Focus
Governor proposes major research and innovation initiative for California
One of the highlights of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s State of the State address and 2007-08 state budget proposal is an important research and innovation initiative that would invest state funding in a number of UC research projects supporting the state’s economic and environmental objectives.
The proposal also will help UC continue helping California retain its leadership in the field of “green” technology. California already has adopted landmark legislation calling for a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and UC scientists are pursuing an aggressive research agenda to help the state meet those goals and continue its environmental leadership.
The governor’s research proposal includes the following: $30 million in lease revenue bonds for the Helios Project, an initiative by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to create sustainable, carbon-neutral sources of energy; $40 million in lease revenue bonds for UC Berkeley or UC San Diego in the event that either wins a global competition for the BP Energy Biosciences Institute, which will focus on the development of alternative fuels; $20 million in general funds for operations of the California Institutes for Science and Innovation, four cross-disciplinary, public-private research institutes located at UC campuses and focused on scientific fields with great potential for economic development in California; and $5 million in state matching funds in the event that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, UCSD’s San Diego Supercomputer Center, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory win a National Science Foundation competition to build a “petascale” computer that will be the most powerful computer in the world and that, if sited in California, would give an enormous competitive advantage to California scientists.
“California is home to the most innovative, ambitious and creative people in the world, and they have helped put our state at the forefront of so many emerging industries,” President Dynes told the press when the initiative was announced. “This takes nourishment from the state to keep California competitive and to maintain that edge for which California has come to be known.
“When the governor included funding in this coming year's budget to support the multidisciplinary research efforts of the Institutes for Science and Innovation at the University of California, he sent the strong message that the best and the brightest should work, study, and create here in California.”
Click here or on the image at upper right to view a video about the Helios Project at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. And for a Flash-based audio slideshow going into greater depth about the Helios Project, visit the Helios Audio Tour.
Two new UC chancellors appointed
Block and Kang
Robinson and Sakaki
President Dynes and the Regents have filled two vacant chancellors’ positions at UC. Gene Block, a biologist and provost of the University of Virginia, has been named to lead UCLA, and Steve Kang, engineering dean at UC Santa Cruz, has been named chancellor of UC Merced.
New faces at UCOP include General Counsel Charles Robinson and Vice President for Student Affairs Judy Sakaki.
Staff advisors to Regents made permanent; nominations sought
The Board of Regents voted January 18 to approve the permanent positions of Staff Advisor and Staff Advisor-Designate to the Regents. The Staff Advisor Program, approved by the Regents in January 2005, allows for two staff and/or non-Senate academic employees to be selected to participate in open sessions of certain committees of the Board. The Staff Advisors bring the voice and perspective of staff and non-Senate academic employees to deliberations on relevant matters that come before the Regents.
The 2005-06 Staff Advisors were Dave Miller, who participated in meetings of the Committee on Grounds and Buildings, and David Bell, who participated with the Committee on Educational Policy. For 2006-07, at the recommendation of President Dynes, Miller has continued to serve as Staff Advisor and Lynda Brewer was selected to serve as Staff Advisor-Designate. Miller and Brewer now are jointly serving on the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Educational Policy. UC staff members can contact them at david.miller@ucop.edu and lynda.brewer@ucop.edu.
The Office of the President has announced a call for nominations for the next Staff Advisor-Designate, who will serve from July 2007 through June 2009. Information about the program, along with the application, will be available on the Staff Advisor web site as well as in hard copy at each UC location. Applications will be accepted through February 28.
Innovative UC medical education programs move forward
With the November passage of Proposition 1D, the University of California is taking the next steps to implement its new "PRograms in Medical Education" (PRIME), which are aimed at improving health care for underserved populations and communities in California.
The additional $200 million in capital funding authorized by Proposition 1D for these programs, together with state support for enrollment growth, will be used to support new educational and clinical programs using telemedicine.
New PRIME students will represent a 10 percent increase in enrollments (the first net increase in UC medical education enrollment in over 30 years) and are part of the first phase of the University's plan to increase medical school enrollments by approximately 34 percent to help address state health workforce shortages. The University's PRIME programs will produce an additional 250-300 physician-leaders committed and trained to serve California's underserved communities, including inner-city areas, rural communities, the Inland Empire, and the Central Valley.
The PRIME-LC program, designed to train physicians to serve California's large underserved Latino population, is already in its second year at UC Irvine. PRIME programs are also being developed at other UC medical schools. Areas of focus will include rural health/telemedicine (UC Davis), health equity/health disparities (UC San Diego), and urban health (UCSF), with the emphasis of an additional UCLA program to be determined later this year.
UC sustainability efforts recognized
The University of California continues to lead the way in adopting and implementing environmental sustainability programs. From the ongoing expansion of recycled materials programs, to purchasing renewable energy, there were scores of accomplishments in 2006 for UC.
Read about some of the innovative initiatives underway at UC...
UC research: Expanding frontiers, finding solutions
UCLA researchers make progress on Alzheimer's ... Los Alamos researchers train bees to sniff for bombs ... UC Davis examines the effectiveness of sports-formulated jelly beans ... a UCI faculty member looks at how the right and left brain process the Mandarin language ... and more! Read some of the latest highlights of research from around the UC system.
Systemwide News
Governor's budget proposal funds enrollment growth, salary increases
Gov. Schwarzenegger has issued a 2007-08 state budget proposal that funds his “compact” with UC, including funds for student enrollment growth and faculty and staff compensation increases. In a tight budget year overall, the governor has proposed a 6 percent state funding increase for UC.
The budget proposal does not propose state funding for UC academic preparation or labor research programs, and President Dynes has said the University will make a strong appeal to the state to continue the funding for both. The budget also assumes increases of roughly 7 percent in mandatory systemwide student fees and 10 percent for select professional school students.
The governor’s budget combined with other UC revenues would provide a 5 percent pool for employee compensation increases in 2007-08, compared to the 4 percent pool this year. (Distribution is subject to collective bargaining where applicable.) This increase is intended to begin closing the market pay gap affecting many faculty and staff.
The governor’s proposal did not contain funds requested for the restart of employer contributions to the UC Retirement Plan. The Regents have voted to resume employer and employee contributions in July 2007, subject to the budget process, availability of funding, and collective bargaining. In the wake of the governor’s budget, the Regents will continue discussions with the state about funding for employer contributions. President Dynes has stated his position that employee contributions should not be restarted until employer contributions are resumed as well.
Regent Lansing wins special Oscar
Regent Sherry Lansing
Regent Sherry Lansing, former chair of Paramount Pictures Motion Picture Group, has been voted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. An Oscar statuette will be presented to Lansing during the 79th Academy Awards presentation on February 25.
The Hersholt Award is given to an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.
Lansing helped Dr. Armand Hammer form the nonprofit organization Stop Cancer and serves on its board. She is on the board of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, founded to honor excellence in basic and clinical science, and is a trustee of the American Association for Cancer Research. In addition, she serves on the Citizens’ Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Stem Cell Research and on the American Red Cross Board of Governors Advisory Committee and is a trustee of the Carter Center, the human rights organization formed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn.
More faculty elected to AAAS
Fifty-six UC researchers have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest general scientific society. Nine of UC's 10 campuses are represented in the the most recent election of fellows, and the UC-affiliated fellows constitute more than 10 percent of the 449 new association fellows.
With this latest election, there are approximately 530 UC researchers who are fellows of the association.
Chosen by their peers, association fellows are recognized for their distinguished efforts to advance science and its applications in a wide variety of fields, including agriculture, biological sciences, education, engineering, medical sciences, psychology, and social sciences. The new fellows will be recognized at the AAAS annual meeting in San Francisco on February 17.
Employee web site gets makeover
At Your Service is getting a fresh look. The redesigned systemwide web site for UC employee information about human resources and benefits has been re-launched with improved navigation and several new features, including:
- A "Total Compensation" section with news; features on how real UC employees deal with their salary, benefits and retirement plan; and a tool that enables individuals to calculate the value of their total UC compensation.
- A new "UC Living Well" web site with information about wellness programs and services.
- Quick links to the most-requested tools and publications.
The redesigned site will continue to provide access to employees' personal UC account and benefits information, along with regular updates about UC benefits news.
Dynes' Desk
Dynes' Desk is a way for anyone to email a comment, idea, or suggestion to President Dynes. While he is not able to respond personally in most instances, President Dynes does read each email submitted. In each edition of "Our University," he will respond to a couple of Dynes' Desk emails addressing issues of broad interest to the UC community.
Submit an email to Dynes' Desk
Comment:
I am deeply concerned by the recent announcement that all UC employees will have their salaries disclosed on a public website...
Read the president's response...
Comment:
Something must be done about the rise in health care costs. After many years of small or no pay increases, the staff finally receives a reasonable increase, yet it is offset by the increase in health care and retirement benefits contributions...
Read the president's response...
Profile
"The best part of teaching is pushing students to reach their potential and then watching them achieve a level of understanding they didn't think they were capable of."
A. Kimberley McAllister, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
UC Davis Center for Neuroscience
In October of 2006, Kim was named Young Investigator of the Year by the Society for Neuroscience in recognition for her highly regarded work in the field of developmental neurobiology. As if that wasn't enough, she and her husband Marty Usrey, also a neuroscientist, recently celebrated the birth of their second child. Kim is currently working on a part-time schedule, juggling the demands of research and teaching with those of her growing family.
Q
What do you enjoy most about your work?
A
I love the challenge of designing new techniques to address some of the most simple, but intractable, biological questions. The best part, of course, is discovering something completely novel -- something that no one has seen before and is completely unexpected. Teaching is also incredibly rewarding. The best part of teaching is pushing students to reach their potential and then watching them achieve a level of understanding they didn't think they were capable of.
Q
What is the most challenging aspect of your work?
A
The most challenging aspect of my work is definitely trying to balance my passion as a researcher with my passion for my family. There's simply not enough time in the day to do everything I'd like to do.
Q
How do you maintain symmetry between the obligations of work and those of family?
A
Balancing the demands of a growing family with research is incredibly challenging, but I absolutely love both and I wouldn't be happy giving up either. So, I don't get much sleep. Having a husband who is an equal partner in our family is essential. We support each other and equally share responsibilities at home.
It is also critical to manage your time wisely and to have the support of the University. The Center for Neuroscience at UC Davis is particularly family-understanding. There are a lot of female faculty members here and almost all the young faculty (men and women) have young kids. To maintain our high standards for graduate education and research productivity, we help each other out when we can and support each other always. It's a great atmosphere here.
Did You Know...
- Through all the budget cuts of recent years, UC has worked to continue providing the classes students need for timely graduation. Today, the average time to degree for an entering UC freshman is four years plus one quarter.
- Six UC campuses are members of the prestigious 62-member Association of American Universities, a representation unmatched by any other state.
- Two-thirds of UC students receive financial aid, totaling nearly $2 billion per year - more than $1 billion of it in grants and scholarships.
Resources
What would you like to read about the UC system in future editions of "Our University"? Send your feedback and story suggestions to communications@ucop.edu. Produced by Strategic Communications, University Affairs, UC Office of the President.
