Content Authored by: Imran Ghori

Provost discusses coronavirus, classroom expansion, and strategic plan in virtual town hall

UC Riverside interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Thomas M. Smith updated the campus on measures taken in response to the coronavirus while also outlining progress in several key areas during a town hall meeting Wednesday, March 11. The update was held online via Zoom instead of in-person as part of the social distancing practice adopted...

By Imran Ghori |

A brighter sound for the carillon

The carillon at the UC Riverside Bell Tower is ringing a little clearer and brighter following a recent maintenance project. The long-needed work consisted of cleaning, repairing, or replacing the many components that make up the carillon. It also got some improved technology with the installation of an electric control system that allows for...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR students provide EMT support

A long line of UC Riverside students looking forward to a night of music waited to get into the Student Recreation Center on a recent Friday night. But in a nearby room filled with gurneys and other medical supplies, a group of 16 students prepared for a more serious task. The members of Highlander Emergency Medical Services, or EMS, a student...

By Imran Ghori |

SRC spotlighted by recreation magazine

A national recreation magazine has picked UC Riverside’s Student Recreation Center, or SRC, as its “Rec of the Month” for March. It’s the first time the facility has won the recognition from Campus Rec, a resource for college and university recreation centers and professionals. “Our department is focused on providing holistic well-being and stress...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR Healthy Campus receives funds to promote student well-being

UC Riverside Healthy Campus has received a $3,500 grant from the American College Health Foundation for a pilot program to study how faculty members can influence student well-being. The group plans to recruit and train 10 faculty members to incorporate strategies promoting a healthier classroom environment for undergraduates. The study would take...

By Imran Ghori |

March construction update

An opening date has been set for the Barn. The renovated and expanded dining complex will hold a grand opening celebration April 29 and formally open to the general public May 2, Dining Services announced last week. It will be preceded by a soft opening in mid-April. Construction is mostly complete on the project, although the contractor is...

By Imran Ghori |

Campus Corner: Lanette Dickerson

As UC Riverside’s executive chef, Lanette Dickerson decides what many members of the campus community eat on a daily basis. Dickerson, who has had a life-long passion for cooking, says she appreciates that UCR affords her the chance to make a variety of cuisines, including American, Thai, and Indian, to name some of her favorites. Working on a...

By Imran Ghori |

The best and worst of times for journalism

Newspapers continue to cut staff, readership is declining, and the public’s mistrust of the media has grown. Yet in some ways, the state of journalism is better than ever, according to Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist David Leonhardt, who presented the 51st Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture on Feb. 27 at the UC Riverside Extension Center...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR student team wins EPA grant

A UC Riverside student research team has been awarded a nearly $25,000 grant to develop sustainable construction material using wheat straw. The students were among 18 teams of graduate and undergraduate students across the country awarded grants by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, for projects that use sustainable technology to...

By Imran Ghori |

Clearing the bell’s toll

For more than five decades, the carillon at the top of the UCR Bell Tower has rung clearly to successive generations of students. The bells still chime strongly, but the years have added some wear and tear, according to a report by a bell expert who examined the carillon last year. A new maintenance project in March will help restore its luster....

By Imran Ghori |

UCR ranks No. 3 in graduating Hispanic students in STEM majors

A National Science Foundation report found that UC Riverside ranks third in the nation when it comes to graduating the most Hispanic or Latino students in science and engineering fields. The data is included in a 2019 report called “Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering,” which looks at the progress of...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR ranked among 10 best California colleges

UC Riverside has cracked the top 10 of Money magazine’s 10 Best Colleges in California rankings in 2020. The rankings, released Feb. 18, are based on its 2019 Best Colleges For Your Money list, which scores institutions on affordability, quality of education, and student outcomes. UCR jumped 20 places to No. 12 in that list of national universities...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR student researcher wins grant

UC Riverside’s Chris Cosma, a second-year doctoral student studying evolution, ecology, and organismal biology, has received a California Native Plant Society 2019-20 Education Grant. The grants are awarded to student researchers focused on California native plants. Cosma is researching moth-plant pollination at Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research...

By Imran Ghori |

Arts Walk installation opens

UC Riverside’s new outdoor art installation is now open to the public. The campus celebrated the project completion Feb. 11 with a dedication ceremony in the middle of the bright yellow signs, concrete furniture, and garden landscape that make up the 5,000-square-foot circular sculpture outside the Arts building. Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox said the...

By Imran Ghori |

Stand up and be counted in the Alumni Roll Call

UC Riverside’s Alumni Roll Call is off to a strong start with an estimated 5,000 graduates taking part so far. The campus is encouraging staff and faculty members who are alumni to join as well and help spread the word to fellow Highlanders. The campaign began Feb. 1 and will continue through March 15. The Roll Call is UCR’s version of a census...

By Imran Ghori |

MRB lauded as an outstanding Riverside building

UC Riverside’s Multidisciplinary Research Building received the top honor in the city of Riverside’s annual beautification awards recognizing outstanding buildings. The research facility, also referred to as MRB, was presented with the Award of Distinction at Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey’s State of the City address on Jan. 30. Campus Architect...

By Imran Ghori |

An international taste of home

A line of UCR students passed by a display of bowls of colorful South Asian spices like turmeric and garam masala as they picked up plates of Bhutan momos and Indian pakoras. The food was part of a special “Taste of South Asia” dinner at the Aberdeen-Inverness Residential Restaurant on Jan. 30. Flags from eight South Asian countries hung above the...

By Imran Ghori |

February construction update

Construction continues in full swing at UC Riverside in 2020 with new projects starting and others nearing completion. Work began last week on a new parking structure at Lot 13, near Big Springs Road, resulting in the closure of part of the eastern portion of the lot. Some existing permit holders have been diverted to other lots during the year...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR training team wins award for collaboration

UCR’s Risk & Safety Training Center of Excellence received a Collaboration Award from California State University for safety training material developed by its staff members. The award was presented Jan. 9 at Cal State San Marcos, to the team that assisted the California State University system by providing laboratory safety materials produced at...

By Imran Ghori |

Art sculpture nearing completion

UC Riverside’s first major outdoor art installation will soon be unveiled. The final elements of the steel, concrete, and garden sculpture were added over the last few months to the installation located in the 5,000-square-foot walkway between the Arts and College of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences Interdisciplinary buildings. The area has been...

By Imran Ghori |