With the start of the fall quarter, UC Riverside is once again bustling with activity. But the summer was not an idle one with the campus seeing some new faces, improvement projects, and achievements over the last couple months.
In July, Thomas Smith moved up from his position as dean of the Graduate School of Education to become the interim provost and executive vice chancellor.
Smith appointed Louie Rodriguez to step in as interim dean of the Graduate School of Education.
The campus also welcomed Rodolfo Torres as vice chancellor for Research and Economic Development; Dr. Donald Larsen as CEO of UCR Health, the clinical arm of the School of Medicine; Denise Wood-Bevly as the assistant vice chancellor for Health, Counseling & Wellness; and Christine Mata as dean of students.
This past year has also been the busiest construction period in recent memory with several new projects underway. Campus transportation and planning officials say are trying to minimize the impacts, but they have asked for patience and caution with so much activity.
Some progress worth noting: the Dundee-Glasgow residence and dining hall held a topping out ceremony in August; in July, demolition began on the old Canyon Crest Family Student Housing complex, which will make way for the North District project, a student housing facility with up to 5,000 beds.
UCR’s standing also continued to rise as it earned top spots in several national and international rankings. Most prominently, U.S. News & World Report rated the campus No. 1 in social mobility.
Other rankings included No. 1 most transformative public university by Money Magazine; No. 2 overall in financial aid by Business Insider; No. 12 public university in Forbes “America’s Best Value Colleges”; No. 16 public university by Washington Monthly; CNBC’s Top 10 that pay off the most in big cities. UCR was also rated in the top 1% of world universities.
For staff and faculty, there have been some changes to UCPath that allow for updating your employee profile. This fall also brings an increase in parking permit fees and changes to the dining options available on campus.
