New campus labor center; Dennin Insights

March 21, 2023

Two ducks ponder a fountain of opportunities. (Photo: Dennis Melka)

UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS

UCI Labor Center opens on campus

UCI has opened a new campus center that aims to provide timely and policy-relevant labor research to educate the next generation of labor and community leaders and advance labor and workers’ rights initiatives. The center will be run by Virginia Parks, professor of urban planning and public policy; Walter Nicholls, professor and chair of urban planning and public policy; and Sameer Ashar, clinical professor of law and director of UCI’s Workers, Law and Organizing Clinic (pictured above, from left). The center builds upon previous campus efforts to investigate low-wage worker sectors in Orange County. UCI’s Schools of Social Ecology and Law are partnering to oversee the center, which aims to boost the power of working people in Orange County and beyond by promoting, defending and expanding workers’ rights.

Conversations with S. Ama Wray, professor of dance and creator of Embodiology

In the latest Dennin Insights post, Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning Michael Dennin speaks with Professor S. Ama Wray about how instructors can design courses that offer students the flexibility to explore and forge their own pathways to success while also creating a system in which they can fairly and accurately assess their mastery of course concepts and materials. As a professor of dance and creator of Embodiology–tune in to find out what this is!–Wray discusses what this balance looks like in dance courses where artistic creativity and expression are part of student grades.

UC NEWS

Celebrating the University of California’s 155th birthday

The University of California began on March 23, 1868, when Gov. Henry Haight signed the Organic Act, setting in motion the audacious idea that California should have a great public university — one that would serve equally the children of immigrants and settlers, landowners and industrial barons. UC opened its doors a year later, with 40 students and 10 faculty. In keeping with egalitarian ideals, UC Regents in 1870 decreed that women would be admitted on the same basis as men — a step many Ivy League colleges did not take for nearly a century. Today, UC has more than 1.8 million living alumni. It’s also been a wellspring for many of the bold ideas that have helped make the Golden State what it is today.

EVENTS

#SpeechMatters 2023: Fighting for our Democratic Freedoms
Thursday, 9 a.m. (sponsored by Free Speech Center)

University of California, Irvine - GuidanceResources Program Orientation for Supervisors
Thursday, noon (sponsored by HR Wellness)

CLEANR & Newkirk Center for Science and Society Speaker Series: Caroline Farrell
Thursday, noon (sponsored by UCI Law)

Women in Technology Inclusive Networking
Thursday, noon (sponsored by Office of Information Technology Student & Academic Services)

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.

#UCICONNECTED

Celebrating HERstory

In honor of Women’s History Month, UCI is celebrating some of the women in the School of Biological Sciences who are passionate about transforming the world around them. They represent the biologists of tomorrow, the scientists propelling research and making STEM more inclusive, and those who work behind the scenes to ensure the School runs smoothly.

#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.

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.

Is tap water safe to drink? Here’s what you really need to know.

National Geographic, March 20
Cited: Maura Allaire, assistant professor of water economics and policy

Smaller banks keep a close watch over their liquidity

Marketplace, March 20
Cited: Mehrsa Baradaran, professor of law

Floods have devastated parts of California. Here’s why they’re so hard to forecast

San Francisco Chronicle, March 21
Cited: Brett Sanders, professor of civil and environmental engineering

COVID-19 NOTIFICATION & HEALTH RESOURCES

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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

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

Employee Experience Center – employee information on COVID benefits

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