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Page: Front Cover
UCR Kicks Off $300 Million Fundraising Campaign
Page: Publication Info
Chancellor
Kim A. Wilcox
Vice Chancellor, Advancement
Peter Hayashida
Publisher
James Grant
Publications Director
Kris Lovekin
Editor
Lilledeshan Bose
Creative Director
Luis Sanz
Writers
Stu Krieger
Rekha Radhakrishnan
John Warren
Senior Designer
Brad Rowe
Designers
Denise Wolf
Krissy Danforth
Editorial Assistant
Shannon Koga
Bethanie Le
Contributors
Lisa Tyson
Konrad Nagy
Illustrations
Mike Tofanelli
Photographers
Lonnie Duka
Michael Elderman
Carlos Puma
Carrie Rosema
Senior Programmer
Robert Bottomley
Programmer
Desiree Valle
Videographers
Christy Zwicke
Christina Rodriguez
UCR Magazine is published by the Office of Strategic Communications, University of California, Riverside, and it is distributed free to the University community.
Editorial offices: 900 University Ave., 1156 Hinderaker Hall, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, telephone (951) 827-6397. Unless otherwise indicated, text may be reprinted without permission. Please credit University of California, Riverside. USPS 006-433 is published four times a year: winter, spring, summer and fall by the University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521-0155.
Periodicals postage rates paid at Riverside, CA.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to UCR, Subscription Services (0063), 900 University Ave., 1156 Hinderaker Hall, Riverside, CA 92521.
In accordance with applicable federal laws and University policy, the University of California does not discriminate in any of its policies, procedures or practices on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or handicap. Inquiries regarding the University’s equal opportunity policies may be directed to the Affirmative Action Office, (951) 827-5604.
Questions? Concerns? Comments? Change of address? Contact Kris Lovekin at kris.lovekin@ucr.edu
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Cover Story
10 | Living the Promise–The campaign for UC Riverside aims to raise $300 million by the year 2020
Features
18 | This Modern Age–Professor Joseph Kahne studies the way politics, digital media, and education policy can help the youth participate in democracy
22 | Tools for Startups–EPIC, an innovation center for entrepreneurs, is UCR’s newest brain trust
26 | Too Cool for School–Professor Stu Krieger hobnobs with history at the University of California’s Washington, D.C., center
Departments
03 | RView–A message from Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox
04 | R Space–Catch up on the latest news at UCR Riverside
28 | A Reminder of Highlander Pride–A look back at Homecoming 2016
29 | Bringing Distinction to UCR–Three stellar alumni are awarded accolades for their work
31 | Gifted–Art Littleworth paying it forward
32 | Alumni Connection
33 | Class Acts
39 | Page Turners
40 | C Space–Coach Mary Ritchie says golf is a microcosm for life
What’s New?
MAGAZINEARCHIVE.UCR.EDU
On the Web
Watch videos, read online extras and more at magazinearchive.ucr.edu
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Events
“Tartuffe”
2.16-2.25–UCR’s Department of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production features “Tartuffe,” one of the most famous theatrical comedies by Moliére.
48th Annual Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture
3.6–Each year, the Hays Press-Enterprise lecture brings an exceptional journalist to UCR to address important issues related to the news media. This year Bill Keller, editor-in-chief of the Marshall Project and former executive editor of The New York Times, will be speaking. Call (951) 827-3144 or email specialevents@ucr.edu for inquiries.
Specialevents.ucr.edu/hays_lecture
Botanic Gardens 44th Annual Spring Plant Sale
4.1-4.2–The Inland area’s largest plant sale event happens just in time for spring planting in California. A wide variety of plants will be available, including California native and drought-tolerant plants. Free programs and demonstrations will be held during the sale.
Gardens.ucr.edu/events/springsale.html
Outpost Concert Series: HOCKET
4.12–The Outpost Concert Series presents HOCKET, a cutting-edge piano duo from Los Angeles. Sarah Gibson and Thomas Kotcheff are pianist-composers dedicated to commissioning and performing contemporary music.
“Stop Kiss”
5.4-5.13–Brought to you by UCR’s Department of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production, Diana Son’s “Stop Kiss” is a story of two women who lived a life of love and acceptance, without fear.
36th Annual Medicine Ways Pow Wow
5.26-5.27–Celebrate Native American cultures and traditions at the 36th Annual Medicine Ways Pow Wow. Experience traditional dance performances, arts and crafts, and enjoy food trucks at the event.
Spring 2017 Carillon Concerts
5.1;5.8;5.15;5.22;6.5–David Christensen, university carillonneur, continues the tradition of weekday concerts played on UCR’s magnificent 48-bell carillon, a musical instrument housed inside the bell tower.
Playworks 2017
6.7-6.9–UCR’s Department of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production features Playworks 2017, with premiere productions exploring issues of contemporary life by the best student playwrights.
Page: 3
Last October, the UCR community came together to embark on a landmark effort that will define UCR for decades to come. During a week of events, we officially launched the public phase of “Living the Promise: The Campaign for UC Riverside.” Living the Promise represents the first comprehensive fundraising campaign in UCR’s history. This is truly an ambitious endeavor and a watershed moment in the history of UCR. This edition of UCR Magazine showcases the campaign and presents the themes that will define the campaign.
Our goal is to raise $300 million by 2020, but Living the Promise is ultimately about people. While the campaign will aid programs across the campus, it focuses most intently on raising funds for student support, faculty research, and infrastructure. In other words, the money raised will help more students succeed at UCR, aid faculty members in realizing groundbreaking discoveries, and ensure that our world-class university has world-class facilities.
As part of the week of events to kick off the campaign, UCR had the privilege of hosting former U.S. Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell for a symposium on the state of higher education in the nation. Mitchell reported directly to the Secretary of Education and was charged with overseeing policies and programs at America’s colleges and universities. He has spent his entire career studying higher education. He holds three degrees from Stanford, served in leadership positions at Dartmouth and UCLA, and was president of the California State Board of Education. But if he could clone any university and bring it to every campus in the country, his answer: UCR.
In Mitchell’s words, UCR demonstrates “the kinds of partnerships, the kinds of commitments, that need to be made if we are going to ... have the kind of higher education system that supports a diverse democracy.” These commitments include building a diverse and inclusive campus community, ensuring that all our students succeed, and partnering with high schools and community colleges to broaden access to a college degree.
These commitments also include a dedication to discovery and innovation. UCR’s research enterprise has never been more impactful than it is today. Our faculty members continue to make world-changing breakthroughs that improve lives in California and around the globe. From our traditional strengths in air quality and creative writing to our burgeoning efforts in medicine and public policy, UCR’s scholars and researchers are setting the national standard for what a student-centric research university can be.
With our achievements in student success, research, and scholarship, UCR now begins Living the Promise to reach even greater heights. Many years from now, when Highlanders look back on the history of UCR, I am convinced that 2016 will stand with other landmark UCR moments. “Living the Promise: The Campaign for UC Riverside” presents the opportunity to tell the world about the great things happening on our campus. I hope you will add your story to the campaign and help make it a success.
Sincerely,
Kim A. Wilcox
Chancellor
Watch Ted Mitchell’s full speech on magazinearchive.ucr.edu
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Deborah Deas, M.D., the Mark and Pam Rubin Dean and Chief Executive Officer for Clinical Affairs at the UCR School of Medicine, has been appointed to the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state’s stem cell agency.
Deas was appointed by State Treasurer John Chiang, who praised her passion to improve health for underserved populations and to diversify the health care workforce.
“She is committed to making the benefits of advanced medicine available to all Californians,” he said.
“It is a great honor to be selected by the state treasurer to serve on the CIRM Governing Board,” Deas said. “Stem cell research holds tremendous promise for new treatments for a variety of serious diseases, including cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. I am particularly honored to contribute to CIRM’s public mission to help patients with these unmet medical needs.”
What does the ideal car look like? UCR Professor Subramanian “Bala” Balachander and his collaborators explored that question in a study in the Journal of Marketing. Balachander is the Albert O. Steffey Chair and professor of marketing at UCR’s School of Business and Administration.
By combining data on aesthetic design and sales, the researchers showed that while customers don’t like cars to look too different from the market average, they also don’t want something that looks too similar. When buying a luxury car, it is more important that the car looks consistent with the brand, and less important that it looks like other cars in the market segment. Cars in the economy segment can gain in popularity by mimicking the aesthetics of their luxury counterparts.
The findings will help marketing professionals make better decisions on aesthetic design, and can be applied to a wide range of product categories including electronics, wearable technologies, and household appliances, Balachander said.
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UC Riverside is one of a handful of comprehensive universities that have achieved near parity in graduation rates across racial, socio-economic, and gender boundaries. That success has now been recognized by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), which represents 236 public and land-grant institutions in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. APLU presented UCR with the 2016 Project Degree Completion Award for innovation in boosting graduation rates last November. UCR’s four-year graduation rates in 2015 reached 53 percent, and six-year graduation rates were 73 percent — up 11 percent and 7 percent, respectively, from four years earlier.
The award is also intended to share innovative practices with other public universities and encourage other institutions to draw from those successes.
Sheila Bergman, who has more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit management and fundraising, has been named the executive director of UCR’s ARTSblock. “Sheila brings an impressive record of accomplishment in leading arts programming and education at all levels with a vision for the future of ARTSblock,” said Milagros Peña, dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Most recently, Bergman directed the UC Santa Cruz Foundation, where she helped develop a culture of philanthropy and advocacy to support academic excellence.
UCR ARTSblock is made up of the California Museum of Photography, the Jack and Marilyn Sweeney Art Gallery, and the Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts. “Leading ARTSblock at UCR is a great honor and privilege,” Bergman said. “I look forward to building upon a history of high-quality programming and working with the talented staff, faculty members, and community collaborators to usher in a new era of artistic accomplishment and deep audience engagement. The energy and diversity of the Inland Empire are exciting, and ARTSblock is wellpositioned to become a dynamic center for arts innovation and research.”
Photo: Staff and faculty members of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences celebrate with the APLU trophy as Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox looks on in the background.
Page: 6
A team of UCR researchers has developed a highly reliable and accurate navigation system that exploits existing environmental signals such as cellular and Wi-Fi, rather than the Global Positioning System (GPS). The technology can be used as a standalone alternative to GPS, or complement current GPS-based systems to enable highly reliable, consistent, and tamper-proof navigation. The technology could be used to develop navigation systems that meet the stringent requirements of fully autonomous vehicles, such as driverless cars and unmanned drones.
Led by Zak Kassas, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in UCR’s Bourns College of Engineering, the team presented its research at the 2016 Institute of Navigation Global Navigation Satellite System Conference, in Portland, Oregon, in September. The two studies presented, “Signals of Opportunity Aided Inertial Navigation” and “Performance Characterization of Positioning in LTE Systems,” each won best paper presentation awards.
The Obstetrics/Gynecology (OB/ GYN) Residency Program in the School of Medicine at UCR has received accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the national organization that accredits U.S. medical residency and fellowship programs and the institutions that sponsor them. The program was accredited for 16 residents.
The four-year training program will enroll four residents each year, meaning there will be 16 residents when the OB/GYN program is fully developed. Sponsored by the School of Medicine, the primary training site will be Riverside Community Hospital.
Page: 7
Matthew Barth, a professor of engineering in UC Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering and director of the university’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT), and his team have been awarded $2.8 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to improve the efficiency of plug-in hybrid electric buses. The award is supported with additional co-funding of $460,000 from project partners, bringing the total to more than $3.2 million.
Barth’s team will design, develop, and test a new powertrain eco-operation system for natural gas-fueled plug-in hybrid electric buses. Barth’s team includes researchers from UCR and partners from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Hybrid, and the Riverside Transit Agency.
“Significant research and development is already underway to make future vehicles more connected and automated in order to reduce road accidents and traffic fatalities. In this research, we will leverage these technologies to improve energy efficiency, which is particularly important in the case of transit buses,” Barth said.
Walter A. Clark, professor of music history at UCR, has been awarded one of the highest honors a civilian can be granted by Spain — a knighthood. Clark is the first professor on the UCR campus to be granted a knighthood by Spain.
The Spanish consul general in Los Angeles, Francisco Javier Vallaure de Acha, informed Clark that King Felipe VI of Spain has conferred on him the title of Comendador de la Orden de Isabel la Católica (Commander of the Order of Isabella the Catholic). The title of Knight Commander is one of the higher ranks of knighthood and entitles Clark to be addressed as “Lord.”
“There are no words to describe how honored and elated I am to receive this recognition by the Spanish government,” said Clark, who has devoted his career to studying Spanish and Latin American music.
Page: 8
UCR staff and faculty members weigh in on the issues of the day via media outlets at home and abroad
“They represent the achievement of the American Dream and how that collides with our obsession with novelty, nostalgia and disposable culture.”
Derek Burrill, associate professor of media and cultural studies, on one-hit wonders and how they provide a window into pop culture
THE HUFFINGTON POST
“Aedes aegypti is literally probably the most dangerous animal in the world.”
Omar Akbari, assistant professor of entomology, on how the spread of Zika virus is adding urgency to gene editing that could allow scientists to program mosquito populations to die off and how this idea is fraught with quandaries
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
“If you don't collect data on race, you actually don't understand what problems society has.”
Karthick Ramakrishnan, professor of political science and public policy, on data disaggregation and how Asian ethnic groups are unfairly classified under the umbrella term, ‘Asian’
FUSION
“So, inspired by LEGOs, we set out to make a set of building blocks that can be used to build research instruments. Researchers could use these blocks to build virtually any instrument they might need.”
William Grover, assistant professor of bioengineering, on his research team’s development of a 3D-printed, LEGO-like system that enables users to custommake chemical and biological research equipment easily and affordably
DIGITAL TRENDS
“I think that what is really important is that when many people do, whether they are fourth-graders or their teachers, visit California missions, there still is a widespread sense that Californian Indians went extinct during the mission period, but we know that this is not true.”Steven Hackel, professor of history, on the impact of California missions on the state’s history
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
“Sleep helps transform short-term memories into long-term memories by helping make stronger connections between these new experiences and our old memories, that allows the new experiences to be integrated with our general knowledge and understanding of the world.”
Sara Mednick, assistant professor of psychology, on her research that explains the link between sleep and improved memory
CNN
“Is the Great American Novel one you love so much you keep it secret, as a talisman, or the book you love so much you give it to everyone for years?”
Susan Straight, professor of creative writing, giving her definition of the Great American Novel
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
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132 How many feet the giant “C” landmark is, lengthwise, overlooking the campus on the Box Spring Mountains.
6,000 The square feet in the huge new swimming pool at the Student Recreation Center.
1 UCR’s ranking in Time magazine, based on graduation rates, affordability, and percentage of Pell grant recipients.
2,491 The season score for UCR Women’s Basketball from 2015-2016.
332,559,626 The gallons of water per year UCR used in 2015, almost half of the amount used in 2008.
1,200 The number of acres UCR’s campus encompasses.
101 The number of Bachelor’s degree programs offered by UCR.
40 The number of times UCR will have hosted Writer’s Week, the 40th annual event coming in February 2017.
30 The percentage the amount of electricity produced from renewable energy sources UCR
3,000,000 The amount of books the UCR library contains.
Page: 10
The campaign for UC Riverside aims to raise $300 million by the year 2020. Read why this mission is crucial for campus growth.
Page: 11
A poem by Gabrielle C. Adoh, created to celebrate the launch of the comprehensive fundraising campaign
As children we were asked “What do you want to be when
you grow up?”
A question engraved with an answer that simply disguises
itself as a promise
A promise we all made to the child within us that was
originally faced with the question: What do you want to
be when you grow up?
A question proposed by every institution composed of grown
children acting as adults still trying to live the promise
that they made to their inner child.
What do you want to be when you grow up? What is important is not what we said in response,
but what we meant when we said it.
We meant to challenge the status quo and everything that you think you know
To embrace the many shades that our body embodies
We meant to speak the language of diversity
Let there be light, on our untold stories
We meant to dance with the elephant in the room
and go against the current
We meant to be different on purpose
We meant to have purpose
We meant to put everything on the line just to show the next
generation they are worth it
We meant to shatter the 4th wall, the glass ceiling and any
barrier that stands between us and our promise… That we made … in the beginning
For those that give the gift of giving
For others to be able to give that gift to the present This domino effect, delivers the next,
into that which connects
Where the individual is a myth, joined at the hip,
by our promises
That we made … to ourselves
Though when we made it we didn’t think it would include
everyone else
And now for generations to come our presence
will always be felt
Because in the end, that’s what we all truly want to be,
which is able to say that we left our legacy
Nigerian-American poet Gabrielle Adoh is a media and cultural studies undergraduate at UCR. She was born and raised in Los Angeles. To her, UCR is “a stepping stone that further allows me to pursue my dreams.”
For more on Adoh, go to magazinearchive.ucr.edu
Page: 12
It was a clear, sunny day in mid-October at the University of California, Riverside. Balloons were flying, burgers were grilling, and the UCR Highlander band was playing to herald a new age for the campus. On the quad, before heading to the bell tower, people were winding colorful yarn around tent poles to make a giant sunburst. The eight points of the sun symbolized food, technology, health, sustainability, community, culture, student success, and research support — the pillar themes of the campaign. In that moment, Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox took the stage and issued a clarion call — officially launching “Living the Promise: The Campaign for UC Riverside.”
“All indicators of quality are rising at UC Riverside,” said Wilcox. “This is our moment to tell the compelling stories of impact and transformation that draw support for our students, faculty, and programs.”
By announcing the public phase of a $300 million comprehensive fundraising campaign, Wilcox defined the promise of UCR; one that its students, faculty members, and alumni have always lived. From the seeds planted as the UC Citrus Experiment Station in 1907, more than 104,000 alumni have grown.
This year, 22,921 students are attending UCR; the campus’s biggest population yet. Its 850 faculty members include 48 Fulbright Fellows, 19 recipients of Guggenheim Fellowships, and 49 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellows. UCR&rsquos; research and creative works — in the arts, entomology, public policy, health services, the economy, technology, and more — are world-renowned. When measured by graduation rates, economic diversity, quality of faculty, affordability, and community service, UC Riverside is rated among the best in the nation.
“With the help of generous supporters, we are excited to begin the public phase of our fundraising campaign to continue to lead the nation into the future,” Wilcox said.
UCR has already secured $166 million in gifts toward the effort, which will conclude in 2020. The gifts will be used to aid students, create faculty support, fund research and university programs, and build new infrastructure around campus. It will also fund endowed chairs; UC Riverside currently has 55 faculty members who hold endowed chairs, 18 of which were created in the past three years. These provide financial support for research and more. Wilcox hopes to raise that number to 75 by 2020.
At a university where 57 percent of undergraduate students are eligible for Pell grants (meaning they’re from low-income families) and most are the first in their families to attend college, it’s significant that Highlanders are also determined to give back to their communities and their society. Through the years, graduates of UC Riverside have lived their promise in community building, in friendships, in conducting research that affects our lives, and in our government.
In a visit to campus, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich described that spirit: “UCR has the energy of an underdog that knows it’s winning the race that’s worth winning — not the mindless U.S. News & World Report college rankings but the Washington Monthly’s far more thoughtful rankings … [which] include graduation rates, economic diversity, quality of faculty, affordability, and community service. I wish we could clone UCR all over America.”
Page: 13
Photo: Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox, left, with poet and undergraduate student Gabrielle Adoh
Ten years ago, 140 faculty members, administrators, staff, students, alumni, donors, and community members created “UCR 2020: The Path to Preeminence.” It was a strategic plan that aimed to enhance opportunities for undergraduate students; increase graduate student support; add new professional schools and expand existing graduate and professional programs; and increase the percentage of graduate and professional school students to 20 percent of the student population. It was through this plan that UCR created the blueprint to provide California residents more access to higher education.
“My UCR degrees have made possible my own career as a successful entrepreneur,” said UCR Foundation Chair Darin Anderson, chairman and CEO of Salas O’Brien, who was recently selected to serve a term as alumni regent to the UC Board of Regents. The campaign will not only strengthen support for student success, faculty research and creativity, and community engagement, he says. “I see this playing out among my classmates and colleagues as UCR’s global footprint expands.”
The fundraising initiative, co-chaired by longtime UCR and community supporters Thomas T. Haider, M.D., president and CEO of the Haider Spine Center, and S. Sue Johnson, former UC Regent and board chair of the University of California system, is not simply about raising money. With 104,000 living alumni, the campaign will also be a catalyst to increase alumni and community engagement, fuel pride, and galvanize support around UCR’s goals.
In addition to focused efforts within seven colleges and schools, the library system, and intercollegiate athletics, UCR will focus on six key themes: Social Innovation and Empowerment; New Voices and Visions; Health and Wellness; From Genomics to Harvest; Emerging Technologies; and Renewable Nature.
And at the end of the comprehensive fundraising campaign, the hope is that investing in UCR’s future will feel like second nature to its alumni, donors, the region, and other campus constituents. It’s a way of not only keeping UCR’s promise to California to the world, but of living the promise.
Page: 14
Photo: School of Medicine Dean Deborah Deas, center, with Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox and his wife, Diane Del Buono
On Oct. 15, UCR held a gala event to launch the campaign for supporters, alumni, and friends. Rivera lawn was transformed to give everyone a glimpse into what makes UCR both special and exceptional.
Photo: Left to right: Deepta Dhillon with UCR Foundation (UCRF) Trustees Dr. Harkeerat Dhillon and William Dahling Jr.
The evening included an interactive reception featuring demonstrations, student research presentations, and video vignettes. UCR Student Advancement Ambassadors told their stories to the delight of guests at the gate.
Photo: Concha Rivera, right, widow of UCR Chancellor Tomás Rivera, with Harold Larson
Built in the mid-1970s in conjunction with the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the road gained fame from the show “Ice Road Truckers.” The most important rule of the road? Big trucks have the right of way.
Page: 15
Displays featured research focused on astronomy, bees and pollination, plant genetics, art and music, with a performance by the UCR Chamber Singers. For mementos of the night, guests received framed photos and UCR citrus olive oil and vinegar.
Photo: David Cunningham Jr. ’62, left, with UCRF Emeritus Trustee Charles D. Field ’58
Photo: Left to right: Clyde Derrick, UCRF Trustee Barbara Robinson, and Ted and Jo Dutton, Ph.D ’96
Photo: Left to right: Mark Rubin and UCRF Trustee Pam Rubin with Jed Schwendiman
Photo: Left to right: Campaign Co-chair and UCRF Trustee Tom Haider and his wife Salma, with Elizabeth Leonard and her husband, UCRF Trustee John Leonard, Ph.D. ’78
UCR is nationally recognized for student graduation rates that are nearly equal across all racial and ethnic groups — a rarity among colleges and universities.
Page: 16
Through his ongoing support of medical education in the Inland Empire and charitable giving, Dr. Thomas Haider has long demonstrated his commitment to public health.
A spine surgeon, inventor, educator, and philanthropist, Haider has used his unique platform to expand access to medical care in the Inland Empire. After Haider developed and patented surgical instrumentation for use in spinal surgery, he donated the royalties to UCR to help develop the School of Medicine, where he is on the clinical faculty. He continues his dedication to the university by serving as co-chair of the UCR Foundation.
His wife, Salma, shares his commitment to charity, and together they co-founded the Children’s Spine Foundation in 1994 to make free surgery possible for children suffering from spinal deformities. For more than 20 years, the foundation’s work has transcended borders, and includes yearly surgical mission trips to hospitals in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Haider has been dedicated to the well-being of others ever since he began his medical education. “My purpose in becoming a doctor was to serve the people,” he said. Now the chief of the Spine Division at Riverside County Regional Medical Center, Haider uses both his role as a surgeon and as the co-chair for UCR&rquo;s campaign to continue serving the community. He says UCR is the change agent in the lives of students. “I’m a big believer in higher education because that’s the best way to provide social mobility and opportunity for the underserved.”
He also invites others to get involved in helping UCR: “You actually see the proof one by one. It is not something that disappears into the sunset.”
Campaign Co-chair S. Sue Johnson is a UCR alumna; she has seen UCR’s evolution from a small, liberal arts campus into an internationally renowned research university. She said it makes her incredibly proud. “I treasure those early days, because I see how UCR has grown and how the faculty is gaining so much recognition. We know how strong it is.”
She has seen it from all angles: as a graduate, as a former chair of the UC Board of Regents, as a board member for the California Chamber of Commerce, and as a local business owner. She and her husband, Bill, own Johnson Machinery. Together they have endowed numerous faculty chairs across the campus. “We feel that is such an appropriate way to give that has long-lasting results.” In fact, she said, it is the gift that outlives the donor.
One of her current passions is knowledge about early diagnosis of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. “I had a family member die of Alzheimer’s,” she said. “UCR’s new imaging center, the Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, is more advanced than any other in this area.”
Another passion is support for graduate education. Her service as a UC regent gave her insight about the importance of graduate students to the operation of a research university. “The graduate students are really the seed for all the great discoveries of the university,” she said.
“The UC is considered the greatest public university in the world,” she said. “We’re so fortunate to have a University of California campus right here in our city.”
She cherishes her conversations with UCR students. This year she met with several students over lunch. “They are working hard, and they want to help society,” she said. “They are impressive. Our job as alumni, trustees, and citizens is to do everything we can to help propel them forward.”
Page: 17
The Living the Promise symposia series seeks to educate the public about UCR’s research and outreach
When teacher, activist, and UC Riverside alumna Carrie Garcia ’05, said she wanted to change the world, an elder within her Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians just laughed.
“But I told him, ‘I cannot the change world we live in, but I can change the community where I live. And if I can do it, then you can do it, too,’” Garcia said Nov. 10, at UCR’s Living the Promise Symposium on Social Innovation and Empowerment.
UCR is taking the campaign’s themes to the public through a series of public events that celebrate UC Riverside’s scholarship, and the contributions it makes to students and to the community.
Garcia was one of seven UCR faculty members and alumni who were honored for their work in solving social problems and empowering others to succeed. The event was part of a yearlong series of symposia to highlight the six key themes in the university’s Living the Promise campaign to raise $300 million for student support, faculty research, and infrastructure by 2020.
FUTURE LIVING THE PROMISE SYMPOSIA:
From Genomics to Harvest– March 17
Renewable Nature– April 19
New Voices and Visions– May 4
The Honorees Included
Jan Blacher, distinguished professor of education and founder and director of the SEARCH Family Autism Resource Center at UCR.
Gabriela Canalizo, professor of physics and astronomy, who has spent six weeks every summer since 2006 teaching science and English to more than 200 children orphaned by AIDS in the African nation of Malawi.
Rita Kohli, assistant professor of education, who co-founded and co-directs the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice.
Carrie Garcia ’05, a 2005 UCR graduate with a degree in Native American studies, is focused on building awareness of Soboba culture and tradition through her work with tribal government, education, family service, and environmental stewardship.
Mihri Ozkan, professor of electrical and computer engineering, was named UCR’s first Faculty Climate Action Champion for her innovative solutions to climate change problems such as the Sponge fabric, made out of a material that filters impurities from the water as the wearer swims, and lithium-ion batteries made from biomass materials such as portabella mushrooms and beach sand.
Daniel Peeden ’15 and his twin brother Darrell Peeden ’15, both 2015 UCR graduates with master’s degrees in public policy. They are co-founders, board members, and executives of Sigma Beta Xi, a program that aims to break the cycle of poverty through mentorships and education.
Photos:
Top photo, from left: Darrell Peeden ’15; Daniel Peeden ’15; Carrie Garcia ’05; Vice Chancellor for Planning and Budget Maria Anguiano; Mihri Ozkan, professor of electrical and computer engineering; Gabriela Canalizo, professor of physics and astronomy; Rita Kohli, assistant professor of education; Jan Blacher, distinguished professor of education; and Professor and Associate Dean Karthick Ramakrishnan.
Left photo: Blacher, left, and Ramakrishnan. Inset: Darrell Peeden.
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By Lilledeshan Bose
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Professor Joseph Kahne often delves into big ideas in his research. He studies government policy, the purpose of education, youth engagement, and digital media, and — in this fast-changing world — often all of these at the same time.
Kahne’s research and reform work explores ways that educational programs and policies can influence the quality, quantity, and equality of youth civic and political development and participation — especially in this digital age. His efforts to improve education began when he started teaching at a public high school in New York City, right after getting his bachelor’s in economics from Wesleyan University. “I’ve always been interested in the power and importance of education,” he said. “I decided to be a teacher because I saw it as way to be involved and try to help.” He then went back to school to earn his master’s in political science and a Ph.D. in education from Stanford University.
Today, as the inaugural Ted and Jo Dutton Endowed Presidential Chair for Education Policy and Politics in the Graduate School of Education, Kahne is motivated by a deep desire to reform and strengthen schools across the nation. He sits on the steering committee of the National Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, and is currently the chair of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics. His research pulls together politics, digital media, and education policy as a way to better prepare youth to participate in our democracy.
You were a high school teacher. How did you end up in your field of education policy?
After college, my first job was teaching at a public high school in New York City. One thing that experience really deepened for me was my desire to work on reform and to try to strengthen schools. It was clear that there are many people working super hard to support kids, and there are many kids for whom their education was just so important. What was challenging [was that] policies weren’t right. There wasn’t enough support for the kinds of reform and improvement that I felt would be helpful.
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So after teaching in a public high school, you went to grad school.
Yes. Graduate school deepened my interest in reform as well as my interest in research. And it helped me clarify why working on young people’s civic and political development was so important.
What is exciting for me is identifying ways that educators can tap young people’s passions and commitments while, at the same time, highlighting for students ways that what they learn in school can really empower them to pursue societal improvement.
Do you have any examples or ways where you’ve seen your research change education policies?
The research I’ve done has helped identify the kinds of learning opportunities that promote desired civic outcomes — and it’s examined the degree to which all students receive these opportunities.
Unfortunately, as educators, we aren’t doing as much in this arena as we might. And low-income students and students of color get significantly fewer of the opportunities that we’ve found to be most effective. In addition, all students need opportunities to engage with people who have different beliefs. Depending on the situation they may try to find common ground, to convince them to change their mind, and to learn from them.
Students also need instruction tied to core knowledge so that they understand how government works — how a bill becomes a law. And students need opportunities to imagine effective ways to promote what they believe.
In addition, key skills like how to run a meeting, how to engage in a contentious conversation productively, how to do careful analysis, using evidence and argument to reach better conclusions — these are all crucial civic capacities — and they are also important job and life skills. So the fact that education policy often doesn’t focus on those democratic purposes — explicitly and carefully — made me really want to do more to promote democratic goals.
A lot of my work has been on trying to think about how schools can address the democratic purposes of education fully, as a focus for educational policy analysis and evaluation. For example, we are now in the fourth year working with Oakland Unified School District on an initiative we call Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age.
Oakland has made a districtwide commitment to prepare all kids for democracy, and educators there have been thinking hard about what that requires. One of the first steps was for a team of teachers to work over the course of a year to develop a framework that emphasized analysis, action, and reflection. They want young people to identify issues they care about, to learn about those issues, to act in ways that promote the priorities they care about, and then to reflect on their efforts.
And I very much look forward to learning more about educational efforts in the Inland Empire and about ways to support civic education here.
What is the most challenging part of your work?
Well there’s no doubt that school reform is hard. It’s hard to bring all the players together. It’s hard to find all the resources. But honestly, my job is a lot easier than the job of the people trying to do the work in the schools. There are an enormous amount of conflicting pressures on educators. And there’s generally a lack of adequate resources and support for them. There are also often distractions. So finding ways to be supportive of educators is key.
A lot of your research has to do with digital experiences and translating that into civic engagement. How did that become a subject you’re passionate about?
The growth of young people’s engagement with digital media is incredibly exciting. A big part of that engagement, or one opportunity enabled by that engagement, is expanded opportunities for young people to have a voice and impact on civic issues. Increasingly, many of the core practices of politics and civic life occur online. It’s where young people get their information, it’s where they discuss issues, it’s where money is raised, it’s where people find out about opportunities to become active.
We’ve been thinking hard about ways to prepare young people to take full advantage of those opportunities, and about the challenges that are related to those opportunities. For example, while there’s incredible access to information online, there’s also access to misinformation online. And while online forums create opportunities for dialogue, clearly, sometimes, that dialogue is not as productive or respectful as we want it to be.
We don’t want young people to withdraw from online spaces. We want them to be able to be involved in ways that are effective and satisfying for them.
Which of your research findings are you most surprised by?
The nature of the digital divide is different than many people imagine when it comes to political life. In some ways,
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phones are more valuable in civic and political life than say, a desktop computer is. And so the fact that phones are becoming ubiquitous, and that phones all have cameras, enable young people to participate powerfully and relatively equitably in online contexts.
How will the Dutton chair help with your research?
I feel so fortunate. The chair provides a fabulous foundation for the kind of work that I want to do. It will enable me to support graduate and undergraduate students on my research projects. And it will provide support for other costs associated with the research and school reform work I plan to do.
Why is UCR the right place for your research?
Certainly, the Inland Empire is a very dynamic place to be. And UCR is expanding and developing in significant ways. That kind of growth is not common among higher education institutions. The university is building on a solid tradition, and it is also clearly a place that is open to exploring new possibilities and taking advantage of opportunities as they develop. That’s super exciting — both in terms of the education we offer and the research work we do. There’s tremendous positive energy on the campus.
You can see the campus expanding in exciting ways and focusing on issues and priorities that are fundamentally important for this region of California, but also for the state and nation. I love being part of a university that is tackling big issues while working to deepen understanding and promote meaningful change.
An endowed chair is one of the most important gifts to higher education; it’s an honor that fosters academic excellence and recognizes superior faculty members. Established with sizeable donor gifts to an academic area, the endowed chair provides invaluable financial support that the professor uses in research, teaching, or service activities.
To find out more about establishing an endowed chair, contact UCR’s Associate Vice Chancellor for Development Hieu Nguyen at hieu.nguyen@ucr.edu.
Ted and Jo Dutton have had a longstanding love affair with the University of California, Riverside.
Jo received her doctorate at UCR: “My husband and I got to know everyone in the Graduate School of Education,” she said. “We respected them; when we had the opportunity to give, we thought, ‘This would be the place to do it.’ UCR is a beacon as far as education goes. It’s part of a very unique system in the state of California, dedicated to research, invention, and innovative ways of thinking. That is the type of thing we wanted to support and help run. There’s nothing like the UC system anywhere in the world.”
She credits former GSOE Dean Doug Mitchell as instrumental to their gift, which resulted in the Ted and Jo Dutton Endowed Presidential Chair in Education Policy and Politics. “My husband and I believe that politics influence everything we do in our lives, including in our educational system. We think people need to realize the importance of politics on policy. Or policy on politics,” she said.
Jo hopes that the endowment will result in educators gaining a knowledge of how all these systems are integrated, so they can use that knowledge to build our educational system up. “We hope that our gift encourages people to do the same thing and support higher education,” Ted says. “Education makes our whole system better, so encouraging people to participate is pretty important.”
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UCR launches EPIC, an innovation center for entrepreneurs
By John Warren
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Ravi Kurani grew up working in his family’s swimming pool business at the corner of Magnolia Avenue and Van Buren Boulevard in Riverside. He sold his share of swimming pool testing kits, and tested his share of pools — thousands, he says.
He recalls the indicator results: yellow for low pH; crimson for high pH; blue for too little water hardness; and purple for too much water hardness. And yellow (again) for too little chlorine and green for too much. He’d sell the kit, or do his test, and leave the pool owner with a handwritten prescription for a cocktail of pool chemicals.
There must be a better way, he often thought. And years later, the 2009 UCR mechanical engineering graduate found it. It’s a little robot that paddles around your pool, monitoring water chemistry, then texts your cellphone when it’s time to pour some chemicals in — which ones, and how much. No calibration needed for the robot, no supplementary testing kit.
“You leave it, and it tells you thumbs up, or thumbs down,” Kurani said.
Kurani, who was named one of Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 in the Energy category for 2017, has far greater aspirations for the technology, such as monitoring drinking water in public water supplies throughout the world.
He’s got a great idea, and he’s got a modest customer base for his San Francisco-based business, Sutro.
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“Running a startup, there’s never a dull day,” Kurani says.
But he’s still in what entrepreneurs call the “seed startup” phase. He needs help to take it to the next level. Enter his alma mater, UCR, and its newly launched Entrepreneurial Proof of Concept and Innovation Center, or EPIC, which provides the tools startups need.
Kurani works with UCR researchers David Jassby and Haizhou Liu, experts in water chemistry monitoring for municipalities. And EPIC is pairing him with sources for venture capital, and with customers.
“It all makes sense that EPIC fits right in,” Kurani said.
EPIC, which launched in October, will provide resources for training, mentors, and connections to investors and partners.
At the launch, UCR Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox called EPIC “another example how we here in our region are going to show others around the country how this not only can be done, but, I would suggest, how it should be done.”
Current EPIC innovations range from the “Lab-on-a-Chip,” which would conduct microscale experiments, to a way of cutting the duration and expense of preclinical trials, to diagnosing the disease Huanglongbing, or citrus greening, which threatens California’s $4 billion citrus industry.
EPIC involves numerous community partnerships, and its programming and facilities will be made available to UCR students and faculty, and entrepreneurs outside of campus. The primary sponsor is the Riverside County Economic Development Agency. Other partners include the cities of Corona, Murrieta, Riverside, Temecula, and Palm Desert, the Temecula Valley Entrepreneur Exchange, InSoCal Connect, the Murrieta Innovation Center, and Excite.
Funding comes from a combination of the UCR Office of Research and Economic Development, contributions from regional organizations and entrepreneurs, and a California-wide measure that provides funding for incubator space, equipment, training, legal services, and other basics.
While elements of EPIC have been in place at UCR for some time, the new incarnation will add entrepreneurial classes, a broad-scale mentorship program, training, access to potential investors and funds for “proof-ofconcept,” and resources for growth. UCR plans to create the Highlander Venture Capital Fund to provide seed and startup capital. UCR is currently working with a venture firm out of Silicon Valley to raise the capital needed for the investments.
UCR Associate Vice Chancellor for Technology Partnerships Rosibel Ochoa said more than 25 opportunities have already been identified within the university.
“We are confident that EPIC and its partners will uncover many additional leading-edge entrepreneurial ideas which can become a reality and create jobs within our region,” she said.
Photo: UCR Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox, center, at the EPIC launch event on Oct. 26, with UCR faculty member David Kisailus, left, who presented on Nature Inspired Industries, and graduate student Jesus Rivera.
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Take a look at a few of the companies EPIC is working with
Window to the Brain
Advanced BioCeramics LLC is working on a transparent ceramic material that allows for long-term biocompatibility for use in cranial implants. It will allow doctors to deliver minimally invasive laser-based treatments into a patient’s brain through this transparent material.
Mantis-like Material
Nature Inspired Industries Inc. is creating nature-inspired, lightweight, impact-resistant composites that absorb energy by controlled fracture with unique helicoidal structure, and are made up of 50 percent less material for the same performance.
Modifying Smell to Repel
Sensorygen Inc. discovers and develops small molecules that modify smell and taste behavior in humans and animals. Laboratory testing in human trials has resulted in several promising repellents that are naturally occurring, have excellent health properties, and have other user-friendly features.
Super Absorber
Sponge is creating reusable material derived from heated sucrose that repels water, but also absorbs harmful contaminants. The material can absorb up to 25 times its own weight and it doesn’t release the absorbed materials unless it is heated at a temperature exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius. The material can be molded into wearable technology, including swimsuits.
Smart Pool Technology
Sutro has created a smart pool chemistry monitor that allows you to easily manage your pool or spa, from testing your water to administering the appropriate chemicals.
Saving Plants with Sealant
Agrobiomics LLC is creating alternative natural solutions to protect against opportunistic crop diseases that infect plants, following grower-induced wounding practices such as pruning. The company developed a wound sealant solution derived from beeswax that falls in the category of a natural crop protectant and provides long-term cost savings to vine, fruit, and nut tree growers.
Trapping Insects
FarmSense Inc. created the next generation of insect monitoring systems, which can accurately monitor multiple flying insects by species and gender, extract real-time intelligence, predict population outbreaks, and reduce containment costs.
Energy Transfer
Attaisina Inc. created high-sensitivity and high-throughput Förster resonance energy transfer or fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) technologies with very broad applications in both basic bioresearch and pharmaceutical applications.
Modern Medicine
Evince Biosciences Inc. is working on the Autonomous Virtual Organism (AVO), a nextgeneration drug discovery platform that can predict how a molecule will interact with any target “trained” in AVO. It can dramatically shorten drug discovery to a period of weeks or months.
For more information contact Larry Morgan, director of EPIC, on www.research.edu.
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Professor Stu Krieger’s stint at UCDC, in the nation’s capital, inspires with history and joy
By Stu Krieger
If you’re seeking the adventure of a lifetime but aren’t up for joining the Army, you might want to look into the opportunities provided by the University of California, Washington Center. Whether you’re a student or a faculty member, the University of California’s center in Washington, D.C., is a fantastic place to spend time.
After hearing about the program from a colleague and receiving an email seeking faculty to teach electives in the 2015-16 school year, I applied and was accepted to teach a course I created, D.C. on Film, for the spring quarter of 2016.
Students attending UCDC come from all of the UC campuses; they live and take classes in the nation’s capital, many for one quarter, some for the full academic year. In addition to the core faculty at the Washington facility, rotating UC professors are enlisted to cover additional seminars and workshops.
My wife and I packed our bags — trying desperately to guess what we’d need for 11 East Coast weeks that traversed winter, spring, and the start of summer — and set off for our new home.
Housed in a one-bedroom apartment on the top floor of the UCDC building, we were instantly enthralled by all the city has to offer. Riding in from Dulles airport, we passed the Kennedy Center, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial. That very first chilly midMarch night, we walked six blocks and found ourselves standing in front of the floodlit White House.
“Hey,” I shouted to no one in particular, “Can Barry come out and play?”
My class was one evening a week, from 6:30 to 9:30 in a classroom down the hall from our apartment. I didn’t even have to get in an elevator to teach! Since
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the students take on government-related internships during their time in the program, many of the seminars are in the evening so they don’t conflict with work schedules. That meant most days we were free to explore the incredibly exhilarating and illuminating city. We got to investigate every corner of the endless museums, galleries, and renowned locations that were no longer just pictures in a history book. We spent two full days at the Newseum, studying the history of print and TV journalism in our country. We made four separate visits to the National Portrait Gallery. We had a photo op with Sen. Barbara Boxer, and spent three hours sitting in the Senate gallery watching them conduct the mundane business of nation running. “Look, there’s Harry Reid! Oh wait, Dianne Feinstein just came in, set her purse down and walked out again. Where’s she going? I hope no one rips her off.” On another day, we got an intimidating tour of the Pentagon. Who knew there’s an entire mall inside the Pentagon but none of the shops have names? Just “Clothes,” “Eyeglasses,” “Donuts.” Employees at the in-house Starbucks aren’t allowed to write names on the cups — you never know whose cover you might blow!
We cried in Arlington Cemetery, stood at the graves of so many soldiers and looked back at the view of Washington that inspired President Kennedy to say, “I could stay here forever,” at the site his widow later chose for his final resting place. We visited Ford’s Theatre, trying to wrap our heads around the fact that we were gazing at the actual bunting-draped box where Abraham Lincoln sat the night he was assassinated.
I’m fortunate enough to have a childhood buddy who is a political reporter at The Washington Post. When I spoke to him about my class and the films we’d be screening, he offered to have me bring my class to his newspaper so we could screen “All the President’s Men” right there where so much of the film’s action (and the true events it was based on) took place. The day of our scheduled visit, my pal called with one more surprise: “Bob Woodward is going to stop by. Get here on time.”
The reporter who was instrumental in bringing down Richard Nixon’s entire administration sat with my students, my wife, me, and fellow UC Riverside Professor Margaret Nash; he spoke to us about the legacy of Watergate for 40 glorious minutes. He was candid, open, and clearly still deeply hurt by his discovery that the man holding the nation’s highest office conspired to undermine all of the trust our country had placed in him. It was an incredible highlight of the experience at UCDC.
Walking back to our apartment that night, my wife said, “This whole experience has been like attending fun school!” And she was right. UCDC is an incredible opportunity for students and faculty members to gain invaluable new insights and hands-on experiences to further their understanding of how our government works and why it’s incumbent upon all of us to be involved and informed.
Stu Krieger is a professor in the UC Riverside Department of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production, teaching screenwriting and television writing workshops. His first novel, “That One Cigarette,” will be published in 2017.
The UCDC Program offers qualified undergraduate students an opportunity to combine course work, field research, and professional experience during a residence in our nation’s capital. They can study and participate in federal government, advocacy, international organizations, media, science policy, and arts internships. All courses are designed to take advantage of the many unique opportunities while living with 250 students from nine other University of California campuses in the heart of Washington, D.C.
Required seminars are taught usually by full-time UCDC associate academic directors and yearlong visiting UC faculty. Electives are taught largely by instructors who are local experts in their fields and by UC faculty members visiting for a single quarter or semester. Applicants must be active, tenured University of California faculty members.
Photo: Professor Krieger and his D.C. on Film class meet with Watergate hero Bob Woodward.
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This annual celebration of our campus, alumni, and friends had something for everyone
This year’s Homecoming kicked off on Friday, Nov. 18, with a dinner to celebrate the 30th Annual Alumni Awards of Distinction.
On Saturday, Nov. 19, guests participated in tours, lectures, reunions, and enjoyed fun activities at Scot Fest.
This year the alumni office partnered with undergraduate admissions to host a day full of excitement for alumni, parents, prospective students, and families. Undergraduate admissions welcomed prospective students and their families to campus for information sessions, campus entertainment, and workshops as they prepare to apply to UCR for the upcoming fall 2017 admission term.
Scot Fest took place during the afternoon. Alumni and families could play games for UCR prizes such as foam swords, slap bracelets, pennants, and more. The inflatables, rock wall, balloon artist, caricatures, and Ferris wheel were all a big hit. Alumni grabbed their Homecoming T-shirts and attended the pep rally in preparation for the big game that night. It ended with the men’s basketball game against Fresno Pacific, where the Highlanders posted a 96-50 Homecoming victory.
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Annually, the UCR Alumni Association honors graduates who have distinguished themselves in the university’s tradition of excellence and service. Meet this year’s awardees
Photo: UCR Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox, left, at Alumni Awards of Distinction dinner on Nov. 18, with Shola Lynch, M.A. ’95, David Gutierrez ’04, Ofelia Valdez-Yeager ’69, T.C. ’71, Alumni Association President Kenneth R. Noller ’75, T.C. ’76, M.A. ’84, and Alumni Awards Chair Dean Parson ’92.
Since 1986, the UCR Alumni Association has given out the Alumni Awards of Distinction to honor graduates who personify the university’s tradition of excellence and service. Through their personal and professional achievements, these individuals bring distinction to UCR, contribute to the betterment of society, and enhance their communities. On Nov. 18, UCR celebrated the 30th annual alumni awards by honoring three alumni. Shola Lynch, Ofelia Valdez-Yeager, and David Gutierrez tell their stories.
Distinguished Alumnus Award: Shola Lynch, M.A. ’95
This year, award-winning filmmaker Shola Lynch received the most prestigious honor bestowed by the UCR Alumni Association. The award is based on national and international distinction in one’s field and significant contribution to humankind.
Born and raised in New York City, Lynch’s grand life plan was “to travel the world!” she says, laughing. She was intrigued by UC Riverside after her father, a professor, sent her a brochure for a Public History Resource Management Masters including American History. “This light bulb went off in my head, to bring history alive through the artifacts of history. I packed up all my stuff in my VW bug and drove to California.”
Since then, she has written and directed for CNN, ESPN, HBO Sports, and PBS. Her first independent documentary, “Chisholm ’72 — Unbought & Unbossed,” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, won a Peabody Award, and is now a classic. “I tell the stories that I want to see. And they involve people who look like me and who are like me.”
Lynch’s second feature, “Free Angela and All Political Prisoners,” recounts the politically charged events that thrust academic and activist Angela Davis onto the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and sold internationally in Brazil, France, South Africa, and Sweden. “Free Angela” has been honored with numerous awards including a NAACP Image Award for Best Documentary.
“I’m a documentary filmmaker,” she says. “History is very important to me, so the stories that I tell are primarily historical.” She credits UCR with guiding her toward documentary work; a friend who worked at the California Museum of Photography showed her its stereograph collection. “I just was blown away. It ended up being my thesis and I did an exhibition there, and that completely took me into the work that I do today.”
In 2013, Sundance selected Lynch for the prestigious Women’s Filmmaker Initiative. Her current project, “The
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Outlaw,” her first narrative feature, was honored in 2015 with a highly competitive grant from Creative Capital.
“The point of my work is to tell those stories so that we reclaim and acknowledge the diversity that’s part of this great country. I think the important thing with whatever you do with your life is that you do it to the best of your ability. Like Angela Davis said, ‘It’s the way you live your life.’ You’re just working hard at what you hopefully love to do. The rest follows.”
Alumni Service Award: Ofelia Valdez-Yeager ’69, T.C. ’71
Ofelia Valdez-Yeager is the recipient of the award that honors alumni who have created a sustained pattern of volunteer service in the community, arts, or for the benefit of UCR that has positively represented the university and fellow citizens.
Born in Mexico, Valdez-Yeager was one of eight children. “My father could not afford to send me to this big university,” she said. “When UCR called that I had received the scholarship, they knew that this was a real opportunity. I came and it was a pretty big deal.” She graduated with a bachelor’s in Spanish in 1969 and earned her elementary teaching credential in 1971.
It was at UCR that Valdez-Yeager says she learned to make her voice heard. “It doesn’t help a group or community if you’re always quiet. Whatever it is that you’re thinking, you may say, well, I don’t really have anything to offer. But you might, and the only way to know is if you speak up.”
Valdez-Yeager’s volunteer commitments took her to leadership positions in Little League and PTA as well as several community organizations through their committees and boards. She was elected to the Riverside Unified School District Board of Trustees in 1992; this was her first publicly elected position, and she was the first Latina ever elected to the local school board.
Valdez-Yeager retired as the chief administrative liaison to the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools in 2010. She is the past president of the Riverside Latino Network and most recently spearheaded the effort to successfully erect the Cesar E. Chávez Memorial on the Downtown Mall. “I was involved trying to bring other Latinos into office because it was pretty obvious that we were not represented. We decided that we would start a Latino Network.” She continues to serve on numerous boards and committees of local agencies and human service consortia.
“I was going to give back to the community in some way because I had received a scholarship. I would pay that back somehow. And to me, working in the community and working with students is a way to pay that back, and I will continue to do that as long as I can.”
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award: David Gutierrez ’04
It makes perfect sense that David Gutierrez is the recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, which is presented to alumni 35 years and younger with a significant record of career or civic achievement.
Gutierrez has more than a decade of experience working with Fortune 500 companies as a trusted finance and accounting leader. He is the corporate controller for Radiology Partners, the largest hospital-based radiology physician practice in the country. He also manages GA Investment Holdings and actively invests in entrepreneurial businesses, including Convoy Technologies, an international technology company based in Orange County that was recently recognized by the Inc 5000 and the Orange County Business Journal as one of the fastestgrowing companies. David is also Partner at Gutierrez & Anderson, a boutique business advisory and accounting firm providing services to clients throughout Southern California.
“It was a natural fit to come to UCR and pursue business. But I really felt like I needed to do something beyond that to continue to grow,” he said.
His first venture began at UCR. “I realized how expensive student books were. Friends and I came up with the idea to create our own textbook exchange. We launched at UCR, and after college ended up scaling that business and expanding it to over 50 other college institutions across the country.”
He credits the professionals that he met through the UCR Alumni Association with helping guide his career. “[It has allowed] me to pursue the opportunities that I wanted to.”
Today, Gutierrez’s commitment to the community is as strong as ever. He serves on the board of directors of the Bresee Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles that helps low-income youth, adults and families, as well as the Youth Business Alliance, an organization focused on connecting high school students with real experiences of local business leaders.
He remains active on campus at UC Riverside as a mentor to students, guest lecturer, and member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the A. Gary Anderson School of Management.
“My commitment at UCR is going to be lifelong and I look forward to continuing my moment.”
Watch videos about each awardee, read online extras and more at magazinearchive.ucr.edu
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Littleworth receives as much joy as he gives
By Pat Kohlmeier
Organized neatly in Art Littleworth’s office desk is a special file that brings him a great deal of joy. The file contains dozens of thank-you letters and handwritten cards received over the past 30 years from UCR students who have benefitted from the Arthur L. Littleworth Endowed Scholarship Fund. Occasionally, he will pull the file from his desk drawer and fondly reminisce about the many young people whose lives he helped shape.
Littleworth knows firsthand how impactful and life-changing a scholarship can be. Growing up in Los Angeles, Littleworth was raised in a middle-class family that could never have afforded to send its only son to a prestigious university far from home. Through the generosity of others, he received a full scholarship to Yale University.
The experiences Littleworth gained by attending Yale broadened his view on life. There, he earned degrees in history and law, and, later, a master’s degree from Stanford University. With that foundation, he went on to have a long and distinguished career as one of the preeminent water law attorneys in the United States and authored “California Water,” a definitive book on the topic. And his life outside of law was just as big.
He served on countless community boards, including 14 distinguished years of service on the Board of Education of the Riverside Unified School District, where he played a leading role in overseeing the voluntary desegregation of the district.
A heart for community service, a deep passion for education, and his personal experience as the recipient of a transformative scholarship led Littleworth to help others as he was helped. His gratitude was expressed through the establishment of the Arthur L. Littleworth Endowed Scholarship Fund to support graduates of the Riverside Unified School District who attend UCR.
Since the scholarship’s inception nearly 30 years ago, Littleworth’s gift has transformed the lives of students whose UCR education has enabled them to become teachers, coaches, medical doctors, police officers, environmental researchers, and businesspeople. Austin Claiborne ’16, the most recent recipient of the Littleworth Scholarship, regularly shared his progress and achievements at UCR with Littleworth and his wife, Peggy, and credits him for making it possible to graduate. At Claiborne’s recent graduation ceremony, it was hard to detect which of the two — Littleworth or Claiborne — felt more pride and joy.
Photo: Austin Claiborne ’16 and Art Littleworth
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March 11
The UCR Alumni Association, in co-sponsorship with the Women’s Resource Center and the Women in Business student organization, invites you to the Second Annual Women’s Leadership Conference. UCR alumni and friends will lead sessions where they will discuss various topics that women face in the workplace. The program will include keynote speakers and breakout sessions, and conclude with a professional dress fashion show. All are welcome to attend this conference. For more information and to register, visit alumni.ucr.edu/wlc2017
March 7 and 8
Join us for UC Day where alumni, parents, and friends meet in small groups with elected officials to discuss issues affecting higher education — and UCR. Deliver the message with us to elected leaders. For more information and to register, visit alumni.ucr.edu/advocacyday.
Alumni and friends are invited to receptions with campus leadership and faculty members. Connect with fellow alumni, UCR parents, and friends while hearing about the exciting developments occurring at UCR! Visit campaign.ucr.edu/events for more information.
Feb. 21 — Pasadena
Feb. 27 — Palm Desert
March 16 — San Jose
March 28 — San Diego
April 6 — Seattle
April 26 — Washington D.C.
April 27 — New York
Celebrate a milestone or honor a classmate or friend! For a $500 tax-deductible donation, a personalized brick will be permanently installed in the front entrance to the Alumni & Visitors Center. Proceeds from the Legacy Brick program support the UCR Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship. Make your gift online at alumni.ucr.edu/legacybrick.
April 22
Give back to your community! Highlanders worldwide are encouraged to give back to their communities through local volunteer activities. If you would like to organize an event for fellow Highlanders or to join projects that are already planned, visit dayofservice.ucr.edu.
It’s easy to connect with the UCR Alumni Association: Website: alumni.ucr.edu E-mail: ucralum@ucr.edu Phone: (951) UCR-ALUM or (800) 426-ALUM (2586)
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50s
Marigold Linton ’58 *, will be featured in the Remarkable Women of UC project at the University of California Office of the President (UCOP). The Remarkable Women of UC project is a descriptive poster display that honors UC alumnae and showcases their contributions and accomplishments. The posters will be exhibited at UCOP in conjunction with International Women’s Day on March 8 until the end of the month.
60s
Mary Gaffey ’68, retired from Monsanto Co., where she was a medical librarian.
70s
Felicia Beardsley ’79, was part of the team that added Nan Madol, a series of 99 artificial islets off the southeast coast of Pohnpei, to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage List.
It is the first site from the Federated States of Micronesia to receive the designation, which means it is now eligible to receive funding for preservation and development. The site appeared on UNESCO’s list this past July.
Leslie Biesecker, M.D. ’79*, is a clinical and molecular geneticist at the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, which is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. The academy recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.
80s
Robert Del Grande, Ph.D. ’81, was featured in MySA, a local San Antonio newspaper, in an article titled “Del Grande’s innovation at Café Annie made him Houston’s first celebrity chef.” Del Grande started Café Annie after moving to Houston from Riverside.
UCR participated in Giving Tuesday for the first time, raising $50,500 to support research, scholarships, and student programs!
“UCR alumni and donors are people who believe we have the power to do great things outside of college. To think that complete strangers believe we have potential to be what we dream of being — that’s really amazing.” — UC Riverside student Ryan Funai
Your gift shows students you believe in their potential.
Make your gift online at campaign.ucr.edu
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Tina Nova, Ph.D. ’82, will receive an honorable mention in the Remarkable Women of UC project at the University of California Office of the President (UCOP). The Remarkable Women of UC project is a descriptive poster display featuring UC alumnae that will be exhibited at UCOP in conjunction with International Women’s Day on March 8 until the end of the month.
Michael Ramos ’83, was sworn in as president of the National District Attorney’s Association in July. He is running for California attorney general in the 2018 election.
Kathy Hibbs ’85, joined 23andMe as chief legal and regulatory officer. Kathy is active in several industry groups including the American Clinical Laboratory Association, the Coalition for 21st Century Medicine, and the Personalized Medicine Coalition.
90s
Michelle McCrimmon ’94, was promoted from controller to deputy chief financial officer at the city of Orlando.
Jeremy Myers ’95, recently started at iGov, a provider of tactical C4ISR systems and lifecycle support programs, as an IT solutions architect. In his position, Myers is responsible for leading technical solution development across iGov’s portfolio of new business opportunities.
Katherine Kendrick, Ph.D. ’99, a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena and UC Riverside adjunct assistant professor, was featured in stories about quicksand in Southern California in publications such as The Sun in San Bernardino, the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, and LA Observed.
00s
James McElvain, M.A. ’03, Ph.D. ’06, had his research featured in an article entitled “Cayman’s ‘boys in blue’ going gray?” which discussed how fewer younger males and females are joining the police service. An abstract of the study indicated that college-educated officers were less likely to be involved in shootings than officers with no college education. Risk of officer-involved shooting was reduced as the officer aged.
Did you know? You can get guaranteed income for life while you provide future support for scholarships or research at UCR.
Want to feel more secure in your retirement?
With the UC Charitable Gift Annuity, you get:
To see your rate and other potential benefits, contact the UCR Office of Gift Planning at (951) 827-3793 or giftplanning@ucr.edu
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Sarah Whorley (Mills) ’04, was recently appointed assistant professor of biology in the Department of Natural Sciences at Daemen College.
Jamie Chung ’05, will receive an honorable mention in the Remarkable Women of UC project at the University of California Office of the President (UCOP). The Remarkable Women of UC project is a descriptive poster display featuring UC alumnae that will be exhibited at UCOP in conjunction with International Women’s Day on March 8 until the end of the month.
Alfredo Martinez-Morales ’05, M.S. ’08, Ph.D. ’10, spoke about his research during the UC Solar Symposium held in October. UC Solar is a multicampus research collaborative headquartered at UC Merced and develops innovative technologies that make solar energy systems more efficient, more affordable, and easier to integrate.
Elizabeth Romero ’05, is the new assistant vice chancellor for the Office of Governmental and Community Relations at UCR. She will be the primary advocate to a variety of community constituencies and to all levels of government. Brendan Steele ’05, won his second PGA tour title at the Safeway Open in October. His winning
Gabriel Maldonado ’11
Gabriel Maldonado is the founder, executive director, and CEO of TruEvolution, an LGBTQ justice, HIV/AIDS service organization for Riverside and San Bernardino counties. TruEvolution’s goal is to create a youth-driven movement that will promote health equity, racial justice, and gender and sexual equality for all underserved youth in the Inland Empire. Maldonado has been a community organizer for almost 10 years and started TruEvolution during his freshman year at UC Riverside.
What was your motivation for starting TruEvolution?
I come from a very interesting background. I am biracial, grew up poor, and gay. I think the intersection of those different types of circumstances of identities really makes young, queer people of color navigate a lot of trauma at a very early age in life. So my organization was really a response in healing myself. The aspect of having to understand myself and unpacking my trauma is an aspect that inspired TruEvolution.
What were some obstacles in starting your organization?
I started my organization when I was 18 years old as a freshman at UC Riverside with no experience, no background, no credential. So there was that level of immaturity just for the simple fact of being a teenager. I was also working two jobs and taking around 18 units while trying to start my organization simultaneously. So the logistics and the sheer fact that I was a teenager was a challenge in itself.
How would you say UCR helped you get to where you are today?
UCR is very unique because the entire campus creates a culture. It’s a place where various kinds of people can feel their identity, background, and experiences are celebrated. In my experience working with academic institutions, UCR is different in that it celebrates and emphasizes people’s cultural identities. Without this space of insight, I would not have been able to create the organization and have the successes that I have today in life.
Do you have any favorite UCR memories?
I founded my nonprofit organization on Dec. 17, 2007, at my apartment on 3500 Iowa Ave., Apt. 717. I’ll never forget it. It was 6:30 p.m. and my classmates had a 5:10 p.m. to 6 p.m. class at the University Village Theater. They came over to my apartment afterward and that was the moment that my five best friends and I founded our organization. All of my founding board members were in my living room at that time, and we all are in the social justice field today. It’s funny how we were all just drawn together by our passion and commitment for human rights and 10 years later, we are all still in that field.
Who is an inspirational figure in your life?
The person that really inspires me is my mother. I’ve always believed that if you’re successful, people will want to follow you, but if you’re able to overcome adversity, then people will believe you. There’s a belief that comes with someone overcoming severe adversity — a belief in the things that they say, in their philosophy, and in their theology. There’s no person that I saw overcome as much adversity as my own mother. She overcame so much and handled it so gracefully. She is someone that I believe in.
*is a member of the UCR Alumni Association. To update your membership, visit www.alumni.ucr.edu
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score of -18 tied the tournament record for lowest score relative to par.
James Blalock ’06, was awarded Delta Tau Delta Fraternity’s Bill Fraering Award at its 93rd biennial convention in August. The award for Alumni Service is presented to young alumni for exemplary service to the fraternity.
Anthony Oshinuga ’06, is one of only a handful of African Americans in acrobatic competition flying. His achievements include placing fourth at the US National Aerobatic Championships in 2014. He also manages and runs his own flight-touring business, AirOshinuga.
Ravi Kurani ’09, made Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for Energy in 2017. At his startup, Sutro, Kurani built a sensor-connected app that monitors the health of your swimming pool, notifies you if maintenance is required, and orders pool supplies. The automated water maintenance system saves chemicals, water and energy.
10s
Jeremy Wolf ’11, was honored at the “Double Chai in the Chi: 36 under 36” and added to the list of young Jewish movers and shakers in Chicago. The young professionals featured are noted for making a difference through their work, giving back in their free time, and earning distinction in the Jewish community and beyond.
Zhong Yan, Ph.D. ’13, had his work featured in an article entitled “Diamond proves useful material for growing graphene.” He collaborated with materials scientist Anirudha Sumant and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory’s Center for Nanoscale Materials and Materials Science Division, to develop a method to grow.
Nina Mufleh ’05
Shortly after graduating from UCR, Nina Mufleh began working for Queen Rania of Jordan. Then she co-founded her own successful startup. Now she’s at Upwork — a marketplace for freelancers. One of her most notable achievements within her impressive skill set is the creation of her resume Nina4airbnb. It became a viral social media campaign that garnered the attention of millions of viewers around the world, including Airbnb’s CEO.
What inspired you to create Nina4airbnb?
Although I had a decade’s worth of career experience, I struggled in finding the right opportunities when I moved back to California from the Middle East. After a year of sending hundreds of applications to dozens of companies and not hearing back from any of them, I realized I had to do something drastically different to get their attention. In a way, desperation was my inspiration.
What was your takeaway from its creation and success?
Having moved from Jordan to California, I was at a disadvantage. I didn’t have a network of people that I had worked with in the past, people who knew my work and would want to bring me onto their teams. I had only looked at those shortcomings from my perspective. What I had failed to see was that from most recruiters’ perspectives, the market I was coming from was irrelevant.
What the report helped me do was show, not tell, my value beyond their doubts. It refocused my perceived weakness into a strength: an international perspective with the promise of understanding and entering new markets. By addressing and challenging the weakness, I was able to reframe the conversation around my strengths.
You’re now Upwork’s freelance growth manager, what does that entail?
Upwork is the world’s largest freelancing website. We have more than 12 million freelancers from more than 180 countries who have built their professional careers on our site as designers, web developers, writers, even lawyers! As part of Upwork’s Freelancer Growth team, I focus on creating programs that help these talented freelancers build and grow their opportunities.
How did your time at UCR impact your career today?
I got a head start in my career by taking advantage of the student internship opportunities on campus. I worked for the Office of Strategic Communications from my sophomore year until I graduated and learned valuable skills from my colleagues. This gave me a competitive advantage and helped me land my first job after graduation — which was part of the communications team for the Queen of Jordan.
What advice would you give to UCR graduates that are currently on the job search?
Recognize your unique strengths and apply them toward something that has positive impact.
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graphene that contains relatively few impurities and costs less to make, in a shorter time and at lower temperatures compared to the processes widely used to make graphene today.
Lijin Zeng, Ph.D. ’14, was featured in an article entitled “Overcrowding Forces Pheasants to Cooperate in Hawaii” in Science Daily. She and her colleagues discovered that cooperative breeding is the norm among Kalij pheasants in Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park, but not in their native range in Asia.
Charles Cai, Ph.D. ’15, chief technology officer of MG Fuels, was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Energy in 2017. Cai co-founded MG Fuels to commercialize a biofuels process he helped develop at UCR that reduces the amount of enzymes used to break down biomass to make ethanol.
Adam Quaal, M.E. ’16, was selected by the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation as a member of its 2016 cohort of Teaching Fellows. He is the recipient of one of 34 Teaching Fellowships awarded to early career high school mathematics and science teachers for 2016. He is currently teaching at John W. North High School in Riverside.
We Remember
Joseph Frederick Kornder ’60. June 2016.
Brown F. Williams ’62, M.A. ’64, Ph.D. ’66. July 2016.
Laura Lee Appleton ’64. August 2016.
John Chelsea Hackney ’64. June 2016.
Cathy Ann Lennox ’68. October 2016.
Dr. M. Lee Allison ’70. August 2016.
Joseph Patrick MacAfee ’74. August 2016.
Mark Louis Morneweg ’75. July 2016.
Josephine Works Turner, M.A. ’77. July 2016.
Sharon M. Saunders-McManis ’78. September 2016.
Cathleen Marie Konyn ’80. September 2016
William Eric Ermert, M.A. ’83. October 2016.
Walda Welday Gorian ’83. September 2016.
Scott Kendall Morgan ’83. August 2016.
Lori Louise Moore ’84. October 2016.
Patricia Ann MacGregor ’85. October 2016.
Lindley Kean Hicks ’86. September 2016.
Betty Jean Woods ’86. September 2016.
Heather Shane Luthy ’95, M.Ed. ’09. October 2016.
Roxanne Tran Ngo ’16. August 2016
In Memoriam
Robert B. Herschler
Robert B. Herschler, a Renaissance man who sweetened his long tenure as UC Riverside’s registrar and ombudsman with avid lunchtime discussions about Dickens and a lifetime love for piano and jazz, died at home on Nov. 22 at the age of 86.
Herschler started working as UCR’s Registrar in 1961 and also taught history briefly, said Amy Conger, his wife of 30 years. After a few years he settled entirely into administration, running the Registrar’s office until he retired in 1992. Along the way he took on other titles as well, as director of admissions, interim vice chancellor, and campus ombudsman.
“He was just a very positive guy and all the chancellors valued him quite a bit,” said his longtime friend, Judge Charles D. Field. He was prodigiously talented as a jazz pianist and was a co-founder of KUCR’s “Jazz Tuesday” program.
Born on Dec. 29, 1929, in New York City, Herschler earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Stanford University and earned his master’s degree and did doctoral work in Balkan history at UC Berkeley.
He is survived by his wife, Amy, in Riverside; his children Matthew, Mark, and Sarah, all from North Hampton, Massachusetts; and his son Stephen in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rodolfo “Rudy” Ruibal
Professor Emeritus Rodolfo “Rudy” Ruibal, a founding member of UC Riverside’s Department of Biology whose passions included lizards, frogs, and making beautiful jewelry, died Aug. 30 at the age of 88. “He was instrumental in forging the department in the directions and expertise that form its center now,” said Professor Michael Allen, chair of UCR’s biology department.
Ruibal was a native of Cuba who conducted research in several parts of South America with fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He was an early student of temperature regulation in reptiles and amphibians, and was also known for his work with water loss in amphibians and their ability to waterproof their skin by using waxy glandular secretions the animals wipe over themselves.
During Ruibal’s 42 years at UCR, he helped establish the Philip Boyd Desert Research Center and spent a year as the acting director of UC MEXUS, created to stimulate teaching and research between California and Mexico.
Ruibal enrolled in Harvard when he was just 16 years old. He took a break from Harvard at 18 to serve in the military at the tail end of World War II. After he finished his B.A., he enrolled at Columbia University for graduate studies in biology. At 26, Ruibal completed his Ph.D. and accepted a position at the newly established UC Riverside.
He loved tennis, playing into his 80s, and did a lot of reading about history and politics. Ruibal also was a noted local artist. He painted and later branched into candle making, ceramics, and jewelry-making.
Gunnar Hurtig III
Gunnar Hurtig III, director of New Ventures and adjunct professor (lecturer) of business at UC Riverside, died on Nov. 29 after a battle with cancer. An entrepreneur, scientist, and venture capital manager, Hurtig worked as a consultant for the National Security Agency. He also worked for Hitachi and
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several Silicon Valley technology companies. After a successful career in the private sector, Hurtig taught numerous courses including entrepreneurship, ethics, international business, and marketing at UCR starting in 2008.
In 2013, Hurtig was appointed director of New Ventures for UCR’s Office of Research and Economic Development. His role was to assist faculty members by creating business models for inventions, an essential step in attracting investment for new companies. Between 2013 and 2015, the number of startup enterprises increased from one to six. In 2015, Hurtig was appointed chairman of best practices of UCOP’s Working Group on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Hurtig received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Cornell University. He earned his MBA from the Stanford Business School; a master’s degree in astrophysics from the Swinburne University of Technology; and did doctoral work at James Cook University in Australia. He was an adventure seeker, an experienced sailor, scuba diver, photographer, and race car driver.
During his career, he created and sold companies; he was a general partner at Weiss, Peck, and Greer, specializing in high-technology startups; and he sat on the board of over 30 companies.
He is survived by his wife, Teresa, and a son.
Peter Edward Kaus
Peter Edward Kaus, former physics professor at UCR, died on Nov. 6. He was 92.
Born in Vienna in 1924, his family fled Austria, first to Paris, then, via Ellis Island, to Hollywood. Kaus went to UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in physics in 1954.
In 1954 he moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where Kaus worked for RCA Laboratories. His team at RCA designed the deflection yoke for the first commercially successful color TV tube, for which Kaus shares the patent.
In 1963 Kaus and his family moved to Riverside, when he became a physics professor at UCR. He remained at UCR for the next 30 years, teaching and continuing his research in elementary particle physics.
One of the key accomplishments of his life was his contribution to the establishment and success of the Aspen Center for Physics, a premier international institution for research in theoretical physics.
In his retirement, Kaus and his wife, Eva, moved to Prescott, Arizona. He enjoyed watching grandsons Ben and Jake Marker grow up and seeing his daughters enter happy marriages: Toni to Mary Trevor, Niki to Steve Smith, and Andrea to Jim Wood.
H. Frank Way
Professor Emeritus of Political Science H. Frank Way died of cancer peacefully at his home in Pasadena on Dec. 4. He was 87.
Starting in 1957, he taught and researched the constitutional rights of criminal defendants and the religious liberty clause of the First Amendment at UCR for 34 years. He published widely in books, anthologies, and journals.
Way served as the prelaw advisor at UCR for many years and achieved great joy from helping students attain their dream of attending law school. He received the Academic Senate’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 1986. His university service included the positions of divisional dean, associate dean, assistant vice chancellor, and department chair.
Following his retirement in 1991, he did volunteer work at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont for 15 years. He was also a volunteer reading tutor for elementary students in the public schools of Claremont and Pasadena for 20 years.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara; his daughters, Madeline Lee and Deborah Way; his stepson, Michael Burt; his sons-in-law Gregory Lee and Sean Pitonak; and grandchildren Claire Way, Rachel Way, Alexander Lee, Jeffrey Lee, and Michael Burt. His son, David, predeceased him in 1987.
One of the ways the UCR Alumni Association generates the income needed to fund programs that benefit UC Riverside is by engaging in partnerships with carefully selected businesses. Partner candidates compete for the privilege of marketing their services and products to highly desirable UC Riverside students and graduates.
We select these partners based on the quality, value, price and appropriateness of their offerings and their reputation. We hope that you agree that our judgment is sound and you find any partner solicitations useful and relevant. But, even if you do not respond to such offers, you are still helping us simply by allowing us to continue to send these offers to you.
You have the right to control whether we share your name, address and e-mail address with our selected affinity partners (companies that we partner with to offer products or services to our alumni). Please read the following information carefully before you make your choice below. You have the following rights to restrict the sharing of your name, address and e-mail address with our affinity partners. This does not prohibit us from sharing your information when we are required to do so by law. Unless you say “NO,” we may share your name, address and e-mail address with our affinity partners. Our affinity partners may send you offers to purchase various products or services that we may have agreed they can offer in partnership with us.
You may decide at any time that you do not want us to share your information with our affinity partners. If you decide that you do not want to receive information from our partners, you may do one of the following:
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Regardless of the method, be sure to include your name, address, phone number and class year.
Thank you for your continued support.
Your friends at the UCR Alumni Association
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Drugs That Changed the World: How Therapeutic Agents Shaped Our Lives
By Irwin W. Sherman
CRC Press
November 2016, 209 pages
Drugs are used in the diagnosis, alleviation, treatment, prevention, or cure of disease. This is a book about drugs, how they came to be, and how they exert their “magic.” Today we have drugs to protect against infectious diseases, to alleviate aches and pains, to allow new organs to replace the old, and for brain functions to be modified. Yet, for the most part, the manner by which drugs are developed and by whom remains a mystery. Drugs are more than just a pill or liquid and some have markedly altered history. This book follows the diverse origin stories of some of the world’s most influential therapeutic agents.
Sherman is a professor emeritus of biology at UCR.
International Neurology
Edited by Robert Lisak, Daniel Truong, William Carroll, and Roongroj Bhidayasiri Wiley-Blackwell
June 2016, 776 pages
This unique textbook deals with the variations in the causes, presentations, and treatment of neurological disease throughout human populations. “International Neurology” is the first book to take a truly global approach to neurological illness and provides an indispensable guide to the full range of neurological conditions you will see in your ever-changing patient population. It serves as an invaluable guide for physicians to expand their knowledge of different neurological disorders around the world.
Truong is a clinical professor at UCR.
Video Bioinformatics: From Live Imaging to Knowledge
Edited by Bir Bhanu and Prue Talbot Springer
December 2015, 381 pages
The advances of live cell video imaging and high-throughput technologies for functional and chemical genomics provide unprecedented opportunities to understand how biological processes work in subcellular and multicellular systems. The interdisciplinary research field of video bioinformatics is defined as the automated processing, analysis, understanding, and data mining of data and knowledge extracted from dynamic images and microscopic videos. “Video Bioinformatics” attempts to provide a deeper understanding of continuous and dynamic life processes.
Bhanu is a distinguished professor of electrical engineering at UCR. Talbot is a professor of cell biology at UCR.
South Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction Eras: Essays from the Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association
Edited by Michael Brem Bonner, Ph.D. ’06, and Fritz Hamer
University of South Carolina Press
September 2016, 280 pages
“South Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction Eras” is an anthology of the most enduring and important scholarly articles about the Civil War and Reconstruction era published in the peerreviewed journal Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association. This collection of 23 essays from the several hundred published since 1931 completes this treasure trove of scholarship on an impressive variety of subjects including race, politics, military events, and social issues.
Bonner is an assistant professor of history at the University of South Carolina Lancaster.
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C’Space
By Rekha Radhakrishnan
UCR Women’s Golf Coach Mary Ritchie played a lot of sports growing up in the Montreal area. When the days grew shorter and the roads were slick with snow, she went downhill skiing, and played basketball and badminton indoors. In the warmth of spring and summer, she took on soccer, rugby, and field hockey. But it wasn’t until she was 14 that Ritchie picked up a golf club, and after playing nine holes, she was smitten. “I’m a hands-on kind of person, and from the first time I played golf I felt an instant connection to the sport. There are so many different things you have to get right to pull off a good shot, and I embraced the challenge early on.”
After high school, Ritchie was recruited by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she found herself on a team that had five coaches in four years. Receiving significant guidance was a challenge, but Ritchie believes it fully shaped the kind of player and coach she became. “I’m a voracious learner, and in college I was eager to improve my mental game the most. Because of the revolving door of coaches I had in college, I became a sponge, picking up information from different sources, and putting it together myself.”
Immediately after graduating, Ritchie began her collegiate coaching career at UAB. There for three years, she then set her sights on playing professionally on the Canadian Tour, and the LPGA Futures Golf Tour while attempting to qualify for the LPGA Tour. Though she enjoyed the experience of competing as a professional, she found herself drawn more to teaching and coaching, so she became a member of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Division. Her other projects were always connected to golf; she was a photographer on the LPGA Tour, a tech expert, and seminar presenter on incorporating technology in golf coaching and player development. Her interest in coaching remained a captivating force. While she was the director of instruction at Moreno Valley Ranch Golf Club, one of the courses used by the UCR golf teams, a friend and UCR employee approached her about the opening for head coach of the women’s golf team. Ritchie was intrigued expert, and seminar presenter on incorporating technology in golf coaching and player development. Her interest in coaching remained a captivating force.
While she was the director of instruction at Moreno Valley Ranch Golf Club, one of the courses used by the UCR golf teams, a friend and UCR employee approached her about the opening for head coach of the women’s golf team. Ritchie was intrigued and decided to interview. And so in July 2014 she became the first full-time women’s golf coach in the 14-year history of the program. After meeting her student-athletes, she began to crunch the numbers on what it would take to improve the team’s national ranking.
Once the school year started, Ritchie realized that each player’s needs were unique, and that her role was to tailor the program to make sure each player could improve her competitive strategy and scoring. And it worked. In her first year, Ritchie took the team from 128th in the country to 76th. The team won three tournaments and had a player advance to the NCAA Regional tournament (a first for the team). Major accomplishments followed. The team set new scoring records, and added an additional three team titles in the 2015-16 season, including the Big West Conference Championship. They also advanced as a team to NCAA postseason competition. Ritchie believes the team is raising the bar every year, and she anticipates more records will be broken. On an early October morning, Ritchie picked up the phone to hear LPGA National President Deb Vangellow tell her that she had won the 2016 LPGA National Coach of the Year Award. She was elated. “To be selected from a group of people who are on the cutting edge of the golf profession is an enormous honor. Particularly given the year we had here at UCR — it’s a great feeling of momentum.”
Working with student athletes has become the cornerstone of Ritchie’s life, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “The women I work with are coming into who they are [while] I’m coaching them. Golf is a microcosm for life, so it’s amazing to see how much my players bring to their game each and every day as they grow and change. It’s a real privilege and honor to be part of such a special time in their lives.”
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Health — Sustainability — Policy — Technology
Real World Solutions
Reversing Multiple Sclerosis: By identifying a drug compound that may potentially halt or reverse the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, UCR biomedical scientist Seema Tiwari-Woodruff’s findings hold hope for the 2.3 million people worldwide affected by MS.
www.universityinnovationalliance.org
Explore more health impacts: promise.ucr.edu
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