April 5 - Special volleyball court; inaugural Women’s Leadership Academy graduation
Section 1
Stick figure: A hummingbird rests its weary wings in the UCI Ecological Preserve. Photo by Ian Parker
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
You’re invited to a special court’s debut at men’s volleyball match
Court 21, a custom Taraflex vinyl surface, will debut at the men’s volleyball match against Cal State Northridge at Bren Events Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. The court is named in honor of Tim Vorenkamp, who signed with UCI in 2015, and wore No. 21 as a volleyball player. He had been diagnosed at age 13 with synovial sarcoma, an exceptionally rare form of cancer. Over the years, he experienced countless chemotherapy and radiation treatments and relapses, yet through it all continued to play volleyball. Sadly, he passed away during his freshman year in 2016. To inspire current and future Anteater athletes, the Vorenkamp family gifted UCI Court 21. In celebration, staff, faculty and retirees are being offered up to four free tickets for Saturday’s match, which is also being televised on ESPN+. #TogetherWeZot
School of Medicine Women’s Leadership Academy holds first graduation ceremony
Nineteen faculty members, who had been nominated by their School of Medicine department chairs or leadership, were honored at the first-ever Women’s Leadership Academy graduation ceremony on March 30. Dr. Khanh-Van Le-Bucklin, vice dean of medical education, and Dr. Nimisha Parekh, clinical professor of medicine, developed the WLA to put early and mid-career, women-identified faculty of the School of Medicine on the leadership track.
How life works is his life’s work
Ali Mortazavi’s research has been fundamental to understanding changes in gene expression in colon cancer, Lyme disease, breast cancer, Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases, as well as to subsequent translational efforts. But saving lives is not what motivates the professor of developmental and cell biology.
Reimagining the Latinx Experience in America event canceled
Wednesday’s event, which was listed in Monday’s Digest, has been canceled, according to the School of Law organizers. Hat tip to Goran Matijasevic, executive director of UCI Chief Executive Roundtable, for alerting us to the event change.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
Orange County forms task force to address health-equity issues
After the pandemic revealed and possibly worsened social and health inequities in Orange County, officials are moving forward with a task force to identify and reduce the long-standing disparities. The move is part of the Equity in O.C. initiative that began when the county partnered last year with a nonprofit to develop a map equity tool that shows which cities and neighborhoods are the most in need.
What to know and why you shouldn’t be alarmed about new COVID-19 variant
XE, a combination of the original BA.1 omicron variant and its subvariant BA.2, has been identified in the United Kingdom. However, public health experts say there is no cause for alarm yet as recombinant variants are very common and often crop up and disappear on their own.
EVENTS
UC #SpeechMatters conference - Safeguarding Democracy
Thursday, 10 a.m. (sponsored by UC Advocacy Network)
Networking Basics
Thursday, noon (sponsored by Graduate Division)
Revising the Electronics Revolution: From E-wasteland to E-wonderland
Thursday, noon (sponsored by Program in Public Health)
Introduction to Digital Sandbox
Thursday, 1 p.m. (sponsored by UCI Libraries)
Let’s Talk About Research
Thursday, 1 p.m. (sponsored by Student Success Initiatives)
UCDC Information Session
Thursday, 4 p.m. (sponsored by Capital Internship Program in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento)
Global Conversations: Japanese Cart Puppetry: "Kuruma Ningyō"
Thursday, 5 p.m. (sponsored by Illuminations: The Chancellor's Arts & Culture Initiative)
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.