Opinionated? Good. UCR`s Future Campus Needs You

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
News for Faculty and Staff of the
University of California, Riverside
February 11, 2015
Opinionated? Good.
UCR’s Future
Campus Needs You
UCR to hold two Visioning
Workshops on the future of the
campus
The view of the center of campus from the bell tower. PHOTO BY CARLOS PUMA
By Kris Lovekin
Do you have a favorite building, or a pathway on campus? Do you cringe when you see a building with its loading dock in the place where the front door should be?
If so, you are the perfect person to help UCR create a vision for how the campus will meet the needs of the
future.
On Tuesday, Feb. 24, UCR will host two workshops about future campus physical planning. The events,
“UCR Future Campus Visioning Workshops,” are being held both on- and off-campus, and are open to students, faculty, staff and members of the local community.
“These workshops give everyone a chance to make your voice heard on a wide variety of issues - including
architecture, design, open spaces, sustainability, traffic, transportation, parking, signage, amenities, landscaping, safety, way-finding, walkability, and much more,” said Maria Anguiano, vice chancellor for planning and
budget.
“Each member of the campus community has a unique experience of the buildings and spaces that we use
and through which we move every day, said Rob Gayle, campus architect. “Sharing that experience — what
works and what doesn’t — will help create the places and spaces that will shape UCR’s future.”
The workshops are part of an on-going Physical Master Plan Study to guide responsible and sustainable
campus development to the year 2025 and beyond.
The study will be used to assist campus leadership in meeting the key goals of the university’s strategic plan,
UCR 2020: The Path to Preeminence. While the study is underway over the course of 2015, UCR will continue
to advance priority projects, in accordance with the UCR long-range development plan of 2005, with amendments, as necessary, and subject to any required public review.
UCR is committed to soliciting input from the public as well as local and state government entities and private concerns during the process. For more information, please visit: http://[email protected]
Here are details on the Future Campus Visioning Workshops and how to register:
Campus Workshop #1
Tuesday, Feb. 24
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (doors open at 12:15)
Winston Chung Hall 205/206
Lunch and free three-hour parking in Lot 6 included for those who register at www.planning.ucr.edu
For more information contact [email protected] or call (951) 827-2433.
Community Workshop #1
Tuesday, Feb. 24
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
University Extension, Rooms A & B
1200 University Ave., Riverside
Dinner and free three-hour parking in Lot 50 included for those who register at www.planning.ucr.edu.
For more information contact [email protected] or call (951) 827-2433.
UCR’s CAFÉ Launch Features Two Esteemed Food Writers
David Karp and Gustavo Arellano lectured on Tejocote and the history of tacos in California as part of the
California Agriculture and Food Enterprise launch
By Lilledeshan Bose
On Wednesday, Jan. 28, UCR officially launched the California Agriculture and Food Enterprise (CAFÉ) by
way of a lecture hosted by the Global Food Initiative and the Global Studies program.
Over lunch, writers Gustavo Arellano (editor-in-chief of OC Weekly and author of “Taco USA”) and David Karp (freelance food writer for Los Angeles Times and UCR associate) regaled faculty members, staff and
students at the Alumni and Visitor Center with lectures on food and its intersections with culture, history and
science.
David Karp spoke about Tejocote, a rare Mexican fruit that California farms just recently started growing and distributing. Gustavo Arellano spoke about Southern California’s food, its histories, and why retelling
these stories are important in understanding our culture.
The talks illustrated CAFÉ’s relevance at UCR. Led by Professor of Genetics Norman Ellstrand, CAFÉ is an
institute that will act as an umbrella for UCR research and other activities associated with food and agriculture
in the broadest sense. Building on UCR’s agricultural history, CAFÉ was created to unify a large, interdisciplinary group of faculty, centers, facilities, and activities related to agriculture and address UCR’s strategic priority
Genomics to Harvest as outlined in the campus’ Strategic Plan. The vision for CAFÉ is to positively impact the
science, policies and practices related to agriculture and its impact on humankind.
Ellstrand says its membership is very diverse: “We have researchers studying everything from the psychology of gardening to the interaction of diet and health to crop improvement during environmental challenges.”
For example, CNAS faculty and Cooperative Extension specialists will be able to join forces with other faculty members who work on issues relevant to agriculture (e.g., climate change, economics of small farms, water
use). CAFÉ will be able to provide new opportunities for funding, corporate sponsorship, technology transfer
and development.
CAFÉ’s partnership with UC Global Food Initiative will also be integral to UCR’s outreach efforts, particularly in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). CAFÉ’s future activities also include cohosting the CNAS Science Public Lecture series.
Presently, there are almost 90 CAFÉ members from all over campus. Members include Susan Ossman, a
professor of anthropology whose work delves into globalization; and Sharon Walker, professor of chemical and
environmental engineering, whose research on aquatic systems intersects with water potability.
CAFÉ membership is currently open to UCR scholars, staff, and graduate students who are engaged in research on agriculture or food, Ellstrand says. “Membership in CAFÉ requires that an individual must be willing
to work — if called upon — on one of CAFÉ’s projects.”
The Path to Organizational Excellence
A series of workshops on organizational excellence seeks to define, execute and fulfill UCR’s promise
By Kris Lovekin
Maria Anguiano, vice chancellor of planning and budget, and Ron T. Coley, vice chancellor of business and
administrative services, are hosting the UCR Committee on Organizational Excellence.
Four interactive presentations will be provided, with a focus on seeking ways to improve UCR’s campus
operations and procedures. The format for each event will include a presentation by a guest speaker (about 60
minutes), a Q & A (about 30 minutes), and a workshop (about 75 minutes).
In the campus invitation, the two said, “We are a university of great promise, and together we can continue
to make UCR an institution of distinction.”
R.S.V.P. for all the following events via: bit.ly/ucr-fulfill or (951) 827-6030.
“Lean Process at the University of Washington” by Mark McKenzie
Monday, Feb. 23, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
HUB 302
“Operational Excellence at UC Berkeley” by Peggy Huston
Wednesday, March 25, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
HUB 302
“Implementation & Standardization of HR Systems/Processes” by Omar Reid, City of Houston
Tuesday, April 14, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
HUB 302
“Project Management Office at UC San Francisco” by Mara Fellouris
Monday, May 11, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
HUB 302
This speaker series is free and open to all UCR faculty, staff, and students.
Doubling Down on American Idol
Two Highlanders are competing on the nationally televised reality show “American Idol”
By Kris Lovekin
Viewers of “American Idol” on Fox Thursday, Jan. 29, saw not one, but two members of the UC Riverside community. And both made it through to the next round.
First, 18-year-old UC Riverside freshman Adanna Duru sang a cover of Lady Gaga’s “You and I” to great
praise from the judges.
A little later, Rocky Peter Ajoku, a 2013 UC Riverside graduate, sang his own composition: “Wrong Places,”
and he was also given a golden ticket to allow him through to the next round.
Ajoku, who earned a degree in biological sciences in 2013, is featured on the show’s billboards around the
country with the golden ticket in his hand.
He has a dramatic story of hardship to tell, spending some
of his childhood fending for himself and his brother in Nigeria.
He was born in the U.S. but his parents split when he was just
two and his mother took her children back to her homeland.
He made his way back to the states and found himself in Fontana, but still did not have many resources. He worked hard at
a community college and transferred into UCR, working in a
lab during his time in school.
He remembers his time at UCR fondly. “UCR is more than
a school. It is a family full of people who share a common goal
of love and service to our community,” he said. With his community service group Legends, Ajoku volunteered by cleaning
local streets around campus every weekend and offering free tutoring programs in local high schools every
week day. “If I had to choose a university to attend all over again, UCR will always be my number one choice,”
he added.
Ajoku created a lot of music on campus, in acoustically pleasing stairwells, at night by the bell tower, and
even at a local donut shop. He also entertained at school events, such as freshman orientation.
Duru told a story about how her mother pushed her to sing from an early age. She was on “The Voice” at the
age of 15 and she has tried out for other reality shows as well, including “America’s Got Talent.”
About 70 people gathered in East Lothian, a UCR residence hall, to watch the show Thursday night.
After her audition, Lady Gaga tweeted at Duru:
Just watched @adannaduru sing “You and I” for her American Idol audition! https://m.youtube.com/
watch?v=DzrSr5QJHSg … GO GIRL GET THAT AUDTION, work that song!
UC Plans to Require Vaccinations for Incoming Students
By Alec Rosenberg, UCOP
The University of California will require incoming students to be screened for tuberculosis and vaccinated for
measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, meningococcus, tetanus and whooping cough, under a plan set to take
effect in 2017.
Currently, the UC system only requires students to be vaccinated against hepatitis B, though several campuses have additional requirements.
The plan — designed to help protect the health of students and campus communities — has been in the
works for a year. But the need is more pressing than ever, given the current multistate measles outbreak and
the re-emergence of other vaccine-preventable diseases among those not completely immunized.
“I’m really excited that there’s support and momentum for this new immunization plan,” said Dr. Gina
Fleming, medical director for the UC Student Health Insurance Plan. “We know that these preventive measures
are effective.”
Three-year phase-in
The plan is being phased in over three years. The first phase focuses on building awareness among students
about the upcoming requirement, with all fall 2015 incoming UC students receiving notification of the recommended vaccines and the process for making them mandatory. The intent of the plan is to set a baseline for
all of UC, but does not prevent individual campuses from setting immunization standards for all students, or
implementing the plan more rapidly.
It was developed based on recommendations from the California Department of Public Health, and in
consultation with UC’s student health center directors, vice chancellors for student affairs and the UC system
senior vice president for health sciences and services.
It will require that by 2017 all incoming students show documentation not only for hepatitis B vaccination but also for TB screening and four more vaccines: measles, mumps and rubella; meningococcus; varicella
(chicken pox); and tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough).
“The University of California is committed to protecting the health and well-being of our students,” said
Mary Knudtson, executive director of the UC Santa Cruz Student Health Center and chair of the UC Immunization Policy Committee. “Therefore, all of the UC campuses are implementing procedures to ensure that
students are educated about, and receive, vaccinations to prevent potentially dangerous illnesses and undergo
screening to identify those who may have infectious tuberculosis.”
Starting in fall 2016, all incoming UC students will be expected to have their required vaccines and enter
the data into the university’s electronic medical record platform. But the plan is not to enforce the requirement
until the following year. Starting in fall 2017, UC students who do not meet the vaccination requirement will
have a hold put on their registration. The rationale for the phased approach is to ensure that the process runs
smoothly before potentially impacting students’ ability to register for classes.
All UC campuses have experienced cases of vaccine-preventable diseases in recent years — something not
unique among college campuses, which have varying vaccination requirements. For example, only about half of
states have laws requiring all college students to be vaccinated against measles, according to a U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention database.
“Despite the fact that many people receive the recommended vaccines, there are still documented cases
of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in California and on the campuses each year amongst those who
were not properly immunized,” Knudtson said. “All students are strongly encouraged to obtain the vaccines
recommended by the California Department of Public Health prior to starting classes.”
Breaking down barriers
While getting such vaccines has long been considered a good public health practice, the cost of vaccines and
the difficulty for student health staff to obtain and verify the information have been barriers to implementation.
Two developments have broken down those barriers, Fleming said. Now that the Affordable Care Act provides insurance coverage for vaccines, the cost of vaccination is less of a problem. Also, a new electronic medical record platform soon will allow UC students to directly enter their vaccination date. Four campuses will be
piloting the module for entering vaccination data this fall, and the remaining campuses anticipate being able to
use it by fall 2016.
The issue of immunization has evolved into a hot topic of discussion in California and across the nation in
recent weeks after a measles outbreak that started at Disneyland. On Wednesday, state Senators Richard Pan
and Ben Allen announced they will introduce legislation that would eliminate the ability for parents of school
children to opt out of vaccinating their kids based on a personal belief.
UC’s plan will allow exemptions for medical or religious purposes, Fleming said. In the coming months,
officials will discuss how to handle requests for other exemptions and how to validate the vaccination information.
“We need to be mindful of the population we’re serving,” Fleming said.
UC’s plan might be extended to already enrolled students and additional vaccines could be added later, such
as meningococcus B, Fleming said. Vaccines recommended for preventive care include vaccines for hepatitis A,
HPV, influenza, polio and pneumococcal pneumonia.
Officials are determining whether additional approvals are needed to adopt the plan, Fleming said, even as
they move forward with implementation.
Meanwhile, leadership in student affairs and student health centers are working with other campus departments to inform students about the plan.
“We will be spending this time educating our students about the importance of getting vaccinated,” said
Cindy Wong, director of UCR’s Student Health Center.
College of Arts and Sciences Will Not Be Pursued
Provost D’Anieri says poll of the Academic Senate convinced him there is not enough support for the idea
by Kris Lovekin
UCR Provost Paul D’Anieri said that a poll of the UCR Academic Senate has convinced him that there is not
enough support to collapse two of UCR’s large colleges into one College of Arts and Sciences.
“We will bring our discussion of that plan to a close and redirect our energy into other initiatives that will
strengthen UCR, such as our faculty hiring plan,” D’Anieri said in a notice to staff and faculty.
He said there is is considerable support for the underlying goal of making sure the people with the most
direct contact with the students and the faculty are also deciding how many class sections to open in any particular discipline.
D’Anieri said that soon he will launch searches for new deans for both the College of Humanities, Arts and
Social Sciences, as well as the College of Natural land Agricultural Sciences. CHASS Dean Steve Cullenberg
resigned last fall, and CNAS Dean Marylynn Yates will serve until the summer.
UC Riverside to Host Annual Noche Cultural
UCR’s Chicano Student Programs will host family-friendly evening of music and dance
By Kris Lovekin
La Santa Cecilia, winners of the 2014 Grammy for “Best Latin Rock Album,” will be featured at the 21st Annual
Noche Cultural at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, at the University Theatre.
This is an evening of variety entertainment geared to the entire family, presented by Chicano Student Programs, UCR Cultural Events and the Associated Students Programming Board. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. General admission is $10. Due to limited seating, advance ticket purchase is recommended.
La Santa Cecilia is a Los Angeles-based group that exemplifies the modern-day creative hybrid of Latin
culture, rock and world music. They use rhythms like cumbia, bossa nova, rumba, bolero, tango, jazz, rock and
klezmer music.
Also performing: Raices Peruanas, a nonprofit group of musicians and dancers seeking to disseminate and
preserve the cultural traditions of Peru. The group was founded in Los Angeles in 1989.
The award-winning Ballet Folklorico de Moreno Valley High School, led by Elva Negrete, will make another
appearance this year, performing traditional dances from the various regions of Mexico, ranging from Jalisco to
Veracruz. In 2013, the group won first place at the Quinto Concurso de Danza competition, competing against
40 groups. The same year the group won the National Folklorico USA Competition.
Making their 21st appearance at Noche Cultural will be Los Romero. This local family brings their special
renditions of romantic ballads to the stage. “They are a staple of the event, and it would not be the same without them,” said Estella Acuna, director of the Chicano Student Programs office. “Their presence represents a
rich history of music sharing and storytelling,” she said.
Tickets can be purchased through the Fine Arts Box Office by phone call (951)-827-4403 in person tickets
are available at the University Theatre Box Office window from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
For additional information contact Chicano Student Programs at (951) 827-3821.
Health Provider Anthem Experiences Cyber Attack
Important information for current and former Anthem members
On Feb. 6, Anthem notified UC of a phishing scam related to the cyber attack. The phishing scam, which uses
Anthem’s logo, includes an offer to sign up for a year of credit card protection. If you receive this or a similar
email, do not respond to or click on any links. Anthem is not calling or emailing members.
Frequently asked questions about Anthem cyber attack
Anthem, Inc. disclosed on Feb. 5 that the health insurer was the target of a very sophisticated external cyber
attack and that data for its 80 million members was accessed. This potentially includes information about UC
students, faculty, staff and retirees, as well as their dependents.
Anthem provided services for UC SHIP at all campuses from August 2011 through July 2013. From 2003
until Jan. 1, 2014, Anthem provided health insurance to certain UC employees and retirees and their dependents.
According to Anthem, the information accessed through the attack includes member names, member health
ID numbers/Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, and employment information such as the UC campus or medical center location and the separation date.
Anthem has created a dedicated website where current and former Anthem members can find information.
Members may also call 1-877-263-7995.
UC is in communications with Anthem to understand the effect of this data breach on current and former
Anthem members. Here is a summary of information Anthem has provided:
Anthem’s investigation to date shows that no confidential health information (e.g., no claims information,
no diagnosis) was accessed.
Anthem has advised UC that there is no indication at this time that any employees’, retirees’ or students’
personal information has been misused.
Anthem will enroll members affected by the attack in identity repair services. In addition, impacted mem-
bers will be provided information on how to enroll in free credit monitoring. Anthem will notify affected members only by mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service.
Once the attack was discovered, Anthem immediately made every effort to close the security vulnerability,
contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and began fully cooperating with its investigation. Anthem
has also retained Mandiant, one of the world’s leading cybersecurity firms, to provide incident response and
security assessment services.
CIO Jagdeep Bachher on Investing Wisely at UC, Hedge Funds and Collaboration
By Anne Wolf, UC Office of the President
Jagdeep Singh Bachher joined the University of California as chief investment fficer of the Regents on April
1, 2014. He is responsible for managing the UC pension, endowment, short-term and total-return investment
pools. Before joining UC, Bachher was deputy chief investment officer and chief operating officer for Alberta
Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo), one of Canada’s largest investment fund managers. He has been a
champion for change in the investment business and gained an international reputation as an innovator.
Born and raised in Africa (Nigeria), Bachher moved to Waterloo, Ontario (Canada), to study engineering at the
University of Waterloo. In addition to a B.S. in mechanical engineering, he earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in management sciences, also at University of Waterloo.
What are the challenges and opportunities regarding investing UCRP funds, in particular?
Our UCRP funds are invested 55 percent in publicly traded stocks, 22 percent in bonds and 23 percent in alternatives, that is real estate, hedge funds and private equities. In the past five years, stocks are up almost 200
percent. That can’t last forever, so it’s likely their returns will be lower in the future. We need to make sure our
asset allocation is prepared for a lower return environment, while at the same time remembering that lower
returns also present opportunities. We’ve increased our cash in order to have the flexibility to take advantage of
opportunities.
Last fall the Regents approved UC Ventures, an independent venture capital fund. What do you see as potential benefits from UC Ventures?
UC Ventures aims to pursue investments in UC research-fueled enterprises. Our goal is to capture the economic value UC is creating through its pioneering research while carefully managing potential risk exposures. Let’s
invest where we have a competitive advantage.
The Regents approved UC Ventures last September, but it won’t be up and running until mid-2015. We’re currently developing the business plan, which we’ll share with all stakeholders before a dollar is invested.
For the past several years, there have been questions about the CIO’s use of external managers to manage
UC’s investments. What is your thinking about external managers?
We actively use external managers for equities and alternatives and even in a few cases for fixed income. I think
we’ve been more diversified than we need to be. When I joined on April 1, 2014, we had around 70 external
managers in our public equities portfolio. This amounts to holding around 5,000 individual stocks. You end up
getting exposure to the passive indexes at the costs of active management. So it’s time to simplify. We need to
evaluate whether our assumptions are still working. As we’ve done this in the past few months, our goal is to
maximize return per unit of risk and manage costs. As a result, we’ve reduced the number of external managers
from 70 to about 40 in public equities, as an example.
CalPERS recently said it would no longer invest in hedge funds. What is UC’s position?
Hedge funds should deliver superior risk-adjusted returns that add diversification to the portfolio, making
them an appropriate strategy for investors, like UC, that invest for the long-term. Our hedge funds produced a
14.3 percent gain in the year ended June 30, 2014, well above our benchmark.
When you’re not managing investments, what do you do with your time?
I have two young children, 1 l/2 and 7, so I mostly hang out and play with them, and just generally try to be a
good dad. I just went to Disneyland for the first time.
I’ve been visiting all the campuses. I call it “back-to-school days.” That has been a lot of fun. I’ve been meeting with faculty and staff and learning about what is going on across the UC. I think our world-class faculty is a
competitive advantage for us. As an investor, learning from experts teaches us where the opportunities might
lie ahead of us.
I also like to read. I think reading is important because I need time to think.
What motivates you?
I am passionate about investing. And investing for the university is a great way to make a difference and help
retirees, students and UC.
Anne Wolf is a content strategist in Internal Communications at the Office of the President.
Rivera Conference to Address Latino Health
UC Riverside hosts 27th annual event honoring the legacy of poet and former Chancellor Tomás Rivera
By Bettye Miller
Artists, scholars, activists, and health professionals will address Latino health at the 27th annual Tomás Rivera
Conference at UCR on Friday, Feb. 20.
The conference theme, “Communidad y Salud/Community and Wellness: Latinas/os, Medicine and the
New Health Humanities,’’ embraces a variety of topics, including physicians on the frontlines, mental health diagnosis and treatment, elder and hospice care, addiction and recovery, health advocacy through music, storytelling and community wellness, and building personal and communal fiscal health. The program will include a
screening of the award-winning documentary “CODE BLACK,” a 2014 film told from a physician’s perspective
about the Los Angeles County Hospital emergency medicine department, one of America’s busiest trauma centers. Luis Enriquez, R.N., a featured subject in the film, will join Dr. Paul Lyons of the UCR School of Medicine
for discussion.
Additional presenters include Martha Gonzalez and Quetzal Flores of the Grammy Award-winning group
Quetzal; Sandra and Ruben Islas of the Islas Foundation; UCR anthropologist Juliet McMullin, associate director for community engagement with the Center for Healthy Communities; and cultural workers Luis Alfaro,
Sara Guerrero, Raquel Salinas, Elizabeth Szekeresh and Moisés Vázquez on the role of the arts in health advocacy. The conference will begin with a performance by the Segundo Jueves Latina/o Play Project, followed by
Assembly Member Jose Medina (D-Riverside) honoring the legacy of Tomás Rivera. The day will conclude with
UCR School of Medicine students and members of the medical community publicly reaffirming the Hippocratic
Oath.
Rivera Conference events begin at 10:30 a.m. and continue until 5 p.m. in Highlander Union Building 302.
All events are free and open to the public, but confirmed registration is required by the morning of the conference to reserve lunch and participation in Master Class Workshops. Space in the workshops is limited. Tickets
will be distributed at the on-site registration desk.
Early reservations are highly recommended at tomasriveraconference.ucr.edu or in person at 10:30 a.m. on
Feb. 20 in HUB 302.
On Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. there will be a special pre-conference community event at the Barbara and
Art Culver Center of the Arts, located in the 3800 block of Main Street in downtown Riverside. Playwright and
performer Luis Alfaro, recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship (known colloquially as the “genius grant”), will
present his solo play “St. Jude.” Alfaro wrote the play about caring for his father after heart surgery and the
ensuing lessons of health and healing.
“Tomás Rivera coined the term civic morality to describe the responsibility the university has to lead conversations about key issues that directly impact the Latina/o community,” said Tiffany Ana López, a professor
of theater, holder of the Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences,
and the conference organizer. “Health, medicine, and wellness remain central and are what many consider
matters of civil rights.
“This year’s Rivera Conference theme is incredibly important and timely given the commencement of UCR’s
School of Medicine and UCR’s recent award of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to innovate
new programming in health humanities. Our goal is to stage a conversation that will connect many different
voices to better understand the work we are doing at the university and in the community to navigate challenges in the areas of health, wellness and medicine and better our work as change agents.“
López teaches in the UCR Department of Theatre, Film and Digital Production. She is the recipient of grants
from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation; she
is also a Fulbright Scholar. She has collaborated with theaters such as The Mark Taper Forum, Company of
Angels, and Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble, and is a member of the advisory board for the National
Latina/o Theater Commons, a founding member of the Latina/o Theater Alliance of Los Angeles, and resident
scholar for the Los Angeles Theatre Center. She also directs the “Segundo Jueves” (“Second Thursday”) staged
reading series of Latina/o plays at the Barbara and Art Culver Center for the Arts in Downtown Riverside.
The annual Tomás Rivera Conference honors the legacy of Rivera, who was UCR’s chancellor from 1979
until his death after a heart attack in 1984. Rivera was the first Hispanic and first minority chancellor in the UC
system. He also was an award-winning writer of poems, short stories and literary essays.
Supporters of the conference include the Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Dean’s Office, School of Medicine, Center for Healthy Communities, Culver Center, Chicano Student Programs, Department of Theatre, Film and Digital Production, Printing and Reprographics, the Tomás Rivera Endowment, and Concha Rivera, widow of the late chancellor.
Schedule of Events
10:30 a.m.: Registration, check-in and coffee. Public space performance by Segundo Jueves Ensemble.
Segundo Jueves is a monthly Latina/o play reading series at the Culver Center created, directed and produced
by López.
11 a.m.: Honoring Tomas Rivera – Assembly Member Jose Medina (D-Riverside) and Tiffany Ana López,
conference director
11:15 a.m.: Musical Performance, Martha Gonzalez and Quetzal Flores with Quetzal. Plenary lunch (ticket
with confirmed registration)
12:15 p.m.: Welcome by UCR Provost Paul D’Anieri
12:30 – 1:15 p.m.: Keynote Plenary – Presentations by featured Master Class Workshop leaders and respondents
1:15– 1:30 p.m.: Move to Master Class Workshop spaces
1:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.: Master Class Workshops
•
Screening of Documentary Film “CODE BLACK,” talk-back with Luis Enriquez, R.N. Enriquez is a 27year veteran emergency trauma nurse at L.A. County/USC Trauma Center. The talk-back facilitator is
Paul Lyons, senior associate dean for education at the UCR School of Medicine.
•
Elder and Hospice Care, Luis Alfaro. This workshop explores the complexities of elder care, including
the ways it can unearth physical and emotional traumas, and looks at the empowering ways performance facilitates the processing of loss and building of community. Alfaro is the only playwright to have
received two Kennedy Center Fund for New American Play awards in the same year. He is an assistant
professor at the University of Southern California in the M.F.A. Dramatic Writing Program.
•
Health Advocacy through Music, Martha Gonzalez and Quetzal Flores. A collaborative songwriting
workshop by Grammy Award-winning musicians and art activists focused on the role of music in health
advocacy and fostering personal and communal wellness. Gonzalez is the recipient of a Fulbright Garcia-Robles fellowship for her research on transnational musical social movements across the Americas
and Europe, and is a Ford Dissertation Fellow. Her academic interests in music have been fueled by her
musicianship as a singer and percussionist for East L.A.’s Quetzal. Quetzal Flores is the founder of the
band Quetzal, which won both a Grammy and a Latin Grammy for its 2012 album “Imaginaries.” The
relevance of Quetzal’s work has been noted in a range of publications from dissertations to scholarly.
•
Latino Health Access and Community Theater, Moisés Vázquez and Sara Guerrero. This workshop uses
the recent Diálogos project of Santa Ana to look at the ways theater provides a form of outreach to improve knowledge about health crises and health care. Vázquez is a community health worker for Latino
Health Access, a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 to improve public health and awareness in a
community of uninsured and under-served families. He is the liaison for the Dialogue/Diálogos project
between South Coast Repertory and its partner organization LHA. Guerrero is the founding artistic
director of the award-winning Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble based in Santa Ana. She is on
the artistic staff and theatre conservatory of South Coast Repertory, where she is also the engagement
director heading South Coast Repertory’s Dialogue/Diálogos
•
Addiction and Recovery, Raquel Salinas. This workshop focuses on breaking silences and healing wounds left behind by addiction by utilizing creativity as a tool to explore different levels of healing and as
a means to help maintain sobriety. Salinas has been performing as a solo artist since 1993. One of her
latest performance pieces, “Mami, Mami Quien Soy? You know who you are,” is about the challenges
and revelations found in caring for a loved one who’s living with dementia.
•
Mental Health Diagnosis and Treatment, Elizabeth Isela Szekeresh. This workshop shares about the
journey to obtain mental health diagnosis and treatment in the public health care system. Szekeresh is
the managing director and founding member of Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble based in Santa
Ana, and is a co-founding member of Slip of the Tongue performance group. Her work is published in
Chicana/Latina Studies: Journal of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social.
•
Storytelling and Community Wellness, Juliet McMullin. This workshop focuses on the role of comics
as a narrative form that powerfully visualizes individual and shared moments of illness. McMullin is an
associate professor in the UCR Department of Anthropology and associate director for community engagement in the Center for Healthy Communities at the UCR School of Medicine. She and Tiffany Ana
López and Dr. Paul Lyons were recently awarded an NEH Humanities Initiatives grant to build a medical humanities program at UCR.
•
Building Communal and Fiscal Health, Sandra and Reuben Islas. This workshop by philanthropists and
founders of the Islas Foundation expands the definition of health to encompass finances as well as body
and mind. Sandra Islas is the founder of LPAN: Latino Producers Action Network, a nonprofit dedicated
to the development, production, promotion, preservation, and distribution of Latino/Chicano theatre,
art, and film.
3:30 – 4:45 p.m.: Closing roundtable. Presenters and participants reconvene with these respondents:
•
Angie Chabram-Dernersesian, a founding scholar of Chicana critical studies and professor of Chicana
and Chicano Studies at UC Davis
•
Michelle Habell-Pallan, a professor in Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies and adjunct in the School of
Music and Communication at University of Washington
•
Luis Leon, an associate professor of religious studies at University of Denver
4:45 – 5 p.m.: Reaffirmation of the Hippocratic Oath. Students of the UCR School of Medicine and members of the medical community.
Scientists Reprogram Plants for Drought Tolerance
UC Riverside-led research in synthetic biology provides a strategy that has reprogrammed plants to consume
less water after they are exposed to an agrochemical, opening new doors for crop improvement
By Iqbal Pittalwala
Crops and other plants are constantly faced with adverse environmental conditions, such as rising temperatures (2014 was the warmest year on record) and lessening fresh water supplies, which lower yield and cost
farmers billions of dollars annually.
Drought is a major environmental stress factor affecting plant growth and development. When plants
encounter drought, they naturally produce abscisic acid (ABA), a stress hormone that inhibits plant growth
and reduces water consumption. Specifically, the hormone turns on a receptor (special protein) in plants when
it binds to the receptor like a hand fitting into a glove, resulting in beneficial changes – such as the closing of
guard cells on leaves, called stomata, to reduce water loss – that help the plants survive.
While it is true that crops could be sprayed with ABA to assist their survival during drought, ABA is costly
to make, rapidly inactivated inside plant cells and light-sensitive, and has therefore failed to find much direct
use in agriculture. Several research groups are working to develop synthetic ABA mimics to modulate drought
tolerance, but once discovered these mimics are expected to face lengthy and costly development processes.
The agrochemical mandipropamid, however, is already widely used in agricultural production to control
late blight of fruit and vegetable crops. Could drought-threatened crops be engineered to respond to mandipropamid as if it were ABA, and thus enhance their survival during drought?
Yes, according to a team of scientists, led by Sean Cutler at UCR.
The researchers worked with Arabidopsis, a model plant used widely in plant biology labs, and the tomato
plant. In the lab, they used synthetic biological methods to develop a new version of these plants’ abscisic acid
receptors, engineered to be activated by mandipropamid instead of ABA. The researchers showed that when
the reprogrammed plants were sprayed with mandipropamid, the plants effectively survived drought conditions by turning on the abscisic acid pathway, which closed the stomata on their leaves to prevent water loss.
The finding illustrates the power of synthetic biological approaches for manipulating crops and opens new
doors for crop improvement that could benefit a growing world population.
“We successfully repurposed an agrochemical for a new application by genetically engineering a plant
receptor – something that has not been done before,” said Cutler, an associate professor of botany and plant
sciences. “We anticipate that this strategy of reprogramming plant responses using synthetic biology will allow
other agrochemicals to control other useful traits – such as disease resistance or growth rates, for example.”
Study results appear online Feb. 4 in Nature.
Cutler explained that discovering a new chemical and then having it evaluated and approved for use is an
extremely involved and expensive process that can take years.
“We have, in effect, circumvented this hurdle using synthetic biology – in essence, we took something that
already works in the real world and reprogrammed the plant so that the chemical could control water use,” he
said.
Protein engineering is a method that enables the systematic construction of many protein variants; it also
tests them for new properties. Cutler and his co-workers used protein engineering to create modified plant
receptors into which mandipropamid could fit and potently cause receptor activation. The engineered receptor
was introduced into Arabidopsis and tomato plants, which then responded to mandipropamid as if they were
being treated by ABA. In the absence of mandipropamid, these plants showed minimal difference from plants
that did not possess the engineered protein.
Cutler was joined in the research by Sang-Youl Park, Assaf Mosquna and Jin Yao at UCR; and Francis C.
Peterson and Brian F. Volkman at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
UCR’s Office of Technology Commercialization has filed a patent application on the technology described in
the research paper.
The research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation and Syngenta. Mandipropamid,
used on a wide range of fruit and vegetable crops for control of various fungal pathogens, is manufactured by
Syngenta under the brand name Revus®. Revus® is a registered trademark of a Syngenta Group Company.
Let There Be Light
In free talk at UC Riverside on Feb. 12, observational astronomer Bahram Mobasher will take the public on
an intellectual journey to the depth of space and beginning of time
By Iqbal Pittalwala
How did the universe start? What is its future? What is its content? Is the universe open or closed? Something
else? And what exactly are dark matter and dark energy, and just how do they fit in?
Bahram Mobasher, a professor of physics and astronomy, will address these questions in a free public talk
he will give on campus at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 12.
Titled “Let There Be Light: The History of the Universe from the First Billion Years to the Present,” the talk
will take place in Rooms 205-206, Winston Chung Hall. A telescope observation will follow the talk.
Mobasher’s approximately hour-long talk will cover 13.8 billion years – the age of the universe. He will discuss the universe’s beginning, its evolution, the formation of galaxies, stars and planets, as well as the history of
life and how humans came to be.
“Recent advances in astronomy have made it possible to find answers to the most fundamental questions
that mankind has pondered over the last many centuries,” Mobasher said. “In this talk I will introduce the public to the latest discoveries in modern astronomy, which have fundamentally changed our view of the heavens.”
Mobasher researches the formation and evolution of galaxies using galaxy surveys obtained with groundbased telescopes and space facilities. Using observational data and stellar synthesis models, he studies the
properties of galaxies as a function of star formation rate, morphology, environment, color, luminosity and
redshift.
His talk is the fourth in a series of astronomy talks being held at UCR.
Discussion at Young Oak Kim Center on Korean-American Memory Archives
YOK Center lecture series includes visual artist discussing “comfort women” public art project
By Bettye Miller
The Young Oak Kim Center for Korean American Studies presents a series of events in February at UCR.
On Wednesday, Feb. 18, scholars, artists, activists and youth will gather in CHASS Interdisciplinary 3154
for a roundtable discussion, “The Making(s) of Memory Archives: Korean/Americans and Oral History Praxis.”
Focusing on the everyday lives of Korean Americans after the Korean War, participants will discuss the role of
oral history in tracking the life experiences of those whose voices are not part of historical and official narratives; how oral history can foster conversations across generations and forge links among scholars, activists and
artists; and how teachers might integrate oral history into their classrooms while contributing to the production of an accessible public archive.
Roundtable discussants are: Ramsay Liem, professor of psychology emeritus at Boston University and director of the multimedia exhibit “Still Present Pasts: Korean Americans and the ‘Forgotten War’”; Christine Hong,
assistant professor of literature at UC Santa Cruz and director of the Legacies of the Korean War online archive;
Sukjong Hong, a community activist, artist, writer, and member of the New York-based Asian American Oral
History Collective; and youth from the K.W. Lee Center for Leadership in Los Angeles.
Chang-Jin Lee, a Korean-born visual artist who lives in New York City, will discuss her project “Comfort
Women Wanted” on Thursday, Feb. 26, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in CHASS Interdisciplinary 1128. “Comfort Women
Wanted” uses public art billboards, kiosk posters, prints, and multichannel video installations to relate the
forgotten history of some 200,000 sex slaves or “comfort women” who were raped by soldiers in the Imperial
Japanese Army at military camps known as “comfort stations” during World War II.
The project, begun in 2007, has taken her to seven countries in Asia to interview Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese,
Indonesian, Filipino, and Dutch “comfort women” survivors, and a former Japanese soldier.
The YOK Center opened at UC Riverside in September 2010. It is dedicated to understanding what it means
to be a Korean American in the 21st century, the history of Korean Americans, the Korean diaspora in the United
States and globally, and the role of Korean Americans in the reunification of South and North Korea.
Affordable Housing Shortage Examined
Feb. 18 Randall Lewis Seminar will explore causes, policy solutions
By Bettye Miller
California faces a critical shortage of affordable housing, and nowhere is that problem more severe than in the Inland Empire. The need for more affordable housing in the region, and possible policy solutions, will be discussed
in a seminar presented Wednesday, Feb. 18, by the UC Riverside Center for Sustainable Suburban Development.
“Affordable Housing: A Shortage Crisis,” part of the center’s on-going Randall Lewis Seminar Series, will be
held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at UCR’s College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology, 1084 Columbia Ave. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required as seating is
limited. RSVP online or by calling (951) 827-7830.
“Affordability of housing is one of the most critical issues facing this region,” said Ron Loveridge, a UCR
political science professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Suburban Development. “Southern California hosts the highest housing costs in the country. The future of Inland Southern California will be importantly
tied to the cost of housing. Who lives here? Who stays here? Why are housing costs here so high, particularly in
comparison with most other regions of the country? And perhaps more importantly, what changes are possible,
and how do they happen? ”
Drawing from a special report – “America’s Emerging Housing Crisis,” published by nonprofit affordable
housing developer National Community Renaissance – seminar moderator Steve PonTell will frame the issue and
present seven policy solutions offered by report authors Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox.
San Bernardino County Supervisor Janice Rutherford and former Riverside city planning director Ken Gutierrez will respond to reforms proposed by the report to reduce the cost of housing, including: Land regulation
reform, impact fees reform and reduction, establishment of special housing districts, re-use of vacant commercial
and industrial space, development of government land where appropriate, re-ordering local planning and zoning
priorities, and meeting environmental goals by considering the changing nature of work and the new possibilities
suggested by technological innovation.
In “America’s Emerging Housing Crisis,” Kotkin and Cox note that California has the highest poverty rate in
the nation (when adjusted for the cost of housing), largely due to housing prices. On a percentage basis, four of
California’s major metropolitan areas are in the nation’s top 10 in households with more than one family sharing
a housing unit, they wrote. The top two are Riverside-San Bernardino and Los Angeles.
“The groups most likely to be hurt by the shortfall in housing include young families, the poor and renters,”
Kotkin and Cox wrote. “These groups include a disproportionate share of minorities, who are more likely to have
lower incomes than the population in general. This situation is particularly dire in those parts of the country,
such as California, that have imposed strong restrictions on home construction. California’s elaborate regulatory
framework and high fees imposed on both single- and multifamily housing have made much of the state prohibitively expensive. Not surprisingly, the state leads the nation in people who spend above 30 percent, as well as
above 50 percent, of their income on rent.”
Steve PonTell is president and chief executive officer of National Community Renaissance (National CORE),
one of the nation’s largest nonprofit developers of affordable and senior housing. Before joining CORE, PonTell
earned national recognition for his work in community development and designing innovative workplace environments. He also served as California director for the Center for the New West, a think tank founded in 1989.
He also has served as CEO of the Inland Empire Economic Council, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the
Big Bear Chamber of Commerce, and is a former assistant to the city manager for economic development for the
City of Big Bear Lake. In 1996, he founded the La Jolla Institute, a California based, nonprofit think-tank.
Janice Rutherford was elected to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in 2010. The 2nd District
includes the cities of Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, and much of Fontana, and the unincorporated communities
of Devore, Lytle Creek, San Antonio Heights, Mt. Baldy, and all of the Rim of the World mountain communities
from Cedarpines Park to Green Valley Lake. She previously served on the Fontana City Council for 10 years. She
serves on the boards of San Bernardino Associated Governments, San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement
Association, Inland Empire Economic Partnership, Local Agency Formation Commission, Arrowhead Regional
Medical Center Joint Conference Committee and Omnitrans.
Ken Gutierrez worked for the city of Riverside for more than three decades, retiring as the city’s planning
director in 2011. He lead the preparation of a comprehensive update to the Riverside General Plan 2025, which
was recognized in 2008 by the Southern California Association of Governments with a Compass Blueprint Distinguished Leadership Award and by the California Chapter of the American Planning Association with the Award
of Merit for Comprehensive Planning. The Planning Department was recognized in 2009 by the CCAPA with the
Award of Merit for Distinguished Leadership by a Planning firm or agency. In 2013, he was appointed by the Riverside City Council to fill a vacant seat on the council until the November 2013 election.
***
Established in 2003, the UCR Center for Sustainable Suburban Development explores the social, economic,
political and environmental impacts that population growth and movement has on cities and local communities.
The center facilitates interdisciplinary collaborations in the community through its staff and affiliated faculty via
research, joint conferences, workshops and public forums held at UCR and in the community. It is affiliated with
the UCR School of Public Policy.
The Randall Lewis Seminar Series is an ongoing program of CSSD generously funded by Randall Lewis, executive vice president of Upland-based Lewis Operating Cos. The seminars focus on a wide range of regional sustainability topics such as air and water resources, infrastructure and transportation planning, affordable housing
and the fiscal health of cities.
DID YOU KNOW?
UCR Walk & Talk with Leadership Series
The Wellness Program is encouraging the campus community to get healthy, get moving, and get to know the
campus. Every month, there will be a 30-minute “walk and talk” opportunity with a member of the UCR Leadership team. Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox kicks off the “Walk and Talk with Leadership” series on Monday, Feb.
23. Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor Paul D’Anieri will lead the second event on Thursday, March 19. All
walks begin at 12:15 p.m. sharp at the Scotty the Bear statue outside of the HUB. Wear comfortable shoes and
clothes and bring your own water. For questions, please contact: Julie Chobdee at [email protected]
A Call to Men
Men at UCR, this campus needs your voices, your partnership, and your influence. Take part in a discussion
focused on healthy masculinity and get engaged in challenging attitudes and behaviors that support violence
against girls and women. Everyone is welcome. The event, hosted by the Women’s Resource Center and Ethnic
& Gender Offices, will be held on Feb. 12, 6 to 8 p.m. at HUB 302.
Who Says?
UCR staff and faculty weigh in on the issues of the day via media outlets at home and abroad
“Parts of California, like the Central Valley, Low Desert, and Central Coast, have already been impacted (by
the California drought) with more people needing welfare, food banks, and other support.”
Milt McGiffen, plant physiologist, on California’s severe drought heading into its fourth year, which could
make it the state’s worst drought in 1,200 years
FORTUNE MAGAZINE
“I think what is interesting with the Vietnamese American vote in Orange County is that it goes counter to
the stereotype of Asian Americans as generally not involved in politics.”
Karthick Ramakrishnan, professor of political science and public policy, on Vietnamese American voters
and their potential influence in deciding who wins a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors
KPCC-FM
“(The King Clone plant) is located in an area where there’s often no rain for a whole year. ... And yet this
plant is sitting out there, surviving for 11,700 years in the most extreme conditions — sandy soil, no water, low
nutrients available.”
David Crowley, professor of environmental science, on the different adaptations that have allowed the
creosote bush to survive heat, drought, poor soil and climate change
SCIENCE NEWS
“This is the first time that graphene has been made magnetic this way.”
Jing Shi, a professor of physics and astronomy, on his lab’s development of magnetic graphene, which
will allow for new multifunctional electronic devices
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES
“He was a very assertive and aggressive missionary. ... What he symbolizes in the Catholic Church is their
attempt to teach Indians to live as Spanish Catholics rather than who they were born as.”
Steven Hackel, professor of history, on Pope Francis’ recent decision to elevate Father Junipero Serra to
sainthood
LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Electronic cigarette aerosol has fewer chemicals than smoke from tobacco-burning cigarettes, but that
doesn’t mean electronic cigarettes are not dangerous. It only takes one nasty chemical to cause problems.”
Prue Talbot, professor of cell biology, on the potential health risks of e-cigarettes
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
“I’m not at all surprised (the measles outbreak) has spurred a national debate because we’re now at a place
where a significant portion of the population is not adequately protected. ... Measles is very infectious, and once
it’s let loose in a community it can find those vulnerable people.”
Dr. G. Richard Olds, dean of the UC Riverside School of Medicine, on the measles outbreak that started at
Disneyland and then spread across California including into Riverside and San Bernardino counties
THE PRESS ENTERPRISE
Research and Scholarship
UCR Professor Awarded Five-Year Grant
Xin Ge, assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the Bourns College of Engineering,
has been awarded a five-year Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) grant from the National
Science Foundation. The $500,000 CAREER Award will support Ge’s research on developing therapeutic
monoclonal antibodies, which have a broad range of applications in pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries.
Ph.D. Student Selected as 2014 Switzer Environmental Fellow
Heather Hulton VanTassel, a current Ph.D. candidate, has been selected as a 2014 Switzer Environmental Fellow by the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation. The foundation invests in individuals and organizations
that drive positive environmental change. Merit-based and rigorously competitive, the fellowship will assist
Hulton VanTassel in completing her doctoral degree.
Three UCR Undergraduates Receive Prestigious Fellowships
Three undergraduates at UC Riverside – one who hated science in high school, another who spoke no English
five years ago, and a third who immigrated to the United States not too long ago from Taiwan – are also recipients of prestigious fellowships. Jenna Roper, Alberto Corona and Jack Wang each received “Exceptional Research Opportunities Program” fellowships from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
UCR Receives $1.68 Million from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture
UCR has received slightly in excess of $1.68 million from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agricul-
ture to find lasting solutions to citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB). HLB is vectored
by the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP). ACP-HLB is a serious threat to California’s annual $2 billion citrus industry.
In the project, UCR researchers, led by Chandrika Ramadugu, an assistant project scientist in the Department
of Botany and Plant Sciences, will develop technologies for long-term sustainable citrus cultivation in regions
where the citrus industry is threatened by HLB, but where the disease has not yet fully established itself. The
researchers will develop easy-to-operate devices and methodologies to capture the ACP and detect Liberibacter
(bacterium that is the causal agent of HLB). They also will provide technology to growers and nurseries to encourage wide-scale testing.
Ramadugu will be joined in the research by Mikeal L. Roose, a professor of botany and plant sciences at UCR
and a co-project director. Other co-project directors on the project are at USDA/Agricultural Research Service,
the University of Hawaii, Texas A & M AgriLife, and the Florida Department of Agriculture.
Awards and Honors
UCR Magazine Wins CASE Award
The CASE District VII Board of Directors and the CASE Awards of Excellence Committee has awarded UCR
Magazine a bronze award in the Digital Magazines category.
There were more than 470 entries in the category, and UCR’s achievement stood out among the best.
UCR Professors Write New T.V. Show
ABC has picked up the pilot for a dramatic, one-hour series about the Bible that began as a collaboration
between Robin Russin, professor of screenwriting, and Reza Aslan, professor of creative writing. Russin wrote
the submission pilot script for “Of Kings and Prophets,” and Aslan developed the concept and is an executive
producer in association with his company, BoomGen Studios.
The shooting script is being written by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, who recently scripted “Exodus” for
Ridley Scott. The pilot has been greenlit for production, and both Aslan and Russin will be writers on the show
if it goes into full series production.
A Jan. 23 announcement in Variety said “Of Kings and Prophets” is one of five drama pilots ABC picked up
for the 2015-16 season. According to Variety, “the series will be told from three perspectives – a battle-weary
king, a powerful and resentful prophet and a resourceful young shepherd.”
Juan Felipe Herrera Receives Pura Belpré Honor Award
A book by California Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera is the recipient of a Pura Belpré Honor Award from
the American Library Association. “Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes” (2014, Dial), illustrated by Raúl
Colón, is aimed at readers ages 8 to 12. It highlights the lives of 19 Hispanic American men and women who
have contributed much to American life throughout U.S. history.
Herrera also profiles “an unpaved muddy stretch between Honey Creek and Billy Goat Hill,” now known as
Hero Street U.S.A., in Silvis, Ill., home to numerous Hispanic war veterans. The book includes a remembrance
of 27-year-old first-grade teacher Victoria Soto, who died protecting her students when a gunman burst into
her classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conneticut, on Dec. 14, 2012.
“‘Portraits’ is inspiring proof that Hispanic heroes have been a vital part of American history even before the
birth of this nation, and continue their heroic achievements today,” said a reviewer at the Smithsonian Asian
Pacific American Center.
School Library Journal, which named Herrera’s work one of its Top 10 Latino Books of 2014, called “Portraits” “a thorough and much-needed collection of short biographies on … Latino men and women who have
shaped United States history. … (T)his is a visually and textually luminous work.”
The Pura Belpré Honor Award is named after the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library.
Established in 1996, the award is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best
portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children
and youth. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American
Library Association, and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to
Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, an ALA affiliate.
Softball: The Universal Sport
Josai University’s women’s softball team from Japan and UCR’s women’s softball team played against each
other in a friendly, international exhibition game
On Feb. 6, the women’s softball team from Josai University in Japan played UCR’s women’s softball team in a
friendly, international exhibition game. Josai University has been an Extension partner university with UCR for
almost 30 years, said Sharon Duffy, dean of UCR Extension.
At the match, there was a pregame ceremony with an exchange of gifts between the players. John Maxwell,
UCR’s associate athletics director, announced the game. In only an hour, Maxwell had a Japanese crash course
from the translator to make several announcements in Japanese. The bilingual announcements and the national anthems from both countries being played at the game made the match more authentic as an international
game, Duffy said.
This softball exhibition game is part of the Josai team’s Extension sports management academic program.
The Josai team was at UCR Extension for 10 days.
The Top: Seven Valentine’s Day Date Ideas
Welcome to The Top!
Each issue, we present a list of UCR staff and faculty favorites — from walking spots to gardens to events.
Don’t know what you’re going to do for Valentine’s Day? Don’t worry, we got you covered! This week, in
honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re featuring the best date ideas inspired by Highlander Pride. Celebrate the
most romantic holiday of the year the UCR way!
If you have a favorite spot you’d like featured or an activity you’d like to share, email [email protected]
1. Botanic Gardens
Take a romantic stroll at UCR’s Botanic Gardens together. Open daily, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., couples can
enjoy each other’s company while gazing at the beauty of the gardens.
2. Partner Yoga
On Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m., Love Week is bringing back partner yoga. Come with a friend or loved one to experience a heart-opening, spirit-connecting session where you will build strength, balance, and deep oneness.
3. UCR ARTSblock
Whether it’s the California Museum of Photography, the Sweeney Art Gallery or the Barbara and Art Culver
Center of the Arts, UCR ARTSblock has more than enough exhibits, photographs and art for you and your loved
one to admire.
4. “Measure For Measure”
On Valentine’s Day, UCR’s Department of Theatre, Film and Digital Production is putting on “Measure for
Measure,” a play by William Shakespeare that defies the traditional rules of comedy with complex themes of
justice versus mercy and sex versus love. The show will take place on Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. in the Studio Theatre,
ARTS 113. For tickets, call (951) 827-4331. Prices are $12 to $14.
5. Hike the ‘C’
Feeling adventurous? Why not go hike the hallmark of all UC campuses – the “C!” Located at the very top of
Box Springs Mountain, the “C” at UC Riverside is the largest and topographically highest “C” in the UC system.
If you and your partner are up for the challenge, hiking the “C” together will be a rewarding experience for the
both of you.
6. Cook for your Love: Cooking Demonstration
A part of Love Week at UCR, the Student Recreation Center is partnering up with the Well to offer a Valentine’s Day-themed cooking demonstration from noon to 4 p.m. on Feb. 14! Come and learn how to make a heart
shaped pizza, mozzarella cheese-filled hearts with roasted red pepper pesto, chocolate ravioli hearts, chocolate
covered strawberries and heart-shaped white chocolate bites.
7. UCR Men and Women’s Basketball Games
Cheer on UCR Men’s Basketball together as they face the UC Irvine Anteaters on Feb. 14 at 5 p.m. at the
Student Recreation Center. Show your Highlander love by celebrating Valentine’s Day with your team, Scotty
and the Spirit Squad. Plus, students get a free T-shirt.
And don’t forget to show support to our Women’s Basketball team; they are playing at UCR Irvine on Feb.
14 at 2 p.m. The team is on a five-game winning streak. UC Riverside junior guard Brittany Crain (#23) is this
season’s star player, ranking fourth in the nation in scoring this season, with 24.0 points per game. Crain is one
of 30 candidates for the 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award, an honor presented annually to the top women’s collegiate point guard in the nation.
Big West named Crain the Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for games played Feb. 2 to 8.