Aug. 18, 2025

SPOP students learn about student life at UC Irvine, including campus-wide events and activities. (Photo by Steve Zylius/UC Irvine)

UC IRVINE NEWS

Evacuation ‘stair chairs’

Together, Randy Styner, director of emergency management, and Andrew Berk, Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator, rewrote the university’s emergency operations plan to incorporate accessibility into all levels of planning – and in June of this year, 282 Stryker stair chairs were installed in 56 academic and administrative buildings on campus. The chairs provide assistance and greater accessibility during a building evacuation. Stored in bright green, wall-mounted steel cabinets, the chairs are available in the stairwells of every multilevel building. All employees and students are encouraged to learn how to use these chairs through a two-part training offered by request and via drop-in hours. The next drop-in training will take place with emergency management in September, after the new quarter begins.

2025 White Coat Ceremony

The School of Medicine welcomed the newest generation of physicians at the 2025 White Coat Ceremony, where the incoming Class of 2029 donned their physician’s white coats for the first time. The 114 new students were selected from a pool of over 7,000 applicants. “You will help guide us to the new generation of healthcare and the achievement of a society where healthcare is perceived as a right, available to all,” said Dean Michael J. Stamos.

UCI Health Van Cave

UCI Health has announced the launch of the Van Cave, the first mobile prostate cancer screening unit of its kind. The innovative vehicle will expand access to life-saving screenings and help transform men’s health across Orange County.

UC NEWS

SpeechMatters Podcast: Civic Engagement Scholars Program

In this episode of the SpeechMatters Podcast, guest host Melanie Ziment explores the impact of the Civic Engagement Scholars Program – a course created and taught by UC Santa Barbara VOICE recipients Katya Armistead and Viviana Marsano. Ziment talks with them and their students about civic engagement education and how the course is inspiring the next generation of citizens to be active participants in their communities.

UCPath direct deposit security

Starting Aug. 24, UCPath is upgrading direct deposit security measures to further protect financial data. This updated authentication process makes it more difficult for hackers to bypass security measures. Visit the UCPath website to view or update direct deposit information.

#IamUCI

Beyond the data

UC Irvine language science and data science double-major Ky-Vinh Mai’s path reflects his commitment to exploring big questions – ones that don’t always fit neatly into a single discipline. From his early interests in artificial intelligence to his research at the intersection of linguistics and machine learning, Mai’s academic career has been anything but conventional. He points out that biases in AI systems can reinforce inequalities and that researchers need to think critically about diversity and representation in their work. He credits the language science department with helping him develop this perspective.

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UC IRVINE NEWSMAKERS

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