goings on this Tuesday

[Bill Maurer]

    Dear all,

    The morning began with an all-staff meeting in Social Sciences, with
    updates on everything from commencement and communications to plans
    for additional staff training and engagement opportunities. We're also
    surveying the staff for their ideas about our eventual transition to
    Stage 2 and 3 of the state's pandemic roadmap. Thank you all for your
    ongoing support of our mission and for your continued esprit de corps! It
    was wonderful to see everyone this morning.

    I know a lot of grad students are applying for DTEI Fellows positions
    and have questions about the "have you coordinated with a faculty member
    already?" part. Don't worry if you have not already connected with a
    specific faculty member--if you get funded through this program, we
    will find a place for you. We've collected needs assessments from the
    departments and have a pretty good sense of what sorts of support each
    department will require.

    Other news: There have already been some terrific events this week
    in the School and it's only Tuesday. I want to commend especially the
    participants on the panel on the Racial Dynamics of the Coronavirus and
    to thank especially Prof. Michael Tesler (Poli Sci) for organizing it,
    and Associate Dean Belinda Robnett and the Office of Faculty Development
    and Diversity for sponsoring it. Thanks, as always, to our dedicated
    team who makes these events happen--Andy Hill and his team in Computing
    Services, Allison Marks in the Dean's Office, and Heather and Luis in
    Communications. Lots more events on deck for the rest of the week.

    Tired of webinars and want to curl up with some good articles about
    pandemics instead? Try Pandemic Perspectives, a collection of reprints
    from anthropology over the past few years reminding us that while what
    we are experiencing now is global in scope, communities around the world
    have responded creatively and with compassion to major disease outbreaks
    in the past (featuring Prof. Mei Zhan in Anthropology).

    Or want to not think about the pandemic anymore? Read about
    Prof. Davin Phoenix’s (Poli Sci) work on anger in politics in today's
    FiveThirtyEight. Or, if you were freaked out by the OIT email about
    Yuja privacy issues, then join me in celebrating Prof. Mark Steyvers'
    (Cog Sci) receipt of the Future of Privacy Forum’s first-ever Award
    For Research Data Stewardship. Mark and Lumos Labs, the parent company
    behind Lumosity, got this recognition for developing privacy techniques
    to transform data on user play into innovative cognitive science research.

    OK, OK. I hear you. Enough pandemics, politics, and privacy concerns. Time
    to re-visit the Samueli Integrative Health Institute's Stay Home, Stay
    Well resources for exercise, mindfulness and healthy habits, and UCI
    Be Well!

    Stay well!

    Bill