Issue: Winter 2022–23

From the Chancellor

Chancellor Cynthia Larive: Leading efforts to address the challenges of climate change

March 2023

State of the art

UCSC’s Institute of the Arts and Sciences has just opened a new climate-controlled gallery on Santa Cruz’s Westside—the first dedicated space for the institute, and a bridge between the university’s arts community and the greater Santa Cruz arts scene.

By Grace Stetson, March 2023

Monsters among us

The Center for Monster Studies at UC Santa Cruz may have a fanciful name—but its leaders say serious study of these frightful fictional beings shows how much they have to teach us.

By Lisa Renner, March 2023

A journey through Egypt’s past and present

Two UCSC professors took a group of history students to Egypt on a first-of-its-kind trip in December, making classroom lessons come alive in a life-changing experience

By Dan White, March 2023

Waves of resilience

UCSC’s emerging Center for Coastal Climate Resilience is applying scientific research to develop policy around climate change and coastal sustainability, while incorporating the campus’s ideals of social justice and collaboration.

By Liza Monroy, March 2023

Raising the bars

UC Santa Cruz’s Gateways Project provides tech-training programs in Santa Cruz jails and San Quentin State Prison, supporting incarcerated voices and aiming to reduce recidivism

By Grace Stetson, March 2023

Samantha Hamilton: First Amendment advocate

Award-winning journalist and civil rights lawyer Samantha Hamilton (Kresge ’16, economics) finds herself using skills learned at City on a Hill Press during her fellowship as a newsroom attorney for the New York Times.

By Kristen Garabedian, March 2023

Andrew Kramer: A witness to war

A Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter, war correspondent, and now Ukraine bureau chief for the New York Times, Andrew Kramer (Cowell ’94, history) shines a light on world events.

By Peggy Townsend, March 2023

Helen Tran: A term of firsts

Helen Tran (Rachel Carson ’04, American studies), a daughter of Vietnamese refugees, is the first Asian American mayor of San Bernardino and the first Vietnamese American woman to be elected mayor of a U.S. city.

By Dan White, March 2023

Aliyah Khan: Sharing the scare

Aliyah Khan (Ph.D. ’12, literature and feminist studies) dives into the world of Muslim horror films with the playfully named Halaloween film festival.

By Grace Stetson, March 2023