Dateline archive:

Art museum gift, Occupy update, holiday closures — 12.16.11

UC Davis FRIDAY UPDATE

12.16.2011

News and information for faculty and staff


Spotlight on…

$10 million for art museumPainting: Suckers, by Wayne Thiebaud

UC Davis today announced a $10 million gift to name a new art museum that will serve as a teaching and cultural resource for the region and provide opportunities to share the university's artistic legacy. The museum will house our Fine Arts Collection, including works like this one by Wayne Thiebaud. [ More… ]

NEWS SUMMARY

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

Katehi, legislators agree: Unrest tied to funding shortfall

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi and lawmakers had no trouble talking about the "elephant in the room" during a joint legislative hearing on student unrest. "The root to all of this frankly is the underfunding of higher education," Assemblyman Marty Block said. Click here for the text of the chancellor's speech to the Legislature. [ More… ]

Occupy's aftermath: $8,500 for cleanup and repair

The last two occupiers left Dutton Hall at 10 a.m. Sunday (Dec. 11), and soon thereafter the cleanup and repair crews moved in — all on overtime — to scrub away graffiti, clean the carpets and air out the building. The cost? An estimated $7,000, on top of an estimated $1,500 to rehabilitate the site of the occupy encampment on the Quad. Meanwhile, Dutton Hall employees are breathing a sigh of relief. [ More… ]

2020 Initiative: Task forces ready to start work in January

As the calendar turns to 2012, UC Davis is also thinking of 2020, as in the 2020 Initiative, with three task forces ready to start their work in January. They will be exploring Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi's proposal to grow enrollment and boost the regional economy. [ More, with video… ]

Airlines can improve bottom line by compensating captive passengers

Instead of holding customers captive on a tarmac during unforeseen delays, airlines should give passengers the choice to leave or stay — and compensate them appropriately — according to a new study by UC Davis management professors. [ More… ]

Campus to lead $14 million effort to boost Afghanistan's agricultural extension

UC Davis has received $14 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lead a consortium of universities that will help Afghanistan strengthen its agricultural extension system and stabilize its agriculture-based economy. [ More… ]

Wine grapevines and native plants make a fine blend, study shows

Grapevines and native plants are a fine blend for the environment, suggests a team of researchers led by a UC Davis plant ecologist. According to their research, vineyard landscapes that include both vines and native vegetation provide more environmental benefits than vineyards planted solidly in grapevines. [ More… ]

Egghead: Closing in on the 'God particle'

Curious about this week's news about the Higgs boson and what it means for the Standard Model of particle physics? UC Davis physicists Mani Tripathi, John Conway and Jack Gunion weigh in on Egghead, UC Davis' research blog. A number of UC Davis physicists are working on Switzerland's Large Hadron Collider, the particle accelerator at the center of the latest findings. [ More… ]

Updated: Holiday hours and closures

We've updated our list of holiday hours and closures with notice of reduced service, Dec. 19 to Jan. 2, on the UC Davis-UC Davis Medical Center shuttle. You can also check here for Unitrans, Repro Graphics, the ARC and the libraries, as well as the Coffee House, Silo Union and the ARC Starbucks. Also keep in mind that building thermostats will be turned down Dec. 24 through Jan. 2 — so, if you're coming to work, remember to dress appropriately. [ More… ]

News briefs: UC Davis ranks 7th in Best Colleges assessment

UC Davis ranks seventh among public universities and 27th among public and private universities in a new listing from The Best Colleges, a website for prospective students. … The registration deadline is Jan. 16 for UC Global Health Day. … CUE ratifies five-year contract. [ More… ]

DIRECTIVES and ANNOUNCEMENTS

No directives or announcements were issued this week.

EVENTS

The arts: Messiah and Much Ado

Much Ado reading: Saturday, Dec. 17, 8 p.m., Putah Creek Lodge

Messiah: Sunday, Dec. 18, 4 p.m., Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center

The Davis Shakespeare Ensemble and Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum are planning a staged reading tomorrow night of the Bard's Much Ado About Nothing — an abridged version lasting just over an hour. On Sunday, the American Bach Soloists, led by UC Davis Choral Director Jeffrey Thomas, continue a Mondavi Center tradition, performing Handel's Messiah for the 10th consecutive year. [ More… ]

Open house: Insects in the Winter Wonderland

Sunday, Dec. 18, 1-4 p.m., Bohart Museum of Entomology

The last Bohart Museum open house of 2011 will focus on what insects do and where they go when it gets cold. Visitors can also enjoy a live "petting zoo" and make insect-themed holiday cards. [ More… ]

At the Mondavi: San Francisco Symphony

Thursday, Jan. 5, 8 p.m., Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center

Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the San Francisco Symphony in a wide-ranging program featuring Tchaikovsky's first symphony and Ligeti's violin concerto. Preconcert talk at 7 p.m. [ More… ]

More calendar listings…