Gazette

2/15/95

Staff Enrichment

Health*Matters

For information, a complete program flyer or to enroll, call 643-4646.

Menopause

Tuesdays, March 7-21

12:10-12:55 pm, free

Find out how the body changes during menopause, identify methods to cope with symptoms of menopause, evaluate the pros and cons of estrogen replacement therapy.

Computers at Work

March 16, 10:30 am-noon, free

Learn about health issues related to computer use, design a user-friendly workstation, practice exercises to relieve computer-related aches and pains.

Making VDT Workstations

User Friendly

March 22, 8 am-noon, free

This is a training for departmental VDT workstation evaluators. Learn the ABC's of a successful departmental VDT health and safety program, practice the basics of a VDT workstation evaluation, identify how to set priorities in modifying VDT workstations.

Fidelity Offers Private Investment Counseling

Fidelity Investments is offering private, on-campus investment counseling for employees Feb. 24, March 7 and 8, April 11 and 12, May 11 and 12, and June 8 and 9. Call 1-800-771-3374 during business hours to schedule an appointment.

Around Cal

T Rex Jr.

A 20-foot-tall, life-size model of Tyrannosaurus rex, cast from the skeleton of a real one discovered in Montana, is being assembled by the Museum of Paleontology for the three-story central atrium in Valley Life Sciences. Meanwhile, a diminutive wooden version keeps its place warm. Placed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology staffers for the museum's opening in October, T Rex Jr. comes from the California Academy of Sciences. "The building looked so bare and there was this empty wooden stage," explains one MVZ staffer of the impromptu installation.

The fundraising campaign for the real model, dubbed "Own a Piece of the Rex," is going well. About $30,000 has been raised from 650 donors in 42 states and six countries. The assembled model should be installed in time for celebrations in September.

Awards and Honors

College of Chemistry staff have been commended by the Alameda County Community Food Bank for collecting 141 pounds of food to benefit thousands of individuals and families throughout Alameda County. Sarah Baughn spearheaded the effort.

College of Chemistry staff have been awarded a Certificate of Achievement from Berkeley's Office of Small Business Development in recognition of their efforts in business affirmative action. They are Marcia Bogart, Barbara Harris and Linda Walker.

Randy Katz, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, has received the 1995 Computer Research Association Distinguished Service Award "in recognition of his outstanding service to the computing research community."

David Patterson, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, has been named a Distinguished Alumnus from the Department of Computer Science of his alma mater, UCLA, where he received his PhD in 1976.

J. David Rogers, lecturer in civil engineering, has received the E.B. Burwell Award of the Geological Society of America and the Rock Mechanics Award of the U.S. Committee on Rock Mechanics of the National Research Council for a 1992 article entitled "Reassessment of the St. Francis Dam Failure," which presented new evidence for why the St. Francis Dam failed in 1928, killing over 600 people in southern California. The dam's failure was the worst American engineering failure in the 20th century. Rogers is finishing a much larger piece on the episode for the Southern California Historical Quarterly and a TV documentary is in the works.

Lofti Zadeh, professor emeritus of electrical engineering and computer sciences, has been named the 1995 recipient of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Medal of Honor. Zadeh will be honored "for pioneering development of fuzzy logic and its many diverse applications" and awarded a gold medal and $20,000 during a June ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Benefits

Call for UCRS Board Candidates

Employees who are active members of the University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP) but are not members of the Academic Senate are invited to run for election to the University of California Retirement System (UCRS) Board. UC benefits must receive nominations by Friday, March 31, at Office of the President in Oakland.

Non-Academic Senate members of UCRP will vote in June to fill one vacancy on the UCRS board. The term will be July 1, 1995-June 30, 1999.

Candidates may be from any UC location except Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Incumbent representative Patricia Erickson is from Lawrence Livermore and the two non-Academic Senate representatives must be from different locations.

Interested candidates must submit a petition signed by at least 50 active UCRP members who are not Academic Senate members and a brief biographical statement. Nomination packets, including the petition, nomination requirements and procedures and information concerning the UCRS board are available from the Berkeley benefits office. Contact Mary DeShaw at 642-9478 for a packet.

The UCRS Board serves in an advisory capacity to the president of the UC system on matters concerning the UCRS plans, including the University of California Retirement Plan, the Defined Contribution Plan, and the Tax-Deferred 403(b) Plan. These plans hold assets of over $19 billion and represent the retirement interests of approximately 157,000 UCRS members.

The UCRS Board consists of nine members: an officer of the UC system appointed by the president, three people appointed by the president, the treasurer of the regents or the treasurer's designee, two people selected by the Academic Senate from the nine UC campuses and two people from different university locations elected by active members of the plan who are not members of the Academic Senate. The UCRS board chair and vice chair are elected by the members of the UCRS board.

The UCRS board generally meets quarterly in Oakland at the Office of the President. Members serve without compensation but are reimbursed for expenses.

Excess Tax-Deferred Contributions Still Refundable for 1994

If you over-contributed to the Tax-Deferred 403(b) Plan in 1994 and have not yet received a refund, you still have time to do so to avoid a tax penalty. To have the distribution check issued before the IRS deadline of April 15, 1995, you must submit a "Refund of Excess Contributions" form to the Plan Administrator (UC Benefits at the Office of the President, Fidelity or Calvert) by Feb. 24. "Refund of Excess Contributions" forms are available from the Berkeley campus benefits office (642-9311) or UC Benefits at the Office of the President (1-800-888-8267, ext. 70651).

If you apply for and receive a distribution, you will be sent tax reporting information showing the amount of the excess contribution (which should be reported as income on your 1994 tax return) and any interest or earnings attributable to the excess contribution (which should be reported as income for tax year 1995). In early 1996, you will receive two 1099R forms for tax filing purposes.

If you do not receive a distribution of excess contributions by the IRS deadline, you are subject to a tax penalty on the amount of the excess. Further questions regarding the taxability of excess contributions should be directed to your tax advisor. UC is prohibited by law from providing tax advice.

For most employees, the limit for contributing to the Tax-Deferred 403(b) Plan is the lesser of 20 percent of adjusted gross University earnings, the IRS maximum exclusion allowance or $9,500. However, the IRS allows those who meet certain eligibility requirements to contribute more.

If you need to determine your 1994 contribution limit, ask your department benefits counselor for a Tax-Deferred 403(b) Plan Worksheet for 1994. Availability of 1995 worksheets will be announced in a future issue of Berkeleyan.

Classes

Tame Your Mac, PC: Classes Set for April

Beginning and intermediate level half-day and full-day microcomputer classes are offered this spring by Workstation Support Services.

PC and Macintosh microcomputer classes are scheduled April 4-27. Most classes have prerequisites. If you need help deciding which class to take, call 642-8899. You must reserve space at least one week before the class starts.

Half-day classes cost $50; most full-day classes cost $95. The fee may be paid with a personal check, your department's UC ledger number or with a department-funded computer account when you sign up.

For information and registration applications, call 642-7355. Course descriptions and sign-up forms are also available online through the Workstation Support Services (WSS) Gopher information server (wss-gopher.berkeley. edu, port 70).

Macintosh Full-Day Classes

Microsoft Excel 4.0 (beginning)

Filemaker Pro (beginning, advanced)

Aldus PageMaker 5.0 (2 days)

Macintosh Half-Day Classes

Macintosh Fundamentals (using System 7)

Microsoft Word 5.1 (beginning,

intermediate)

Microsoft Excel 4.0 Worksheets

(intermediate)

IBM PC (DOS) Half-Day Classes

PC Fundamentals (beginning)

Windows 3.1 (beginning )

IBM PC (DOS) Full-Day Classes

WordPerfect 6.0 (beginning)

Microsoft Excel 4.0 for Windows (beginning)

Filemaker Pro 2.1 for Windows

(beginning)


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