April 2006 - UCR Fiat Lux - University of California, Riverside
Transcription
April 2006 - UCR Fiat Lux - University of California, Riverside
FIAT LUX WINTER 2006 VOLUME XVI, NUMBER 1 UCR’s Natasha Raikhel – Strong Foundations, Inspiration and Success Converging Journeys to Latin American Music Center Unlocking UCR’s Front Door CHANCELLOR’S MESSAGE D ear Friends, Many of you have heard me speak about my goals and vision for the campus (available at www.chancellor.ucr.edu/goals.html). UCR has embarked on an exciting new initiative that will advance our efforts toward each of these goals. In response to a March 2005 report to the Regents on California’s health care and medical education needs, we launched a Health Sciences Initiative (HSI) with three primary components: 1) A Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI), which will include biomedicine and healthrelated sciences, as well as the psychology, delivery and management of health and health care policy; 2) A Center for Medical Education, providing opportunities for third- and fourth-year students to serve rotations as well as medical residencies; and 3) A School of Medicine, focusing on serving the medically underserved in the large and growing inland Southern California. Why Here? The 2005 report to the Regents specified that any new medical program should be located in regions that are medically underserved. Currently, the Inland Empire has the state’s lowest number of physicians per 100,000, with a projected shortfall of 1,140 physicians by 2015. Studies show that 70 percent of physicians stay in the area where they performed their residencies, and that those who come from underserved areas tend to return there to practice. By offering rotations and residencies in the near term and, ultimately, a fullfledged school of medicine, UCR can help to address this critical need. Furthermore, our diverse undergraduate student population — ranked third in the nation in diversity among public doctoral universities — provides a valuable pipeline to attract more underrepresented minorities to medicine. This is a critical need, as only 6 percent of California’s physicians are Hispanic and 4 percent are African-American. Why Now? UCR recognizes the health care needs of our state and region and has been planning for more than two years. We are building on a considerable base of assets, including the UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider Biomedical Sciences Program, which provides the first two years of medical school here at UCR and the following two at UCLA. In addition, we have more than 100 faculty members conducting research in healthrelated fields, with about 35 new faculty positions committed by 2010. If successful, a new UCR School of Medicine would be the first in the western United States in the 21st century. Why Not? This is a tremendous opportunity for UCR to take the lead in serving the medically underserved; increasing the number of physicians; training a highly skilled workforce, including underrepresented groups, for health-related careers; and partnering with community medical centers, hospitals and schools. We can help boost the economy of the entire region while addressing diseases that particularly afflict the area’s population, helping the transition to a knowledge-based economy, and attracting or encouraging high-tech start-up companies. As our plans unfold, you will be hearing much more about this historic endeavor. Chancellor France A. Córdova Winter 2006 Volume XVI, Number 1 FIAT LUX Publishers William G. Boldt Marcia McQuern Managing Editor Kim Lane Writers Celeste Durant Ricardo Duran Ross French Joan Kite Kim Lane Kris Lovekin Litty Mathew Iqbal Pittalwala Laurie Williams WINTER 2006 VOLUME XVI, NUMBER 1 Fiat Lux, Latin for “Let there be light,” is the motto of the University of California. It is also an ancient biblical reference that announces the coming of light into the world and, with it, knowledge, the power of perception and the hope for wisdom. f i a t l u x . u c r. e d u F e a t u r i n g Contributors David Chang Margene Mastin-Schepps Olivia Rivera Denise Stadelbacher Editorial Assistants Andrew Karl Anh Luong Art Director Dan Chavez 6 Design and Illustration Brad Rowe Photographers Matt Brown John Coleman Michael Elderman Steve Walag Webmasters Derk Adams Dawn Saenz Distribution Bonnie Mediano Fiat Lux is published by the Office of Marketing and Media Relations, University of California, Riverside and it is distributed free to the University community. Editorial offices: A-140 Highlander Hall, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, telephone (951) 827-6397. Unless otherwise indicated, text may be reprinted without permission. Please credit Fiat Lux, University of California, Riverside. Alumni and Constituent Relations, Kyle D. Hoffman, assistant vice chancellor, A-110 Highlander Hall, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, (951) 827-4511, (800) 426-ALUM, or e-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.alumni.ucr.edu Fiat Lux ISSN (1056-4276) is published four times a year: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall by the University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521-0155. 10 12 Converging Journeys: Four faculty take different paths on their way to the creation of UCR’s unique Center for Iberian and Latin American Music. After decades of planning, UCR holds the key to unlock the campus’s front door – the Alumi and Visitor’s Center. 14 19 The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute provides the opportunity to take educational expeditions. “If You Believe in Yourself, You Can Achieve Whatever You Desire.” 22 Geeks in Love — It was chemistry for two former UCR students who fell in love. UCR baseball players take time out from the minor leagues to finish up their education. D e p a r t m e n t s Periodicals postage rates paid at Riverside, CA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fiat Lux, Subscription Services (0063), A-252 Highlander Hall, Riverside, CA 92521-0149. In accordance with applicable federal laws and University policy, the University of California does not discriminate in any of its policies, procedures or practices on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, or handicap. Inquiries regarding the University’s equal opportunity policies may be directed to the Affirmative Action Office, (951) 827-5604. 20 Bookshelf 24 Class Notes 30 31 Alumni Center section: Calendar – A roundup of what’s happening at UCR In Memoriam During a visit to the Plymouth Tower Retirement Community in Riverside, Dance Gluck Fellow Sue Roginski introduced the residents to simple breathing exercises, movement warm-ups and meditation. She ended the visit with a performance. Roginski’s project is funded by UCR’s Gluck Fellows Program of the Arts, which is designed to bring the arts into the community. UC Riverside alumnus Richard Schrock, a co-recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize in chemistry, was awarded the UCR Chancellor’s Medal Jan. 25. Schrock, third from left, is pictured with Sang-Hee Lee, assistant professor of anthropology, Sharon Walker, assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering and Christopher Reed, distinguished professor of chemistry during the Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series faculty panel. Photo by Michael Elderman The UCR Libraries dedicated the Western Region Tuskegee Airmen Archive in February. The archive will serve as a central location for the Tuskegee Airmen and Airwomen – the first black pilots trained for combat during World War II – to deposit photographs, posters, diaries, oral history, petitions, letters and personal papers, honors and awards to be preserved and to make the resources accessible to scholars, researchers and families of the Airmen. The Physical Sciences I Building, UCR’s newest state-of-the-art research facility, has opened. Located on the corner of Big Springs Road and East Campus Drive, the $50 million facility houses the Department of Chemistry and contains office space, research laboratories and an instrumentation facility. CAMPUSWATCH New Institute Will Offer Policy Makers Glimpses into the Environmental Future The Environmental Research Institute distills information from various sources to allow officials to preview the results of their decisions. Policy makers in Southern California have a new tool to show how their decisions affect complex and important environmental issues. UC Riverside has created the Environmental Research Institute (ERI), an umbrella organization that brings together several of the campus’s top research centers to provide a comprehensive approach to addressing the nation’s air quality, water resources, transportation, energy and endangered species issues. The Environmental Research Institute merges the expertise of UCR’s Center for Conservation Biology, the College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT), the Air Pollution Research Center, the Center for Water Resources and the Edward J. Blakely Center for Sustainable Suburban Development. “The research done at these centers represents a unique set of skills in the areas of technology, energy and applied research that are unmatched anywhere else in the world,” said ERI director Joseph Norbeck, who previously directed CE-CERT and is the Yeager Families Professor of Environmental Engineering. “We want this institute to serve as a national model.” Norbeck is overseeing the efforts to use computer modeling to offer policy makers alternative visions of how their decisions will affect the complex web of environmental systems in which we live. The newly formed Integrated Modeling Center (IMC), which is located at both the campus in Riverside and at UCR’s satellite campus in Palm Desert, will serve as the institute’s hub. The IMC is now beginning to collect and analyze data from the Center for Conservation Biology, the Air Pollution Research Center and CE-CERT. The IMC is also collecting information from regional, county, state and federal governments. Initially, the institute will focus on issues related to the Coachella Valley, the fastestgrowing area in the state and one of the fastest-growing in the nation. “The Coachella Valley provides us with a unique setting in which to launch this initiative because it is an area that exemplifies most of the environmental and growth problems that are being faced in other rapidly developing regions in our nation,” said Norbeck. “It is small enough to allow us to work on the holistic approach to our research but big enough to test our modeling capacity.” A wide array of UCR faculty will provide guidance to the institute, which will fulfill the honest broker role that UCR has long played in the region. “We are not going to dictate policy but we hope to provide those who do make the decisions with the tools and information they need to understand how one area of environmental policy can affect other areas of environmental policy,” Norbeck said. “It is a way to make practical use of existing research on our air, our water, our energy consumption and our growth and development.” UCR Student Reaches Finals in Prestigious Rhodes Scholarship Selection Although the triple major failed to win the prestigious scholarship, his impressive student resume bodes well for his future. By Ricardo Duran How do you stand out in a family of achievers? Landing a Rhodes Scholarship might do it. Sean Kaloostian, a fourthyear triple major in psychology, sociology and biological sciences came tantalizingly close. He reached the final selection round for one of 32 Rhodes Scholarships offered to U.S. college students for 2006, but failed to secure it. Sean Kaloostian Recipients of the prestigious Rhodes scholarship are selected on the basis of high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and physical vigor, among other attributes. The scholarship covers two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England. Even making the list of finalists for the highly competitive award is impressive. As one of the 16 strongest applicants in California, he was chosen for an interview with the state’s selection committee. Nationally, there were 903 applicants from 333 colleges and universities. With both his parents trained physicians and two older siblings either graduates of or in the UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider Program in Biomedical Sciences, expectations have always been high. “I’ve always tried to surpass what my brother and sister have done and I feel the pressure to do that,” Kaloostian said. “They’ve never done this Rhodes thing so maybe that’s my difference.” Although disappointed, Kaloostian looks Continued on the bottom of page 4. UCR F I AT LUX 3 CAMPUSWATCH UC Riverside Researchers Publish Groundbreaking Economic and Political Study of Tribal Government Gaming Report finds that gaming tribes’ per capita average income increased 55 percent between 1990 and 2000 as opposed to 15 percent on non-gaming reservations. Tribal government gaming in California has brought substantial economic benefits to tribal members and their neighbors, but there are still considerable differences between the conditions on Indian reservations in California and those enjoyed by other Americans. According to a groundbreaking report by the Center for California Native Nations at UC Riverside, tribal governments with gaming have fared better than non-gaming tribes, with gaming tribes’ per capita average income increasing 55 percent between 1990 and 2000 as opposed to 15 percent on nongaming reservations. Joel Martin, principal investigator for the study and the director of the Center for California Native Nations and interim dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, brought a team of researchers together that married the numbercrunching abilities of economists with the survey abilities of political scientists and interview techniques of anthropologists and historians. The funding came from the Pechanga Tribal Government. Project coordinator Kate Spilde Contreras said the research underlines the wisdom of the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund (RSTF) – created in an agreement between the gaming tribes and the state – to address inequalities between gaming and non-gaming tribes in California. According to surveys conducted by the center, payments to the RSTF have been invested in ways that allow tribal governments without casinos to expand their services to tribal members. But, said Spilde Contreras, the average income for American Indians in California remains well below the national average. The study is based on U.S. Census Data from 1990 and 2000, as well as extensive surveys of tribal governments in California and interviews with tribal representatives. Other findings: • On average there are 5.4 slot machines per 1,000 inhabitants in California counties with gaming. San Diego and Riverside counties have 4.4 and 6 slots per 1,000 people, respectively. Colusa County has 41 slots per 1,000 people. • Between 1990 and 2000, the American Indian population on California reservations (gaming and non-gaming) has grown, on average, about 6 percent annually. That is more than the 2 percent average growth annually on reservations in the rest of the United States. • Tribal governments with gaming in California saw the number of families in poverty decrease from 36 percent in 1990 to 26 percent in 2000. The poorest communities in California in 1990 captured the largest increases in median family income. • Overall employment grew about 3.9 percent between 1990 and 2000 in areas near tribal gaming establishments, even after adjusting for population growth. Anthony Miranda, a member of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in Temecula and chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, said the study provides an important benchmark for analyzing change over the term of the existing tribal-state compacts. “Now we will have the methodology to generate a systematic analysis of the impacts of gaming under those compacts, which include mitigation and revenue-sharing provisions for both local governments and non-gaming tribes,” said Miranda, an alumnus of UC Riverside. Continued from page 3. coursework, Sean is in the top 1 percent of his class and is the most outstanding student in his areas of study,” Byus wrote. Kaloostian was selected to the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honors society in his sophomore year and is a recipient of the UC Regents Scholarship. He has presented papers on his research in psychology and works as a research assistant in Dr. Ruth K. Chao’s developmental psychology lab. His Honor’s Program activities include serving as an academic coordinator, a teaching assistant and as a peer mentor. As passionate about sports as he is about learning and service work, Kaloostian has participated in several Los Angeles Marathons and takes leadership roles in intramural baseball and football teams. An accomplished guitarist and pianist, he also speaks fluent Spanish and several dialects of Armenian, and has remained involved in campus clubs such as Habitat for Humanity, American Medical Students Association and Model United Nations. He hopes his experience will encourage others at UCR to pursue the Rhodes scholarship. He says that since he was able to reach the finals with minimum preparation, then future applicants – given the right institutional support – could land the award. “A lot of the people I met at the interviews had been extensively prepped,” he said. “One woman, who won, said her questions during the selection interview were the same ones asked during her Yale institutional endorsement interview.” forward to completing his final year at UCR and getting into medical school – in the UCR/UCLA program or at UC San Diego or UC San Francisco. “There’s going to be 14 people going back unhappy,” he told his fellows after their interviews with the selection committee on Nov. 19, 2005. “The simple fact that you’re here means you’re going to do great things.” Kaloostian seems to be destined for success, according to Craig V. Byus, dean of the UCR/UCLA Biomedical Sciences program, in his endorsement letter. “With an overall grade point average of 3.98 and a 4.0 in his upper division 4 WINTER 2006 100 Years of Agricultural Excellence Celebrated Peel a navel orange. Pop a plump, seedless segment into your mouth and feel the rich sweet-sour nectar envelop your taste buds. As you luxuriate in that momentary explosion of aroma and flavor, you probably didn’t stop to think about its history. Well, there is a lot of history in that orange, and in the coming year the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Citrus Experiment Station – now called the Citrus Research Center-Agricultural Experiment Station at UC Riverside. Forty-seven years before there was a UC campus in the city of Riverside, citrus growers, who needed assistance with diseases and pests, along with local citizens and community leaders, asked the Board of Regents of the University of California for help. In response, the board voted to lease 23 acres of land on the eastern slopes of Mount Rubidoux in Riverside for an experiment station. The station moved to the present site of the UCR campus in 1918. Over the past 100 years, researchers have developed cures for pests and blights that might have wiped out the state’s citrus crops. Almost from the day it was established, the station expanded its mission to include research on other vegetable and fruit crops, as well as graduate education in the agricultural sciences. “Today, our faculty, extension specialists and students address a wide range of agricultural, urban and natural resource problems that are critical to the future of California,” said Don Cooksey, executive associate dean for the Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension. Researchers working in campus laboratories at the 540-acre experiment station and field sites away from campus undertake extensive studies in the plant sciences, environmental and natural resources, and pest and disease management. The research serves as the basis for new, improved plant varieties – including a newly released type of asparagus – as well as new, more sustainable agricultural practices to combat insect and disease infestations and to enhance crop productivity. More than 50 different crops are grown annually for research, including citrus, turf grass, grapes, avocados, date palms, corn, small grains, ornamental trees and shrubs, and cover crops. The year-long centennial celebration for the Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension programs will be held at 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, April 22 with a 100th anniversary kickoff barbecue and open house, in Lot 30 at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Canyon Crest Drive. Admission is free and lunch will be available for purchase. Activities will include tours of the experiment station and citrus tasting. There will also be an exposition area, a kid zone and a live band. For more information contact Carol Lerner, (951) 827-5089 or [email protected]. BRIEFLY Archaeologists at an ancient Maya ceremonial site in Guatemala have uncovered the final intact wall of a large mural dating from 100 B.C. that shows the mythology surrounding the creation of the world and a highly developed hieroglyphic script. A team that includes UCR Professor Karl Taube is in the midst of a five-year project to uncover the mural and reveal its story. Before the excavation of the vividly painted mural, there was scant evidence of the existence of early Maya kings or of their use of elaborate art and writing to establish their right to rule. The site, known as San Bartolo, contains a pyramid complex and several buried rooms. To the west of the pyramid where the mural room was discovered, archaeologists led by Guatemalan Mónica Pellecer Alecio found the oldest known Maya royal burial site, from around 150 B.C. Alphonso V. Diaz, a former high-ranking administrator at NASA, has been appointed Vice Chancellor for Administration. Diaz brings a wealth of administrative expertise from a 40-year career at NASA, including management of multibillion dollar budgets. At UC Riverside, he will oversee the work of nearly 600 people, including employees in physical plant; human resources; financial services; design and construction; the child development center; police services; material management; the bookstore; environmental health and safety; transportation and parking services; accounting/payroll; fleet; mail services; and printing. Diaz succeeds C. Michael Webster, who resigned in June. Led by UCR Professor of Biology David Reznick, aUCR research team found that guppies living in environments with a large number of predators adapted to reproduce earlier in life than guppies from low-predation localities. Moreover, when reproduction ceases, guppies from high-predation localities are far older, on average, than guppies from low-predation localities, indicating that high-predation guppies enjoy a long “reproductive period” – the time between first and last reproduction. UC Riverside Chancellor France A. Córdova testified before a joint state SenateAssembly hearing at Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory about the need to attract more young people to mathematics and science careers and to improve the preparation of those who choose to teach those subjects in public schools. Córdova told state Sen. Jack Scott, DPasadena, and Assemblywoman Carol Liu, DLa Cañada Flintridge, that a key step is preparing highly qualified teachers. To that end, the University of California, the California State University, community colleges and K-12 schools, with the Governor’s office, the state Legislature, and private enterprise, have developed California Teach, a science and mathematics initiative designed to quadruple the number of graduates who go on to teach K-12 science and mathematics, to more than 1,000 annually by 2010. More news about UC Riverside is available at www.ucr.edu. UCR F I AT LUX 5 “If You Believe in Yourself, You Can Achieve Whatever You ” Desire. That advice inspired plant cell biologist Natasha Raikhel to overcome obstacles and excel in her field. The professional heights to which world-class plant cell biologist Natasha Raikhel has reached today may have much to do with the inspiration she received as a girl in St. Petersburg, Russia, from her parents and Relya Yasnaya, a close friend of her maternal grandmother. Although they lived in World War II-torn Leningrad, the parents provided a nurturing and culturally rich atmosphere at home where Raikhel thrived. Aunt Relya, meanwhile, sowed in the young and impressionable girl, the seeds of personal ambition and high esteem. Her sage advice went on to shape Raikhel’s life, forever describing her approach to work. “If you believe in yourself,” the advice went, “you can achieve whatever you desire.” Today, decades later and thousands of miles from St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), Raikhel is the Ernst and Helen Leibacher Chair and Distinguished Professor of Plant Cell Biology and Genetics at UC Riverside. She also is the founding director of the Center for Plant Cell Biology (CEPCEB), which focuses on plant genomics, the study of plant genes and their function. Her journey has had its share of difficulties. But Raikhel is known among her colleagues to be energetic and driven, a scientist who simply goes where questions in plant cell biology lead. Stimulated to solve problems, she finds satisfaction in completing, to the best of her ability, any task she takes on. “Natasha has gone from strength to strength as she has identified important questions and learned – and in some cases, invented – the novel techniques needed to answer those questions. She is creative, experimentally fearless and intellectually flexible,” said colleague Sharon Long, dean of Stanford University’s School of Humanities and Sciences. Raikhel is the mother of two grown sons, one of whom is an aspiring anthropologist, while the other is studying classical music composition. The daughter of a surgeon and an X-ray technician, she is a staunch believer in setting high standards and recommends that young people, including her sons, work hard to achieve their personal goals. Her advice to the young is to strive for excellence in their chosen fields at all times and live up to their personal potential. “My own working process remains faithful to the early lessons I learned from my parents and Aunt Relya,” she said. Besides the profound impact her family members have had on her, other crucial factors influenced Raikhel’s success and rise to fame in the scientific community, including her willingness to make sound, life-changing decisions when necessary, her luck for good timing and her devotion to hard work. Recognizing in her teens that, while she was accomplished at playing the piano, she likely would not excel in it to the degree she wished, she steered her career from music to science, a decision she has never looked back upon with regret. Easily, she delved into biology while continuing to nurture her artistic interests. With time, her passion for science and her admiration for the scientific method helped her become a respected zoologist at the University of Leningrad, where she specialized in invertebrate studies. A friendship with a visiting American scientist, the late Jerome Paulin of the University of Georgia, Athens, resulted, eventually, in her immigrating to the United States in 1979, her husband and their 4-year-old son in tow, and just $25 in their pockets. “We were fortunate to be able to land jobs as postdoctoral associates at the University of Georgia,” Raikhel said. “As Jews, we were allowed to emigrate from the USSR; however, it was difficult during that time to do this and even harder to find jobs that would allow us to continue in our chosen profession in the United States because nobody knew us or our previous work. “But we persevered and found positions. My husband, Alex, and I wanted our son to have better opportunities in life, and it was really his birth that motivated us to leave Russia.” For Raikhel, it was a stroke of luck that while Paulin was a visiting scientist in the USSR, he was at the Institute of Cytology, Academy of Sciences, where Raikhel worked at that time. “Moreover, his desk was next to mine,” Raikhel said. “We became friends. When Alex, my son and I arrived in the United States, Jerry was the only person we knew. He and his wife greatly facilitated our adjustment to a new country.” The new country, where her second son UCR F I AT LUX 7 “She is an inspiring woman who has had an almost unbelievable life,” said April Agee, a graduate student who works in Raikhel’s lab. was born, soon brought several other helpful people into Raikhel’s life – people who were critical to her survival. She also entered an academic social community that differed in several important ways from the comparatively rigid Soviet system she left behind. In America she found a place where her diligence and scientific successes were rewarded with prestige and where both intellectual and economic success were attainable goals. “I also profited from the freedom for selfdetermination I found here,” she said. Then, early in her scientific career, Raikhel made another prescient career choice: she switched the organisms she studied. Suspecting that funding for her research on free-living ciliated protozoa would be difficult to obtain, she directed her research efforts toward understanding plant cell biology – an area of science in which, at the time, investigation was beginning to gather momentum, with support for it burgeoning within the academic, agricultural and economic communities. Fairly quickly, plant cell mysteries consumed Raikhel’s interest. She posed tough questions to understand plant cell development and function, especially the role their thick, rigid cell-walls play in effectively defending the plant against exposure to the harsher qualities of its environment. A cell contains substructures called organelles, Raikhel explains, each of which is surrounded by a membrane, allowing the possibility for spatially ordered function within the cell where otherwise a sort of spatial chaos might reign. “Compartments in cells are necessary to isolate and secure proteins – large molecules that play a key role in the structure, function and regulation of the cell as a whole,” she said. “To put it simply, the cell can be likened to a city. Without many services, or functions, including utilities for power and police for safety, cities could not function efficiently.” Similarly, cells have evolved a highly complex organization of functions to sustain life, she said. Within this molecular city, some of the key building blocks are proteins, which first have to be produced in the correct place and then delivered to their proper destinations within the cell. Failure of any of these processes could poison other dynamic processes occurring within the intracellular environment and cause the entire cell’s destruction. The fundamental knowledge obtained from Raikhel’s research on plant cells is vital. Chris Somerville, professor of biological sciences and director of the Carnegie Institute of Plant Research at Stanford University, applauds Raikhel for defining many of the basic cellular processes that plants use to direct proteins to various types of membranes in plant cells. “Natasha’s work during the past 20 years has greatly expanded our knowledge of basic cellular processes in plants,” he said. “Whereas 20 years ago we did not know any protein that participated in carrying out secretory processes in plants, today many of the components are known and their roles understood due to the work of Natasha and her collaborators.” In 2002, UCR’s cadre of outstanding plant scientists and entomologists caught the attention of the Raikhels. When she learned of the faculty and administration’s enthusiasm and support for the idea of making UCR a leading center in the world for research in plant cell biology, Natasha Raikhel decided to leave the Plant Research Laboratory at Michigan State University, where she held a University Distinguished Breaking the Glass Petri-dish Ceiling By Ricardo Duran The lack of women scientists and engineers in academic ranks has been chalked up to everything from a suggestion of innate gender differences by Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers to child care issues to the way academic promotions are structured, which seems to penalize women for having spouses and children. As associate vice provost for faculty equity and diversity at UCR, Marlene Zuk, a professor of biology, has studied the issue and sees the cause as a multitude of minor sins, sometimes unconscious. When added up, she said, they total a sizeable barrier to women’s advancement. “By the time women hit their mid- to late careers, you see the product of an accrual of slight disparities,” Zuk said. “Fewer of them get invited to symposiums. They’re judged differently in evaluations for raises and promotions. Letters of recommendation are different for men and women with equivalent talents and achievement.” 8 WINTER 2006 Zuk makes the case in a letter to the editors of the journal Nature, in which she writes: “Research shows that both men and women tend to overrate men and underrate women in competence, particularly when women are in a nontraditional field such as science.” Awareness, she says, is a key to correcting such a persistent problem. “I think that people genuinely want to do the right thing,” Zuk said. “When you find out otherwise, you try to figure out how to overcome the biases.” Faculty recruitment efforts are under way to increase UCR’s proportion of women in science and engineering positions. The campus numbers haven’t been encouraging when compared with national availability data compiled by the National Opinion Research Center, a commonly used tool in higher education recruiting. The Bourns College of Engineering (BCOE) had no tenured female faculty members, compared with the national availability of 16.3 percent, as of June 30, 2004 (the most recent figures available). Women accounted for 16.6 percent of non-tenured ladder rank faculty at BCOE, 4 percentage points below the national availability average. The College of Natural and Agricultural Science (CNAS) has 14.36 percent female tenured faculty, but fell well short of the national availability index of 31.4 percent. With 25 percent of its non-tenured ladder rank faculty female, CNAS came closer, but still short of national availability figures of 38.4 percent. And, while UCR hasn’t been losing ground over the past five years, it has remained flat in its hiring of women in the sciences and engineering, according to Zuk,who is encouraged that such flagging efforts are being noticed by young female faculty. “What I’m seeing at research seminars is a lot of young women who suspect that there’s a problem,” Zuk said. “They see their cohort at nearly 40 percent and look around the symposiums and they just don’t see the parity.” Professor position, to join UCR. Alex Raikhel graduate student April Agee. joined the Department of Entomology. “The foundations we laid during my first Upon her arrival on campus, Raikhel’s summer with Dr. Raikhel were invaluable,” efforts, imagination and vision, along with the Agee said. “She is supportive during successes help she received from the UCR community, as well as failures, and she encourages me to resulted in 2002 in the formation of the learn from mistakes.” Center for Plant Cell Biology (CEPCEB) – an As any elementary textbook on biology interdisciplinary group of high-caliber points out, without plants there would be no engineers, chemists, plant biologists, plant life on the Earth. We need plants more than pathologists and computer scientists seeking they need us, Raikhel informs her students. to determine the function of proteins within The only organisms known to create their living plant cells and the whole plant. own sustenance from light and basic elements, “CEPCEB provides an excellent environment plants play a crucial role in nature and help to for cutting-edge plant cell biology, genetics support all forms of life on Earth. and genomics,” said Thomas Eulgem, a faculty While genetics has been a major approach member who joined the center in 2003 and to understanding plants’ cellular processes, the works on uncovering gene regulatory mechamethod has limitations, Raikhel concedes. nisms required for plant immune responses. To extend the method’s reach, her “It has a superb core instrumentation facility laboratory is becoming heavily involved in as well as highly ambitious and outstanding chemistry and computational biology, and staff and faculty. Its strong focus on ‘chemical generating strong collaborations with other genomics,’ which is a relatively new area of scientists around the world. research, combined with several other areas of Combining these disciplines with genetics, excellence, like gene silencing, makes it unique genomics and cell biology, a small pioneering in the world.” group of plant scientists at UCR and Under Raikhel’s direction, CEPCEB has elsewhere has moved beyond many of the quickly evolved into a state-of-the-art limitations of traditional genetics and intro“genomics” plant cell biology group. Its Core duced chemical genomics, which promises to Instrumentation Facility, available to scientists uncover novel cellular processes. throughout the UCR campus and to visiting “Another of Natasha’s major contributions scientists from other institutions, is used to to research is having developed the model perform highly specialized, state-of-the-art plant Arabidopsis thaliana as the organism of choice for plant cell biology,” said Elizabeth experiments. The center has received several Lord, a CEPCEB scientist, a professor of large genomic and training grants, including botany and vice provost for academic personnel. two Research Experience for Undergraduates “Some time ago she understood the imporgrants from the National Science Foundation tance of the ‘Arabidopsis revolution’ and and the first NSF Integrative Graduate incorporated molecular genetics and now Education and Research Traineeship grant at genomics into her cell biology research program.” UCR. Raikhel attributes the center’s success to Today, Raikhel continues to explore new areas the interdisciplinary nature of the group of of the plant cell and make seminal findings. scientists and support staff who have worked together to further the center’s scientific goals. Her visibility has added to UCR’s international recognition, notes Steven Angle, dean of the “Our work provides benefits that are College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. perhaps not as obvious to nonexperts,” she “Her stature has helped us recruit several said. “For example, much of our work involves other leading plant cell biologists,” he said. understanding very basic cellular processes of “We are truly privileged to have the benefit of protein transport, which is not understood in her wisdom, hard work and detail in any organism. We work experience, as well as her with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana because it is much profound insights into fundaeasier to manipulate than most mental plant cell biology. Her animal models, and yet the leadership is responsible for information can be applied to CEPCEB’s rapid development more complex systems. The and prominence in the plant knowledge we gain may thus cell biology community.” have wide applications beyond Raikhel’s career in plant cell agriculture including the biology, her support of women biomedical sciences.” in science and her mentorship Raikhel’s reputation for excelof young scientists were lence in her field, along with her applauded when she received the Women in Cell Biology encouragement and interest in Senior Career Recognition her graduate and postdoctoral Award in 2002 from the students, is a major factor in the Relya Yasnaya, a close American Society for Cell decision of many students to friend of Raikhel’s work in plant cell biology at grandmother, provided Biology. Two years later, she was UCR. inspiration that helped honored with the Stephen Hales Prize of the American Society of This was the case with her to succeed. Plant Biologists, an award given to only the most noteworthy of plant biologists. A member of several national and international boards, Raikhel also was, until 2005, the editor in chief of the journal Plant Physiology for five years. Somerville is not surprised at Raikhel’s success. “Natasha usually has clear goals, a high level of enthusiasm and is highly organized. So fumbling around is frowned upon. She is also a consensus builder and makes an effort to achieve a common view and a common level of commitment to a project by everyone involved,” he said. Raikhel believes that the secret to her strength and her drive to succeed lies, at least in part, in loving what she has chosen to do in her professional life and in her continued commitment to the tasks at hand. “I am blessed also by the relationships I have had, and continue to have, with the many wonderful people I have met and learned from,” Raikhel said. “It’s to all of them, starting with Aunt Relya and my parents, I owe so much.” CEPCEB – Growing Strong Led by Natasha Raikhel, the Center for Plant Cell Biology synergizes UCR’s existing strengths in botany and plant sciences in part by bringing together scientists from across the campus to do interdisciplinary research. At the moment, the center includes 38 faculty. Those listed below, although young, are already internationally recognized stars. Additional promising young scientists have recently been hired. Julia Bailey-Serres, Botany and Plant Sciences Research focus: Signaling and gene regulation networks in cells and organs in response to environmental stresses such as submergence. Kathy Borkovich, Plant Pathology Research focus: Genes of Neurospora crassa. Xuemei Chen, Botany and Plant Sciences Research focus: Cell fate specification and stem cell regulation in flower development. Shou-wei Ding, Plant Pathology Research focus: Role of RNA silencing in virus infection. Tao Jiang, Computer Science and Engineering Research focus: Computational molecular biology. Michael Pirrung, Chemistry Research focus: Photochemistry, nucleic acids, natural products and combinatorial chemistry. Zhenbiao Yang, Botany and Plant Sciences Research focus: Signal transduction, cell polarity and morphogenesis. Jian-Kang Zhu, Botany and Plant Sciences, director of the Institute for Integrative Genome Biology Research focus: Plant responses to salt, drought and cold stress environments. UCR F I AT LUX 9 Converging Journeys The newly established Center for Iberian and Latin American Music is the only such center in the University of California system. The brainchild of department chair and musicologist Walter A. Clark, the center brings together Clark, composer Paulo Chagas, ethnomusicologist Jonathan Ritter and musicologist Leonora Saavedra – four scholars whose distinct specializations connect them to Spanish and Latin American music, scholarship and composition. Their very different journeys converge in the realization of this unique center. By Karen Wilson Walter Clark talks about the new Center for Iberian and Latin American Music with an energy that is contagious. “Arts are a great tool for making people aware of all the exciting things happening at UCR,” said Clark, who has written seminal biographies of the Spanish nationalist 10 WINTER 2006 composers Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados, as well as edited a volume on Latin American popular music. The center was created to foster research and performance in an interdisciplinary setting, embracing the musical heritage of Spain, Portugal and Latin America. Activities include a Web site at www.cilam.ucr.edu; an online scholarly journal, Diagonal; and Encuentros/ Encounters, annual events featuring a conference and concerts dealing with a particular aspect of Iberian or Latin American music. Clark and the three other faculty members who make up the center are relatively new hires for the Department of Music, but each brings a different facet to these new developments as well as to the other fine-arts programs that were in place before they came. “The idea of the center is inextricably linked to the history and culture of the Latino communities of Southern California,” The Center for Iberian and Latin American Music brings together four scholars who took different paths that led to the creation of the new center. Clark said. “We don’t want to be so preoccupied with being world class that we forget about the world around us.” In five years he predicts that UCR will have the leading program in the world on Iberian and Latin American music. Clark Clark received his doctorate in musicology from UCLA and holds performance degrees in classical guitar from the North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of California, San Diego, where he was a student of guitar master Pepe Romero. Clark is an accomplished guitarist who performs as a soloist as well as with UCR’s Philippine Rondalla Ensemble. Clark fell in love with the music of Spain at the age of 14. He is especially interested in flamenco, a music that came out of the oppression of the Roma, also known as Gypsies, and other downtrodden peoples. With influences from India, North Africa and Spain itself, flamenco expresses despair, joy and the will to survive. Clark has studied flamenco in Spain and has accompanied flamenco dance groups in various parts of the United States. His educational DVD on flamenco, shot in Seville, will be released this year. The concept of exploring the cultural links between Spain and Latin America may not sit well with everyone. The legacy of the Spanish conquest, Amerindian and African slavery, and economic appropriation has left great bitterness among some members of the Latin American community. However, as Clark points out, “the links are vital and must not be ignored.” Understanding this troubled past and the challenging present is central to the mission of the Center for Iberian and Latin American Music,” Clark said. Chagas For Paulo Chagas, life is about the interplay of destruction and creation. He has held a number of creative careers, simultaneously. A Brazilian composer who has a Ph.D. in music and has studied in Belgium and Germany, he was a freelance composer in Germany for 20 years, writing the music for more than 100 ballets, theater pieces, multimedia works, instrumental and vocal ensembles, computer music and operas. His works have been performed in international festivals in Europe such as the Ars Musica in Brussels, Musik Triennale in Cologne, and Russia’s Moscow Autumn, as well as in the United States and Latin America, to public and critical acclaim. The realization that he wanted to be a composer came to him when he was a young man in Brazil. “At 17 or 18, I was imprisoned for political activity,” he said. “When I came out, I was lost – but music saved me. First, popular music interested me but since I always do things very seriously, I began to develop a serious interest in music.” Chagas believes teachers must help their students realize the importance of music to the human condition and to their lives. “Many students don’t take music very seriously, the way they do mathematics or engineering. So, they don’t work as hard because they don’t see why they have to work,” Chagas said. “Art is more than recreation – it is more than entertainment. Art is a source of values for the society. As such, it is very important.” Chagas keeps busy organizing performances and conferences. He is also establishing LEAR, the Laboratory for Experimental Acoustic Research, at UCR. Ritter Jonathan Ritter’s intense interest in the relations between music and politics led him to the Andes Mountains and Peru for his doctoral work. “Peru went through absolute horror for 15 years in the ’80s and ’90s. This wasn’t a civil war. It was a war between Maoist zealots and the government. The people were the victims.” His work documents how traditional music emerged as a site of political commentary and protest during the war, and how it continues to shape memories of the conflict in Peru today. Ritter’s work in the political aspects of cultural practice relates to areas larger than Latin America. “Political imperialism and cultural imperialism walk hand in hand,” he said. “If you control a people’s culture, you control that people.” On the other hand, he said, people who control their own culture – their dance and their story and their music – have more control over their own lives. Ritter, now an acting assistant professor of music, came back from the Andes with the determination to understand the way people’s political awareness and activism were embodied in and promoted by their cultural practice. His most recent work, based on extensive fieldwork in Ayacucho, Peru, examines the social history of traditional music from that region during and after the Shining Path guerrilla insurrection, a project that he hopes to expand into a broader inquiry on the place and role of music in times of political violence and terror. In 2002, he was awarded the Charles Seeger Prize of the Top to bottom: Walter Society for Ethnomusicology. A. Clark, Paulo Chagas, He is also a past recipient of Jonathan Ritter and research grants from the Fulbright Institute for International Education and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. Saavedra Similarly, the understanding and presentation of living traditions and their political and cultural meaning guides the work of Leonora Saavedra, associate professor of musicology and a leading authority on 20thcentury Mexican music. “People here seem to have lives that are pre-designed – college, graduate school, university professor, marriage, children, mortgage, 401K,” said Saavedra, who is from Mexico but got her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. “Where I come from, life is a lot more haphazard, a lot more improvisational.” In Mexico, creators, performers, scholars and audiences do not see themselves as separate communities, but as one, she said. “Mexican artists and intellectuals are not in an ivory tower. This is important – artists are involved with the larger community. Intellectuals, and by that I also meant scholars as well as artists, have a political role to play, and it is not unlikely that what they say makes the newspapers’ headlines,” she said. She sees her role as a bridge – between national cultures as well as academic and institutional ones. With academic discourses on both sides of the border, Saavedra believes that it’s worth listening to what Mexicans have to say about their own culture. The Center for Iberian and Latin American Music is also a bridge and it comes at the perfect time, she said. “This field of enquiry is growing exponentially so fast that the American Musicological Society has had to yield to the expansion of the job market and community pressure by acknowledging Latin American music as a viable field. And Southern California is the natural place.” Through the Center for Iberian and Latin American Music, these four scholars will work together to bring scholarship and publications, conferences, as well as cuttingedge digital composition, acoustic research and opportunities for performance. A Ph.D. program that will include musicology, ethnomusicology and digital composition is being planned for fall 2007. This spring the department presented its second annual World Music Concert, featuring the Javanese Gamelan, Philippine Rondalla, and Japanese Taiko Ensembles, as well as Mayupatapi, the new Andean music ensemble directed by Ritter. “We have here a musicology program that has found its voice,” Clark said. Watch UCR’s Latin American music ensemble Mayupatapi playing folk music of the Andes on authentic instruments acquired in Peru at www.quicktime.ucr.edu/33. Leonora Saavedra UCR F I AT LUX 11 Alumni and Visitor Center: UCR’s Construction on the new center is about to begin “Front Door” and is scheduled to be completed by mid-2007. By Litty Mathew (’91) Seventeen years, three redesigns and $6 million later, the UCR Alumni Association is about to realize its long-held objective: breaking ground on a center for alumni and visitors. The 12,000-square-foot, split-level building designed by local architects HMC will house a large lobby, meeting rooms, a library of works by UCR authors, a formal board room and a dining facility that can also double as a banquet space for 200. “Rather than take the approach of building a memorial to alumni achievement, the association wanted this facility to serve the entire UCR community,” notes Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni & Constituent Relations Kyle Hoffman. “Even in their earliest considerations, the alumni leaders recognized the campus was growing quickly and the facilities weren’t keeping pace.” Most of all, the UCR Alumni Association, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2005-06, wanted a “front door” to the campus –a distinctive arrival point that showcased alumni achievements while welcoming friends and visitors. The Challenge: Time, Money and Vision Seventeen years is just about the age of an incoming UCR freshman. During this period, the scope of the project changed to incorporate a morphing campus and the separate visions of three chancellors. Dr. Fred Bryant, chairman of the alumni and visitors center design committee, explains that the process was slowed not only by the personal expectations of each chancellor, but also a changing economy. Major funding came from two donors, Jack Sweeney and Mark Rubin (the center will be named after them), support from the UCR Alumni Association and the UCR Foundation, and the chancellor’s discretionary fund. Several weeks ago long-time campus supporters W. Ronald Redmond (’62) and Margaret A. Redmond (’62) donated $1 million to the project. The gift came just in time, Hoffman said. Construction bids had come in at $1 million more than was originally estimated. “The Redmond gift will allow us to move forward immediately with construction of the Alumni & Visitors Center project and is further testimony to the important role that alumni support plays for our dynamic campus,” Hoffman said, adding that the center’s dining room will be named in honor of the Redmonds. These and other donations from UCR alumni and friends have been crucial. “Achieving the best combination of facilities with the limited financial resources available has been a difficult exercise,” says Judge Ron Stovitz, the current Alumni Association president. “Getting the buy in from various campus groups including the student population, faculty, alumni leaders and the administration was also a priority. ” “Chancellor Córdova has been instrumental,” said Stovitz. “When she conducted the east campus master plan, she saw the importance of such a center to the campus. That support was critical.” The Setting: An Arroyo and UCR Brick The building, across from Bannockburn Village where Watkins House once stood, will be simple yet elegant, imparting an unhurried, natural feeling. “I remember one alumnus saying, ‘We want this facility to be elegant but not ostentatious,’” Hoffman said. During the design process, the architects carefully assessed the campus, the buildings and the site. In the final design, “UCR brick,” the ubiquitous red brick manufactured solely for the university, is used to tie the building to the campus. “The site is unique, with mature sycamores and the arroyo,” explained Kevin Wilkeson, project principal and architect. “We moved the building closer to the street to preserve the trees and to allow enough room in the back for a future addition.” The landscaping will relate to the arroyo, with the use of native plants that are harmonious with the environment. The building will also have multiple views of the carillon tower. “The carillon tower has a purpose (and that is) to help people find their way around campus. It’s an important icon to be acknowledged and observed,” Wilkeson said. Construction is slated to be completed by mid-2007. “We hope that alumni will be proud of the building that will welcome and will serve the entire campus community well,” Stovitz said. “We hope in that way to really show that alumni are first and foremost about service to the university.” UCR F I AT LUX 13 Lifelong Learning is a Expedition UCR’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute gets a $1 million boost. Osher member Martha Kish and program director Toni Lawrence (on center camel, left to right) embark on a sunset camel ride in Alice Springs, Australia. By Joan Kite Toni Lawrence, director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC Riverside Extension, couldn’t have been in a better place when she found out about the million dollars. Lawrence was sitting in a room at the Sails in the Desert Hotel in the Red Centre of the Australian Outback. After three years of nose-to-the-grindstone labor by Lawrence and her staff, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UCR would receive a $1 million endowment for the program from the Bernard Osher Foundation. Lawrence happened to be with a group of Osher students on a travel-and-learn trip through Australia when she heard the news. The group celebrated that night as they watched the sun set over Uluru, a sandstone monolith declared by the aborigines as a source of sacred power. “She (Lawrence) was very excited and we were excited for her,” said Osher student and Riverside resident Katherine Warren. “The Osher program has helped me appreciate retirement more. It gives you activities that keep your brain going.” The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UCR is one of 72 Osher Lifelong Learning programs established throughout the United States. Osher programs are designed for people 50 and older. Osher Institutes are funded with the philanthropy of Bernard Osher, San Francisco resident and successful businessman and community leader. The Osher program at UCR was created and established largely through the efforts of Lawrence, who in the summer of 2002 helped write the proposal to receive the initial $100,000 grant to create the Extension’s Osher program. 14 WINTER 2006 Three years later, a program initially designed on paper has transformed into a flourishing institute that boasts 700 members, 172 classes and two locations in Riverside and Coachella Valley. “I believed in what I was doing,” Lawrence said. “The Oshers’ vision and generosity has allowed us to enrich the lives of so many who live in our community.” With the most recent $1 million endowment, UCR’s Osher Program now has permanent funding support from the Osher Foundation. “Toni has poured her heart and soul into the program,” said John F. Azzaretto, vice chancellor of Public Service and International Programs and dean of UC Riverside Extension and Summer Sessions. “I was elated when she shared the good news. The $1 million endowment for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute ensures that we can continue to offer a wide variety of top quality educational programs to our senior community, who in turn share their rich resources with us.” According to the University of Southern Maine, which queried memebers in its Osher program, older adults involved in lifelong learning programs benefit in four areas: intellectual stimulation, experiencing a nurturing and supportive community, enhancing selfesteem and having opportunities for spiritual renewal. The students’ experiences in UCR’s Osher program support the study’s results. “I just love it,” said Nancy Kibrick, an Osher member who lives in Palm Desert. Kibrick has taken classes in art, history, music and writing. “I have a lot of friends who play mahjong or bridge. It’s just not my thing. This (Osher) is perfect for me. I just love it.” Burt DeVries, 74, a resident of Sun City, also takes Osher classes with his wife. A retired chemical engineer, DeVries said he started taking classes in Coachella Valley from the day Osher started in 2002. Since then, a friendly community has formed. “It’s nice to see the same people. There are very bright people in those classes,” DeVries said. Interestingly, the students say they are a source of inspiration to each other, and the instructors say the students are a source of inspiration to them. Warren, 57, went on the trip to Australia and spoke about her fellow Osher student Martha Kish, who is 76 and an ideal role model for her younger classmates. Kish braved the Sydney Harbor BridgeClimb. She walked up 1,400 ladder stairs and over the arch of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, which is 440 feet above eight lanes of traffic, two railway tracks and the Tasman Sea. “She was amazing,” Warren said. Both students and teachers benefit from the program. Tom Tefft, who retired in Idyllwild as a fulltime history teacher from Citrus College, soon found retirement in the mountains a little too quiet. In 2004, he moved to the desert and now teaches several history classes for Osher in Coachella Valley. Students give his classes high marks. Tefft has equal praise for his students. “That’s the most rewarding part,” Tefft said. “As a teacher in the public school system, most students who attend classes are in there for the grades and the transcripts. The students (in Osher) are there because they want to be. Many of them have advanced degrees and bring a wealth of life experiences to class. It’s refreshing to see people who are still willing to learn.” CALENDAR TK UCR F I AT LUX 15 CALENDAR TK 16 WINTER 2006 CALENDAR TK UCR F I AT LUX 17 CALENDAR TK 18 WINTER 2006 A Double Play Three UCR seniors return to campus to complete their degrees as a way to cover their bases. By Ross French UCR students Matt Cunningham, Randy Blood and Brian Hoff returned to UCR last fall to take some of their final classes towards their bachelor’s degree. Once the quarter was over, they returned to their spring and summer job: playing professional baseball. Cunningham, Blood and Hoff are among nine members of the UCR Highlanders baseball team selected in the first-year player draft over the past three years. What they came to realize was that while playing baseball for a living may be a dream, it is an elusive one, even for the most talented of athletes. That is why they decided to take time to come back to UCR and finish their degrees. “Ever since I was a young kid my parents have said that education comes first,” Cunningham said. “I always promised my mother that I would get my degree no matter what I did. It is important to me, it is important to my family and always has been. As much baseball as I have played in my life, my parents have always tried to instill that school is the most important thing. You can’t depend on baseball to take you through your whole life. You must have something to fall back on, because you never know if baseball is going to work out.” Cunningham is the most recent draftee. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 27th round and spent the summer in the New York-Penn League, playing outfield for the class A Tri-City Valley Cats. When the season came to an end in early September, Cunningham had about two weeks off before he returned to UCR to take two of his three remaining classes as he finishes his psychology degree. Being drafted by a professional baseball team does not guarantee a big-money contract or a trip to the big leagues. The draft features 30 teams picking players in more than 50 rounds. Each of those teams has as many as six minor league affiliates. This results in as many as 4,500 players in the minor leagues, each fighting for a chance to get one of the 750 positions in the major leagues. Matt Cunningham took time out from the minor leagues Hoff, a pitcher to return to complete his degree. drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 27th round in 2004, spent the 2005 season primarily time and help them get a good off-season playing with the class A Jupiter (Fla.) job to pay the bills while they pursue their Hammerheads. This fall he took three big league dreams. While the major league classes at UCR towards his degree in minimum salary was $316,000 in 2005, sociology administration with an emphasis minor leaguers make next to nothing. The in marketing. He still needs two Spanish average player is given a handshake, a classes to finish up studies. contract and a plane or train ticket to their “After playing pro ball for the last two new team. years, I realize that only a small percentage Cunningham, for example, made $1,100 of all minor leaguers actually make it to the a month, with $200 deducted every month major leagues,” Hoff said. “I am confident by the team for rent and utilities at the that one day I will get an opportunity to team-arranged apartments. play at that level, yet I am realistic at the “Minor league baseball doesn’t pay same time and also realize that if baseball much,” Cunningham said. “Getting a degree doesn’t work out, I will have my degree to means that in the off season you can get a fall back on.” decent job to pay the bills.” Blood, a 2004 draftee of the Colorado “It is very difficult to make a living on Rockies who played for the class A Modesto what they pay us, especially if you have a Nuts in 2005, said that making the family,” Hoff said. “This year at the High-A transition from being a student-athlete to level I made around $1,500 dollars a month just a student is relatively easy. Like Hoff, he before taxes. Not a ton of money by any is finishing his degree in sociology adminismeans, but then again I still get paid to play tration and has those two elusive Spanish a game that I love to play.” classes left to earn his degree. Despite the low pay, Hoff summarizes Cunningham agrees. what each of the three feel about their “It is easier,” he said. “I don’t have to go experience. to practice at 2 o’clock after class. I have a “So far my minor league experience has couple of part-time jobs and I can balance been amazing. I have made so many things out. I do miss playing though. I was amazing friends and have seen beautiful home for a month and was ready for spring parts of the nation that I may not have seen training to start.” without this opportunity,” Hoff said. “I love Finishing the degree will come in handy it, though. At this point in my life I could in another way, as well. It will free up their not see myself doing anything else.” UCR F I AT LUX 19 BOOKSHELF World Politics in the 21st Century by W. Raymond Duncan (’59), Barbara Jancar Webster and Bob Switky Longman October 2005, 640 pages This book examines in depth the 21st-century events that will continue to shape our lives in the near and distant future. These include the Sept. 11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks, the massacres in Rwanda that killed nearly a million people, the everpresent threat of the use of biological chemical weapons and the reality that a disease, such as AIDS, will become a national and global security issue. Patriot Trap by W. Raymond Duncan (’59) Leisure Books November 2005, 368 pages Set in present day, the political conflicts concerning real events that erupted in Havana in 1989 are depicted through the supercharged political climate in Cuba, where individuals fiercely compete for power under Fidel Castro’s heavy hand. The struggle for personal influence is so pervasive that it has its own name — politiquería, the game of politics. Downtown Boy by Juan Felipe Herrera Scholastic November 2005, 304 pages Juan Herrera, a professor in 20 WINTER 2006 the creative writing department, captures one year from his 1950s California childhood in this first-person free-verse novel. As a 10-year-old son of migrant workers, Juanito is eager to cultivate new friendships and avoid trouble with the new groups of kids he encounters. His fears, thoughts, loneliness and optimistic dreams are all affected in the uprooting of a migrant nomadic lifestyle. Information: www.scholastic.com We’re Off to Find the Witch’s House by Richard Krieb (’69) August 2005, 32 pages Richard Krieb, an elementary school teacher for 30 years, captures the spirit of Halloween with this slightly spooky children’s tale. With rhythmic text, rhyming and call-and-response sections, this book follows a group of children in their venture to find the witch’s house. On their way, they encounter silly, spooky characters and other little trick-or-treaters. Information: us.penguingroup.com. Audiotopia: Music, Race and America by Josh Kun University of California Press November 2005, 292 pages Josh Kun, assistant professor of English, introduces popular music into contemporary debates over American identity. Kun covers all ranges of music, including klezmer, hip hop and Latin rock, to bring to mind the ways that popular sounds have drawn out the idea of American culture and identity. Information: www.ucpress.edu. Women’s Education in the United States, 1780-1840 by Margaret Nash Palgrave Macmillan April 2005, 224 pages “Women’s Education in the United States, 1780-1840” examines education from the early national period through the formation of the institutions that are widely recognized as the forerunners of the women’s college movement. Nash, a UCR assistant professor of education, argues that in this period education was not as strongly gendered as other historians have posited. Education was key to class formation. Nash contends that class and race were more salient than gender in the construction of educational institutions. Information: www.palgrave-usa.com. Transforming Latin America: the International and Domestic Origins of Change by David Pion-Berlin and Craig Arceneaux (’97 Ph.D.) University of Pittsburgh Press July 2005, 267 pages This book by Pion-Berlin, a UCR professor of political science, and alumnus Arceneaux, offers a framework for understanding political change across Latin America. Looking broadly across the Western Hemisphere, with examples from Brazil, the Southern Cone, the Andes and Central America, the authors identify the general rules. Information: upress.pitt.edu. Broken Promises? The Argentine Crisis and Argentine Democracy co-edited by David Pion-Berlin and Edward Epstein Lexington Books February 2006, 306 pages Co-edited by UCR professor Pion-Berlin and Edward Epstein, the volume brings together some of Argentina’s foremost scholars to assess the causes, nature and consequences of the worst economic and political crisis to afflict Argentina in its modern history. Since December 2001, the country has been through economic depression and bankruptcy, the impoverishment of half the population, a presidency that changed four times in the span of two weeks and social protests met by state repression that left dozens dead and hundreds injured. Information: www.lexingtonbooks.com. The Confederate States of America: What Might Have Been by Roger Ransom W.W. Norton & Company May 2005, 352 pages What if Lee had avoided defeat at Gettysburg? What if a military stalemate had developed, coupled with growing antiwar sentiment? What if Lincoln had been defeated in the 1864 election and Great Britain had recognized the Confederacy? What would have been the fate of an independent Confederate States of America and a defeated United States? Ransom, a UCR professor of history and economics, follows the consequences of the “what if ” scenario over an extended period of time, showing us the logical and historically valid outcomes of his counterfactuals. Information: www.wwnorton.com. Backlash Against Welfare Mothers: Past and Present by Ellen Reese University of California Press July 2005, 372 pages Recent debates about the contemporary welfare backlash are put into a historical perspective in this book, providing a closer look at these early antiwelfare campaigns. Reese, an assistant professor of sociology, explores the forces that she says turned state-level revolts against welfare in the late 1940s and 1950s into a purposeful unraveling of the nation’s “safety net” by the late 1990s. She vividly portrays consequences of current welfare policies and calls for a new agenda for working families. Information: www.ucpress.edu. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy by Gary Westfahl Greenwood Press September 2005, 1,612 pages Westfahl, coordinator of English reading and writing programs in UCR’s Learning Center, organizes the combined effort of some 150 expert contributors in a 600-entry comprehensive encyclopedia discussing pervasive themes in science fiction and fantasy with detailed attention to selected novels, films and television series. This encyclopedia gives extensive treatment to the most important themes and works of science fiction and fantasy across a range of media. Information: www.greenwood.com. World Weavers: Globalization, Science Fiction and the Cybernetic Revolution by Gary Westfahl, Wong Kin Yuen and Amy Kit-sze Chan Hong Kong University Press May 2005, 320 pages This book is a study on the relationship between global- ization and science fiction. Scientific innovations provide citizens of different nations with a unique common ground and the means to establish new connections with distant lands. This study investigates how our world has grown more and more interconnected not only due to technological advances, but also to a shared interest in those advances and to what they might lead to in the future. Information: www.hkupress.org. Ley de Lotka by Ruben Urbizagastegui Nuevo Parhadigma December 2004, 120 pages The book serves as a guide to librarians and information scientists in applying the generalized inverse GaussianPoisson distribution model to measure the authors’ contributions to literature in scientific areas. Ley de Lotka, which translates into “Lotka’s Law,” is published in Spanish. Urbizagastegui is a librarian in the cataloging department of the Science Library. Information: www.nuevoparhadigma.com.ar. UCR F I AT LUX 21 Geeks in Love By Laurie Williams It was UC Riverside freshman Lance Loomer’s braces and deep dimples that first caught the attention of his future bride. “I met this boy and he had this big, beautiful smile, and I just said to myself, ‘Oh, gosh, I’m in trouble,’” Maureen Raynor Loomer (’78) remembered. That smile – and the reaction it got – launched a marriage and a partnership in science, discovery and healing. More than 30 years later, that partnership has resulted in a $25,000 gift to UC Riverside. It was 1974, and Maureen and Lance both lived in Maison Francaise, the section of UC Riverside’s Aberdeen-Inverness Residence Hall where students were expected to speak French at meals and in common areas. That might sound like a romantic setting, Maureen said, but her first important conversation with her husband-to-be took place in rather awkward English over the disarticulated bones of a cat she had checked out from the biology department and was studying in her room one weekend morning. Her door was open, and he stopped by and started asking about the bones – in English, because they didn’t have to speak French on weekends. The bones provided some common ground for Maureen, a psychobiology major, and Lance, who thought he might 22 WINTER 2006 like to become a veterinarian. “We were so nerdy and geeky and shy, and we wanted to really talk, but we just kept going on and on about the cat bones.” Eventually, she said, Lance asked her if she thought she might go to breakfast. She said she might. He asked when she might go, and she said it might —It was Chemistry Actually, in the case of Maureen and Lance Loomer, it was biology that led to a successful marriage and an in-memoriam endowed prize. be in about 20 minutes. He said he was going to his room, but would likely stop by again in about 20 minutes. If she was ready to go then, he said, perhaps they could walk to breakfast together. She said she’d like that – and that’s what they did. “Geeks in love,” Maureen said. “What can I tell you?” They dated all through their UCR years and got engaged after graduation, before Lance – who had changed his mind about veterinary work– started medical school in North Carolina. “The braces were off by then, but he still had the dimples – and the smile,” Maureen said. They married a year later. Maureen worked and Lance attended Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston Salem, N.C. They took time out for a quick trip to France – a gift from Maureen’s parents – after Lance graduated from medical school, getting some good use out of the French they worked hard to learn at UC Riverside. Back at home, their careers focused on cancer research: Maureen worked in the medical technology field for many years and Lance, who had done research on atmospheric carcinogens in medical school, became an oncologist in private practice. He was also regional medical director of a fourcounty hospice system, Maureen said, and instrumental in founding Kitty Askins Hospice Center in Goldsboro, N.C., where the couple settled in 1988. Dedicated to science and medicine, they remained “nerdy and geeky,” Maureen said: “My glasses are thicker now than ever.” Lance died suddenly in 1996, and Maureen has established scholarships in his and her names at East Carolina University and at Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, where she is now a faculty member. She recently also donated a $25,000 gift, to UCR to create the Lance and Maureen Loomer Endowed Prize in Biology. The prize will be awarded annually to a graduate student in the Department of Biology. “There’s all kinds of money available to students going into industry and technology and nursing, but not so much going into the straight biology that gives life to all of that,” she said. “I do want to support grad students in biology.” She also wants to encourage other UC Riverside alumni to share, she said. “Everyone should at least consider it – Many Happy Returns… • Smart money! • Security! • Social events! • Success! there aren’t that many people giving these days.” Maureen was herself a graduate student in biology not too long ago, she said. After her husband died she quit her job and earned her master’s degree. “It was something we used to talk about,” she said. “We’d talk about what we wanted to be doing in 10 years, and Lance would tell me I should go back to school. So I did, and ended up in teaching.” At Wayne Community College, Maureen teaches general biology and human anatomy and physiology to students aiming at careers in the medical professions. She said biology has changed quite a bit since her undergraduate years, both in scientists’ understanding of how cells work and in the ways computers and other technology have affected how biology finds its expression. “There’s been just a huge explosion of information,” she said. “It’s a very exciting time in biology.” Her first hurdle, she said, was using a computer. She had used dedicated computers of various types in her work, but had never owned a PC. “I was terrified.” Classes took care of her fears, she said, and have made her something of a computer maven. She now has four PCs at home – two desktops and two laptops – and buys “every computer gadget I can get my hands on.” A recent acquisition is a digital pen that recognizes handwriting and translates it into text that can be uploaded to a computer file. “I thought I was geeky before,” she said. “Now I’m really a nerd.” And with every new project and computer application, she said, “I can almost feel Lance looking over my shoulder, saying, ‘Ooh – what are you doing now?’ He would have loved it. He’s smiling.” with a UCR Charitable Gift Annuity! Earn up to twice the interest rates of a traditional bank CD A lifetime stream of income backed by the assets of the UC system Enjoy exciting UCR events as a member of the Watkins Planned Giving Society Your investment helps support exceptional UCR students Age 65+ 6% *One Life Rate University of California, Riverside Office of Planned Giving Call or visit us today! (951) 827-6449 www.ucrgift.org UCR F I AT LUX 23 ’60s ’62 Frank Bidart is a professor of English at Wellesley College. His book “Star Dust” was nominated for a National Book Award. This nomination placed him among the nation’s most influential poets. He has been teaching English at Wellesley since 1972. ’64 Susan Gensel Cooper is the proud mother of two and a grandmother of seven. She retired in 2005 as vice president and director of institutional advancement at Trudeau Institute. She is now church administrator at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Saranac Lake, N.Y. She established Cooper Management Consulting in 2005 to assist nonprofit organizations. ’65 Faith (Norton) Hunt is a foreign service officer for the U.S. Department of State. For the past 15 years, she has worked for the State Department, serving abroad in Frankfurt, Rome and currently in Mexico City. Her son, Eric R. Hunt (’85), and his wife, Wendy, have two children, Kristyn, 16, and Kelsey, 12. ’66 David Bateman retired from his law practice of 35 years and the U.S. Air Force Reserves JAGC. His wife, Trudy, has retired from her job as an emergency room nurse after 36 years. They are both enjoying retirement farming and selling coffee from the big island of Hawaii. Dave still dabbles in commercial real estate and geology/mining on occasion … Claude J. Phene (’70 Ph.D.) was named Irrigation Association Person for the Year for 2005. His research shaped the evolution of drip irrigation technology. Claude has worked more than 30 years in soil and water management. Most of his 24 WINTER 2006 professional career was spent with the USDA. In 1994, he retired as director of the Water Management Research Laboratory in Fresno. He is best known for developing the concept of permanent subsurface drip irrigation, making systems perform successfully for more than 12 years under intense cultivation. ’68 Lawrence Bliss (’71 M.Admin.) is a member of the Maine Legislature, representing the 122nd District. He is chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Utilities and Energy. ’70s ’70 Robert Kaplan (M.A., ’72 Ph.D.) was among 64 new members named to the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Robert is professor and chair of health services for UCLA’s School of Public Health. He has authored more than 400 original scientific articles and 15 books. He is also editor in chief of Health Psychology and immediate past editor of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. Robert is a two-time recipient of the annual Outstanding Scientific Contributions award from the Division of Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association ... Peter Lesnik is the executive director of the Carpenter Performing Arts Center at California State University, Long Beach. He has been appointed to the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and will serve until 2007. Previously he had been reader and advisor to the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference; dramaturge, acting teacher and director at the Performing Arts Foundation in Huntington, N.Y.; resident director at the 13th Street Theatre in New York; creator of the Counterpane Acting Method; and resident director of the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles. In addition, Peter has built a 20-year reputation for overseeing the revitalization of multiple performing arts centers, including the Herberger Theatre Center in Phoenix, the Kelsey Theater at Mercer College in New Jersey and the Norris Theatre for the Performing Arts in Palos Verdes, Calif. ’71 Kenneth E. Imler is senior vice president of regulatory affairs and quality assurance at Arrow International Inc. Kenneth has been the lead consultant with Quintiles Consulting, a provider of global consulting services to the medical device, pharmaceutical and biologics industry. He will be the company’s main point of contact with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), helping to ensure that Arrow continues to meet, and even exceed, FDA and international regulatory requirements in its products, manufacturing processes, procedures and systems. Arrow International Inc. develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of clinically advanced, disposable catheters and related products for critical and cardiac care. ’72 Don Barfield is vice president of educational products for Harcourt Assessment Inc. Based in San Antonio, Texas, Harcourt Assessment is a leading provider of high-quality assessment instruments and testing programs. As vice president of educational products, Don oversees all development activities related to the company’s broad range of educational assessments, such as achievement, ability, diagnostic and language proficiency tests … Robert V. Lindquist Jr. has retired as general manager of Lake Hemet Municipal Water District. He will spend more time with family and writing books on local history. Robert was hired in 1996 as the district’s assistant general manager and was promoted to the top spot later that year. A nurseryman and businessman, he previously served as a Hemet city councilman, mayor and member of Lake Hemet’s board of directors. He said one of his proudest accomplishments is helping with efforts to build the $5.8 million district headquarters. The building is now under construction and will be completed this summer … Jay Reidy is an instructor with the Mt. Baldy National Ski Patrol in Southern California. As a patroller, Jay is part of the largest winter rescue organization in the world. The patrol is composed of more than 28,500 members serving more than 600 ski patrols, including volunteer, paid, alpine, snowboard and Nordic patrollers throughout the United States and at some military areas in Europe. Names printed in red indicate members of the UCR Alumni Association. To update your membership, see page 32. Patrollers train throughout the year in disciplines such as ski safety, mountaineering, avalanche safety, first aid and toboggan handling. In addition to Mt. Baldy, Jay has patrolled at Mt. Waterman and Snow Valley. Before joining patrol, he taught skiing to blind athletes. ’73 Barbara Brink is the director of development at UCR’s College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. For the past six years, Barbara worked as the director of major gifts at UCR’s Development Office. Previously, she worked in hospital development for 10 years, where she was responsible for annual giving, major gifts and fund-raising efforts. She holds a certificate in planned giving from CSU Long Beach … Steven M. Gorelick left a lengthy career in September as vice president for institutional advancement at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center to follow a long-time dream. He is now a professor of media studies in the Department of Film and Media Studies at CUNY’s Hunter College. He will also devote time and effort to two “I Just Give My 100 Percent” UCR alumna Rachel Blackwood’s passion for life and learning became a lifesaver after she suffered a debilitating stoke at the age of 28. Rachel Blackwood By Kim Lane UCR alumna Rachel Blackwood is no slacker when it comes to education. As a student working toward her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, Blackwood, whose maiden name was Doan Thuan Thi Nguyen, regularly took up to five classes a quarter, many of them difficult science and math courses. “Knowledge always tasted so delicious to me,” said Blackwood, who had 260 academic credits and a 3.7 grade point average when she graduated cum laude in 1995. Her passion for knowledge became a life saver when, at the age of 28, she suffered a life-threatening stroke that would require her to relearn to walk, read, write, type, think and drive. On Oct. 20, 2001, a day after finishing the final draft of her Ph.D. dissertation at Cornell University, she was suddenly stricken with a severe headache, blurred vision and weakness in her arms and legs. “I knew right away that I needed to call 911,” Blackwood said. She was rushed to the emergency room and eventually learned she had a ruptured arteriovenous malformation, an often undiagnosed lifelong defect of the circulatory system. She was initially upbeat about her ICU experience, but when the pain medication wore off, the intense pain and the possibility of living with permanent brain damage turned her thoughts to suicide. Regular visits from her then-fiance, Van Blackwood, her friends and family brought her back. “I realized that there are so many people who love me,” she said. “My life was not defined just by my achievements but by the love of family and friends.” Within two months after brain surgery, she went from complete paralysis on her right side to complete use of her upper right side and complete independence from the wheelchair. “It was an arduous but rewarding training process,” she said. “Even though it was tiring . . . I was glad at the same time because I was learning firsthand how my muscles work. What a thrill it was to have a scientist and a patient in the same body!” Her former mentor, UCR’s dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Steve Angle, was not surprised at Blackwood’s recovery. “Rachel was an outstanding, determined student who always applied herself to the academic challenges she faced,” said Angle, who continued to communicate with Blackwood after she left UCR. “These traits have served her well in achieving her academic goals and meeting the personal challenges she faced in what would have been a career-ending illness for many individuals.” As soon as she was strong enough, Blackwood talked to Angle about her desire to recover her high-level thinking skills. He introduced her to Leah Haimo, UCR professor and vice chair of the Department of Biology, who led a group that met weekly to discuss scientific papers. ”This discussion group was the stepping stone for my return to science and the normal world,” she said. Six months after surgery, she defended her dissertation “Comparative Biochemistry and Cell Biology of Merlin, Ezrin, and EBP50” and was awarded her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Cornell University. Her graduate adviser was Anthony Bretscher. But defending her dissertation at that point was an anticlimatic experience. “Re-reading my thesis was like staring into a looking glass,” she said. “I saw my past achievements with nostalgia, but the intellect that produced the work was no longer in me, and so then it seemed like I was taking credit for somebody else’s work.” She and her husband, Van Blackwood, now live in Rockville, Md. She just finished up her post-doctoral work at the National Institutes of Health. The aim of her research there was to define new targets for cancer therapy by isolating proteins from tumor extract that bind to ezrin, a protein critical for cancer to spread to other parts of the body, or metastasize. She is now looking for a faculty or postdoctoral research position in chemistry or biochemistry. She hopes to further develop the technology to biochemically define the relevant target for each cancer patient, case by case, in order to improve treatment decision and outcome. Blackwood competed in her first race, the 5K Race for the Cure in June 2005 and, a few months later, the 8K Marine Corps Marathon in October 2005. She is now training to complete her first marathon in June in San Diego. She is also training to get her lifeguard certification. “My motto after my sickness is that I just give my 100 percent,” said Blackwood, who recently returned to campus to make a presentation at the opening ceremonies of UCR’s new Physical Sciences I building, her first public scientific presentation after the illness. UCR F I AT LUX 25 CLASSNOTES entities he cares deeply about – The DART Center on Journalism and Trauma at the University of Washington and the National Center for Critical Incident Analysis. His research focuses on how communities and the mass media cope with high-profile acts of violence. ’74 Susan Ball (M.A.) will leave her position as executive director of the College Art Association (CAA) in July. She joined CAA in January 1986 and oversaw growth of operations, endowment and membership for the association during her 20-year tenure. Susan will become director emeritus and will continue to work with the CAA as director of its Centennial History Project. Prior to joining CAA, she was the director of government and foundation affairs at the Art Institute of Chicago, assistant treasurer of Chase Manhattan Bank and assistant professor of art history at the University of Delaware. Susan has an adjunct faculty appointment at New York University’s graduate program in visual arts administration … Bruce Freeman (’78 Ph.D.) was named professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in January 2006. He joins the University of Pittsburgh after a two-decade tenure at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, most recently serving as vice chair for research in the Department of Anesthesiology. He is noted for his research on cell signaling reactions and inflammatory processes due to tissue injury, which has had implications for the design and treatment approaches for 26 WINTER 2006 such conditions as acute inflammation, respiratory disorders and cardiovascular diseases. His wife, Margaret M. Tarpey (’78), will join Bruce on the School of Medicine’s faculty as a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology. ’76 Arlee Susanne DuffyEmmott has retired from the insurance industry. Her husband is vice president of sales for International Wire Group … Esperanza Luna founded an arts program for juvenile offenders in Los Angeles, and later the Los Angeles Visual Artists (LAVA). Her paintings have won numerous awards and were featured in shows throughout Southern California. She recently relocated to Oregon and wants to travel across Oregon to paint plein air landscapes and photograph what Luna calls the state’s “wild and unrestrained beauty.” ’77 Laurel Bollen Jew got married in 1990. She was a technical writer, but is now the mother of four children and is into table tennis and home schooling in Southern California. ’79 Mary Figueroa was honored as an Influential Latino by Hispanic Lifestyles magazine at its Hispanic Image Awards. Mary is a board member for the Riverside Community College District. 80s ’81 Michael A. Sesma (Ph.D.) is chief of the research scientist development program in the Office for Special Populations at the National Institute of Mental Health. His major responsibilities are to coordinate initiatives and programs for the development of mental-health research scientists who are from underrepresented groups. He has been there since 1994, working first at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) as a scientific review administrator and a program director in the Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology, where he was responsible for a research portfolio in neurogenetics and the genetics of behavior. Michael moved to the National Institute of Mental Health in 2002 to develop the research scientist development program in the NIMH-OSP. He is also a councilman for the city of Gaithersburg, Md. ’82 Paul Wilkinson received his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Durham in England in 2004. He is now teaching computer science at Pasadena City College. ’83 Michael Ramos was honored by Riverside-based Hispanic Lifestyles magazine at its Hispanic Image Awards. Michael is San Bernardino County’s district attorney and the first Latino to serve in the position. ’85 Mark E. Werner, an Air Force lieutenant colonel, is currently deployed overseas at a forward operating location in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. ’86 David A. Brown (M.A.) is senior director of pharmacovigilance and epidemiology at PPD Inc. David leads the company’s postmarket pharmacovigilance offerings, including registries and risk management tools. His responsibilities include oversight of the design, conduct and interpretation of registries and post- launch pharmacoepidemiological studies used to monitor and assess pharmaceutical and medical device products postapproval. Prior to joining PPD, David held a number of senior positions in the fields of epidemiology and global safety surveillance, including serving as epidemiology team leader for oncology and neurosciences at Wyeth Research. He was an assistant professor of epidemiology in the department of epidemiology and international health in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham … Dawn (Franchi) Gamberale (’87 teaching credential) teaches advance placement chemistry and has been appointed to the governing board at Poway Unified School District. She has taught of Poway for 18 years and was named the San Diego County Chemistry Teacher of the Year and honored on television as the San Diego recipient of the California Exceptional Educator Award by her local assemblyman. She and her husband live in San Diego with their children Matt and Mia. ’87 Joel Blumin is an assistant professor of otolaryngology and communications sciences at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He came to the Medical College from the University of Pennsylvania, where he served as assistant professor of otorhinolaryngolgy. Joel is a fellowship-trained, boardcertified otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon. His clinical emphasis is in treating patients with voice and throat problems. His research interest is in vocal cord weakness and spasmodic dysphonia. ’89 Ki-Tak (K.T.) Leung is principal of Leung Accountancy Corp. with offices in the California cities of San Marino and Irvine … Peter S. Ohr was appointed as deputy assistant general counsel in the division of operationsmanagement at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which administers and enforces the National Labor Relations Act. Peter has been employed as an attorney with the NLRB’s Honolulu Sub-regional office since 1997. vascular and proteomics research efforts. ’91 John Paul DeWolfe married Michelle Lee Ventura on Aug. 26, 2005, at the Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati, Ohio. John is a senior leasing representative for DLC Management Corp. in Oak Lawn, Ill. The couple will make their home in Chicago. ’92 Robert Caplinger was one of three educators who received the National Middle School Association’s Distinguished Educator Award in recognition of his He’s Still “ The Business” Alumnus Kevin Butler gets the chance to show off the basketball skills that made him shine at UCR. ’90s ’90 Daniel Chagnovich is director of research operations at Velcura Therapeutics. The U.S. biotechnology company focuses on developing drugs that stimulate bone formation. Daniel joined Velcura in 2003 as senior scientist in bioinformatics. At Velcura, he has used bioinformatics analyses to characterize the molecular events underlying human bone formation. Daniel also has identified specific molecular targets for bone formation and expanded Velcura’s bone growth technologies. Prior to joining Velcura, he worked as a scientist at Pfizer’s Global Research and Development Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he used bioinformatics tools to evaluate the human genome and identify novel genes in support of its cardio- efforts to implement strategies for increasing young adolescents’ academic and developmental growth. He is Kevin Butler as a player on the UCR basketball team. By Ross French During his four years on UCR’s men’s basketball team, Kevin Butler was known as much for his business-like attitude both on and off the court as he was for his speed, hustle and leaping ability. So when Butler, who graduated from UCR in 2004, was selected to compete in ESPN’s “City Slam” television show, he became “The Business.” “City Slam” features some of the best street-ball players from Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Chicago in a dunk contest and three-point contest. It was Butler’s association with the Young Players Association (YPA) Street Ball team, which plays in regional tournaments across the country, along with his skills and athletic prowess that helped get him chosen for the competition. During the August 2005 competition, Butler impressed the All-Star judges, consisting of former NBA stars Dee Brown, Spud Webb, Michael Cooper and Damon Jones, with 29 out of 30 possible points in the opening. In the “Tribute Dunk,” Butler performed a windmill dunk made famous by Michael Jordan, earning 27 points. During the third round Butler was one of three competitors to get to the 60-inch barrier in the high-jump dunk. During the final free-style contest, Butler completed a reverse dunk and a two-handed 360 degree dunk. “I was the last dunker and tied for first place entering the round. As the judges were giving the scores, I was putting my UCR business education to use, mentally calculating the totals,” Butler said. “When the final score of nine points was given by Michael Cooper, I knew I had won.” He won by a half point and received $5,000 and went on to compete and finish fourth in the City Slam Finals in Chicago. With City Slam behind him, Butler is working to establish himself in real estate and establishing a company to promote basketball and athletic fitness training. But he is not walking away from the basketball court just yet. “My next step is playing professional basketball in the ABA (American Basketball Association) for the San Francisco Pilots. From there, only time will tell. I will be working my hardest and giving my all to make my basketball dreams come true.” UCR F I AT LUX 27 the assistant principal of Oregon’s Lake Oswego Junior High School. Robert was honored for his work as counselor and dean of students at Edgewood Middle School in West Covina, Calif. Robert previously taught at Imperial Middle School in La Habra, Calif., for 10 years and was also an elementary summer school administrator in La Habra. He received Outstanding Teacher Recognition and earned the Sallie Mae First-Class Teacher Award in 1994 for the La Habra City School District … Anita S. Rathi-Joy married Brian Joy in 2000. Their first child, Chandra Marie, was born in June 2005. Anita continues to work as a children’s social worker and has been in the specialized section, the child abduction unit, for the past two years … Steven Weinstein and his wife, Maria (Pilar), who is from Mexico City, are expecting their first child, a boy, in March. Steven is a substitute teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District. The couple live in Garden Grove. ’93 David C. Ellien married Birgit B. Hansen on Sept. 17, 2005, at the Santa Monica Beach. The couple will make their home in Venice Beach. David and Birgit are the founding architects of Hansen and Ellien in Venice Beach. ’94 Fernando Ortiz (M.A., ’99 Ph.D.) is an associate professor of psychology at Santa Ana College. He received the Excellence in Community College Instruction from the Hispanic Education Endowment Fund at its 12th annual Apple of Gold Awards, honoring educators who support academic achievement of Latinos. ’95 Cynthia Clark (M.A.) is principal of C.K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento. She previously served as principal at Edison High School in Huntington Beach … Scott Harshman has joined the Orange County office of Greenberg Traurig LLP as Of Counsel in the trusts and estates practice group. He is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specializations. Scott was formerly a partner in trusts and estates practice at the Busch Firm … Christa Stutz is a first-grade teacher at Park Hill Elementary School in the San Jacinto Unified School District. She has 10 years of teaching experience from kindergarten to second grade. ’97 Kathryn Lee Carpenter married Young Joon Kim Memorial Fund Keeps Son’s Memory Alive, Helps Students in Need Tranquil Calley, with a photo of her son, Kalyn Smith-Tranquil’son, who died in 1994. 28 WINTER 2006 By Celeste Durant Tranquil Calley (’89 M.A.) wanted to give her late son something that most people rarely think about: immortality. Calley’s son, Kalyn Smith-Tranquil’son (’81), died of AIDS-related complications in 1994 at the age of 34. The anthropology major, who was known as Colin Smith while attending UCR, was an early advocate for gay rights on campus. At that time, Calley says, gay rights were not as widely accepted as they are today, and school administrators didn’t know what to do with her openly gay son. After his death she felt a compelling need to commemorate his life. “Most of us get immortality through our children,” said Calley, a little wistfully, “but when you lose a child, especially one that is gay, you don’t have that.” Calley decided to establish a fund at the university so that her son would not be forgotten; but it took a while to figure out how the money should be used. “I dallied as to whether it should be something in his area — he was a poet and I was an English major – or should I give it to someone who had furthered tolerance of gay people.” Then she ran into Nancy Tubbs, director of UCR’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center. “Nancy said that every quarter at least one student fears losing financial support from their family because of their sexual orientation. Immediately the lightening bolts went off. This is something Kalyn would have wanted.” To help those students, the Kalyn SmithTranquil’son Memorial Fund provides emergency financial assistance until the Financial Aid Office can secure a grant or loan. So far, only one student has received assistance from the fund, but Calley is happy it’s there for those who need it. She believes her son is happy about it, too. “I am sure Kalyn is giving me a big ‘thumbs up’ from wherever he is.” For more information on the fund, visit www.out.ucr.edu. (’95) on Oct. 15, 2005, at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, Calif. The couple will make their home in Union City, N.J. Kathryn is a child therapist at the Upper Manhattan Mental Health Center in Harlem, N.Y. Young is a lawyer at Thatcher, Proffitt & Wood in New York … Christie Anne Gonzalez is married and has three children: Zack, born in 2000, and Gwen and Julia, identical twins born in 2003. Christie is a stay-at-home mom ... Christine Kai is an educator with the Buena Park Unified School District … John Zeller is an engineer with the Marina Coast Water District. He was sent with the California National Guard to help county and city officials restructure water and sewage systems damaged by flooding and high winds after Hurricane Katrina. John served in the Air Force and was a trained water treatment operator. ’98 Amir H. Dabirian (M.S.) is chief information technology officer at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). As chief information technology officer, Amir is a member of the president’s administrative board and oversees a division of 95 staff members and a $13.2 million budget. He is a 20-year veteran at CSUF where he has risen through the ranks in information technology. Prior to joining CSUF, Amir was chief VisaBuxx architect and chief information technology officer for Card Express Inc., where he was responsible for taking the product from design specifications to launch … Landon Dean is in Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy’s class of 2009 … Timothy Reimers is an associate attorney at Quateman & Zidell LLP, practicing in the areas of municipal finance, real estate and commercial finance. He graduated as a fellow from the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership L.A. program, a 10-month course that focuses on issues confronting the Los Angeles region. Tim also serves as a deacon in the New Apostolic Church and resides in San Gabriel, Calif. ’99 Rina Gonzales began working as a deputy city attorney for the city of Riverside in October. She serves as a board member for the Inland Empire Latino Lawyers Association and Inland County Legal Services. During the holidays, she was active with the Riverside County Bar Association Elves Program … Marvelyn (Herbert) Tapp announces the birth of her daughter, Malaya Nicole Tapp, born in April 2005. Marvelyn married Greg Tapp after earning her master’s degree in statistics at Northern Arizona University. The family lives in Benton, Ark. ’00s ’00 Justin Kleiner has joined the staff of Lord Leebrick Theatre Company in Eugene, Ore., as technical director for the 2005-06 season. … Denise Kornuta (teaching credential) is a teacher at Victress Bower School in Norco, Calif. The public school serves students from ages 3 to 22 who are severely disabled. She started as an instructional assistant at Bower in 1994. ’01 Karen Schaffman (Ph.D.) co-founded San Diego’s Lower Left Performance Collective in 1994. The postmodern performance collective is committed to artistic innovation with an emphasis in dance. Karen developed the 11-month long “Satellite Project,” a multicity performance collaboration commissioning five renowned artists in the fields of postmodern dance and performance from across the United States to direct a collaborative piece with Lower Left artists and guest performers. She spent six years studying and performing postmodern dance in Europe prior to founding the collective… Scott Silverman (’04 M.S.) is the executive director of Hillel at UCR, which serves the colleges and universities of Riverside, San Bernardino, Redlands and the desert communities. Hillel educates campus communities about issues related to Judaism and anti-Semitism, and serves as a cultural home-away-fromhome for Jewish students. ’02 Kaori Nagao is the director of marketing for a John Robert Powers modeling/acting school and talent agency in Las Vegas. ’03 Geoff Anderson received his pilot’s wings in the U.S. Air Force at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi on July 22. He will be based at Andrews AFB in Maryland, flying C-21 aircrafts … Maria W.L. Chee (Ph.D.) is the assistant to the vice provosts of faculty advancement and international affairs at the University of Virginia. Her book, “Taiwanese American Transnational Families: Women and Kin Work,” was released in May 2005. The book examines transnational families split in the United States and Taiwan in a global political economy, at the intersection of class, gender, generation and race with attention to women’s experiences. ’04 Liam Corley (Ph.D.) joined the faculty at Cal Poly Pomona as an assistant professor of English and celebrated the birth of daughter, Dorothy Michelle, born in March 2005. ’05 Catherine Gleason (M.A.) was appointed as director of exhibitions at the Oceanside Museum of Art. In Memoriam… ’ 61 Joseph Behar (M.A., ’69 Ph.D.), January 2005 ’64 Melvin J. Brown, September 2005 ’68 Geoffrey Bowmaster, September 2005 ’74 David F. Minner, November 2005 ’77 James Louie Young (M.A., ’78 Ph.D.), October 2005 ’85 Patricia Tolson Tomlinson (Ph.D.), October 2005 ’91 Gino Gaspare La Scala, November 2005 ’92 John Scrum (M.A., ’04 Ph.D.), September 2005 ’96 Alison Harrington, November 2005 ’05 Jeremy Harrison, October 2005 UCR F I AT LUX 29 Take a Trip to the Adriatic Riviera with the Alumni Association Discover the hidden treasures of the Istrian peninsula with the UCR Alumni Association’s Alumni Campus Abroad on the Adriatic Riviera. Plenty of planned events and free time are included on the itinerary. The Slovenian town of Piran, a medieval walled village rendered in Venetian architecture, serves as the base for exploration. Tour highlights include a cruise along Portoroz Bay, a walking tour of Piran, dressage performance and equine acrobatics performed by the famed Lipizzan horses, a gondola ride on Lake Bled, a full-day excursion to the Croatian towns of Porec and Rovinj and a hydrofoil ride to Venice. The tour is Aug. 22-30 and costs $3,595. The package includes round-trip air transportation from Los Angeles or San Francisco, accommodations for seven nights at the first-class Hotel Tartini, three full meals per day, informative educational programs presented by local experts, and all excursions on the itinerary. A land-only program for Aug. 23-30 is available for $2,095. To request a brochure or to be placed on the association’s travel list, contact the UCR Alumni Association. Tour participants must be members of the UCR Alumni Association. Each member may bring a spouse and children under 18 or one guest. 2005 UCRAA Life Members Ann A. Aasen ‘73 Erin K. Adler ‘05 Taryn M. Alba ‘96 Omokhoje O. Amu ‘04 Charles W. Anderson ‘75 Poovaiah M. Appachu ‘04 M.S. Sameh S. Arsanious ‘05 Alvin Au ‘05 Amy C. Avelar ‘05 Anjali Awasthi ‘05 Christopher G. Ayson ‘01 Kristen A. Baldridge ‘93 Matthew A. Bantillo ‘05 Bertha Barraza ‘96 Dennis M. Bein ‘89, ‘91 M.B.A. James W. Belden ‘87 Vito L. Bello ‘05 Benjamin G. Benjamin ‘05 Kenneth C. Bernal ‘98 Lauren G. Beyenhof ‘04 Melissa J. Billiter ‘94 Patrick F. Billiter ‘93 Patsy P. Bittmann ‘61 Robert S. Borowski ‘84 Ph.D. Phillip J. Boskovich ‘77 Sherry A. Brandon ‘02, ‘04 M.F.A. Caroline S. Branske ‘05 Samantha L. Branske ‘05 Pearl Q. Bravo ‘05 Derick W. Brinkerhoff ‘69, ‘75 M.Adm. Dericksen M. Brinkerhoff Mary W. Brinkerhoff Lauren M. Brody ‘05 Scott A. Brown ‘91 Jennifer A. Burtness ‘05 Adrianna M. Butler ‘05 Mary G. M. Cabasan ‘04 Joanna M. Callaghan ‘90 Lawrence F. Camacho ‘98 Michael L. Campbell ‘80 Abigail G. Cano ‘05 Mary-Ann C. Cantero ‘05 Guadalupe Cardenas ‘83 Laura K. Carson ‘80 Sergio A. Casillas ‘90 Matthew A. Cenzon ‘05 Abba C. Y. Chan ‘05 30 WINTER 2006 Ming-Fai Chan Steven K. Chang ‘05 Michael P. Chavez ‘74 Maria W. L. Chee ‘03 Ph.D. Tony Chhuor ‘05 Edward K. Chin ‘05 Kevin H. T. Chu ‘05 Erick Y. Chung ‘05 Jae-Wook Chung ‘05 Ph.D. Jennifer A. Cisneros ‘99 Carole P. Cleary ‘87 Khristina M. Clous ‘03 Jerry D. Cohen ‘72 Susan D. Cohen ‘72 Miriam F. Cooperband ‘95,‘05 Ph.D. Heather S. Costa ‘86 M.S. Megan M. Cotter ‘05 Justin M. Cram ‘05 Diane C. Crow ‘64 Dustin S. Culhan ‘99, ‘01 M.S., ‘05 Ph.D. Kelly M. Czechowski ‘05 Michael J. Davidson ‘75 Adrianna S. Davis ‘05 Jennifer M. Davis ‘05 Richmond V. Deasis ‘05 Raisa R. Del Rosario ‘05 Stephen D. Deslauriers ‘05 Crystal M. Dillard ‘05 John S. Diorio ‘01 Lauren J. Docherty ‘04 Karl C. Doering ‘01 Christine C. Domingo ‘05 Robert J. Drury Edward X. Duong ‘05 Adriana Duran ‘05 Griselda Duran ‘98 Hasan A. El-Hasan ‘05 Ph.D. Robin W. Erwin ‘69 Vicky J. Farkas ‘75 Jennifer L. Fell ‘05 Pauline S. M. Fernandez ‘05 Sarah S. M. Fernandez ‘03 Sofia S. M. Fernandez ‘05 Jennifer M. Finch ‘02 Roger E. Fisher ‘67 M.S., ‘70 Ph.D. Andrew Flores ‘82 Taylor A. Fry ‘05 Jennifer L. Gabel ‘05 Alexandra E. Galanti ‘05 Milind M. Gangal ‘99 Ph.D. Jessica R. Ganser ‘05 Robert A. Garcia ‘00 Jeanette F. Garcia-Balberan ‘05 Andrew J. Garrison ‘05 Amanda B. Geisner ‘05 Colby D. Gergovich ‘05 Rachel N. Ginsberg ‘05 Todd M. Goodson ‘05 Tanya Gorham ‘05 Lisa Gov ‘04 Cody C. Guadagnoli ‘05 Keri N. Gushwa ‘05 M.B.A. Erika C. Guzman ‘05 Robert J. Habereder ‘05 Dariush Haghighat ‘81, ‘85 M.A., ‘88 Ph.D. Brent N. Halvonik ‘93 Cristian A. Hamilton ‘96 Hoyt J. Heaton ‘97 M.S. John W. Hensley ‘66 Ryan P. Hill ‘05 Kimi J. Hiroshima ‘05 Wilfred Ho ‘05 Jason M. Hone ‘00 Kenneth C. Hou ‘05 Bo R. Hyun ‘05 John A. Immaraju ‘85 M.S., ‘89 Ph.D. Joel J. Ingram ‘82 Anna D. Ioakimedes ‘05 Mohni Iqbal ‘05 Matthew A. Jackson ‘05 Joss Jeri ‘05 James Jobin ‘03 Ph.D. Charles G. Johnson ‘05 Debra L. Johnson ‘05 Janelle M. Julagay ‘05 Phyllis Kalberg Sethvathey Kao ‘05 Shuo-tai Kao-Vassilakos Rebekah E. Katin ‘05 Pamela L. Kehler ‘05 Victoria E. Keller ‘05 Patty J. Kellison ‘00 M.A. Kevin M. Kemp ‘05 Margaret E. Kerr Sharon M. Kidwell ‘00 Johanna M. Kilpatrick ‘80 Christine M. Kim ‘05 Mira M.L Kim ‘05 Paul J. Kim ‘05 William M. Kivinski ‘05 Phillip K. Ko ‘05 Wah-Mei J. Kodimer ‘02 Ronillo E. Lacson ‘05 Stephen C.K. Lam ‘05 Mark A. Langhorne ‘83 Jeffrey Lau ‘05 Kenneth K.Y. Lau ‘05 Wai D. Lau ‘96 Jonathan P. Lazar ‘05 David D. Lee ‘04 Patricia A. Lee ‘91 Vanessa E. Lee ‘05 Michael K. Lerch ‘92 M.A. Mark A. Levin ‘72 Lloyd E. Levine ‘92 Kristine V. Lim ‘05 Brian Lin ‘05 Christopher L. Lin ‘05 Aaron M.L. Liu ‘05 Anna Lo ‘00 Amy R. Lopez ‘05 Kizzy M. Lucas ‘05 Angela M. Lustrick ‘98 Ngoc D. Luu ‘05 M.F.A. Arturo Lyles ‘05 Michael J. Madrigal ‘89 Jennifer Mahdavi ‘96 M.A., ‘00 Ph.D. Maria-Christina S. Malinao ‘05 Yahya M. Mansour ‘04, ‘05 M.S. Gabrielle D. Marquez ‘05 Valerie Marquez ‘03 Harue J. Marsden ‘82 Jason W. Martinez ‘00 M.A., ‘05 Ph.D. Arin L. Maruna ‘05 Shana J. Masullo ‘05 Edwin M. Matias ‘80 Ernest H. Mattison ‘70 Cynthia V. McArtor ‘88 Michael G. McCandless ‘05 Ashley L. McCord ‘05 Arianna J. McIntyre ‘05 Ardith C. McKim ‘74 James P. McNaboe ‘87, ‘88 M.S. Annette Medina ‘93 Marci Mendel ‘81 Miriam Mendez ‘05 Kirk-Ken G. Mihara ‘93 Nick A. Milazzo ‘89 Megan M. Miller ‘05 Jacqueline Mimms ‘92 M.A., ‘96 Ph.D. Samantha J. Mitchell ‘05 Edward J. Mooney ‘82 M.A. Rosalia Morales ‘05 Alan D. Moreno ‘04 Elizabeth A. Mosher ‘90 Ken T. Murillo ‘04 Saarah A.Najieb ‘01 Theresa A. Santiago Narvaez ‘05 Golnar Nassiri ‘01 Tiffany L. Nelson ‘05 Bradley E. Neufeld ‘82 Mary E. Newell ‘04 Teresa C. Ng ‘05 Hieu T. Nguyen ‘05 Kimnhon T. Nguyen ‘05 Jamie L. Nichols ‘05 Amanda T. Noble ‘01, ‘05 M.B.A. Mark R. Noche ‘96 Raul Nunez ‘05 Susan M. O’Reilly ‘05 Don H. Oswald ‘05 Cesar E. Oyervides-Cisneros ‘05 Allen Ozeran ‘05 Paula C. Pabalan ‘91 Robert J. Pacheco ‘02 M.A. Gilda Paez ‘03, ‘05 M.Ed. Ivory R. Parnell ‘05 Jignya Patel ‘05 Kunal A. Patel ‘05 Sweta R. Patel ‘05 Thomas C. Patterson ‘60 Russell L. Paulsen ‘89 Elvia Paz ‘05 Jeannette P. Phillips ‘05 Vangelina Pina ‘05 Caleb T. Porter ‘05 Adam J. Powell ‘04 Christopher T. Power ‘05 Travis W. Randel ‘05 Chotirat Ratanamahatana ‘05 Ph.D. Judyth E. Reed ‘79 M.A. Robert A. Reed ‘92 Laurel I. Relph ‘05 Christopher J. Rivera ‘05 Wilfrid F. Roberge ‘61 Jeffrey T. Roberts ‘92 Joseph D. Rodriguez ‘05 Stephanie J. Roe ‘04 Alicia A. Romero ‘04 Alicia E. Romero ‘03 Adriana Romo ‘01 Robert P. Sacalas ‘03 Dawn M. Sackson ‘05 Elly L. Sadika ‘05 Georgina G. Salazar ‘05 Ramona Salazar ‘05 Teresa D.J. Sanchez ‘05 Lilian C. Santos ‘05 Adam R. Saperston ‘84 Lewis E. Sasse ‘91 Allan J. Schwartz ‘74 Andra M. Schwartz ‘02 Ph.D. Cynthia A. Schyling ‘80 Jo S. Coe ‘05 M.F.A. Alma R.L. Serna ‘01 Emmanuel J.A. Sevilla ‘05 Roderick E. Shaner ‘72 Jeffrey Shu ‘05 Muhammad Shuaib ‘05 Scott S. Sirowy ‘05 Amy K. Smith ‘05 Kipp Smith Ruthan G. Smith ‘76 Justin M. Solis ‘01 G. Susan Srivatsa ‘82 M.S., ‘85 Ph.D. Dorothy Stauffer ‘67 Ezekiel G. Stear ‘01 Wei Sun ‘03 M.A., ‘05 Ph.D. Frederick R. Suppe ‘62 Suzanne C. Sutherland ‘91 Richard N. Sylvester ‘05 Gaurav Taneja ‘05 Brian J. Taylor ‘74 Briauna D. Taylor ‘05 Joseph W. Ternes ‘62 Brian G. Thomas ‘86 Ph.D. Fernando Thomas Lena L. Tisdale ‘05 Enrique J. Tobar ‘03 Andrew O. Todd ‘87 Luis G. Torner ‘05 Gigi H. Tran ‘05 Nha-Quang H. Tran ‘05 Xuan-My N. Tran ‘05 Ha M. Trieu ‘04 Brian C. Unitt ‘80 Jim P. Vassilakos ‘89, ‘92 M.B.A. Ross E. Wallace ‘05 Pinghsun Wang Simon T.K. Wang ‘05 Monique C. Watson ‘90 Karin E. Westerling ‘78 Jocelyn M. Whitfield Adam I. Williams ‘01 Melody A. Winston ‘67 Jennifer D. Wisniewski ‘05 M.A. Reylynn B. Wright ‘05 Michelle I. Wu ‘05 Raef T. Wyatt ‘04 Ester Yanez ‘05 Vincent I.Y. Zabala ‘05 Chrystine C. Zaballero ‘05 Every attempt was made to ensure that members’ names were spelled properly and all new life members were included for the 2005 calendar year. If your name was misspelled or omitted, please accept our apology. Thank you for your lifetime commitment to the values of the UCR Alumni Association. Consolidate Federal Student Loans Consolidation is an important aspect of student loans – one that should be carefully considered when studies are complete. With tuition costs rising, many students are graduating with a substantial amount of student loan debt. The UCR Alumni Association has teamed with Nelnet to help alumni learn how to best manage and repay those loans, manage debt and achieve future How to contact the UCR Alumni Association Web site: www.alumni.ucr.edu E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (951) UCR-ALUM or (800) 426-ALUM (2586) financial goals. Nelnet offers convenience and simplicity in the repayment process, making the transition to life after college smoother and more comfortable. Fixed interest rate loans as low as 4.75 percent are available. For more information, contact the Alumni Association or go online at www.alumniconsolidation.nelnet.net. Please note that your name, address, phone number, e-mail, college and year of graduation may be used by University of California, Riverside for the development of invitation lists to university-oriented programs and events, as well as for university-affiliated marketing programs and benefit offerings. If you do not wish to have this information assigned to these purposes, please notify the Office of Alumni and Constituent Relations at (951) UCR-ALUM, (800) 426-ALUM or e-mail us at [email protected]. IN MEMORIAM Harry W. Lawton, a self-taught historian, author and the founder of UCR’s Writers Week, died Nov. 20, after a long illness. He was 77. His book about a desert manhunt was the basis for the 1969 movie “Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here,” which starred Robert Blake, Katharine Ross and Robert Redford. Lawton was a journalist at Riverside’s Press-Enterprise before holding a variety of jobs at UCR between 1965 and 1991. He earned his bachelor’s degree from UCR in English in 1969. He served as the chair of the program in creative writing while it was still an offshoot of the Department of English. He also taught creative writing classes. In addition to founding UCR’s Writers Week, Lawton is credited with helping to establish the Malki Museum on the Morongo Indian Reservation near Banning and the nonprofit Malki Museum Press. In 1974, he co-founded what is now the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology. Lawton is survived by his wife, Georgeann Lawton, of Laguna Woods; son George and daughter-in-law Kerry Lawton, of Dana Point; son Daniel Lawton, of Buena Park; son Jonathan and daughter-inlaw Teresa Lawton, of Los Angeles; son Richard Lawton and daughter-in-law Alana Cortes, of Los Angeles; daughter Deborah Golino and son-in-law Richard Hoenisch, of Davis; a sister, Jean Belle Hamner, of Visalia; and six grandchildren. Paul R. Miller, a research plant pathologist from 1966 until he retired in 1998, died Oct. 12. He was 70. Dr. Miller received his doctorate in plant pathology from UC Berkeley, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Colorado State University. His pioneering and far-reaching research proving that ozone was the main cause of forest dieback in California has been cited hundreds of times all over the world. His fieldwork also involved plots of trees in the San Bernardino Mountains, a greenhouse in the San Jacinto Mountains, and, for another study, the Sequoia National Forest. Some experiments involved enclosing tree branches in chambers to expose some to ambient air and some to air filtered by charcoal that removes ozone. His survivors include his wife, Frances; a son, Chris Miller; a daughter, Allyson; two grandchildren; and a sister, Muriel Bennett. William Bradshaw, a professor emeritus of art, died Sept. 15. He was 77. Dr. Bradshaw was born in March 1928 in El Paso, Texas. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UCLA. He was assistant director at the Chicago Art Institute American Pavilion in Venice, Italy, in 1956 and served in the U.S. Army from 1952-54. He received a Fulbright Grant in 1955. He came to UCR as an instructor in art in 1957 and was a founding member of the UCR Department of Art. He retired from UCR in 1991 after many years of service. Dr. Bradshaw is survived by his sons Tomaso, Bryant and Keenan Bradshaw and his sisters Betty Jane Knight and Mary Ann Bradshaw. Achilles Dugaiczyk, a professor of biochemistry at UCR since 1982, passed away on Oct. 31. Dr. Dugaiczyk conducted research on the fundamental aspects of molecular evolution, specifically on the evolution of specific small DNA inserts in primates. After completing his master’s degree in chemistry at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, he came to the United States to earn his doctorate at the University of California, San Francisco. He became one of the first molecular biologists through his postdoctoral research at UCSF. Dr. Dugaiczyk was on the editorial board of the journal Gene and a member of numerous scholarly organizations, including the American Society of Biological Chemists, American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society and the Genetics Society of America. Dr. Dugaiczyk is survived by his wife, Lila; a son, Lars; and a daughter, Beata Dugaiczyk. UCR F I AT LUX 31 Alumni Life Members Kathryn Lynn Davis Class of 1978 B.A. (English), ’80 M.A. (History) UCRAA Life Member Best Selling Author of Historical Fiction “My husband, Michael Elderman, and I met some of our closest friends when they were students, lecturers or professors at UCR — in dance, art, photography, history, English and creative writing. For years, we never missed a Writers’ Week or a “UCR Is Dancing.” I have since taught writing for UCR Extension and received two alumni awards in fiction. The most fun I’ve ever had at UCR was researching a novel based on a dance choreographed by Fred Strickler. I watched choreographers and dancers work for an entire academic year. The same year, I sold my New York Times bestseller, ”Too Deep for Tears.” My lifetime membership in the UCR Alumni Association has given me opportunities for advancement, recognition and a personal connection to the people on campus. Michael, now a professional photographer who has been documenting the history of Riverside for 25 years, including many events at UCR, maintains a strong relationship with the campus as well. These threads, which bind us so closely to the UCR community, have greatly enriched our lives for the last 31 years and promise to continue to do so as the university grows.” UCRAA – Where UCR Alumni Belong! Free access to all 10 UC campus libraries Members receive a free subscription to the Fiat Lux Discounts on UCR Athletics, dance and cultural events Discounts on UC Alumni Career Conferences and UC Extension courses UCRAA Membership Offer: Single Membership ❏ Annual $35 Life ❏ Paid in Full (1payment) ❏ Installment Plan $400 $450 (5 annual payments at $90 each) Dual Membership ❏ Annual UCRAA – Where UCR Alumni Belong! Alumni Update & Membership Application Name _____________________________________Phone ( _______) ___________________ Life ❏ Paid in Full (1payment) ❏ Installment Plan $45 $550 $600 (5 annual payments at $120 each) Degree ____________________________Class Year _________Major ____________________ Address ______________________________________________________________________ City ____________________________________State______________Zip ________________ Employer __________________________________Business Phone (______) ______________ ❏ Check Enclosed (Payable to UCR Alumni Association) ❏ Visa ❏ Mastercard ❏ AMEX Name __________________________ (As it appears on the card. Please print) E-mail Address ________________________________________________________________ Acct. # _________________________ Spouse’s Name __________________________________Class Year ______________________ Exp. Date _________Amount __________ News you would like to share in the Class Notes section of Fiat Lux Mail to the UCR Alumni Association, 100 A Highlander Hall, Riverside, CA 92521-0110, e-mail to [email protected] or update online at www.alumni.ucr.edu/involved/update.html. If available, please include a photo with your update. _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ (Attach additional sheet if necessary) Visit www.alumni.ucr.edu to view the calendar of events, see all the membership benefits and even join online! 32 WINTER 2006 Signature ________________________ Mail this form and payment to: UCR Alumni Association 100 A Highlander Hall Riverside, CA 92521-0110 Order by phone or online (951) UCR-ALUM, (800) 426-ALUM or join online at www.alumni.ucr.edu. Excel with an MBA from a world-class university Get an MBA from UC Riverside your future deserves the best • • • • World-class faculty Growing programs in Marketing, Accounting, and Finance AACSB accredited State-of-the-art facilities at Heckmann Center for Entrepreneurial Management producing a cutting-edge collaborative MBA program at UCR Palm Desert. For more information: www.agsm.ucr.edu (951) 827-4551 [email protected] Ambi-Dexter-ous UCR student Dexter Thomas makes the most of life and learning. By Ricardo Duran Dexter Thomas likes to get outside his comfort zone – way out. He has wide-ranging interests in music, a passion for languages, a bent toward activism and a resolve to maximize his learning experiences outside the classroom during his college years. His activities include being music director of the campus radio station, KUCR-FM, (88.3 FM), freelance DJ, concert booker for student activities, campus housing employee, Web designer and volunteer for both a Mexican orphanage and the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Though he calls himself a jack of all trades and master of none, those who listen to his eclectic music show from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays get a sense of his mastery of music appreciation. Each week, he keeps his listeners guessing what’s next and what’s new in the worlds of hip-hop, electronica, house, jungle, funk and grime. Ask Thomas, a 21-year-old English and foreign languages major, to explain his personality and he says, “I jump at opportunities without thinking about the consequences. “I mean, I was in the International Baccalaureate program in high school and was advised not to do anything else because the program on its own is so challenging,” Thomas said. “But I also wanted to play in the band, do club soccer and school sports, you know? Finally, my mom brought in the AD (athletic director) to talk some sense to me. I ended up ignoring everyone and, well, here I am.” Thomas’ studies in Japanese and Spanish will be expanded to include a third language next quarter – Chinese. He says he’d love to get a bit of Korean under his belt, too. Thomas has been involved with the Associated Students Program Board, lining up concerts on campus. He was also a housing residence assistant, involved in the Honors Program, and a volunteer at an orphanage in Baja California. Then, of course, he is director of programming for KUCR’s “Soul on Sunday” lineup as well. His boss, station manager Louis Vandenberg, uses terms such as “thoughtful, highly principled, smart, hip, aware, positive and creative,” to describe Thomas. “He’s very real, very genuine. He’s also difficult and complex,” said Vandenberg. “He’s a formidable individual, who likes to argue, challenge and criticize. I think he views it as an obligation of sorts, and he’s very good at it. Whatever he does is done with passion and integrity.” This summer, after watching the wrenching news footage from New Orleans, Thomas volunteered for a three-week stint as an American Red Cross volunteer for the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Mississippi and Louisiana. He was sent in September to do warehouse work at a dispatch and distribution center housed in a shuttered Kmart in Montgomery, Ala. He ended up as a driver distributing supplies throughout the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. At the wheel of a 20-foot-long rental van, Thomas went on 20to 30-hour runs. Thomas said he encountered his fair share of frustration-fed resentment of locals upset with delays in getting supplies and assistance to the scores of tiny, isolated and sometimes completely erased communities. “It became apparent that unless we took matters into our own hands, we could wait a week in the HQ and not do anything,” he said. In many cases they loaded up their own vans and distributed the supplies themselves. “It was, ‘get out there and fend for yourself,” Thomas said. “We were paying for gas out of our own pockets.” On one trip through the Gulf Coast, they jotted down the towns that were in need and the supplies that were lacking and took that information back to the distribution center, because, he said, “it was obvious that certain, AfricanAmerican areas were being ignored. “At one point we were getting gas at about 4 a.m. in Hattiesburg, Miss., and the station owner told me not to show up in the daytime because folks out there were pretty angry,” he said. Despite the sour taste the experience left in his mouth,Thomas said he had no regrets because it gave him renewed drive to do the right thing as he sees it, and to sometimes work around the rules to get the right thing done. Thomas, who hopes to graduate this spring, said community work will be part of his career path, wherever it takes him. “I don’t see myself picking a career and sticking to one thing all my life but switching around, following one line for a few years, then another,” he said. Check out Dexter Thomas’ radio show at www.kucr.org.