CAMPUS NOTES

Campus Welcomes Parents and Families

     Over a thousand visitors are expected on October 22-24, when UCSB opens its doors for Parents’ and Family Weekend. Guests are invited to attend classes, participate in faculty presentations, tour the campus, and meet with a variety of faculty members and administrators, including Chancellor Henry T. Yang and his wife, Dilling.

     Staff members who would like to participate in the weekend’s events should contact Julie Miller at julie.miller@ia.ucsb.edu, or x7382.

     More information about Parents’ and Family Weekend is available at www.ia.ucsb.edu/pfw.

    Staff Assembly will hold its 5th annual Halloween decoration and costume contests on Friday, October 29. Prizes will be awarded to the most ghoulishly decorated department and individual. The entry deadline for departments wishing to participate is Friday, October 22.

    The costume competition will begin at 12:15 at the Hub. No advance entry is required.

    For more information, contact Greta Carl-Halle at greta@cs.ucsb.edu.

    The United Auto Workers (UAW) and the University of California have announced that UC postdoctoral scholars have voted to ratify their first union contract. The contract was approved by an overwhelming vote of 2,588 to 121, or 96 percent in favor, in balloting that concluded in August.

    “We are very proud of this contract,” said Xiaoqing Cao, a cancer researcher from UCLA who served on the Postdoctoral Researchers Organize/UAW bargaining committee.

    The agreement includes a balanced compensation structure that will include both experience-based and general annual increases based on the National Institutes of Health pay scale. Among other highlights of the agreement are new provisions for time off, stronger mechanisms for postdoctoral researchers to enforce health and safety standards, “just cause” protections for discipline or dismissal, and improved access to professional mentoring.

    With a final conservation easement agreement in place to permanently set aside the 68-acre tract of coastal university property known as the South Parcel, the university has begun construction on the first phase of Ocean Walk at North Campus. It will include 22 for-sale units of affordable workforce housing for faculty members — eight single-family detached residences and 14 two-story townhouse units.

    The South Parcel open space is a key part of a collaborative project to preserve more than 650 acres along 2.25 miles of coastline between Isla Vista and the Sandpiper Golf Course, known as the Ellwood-Devereux Coast Open Space and Habitat Management Plan. The plan was first announced in 2001, when the university agreed to shift some sites for its proposed affordable workforce housing away from the coastal bluffs, to what is known as the North Parcel.

Wilfred Brown, executive director of housing and residential services, has received the James A. Hurd Award from the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International. The award honors Brown for his contributions to the collegiate housing profession.

Manny Casas, professor of counseling, clinical, and school psychology, has received the Elder Recognition Award for Distinguished Contributions to Counseling Psychology from the American Psychological Association.
     Also, Casas has been appointed to the six-member American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Immigration. The task force will help set and guide the association’s commitment and efforts to address immigration issues from the perspective of both research and policy.

Thomas Dunne, professor of hydrology and geomorphology at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, has received the Warren A. Hall Medal, presented by the Universities Council on Water Resources. The award recognizes his distinguished achievements in the field of water resources.

Craig Hawker, professor of materials and director of the Materials Research Laboratory, has been named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society. He was recognized for his outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and the Society.

John Ridland, professor emeritus of English, has received the annual Balint Balassi Memorial Award for his translation of the Hungarian folk epic Janos Vitez, or John the Valiant. The award was presented by Balasz Bokor, the Consul-General of Hungary.

Erkki Ruoslahti, distinguished professor at UCSB’s Sanford-Burnham Institute for Medical Research, has received the decoration of the Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland. The award was presented by Kirsti Westphalen, the Consul General of Finland.

Mary York, graduate diversity coordinator for the Division of Social Sciences, has received the Dixon-Levy Award from the UCSB Graduate Students Association. The award recognizes members of the campus community who have made significant contributions to the improvement of graduate student life. It was named for graduate students Travis Dixon and Alan Levy.

Lawrence Badash, professor emeritus of history, died on August 23. He joined the UCSB faculty in 1966 and retired in 2002.

David O. Harris, professor emeritus of chemistry and biochemistry, died on August 23. He joined the UCSB faculty in 1965 and retired in 2004.

Raimon Panikkar, professor emeritus of religious studies, died on August 26. He joined the UCSB faculty in 1971 and retired in 1987.

Frank W. Ries, professor emeritus of theater and dance, died on August 10. He joined the UCSB faculty in 1979 and retired in 2006.