CAMPUS NOTES

     Preparations are under way for the fall New Student Convocation, which will take place on Monday, September 20, at 3 p.m. on the Faculty Club lawn. Invitations to participate in the ceremony will be mailed to faculty and staff in early June.  More than 5,000 incoming students attended this event last year. It is designed to promote the academic values of scholarship, leadership, and citizenship.

    Margaret T. Getman and William J. Villa Service to Students Awards will be presented to faculty and staff members at the Student Affairs divisional meeting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 3, in Corwin Pavilion. Named for the former UCSB Dean of Student Residents and the former Director of Admissions, respectively, the awards recognize extraordinary commitment to the quality of student life at UCSB. The Getman Award recipients include Joanna Hill, Student Health Service; Tamzen Hull, Student Health Service; Llad Phillips, economics; Victor Rios, sociology; Darcy Ritzau, history; and Simran Singh, Office of International Students and Scholars.
    The winner of the Villa Award, which is given to a campus department, will be announced at the meeting. The nominees are Counseling Services, Student Health Service, and Student Health Service-Health Education.

     Penelope Herbert of UC Davis has been named the 2010-12 staff advisor-designate to the Board of Regents. Her appointment follows a systemwide selection process. She joins Juliann Martinez, the 2009-11 staff advisor.
    “Penny’s commitment to the University’s mission and her understanding of the issues we face make her an excellent choice for the staff advisor role,” said UC President Mark G. Yudof in announcing Herbert’s appointment. “I think Penny will represent all UC employees well.”
    Herbert replaces Edward Abeyta of UC Dan Diego, whose two-year appointment ends on June 30. More information about the staff advisor program is available at <www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/
staffadv.html>.

     UCSB will host the Council of UC Staff Assemblies on June 3-4 at Mosher Alumni House. The council includes staff delegates from all 10 UC campuses. Presentations will be made by Edward Abeyta and Juliann Martinez, staff advisors to the Regents, and by Human Resources Director Cynthia Cronk. Additional information is available at <www.staffassembly.ucsb.edu>.

     The first of what campus officials hope will be a network of five mass notification warning system speakers has been installed on the roof of Kerr Hall. According to Associate Vice Chancellor Ron Cortez, the Notifier system of speakers will allow the campus to communicate information to students, faculty, and staff in the event of an emergency. Emergency alerts and other notifications would be broadcast over the speakers, telling people where to go and what to do during a campus emergency. The speakers have a range of 2,400 feet at 70 decibels. Eventually, Cortez said, the campus hopes to have other speakers located at the Recreation Center, Kohn Hall, Santa Rosa Hall, and the Faculty Club.

     The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) Grant Making Committee has announced its grant recipients for the 2009-10 funding cycle.
    The committee, composed primarily of undergraduate and graduate students, received 27 applications for various campus sustainability projects from students, staff, and faculty.”
    Thirteen projects were selected to receive funding.
    TGIF will begin soliciting applications for the 2010-11 funding cycle in fall 2010. Anyone who has an idea for a project that would aid the campus’s sustainability efforts is urged to contact Jill Richardson, campus sustainability coordinator, at jill.richardson@vcadmin.ucsb.edu or ext. 8367. More information on TGIF, including descriptions of the 2009-10 projects, is available at <http://sustainability.ucsb.edu/tgif>.

Gabriela Soto Laveaga, assistant professor of history, has received the Robert K. Merton Award for her book, “Jungle Laboratories: Mexican Peasants, National Projects, and the Making of the Pill.” The Merton Award is given each year by the Science, Knowledge, and Technology section of the American Sociological Association for the best recent book published in science and technology studies.

Chris Van de Walle, professor of materials, has been named a Fellow of the Materials Research Society. He was recognized for his distinguished research accomplishments and outstanding contributions to the advancement of materials research worldwide.

Inga Dóra Björnsdóttir, a lecturer in the anthropology department, has published Ólöf the Eskimo Lady: A Biography of an Icelandic Dwarf in America (The University of Michigan Press, 2010).

Thomas Holden, associate associate professor of philosophy, has published Spectres of False Divinity (Oxford University Press, 2010), in which he examines Scottish philosopher David Hume’s rejection of the existence of a diety with moral attributes.

Amber M. VanDerwarker, associate professor of anthropology, has published Integrating Zooarchaeology and Paleoethnobotany: A Consideration of Issues, Methods, and Cases (Springer Publishing, 2010).

Edward W. Loomis, professor emeritus of English, died on May 13. He joined the UCSB faculty in 1959 and retired in 1987. He is survived by his wife, Mary O’Connor.

Henry W. Offen, professor emeritus of chemistry, died on April 25. He joined the UCSB faculty in 1963 and retired in 1994. He is survived by his wife, Roberta Offen.

Bruce F. Rickborn, professor emeritus of chemistry, died on April 27. He joined the UCSB faculty in 1962 and retired in 2001. He is survived by his wife, Ida Rickborn.

James P. Vanyo, professor emeritus of mechanical and environmental engineering, died on May 11. He joined the UCSB faculty in 1970 and retired in 1994.