Dateline archive:

Town hall, Valentine research, UC Davis 101 — 2.10.12

UC Davis FRIDAY UPDATE

2.10.2012

News and information for faculty and staff


Spotlight on…

'UC Davis 101'Photo: Tom Timar

Professor Tom Timar (pictured) and other faculty members from the School of Education present the seminar "UC Davis 101," part history (about UC leadership), part politics (Proposition 13) and part finance (all about tuition). A fourth panelist wraps it all up from a budget perspective: where the money comes from and where it goes — and told of a looming shortfall in 2012-13. Also: tuition relief for the middle class? [ More, with video… ]

NEWS SUMMARY

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

Students, staff, faculty invited to town hall on police practices

UC Davis student leaders Katheryn Kolesar and Adam Thongsavat will be the co-hosts for a town hall meeting here today (Feb. 10) on UC police policies and procedures around the university system. The town hall, from 4 to 6 p.m., is one of three in a listening tour where students, staff and faculty are invited to share their opinions with UC General Counsel Charles Robinson and UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Christopher Edley Jr. [ More… ]

Black Family Week comes amid a whole month of activities

If you thought Native American Culture Days came early this academic year, you're right. Black Family Week is coming early, too — next week, in fact, due to some strategic calendar adjustments by the Cross Cultural Center. With the switch, not all the activities are crammed into one week — so take a look at the schedule for the week and for the rest of the month of February. [ More… ]

Research for your Valentine: Relationships that work

Despite life's ups and downs, couples whose feelings are in sync consistently over time are more likely to stay together, says a study by a UC Davis psychologist. A second UC Davis study suggests why monogamy has become the dominant marriage institution in recent centuries, replacing the polygamy once practiced by 85 percent of the world's societies. [ More… ]

How DNA finds its match

It's been more than 50 years since James Watson and Francis Crick showed that DNA is a double helix of two strands that complement each other. But how does a short piece of DNA find its match, out of the millions of "letters" in even a small genome? A new UC Davis study published online in the journal Nature this week shows how it's done. [ More… ]

3-D laser map shows earthquake zone before and after

Geologists have a new tool to study how earthquakes change the landscape down to a few inches, and it's giving them insight into how earthquake faults behave. In today's issue of the journal Science, an international team of scientists led by a UC Davis geologist reports the most comprehensive before-and-after picture yet of an earthquake zone, using data from the magnitude 7.2 event that struck near Mexicali in April 2010. [ More… ]

Health system partners with state to improve Medi-Cal care

UC Davis' Institute for Population Health Improvement, as part of a five-year, $4.25 million agreement with the state Department of Health Care Services, will design and support a statewide quality improvement plan for the $46-billion-a-year Medi-Cal program. [ More… ]

Directing stem cells to increase bone formation and bone strength

A research team led by UC Davis Health System scientists has developed a novel technique for enhancing bone growth by using a molecule that, when injected into the bloodstream, directs the body's stem cells to travel to the surface of bones. [ More… ]

News briefs: Weekend of Service recruits faculty, staff

The Community Service Resource Center is reaching out to faculty and staff to lend a hand (actually, a lot of hands) during the next Weekend of Service, Feb. 25-26. … The Academic Staff and Assistance Program announced a pair of programs to ease your mind: a once-a-week meditation class and a brown bag meeting on "Emotional Intelligence … Your Hidden Edge." ... Children and parents join the new student group Wild Campus in providing bird, owl, bat and bee boxes for the arboretum and elsewhere on campus. [ More… ]

DIRECTIVES and ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announcements: Administrative advisory committees, librarian forums

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi is encouraging students, staff and faculty to apply for membership on administrative advisory committees for 2012-13. … Public forums with three candidates for university librarian are scheduled for Feb. 21, 23 and 28. [ More… ]

EVENTS

Biodiversity Museum Day

Sunday, Feb. 12, 1-4 p.m.

Open houses at four museums and centers that engage in education and research involving insects, vertebrates or plants: the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, and Botanical Conservatory (all 1-4 p.m.); and the Center for Plant Diversity (2-4 p.m.). [ More… ]

MFA thesis choreographies: dis/connect and Light Phases

Feb. 16-18 and 23-25, 8 p.m.; Feb. 19 and 26, 2 p.m.; Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center

Back-to-back choreographies by graduating Master of Fine Arts candidates Folawole and Kevin O'Connor. [ More… ]

'A Perfect Circadian Day: Examining the Daylight-Darkness Health Connection'

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 5:30 p.m., Conference Center Ballroom

A fast-paced multimedia presentation in which lighting design experts James R. Benya and Deborah Burnett discuss the consequences of living in a world of windowless spaces, light-based electronic devices and 24/7 activity. RSVPs requested. [ More… ]

More calendar listings…