News Archive

June 13, 2011 — Even though she's a staff member, Anna Gandolfi looks forward to commencement every year. And she starts thinking about it way before June. That's because she helps to plan the numerous graduation ceremonies. In addition to her duties as the business officer at John Muir College, she took on the additional commencement coordination duties in 2008 when the Council of Provosts appointed her to the position. She has worked at UC San Diego for more than two decades and was named a UC San Diego Exemplary Employee of the Year in 2006. She has also served as Chair of the Staff Association. In this interview, she talks about the challenges and fun of coordinating so many commencement ceremonies, her volunteer work and what she's learned about UC San Diego over the years.

June 13, 2011 — From artwork to outreach, the University of California, San Diego continues to institute programs and policies aimed at enhancing campus climate and welcoming a diverse community.

June 13, 2011 — More than 3,300 members of the UC San Diego community donated over 62,000 hours of service during the university’s 50th anniversary celebration, contributing roughly $1.5 million of free labor, according to calculations from Independent Sector, which provides the value of a volunteer hour.

May 31, 2011 — From "Glee" to "The Sing-Off," television shows are bringing a cappella singing into the mainstream. And a new a cappella group at UC San Diego—Acamazing—is gaining popularity right here in La Jolla. Composed of 19 students, the group has a number of songs under their belts, which they've performed both on and off campus. You can see video of their concerts on their website and on YouTube. Freshman Caitlyn Cibulsky serves as the administrative affairs officer for the group and, in this interview, she talks about why Acamazing is special.

May 16, 2011 — As the new Vice Chancellor for Research, Sandra Brown oversees an office responsible for many of the university's key functions, including Organized Research Units, contracts & grants, technology transfer, animal care and welfare, research ethics and postdoctoral scholars, among others. A professor and researcher herself, she knows firsthand both the rewards and challenges of UC San Diego's research enterprise. She was appointed to her position in December 2010, just after the university surpassed $1 billion in research funding for the first time, a milestone that included bringing in more federal stimulus dollars than any other UC campus. In this interview, she talks about why research is an integral part of UC San Diego's mission and 50-year history, and what's next for the Office of Research Affairs.

May 16, 2011 — Farrell Ackerman is a professor in the Department of Linguistics. Recently, he has been working on the description and theoretical analysis of an underdocumented Kordofanian language, Moro, spoken in Sudan.

May 2, 2011 — After growing up in a predominantly Latino community in Los Angeles, Jacob Bailey had an eye-opening experience when he transferred from a Southern California community college to the University of Utah as an undergraduate. He realized he was one of only seven Latinos in his class at the College of Science, so he set out on a personal mission to recruit and encourage underrepresented students to attend college. Now a second-year medical student at UC San Diego, he continues his outreach efforts through the School of Medicine. He is determined to give back to his community through his research and career in medicine. .

April 18, 2011 — After losing a college professor to AIDS, and later close friends to the disease, Steffanie Strathdee has dedicated herself to HIV-prevention and research. Now the Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and Director of the Global Health Initiative at UC San Diego, she is focused on enhancing collaboration and communication among global health researchers on campus. She remains engaged in a number of HIV prevention research projects and training programs in international settings including Mexico, India, Canada and Afghanistan, and she leads three NIH-funded studies about HIV risk behavior. In addition, she is a Harold Simon Professor and Chief of the Division of Global Public Health in the Department of Medicine. In this interview, she talks about her research, the importance of collaboration in addressing global health issues, and how she and others at UC San Diego are taking action.

April 18, 2011 — Richard Carson is a professor of economics. He specializes in environmental and natural resource economics. He has worked on issues related to air pollution, energy, growth management, natural disasters, non-market valuation and water. He also works in the areas of econometrics and consumer marketing.

April 4, 2011 — Jessica Baltmanas is connecting to her roots — the garden variety that is. You can often find her exercising her green thumb in UC San Diego's community gardens. As an environmental policy major, she believes in the power of farming to provide cost-efficient, sustainable food and to reduce dependence on other food sources. This is just one of Jessica's many green practices; she is also an EcoNaut who spreads the word to other students about environmentally friendly living. In addition, she's a sustainability coordinator with the Price Center. In this interview, she talks about why it's important to her to be green and her role in UC San Diego's upcoming 50th anniversary Green Open House.