400 bicycles up for sale

The second and final bicycle auction of the 2008-09 academic year is set for May 2. David Takemoto-Weerts, the Davis campus’s bicycle program coordinator, said more than 400 bikes will be up for sale, and, if history is any indication, most of them will sell for $20 to $30.

Abandoned bicycles comprise much of the inventory. Transportation and Parking Services, or TAPS, is charged by law with putting such bicycles up for auction.

The auction location is the first floor of the west entry garage off Hutchison Drive at Dairy Road. Viewing is from 8 to 9 a.m., and the auction runs from 9 a.m. until the close of bidding on the last bike.

2 new vanpools

Transportation and Parking Services is assisting in employee efforts to start two vanpools for people commuting from Solano County.

One van would originate in Fairfield for people working 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday on campus or in the city of Davis. The van may pick up and drop passengers in Vacaville as well.

The second van would originate in Vacaville for people working from 6:30 or 7 a.m. to 3:30 or 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

If you are interested in joining either vanpool, contact Mary Maffly at TAPS, (530) 752-6453 or mlmaffly@ucdavis.edu. Provide name and contact information, work schedule and community of residence.

Blood drive April 28-29

The next ASUCD-Davis Community Blood Drive is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 28 and 29.

Sacramento-based BloodSource will run the blood draw in Freeborn Hall. A bloodmobile will be parked outside for faculty and staff, to help alleviate their waiting time and get them back to their classes and offices.

Scholarship forms due

Staff and their dependents have until April 30 to apply for scholarships administered by Staff Assembly.

Staff scholarships — For career staff who are or will be enrolled in school to seek a certificate, associate, bachelor or graduate degree from a college, university or professional school.

Staff dependent scholarships — For dependents of UC Davis staff who are attending or will attend UC Davis as an undergraduate in 2009-10.

The scholarship application forms are available online. Questions? Contact Tiva Lasiter, Staff Assembly coordinator, (530) 752-0988 or staffawards@ucdavis.edu.

Aggie Auction

The 13th annual Aggie Auction benefitting Aggie Athletics is set for May 2 in the Pavilion at the Activities and Recreation Center.

The evening includes wine tasting and dinner, silent and live auctions, and a raffle. As of this week, more than 2,000 items had been secured for the auctions and raffle, and the list was still growing.

Auction items include a barrel-tasting weekend for eight, a six-day cruise and a trip to Broadway, plus wine, jewelry, art, golf outings and sports memorabilia.

Anyone is welcome to bid — whether you attend or not. The event Web site, aggieauction.com, includes a list of sale items and details on how to submit your bids.

Something new for the raffle this year: You need not be present to win. You can buy tickets at aggieauction.com. Prizes include a five-night Hawaiian vacation, an eight-day cruise and a $1,000 Costco gift card.

Organizers said the silent auction will begin at 4:30 p.m. and the live auction at 8. Dinner is set for 7 p.m.

Limited seating was still available as of press time. To arrange reservations, call (530) 752-2699. The cost is $100 per person, or $900 for a table for 10.

Grad student survey

UC Davis is conducting its first comprehensive survey of all of its doctoral students so the campus can help more of them complete their degrees.

The survey is part of a larger effort by a task force on graduate student retention, established by the campus Office of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council in 2008, to improve on the 50.6 percent of doctoral students who complete their degrees.

The Web-based survey was e-mailed last week to 3,025 registered doctoral students and 400 others currently on planned educational leave or other leave status.

Hector Cuevas, director of outreach, recruitment and retention for Graduate Studies, said the survey asks more than 60 questions to help the campus better understand how policies, practices and the academic environment promote or impede students’ progress toward their degree.

The findings, to be published in late 2009 or early 2010, will be used to improve the overall quality of the UC Davis graduate student experience.

Students have until May 15 to complete the anonymous survey.