UCI Student Affairs Hosts Thanksgiving Lunch
Students staying on campus during the break will have the opportunity to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with Vice Chancellor Thomas Parham at Pippin Commons on Thursday, Nov. 24 at 11 a.m.
This will be the seventh year the Thanksgiving event is being held, hosted by UCI Student Affairs. About 300 to 400 students are expected to attend this year.
Trump Protests at UCI Continue
The UCI American Indian Resource Program is sponsoring a “Dump Trump” rally on Tuesday, Nov. 22 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. at the UCI Flagpoles.
The rally will protest the election of Donald Trump as well as the installation of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
UCI Professor Receives John Maddox Award
UC Irvine psychology and social behavior and criminology and law professor Elizabeth Loftus was awarded the John Maddox Prize for Standing up for Science in London on Thursday, Nov. 17.
The award is given to individuals who have significantly contributed to science on public interest matters in the face of difficulty and hostility.
“Standing up for psychological science in general and research on memory in particular has brought a good deal of antagonism my way,” said Loftus in a press release on her acceptance of the prize. “Receiving this award helps to erase the pain of insults, death threats and lawsuits.”
Loftus is best known for her study of the “misinformation effect,” which suggests that memory can be changed if new incorrect information is introduced.
She is also noted for her work on false memories and whether it is possible to implant such memories for events that did not exist.
UCI Transportation Installs New Traffic Signal
A new traffic signal was installed at the crosswalk on Pereira Drive at the Aldrich Hall loop on Wednesday, Nov. 16, replacing stop signs in the area.
In a press release, UCI Transportation and Distribution Services Director Ron Fleming stated, “This system will enhance the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists by synchronizing pedestrian crossing and vehicle travel.”
Pedestrians must activate the signal and wait for the walk sign to turn on. Vehicles are free to move when lights are off and must stop for pedestrians when flashing red lights are on..
Staff will continue to be onsite as necessary.
DOE Awards $104 Million to Minority Serving Institutions
The U.S. Department of Education announced on Nov. 16 that it will give over $104 million in the form of five-year grants to 104 schools in 13 states serving Hispanic, Native American, Asian American and low-income students. From the program, UCI was given more than $300,000 per year in grants.
Schools with an undergraduate enrollment of at least ten percent Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander students can apply for the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions grant or the Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions grant.
The former allocates a maximum of $350,000 per year for five years. Funds may be used for a variety of projects including new summer programs, improved academic advising and technology upgrades. From this grant, UC Irvine received $302,242 per year.
The second grant alloted $7.2 million to 19 schools for services including new laboratory equipment and improved academic counseling programs.
Schools with 25 percent Hispanic students enrolled are eligible for the Hispanic-Serving Institutions STEM grant. $92 million was awarded to 91 institutions to help more Hispanic students earn degrees in the STEM field.
UCI Project Receives $1.2 Million Award
UCI researchers were awarded $1.2 million by the California Initiative to Advance Medicine on Tuesday, Nov. 15 to improve prostate cancer treatments.
The initiative, established by Governor Jerry Brown in 2015, also funded five other projects all with the main goal of providing more customized healthcare.
Project leaders for the UCI team will be co-executive directors of UC Irvine’s Health Policy Research Institute, Dr. Sheldon Greenfield and Sherrie H. Kaplan.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in men. The UCI project will focus on determining ways to develop treatment programs that better fit a patient’s individual needs.
UCI Humanities Dean Weighs in on Election Results
The School of Humanities Dean Georges Van Den Abbeele sent out an email to students on Tuesday, Nov. 15 in response to hate crimes that have occurred in the wake of the 2016 presidential election.
“It is incumbent upon all of us in the coming days and weeks not just to respect one another but actively to embrace and support each other in our differences and especially to express our ongoing solidarity with any individuals or groups who may become targets of unwarranted aggression or harassment,” he said.
Dean Van Den Abbeele also stated that he is currently looking into how to declare the School of Humanities a “sanctuary space” and urges the rest of the campus to do the same.
