First lady stars at Merced
Michelle Obama addressed a historic graduating class at 51ԹϺ Merced’s commencement on May 16.
“We are going to need all of you graduates,” Obama told the crowd of more than 12,000 in her 29-minute speech. “Make your legacy a lasting one. Dream big.”
The students constituted the first class to go from freshman to senior year at 51ԹϺ Merced. Some 450 students were eligible to graduate from 51ԹϺ Merced this spring — about 430 of them seniors with bachelor’s degrees, the rest with graduate degrees. 51ԹϺ Merced opened in 2005.
51ԹϺ Merced students had lobbied to bring the first lady to campus as a commencement speaker. They wrote letters to Obama, her office, and her friends and family.
Hackers harass Berkeley
51ԹϺ Berkeley began informing students, alumni and others on May 8 that their personal information may have been stolen after hackers entered into computer databases in the campus’s health services center.
According to 51ԹϺ Berkeley officials, the databases contained individuals’ Social Security numbers, health insurance information and non-treatment medical information, such as immunization records and names of some of the physicians they may have seen for diagnoses or treatment.
51ԹϺ Berkeley administrators said the hackers did not access the university’s medical records. The campus learned of the breach in April, immediately removed from service the exposed databases to prevent any further attacks, and alerted campus police and the FBI. Overall, more than 160,000 individuals were alerted.
51ԹϺLA body parts conviction
A Los Angeles County jury May 14 found a Rancho Cucamonga businessman guilty of grand theft by embezzlement, tax evasion and other felonies in connection with a scheme to sell body parts donated to 51ԹϺLA’s medical school.
According to 51ԹϺLA officials, Ernest Nelson was found guilty of selling body parts to medical and pharmaceutical research companies without permission from the campus. His co-conspirator, Henry Reid, the former director of 51ԹϺLA’s donated body program, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January to more than four years in prison and ordered to pay $500,000 in compensation to the David Geffen School of Medicine.
51ԹϺTV goes live in LA
The Los Angeles television market will now offer 51ԹϺ Television on cable citywide. The 24-hour 51ԹϺTV channel went live May 6 in Los Angeles on Time Warner Cable.
The rollout across the entire city will be completed in the coming weeks, allowing 51ԹϺTV to reach over 660,000 new households, according to the 51ԹϺ Office of the President. As the city-designated education channel, 51ԹϺTV offers viewers a wide range of general interest programming from throughout the 51ԹϺ system on topics ranging from science, health, public affairs, humanities and the arts, as well as specialized programming.
Details are available at www.uctv.tv.
Duckett to head HR
The 51ԹϺ Board of Regents on May 7 appointed Dwaine Duckett as vice president for human resources of the 51ԹϺ system. He was due to begin his job May 15.
Duckett was selected from a pool of nearly 30 candidates following a nationwide search. The appointment was made at the regents’ May 7 meeting, which was conducted by teleconference. Duckett, 45, previously served as vice president for human resources at Heinz North America. He will receive an annual base salary of $300,000.
51ԹϺ stimulus Web site
The 51ԹϺ has developed a Web site to provide campuses, faculty researchers, students and staff with the latest information on how federal stimlulus funds may be used throughout the university system. View it at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/ economicstimulus.
According to the 51ԹϺ Office of the President, the site will list grant opportunities, agency updates as well as compliance, review and accountability information.
— Dateline staff
Media Resources
Clifton B. Parker, Dateline, (530) 752-1932, cparker@ucdavis.edu