UC DAVIS: OFFICE OF THE PROVOST
April 7, 2006
Provost's Update, April 2006
Dear Colleagues:
During this year, there have been a number of challenges for UC and UC Davis, but the university still moves forward as evidenced by the impressive achievements of our students, faculty and staff. Our campus' excellence in learning, discovery, and engagement is accomplished through a distinctive blend of core-discipline excellence, interdisciplinary collaborations, and productive partnerships. In this Update, I mention some recent examples of notable achievements based on successful partnerships. I also have news and updates to share about our continuing efforts to build the human, physical, and financial framework essential to excellence. I particularly want to mention honors (a long list) earned by so very many members of our community--all of us at UC Davis celebrate (and benefit from) their recognition!
First I'll update on the three priorities I mentioned in my last update:
Addressing Faculty Salary Compression. Previously, I mentioned we were reviewing options for addressing the "loyalty tax" - the shrinking differential between the salaries of our long term faculty members and those of our newer faculty. This results from several years of stagnation in the University faculty salary scales and the market demands we face when hiring new faculty. Vice Provost Barbara Horwitz has met with the Academic Senate Committee on Budget and Planning, the Committee on Academic Personnel, the Faculty Welfare Committee and a faculty group led by Faculty Assistant to the Provost Pam Ronald to discuss options for addressing this "salary compression" issue. We intend to have a plan in place by July 1 and take the first steps toward a remedy in the new academic year. This problem has arisen over a number of years and will take some time to resolve completely - but it is a critical issue that we must continue to address.
Increasing Investments in Graduate Student Support. The fee and tuition increases of the past three years - a cumulative increase of 80.5 percent - have presented a huge challenge to our efforts to provide competitive levels of graduate student support. The campus has responded to this challenge in a number of ways, including augmentations totaling $4.1 million to the graduate block grant and the addition of $6.8 million to keep pace with the cost of fee remission for TAs and GSRs supported on general funds. Through efforts with the Academic Senate, the next action is the addition of $2.5 million in 2006-07 to reduce the burden of graduate student fees and nonresident tuition on contracts and grants that employ GSRs. Over a three quarter period this will save a faculty member's extramural research grant approximately $2,250 per California resident GSR and $6,000 per nonresident GSR. This initiative is in direct response to continuing concerns voiced by the faculty regarding the increasing cost of supporting graduate students on research grants. The administration views this investment as the most recent step of what will be an extended effort. Graduate student support is one of the very highest priorities of the campus - so we will find ways to further increase this investment in future years.
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8649
Streamlining the Renovations Process. A campus facility renovation committee, chaired by Vice Chancellor Stan Nosek, is working with the campus units that manage renovation projects to streamline the remodeling process. Renovation projects are often an essential component of faculty recruitment and the renovation process has been subject to criticism in recent years. As a result, performance targets have been developed for timeliness of key components of the process, and the Facilities project delivery unit is being reorganized into small "general contractor" groups to provide more coordinated services to academic units. This new structure would also assign each contractor group to a particular School or College to assure continuity and a direct line of communication. An improved web site, to be launched in April will provide current status information on projects valued at $400,000 or more.
Learning
Giedt Hall - Faculty Philanthropy Builds Much-Needed Classroom Space.
Giedt Hall has broken ground and will open in summer 2007. It will provide three lecture halls of 250, 175 and 150 seats and two 40-seat classrooms, helping the campus address a shortage of mid-sized lecture halls. It is funded through a $2.5 million gift from engineering professor emeritus Warren Giedt and his wife, Leta, and a $400,000 gift from geology lecturer and alumnus Rand Schaal and his father, Ted. Engineering and geology courses will have priority in this building, but the new classroom space will free up other campus classrooms, adding flexibility for all disciplines.
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8487
Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering Design Clinic. UC Davis alum Matthew Latham, a professional engineer at Bio Rad, sponsors a group of UC Davis undergraduate engineering students in their capstone design project. This is one of many opportunities for engineering students to apply tools learned in the classroom to real-world engineering problems.
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8642
Gift to Support Veterinary Medicine Students. The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has received the final portion of its largest gift on record - nearly $13 million from the estate of Theodora Peigh. Her generous gift is advancing animal health care by providing scholarships to help veterinary students cope with recent fee increases of about 95 percent.
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8584
New Daylighting Academy. Our California Lighting Technology Center in HArCS is offering a new course to assist architects, designers and builders in incorporating natural light into building designs to save
energy and improve lighting quality.
http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=7633
Discovery
Grant for Ultrafast Optical Communications. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded $9.5 million over three and a half years to UC Davis, MIT and commercial partners to develop new high-speed devices for ultrafast optical communications, imaging and other applications. S.J. Ben Yoo, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the UC Davis Center for Information Technology Research in the Interests of Society, is co-principal investigator on the grant, that includes Jonathan Heritage and Anh-Vu Pham, both professors in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The commercial partners are Inphi Inc. of Westlake Village, Calif., and Multiplex Inc. and Inplane Photonics Inc., both of South Plainfield, N.J.
http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=7597
Female Business Leaders. Research by faculty of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management - Dean Nicole Woolsey Biggart, Professor Kim Elsbach and Professor Katrina Ellis - recently documented the scarcity of female executives in California businesses. The study also addressed the business sense of efforts to bring women to the table of corporate leadership.
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8638
New Research Building. The newly completed Oak Park Research Building, near the UCDHS campus in Sacramento, supports the UC Davis Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology, the Center for Healthy Aging and various School of Medicine laboratories. The Biophotonics Center is a $52 million research program funded by a $40 million grant from the NSF and $12 million in matching funds from UC Davis and partner institutions.
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8620
Wheat Genome Research. A national consortium of wheat breeders and scientists, led by Jorge Dubcovsky, professor of plant sciences, was awarded a $5 million grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement modern technologies for producing higher quality, disease-resistant wheat, one of the world's oldest and most widely used food crops.
http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=7629
Engagement
Center for Retiree Resources and Relations. Working in partnership with the UC Davis Emeriti Association and the UC Davis Retiree Association, the campus is establishing a Center for Retiree Resources and Relations. The goal of the Center is to build on the already strong relations between the campus and its retired faculty and staff. The Center will make the campus a better and more inviting place for emeriti and retirees and provide new programmatic opportunities for them to help the campus achieve its goals. An advisory committee chaired by Professor and Dean Emeritus Charles Hess is currently guiding the recruitment of a manager and the search for office space, hopefully to open this summer.
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8623
School of Education to Guide Improvement/Expansion of California After School Programs. The School of Education will use $425,000 in new grants to help chart the course for California's after-school programs as the state prepares to spend hundreds of millions more in taxpayer dollars on tutoring, homework assistance and other enrichment activities.
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8585
F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Regional Competition. UC Davis hosted 40 teams competing in F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). The goal of this program is to encourage high school students in science, mathematics and engineering - the teams both learn by doing and develop teamwork skills, a great combination. Thanks to Karen McDonald, College of Engineering, for serving as chair of the planning committee, and also to the many volunteers who made this an
impressive event.
http://firstsac.engineering.ucdavis.edu/
Framework for Success
State Budget Proposal for 2006-07 Is Mostly Good News. The Governor's proposed budget for 2006-07:
- * Provides sufficient state funding to avoid an increase in mandatory systemwide fees for graduate students and resident undergraduate students in 2006-07.
- * Includes funding that, when combined with other university revenue sources, supports an average 4 percent increase in employee compensation (salary and benefits) in 2006-07, subject to collective bargaining requirements.
- * Funds a $21.8 million expansion and renovation of King Hall, home of the UC Davis School of Law.
Our campus remains challenged, however, by the recent significant increases in energy costs. Our purchased utilities deficit is expected to reach $12 million in 2006-07. The Office of the President continues to work with the State toward funding that would recognize and help resolve this systemwide problem. The campus continues to work on conservation strategies.
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8590
Institutional Support for Interdisciplinary Research Remains Strong. The Interdisciplinary Research Support unit of the Office of Research coordinates the preparation of grant proposals for interdisciplinary, typically large-scale, research programs. The unit has participated in 43 grant proposals since its inception in July 2004, including Center grants, Program Projects, and UCOP initiatives. Prof. Anthony Wexler's EPA-sponsored "San Joaquin Valley Aerosol Health Effects Research Center" funded at $8M is one example of a successful partnership. Faculty who would like to request the services of this unit for future projects, or who would like more information on support services, should contact Billy Sanders, Interim Director of Research Development, Office of Research: brsanders@ucdavis.edu, or 754-6388.
New Emergency Manager Leads Preparations for Avian Flu. Disaster/emergency preparedness is uppermost in our thoughts these days - especially after seeing the devastation from the Gulf hurricanes and hearing daily about the threat of avian flu. UC Davis has a new emergency manager, Valerie Lucus, working to prepare our campus for all of these events. In the coming months, you'll hear a lot about our business continuity plans for a potential pandemic and about the opening of our new Emergency Operations Center. Future plans include actively involving more of the campus in being part of a disaster response through training and education. For more information, check out the emergency/disaster management web page at http://safetyservices.ucdavis.edu/emergencymgmt/ or call Valerie at x26463.
Please also see:
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8574
Celebration of Honors
Chancellor's Achievement Awards for Diversity and Community. Chancellor Vanderhoef recently recognized several employees and community members for their exemplary achievements in support of our diverse campus community:
- Hamza El-Nakhal, Islamic Center of Davis - Community Award
- Louise Kellogg, Department of Geology - Academic Senate Award
- Alan Koike, M.D., Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Academic Federation Award
- Yvonne Lai, Department of Mathematics - Graduate Student Award
- Brian McInnis, Departments of Economics and History - Undergraduate Student Award
- Connie Melendy, Offices of the Chancellor and Provost - Staff Award
- Chancellor's Fellows Named. Congratulations to Andy Hargadon, Graduate School of Management; David Begun, Evolution and Ecology; Nina Amenta, Computer Sciences; Edmund "Ted" Powers, Molecular and Cellular Biology;
James Rustad, Geology - an impressive group of scholars.
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8708 - 13th Annual Citizens Appreciation Awards. Employees and area residents honored for bravery and courage by the UC Davis Police Department include Pete Motekaitis, Sgt. Barry Swartwood, Jeff Rott, Tamar Rein, Ruben Arias and Nadar Oweis, Greg Hoeger, Jennifer Garcia, Rebecca Nord, Patricia Harvey, Nancy Lewis and Javier Barragan, Marilyn Winston.
http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8627 - Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VII.
Lisa Lapin, assistant vice chancellor for University Communications, received the "Rising Star" Award. Efforts by Craig Farris, Susanne Rockwell, Teri Bachman, and Jay Leek to redesign the UC Davis home page received silver medal recognition. - Department of Energy Outstanding Junior Investigator Awards. Robin Erbacher and Hsin-Chia Cheng, assistant professors of physics, received
2006 Outstanding Junior Investigator (OJI) awards from the Department of Energy. Eight of these awards were made in the nation this year - UC Davis got two! - NSF Early Career Development Awards. Zhendon Su, assistant professor of computer science; N. Saif Islam, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; Rajeevan Amirtharajah, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering all were recognized by The National Science Foundation with Faculty Early Career Development awards which support tOctober 17, 2007 2:26 PM integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their institution.
- Sloan Research Fellowships. Patrice Koehl, associate professor of computer science and a faculty member in the Genome Center, and Benjamin Morris, associate professor of Mathematics, both received 2006 Sloan Research Fellowships which are designed to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise.
- Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, a professor of internal medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and an internationally renowned expert on mental health in ethnic populations, was recently honored with a National Minority Health Community Leadership Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Arnold Bauer, professor of history, received Chile's greatest honor for a foreign scholar, the Gabriela Mistral award. He was recognized for his path-breaking publications on Chilean history and his work with Chilean students in Chile and at UC Davis.
- Tom Bills, professor of art, is exhibiting his sculpture at the Don Soker Contemporary Art Gallery in San Francisco.
- William Casey, professor of chemistry at UC Davis, has been elected a geochemistry fellow by the Geochemical Society and the European Association for Geochemistry.
- Dan Chang, Ray B. Krone Professor of Environmental Engineering, received the Lyman A. Ripperton Environmental Educator Award from the Air and Waste Management Association. The award is presented for distinguished achievement as an educator in a field of air pollution control.
- Harry Dwyer, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Marshal Miller, a senior development engineer at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis), along with four UC Davis alumni, received the Vincent Bendix Automotive Electronics Engineering Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers.
- Charles Fadley, distinguished professor of physics at UC Davis and senior faculty scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, recently received the Medard W. Welch Award, the highest honor bestowed by the American Vacuum Society, and a Helmholtz-Humboldt Award, which promotes university research collaborations in government laboratories and universities in Germany.
- Margherita Heyer-Caput, associate professor of Italian, was awarded the Italian Literary National Prize Grazia Deledda for her article "To Uncover 'The Secret of the Solitary Man,' by Grazia Deledda." The prize honors Grazia Deledda, the recipient of the 1926 Nobel Prize for Literature.
- Bill Hing, professor of law and Asian studies, received the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation's Heritage Award. Hing was recognized for his long career in teaching, writing and volunteering in the immigrant-rights field.
- Carole Hom, an academic coordinator in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, was recognized by the UC Davis Academic Federation when it presented her with the James H. Meyer Distinguished Achievement Award for 2005. http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8610
- Vera Iliatova, assistant professor of art - a UC Davis print-maker and painter - exhibited in New York through late February at Artists Space and the Rosenburg Gallery at New York University.
- Peter Lindert, professor of economics, recently won two book awards for his 2004 book, "Growing Public: Social Spending and Economic Growth since the Eighteenth Century." The Social Science History Association awarded Lindert the 2005 Allan Sharlin Award, for the best book in social science history published in 2004. The Economic History Association named Lindert co-winner of the Gyorgy Ranki Prize for the best book in European economic history published in 2003-2004.
- Kari Lokke, professor of comparative literature, was awarded the 2005 Jean-Pierre Barricelli Book Prize for her book, "Tracing Women's
Romanticism: Gender, History, and Transcendence," This prize is awarded to the book deemed the most significant book of the year in Romanticism studies. - Ryosuki Motani, assistant professor of geology, was awarded the Gakujutsu Prize by the Palaeontological Society of Japan. The prize recognizes academic achievements by young paleontologists.
- Alexandra Navrotsky, professor and director of the NEAT (Nanomaterials in the Environment, Agriculture and Technology) organized research unit, was named as the 2006 Harry H. Hess Medalist by the American Geophysical Union. The Hess medal recognizes outstanding achievements in research of the constitution and evolution of the Earth and other planets.
- Warren Pickett, professor of physics, has been awarded a Humboldt Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany - an award to enable internationally recognized researchers to conduct joint projects with colleagues in Germany.
- Bahram Ravani, professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering, received the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 2005 Machine Design Award. The award recognizes eminent achievement or distinguished service in the field of machine design, including research, development and teaching.
- Steve Robinson, astronaut and UC Davis alumnus, received the UC Davis Medal from Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. The medal was given to Robinson in recognition of his contributions to the university and the broader community. http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8569
- Michael Savageau, UC Davis professor and chair of biomedical engineering, gave the 79th annual Josiah Willard Gibbs Lecture to an audience of over 4,000 at the national meeting of the American Mathematical Society in San Antonio, Jan. 12.
- R. Paul Singh, a professor of food engineering in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and the Department of Food Science and Technology, has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Food Engineering.
- Pamela Tom, Seafood Extension program manager and director of the Seafood Network Information Center, recently received the Cal Willey Achievement Award from the Institute of Food Technologists.
- Donald Turcotte, professor of geology, was awarded the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the Paris Geophysical Institute in recognition of his contributions to geosciences and his longstanding links with the institute.
- Mark Van Horn, director of the UC Davis Student Farm, recently received the International Agricultural Development Appreciation Award from students in that major. The award honors individuals who contribute both to students' individual achievement and to the development of excellence in international agricultural development education.
- Economist Stephen Vosti and his collaborators received the Science Award for Outstanding Partnership 2005, given by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), for efforts to save tropical rain forests and reduce poverty by addressing the economic and social needs of rain forest farmers.
http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=7578 - Raymond Waddington, professor of English, received the Modern Language Association's Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Italian Studies for his book "Aretino's Satyr: Sexuality, Satire, and Self-Projection in Sixteenth-Century Literature and Art." This prize is awarded biennially for an outstanding book by a member of the association in the field of Italian literature or comparative literature involving Italian.
- Robert Washino, professor emeritus and medical entomologist, received the international Harry Hoogstraal Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Medical Entomology.
- Marya Welch, a pioneer in establishing women's athletics at UC Davis, was honored in Kansas City, Mo. with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators. This honor recognizes athletic administrators who are advancing women in sport.
Virginia S. Hinshaw
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
University of California, Davis
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616-8558
530/752-4964; Fax 530/752-2400
vshinshaw@ucdavis.edu