Campus COVID-19 testing lab to open

UC Riverside is opening a diagnostic lab that will allow for expanded and rapid testing of students, staff, and faculty members for the coronavirus. The COVID-19 testing lab, located at the Multidisciplinary Research Building, or MRB, successfully tested its first sample on Aug. 12 and opened in early September. The lab will allow the campus to...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR Career Center creates new internship opportunities

The UC Riverside Career Center is partnering with the University Innovation Alliance, other campus partners, employers, and community organizations in creating an internship program offering students real-world job skills before they graduate. In a pilot program this summer, six UCR students from multiple disciplines are working together on a U.S...

By Imran Ghori |

SOM dean honored on Riverside mural

Dr. Deborah Deas, vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of UCR’s School of Medicine, is one of the subjects honored as a Riverside influencer on a new series of murals. Deas was nominated for the recognition by Arts for IE, a regional arts collaborative made up of the Riverside Arts Council, Arts Connection, and Music Changing Lives. She is...

By Imran Ghori |

A busy summer for campus construction

Summer has been busy at UC Riverside as new buildings continue to take shape. Several major projects are nearing completion or have reached significant milestones. They include: • The Dundee Residence Hall and Glasgow Dining Hall, which is expected to open this fall. The project consists of three buildings: a 51,000-square-foot, two-story dining...

By Imran Ghori |

Early Childhood Services reopens with enhanced safety protocols

UC Riverside’s Early Childhood Services welcomed children back on Monday as it reopened its center almost five months after it closed due to COVID-19. The child care center will operate at a reduced capacity for the summer and has put in place enhanced safety and hygienic protocols, said Davina Bailey, director of Early Childhood Services. “The...

By Imran Ghori |

New campus signs and posters help navigate COVID-19 safety rules

A new signage program at UC Riverside will provide an easier way to navigate health and safety rules on campus due to COVID-19. The visual cues and wording reinforce public health information with messages such as “Face Covering Required” and “Keep Yourself Healthy.” Posting of more than 5,000 signs on campus buildings began in late July...

By Imran Ghori |

New Alumni Association president begins term

UC Riverside was a relatively small campus when Randy Olson graduated in 1980, but it had a huge impact on his life. Olson, who began a two-year term as president of the UCR Alumni Association board on July 1, hopes to provide the same opportunities to current and future students. “If a new student can walk out with the same experience I had that...

By Imran Ghori |

Two of UCR’s oldest elevators modernized

Elevators in two of UC Riverside’s oldest buildings will deliver a smoother ride as part of a recently completed modernization project. The upgrades were made to the elevators in Watkins Hall and the Athletics & Dance building. Work began in February and was completed in June, when the campus received state permits to reopen them to the public...

By Imran Ghori |

Diners welcome return of the Barn

The Barn welcomed diners for the first time in two years Monday, reopening to students, staff, and faculty members eager to see the renovated and expanded facility. Manjing Gao, a sociology graduate student, was among the first customers to order food. She said the Barn was a regular hangout for her and her fellow students before it closed for the...

By Imran Ghori |

How will the state budget affect UCR?

California political leaders say the economic fallout from COVID-19 is expected to pose significant challenges to the state’s budget, including funding for the University of California. Its impacts could be felt beyond the current 2020-21 fiscal year, said Gerry Bomotti, vice chancellor of Planning, Budget and Administration. Gov. Gavin Newsom...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR Health appoints new CMO

UCR Health has named Dr. Andres Gonzalez as its new chief medical officer. Dr. Gonzalez comes to UC Riverside from the USC Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, where he served as chief of the Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring Division and director of the Surgical Neurophysiology Program since 2007. Gonzalez earned his medical degree...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

UCR family medicine residency program begins at Dignity Health St. Bernardine Medical Center

The UC Riverside School of Medicine’s family medicine residency program begins today, July 1, at Dignity Health St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino. The three-year program is an expansion of the partnership between the School of Medicine and the medical center — a 342-bed, nonprofit hospital serving the Inland Empire in emergency care...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

New chair, trustees begin UCR Foundation terms

The UCR Foundation Board of Trustees has a new chair and nine new members, all of whom begin their terms Wednesday, July 1. The 40-member volunteer Board of Trustees oversees UCR’s affiliated foundation, receiving and managing the investment of a $190.9 million endowment as of May 31 that supports the long-term strength of UCR’s research programs...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR Botanic Gardens reopens with new safety precautions

The UCR Botanic Gardens reopened to the public Monday after more than three months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 40-acre living plant museum, which has more than 3,500 plant species, is the first major area of the campus to reopen. The Botanic Gardens is following state guidelines allowing for the reopening of parks and trails...

By Imran Ghori |

Summer Physics Academy moves online due to pandemic

The popular Summer Physics Academy held each year by the UCR Department of Physics and Astronomy for high school teachers has a different format this year. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, all lectures of the 13th Summer Physics Academy are being delivered to the 25 participating high school teachers via Zoom. Hai-Bo Yu, an associate professor...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

LaunchPad completes first year of entrepreneurial program

UC Riverside students took part in bootcamps, a pitch competition, and received mentoring from business professionals as part of the first year of the program known as Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars. The program, which had been offered at UCLA since 2014, expanded to all UC campuses in fall 2019. It offers tools and resources for budding...

By Imran Ghori |

Medical students use online lectures to reach out to homeschooled children

A pair of medical students at UC Riverside have launched a series of free lectures aimed at assisting children affected by recent school closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. Children of the UCR faculty, staff, and student communities as well as local families can attend the lectures being offered via Zoom. Two lectures were offered on Monday...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

UCR grads form ‘mutual aid’ network in response to COVID-19

As the number of COVID-19 cases began rising in March, recent UC Riverside graduates Aram Ayra ’18 and John Stefan '20 knew they wanted to do their part to help. They decided to take a community approach that emphasized neighbors helping neighbors, creating the Riverside Mutual Aid Network. “We saw the cases were becoming more severe,” said Ayra...

By Imran Ghori |

SRC connects through virtual programming

Ginger Mickow is used to feeling the energy of a room of students moving to music when she leads kickboxing, body toning, and other classes at UC Riverside’s Student Recreation Center, or SRC. But in recent weeks, the instructor has been leading classes in an SRC studio accompanied only by a camera operator. She faces a camera instead of a mirror...

By Imran Ghori |

Research plan announced as working groups discuss campus return procedures

Several working groups have begun discussing guidelines for how and when UC Riverside will start allowing more students, staff, and faculty members to return to campus. A new website provides more details on the ideas under discussion. Research is the first area where on-campus activity can resume, under certain conditions, starting Monday, June 8...

By Imran Ghori |