UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE

News for Faculty and Staff of the University of California, Riverside

December 11, 2013

Cigarette Butts: UCR’s Toxic ProblemA survey of five campus smoking hot spots turns up 1,388 cigarette butts in just 48 hours

On Oct. 15, about 15 student volunteers from the UCR Office of Sustainability and the student organization Sustainable UCR descended upon five areas that UCR Grounds had designated as hotspots for cigarette use. The volunteers donned plastic gloves, and began the disgusting task of picking up cigarette butts as part of the campus’s inaugural “Butt Bash.”

Following a protocol established by UC San Francisco that has been used in similar surveys across the UC sys-tem, the volunteers combed over the five areas, which encompassed half of the campus’ 10 designated smoking areas. They went through ash cans, lawns, planters and sidewalks to pick up the butts, finding more than 2,000 of them.

Two days later, on Oct. 17, they did it again, scouring the same five areas. The total? In two days, an astonish-ing 1,388 butts were found. The survey will be repeated in February and May 2014 to determine the impact of the UC-wide prohibition on smoking and tobacco use, and to find where additional education efforts are needed. The systemwide policy goes into effect at UC Riverside on Jan. 2, 2014, and encompasses all tobacco products as well as unregulated nicotine delivery systems such as e-cigarettes or “vapes.”

Jars full of the toxic, nonbiodegradable stubs were on display Thursday, Nov. 21, at the Great American Smoke-out at the HUB. Despite a constant rain, more than 300 students, staff and faculty learned about the hazards related to tobacco use and resources available to those who wish to quit.

“There were a lot of people who were very surprised that there is so much smoking taking place on campus,” UCR Director of Sustainability John Cook said. “It led to some interesting discussions. Some people talked about what they could do to stop, while others learned about the damage that cigarette butts can do to the envi-ronment.”

Cigarette butts are the most commonly collected waste item found in beach clean-ups and are reported to comprise between 25 percent and 50 percent of all litter collected from roads and streets. The filters are not biodegradable and have a negative impact on the environment, containing carcinogenic chemicals, pesticides

By Ross French

John Cook

and nicotine that can leach into aquatic ecosystems.

“Many smokers have the bad habit of throwing their cigarette on the ground, rather than taking the time to dispose of it in a proper way,” Cook said. “They don’t think of it as littering, but that is exactly what it is, and it leaves a toxic mess for someone else to clean up. There are over 4 trillion cigarette butts thrown away every year.”

Another problem can occur when cigarette butts are thrown into trash cans. The smoldering remnants have caused trashcan fires.

“We get calls each quarter about trashcan fires that are generally started by cigarette butts,” Cook said.

UC Riverside Staff Member Diagnosed with Bacterial MeningitisBy Kris Lovekin

A staff member at UC Riverside was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis over the weekend. Due to privacy laws, UCR will not be releasing the name of the employee.

The university is taking precautions to prevent the spread of the disease, which includes alerting the campus community to the situation; contacting and advising people whom public health officials believe are at risk; thoroughly cleaning the office areas affected; and working closely with the Riverside County Department of Public Health.

Symptoms of bacterial meningitis include a high fever, headache, stiff neck, rash, nausea and confusion. Anyone with those symptoms should contact a doctor immediately. The UCR Health Center is available to UC Riverside students. Faculty and staff should contact their own physicians as needed.

The university continues to work with the physicians involved in the diagnosis to ascertain the precise strain of bacterial meningitis contracted by the employee.

“Bacterial meningitis is not as contagious as the cold or the flu, but it is still wise to take precautions,” said UCR Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox in a statement sent out to all students, staff and faculty members.

Dr. G. Richard Olds, an expert in contagious diseases and the dean of UCR’s School of Medicine, said just being in the same room as an infected person is not enough to spread the disease. It is transmitted through sharing saliva.

What can be done to prevent the spread of the disease?

• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

• Clean your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub, especially before eating.

• Do not share utensils, water bottles or other items contaminated by another person.

• Stay home when you are sick and avoid other people who are ill, if possible.

• Avoid crowded, smoky settings, as smoke seems to make people more vulnerable.

• Get a flu shot to stay well.

A web site with more information is available here:http://newsroom.ucr.edu/announcements/2013-12-9men-ingitis.html

Judge John Gabbert, one of UC Riverside’s Founders, Dies at 104Campus community mourns the loss of lifelong friend

By Kris Lovekin

The Honorable John G. Gabbert, one of Riverside’s most prominent citizens and a key founder of UC Riverside, died Monday, Dec. 9, at the age of 104.

“Throughout his life, Gabbert maintained his ties to the campus he helped build and to the local community,” said Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox in a message to the campus community. “For several years after he retired from his legal career, he served as an adjunct professor in UCR’s political science department, creating and teaching a popular moot court class. We will miss him greatly.”

A former chancellor, Timothy P. White, said “John Gabbert was an extraordinary man, a leader, a pillar in our community. As a lawyer, a judge, a citizen, I cannot overstate the impact that he had, not merely UC Riverside, but all of the Inland Southern California region. His was a life well lived and he will be truly missed.”

As a founding member of the Citizen’s University Committee, Gabbert was instrumental in the efforts to bring a University of California campus to Riverside. When the State of California began looking into adding campuses to the UC system, the CUC worked tirelessly to lobby members of the Strayer Committee about turning the UC Citrus Experiment Station into a liberal arts university.

“There were a whole series of Strayer Committee meetings from Eureka to San Diego, from Redding, Fresno, Bakersfield, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and all around, we had somebody at every darn meeting,” Gabbert recounted in an oral history recorded in 1998. “We might have missed a meeting in Eureka or missed one in Redding, but I know I went to several meetings that were in Southern California.”

He went on to become a founding member of the UC Riverside Foundation Board of Trustees, serving from 1980 through 1998 and was the first recipient of the UCR Foundation’s Trustee’s Award for Extraordinary Ser-vice. He also received the UC Riverside Founders Award and the CUC’s Outstanding Service Award. His other awards include the Riverside Bar Association Krieger Service Award and The Leo A. Deegan Inns of the Court Award.

Last year the Citizens University Committee established an endowed scholarship in his name to provide schol-arships to UCR students from the Inland area.

In another project in the last few years, UCR Extension created a history of John Gabbert’s life and put it on two DVDs.

Born in Oxnard, California in 1909, Gabbert moved to Riverside at the age of three when his father, John R. Gabbert, purchased a half-interest in the Enterprise newspaper. He attended Riverside-area schools until his family moved to South Pasadena in 1925. He graduated from South Pasadena HS, then returned to Riverside in 1927 to attend Riverside Community College. From there he earned his bachelor’s degree at Occidental College, then went on to earn a law degree at the Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley in 1934.

Gabbert became a deputy district attorney in Riverside in 1935 and, in 1938, he joined Raymond and Eugene

Best’s law firm and became a partner in 1941. He served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945 as a special agent in the Criminal Investigation Division, being admitted to practice before the Philippine Supreme Court in1945. He returned to Best, Best, Gabbert and Krieger after the war but left the firm for good in 1949 when he was ap-pointed as a judge on the Riverside County Superior Court.

He served with the court until 1970, when Governor Ronald Reagan appointed him to Fourth District Court of Appeals. He retired from the bench in 1974.

Gabbert was preceded in death by his wife, Katherine, who passed away in 1999. His survivors include his daughters Sarah and Katherine, his son Scott and a number of grandchildren.

The family would like memorial donations to be made to the Gabbert Justice Fund, which is administered through the Riverside Community Foundation, or to the John Gabbert Scholarship at UCR.

UCR to Host Annual Staff Assembly Party on Tuesday, Dec. 17Annual gathering will feature a variety of games and great door prizes

By Ross French

The UC Riverside Staff Assembly will ring in the holidays with food, games, fun and a couple of surprises at the annual Holiday Party on Tuesday, Dec. 17, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the HUB 302. The annual holiday celebration is free and open exclusively to UCR staff members.

In addition to great food and drinks, the party will feature several game-show typed games, including Fam-ily Feud, Minute-to-Win-It, Wheel of Fortune, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, Win, Lose or Draw, and Pyramid/Heads Up.

“The Minute-to-Win-It theme has been very popular over the last two years, but this year we decided to add some variety with several different game shows,” said Director of Events Tamra Johnson. “This variety will help keep things fresh and fun.”

Guests who win the games will receive raffle tickets, which they can enter into drawings to win a number of prize packages.

Johnson expressed thanks to her event committee, saying, “This is one of the best groups I have had the chance to work with in a long time.”

“Our event volunteer committee has brought a lot of energy and fresh ideas to this year’s party. I am grate-ful for all their help, and I hope people will take a moment to thank them for their service,” she said.

For more information about the party or to volunteer, please contact Tamra Johnson by email or call her at 27881.

In addition to fun and food, guests will have the opportunity to learn about campus programs and show gratitude to coworkers by filling out a “Thank You Bear-y Much” card.

Guests will also have the opportunity to purchase tickets to the Staff Assembly Fundraiser Night at the

Ontario Reign hockey game on Jan. 18, 2014. Tickets are $20 a person (two dollars below face value). All pro-ceeds go to support Staff Assembly scholarship funds. Tickets may be purchased using cash or credit card at the party, or may be purchased in advance by contacting Amanda Gomes at extension 27172. All are welcome to purchase tickets and attend the game.

“The hockey game is a big fundraiser for us, and all the proceeds go back to help members of the UCR staff,”

said Gomes. “We hope to sell a total of 200 seats to the game.”

Texas A&M’s McClendon Appointed UCR Vice Chancellor for Business and Ad-ministrative ServicesHe will oversee financial services, human resources, design and construction, as well as police and other campus services

By James Grant

Last week Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox announced the appointment of Rodney McClendon as UCR’s new vice chancellor for business and administrative services. He was most recently vice president for administration at Texas A&M University.

McClendon’s service to UCR is scheduled to begin in February.

McClendon is an accomplished academic administrator who previously worked at Texas A&M in leadership positions over a career that has included service at the College Station campus as chief of staff to the president, and as assistant provost, as well as service on the Galveston campus as a vice president and CEO, and as COO.

In addition, between appointments at A&M, he served as senior vice president for operations and senior associ-ate vice president for administration at the University of North Texas. He began his career in higher education as a residence hall director for Morehouse College, his undergraduate alma mater.

“I am very pleased to recommend to President Napolitano the selection of Rodney McClendon for this posi-tion,” said Wilcox. “His skills and values make him an excellent fit with UCR’s leadership team, and he has the vision and experience to help us achieve our aspirations. During his campus visit, he impressed students, faculty, and staff alike with his commitment, integrity, collaborative approach, and ability to lead strategically.”

McClendon indicated his sincere desire to be of service to UCR:

“I am enthusiastic about joining a university whose values toward academic excellence, humanity, service excellence, and integrity are consistent with my own values, and I am pleased to accept Chancellor Wilcox’s nomination to become UC Riverside’s next vice chancellor for business and administrative services.”

“I believe the Business and Administrative Services Unit exists to help facilitate faculty and the university administration’s ability to achieve UCR’s teaching, research, and public service missions, as well as to foster opportunities for community engagement,” McClendon said. “My goal is to be a leader who embraces and respects UCR’s rich history and culture, while continuing to build and lead a world-class team committed to the holistic excellence prescribed in UCR 2020, the campus’ strategic plan. I am committed to helping UCR achieve those imperatives.”

Reporting directly to the chancellor, the vice chancellor for business and administrative services ensures that

UCR’s enterprisewide business units optimally support UCR’s trifold mission of teaching, research, and public service.

The position leads a diverse workforce of about 600 employees, including managerial, professional, adminis-trative, service, technical, and skilled trade staff. The position provides leadership and vision to ensure effective operation of divisions that include:

• Financial services (financial control and accountability, payroll services, accounting services, and student business services, including the main cashier’s office)

• Human resources (staff and employee development, compensation, workplace health and wellness, labor relations, and HR policies and programs)

• Facilities management (physical plant, transportation, parking, fleet services, environmental health and safety)

• Material management (campus purchasing, equipment management, receiving, printing and mail services, storehouse, and business agreements)

• Capital programs (space planning, design and construction/architects and engineers, real estate)

• University of California Police Department, Riverside

McClendon will earn $286,000 in annual salary, as well as a relocation allowance and a 5 percent monthly contribution to the Senior Management Supplemental Benefit Program, worth $14,300 annually.

McClendon has served on several boards and commissions, including the National Society of Collegiate Schol-ars, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission on College and University Service Involvement, and the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce. He is active in community service and has received numerous awards and honors.

McClendon has been recognized by Texas A&M’s Association of Former Students and the Division of Student Affairs with an “Outstanding Professional Staff Award”; by Texas A&M students as a “Fish Camp” (freshman orientation) namesake; twice by graduate students in Texas A&M’s Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education (SAAHE) program with the “Outstanding Faculty Award”; and was designated one of the “Outstand-ing Young Men of America.”

A native of Blackshear, Ga., McClendon earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a con-centration in banking and finance from Morehouse, a law degree from Emory University School of Law, and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M. His doctoral research focused on faculty perceptions of presidential leadership in urban school reform.

Wilcox thanked UCR Vice Provost Steven Brint for his service as head of the search committee for the position.

UCR to Host Personal Protective Equipment Distribution on Jan. 14 & 15An online survey will determine what equipment will be distributed

By Ross French

As part of UC’s systemwide policy to ensure the safety and security of personnel working in laboratory and research areas, UCR will host a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Distribution Event on Jan. 14 & 15, 2014, in the Highlander Union Building, Room 302.

In order to prepare for the distribution and ensure enough equipment for all staff, students and faculty, indi-viduals who work in laboratory settings are required to complete the online Laboratory Hazard Assessment Tool survey that will determine what equipment is required. Upon completing the survey, staff will then view the assessment, complete the short video training, take a brief quiz, and print a PPE voucher to bring to the campus distribution event. Individuals are asked to also register for the event at ucr-ppe.eventbrite.com.

Former UC President Mark Yudof signed the PPE policy in the summer of 2013, with the intent of “prevent(ing) workplace injuries and illnesses for all academic appointees, staff, students, and visitors.” The policy takes ef-fect on March 31, 2014.

The university has ordered more than 93,000 lab coats and eye wear that will be handed out at each of the 10 campuses and five medical centers. Laboratory staff who meet necessary requirements will receive two coats and two sets of eye wear at the event. In addition, they will choose a designated laundry facility where they will be able to drop off their soiled lab coats to be laundered free of charge.

More information for this event can be found at http://ehs.ucr.edu/laboratory/lhat/index.html. For more in-formation, contact Laboratory Research Safety at 951-827-5528 or karen.janiga@ucr.edu.

Bowdoin College’s Nguyen Named UCR Associate Vice ChancellorHieu Nguyen has been named UCR’s associate vice chancellor for development

By James Grant

Hieu Nguyen, associate vice president for development at Bowdoin College, has been named associate vice chancellor for development at UC Riverside.

Nguyen will begin service to UCR on Jan. 14, 2014. Reporting to UCR Vice Chancellor for University Advance-ment Peter A. Hayashida, Nguyen will oversee a hybrid centralized/decentralized development team serving the campus.

“Hieu Nguyen is a seasoned development and advancement professional whose career in higher education has included service of some of the very best institutions in the nation,” said Hayashida. “He has achieved strong results and has participated in major fundraising initiatives, and we welcome him to our campus.”

Nguyen has served in key development positions at Bates College and Middlebury College in addition to his service at Bowdoin. A graduate of Middlebury, he began his career in private sector business development and corporate sales.

Nguyen said he is delighted to join UC Riverside and greatly looks forward to working with the campus’ aca-demic leadership. “I have high expectations for outcomes and believe that numbers and metrics play a role in helping organizations realize success,” he said, in describing his management style. “That said, I am also a per-son who believes strongly in the power of relationship building and the patience involved. This idea goes way beyond fund-raising and, in fact, is at the core of my management style.”

A former resident of Del Mar, Calif., Nguyen was drawn back to the West Coast by the distinctive mission of UCR, providing access to a world-class research university education to the diverse population of California. His values and life goals align well with the campus, which is a leader in promoting success among first-genera-tion and low-income students.

Ngyuen’s top priority will be preparing the campus for success in a comprehensive fundraising campaign that tracks closely with UCR 2020, the academic strategic plan. The plan prescribes expansion of the quality and size of the academic enterprise in ways that elevate the reputation, impact, and reach of UCR’s research, teach-ing, and public service.

Philosopher Reappointed to State Scientific Guidance PanelCarl Cranor is a longtime advocate of policy reform in regulating exposure to toxicants

By Bettye Miller

Carl F. Cranor, distinguished professor of philosophy and a longtime advocate of reforming policies for regulat-ing exposure to toxic substances, has been reappointed to the Scientific Guidance Panel of the California Envi-ronmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program.

Cranor previously was appointed to a two-year term that expires Jan. 1, 2014. The Senate Rules Committee ap-proved his reappointment in November to another two-year term.

The Scientific Guidance Panel plays a significant role in the California Biomonitoring Program, making recom-mendations about the program’s design and implementation — including the identification of chemicals that are a priority for monitoring in California — and providing scientific peer review. Five members are appointed by the governor, two by the speaker of the Assembly, and two by the Senate Rules Committee.

Established by Senate Bill 1379 in 2006, the California Biomonitoring Program is a collaborative effort of three departments in two state agencies: the California Department of Public Health in the Health and Human Ser-vices Agency, and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and Department of Toxic Substances Control in the California Environmental Protection Agency.

Cranor, who has a law degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. in philosophy from UCLA, said that his exper-tise on the risks posed by contaminants to children and adults and on reforms he believes are needed in gov-ernment regulatory policies will add to the committee’s efforts to better protect Californians from toxic sub-stances.

“I welcome the reappointment to the Science Guidance Panel of California’s Biolmonitoring Program,” Cranor said. “It is a pleasure to work with outstanding experts on the panel and the excellent support staff to try to identify as early as we can toxicants that contaminate Californians in order to improve the public’s health.”

Cranor has served on state science advisory panels for Proposition 65, which requires the state to publish an annual list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive health problems; the Elec-tric and Magnetic Fields Program; and nanotechnology.

He is the author of “Legally Poisoned: How the Law Puts Us at Risk from Toxicants” (2011); “Regulating Toxic Substances: A Philosophy of Science and the Law” (1993); and “Toxic Torts: Science, Law and the Possibility of Justice” (2006); and is co-author of a report for the Office of Technology Assessment, “Identifying and Regulat-ing Carcinogens” (1987), and a study by an Institute of Medicine committee, “Valuing Health: Cost Effective-ness Analysis for Regulation: (2006). His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and

the University of California Toxic Substances Research and Teaching Program.

UCR School of Business Volunteers Work with Habitat for Humanity to Refur-bish Mobile HomesHelping Hands program volunteers repaint and beautify four mobile homes for low-income residents

By Ross French

Armed with paint buckets, rollers, tarps and a massive amount of energy and goodwill, over 100 UC Riverside undergraduate and graduate students came together on Nov. 11 to refurbish and repaint four mobile homes as part of Habitat for Humanity Riverside’s ongoing Helping Hands project.

A total of 104 UCR students, primarily from the School of Business Administration (SoBA), participated in the event at the nearby King Arthur Mobile Home Park, said event organizer and SoBA lecturer Sean Jasso.

“It was primarily business school students, including a large turnout of our M.B.A. students, and then a few of their friends within the UCR family,” Jasso said.

The Helping Hands program helps low- and fixed-income households make external improvements to mobile-home communities throughout Western Riverside County. The homeowners are typically veterans, seniors and the disabled. A variety of local corporations and organizations participate throughout the year. This was the third appearance of a SoBA-sponsored group.

Christine Morgando, volunteer coordinator for Habitat for Humanity, Riverside, was impressed with UCR’s turnout, adding that the average Help-ing Hands volunteer group is between eight and 20 people.

“Having 100 people is a lot for us. We divided them into four groups with 20 to 25 people,” Morgando said. “They painted the walls and the trim; they took down the awnings and painted them. They taped the windows. It’s a very professional job for volunteers.”

“I teach three large courses here, so I have access to over 700 students on any given day,” Jasso said of the large turnout. “Having taught here a number of years, I’ve developed a rapport with the students. When I put out the call to serve, they show up.”

Each of the four groups was assigned to repaint one home, with Jasso choosing an undergraduate student to serve as a team leader.

“I selected the four undergraduate students for their leadership strengths,” he said. “These students did an excellent job leading their teams and finishing their work by our noon deadline.”

Jasso, who teaches business ethics and law, marketing and distribution and competitive and strategic analysis, said that the Helping Hands program provides a teachable opportunity for students outside the classroom.

Mamie White-Carter and her kindergarten class

“It teaches the power of the good,” he said. “We are doing it because it is the right thing to do. It’s fun, it brings camaraderie. People remember that service is a gift. And it was a time to get 104 students together and have some fun while serving our community.”

“It was a good community service opportunity and a nice thing to do,” said Alejandra Torres, a second-year law and society major who got involved with the event through the Gamma Beta Phi service organization. “You have fun while you do it, and it goes by really fast.”

Jasso said he plans to offer the program every quarter, including summer, with dates in early March, May and July to be announced. Anyone is welcome to participate, regardless of whether or not they are a SoBA student.

“It’s open to the whole campus community,” he said. “I’ve told my students that I would like to paint the whole city. If we get enough people, maybe we can do it.”

UCR Students Work to Bring Literacy to Underserved AreasJunior Allison Ibarra of Chino Hills leads volunteer group that teaches Riverside youngsters how to read

By Ross French

As a college student studying to become a doctor, junior biological sciences major Allison Ibarra was excited to begin volunteering at the Riverside Regional Medical Center, but was surprised when the head of the volunteer group told her that she needed to take a basic reading test before she could be placed in the hospital.

“She told me that she had to administer a basic reading exam to all the adult volunteers to gauge their read-ing level,” the Chino Hills native recalled. “It shocked me that adult literacy could be so low that this test was needed.”

It was shortly thereafter, in January 2012, that Ibarra and five other members of UCR’s American Medical Student Association (AMSA), founded the Literacy Project, designed to teach young people from disadvantaged backgrounds how to read and to promote the ability to read among young people.

“I noticed a stigma that has grown around reading for little children. Reading is associated with being uncool, nerdy, and socially awkward,” she said. “As an avid bookworm myself, I was appalled at this stigma and wanted to do something to help change it.”

Ibarra was also moved to act by data that linked low child-literacy rates with impoverished areas. “I decided to make my stand to improve literacy in Riverside.”

She spent a few months recruiting, organizing and training volunteers, and researched tips and techniques for teaching literacy to young people then began to work with young people. They raised funds to purchase stick-ers and small prizes as rewards for reaching reading milestones. Volunteers work with students on their gram-mar, reading comprehension and phonetics, but beyond that, they form a bond with the youngsters, becoming friends and mentors.

“We have had children come with us just to talk about their lives and to ask us questions about ours,” Ibarra said. “We try to serve as role models for the children and encourage them to pursue a college education. This helps make college a more realistic and tangible goal.”

The Literacy Project has grown to 25 volunteers and has worked with more than 200 children since the pro-gram got underway in June 2012. They host sessions at five locations around the city: the Eastside Riverside Library/Cybrary, the Main Library, Cesar Chavez Community Center, Highgrove Elementary School, and First Congregational Church.

Her efforts in the community have not gone unnoticed, both locally and nationally.

“Given all of her trajectory towards medicine, the fact that she’s spearheaded a successful literacy program to get young kids excited about reading, and also about their future potential in college, is very exciting,” said Scott Silverman, the coordinator for the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Scholars Program and advisor to Ibarra. “I have no doubt that Allison will make the Literacy Project bigger and better over time, and will still be the driving force behind it even once she’s graduated.”

In addition, The Literacy Project won a $1,000 grant from TrueHero.org following a nationwide contest. Ibarra said that she hopes to use the money and future donations toward the purchase of books that can be used for lessons and perhaps as rewards.

“We’d love to get some simpler books for our K-third grade students, some introductory reading books for third-sixth graders, and some more challenging books for the older students,” she said. “For example, some-thing like ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,’ which is a popular movie right now. The movie has the glamor, and maybe we can use that to help get students interested in reading the book that the movie came from.”

Ibarra said that the students hope to become a stand-alone organization at the beginning of 2014 and continue to accept donations that will help them reach that goal.

To contribute to The Literacy Project, email theliteracyprojectucr@gmail.com.

GETTING PERSONAL: Mamie White-CarterJob: Kindergarten Teacher at the UCR Child Development Center

By Bethanie Le

In one word, Mamie White-Carter’s typical day word is best described as busy.

In the same way that her classroom — with its bright colors, posters on the walls and crafts dangling from the ceiling — looks busy, White-Carter, a kindergarten teacher at the Child Development Center, has her hands full from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Activities such as counting in German, physical education and snacktime take up all of her attention. “It’s a hard day. It’s a long day, but it goes by really fast,” White-Carter says with a chuckle.

White-Carter developed the UCR Child Development Center program in 1998. Although the standards for kin-dergarten have changed throughout the years, her teaching style has not.

“It’s a child-centered environment, [which is] developmental in its scope. That means the classroom and the activities are set up in the best way for a 5- or 6-year-old to learn. What we ask kindergarteners to do today is completely different than what we were asking them to do 24 to 25 years ago, but my approach to teaching has not changed that much because I believe that children don’t like to sit at a desk and that they like to be engaged and move around, ” says White-Carter. “We try to cover a lot of the multiple intelligences here, too, which gives every child with different styles of learning a chance to succeed.”

“What I like best about being at UCR is that I am able to teach the way that I think young children should be taught. I don’t have to change my methods. The Child Development Center is here to support UCR. We have a lot of faculty members’ and students’ children in the classes.”

According to White-Carter, the best part of her job is seeing the progress and growth in the children.

“I like working with kindergarteners because it gives me the opportunity of seeing a big maturation period from the little child who comes in, to the 5-year-old or 6-year-old who leaves at the end of the year.”

Outside of the classroom, one can find White-Carter flower gardening, an activity that she has enjoyed since she was a child.

“Again, it’s hard work, but I like to be busy.”

Did You Know? The Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies Seeking Applications

The Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies is seeking applications for graduate student research fellowships for spring 2014. The deadline to submit proposals is Jan. 6, 2014. Notice of awards will be made by Jan. 31.

Proposals must fit within the mission of the Presley Center and must be relevant and informative to criminal justice policy and practice in the state of California, said Steven Clark, center director. The center was established at UCR by the California Legislature to conduct research on crime and violence, including: the causes and prevention of crime and violence; best practices for law enforcement and for youth and adult corrections; and the reduction of violence and recidivism in California’s prisons, jails, and youth correctional facilities.

Fellowship awards are for one quarter and include a stipend of $5,497 and cover resident fees, and fees and tuition. (Fellowships do not cover nonresident supplemental tuition). Fellowships are open to UCR Ph.D. students in any discipline who have completed at least one year of post-graduate education (including graduate programs other than UCR) and are in good standing in the Ph.D. program.

For information about how to submit a proposal contact Steven Clark at steven.clark@ucr.edu.

Make Your UCR Annual Holiday Buffet Reservations

The UCR Annual Holiday Buffet is back! The buffet, which includes hand-carved prime rib roast, pan-seared cod vera cruz, blackened roast turkey breast, wild mushroom lasagna, slow-poached whole salmon, appe-tizers, dessert, sides and more, will be served from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., from Thursday, Dec. 12, through Wednesday, Dec. 18. The buffet is located on the veranda level of the Alumni & Visitors Center. Call (951) 827-5471 for reservations and more information.

The Top: The Best UCR-inspired Holiday Gifts

Welcome to Inside UCR’s newest feature, The Top!

Each issue, we’re presenting a list of UCR staff and faculty favorites— from walking spots to Zen gardens to events. This week, we’re featuring the best UCR-inspired holiday gifts. If you have a favorite spot you’d like featured or an activity you’d like to share, email lille.bose@ucr.edu.

1. The huggable mantis shrimp

Inspired by David Kisailus’s research on the mantis shrimp, this $38 toy was brought to life by the Oatmeal. http://shop.theoatmeal.com/products/mantis-shrimp-squishable

2. “Between Heaven and Here” by Susan Straight

Set in Riverside, this novel by Professor Susan Straight is full of locales around the university.

3. “Junipéro Serra: California’s Founding Father” by Steven W. Hackel

For California history buffs — read more about it on http://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/17570.

4. Bagpipe lessons

It’s not Highlander pride unless you can use a bagpipe properly! For more information, go to www.pipe-band.ucr.edu/lessons.html.

5. A film at the Culver Center

Art films from $5 to $10? A steal. Buy them at http://culvercenter.ucr.edu/Film/List

6. The All-Sport Faculty/Staff Gold Card

For $50, UCR faculty and staff can avail of the All-Sport Faculty/Staff Gold Card and go to 100 ath-letics events this year. Call (951) 827-4653 or visit the website (http://ucrathleticsassociation.com/sports/2013/9/20/All-Sport%20Gold%20Card.aspx?&tab=5) for information.

7. Hockey tickets to support UCR staff scholarships

On Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014, the UCR Staff Assembly is hosting a fundraiser at the Ontario Reign Hockey game against the Colorado Eagles. Tickets are $20; you can buy them at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/staff-assembly-night-at-the-ontario-reign-hockey-game-tickets-8904163593.

8. UCR merchandise

The best item in the campus store: the tartan infinity scarf, available for $29.95. Check out other ways to wear Highlander pride at www.ucrcampusstore.ucr.edu.

9. “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth” by Reza Aslan

Not sure the last time a book published by a UCR professor had so much buzz on the Internet, all thanks to Fox News!

10.” The Land Before Time” DVD

Did you know that this childhood classic was written by Professor Stuart Krieger, the theatre department

chair? It’s just one of the many original movies he’s written for Disney.

Who Says?UCR staff and faculty weigh in on the issues of the day via media outlets at home and abroad

“Basically you get medical school for free.”

Dr. G. Richard Olds, founding dean of UCR School of Medicine, on the five full-ride scholarships to the UCR School of Medicine that he’s planning to offer to students who agree to stay in the Inland Empire five years after they graduate and who choose to pursue primary care

CBS NEWS NETWORK

“This is what you’ve got to do — settle on one candidate, (hope to) scare off the others and focus your ef-forts.”

Shaun Bowler, professor of political science, on the four Democrats — Joe Baca, Danny Tillman, Eloise Gomez Reyes and Pete Aguilar — taking on Rep. Gary Miller in next year’s June primary

LOS ANGELES TIMES

“The finding is very counter-intuitive. You wouldn’t think doing well by one’s stakeholders would set the stage for actions that harm stakeholders in the future.”

Elaine Wong, assistant professor of management, on the findings by the London Business School and UCR that show how previous good deeds by a CEO makes a company more likely to misbehave in the future

FORBES

“Bullying is a very complex problem. With this research, we’re really trying to provide school personnel with some proven steps to address the problem.”

Cixin Wang, assistant professor at Graduate School of Education, explaining how schools need to under-stand positive school climate, use reliable measures to evaluate school climate and implement effective pre-vention and intervention programs in order to prevent bullying

UNIVERSITY HERALD

“(Conrad Susa) was in a way the first postmodern composer. He would select from various types of genres anything he needed to be expressive.”

Byron Adams, professor of music, reflecting on Conrad Susa, a prolific composer and producer who died in his sleep on Nov. 28

WASHINGTON POST

“Transient negative moods are absolutely beneficial when orientation to detail is warranted.”

Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology, on the upside to feeling down as research finds that people in a negative or gloomy mood may pay closer attention to the details of their everyday experiences

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

“Until now, no one had a clue about which olfactory receptor insects used to avoid DEET. ... Without the receptors, it is impossible to apply modern technology to design new repellents to improve upon DEET.”

Anandasankar Ray, associate professor of entomology, on UCR’s research that has identified the DEET-detecting olfactory receptors that cause the insect repellency

INDIA WEST

“Those low on adult conscientiousness died sooner.”

Howard Friedman, distinguished professor of psychology, on how conscientiousness is related to mortal-ity in a significant way. The conscientious person’s long-living qualities have to do with the fact that they are predisposed to constructively to emotional and social situations

MSN HEALTH

Research and ScholarshipUCR Receives Grand Challenges Explorations Grant For Groundbreaking Research in Global Health and Development

UCR is a Grand Challenges winner an initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Yanping Chen, a computer science Ph.D. student at UCR, will pursue an innovative global health and development re-search project, titled “Using Sensors to Understand Insect-Vectored Diseases and Plan Effective Interventions.”

Chen, who is working in the lab of Professor Eamonn Keogh in the Bourns College of Engineering, will use the $100,000 to create sensors to count and classify insect vectors, producing real-time information that can be used to plan intervention/suppression programs to combat problems such as malaria.

She will be assisted by Adena Why, a Ph.D. student in entomology, and Moses Oben Tataw, who recently earned his Ph.D. under Keogh. The goal is to produce a software system that leverages information from sen-sors, and can produce real-time counts of the target insects and summarize them in an intuitive and actionable manner.

Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol Disrupts Brain Circuitry

According to a team of UCR neuroscientists led by Kelly Huffman, assistant professor of psychology, prena-tal exposure to alcohol severely disrupts major features of brain development that potentially lead to increased anxiety and poor motor function, conditions typical in humans with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

The team discovered that prenatal exposure to alcohol significantly altered the gene expression and the de-velopment of a network of connections in the neocortex–the part of he brain responsible for high-level though

and cognition, vision, hearing, touch, balance, motor skills, language, and emotion. Prenatal exposure caused wrong areas of the brain to be connected with each other.

These findings contradict the popular belief that consuming alcohol during pregnancy does no harm. So women who are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant should abstain from drinking alcohol.

The study appeared in the Nov. 27 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Study co-authors are UCR Ph.D. students Hani El Shawa and Charles Abbott.

School Climate Key to Preventing Bullying

Cixin Wang, assistant professor in the Graduate School of Education, found that to effectively prevent bul-lying, schools need to understand positive school climate, use reliable measures to evaluate school climate and use effective prevention and intervention programs to improve the climate.

Wang co-authored the article, “The Critical Role of School Climate in Effective Bullying Preention,” with Brandi Berry and Susan M. Swearer, both of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It was published in the jour-nal Theory Into Practice.

“With this research, we’re really trying to provide school personnel with some proven steps to address the problem,” Wang said.

Ph.D. Student to Participate in Carnegie Hall Workshop

Damjan Rakonjac, a first-year graduate student in the Department of Music, was selected to participate in the prestigious Carnegie Hall Weill Institute of Music Arts Journalism Workshop in New York City in Novem-ber.

Rakonjac was one of four arts journalism students chosen in the national competition that also brought young composers and performers together for mentoring in the process of creating, collaborating on, promot-ing, and premiering new works commissioned for the occasion by Carnegie Hall.

“Damjan is a brilliant, insightful graduate student who writes a blog featuring music criticism of the high-est order,” said Byron Adams, professor of music and Rakonjac’s faculty advisor. “His accomplishments in this area have resulted in the signal honor of participation in the Carnegie Hall Weill Institute workshop.”

Los Angeles Times music critic Mark Swed mentored the arts journalism students in the weeklong work-shop whose leaders also included Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, International Contemporary Ensemble founder Claire Chase and members of the ensemble.

The workshop aims to promote dialogue between and among composers, performers and writers, and to explore the different but intersecting means through which each group communicates about music and their artistic work, Rakonjac explained.

“The application process was highly selective,” he said. “Making the case that I was a graduate student in the UCR musicology program was instrumental in my obtaining this unique opportunity. One of the most excit-ing aspects of the program was the chance to collaborate with some of the most active composers, performers, and music critics in the world of new classical music.”

The program culminated in a concert of newly commissioned works at Carnegie Hall on Nov. 20.

Rakonjac expects to complete his M.A. in 2014 and his Ph.D. in 2018. His research specialty is the emer-gence of musical modernism in Paris from about 1880 through the 1920s.

Sociology Professor Links Resegregation and Enrollment Trends

David Swanson, professor of sociology, discussed how his analysis of enrollment trends prevented the re-segregation of public schools in Memphis, Tenn., in a lecture at UC Irvine’s Center for Demographic and Social Analysis in November.

Swanson, a demographer who has advised the U.S. Census Bureau on survey methodologies, appeared as an expert witness in a U.S. District Court trial regarding the creation of new municipal school districts and school boards. The sociologist presented “Forensic Demography in a Red State: How Expert Testimony Helped Stop Re-Segregation of the Public Schools” as part of the UCI center’s Fall 2013 Colloquium Series.

The merger of the largely black Memphis School District with the suburban Shelby County School District stood to change the racial composition in the suburban district substantially, Swanson explained. A law passed by the Tennessee legislature in 2012 would have allowed the suburban schools to pull out of the merger, but only if the new law did not violate the state constitution, which prohibits laws affecting only one county.

Swanson’s projections showed that no other county had the potential to meet the enrollment requirements that allowed the Shelby County schools to form a separate district. A federal judge cited Swanson’s population forecasts and testimony in ruling last year against the state law that permitted the creation of new municipal school districts.

Awards and HonorsEnglish Professor Wins Prestigious Prize

Erica Edwards, associate professor of English, has won the prestigious William Sanders Scarborough Prize from the Modern Language Association of America (MLA) for an outstanding study of African-American litera-ture or culture. The William Sanders Scarborough Prize is the top award in African-American studies and one of the most distinguished in literary and cultural study.

Edwards was recognized for her book, “Charisma and the Fictions of Black Leadership.” In awarding the 12th annual Scarborough Prize the selection committee described Edwards’s book as a deft critique of “the long-standing notion that a single charismatic male is requisite for leadership in African American politics.”

The award will be presented during the association’s annual convention in Chicago in January.

Chemistry Graduate Student Recognized for Research Presentation

Consuelo Beecher, a graduate student in analytical chemistry at UCR, was recognized with a 2013 SACNAS Student Presentation Award at the society’s annual meeting that took place in October in San Antonia, Texas.

Beecher’s research work on heparin a substance used to prevent blood clots from forming, was among a few that stood out for the judges at the three-day conference.

Beecher’s presentation at the 2013 Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans National Conference was titled “Profiling Enoxaparin SEC fractions by probing for 3-O-sulfo oligosaccharide using [H-1, N-15] HSQC NMR.” On the project, she worked with Cynthia Larive, a professor of chemistry and a divisional dean in the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.

Entomologist Recognized for Exceptional Service to California’s Vegetable Industry

John Trumble, distinguished professor of entomology, has been named the recipient of the 2013 Oscar Lo-

renz Award, which recognizes outstanding accomplishments in research and/or extension education benefiting the California vegetable industry.

Trumble, whose research focuses on both basic and applied problems in agricultural and natural ecosys-tems, will receive the award at a meeting on the UC Davis campus, in early December, of the UC Vegetable Crops Workgroup. The award is accompanied by a check for $500.