Carter to deliver UC Merced talk

Former President Jimmy Carter will visit UC Merced on May 3 to deliver the keynote address at a National Parks Institute seminar on the management of parks and protected lands.

Carter will speak as part of an intensive, 11-day leadership program for senior executives in the field of park and public land management from around the world. His talk will focus on critical federal legislation (the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act) that he signed into law during his presidency in 1980.

UC students: Stand up, be counted

UC campuses have planned a number of strategies to raise awareness of the 2010 census and maximize the response rate of students. According to a UC Office of the President statement, this includes sending targeted e-mails to students living on and off campus, distributing fliers and fact sheets, giving presentations to residence halls, Greek chapters and co-ops, running articles in student newspapers and holding drawings for up to $5,000 in prizes donated by local vendors.

With billions of dollars in federal funds at stake, not to mention the size of California’s legislative delegation, state and local governments want to ensure every resident of the state — even college students — be counted.

While the census is mandated by the Constitution, only 45 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 consider it very important, according to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, compared with 60 percent of the population at large.

Students who live in on-campus residence halls, sororities and fraternities will receive individual census forms from their campus housing office between April 1 and May 21. Those who live off campus with roommates will receive the forms by mail in mid-March and should fill out one form for the entire household. Students who live at home should be included on their parents’ form.

UC, CSU, community colleges collaborate on transfers

The leaders of the three California public higher education systems released a report March 8 that outlined steps to improve access and opportunity for California transfer students in the face of dramatic budget challenges.

The Community College Transfer Task Force, which met in the spring and summer of 2009, makes recommendations aimed at producing significant improvements in transfer preparation, access and student success. A copy of the report is available at universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/22974.

— UC Office of the President