UCSC Institute for Social Transformation

Silent Speech, Migratory Gesture: 55th Annual Faculty Research Lecture
2023-03-09 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
The UC Santa Cruz Academic Senate is delighted to invite you to the 55th Annual Faculty Research Lecture featuring Professor Jennifer González, Department of History of Art and Visual Culture.

In this talk, Professor González will explore speech and silence in the history of art, with a special emphasis on the role of art as a form of political democracy.

A reception will be held following the program.

Location: University Center, Bhojwani Dining Room

This event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:45 p.m.

Parking permits will be available for purchase for $5 in lots 164/165. Please follow the event signage at the base of campus and a parking attendant will assist you.

The lecture will be held in person and also available to view via livestream.

RSVP to Attend

Join Virtually

Solidarity and Spirituality: Soul, Scale, Strategy in a Time of Crisis
2023-02-27 16:00 - 17:00
Together we are forging new futures so that our communities are sustained and thriving. This labor of love often looks external: Changing the material conditions through organizing, educating, voting, and more. It is long and dedicated work.

But what about the internal work? How does what happens internally impact our collective justice work? Are we fueled by love and grace for each other, or are we running on empty, about to burn out? How can we draw on the waters of our spiritual traditions to bring refreshment to ourselves and revolutionize our collective work for liberation?

Join us as nationally renowned Valarie Kaur (Revolutionary Love Project) leads us through a conversation that weaves her own work as well as new works by our other speakers: The Activist Spirit: Toward a Radical Solidarity (Victor Narro, UCLA Labor Center) and Solidarity Economics: Why Mutuality and Movements Matter (Chris Benner, UCSC and Manuel Pastor, USC).

A collaboration by the Revolutionary Love Project, the UCSC Institute for Social Transformation, the UCLA Labor Center, and the USC Equity Research Institute.

Speakers

Valarie Kaur@Revolutionary Love Project Valarie Kaur is a renowned civil rights leader, lawyer, award-winning filmmaker, educator, innovator, and author of the #1 LA Times Bestseller SEE NO STRANGER and the founder of the Revolutionary Love Project. Valarie burst into global consciousness when her 2016 Watch Night Service address went viral with 40 million views worldwide. Her question “Is this the darkness of the tomb – or the darkness of the womb?” reframes the historical moment and is now a mantra for people fighting for change.

Victor Narro@UCLA Labor Center A nationally known expert on immigrant rights and low-wage workers, Victor Narro has been involved with immigrant rights and labor issues for over 35 years. Currently Project Director for the UCLA Labor Center, Victor’s focus is to provide leadership programs for Los Angeles’ immigrant workers, policy, legal and organizing campaign planning for unions and worker centers, and internship opportunities for UCLA students. Victor is Core Faculty for the Labor Studies Program at UCLA and Core Faculty for the Public Interest Law Program and Lecturer in Law for the Critical Race Studies Program at UCLA Law School.

Chris Benner@UC Santa Cruz Institute for Social Transformation Dr. Chris Benner is the Dorothy E. Everett Chair in Global Information and Social Entrepreneurship, and a Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He currently directs the Everett Program for Technology and Social Change and the Institute for Social Transformation. His research examines the relationships between technological change, regional development, and the structure of economic opportunity, focusing on regional labor markets and the transformation of work and employment.

Manuel Pastor@USC Equity Research Institute Dr. Manuel Pastor is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. He currently directs the Equity Research Institute at USC. Pastor holds an economics Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC. Pastor’s research has generally focused on issues of the economic, environmental and social conditions facing low-income urban communities – and the social movements seeking to change those realities.

20th Annual Practical Activism Conference
2023-02-25 10:30 - 17:00
Join us for the 20th Annual Practical Activism Conference!

Practical Activism is a free day-long conference featuring speakers, performances, interactive workshops, and a variety of hands-on creative activities and opportunities on a wide range of social justice issues. The conference serves to provide information, tools, and opportunities to generate local and global change. Practical Activism is coordinated, planned, and implemented by a group of passionate students from College Nine and John R. Lewis College, who are mentored by professional staff from the CoCurricular Programs Office (the CoCo).

The goal of the Practical Activism Conference is to open spaces for dialogue and inclusion, for active discussion of serious issues, for questioning our privileges and assumptions, and for constructive and critical engagement. As such, it is a space in which we welcome discussions of gender, sexuality, power, oppression, and the problems of heteronormativity. The student-designed and facilitated workshops at Practical Activism commonly address these and many other difficult issues that concern our community.

This year, our speakers include internationally acclaimed author, poet, comedian, and public speaker Alok Vaid-Menon and 3-time Grammy nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director, and vocal activist Melanie DeMore.

Workshop Topics include:

Comprehensive and Inclusive Sex Education

Colorism, Mixed Identity, and White Anti-Racist Organizing

Disability Justice

Environmental Justice

Prison Abolition and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

i-Lab: Activism as a Practice, Laboratory

The Preservation of Culture: Land Back and Reparations

*Please note that these are our currently planned topics, with slight changes and updates likely to happen. Check back in February for an updated list of workshops and descriptions!

For more information and updates regarding this year’s conference, visit the PAC website! Learn more about the last 19 conferences by checking out our archive.

Location: College Nine/John R. Lewis College Multipurpose Room

Strengthening the Sixth in Santa Cruz: Building Cases and Community Through Holistic Defense
2023-02-24 00:00 - 2023-02-25 23:59
The UC Santa Cruz Legal Studies Program, in partnership with the Santa Cruz County Office of the Public Defender, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and the National Association for Public Defense, will host its first-ever National Public Defense Summit. The summit will feature a variety of nationally-recognized public defenders, including attorneys, social workers, and investigators, who are doing cutting-edge work in public defense, focusing on early representation, vertical representation, holistic representation, and participatory defense. Students will have the opportunity to learn about career paths in this area of law.

The summit will kick off on the evening of Feb. 23 with Bending the Arc of Justice: Reimagining the Criminal System, featuring author and criminal justice reform advocate Keeda J. Haynes. The event is free, but separate registration is required.

Location: UCSC Stevenson Event Center

This is a free event.

Register Here

Dry Farming Symposium
2023-02-23 09:00 - 15:00
As we confront the fragility of California’s water system, a crucial question emerges: how can we adapt to water scarcity without jeopardizing farmer livelihoods? Join farmers, researchers, technical assistance providers, and policy advocates as we discuss dry farming in this community of practice!

At this event, participants will:

Connect with other dry farm practitioners

Hear research updates from recent field experiments

Discuss dry farm management practices

Learn about varieties and breeding trials for tomatoes and other dry farmable crops

Explore water scarcity and potential water restrictions

Brainstorm barriers and potential policy solutions

…and more!

Sponsored by UCSC’s Center for Agroecology

Location | UCSC Hay Barn | 1008 Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95064

There is no charge to attend this event. Lunch will be provided!

Pre-register at https://forms.gle/LHvhkfJCM8ixgJk67

39th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Convocation
2023-02-21 18:00 - 19:30
The annual convocation celebrates the life and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by presenting speakers who discuss the civil rights issues of equality, freedom, justice, and opportunity. The convocation also seeks to build partnerships and develop dialogue within the campus community and with the local communities served by the university.

This year we welcome big data expert, math professor, and host of NOVA Wonders, Talithia Williams.

Register Here

"Dolores" Documentary with Friends of the Aptos Library
2023-02-21 18:00 - 20:00
A documentary about Dolores Huerta, co-founder—with César Chávez—of the precursor to the United Farmworkers union.

Introduction by Jerry Kay, longtime friend of Ms. Huerta.

Come a few minutes early so you can view a video display of the work of Aptos High School students, whose class assignment was to redesign the book cover for Mary Coin or use art to tell the story behind the photo. Student work will be judged by members of the Bookshop Santa Cruz staff and awards given to the top work.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Aptos Library.

Co-sponsored by The Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas at UC Santa Cruz

Location | Museum of Art and History, Garden Room, 705 Front Street, Santa Cruz

Register Here

Nate Hagens
2023-02-21 12:00 - 13:30
Nate Hagens is the Director of The Institute for the Study of Energy & Our Future (ISEOF).

The Earth Futures Institute has invited Nate to give a lunchtime brown-bag seminar on Tuesday Feb 21 at UCSC in-person at the Center for Adaptive Optics, which is next to the Earth and Marine Sciences Building (map here). If you can’t attend in-person, you can join via this Zoom link.

Brazil's Social Movements and Lula's New Government: Challenges and Expectations
2023-02-09 13:00 - 14:30
This webinar will bring together Brazilian social activists and Right Livelihood Award Laureates Cassia Bechara of the Movement of the Landless Rural Workers / MST, and Chico Whitaker, co-founder of the World Social Forum, to discuss the challenges and expectations for Brazil’s social movements in light of the newly implemented presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that started on January 1st, 2023. One of the world’s most important leftist leaders, Lula will be serving as president of Brazil for the third time, after defeating by a narrow margin the far-right Jair Bolsonaro who ran for reelection in October 2022. Our guest speakers will examine the prospects for the poor, the working class, and the disenfranchised sectors of Brazil after the four devastating years of Bolsonaro’s government, marked by the return of widespread hunger, the surge of political violence, the devastation of the Amazon, and the reckless response to the COVID-19 pandemic that led to almost 700,000 deaths.

This event is offered in Portuguese with simultaneous translation to English.

Moderated by professor Patricia Pinho.

Sponsored by Right Livelihood and Huerta Center at UC Santa Cruz.

Register Here

Rebellion, Reform, and the U.S. Punishment System with Jarrod Shanahan
2023-02-08 17:00
This hybrid event will be a conversation with scholar Jarrod Shanahan about the history of prisons and jails in New York, the present arrangement of the carceral state, and the 2020 rebellion. How do the histories of capitalism and the carceral state inform how we understand the radical challenges that emerged in the summer of 2020? What does the history of jail construction on Rikers Island have to teach those of us struggling for liberation in the here and now? And how do we understand the so-called reform efforts, flush with private foundation money, which speak the language of social justice and even abolitionism, but seek to construct new jails and further empower America’s cops?

Jarrod Shanahan is Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Governors State University. He is the author of Captives: How Rikers Island Took New York City Hostage (Verso, 2022) and co-author of States of Incarceration (Field Notes/Reaktion, 2022) with Zhandarka Kurti.

This event is free and open to the public.

Location: UC Santa Cruz, Humanities 1-Room 202 and on Zoom

Register here for the Zoom link

Sponsor: UCSC Center for Racial Justice

Contact for questions: Abby Cunniff, acunniff@ucsc.edu

POSTPONED: Douglas Brinkley: Silent Spring Revolution
2022-12-01 18:00
POSTPONED – THIS EVENT WILL BE RESCHEDULED

New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed presidential historian Douglas Brinkley will present his new book Silent Spring Revolution, which chronicles the rise of environmental activism during the Long Sixties (1960-1973), on December 1 at the UC Santa Cruz Cowell Ranch Hay Barn. The book tells the story of an indomitable generation that saved the natural world under the leadership of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon. Brinkley will be joined by State Senator John Laird for a question and answer session, including questions from the audience.

Presented by The Humanities Institute and Bookshop Santa Cruz. Co-sponsored by the Institute for Social Transformation.

With the detonation of the Trinity explosion in the New Mexico desert in 1945, the United States took control of Earth’s destiny for the first time. After the Truman administration dropped atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II, a grim new epoch had arrived. During the early Cold War years, the federal government routinely detonated nuclear devices in the Nevada desert and the Marshall Islands. Not only was nuclear fallout a public health menace, but entire ecosystems were contaminated with radioactive materials. During the 1950s, an unprecedented postwar economic boom took hold, with America becoming the world’s leading hyperindustrial and military giant. But with this historic prosperity came a heavy cost: oceans began to die, wilderness vanished, the insecticide DDT poisoned ecosystems, wildlife perished, and chronic smog blighted major cities.

In Silent Spring Revolution, Douglas Brinkley pays tribute to those who combated the mauling of the natural world in the Long Sixties: Rachel Carson (a marine biologist and author), David Brower (director of the Sierra Club), Barry Commoner (an environmental justice advocate), Coretta Scott King (an antinuclear activist), Stewart Udall (the secretary of the interior), William O. Douglas (Supreme Court justice), Cesar Chavez (a labor organizer), and other crusaders are profiled with verve and insight.

Carson’s book Silent Spring, published in 1962, depicted how detrimental DDT was to living creatures. The exposé launched an ecological revolution that inspired such landmark legislation as the Wilderness Act (1964), the Clean Air Acts (1963 and 1970), and the Endangered Species Acts (1966, 1969, and 1973). In intimate detail, Brinkley extrapolates on such epic events as the Donora (Pennsylvania) smog incident, JFK’s Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Great Lakes preservation, the Santa Barbara oil spill, and the first Earth Day.

With the United States grappling with climate change and resource exhaustion, Douglas Brinkley’s meticulously researched and deftly written Silent Spring Revolution reminds us that a new generation of twenty-first-century environmentalists can save the planet from ruin.

Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, presidential historian for the New-York Historical Society, trustee of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. The Chicago Tribune dubbed him “America’s New Past Master.” He is the recipient of such distinguished environmental leadership prizes as the Frances K. Hutchison Medal (Garden Club of America), Robin W. Winks Award for Enhancing Public Understanding of National Parks (National Parks Conservation Association), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lifetime Heritage Award. His book The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast received the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. He was awarded a Grammy for Presidential Suite and is the recipient of seven honorary doctorates in American studies. His two-volume, annotated Nixon Tapes recently won the Arthur S. Link-Warren F. Kuehl Prize. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and three children.

Venue | Location

Cowell Ranch Hay Barn, University of California, Santa Cruz

Doors at 5:30pm, Program beings at 6:00pm

Event logistics

Bicycling, car pooling, ridesharing, and public transportation are encouraged as parking is limited. If you drive to the event, please plan to park in UCSC Lot #115 or 116. To reach these lots, proceed through the main entrance to campus, continue up the hill from the information kiosk on Coolidge, then turn right at the Ranch View/Carriage House Road stoplight into the Carriage House/Campus Facilities parking lot. The Hay Barn is a 5-minute walk across the street from the parking lot. There will be directional signage to help you get to the correct parking lot and farm entrances. Overflow parking will be available at lot 122. Download a parking map here.

Dissertation Dish
2022-12-01 12:00 - 13:30
Evaluating Engaged Research in Promotion and Tenure: Not Everything that Counts Can Be Counted

Lauren Wendling, Director of Institutional Success at Collaboratory

This study investigated how school- and department-level promotion and tenure committees not only define and understand faculty’s engaged research, but how they evaluate it. This study explored what goes into making evaluative decisions, if/how committees utilize tools for evaluation, and how evaluative decisions are made. In this single case multi-site qualitative study 12 participants across five R1 institutions classified as engaged by the Carnegie Foundation, participated in semi-structured interviews. All participants were tenured, engaged scholars with experience serving on a school- and/or department-level promotion and tenure review committee.

Register Here

If you missed our previous Dissertation Dish webinars, please click here to access it on our youtube channel! If you have recently completed your dissertation and are interested in being featured on a Dissertation Dish, please complete this submission form.

The Dissertation Dish is a collaboration between the International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE), Imagining America, and LEAD California (formerly California Campus Compact). Dissertation Dish webinars are meant for all audiences, from seasoned scholars to practitioners to graduate students, as well as journal editors or conference organizers seeking scholars to present the most current and innovative research. Dissertation Dish will highlight quality emerging research in the field of service learning and community engagement by providing a platform for recent doctoral degree recipients to share their work more broadly. We invite you to join us!

POSTPONED: How Humans Use of Space Constrains the Physiology, Behavior, and Survival of Mountain Lions
2022-12-01 12:00 - 12:30
POSTPONED – THIS EVENT WILL BE RESCHEDULED

The Center for Integrated Spatial Research presents a new geospatial frontiers speaker series called CISR Bytes: The Cutting Edge of Geospatial Innovation. Incisive talks by leading scholars (30 min or less).

Speaker

Dr. Christopher Wilmers

Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, UC-Santa Cruz

Bio

Professor Wilmers is a professor of Environmental Studies at UC Santa Cruz and lead investigator for the Santa Cruz Puma Project. The Puma Project is a research effort to better understand the impacts of human development on the behavior, physiology, ecology, conservation and management of pumas (aka mountain lions).

Info

Hybrid Modalities (in-person and on-line-Zoom)

2022 Right Livelihood Award Presentation
2022-11-30 10:30
Each year, 4 people or organizations are given the Right Livelihood Award. By recognizing the actions of brave visionaries and building impactful connections around the world, the Award boosts urgent and long-term social change.On November 30, we have the great pleasure of inviting you to an evening where we will be honoring some of the world’s foremost change-makers, Fartuun Adan and Ilwad Elman (Somalia), Oleksandra Matviichuk and the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine), the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (Uganda) and Cecosesola (Venezuela).

The event will feature live performances from GET UP Soul Choir and Tingsek.

Location | RegistrationThe Award Presentation will be broadcast live online at 2022.rightlivelihood.org.Register here for reminders and updates leading up to the event.

What it Will Take to Prevent the Next Big One: Pandemics, Planetary Health and Our Global Future
2022-11-10 17:00 - 19:00
Please join us for an evening with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and UC Santa Cruz alumna Laurie Garrett (Merrill 75). Named by the New York Times “Cassandra” for predicting the COVID-19 pandemic and other outbreaks, Garrett will discuss what it will take to prevent the next pandemic, and protect both the health of our planet and the future of global health. UCSC faculty Alicia Riley, assistant professor of sociology, core faculty in global and community health, and Valerie Cortez, assistant professor of molecular cell, and developmental biology will join her in the conversation.

Co-sponsored by the UCSC Global and Community Health Program

Venue:UC Hay Barn or Live Zoom WebinarFree Admission

Register here

Mark Fathi Massoud – The Power of Positionality
2022-11-09 12:15 - 13:30
This talk investigates the benefits and burdens of positionality, or the disclosure of how an author’s racial, gender, class, or other self-identifications, experiences, and privileges influence research methods. A statement of positionality in a research article can enhance the validity of its empirical data and its theoretical contribution. However, such self-disclosure puts scholars in a vulnerable position, and those most likely to reveal how their positionality shapes their research are women, ethnic minorities, or both. At this stage of the field’s methodological development, the burdens of positionality are being carried unevenly by a tiny minority of researchers. Drawing in part on my own empirical research and professional experience, this talk invites scholars to redress this imbalance by embracing expressions of positionality.

Mark Fathi Massoud is Professor of Politics and Director of the Legal Studies Program at UCSC. He is the author of two books that address the interplay of law, politics, and religion. Law’s Fragile State (Cambridge University Press 2013) won awards from the American Political Science Association and the Law and Society Association. Shari’a, Inshallah (Cambridge University Press 2021) won awards from the Socio-Legal Studies Association, the American Sociological Association, the American Political Science Association, and was a finalist for the PROSE Award for the best book in government and politics published last year, from the Association of American Publishers. He is currently editing a volume on positionality.

Venue | Location Humanities Building 1, Room 210University of California, Santa Cruz

Free and open to the public

Fruits of Labor Film Screening
2022-10-27 20:00 - 22:00
Landmark’s Del Mar Theatre, 1124 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA

SOLD OUT

FRUITS OF LABOR is an award-winning and nationally-televised film, which was filmed in Watsonville and follows Ashley, a Mexican-American teenager, who dreams of graduating high school and going to college. But when ICE raids threaten her family, Ashley is forced to become the breadwinner, working days in the strawberry fields and nights at a food processing company. The screening will include a discussion with the filmmaker, Emily Cohen Ibañez.

This free film screening is sponsored by the UCSC Institute for Social Transformation as a part of the All-In: Co-Creating Knowledge for Justice Conference. This special event is open to conference goers and the general public.

FRUITS OF LABORA film by Emily Cohen Ibañez A Mexican-American teenager dreams of graduating high school, when increased ICE raids in her community threaten to separate her family and force her to become the breadwinner for her family. She works long days in the strawberry fields and the night shift at a food processing factory. Set in an agricultural town on the central coast of California, Fruits of Labor is a coming of age story about an American teenager traversing the seen and unseen forces that keep her family trapped in poverty. A lyrical meditation on adolescence, nature and ancestral forces, the film asks, what does it mean to come into one’s power as a working young woman of color in the wealthiest nation in the world? Fruits of Labor is a character driven account that explores universal themes of how a young woman navigates family obligation and the desire to pursue her dreams in the predicaments of our times. In Ashley’s case her dream is to be the first in her family to graduate high school and go to college. From Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Are Watching God to Aurora Guerrero’s film Mosquita y Mari, women artists have called attention to the daily oppressions and personal desires of women; the political is expressed in the private intimacies of falling in love, the burdens of domestic life, and the desire for personal freedom and dignity. Most documentary films about farmworkers look at public personas–the political is in the rally, the strike, and the public speech. Fruits of Labor offers a new narrative about women workers that shows the nuances of how the global food system intersects with gender and family life. Visit the Fruits of Labor website and follow @FruitsofLaborFilm on social media to learn more: Website Facebook Instagram Twitter

All-In: Co-Creating Knowledge for Justice Conference
2022-10-26 00:00 - 2022-10-28 23:59
A national 3-day conference that focuses on sharing strategies to expand and deepen collaborative approaches for the truly equitable co-production of knowledge. We will explore the dynamic links between campus-community partnerships, hands-on research, and student-community engagement.

The All-In Conference will bring together university scholars, community-based practitioners, undergraduate and graduate students, community members and organizations, foundations, organizers, artists, and activists to share stories, strategies, practices, and solutions for building innovative partnerships for critical collaborative research and social change. Together we can build partnerships for change. #knowledge4justice

All-In: Co-Creating Knowledge for Justice Conference

October 26-28, 2022Santa Cruz, California

Co-presented by the Institute for Social Transformation at UC Santa Cruz and Urban Research Based Action Network (URBAN)

Learn More

RCA 30th Anniversary Celebration: Sharing Futures, Speaking Truths
2022-10-20 17:00 - 22:00
The event has SOLD OUT. Livestream program will begin at 6 p.m. NOTE: the event will not be archived. It can only be viewed in real time.Livestream Link: https://video.ibm.com/channel/ucsc-special-events

Please join us for the renaming of the Research Center of the Americas in honor of civil rights & feminist icon Dolores Huerta! The event, to celebrate the center’s 30th anniversary, will be held at the Cowell Hay Barn on October 20, 2022. Join us for great conversation, good food, dancing, and more! A special thanks to co-sponsors as of June 2022: UCSC Office of the Chancellor, Social Sciences Division, Humanities Division, Arts Division, Institute for Social Transformation, The Humanities Institute, Institute for Arts and Sciences, Latin American and Latino Studies Department, John R. Lewis College, Baskin Endowed Chair of Feminist Studies, Bookshop Santa Cruz, and Pajarosa Floral.

More information and tickets at: rca.ucsc.edu

This event will follow strict COVID-19 protocols to ensure a safe gathering.

MBEP 8th Annual State of the Region
2022-10-14 09:00 - 16:00
This year’s Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) State of the Region will include cross-sector conversations covering a range of topics from how to drive regional economic recovery and development, affordable housing for all, reducing the digital divide, to policy and legislation impacting our region, and so much more.

We are pleased to announce that Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor of Solidarity Economics will be joining us to discuss their approach to address widening income inequality, rising economic insecurities, and growing social and racial fragmentation while also promoting innovation and economic growth. Congressman Jimmy Panetta will also be joining us to provide a federal legislative update on policies and programs impacting our region.

This annual convening will be held in-person at CSU Monterey Bay and will be attended by business, government and educational leaders from across the tri-state region of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.

Our presentations and conversations will focus on critical issues in our region. It is sure to be exciting with great conversation and networking opportunities.

Click here to learn more >>

PRESENTERS

Chris Benner Dr. Chris Benner is the Dorothy E. Everett Chair in Global Information and Social Entrepreneurship, and a Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology at UC Santa Cruz. He currently directs the Everett Program for Technology and Social Change and the Institute for Social Transformation. His research examines the relationships between technological change, regional development, and the structure of economic opportunity, focusing on regional labor markets and the transformation of work and employment. Click here for Dr. Benner’s full bio.

Manuel Pastor Dr. Manuel Pastor is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California (USC). He currently directs the Equity Research Institute at USC. Pastor currently serves on California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Council of Economic Advisors and on the California Business and Jobs Recovery Task Force. Click here for Dr. Pastor’s full bio.

Jimmy Panetta Congressman Jimmy Panetta proudly serves California’s 20th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. His district includes Monterey and San Benito Counties, and parts of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties. During his time in Congress, he has fought for immigration reform, the continued protection of our pristine coastline and environment, affordable housing, accessible health care, our agriculture industry and its farmers and farmworkers, the reduction of gun violence, our military installations that are an integral part in our community and our country’s security, and the deserved and promised benefits to our veterans. Through policy implementation in Congress and service to constituents, he remains committed to being that bridge for the people of the Central Coast to the federal government and its resources. Click here for Congressman Panetta’s full bio.

Harvest Festival
2022-09-25 11:00 - 16:30
The 2022 Harvest Festival will feature live music, an apple pie baking contest, apple pressing, hands-on workshops, tractor rides, with food vendors and hydration stations to keep you nourished.

$5 admission / Free admission for kids under 12, UCSC and Cabrillo College students with a student ID, and Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden members.

The Harvest Festival is presented by the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Life Lab. Contact agroecology@ucsc.edu for more information or to request accommodations.

Click here for more information

JAVIER ZAMORA- SOLITO: A MEMOIR
2022-09-14 19:00
IN-STORE EVENT: Bookshop Santa Cruz and Research Center for the Americas at UC Santa Cruz welcome poet Javier Zamora for a discussion of his moving, page-turning memoir, Solito—the unforgettable story of his harrowing migration from El Salvador to the United States at the age of nine. Francisco Cantú calls Solito “a new landmark in the literature of migration, and in nonfiction writ large.”

For more information click here.

Summer Institute 2022: Political Education and Liberatory Knowledge
2022-08-10 00:00 - 2022-08-12 23:59
UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Racial Justice is hosting a 3 day zoom event on political education and liberatory knowledge. This event is free and open to the public. To register for the following dates, click below.

Day 1 (August 10th)

Day 2 (August 11th)

Day 3 (August 12th)

For more information, click here.

Watsonville Strawberry Festival Berries and Bubbles Alumni Reception
2022-08-06 14:00 - 17:00
Stop by and have organic strawberries from the UCSC Farm and a glass of sparkling wine at Studio Judy G during the Watsonville Strawberry Festival. This casual gathering will feature local sparkling wines from Equinox Cellars, sparkling cider, and a few special Slug treats. For more information click here.

Studio Judy G, 430 Main St., Watsonville

Japanese American Farming Experiences Prior to and During WWII
2022-07-19 18:00 - 19:30
This workshop will explore the rich history of Japanese American farmers in the western U.S. in the years leading up to the forced incarceration of over 100,000 Japanese American U.S. citizens for the duration of the second world war. Through a historical context, we will look at the success and challenges that they had farming before the war, and the subsequent experiences they had during incarceration. During this presentation we will examine those experiences through first person familial histories, as well as the greater agricultural story that was playing out in the west. Our hope is to educate attendees on this often forgotten and ignored history in time and to avoid similar prejudice in the future.

Register for the in-person event here.

Register to watch the online broadcast of the event here.

Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden members receive 10% off registration.

Foodways Dinner for Student Success
2022-07-15 16:00 - 20:00
Join us for an evening with Alice Waters and Center for Agroecology leadership, staff, and students! Join a tour of the UCSC Farm, participate in a silent auction, and enjoy a seven course meal served al fresco at the farm. Proceeds benefit the Foodways Fund.

The Center for Agroecology is planning to host a five-course benefit Foodways Fund dinner onsite at the UCSC Farm featuring Alice Waters as guest of honor and inspiration. This event will highlight seasonal produce from the farm and be prepared by the student culinary team that has been working under Chef Brooks Schmitt over the past two and a half years. The evening will include a farm tour, silent auction, live music, a presentation on our campus programs, and a seated dinner in the historic Cowell Ranch Haybarn. Please join us for an exceptional evening to uplift, connect, and nourish our vision of a just and sustainable food system for all. Benefit tickets are available for $225 per person. If interested in sponsoring a group you may purchase 4 tickets for $825 or 6 tickets for $1,200. Fair market value for each ticket is $100 for the meal and $125 for tax deduction purposes. All proceeds go to support our student staffing, regional sourcing, and direct programs from our fields to our non-transactional cafe at UCSC.

Learn More

Norris Center for Natural History: 50 Years of Wonder Weekend
2022-06-03 10:00 - 2022-06-05 19:00
This coming year will mark the 50th spring since Ken Norris started the first natural history field course at UC Santa Cruz. To commemorate this remarkable milestone, the Norris Center is planning a series of events this year: 50 Years of Wonder, Celebrating the First Half Century of Natural History at UC Santa Cruz. This is the final event of the series.

Invite your friends and family to join the rest of the UCSC natural history community at this weekend reunion celebration in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Join us to reminisce, reconnect, celebrate, network, and envision what the next 50 years of natural history will look like at UC Santa Cruz.

This event is co-sponsored by the Norris Center for Natural History, the Institute for Social Transformation, Rachel Carson College, and John Lewis College.

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Building Belonging Student Flash Talk Event & Celebration
2022-05-25 15:00 - 17:00
UC Santa Cruz Merrill Cultural Center

The Institute for Social Transformation is excited to host an end-of-year celebration and student flash talk event to honor the work that has been accomplished in the Building Belonging program. Students who have been involved in the program in 2021-2022 will present their contributions to research projects. The event will take place in person, at the UCSC Merrill Cultural Center.

This event will provide Building Belonging Fellows an opportunity to share their research with the community. All are welcome to attend including students, faculty, staff, family and friends. Light refreshments will be provided.

Sponsored by: The Institute for Social Transformation and the Division of Social Sciences

RSVP here

Student Presentations

GROUP 1

Recovering the Indigenous and Colonial History of Oak Trees on the UCSC Campus Carmela Cenizeros (Anthropology)Faculty Mentor: Andrew Mathews, Anthropology Department

Chimpanzee Video Coding Team Kayla Ott (Anthropology/Environmental Studies) Anthony Estrella (Psychology/Anthropology) Faculty Mentor: Vicky Oelze, Anthropology Department

Can Soil Scraping Help Improve Native Annual Wildflower Establishment?Janine Tan (Plant Sciences)Jennifer Valadez (Environmental Sciences) Faculty Mentor: Karen Holl, Environmental Studies Department

The Impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. Small Businesses Julian Barragan (Environmental Studies/Economics) Faculty Mentor: Robert Fairlie, Economics Department

Community Health Workers and the Mitigation of Misinformation about COVIDEdwina Malmberg (Sociology) Faculty Mentor: Matt Sparke, Politics Department

Bodies of Evidence: Legibility, Medical Uncertainty, and the Knowledge Problem of ‘Rape Kits’Valerie Garcia (Sociology)Juli Sofijski (Sociology) Faculty Mentor: Jamie Morse, Sociology Department

GROUP 2

Building Research Capacity in Global Environmental Justice Alcides Fuentes (Environmental Studies) Caitlin Schlit (Environmental Studies) Faculty Mentor: Ravi Rajan, Environmental Studies Department

“You Gotta Keep Pushing”: How Immigrant People Regain Ontological Security and Withstand Colonial TraumaMitzy Acevedo (Psychology)Jennifer Aimee Martinez (Sociology/Education, Democracy, and Justice/LALS)Cristina Gonzales (Psychology/Sociology) Faculty Mentor: Regina Langhout, Psychology Department

We Belong: Collaboration for Community-Engaged Research and Immigrant Justice Marlene Nava (Sociology) Faculty Mentor: Steve McKay, Sociology Department

Indigeneity in the Constitution: Struggles for Ethnic Autonomy in Latin AmericaDylan Waste (Politics) Faculty Mentor: Kent Eaton, Politics Department

Simulating Conversations Hananiel Suradji (Cognitive Science) Faculty Mentor: Jeremy Yamashiro, Psychology Department

Continuing Hybrid Out-of-School Activities Post-Pandemic: A Partnership with Salud y CariñoYaneli Calderon (Sociology/LALS)Lizeth Bautista Amaro (Sociology) Faculty Mentor: Rebecca London, Sociology Department

GROUP 3

Mistakes: A Friend or Foe of Learning? Mariah Ryan (Cognitive Science)Siobhan Moher (Psychology) Faculty Mentor: Hannah Hausman, Psychology Department

Own-Race Bias in Face-Name Learning of Historical FiguresKaylee Baker (Psychology) Faculty Mentor: Hannah Hausman, Psychology Department

We Belong Mapping Advocacy (Focus Groups) Tara Mcateer (Anthropology/Legal Studies)Abigail Eduardo Espinosa (Psychology/Sociology) Faculty Mentor: Leslie Lopez, Community Studies Department

Whiteness and International Academic Mobility: The Impact of Living and Studying Abroad on the Racial Identity and Network Capital of White BraziliansAlma Munguia-Galvan (LALS/Legal Studies)Faculty Mentor: Patricia Pinho, Latin American and Latino Studies Department

Identifying Critical Environmental Work and Needs on Campus Serena Campbell (Sociology/Critical Race and Ethnic Studies) Faculty Mentor: Hillary Angelo, Sociology Department

Into the Depths: Examining the Deep-History of Fishing Evelin Aquino Cruz (Anthropology)Lauren Castaneda Molina (Anthropology) Faculty Mentor: Eréndira Quintana Morales, Anthropology Department

Insect Diversity and Ecosystem Services in Urban Agroecosystems Lauren (Louie) Dunn (Psychology)Taemon Omololu (Environmental Studies) Faculty Mentor: Stacy Philpott, Environmental Studies Department

GROUP 4

Climate Risk and FDI Dmitrius Rodriguez (Economics/Environmental Studies/Philosophy)Axel Morales-Sanchez (Business Management Economics/ Mathematics) Faculty Mentor: Galina Hale, Economics Department

Unequal Loss: Social Impacts of COVID-19 Mortality in Latinx & Spanish-speaking Communities Eileen Amador (Legal Studies)Robin Hernandez (Politics/Sociology) Faculty Mentor: Alicia Riley, Sociology Department

A Bibliography of Race and Health in AnthropologyAndrea Asher (Human Biology/Sociology)Camryn Newburn (Anthropology) Faculty Mentor: James Doucet-Battle, Sociology Department

Colonial Disease Transfer and the Impact on Native South Americans Polette Garrido (Anthropology) Faculty Mentor: Lars Fehren-Schmitz, Anthropology Department

Understanding Attention and Language Comprehension Hassan Naeem (Cognitive Science) Lea Toledo (Cognitive Science) Faculty Mentor: Megan Boudewyn, Psychology Department

For more information, please contact the Institute for Social Transformation at UC Santa Cruz at transform@ucsc.edu.

We are excited to welcome people in person! Please note that UC Santa Cruz has COVID-19 guidelines for in-person events. When you arrive, you will be asked to provide proof of vaccination OR a recent negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours of the start of the event (must be a lab PCR test; home tests/antigen tests are not valid). Guests are also required to wear masks and complete a symptom check form online the day you arrive on campus.

Tejiendo Voces: nuestro pasado, presente y futuro
2022-05-21 14:00 - 17:00
We are celebrating the strength of the immigrant community of Santa Cruz, and the expressive work and civic commentary of our participants who stepped forward despite extreme barriers during the pandemic to sustain and encourage their families and community.

This is the first annual event showcasing multi-generational creative projects by Corre la Voz Bay View, Branciforte, and Plaza Comunitaria. This year, a special focus is the photovoice projects each site completed on the themes of “belonging and not belonging,” in coordination with We Belong: Collaboration for Community-Engaged Research for Immigrant Justice.

Click here for more information about Corre La Voz

We Belong-Pertenecemos: Immigrant Justice Research, Resource Fair and Film Screening
2022-05-13 17:00 - 21:30
Click Aqui Para Español

About the event:

On May 13, come celebrate immigrant families in Santa Cruz County and learn about the findings of a 3-year project – We Belong: a Collaboration for Community-based Research and Immigrant Justice. The project interviewed over 100 community advocates and members of mixed-status families, documenting the experiences of immigrant families, their contributions, and the obstacles they face. We aim to elevate immigrant voices, strengthen local community coalitions, and inform policies to ensure ALL community members belong and thrive. The event will feature cultural performances and an interactive “research findings and resource fair” at the Watsonville City Plaza, where community members can explore themes, take part in games, and learn about the actions and services by community organizations on key issues, including:

Places and Spaces of Belonging, including culture and cultural organizations, and public space planningLegal Literacy and Services around Immigration Economic Security and Well-being, including housing, food, and employment Family Health and Well-being, including physical & mental health, childcareAccess to Education, including language access and pathways to collegeYouth and the Rising Generation, focusing on youth and community organizing

Fruits of Labor Film Screening:

The event will conclude with a FREE outdoor screening of the award-winning and nationally-televised film – Fruits of Labor – which was filmed in Watsonville and follows Ashley, a Mexican-American teenager, who dreams of graduating high school and going to college. But when ICE raids threaten her family, Ashley is forced to become the breadwinner, working days in the strawberry fields and nights at a food processing company. The screening will include a discussion with the film maker, Emily Cohen Ibañez, and Ashley Pavon, the star of the film.

FRUITS OF LABORA film by Emily Cohen Ibañez A Mexican-American teenager dreams of graduating high school, when increased ICE raids in her community threaten to separate her family and force her to become the breadwinner for her family. She works long days in the strawberry fields and the night shift at a food processing factory. Set in an agricultural town on the central coast of California, Fruits of Labor is a coming of age story about an American teenager traversing the seen and unseen forces that keep her family trapped in poverty. A lyrical meditation on adolescence, nature and ancestral forces, the film asks, what does it mean to come into one’s power as a working young woman of color in the wealthiest nation in the world? Fruits of Labor is a character driven account that explores universal themes of how a young woman navigates family obligation and the desire to pursue her dreams in the predicaments of our times. In Ashley’s case her dream is to be the first in her family to graduate high school and go to college. From Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Are Watching God to Aurora Guerrero’s film Mosquita y Mari, women artists have called attention to the daily oppressions and personal desires of women; the political is expressed in the private intimacies of falling in love, the burdens of domestic life, and the desire for personal freedom and dignity. Most documentary films about farmworkers look at public personas–the political is in the rally, the strike, and the public speech. Fruits of Labor offers a new narrative about women workers that shows the nuances of how the global food system intersects with gender and family life. Learn more at www.fruitsoflaborfilm.com

Who This is For:

This event is FREE and open to the public. We welcome community members, students and community organizations interested in fostering community belonging and justice for immigrants and immigrant families, resources and services for the Santa Cruz County community, and everyone who wants to celebrate immigrant families, their voices and their importance to Santa Cruz County.

In-Person:

The event will be held outdoors and in-person at the Watsonville City Plaza. For those that wish to stay for the free film screening, please bring blankets and/or chairs. No seating will be provided.

Event Parking:

Parking will be available at the Watsonville Civic Plaza Parking Garage at 275 Main St and on nearby streets.

Sponsors:

This event is made possible with generous support from: University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement; Community Action Board (CAB) and the Thriving Immigrants Collaborative of Santa Cruz County; the City of Watsonville; UC Santa Cruz Oakes College Community-based Action Research and Advocacy Program, Campus+Community Program, Research Center for the Americas, Institute for Social Transformation, Division of Social Sciences, Center for Labor Studies, Fruits of Labor Social Impact Team, Watsonville Film Festival.

Participating Organizations:

Cabrillo College Outreach and Watsonville Center, UCSC Educational Partnership Center and GEAR UP program, Community Bridges Family Resource Centers, City of Watsonville Planning Office, Watsonville Law Center, CAB-SC Immigration Project, Housing Santa Cruz County, CAB-Day Worker Center, Migrant Head Start, PV Unified School District, Salud para la Gente, Youth Action Network, Jóvenes Sanos, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Estrellas de Esperanza.

For more information, contact Steve McKay: smckay@ucsc.edu

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