Digital detectives: Advancing human rights Working in the Human Rights Investigations Lab for the Americas, UCSC students have become adept at this new type of research and using it to investigate protests in Chile, COVID-19’s spread in Latin America, the extent of online disinformation about the Black Lives Matter movement, and other matters that remain confidential. Read more >
Year in review: Giving voice to the challenges of our time December, 2021
A collection of prominent UCSC news stories from 2021.
Impacts of rainy weather on coronavirus outbreaks reveal economic benefits from earlier social distancing
December, 22 2021
Economists at UC Santa Cruz used rainy weather as a natural experiment to understand how communities across the U.S. that started some form of social distancing slightly earlier may have experienced significant economic benefits.
USDA grant supports increased BIPOC student involvement in food, agriculture, and natural resources education
December, 21 2021
A $1 million dollar grant will support the SUPERDAR Program to increase degree attainment for BIPOC students. Center for Agroecology Director Stacy Philpott will work with Greg Gilbert, Ingrid Parker, and Damian Parr.
UCSC Division of Social Sciences Research Roundup Summer/Fall 2021 Issue
December 15, 2021
Research Roundup highlights the work of faculty in the Division of Social Sciences, including recent and upcoming publications as well as ongoing research projects.
UCSC receives Mellon Foundation grant
December 15, 2021
The award will support “Race, Empire, and the Environments of Biomedicine,” a Sawyer Seminar lead by Jennifer Derr and Jenny Reardon.
In Memoriam: Paul Niebanck (1934-2021)
December 13, 2021
Paul Niebanck, professor emeritus of environmental studies and founding provost of Rachel Carson College, passed away on November 26, 2021.
New study shows plants struggle to keep pace with climate change in human-dominated landscapes
December 6, 2021
A new global-scale analysis found a mismatch between plant phenology and rising temperatures that was more pronounced in the most human-dominated landscapes, especially crop lands.
Stepping up to fight food insecurity
December 03, 2021
UC Santa Cruz has expanded its annual Second Harvest Holiday Food and Fund Drive to help boost donations—needed now more than ever in the wake of the pandemic, wildfires, and economic turmoil.
Holiday gifts that challenge gender stereotypes can support children’s development
December 02, 2021
Distinguished Professor of Psychology Campbell Leaper explains the issues with gender stereotypes in children’s toys and shares gift-giving tips that may help counteract the effects.
UC Santa Cruz ranked No. 3 green college
November 24, 2021
Princeton Review evaluates schools based on institutional data as well as a 10-question student survey.
Reviving deep-rooted knowledge
November 23, 2021
The Amah Mutsun Relearning Program at the Arboretum & Botanic Garden aims to assist the tribe’s efforts in cultural revitalization, recuperation and relearning of dormant cultural knowledge, and environmental justice.
New grant to support Dickens Project programming in year ahead
November 23, 2021
The programming in 2022 is focused on questions of race and social justice in the 19th century and today, with the summer’s Dickens Universe event broadening its purview by pairing a British novel with an African-American novel.
Uncovering the politics behind a pandemic
November 23, 2021
The latest paper from Politics Professor and Global & Community Health Executive Director Matt Sparke argues that the coronavirus pandemic has exposed, exploited, and exacerbated the vulnerabilities of neoliberal societies around the world.
UC Santa Cruz campus voting skyrocketed in 2020
November 19, 2021
A nationwide study shows student voting at UC Santa Cruz increased dramatically in last year’s presidential election, and these gains came at roughly double the average rate of increase across more than 1,000 college campuses around the country.
New program helps to increase number of Latinx teachers
November 17, 2021
The Latinx Initiative for Future Teachers (LIFT) program enables students to finish a master’s in education and earn credentials for teaching in 12 months.
Widening the spectrum of gratitude with IndigeThanx
November 16, 2021
IndigeThanx, an annual event sponsored by UC Santa Cruz’s American Indian Resource Center and Cowell Coffee Shop, offers an alternative to Thanksgiving.
$8.8 million federal grant to help teens succeed in college
November 16, 2021
GEAR UP is designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.
National award recognizes economics professor’s research for revealing outsized pandemic impacts on minority-owned businesses
November 15, 2021
Economics Professor Robert Fairlie recently received the Bradford-Osborne Research Award for a paper he released in August 2020 that showed minority-owned businesses were affected by pandemic-related closures at higher rates.
Legal studies major Aissata Ba selected to meet Michelle Obama
November 05, 2021
Aissata Ba, a second-year legal studies major, attended a special event with Michelle Obama on November 9 at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland. This event featured the former first lady in conversation with a moderator and selected students from 22 participating colleges.
Talk to focus on subpar treatment of Native women with tuberculosis
November 05, 2021
Caitlin Keliiaa, a historian and assistant professor, will be presenting her talk, “Settler Colonialism is a Sickness: How Federal Indian Health Failed Native Women,” a discussion on the young Native women who contracted TB, but received subpar treatment—or no help at all—due to their ethnicity.
Engineer David Lee wins funding for public interest technology program
November 02, 2021
David Lee, assistant professor of computational media, has received funding through the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) for a program to provide community-engaged experiential learning for students.
Talent Search grant extension to help more East San Jose teens achieve college dreams
November 01, 2021
Hundreds of low-income teens in East San Jose will continue to receive extra help to achieve their college dreams after the federal government again funded a grant to UC Santa Cruz.
Ecologist Erika Zavaleta named ESA Excellence in Ecology Scholar
October 28, 2021
Erika Zavaleta, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz, has been selected by the Ecological Society of America (ESA) as one of four ESA Excellence in Ecology (EEE) Scholars in the first cohort of this new initiative.
UC Santa Cruz advances commitment to social justice with College 10 naming in honor of John R. Lewis
October 27, 2021
College Ten—an undergraduate residential learning community founded on principles of social justice and community—will be named in honor of the late congressman and civil rights icon John R. Lewis.
Reclaiming Coast Miwok history through Indigenous interpretations of archeology
October 26, 2021
Assistant Professor of Anthropology Tsim Schneider’s latest book gathers and interprets archival and archeological evidence in new ways that combat the erasure of Indigenous peoples from historical narratives.
Fighting ‘desinformación’
October, 2021
UCSC alumni trained in the campus’s Human Rights Investigations Lab use computer savvy and bilingualism to counter Spanish-language disinformation online.
‘Co-CEOs’
October, 2021
Alumni Vince and Christina Bennett, who met as students at UC Santa Cruz, have built a complementary marriage and meaningful careers—and now they’re giving back to the campus program that helped set them on their paths to success.
New book shares lessons from history on the case for Senate reform
October 18, 2021
In his new book, Professor of Politics Daniel Wirls uses historical research and modern-day analysis to argue that features of the Senate undermine effective democratic governance and have contributed to the maintenance of white supremacy.
Disparate impacts: As the pandemic surged, so did inequality
October, 2021
Inequality has long been the focus professor of developmental psychology Margarita Azmitia and professor of economics Robert Fairlie and the way people of color and low-income families have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, shining a spotlight on social, health, and economic inequities deeply rooted in the U.S.
Social Sciences Division convenes for awards ceremony
October 15, 2021
The Division of Social Sciences gathered on October 14 to present awards recognizing outstanding accomplishments by faculty, staff, researchers, and emeriti faculty.
Prison break: Challenging what is, imagining what could be
October, 2021
The wide-ranging art project Barring Freedom delves into unsettling aspects of prisoners’ lives, with prison factory American flags, troubling sounds from Chicago’s Cook County Jail, letter descriptions of an imagined garden.
College Scholars Program exposes students to research opportunities
October 13, 2021
Through the College Scholars Program, students are able to explore the full potential of the university setting, beyond the coursework that might be required in their respective disciplines.
Digital detectives: Advancing human rights through internet investigations
October, 2021
Working in the Human Rights Investigations Lab for the Americas, UC Santa Cruz students have become adept at this new type of research and using it to investigate protests in Chile, COVID-19’s spread in Latin America, the extent of online disinformation about the Black Lives Matter movement, and other matters that remain confidential.
Reimagining our economy for the benefit of all
October 13, 2021
Faculty members at UC Santa Cruz and the University of Southern California released a new book that offers a road map and conceptual framework for equity-driven economic reform in the United States.
Mellon Foundation award to support UC Santa Cruz’s ‘Visualizing Abolition’ initiative
October 05, 2021
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a $1,977,000 grant to support ‘Visualizing Abolition,’ the nation’s most ambitious and sustained art and prison abolition initiative.
Rising together for justice and racial equity
October 01, 2021
Five influential UCSC alumni join Rise Together, a socially conscious local philanthropic movement
Professor’s TED talk on body ideals warns against ‘conflation of appearance with health’
October 01, 2021
UC Santa Cruz professor and medical anthropologist Nancy Chen gave a popular TED Salon talk that has been viewed more than 780,000 times online.
Graduate student studying New Orleans’ Latin American connections
September 30, 2021
Rafael Delgadillo, a UC Santa Cruz doctoral student in Latin American and Latino Studies, is looking at how New Orleans’ colonial foundations set a tone for its distinctiveness within the United States.
Environmental governance expert Sikina Jinnah appointed to Harvard University’s SCoPEx advisory committee
September 29, 2021
Jinnah was appointed to an independent advisory committee that will make governance recommendations for a proposed experiment intended build understanding of the potential efficacy and risks of stratospheric aerosols relevant to solar geoengineering.
Mellon Foundation grant will support national initiative in Latinx studies
September 24, 2021
Through a three-year, $5 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, UC Santa Cruz will be part of a national initiative in Latinx studies called “Crossing Latinidades: Emerging Scholars and New Comparative Directions.”
The writing on the wall: exploring the cultural value of graffiti and street art
September 14, 2021
Doctoral candidate’s research interprets graffiti’s deeper meaning among Latinx and Black urban subcultures in Los Angeles.
Pairing research excellence and status as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, UC Santa Cruz launching new programs advance educational equity
September 14, 2021
Committed to creating educational equity that will help lead to real, transformative change, UC Santa Cruz will launch an array of new programs to support the success of Latinx, low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students and prepare them for rewarding careers once they graduate.
UCSC wins funding for new programs to support underrepresented doctoral students
September 14, 2021
Grants from the UC Hispanic Serving Institutions Doctoral Diversity Initiative will prepare students for faculty careers in biomedical sciences and Latin American and Latino Studies.
Breaking barriers, helping others up
September 13, 2021
UC Santa Cruz chemistry associate professor Laura Sanchez reflects on what helped her succeed and how she has tried to help others do the same.
UCSC exceeds fundraising goals in effort to bring Afghan visiting scholars to campus
September 07, 2021
A fundraising campaign that kicked off Aug. 27 raised almost $250,000 as part of ongoing efforts to bring Afghan thought leaders and their families to safety on the UC Santa Cruz campus.
Psychologist shares tips for studying smarter this school year
September 02, 2021
Assistant Professor of Psychology Hannah Hausman and colleagues translated findings from more than 100 research papers to offer students and teachers a guiding framework and practical tips for making the most of study time.
Drone technology featured in 2021 CITRIS Campus Seed Funding Awards
August 24, 2021
CITRIS and the Banatao Institute at UC Santa Cruz have selected three winning projects for the 2021 CITRIS Campus Seed Funding program.
Humanities Institute and Bookshop Santa Cruz offer evening with bestselling author Sandra Cisneros
August 24, 2021
UCSC’s Humanities Institute is co-sponsoring a special online event with Bookshop Santa Cruz, featuring Sandra Cisneros, in conversation with Emmy Award-winning journalist Rubén Martínez, to celebrate her new book, “Martita, I Remember You / Martita, te recuerdo.”
Experts weigh in on the future of drought management
August 23, 2021
UC Santa Cruz experts share insights on how technological innovations and long-term policy vision could help protect water supply.
DOE grant funds development of new imaging technology to study roots and soil
August 18, 2021
A multidisciplinary collaboration combines expertise in medical imaging technology and the ecology of plant roots to address questions with global implications.
The legacy is in the soil
August 18, 2021
Acclaimed chef/farmer and CASFS apprenticeship graduate Matthew Raiford will share his heritage-based approach to food and farming during an August 25 event on campus.
Two new grants support faculty diversity and retention
August 10, 2021
UC Santa Cruz was awarded grants from the University of California to support two collaborative multi-campus projects for advancing faculty diversity.
Fostering anti-racism in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology
August 09, 2021
A UCSC team has assembled a toolkit of resources for academic departments to use in addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Doctoral candidate’s award-winning research documents experiences of Latina girls growing up in rural California
August 09, 2021
UC Santa Cruz graduate student Roxanna Villalobos recently won a national dissertation scholarship award from Sociologists for Women in Society that will support her research with Latina girls in rural California.
Switzer Fellowship will help graduate student engage communities in climate planning
August 02, 2021
Coastal Science and Policy Program master’s student Diana Fu won a Switzer Foundation fellowship to support her work advancing environmental justice through climate change adaptation.
Climate change poses threat to ‘tuna dependent’ Pacific Islands economies
July 30, 2021
Shifting distributions of key tuna species could have serious economic impacts for island nations in the Western and Central Pacific, according to a new paper coauthored by Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Katherine Seto.
Oakes Founding Provost J. Herman Blake receives lifetime achievement award
July 29, 2021
Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Founding Provost of Oakes College J. Herman Blake is being recognized by the American Sociology Association for his distinguished career spent advancing access and equity in education.
Racial and colonial histories offer insights on refugee crisis in ‘The Black Mediterranean’
July 22, 2021
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Camilla Hawthorne coedited a first-of-its-kind new book called “The Black Mediterranean,” which examines the African diaspora within the region.
UC Santa Cruz admits fall class that reflects excellence, diversity
July 19, 2021
UC Santa Cruz anticipates welcoming about 6,100 new Banana Slugs this fall, concluding an admissions cycle that began with record applications and has yielded a new cohort that reflects the campus commitment to excellence, equity, and opportunity.
History professor wins prize for article on post-Civil War incarceration of African American children
July 16, 2021
Associate professor of history Catherine Jones has been honored with the 2021 Richards Prize for the best article published in The Journal of the Civil War Era in 2020. The journal explores how knowledge of the Civil War era informs our understanding of 21st-century politics and society.
Statistical analysis quantifies how chemistry undergraduates benefit from graduate student diversity
July 15, 2021
A study of chemistry lab courses at UC Santa Cruz suggests that diversity among graduate student teaching assistants may be among the most essential factors in retaining underrepresented minority undergraduates in STEM courses.
‘Precarity & Belonging’ captures insights from global discussion of citizenship, migration, socioeconomic mobility
July 13, 2021
A new book from an interdisciplinary group of UC Santa Cruz scholars culminates more than five years of collaborative research and discussion that positioned the university as a convener of global thought leaders.
Library’s new Community Archiving Program to broaden scope of Regional History Project
July 06, 2021
The University Library has announced the establishment of a new Community Archiving Program that will build on the foundation of its decades-old Regional History Project.
Quantitative ecologist Kai Zhu wins NSF funding for climate change research and education
July 02, 2021
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Kai Zhu won an NSF CAREER award to support research and education focused on the interconnections between climate change and plant phenology.
New research on aquaculture feed will test alternative ingredients to help minimize water pollution
July 02, 2021
A new grant will support UC Santa Cruz’s ecological aquaculture lab in their efforts to increase the variety and quality of low-polluting aquaculture feed options available to fish farmers.
Graduate student organizing community workshops on the queer Black experience
June 25, 2021
Mia Boykin is expanding her Black.Queer.Alive. project to include four community workshops that will explore fitness, creativity, politics and entrepreneurship.
Tracking data show how the quiet of pandemic-era lockdowns allowed pumas to venture closer to urban areas
June 23, 2021
During regional shelter-in-place orders, declining levels of human mobility emboldened local pumas to use habitats they would normally avoid out of fear of humans.
New study shows how loss of drought-sensitive species could affect health of California grasslands
June 21, 2021
At a grassland site near San Jose, scientists studied experimental research plots to determine what might happen if the plants that ecologists expect to be hit hardest by drought actually disappeared.
Work in social justice pushes recent grad toward career in medicine
June 18, 2021
Isabella Bullock realized she wanted to be a physician assistant after UC Santa Cruz courses began to reveal how socioeconomic status and race factor into one’s health.
Dialogues, collaborations, and the success of ‘slow science’
June 15, 2021
With funding from the Henry Luce Foundation, the new Southeast Asian Coastal Interactions Initiative takes a methodical approach to worldwide social and environmental challenges
Research partnership will highlight STEM learning in local community garden
June 09, 2021
A grant from the Spencer Foundation will help UC Santa Cruz researchers document the many types of STEM learning taking place in a Latinx immigrant-led community garden in Watsonville.
Doctoral student wins Ford Foundation fellowship for work on gender, race, and policing
June 09, 2021
Uriel Serrano recently won a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship to support his research on how gender ideologies are formed in relation to carceral violence.
Social Sciences Division celebrates outstanding students
June 02, 2021
The Social Sciences Division is recognizing 21 students for excellence in scholarship and research.
Professor Karen Holl wins MacArthur Foundation endowed chair to support work on natural climate solutions
May 26, 2021
Environmental Studies Professor Karen Holl has been awarded the MacArthur Foundation Chair at UC Santa Cruz for her work to increase the effectiveness of forest restoration efforts in combating climate change.
Somalia’s fight for God-given rights
May 26, 2021
The latest book from Politics and Legal Studies Professor Mark Fathi Massoud challenges Western notions of Islam and secular law-making by revealing how Somali Muslims have embraced Sharia as a force for progress and liberation.
Visualizing global representation for Indigenous nations
May 26, 2021
A new book by Professor of Sociology and Legal Studies Hiroshi Fukurai shows how Indigenous “original nations” around the world are fighting for sovereignty and the ecological preservation of their ancestral homelands.
Growing heritage and healing through traditional Asian vegetables
May 25, 2021
Faculty, staff, and alumni are drawing upon and strengthening their cultural heritage and connection to Asian foodways to cultivate traditional vegetables.
UC collaboration launches first online course in the Punjabi language
May 23, 2021
The first online Punjabi language course for University of California students that launched earlier this year is a collaboration of several UC campuses, centered on UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis.
Study shows which North American mammals live most successfully alongside people
May 20, 2021
Researchers analyzed camera trap data from across the continent to better understand how particular species of mammals respond to different types of human disturbance.
UC Santa Cruz names Celine Parreñas Shimizu new dean of Arts Division
May 19, 2021
UC Santa Cruz has appointed award-winning filmmaker and film scholar Celine Parreñas Shimizu as dean of the Arts Division, effective July 1.
Climate change sends tropical species racing to higher elevations while temperate counterparts lag behind
May 17, 2021
A new paper shows that, in mountain habitats, species’ responses to rising temperatures vary by latitude, but researchers fear there may be no clear winners among these strategies.
Student-led mentorship program offers holistic support
May 14, 2021
The Kuya-Ate Mentorship Program is a student-initiated retention project targeted to, but not limited to, Pilipino/x students at UC Santa Cruz. In addition to providing mentorship opportunities, KAMP also offers academic and social and cultural support.
Alumna Reyna Grande wins Latino Spirit Award for Achievement in Literature & Advocacy
May 12, 2021
UC Santa Cruz alumna Reyna Grande (Kresge ’99, B.A. creative writing, film & video) has received a 2021 Latino Spirit Award from the California Latino Legislative Caucus.
Virtual reality warps your sense of time
May 12, 2021
Psychology research demonstrates the unique “time compression” effect of virtual reality.
Creating a soundtrack and adding a heartbeat to the struggle for prison abolition
May 06, 2021
UCSC’s Institute of the Arts and Sciences will present ‘Music for Abolition’–an artist panel featuring three-time Grammy-award winning musician Terri Lyne Carrington with a dozen prominent guest musicians.
UCSC achieves fair-trade status through the work of students
May 05, 2021
UC Santa Cruz passed a Fair Trade Resolution that reflects its commitment to join the efforts of the Fair Trade Colleges & Universities, a division of Fair Trade Campaigns.
Strauss Foundation award recognizes student’s work with families affected by incarceration
May 04, 2021
Legal studies undergraduate Matt Sioson recently won $15,000 in funding from the Donald A. Strauss Public Service Scholarship Foundation.
Preserving the legacy of Watsonville’s first Filipino immigrants
May 04, 2021
In partnership with the university, the community-led Tobera Project will develop an oral history archive and digital exhibition to be housed at McHenry Library.
Fellowship win supports doctoral candidate’s research on national security policy
April 29, 2021
Cesar Estrella, a Ph.D. candidate in Latin American and Latino studies, won an American Council of Learned Societies fellowship to support his study of the ideologies that drive U.S. national security policy.
UC Santa Cruz named No. 3 public university for ‘making an impact’
April 27, 2021
Underscoring a reputation of pushing for positive change, UC Santa Cruz has been named the No. 3 public university in the nation for students focused on making an impact on the world in the Princeton Review’s latest college rankings.
Faculty experts share pandemic-era lessons for the future of K-12 education
April 27, 2021
UC Santa Cruz researchers who have studied the pandemic’s impact on K-12 education share lessons they hope will be remembered for the future.
Three UCSC professors elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
April 23, 2021
Angela Davis, distinguished professor emerita of history of consciousness and feminist studies; James Estes, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology; and Barbara Rogoff, distinguished professor of psychology, are among the newly elected fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
New UC Center for Climate Justice launches
April 20, 2021
The University of California is launching a new center just in time for Earth Day: the Center for Climate Justice. Led by management of complex systems professor and UC Presidential Chair Tracey Osborne, the Center for Climate Justice is a system-wide initiative to address climate change as a social justice and equity issue.
Enabling women and girls to achieve their potential
April 20, 2021
Alumna Ann Starrs, director of family planning at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, came to reproductive health work from a steadfast commitment—strengthened by her time at UC Santa Cruz—to feminism, gender equality, and women’s empowerment.
Alumna Terri McCullough, chief of staff to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will make a virtual campus visit for Alumni Week
April 16, 2021
This year’s Alumni Week will feature a virtual fireside chat with Terri McCullough, an Oakes ’90 politics alumna who is now chief of staff to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Study of U.S. tuna fisheries explores nexus of climate change, sustainable seafood
April 13, 2021
A new study by researchers at UC Santa Cruz and NOAA examines traditional aspects of seafood sustainability alongside greenhouse gas emissions to better understand the carbon footprint of U.S. tuna fisheries.
UCSC’s Van Williams discusses diversity in IT at Stanford event
April 12, 2021
Van Williams was the guest speaker for the virtual event sponsored by Stanford’s People of Color in Technology (POC-IT) and moderated by Stanford Chief Information Officer Steve Gallagher.
Sharing insights from more than six decades of social psychology research
April 12, 2021
New book by Professor Emeritus Thomas Pettigrew distills themes across his storied career
Inaugural Hayden White lecture to explore the afterlife of slavery with author Saidiya Hartman
April 09, 2021
Award-winning literary scholar and cultural historian Saidiya Hartman will be the featured guest at the inaugural Hayden V. White Distinguished Annual Lecture, a virtual event that takes place on April 19.
UC Santa Cruz and other higher education institutions urge strong 2030 U.S. climate target
April 08, 2021
A group of colleges and universities across the United States sent a letter to the White House today calling on the Biden-Harris administration to adopt a target of at least 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.
UCSC climate change conference focuses on food security issues
April 08, 2021
‘Confronting Climate Change: Food Security in a Changing World’ will be held virtually April 28-29, featuring a panel of experts and a series of short films.
UC Santa Cruz to launch new support center to advance the university’s innovation, industry engagement
April 06, 2021
UC Santa Cruz is launching a new support center to advance innovation, entrepreneurship and business engagement that will leverage the campus’s innovative spirit and be guided by its deep commitment to environmental and social justice.
Proud Slugs making a difference through public service
April 06, 2021
A Superior Court judge. The director of the public art program for Los Angeles. A defense attorney. They all believe in public service, and they all say their time at UC Santa Cruz changed their lives in permanent ways.
Erika Zavaleta honored for diversity efforts by Ecological Society of America
April 06, 2021
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has chosen Erika Zavaleta, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz, to receive its 2021 Commitment to Human Diversity in Ecology Award.
Research shows physical appearance affects career success in economics
April 06, 2021
Economics Professor and Center for Analytical Finance Co-Director Galina Hale is uncovering how appearance affects career success for economists.
Event to focus on the case for Black reparations
April 02, 2021
“Reparations for Black Americans: The Road to Racial Equality in California and Beyond,” hosted on April 15 by the Institute for Social Transformation, will feature a discussion with leading experts and advocates of reparations.
UCSC awarded three 2021 VOICE grants from UC National Center for Free Speech
April 01, 2021
UC Santa Cruz has received three awards from the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement’s Valuing Open and Inclusive Conversation and Engagement (VOICE) Grant Program.
The shot felt ’round the world
March, 2021
UC Santa Cruz faculty consider issues of health equity and trust in the national and global vaccine rollout
UC Santa Cruz programs ranked in ‘Best Graduate Schools’ survey
March 30, 2021
The latest survey by U.S. News and World Report released rankings for graduate schools across the country, and UC Santa Cruz programs were evaluated in engineering, economics, history, sociology, education, and political science.
Marking fifth year, Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning plays vital role in campus mission
March 30, 2021
The center will celebrate its fifth anniversary April 14 with a convocation featuring Estela Bensimon, professor of higher education at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education and director of the Center for Urban Education, which she founded in 1999.
Teens describe their gender and sexuality in diverse new ways, but some are being left behind
March 29, 2021
Psychology Professor Phil Hammack’s latest research shows how regional differences and other social factors can either hinder or support expression of diversity in sexual and gender identity among teens and young adults.
UCSC ecologist Erika Zavaleta appointed to California Fish and Game Commission
March 25, 2021
Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed Erika Zavaleta, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz, to the California Fish and Game Commission.
UC Santa Cruz faculty recognized for excellence in ecology
March 25, 2021
The Ecological Society of America announced its 2021 Fellow and Early Career Fellow awards, and UC Santa Cruz’s faculty were the most decorated of any university on this year’s list.
Staff member guides students on path to higher education
March 25, 2021
Osiris Ortiz has spent nearly two decades helping the regions high school students pursue four-year degrees through her work at the Educational Partnership Center.
Announcing the 2021 UC Santa Cruz SSRC-DPD Fellows
March 24, 2021
Twelve students received the 2021 UCSC Social Science Research Council-Dissertation Proposal Development program award. Recipients come from a wide-range of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Arts Division departments including Environmental Studies, History, History of Consciousness, Politics, Latin American and Latino Studies, Film and Digital Media, and History of Art and Visual Culture. The program is sponsored by The Humanities Institute, the Division of Graduate Studies, the Social Sciences Division, and the Arts Division to support graduate students through innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to research proposal training.
Three decades of connections, encouragement, and programs
March 24, 2021
UCSC’s African American Resource and Cultural Center, this year celebrating its 30th anniversary, has created meaningful change for students of color and become a key part of the university community.
New analysis shows potential for ‘solar canals’ in California
March 18, 2021
UC Santa Cruz researchers and their partners published a new study that suggests covering California’s water delivery canals with solar panels could be an economically viable means of advancing renewable energy and water conservation.
UCSC professor contributes to new study showing how parts of the US will ‘tropicalize’ as climate changes
March 18, 2021
Environmental Studies Professor Michael Loik is a coauthor on a new paper describing how warming winters are allowing some tropical plants and animals to replace temperate communities in southern portions of the country.
UC Santa Cruz joins new consortium to ensure future of SlaveVoyages database
March 18, 2021
UC Santa Cruz has joined a newly formed consortium of institutions to ensure the preservation, stability, and future development of what has become the single most widely used online resource for anyone interested in slavery across the Atlantic world.
Campus holds first Sexual Violence Sexual Harassment Research Symposium
March 16, 2021
UC Santa Cruz will hold its first-ever research symposium — and a first for a UC campus — highlighting research by campus scholars on issues of sexual violence and sexual harassment Friday, April 2.
Disrupting harmful food systems to prevent future pandemics
March 11, 2021
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Maywa Montenegro de Wit is exploring how lessons from the abolition movement could help agroecology combat the agro-industrial complex to prevent future pandemics.
Announcing New Undocumented Student Support Initiative
March 08, 2021
Jennifer Baszile, Interim Vice Chancellor, Division of Student Affairs and Success announces the launch of a new initiative, an 18-month campus program to enhance structural supports for undocumented students to thrive on campus and beyond, and to strengthen relationships between undocumented students, staff, and faculty at UC Santa Cruz.
Focused on student success and equity, UC Santa Cruz seeks reapproval to build more housing and child-care facilities
March 05, 2021
In an effort to provide students with more housing security amid an unrelenting housing crisis, UC Santa Cruz will seek reapproval for a project that will significantly increase the number of current students who are able to live on campus.
Diverse Voices 2021: Promoting diversity in STEM education and careers
March 03, 2021
Diverse Voices, a Baskin School of Engineering professional speaker series spotlighting industry leaders and Baskin Engineering alumni, returns April 2021 for its third season.
Girl activists are more visible than ever. Is this progress?
March 03, 2021
In the past decade, there’s been an explosion in media coverage of girl activists. Professor Jessica Taft, a leading expert in youth activism, sees opportunity in this visibility, but her research has also identified many troubling trends in how girl activists are portrayed.
UCSC leads multicampus initiative on coastal resilience and climate adaptation
March 03, 2021
A UC-funded initiative will bring together researchers at the Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and San Diego campuses to address pressing issues for California’s coastal communities.
How to find truth in today’s partisan world
March 01, 2021
UC Santa Cruz philosophy lecturer Kyle Robertson and associate professor of philosophy Jon Ellis teach a course in Ethics Bowl—a non-confrontational alternative to the traditional competitive form of debate—in collaboration with the Prison University Project (PUP) at San Quentin prison.
Campus launches first Black studies minor
February 26, 2021
UC Santa Cruz’s Black Studies minor offers students grounding in the intellectual histories, political movements, cultural expressions, and critical theories of the Black diaspora.
Forest monitoring efforts contribute to new understanding of climate change impacts
February 25, 2021
Data collected by student interns at UC Santa Cruz’s Forest Ecology Research Plot recently contributed to a breakthrough in understanding how climate change affects forests.
Students help power campus testing program
February 23, 2021
Arcelia Gonzalez Jimenez is one of the many students supporting the health and wellbeing of the campus community by working at the COVID-19 testing sites.
LASER talk to feature research by UCSC deans of the humanities and social sciences
February 22, 2021
The event will feature research presentations by Jasmine Alinder, Dean of the Humanities (“Representing Japanese American Incarceration”), and Katharyne Mitchell, Dean of the Social Sciences (“Sanctuary Space and Insurgent Memory”).
Computer scientist Yang Liu wins $1M grant for research on fairness in AI
February 18, 2021
Liu’s research aims to achieve more equitable outcomes from decision-making tools based on automated machine-learning algorithms.
Hope, mutual aid, and abolition
February 16, 2021
Activist and organizer Mariame Kaba offers a blueprint for mutually supportive communities during the 37th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation
Listening and bringing change
February 11, 2021
Aaron Jones, interim Educational Opportunity Programs director, founded the orientation program Black Academy, which has dramatically increased African Black Caribbean students’ retention rate at UCSC.
Genentech Foundation grants support UCSC STEM diversity programs
February 10, 2021
Three academic support and mentoring programs at UC Santa Cruz have received funding from Genentech’s 2020 Diverse Future of STEM Fund.
Troupe dynamic
February 05, 2021
UC Santa Cruz’s African American Theater Arts Troupe, which is celebrating its 30-year anniversary, has not only staged plays but also taken up works that deal with issues of race, injustice, and discrimination; brought its performances into the community; and awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships.
Rob Fairlie testifies before Congress on inequality in pandemic economic impacts
February 04, 2021
Rob Fairlie testified before the House Committee on Small Business to share his latest research on the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, including the disproportionate hardships faced by minority-owned businesses.
Meteoric success
February 02, 2021
Planetary scientist Myriam Telus, a NASA Planetary Science Early Career Award winner, reflects on her journey to UC Santa Cruz to study meteorites: Discovering her passion, seeking out mentors, and finding inspiration in the courage of civil rights movement leaders.
Anthropologist Savannah Shange wins book award for insights on race and education
February 01, 2021
Anthropology faculty member Savannah Shange received one of the most prestigious honors in the field when she was awarded the 2020 Gregory Bateson Book Prize from the Society for Cultural Anthropology.
Green New Deal architect Rhiana Gunn-Wright will make a virtual campus visit
February 01, 2021
Gunn-Wright previewed some of the insights she’ll share on climate policy and environmental justice during her February 10th event with the Institute for Social Transformation.
Call for Applications: Building Belonging Program Spring/Summer
due January 31, 2021
Designed to increase engagement and build a greater sense of belonging through service-learning and research projects, the Institute for Social Transformation will award up to 50 Building Belonging undergraduate research fellowships of $1,500 per student. Faculty in Social Sciences can apply now for Spring/Summer fellows.
Funding Opportunity: Institute for Social Transformation Call for Proposals
due January 31, 2021
The Institute for Social Transformation is pleased to announce the third annual call for proposals for funding opportunities. The institute’s competitive grant program is designed to spur new ways of thinking about old problems, and to jump-start new initiatives that show promise in advancing theoretical concepts, socially relevant research, community engagement, and research in the public interest. Faculty in Social Sciences can apply now for Catalyze Awards and Emerging Scholar Awards.
Sociology researcher seeks solutions for Public Safety Power Shutoffs
January 29, 2021
Sociology researcher Les Guliasi’s most recent paper shows how “microgrid” technologies could reduce the impact of outages, if regulatory challenges can be resolved.
UCSC awarded National Endowment for the Humanities grants to support faculty research
January 28, 2021
UC Santa Cruz has received two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support faculty research and writing leading to book projects.
With record applications, UC Santa Cruz poised to build exceptional, diverse fall class
January 28, 2021
The competition to earn a spot at UC Santa Cruz will increase this year, with the campus receiving a record number of applications and nearly 200 students approved last year to defer their enrollment to fall 2021.
Digital NEST founder to serve as external adviser to chancellor
January 26, 2021
Jacob Martinez is bringing his insight on economic opportunity, community empowerment and digital innovation to UC Santa Cruz as an external special adviser to Chancellor Cindy Larive.
Italian newspaper ranks sociology professor among top women of the year
January 20, 2021
Camilla Hawthorne is being recognized for shedding light on emergent Afro-Italian identities and activism during a time of racial reckoning in Italy and beyond.
UC Santa Cruz economic impact provides foundation for thriving region
January 19, 2021
When adjusted for the size of the Monterey Bay regional economy, UC Santa Cruz’s economic impact is second only to UC Davis in the Sacramento/Tahoe region and ahead of UC Santa Barbara in what is defined as the Central Coast of California.
Grant funding will advance aquaculture research in UCSC’s new state-of-the-art facility
January 19, 2021
Researchers won a USDA grant in support of their efforts to develop a more ocean-friendly feed formula for farm-raised rainbow trout. This work will take place in the team’s new aquaculture facility at the UCSC Farm.
Graduate student advances university access for Latinx students
January 07, 2021
Valeria Alonso Blanco wants to do anything she can to help Latinx transfer students have a successful experience at UC Santa Cruz.
CITRIS UCSC Tech For Social Good Program funds student teams
January 06, 2021
The program’s Tech Development Track provides up to $5,000 in funding for student-led projects that aim to develop a solution to a significant social challenge. This year’s projects embrace that goal in innovative ways, in response to a wide range of challenges.
Shedding light on one of environmental policy’s most under-the-radar strategies
January 04, 2021
Associate professor of environmental studies Sikina Jinnah studies the environmental provisions contained within trade agreements and wants to help policymakers better navigate this space.
Uncovering the social factors lurking within diabetes risk
January 04, 2021
Assistant professor of sociology James Doucet-Battle’s new book challenges assumptions about race within diabetes research and delves into the issue through the lens of African American experience.
