UC Merced Division of Management and Information - Newsletter No. 8 |
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On July 1, Paul Maglio, current director of the Gallo School planning, will start a year-long sabbatical, and Ramesh Balasubramaniam, Professor in the Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, will take on the Gallo School planning leadership role. Ramesh studies rhythm processing and the ability humans exhibit in synchronizing actions to external auditory and visual events, as well as the role of the motor system in music perception and cognition. He has has served as chair of UC Merced’s Graduate Council, chair of UC Merced’s Committee on Academic Personnel, and chair of the systemwide Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs, among many other leadership roles. Please join us in welcoming Ramesh! |
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Gallo School Pre-Proposal
In February 2023, we received informal feedback on the pre-proposal from the systemwide Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs (CCGA). We are grateful to CCGA for the extraordinary work done to secure feedback from external reviewers and to provide their own assessment as well. The bottom line is that “CCGA believes that UC Merced should move forward with a formal pre-proposal for this School” - of course there are many critical comments that we believe will help us improve the proposal - and which align with many of the points from our recent brainstorming discussion. It is clear from the CCGA feedback that the campus must develop plans for school resources and for the future of SSHA. In May, the Divisional Council of the Academic Senate, voted not to move the pre-proposal forward pending further discussions on campus regarding resources and strategy. We look forward to continuing conversations with all constituents across campus to move the Gallo School proposal and the campus forward. For more information on these updates, visit the Gallo School Initiative page. |
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Bachelor of Arts in Data Science and Analytics Approved
The Academic Senate and the campus administration have approved the proposal for a new degree, Bachelor of Arts in Data Science and Analytics. The proposal team was led by Alex Petersen (MCS), and included Christian Fons-Rosen (EBM), Russ McBride (MCS), Andrew Shaver (POLI), and Jeff Yoshimi (CIS). The program integrates two skill domains: data science (involving critical reasoning and modeling facilitated by advanced algorithmic tools) and data analytics (involving the data communication, design of data services, decision-support tools and statistical inference for decision-making). The program plans to admit its first cohort in AY 2024-25. The latest information can be found on the Gallo School Initiative page. UCMNews
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Spring 2023 Faculty Retreat
A future Gallo School faculty retreat was hosted at the El Capitan Hotel in Downtown Merced on February 10, 2023, and was structured around two brainstorming activities.
The first brainstorming topic focused on "What do we look like one year after the new school is established?” Energetic and spirited discussion led us to consider a variety of possible programs that connect strengths across our departments; the roles of staff and opportunities for supporting department and school operations effectively; ways to engage students, particularly undergraduates; and things we might do right away to support awareness among our own faculty and across campus. The second brainstorming topic was "How do we get campus endorsement for our plan?” In this case, discussion centered on how to engage colleagues across campus, and on developing a detailed list of tangible benefits of the proposed Gallo School. We also had a great conversation with the campus’s Chief Diversity Officer, Delia Saenz, and Engineering Dean Rakesh Goel joined us at the reception afterward.
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Matlock Receives International Cognitive Science Prize
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The Cognitive Science Society has awarded School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts founding Professor Teenie Matlock the Jeffrey L. Elman Prize for Scientific Achievement and Community Building. The annual Elman Prize “is given to cognitive scientists whose accomplishments exemplify the twin strands of scientific excellence and commitment to community-building and service that were so evident in Jeff Elman’s career.” UCM Newsroom
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CIS Professor Named 'Rising Star' for Data Visualization Research
Cognitive and Information Sciences Professor Lace Padilla in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts has been named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science for her groundbreaking research on how people make decisions using data visualizations. UCM Newsroom
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Congratulation to Professor Briana Ballis for her Upjohn Institute 2023 Early Career Research Award!
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Congratulations to Professor Justin Hicks for being the recipient of the Fall 2022 Faculty/Staff Award!
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Alvin Cha, Gallo School Program Assistant Director, received the Kevin McCauley Outstanding Staff Award. |
Congratulations to Alvin Cha for being recognized during the Celebrating Service and Staff Excellence event.
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Professor Rachel Ryskin among those honored by Academic Senate |
Each year, faculty members are specially recognized by their peers in the Academic Senate for a variety of accomplishments.
This year’s Academic Senate awards honor faculty from across the three schools for their outstanding teaching, research, impacts on their fields and mentorship, as well as their dedication to diversity and scholarly public service in the 2022-23 academic year.
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UC Merced-Led Project Wins $1 Million NSF Engines Development Award |
The Circular Bioeconomy Innovation Collaborative (CBIO Collaborative) has been awarded $1 million from the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program for "Advancing Circular Bioeconomy Technologies in North San Joaquin Valley."
The team is led by UC Merced, BEAM Circular and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with Professor Paul Maglio being the principal investigator on the project
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MCS Doctoral Student Receives P.E.O. Scholar Award |
Taylor Fugere is one of 110 doctoral students across the United States and Canada to receive a $20,000 Scholar Award from P.E.O., a philanthropic educational organization dedicated to supporting higher education for women. UCM News
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Floods Are About to Threaten Nearly Half of the U.S.
"As the big snowstorms we are used to become big rainstorms in a warmer climate, we must use more of the capacity behind dams for flood control, leaving less for seasonal water storage," Professor Roger Bales said. www.mns.com
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Want to Use Math and Computers to Understand Society? Read Prof. Smaldino's New Book!
Professor Paul Smaldino is sharing his knowledge on how to understand human behavior and society by building mathematical models and computer simulations in his forthcoming book, Modeling Social Behavior. Book is due out in October from Princeton University Press and is available to pre-order.
Twitter Hate Speech Surged with Musk, Study Shows
Professor Paul Smaldino and colleagues collected data that showed daily use of hate speech by those who previously posted hateful tweets nearly doubled after Musk finalized the sale. And the overall volume of hate speech also doubled sitewide.
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Why Politics Makes Us Depressed - And What We Can Do
Professor Christopher Ojeda joined The McCourtney Institute show to talk about the relationship between depression and democracy. democracyworks.simplecast.
Read new article published in Electoral Science co-written by Professor Christopher Ojeda on new research arguing that depression helps explain why women report lower interest in politics.
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Ana Tur-Prats Publishes in the Quarterly Journal of Economics |
Professor Ana Tur-Prats and her co-author Eleonora Guarnieri published their article, "Cultural Distance and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence" on the forthcoming Quarterly Journal of Economics.
This paper examines the relationship between ethnic-based gender norms and conflict-related sexual violence. Click here to read article.
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Extra Pay Could Lure Experienced Teachers to Poorer Schools |
Andrew Johnston, an economist at UC Merced, said the research makes clear that an effective teacher can have a profound impact on all students. He shares his perspective on the subject with CalMatters. Read article here.
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California Storms Create Paradox |
John Abatzoglou, a UC Merced professor of climatology, said deep, soft snow has the physical capacity to absorb a great deal of rain. Cal-Matters
More articles featuring Professor John Abatzoglou providing his expertise in climatology, abc10, ABC30 columbian, LA times, Sac Bee, Calmatters, LA times, SF Gate, NewScientist, WPLN, SF Chronicle, FOX 26
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Is California's Drought Finally Over?
Professor LeRoy Westerling explains there are different ways to define drought. While reservoirs are filling up, there are different points of view when it comes to drought and its impact. SF Chronicle
Professor Leroy Westerling provided testimony about climate change and wildfire research during class action lawsuit against PacifiCorp.
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The Business Landscape: Starting a Functional Business |
Professor Russ McBride says, "No matter which path you choose, be it a service business or something online, there are only five essential things you need to have a functional business. Forbes
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Innovate to Grow Expands to Include, Inspire First-Year Students
Innovate to Grow is a twice-yearly celebration of student ingenuity hosted by the School of Engineering (SoE). In a way, it's a science fair for college students to help solve problems that businesses and nonprofit organizations face, and potentially gain partnerships to see their projects utilized in real-world applications. UCM News
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The Division of Management and Information precedes the proposed Ernest and Julio Gallo School of Management at UC Merced, which if approved will combine the Departments of Cognitive and Information Sciences, Management and Business Economics, Management of Complex Systems, and Political Science with the goals of understanding and improving management of resources and institutions in nature and in society; promoting scholarship and teaching to understand and enhance the behavior, design, and performance of complex human and natural systems; studying and identifying practical implications for businesses, organizations, markets and governments by building knowledge of physical, cognitive, economic, political, and natural processes; and advancing human well-being, diversity, and equity while promoting sustainability of natural ecosystems
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