News

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.

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.

Research partnership explores bonds between mothers and nonspeaking autistic children
December 18, 2020

Researchers at UC Santa Cruz and the University of Virginia have been collaborating to better understand behaviors and beliefs that may strengthen relationships between mothers and children with nonspeaking autism.

Focus on access and equity for students guides changes physical education
December 18, 2020

The UC Santa Cruz Athletics and Recreation Department is committed to offering programs and activities that promote leadership, lifelong wellness, and experiential learning.

UC Santa Cruz continues to meet, exceed community commitments
December 15, 2020

In a new book, Computational Media Professor The campus continues to make advancements in the areas of housing, transportation, and water conservation.

‘How Pac-Man Eats’ explores how games work and how they can create meaning
December 15, 2020

In a new book, Computational Media Professor Noah Wardrip-Fruin shows how the fundamental mechanics of games shape their capacity to address important topics.

UCSC arts professor documents spread of COVID-19 inside prisons, jails, and detention centers
December 11, 2020

A new Interactive web project by film and digital media professor Sharon Daniel creates a cumulative public record and evolving history of the pandemic’s impact on those incarcerated

Delivering Insecurity: E-commerce and the Future of Work in Food Retail
December 09, 2020

A report by led by Chris Benner, professor of sociology and environmental studies, and UC Berkeley Labor Center and Working Partnerships USA explore the growth of e-commerce sales for food that has increased the number of jobs available at a time when unemployment across the U.S. economy has skyrocketed.

Surge in online grocery shopping brings a quantity-over-quality jobs shift
December 09, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated emerging labor market trends associated with e-commerce in the grocery industry, creating mixed implications for jobs, according to a new report led by UCSC professor Chris Benner.

National Academies report on sustainability education features UC Santa Cruz expertise
December 04, 2020

UC Santa Cruz professor Anne Kapuscinski chaired the committee that developed the report, and campus initiatives were highlighted within as examples of innovative sustainability education.

UCSC offers new M.F.A. degree program in Environmental Art and Social Practice
December 02, 2020

The UC Santa Cruz Art Department is now accepting applications for a new M.F.A. degree program in Environmental Art and Social Practice (EASP), set to begin in fall quarter of 2021.

Psychology research shows ‘water cooler talk’ can have big benefits
November 30, 2020

In settings where people are working together on a task, making time for small talk allows for a newly-described behavior called “reciprocity in conversation,” which is associated with higher levels of task enjoyment.

UC Santa Cruz celebrates its first Rhodes Scholar
November 24, 2020

Spring 2020 graduate Garima Desai was named among the top 32 scholars from across the U.S. who will have all of their expenses paid to attend graduate school at Oxford University through a Rhodes Scholarship.

An unflinching look at America’s tragic past
November 24, 2020

Journalist and bestselling novelist Ta-Nehisi Coates drew an audience of 1,200 for a live discussion about his new novel, the legacy of slavery, and the aftermath of the presidential election.

‘Living in a Frayed Democracy’: Ethics lecture to feature noted alumnus Ezra Klein
November 19, 2020

UC Santa Cruz will present “Living in a Frayed Democracy,” a trans-Atlantic public dialogue, featuring noted UCSC alumnus and journalist Ezra Klein and London political economist William Davis, as part of the Humanities Division’s Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture Series on Dec. 5.

Two UC Santa Cruz programs win funding for public interest technology
November 16, 2020

The Human Rights Investigations Lab and Everett Program at UC Santa Cruz will receive new grant funding through the Public Interest Technology University Network.

Research breakthrough achieves fish-free aquaculture feed that raises key standards
November 12, 2020

A new aquaculture feed formula eliminates conventional fish meal and fish oil ingredients and is the first to demonstrate across-the-board gains in sustainability, performance, economic viability, and human health.

Hidden figures
October, 2020

UC Santa Cruz Economics Professor Rob Fairlie is sounding the alarm about COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on African American/Black-, Latinx-, and other minority-owned businesses, with the aim of addressing the nation’s racial wealth gap.

Veronica Arteaga: Blessed
October, 2020

An article on alumna Veronica Arteaga (Crown ’03, psychology and sociology) chief program officer for Wayfinder Family Services, a nonprofit that provides services from foster care and adoption programs to early intervention care for kids with disabilities.

Barbara Ferrer: Advocating for justice through public health
October, 2020

Alumna Barbara Ferrer (Rachel Carson ’78, community studies), director of Los Angeles County’s Public Health Department, is at the forefront of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has slammed the county of 10 million people.

Doctoral candidate wins Switzer Fellowship for environmental justice research in El Salvador
October 19, 2020

James Alejandro Artiga-Purcell, a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Studies, was recently selected for the 2020 Switzer Environmental Fellowship as part of a cohort of 20 top scholar-activists from around the country.

HSI grant to support graduate students
October 19, 2020

The grant from the U.S. Department of Education will help the campus increase the readiness of Latinx, low-income and students of color from UC Santa Cruz and CSU Monterey Bay to apply and succeed in graduate programs.

UC Santa Cruz study cited in arguments against gig economy proposition
October 15, 2020

Lead researcher Chris Benner, a professor of environmental studies and sociology and the director of the Institute for Social Transformation, was cited in arguments against Proposition 22 in the California Voter Guide.

‘Visualizing Abolition’ series kicks off with conversation featuring Angela Davis and Gina Dent
October 15, 2020

The UCSC Institute of the Arts and Sciences has joined forces with associate feminist studies professor Gina Dent to offer a year-long online series featuring artists, activists, scholars, and lawyers united by their commitment to the struggle for prison abolition.

UC Santa Cruz Human Rights Lab investigates social unrest in Chile
October 13, 2020

Human Rights Investigations Labs at UCSC and UC Berkeley collaborated on open source research focused on the human rights crisis in Chile, which began with massive anti-government demonstrations a year ago that prompted a swift and sometimes brutal government crackdown on protestors.

Challenging how we see the prison-industrial complex
October 13, 2020

An ambitious two-part exhibit, titled Barring Freedom and Visualizing Abolition, organized by the UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences, combines art and activism to address prison and policing issues.

Tech for Social Good student project funding now open for applications
October 09, 2020

The Tech for Social Good (TSG) program, which funds student research projects and events on the UC Santa Cruz campus, is now accepting applications for 2020-21. Started in 2019 by CITRIS and the Banatao Institute in partnership with the Institute for Social Transformation, the program funded four projects and two events in its first year. The deadline for applications for 2020-21 is November 16.

Fall quarter kicks off with new students, programs
October 01, 2020

UC Santa Cruz students are excited to start their college journey, despite the challenges created by a global pandemic that has reshaped society. Faculty and staff are ready to provide students with the best experience possible and the support to help them succeed.

Joint Statement on Pan-African Research Fellowships
September 29, 2020

UCSC Launches Pan-African Research Fellowships to conduct research in the areas of African, Black and Caribbean (ABC) student learning, engagement and career preparation.

Rising from the ashes
September 29, 2020

Archaeological researchers from UC Santa Cruz are among the volunteers searching through rubble for homeowners who lost their loved ones’ cremains in the fires that ravaged Oregon and California.

Alumna Martha Mendoza wins Emmy for work on child detention documentary
September 25, 2020

‘Kids Caught in the Crackdown’ documentary from PBS Frontline and Associated Press investigates the detention of migrant children in federally-funded shelters.

Hope in the time of dystopia
September 23, 2020

The celebrated author Margaret Atwood offered some words of cautious encouragement and measured hope this week during her virtual dialogue with alumna and author Kate Schatz this week. The event was part of the Humanities Division’s annual Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture Series.

The global land rush
September 16, 2020

In her new book, ‘Fields of Gold, Financing the Global Land Rush,’ Madeleine Fairbairn looks at forces and players that have transformed farmland into a novel financial asset class.

New federal funding supports student success, equity
September 16, 2020

Five years of federal funding from the Title V Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Program will support a new project, “Graduating and Advancing New American Scholars (GANAS) – Career Pathways.”

UC Santa Cruz ranks again as a top university for social mobility
September 14, 2020

The ranking (No. 4) speaks to the campus’s success in offering a world-class education to low income and first-generation students.

Outstanding Staff Award honoree is a passionate advocate for STEM diversity
September 14, 2020

Yulianna Ortega, the campus’s STEM Diversity Programs director, has earned the trust and respect of fellow staff members, faculty, and students across divisions. Ortega, this year’s Outstanding Staff Award recipient, is cares deeply about student academic success and well-being.

Election series looks at critical moment in time
September 08, 2020

The four-part series, subtitled “Democracy, Dilemmas and Decisions,” will address how social movements on the left and right have shaped what is at stake in the election, what institutional barriers to democracy exist in America’s political system, and how patterns of civic engagement are influencing the election.

Antiracist efforts must be ongoing, ever-improving
September 08, 2020

University of Pennsylvania Religious Studies Professor Anthea Butler and Kevin Gannon, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Grandview University, sent out a call for the entire higher education community to participate in a two-day action on Sept. 8 and 9, 2020. Over the course of these two days, they are inviting academics to take action in the struggle for racial justice and against police violence against Black Americans.

New data science institute includes a focus on ethics and algorithms
September 01, 2020

The Institute for Foundations of Data Science is a collaboration between UC Santa Cruz, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Chicago.

Economist’s research cited in bill to strengthen federal minority business agency
August 11, 2020

When the COVID–19 pandemic hit, Professor Rob Fairlie knew he needed to shift his research to the economic impact of the crisis.

Call for Applications: Building Belonging Program
July 30, 2020

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 100 Building Belonging undergraduate research fellowships of $1,500 per student each academic year. Faculty in Social Sciences can apply now for Fall/Winter fellows >>

CITRIS UCSC funds new pandemic-related research projects
July 14, 2020

The campus seed funding program is providing $40K grants for three new projects to address the challenges of COVID-19.

New film by Jennifer Taylor portrays Vermont town as microcosm of divided America
July 13, 2020

“For the Love of Rutland,” a new documentary by UCSC film professor Jennifer Taylor, is an exploration of the multiple problems now faced by rural America–most notably the opioid epidemic, income inequality, racism, and xenophobia.

Connecting on campus
July 06, 2020

Social psychologist Rebecca Covarrubias documents the experiences of students who are the first in their family to attend college.

Three interdisciplinary projects receive seed funding from UCSC Foundation
June 30, 2020

Three interdisciplinary projects have received seed funding from the UC Santa Cruz Foundation following a campuswide call for proposals issued by the Office of Research.

Building bridges out of prison walls
June 16, 2020

Student Alyssa Tamboura began a student-run, volunteer program called Walls to Bridges that mediates meetings between those jailed and their families as a way to work their way back to better relationships.

Royal Geographical Society publishes special COVID-19 issue
June 05, 2020

A virtual special issue of Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers features Politics Professor Matt Sparke’s article, “Contextualizing Coronavirus Geographically,” and provides free access to additional articles that provide perspective on the pandemic.

Social Sciences recognizes students amid unprecedented times
June 05, 2020

The Social Sciences Division announced the recipients of its annual student achievement awards.

Campus, Santa Cruz Community Health unite to test underserved community members
June 04, 2020

As news outlets published stories about celebrities and athletes unnecessarily getting tested for COVID-19, UC Santa Cruz scientists and staff saw an opportunity to provide fast testing for the community’s most vulnerable residents who too often do not have access to the same medical services.

Give revolution a chance
June 03, 2020

History of Consciousness Professor Massimiliano Tomba’s prestigious Princeton University fellowship will enable him to spend the next year advancing his reinterpretation of the concept of revolution

Protecting vulnerable children and families during the pandemic
May 27, 2020

In addition to experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 infection and death, the most vulnerable among us are losing ground in schooling, learning, and development, according to the authors of a new policy brief aimed at lawmakers.

Field courses boost STEM diversity, study reveals
May 19, 2020

The challenge of diversifying STEM fields may get a boost from the results of a new study that show field courses help build self-confidence among students—especially those from underrepresented groups.

Outbreak inquiry
May 18, 2020

Faculty have developed two undergraduate classes that are focusing on the effects and experiences of the coronavirus pandemic, even while the pandemic is under way.

Planting trees is no panacea for climate change, says ecologist
May 07, 2020

Restoration ecologist Karen Holl has a simple message for anyone who thinks planting 1 trillion trees will reverse the damage of climate change: “We can’t plant our way out of climate change.”

Already vulnerable, gig economy workers in San Francisco suffer during coronavirus pandemic, survey reveals
May 05, 2020

A new survey of app-based ride-hailing and food and grocery-delivery workers in San Francisco underscores the financial vulnerability of workers in the gig economy—and the coronavirus has made their plight much worse.

Zavella authors new book about reproductive justice
April 29, 2020

Pat Zavella, professor emerita of Latin American and Latino studies, has published a new book about the reproductive justice movement that blends research, history, theory, and memoir.

Economist Nirvikar Singh joins panel of experts
April 27, 2020

Professor of economics Nirvikar Singh has joined a panel of experts convened by the government of Punjab to oversee the revival of the state in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Watch UCSC participants talk about hope during TEDx Santa Cruz
April 23, 2020

Last December, TEDx Santa Cruz hosted a day-long extravaganza of talks curated around the theme of “The Art of Hope.” Those talks, including ones by several UCSC affiliates, are now available for online viewing.

Agroecology major available this fall
April 21, 2020

Beginning this fall, students will have an opportunity to enroll in a new agroecology major, an interdisciplinary program housed in the Environmental Studies Department.

Delivery and ridehailing workers lack critical protections from coronavirus
April 21, 2020

Preliminary data released today (April 21) to the San Francisco Local Agency Formation Commission (SF LAFCo) provides a disturbing snapshot of what app-based delivery and ridehailing workers are confronting with COVID-19, and demonstrates the urgent need for the city and platform companies to take more immediate actions to protect this vulnerable workforce.

New program advances global and community health
April 07, 2020

As countries across the globe fight the coronavirus pandemic, UC Santa Cruz is creating a new program that will prepare students and provide research to solve current and future global health problems. The university’s new global and community health program will offer a multidisciplinary bachelor of arts degree and a bachelor of science degree. The program will also coordinate university-wide community and global health research efforts.

COVID-19: Economist helps build “contact tracing” app for Peru
April 06, 2020

As countries across the globe fight the coronavirus pandemic, UC Santa Cruz is creating a new program that will prepare students and provide research to solve current and future global health problems. The university’s new global and community health program will offer a multidisciplinary bachelor of arts degree and a bachelor of science degree. The program will also coordinate university-wide community and global health research efforts.

Discrimination, governance, and trust in the age of COVID-19
April 02, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has upended daily life around the world, and is simultaneously triggering challenging questions of discrimination, governance, and trust, says sociologist Jenny Reardon, who calls for higher levels of public oversight and vigilance as the pandemic unfolds.

Two programs will support undergrads in research, service learning, and peer mentoring
March 16, 2020

The “Building Belonging” program, a new five-year effort designed to increase engagement and build a greater sense of belonging through service-learning and research projects. A total of 550 students will participate over the five years, each earning a $1500 fellowship award. “It’s great because the students get faculty mentors, they get paid, and faculty get help with their research,” said Social Sciences Dean Katharyne Mitchell. “It’s a win-win-win.”

Craig Haney testifies before committee charged with revising state’s penal code
February 03, 2020

40 years of mass incarceration must be reversed, says expert on criminal justice system. Craig Haney, distinguished professor of psychology, was the only witness to testify in Sacramento during the first meeting of the newly formed Committee on Revision of the Penal Code.

Public conversation about race and racial reconciliation on Jan. 22
January 10, 2020

Racial reconciliation and the future of race in America will be the subject of a public conversation with scholars Alondra Nelson and Herman Gray on Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center. The event will feature a conversation with Nelson and Gray, moderated by Jenny Reardon, professor of sociology at UC Santa Cruz. 

Food and anti-corporate globalization activist Vandana Shiva coming to campus Jan. 25-26
January 06, 2020

Shiva, a proponent of “poison-free” food and a leader of the fight against Monsanto, will be in conversation with Anthropology Professor Nancy Chen on Saturday, January 25, at 7 p.m. in the UCSC Music Recital Hall. In 1993, Shiva received the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize.” 

Guthman’s book named one of the best of 2019
December 19, 2019

Julie Guthman’s book Wilted: Pathogens, Chemicals, and the Fragile Future of the Strawberry Industry, has been named one of the best 2019 books about the U.S. food system, according to U.S. Right to Know, a nonprofit investigative research group focused on the food industry. In the book, Guthman, a professor of social sciences, writes about a confluence of factors unique to the California’s strawberry industry that are making the industry’s future quite uncertain. 

Youth activism is on the rise around the globe, and adults should pay attention, says author
September 17, 2019

Greta and Malala get the headlines, but for every young leader pictured on a magazine cover, thousands more are working tirelessly for causes like climate justice, racial and gender equality, LGBTQ rights, and economic change.

UC Santa Cruz establishes interdisciplinary Southeast Asia research center
July 01, 2019

Home to some of the most diverse and vibrant ecological zones in the world, Southeast Asia is threatened by a daunting array of environmental, economic, cultural, and political forces.

Funded by a $1 million grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, the new Center for Southeast Asian Coastal Interactions (SEACoast) at UC Santa Cruz will bring together scholars from the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences to address the region’s challenges.

Video highlights cultural differences in collaboration
May 13, 2019

A video by Distinguished Professor of Psychology Barbara Rogoff is featured in the “2019 STEM for All Video Showcase,” a competition hosted by the National Science Foundation (NSF).