Oct. 15 - Landmarks photo contest winners, 2021 Distinguished Educator awards
Section 1
A fitting way to end Staff Appreciation Week: with congratulations to Donna Marie Garcia and the Student Center’s night housekeeping team, which won the UCI Landmarks photo contest. Clockwise from front chair: Lupe Galvan, Araceli Nava, Cristobal Jacobo, Silvia Segovia and Kendy Barajas. Not pictured are fellow team members Jose Lopez, Rosario Villarruel, Maria Gutierrez and Martha Campos. “We are very proud to work here,” Garcia says, “and so happy our students have returned.” See Instagram post
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
Chamber bestows awards to Michael Dennin and Constance Steinkuehler
The Greater Irvine Chamber’s Distinguished Educators program aims to celebrate the role that Irvine’s world-class education plays in helping the city live up to its promise as a model community and its ability to sustain economic vitality by ensuring a continuous skilled workforce. At an Irvine Hilton ceremony on Wednesday, the program’s inaugural Educator of the Year award was presented to Michael Dennin, vice provost for teaching and learning and dean of undergraduate education. Constance Steinkuehler, professor of informatics, received the Distinguished Program: Technology award on behalf of the Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences.
Survivor beats breast cancer, not once but twice
LeeAnn Brill, a registered pharmacist from Henderson, NV, who first came to UCI Health in 2015 when she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer in her right breast, credits “Team LeeAnn”–surgical oncologist Dr. Karen Lane, clinical director of the UCI Health Breast Health Center, and medical oncologist Dr. Rita Mehta, a national leader in breast cancer treatment–with giving her the gift of life... twice.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
Friday fun fact
Teaching teachers: UC has nearly 8,000 teacher professional development and preparation programs across California.
FDA panel recommends Johnson & Johnson boosters
The committee unanimously approved a second dose of the one-shot vaccine that is to be administered at least two months after the first dose. Before the vote, a top FDA official said the agency may also allow J&J recipients to receive a booster shot of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines but gave no timetable for a final decision.
A primer on what we know about mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines
Does getting a dose of Pfizer vaccine after getting a single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine trigger production of more antibodies than a second dose of the J&J would? Are the messenger RNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna virtually interchangeable, or does switching even there produce a broader set of immune responses? Answering those questions is the goal of a trial conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
EVENTS
Bright Horizons Back-Up Care webinar
Tuesday, 9 a.m. (sponsored by Human Resources Wellness)
UC Global Learning Opportunity Week (UC GLOW)
Tuesday - Thursday, 9 a.m. (sponsored by Study Abroad Center)
Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.
UCI IN THE NEWS
Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register and The Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.
Bill Clinton is hospitalized at UCI Medical Center for infection, aide says
The New York Times, Oct. 14
Cited: Clinton’s physicians, Dr. Lisa Bardack and Dr. Alpesh Amin, chair of the department of medicine and director of hospital medicine, UCI Health
Battle over Texas abortion law leaves Black people behind
MSNBC (audio), Oct. 14
Cited: Michele Goodwin, chancellor’s professor of law and founding director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy
Doctors say Pfizer booster rollout Is met with enthusiasm
Verywell Health, Oct. 14
Cited: Dr. Shruti Gohil, associate medical director of epidemiology and infection prevention, UCI Health
#UCICONNECTED
Tatis Jr. puts the short in shortstop
Tatis Jr. may not stand 6 feet 3 inches, vacuum every ball hit his way or relish making the 2021 National League All-Star team, but his antics light up audiences every bit as those of his namesake, Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. The “newest MVP” at San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s is a 6.4-pound tamandua, which is a genus of anteaters with two species. See Instagram post.
Question sent to UCI Digest and answered by Robert Windell Rice, director of custodial & grounds operations:
Where do all of the nearly finished paper towel and toilet paper rolls go to? Custodial does an AMAZING job on campus, rolls are always mostly full. How do they do it? They never let anything get down to the end, so no one is ever stuck needing anything. That's great! Do the mostly used rolls go to waste or are they rerolled into bigger rolls for reuse or...?
The roll ends are used in the cleaning process to clean windows, mirrors, etc. and then once used are all recycled.
#UCIconnected spotlights student, alumni, faculty and staff photos, essays, shoutouts, hobbies, artwork, unusual office decorations, activities and more. Send submissions via email or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.
COVID-19 NOTIFICATION AND RESOURCES
No new campus cases
No employee or student tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. For more information, visit the UCI COVID-19 dashboard.
Remember to upload your vaccine record
Potential workplace exposure
UCI provides this notification of a potential workplace COVID-19 exposure. Employees and subcontractors who were in these locations on the dates listed may have been exposed to the coronavirus. You may be entitled to various benefits under applicable federal and state laws and University-specific policies and agreements. The full notification is available on the UCI Forward site. If you have been identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 case, the UCI Contact Tracing Program will contact you and provide additional direction.
For COVID-19 questions
UCI Forward - information on campus status and operational updates
UCI Health COVID-19 Updates - important information related to UCI Health
UCI Coronavirus Response Center - available at covid19@uci.edu or via phone at (949) 824-9918
Contact Tracing and Vaccine Navigation Services - assistance with vaccines and vaccine uploads; available at contacttracing@uci.edu or via phone at (949) 824-2300
Program in Public Health chatline - answers to questions about COVID-19
For questions specific to your personal health situation, please contact your doctor or healthcare provider.