EmeriTimes
Published by the UCD Emeriti Association
Volume 12, Number 1 Fall 2001
FALL GENERAL MEETING
(Joint Meeting with the UC Davis Retirees Association)
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
Rec Pool Lodge
SOCIAL HOUR 2:00 - 2:30 P.M.
PRESIDENTS' REMARKS 2:30 - 3:00 P.M.
PROGRAM 3:00 - 4:30 P.M.
"UC Health Benefit Program Update"
Judy Ackerholt
and
Lily Pang
UC Office of the President
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Noon Emeriti/Retiree Luncheons
NOTE: Emeriti luncheons will no longer be held at the
University Club, they will be at the Rec Pool Lodge.
Guests are invited to bring a bag lunch (at 11:30).
Complimentary coffee, tea and cookies will be available.
Wed., October 10, 2001 Richard Dorf “California Energy Challenges”
Thurs., Nov. 8, 2001 Bob Segar “Campus Planning”
Wed., Dec. 12, 2001 “The Bell Ringers”
Lunch will be served beginning at 11:30 a.m. Programs are 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Reserved parking will be in lot VP30 at the Rec Pool Lodge. Please display your parking pass.
2001-2002
The members of the Executive committee for
UCDEA for the coming year are as follows:
Pres. - Ed Costantini (Political Science)
Vice Pres. - John Owens (Political Science)
Secretary - Charles Judson (Entomology)
Treasurer - Harry Colvin (Neuro/Phys. & Beh/DBS)
Past Pres. - Paul Stumpf (Mol. & Cell Biol.)
Members at large:
Jerry kaneko (Vet. Med.)
Robert Campbell (Plant Pathology)
Ex Officio: Senate Emeriti Comm. Chair
Charles Nash (Chemistry)
Committee Chairs:
Comm. On Comm. - Tom Allen (Chemistry)
Program/Agenda - Charles Hess (Ass't to Prov.)
Univ. & Publ. Relations - Jerry Marr (Microbiology)
Emeriti Welfare - Richard Gable (Pol. Science)
Video Records - John Goss (Biol./Agr. Engr.)
History - Richard Gable (Political Science)
EmeriTimes - Ethel Sassenrath (Psych-MED)
At the annual UC Davis Fall Convocation, the ceremonial kickoff to the academic year, Chancellor Vanderhoef reviewed current and projected growth in a range of areas on the Davis Campus.
Fall enrollment estimates as of mid-October indicate the largest student body in UC Davis history, with a record high freshman population drawn from the largest-ever applicant pool. This is leading into the expected increase of 5000 students within the next ten years.
New buildings nearing completion include a new plant and environmental science building, and the Mondavi Center for Performing Arts. The University will also break ground on a sciences laboratory building east of Briggs Hall this year.
In the planning stages are Health Sciences expansion, new dormitories, a dining hall, a recreation center, and aquatic center and a stadium.
The Chancellor stressed that UC Davis priorities remain undergraduate instruction, graduate education and research, with undergraduate education remaining primary, notwithstanding that Davis is a research University. In recognizing the role of research, he noted that UC Davis researchers received $300 million this year, a 70% increase from 5 years ago.
In planning the growth of the campus, Vanderhoef stressed the importance of retaining the “college town” feeling of the Davis community and the importance of community input in decision-making, together with input from faculty, staff and students.
Mondavi Gives $35 M to UC Davis
Robert and Margrit Mondavi have announced they have donated $35 million to UC Davis: $10 million to complete the Center for the Arts and $25 million to create an Institute of Wine and Food Science.
The donation for the $60 million arts center brings the funding to within two million of its fund-raising goal and names it the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. The 1800-seat performance hall in the Center has already been named for Barbara Jackson and her late husband, (Professor emeritus) Turrentine Jackson in recognition of the $5 million donation made earlier this year. The Mondavi Center now under construction is scheduled to open in October 2002.
The Robert Mondavi Institute of Wine and Food Science will be part of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and groundbreaking is scheduled for 2004. The institute will include a winery, brewery and dairy manufacturing plant and will offer the largest wine and food science academic program in the world.
Robert Mondavi has observed that the two university complexes will combine food, wine and the arts -- a formula that he and his wife believe enhances the quality of life.
The 2001 session of the California Legislature which ended on September 14 was almost hijacked by electric power issues, but the University of California did not go entirely unnoticed, and along with many other state agencies did not fare particularly well.
The "original" State Budget for UC which the Governor submitted in January recognized that the budget proposed by the Regents in the preceding November had underestimated the increase that would be needed to maintain UC faculty salaries at "parity" in fiscal year 2001-2002 according to the customary CPEC methodology. Consequently, it asked for a net 3 % salary increase for faculty under the umbrella of UC's "compact" with the Governor and an additional 0.9% (or ca. $7 million) on top of that.
Faculty members and UC administrators actively lobbied for both of these augmentations, to no avail. In the end, UC's gross funding augmentation under the current "compact" with the Governor was cut essentially in half, and faculty and staff merits and promotions will consume virtually all the money remaining under that particular compact line item. UCOP has yet to announce the size of the faculty and staff COLAs for 2001-2002--or if there will even be any.
The scant good news is that the state will fully fund the academic year 2001-2002 student enrollment increase. The really BAD news is that the state's tax revenues for just the single month of June, 2001 fell short of the states "experts" predictions by more than $400 million. There is thus a strong likelihood that UC's budget allocation for 2002-2003 will be significantly smaller than the one just appropriated.
Along with the budget, the Legislature considered several other items of interest to the UC faculty. In the last week of the session the two houses took up identically-worded bills by Senator Romero (SB 1209) and Assembly member Keeley (AB 1611) that proposed methods to facilitate the financing of student, faculty and staff housing near UC and CSU campuses. In brief, the bills, if they both pass, would create a California Educational Facilities Authority that could enter into agreements with nonprofit entities to finance the costs of construction of the housing types in question. UC supported these bills in concept, but asked (unsuccessfully) that they be amended to include the Higher Education Housing Loan Program proposed by a UC Housing Task Force.
The Romero Bill passed the Senate but the clock ran out on the Keeley Bill in the Assembly. Apparently, however, Assembly "Rule 77" allows it to be considered after the September 14 "adjournment". (As is also true of UC, the Legislature has Rules and "Real" Rules.)
The Legislature passed SB 1061 (Alarcon) and sent it to the Governor. Beginning in 2002, this bill if "chaptered" would require the Regents to submit annual reports to the State Bureau of Audits by March 1 on specified activities relating to the obligations of the University under the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act. The Audit Bureau would then be required to submit reports to the Legislature by September 1 on the status of specified labor relations at UC. This bill was vigorously supported by every UC labor union.
The clock ran out on two other interesting items. Sadly, a conference committee was unable to agree on the wording of a proposed Education Facilities Bond Act. According to UC sources, the measure would have to have been passed in this session in order to make the March, 2002 general election ballot.
Finally, SB 713 (Sens. Alpert and Scott plus a whole host of coauthors in both houses of the Legislature) did not reach either floor this time out. In its current form this closely-watched bill would order the State to: "...insure that a sufficient number of affordable, high quality opportunities to obtain the applied education doctorate (Ed.D.) shall be made available
to interested candidates to meet the current and future demand for educational leadership in California's schools, colleges, and universities." It presumably will resurface in the 2002 legislative session.
The “Legislative Update” column in this and previous newsletters is available to us through the courtesy of Charles Nash, and stems from his role as Vice President for External Relations of the Council of UC Faculty Associations (after which CUCEA, the Council for UC Emeriti Associations was patterned). In other words, our UCD Emeriti Association has been coat-tailing on the efforts and expenditures of the UCD Faculty Association.
The Faculty Associations employ a professional lobbyist operating at the state Legislature, who monitors the UC budget and all legislation of interest to UC Faculty and advocates for issues that work for faculty, both active and emeritus. This is an expensive operation and becomes even more vital in these times of tightened state funding. (And 2002-2003 promises to be even worse),
Emeriti/ae can join the UCD Faculty Association at the reduced dues of $30 per year, but the Emeritus membership in UCDFA has been slowly dwindling. We are now alerted that, because of the apparent lack of interest and support, the updating service written for our newsletter may be no longer available to us.
Those interested in joining or renewing membership in the Faculty Association can send a check for $30 to Myrna Hays, Executive Director of the Davis Faculty Association, at 1129 Fordham Dr., Davis, indicating it is for membership for the 2001-2002 academic year.
It is to our interest to align ourselves with the active faculty and our mutual concerns.
Senior Learning Unlimited (SLU) in its fourth year
Senior Learning Unlimited (SLU) courses are being both taken and taught by UCD emeriti. This Fall, eleven courses are being offered, with 2, 4, or 6 sessions each during October and November. Topics include the US Constitution, American Art, Poetry, Tai Chi, Petroglyphs and Pictographs, Ragtime and Jazz, PC kindergarten for seniors and great silent movies.
Two emeriti are offering courses: Robert Matthews, emeritus geologist on “Petroglyphs/Pictographs & Nature’s Rock Art”, and Ralph Pomeroy, emeritus, Rhetoric and Communications, on “Laughter and the Great Silents”.
The Emeriti Association was instrumental in getting the SLU program started (through UCD Extension). Now in its fourth year, the diversity and availability of the courses have made the volunteer program popular with seniors in Davis.
IN MEMORIUM
Robert M. Cello, Professor Emeritus, Surgical and Radiological Services, Vet Med and Emeritus Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, May 2001
Loring F. Chapman, Professor Emeritus, Psychiatry, Medical School and Emeritus Director of the Pain Unit, UCDMC, May 2001
Maynard Cummings, Wildlife Specialist Emeritus, and Unit Director of Wildlife and Sea Grant Extension Program, Sept. 2001
Constant C. Delwiche, Professor Emeritus and past chair, Land Air and Water Resources, past president of UCD Emeriti Assoc., Sept. 2001
Frederick K. Juenger, Professor Emeritus, Law School, Jan. 2001
Philip D. Koblik, Professor Emeritus, Surgical and Radiological Science, Vet Med, Dec. 2000
Coby Lorenzen, Jr., Professor Emeritus, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, July 2001
Arnold Meadow, Professor Emeritus, Psychiatry, Med School, Mar. 2001
Milton Miller, Professor Emeritus, of Zoology, May 2001
Herman J. Phaff, Professor Emeritus, Food Science and Technology, Sept. 2001
Donald M. Reynolds, Professor Emeritus, Microbiology, July 2001
Delbert True, Professor Emeritus, Anthropology, June 2001
Wilbur O. Wilson, Professor Emeritus, Animal Science, Sept. 2001
EMERITREKS: Ursula Abbott, Professor Emeritae, Animal Science, adds Australia to her worldwide treks.
Ursula Abbott is a recognized scholar/researcher in the field of Developmental Biology. In the pursuit of this profession she has visited many countries around the world to attend scientific meetings. Since retirement she has continued active roles in professional organizations (national and international) and in collaborative research related to her specialty, and thus continues to travel to meetings. Among places she has visited professionally are Kyoto, Montreal, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Kiev and the usual European meeting sites in Italy, France, England, Scotland and Holland.
However, since retirement she has made a point to travel each year to at least one place that she has not visited before. This year she braved the 13-hour flight to Australia (which she booked by computer) going directly to Sydney. From there she took a preset circle tour of Cairns, Alice Springs and back to Sydney. In each place she spent days getting to know the countryside and the culture.
In Cairns, famous for its opal mines, she acquired an unusual black opal and visited the coral reefs famous for underwater observation of marine life by glass bottom boats or snorkeling. From Cairns she flew to Alice Springs in the heart of the outback, where she spent several days getting to experience the area. Here camels have been imported and camelback rides substitute for horseback rides. Her visit included a conducted group camelback ride into the outback… Ursula’s steed was a mother camel whose baby kept nuzzling Ursula’s leg as she rode, and lacking other transportation, she was also escorted back to her rather elegant hotel riding a camel! Returning to Sydney she visited the “rocks area”, the spectacular beach, the Sydney Zoo, and, of course, Sydney’s famous Opera House.
Other past post-retirement trips have included Nepal and the French Alps. Looking ahead she is already planning a trip to Africa where she will join a safari into Kenya. While Ursula Abbott retains interest in her research area, another major focus in her retirement appears to be on travel, both professionally and for pleasure.
EMERITI IN RETIREMENT: Kurt Kreith, Professor Emeritus, Mathematics
For all of his professional career, Kurt Kreith has had a special interest in the teaching of mathematics. Since his retirement in 1994, he as continued to exercise that interest. He has authored two books with his emeritus colleague, Gulbank Chakerian. One of these, titled Iterative Algebra and Dynamic Modeling, takes the teaching of algebra into the computer age. A student version which, can be used as a class textbook is being published this October with the title, “Teaching Mathematics Using Technology.”
More recently, Kreith has helped develop a Davis campus summer program for motivated, academically talented high school students. Called COSMOS, this program is one of three sites of the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science. It is generally patterned after the European/International schools for special studies and, more specifically, after the state-funded California State Summer School for the Arts. COSMOS programs were initiated in summer 2000 on the UC Irvine and UC Santa Cruz campuses. In 2001 the Davis campus was included as the third COSMOS site.
Students completing grades 8 through 12 are eligible to apply to this program. Those selected are among the brightest and most motivated students across the state who wish to learn advanced mathematics and science and prepare for careers in these areas. This past summer, during its first year on the Davis campus, 79 students came to Davis, lived on campus for 4 weeks, and participated in one of six clusters consisting of two courses. Cluster titles included: 1) Materials Science; 2) Optical Science; 3) Earth and Atmosphere; 4) Life on Earth; 5) Computers in Physics and Robotics; and 6) Mathematics. In the Cluster on Mathematics , for example, the 2 courses offered were The Mathematics of Breaking Things Up and Space, and Time, and Gravity. The 20 or more faculty teaching these 12 courses were drawn from UC Davis and other campuses. The mathematics course faculty included 3 Davis emeritus professors of mathematics: Sherman Stein, Gulbank Chakerian and Kurt Kreith.
Getting COSMOS up and going on the Davis campus last summer has been a major commitment, and Kreith is looking forward to the program continuing in summer 2002 and beyond. In addition, he serves as statewide co-director of the California Mathematics Project, an in-service program for teachers which is part of the California Subject Matter Projects funded through the Office of the President. For Kurt Kreith, retirement does not mean slowing down, but rather having more time to do what he really wants to do in updating the teaching of mathematics and science.
(For others who may want to know more about these programs, Kreith directs them to their websites: www.COSMOS.ucdavis.edu and www.CSMP.UCOP.edu.)
PUBLICATIONS OF NOTE
Two publications on the history of UC and UCD are scheduled for availability at the UC Davis Bookstore.
The long-awaited Davis campus history “Abundant Harvest: The History of the University of California, Davis” is scheduled to be available at the bookstore in late October or early November. This book is the result of several years of study and promotion by Richard Gable and his History Committee. The History of the University of California, Davis was written by Ann Scheuring, together with research assistants. Funding for the project came from individual staff, faculty, and emeriti/ae from all the UCD schools and colleges as well as a major grant from the Chancellor’s office.
Another recent publication on UC history is available now at the UCD bookstore: “Academic Triumph, the Blue and Gold: A Personal Memoir of the University of California, 1949 – 1967” by Clark Kerr, former president of UC.
A third, in-house publication of the revised handbook “Information for Emeritus/a Faculty” is currently being distributed to all UCD emeriti/ae. This revision of an earlier handbook was edited by Roger Romani and the UCDEA Committee on University and Public Relations, (2000-2001). Costs were defrayed by the Office of the Chancellor.
(UCDEA past president, Orville Thompson, suggests that some of the privileges given to Davis campus emeriti/ae (listed in this handbook) are not given on all other UC campuses. As enumerated in the handbook, these include free Parking Permits (not accorded on any other UC campus), free library permits and services, Medical and Dental insurance coverage and access to campus facilities. He suggests emeriti/ae should be reminded of these benefits from time to time.)
The College of Letters and Science
is now Fifty!
The College of Letters and Science is celebrating its 50th anniversary on October 19. Faculty, Emeriti/ae and Alumni will be sharing a celebratory gathering that evening with the option of attending the Homecoming football game (UCD vs. Cal Poly), the next day.
This will be a special event for Emeriti/ae who remember UC Davis back in the 1950’s.
******************************************************
EXECUTIVE & STANDING COMMITTEES 2001-02
President Ed Costantini
Vice President John Owens
Secretary Charles Judson
Treasurer Harry Colvin
Past President Paul Stumpf
Members-at-Large: Robert Campbell
Jerry Kaneko
Committee Chairs:
Committee on Committees Tom Allen
Program and Agenda Charles Hess
University and Public Relations Jerry Marr
Emeriti Welfare Richard Gable
Video Records John Goss
History Richard Gable
Editor: EmeriTimes Ethel Sassenrath
Ex officio:
Chair Senate Emeriti Committee Charles Nash
Academic Senate Staff Ass’t. Jennifer Gastineau
(530) 752-2231 – phone; (530) 752-9690 – fax
jlgastineau@ucdavis.edu – e-mail
COUNCIL OF UC EMERITI ASSOCIATIONS (CUCEA) OFFICERS – 2001-2002
Chair: Sheldon Messinger (B)
Chair Elect: Julian Feldman (I)
Secretary: Charles E. Berst (LA)
Treasurer: Leon M. Schwartz (I)
Information Officer: Philip Levine (LA)
Historian: Ralph K. Nair (SB)
Honorary Member: Moses A. Greenfield (LA)
Archivist: Norah E. Jones (LA)
Past Chair: Marjorie Caserio (SD)
C/o Academic Senate
University of California
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616-8502
I.D. #0037