Campus security, mental health services under review following Virginia Tech incident

In the wake of the recent tragic shootings at Virginia Tech, President Dynes has created a 14-member security task force to evaluate how UC campuses can enhance their security, notification processes, mental health services, and general emergency preparedness.

The UC Campus Security Task Force, co-chaired by Provost and Executive Vice President Wyatt Hume and Executive Vice President Katherine Lapp, is composed of a broad-based group of university security, student affairs, legal, and emergency preparedness experts. Over a two-month period, the Task Force will assess critical safety and mental health issues and make recommendations to Dynes and the UC campus chancellors.

Considerable work has already been done in many areas. For instance, UC undertook a comprehensive review of its student mental health services and, following the issuance of a report in September 2006, the Board of Regents voted in March to enhance these services by setting aside 43 percent of the revenue generated by a 7 percent increase in the Registration Fee – as just the first step in a multi-year effort to increase funding for these programs.

In the area of emergency preparedness, UC campuses have in place a number of multi-divisional operations and procedures, including specific building security and safety measures, comprehensive workplace violence prevention programs, and memoranda of understanding with their surrounding public safety jurisdictions.

Despite the improvements made to campus preparedness in recent years, including as a response to incidents such as the Columbine shootings of 1999, the new Campus Security Task Force will identify additional steps to help make UC campuses as secure as they possibly can be.

 

UC continues progress in sustainable practices, environmental initiatives

UC continues to expand its sustainability policy and programs while receiving accolades from outside organizations on its cutting-edge environmental initiatives. One of the university’s most significant advances this year has been the creation of the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices, an expansion of the previous Policy on Green Building Design, Clean Energy Standards, and Sustainable Transportation Practices.

In addition to updated climate change policy guidelines and new sections on building renovations, operations and maintenance, and waste reduction, the new sustainable policy ushers in guidelines for the purchasing of greener electronics, the disposal of electronic waste, and “take-back” computer recycling. In addition, under the new policy, UC will only buy electric products such as laptops, desktop computers, and monitors that meet a strict set of environmental standards registered under the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool.

Last month, UC was honored with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Achievement Award in recognition of the University’s outstanding work in the area of environmental sustainability. In announcing the award, the EPA also singled out the leadership work of Lesley Clark, UC’s systemwide commodity manager, in developing and building UC’s environmentally preferable purchasing programs.

And in March, UC joined the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, a broad effort by the nation’s higher education institutions to address global warming by neutralizing their greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating research and educational efforts.

For more information on UC sustainability and clean energy efforts, visit www.ucop.edu/facil/sustain. For more information about UC environmental research and programs, visit www.universityofcalifornia.edu/environment.

 

Stem cell research moves ahead in UC laboratories

Continuing to lead the way in developing key advances in the area of stem cell research, UC researchers in March were awarded $42 million through 17 comprehensive four-year research grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). The grants will enable investigators at five UC campuses to conduct work in a wide range of areas, including research with applicability to Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, HIV, spinal cord injury, and blood disorders.

The 29-member Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC), governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine established by Proposition 71, approved 29 comprehensive research grants for approximately $74.6 million over four years to accomplished stem cell investigators at academic and non-profit research centers throughout the state.

All 10 UC campuses are actively engaged in stem cell research and training using Proposition 71 funding. In addition to the 17 CIRM comprehensive research grants awarded to UC researchers, 38 UC investigators at nine campuses were awarded a total of $21 million in two-year CIRM SEED grants (Scientific Excellence through Exploration and Development). These SEED grants are aimed at bringing promising new ideas and investigators into the field of human embryonic stem cell research.  UC also is actively engaged in training the next generation of stem cell researchers, with eight UC campuses in the midst of carrying out education programs supported by CIRM training grants, which were funded in April 2006.

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