Berkeleyan

News Briefs

19 July 2006

Berkeleyan schedule update

The Berkeleyan resumes its regular weekly publishing schedule on Aug. 24. For up-to-date campus news during weeks we're not publishing, visit the UC Berkeley NewsCenter, newscenter.berkeley.edu.

Regents to discuss research institutes, compensation

Meeting over the course of three days (July 18 to 20) at the UCSF-Mission Bay Community Center in San Francisco, the UC Board of Regents and some of its committees will deal with the ongoing effort to better manage executive compensation at the University of California. The board will also engage in open-session discussions of a variety of topics, including graduate-student support, the large-scale digitization of library holdings, the California Institutes for Science and Innovation, and the impact of Proposition 209 a decade after its passage.

Agendas and background materials, as well as links to webcasts of open-session meetings, are online at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/july06.html.

George Blumenthal named acting chancellor at Santa Cruz

George Blumenthal

UC President Robert Dynes last week announced the appointment of George Blumenthal as acting chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, effective pending confirmation by the UC regents at this week's meeting. Blumenthal, a UCSC professor of astronomy and astrophysics and a former chair of the UC systemwide Academic Senate, will assume on an interim basis the responsibilities of the late Chancellor Denice Denton, who died June 24 in a fall from a San Francisco building, an apparent suicide. (A remembrance of Denton's life is at www.ucsc.edu/administration/denice_denton.)

To ensure a period of continuity for the Santa Cruz campus, Blumenthal is expected to serve as acting chancellor for much or all of the 2006-07 academic year. A national search for Denton's permanent successor will be conducted over the course of that period and is expected to begin this fall.

Blumenthal, 60, has been a member of the Santa Cruz faculty since 1972. He has chaired the campus astronomy and astrophysics department and the Santa Cruz Division of the Academic Senate. In 2004-05 he served as chair of the UC systemwide Academic Senate, and he was faculty representative to the Board of Regents for 2003-05.

As acting chancellor, Blumenthal will receive an annualized salary of $260,000, as well as standard pension and health benefits in accordance with UC policy.

New AVCs named in Capital Projects, Research

Robert Gayle has been named associate vice chancellor for project management in Capital Projects effective June 1, 2006, announced Edward Denton, vice chancellor for facilities services.

Gayle has more than 28 years of experience in design and construction, in both the private and public sectors. His Berkeley career began in 1990 as a project manager with Capital Projects. He has served in various capacities since then, most recently as assistant vice chancellor for project management.

Marcia Smith has been appointed assistant vice chancellor for research administration and compliance (AVC-RAC) effective Aug. 1, announced Beth Burnside, vice chancellor for research. Her responsibilities will include oversight of the Sponsored Projects Office, the Office for the Protection of Human Subjects, and the Office of Animal Care and Use.

Smith served for the last several years as director of research grants and contracts for Partners HealthCare System, a shared-governance operation responsible for the sponsored-projects portfolio of Harvard's Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's hospitals. Previously she led the grants and contracts operations at Massachusetts General Hospital. She has also had private-sector experience as director of contracts and administration at B&M Technological Services, Inc., and university experience with Boston University's Office of Sponsored Programs.

'Retiring from UC' workshops scheduled

Workshop materials for the popular "Retiring from UC" workshops sponsored by the Office of Human Resources are now available online, and additional sections are now open for enrollment. Registration is required.

Workshop materials, including a PowerPoint slide presentation and links to useful handouts, are available at hrweb.berkeley.edu/benefits/benwkshp.htm.

Additional sections, to be held in 150 University Hall, have been scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 24, 9 a.m. to noon (currently waitlisted) and Monday, Dec. 11, 1 to 4 p.m (currently open). To check enrollment status and reserve space in one of the workshops, visit hrweb.berkeley.edu/ice/home.

UC Irvine staffer named adviser to regents

Lynda Brewer, assistant director of capital planning at UC Irvine, has been named staff adviser to the UC Board of Regents - the first employee in the university system to be chosen for the role under a formal selection process.

As a non-voting staff adviser, Brewer will attend open sessions of the regents meetings, committee meetings, and special regents events. She began her two-year appointment on July 1.

In January 2005 the regents launched a two-year pilot program to give UC staff a non-voting presence on two committees: educational policy and grounds and buildings. Dave Miller of UCLA and David Bell of UC San Francisco - both past chairs of the Council of University of California Staff Assemblies - were appointed as staff advisers for one-year terms starting July 1, 2005. (To provide continuity, Miller will serve a second term with Brewer in 2006-07.) Should the regents decide to make the staff-adviser role permanent, Brewer will serve her full term, ending in 2008.

Ed School's name change approved

A proposal to rename the School of Education as the Graduate School of Education has been approved effective July 1, the Office of Planning and Analysis has announced. This formalizes the name the school has used for the past several years and more accurately reflects its programs. The school currently offers the M.A., M.A.T., Ph.D., and Ed.D. degrees, a joint graduate program in special education with San Francisco State University, a joint Ed.D. in education leadership with CSUs in the East Bay, San Francisco, and San Jose, several credential programs, and an undergraduate minor. The name change will not affect the school's academic programs.

Geologic exploration near Memorial Stadium ongoing

Geologic work to explore subsurface conditions near California Memorial Stadium and gather information for design and construction of the proposed Student Athlete High Performance Center began on July 10. Several trenches will be dug and holes drilled, allowing engineers to examine and test the soils that will support the proposed building.

Hours of construction are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, though construction activity will end around 4 p.m. most days. Intermittent noise, such as jackhammering, is expected. The work is expected to be completed in late August.