News & Events
Constitution Day 2016
March 28, 2024
Student Resources
March 28, 2024
Championing inclusion: Nancy Kim’s leadership in UCSC’s resource centers
March 27, 2024
Nancy Kim graduated from UCSC in 1994, became the university’s founding Director of the Asian American/Pacific Islander Resource Center, and currently serves as the Executive Director of Resource Centers.
UC Santa Cruz joins consortium advancing Earth system science programs
March 27, 2024
UC Santa Cruz has joined a nonprofit consortium of 126 North American colleges and universities focused on research and training in Earth system science.
STEM Diversity Programs grows team to support graduate student success
March 26, 2024
STEM Diversity Programs welcomes two new team members, including a graduate advisor and program coordinator.
Diana Hernandez: From Hartnell College to UC Santa Cruz
March 20, 2024
Meet Diana Hernandez, a student parent who transferred to UC Santa Cruz from Hartnell College. Diana is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in literature, psychology, and Latin American and Latino Studies. In this Q&A, she discusses how she balances academics and parenting while staying involved in research and the Student Parent Organization on campus.
Shaping tomorrow: Earth Futures Institute’s Frontier Fellows program amplifies student-led innovation
March 15, 2024
UCSC’s Earth Futures Institute's Frontier Fellows Program, wrapping up its second year, supported six undergraduate students engaging in groundbreaking interdisciplinary research aimed at improving the planet's future. The program is made possible through the generosity of multiple donors.
Frontier Fellows Program propels student's research, paving the way for sustainable solutions to carbon emissions
March 15, 2024
UCSC student Jennifer Valadez spearheads pioneering research on carbon sequestration in California coastal prairies, exploring the crucial role of restoration in recovering soil carbon stocks with the help of the Frontier Fellows Program.
Balancing carbon sequestration and community benefits
March 15, 2024
UCSC student Cole Seither addresses the delicate balance between agroforestry, carbon sequestration, and community benefits in combating climate change. His research is supported by the Earth Futures Institute’s Frontier Fellows program.
Equity, civic-mindedness drive UC Santa Cruz’s Global and Community Health Program
March 14, 2024
Many of UC Santa Cruz’s core values are embodied in the Global and Community Health Program, which draws students who seek to study real-world problems encountered locally and worldwide, preparing them for a career in health care, policy, research or advocacy.
Deep Read 2024 gears up
March 13, 2024
With book giveaways, email explorations, salons, community conversations, and more, The Humanities Institute is preparing an immersive experience with its latest Deep Read selection, the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning novel Trust.
UCSC Alumna Carolina Ixta debuts first novel
March 13, 2024
UCSC alumna Carolina Ixta debuts her powerful novel, Shut Up, This Is Serious: a coming-of-age story following two Latina teens in East Oakland.
Industrial fishing poses greater risk to marine life due to untracked activity, UC Santa Cruz researchers find
March 8, 2024
A new study led by a scientist at UC Santa Cruz's Institute of Marine Sciences finds that blue whales, tunas, and other top predators in the northeast Pacific Ocean face greater risk of harm from industrial fishing than previously thought.
Scientists find unexpected proteins in bacteria motors
March 8, 2024
A team of scientists, co-led by Karen Ottemann, a professor of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, recently found three unexpected proteins while studying the motors that power the flagella of a species called Helicobacter pylori. The proteins, which are normally found in another type of appendage on a separate group of bacteria, seem to exert control over the motion of the flagella. These proteins, known as PilN, PilO, and PilM, had never been found associated with a flagella before.
Center for Coastal Climate Resilience signs 4-year, $2.75 million agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for work on nature-based solutions
March 4, 2024
Coastal communities face escalating risks from climate change, natural disasters, and the loss of coastal habitats, such as salt marshes, mangroves, and coral reefs, and the outlook is particularly dire for many of our most vulnerable communities. In response to these pressing issues, the UC Santa Cruz Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering With Nature program recently signed a 4-year, $2.75 million cooperative agreement. They aim to address these challenges with equitable, nature-based solutions.
Dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu launches her new book: "The Movies of Racial Childhoods"
February 29, 2024
To celebrate, Shimizu will be hosting a book launch on the University of California, Santa Cruz Campus at the Sesnon Gallery, where the book will be available for purchase from Two Birds Books. The book will be discussed in conversation with Shimizu and the Sesnon Gallery director Valeria Miranda.
Planned gift bolsters Año Nuevo's perpetual impact
February 26, 2024
Año Nuevo is part of the University of California Natural Reserves System and one of the five reserves overseen by UC Santa Cruz. John Fox is including UC Santa Cruz in his estate plans to benefit the reserve far into the future.
Two History of Consciousness professors named to lead prestigious political journal
February 26, 2024
University of California, Santa Cruz History of Consciousness Professors Banu Bargu and Massimiliano Tomba have been named co-editors of the influential scholarly journal Political Theory.
The UCSC Music Department presents "The World Making Aura of Sonic Blackness" with Moor Mother & James Gordon Williams
February 26, 2024
On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, the University of California, Santa Cruz Music Department presents a very special performance by guest artist Moor Mother (Camae Ayewa) and James Gordon Williams, assistant professor of music composition at UC Santa Cruz in the Recital Hall of the Music Center.
The Center for Creative Ecologies presents "Nuclear Nows: Contemporary Art, Radiation, and Militarized Ecologies”
February 26, 2024
This two-part symposium is the work of Zoe Weldon-Yochim, a Ph.D. Candidate in Visual Studies, in collaboration with T.J. Demos, Professor in the Department of the History of Art and Visual Culture and Director of the Center for Creative Ecologies, and will discuss the intersection of contemporary art, militarized ecologies, and nuclear nationalism.
Scientists begin to crack open climate-change riddles hiding in ancient coral
February 23, 2024
An international team of researchers on an expedition co-led by UC Santa Cruz Professor Christina Ravelo collected cores of fossil coral off the coast of Hawai'i to look for signs of climate and sea-level change over the past half million years.
Closer water monitoring needed as wildfires increase
February 23, 2024
UC Santa Cruz researchers warn that wildfires can change the chemistry of nearby streams that people and wildlife depend on for drinking water. But they found that the baseline water-chemistry data needed to detect such changes aren’t always available.
Two UC Santa Cruz scientists named 2024 Sloan Research Fellows
February 20, 2024
Assistant Professors Roxanne Beltran and Jacqueline Kimmey have been awarded Sloan Research Fellowships, one of the most prestigious honors bestowed on early-career scientists, each receiving $75,000 to delve into new areas of research in their respective fields of marine ecology and microbiology.
Chemists use peptides from Alzheimer’s and Type II diabetes to describe five new rippled beta-sheets
February 20, 2024
Scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz, synthesized peptides from proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and Type II Diabetes and described five new rippled beta-sheet structures.
Alumna and award-winning author empowers the next generation
February 14, 2024
Renowned author and UCSC alumna Reyna Grande, recipient of multiple literary awards, traces her extraordinary journey to becoming a bestseller. Grande, now giving back to her alma mater through the Reyna Grande Scholarship, hopes to inspire Latinx students to pursue creative projects and amplify their cultural heritage.
Student Gabriella Goss wins $500 Alumni Leadership Award from Ecology Project International
February 14, 2024
Her project draws inspiration from her Ecology Project International (EPI) course experience in the Galapagos Islands, where she witnessed the thriving wildlife in an ecosystem largely spared from human interference. This prompted her to explore the negative impact of human activities on animal habitats, specifically focusing on the millions of animals killed annually by vehicles.
Distinguished Emerita Professor Angela Davis receives the Ada Louise Huxtable Prize for her contributions to architecture
February 13, 2024
University of California, Santa Cruz Distinguished Professor Emerita Angela Davis has been honored with the Ada Louise Huxtable Prize for her influence on architectural culture.
UC Santa Cruz Physicist Joel Primack wins 2024 AAAS Abelson Prize
February 13, 2024
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has awarded the prestigious 2024 Philip Hauge Abelson Prize to Joel R. Primack, distinguished professor of physics emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz and a key architect of the Cold Dark Matter theory.
In Memoriam: Frank Andrews, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
February 13, 2024
With enormous gratitude, we celebrate the life of UC Santa Cruz Professor Emeritus Frank Andrews, who died of cancer on January 31, 2024, at age 91.
Undergraduate Public Fellows Program connects humanities studies with real-world impact
February 6, 2024
The Humanities Institute's Public Fellows Program offers a mutually enriching opportunity for students to bring the humanities skills and knowledge they acquire in their university courses to diverse roles at non-profit organizations, museums, cultural institutions, and publishing venues.
Crafting smiles and setting records on the track: An alumnus’s unique dual-pursuit
January 31, 2024
Alumnus Leo Merle is juggling two major life goals: graduate from the University of Michigan with a doctorate in dentistry, and be the first American with cerebral palsy to run the 1,500 meter race in less than four minutes at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Music Professor Russell Rodriguez wins the Américo Paredes Prize
January 30, 2024
The American Folklore Society awarded UC Santa Cruz professor Russell Rodriguez the annual Paredes prize in recognition of his work in the arts with the local community and his contributions to folklore and tradition.
Coastal Science & Policy Program celebrates five years at UC Santa Cruz
January 25, 2024
Coastal Science and Policy Program Director Anne Kapuscinski reflects on the last five years and looks ahead to the future.
National Endowment for the Humanities gives $60,000 award to two UCSC faculty members
January 24, 2024
The National Endowment for the Humanities included two UC Santa Cruz professors in their most recent round of grants and awards. Drs. Jennifer Derr and Stacy Kamehiro are using their newly awarded funding to continue in the projects that focus on diverse groups and global impacts.
Institute of Arts and Sciences announces new interdisciplinary initiative on climate change
January 24, 2024
A new multi-year initiative will bring together arts and science to start a conversation about marine biology and the effects of climate change. The new exhibit is set to premier in 2025, and the project is already in progress as the Friedlaender lab collaborates with nationally recognized artists.
Duke University Press publishes Arts Dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu’s new book: The Movies of Racial Childhoods
January 22, 2024
UC Santa Cruz’s Dean of the Arts Division, award-winning filmmaker and author publishes her fourth sole-written book, exploring contemporary representations of Asian American youth.
Terrie Williams honored with 2024 National Academy of Sciences Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal
January 22, 2024
The National Academy of Sciences will honor 20 individuals with awards recognizing their extraordinary scientific achievements in a wide range of fields spanning the physical, biological, social, and medical sciences. Among the esteemed awardees is Terrie M. Williams, a comparative ecophysiologist from the University of California, Santa Cruz, who will be honored with the 2024 NAS Award in the Evolution of Earth and Life - Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal.
Students search for hidden black hole activity
January 18, 2024
When stars get too close to the supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, the black holes shred them apart in a process called a tidal disruption event (TDE). These TDEs cause bright flashes, but recent models suggest that scientists should see more of them than have been observed.
UC Santa Cruz will lead development of next-generation telescope alignment system
January 18, 2024
The National Science Foundation recently awarded $3.9 million to researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz as the lead institution for the development of a next-gen telescope alignment system. The researchers will work with an international team to build and test systems in Santa Cruz and eventually install the final designs in seven telescopes at three ground-based observatory sites around the world.
UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience partnering with EY on Open Science Data Challenge on Coastal Resilience for students
January 18, 2024
Climate change is here, and so are its impacts on our communities. Globally, coastal hazards produce increasing costs, often to the most vulnerable populations. That’s why UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR) and the University of California Disaster Resilience Network (UCDRN) are partnering with EY on its 2024 Open Science Data Challenge, focused on coastal resilience. CCCR will be hosting an event on campus on Jan. 25 for interested undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty to learn more about this significant opportunity.
STEM Education Central Coast Conference connects teachers with each other and a wealth of local resources
January 17, 2024
UC Santa Cruz faculty and staff helped to organize an upcoming conference that will share strategies for student success in STEM and connect teachers from 11 local school districts and offices of education with more than 20 local organizations to exchange ideas on region-specific science topics to engage students.
Training program helps prevent harassment in fieldwork environments
January 11, 2024
Fieldwork often puts researchers and students in remote environments that have unique challenges. The unusual setting of fieldwork can make sexual harassment and assault more likely, and it also calls for distinct approaches to prevent and respond to it. To address this systemic problem, University of Santa Cruz scientists developed a sexual harassment prevention and awareness training program specifically tailored to fieldwork environments.
Finding her voice: Farnaz Fatemi's poetry explores language, borders and selfhood with an emphasis on her Iranian American identity
January 9, 2024
Farnaz Fatemi (Porter ’91, American studies), UCSC alumna, Lecturer in Writing, and Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate for 2023 and 2024, talks about embracing her identity, her career at UCSC, and her current work as poet laureate.
Art and History of Consciousness Professor Sir Isaac Julien honored in 2023 ArtReview’s Power 100 list
December 12, 2023
ArtReview, one of the world’s leading contemporary art magazines, has named University of California, Santa Cruz Arts and Humanities Professor Sir Isaac Julien as the fifth most influential artist in its ArtReview Power 100 list, and prominently mentioned UCSC Anthropology Professor Anna Tsing and Professor Emerita in the History of consciousness and Feminist Studies departments Donna Haraway.
A new 66 million-year history of carbon dioxide offers little comfort for today
December 8, 2023
A massive new review of ancient atmospheric carbon-dioxide levels and corresponding temperatures lays out a daunting picture of where the Earth’s climate may be headed.
Teri Greeves, Oakes '95
January 25, 2016
Craft becomes art for celebrated Kiowa artist and alumna
Lasting friendship, enduring inspiration: J. Herman Blake and Don Rothman move crowd at forum
April 30, 2012
Blake, founding provost of Oakes College, and Rothman, emeritus writing lecturer, spoke of interdisciplinary learning, empathy and the value of listening
Lasting friendship, enduring inspiration: J. Herman Blake and Don Rothman move crowd at forum
April 30, 2012
Blake, founding provost of Oakes College, and Rothman, emeritus writing lecturer, spoke of interdisciplinary learning, empathy and the value of listening