuring composer and conductor Mark Camphouse, the Meridian Arts Ensemble, and junior and senior high school honor bands. [ More… ]

At the arboretum: Poetry in the Garden

Thursday, Nov. 12, noon, Wyatt Deck (or 126 Voorhies Hall, in case of rain)

Sandra Gilbert, emerita professor of English, is one of two poets on the program for Poetry in the Garden, sponsored by the arboretum and free and open to the public. Gilbert is the author of seven collections of poetry, a memoir and an anthology of elegies. Also on the program is Kel Munger, book editor, Sacramento News & Review, and author of the poetry collection The Fragile Peace You Keep. [ More… ]

Open forum on SmartSite changes

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 3:30-5 p.m., 3001 Plant and Environmental Sciences Building

Important upgrades to SmartSite are coming, and to help spread the word the Campus Council for Information Technology is sponsoring a free open forum. All members of the campus community, including faculty, are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion. Seating is limited, and reservations are required by Nov. 11. [ More… ]

More calendar listings…