Dateline archive:

King Hall expansion, retirement benefits, Tahoe health — 9.3.10

UC Davis FRIDAY UPDATE

9.3.2010

News and information for faculty and staff


Spotlight on…

King Hall expansion unveiledPhoto: King Hall

The School of Law today opened a $30 million expansion that includes a new courtroom, additional classrooms and group study areas, all of which incorporate the latest environmentally sensitive advances. Watch a video about the new law school wing. [ More… ]

NEWS SUMMARY

More stories at Dateline UC Davis and UC Davis News and Information

The future of retirement benefits: News and discussion

Check out UCOP's new website for the latest news on proposed changes to the UC Retirement Plan, what's not changing, and how much we might be contributing in the future. The site also invites your comments and questions, and announces a systemwide, electronic town hall meeting Sept. 29. [ More… ]

Good news in annual Lake Tahoe health report

UC Davis researchers noted several bright spots in their annual Lake Tahoe health report, issued Aug. 31: The 2007 Angora Fire had no significant impact on lake clarity; a small test of a method to kill invasive clams worked; the pollutant phosphorus was at its lowest level in 29 years; and free-floating algae in the lake have generally remained constant since 1996. [ More… ]

Fox spit helps us spot the natives

Wildlife genetics researcher Ben Sacks and colleagues used fox saliva to confirm the existence of a long-lost mountain species. Their work at the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is changing what we know about foxes in California and helping conservation efforts. [ More… ]

UC Davis in The New Yorker

Carolyn de la Peña, professor of American studies, is interviewed in a lively Q&A posted in The New Yorker's online "The Book Bench" feature. She talks about her new book, Empty Pleasures: The Story of Artificial Sweeteners from Saccharin to Splenda. And a short story by UC Davis English professor Yiyun Li appears in the magazine's Aug. 30 issue. The New Yorker tapped Li as one of the nation's 20 best fiction writers under age 40. [ More… ]

Clinics can reduce pregnancy coercion

Specifically asking young women during visits to family planning clinics whether their partners had attempted to force them to become pregnant — a type of intimate-partner violence called "reproductive coercion" — dramatically reduced the likelihood that the women would continue to experience such pressures, according to a new pilot study led by researchers at the UC Davis School of Medicine. Time magazine featured the research in a story this week: "Help for Women Who Are Forced to Get Pregnant." [ More… ]

New campus maps: In print and online

UC Davis is preparing to introduce a new campus map — make that two maps. One is the traditional paper map available either in pads of 50 or as single, folded copies. The other is a Google-based online version, with some nifty features — like the ability to get Google directions to the parking lot that is closest to where you are headed on campus. [ More… ]

Commission endorses student-focused recommendations

Proposals to increase student financial support and decrease the time to graduate were among a set of recommendations the UC Commission on the Future endorsed on Aug. 31. Meeting at UCSF, the commission also rejected the idea of differential fees, which would allow some campuses to charge more than others. [ More… ]

On stage: Spelling Bee, Romeo and Juliet open on campus

Get ready for a Broadway musical and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet — even before the new academic year has begun. The musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, is the product of a Department of Theatre and Dance summer program. Romeo and Juliet is from the newly formed Davis Shakespeare Ensemble, which will be staging the play in the UC Davis Arboretum. Each production is set to open Sept. 16 and run through Sept. 26. [ More… ]

Food, etc.: Olive oil milling course, history of Mexican cooking

The Olive Center is taking sign-ups for two milling courses, introductory and advanced, and the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science is advising people to save the date — Oct. 28 — for a talk by Diana Kennedy, a historian of Mexican cooking. [ More… ]

DIRECTIVES

No directives were issued this week.

EVENTS

Aggies take on the Bears, pay respects to law enforcement

Saturday, Sept. 4, 1 p.m., Memorial Stadium, UC Berkeley

UC cousins — the Aggies and the Bears — face off tomorrow on the gridiron for the first time in 71 years. The Aggies' home opener is set for next week, Sept. 11, and the campus Police Department is selling discounted tickets as a fundraiser for Concerns of Police Survivors, or COPS. [ More… ]

Catch the buzz — and some ice cream — at the Häagen Dazs Honey Bee Haven

Saturday, Sept. 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility

Garden tours, hands-on demonstrations, educational speakers and children's activities will mark the grand opening celebration of the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. Complimentary Häagen-Dazs ice cream will be offered at the opening, as well as samples of Gimbal's Fine Candies, from its honey lovers' line. [ More… ]

Native American health expert to speak in Sacramento

Thursday, Sept. 16, 5 p.m. UC Davis MIND Institute auditorium, 2825 50th St., Sacramento

Patricia Nez Henderson, the first American Indian woman to graduate from Yale School of Medicine, will deliver the UC Davis School of Medicine Dean's Lecture Series address, titled "Toward Healthier Nations: Linking Medicine with Culture to Heal American Indians." The event is free and open to the public. [ More… ]

More calendar listings…