CAMPUS NOTES

UCSB Intercollegiate Athletics is offering a variety of what they call “fan-friendly” ticket packages for the 2007-08 men’s and women’s basketball seasons. For faculty and staff members, savings can be as much as $300, according to an IA announcement. The Coca-Cola Gaucho Family Pack provides four tickets, four hot dogs, four soft drinks, and four t-shirts for a total of $40. Another package consists of five $12 tickets for the price of four. Go to <www.UCSBGauchos.com> for more offers.

Mark Juergensmeyer, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Global and International Studies, has been elected vice president of the American Academy of Religion, placing him in line for the AAR presidency in 2009. He is also affiliated with the UCSB Department of Religious Studies.

Hugo A. Loaiciga, professor of geography, has been elected a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The 150,000-member ASCE said the honor recognizes his “outstanding contributions to…the planning, analysis, and operation of water resources engineering…”

Karen Szumlinski, assistant professor of psychology, has received the 2007 Young Investigator Award from the Research Society on Alcoholism for her “outstanding contribution to (understanding) the neurobiology of alcoholism.”

Gerardo Aldana, assistant professor of Chicana/o studies, takes a new, historical-mathematical look at the riddles of Maya hieroglyphics in “The Apotheosis of Janaab’ Pakal” (University Press of Colorado, 2007) and tells about tumult in the ancient city of Palenque.

Erinn O’Shea, who has been working part-time in the Community Relations Office, has now been appointed an administrative assistant and is a career employee.

Jayme Pangalangan, formerly a part-time employee with the Instructional Development Department, has been hired by that department as an assistant with responsibilities in the evaluation system for courses and instruction. She is a UCSB alumna.

Peter P. Nicoletti, a former maintenance supervisor for Housing and Residential Services after whom Nicoletti’s UCen café is named, died on Sept. 18 at his Santa Barbara home. The native Santa Barbaran was 90. He had worked for Signal Oil and Gas Co., for 30 years before he was hired by UCSB in 1967. An excellent craftsman, he turned to wood and stone carving after retiring in 1983. He is survived by two daughters and three grandchildren.