Spotlight on…

Three weeks of imagesPhoto: Encampment on the Quad

We close out the week with images of the demonstrations that began Nov. 15 and continue today on the Quad and in Dutton Hall; and the soul searching that has enveloped UC Davis since Nov. 18. Plus, coverage of the campus demonstrations. [ More… ]

NEWS SUMMARY

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

Law school's Reynoso to lead task force on pepper-spraying incident

UC President Mark G. Yudof appoints UC Davis Professor Emeritus Cruz Reynoso, a former associate justice of the state Supreme Court, to chair the task force that will examine the UC Davis Police Department's use of pepper spray on protesters. [ More… ]

Regents get an earful on tuition and protests; approve spending plan

UC regents, meeting by teleconference on four campuses, including Davis, hear from dozens of people about rising tuition and police response to peaceful demonstrations. Later, the board approves a 2012-13 spending plan that asks for $2.7 billion in state funding, about $400 million more than this year. If the state comes through, "we can avoid the issue of a tuition increase entirely," President Mark G. Yudof says. Read Dateline coverage of the regents meeting. [ More… ]

Chancellor to redouble her advocacy for more funding

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi holds another town hall, this one with graduate and professional students, and confers with the Academic Senate in the wake of the Nov. 18 pepper-spraying incident. At the town hall, she emphasized the need "to look beyond to the real reasons that led us here": the difficulties of staying in school in the face of rising tuition and mounting debt, and then finding a job when so few are available. Coverage of today's Academic Senate meeting will be posted Monday. [ More… ]

Retirement plan contributions: Rates set for next two years

Today, faculty and staff pay 3.5 percent and the university pays 7 percent into the retirement plan. Come July 2012, as previously approved, the rates will climb to 5 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Then, in July 2013, the rates will climb to 6.5 percent and 12 percent, the Board of Regents decided Nov. 28 in the latest in a series of moves to shore up the plan's funded status. [ More… ]

Biggs to retire from coaching after 2012 season

Bob Biggs, star quarterback-turned-coach, says he will retire from coaching after the 2012 season — his 20th as the Aggies' head coach. He has the second-most number of wins in Aggie history: 140, including a monumental victory over Stanford in 2005. [ More… ]

UC Davis to test stem cell therapy to regenerate lumbar discs

Researchers at UC Davis Health System will be part of a nationwide study to examine whether one single injection of adult stem cells directly into diseased lumbar discs can repair and regenerate them, relieve chronic lower-back pain and possibly avert spine surgery. The study's principal investigator is Kee Kim, associate professor and chief of spinal neurosurgery at UC Davis Health System. [ More… ]

News briefs: Graduate education task force seeks input

The Joint Administration-Academic Senate Special Task Force on Graduate Education is continuing its outreach, asking for feedback by e-mail through Dec. 31. … In his search for UC's next provost, President Mark G. Yudof calls on Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi and Professor Mark Rashid to serve on the search advisory committee. … Gradebook2 upgrade scheduled. … Coats for Kids collection boxes at UC Davis Extension facilities. … Mail Services collects 1,488 pounds of food. [ More… ]

DIRECTIVES and ANNOUNCEMENTS

Annual asbestos notification

California Health and Safety Code Section 25915 requires that all UC Davis employees be notified annually of the presence of asbestos in campus buildings constructed prior to 1979. Please post this notice in an area accessible to all employees. [ More… ]

Announcement: Call for nominations for the Charles P. Nash Prize

The Davis Faculty Association, the Academic Senate and the Academic Federation are calling for nominations for the Charles P. Nash Prize, honoring a faculty member for exceptional achievement and commitment in promoting shared governance and advocacy for faculty interests and welfare, in the same vein as Nash, who died in 2007. [ More… ]

EVENTS

Exhibition: Craft Center show and auction concludes tonight

Friday, Dec. 2, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Craft Center, South Silo

This show features jewelry, glasswork, textiles, ceramics, metalwork, woodwork, photography, painting, drawing, screen printing and mixed media. Prices generally range between $5 and $100, with most priced under $25. Proceeds benefit the Craft Center's programming and operations. [ More… ]

The arts: Variations on a theme

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2-3, 8 p.m., Main Theatre

The Odd Couple: Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2-3, 8 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 4, 2 p.m.; Wyatt Pavilion Theatre

One is a variation of Hamlet, the other a variation of The Odd Couple. You can see them both at UC Davis — but you only have the next couple of days to do so. … Plus, more performances and concerts. [ More… ]

'Cabinets of Curiosity': A one-night-only scientific art show

Saturday, Dec. 3, 7-10 p.m., 721 Seventh St., Davis

The Art-Science Fusion Program this weekend presents "Cabinets of Curiosity," a one-night-only scientific art show, free and open to the public. Each cabinet drawer tells a story about insects using found objects and sculpture, said teaching assistant Anna Davidson, a third-year doctoral student in the Horticulture and Agronomy Graduate Group. [ More… ]

More calendar listings…