AAAS News: Connect with members via Trellis, AAAS’s new communication and collaboration platform

In an effort to become a multimedia, multi-platform science communication enterprise, rather than a print-centric publisher, AAAS recently invested in the creation of a new science communication tool known as Trellis.  The goal is to better enable the scientific community to connect across disciplines, affiliations, and geographies in order to communicate and work together more effectively. Continue to full article…

Toward Better National Data on Post-Secondary Education

Announcement from Inside Higher Ed

The Institute for Higher Education Policy is today releasing a series of papers that, taken together, are designed to point the way toward a more vibrant set of national data on student outcomes.

The papers, which come from a wide range of policy experts, cover an array of topics, such as the possibility of creating a federal student-level data system, how to link existing federal data systems, strategies for protecting privacy of students and the possible role of the National Student Clearinghouse.

Professor Will Conley presented as 2016 My Last Lecture Award Recipient

Please join us in congratulating 2016 My Last Lecture Award Recipient:

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Professor Will Conley, UCLA Department of Mathematics

More than 50 years ago, the “My Last Lecture” award was established to honor a UCLA professor who is an inspiration to students. Every year, the Alumni Scholars Club asks students from all over campus to vote for their favorite professor, the one whose teaching has inspired them the most. These notable UCLA professors were given the chance to put all of their life lessons and advice for students into one “last lecture.”

The Alumni Scholars Club (ASC) hosted this year’s ceremony on Tuesday May 17th at the De Neve Auditorium. On this day Professor Conley not only received his award, but also gave an inspiring lecture on the question posed to the original lecturers more than 50 years ago:  What would you tell your audience if you had but one lecture to give – your last lecture on this earth?

Congrats, Will, and thank you for your inspirational teaching!

To see past recipients of this award and watch their lectures, please see the UCLA Alumni website here.

Professors Frank Laski and Jamie Lloyd-Smith are the 2016 Distinguished Teaching Award Winners

CEILS  is proud to share the news that two faculty members from the Division of Life Sciences are recipients of the 2016 Distinguished Teaching Award, awarded by the Academic Senate Committee on Teaching: Dr. Frank Laski (MCDB and the LS Core) and Dr. Jamie Lloyd-Smith (EEB).

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Frank and Jamie are among six award recipients this year, in a large field of nominees with extraordinary records in the classroom, which is a testimony to their accomplishments as teachers, mentors, and colleagues. The Distinguished Teaching Award honors individuals who bring respect and admiration to the scholarship of teaching.

 

Congratulations, Frank and Jamie!

UCLA Climate Scientists Aradhna Tripati and Alex Hall featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Watch the video here (warning: includes bleeped profanity!)

Tripati and Hall were among 6 climate scientists featured in Kimmel’s late night show. Jimmy takes a moment to talk about climate change and the confusing political argument that has emerged around it. NASA says that 97 percent of climate scientists agree that the warming we are experiencing is very likely due to human activity.

New Report: Building a Better Future STEM Faculty: How Teaching Development Programs Can Improve Undergraduate Education

View Full Report
View a summary article with key take-aways

The Longitudinal Study of Future STEM Scholars was conducted by a team led by Dr. Mark Connolly at the University of Wisconsin. It examined the effects of teaching-focused professional development programs used by STEM doctoral students with academic aspirations (future STEM faculty). Over 2,000 doctoral students from three research universities (ASU, UW, UW), were surveyed 3 times over 5 years.

Tama Hasson and Michael Alfaro Among the Winners for the 2016 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards

The Academic Senate and its Committee on Diversity and Equal Opportunity (CODEO) have announced the recipients of the 2015-2016 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Awards. Each year, CODEO honors one undergraduate student, one graduate student, one staff and four faculty members for their contributions to furthering a diverse, impartial, and inclusive environment at UCLA.

 

alfaroFaculty Student Development DEI Award Recipients: Professor Michael Alfaro, a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, is this year’s Faculty Student Development DEI Award recipient. In the Spring of 2014, Professor Alfaro was one of the campus leaders who was tasked with developing a proposal to establish a diversity course requirement for undergraduate students in the College of Letters and Science. The proposal articulated the goals of the diversity requirement at UCLA as well as set criteria for courses satisfying the requirement, including numerous community-based courses. His leadership in this area contributed to the successful passage of the diversity requirement. Professor Alfaro also chaired the Diversity Implementation Committee that was charged with developing a process for syllabi evaluation, determining demand, and existing capacity for the new requirement and identifying additional resources required to mount the requirement for Fall 2015. He currently chairs both the Diversity Initiative Steering Committee and the Diversity Requirement ad hoc Committee.

 

hassonStaff Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award Recipient: Tama Hasson, the Academic Director of the Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences (PEERS), is this year’s Staff DEI Award recipient. She has personally worked with and mentored more than 1000 students through a variety of programs at UCLA, all of which emphasize the success of students from underserved backgrounds. Dr. Hasson also played a leading role in the development of the curriculum that prepares these students to succeed in majors where they often are not successful. Since arriving at UCLA she has obtained at least 10 grants to support underserved and minority students to achieve educational and research excellence.