[Ucrfacultyandstaff] Campus Update - February 2022

[Chancellor]

Dear Campus Community,

Today, on the last day of February, we have arrived at the end of Black History Month and on the eve of Women's History Month. While I hope each of us finds ways to regularly celebrate these two groups, I also acknowledge the value in pausing once a year to highlight achievements and accomplishments by groups who are too often underrepresented in our country's narrative.

As I mentioned last month, 2022 is a year for celebration as we mark 50 years of African Student Programs. "Still Rising<https://news.ucr.edu/ucr-magazine/winter-2022/still-rising>," a just-published feature in UCR Magazine, offers insight about Black history on this campus and details the important work of ASP.

The cover for the current edition of the magazine was illustrated by John Jennings, professor of media and cultural studies, who recently received a 2021 Hugo Award<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2022/01/19/graphic-novelist-wins-top-science-fiction-award> for his graphic adaptation of Octavia Butler's science fiction novel Parable of the Sower.

Which reminds me...have you visited the list of honors and awards bestowed on UCR faculty recently? Since the beginning of 2022, I count twenty awards listed on our news site.

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI)<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2022/02/11/national-academy-inventors-recognizes-four-ucr-professors> recently elected Richard Schrock as fellow and elected Hailing Jin, Cengiz Ozkan, and Anandasankar Ray as senior members of the academy. Marilyn Fogel, distinguished professor emerita of geo-ecology received the Victor M. Goldschmidt Award<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2022/02/17/ucr-distinguished-professor-receives-geochemical-societys-top-honor> from The Geochemical Society for work throughout her career using isotopes to produce findings about biological and geological activity over time. And Gov. Newsom appointed Professor Gerald Clarke to the California Arts Council<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2022/02/07/professor-appointed-state-arts-council>. These are but a few of many awards. I hope you'll take a look at the list<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards> and join me in congratulating our remarkable faculty for the work they are doing to develop new knowledge and advance their fields of study.


Paying attention to excellence is part of my job as chancellor at UCR. It's also what I do while assessing the educational effectiveness of other universities as a commissioner for the WASC Senior College and University Commission. This month, on the heels of UCR's accreditation visit, I had the opportunity to review other institutions. The experience provides me with new perspective as we approach our ongoing assessment activities and accreditation requirements. Thank you to all of you who participated in or supported our accreditation visit this month.

In her last speech as America's first African American first lady, Michelle Obama addressed a group of school counselors, educators, and youth with a motivational message about the importance of education.

"Empower yourself with a good education. Then get out there and use that education to build a country worthy of your boundless promise."

As I look at all of the work across campus, I am grateful to be a part of a community so dedicated to education and the boundless promise it supports in our students and scholarship.

As a final word, President Drake issued a statement<https://twitter.com/UCPrezDrake/status/1497077242840551429> last week about the events in Ukraine. I echo his sentiments. To those UCR staff, faculty, and students who are affected by the events, please lean on your UCR community for support.

Stay healthy,


[cid:image005.png at 01D82CA5.0BD6EB90]

Kim A. Wilcox
Chancellor

[cid:image006.png at 01D82CA5.0BD6EB90]
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://scotmail.ucr.edu/pipermail/ucrfacultyandstaff/attachments/20220228/f29a0dee/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.png
Type: image/png
Size: 10225 bytes
Desc: image005.png
URL: <https://scotmail.ucr.edu/pipermail/ucrfacultyandstaff/attachments/20220228/f29a0dee/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image006.png
Type: image/png
Size: 19967 bytes
Desc: image006.png
URL: <https://scotmail.ucr.edu/pipermail/ucrfacultyandstaff/attachments/20220228/f29a0dee/attachment-0003.png>