Arts school gets new dean
Joseph S. Lewis III, a nationally known artist, arts educator and administrator, has been named dean of The Claire Trevor School of the Arts, effective March 24, 2010. Since 2004, Lewis has served as dean of the School of Art & Design in the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in New York. He has enhanced the school's reputation, created and implemented international programs, cultivated donor relationships and — in partnership with faculty — developed a new mission and vision for the school.
Gala celebrates Medal winners
More than 600 people attended "A Celebration of Stars" Oct. 3 to honor the 2009 recipients of the UC Irvine Medal. Accepting the university's highest honor were: Anthony James, Distinguished Professor of microbiology & molecular genetics and molecular biology & biochemistry; Fariborz Maseeh, an expert in micro-electro-mechanical systems and founding benefactor of UCI's Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture; William Parker, chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy and former vice chancellor for research and dean of graduate studies; and Laurel Wilkening, third chancellor of UCI, 1993-98. Donors pledged $1.1 million in funding for student support and other key programs at the annual gala.
Boellstorff honored for 'Second Life'
Anthropology professor Tom Boellstorff has received the 2009 Dorothy Lee Award for Outstanding Scholarship in the Ecology of Culture from the Media Ecology Association. He was honored for his 2008 book, Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human. Through his computer-generated avatar, Boellstorff spent two years observing residents of the online world "Second Life" to learn how accepted ideas about identity and society are being reshaped.
Bone cement discovery lands professor on 'Most Influential' list
Image, a weekly magazine for radiology professionals, has named UCI's Joyce Keyak to its 2009 "25 Most Influential in Radiology" roster. An orthopedic surgery associate professor, Keyak was selected for helping create radioactive bone cement that targets cancerous tumors in bones without damaging surrounding healthy tissue. The product, called Bone-Rad, could reduce cancer patients' exposure to radiation and the cost of treatment.
Garcia earns prize for drug addiction study
Angela Garcia, assistant professor of anthropology, has received the Stirling Prize for Best Published Work in Psychological Anthropology. Presented by the Society for Psychological Anthropology, the award recognizes her study "The Elegiac Addict: History, Chronicity and the Melancholic Subject," in which she examined drug addiction and its root causes in rural New Mexico.
In memoriam: Dr. Stanley van den Noort
Dr. Stanley van den Noort, a former dean of medicine at UCI and a pioneer in multiple-sclerosis education, research and patient care, has died at the age of 79. Van den Noort joined UCI in 1970 and, as dean from 1973 to 1985, was a key figure in the medical school's growth into a nationally ranked institution. He was an internationally acclaimed leader in the neurosciences and built at UCI one of the country's first and most successful multiple-sclerosis clinics. For these accomplishments, he received the UC Irvine Medal, the campus's highest honor, in 2008.
In memoriam: John Dalenta
John Dalenta, a staff member in Network & Academic Computing Services for 24 years, lost his battle with cancer and passed away Sept. 2. He served as manager of NACS's telecommunications field operations and had retired at the end of June, along with his wife, Renee, who worked in UCI Human Resources. Dalenta's family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Dalenta's name to the UCLA Cancer Center.