UC Davis News: Campus Community

Campus demonstrations: News and updates

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

UC releases draft report on response to campus protests

University of California officials today (May 4) released a report that examines policies and practices related to UC responses to campus protests. Campus stakeholders and the public are encouraged to make thoughtful and constructive comments about the report's 50 recommendations.

After incidents involving police and protesting students at the Berkeley and Davis campuses last November, UC President Mark G. Yudof directed General Counsel Charles F. Robinson and Christopher F. Edley Jr., dean of the UC Berkeley Law School, to identify best practices that could shape responses to such demonstrations in the future. Read more.

View the draft report and related documents.

Campus announces proposed reforms

UC Davis today (May 2) announced a series of actions and reforms -- newly proposed steps as well as efforts already under way -- to improve and enhance campus protest management policies and practices, police operations, and administrative coordination and communication.

The action steps represent the university's preliminary response to input and recommendations from a task force appointed by UC President Mark Yudof to investigate the Nov. 18 pepper spraying of students on campus. The steps, all developed in collaboration with campus stakeholders. Read more.

View the campus's proposed action plan.

Chancellor and provost's letter

The chancellor and provost issued a statement to the campus community today (April 27) regarding the 11 UC Davis students and one professor facing misdemeanor charges stemming from the blockade of the U.S. Bank at Memorial Union. This morning’s scheduled arraignment of the 12 individuals has been continued to May 10. In their letter, the chancellor and provost emphasized that “UC Davis has no desire for restitution or retribution, but only wishes to see the rights of everyone on campus preserved.”

Read the chancellor and provost's letter.

Yudof's statement

UC President Mark G. Yudof today (April 11) issued a statement shortly after the public release of the Reynoso task force report on the Nov. 18 pepper-spray incident at UC Davis. He thanked UC Davis Professor Emeritus Cruz Reynoso and other members of the task force "for the long hours and hard work they invested in this effort to fully understand the events of Nov. 18 and to propose remedies that might prevent similar incidents in the future."

“My intent now is to give the task force report the full and careful reading it deserves, and then, as previously announced, to meet with Chancellor Katehi and discuss her plans going forward for implementing the recommendations," Yudof said.

Read Yudof's entire statement.

U.S. Bank

U.S. Bank has closed its UC Davis branch office and told UC officials that it is terminating its agreements with the campus. In a March 1 letter to the Board of Regents, the bank stated its reason as the interference by protesters who intermittently blocked the door to the bank branch in the Memorial Union since January.

The bank chose to close during many of the protests, and, now, in a letter to account holders, says the branch is "officially closed" (as of Feb. 28). The letter refers the approximately 2,500 account holders to U.S. Bank branches in Davis and Woodland.

UC officials said they believe the termination letter is premature, noting that the university had been in discussions with bank representatives about the future of the branch office. The university had hoped to resolve the situation in a manner that would enable the bank to resume operations while at the same time making allowance for law enforcement to prosecute proven violations of the California Penal Code and also allowing for peaceful protests. Read the complete article.

In fact, 11 UC Davis students and one professor facing misdemeanor charges stemming from the blockade of the U.S. Bank at Memorial Union were to be arraigned Friday (April 27) at the Yolo County Courthouse in Woodland. The arraignments have been continued to May 10. See the chronology of protest activity at U.S. Bank. (PDF)

UC officials, on behalf of UC Davis, filed a complaint against U.S. Bank on Friday (May 4) in Yolo County Superior Court, alleging that the bank breached its contract when it closed its campus branch in the MU on Feb. 28. In a March 1 letter sent to the Board of Regents, U.S. Bank wrote that its decision to terminate the agreement with the university was due to the ongoing blockade of the bank by protesters. U.S. Bank officials have not been served with the complaint, and UC officials say they are still open to negotiations. View the complaint. (PDF)

UC Davis West Village a global model for sustainable urban planning

Mon, 14 May 2012 08:46:00 -0700

UC Davis West Village overcame funding constraints, delays, regulatory changes, a housing market collapse and other challenges to become the nation’s largest planned zero-net energy community, according to a new report on sustainable, low-carbon developments.

The pioneering development is one of four case studies featured in the current issue of the journal Planning Theory & Practice.

The report, “Exploring the Challenges of Environmental Planning and Green Design: Cases from Europe and the USA,” highlights UC Davis West Village as a model for new town construction and an example of how progressive planning and creative partnering can lead to new possibilities in energy conservation.

The UC Davis case study was selected from among several international green design projects submitted for inclusion in the report.

“Our inclusion shows that West Village is a global example of an eco-district and of net zero energy development,” said case study co-author Stephen Wheeler, a professor in the UC Davis Landscape Architecture program.

Situated on 130 acres just west of the main campus, UC Davis West Village opened in 2011 to roughly 800 students living in 315 apartments. Eventually, the community will include 343 for-sale homes for faculty and staff and be home to an estimated 4,200 residents. The project also includes a village square; recreational, study, retail and office facilities; and the first community college center located on a University of California campus.

UC Davis West Village is designed to produce as much energy as it consumes in the course of a year. Highly energy-efficient design, photovoltaic solar panels and a planned waste-to-energy biodigester are expected to make the community meet that goal. UC Davis West Village also features bicycle and bus transportation, streets oriented to maximize passive solar design, on-site drainage, and relatively high residential density, all of which embody many goals of sustainable development, the report says.

UC Davis West Village overcame several challenges during its decade-long planning process.

While the university administration recognized a need for affordable, local housing to attract students, faculty and staff, the Davis community had historically resisted new developments, particularly those displacing agricultural lands.

To ease initial community concerns, the university held public workshops and eliminated direct street access from UC Davis West Village to surrounding city neighborhoods. Campus planners also secured and preserved farmland five miles west of campus, between Davis and the neighboring town of Dixon, to mitigate loss of agricultural lands at the new community.

The challenges continued when an unsuccessful lawsuit by a neighborhood group delayed selection of a developer.

Then the housing crash, beginning in 2008, presented new uncertainties. Developer Carmel Partners of San Francisco now plans to construct homes only when pre-sold, which could slow future build-out of the neighborhood.

Regulatory incentives discouraged the large-scale community solar “farm” that planners originally preferred, causing them to erect a system of combined rooftop and parking lot photovoltaic panels instead.

Though initially a challenge, the slow-growth culture of the Davis community became an asset. “The strongly pro-environment views of Davis residents encouraged planners to make the project highly green in order to gain community support,” the report says.

Davis residents had long supported bicycle and pedestrian transportation, energy-efficient development, and compact development. Village Homes, built in the 1970s and located roughly a mile from UC Davis West Village, had set a positive example of ecological suburban development. When zero-net energy emerged as a concept in the design process — well after the original plan was approved in 2003 — the Davis community was ripe for it.

The strongest advantage that UC Davis West Village planners had, the report says, was the university itself. UC Davis owned the land, provided a built-in market for the development, and, as a state agency, was exempt from the need for local planning approval. It was able to establish clear development guidelines and secure $7.5 million in state and federal planning grants to study zero-net energy systems.

The university was also able to draw on its faculty, research centers and community and business partnerships to create UC Davis West Village. Among others, the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, Energy Efficiency Center, California Lighting Technology Center, and Western Cooling Efficiency Center all contributed expertise toward helping the project approach zero-net energy.

Yet constructing UC Davis West Village would not have been possible without private investment, the report says. While the university invested roughly $17 million to bring utilities to the border of the site, San Francisco-based developer Carmel Partners agreed to invest about $280 million in the project. The developer also took advantage of tax credits and incentives available only to the private sector, and brought financial analysis and construction experience to the energy efficiency and renewable power investments.

Wheeler hopes that others seeking to replicate the community’s efforts will have fewer hurdles to overcome now that UC Davis West Village has helped paved the way.

“The first examples of anything new will be the most difficult,” said Wheeler. “It may take special leverage to make them happen. But then you can work to try to mainstream it.”

Wheeler's co-author is Robert Segar, assistant vice chancellor for campus planning and community resources at UC Davis.

The other case studies in the paper include a large renovation project in Alingsas, Sweden; a comparison of low-carbon developments in Stockholm, Sweden, and a car-free suburb near Freiburg, Germany; and the carbon-neutral Aldo Leopold Legacy Center in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

UC Davis academic associations award prizes for faculty teaching, research, service

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:04:00 -0700

The UC Davis Academic Senate and Academic Federation have announced their 2012 teaching and research prize recipients.

The senate each year presents Distinguished Teaching Awards and Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Awards. The federation honors its members for Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Research.

ACADEMIC SENATE

Distinguished Teaching Award: Undergraduate

• Frances Dolan, professor, Department of English — Teaching is central in her work and in her own scholarship. Describing her as a “dazzling lecturer” and mentor for students, English professor Margaret Ferguson said: “Whether teaching a course of 200 or mentoring a single MURALS (Mentorships for Undergraduate Research in Agriculture, Letters and Science) student, Fran pays extraordinary attention to the details of pedagogy; she is interested not only in introducing students to new texts, genres and critical questions, but also in strengthening their ability to read closely and to ask big questions of what they read.”

• Ari Kelman, associate professor, Department of History — He shines at the front of a lecture hall in a way that few others do, said David Biale, professor and chair, Department of History. “Working largely without notes, responding frequently to student questions without losing the thread of his own thought, he proceeds through a lecture, crafting a clear narrative and analysis as he goes along.” He added: “While he sometimes ventures into theater — his lecture on the caning of Sen. Charles Sumner is legendary — students appreciate his lectures most for their combination of sophistication and accessibility.”

• David Osleger, lecturer, Department of Geology — He has “an exceptional ability to get students involved in the course material,” his faculty colleagues wrote in nominating him. In evaluating his classes, students use words like “fascinating,” “fun” and “enlightening.” For many students, taking a general education geology class from Osleger led them to either take more geology classes, or to become geology or natural sciences majors. Osleger also is committed to recruiting students, especially from underrepresented groups, into natural sciences and geology, and mentoring undergraduates on career choices in geological sciences.

• Jay Stachowicz, associate professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology — He is a motivator, engaging and entertaining in the classroom, and “an incredible mentor,” encouraging students to participate in his lab. “He teaches students more than just the skills needed to run different marine ecology experiments,” Natalie Caulk, Elise Hinman and Kristen Kelley wrote in a nomination letter. “He teaches the process of scientific inquiry.” Faculty colleagues Artyom Kopp and Rick Grosberg said Stachowicz’s research experience energizes all of his classes: “His teaching embodies all that a great research university stands for.”

Distinguished Teaching Award: Graduate and Professional

• Richard Sexton, professor and chair, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics — He is a master of his subject matter, communicates well and is remarkably adept at maximizing classroom participation. In addition, he has played an integral role in curriculum development, especially earning praise for master’s-level macroeconomic theory, which he began teaching in 1994 and later expanded into a two-course sequence. Those courses now attract students from many other disciplines. Sexton pioneered the incorporation of industrial organization concepts into instruction on agricultural market analysis.

• Richard Tucker, professor of cellular biology and human anatomy, School of Medicine — He is the primary instructor for the single largest course in the four-year curriculum: “Gross, Radiologic and Developmental Anatomy,” which includes foreign terminology and physically demanding laboratory sessions. Students laud his caring and motivational style, “fantastic ability to present a large amount of developmental information in a short period of time,” and his knowledge of the material, which he “can explain at any level of detail the moment demands.”

Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award

• Liz Applegate, senior lecturer, Department of Nutrition — She puts as much effort into public service as she does to her teaching, notably Nutrition 10, which draws rave reviews, owing to her philosophy of making nutrition and fitness education actionable and pertinent. Off campus, she gives countless lectures and workshops to a broad range of community groups, particularly those comprising underrepresented populations — people who are disabled or chronically ill, for example. She also works with state and national organizations, and youth sport groups. In addition, she is a valuable resource for the media.

• John Largier, professor, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, and the Bodega Marine Laboratory — He has played a notable and sustained role in service to the public by providing scientific advice on matters related to the health of marine and coastal environments via media events and interviews, membership on assessment and advisory teams, participation in working groups and on task forces, and presentations at public meetings. His efforts are across the spectrum from service intended to spur development of science beyond the university, to the application of science in policy, advising agencies and informing the public.

• Mark J. Mannis, professor and chair, Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, and director, Eye Center — Recognized for his efforts to increase the number of high-quality ocular tissues available for transplant, as well as the number of ophthalmologists and technicians trained in the latest corneal transplant and eye-banking methodologies — thus restoring sight for tens of thousands of people with blinding diseases around the globe. Starting 30 years ago, Mannis and the UC Davis Medical Center turned the Lions Club’s fledgling eye bank into the well-established Sierra Eye and Tissue Donor Services.

• Robert K. Washino, emeritus professor, Department of Entomology — Throughout his academic career and now in retirement, he gives freely of his time and expertise to local, state, federal and international agencies, as well as the private sector. He served on U.S. Department of Agriculture and California Department of Food and Agriculture task forces targeting such insects as the Africanized honeybee and Mediterranean fruit fly. He added breadth and depth to such organizations as the Entomological Society of America and the World Health Organization.

ACADEMIC FEDERATION

Excellence in Teaching

• Eric Mann, lecturer, Department of Microbiology — His faculty colleagues said he is enthusiastic about his teaching and strives to stimulate his students to think independently. In their evaluations, students praise his clear lecture style, meticulous organization and remarkable sense of humor. His extensive work in curriculum development included a revamp of introductory microbiology to meet the needs of preprofessional students, and a reorganization of the MIC 101 labs so they could be offered in the summer. His dedication is astounding, said his colleagues, noting that he supervises lab instruction 18 hours a week in a typical quarter.

• John Rundin, lecturer, Classics Program — He is described as being abundantly generous to students inside the classroom and out, keeping an open door for those in need of assistance in one of the most difficult subjects: Latin. “His office is next to mine, so I can hear him patiently explaining Latin forms or grammar — never losing his sense of compassion and his conviction that every student can grasp the language — and also offering encouragement and advice,” wrote Emily Albu, associate professor and Classics Program director. “I see the academic results in the number of students who continue to a classics major or minor.”

Excellence in Research

• Wei Yao, assistant adjunct professor, School of Medicine — Her most recent work, published in Nature Medicine earlier this year, involved the development of a novel technique (using the molecule LLP2A-Ale) to enhance bone growth — offering a potential treatment for osteoporosis. Nancy E. Lane, who holds the Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging and Geriatric Medicine, said Yao has made a number of seminal scientific discoveries at UC Davis. “The scope of inquiry, the importance of the topic matter, the methodical construction of a unified approach to the questions and the gratifying results all speak for themselves,” Lane said.

Lighting innovator assumes first Rosenfeld Chair in Energy Efficiency

Thu, 03 May 2012 08:50:00 -0700

Michael Siminovitch, director of the California Lighting Technology Center, has been named the first Arthur H. Rosenfeld Chair in Energy Efficiency at the University of California, Davis.

The designation honors both Siminovitch, a professor of design whose work is revolutionizing lighting throughout California, and Rosenfeld, considered the “father of energy efficiency.”

“I am absolutely delighted that Michael has received this recognition,” said Jessie Ann Owens, dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies, which encompasses the Department of Design. “He is a visionary leader and the perfect person to inaugurate this chair.”

Siminovitch has directed the CLTC since it was established in 2003, under the UC Davis Department of Design. It has since become one of the most respected lighting research centers in the United States. Working with industry partners, utilities, government agencies, and others, CLTC is dedicated to advancing energy-efficient lighting and daylighting design.

High-efficiency lighting developed at CLTC now illuminates buildings statewide, as well as UC Davis parking lots and garages, the Richmond Department of Public Health and other state agencies, higher education campuses outside UC Davis, such as California State University-Long Beach, and Raley’s supermarkets.

The lighting retrofits at UC Davis are part of the university’s Smart Lighting Initiative co-developed by Siminovitch to reduce the campus’s electricity use for lighting by 60 percent by the end of 2015. When the initiative is complete, the campus is expected to reduce its carbon footprint by about 10,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent and save an estimated $3 million each year. The CLTC also advised developers of UC Davis West Village, the nation’s largest planned zero net energy community.

CLTC is part of the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center, of which Rosenfeld is a founding advisory board member. Rosenfeld is currently a professor emeritus of physics at UC Berkeley, co-founder and former director of the Center for Building Science at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and retired California Energy Commissioner.

“We’re thrilled to recognize both Art Rosenfeld and Michael Siminovitch — two extraordinary people who are doing good things for California and the world,” said Nicole Biggart, Chevron Chair in Energy Efficiency, director of the Energy Efficiency Center, and professor in the Graduate School of Management.

In the 1970s, Rosenfeld was one of the first in the nation to propose that conserving energy was cheaper and smarter than building new power plants and finding more nonrenewable energy sources. His contributions to energy efficiency are so profound that a new unit to describe energy saved — the Rosenfeld — was named after him in 2010.

While working as a student researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Siminovitch was mentored by Rosenfeld, whose ideas left a deep impression on him.

“He was an enthusiastic champion of this thing called energy efficiency,” said Siminovitch, recalling those early years. “At the time, he was one of the few in the country linking technology, design and human behavior all together with energy efficiency. The California Lighting Technology Center is based on those cornerstones, which I learned from him.”

Like Rosenfeld, Siminovitch is intent on using science and design to make an impact. In addition to teaching the next generation of lighting designers and helping to develop new energy-efficient technologies, he has helped to shape public policy in California. He often advises regulatory agencies, manufacturers and architects, all with a focus on bringing energy efficient technologies to the public. His efforts to make adaptive lighting a standard in building design helped shape changes to Title 24 codes and standards.

“The Rosenfeld Chair is about the can-do culture of UC Davis and the California Lighting Technology Center — a culture of innovation and cooperation,” Siminovitch said. “We’re creating real change and moving ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace by working collaboratively with industry.”

The new chair was endowed by more than 70 individuals and organizations. Major donors include Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Sempra Energy, Southern California Edison, the California Clean Energy Fund, Chevron, ClimateWorks Foundation, Exelon Corporation, Goldman Sachs, Power Integrations Inc., and Wendy and Eric Schmidt. A full list of donors is online at: http://eec.ucdavis.edu/events/rosenfeld_donors.php.

The endowment will help the chair holder promote the EEC’s mission to develop and commercialize energy-efficient technologies, teach future leaders in energy efficiency, and conduct critical policy-supporting research.

Siminovitch is a graduate of Carleton University in Canada and received his master’s degrees in both industrial design and architecture from the University of Illinois. He earned his doctorate degree in architecture and human factors engineering from the University of Michigan.

UC and 'President Lincoln' celebrate dawning of public universities

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

SACRAMENTO — UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi joined UC President Mark G. Yudof and President Abraham Lincoln here on Monday (April 30) to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the federal law that launched dozens of public universities across the country.

Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862, granting tens of thousands of acres to the states — land to be sold, with the proceeds used to build public universities.

UC, one of these land-grant schools, organized Monday’s sesquicentennial observance, held under a tent on the west side of the Capitol. An audience of about 100 included representatives from UC campuses and the division of Agricultural and Natural Resources.

Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, gave the keynote address, while an actor portraying Lincoln saluted UC “as the embodiment of my hopes and dreams … way back in 1862.”

Katehi said the act gave people the opportunity to be educated and to contribute to the economy, “critical for a country that was divided and needed to find reasons to come together as one.”

The chancellor, on a panel discussing “A Morrill Act for the 21st Century,” called for a national strategy for higher education. California has its master plan, but is making a big mistake by “walking away from it,” she said.

With enrollment being limited, Katehi said, “I wonder … what is going to happen to those other students who cannot enter any of the systems (UC, California State University and California Community Colleges). Do they stay uneducated?

“And, then, if you were to extend that thought, would it not be a great shame for us as citizens of this state to have to import college graduates from other states because we cannot afford to educate our own?”

Yolo County farmer Craig McNamara, a UC Davis alumnus (1976) who serves as president of the state Board of Food and Agriculture, said a 21st-century Morrill Act would put a renewed focus on agriculture.

“We need 100,000 new farmers in the United States, and we need them soon, very soon,” said McNamara, repeating U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s call to action.

Katehi said UC Davis today exemplifies the land-grant mission “because we work with the community; we have people out there every day who work with the farmers; we have students, 42 percent of our students, who are Pell Grant recipients.”

“A very large percentage of our students are the first in their families coming to college,” she continued. “So we have really provided these wonderful opportunities to people who will then become the future leaders. And that’s what the public university is all about.”

Yudof described the Morrill Act as a catalyst that transformed California and the nation, and, in particular, a catalyst for UC’s long-standing partnership with California agriculture.

The Morrill Act specifically called on the land-grant schools to teach “agriculture and the mechanic arts,” while not excluding other scientific and classical studies.

UC Riverside Chancellor Tim White noted achievements around the UC system in medicine, biotechnology, telescopes, and food and agriculture — mentioning UC Davis for its leading role in strawberry, tomato and wine grape development, and for discovering the heart-healthy compound in chocolate.

“So, you see, quite literally, we’ve developed something for everyone,” White said. “From the soil under our feet to the ozone in the atmosphere to the galaxies beyond, we’ve contributed to our understanding of the universe.”

Ross, secretary of the state food and agriculture agency, urged Californians to be as visionary as the people of previous generations: “If ever there were a time to rededicate ourselves to the Morrill Act, to the public investment in research and education in agriculture and the sciences, it is now.”

Lincoln, seven score and 10 years ago, could hardly have known the discoveries that the Morrill Act would foster.

But, as portrayed by Roger Vincent, Lincoln said he knew the act would forever support his educational creed: “The right to rise.” It is what makes the American experiment so remarkable, Lincoln said: “That each individual can start at the bottom of society, and he or she has the right to rise.”

Another speaker, Rose Hayden-Smith, a 4-H youth, family and community development adviser for UC Cooperative Extension, Ventura County, put it this way: The Morrill Act offered educational opportunity to the farmer’s child and the farmworker’s child alike.

UC Davis program opens headquarters with two Davis startups

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:44:00 -0700

Davis Roots, a recently formed nonprofit business accelerator bridging the city of Davis and the University of California, Davis, officially opens its headquarters at the historic Hunt-Boyer Mansion today. The enterprise is geared toward supporting startup companies to succeed and stay in the city, with two companies ready to move in.

Davis Roots was founded by Andrew Hargadon, director of the UC Davis Child Family Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, and Anthony Costello, a founder of several successful startups and former chair of the city’s Business and Economic Development Commission.

“We have the shared goal of fostering the formation and early development of new high-growth ventures in Davis,” said Hargadon, who holds the Charles J. Soderquist Chair in Entrepreneurship at the management school. “We hope to eventually bring many more companies into this facility.”

The first two companies are:

Barobo, a UC Davis spin-off that is building programmable robotics for the education and consumer markets; Barobo robots are simple enough to enable robotics to be taught to elementary school children.
Nuritas, launched by UC Davis post-doctoral student Nora Khaldi, who has developed a proprietary bioinformatics tool for discovering ”nutriceuticals,” or food components that affect health.

The founders of both companies are recent graduates of the Child Family Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship's Entrepreneurship Academy programs.

“Davis Roots is an example of the kind of partnership both parties need – the city so it can tap more directly into the research and innovation so prevalent on our campus, and the university so our students and faculty have another vehicle to help cultivate their commercial ideas and vision,” said Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi.

“We each know how important it is to have an environment that supports and nurtures innovation so we can improve the lives of our residents and create new jobs and commercial ventures and partnerships,” she said.

The new headquarters has room for four to six more companies to move in during the next few months, and eventually, eight to 10 tenants in total. Davis Roots is leasing the space from the city.

“Davis Roots represents an exciting collaboration between the City of Davis and the entrepreneurial community,” said Rochelle Swanson, Davis mayor pro tem. “This is just the start of a new type of economic development for our city, focusing on home-grown startups and university spin-offs. The emphasis will be on innovation and creativity and the creation of new businesses and jobs.”

Hargadon added: “This partnership allows Davis Roots participants access to UC Davis’ entrepreneurship curriculum and to a broad network of mentors and potential investors, as well as entrepreneurs and emerging technologies from within UC Davis.”

Emerging ventures apply for and are selected first into the Davis Roots mentoring program, where they gain access to a network of experienced entrepreneurs, investors, patent and corporate lawyers and are supported in preparing a more detailed nine-month launch strategy, which includes a business plan, fundraising goals and project milestones.

Upon acceptance, new ventures are given office space within Davis Roots. Those that successfully grow and raise external funds receive assistance, as well, finding Davis office space to continue their growth in town. Those that are unsuccessful at meeting milestones or raising funds relinquish their Davis Roots space to new ventures.

Davis Roots is currently fundraising to sustain and grow its operations.

“The most important part was getting the space, and now—with that space—we are turning to the fundraising,” Hargadon said. He added that Davis Roots will take a small equity investment in each accepted venture. In this way, those ventures that ultimately succeed return value to the nonprofit, to support future ventures and the City of Davis.

Katehi has called for increased collaboration between the UC Davis campus and the region to bring new ideas to the marketplace, generate jobs and boost the economy. Recent initiatives include the creation of new “innovation hubs” on campus, aimed at better fostering collaboration among related research units, enhancing interaction with the private sector and accelerating the transfer of UC Davis inventions from the lab to the marketplace. Other examples are the College of Engineering Technology Transfer Center, where faculty establish startup companies in an on-campus incubator; the decision to bring energy-related research units together in a single location at UC Davis West Village, the nation’s largest planned zero net energy community; and the formation of a UC Davis Corporate Relations office to enhance communications among UC Davis and corporate partners.

More about the UC Davis Child Family Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: http://gsm.ucdavis.edu/department/child-family-institute-innovation-and-entrepreneurship

More about the UC Davis Graduate School of Management: http://gsm.ucdavis.edu/about-us

Media sources on anniversary of U.S. attack on Osama bin Laden

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:35:00 -0700

The following UC Davis experts are available to comment as the nation approaches the first-year anniversary of the U.S. attack on Osama bin Laden’s compound on May 2, 2011, in which bin Laden was killed.

Al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden

UC Davis religious studies professor Flagg Miller has examined how Western intelligence and terrorism experts, together with global media networks, helped fuel Bin Ladin’s growing reputation in ways that were exploited by Osama and those who supported his militant vision. Miller’s paper: “Re-reading the Origins of al-Qa`ida through Usama Bin Ladin's Former Audiocassette Collection,” was published this spring in a collection of papers, Ten Years Later: Insights on al-Qaeda’s Past & Future Through Captured Records, published by Johns Hopkins University Center for Advanced Governmental Studies and Conflict Records Research Center (http://issuu.com/johnshopkinsaap/docs/gov1220_ndu-final-issuu?mode=window&viewMode=doublePage). Miller and others presented papers in September 2011 at a conference at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., that focused on the effects of the 9/11 attacks on the United States a decade later. Miller is writing a book that investigates the contents of bin Laden’s personal audiotape library, a collection of more than 1,500 tapes acquired from his residence in Qandahar, Afghanistan, by CNN in 2001. Miller was the first academic researcher to study the tapes. He has worked as a linguistic anthropologist in Yemen, bin Laden’s ancestral homeland, and is the author of the book, "The Moral Resonance of Arab Media: Audiocassette Poetry and Culture in Yemen" (2007). Contact: Flagg Miller, Religious Studies, (530) 574-3758, fmiller@ucdavis.edu.

Civil rights at home

Kevin R. Johnson, a professor and dean of the UC Davis School of Law, has written extensively about how security measures adopted in the war on terrorism have adversely affected the civil rights of Arab and Muslim noncitizens and impacted immigration enforcement generally. Contact: Kevin Johnson, School of Law, (530) 752 -0243, krjohnson@ucdavis.edu.

9/11 conspiracy theories

UC Davis history professor Kathryn Olmsted can talk about conspiracy theories related to 9/11, including a poll showing that one-third of Americans believe the U.S. government was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. She is the author of “Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11” (2009), and has given numerous talks on 9/11 theories. Contact: Kathryn Olmsted, History, ksolmsted@ucdavis.edu.

War on terrorism

Scott Cutler Shershow, professor of English at UC Davis, can talk about the legal, political and philosophic issues raised by the war on terrorism. He is the co-author of recent essays examining indefinite detention, torture and warrantless wiretapping. A condensed version of his co-authored work, “The Guantánamo ‘Black Hole’: The Law of War and the Sovereign Exception,” is available online at http://www.mafhoum.com/press6/177C31.htm. Contact: Scott C. Shershow, English, (530) 400-4751, scshershow@ucdavis.edu.

Representations of terrorism in fiction

Noha Radwan, assistant professor of Arabic and comparative literature, can talk about representations of terrorism, especially related to 9/11, in Arabic and western literature. She is the author of a paper, “Fictional Terrorists: Representations of 9/11 in Contemporary Narrative,” which is due to be published by Fairleigh Dickenson Press. She can also discuss Arab reactions to the “War on Terror,” which is taking on new significance in Egypt as Umar Sueliman, a key Egyptian military figure involved in the American rendition program and war against terrorism, is running for president in Egypt. Contact: Noha Radwan, Comparative Literature, 510 334 6223, nmradwan@ucdavis.edu.

Human rights

Historian Keith David Watenpaugh, an associate professor in the Religious Studies Program at UC Davis, can speak about modern Islamists, particularly in Europe and North America. Watenpaugh has lived and conducted research in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. He is the author of the book, “Being Modern in the Middle East: Revolution, Nationalism, Colonialism and the Arab Middle Class” and has written articles on Middle East culture and politics for the American Historical Review, the International Journal of Middle East Studies and others. His work has been translated into Arabic, French, German and Persian. Contact: Keith David Watenpaugh, Religious Studies, (530) 752-1344, kwatenpaugh@ucdavis.edu.

Guantánamo and post 9/11 detention policies and practices

Almerindo E. Ojeda is the founding director of the UC Davis Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas and the principal investigator for its flagship project, The Guantánamo Testimonials Project. He can talk about his research, which shows that the U.S. government underreported the number of juvenile detainees at Guantánamo and raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the first three deaths in detention at the base. He started The Davis Group, a gathering of military and civilian lawyers, human rights defenders and academics that drafted specific recommendations for investigating U.S. detention policies and practices post 9/11. See http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/. Contact: Almerindo Ojeda, Linguistics, (530) 574-4865, aeojeda@ucdavis.edu.

Matt Carmichael appointed police chief

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:00:00 -0700

Matthew Carmichael was sworn in today (April 19) as chief of the University of California, Davis, Police Department, with Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi administering the oath of office.

The ceremony took place at midafternoon in the Activities and Recreation Center Ballroom before an audience that included Carmichael’s family and members of the Police Department and the broader campus community.

Carmichael is a 27-year veteran of law enforcement, the last 10 years as a lieutenant at UC Davis. He had served as acting chief since Nov. 21.

Katehi announced Carmichael’s appointment in a message to the campus community, saying his service as acting chief for the last five months “has been extraordinary, during some very demanding circumstances.”

Carmichael succeeds Annette Spicuzza, who announced her resignation April 18. She had been on administrative leave while the campus conducted an internal affairs investigation into the Nov. 18 pepper-spraying of demonstrators on the Quad.

In her message to the campus, Katehi praised Carmichael for reaching out to students, faculty and staff, and developing many strong, positive relationships.

“He is highly respected as a leader, adviser and innovator not only within our department and across our campus, but also throughout the law enforcement community,” Katehi wrote.

Carmichael said his top priority in the next few months will be to rebuild the relationship between the police and the campus community. “We’re going to be out meeting people and hearing about your needs and concerns,” he said. “We’re here to serve the campus community and keep it a safe place to work and live.”

Carmichael’s appointment as chief is for one year. During the latter part of his term, the campus will launch a national search for a new police chief.

Katehi also announced a shift in oversight of the Police Department — effective May 1 and on an interim basis — from the vice chancellor of Administrative and Resource Management, a post held by John Meyer, to the provost and executive vice chancellor, Ralph J. Hexter, who serves as the campus’s chief academic and operating officer.

“This transfer will ensure that, going forward, the department will be closely aligned with our core academic mission and values,” Katehi said.

Carmichael, who holds an associate’s degree in administration of justice from Napa Valley College, joined the UC Davis Police Department as a lieutenant in 2002. He has been responsible for patrol operations on the Davis campus, as well as serving as a public information officer.

He has managed the K-9 Program, Property and Evidence, Bike Unit, Crime Prevention, Crime Analysis, Detective Unit, Field Training Officer Program and Hostage Negotiations Team.

Before coming to UC Davis, he worked in the Pinole Police Department (Contra Costa County), where he started his law enforcement career in 1985. He was recognized as Officer of the Year in Pinole and Pinole Citizen of the Year.

At UC Davis, he has been the recipient of the chief’s Appreciation Award, the Centennial to Society Award and the Calvin E. Handy Leadership Award, named after a former police chief.

Carmichael received an Award of Distinction from the California Peace Officers Association, and twice received an Award of Merit for Outstanding and Superior Conduct from the California College and University Police Chiefs Association. He also is the recipient of U.S. attorney and Marshals Service awards.

He serves as the coordinator for the UC Davis Police Department’s participation in the Law Enforcement Torch Run, in support of the Special Olympics, and assists in fundraising for the Concerns of Police Survivors program.

The father of four also is active in the community, as an Exchange Club member, music boosters president and Cub Scout leader, and on behalf of the Ronald McDonald House.

The UC Davis Police Department is a state police agency that provides patrol, investigative and crime prevention services on the Davis campus and at the UC Davis Health System in Sacramento.

Established on the Davis campus in 1946, the department is authorized by the California Education Code and California Penal Code and certified by the California Commission on Peace Officer Training and Standards.

The department has a total staff of 74 including 54 sworn officers. It also oversees the Aggie Hosts program, through which about 80 trained students provide safety, security and hospitality services on campus.

View a Sacramento Bee photo gallery of the event or watch video coverage on Davis Patch.

Learning algebra too early may harm some students, UC Davis study says

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:10:00 -0700

Learning about all those x’s, y’s and quadratic equations too early in life may do more harm than good for some students, a new University of California, Davis, study says.

The study will be presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association in Vancouver, Canada.

In the study, UC Davis School of Education professors Michal Kurlaendar and Heather Rose, together with education programs consultant Don Taylor, found that the lowest-performing eighth-grade math students — who are least likely to be prepared for algebra — may be academically harmed by a policy that requires all eighth graders to take the course.

Such a universal policy, first proposed by the California Board of Education, does not take into account the skills and needs of individual students, the researchers argue.

Much of current education policy — including proposed policy by the California state Board of Education — bears out that, overall, students who complete algebra earlier are more likely to take advanced math courses in high school, graduate from college and earn more money in their lifetimes.

The study is the first of its kind to focus solely on the impact of placing the lowest-performing students in eighth-grade algebra.

“The ‘algebra for all’ argument is that taking algebra in the eighth grade will benefit minorities and low-income groups,” said Rose. “But our study found that the lowest-performing students, composed significantly of low-income students of color, did not benefit on standardized tests and had significantly lower GPAs than their peers, which may be a result of unfavorable comparisons to higher-performing students in the same courses.”

Low-performing students more often fail algebra in the eighth grade because they have not received the additional support they need to succeed, requiring them to take the course again in ninth grade, the study reported.

“Although placement in algebra courses as soon as possible should remain a goal to ensure students are not tracked out of college placement, we believe that a universal eighth-grade algebra policy has not been proven to benefit all and requires more research to better understand potential issues,” said Rose. “We have an obligation as educators to ensure that the lowest-performing students do not see school as a punishment in the form of lower grades, social embarrassment and parental ire.”

This paper will be presented at the AERA Conference at the Vancouver Convention Center Sunday, April 15, East Ballroom C, from 8:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.

Other UC Davis research

Other UC Davis research being presented at the AERA conference, which runs from April 13 to 17:

Some English Learners Are Losing Literacy at the Price of 'Standards'

The emphasis on standardized, packaged curricula to eliminate disparities among students actually reduces students’ literacy, a new UC Davis study suggests.

“This runs counter to everything we know about good teaching, which is designed to differentiate instruction for the needs of learners with different linguistic and academic needs, not standardize it,” said Kerry Enright, the UC Davis School of Education professor who authored the study. She looked at language and literacy practices across the high school curriculum at a comprehensive high school in California’s Central Valley whose teaching, assessment, and accountability practices are typical of many linguistically diverse schools.

Enright will present her study, “Raising Standards and Reducing Literacy,” at the conference on Monday, April 16, at the Vancouver Convention Center, Sheraton Wall Centre, North Gulf Islands BCD.

Students Appreciate Science More When They Experience It in Nature

A combination of hands-on environmental restoration, classroom work and writing can help improve students’ environmental stewardship and understanding of science, a new UC Davis study finds.

Heidi Ballard, assistant professor of environmental education at UC Davis, teamed up with colleagues at the Center for Land-Based Learning in Winters, Calif., (http://landbasedlearning.org/) to study 60 students at three public high schools in California’s Central Valley. The students participated in five days of habitat restoration work and wrote pre- and post-field day reflections on their understanding of the scientific concepts and outcomes of their work.

“Stewardship attitude scores jumped immediately following the field day, and students themselves pointed out how important knowledge and understanding was to their sense of ownership and competence with respect to their restoration projects,” said Ballard.

Ballard and her team will present “Building Bridges Between Science Classrooms and Working Landscapes Through Collaborative Environmental Education Research" on Friday, April 13, Vancouver Convention Center, East Room 1.

Environmental superstar Bill McKibben, author Chris Mooney, physicist Lisa Randall to speak

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:20:00 -0700

April brings three renowned authors, including environmental leaders and a leading physicist, to the UC Davis campus for free, public presentations.

Chris Mooney

On Friday, April 13, science and political journalist Chris Mooney will present “The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science and Reality, ” which is also the title of his new book.

Mooney is the bestselling author of three other books, including "Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future," and "The Republican War on Science." During his presentation, he will discuss the psychological factors that contribute to today’s polarized political environment. Climate change and evolution are two classic scientific issues where views tend to fall along party lines. In his lecture, Mooney will review research that suggests that liberals and conservatives are fundamentally different, with different ways of processing information, particularly when it comes to science with political implications. He will explain why understanding these differences is critical to building a society grounded in reality and reason.

Mooney’s presentation and book signing will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon, in the Activities and Recreation Center at UC Davis. The event is free and open to the public. It is hosted by the UC Davis John Muir Institute of the Environment, Institute of Government Affairs, Department of Geology, and Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

Bill McKibben

On Monday, April 16, environmental superstar Bill McKibben will visit UC Davis to give a presentation hosted by the UC Davis John Muir Institute of the Environment and Capital Public Radio.

McKibben is the author of a dozen books about the environment, including "The End of Nature." Published in 1989, it was one of the first books to warn a general audience about climate change. More recently, his 2011 book "Eaarth" describes a planet that has reached its tipping point and is nearly unrecognizable from the world we know. McKibben is also a frequent contributor to The New Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, Orion Magazine, Mother Jones, Rolling Stone and Outside.

As much as he is a writer and speaker, McKibben is one of the country’s preeminent environmental activists. He founded the grassroots climate campaign 350.org, which has coordinated 15,000 rallies since 2009. A Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College in Vermont, he helped lead a five-day walk across Vermont in 2006 to demand action on global warming. In 2007, he founded stepitup07.com to demand that Congress enact curbs on carbon emissions to cut global warming pollution 80 percent by 2050. With six college students, he organized 1,400 global warming demonstrations across the country on April 15, 2007 — considered the largest day of protest about climate change in U.S. history.

McKibben will speak from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the UC Davis Conference Center Ballroom. The event is free, but participants must RSVP. For more information and to RSVP, visit http://www.capradio.org/events/2012/04/capital-public-radio-presents-bill-mckibben.

Lisa Randall

On Tuesday, April 17, Lisa Randall, a professor of physics at Harvard University, will give a public lecture based on her recent book, "Knocking on Heaven's Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World." Her talk will begin at 8 p.m. in the ARC Ballroom on the UC Davis campus. Admission is free.

“Knocking on Heaven's Door” is an exhilarating and accessible overview of recent developments in physics, and an impassioned argument for the significance of science, according to the Department of Physics website. Randall, bestselling author of "Warped Passages" (2006), is an expert in both particle physics and cosmology. In her new book, she explores how we decide which scientific questions to study and how we go about answering them. She examines the role of risk, creativity, uncertainty, beauty and truth in scientific thinking, and explains with wit and clarity the latest ideas in physics and cosmology.

The event is sponsored by the UC Davis High Energy Frontier Theory Initiative and the Department of Physics.

More information: http://particle.physics.ucdavis.edu/hefti/lectures/randall/index.php

Teaching prize awarded to soil science professor Randy Dahlgren

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:30:00 -0700

The phrase “dull as dirt” does not apply to professor Randy Dahlgren’s soil science classes. Time and again on his student evaluations, the words “enthusiasm,” “passion” and “energy” pop up. In the classroom, his movements are bold, his voice animated, his excitement contagious.

His distinctive teaching abilities were recognized today, April 5, when UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi interrupted his “Crisis in the Environment?” class with a cake to announce that he is the recipient of the 2012 UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.

Established in 1986, the prize was created to honor faculty who are both exceptional teachers and scholars. The $40,000 prize is believed to be the largest of its kind in the country and is funded through philanthropic gifts managed by the UC Davis Foundation. The winner is selected based on the nominations of other professors, research peers, representatives from the UC Davis Foundation Board of Trustees, and students. An event to celebrate the award will be held May 3.

Dahlgren’s energy comes across in his lectures, where, drawing from his vast research experience, he manages to take a subject commonly viewed as uninteresting and makes it relevant to students’ lives. Moving beyond silt and loam, Dahlgren helps non-science students discover the role that soil plays in the environment — from affecting climate change to rangeland management to creating good fish habitat.

“Excellence in teaching does not get rewarded like excellence in research does,” said Dahlgren. “We need to give this kind of reward to so many more people. There are teachers here who are much better than I am, so I’m a little embarrassed, but honored, too.”

"Randy’s ability to engage students while challenging them underscores his commitment to student success,” Katehi said. “He has inspired many of them to pursue careers in environmental science, while also maintaining his own active research and administrative load. It is an honor to award Randy the 2012 UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.”

In addition to being an active soil science and biogeochemistry teacher, Dahlgren is chair of the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources and director of the Kearney Foundation of Soil Science. He also holds the Russell L. Rustici Endowed Chair in Rangeland Watershed Sciences, is a fellow of the Soil Science Society of America and received the 2008 UC Davis Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award.

“It is not possible to overstate Professor Dahlgren’s ability as a teacher,” said Neal Van Alfen, dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, in his nomination letter. “To state that he is an exemplary and inspirational teacher who motivates students does not fully do justice to his skills and passion for teaching.”

"This prize, generously funded by donors, recognizes that student success begins with the strong commitment and expertise of the faculty," said Kevin Bacon '72, chair of the UC Davis Foundation. "The trustees are very pleased to award the prize to Professor Dahlgren, who is an excellent example of the first-rate teaching under way at UC Davis."

From tractor to volcanoes

Dahlgren grew up on his family’s grain farm in Kennedy, Minn., a town of 400 people at the time. He remembers driving the tractor with his father when he was 7 years old, “working the soil.” He recalls long summers of sitting on that tractor for $1.25 an hour, and cold winters of skating across miles of ice covering the creek that ran behind the farm. The town was 60 miles from the nearest movie theater. Being outdoors was simply the way of life.

“Having grown up there, we had to be totally self-sufficient,” says Dahlgren. “If things broke, we had to use duct tape and bailing wire to fix it. It cultivated common sense and critical thinking.”

Back then, he was not thinking about how chemistry worked all around him. That came later, when he was a graduate student at the University of Washington, studying ash from the recently erupted Mount St. Helens.

“Suddenly, I was away from the mundane textbook stuff to actual scientific discovery,” he said. “That feeling was pretty fantastic.”

Most of his graduate research took place east of Mount St. Helens at Findley Lake, which had not received ash from the volcano. His research team helicoptered in volcanic ash to create plots and study the effect ash had on the soil. They found that periodic volcanic eruptions engender productive soils and aquatic environments.

“Most people focus on the devastation of volcanoes,” said Dahlgren. “I focus on the rejuvenation.”

After his experience with Mount St. Helens, Dahlgren became somewhat of a volcano chaser, traveling to Japan, New Zealand, Iceland and the Canary Islands to research active volcanoes there.

His research has also helped explain the relevance of nitrogen in rock, which had rarely been considered before his work. Nitrogen in rock converts to nitric acid, which can acidify soils and contribute to nitrates in groundwater and surface water.

“It’s a natural source that’s been neglected,” he said. “Nitrogen out of rock is like a slow-release fertilizer.”

His current research with colleagues at Mount Shasta connects the threads of his work — soil and water chemistry and unexpected sources of nutrients. Groundwater from glaciers melting at the top of Mount Shasta takes about 30 years to trickle down the mountain to the valley, where it emerges as spring water. Along the way, it picks up nitrogen and phosphorous.

“Here is a natural source of nutrients, and the fish love this,” he said.

The nutrients feed aquatic vegetation along the Shasta River, which feeds bugs, which in turn feed the fish. This historically made the Shasta River one of the most productive rivers for salmon, Dahlgren explained. In Dahlgren’s work, it is yet another example of volcanoes not as destroyers, but life-givers.

Class act

Dahlgren takes his experiences from the field and incorporates them into his classroom lessons.

Since he first came to UC Davis in 1989, his main teaching assignments have been “Concepts in Soil Science,” “Field Study of Soils in California Ecosystems,” and “Ecosystem Biogeochemistry.” He is also one of three professors teaching “Trees and Forests.”

In 2004, he created the class “Crisis in the Environment? ”— with a very deliberate question mark — which is now one of the most popular classes in the Science and Society Program. Examples from the day’s news headlines help the class relate what they are learning to real life.

Recognizing that everyone learns differently, Dahlgren uses lectures, slides, YouTube videos, writings and discussions to reach all types of learners.

While helping students connect soil science with their own lives is rewarding to Dahlgren, he also gets something unexpected out of teaching: “Relaxation. Does that sound funny?” he said. “In the administrative part of my life, I’m multitasking all day long — I’m checking emails, answering phones, having people come in and out of my office. When it’s time for class, I go in there, and I’m focused on one thing. It’s actually relaxing. And that feedback from the students, I can feel that energy. … I’m in there, and the only thing on my mind is to share my understanding of how the world works with this next generation of students.”

Sharing that knowledge has helped change the course of some of his students’ lives.

Former student Rebecca Sutton is currently a senior scientist in Oakland, Calif., with Environmental Working Group, a public health and environmental nonprofit. “While I originally came to UC Davis with the intention to study environmental science, I had no interest in dirt,” she wrote in a nomination letter. “I expected Randy’s introductory soil science class to be a dull but necessary requirement that I might as well complete during my first quarter of college, in 1994. Within a few weeks, my attitude had changed dramatically.”

Sutton went on to earn a Ph.D. in soil chemistry at UC Berkeley. “Exposure to Randy’s dynamic vision of the world of soil was a formative experience for me — an experience that placed me on my path to professional success,” she continued. “His impact on my life is a true measure of the excellence of his teaching.”

If Dahlgren is a lively teacher, it is partly attributable to two energetic teachers from his life: Jim Richardson, his mentor as an undergraduate at North Dakota State University, and Fiorenzo Ugolini, his graduate major professor at the University of Washington and someone Dahlgren calls his “academic father.”

“From them, I’ve learned that a fairly high-energy presentation and a little humor keeps the students engaged,” said Dahlgren. “Engaging students is a critical aspect of the learning experience.”

CANCELED: Former solicitor general to deliver constitutional law lecture at UC Davis

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The following event has been canceled.

March 26, Monday — Drew S. Days III, solicitor general in the Clinton administration, will give the Barrett Lecture on Constitutional Law at the UC Davis School of Law. The lecture from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom, Martin Luther King Jr. Hall, is free and open to the public. Days is the Alfred M. Rankin Professor Emeritus of Law and Professorial Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School. He formerly worked on the staff of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and as assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Carter administration.

His UC Davis lecture is titled "Equalizing Equality: The Canadian Record After Three Decades of Constitutionally Authorized Affirmative Action."

Edward L. Barrett Jr. served as founding dean of King Hall. The lectureship in his name was established in 1986 to mark his retirement and the law school’s 20th anniversary. More information: http://www.law.ucdavis.edu/news/event.aspx?id=2653.