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 Gifts that say UC DavisHave you started your gift list, for yourself or others? How about writing it with a pen made from olive wood from the campus? The pen from the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is one of our many gift suggestions that are campus cheerful, campus grown, campus inspired, campus comfy, campus glittery and campus thoughtful. [ More, with slideshow… ] |
NEWS SUMMARY
More stories at Dateline UC Davis and UC Davis News and Information
Napolitano welcomes Democrats' funding plan
UC President Janet Napolitano responded favorably to California Senate Democrats' proposal today (Dec. 2) to keep tuition flat for in-state students and boost general fund spending on higher education by $156 million. "I welcome and applaud the Senate Democrats' interest in maintaining the excellence, access and affordability of California's system of public higher education," Napolitano said in a statement. [ More… ]
- UC names special adviser on innovation and entrepreneurship
- Improving the transfer process — Napolitano meets in Sacramento with 15 community college leaders.
Campus stars: Grounds and Landscaping Services
The Davis campus earns best-in-the-nation accreditation from the Professional Grounds Management Society, recognizing not only Grounds and Landscape Services but its partners — the arboretum and Putah Creek Riparian Reserve — in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. [ More, with slideshow… ]
Library survey closes with 26 percent response
The Senate and Federation Library Survey concluded Nov. 15 with an impressive overall response rate of 26 percent. The survey result dataset will be delivered to the library soon; findings and analyses themselves will be widely shared and discussed with the UC Davis community, beginning in winter quarter. [ More… ]
Center for International Education builds ties with Mexico
UC Davis Extension bids farewell today (Dec. 2) to the 58 Mexican university students and professors who were the first to come here as part of UC President Janet Napolitano's UC-Mexico Initiative, instituted earlier this year. The visitors participated in a four-week English language and American culture program run by UC Davis Extension's Center for International Education. [ More… ]
RESEARCH: Bitter taste but good medicine in wild cucumbers
Plant biology professor William Lucas and others identify the genes involved in making cucurbitacins — which not only are responsible for the bitter taste (it protects the plants from predators) but have the potential to treat cancer and diabetes. [ More… ]
New books from faculty and graduates
Get a closer look at California's 1,600 bee species, dig into food through poetry and art, explore the darker side of Cinderella and follow an exploration of spiritual practice through three decades of letters with poet Gary Snyder. The writings range from academic works examining food safety and pollution to a supernatural story for young readers and an erotic novel. [ More… ]
NEWS BRIEFS: UC Davis leaders to attend U.N. food program
UC Davis leaders are scheduled to be at the United Nations next week to join dozens of other universities in pushing to end food insecurity. Plus…
- Police invite applications for Community Academy
- Surge IV burglary nets computers, bike, chess set
- Save the date: ADMAN Annual Conference
TRENDING: Turkey run; legal eagles; 'Hello, December'
Running of the Turkeys follow-up: Team Physics raises $5,000 for the Yolo Food Bank, and Professor Richard Scalettar wins best costume! See the Facebook album … Law school's class of 2014 Bar exam pass rate exceeds 86 percent. … Instagram user haoyiting says hello to December, in a cool collage.
FEATURED COLLOQUIA
- "Rethinking the Ph.D. in the Humanities" — Russell Berman, Stanford professor of comparative literature and German studies, is Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi's guest next in the Chancellor's Colloquium Distinguished Speaker Series. (Dec. 2)
- "Public Higher Education, Income Inequality and the Future of America" — UC Center Sacramento celebrates its 10th anniversary with this talk by UC Berkeley Chancellor Emeritus Robert Birgeneau. (Dec. 3)
- "The Uneasy Remains Film Project and UC Davis: Investigating NAPGRA" — Cutcha Risling Baldy and Vanessa Esquivido, Ph.D. candidates in Native American studies at UC Davis, presenting in the Native American Studies Brown Bag Lecture Series, which this quarter has a special focus on Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act-related research, policy and practice. (Dec. 3)
- "Henry Cow, Rock Experimentalism and the Vernacular Avant-Garde" — A Valente Lecture by Benjamin Piekut, assistant professor of music, Cornell University, author of Experimentalism Otherwise: The New York Avant-Garde and its Limits (2011). (Dec. 4)
- Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER) — Speakers include Venkatesan Sundaresan, professor of plant biology and plant sciences ("Mysteries of the Silent Kingdom: Sticking to One's Roots, Managing Hormones and Spreading Genes"); Robin Hill, professor of art ("Idea Cultivation in the Studio"); and Chris Dewees, professor emeritus of wildlife, fish and conservation biology ("Passion for Fish: When East Meets West"). (Dec. 4)
- The Viking in the Wheat Field — Author Susan Dworkin presents a seminar and discusses her new book. Hosted by the Plant Breeding Center. (Dec. 9)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Dean search, College of Engineering — A second set of town hall meetings will be held Wednesday (Dec. 3) to discuss the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the next dean, and the characteristics most important for the university to consider in recruiting and screening candidates. Multiple sessions are planned: faculty; undergraduate and graduate students; staff; and a general session for faculty, staff and students.
- Call for nominations: Excellence in Research Awards (Academic Federation)
- Call for nominations: Excellence in Teaching Awards (Academic Federation)
- UC Global Health Day: Call for submissions of abstracts for posters and proposals for breakout sessions — Open to UC students, fellows, faculty, staff and visiting scholars.
EVENTS
THE ARTS: 'Fantastick' theater, fantastic music
Finals, shopping and other obligations are bearing down, but try to make time for some theater and music before the winter break: The Department of Theatre and Dance gives The Fantasticks a magical aura in the Wyatt Pavilion Theatre, while the music department presents the Baroque, Jazz and Empyrean ensembles, Igor Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale, and the University Chorus and Symphony Orchestra. The Mondavi Center schedule includes Cantus (All is Calm), Mariachi Sol de Mexico ("A Christmas Spectacular") and American Bach Soloists (Messiah). [ More… ]
EXHIBITIONS: One concludes with an auction this week
Through Dec. 19
- Craft Center Gallery's 13th annual Staff Show and Auction — Jewelry, glasswork, textiles, ceramics, photography, painting and mixed media. Buy for yourself or for gift-giving — all proceeds go to support Craft Center programs. Auction ends at closing reception, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday (Dec. 5).
- If A Tree Fell: Sustainable Wood Design — Showcasing wood objects created using sustainable practices. The exhibition includes work created and inspired by African, Asian and European traditional craft fused with contemporary styling. Curated by Ernest Jolly, museum preparator. Through Dec. 12, Design Museum.
- Te Ahikaroa/Home Fires Burning — Recent photographic works by Natalie Robertson (Ngati Porou/Clan Donnachaidh) that engage with indigenous relationships to customary food and water sources. Through Dec. 12, C.N. Gorman Museum.
- IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas — A traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution, about the intersection of American Indian and African American people and cultures — a shared history that has long been invisible to many in the United States. Through Dec. 19, Peace Lounge, Cross Cultural Center (in the Student Community Center).
CAREER CATALYST: 'Resumes That Work'
Thursday, Dec. 4, noon-1 p.m., Meeting Room D, Student Community Center
Constance Stevens leads this program on writing new resumes and revising old resumes, to make them stand out in the crowd and lead to interviews. She'll ask each participant to explore his or her strengths and accomplishments, and discuss how to craft and design a resume to be reader friendly and customized to the desired position. Free; no preregistration. [ More… ]
University Farm Circle Holiday Home Tour and Boutique
Sunday, Dec. 7, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
See the decorations at six homes in Davis in this fundraiser for the University Farm Circle's scholarship endowment, which benefits UC Davis students. The holiday event includes refreshments and a boutique. Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 day of the event (purchase at International House, 10 College Park). [ More… ]