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Feb. 15, 2023

A raven finds a snack outside a window at the Biological Sciences III building
A raven finds a snack outside a window at the Biological Sciences III building. Photo by Steve Zylius/UCI

UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS

UCI scientist weighs in on “Doomsday Glacier” video

Antarctica’s Thwaites ice shelf is nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier because of its massive melt and sea rise potential. Thanks to a slender underwater robot, scientists recently saw what Thwaites looks like from below. Using a 13-foot pencil-shaped robot to probe under the grounding line where ice juts out over the ocean, scientists saw a shimmery critical point in the fracturing glacier. Eric Rignot, a UCI Chancellor’s professor of earth system science, told the Associated Press that “the key to seeing exactly how bad conditions are on the glacier would require going to the main trunk and looking at the melting from below. But that would require a helicopter to land on the ice instead of a heavier airplane and would be incredibly difficult.”

Video highlights African American Art Song Alliance conference

Last October, UCI’s Department of Music hosted the 25th anniversary African American Art Song Alliance conference. The four-day event took place at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts and was presented by the African American Art Song Alliance, an advocacy organization representing Black composers of Western classical art songs. It was the fourth consecutive African American Art Song Alliance conference to be held at UCI, where it has taken place every five years since being founded here by Darryl Taylor, UCI professor of music, one of the most widely recorded performers of art song. In recognition of Black History Month, Steve Chang, senior videographer in the Office of Strategic Communications & Public Affairs created this video celebrating the conference and its influence on 20th century American music. Enjoy.

Black History Month graphic

UCI Libraries Celebrates Black History Month

In honor of Black History Month, UCI Libraries have gathered a list of resources and materials that highlight the history, heritage, art, and scholarship of Black Americans. From books, films, and music to research and news archives, the materials aim to spark discussions about race and representation around campus and within our community. Unless otherwise noted, these materials are open to the public and available at no cost throughout the year as part of UCI Libraries’ ongoing effort to share resources that highlight Black history and culture. Visit the library’s dedicated resource page for more information.

UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS

California population continues to decline

According to a story in today’s Los Angeles Times, California’s population dropped by more than 500,000 people between April 2020 and July 2022. The decrease was second only to that of New York, which lost about 15,000 more people than California, per census data. The top reasons behind this decline are the COVID-19 pandemic, high housing costs, complaints about urban living (chiefly traffic and crime) and the increased ability to work remotely.

EVENTS

UCI SSIHI Culinary Health: Herbs for Reflux Relief with Sanaz Demehry, MS, PA-C
Friday, 12 p.m. (sponsored by UCI Health)

Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.

UCI IN THE NEWS

Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register and The Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.
Judy Baladi, third-year student at UCI School of Law, cited in the Orange County Register

Opinion: After devastating earthquake, it’s time to reconsider Syria sanctions

The Orange County Register (opinion), Feb. 14
Author: Judy Baladi, third-year student at UCI School of Law

Wang Feng, professor of sociology, cited in the Wall Street Journal

Single Mothers in China Face Fewer Hurdles as Beijing Tries to Boost Births

The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 15
Cited: Wang Feng, professor of sociology

Jan Hirsch, founding dean of the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and professor of clinical pharmacy, cited in Pharmacy Times

Pharmacists in Nontraditional Roles Are Not Included in Bureau of Labor Statistics Count of Working Pharmacists

Pharmacy Times, Feb. 14
Cited: Jan Hirsch, founding dean of the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and professor of clinical pharmacy

#UCICONNECTED

UC Irvine tweets photo of staff volunteering at Second Harvest Food Back of OC.

#UCIrvine tweets: A special #ValentinesDay thank you to UCI staff for sharing a little love with the community at Second Harvest Food Bank of OC. The volunteers processed over 5,600 pounds of apples and oranges, creating 200 crates of tasty, nutritious fare for those in need. @SHFBOC #WeFeedOC #UCIPride

#UCIconnected spotlights student, alumni, faculty and staff photos, essays, shoutouts, hobbies, artwork, unusual office decorations, activities and more. Send submissions via email or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.

COVID-19 NOTIFICATION & HEALTH RESOURCES

Upload your vaccine and booster records

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Daily COVID-19 Symptom check

By coming to campus each day, students and employees are attesting they are free of COVID-19 symptoms and are not COVID-19 positive. If you currently have symptoms of COVID-19 or recently tested positive, do not come to campus, or if you currently live on campus stay in your residence, and follow instructions for reporting your case or assessing symptoms on the UCI Forward page. Close contacts to a COVID-19 case are not required to stay home or quarantine, but should follow guidance for close contact instructions for masking and testing on the UCI Forward page.

Potential workplace exposure

UCI provides this notification of a potential workplace COVID-19 exposure. Employees and subcontractors who were in these locations on the dates listed may have been exposed to the coronavirus. You may be entitled to various benefits under applicable federal and state laws and University-specific policies and agreements. The full notification is available on the UCI Forward site. If you have been identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 case, the UCI Contact Tracing Program will contact you and provide additional direction.

UCI Forward – information on campus status and operational updates

UCI Health COVID-19 Updates – important information related to UCI Health

UCI Coronavirus Response Center – available at covid19@uci.edu or 949-824-9918

Contact Tracing and Vaccine Navigation Services – assistance with vaccines and vaccine uploads or to report a case, available at contacttracing@uci.edu or 949-824-2300

For questions specific to your personal health situation, please contact your doctor or healthcare provider.

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Office of Strategic Communications & Public Affairs
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697