UCI School of Social Sciences
Spring Magazine 2022
be BOLD
because breaking the mold is part of your Anteater legacy
featured stories
Message from Maurer
In the UCI School of Social Sciences, community is a powerful word. It’s the heart of social sciences, the foundation from which we seek to understand the world and our place in it. It’s also the shared sense and spirit upon which our school is built - one that emboldens mold breakers to create positive change and improve the human condition.
An agent of change
Elizabeth Hafen, political science and psychology senior, credits the student enrichment
programs in UCI social sciences for inspiring her plans to be a community changemaker
A cut above
Commencement speaker Akunna Ekeh’s intelligence and character shine through her work
as a mentor, entrepreneur, and soon-to-be law student
Building peace, one piece at a time
Kugelman Fellowships help UCI graduate students advance citizen peacebuilding worldwide
Family matters
Commencement speaker and proud first-generation Latina Jacqueline Torres has been on a mission to uplift her “academic brothers and sisters”
Mapping her career path
Diana Lavery ’06, M.A. ’08 leverages skills from UCI’s Demographic and Social Analysis
program
Latina physicians
Glenda Flores, UCI Chicano/Latino studies associate professor, analyzes and offers
solutions on the undervalued yet critical role Latina physicians play in U.S. healthcare
Hope and redemption
Jesse De La Cruz, political science senior, has beat the odds to become a community
leader and new college graduate
Global entertainment insider
Howard Hsieh ’95, political science, vice president of business strategy and development at Paramount Pictures, stays connected with his alma mater as a founding member of the Dean’s Leadership Society
The one to ask
Elizabeth Montoya, sociology and immunology and microbiology senior, achieves success
one question at a time
A multi-faceted approach
UCI-led team receives National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator grant to
study and stop spread of mis-, disinformation in financial services industry
Fostering a global perspective
UCI’s new Ph.D. program in global studies diversifies education and supports the next
generation’s appreciation of place in a complex world
Paying it forward
Marketing maven Danika Wong ’06, international studies and political science, fuels
growth of the Social Sciences Alumni Network
UCI researchers develop hybrid human-machine framework for building smarter AI
Model uses human and algorithmic predictions and confidence scores to boost accuracy
Giving back, from campus to courtroom
Dean’s Leadership Society members Susan and Brett Williamson ’86 cherish their Anteater
connections
No grit, no glory
After a tough rejection sent him reeling, political science senior Joshua Swank has
learned the value of grit and determination
Removing barriers, expanding reach
UCI social scientists “build and broaden” research, opportunities among minority-serving
institutions with support from the National Science Foundation
Social sciences alumni superconnector
Blake Baxter ’04, Social Sciences Board of Councilors member and Alumni Network founding
chair, builds bridges between alumni and their alma mater
Understanding economic inequality, one experiment at a time
Nishtha Sharma, economics Ph.D. ’22, pursues research, applied internship experience on the ways economic discrimination affects individuals’ decisions
Making her mark
Michelle Thomas, psychology senior and inaugural Black Lives Matter Research Scholar,
is working to advance understanding of Black, marginalized communities
What’s next: Inflation
UCI economist Eric Swanson discusses the current state of the U.S. economy and forecasts
what’s ahead
Finding research inspiration in life experience
Zeinab Kachakeche, language science graduate student, reflects on her research endeavours and experience as a mother pursuing a Ph.D.
On a mission
Berna Idriz '20, international studies and political science, wants to change the
world
be BOLD
a publication of the
UCI School of Social Sciences
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writers, designers, editors, & photographers
Heather Ashbach, Bria Balliet, Nora Bradford,
Christine Byrd, Cara Capuano, Luis Fonseca
Jill Kato, Steven Zylius
special thanks to contributing photographers:
Daniel Cewinski, Beverlie Lord, Maggie Garcia
School Leadership
Bill Maurer, Dean
Barbara Sarnecka, Associate Dean
Jeanett Castellanos, Associate Dean
Annita Casavantes Bradford, Associate Dean
Angela Jenks, Vice Associate Dean
Rebecca Ávila, Assistant Dean
Communications & Marketing
Heather Ashbach, Executive Director
Luis Fonseca, Digital Media Manager
Development
Tracy Arcuri, Executive Director
Liz Codispoti, Director
Melissa Churlonis, Coordinator
featured on cover:
Undergraduate commencement speakers Akunna Ekeh and Jacqueline Torres were selected
from among their graduating peers to deliver the social sciences commencement addresses
this year.
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Be Bold is offered in digital and print formats.
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