After Suicide, Santa Cruz Gets Interim Leader
In the wake of the suicide of UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Denice Denton, which occurred on June 24, UC President Robert C. Dynes has appointed George Blumenthal as acting interim chancellor.
Blumenthal, 60, has been a member of the UC Santa Cruz faculty since 1972. He chaired the UC Santa Cruz astronomy and astrophysics department and the Santa Cruz division of the Academic Senate. He was also a faculty representative to the Board of Regents from 2003 until 2005.
He will assume Denton’s responsibilities on an interim basis for the 2006-07 academic year while a national search for a permanent successor is conducted — a process which will begin this fall.
“I greatly appreciate [Blumenthal’s] willingness to step in at this difficult moment,” Dynes said. “I know that he, working with campus Provost David Kliger and the other talented members of the existing leadership team, will help the campus continue moving forward — which it absolutely must do.”
Blumenthal received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and his Ph.D. in physics from UCSD. As a theoretical astrophysicist, Blumenthal’s research spans several areas, including the nature of dark matter.
Blumenthal accepted the responsibility, expressing his dedication to continuing the upward mobility of the campus.
“We shall increase the enrollment in our graduate and professional programs, while maintaining our uncommon commitment to undergraduate education,” Blumenthal said. “Our campus will remain committed to diversity and tolerance at all levels of the institution.”
The Zen of Cancer-Free Prostates
Hippiedom and vegetarianism may help men escape the risk of prostate cancer, a recent study conducted by the Moores Cancer Center and the UCSD School of Medicine has found. The six-month study showed that plant-based diets and low-stress lifestyles might reduce levels of the prostate-specific antigen that causes cancer.
Patients who increased consumption of whole grains, leafy green vegetables, beans, legumes and fruit, while decreasing dairy and carbohydrates and practicing stress management exercises, such as meditation, yoga and t’ai chi, displayed a decrease in the recurrence of cancer.
Ten patients with invasive prostate cancer completed the clinical trial. Four patients experienced an absolute reduction in their PSA levels, and nine out of 10 experienced a decrease in the rate of further PSA rise.
This study served as a scientific breakthrough, according to Cancer Center member Gordon Saxe.
“The magnitude of effect of these findings is the strongest observed to date among dietary and nutritional interventions in this patient population,” Saxe said.
Further research is needed to validate these findings and establish the long-term effectiveness of such an intervention.
UC Davis To Pay For Housing Impact
Amid UC Davis’ on-campus housing expansion plan, the city of Davis used the recent Supreme Court ruling in City of Marina v. Board of Trustees of the California State University to clarify the university’s responsibility to pay for any off-campus impact that the project may cause.
City leaders and community activists commended the ruling for forcing universities to look at the adverse effects that development can cause, said Mary Alice Coleman, a member of a Davis citizen’s group.
The court decision states that all of California’s public colleges must pay local governments for the off-campus impacts of expansion.
The verdict doesn’t change anything for UC Davis, according to campus officials — the university intended to pay for the project’s ramifications all along.
“The campus remains committed to paying our fair share for any off-campus impacts identified in the environmental impact report,” Associate Director for Campus Planning Karl Mohr said.
College Journalists Gain Protections
On Aug. 28, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger extended the freedom of speech rights of high school students to college journalists with the signing of bill AB 2581.
“Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of our democracy,” Schwarzenegger said. “Students working on college newspapers deserve the same rights afforded to every other student journalist.”
Incidentally, high school students already gained First Amendment protections in the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier Supreme Court decision.
However, college students were not included in the discussion until the dean of an Illinois university halted the publication of a student article because of its criticisms of the administration. The dean then established a requirement demanding administrator approval prior to printing; however, the 7th Circuit Court found the mandate unconstitutional, in Hosty v. Carter, reversing the decision in favor of the students. The law, which removes restraint from university publications, will take effect January 2007.
Campus Gains New Vice Chancellors
Among other transitions this summer, two vice chancellor slots have been filled in the offices of student life and external relations.
Out of three candidates, campus veteran Gary R. Ratcliff was chosen as vice chancellor of student life. While most students know Ratcliff because of his involvement with the Student-Run Television negotiations, his six years at UCSD also include involvement in Student Organizations and Leadership Opportunities, serving as chair for the UC Advisory Board and pushing for the Price Center Expansion project through his position as director of University Centers.
Keith E. Brant, formerly UCLA’s assistant vice chancellor for alumni relations and executive director of the UCLA alumni association, will have the responsibility of attracting outside financial support to the university, strengthening UCSD’s relationships with alumni and other donors and building UCSD’s regional reputation.
Brant brings qualities of collaborative leadership and strategic planning, which he will use to boost UCSD’s alumni backing.
UC, Google Digitize Student Books
The University of California became the latest partner in the Google Books Library Project, which was launched in December 2004 to digitize books drawn from the libraries of the University of Michigan, Harvard, Stanford, Oxford and the New York Public Library.
The project will provide online access to all of the University of California’s public domain books, including many rare, historic and special collections.
The 100-plus libraries on the 10 UC campuses comprise the largest research/academic library in the world. Merging with the California Digital Library shows the UC system’s leadership in harnessing support of new and innovative forms of scholarly communication, said John Oakley, chair of the University of California’s system-wide Academic Senate.
“In this new world, our faculty, staff and students will make connections between information and ideas that were hitherto inaccessible, driving the pace of scholarly innovation and enhancing the use that is made of our great libraries,” Oakley said.
