Study: High school dropout rate rising across nation

Between 1990 and 2000, the high school completion rate fell in all but 10 states, dropping the United States to 10th in the world, according to a new study from SAT-maker Education Testing Service.

The report also found that students are dropping out earlier than before — between ninth and 10th grade — at least partly as a result of inadequate counseling and a significant drop in federal investment in public high schools. Federal government funding dropped from $15 billion in the 1970s to just $3 billion today, it stated.

“This is a story of losing ground,” the ETS stated in the study. “At the same time that the dropout rate is increasing and out-of-school education and training opportunities are dwindling, the economic status of young dropouts has been in a freefall since the late 1970s. Employment and earnings prospects have declined and, even for those who work full-time, earnings have dropped steadily to averages around the poverty line for a family with children.”

Across the nation, more than 30 percent of high school students drop out before graduating, ETS found. However, the graduation rate varies from state to state, from a high of 88 percent in Vermont to a low of 48 percent in the District of Columbia.

Campus event to mark 101st birthday of Dr. Seuss

UCSD will celebrate the 101st birthday of children’s book author and political cartoonist Theodor Seuss Geisel with 2,000 pieces of cake for campus students, faculty and staff. At the March 2 celebration on Library Walk, the university will also serve free punch to complement the dessert.

Known as Dr. Seuss, the famed author died in La Jolla. The Geisel Library was named in his honor after Geisel’s estate bequeathed many of his drawings and notebooks to the campus and his widow donated a substantial sum of money to the university’s libraries.

Seuss’ widow, Audrey Geisel, will cut the first piece of cake at the event.

An inflatable “Cat in the Hat” balloon will fly over the location of the birthday gala.

Panelists to discuss media portrayal of global warming

On the heels of a new Scripps Institution of Oceanography study showing what scientists say is the best proof yet of human-caused warming effects in the world’s oceans, three panelists will hold an on-campus discussion to review the media coverage and representations of global warming.

The talk will focus on the responsibility of journalists, novelists and filmmakers in accurately covering the scientific evidence of the environmental phenomenon. Titled “State of Fear: Hollywood, the Media and Global Warming,” the event is inspired by recent hits like Michael Crichton’s new best-selling novel “State of Fear” and the disaster movie “The Day After Tomorrow.” The book suggests that scientific evidence of global warming is lacking while the movie exaggerates the possible consequences of environmental problems linked to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases.

The event will begin March 1 at 4 p.m. in the first-floor auditorium of the Natural Sciences Building. It will feature documentary filmmaker Gene Rosow, associate history professor Naomi Oreskes and physical sciences professor Dean Mark Thiemens.

Fox to be inaugurated as seventh UCSD chancellor

UC President Robert C. Dynes will preside over the inauguration of Marye Anne Fox as UCSD’s seventh chancellor in a ceremony at RIMAC Arena scheduled for March 3 at 10 a.m.

UC Irvine Chancellor and newly elected President of the National Academy of Sciences Ralph J. Cicerone will deliver the inaugural address. In addition, A.S. President Jenn Pae and the Graduate Student Association’s Kris Kohler will present speeches at the event.

Those in attendance will partake in a buffet luncheon following the ceremony.

Medical school discovers early signs of Alzheimer’s

New findings from researchers at UCSD School of Medicine may help doctors make earlier diagnoses of patients afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease.

In a study based on mouse models and analysis of brain tissue from deceased Alzheimer’s patients, the researchers said they found evidence suggesting that the disease blocks chemical and electric signals in the brain much earlier than previously thought.

The discovery could help doctors understand the cause of the progressive disease that affects 4.5 million Americans, the researchers stated in a university press release.