Berkeleyan

News Briefs

05 October 2005

Oct. 12 Boalt lecture looks at death penalty and international law

Attorney Sandra Babcock, an expert in international law and the death penalty, will discuss her work representing the government of Mexico in U.S. death-penalty cases in an Oct. 12 lecture at Boalt Hall. Babcock directs the Mexican Capital Legal Assistance Program. Through this program, she has assisted attorneys in more than 100 capital cases involving Mexican citizens and represented Mexico in a case brought in the International Court of Justice on behalf of 52 Mexican nationals on death row. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Babcock has received numerous awards for her work, including the highest honor bestowed on foreign citizens by the Mexican government, the Aguila Azteca. The lecture is from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. in 115 Boalt.

Haas School to host Oct. 14 teach-in on Katrina's impact

Academic experts from the Haas School of Business and the Berkeley campus will lead a "Teach-in on the Economic and Business Impact of Hurricane Katrina" on the Gulf Coast and the nation on Friday, Oct. 14, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the school's Wells Fargo Room. The event is free and open to the campus community, though spaces are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. No registration is required.

Alumni with related expertise have been invited to join the panels, whose topics range from economic impact to rebuilding to effective management. For agenda updates, visit www.haas.berkeley.edu/news/Katrina_teachin.html.

Haas International Award nominations are due Nov. 1

Members of the campus community are invited to submit nominations for this year's Walter A. Haas International Award. The deadline for nominations is Nov. 1. The award honors a Berkeley alumnus who is a native, citizen, and resident of a nation other than the U.S., and who has a distinguished record of service to his or her country. It includes a cash prize of $15,000.

For information or a nomination form, visit www.urel.berkeley.edu/haas/ewhaas_background.html or contact Helena Weiss-Duman at hwd@berkeley.edu or 643-6493.

Computer-ergonomics matching funds are available again for 2005-06

The campus has provided $100,000 in renewed funding for the Computer Ergonomics Matching Funds Program for 2005-06. The program offers departments a cost-effective way to make ergonomic improvements by providing up to $500 per employee in matching funds to modify on-site computer workstations. Last year nearly 350 faculty and staff in 64 campus departments took advantage of the pilot program, helping to reduce ergonomic problems, provide accommodations for injured employees, and prevent Workers' Compensation claims.

For details on how to qualify for the matching funds, visit www.uhs.berkeley.edu/facstaff/ergonomics/matchingfunds/index.shtml. For additional information, contact Barbara Pottgen at bpottgen@uhs.berkeley.edu or 642-8410.

UCTV programs now available on podcast

UCTV is now podcasting select programs from its archive of lectures, interviews, and performances from the UC campuses. New podcasts available include "Conversations With History: Militarism and the American Empire," from the Berkeley campus; Sue Monk Kidd, author of The Secret Life of Bees, from UC Santa Barbara; "A Natural History of Chicano Literature: A Performance Lecture," from UC Riverside; and "The Controversy Over Marriage," from UC Santa Barbara. To see the complete list of available programs or to download them individually, visit www.uctv.tv/podcasts.

Business school ranks high in new surveys

The Haas School of Business twice cracked the top 10 in recent rankings coordinated by two global business-media entities.

The school was rated No. 7 in the world in the latest Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive rankings of corporate recruiters' favorite MBA programs worldwide. The rankings, which also acknowledged the school's full-time MBA program as the best in the western U.S., were published on Sept. 21.

Haas moved up eight places in the overall ranking from last year's survey. Among western U.S. business schools, Haas placed ahead of Stanford (No. 15), UCLA's Anderson School (No. 19), and USC's Marshall School (No. 10).

Corporate recruiters also ranked the MBA program second-best among those offered by public business schools, fifth for hiring of women and minorities among the top-50-ranked MBA programs, and sixth-best for graduates with "strong ethical standards." Recruiters cited Haas for having the fourth-best entrepreneurship program and the fifth-best information-technology program.

Just two days later, Haas' full-time MBA Program was ranked 10th in the world in the fourth annual ranking of such programs by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which released its report on Sept. 23. (The EIU is the business and information arm of The Economist Group, which also includes The Economist magazine.) The school ranked 19th-best last year. Among U.S. programs, the Berkeley MBA program ranked No. 8 this year, compared to No. 16 in last year's ranking.