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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Charles Nash, our link to state legislative action,
reports that the state budget recently adopted was particularly benign in
regard to UC: i.e. the UC budget was a "no issue" and all that
was asked for was approved.
The legislature appropriated an additional $19 million, which the
University had not requested, to increase UC staff salaries.
This money has yet to be distributed due to differences between the
University and UPTE (Union of Professional and Technical Employees).
The differences include the basis for allocation (merit raises vs.
equal raises for all staff) and whether the raises will be retroactive.
Meanwhile, the staff continues to forego salary increases while the
standoff continues.
UC TREASURER SMALL RESIGNS
The resignation of Patricia Small, UC Treasurer, on
August 14, 2000 came as a surprise and cause for concern on the part of
many faculty, emeriti, staff and union leaders.
Small had worked in the Treasurer's office for the past 29 years,
during which UC's investment portfolio increased from $1 billion to $58
billion. During Small's
tenure as Treasurer for the past five years, assets increased $25 billion.
The Regents have fiduciary responsibility for these funds and have the
authority to hire and fire the treasurer.
However only recently has The Regents's Investment Committee, under
Chair L.A. financier Gerald Parsky, instituted a thorough review of the
Treasurer's office and retained the consulting expertise of an L.A firm
Wilshire Associates (who also consult to CalPERS and other major
universities). The result has
been the adoption of a "comprehensive asset allocation strategy"
which involves changes in investments from UC's (Small's) current
portfolio. Although the
portfolio has shown an above average 16% return over the past 20 years,
the assessment was that it was too heavily weighted in a small number of
high growth stocks and that the performance of UC's bond holdings was not
satisfactory.
The main objections to these actions from within UC have not been to the
decisions, per se, but rather to the "secrecy" of the actions
which were taken without consulting the UC Retirement System board
or any group representing faculty and emeriti, such as the UC Faculty
Welfare Committee (UCFW). (The
contract-letting process to Wilshire Associates has also been questioned
in view of Parsky's role as California Campaign Manager for Republican
George W. Bush and the $100,000 contribution to that campaign by Dennis
Tito, President of Wilshire Associates). The initial response by CUCEA, UCFW, and CUCRA (UC Retirees)
to those advocating forceful protest to The Regents has been to take a
cautionary approach to this "political" matter and instead urge
immediate and full disclosure of the considerations resulting in the
actions by The Regents.
The Board of Regents and the Office of the President have made statements
reassuring the stability of the UCRS investment program and emphasizing a
smooth transition within the Office of the Treasurer.
The Regents have helped this transition with a severance package
for Patricia Small worth over $500,000 and title suffix of Emeritus.
"UC DAVIS HISTORY": Status Report
Richard Gable, chair of the UCDEA History Committee reports that Ann
Scheuring has completed a draft of the UCD History.
However, she is continuing to work on the manuscript throughout the
rest of the year with the able assistance of a history graduate student
whom she employed last year. The book is expected to have about 300 pages of text,
including many pictures, and appendices totaling about 100 pages.
Several emeriti/ae have been asked to review parts, or all, of the
manuscript. Then, an
appropriate person will be employed, possibly someone from Maril
Stratton's office, to edit the entire volume.
At the present time the project has a balance of approximately
$135,000 available for production and additional expenses in 2000-01. The project publication date is 2001.
EMERITI IN RETIREMENT:
Margaret S. Steward, professor emerita of psychology, Department of
Psychiatry, School of Medicine
Margaret (Marge) Steward took early retirement in
1994 after 25 years of active research, teaching and clinical work with
children and families at risk. This
retirement was short-lived ("I flunked retirement"), as she was
recalled to be Dean of Women's Affairs and then Dean of Faculty
Development in the School of Medicine, from which she finally fully
retired in 1998.
The following year, drawing on her experience in faculty development, she
accepted an appointment as Visiting Research Professor at the Australian
Catholic University (ACU) in Sydney.
There, together with her husband David, Professor Emeritus from
Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, she worked with young faculty,
advanced graduate students and administrators on all five ACU campuses
(Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Newcastle and Brisbane).
The Stewards focused on issues related to the design, analysis and
publication of research with children and families.
While in Australia she also offered consultation on clinical
supervision and conducted a workshop for the federal government on child
court testimony, based on her clinical experience and research on
children's memory of body touch and handling during necessary and
often painful medical procedures. The
Stewards had the opportunity to travel to Tasmania, and to "the best
kept secret of the South Pacific--Lord Howe Island."
Marge recommends that you put Lord Howe island on your lifetime
"TO VISIT" list! In
January she completed revisions on a chapter on children's experience of
illness for the book, Crisis Counseling, Intervention and Prevention in
the Schools, edited by Professor Jonathan Sandoval of UC Davis.
This past summer Marge and her husband sold their Berkeley home of 31
years, and moved into an apartment in nearby Albany.
While the Bay Area will always be home base, they plan to travel
during the fall and winter months--this fall to Italy and then to the
Copper Canyon in Northern Mexico. They
plan to spend spring and summer months in their second home in Sitka,
Alaska--a community in which they spent a sabbatical year in the
mid-'70's. During that
sabbatical Marge had the privilege of working on beadwork and leatherwork
with Esther Littlefield, a gifted Tlingit craftswoman.
For the past two years Marge has been studying the traditional
cedar bark basket weaving with Delores Churchill, a gifted Haida weaver.
She finds working with the fragrant and pliable wet cedar bark
similar to working with fine Italian leather.
Currently, she is also working to master throwing pottery at the
wheel. She is beginning to
incorporate features of beadwork and basketry into her pottery.
Together with Sitkan friends, Marge harvests traditional subsistence
foods: In April herring eggs (Sitka caviar) on seaweed or hemlock
branches; in May black seaweed, vegetable and salad greens, and spruce
tips for syrup; through the summer salmon, halibut and rockfish for
barbecue, smoking and baking, bull kelp for relish and pickles; and from
July through September salmon berries, blueberries and huckleberries.
Marge's reading list for the summer includes Nigel Smith's new edition of George
Fox's Journal, Paul Nahin's An Imaginary Tale: The story of the
square root of -1; the poetry of Jane Kenyon; and Through the Eyes
of Innocents by her esteemed colleague, Emmy Werner.
Wherever she is in the world, Marge values her link to UC Davis by
computer and enjoys access to the UC library, notes from the Academic
Senate, Health Science updates and most of all keeping contact with former
colleagues, students.
UCD NEW
EMERITI/AE
Herbert
Berkoff,
professor of internal medicine/surgery, School of Medicine; Robert
Bloch, professor of music; Robert
Bower, professor of electrical engineering and computer science;
Michael Chapman,
former chair of orthopedic surgery, School of Medicine; Irwin Feinberg, professor of psychiatry, School of Medicine; Boyd Geotzman,
professor of pediatrics, School of Medicine; Steven
Jett, professor of textiles and clothing; Ralph
Johnson, former chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation, School
of Medicine; Ruth Lawrence,
professor of internal medicine, School of Medicine; Peter
Lynch, professor of dermatology, School of Medicine; John Palmer, professor of urology, School of Medicine; Ada Riddell,
senior lecturer of Chicano/a studies; Karl Romstad
and Ed Schroeder, professors of civil and environmental engineering; Richard Walters,
professor of computer science; and,
Hibbard Williams, professor of
general medicine and former dean of the School of Medicine.
IN
MEMORIAM
Richard Cramer,
architect and art professor emeritus, past chair of the UC Davis art
department, and past president of the UCD Emeriti Association, April 2000.
W. Turrentine Jackson,
professor emeritus, Western American and California history, May 2000.
Benjamin Lownsbury,
professor emeritus of plant nematology, July 2000.
Larry Mitich,
cooperative extension specialist emeritus of weed science, UC Davis
Cooperative Extension, August 2000.
Leon Mayhew,
professor emeritus of sociology and past vice chancellor of Academic
Affairs, May 2000.Arthur
McGuinness,
professor emeritus of English, August 2000.
Antolin Raventos IV,
professor emeritus of radiology and founding chair of the Department of
Radiology, School of Medicine, August 2000.
Karl Shapiro,
professor emeritus of English, May 2000.
Horace Strong,
professor emeritus, Bodega Marine Laboratory, May 2000.
Makepeace Tsao,
professor emeritus of biochemistry in the Department of Surgery, in the
Medical School, August 2000.
James Welch,
professor emeritus in the department of vegetable crops, June.
HONORS,
AWARDS AND APPOINTMENTS
Alex McCalla,
professor, emeritus, agricultural and resource economics, was recognized
as a Fellow of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.
Donald Crosby,
professor emeritus of environmental toxicology, received the ACS
International Award for Research in Agrochemicals by the American Chemical
Society’s agrochemical division.
Gerald DeNardo,
professor emeritus of internal medicine, together with Sally
DeNardo, professor of internal medicine, were chosen to receive the
Cassen Prize, one of the highest awards in the field of Nuclear
Medicine.
Robert Fridley,
professor emeritus of biological and agricultural engineering, has been
appointed to serve on the National Research Council’s Board on
Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Peter Kennedy,
professor emeritus of pathology in the School of Veterinary Medicine,
received the Kansas State University’s 2000 Distinguished Alumnus Award
for outstanding achievements, humanitarian service and contributions to
the veterinary profession.
Gus Maki,
professor emeritus of chemistry, was named a Fellow of the International
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Society.
Jim McHenry,
professor emeritus in the vegetable crops department, received a Lifetime
Achievement Award for his contributions to forests vegetation management
from the professional land managers from California and the West.
Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef
received an honorary doctorate in agriculture from his alma mater, Purdue
University, to honor the work accomplished throughout his career, service
at the national level, and his personal accomplishments in academia.
SENIOR
LEARNING UNLIMITED (SLU) Launches Third Year
Senior Learning Unlimited (SLU) is offering a diversity of courses during
the Fall 2000 quarter. Among the 20+ topics being offered are those related to local
(Davis) government, the 2000 election, music theory, American art, lawyers
and their ethics, cooking and others. Most
classes start early to mid-October and run for 1, 2, 4, 5 or 9 weekly
sessions for one to two hours each.
A free seminar by Professor James R. Carey on "The Natural History of
Longevity" is scheduled for November 6 at 4:00 p.m. in the Community
Church Fellowship Hall.
For further information on class openings, class fees and membership fee,
leave a voice mail message at (530) 752-9695.
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