UCLA 100 - UCLA

Hammer Museum to mark 2 decades of transformation on March 26

UCLA Newsroom — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 16:36:00 GMT

The Hammer Museum at UCLA’s two-decades-long project to remake itself inside and out — including expanding, renovating and transforming the building — will culminate on March 26, 2023.

The public will be welcomed into the final major architectural components of the project, designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture, and a new group of exhibitions celebrating the Hammer’s collection of contemporary art.

The new Lynda and Stewart Resnick Cultural Center will welcome visitors through a new street-level entrance located prominently at the corner of Wilshire and Westwood boulevards. The naming of the building recognizes the Resnicks’ gift, through their foundation, of $30 million — the largest single gift in the Hammer’s history, which was announced in 2018.

Since 2015 the Hammer has fully renovated its existing galleries, public event spaces and restaurant; expanded its offices and other back-of-house spaces; added a brand-new gallery and study center for works on paper; and, most recently, renovated the singular Hammer Store. In total, the Hammer has grown by 40,000 square feet, while achieving its goals of:

creating a dramatic presence across a full city block;
increasing gallery space by 60%;
providing 20,000 square feet of renovated and enhanced community space;
showcasing its permanent collection — including the Grunwald Collection of more than 45,000 works on paper and the Hammer Contemporary Collection of more than 4,000 objects — while at the same time presenting its renowned temporary exhibitions.

“When we began collaborating with Michael Maltzan more than 20 years ago, he was an ‘emerging’ architect, so it has been a joy to work together and see him gain international acclaim for his work. From the start, our goal was to make the Hammer into a welcoming, public-facing, university-affiliated institution engaged with today’s art and artists and the urgent issues of our time,” Philbin said. “With the unflagging support of our visionary board of trustees chaired by Marcy Carsey, and generous donors, especially Lynda and Stewart Resnick, the UCLA community, our brilliant staff and Michael Maltzan’s design wizardry, we succeeded in quadrupling attendance over those years, and have become a beloved institution to our audience and especially the artists of this city. I am beyond thrilled to welcome everyone to a reimagined Hammer Museum that is more than 20 years in the making.”

Read the full announcement about the expansion and renovations (PDF) from the Hammer Museum at UCLA.

New mural captures campus history and UCLA’s future

Mike Fricano — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 00:39:00 GMT

The ask was bold and befitting a Bruin like professor and artist Judith Baca: depict the history, present and future of UCLA and the land where it resides, in a mural.

In a special evening ceremony on Friday, April 1, several hundred people gathered to celebrate the culmination of nearly three years of work, as Baca unveiled “La Memoria de la Tierra: UCLA.” The nearly 80-foot mural is on the north side of Ackerman Union as part of the Wescom Student Terrace.

UCLA Broadcast Studio

The mural, which translates into English as “The Memory of Earth: UCLA,” is made up of three 26-foot-long glass panels. The left panel portrays Westwood — long before UCLA — with a shimmering light-blue outline of Royce Hall where it sits today. In the center, a circle of dozens of people including faculty, alumni, civil rights and social justice leaders whom Baca called her heroes and said represent the diverse and lesser-known history of campus and the land.

The middle panel is built around a trinity of women: Toypurina, a Tongva woman who opposed the colonial rule by Spanish missionaries in California in the late 1700s; Angela Davis, civil rights activist and former UCLA faculty member, who was fired by the University of California Board of Regents for her association with communism; and Dolores Huerta, the iconic labor leader who worked with César Chávez on behalf of farmworkers.

Don Liebig/ASUCLA

The central panel of “La Memoria de la Tierra: UCLA.”

“We hope in the future that students will be able to sit here [in this courtyard] and be able to find out who these people are and what did they do,” said Baca, who retired last year, after years as a professor of Chicana and Chicano and Central American studies and a professor of world arts and cultures.

To situate the people in their proper historical context, the mural captures scenes from events such as the Black Lives Matter student demonstrations in 2020, protests against the Vietnam War in 1976 and also a depiction of the Manzanar War Relocation Center.

The future of the campus is on the right, with rhizomes (long, narrow channel-like roots) filled with the faces of other significant people — many of them faculty — who are doing the work to bring UCLA into the future and ensuring that UCLA remains in harmony with the land.

Baca told the audience that the third panel was designed “to take the knowledge that comes from the university and [spread] it widely.”

Don Liebig/ASUCLA

Desirae Barragan, who is a registered member of the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians, Kizh Nation, at the unveiling of the mural “La Memoria de la Tierra: UCLA.” Barragan is a descendent of the person depicted in the center, Toypurina, a Tongva/Kizh woman who helped lead an uprising against Spanish missionaries.

The mural is the result of a partnership among the UCLA Centennial Committee; Associated Students UCLA, or ASUCLA, a nonprofit association that drives student services and activities throughout campus; and the Digital Mural Lab from the Social and Public Art Resource Center, or SPARC. It was in 1976 that Baca and two other artists founded SPARC, a Venice-based arts center that creates, preserves and hosts programs about community-based public artwork. The mural was created with financial support from Wescom Credit Union.

Old traditions, new forms: Virtual celebrations honor graduates

Alison Hewitt — Thu, 28 May 2020 19:21:00 GMT

For the first time in UCLA’s 100 years, commencement has been postponed, but virtual ceremonies have sprung up in their place to celebrate this year’s nearly 14,000 graduates.

Most schools and departments already plan to reschedule in-person ceremonies once the novel coronavirus pandemic eases enough to make group gatherings safe. Meanwhile, the current celebrations will be a mix of new and old as staff seek out creative ways to bring a century of tradition to students in entirely new formats.

“Despite the current challenges, this is an important moment to celebrate the hard work, brilliance, sacrifices and successes of our graduates,” said Chancellor Gene Block. “We want graduates and their families and friends to feel all of the pride and joy that they so richly deserve.”

Grad season began May 15 with UCLA School of Law, and continues through late June with more than a dozen virtual ceremonies planned for thousands of students. About 8,800 undergrads are expected to graduate this year from the UCLA College, which hosts the largest celebration. A calendar listing of various ceremonies is included below.

This graduation season marks the end of UCLA’s centennial year. Centennial graduates will hear from several big-name speakers, like actor, alumnus and activist George Takei for the UCLA College. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder spoke at the virtual ceremony for the law school May 15. The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA will hear from California’s first surgeon general, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris; the senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, Mike Hopkins, is scheduled to speak to graduates of the Anderson School of Management; and Jason Droege, the former head of Uber Eats, is scheduled to speak at the Samueli School of Engineering’s virtual ceremony.

Schools are shortening their traditional ceremonies to make them more video-friendly, and some will offer build-your-own ceremonies in which students can select different pre-recorded components of the ceremony to view. These will be the first graduation ceremonies students can fast-forward through. Others are hosting department-specific graduations or building breakout rooms into the program so students can hear their names read aloud among their cohort.

At least one group planned a drive-through campus celebration: the Academic Advancement Program for first generation, low-income and historically underrepresented students hosted a physically distant drive-up Celebration of Excellence for graduates on May 27.

As students attend live-streamed, pre-recorded or Zoom ceremonies from their living rooms, some will wear tasseled mortarboards or doctoral hoods they ordered in the mail, and digital templates have been sent out to arts and architecture students to allow them to craft their own caps. At least one school will offer individual online cards where students’ friends can add messages and pictures. Custom Zoom backgrounds, personalized student-submitted slides, tassel-turning compilation videos, downloadable celebration signs, and recorded congratulations from famous alumni are also part of this year’s pomp and circumstance.

In addition to school and departmental celebrations, virtual gatherings are also planned by affinity groups, such as the May 30 toast to first-generation college students, or the virtual Lavender Graduation on June 20 hosted by the LGBTQ Resource Center.

Until in-person commencements can be held, some of the many 2020 virtual celebrations include:

Friday, May 29

3 p.m. Nadine Burke Harris, the California surgeon general, will speak at the virtual celebration for the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Thursday, June 11

4 p.m. Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, Wasserman Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, will speak to graduates at the virtual celebration for GSEIS.

5 p.m. The doctoral class of 2020 will be celebrated with a virtual celebration by the UCLA Graduate Division.

Friday, June 12

9 a.m. John Pérez, chair of the University of California Board of Regents and former speaker of the California Assembly, will speak at the virtual celebration for the Luskin School of Public Affairs.

2 p.m. The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television will have a virtual celebration led by interim dean Brian Kite, which will include a year-in-review video and guest speakers.

3 p.m. George Takei, actor and social justice activist, will speak at the virtual celebration for the UCLA College.

3 p.m La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, will speak at the virtual celebration for the Fielding School of Public Health.

4 p.m. Mike Hopkins, the senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, will speak at the virtual celebration for the Anderson School of Management.

Saturday, June 13

8:30 a.m. for students earning bachelor’s degrees with additional times to be announced for other programs C. Alicia Georges, professor and chair of the Department of Nursing at Lehman College of the City University of New York who was named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing, will speak at the virtual celebration for the School of Nursing.

10 a.m. Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan’s first female architect, will speak at the virtual celebration for the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture.

12:30 p.m. Jason Droege, the former head of Uber Eats, will speak at the virtual celebration for the Samueli School of Engineering.

Friday, June 19

4 p.m. The keynote speaker for the virtual celebration for the Herb Alpert School of Music is scheduled to be announced the week of June 1.

Housing inequality in Los Angeles is focus of new UCLA Data for Democracy brief

John McDonald — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 22:58:00 GMT

Professor Ananya Roy studies access to housing and housing justice movements around the world. In describing her work, she uses the term “housing justice” because as she says: “I was so tired of doing research on the ‘housing crisis.’ I wanted to think about how this moment of crisis is also a moment for uplifting and foregrounding new ideas about housing.”

Roy shares her thinking about the issue in Housing Inequality in Los Angeles, the latest in a series of UCLA Centennial Initiative Data for Democracy research briefs engaging students, teachers and schools in UCLA research about issues impacting equality, opportunity and social change. The brief on housing was produced by the Data for Democracy team in collaboration with the Institute on Inequality and Democracy at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, and in partnership with the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project.

Digging deep into the issues that affect housing in the L.A. region, the Data for Democracy brief invites K–12 students across Los Angeles to examine charts, graphs, tables, maps and interviews about housing insecurity and movements to create housing justice in local communities. The brief is available online and is shared with students and teachers in area schools. Access and use of the briefs is free.

Housing Inequality in Los Angeles shares and explores data about who owns and who rents homes in Los Angeles and how this has changed over time. The research also digs into the high burden of rent on Los Angeles families. The new brief takes a close look at the number of homeless residents in Los Angeles, how this has changed over time, and how homelessness differs by race and ethnicity. The research focuses particular attention on what the brief refers to as “houselessness,”as the most visible and urgent aspect of housing inequality in Los Angeles.

Data representations in the brief show that 55 percent of residents of Los Angeles County are renters, a much higher rate than the 30 percent of renters in other communities across the nation. The data details that the share of renters has been increasing over time and that black and Latino households are more likely to be renters than other racial and ethnic groups.

Read the full brief in Ampersand.

UCLA’s virtual hackathon draws more than 1,000 students to develop tech for L.A.

UCLA Newsroom — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 22:37:00 GMT

Working remotely, more than 1,000 college and high school students from all over the country came together virtually March 27–29 at UCLA to compete by developing almost 200 software projects and demos that would improve the quality of life in Southern California.

One winning app helps people keep track of where they go when breaking self-isolation for essential reasons and gives them real-time information from Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on COVID-19 cases in their neighborhood. If they test positive later, they can report this anonymously, along with data on where and when they were out in public.

Organized by UCLA students, LA Hacks, which is Southern California’s largest annual hackathon, was held virtually in this its eighth year due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.

“An unbelievable amount of good came out of this year’s event,” said Sriram Balachandran, a second-year computer science major at UCLA and one of the co-executive directors of LA Hacks. “In a time when everybody is at home, our LA Hacks team was able to provide a platform for students around the country to make use of their skills and talents for society.”

The 2020 edition of LA Hacks celebrated UCLA’s 100th anniversary by challenging hackers to develop projects focused on improving quality of life in Southern California.

After being welcomed in video messages from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, participants competed, joined workshops and virtually attended panels to hear from UCLA computer science lecturer Carey Nachenberg and UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center software engineer Gina Kim, as well as representatives and recruiters from Honey, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Oracle and other event sponsors.

Participants submitted their final projects, along with short demo videos, according to four different tracks or themes. The winning projects in each track were:

Quaranteam (COVID-19 track) — QRantine App: This app helps people who need to leave their homes for essential needs keep track of where they have been by saving and displaying check-in timestamps. If a user tests positive, the app allows him or her to anonymously report the dates and times of places they’ve visited previously. The app also displays real-time L.A. County health information on COVID-19 cases in their neighborhood.
Under Construction Like Always (LA track) — place.it: Using data from the City of Los Angeles, this software helps city planners, architects and citizens analyze the social, environmental and financial impact of a proposed building.
Trending Now (entertainment track) — The Musick Space: This app offers a virtual platform so that musicians can practice alone, rehearse together and perform online.
Code Green (sustainability track) — Group Greenery: The app creates a new social media network to encourage Angelenos to get involved in community gardening. Users can find local gardens, receive real-time data on the health of their plants and collaborate with fellow gardeners. Using computer vision, the network can also analyze daily humidity, sunlight and precipitation using user-submitted photos.

The competition’s overall winners were:

1st place — Archiscape: Using AI and machine learning, this application helps city planners, architects and landscape designers automatically convert 2-D floor plans into 3-D models and virtual tours.
2nd place — Mood for Zoom: This facial-recognition software helps lecturers, educators and hosts using this video-conferencing tool surmise the general mood of users on a video call, including emotions such as joy, anger, surprise and sorrow.
3rd place — CheaterBeater: Helps hackathons, venture capitalists and tech companies assess if the source code of a tech project has been copied or used in another application.

“Despite tremendous changes at home and at school due to the pandemic, students went above and beyond,” said Andres Cuervo, director of UCLA’s Centennial Celebration. “Their dedication and collaborative spirit — the sheer potential of their ideas and projects — are an inspiration during these times and a reminder that our next 100 years will be transformed by the optimism and innovative thinking of students.”

Among the 10 judges were representatives from Honey, Facebook, Google Cloud, Oracle, PwC and Office Ally as well UCLA’s Nachenberg and Kim. Winners were judged on originality, impact/usefulness, feasibility, technical difficulty and design. Grand prizes ranged from cash to products such as Nintendo Switch consoles, drones and hoverboards, among others.

The LA Hacks competition was a marquee event of UCLA’s centennial year as the campus celebrates its many contributions to Los Angeles, the nation and the world since its founding in 1919, and looks ahead to another century of discovery and achievement.

Design for Sharing: 50 years of getting L.A. K-12 students in front of live performances

Jessica Wolf — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 17:15:00 GMT

Around the same time NASA was preparing to launch humans to the moon, a pair of women philanthropists in Los Angeles were meeting in their living rooms to think about how to make sure more local kids could experience the power of the performing arts.

They were Mimi Perloff and Blanche Witherspoon, whose passion and organizational prowess resulted in Design for Sharing the Arts at UCLA. Now known as Design for Sharing, the program has in its first half century served nearly half a million K-12 students, giving them the opportunity to participate in live performing arts events on campus and in their classrooms.

UCLA Broadcast Studio

They arrive in buses from across the city. They fill Royce Hall with a boisterous energy to watch renowned musicians, dancers and theater makers from around the world. They come in smaller groups for more intimate performances and art-making workshops.

“They are welcomed into this space — most often Royce Hall — and you just see them react to the grandness of the space itself,” said Meryl Friedman, director of education and special Initiatives for UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, which oversees Design for Sharing. “And then they get to experience this art, which they also don't either know much about or have access to. And it frankly blows their minds. Every program, small or large, involves some kind of direct interaction with the artist so that they get to hear about their lives and their story and what they do every day and how they got to where they are.”

And kids learn to dream by experiencing art and hearing the stories of artists.

“I think that’s the hugest impact that we have of everything that we do, is that these students see firsthand what is possible,” Friedman said. “Not necessarily that they could be an artist or a dancer, but that with some hard work and some passionate belief in what they are passionate about, that they really could do anything.”

Over the last 10 years, Design for Sharing staff have been embedded as arts educators at the Robert F. Kennedy UCLA Community School in Koreatown. Every year they work with about 100 fourth- and fifth-graders on projects that include creative writing, movement and visual arts practices.

In honor of Design for Sharing’s 50th anniversary, which happened to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, DFS staff developed a program for that year’s community school project that culminated with the students attending a performance from theater maker and mime Andrew Dawson. His “Space Panorama,” is a reenactment of the mission from launch to landing told only through hand and face gestures.

Earlier, Friedman and education program coordinator Theresa Willis Peters worked with community school students on two projects related to the moon and Apollo 11. For one of them, students came up with their own moon launcher designs, using recycled materials from a group called Trash for Teaching.

The other was a haiku project that drew inspiration from a folkloric story found in several Asian and indigenous cultures, “The Rabbit in the Moon.” Students wrote their own haikus in honor of the story and created collages, which were later put on display in Royce Hall for all “Space Panorama” ticket holders to see.

Design for Sharing residencies at the community school leave a lasting impression on the students, said Daniel Sotelo, a UCLA alumnus who has been teaching at the school since it opened.

“Some things they wrote this year blew me away,” Sotelo said. “It makes me look at my students and think, ‘Wow! I never would have seen this side of you without the presence of Design for Sharing.’ Throughout the years our partnership has grown closer and expanded to include other artists from around the city. This embodies the idea that we are a community school and a community with UCLA.”

Looking forward, Design for Sharing staff hope to expand their on-site projects to other schools in Los Angeles.

When Design for Sharing started, founders were simply buying blocks of tickets to UCLA performances and giving them to teachers at local schools to distribute to students.

Design for Sharing

Founders Mimi Perloff, left, and Blanche Witherspoon.

“Very quickly, it transitioned into an opportunity to present matinee performances for big groups of school kids during the school day as a field trip opportunity to a research university and a professional performing arts hall,” said Willis Peters, who graduated from UCLA in 2003, and just never left campus, transitioning into her role as arts educator and presenter.

Now, Design for Sharing presents as many as 20 performances attended by more than 11,000 Los Angeles schoolchildren every year. Most of the performers are artists on the main CAP UCLA season program who agree to do a special morning demonstration performance during their scheduled time on campus.

DFS staff provide information on the artists that teachers can build into their lessons prior to the performance.

“We don’t ask these professional artists to do something different for kids,” Friedman said. “We make sure that what they’re doing is suitable for kids and we ask them to do that. They don’t do something that’s watered down or dumbed down.”

It’s energizing to the artists as well, who are often very moved by the reaction of these young audiences, Friedman said.

DFS is completely donor supported and relies on a deep well of goodwill from benefactors in Los Angeles. Donors to the DFS bus fund ensure that the program can pay for transportation — a critical element, as most local schools lack transportation funding.

“We are celebrating our 50th anniversary as one of the oldest nonprofits on the UCLA campus, and as an aside, no one really knows us,” said Stephanie Snyder, president of the Design for Sharing advisory council.

But, she said, once a donor gets involved, they are totally engaged.

“I have been doing this for eight years and have no intention of stopping because I want to keep this alive and kicking,” she said.

Snyder and her fellow donors love to attend the demonstration performances, sometimes coming in the morning for the student audience and then also back again for the evening performance.

Design for Sharing

A performer from Australian troupe Circus Oz.

“When you leave there after those morning performances, you feel so good all day long that there isn’t any good deed you can’t do,” she said.

Kids come to campus with their backpacks in tow, and are ushered into Royce Hall in a well-choreographed seating sequence. After the performances, groups often stick around to have lunch in the grass and explore the campus. DFS staff provide information about UCLA, trying to inspire a vision of college for young students who may be visiting a university campus for the first time.

When Friedman looks to the next century of UCLA, she sees DFS continuing to fulfill its mission of making the performing arts accessible to all, something that is likely to become even more critical in a technology-obsessed culture.

“I think that the two visionary women that founded this were really onto something,” Friedman said. “It was a very simple idea. And in 50 years, kids will still get on a bus or some other mode of transportation and come to a hall of renown or a workshop or a rehearsal hall or a grassy area and gather together to experience art. Nothing virtual can really replace that.”

Postponed – Dr. Jane Goodall to deliver Luskin Lecture for Thought Leadership at UCLA on April 1

Melissa Abraham — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 22:19:00 GMT

Editor’s note: This news release was updated at 3:16 p.m. on March 12, to indicate that the event has been postponed.

In compliance with UCLA campus policy requiring that all in-person campus gatherings of more than 100 people be suspended or postponed, the Luskin Lecture for Thought Leadership featuring Dr. Jane Goodall scheduled for April 1 has been postponed.

All ticket holders with online purchases will automatically be refunded by point of purchase for the cost of the ticket and all fees associated. If you purchased your tickets from the UCLA Central Ticket Office in person with cash or check, please contact 310-825-2101 or cto@tickets.ucla.edu for assistance (Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Please note this refund effort will take time as CTO is managing thousands of ticket purchases. Your patience is appreciated.

“We look forward to rescheduling the event and will communicate a new date and time at our earliest opportunity,” said Patricia Turner, senior dean of the UCLA College, in a message to ticket holders. “We will provide the on-sale date and time to all current ticket holders before the general public announcement is made, with a reasonable interval for purchase. Details around this are still being worked out.”

Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, will deliver the Luskin Lecture for Thought Leadership at UCLA’s Royce Hall on April 1, 2020, as part of the celebration of UCLA’s Centennial year. The renowned animal behavior expert and conservationist is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a U.N. Messenger of Peace.

During the lecture, which marks the 60th anniversary of the start of her pioneering research, Goodall will discuss her journey from groundbreaking researcher of wild chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania, to internationally renowned activist. She will also share her reasons for hope for the future, talk about the work of the Jane Goodall Institute and the organization’s Roots & Shoots youth program, and encourage audience members to make a difference every single day.

Following her remarks, Goodall will be joined by a moderator for a discussion drawing from questions submitted by UCLA students and alumni.

The UCLA College lecture is a ticketed event, open to UCLA students as well as the campus community, alumni and the general public. (The lecture sold out on Feb. 5; tickets for students were made available at no charge.) Event details are available on the Luskin Lecture website.

“Dr. Jane Goodall is a true pioneer who exemplifies how one person can make a huge difference in the world,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. “We are delighted to welcome her to campus for the Luskin Lecture for Thought Leadership, to share her inspiring vision with UCLA.”

Goodall began her pioneering research on wild chimpanzees in 1960 in what is today known as Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. Goodall was the first person to formally observe and better understand wild chimpanzees, our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom; her research revealed remarkable insights about chimpanzee behavior and humankind.

Since then, Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute have maintained what is now the world’s longest running study of wild chimpanzees. Through her critical work, Goodall has not only championed the urgent need to protect chimpanzees from extinction, but she also has pioneered community-centered conservation through JGI, putting local people at the center of conservation decisions and action, across the chimpanzee range in Africa. Through JGI’s Roots & Shoots program, she empowers young people to improve their communities through service projects, ensuring that they become better stewards of the environment than previous generations.

As a global activist traveling nearly 300 days a year, she has devoted her life to inspiring all people to take action to improve the well-being of people, other animals and the natural world we share.

“Dr. Goodall’s focus on giving people, particularly young people, the knowledge and confidence to make an impact by being part of something bigger than themselves makes her an example to emulate,” said Patricia Turner, senior dean of the UCLA College. “She has moved beyond her role as a scientist to encourage all of us to become active partners in the future of our world.”

Goodall’s talk will be the fifth Luskin Lecture for Thought Leadership. The series was established in the UCLA College by Meyer and Renee Luskin in 2011 as part of a transformative gift to UCLA. Their vision in establishing the endowed lecture series gives the UCLA College an unprecedented opportunity to share knowledge and expand the dialogue among scholars, leaders in government and business, and the greater Los Angeles community. Previous speakers have included former President Bill Clinton, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

LA Hacks hackathon returns to UCLA for its eighth year, March 27-29

UCLA Newsroom — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 19:05:00 GMT

Southern California’s largest annual hackathon will take place March 27–29 for its eighth year, but in a virtual format due to concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. At this time, there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus on the UCLA campus.

The 2020 edition of LA Hacks will celebrate UCLA’s 100th birthday by partnering with the office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and regional tech companies to challenge thousands of computer coders to create trailblazing technologies that support sustainability and help improve quality of life in Southern California.

“UCLA is proud to host this exciting event, particularly at a special time for our campus as we celebrate the many ways UCLA has had an impact on Los Angeles and the world in its first 100 years,” said UCLA Chancellor Gene Block. “We are glad that LA Hacks will continue this year in a virtual format to ensure the health and well-being of the talented students who are participating, and I look forward to seeing how they push the boundaries of technology to address the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

Organized by UCLA students, LA Hacks is a 36-hour competition that brings together Southern California college and high school students to create new and exciting technologies. Competitors get a chance to network with some of the brightest minds in tech and to interface with recruiters from Google, Facebook, Microsoft and other companies that sponsor the event.

“The competition will go on, despite the coronavirus, just in a virtual format,” said Sriram Balachandran, a second-year computer science major at UCLA who is the executive director of LA Hacks. “We will be streaming our opening and closing ceremonies, as well as our workshops and panels, throughout the weekend. Workshops and panels will be open for the general public to tune in and watch.”

Balachandran also said the event will host virtual Q&A sessions that give participants the chance to interact with recruiters and engineers from the event’s corporate sponsors. Participants will be able to check in online and compete together remotely, after which they will submit their projects along with short demo videos.

“We want hackers to leave the competition feeling that they’ve had the opportunity to participate in something truly special,” Balachandran said. “We hope the resources we provide allow our participants to take projects even beyond the scope of the hackathon into projects they’re truly passionate about.”

More than 1,400 students have applied to be a part of the event. Participation is open to college undergraduates and graduate students, and high school students. Many participants are already proficient in coding, website design, Photoshop, or even cryptocurrency. But the event offers a wide range of resources, workshops and mentors to teach tech novices how to develop a project.

LA Hacks will have four tracks, or themes, in which students can compete:

Under Construction (Like Always). This track focuses on engineering better ways to navigate life in Los Angeles, whether through secure tourism, safe traffic or strong infrastructure. Reimagine the city through technology that streamlines the urban experience.
Trending Now. Los Angeles is the world’s entertainment capital, and home to many world-class athletes. With a legion of influencers living and working here, all eyes are always on Los Angeles. This track focuses on how creative powerhouses leverage technology to grow their brands and influence ever-larger audiences. Elevate the way we experience multimedia.
Code Green. The technology of today shapes the planet of tomorrow, whether it’s protecting biodiversity, reducing emissions or conserving resources. This track focuses on innovative ways to preserve the planet we call home. Show us how we can build a sustainable future.
Quaranteam. This track challenges participants to develop technologies and innovations to improve quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

LA Hacks will be held in the midst of UCLA’s centennial year, as the campus celebrates its many contributions to Los Angeles, the nation and the world since its founding in 1919, as well as looking ahead to another century of discovery and achievement.

UCLA raises $5.49 billion in one of most ambitious campaigns ever by a public university

Ariel Okamoto — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 13:01:00 GMT

The Centennial Campaign for UCLA, one of the most ambitious fundraising campaigns ever by a public university, has raised $5.49 billion. As UCLA enters its second century, the funds are already supporting a broad array of priorities, including student scholarships and fellowships, faculty research, and programs that enrich communities in Los Angeles and beyond.

The campaign launched publicly in May 2014 and closed in December 2019, in the midst of UCLA’s 100th year. During the initiative, nearly 220,000 donors from all 50 U.S. states and 98 additional countries gave more than 574,000 gifts to advance causes across campus and in communities in Southern California and around the world.

Approximately 95% of those gifts were less than $10,000, and 81% were less than $1,000, indicating the broad-based support for UCLA’s mission.

UCLA also received transformative philanthropic commitments of more than $100 million, including Marion Anderson’s giving for students, faculty and facilities at the UCLA Anderson School of Management; David Geffen’s gifts for medical student scholarships and the Geffen Academy at UCLA; Meyer and Renee Luskin’s giving to name the school of public affairs and build a campus conference center; and Henry and Susan Samueli’s gifts to expand engineering education and research.

“As we celebrate UCLA’s first hundred years, the Centennial Campaign for UCLA has exceeded its goals and engaged students, faculty, friends and leaders in setting up the university for an even more remarkable second century,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. “We are so grateful to each and every person who has participated in this extraordinary effort.”

Campaign gifts cross campus, causes and communities

Funds raised through the campaign already are making a difference across the campus, including supporting students in a diverse range of fields. Such support includes humanities fellowships established by Jordan and Christine Kaplan and Ken Panzer; scholarships created by the cast and crew of hit television show “The Big Bang Theory” for students in science, technology, engineering and math fields; scholarships for dentistry students created by Bob and Marion Wilson; and scholarships for public health students established by Jonathan and Karin Fielding.

Steve Tisch and Shirley and Walter Wang both established scholarships for students from middle-income families; faculty member Ellen Carol DuBois donated to support transfer students; and the family of the late Bill Steinmetz, a UCLA alumnus and World War II veteran, gave to support student veterans.

Campaign giving for scholarships leveraged funds through matching challenges, such as those initiated by Miguel García-Garibay, dean of the UCLA College division of physical sciences, and Block, who designated student support as a campaign and continuing priority. Every new scholarship will help make a high-quality education affordable for high-achieving students of all backgrounds. UCLA already ranks No. 1 among the nation’s top-tier universities for enrolling low- to middle-income students, and more of its graduates move up two or more income levels, according to The Equality of Opportunity Project. During the Centennial Campaign, UCLA raised $665 million for student support.

Many other campaign gifts created endowed chairs to recruit and retain stellar faculty: Iris Cantor established the university’s 500th chair with a gift to the Iris Cantor–UCLA Women’s Health Center, and the Ralph and Shirley Shapiro family established several faculty chairs during the campaign — in dentistry, disability studies, law, nursing, pediatrics and other areas — bringing the total number of chairs they have established at UCLA to more than 20.

Other donors enhanced the campus with lead gifts for state-of-the-art facilities. With the Eugene & Maxine Rosenfeld Hall for medical education, the Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center, the Mo Ostin Basketball Center and the Wasserman Football Center, construction has transformed UCLA during the course of the campaign. In Westwood and beyond, the arts have benefited from Marcy Carsey’s and Stewart and Lynda Resnick’s gifts to renovate the Hammer Museum at UCLA and Margo Leavin’s gift to refurbish graduate art studios in Culver City.

Throughout the campaign, philanthropists supported UCLA initiatives in a wide array of fields with real-world relevance:

Brain health: A gift from James L. and Phyllis Easton advanced research on the prevention and treatment of neurodegeneration, and concussion and traumatic brain injury. Wendy and Leonard Goldberg endowed a migraine research program, and Laurie and Steven Gordon funded faculty chairs, a new lab and research dedicated to curing Parkinson’s disease. Gifts to the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge made UCLA the first university to offer depression and anxiety screening for students and immediate connection to appropriate levels of care.
Cancer: Agi Hirshberg’s campaign gift created a center dedicated to, and supported seed grants for, pancreatic cancer research. Eli and Edythe Broad made a major new gift to their eponymous stem cell research center at UCLA, which will help researchers translate findings into clinical applications for cancer and other diseases. And Dr. Victoria Mann Simms and Ronald Simms gave to support the expansion of integrative psychosocial care for people with cancer and for their families at UCLA clinics throughout Los Angeles.
Humanities, culture and entertainment: Tadashi Yanai’s gift endowed an initiative for globalizing Japanese humanities, which supports students, faculty, international exchanges and public events. Jeff Skoll’s gift established a center for promoting social change through entertainment, and Kenneth Ziffren gave multiple gifts to establish an institute in entertainment law. The Patricia Mitchell Trusts not only partnered with Ziffren to support that institute, but also created endowments to support UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television students and the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Environment and sustainability: Dan and Rae Emmett added a matching gift for their namesake institute for climate change and environmental law, whose research regularly informs policy leaders and the media. Morton La Kretz has helped the UCLA College renovate its botany building and the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden, both in support of conservation education and research. Gifts to UCLA’s Sustainable LA Grand Challenge helped produce valuable research and policy recommendations for the region.
Public outreach and service: The Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation established an interdisciplinary center for strengthening foster youth and families, and Matthew and Jennifer Harris established the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute. Campaign commitments enabled UCLA to found the Promise Institute for Human Rights and the Promise Armenian Institute, and many donors gave to UCLA Operation Mend, which provides medical and psychological treatment for service members, veterans and their family members.
Well-being for all ages: A major gift from Mattel Inc. advanced the local and international work of UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. Jane and Terry Semel endowed the Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center at UCLA, spreading activities, resources and healthier habits across campus and encouraging similar initiatives at college campuses and other institutions across the nation. James and Carol Collins have advanced research and programs serving older adults, including creating a chair in geriatric medicine and supporting fellowships, residencies and training for medical students and physicians.

Alumni and friends invest in UCLA

The Centennial Campaign, which was co-chaired by Tony Pritzker and UCLA alumnus Garen Staglin, counted the contributions of nearly 220,000 donors, including nearly 127,000 first-time donors and more than 108,000 alumni donors.

“I truly believe in UCLA as a unique public research institution that benefits students from every walk of life, the city of Los Angeles and the world at large,” said Pritzker, who is not a UCLA alumnus but serves as a tireless benefactor and champion of the campus. “Ensuring a successful start to its second century is an investment not only in the university and its students but in everyone’s future.”

Staglin and his wife, Shari, launched the organization One Mind, which bridges gaps in mental health research and patient support, and they have been strong advocates for the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge. “UCLA is leading the way in so many areas, and it has been a privilege to see alumni and friends come together to support causes close to their hearts while advancing education, research and service that change lives,” he said.

UCLA makes its mark in higher education fundraising

At the time of its launch, the Centennial Campaign’s $4.2 billion goal was the most ambitious fundraising goal ever announced by a U.S. public university, and UCLA surpassed that target 18 months ahead of schedule. Since then, the higher education sector has continued to see an upturn in fundraising and campaigns. According to the Voluntary Support of Education survey, giving to colleges and universities grew 6.1% in 2018–19.

The same survey ranked UCLA the No. 1 public university in philanthropic funds raised for 2017–18, and the campus was included in the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s special report on multiyear campaigns in April 2019. The feature highlighted the proliferation of such fundraising drives across the country, including at several other high-profile institutions across Los Angeles.

“In a philanthropic landscape overflowing with opportunities to give, the success of the Centennial Campaign for UCLA speaks to donors’ generosity and their belief in UCLA’s mission,” said Rhea Turteltaub, UCLA’s vice chancellor for external affairs. “We take the responsibility to steward their trust very seriously, and we will continue working to ensure students’ access to education, secure resources for research and deliver on our commitment to public service every day.”

To view campaign results, read stories about gifts and beneficiaries or learn more about giving to UCLA, visit the Centennial Campaign for UCLA site and UCLA Newsroom.

J. William Schopf’s quest to fill a black hole of knowledge

Stuart Wolpert — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 14:53:00 GMT

Paleobiologist J. William Schopf — in his 52nd year as a UCLA faculty member — has been on a quest. For decades, he and an international team of scientists have worked to fill a black hole of knowledge about Earth’s earliest history of life.

His pursuit began in 1960, when Schopf — then an undergraduate at Oberlin College in Ohio — took an introductory historical geology course. He had been learning a great deal through his textbooks and professors about the most recent 500 million years of Earth’s history, but could find virtually nothing about the Earth’s first 4 billion years. His professor mentioned that the earliest history of life, now known to be at least 85% of life’s history, was unknown. Schopf decided that day this was a problem he could solve.

He recalls thinking that evolution was a fact, not a fable, so the missing record of life didn’t make sense. Schopf went to his dormitory and read his copy of Charles Darwin’s 1859 classic, “On the Origin of Species.” Darwin stated that there is no known evidence of life before the oldest animal fossils from roughly 500 million years ago, and considered this an inexplicable hole in his theory of evolution. Why was there a complete absence of any record of life more than 500 million years ago?

Schopf said this enormous gap in knowledge was as if U.S. history began in the late 1960s and all earlier history had been wiped out — the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, George Washington, the Civil War, electricity, telephones, the Great Depression, two World Wars, the Atomic Age and so much more.

During his college years, his father’s friends and other professionals tried to discourage Schopf from attempting to uncover life’s early fossil record, telling him there had been no meaningful progress for a century and that it was nearly certain he would fail. But he persisted and succeeded. He shares his remarkable story, spanning nearly 60 years, in his 2019 book, “Life in Deep Time: Darwin’s ‘Missing’ Fossil Record.” In it, he recounts the discoveries that reveal the earliest history of life.

Schopf, director of UCLA’s Center for the Study of Evolution and the Origin of Life, and his colleagues have produced the most comprehensive information about life’s ancient history, from the formation of our planet 4.6 billion years ago to events half-a-billion years ago.

What significant events occurred in that first 85% of the Earth’s history? Among many other things, the first living organisms, the modern food chain, photosynthesis, the development of the atmosphere and oceans, and various types of cell division all date from this enormously long period of time.

The story of the Earth’s earliest history and the life it harbored is detailed in two books Schopf edited. “Earth’s Earliest Biosphere: Its Origin and Evolution,” published in 1983, spans the earliest 2 billion years of Earth’s history, and “The Proterozoic Biosphere: A Multidisciplinary Study,” published in 1992, focuses on the next 2 billion years. Some scientists have referred to these books as the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each received an award from the American Association of Publishers the year it was published.

The two books combined brought together 50 scientists from 30 universities in eight countries: the United States, Russia, Australia, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and South Africa. The interdisciplinary team of scientists included experts in such fields as geology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and microbiology.

Schopf and his colleagues collected and analyzed hundreds of ancient rocks from Australia, China, the United States, Europe, what was then the Soviet Union and elsewhere. They produced a vast ancient-fossil record that tells the history of the Earth’s first 4 billion years and changed our understanding of how evolution works.

Schopf joined UCLA’s faculty in 1968 at age 26, and was promoted to full professor five years later. In 1977, he received the National Science Foundation’s Alan T. Waterman Award as the outstanding young scientist in the nation. He has won seven medals from national and international scientific societies, and has been elected as a member of the country’s most prestigious scholarly honorific societies. He is a professor in UCLA’s department of Earth, planetary and space sciences.

In 2002, Schopf and colleagues substantiated the biological origin of the earliest known cellular fossils, which are nearly 3.5 billion years old.

He and colleagues presented a new analysis in 2017 of these 3.5-billion-year-old fossil microorganisms, which provided strong evidence to support the increasingly widespread understanding that life in the universe is likely common.

“By 3.465 billion years ago, life was already diverse on Earth — that’s clear,” Schopf said in 2017. “This tells us life had to have begun substantially earlier and it confirms that it was not difficult for primitive life to form and to evolve into more advanced microorganisms.”

In his 2019 book, he writes, “Clearly, primordial life evolved earlier, farther and faster than had ever been imagined.”

In 2015, Schopf was part of an international team of scientists that discovered the greatest absence of evolution ever reported — deep-sea microorganisms that appear to have not evolved over more than 2 billion years.

In the new book, he also writes about the NASA scientists who claimed in 1996 that they had found evidence of life on Mars in a meteorite that landed in Antarctica 13,000 years earlier. Schopf offers a behind-the-scenes look at the events leading to a NASA news conference that year that generated headlines worldwide. Schopf, who first assessed the evidence for life on Mars a year-and-a-half before the news conference, concluded, to put it charitably, that the evidence was inconclusive.

“I want there to be life on Mars more than anyone else,” he had said, “but it doesn't matter what I want. The evidence isn’t there.”

Looking back at how the decades-long research on the Earth’s “missing” fossil record has changed our understanding of life on Earth, Schopf writes, “While this particular paradigm shift pales in comparison with Copernicus’ realization that the Earth flies around the sun, not the other way around, it too is fundamental, the root of two new fields of science, Precambrian paleobiology and astrobiology.”

At age 78, he continues to work seven days a week, searching for more answers.

New brief from UCLA Data for Democracy shines light on immigration

John McDonald — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 17:30:00 GMT

Immigration in Los Angeles is the topic of the newest UCLA Data for Democracy brief, titled “Immigration in L.A.” Part of the UCLA Centennial Initiative celebrating the 100th anniversary of UCLA, Data for Democracy in L.A. gathers and shares research with K-12 students, teachers and schools across Los Angeles. The briefs offer students and schools access to charts, graphs, maps and other information from UCLA research centers on issues that impact the lives of students and their families. Students also have access to an online tool called “Padlet” that offers the opportunity to share their ideas and work.

The newest brief on immigration offers resources to help students to examine the patterns of migration to California and Los Angeles and the legal issues related to immigration. The brief also considers the school-based effects of national political rhetoric and national immigration policy and explores how youth civic action can welcome and support newcomers and foster democracy. Students are also invited to narrate their own stories of migration and share insights about the people, places, and practices that can make Los Angeles schools and neighborhoods welcoming for all.

“Migration is our history. It’s a story of how Los Angeles came to be in its present form,” said Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, Wasserman Dean of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. “We need to normalize immigration. Then, we need to acknowledge the enormous resources that immigrants bring to our society.”

Read the full story on Ampersand.

UCLA’s second Centennial initiative will engage L.A.-area school teachers and students

John McDonald — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 19:44:00 GMT

Where will I live? Where will I work and how much money will I make? Where can I play? How will I get there? Will I be healthy? Will I be safe? On the surface these may seem like simple questions, but if you dig a little the answers can be complex, with significant implications for the daily lives of Angelenos and the communities we live in.

It is questions like these that lay at the heart of UCLA Data for Democracy in Los Angeles, the second of UCLA’s Centennial initiatives, which will engage students, teachers and schools in an exploration of issues impacting equality, opportunity and social change.

The four Centennial initiatives are designed to expand public access to UCLA’s scholarly resources and build upon UCLA’s longstanding commitment of service to the community. Each one is a collaboration among multiple departments, centers, institutes and community groups.

Developed by researchers at UCLA Center X and the UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education and Access with research colleagues across campus, Data for Democracy in Los Angeles offers schools, teachers and students across Los Angeles County access to UCLA data and analysis on issues such as parks, jobs, health, housing and more. Participating schools and classrooms will have access to research briefs and materials, including charts, maps and graphs, and the opportunity to share and discuss their work through an online application called Padlet.

“This project aims to develop the interest and capacity of young people to deliberate with data about important social issues affecting their communities,” said John Rogers, UCLA education professor. “We aim to tap into the interests and concerns of a broad body of Los Angeles students.”

Added Megan Franke, a professor at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and co-leader of the project with Rogers: “The project provides authentic data around issues that are relevant to students’ lives and invites students to explore important mathematical topics using real-world data, so we also hope it will increase opportunities for mathematical thinking and quantitative reasoning.”

Launched this November, the first research brief for UCLA Data for Democracy in Los Angeles examines parks.

“Parks are spaces of our everyday life. They are important for everyone, and quite critical for people with no other access to open space,” said Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, professor of urban planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. “Parks fulfill some basic human needs.”

Parks offer places to relax, play and exercise. They help people be healthy. But an examination of parks in Los Angles also raises important questions of fairness, equity and opportunity. Who has access to parks? Do some people have more access than others? Where are parks and why are they where they are? How much park space does Los Angeles have? Should there be more? Where should they be, what should they be like, and what kind of services should they offer?

Data for Democracy in Los Angeles partnered with the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies in the Luskin School to explore these and other questions about parks.

As the brief begins, it makes clear the entire region of Los Angeles sits on Indigenous lands. The brief offers access to maps detailing Tongva lands and podcasts acknowledging the Tongva people as the caretakers of Tovaangar, better known today as the Los Angeles basin.

There are more than 600 parks in Los Angeles, but about four in 10 people lack access to a park in walking distance from where they live. The brief offers students an interactive map showing where parks are, and importantly, charts and maps detailing what areas have more park space and what neighborhoods have less. For example, one data representation examines park access by median income.

“Parks ought to be accessible to everyone,” said Madeline Brozen, associate director of the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies.

The brief also explores the kinds of services found in parks in Los Angeles, including charts showing the percentages of specific types of facilities and activities such as baseball fields, playgrounds or pools.

To help students better understand parks, the brief also includes an interview with Lewis Center researchers Brozen and Loukaitou-Sideris.

“Parks are important because they can be a representation of our civic values,” Brozen said. “Historically they have been places for people to come together for civil discourse. When we have places like parks that are civic and for everyone, there’s more potential to see people who are a representation of who lives in a community. I hope this brief will inspire youth to think critically and advocate for public spaces where they feel like they belong.”

There are also sample discussion questions to help teachers and students explore the issues, ideas for mathematics study and suggestions for student research projects.

And educators can sign up for free online Padlet accounts where student can share and discuss their work. Educators can submit videos, text and questions on the site. They can also link up online with other UCLA research centers.

There are also resources to help students learn more about parks, and suggestions on how to take action to address park access and other issues related to parks. The brief includes contact information for local officials with responsibilities for parks, and organizations engaged in park issues.

Students can also find articles, maps, photos and other resources for imagining a more just Los Angeles with better access to parks and open space. The materials include a link to an article on Frederick and John Olmsted, who in the 1930s produced a visionary plan for parks, playgrounds and beaches in Los Angeles.

New research briefs will be published each month during the school year. Additional briefs will take on questions related to immigration, housing, interactions with police, health, transportation and other issues and how they impact the residents of the Los Angeles region.

At the end of the school year students and teachers participating in UCLA Data for Democracy in Los Angeles are invited to UCLA to share their research and work with researchers at UCLA research centers.

“We are hoping this new project will engage students in evidenced-based discussions in classrooms and encourage a dialogue between students across classrooms and schools,” Rogers said. “We want to create a community through the project that will foster dialogue between Los Angeles students and their elected officials about issues of equality and opportunity.”

“This is really exciting,” Franke said. “UCLA Data for Democracy in Los Angeles can lead to more interaction and exchange between young people in Los Angeles and researchers at UCLA. It will not only benefit Los Angeles youth, but we think and hope it will invigorate and ground the work of UCLA’s researchers.”

UCLA Veterans Day ceremony salutes those who served

Jonathan Van Dyke — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 23:30:00 GMT

As Christopher Jones looked out into a crowd of veterans, military peers, family members and the public gathered at UCLA, he reflected on his life’s ethos, one definitively shaped by his service in the U.S. Navy.

“So, what does Veterans Day mean to me?” he asked, before pausing a moment. “It means honoring those who were brave enough to go before me, who were willing to fail, who were willing to learn and who were willing to pass those lessons on to me.

“It means embracing everything about our country — all of the privileges and all of the shortcomings, every success and every failure,” continued Jones, who is a Pat Tillman scholar, “and being willing to learn from those failures, and to never stop striving to make the world a better place.”

After spending four years doing that in the Navy, Jones has shifted arenas and is now trying to improve the world by pursuing his doctoral degree in chemistry at UCLA.

Jones spoke at this morning’s Veterans Day ceremony on Wilson Plaza. The annual ceremony, which took place during UCLA’s Centennial year, was attended by dozens of people paying their respects to veterans for their service. In addition to recognizing veterans, the morning was also an opportunity to honor the unique partnership that has been formed between UCLA and the veteran community over nearly a century — and the drive of both to better each other and the world in the name of public service.

“Stories in the news, particularly those from dangerous and remote places, constantly remind us of how much we rely on our military to keep us safe,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. “It’s very easy to take this for granted in our everyday lives, but this highly trained group of exceptional men and women with highly developed skills and the ability to carry out sophisticated missions certainly deserves our recognition.

“Your selfless dedication cannot be overstated,” Block continued. “For all of this, we commend you, and celebrate you, and are grateful to you and your families.”

For more than 75 years, UCLA has worked with the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System to serve veterans through patient care and research, and to train the next generation of medical and mental health care professionals.

The renewed partnership between UCLA and the VA has resulted in the following:

The revival of the 15-acre Veterans Native Garden next to Jackie Robinson Stadium, where special monthly events have attracted more than 400 volunteers and served over 600 meals.
A cross-pollination of experts — more than 300 V.A. faculty members have joint appointments at UCLA and about one-third of UCLA medical students hold residency at the West L.A. V.A campus.
The UCLA School of Law Veterans Legal Clinic has provided legal assistance to more than 450 veterans since its inception in 2017.
The UCLA/VA Veteran Family Wellness Center has provided services to more than 10,000 veterans and their families, which also opened in 2017.
The Center of Excellence for Resilience and Recovery has begun to address linked problems of homelessness, mental health issues and substance abuse.
Operation Mend has helped more than 300 wounded veterans with free reconstructive surgery and mental health treatments.

For these and many other reasons, U.S. News & World Report named UCLA best public college for veterans this year, a distinction Block said the school does not take lightly.

Resilience and the willingness to learn and grow were key themes of the program. Major Chris Silva, U.S. Army (retired) and manager of the UCLA Behavioral Intervention Team, spoke about his experiences exercising restraint from his time in Afghanistan and how that applied to his current job. Thomas Ruck, director of the Los Angeles National Cemetery, was on hand to take the time to find the Vietnam veterans for a special medal and commemoration.

Jones concluded his speech with an anecdote about when he was a high school student at the bottom of his class, who never took chemistry, and who — after having to apply three times — now studies that subject at UCLA.

“As service members, we are trained to learn, adapt and persevere,” he said. “We might stumble, we might fall, but we always get back up and do what we need to do to accomplish the mission.”

UCLA to recognize sacrifice of veterans at special ceremony

Alison Hewitt — Thu, 07 Nov 2019 23:09:00 GMT

UCLA will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony the morning of Nov. 8, recognizing the work of veterans on campus, in the community and around the world.

After UCLA Chancellor Gene Block joins veterans and others speaking at the ceremony, more than a dozen programs and organizations from on and off campus will participate in a resource fair to help make veterans aware of the university and community resources available to them. Among them will be the UCLA Veteran Resource Center, which provides students affiliated with the military with guidance on how to use their military educational benefits, links to other campus resources, mentoring from other veterans and more. The resource fair will also include representatives from units like financial aid and the Academic Advancement Program for students, Staff Assembly and Campus Human Resources for staff, and off-campus groups like the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s office.

UCLA is committed to serving veterans through a wide range of programs, and U.S. News and World Report has ranked UCLA as the best public college for veterans for three consecutive years, in part because of offerings like the campus’s Veteran Resource Center. UCLA has served veterans for more than 70 years since becoming the medical affiliate for the neighboring Veterans Affairs campus, providing UCLA faculty and residents to treat more than 3,000 VA patients annually. UCLA Health also provides reconstructive surgery and mental health support to severely wounded soldiers through the nationally renowned Operation Mend program.

This year’s Veterans Day ceremony takes place during UCLA’s Centennial. In addition to Block, other speakers at the Veterans Day Ceremony include Thomas Ruck, the director of the Los Angeles National Cemetery, and U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Kwon, professor and chair of UCLA Military Science. Joining them are two veterans. Chris Silva, who served in nine countries as a major in the U.S. Army, is now manager of the UCLA Behavioral Intervention Team, which helps ensure a safe campus work environment. Veteran Christopher Jones is a Pat Tillman Scholar and a UCLA doctoral candidate in chemistry. Jones researches techniques for quickly analyzing organic molecules and biological compounds, and aims to develop technology that will help soldiers rapidly detect life-threatening toxins in the field.

On the VA campus, UCLA runs the UCLA/VA Veteran Family Wellness Center, which has provided resilience and wellness services to more than 10,000 veterans and their families. The UCLA School of Law Veterans Legal Clinic is also based in part on the VA campus, and has served hundreds of veterans as part of its mission to train law students in veteran-related cases while providing free legal representation to underserved veterans. Both the center and the clinic were developed in 2016 as part of the university’s 10-year, $16.5 million expanded partner with the Veterans Affairs Grater Los Angeles Healthcare System.

UCLA’s commitment includes:

$500,000 annually for the UCLA VA Veteran Family Wellness Center
$400,000 annually for the UCLA Veterans Legal Clinic
$300,000 annually in fair-market rent for the baseball stadium, with an annual inflation adjustment
$250,000 annually committed to the ongoing development and activities of the VA UCLA Center of Excellence for Resilience & Recovery to address the linked problems of homelessness, mental health issues and substance abuse
$200,000 annually in in-kind commitments and monetary support for additional programs and activities

In addition, thousands of veterans have been served in dozens of other formal and informal UCLA programs, including free UCLA Recreation classes at the VA; monthly garden clean-ups and barbecues at the Veterans Garden with UCLA’s student veterans; free tickets, parking and concessions at all UCLA Baseball home games; special events at the baseball stadium including barbecues, batting clinics and meetings with coaches and players; free summer sport camps at the stadium and UCLA campus for children and grandchildren of veterans; regular UCLA volunteer projects at the VA; golf clinics and tournaments for veterans; and many other off-site programs available to veterans such as Military Appreciation Sporting Events, Operation Mend, the Veteran Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, the Operation Smile dental clinic, the Nathanson Center’s Warrior Care program, and job fairs.

Professor turns 100 in UCLA’s 100th year

Alison Hewitt — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 19:27:00 GMT

In a special kind of symmetry for UCLA’s centennial year, Professor John McNeil turns 100 in the same year as the university.

McNeil celebrates his birthday today. He was born on Oct. 29, 1919, the same year that classes began at the original UCLA campus on Vermont Avenue.

Although McNeil retired before most of UCLA's current freshmen were born, the professor emeritus of education still comes to campus every day, completing research, writing books, and co-teaching classes for undergrads on international development and creating businesses that support social good around the globe. His decades of contributions to the field of education were recognized in recent weeks, with a proclamation from the Los Angeles City Council on Oct. 18 and a commendation from Rep. Ted Lieu.

The World War II veteran, who fought in Normandy on D-Day, first came to UCLA in 1956 to lead the teacher education program. His books continue to be reprinted in multiple languages, with new editions coming out as recently as 2014. His great-grandson is a UCLA undergraduate.

To learn more about McNeil, see this video and story celebrating his first 99 years.

Free public festival at UCLA offers science exploration for all ages, Nov. 3

Lisa Garibay — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 23:30:00 GMT

UCLA’s Exploring Your Universe science festival will return for its 11th year on Sunday, Nov. 3. The free event offers presentations and dozens of hands-on demonstrations that give explorers of all ages the chance to learn about science.

The event will take place at the UCLA Court of Sciences (map) from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. As part of UCLA’s year-long centennial celebration, Exploring Your Universe has expanded to include 60 activities, more than ever before.

“We’re excited for the many first-time booths this year, including Explore Mars, which features a robot and Martian surface simulator; and a mad scientist escape room, where participants must solve chemistry puzzles to get out,” said Abijah Simon, a UCLA graduate student and a member of the event’s organizing committee.

The featured guest will be actor Mayim Bialik, costar of the hit series “The Big Bang Theory,” who is receiving the third annual Science and Education Pioneer Award. Presented by the UCLA College division of physical sciences, the honor is in recognition of Bialik’s role as a tireless communicator in support of scientific inquiry and discovery. The award presentation is scheduled to kick off the event at noon.

“As a neuroscientist who has played a scientist for the past decade on television and as a mom, I’m incredibly enthusiastic about encouraging children to explore the wonderful world of science,” said Bialik, who earned her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience in 2000 and a doctorate in 2007, both from UCLA.

Miguel García-Garibay, dean of the division of physical sciences, said, “We are thrilled to be putting the spotlight on Mayim, a UCLA alumna who has had a substantial impact both as a neuroscientist and as a science storyteller who has helped us recognize that science moves forward thanks to many contributions made by women.”

Among the many other activities, faculty, graduate students and undergraduates representing more than 20 departments and organizations at UCLA will lead visitors through an array of experiments, covering subjects ranging from astronomy and geology to genetics and physics.

“Future scientists and curious visitors of all ages will be able to touch meteorites, get DNA from strawberries, launch rockets, make lava lamps, examine our sun through solar telescopes, create a tornado in a bottle, learn about missions to Mars and much more,” said Jon Zink, a UCLA graduate student and another member of the event organizing committee.

Scientists will give engaging 30-minute talks throughout the day on subjects like the search for other life in the universe, and what really happens when we discard waste. All presentations will be targeted to general audiences of all ages.

Beginning at 12:30 p.m., the UCLA Planetarium will host half-hour shows about the night sky, constellations and astronomical phenomena. Tickets for the planetarium shows are free but must be reserved at exploringyouruniverse.org beginning at 12 p.m. on Nov. 1.

Exploring Your Universe began in 2009 and has become one of UCLA’s biggest annual events, drawing thousands of guests each year. Visitor parking is $13 in UCLA lots 2 (map) and 9 (map). Click here for driving directions and parking details, or visit the Metro website for information about bus and rail routes to UCLA.

The event is supported by UCLA’s division of physical sciences; the Mani L. Bhaumik Institute for Theoretical Physics; the UCLA Galactic Center Group; the department of physics and astronomy; the department of Earth, planetary and space sciences; and the department of chemistry and biochemistry.

A Bruin pulse for CicLAvia’s journey through the heart of L.A.

Mike Fricano — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 19:40:00 GMT

What do you get when you add up six miles of car-free streets, eight typically car-congested Los Angeles neighborhoods, tens of thousands of cycling, skating and walking Angelenos, and a squad of smiling UCLA ambassadors speaking about the campus’s impact on society?

CicLAvia Heart of L.A. Celebrating UCLA 100.

Catherine Geanuracos, chairwoman of the CicLAvia board of directors, acknowledged the partnership during her welcome remarks Sunday. “UCLA has been creating our educated, engaged community for 100 years, and we’re so happy to be here with them today.”

A two-block row of blue and gold UCLA booths at the event’s Civic Center hub gave downtown a distinct Bruin presence for the 33rd edition of the open streets event.

“The heart of L.A. goes through eight communities: MacArthur Park, Westlake, Pico-Union, historic downtown, Civic Center, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Arts District and Boyle Heights — all in a 6-mile span,” said Romel Pascual, executive director of CicLAvia and a UCLA alumnus. “What CicLAvia does is introduces us to places we probably would not have been to if it hadn’t been for CicLAvia.”

The event, which was inaugurated in 2010, also demonstrates the city’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions, according Seleta Reynolds, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, who also spoke Sunday.

Research by the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs supports that assertion. Scholars from both schools were on hand to share research on the air quality benefits of CicLAvia and tips on improving the future of our communities. In addition, faculty, students and staff from across campus offered glimpses into what’s happening in UCLA classrooms, labs, studios and offices. Booths included:

An augmented reality sandbox, where visitors virtually molded and shifted mountains, lakes and valleys in real time on a tool used by UCLA professors to teach geography.
An ELFIN satellite model, where attendees learned about the Electron Losses and Fields Investigation satellite, or ELFIN, which UCLA students built to research weather in space.
Undergraduate admissions representatives, who were on hand to provide information for students interested in applying to UCLA.
A small pop-up version of UCLA’s student-run Exploring Your Universe science festival, with family-friendly science demonstrations.
A Facts Beyond Images display, with models made by UCLA architecture and urban design students showing how UCLA’s iconic Royce Hall could be transformed as the campus plans for its future.
The UCLA: Our Stories, Our Impact exhibition, presented by the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, told the stories of UCLA alumni who are advancing equity and equality.
Bringing a bit of big-picture thinking to CicLAvia, “10 Questions: Centennial Edition” challenged visitors to think about questions like “What is Justice?”, “What is Truth?” and “What is Love?,” and invited guests to attend the free, open-to-the-public classes at UCLA.

And the UCLA Labor Center had representatives at the MacArthur Park hub talking to visitors about UCLA’s work toward achieving equity in education and employment.

“Josiah Royce, the great American philosopher for whom one of UCLA’s original buildings was named, celebrated the beloved community,” said Jennifer Poulakidas, UCLA’s associate vice chancellor for government and community relations. “And this beloved community is a community capable of achieving the highest good as well as the common good. With every route, CicLAvia achieves just that. It binds us together and allows us to experience and connect with our city like we really hadn’t been able to do before this.”

Matt Harbicht

Jennifer Poulakidas, center, and Emily Carter, accept a proclamation from the city of Los Angeles.

The Civic Center hub — in view of City Hall — held special significance as the headquarters for UCLA’s CicLAvia presence. UCLA’s roots are in downtown, where the California State Normal School operated at the modern-day site of the Central Library. The teacher training school later moved to Vermont Avenue and in 1919 was absorbed into a new University of California campus.

Cheryl Lott, president of the UCLA Alumni Association board of directors, also spoke during the opening ceremonies.

“The ties between Los Angeles and UCLA are deep and many. One that has always stuck with me is the impact of UCLA alumni on Los Angeles and the world,” she said, before listing several alumni who have made imprints on the world. Then she singled out Pascual for his work with CicLAvia and presented him with a certificate of recognition from the alumni association.

As the opening ceremonies drew to a close, a representative from the office of city councilman Jose Huizar, also a UCLA alumnus, presented a proclamation to UCLA, recognizing the campus’s centennial.

“It’s so important to recognize that UCLA has a tremendously important role to play in Los Angeles and in the future of cities around the world,” said Emily Carter, UCLA’s executive vice chancellor and provost, a former UCLA professor who returned to campus on Sept. 1. “And that is one of the reasons I came back to UCLA after many years to help lead that effort.”

UCLA centennial spotlight will shine on CicLAvia, Oct. 6

Sean Brenner — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 22:32:00 GMT

The upcoming CicLAvia will take on a distinctly UCLA flavor as part of the campus’s centennial celebration.

The Oct. 6 edition of Los Angeles’ open streets event will feature a wide range of UCLA-related activities, with current Bruins and talented alumni contributing to the festivities.

“UCLA is thrilled to share our centennial celebration with people across Los Angeles in partnership with CicLAvia,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with this diverse and vibrant city that has defined who we are and welcomed UCLA as a partner in finding solutions to our community’s biggest problems.”

Most of the UCLA presence will be centered at the event’s Civic Center hub, near Los Angeles City Hall, with some others taking place at MacArthur Park. UCLA programs at “CicLAvia—Heart of L.A.” will include:

Augmented reality sandbox. Create and explore landscapes in augmented reality — guests can mold and shift mountains, lakes and valleys in real time — on a tool used by UCLA professors to teach geography.
ELFIN satellite model. Get an up-close look at the Electron Losses and Fields Investigation satellite, or ELFIN, which UCLA students built to research weather in space. The satellite is aboard a NASA rocket that launched in 2018.
Do You Know UCLA? Want to know more about the UCLA campus and student life? Undergraduate admissions representatives will be on hand to provide information and details about applying to UCLA.
The Science of CicLAvia. Scholars from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs and Fielding School of Public Health will share research on the benefits of CicLAvia and tips on improving the future of our communities.
Exploring Your Universe. Learn how wind affects the surface of planets at this pop-up version of UCLA’s student-run science festival.
Facts Beyond Images. UCLA architecture and urban design students re-envision UCLA’s iconic Royce Hall, exploring how the building could be transformed as the campus plans for its future.
UCLA: Our Stories, Our Impact. The UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment will share stories of UCLA alumni who are advancing equity and equality.
10 Questions: Centennial Edition. Dig into big-picture questions like “What is Justice?”, “What is Truth?” and “What is Love?,” which will be asked at free, open-to-the-public classes at UCLA.
UCLA Labor Center. Learn about UCLA’s strides to achieving equity in education and employment through the UCLA Labor Center’s home, right next to MacArthur Park.

Plus, UCLA alumna Christina Angelina, the street artist known as Starfighter, has several large-scale works on display along Fourth Avenue in the Arts District. And University Credit Union, the UCLA centennial celebration’s event sponsor, will present classic lawn games like corn hole and giant versions of Connect Four and Jenga.

“As an alum of UCLA, I couldn't be more thrilled about this partnership between these two institutions,” said Romel Pascual, CicLAvia’s executive director, who graduated in 1991. “CicLAvia is a celebration of what makes Los Angeles special, and UCLA has helped shape Los Angeles into a global city that embraces innovation, leadership and creativity.”

UCLA’s roots are in downtown Los Angeles, where the California State Normal School operated at the modern-day site of the Central Library. The teacher training school later moved to Vermont Avenue and in 1919 was absorbed into a new University of California campus.

Learn more about the UCLA Centennial, and use the hashtags #CicLAvia and #UCLA100 to share your experiences on Oct. 6.

First UCLA Centennial initiative honors alumni who have fought for social justice

Vanessa Codilla — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 17:59:00 GMT

To highlight the legacy of UCLA and its alumni in creating a world with more equity and equality, the university is launching a traveling art exhibition that highlights Bruins who have advanced social justice in fields ranging from law and policy to the arts to political and cultural activism.

“UCLA: Our Stories, Our Impact” is an important part of UCLA’s ongoing celebration of its centennial and it features 10 new original works — nine portraits of alumni and one that represents “A Century of Activism at UCLA” by California-based artists Ernesto Yerena, Gabe Gault and Mer Young, all of whom have produced work that comments on social movements.

This exhibition, which debuts in the Kerckhoff Art Gallery today and later will tour throughout Los Angeles, is the first in a series of four Centennial initiatives that are designed to expand public access to UCLA’s scholarly resources and build upon UCLA’s longstanding commitment of service to the community. Each one is a collaboration among multiple departments, centers, institutes and community groups.

“As we celebrate UCLA’s first century, we also celebrate the impact of our alumni,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. “Their efforts, across a diverse spectrum of fields and disciplines, embody UCLA’s commitment to the public good. We are extremely proud to present these powerful images of Bruins who are leaving an indelible mark on our society.”

Among the alumni in the exhibition are Charles Burnett, award-winning L.A. Rebellion filmmaker; Patrisse Cullors, Black Lives Matter co-founder; Antonia Hernández, past president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and Tam Tran and Cinthya Felix, immigration activists.

“The alumni that we celebrate took less linear paths through education — but nevertheless made lasting impact,” said Abel Valenzuela, director of the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment and leader of the project. “They have led efforts to support diversity, equity, and social justice at UCLA and beyond. They make our campus and Los Angeles a better place and they continue to connect us with the most pressing issues of the day, including the UTLA teacher’s strike, support of undocumented students, and organizing with the Black Lives Matter movement.”

The exhibition will remain at Kerckhoff through Oct. 17. Then it will move to the Los Angeles City Hall Bridge Gallery, the Mercado La Paloma in South Los Angeles, the Robert F. Kennedy UCLA Community School in Koreatown, the Social Public Art Resource Center in Venice, and Self-Help Graphics & Art in East Los Angeles. The exhibit is open to the public and admission is free. A pop-up version of the exhibition will appear at CicLAvia on Oct. 6.

The other alumni featured in the exhibit are:

John Delloro, labor leader and co-founder of the Pilipino Workers Center in Los Angeles
Chancee Martorell, founder and executive director of the Thai Community Development Center
Luis A. Perez, advocate for undocumented immigrants and director of the Legal Services Department at Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Robert Singleton, one of the original members of the Freedom Riders and the Founding Director of the Center for African-American Studies, now the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies
Natalie Stites Means, advocate for indigenous people’s rights and member of the South Dakota Advisory Committee of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission

“UCLA: Our Stories, Our Impact” also incorporates a multimedia component on the exhibit website which will go live Oct. 3 and feature 15 additional stories and short documentaries of five featured selectees.

UCLA enlisted three artists with a commitment to social justice to create the mixed-media portraits that will become part of the university’s permanent collection.

Yerena’s poster portrait of UCLA alumna Roxana Dueñas became the visual symbol of the recent strike by teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He is also known for his work with mentor Shephard Fairey as part of the “We the People” poster project that launched around the January 2017 presidential inauguration. Born in El Centro, California, Yerena’s major project “Hecho Con Ganas,” blends his vibrant color palette and experimental textures to tell stories of struggle, perseverance and hope in the Chicanx community.

Pop-culture inspired artist Gabe Gault, a Venice native, has created portraiture of cultural icons such as Nipsey Hussle, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Stan Lee. He uses classical techniques with modern materials to explore themes of identity and duality, challenging his viewer’s notions of labels and definitions.

Mer Young, from Long Beach, focuses her mixed-media aesthetic on images that tell stories of marginalized communities, like migrants, indigenous people and women of color. Her public works can be found in Long Beach, Glendale, South Pasadena, and the downtown Los Angeles Arts District.

By shedding light on lesser known stories of alumni who have made positive social impact, Valenzuela said he hopes the exhibit will inspire current and future Bruins.

“Whenever I travel the globe or visit events in Los Angeles, I am reminded that so many stories have yet to be told as current and future Bruins impact Los Angeles and the world.” Valenzuela said. “I believe, as do many on our campus, that we have an obligation to make change and to better Los Angeles. If we can channel this work via the power of art and visual storytelling, then we will have moved our mission forward to promote transformative change, civic leadership and social justice for the next century.”

The project is led by UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, the UCLA Labor Center, and the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Immigration Policy in collaboration with the Institute of American Cultures, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding, the American Indian Studies Center, the Asian American Studies Center, the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies and the Chicano Studies Research Center.

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