UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
JANUARY 2013
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
FROM THE DESK OF MARK G. YUDOF
Lately people have been asking what we mean when we
talk about the quality of the University of California and
the need to defend it.
Admittedly, quality is hard to define—let alone measure—
particularly at an academic institution.
A quality faculty, for example, is the hallmark of any great
university. We know UC has one, but how do we
ascertain that quality? We can start by looking at awards.
UC professors certainly aren’t slouches when it comes
to gaining honors. I can cite some impressive numbers:
more than 1,490 Guggenheim fellows, 258 members
of the National Academy of Sciences, 60 Nobel Prizes,
two of them presented just last month to UCLA economist Lloyd Shapley and UCSF stem cell researcher
Shinya Yamanaka.
Then there are UC’s quality research programs. Systemwide they deliver an average of four inventions a day,
resulting in more patents awarded annually to UC than to
any other U.S. university.
UC SCIENTISTS WIN
STEM CELL GRANTS
Eight UC researchers received a total of
$24 million in funding from California’s
stem cell agency.
The grants are aimed at supporting early
career development for promising physician-scientists practicing and researching
in the field of regenerative medicine.
The grants are aimed at moving therapies
into clinical uses.
The California Institute for Regenerative
Medicine awarded grants to Emanual
Maverakis, UC Davis; Reza Ardehali
and Ali Nsair, UCLA; Mana Parast,
In addition, UC attracts the highest quality students. Every
year they arrive better prepared for academic success.
Sixty percent of the fall 2011 freshman class had GPAs
of 3.8 or higher, and 17 percent of those students scored
in the 700 to 800 range on their SATs.
But numbers only reveal a small part of UC’s quality.
When we focus on awards, test scores, inventions and
other easily measurable things, we’re ignoring the immeasurable attributes—like passion, creativity and dedication
to service—that help define the excellence of the
University.
The Minneapolis-based Academic Quality Institute, a nonprofit that works with higher education institutions,
describes quality as a journey, one that is constantly
evolving and improving.
As UC continues its quality journey, the needs of students
and their families must remain among the highest priorities. Keeping their desire for quality education foremost in
our policy decisions will ensure that UC has a clear set of
navigation points on the path to greater achievements.
UC San Diego; and Ophir Klein, Tippi
MacKenzie, Jason Pomerantz, Ann
Capela Zovein, UC San Francisco.
The researchers are exploring a variety of
stem cell therapies, including treatment
of chronic skin ulcers, inflammatory bowel
diseases, the pregnancy complication preeclampsia and heart muscle damage.
The institute has awarded UC researchers more than half of the $1.7 billion it has
distributed since California voters approved
the stem cell research initiative in 2004.
The ballot initiative provided $3 billion in
public funding for university and institute
researchers.
ADVOCATES STEP UP
UC supporters sent more than 80,000
emails to state legislators and the Governor in 2012, asking them to make higher
education funding a priority.
More than 600,000 students, parents,
alumni and employees have joined the UC
for California Advocacy Network.
In addition to participating in email campaigns last year, many visited elected officials in Sacramento, Washington and their
home districts and joined CSU and community college supporters in Joint Higher
Education Day in the state Capitol.
The President’s Report is produced 6 times per year by the Integrated Communications department of the University of California Office of the President.
For suggestions or comments about this report, contact: Donna Hemmila, editor, 1111 Franklin St. 12th Floor, Oakland, Calif. 94607, 510.987.0793, donna.hemmila@ucop.edu
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESIDENT’S REPORT
UC DAVIS SURVEYS PG&E PIPELINES VIA PLANE
NEWS FROM THE CAMPUSES AND LABS
UC Davis atmospheric scientists are helping PG&E enhance safety
by using a specially equipped research airplane to inspect pipelines.
UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab researchers have
discovered that squeezing breast cancer cells can
stop their out-of-control growth and guide them back
to normal cell patterns.
Instruments on board the plane can detect methane leaks, so
researchers can alert PG&E crews to pipe sections that need
repairs.
UC Davis veterinarians are testing an experimental
drug to treat laminitis, a painful, life-threatening hoof
disease in horses.
UC Davis surveyed 600 miles of pipeline between Sonoma and
Fresno. The collaboration was funded through the Pipeline Research Council International, an industry trade group, and PG&E.
UC Irvine neurobiologists have found that 6-minute
bursts of moderate exercise enhanced the memory of
older adults, even those with cognitive impairment.
UC IRVINE’S FIRST LAW SCHOOL GRADS SWORN IN
Ninety percent of the UC Irvine law school’s inaugural class
passed the California bar on the first try, placing the school among
the top law schools in the state for bar examination passage.
The average in California is 77 percent for first-time test takers,
according to bar statistics.
Among the 51 class of 2012 graduates, 46 passed the California
bar exam on their first try. Another three passed the bar in other
states.
The new lawyers were sworn in at a ceremony on campus in early
December.
UCLA TO PROVIDE VISION SERVICES TO PRESCHOOLERS
The UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic, with a grant from the First 5 LA
commission, will screen more than 90,000 preschoolers from
underserved populations in Los Angeles County.
The child advocacy organization has allocated $4.1 million to
UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute to conduct vision screenings,
eye exams and other ophthalmology services over the next five
years.
The mobile clinic is part of the institute’s community outreach program that visits schools, homeless shelters and health fairs providing eye care to low-income families.
UC DAVIS TESTS BAG-IN-BOX WINE
In a comprehensive study on how storage temperature affects
wines, UC Davis researchers found that bag-in-box wine is more
vulnerable to warmer storage temperatures than bottled wine.
Bagged wine stored at 68 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit aged
significantly faster than did the bottled wine.
UCLA launched the nation’s first master’s program in
law and sexuality to train lawyers in the rapidly growing field of LGBT law and public policy.
UC Merced is partnering with the county Mosquito
Abatement District to investigate two species of
mosquitos that spread West Nile virus.
UC Riverside engineering students have created a
mobile solar energy system as an alternative to gasand diesel-powered generators.
UC San Diego and Scripps Institute of Oceanography are teaming up with the state Water Resources
Department and the NOAA to improve forecasting of
fierce “pineapple express” storms.
UCSF Medical Center is affiliating its cancer center
with that of ValleyCare to expand access to clinical
trials and services in the Bay Area’s Tri-Valley region.
UC Santa Barbara computer science and education scholars are developing computer curricula for
grades two through six with an NSF grant.
UC Santa Cruz researchers testing mercury levels
in coastal fog believe the upwelling of deep ocean
waters brings the toxic element to the surface where
it enters the atmosphere and is absorbed by fog.
Berkeley Lab won DOE grants to improve “smart”
window coatings and create digital maps of the
energy use in existing buildings.
Livermore Lab is partnering with Georgetown University to create a master’s program in disaster and
emergency management that launches in fall 2013.
Los Alamos Lab engineers worked with NASA to
demonstrate a nuclear reactor prototype that could
be used to power space flights.
For more campus and lab news, visit
www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news