May 11 - Face coverings remain highly recommended; Ms. Bautista goes to Washington
Section 1
Blooms reach for the clouds above Sue and Bill Gross Hall. Photo by Steve Zylius/UCI
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
Face coverings remain highly recommended at UCI
Anteaters are increasingly testing positive for COVID after attending large gatherings. While locally, we are not in a surge as we were in January with the omicron variant, an uptick in cases is happening at all UC campuses and across the state. (See UC News and General News below.) The Orange County positivity rate, which had been hovering around 2%, now exceeds 3%. (See UCI in the News below.) Health experts agree the best defense is wearing a face covering, especially while indoors.
Justine Bautista is one of 30 young people selected to take part in the MTV Mental Health Youth Action Forum. Photo by Christine Parales Porciuncula
Social ecology student going to White House to present her mental health self-care kit idea
Justine Bautista, a Ph.D. student in social ecology, will present her idea to create a mental health self-care kit at the MTV Mental Health Youth Action Forum at the White House this month. MTV Entertainment Group, in coordination with the administration and 18 leading mental health nonprofits, will convene the forum May 17-18 to drive culture from awareness to action on mental health through storytelling and media.
UCI Health nationally recognized with an ‘A’ Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade
UCI Health received its 16th consecutive “A” in the spring 2022 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. This national distinction recognizes a health system’s commitment to patient safety and achievements in preventing harm. “It is an honor to be recognized again for the dedication our physicians and co-workers bring every day to keep our patients safe,” says UCI Health CEO Chad T. Lefteris.
Of some historical note, Calvin Faucher became the third pitcher making his Major League Baseball debut to give up a grand slam to a reigning league MVP.
UCI alum makes MLB debut then sent back down to minors
Pitcher Calvin Faucher, who attended and played for UCI in 2016 and 2017, was called up from AAA Durham to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, becoming the 11th Anteater to reach the big leagues. He made his debut against the Angels that same night in the seventh inning, which ended with his first Major League Baseball strikeout. Unfortunately for the right-handed reliever, the last out was preceded by another career first: a grand slam by Shohei Ohtani that was part of a 5-run inning for the Halos, who ultimately won 11-3. Faucher was sent back down to Durham on Tuesday.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
Growing Our Own: developing a faculty that reflects California
After Edwin Solares’ computer business faltered, he took courses at various Orange County community colleges before transferring to UCI, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He later earned a Ph.D. here as an inaugural fellow in the UC President’s Pre-Professoriate Fellowship Program. Now a postdoc at UC Davis, where Solares researches crop population genomics as part of a prestigious fellowship, he is the kind of new faculty that the UC is looking to nurture through its ambitious Growing Our Own initiative.
'Significant uptick' in California coronavirus outbreaks
Conditions are likely to worsen, with case rates continuing to rise and hospitalizations starting to increase, according to the top health official in the Bay Area's most populous county. Many cases “are related to social gatherings,” says Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County public health director and health officer. "It's spring — school is ending and people are gathering, and COVID is spreading."
EVENTS
Painting Distress - STEM Transfer
Friday, noon (sponsored by Transfer Center)
Media Ruins: Infrastructural Restitution and Building Futures in Post-Conflict Cambodia
Friday, 2 p.m. (sponsored by Department of Informatics)
2022 Engineering & ICS Alumni Hall of Fame Celebration
Friday, 6 p.m. (sponsored by Information and Computer Sciences)
Space Within
Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (sponsored by Claire Trevor School of the Arts)
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.
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.
Laughing Bear Bakery has a recipe for a fresh start out of prison
The Christian Science Monitor, May 11
Cited: Naomi Sugie, associate professor of criminology, law and society
OC COVID-19 hospitalizations and infections continue climbing
Spectrum News 1 (City News Service), May 10
Cited: Andrew Noymer, associate professor of population health and disease prevention
Research Team At Harvard Finds Remote, Hybrid Learning Was A Main Factor In Student Achievement Gaps During Pandemic
KPCC (audio), May 6
Guest: Adriana Villavicencio, assistant professor of education
COMMENCEMENT CORNER
#IamUCI: Q&A with Class of 2022 graduate Kamasi Kendrick
Having graduated virtually from UCI with bachelor’s degrees in business economics and education sciences in spring 2021, Kamasi Kendrick will walk the stage in person this July for his master’s in teaching, with a credential in middle or high school mathematics. Kendrick’s choice to return to UCI was highly influenced by his professors, many of whom made him believe that education sciences and teaching were right for him.
Graduating this year? Share your UCI story and photos! Tag us with #IamUCI on Instagram and Twitter.