Welcome to the July 2010 issue of the Social Sciences E-News

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Zot, zot, zot!

Social sciences undergrads bid farewell to UCI in true anteater fashion

“ZOT, ZOT, ZOT!” The anteater rally cry reverberated through the Bren Events Center on June 12 as social sciences dean Barbara Dosher led undergrads in their final cheer before becoming official UCI alumni.

Part of the 45th annual commencement exercises, the social sciences undergrads, along with their families and friends, celebrated in two separate but equally festive ceremonies, the first of which included the school’s 14 graduating Demographic and Social Analysis graduate students. The week prior, doctoral students from social sciences were recognized in a traditional graduate hooding ceremony. The school also held its 28th annual Order of Merit celebration on June 12 to recognize outstanding undergrads and graduate students for excellence in scholarship, research, service and leadership. In total, more than 2700 social sciences students received degrees, pushing the school’s alumni count to more than 33,000 anteaters strong.

Congratulations to all 2010 graduates - we hope to continue seeing you around campus as active alumni!

Dear Obama...

Global Connect students offer foreign policy advice to nation’s Pres

“Responsibly ending the war in Iraq is a major issue and highly important policy decision that needs to be addressed.”

“We need to start raising more awareness about climate change and warning people of the grave we are digging our world deeper into.”

“No conflict anywhere can be resolved if nuclear weapons are involved. The foreign policy most important and in need of your focus right now should be keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists.”

More than 200 letters offering to-the-point foreign policy advice to President Obama were drafted by ninth graders enrolled in Globalization and International Relations, a yearlong course at Laguna Hills High School, designed and team taught by UCI faculty and students in the School of Social Sciences' Global Connect program. “Their assignment was to write a letter advising President Obama to take action and address an issue they found to be important to America's foreign policy,” says Ellen Schlosser, director of Global Connect. “We wanted them to understand that while they may not yet be able to vote, they can still have an impact on the country's future by becoming informed, global citizens.” For the past nine years, she and a team of UCI students and faculty have been driving that lesson home in classrooms at Newport Mesa and Saddleback School Districts.

Catching waves - on canvas

Psychology and sociology alumnus Robb Havassy ’93 rides high in the gnarly world of surf art

While staying in Paris 15 years ago, UC Irvine alumnus Robb Havassy ’93 would stroll along the Seine and watch sidewalk artists paint cathedrals, cafes and other classic scenes in the tradition of the grand masters. A budding artist himself, he’d then head up to his apartment, grab his watercolors and paper, and paint killer waves and psychedelic sunsets. Uh, dude. If you want to be an artist, shouldn’t you be doing still lifes of fruit bowls or something? But in art as in the ocean, Havassy - a longtime surfer - has never followed in anyone’s wake. Becoming an artist was the last thing on Havassy’s mind when he graduated from UCI in 1993 with bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology, still undecided on a career. “I was living in Newport Beach and surfing,” he says. Although he never took an art class or intended to be an artist, he’s enjoyed the kind of success some only dream about. His swirling “surfscapes” have graced gallery shows, T-shirt lines, swimwear, flip-flops, wine bottles, calendars and, of course, surfboards.

Checkout sociology alumnus Lauren Collins on the July cover of Runner’s World magazine

Collins is a 2010 sociology alumnus, winner of the UCI Alumni Association Lauds & Laurels Outstanding Student-Athlete Award, and UCI high jump and heptathlon record holder

From Runner's World: Lauren Collins, 22, holds the school records in the heptathlon and the high jump at the University of California, Irvine. Her peak training included intervals, hills, plyometrics, temp runs, core work, and weight lifting. “All of the hard work that's invested can be frustrating and painful,” says the Newport Beach, California resident, “but finally seeing your times drop is pretty hard to beat.”

Study: Feebates would reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions in California by 3-10 percent

Collaborative UC study, contracted by the California Air Resources Board, evaluates potential program’s effectiveness to meet 2020 required reductions

According to a new UC report, providing rebates for the purchase of low emissions vehicles while charging fees on high emissions vehicle purchases would result in a three to 10 percent reduction of vehicle greenhouse gas emissions in California by the year 2020. The market-based program, known as a “feebate,” is one of several measures being considered by the California Air Resources Board to meet greenhouse gas reduction limits set forth in the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which was signed into law that same year. “In the big picture, a market-based feebate program would contribute two to five percent of the reductions needed to achieve the law's overall targets,” says David Brownstone, UCI economist. Brownstone specializes in using mathematic models to understand the economic effects of transportation alternatives and was a consultant on the study.

Expert testimony

Avant provides legislative commission perspective on wartime contracting practices

In its review of contracting practices in Iraq and Afghanistan, the bipartisan legislative Commission on Wartime Contracting called upon Deborah Avant, UCI political science professor and director of international studies and the Center for Research on International and Global Studies. On June 18, she provided expert testimony as part of the commission’s hearing, “Are Private Security Contractors Performing Inherently Governmental Functions?” in Washington, D.C. (see full story for video coverage, courtesy of C-SPAN). Avant specializes in civil-military relations, military change, and the politics of controlling violence and is the author of The Market for Force: The Consequences of Privatizing Security, in which she provides a detailed account of the trade-offs that privatized security impose on involved parties.

Montoya receives Distinguished Assistant Professor Award for Teaching

Awarded by UCI Academic Senate, honor recognizes Montoya for excellence in teaching, research, mentorship and service activities at UCI and in local community

Michael Montoya, anthropology and Chicano/Latino studies assistant professor, has received the 2010 Distinguished Assistant Professor Award for Teaching from the UC Irvine Academic Senate (see full story for additional award winners). The honor recognizes Montoya, who is also a core faculty member in the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC) and holds a joint appointment in UCI's program in public health, for his teaching, research, mentorship and service activities at UCI and in the local community.

Pixley earns Kanter Award

Award recognizes the assistant sociology professor’s research on career-prioritizing decisions and occupational attainment in dual-earner couples

Joy E. Pixley, sociology assistant professor, has received the 2009 Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research. The award recognizes studies for future research and outlines specific implications and findings to inform policy and practice in work-life and human resources. Pixley's paper, “Life Course Patterns of Career-Prioritizing Decisions and Occupational Attainment in Dual-Earner Couples,“ was selected from more than 2,500 articles published in more than 75 scholarly journals.

Bailey’s Legacies of Race receives positive review in Contemporary Sociology

Book review appears in May 2010 issue

According to research by sociology associate professor Stanley Bailey, Brazilians - in contrast to Americans - avoid rigid notions of racial group membership. Roughly 40 percent of Brazil’s population self-classifies as coming from mixed ancestry, he says. In Legacies of Race: Identities, Attitudes, and Politics in Brazil, he analyzes how these contrasting views might impact studies of racial inequality when experiences of discrimination don’t fit neatly within the same black and white scale. The book, published in 2009, received a positive review in the May 2010 issue of Contemporary Sociology.

Combined efforts

IMTFI hosts collaborative design workshop, announces 2011 call for research proposals

What do an artist, engineer and anthropologist have in common? In terms of new technology, product design and their implementation, says UCI anthropologist Bill Maurer, they share a great deal. At a June workshop co-hosted by Intel Labs and the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion which Maurer directs, participants from professions as varied as linguistics and engineering got together to discuss how their paths cross when dealing with emerging technology. The institute also announced its 2011 call for research proposals.

Staff service

Social sciences staff honored for hitting university career service milestones

The university honored staff on June 17 for hitting career service milestones within the University of California system. Staff with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service received recognition along with 35 supervisors - including social sciences assistant dean Dave Leinen - who were nominated by their staff for the 2010 Excellence in Leadership award.