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Winter 2020 Provost Newsletter
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Winter 2020 Newsletter |
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| Dear colleagues,
At UCI, 2020 is off to a brilliant start and I am thrilled to highlight several shining examples. In this issue, you will find a video with School of Education Dean and Principal Investigator Richard Arum discussing the Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project, a pilot for a study that will help universities measure the value of college.
New this quarter, we have introduced risk management support to help faculty and staff ensure the health and safety of our students while participating in UCI affiliated activities abroad.
We are also pleased to feature faculty awards including those being honored at the 2019-20 Academic Senate Distinguished Faculty Awards.
As part of our ongoing efforts to foster inclusive excellence, all faculty, staff and students are encouraged to take the 2020 UCI Climate Survey to share their campus experience.
I look forward to working together to make 2020 UCI's best year yet.
Sincerely,
Enrique J. Lavernia, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Distinguished Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
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Did you know?
Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project
The Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, aims to provide insight into the value of college, and promote new evidence-based models for measuring student success. The large-scale longitudinal study is being piloted at UCI, with more than 1,000 students currently participating. What is learned at UCI will be shared across the nation, so that other universities and colleges can improve the undergraduate experience on their own campuses.
"It's all about understanding undergraduate experiences and outcomes, inside the classroom and outside the classroom with the depth and complexity in a way we haven't before," says Richard Arum, Dean of the School of Education and principal investigator of the study. Hear more in a 5-minute interview with Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning Michael Dennin and Dean Arum.
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Save The Date: Summit on Teaching in the 21st Century on March 6
The Summit on Teaching in the 21st Century will be held March 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Cove at UCI Beall Applied Innovation. Featuring UCI faculty and students, the summit highlights innovation in teaching research and implementation, including the use of technology and leveraging innovative spaces. The event is organized by Michael Dennin, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, and Richard Arum, Dean of the School of Education.
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New Policy & Procedure for
Student International Activities and Travel
Viruses, fires and violent protests around the world serve as a visceral reminder that we all must work together to ensure the health and safety of our students when they participate in UCI affiliated activities outside the United States. UCI has new support for faculty and staff who manage programs that include travel and activities abroad with students. Program leaders should become familiar with the new Student International Activities Policy and Procedure. As part of this procedure, UCI sponsoring units that wish to conduct Student International Activities should consult with the Study Abroad Center early in the planning stages. Approving a proposal may take two months or more depending on program readiness.
- WHO: All students traveling outside the United States for UCI affiliated purposes and all program leaders who are taking students outside of the U.S. for UCI affiliated purposes.
- WHAT: New risk management support for student travelers.
- WHEN: Effective immediately.
- HOW: Individual travelers or program leaders must consult with the Study Abroad Center for risk management and planning and submit a formal proposal. Contact the Study Abroad Center to start the process or submit a proposal.
- WHY: To mitigate risk and help to ensure the health and safety of students when traveling internationally in support of UCI's mission of teaching, research and public service.
Please note this new policy and procedure does not affect international activities that do not involve students. Also, the University of California Education Abroad Program (UCEAP) is governed by a different policy available through UCEAP.
420-10 Policy for Student International Activities
420-11 Procedures for Student International Activities
For questions or to start a proposal, contact Jeanne d'Arc Gomis at the Study Abroad Center. |
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Did you know?
Provost Lavernia interview on KUCI
Recently, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Enrique J. Lavernia, Ph.D., was a guest on KUCI's UCI Conversations. In the interview with Kevin Bossenmeyer, Lavernia spoke about a wide range of topics, from university administration to his own materials science research.
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ICS Students and Faculty Earn Accolades
The Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences celebrated several recent awards for its faculty and students. |
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Professor Zak Kassas Wins Institute of Navigation Award
The Institute of Navigation (ION) honored Zak Kassas, assistant professor of mechanical & aerospace engineering and electrical engineering & computer science, with its Colonel Thomas L. Thurlow Award for outstanding contributions to the science of navigation. Professor Kassas was recognized for foundational work in the theory and practice of exploiting signals of opportunity for accurate and reliable positioning, navigation and timing.
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Roxane Cohen Silver Honored by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Roxane Cohen Silver, professor of psychological science, medicine, and public health, received the Application of Personality and Social Psychology Award. This senior career award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology recognizes an individual for applying theoretical and/or empirical psychological discoveries to advance the understanding of important practical problems. Professor Cohen Silver's research delves into the ways different groups of people are impacted by the same disasters, such as 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombing. In particular, she explores the ways exposure to media coverage of the disasters impacts people psychologically.
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Did you know?
UCI Beall Applied Innovation's Grand Opening of The Cove at a New Location
UCI Beall Applied Innovation celebrated its fifth anniversary and the grand opening of its new 100,000-plus-square-foot facility in UCI Research Park. Over twice the size of the previous location and no longer split between two buildings, the new Cove @ UCI is even better equipped with specially-designed spaces to accommodate entrepreneurs, inventors, investors, startups and Orange County's vibrant business and innovation communities.
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Major Faculty Awards
Academic Senate Distinguished Faculty Awards on Feb. 19
Congratulations to the faculty members being honored at the 2019-20 UCI Academic Senate Distinguished Faculty Awards on Feb. 19. Eric Rignot, Chair, Donald Bren Professor, and Chancellor's Professor in the Department of Earth System Science will receive the Distinguished Senior Faculty Award for Research and present a lecture, "On the Uncertainties of Projecting Sea Level Rise from Melting Ice Sheets." See below for all the awardees. |
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Timothy Tait
Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research
Chair and Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy |
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Jenny Yang
Distinguished Early-Career Faculty Award for Research
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry |
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Valerie Jenness
Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching
Professor, Department of Criminology, Law & Society |
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Angela Jenks
Distinguished Early-Career Faculty Award for Teaching
Associate Professor of Teaching, Department of Anthropology
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Martha Mecartney
Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. Faculty Award for Distinguished University Service
Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
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Lisa Grant Ludwig
Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Service
Chair and Professor, Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention |
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Anita Casavantes Bradford
Distinguished Faculty Award for Mentorship
Associate Professor, Departments of Chicano/Latino Studies and History |
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Cornelia Pechmann
Academic Senate Special Award for Impact on Society
Professor, Marketing, Paul Merage School of Business |
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Eric Rignot
Distinguished Senior Faculty Award for Research
Chair, Donald Bren Professor, and Chancellor's Professor, Department of Earth System Science
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Adriana Briscoe Honored by American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education
Adriana Briscoe, a professor of ecology & evolutionary biology in the School of Biological Sciences, has won the 2020 University Faculty Award from the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education. Professor Briscoe, who studies the evolution of wing color and color perception in butterflies, was recognized for her "exhaustive and prolific production of scholarly papers, presentations, and awards," according to AAHHE President Loui Olivas. He added, "The University of California, Irvine is fortunate to have her as a faculty role model." Briscoe says she hopes the honor will help encourage more young Latina women to pursue the life sciences.
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Horst Hahn Named to National Academy of Inventors
Distinguished Visiting Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Horst Hahn has been elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors. Professor Hahn is the executive director of the Institute of Nanotechnology at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and has been at UCI's Henry Samueli School of Engineering since April 2019. His research involves investigating defects and diffusion in metals and ceramics, nanostructured and amorphous materials, tailored and tunable properties of nanostructures, energy materials, printed electronics and high entropy materials. He is among 168 academics worldwide to be named a fellow this year. He will be inducted at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, in April.
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Kai Wehmeier Receives Humboldt Prize
Kai Wehmeier, logic and philosophy of science professor, has been named a 2019 recipient of the Humboldt Research Award. Granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany, the honor recognizes outstanding academic researchers "whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future." The honor includes a €60,000 cash prize and the opportunity to spend up to one year collaborating on a long-term research project with colleagues in Germany.
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Be Heard: Take the 2020 UCI Climate Survey
The 2020 UCI Climate Survey is now open and all UCI students, faculty and staff at the main campus and the Medical Center are invited to share their thoughts through this short anonymous survey. It takes just a few minutes to share your opinions about themes guiding a campus action plan for inclusive excellence -- Wellness, Thriving and Community -- and provide suggestions for improving UCI interactions and experiences. Survey respondents will be entered into a weekly drawing for $50 Amazon gift cards and there are two Disneyland two-ticket-packs now included in the drawing. The survey is open through February 28.
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Inclusive Excellence Action Plan
A campus-wide action plan for inclusive excellence was recently rolled out by the Office of Inclusive Excellence.
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Community.
Ensuring that everyone, regardless of function, contributes to a thriving and healthy campus environment.
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Thriving.
Fostering opportunities for everyone to maximize their potential at UCI.
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Wellness.
Promoting health and welfare of campus, alumni, and visitors.
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There are myriad opportunities for students, faculty and staff to engage with the action plan and #ActforInclusion.
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Deadline to Apply for UC-HBCU Initiative Funding is March 16
The University of California-Historically Black Colleges and Universities (UC-HBCU) Initiative aims to increase the participation of graduates of HBCUs in the wide array of distinguished doctoral and M.F.A. programs throughout the UC system. The competition provides for two types of funding: Summer Research Internship Support Grant and Summer Research and Graduate Admission Pathways Grant. Principal Investigators may include 1/9 summer salary to help support their efforts. Now in its 10th year, UC Irvine faculty continue to be leaders in the UC in building and sustaining research-driven relationships with partner HBCU campuses. The 2020 call for proposals is out now, and applications are due March 16. Contact Roxane Cohen Silver, Associate Director of the ADVANCE program at rsilver@uci.edu with questions.
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Did you know?
UCI Offers Tools and Resources for Digital Accessibility
Check out accessibility.uci.edu for training, access to the web accessibility testing tool Siteimprove and to watch the Creating an Inclusive Culture video.
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