Tag Archives: UCR

UC Riverside Named as a ‘Next Generation University’

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Proving once again that Riverside is a catalyst for innovation, fueling the intelligent growth of the region, it was announced earlier this month that the University of California, Riverside is among six institutions hailed in a national study by the New America Foundation as a “Next Generation University” for success in enhancing student outcomes and maintaining robust research profiles despite economic pressures.

Photo by Carlos Puma; source: UCR Today.

Chosen for inclusion based on a statistical analysis of student outcomes, research productivity, and enrollment trends from the foundation, were: Arizona State University, Georgia State University, The University at Buffalo [SUNY], University of Texas at Arlington, University of Central Florida, and UC Riverside.

The study findings were revealed at the New America Foundation headquarters on Tuesday, May 21, during a daylong session that included panel discussions with higher education leaders.

“The current environment creates extreme pressures in higher education, and we want to hold up as examples universities that are embracing business efficiencies and creating clear and accelerated pathways for students,” said Jamie Merisotis, President and CEO, Lumina Foundation, one of the funders of the project.

According to Jeff Selingo, editor-at-large for the Chronicle of Higher Education, the project is meant to provide “a new playbook” for other public universities to consider, and provides information that can be used by policy-makers at the state and federal levels in discussion about the re-authorization of the Higher Education Act.

UC Riverside’s Interim Chancellor, Jane Close Conoley, was scheduled to speak on two panels during the event, one on the future of higher education; another about strategies for student success.

“Our faculty and staff own this,” Conoley said. “They are inspired by our first generation students.”

Specific campus programs that are working for students at UC Riverside include first-year learning communities, specific monitoring and academic support for students who are in danger of failing, and partnerships with the K–12 system and community colleges that create a pipeline for student success – and demonstrate the innovation in learning that Riversiders are collaboratively working to achieve in this location of choice.

Click here to read the full press release as published on UCR Today.

Student Volunteers Help Keep Free Clinic Open

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(Includes excerpts from the PE article written by Mark Muckenfuss)

At the UC Riverside Student-Run Health Clinic – a free clinic held every other Wednesday at the First Congregational Church in downtown Riverside - residents not able to afford traditional healthcare services are offered check-ups and chronic disease management. The undergraduate volunteers observe or perform administrative tasks. Local physician volunteers serve as advisers, either approving or modifying the treatments proposed by the students.

Students receive a briefing at the UC Student-Run Health Clinic. Photo by Stan Lim, PE staff.

Students receive a briefing at the UCR Student-Run Health Clinic. Photo by Stan Lim, PE staff.

Most medical schools are connected with student-run clinics, but UCR’s, which started in 2004, is larger and provides more types of care than most, according to the doctors who oversee it.  Currently, the student volunteers are first and second year undergraduates enrolled in UCR’s Haider Program, a cooperative venture with UCLA in which spend their final two years of study at UCLA.

When UCR’s new medical school opens this fall, it will increase the potential pool of student volunteers and those involved expect it to expand.

Dr. Paul Lyons, senior associate dean of education for UCR’s School of Medicine, is one of the physicians overseeing the clinic.

“We take care of a variety of acute complaints such as sinus infection, or a cold or if they have belly pain,” Lyons said. “We do not have access to any radiology but we do have access to labs. The second big category (is) the management of chronic disease such as diabetes and high blood pressure. At least half of our visits are for management of chronic disease.”

The clinic grew out of a food assistance program that has been operating at First Congregational Church for nearly 30 years. Richard Wing, a former UCR chemistry professor, said many of that program’s volunteers were medical students. He and his wife, Donna, a registered nurse, thought it would be a good idea if the students could volunteer at something more in line with what they were studying.

They started on a shoestring with a couple of volunteer physicians overseeing the clinic. Now, about 50 medical students and an equal number of undergrads staff the clinic, along with 10 volunteer doctors. Only a portion of those staff the clinic on any given night, seeing between 50 and 60 patients. A modest annual budget of $15,000 to $20,000 covers equipment and supplies, Wing said. Most of that money comes from grants from local and national health foundations.

In the past few years the clinic has added a pharmacy, operated mostly by volunteer students from Loma Linda University Medical School, and dental care, provided by volunteer dental students from Pomona’s Western University.

UCR’s Lyons, who established a student-run clinic during the time he was at Temple University, said the Riverside clinic is more extensive than most.

“This is a pretty large and ambitious program,” he said. “This is not just health screening. It’s not just a health fair. It’s run through the summer and over most breaks. Really, it only takes a week off over the winter holiday break.”

With the opening of UCR’s School of Medicine this fall, Lyons and others expect the clinic may grow. There is even discussion about finding larger, more quarters in or near the downtown area.

Exemplifying Riverside’s innovative approach to improving the common good of the community, the UC Riverside Student-Run health clinic creates opportunities for its undergraduate students and local doctors to connect with and improve the lives of Riversiders that may not otherwise have these healthcare choices.

To read the full article written by Mark Muckenfuss and published on PE.com, click here.

UC Riverside Research Holds Promise in Battling Kidney Cancer

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As a catalyst for innovation, Riverside celebrates the many discoveries and continuing research of its colleges and universities.  One of the most recent accomplishments that is likely to have a global impact came from chemists at UCR who developed a compound that holds much promise in the laboratory in fighting renal (kidney) cancer.

Michael Pirrung is a distinguished professor of chemistry at UC Riverside. (Photo by I. Pittawala; source: UCR Today)

Michael Pirrung is a distinguished professor of chemistry at UC Riverside. (Photo by I. Pittawala; source: UCR Today)

On February 19, UCR Today reported that Michael Pirrung, a distinguished professor of chemistry at UC Riverside, announced the development of TIR-199 in a lecture he gave that same day at the 5th International Conference on Drug Discovery and Therapy, held in Dubai, UAE. The TIR-199 compound targets the “proteasome,” a cellular complex in kidney cancer cells, and operates like the garbage dump of a cell by breaking down proteins.

The TIR-199 research project at UC Riverside began about four years ago after a multidisciplinary, international team reported on a class of compounds that act on the proteasome. Encouraged by early results, Pirrung submitted TIR-199 samples to the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, where the compound was subjected to a rigorous 60-cell screening used routinely to test compounds for their effectiveness in battling 60 kinds of cancer, including leukemia, lung, colon, brain, breast, ovarian prostate and renal cancers.

“We were very excited when the NCI informed us that TIR-199 has excellent potential to be moved to drug development because of its selective activity against renal cancer,” Pirrung said. “This is good news also because the NCI scientists told us there really are no good drugs out there to fight renal cancer.”

The UCR Office of Technology Commercialization has filed a patent application on TIR-199 and is currently seeking partners in industry interested in developing the compound commercially. Several biotechnology companies have already shown interest.

For more information on the TIR-199 compound and the research/commercialization project, read the full article as published by UCR Today.

Tohoku University Center at UC Riverside Creates Opportunities for Sister Cities Sendai and Riverside

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(Includes excerpts from the article published in the Press-Enterprise written by Mark Muckenfuss)

On February 11, 2013 UCR and Riverside officials hosted representatives of the Japanese university to officially mark the establishment of the new UC Riverside Tohoku University Center, which will act as a funnel for Tohoku students wanting to study here. It also will assist UCR students who want to travel in the other direction.

Visiting Japanese college student Yuri Teraoka, 20, from Tohoku University in Sendai, collects prickly pear cactus cuttings with a classmate from a cactus farm at the El Sobrante Landfill in Corona for re-planting elsewhere on the property. (photo by David Bauman, PE staff photographer; source: PE.com)

Visiting Japanese college student Yuri Teraoka, 20, from Tohoku University in Sendai, collects prickly pear cactus cuttings with a classmate from a cactus farm at the El Sobrante Landfill in Corona for re-planting elsewhere on the property. (photo by David Bauman, PE staff photographer; source: PE.com)

Tohoku University is in Sendai, which has been a sister city to Riverside for more than 50 years. It is one of Japan’s largest universities with 10 separate colleges and nearly 20,000 students. UCR has slightly more than 21,000 students.

Officials said the new center will further strengthen the connection between the two cities, a relationship that escalated a notch two years ago when Riverside reached out in support following a large earthquake and tsunami that destroyed much of the Sendai region.

The two universities began talking about expanding their cooperative program three years ago. And last year, the Japanese government awarded Tohoku University a $10 million grant to increase international study over the next five years. Tohoku will be sending its international study students exclusively to UCR.

“This is one of a kind,” said Bronwyn Jenkins-Deas, director of International Education Programs for UCR Extension.

What makes it different, she said, is the effort to connect the exchange students’ projects beyond the campus, such as the ecological work at the El Sobrante Landfill.

“Both of us are going to work really hard to get the students into the community,” Jenkins-Deas said of the two universities.

Beyond the environmental projects, the current crop of students will be assigned to alternative energy and engineering work beyond the campus boundaries. Jenkins-Deas foresees assignments with city government, local schools and museums.

“I see at least 70 new projects that could come as a result of this,” she said. “Every time we contact someone, about five more ideas come out of things we can do in the future. It just builds, and it’s a tremendous opportunity.”

Creating opportunities for students and the community through the relationships and collaborations with our international sister cities demonstrates Riverside’s commitment to intelligently growing the economy through inventive and multi-disciplinary approaches.

Read the full article as published in the Press-Enterprise.

UC Riverside Nanotechnologists Help Launch New National Center Devoted to Microelectronics

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(As reported and published by UCR Today on January 17, 2013)

Three University of California, Riverside scientists and engineers are members of a new national research center — the Center for Spintronic Materials, Interfaces, and Novel Architectures (C-SPIN) — focused on developing the next generation of microelectronics. Led by the University of Minnesota, C-SPIN is being supported by a five-year $28 million grant, about $3 million of which is allocated to UC Riverside.

The grant was awarded by the Semiconductor Research Corporation, a global research collaboration of private companies, universities and government agencies; and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

UC Riverside’s Roland Kawakami (top), Ludwig Bartels (center) and Cengiz Ozkan are members of a new national research center focused on developing the next generation of microelectronics.PHOTO CREDIT: UCR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS.

UC Riverside’s Roland Kawakami (top), Ludwig Bartels (center) and Cengiz Ozkan are members of a new national research center focused on developing the next generation of microelectronics.
PHOTO CREDIT: UCR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS.

C-SPIN at the University of Minnesota will bring together top researchers from across the nation, such as UCR’s Roland Kawakami, Ludwig Bartels and Cengiz Ozkan, to develop technologies for spin-based computing and memory systems. Unlike today’s computers, which function on the basis of electrical charges moving across wires, emerging spin-based computing systems will process and store information through spin, a fundamental property of electrons.

“Conventional silicon electronics is running out of steam in terms of improving its performance.” said Kawakami, a professor of physics and astronomy. “It is known as the ‘end of the roadmap’ for silicon-based technologies.”

Research at C-SPIN is expected to have an impact beyond the world of computer science and engineering resulting in advances in nanotechnology, materials science, physics, chemistry, circuit design, and many other fields.  Headquartered at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, the center will fund research for 31 leading experts from 14 universities working in six scientific disciplines. C-SPIN will also fund research from more than 60 doctoral and post-doctoral students and host industry researchers-in-residence.

In addition to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and UCR, the 12 other universities involved are Carnegie Mellon University; Cornell University; Johns Hopkins University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Pennsylvania State University; Purdue University; University of Alabama; University of California, Santa Barbara; University of Iowa; University of Michigan; University of Nebraska; and University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Industry partners include Applied Materials, Global Foundries, IBM, Intel Corporation, Micron Technology, Raytheon, Texas Instruments and United Technologies.

The inclusion of the talented minds at UC Riverside in such an important national endeavor is a testament to the caliber of research and discovery occurring in our community, a true ‘Catalyst for Innovation‘.

To read the full article as published on UCR Today, click here.

Former Mayor to Lead UC Riverside Research Center

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(Includes excerpts from the article published by UCR Today on January 11, 2013)

Ronald O. Loveridge, who has played an active leadership role in local, regional and state government for more than 30 years, has been named director of the Center for Sustainable Suburban Development at the University of California, Riverside, effective Jan. 1.

Loveridge, who has been an associate professor of political science at UCR since 1965, succeeds Anil Deolalikar, a UCR professor of economics who has been CSSD’s director since July 2009.

Ronald O. Loveridge (source: UCR Today)

Ronald O. Loveridge
(source: UCR Today)

“I am excited tor return to the campus both to teach and to lead CSSD,” Loveridge said. “The center will support, and connect, the best of academic research with important policy choices for a sustainable future for this region and Southern California.”

Well-known regionally and nationally for his active leadership roles in a variety of local, state and national organizations, Loveridge served the city of Riverside for 33 years, first as a city councilman from 1979 to 1994, then as its mayor from 1994 to December 2012.

As mayor, he taught one course a year at UCR, “Local Leadership in California.” With his retirement as mayor of Riverside, he will focus his attention at UCR on research related to the growth of suburbs, public policy, urban planning, transportation, air quality, and the intersection of cities and natural lands.

“It is exciting to see Ron take the helm of the Center for Sustainable Suburban Development.  He brings a combination of leadership, experience, scholarship, and commitment to environmental issues that will serve the community and the university well,” said Martin Johnson, chair of the  Department of Political Science at UCR.

In his new capacity, this impassioned leader and former Seizing Our Destiny Co-Chair will be able to leverage the experiences and successes of our community with the resources and talent at UC Riverside to continue creating, supporting and implementing public policy that improves the overall quality of life for all.

To read the full article as published on UCR Today, click here.

Students at UC Riverside Play Integral Role in Student Recreation Center Expansion Project

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(Includes excerpts from a December 19, 2012 article written by Ross French and published on UCR Today)

In December, UCR Today announced the start of construction on a $37.2 million expansion of its Student Recreation Center (SRC).  The project has been extensively student-driven, with both undergraduate and graduate students playing key roles in the research, development and execution of the expansion. Even the funding will come from a $149 per quarter fee that students approved in a referendum in 2010.

An artist’s rendering of the cardio area at the Student Recreation Center expansion. Source: UCR Today

An artist’s rendering of the cardio area at the Student Recreation Center expansion. Source: UCR Today

“From the beginning this has been a student driven project, and that’s why I think it has been a success,” said Jenni Deveau, a psychology graduate student and member of the Recreation Facilities Governing Board. “Students gave input on their experience at the current Rec Center and what they wanted for the future, they were given the choice through an election whether they wanted to implement these changes knowing the financial impact, and there has been student representation and input on all aspects of the design and construction of the new building.”

“The students have been in charge of the program and the purse strings all along,” UCR Campus Architect Don Caskey said. “They were an integral part of the project management committee. They were there every step of the way, through the detailed project program, the student referendum, the space programming and architectural design, and even when we were reviewing the bids that came in.”

To meet University of California green-building requirements, the new Recreation Center has been designed to meet LEED Silver Certification. Its features include lower operating costs, reduced waste sent to landfills, and energy and water conservation.

Of the new amenities being added, for many students the best part of the new facility will be the extensive aquatics complex, which will feature a lap pool, recreation pool and a vortex pool, which is a round pool that features a slight current that can be walked against as an aerobic workout.

Involving the student population in the planning, design and project management of a large-scale LEED construction project demonstrates the caliber of educational opportunities in Riverside, proving once again this community is a trendsetter in inventive and multi-disciplinary approaches in learning.

To read the full article as published on UCR Today, click here.

UC Riverside Named a Best-Value Public College by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

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The University of California, Riverside has been named as one of the nation’s 100 best values in public colleges for 2012-2013 by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. It is the fifth time that UCR has appeared on the Kiplinger’s list.

The list, which appears in the February 2013 issue of the magazine and is also available online, gave UCR high marks in a variety areas, including four-year graduation rate, low average student debt at graduation, abundant financial aid, a low “sticker price,” and overall great value.

UC Riverside was selected as a Best-Value Public College for the fifth time by by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. Photo via UCRToday.com.

UC Riverside was selected as a Best-Value Public College for the fifth time by by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. Photo via UCR Today.

“Rankings like the Kiplinger’s survey help confirm to the nation and the world what we already know; that UCR is a world-class university and research institution and a first-choice campus for many of our applicants,” said Emily Engelschall, director of undergraduate admissions. “In addition to being a ‘best value,’ we are pleased to have been recognized in a variety of other areas, including the diversity of our student body, the fact that we’re military and LGBT friendly, and that our graduation rates among underrepresented students are outstanding.”

UCR’s recognition further strengthen’s Riverside’s position as a center for lifelong learning, offering relatively affordable educational opportunities without compromising the quality of the experience.

Click here to read the original article as written by Ross French and published on UCR Today. Click here to read the report as published by Kiplinger.

Riverside Celebrates the Official Unveiling of the UC Riverside School of Medicine Education Building

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Source: Kris Lovekin, UCR Today

Community supporters, elected officials and administrators gathered Thursday, Dec. 13 to celebrate the second building affiliated with the UCR School of Medicine.

Visitors toured the School of Medicine Education Building that has been renovated and transformed with a medical simulation laboratory, a 100-seat lecture hall, 10 patient examination rooms and small group discussion rooms. It includes a wall in the entryway that has been dedicated to Dr. Thomas and Mrs. Salma Haider for their ongoing support for the School of Medicine.

UCR Chancellor Timothy P. White talks with community members, including Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey and LaSierra University President Randal Wisby, about the classroom facilities of the School of Medicine. Photo by Peter Phun; source UCR Today.

UCR Chancellor Timothy P. White talks with community members, including Seizing Our Destiny Education Roundtable members Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey and La Sierra University President Randal Wisby, about the classroom facilities of the School of Medicine. Photo by Peter Phun; source UCR Today.

“This facility is not merely a building, or a node in the network of campus research, it is the builder of dreams, a vehicle to serve the urgent needs of our community,” said Chancellor Timothy P. White in what is one of his last official appearances at UC Riverside before he goes to lead the California State University system. “From this building will emerge dozens of physicians trained on the ground in this area – many of them local residents, who understand the experiences and the cultures of their patients.”

Founding School of Medicine Dean, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Seizing Our Destiny Champion G. Richard Olds described the simulation lab, where students, much like airline pilots, will learn and practice their skills on patient simulators created to mimic medical conditions and scenarios they are likely to encounter in the practice of medicine.

“Yes, this building has lecture halls, but our lecture halls will be used to a lesser degree than traditional medical schools,” Olds said. “Instead, we devoted a larger amount of square feet to small rooms, we call them Problem-Based Learning rooms, where students will actively solve problems, gaining and applying medical knowledge as they will need to when they become practicing physicians.”

It is because of this inventive, multi-disciplinary approach that the UC Riverside School of Medicine is a  ”Catalyst for Innovation“, serving as both a training ground for skilled medical professionals and as an economic engine for Riverside.

To read the full article published on UCR Today, click here.

Recently Published Book Shares the History and Personal Experiences of Riverside’s Sherman Institute (Sherman Indian High School)

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While it is well known that Riverside’s history is rich with social and cultural diversity, the stories and national significance of the Sherman Institute, the flagship among 25 federal off-reservation American Indian boarding schools, might be among the most captivating chronicles of this community from the past century.  Now, a new book co-authored by historians connected to UC Riverside tells the story of the school through images and voices of its students.

As reported by Bettye Miller and published on UCR Today,

photo credit: Sherman Indian Museum

“Sherman Institute enrolled its first students on Sept. 9, 1902, a decade after its predecessor, the Perris Indian School, was founded in an agricultural region south of Riverside. Harwood Hall, Sherman’s first superintendent, lobbied to move the school from rural Perris to the larger community of Riverside, where entrepreneur Frank Miller wanted Indian students to work at his Glenwood Inn, later renamed the Mission Inn.‘The Indian School on Magnolia Avenue: Voices and Images from Sherman Institute,’ recalls those experiences through the voices of Sherman students and photographs from the school’s extensive archives. Published this month by Oregon State University Press, the book is the first collection of writings and images about an off-reservation Indian boarding school.

For much of its history Sherman enrolled children as young as 10, until 1970 when it became a fully accredited high school. Today, Sherman Indian High School is controlled by Native Americans with a curriculum that includes American Indian history, languages and cultures”

The Indian School on Magnolia AvenueClifford E. Trafzer, co-editor of the book and the Rupert Costo Chair in American Indian Affairs at UC Riverside, explained that the book’s approach differs from that of much scholarship about Native Americans in that it embraces oral histories of the students who attended Sherman instead of relying only on written documents,

“It reflects a belief that American Indians have something of value to tell you about their history, that there is value in listening and learning from Indians. That is not a common approach.”

Trafzer added, “We want people to understand about the attempted assimilation of American Indian children by taking them out of their homes and putting them in boarding schools. In spite of that, many children used their education and experiences — sometimes positive, sometimes bitter — to help their tribes understand U.S. government, business and culture.”

The book was produced as part of The First Peoples initiative – a collaboration of four university presses with grant support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The initiative aims to demonstrate the ways Indigenous traditional and lived experiences contribute to and reframe discourses on the history, culture, identity and rights of Indigenous peoples worldwide.

To read the full article as published on UCR Today, click here.

Copies of the book can be ordered from Amazon or Oregon State University Press;  all proceeds go to the Sherman Indian Museum.