Dateline archive:
Stimulus jobs, retirement benefits, silver spoons — 10.30.09
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NEWS
Federal stimulus funds to UC Davis will bring 250 jobs
Federal stimulus grants to UC Davis will put some 250 people to work on earthquake safety, new sources of clean energy and West Nile virus control, among dozens of other research projects. [ More… ]
Accidental 911 calls outnumber real ones
The numbers are startling: In 2008, accidental 911 calls on the Davis and Sacramento campuses totaled about 4,800 — nearly four times the number of real 911 calls. Because most of these unintentional calls happen when someone dials 9 to get an outside line, the UC Davis Police Department is working with Communications Resources on a plan that could lead to a new digit — probably 8 — to make an off-campus call, perhaps some time next year. [ More… ]
UC Davis to host meetings on post-retirement benefits and the future of UC
Two systemwide efforts — one on post-retirement benefits and the other on the future of UC — will be the subject of open meetings at UC Davis in November. The UC President's Task Force on Post-Employment Benefits will visit on Nov. 9 to give staff, faculty and retirees the opportunity to learn and ask questions about the immediate and long-term effects of fiscal pressures on the university's pension and retiree health programs. The UC Commission on the Future will conduct a meeting on campus Nov. 30. [ More… ]
New horticulture program to span globe
Intent on helping the world's poorest people break out of a persistent cycle of poverty, the U.S. Agency for International Development has selected UC Davis to lead a new $15 million, five-year research program to help them produce and market high-value crops. [ More… ]
Psychiatrist-philanthropist gives $1 million for infancy studies
Dr. Robert Dorn, a Davis psychiatrist who devoted his career to understanding and treating mental health problems that originate in the earliest years of life, has given $1 million to support infant development research at UC Davis. [ More… ]
UC Davis official appointed to statewide commission on student aid
Fred Wood, who completed his education with the help of financial aid and now oversees student support as vice chancellor for student affairs, has been appointed to the California Student Aid Commission by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. [ More… ]
We emit an odor that skeeters like — and scientists now have it ID'd
UC Davis scientists have identified the dominant odor naturally produced in humans and birds that attracts the blood-feeding Culex mosquitoes, which transmit West Nile virus and other life-threatening diseases. The groundbreaking research explains why mosquitoes shifted hosts from birds to humans and paves the way for key developments in mosquito and disease control. [ More… ]
Inequality, 'silver spoon' effect found in ancient societies
The so-called "silver spoon" effect — in which wealth is passed down from one generation to another — is well established in some of the world's most ancient economies, according to an international study coordinated by a UC Davis anthropologist. The study, reported today in the journal Science, expands economists' conventional focus on material riches, and looks at various kinds of wealth, such as hunting success, food sharing partners and kinship networks. [ More… ]
Exploring the humanities crisis
The humanities, Andrew Delbanco says, offer us "transformative moments" in the mysteries of the human condition. And that is why Delbanco, director of American studies at Columbia University, believes it is hard to place a number-crunching value on an education that prepares one for life — and not just a job. Delbanco was in Davis Oct. 22 to speak on a seemingly perennial topic — the decline of the humanities. [ More… ]
DIRECTIVES
No new directives were issued this week.
EVENTS
Final weekend: Mule deer intarsia at the Craft Center
Through Sunday, Nov. 1, Craft Center Gallery
The Craft Center woodwork exhibition Odocoileus hemionus has been extended through the end of this weekend to give viewers time to see its recently completed centerpiece mural. The intarsia mural — a large wooden mosaic — depicts mule deer and uses 292 polished pieces of wood from 13 tree species. The Craft Center's next exhibit, the Staff Show and Silent Auction, will open Friday, Nov. 6. [ More… ]
Herbs: Free for the cutting
Thursday, Nov. 5, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Good Life Garden, Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science
The Good Life Garden has scheduled another herb harvest, and people are welcome "to harvest any type of herb we have … including lavender, sage, thyme, chives and mint." People who plan to attend are asked to RSVP by e-mail. [ More… ]
Law School hosts 'cleantech' symposium
Friday, Nov. 6, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Wilkins Moot Courtroom, King Hall
Top professionals, entrepreneurs and executives in law, engineering and environmental sciences will explore the future of "cleantech" — alternative energy and a broad range of other environmentally sensitive innovations. The daylong symposium is open to the public. [ More… ]