Spotlight on…

Aggies vs. Cal Bears Matsuo Nitta

UC Davis has a score to settle with its cousin Cal. The day of reckoning is Sept. 4, when the Aggies and Golden Bears meet on the gridiron for the first time in 71 years. The official records say UC Berkeley won the 1939 game. Some people thought otherwise. [ More… ]

NEWS

Chancellor calls for 'hate-free' campus

Chancellor Linda Katehi is calling on the Campus Council on Community and Diversity to consider developing a plan of action to help lead UC Davis toward becoming a "hate-free campus." Her comments followed the discovery earlier this week of a sixth swastika on the campus, found carved into a hallway bulletin board at a residence hall. [ More… ]

Inside Higher Ed reports on UC Davis budget

Budget pain, layoffs and tough choices at UC Davis are the subject of "Shared Sacrifice," an article that appeared this week in the online journal Inside Higher Ed. The story highlights the campus's new shared service center initiative, which seeks to save money by consolidating decentralized duties: "Davis is trying to bring an end to the days of a single employee who may spend a quarter of his time handling payroll and another three quarters juggling other duties." [ More… ]

Closure, holiday shorten workweek

The second of this year's three campus closures is upon us: next Wednesday and Thursday, March 24-25, followed on Friday by the César Chávez holiday. Thermostats will be turned down in many campus buildings, and employees are asked to join the conservation effort by turning off electronic devices and/or unplugging them. Friday Update will also take a break during the closure; look for the next issue in your mailbox on April 2. [ More… ]

Pipeline project stretches from library to waterway

A construction company is scheduled to dig up Hutchison Drive today next to Shields Library — launching another big upgrade to the Davis campus's underground network of steam and chilled-water lines. The work on Hutchison Drive is expected to be finished before students return from spring break, and the project will then work its way south to the arboretum for the next seven months, resulting in detours for pedestrians and bicycles. [ More… ]

UC Davis economist: Global meltdown 'worse than expected'

A top UC Davis economist says the world needs to prepare for the next economic crisis through banking reform and a better understanding of market conditions. As for how much longer the current slowdown endures, economics professor Alan M. Taylor said it is far from over. "It's a very, very bad recession compared to what we've seen in the past 50 to 60 years," Taylor told about 75 people at the Institute of Governmental Affairs' Policy Watch Seminar Series on March 12. [ More… ]

In research: Evolution of fairness and punishment

Researchers have long been puzzled by large societies in which strangers routinely engage in voluntary acts of kindness, respect and mutual benefit — even though there is often an individual cost involved. A new study co-authored by a UC Davis anthropologist and published in Science magazine suggests that the cooperative nature of each society is at least partly dependent upon historical forces — such as religious beliefs and the growth of market transactions — while the use of punishment to enforce norms is linked to group size. [ More… ]

Elevated eye pressure does not always merit glaucoma treatment

Most people at risk for developing glaucoma due to high eye pressure do not need treatment, according to a large, multicenter study in which the UC Davis Health System's Eye Center played a central role. Out of 1,636 people in the 15-year Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study, the UC Davis Eye Center evaluated and treated 117 — representing the largest patient base of the 22 regional centers participating in the study. [ More… ]

In brief: New hotel, vying for fiber, gun arrest, Mexico alert, retirement benefits

The campus's new four-story, 75-room hotel, the Hyatt Place UC Davis, opened for business March 17 … UC Davis is supporting the application by the city of Davis to be one of the locations chosen for Google's "Fiber for Communities" test of ultra-high speed broadband networks … Police arrested a Davis campus employee the night of March 17 on a felony charge of possessing a shotgun and rifle on campus … Student Affairs is advising students to heed the U.S. State Department's March 14 travel warning for Mexico … Registration is under way for limited seating at two UC Post-Employment Benefits Task Force forums on the Davis and Sacramento campuses April 19. [ More… ]

DIRECTIVES

Unemployment insurance rates for 2010-2011

This directive addresses unemployment insurance rates and reserve balances, which are reviewed periodically by Accounting and Financial Services. [ More… ]

EVENTS

St. Patrick's Day comes a few days late to the Bohart

Sunday, March 21, 1-5 p.m., 1124 Academic Surge Building

Praying mantises and other green critters will be featured in "What Has Six Legs and Is Green All Over?" — a free public program at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. [ More… ]

Registration opens for walking program team challenge

Registration: March 22 to April 2; challenge runs April 5 to May 28

The Aggies on the Move Team Challenge is back for the spring quarter. The walking program is open to all members of the Davis and Sacramento campus communities. [ More… ]

Provost search committee to hold open forums with campus community

Thursday, April 1, noon-1 p.m., and Friday, April 2, 2:30-3:30 p.m., Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center

A recruitment advisory committee is scheduled to hold two open forums where anyone from the campus community can offer input on the committee's task: finding a new provost and executive vice chancellor for UC Davis. [ More… ]

More calendar listings…