The UC system’s new chief academic officer, Aimée Dorr, takes office July 2. The new provost is moving to UC headquarters from UCLA, where she has been dean of the Graduate School of Information Studies since 1999.

Dorr joined UCLA as a professor of education in 1981 and has served as chair of the UC-wide Academic Senate and faculty representative to the Board of Regents.

President Mark G. Yudof selected Dorr after a nationwide search that included consultation with a 15-member advisory committee or faculty, students, staff and senior academic leaders representing all 10 campuses.

The Board of Regents ratified her appointment this week, during a special meeting.

She replaces Lawrence Pitts as provost and executive vice president of Academic Affairs. Pitts held emeritus status (professor of neurosurgery at UC San Francisco) at the time he became provost in 2009, and indicated that he would serve only three years.

Read the complete news release.

Organizational changes at IET

Peter M. Siegel, who leads Information and Educational Technology, today (June 18) announced a number of organizational changes meant to help IET “provide the most effective services in a time of extraordinary fiscal constraint.”

The moves coincide with Dave Shelby’s retirement as assistant vice provost. “With Dave's departure, we focused our attention on determining the key priorities and leadership roles we needed to fill,” Siegel wrote in a memo.

Gabe Youtsey, who has served as a key planner and lead on major IET initiatives, will serve formally as interim assistant chief information officer, emphasizing early and ongoing collaboration on major initiatives, including new and critical services.

Morna Mellor, who leads the Enterprise Applications and Infrastructure Services unit, will formalize her role as senior director of Production Services. She also will be IET’s lead officer on the campus’s Shared Services Initiative, and she will oversee IET Human Resources.

Siegel also noted three newcomers: Charlie Baker, chief financial officer; Trisha Edgerton, program manager for joint Sacramento-Davis IT initiatives; and David Levin, director of Academic Technology Services.

SmartSite upgrade a ‘go’ for June 22-23

SmartSite is scheduled to go offline and be unavailable starting at 10 tonight (June 22) and continuing until 8 a.m. Saturday (June 23) at the latest, for an upgrade.

According to Information and Educational Technology, the upgrade will provide many enhancements and fixes. The work includes an upgrade of the Gradebook2 tool to version 1.8, which delivers more than 50 high-priority bug fixes.

Following the upgrade, SmartSite will continue to look and feel much like it does now. Details are available on the upgrade page. Status updates during the installation will be posted as needed at status.ucdavis.edu.

Campus fire crew delivers baby

Campus firefighters really delivered Monday night (June 18) — delivering a baby boy in an apartment at the campus’s Solano Park complex.

The call came in just before 8 p.m., and the healthy baby boy arrived about a half-hour later, Fire Chief Nate Trauernicht said.
 
“E34-C delivered a healthy baby boy last night on campus at Solano Park. Congrats to mom, welcome to baby, & job well done to E34-C!” Trauernicht tweeted this morning (June 19). E-34-C refers to the campus's Engine Co. 34 and the “C” refers to C shift: Paul Fullerton, captain; Gina Updegraff, engineer; and Braden Burrhus, firefighter.
 
Solano Park, at the west end of the arboretum, is primarily for full-time students with children.

Blood drive coming to the Quad

Blood drives at UC Davis don’t take the summer off, so get ready to roll up your sleeves next Wednesday and Thursday (June 27 and 28).

The ASUCD-sponsored blood and marrow drives switched to a new location (The Pavilion) in January, but for summer, look for the bloodmobiles in their traditional parking places, alongside the Quad.

Hours both days are 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Brie Leon of Sacramento-based BloodSource said every participant will receive a $5 gift card for Togo’s sandwich shops.

For more information or to volunteer to help at the blood drive, contact Leon at (916) 416-9459 or brie.leon@bloodsource.org.

Summer brown bags

Staff Development and Professional Services announced three brown bags this summer, starting with a program next week on a fitness regimen known as Tabata.

Tabata is “based on current fitness research that has shown the advantages of high intensity interval training over traditional fitness training,” according to SDPS. “Experience a safe and effective full body workout using just a few exercises and ‘four minutes of fitness.’”

The organizers said people of all fitness levels are welcome to attend. Make sure to wear clothing that allows movement, and prepare to sweat!

The brown bags are free, and there is no preregistration. Each takes place from noon to 1 p.m.

• Got Tabata? You Gotta Tabata! — Thursday, June 28, King Lounge, Memorial Union

• Using Vision Boards to Achieve Your Goals — Thursday, July 19, Hamilton Room, Heitman Staff Learning Center

• Ethical Trips vs. Ego Trips — Thursday, Aug. 9, Meeting Room D, Student Community Center

Science Café: Cut Flowers

The Science Café series begins next week with a nice bouquet: a professor’s talk on his work in the cut flower industry, coupled with a discussion of floral design principles and a hand-on design workshop.

The series is presented by UC Davis’ California Center for Urban Horticulture. The Cut Flowers program is scheduled from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 30, in 146 Environmental Horticulture.

Heiner Leith of the Department of Plant Sciences is first on the program, leading a virtual tour around the globe — showing where cut flowers originate and how they get to the vases on our tables.

Representatives of Davis’ Strelitzia Flower Co. will lead the second half of the program, teaching the basics of floral design. Each participant will make an arrangement to take home, the organizers said. Please bring gloves and pruning shears; all other materials will be provided.

The course materials fee is $25. Registration and more information.