[Faculty] Fwd: March 2025 VPDUE Quarterly Newsletter

[Louie F. Rodriguez]

*March news from UC Riverside's Division of Undergraduate Education*
View this email in your browser
Dear UCR Colleagues,

I can’t believe how fast another quarter has come and gone. It seems like
just yesterday we were welcoming our fellow Highlanders back to campus
following our holiday break. The truth is I always look forward to the
start of another quarter and the excitement that comes with new courses,
programs, and as for Spring, a new class of students anxiously awaiting
their acceptance to UCR.

The Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) is happy to share that we
will be welcoming the Pre-Professional Advising Center (PPAC) led by
Charles Scruggs and our new pre-law advisor. Additionally, we are looking
ahead to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of UCR’s ROTC program with a
celebration come spring. Let’s not forget our upcoming Undergraduate
Research & Creative Activities Symposium from April 21-25.

As always, we look forward to collaborative efforts with our campus
partners. It is our goal to ensure student success remains at the forefront
of our work at DUE.

Sincerely,



*Louie F. Rodriguez *
Vice Provost and Dean
Division of Undergraduate Education
Professor of Education
University of California, Riverside
Louie.rodriguez at ucr.edu
ue.ucr.edu
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=d28b029439&e=33c557a71f>


DUE Collaboration Results in ARC Syllabus Language Shared with all UCR
Faculty

About two to three times a quarter, the VPDUE, in collaboration with our
UIA Fellow Nelly Cruz, sends a communication to all UCR faculty focused on
pedagogy, data, and resources.  In January 2025, we shared a unique
communication with all faculty focused on the various resources available
to students in the ARC. *Thanks to the leadership of Dr. Rena Roberts, and
in collaboration with the Academy of Distinguished Teaching (ADT), faculty
have access to updated language to include in their syllabi and Canvas
course materials* related to ARC’s resources and services available to
students.
New Kessler Scholars Program Coordinator

Let's welcome *Andrea Martinez-Frausto* to the Division of Undergraduate
Education. She will begin her new role as Kessler Scholars Program
Coordinator on March 3. Andrea will be responsible for enhancing
educational opportunities and academic progress to degree completion for
Kessler Scholars who tend to be the first in their family to attend college.
VPDUE Rodriguez visits UCDC students

UCR's Vice Provost of the Division of Undergraduate Education, Dr. Louie
Rodriguez visited UCDC in January. He had dinner with UCR students
participating in UCDC this winter quarter, along with UCDC Executive
Director* Dr. Tanya Golash-Boza*, UCDC Director of Academic and Student
Services, *Dr. Jimmy Ellis*, and *Michael Nieto*, UCDC Manager of Campus
Relations and External Affairs. Dr. Rodriguez said, "...it is evident from
the students’ excitement that the *UCDC program is a transformative
experience* for our UCR students." Indeed it is!

Thank you so much for visiting UCDC, Dr. Rodriguez!
Honors Students See Hamilton on Broadway

Dr. Echeverria *hosted 60 honors students at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre
on October 10, 2024*. Honors Staff Kristine Parada, Maria Rosa, Jovan
Smith, and Mayra Jones also attended the event. RSVP for the event filled
up in 20 minutes and a waitlist had to be created that included an
additional 35 students hoping to go on the trip.

The inspiration behind the field trip came from Dr. Echeverria's fall
course entitled, "Principles of Civic Engagement: Start where thou ART." It
encourages students to use the arts--their talents and creative interests-
to engage with communities and causes important to them. We began the
quarter by reading "The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy and the
Making of a Culture War," which discusses reviews the history of the
Federal Theater Project, one initiative of FDR's New Deal in the 1930s. But
it was "attacked on the grounds that it promoted 'un-American' activity,
sowing the seeds not only for McCarthyism of the 1950s but for our own era
of merciless polarization."  Hamilton seemed a perfect pairing for this
reading.


New Chair of the Journal's Faculty Advisory Board

The UCR Undergraduate Research Journal is excited to announce that* Dr.
William Grover* has accepted the position of Chair of the Journal’s Faculty
Advisory Board. Dr. Grover is an Associate Professor in the Department of
Bioengineering. His research focuses on the development of medical devices,
sensors, and other bioinstruments. Dr. Grover has been at UCR since 2012
and is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teaching. Prior to joining
UCR’s faculty, he completed his postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the
University of California, Berkeley. *Dr. Grover is a long-time member of
the Journal’s Faculty Advisory Board and is excited to help guide it into a
new chapter! *A special *thanks to** Jennifer Kavetsky, Dr. Morris Maduro
(past Journal Faculty Chair), and Gladis Herrera-Berkowitz* for serving on
the selection committee.
*CUREL participated in R'STEM Find Your Research Match*

CUREL participated in *R’STEM Find Your Research Match* on February 13,
2025. *Over 540 students attended the event, which was co-sponsored by
CNAS, BCOE, and ASUCR.* Students had the opportunity to:

   - Learn about summer or year-long undergraduate research programs
   - High-impact programs
   - Research/industry internships
   - Faculty-led research

Three CUREL staff members and five CUREL Student Ambassadors introduced
students to Excel+, R’Courses, and CUREL’s undergraduate research programs.
This event was well attended and provided the CUREL Team an opportunity to
connect directly with enthusiastic students.
Record Number of R'Courses Offered Winter Quarter

Winter quarter will have a record number of R’Course offerings with 26
unique classes offered!
Many Fall 2024 R’Courses will be returning in Winter 2025, including
“Everyday AI” and “Politics of Spaceflight” as well as the popular
“Disneyland Imagineering” and “Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder.”

In addition to returning favorites, 13 new R’Courses will be offered in
Winter 2025. Topics include everything from “Patient Ethics in Hospital
Settings” to “Modeling Music” to “Unveiling Ayurveda’s Secrets.” We’re
especially excited about *“Local Public Radio Storytelling with 91.9 KVRC
News” *in which students will produce stories that will be aired on the
IE’s NPR affiliate station!

View all R'Courses
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=114087654d&e=33c557a71f>

UCR Board of Trustee Chair Visits DUE Office

On October 18, UCR Board of Trustees Chair *Wally Bakare visited the DUE
offices* for lunch with three students and VPDUE Rodriguez. Mr. Bakare is a
DUE supporter and advocate who launched the Excel+ Career Readiness plus
Leadership program and Tilga Internship program within the DUE. We are
grateful for Mr. Bakare's partnership and interest in engaging with our
students.


First-Year Faculty Teaching Excellence Seminar Update

In December 2024, the *Academy of Distinguished Teaching (ADT) concluded
its second offering of the First-Year Faculty Teaching Excellence Seminar
Series *with a panel about the role of teaching in the merit/promotion
process. Over the 10 weeks of the quarter, faculty, postdocs, and staff
attended a series of five workshops to learn about inclusive and excellent
teaching.
*Copyright ©  2025 Division of Undergraduate Education, All rights
reserved.*

*Our mailing address is:*
Division of Undergraduate Education
Student Services Building #2106
900 University Avenue
Riverside, CA 92521

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/profile?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=6a473f0f9b&e=33c557a71f&c=f47ef1acfb>
or unsubscribe from this list
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=6a473f0f9b&t=b&e=33c557a71f&c=f47ef1acfb>.

[image: Instagram]
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=2701b8c3e9&e=33c557a71f>
[image: LinkedIn]
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=b23185e8e9&e=33c557a71f>
[image: X (formerly Twitter)]
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=d361d6d9a8&e=33c557a71f>
[image: Facebook]
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=1072c11a88&e=33c557a71f>
[image: Website]
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=0a2d697b6c&e=33c557a71f>
 ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ͏  ͏  ͏
 ͏ ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://scotmail.ucr.edu/pipermail/faculty/attachments/20250324/cdb625d0/attachment-0001.htm>