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Press Coverage Staff member wins 'Native American 40 Under 40' honor (9.02.09)
Nikishna Polequaptewa, director of the American Indian Resource Program at UC Irvine, has been selected for "Native American 40 Under 40" recognition by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. The honor, new this year, is reserved for outstanding young Native Americans who have distinguished themselves in their community and/or profession. Recipients will be feted at a special reception prior to the Indian Progress in Business awards banquet Sept. 18 in Tulsa, Okla. A Hopi tribe member, Polequaptewa graduated from UCI in 2005 and earned the campus's 2008 Living Our Values Award for his efforts to "create an American Indian presence on campus and in the community." — Kathryn Bold, University Communications
Student Spotlight: Cheyenne Reynoso (7.29.2009) LIKE MANY AMERICAN INDIAN students living in urban areas, Cheyenne Reynoso is affiliated with several different tribes  However, this reality does not hinder her identity or her intense commitment to Native peoples. As a first-generation college student at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and president of the American Indian Student Association (AISA), Cheyenne’s journey is a testament to her dedication for those who come after her and for strengthening reservation communities through education. Cheyenne participated in the American Indian Resource Program (AIRP)’s residential summer program at UCI in the summer of 2007. During her stay at UCI, Cheyenne experienced college life: she lived in the dormitories, participated in workshops on admissions and American Indian history, and visited various departments at UCI. During the school year, she participated in AIRP’s year-long mentorship program under the Center for Educational Partnerships and the UCI Office of Student Affairs. Cheyenne credits the program with assisting her in the college application process. "I'm a first-generation college student, and I had no idea how to apply to college," she says, “In all honesty, my time in the program was one of the main reasons why I am currently attending UCI right now!" She graduated with top honors, receiving UCI’s Emory Sekaquaptewa Memorial Scholarship and the American Indian Resource Program Scholarship. At UCI, she successfully ran for the position of AISA’s External Chair as a freshman. Cheyenne is currently working with the summer program directors, Nikishna Polequaptewa and Yolanda Leon in order to plan for the 2009 students. “I was proud to be part of something so inspirational. It is so important to get the youth involved." As a first year college student, she has already made a profound impact on UCI’s campus community and will surely be a positive role model in the lives of many students. The UCI American Indian Resource Program welcomes high school applicants to their 2009 summer program. The program is free and open to students nation-wide. Applications are available at: www.airp.uci.edu — Yolanda Leon and Monica Stretten
Chancellor Drake Welcomes Community to UC Irvine's Annual Powwow (6.01.2009) Chancellor Michael Drake welcomed more than 2,000 community members to the Eighth Annual Powwow May 30 at the Mesa Court Field. The two-day event was co-sponsored by UCI’s American Indian Resource Program and the American Indian Student Association. Powwows are traditional gatherings to celebrate, honor and respect Native culture. Performances included dancers from Alaska, Arizona, California, New Mexico, South Dakota, Washington and Mexico, and drum groups from throughout California. This year’s theme was “Strengthening the Health of our Future Generations,” and UC Irvine Medical Center participated by promoting diabetes prevention with the use of its full-service Mobile Medicine unit. Powwow Photos AVAILABLE ONLINE!
Alumnus Nikishna Polequaptewa receives Living Our Values Award for connecting American Indian students to campus (11.03.2008) Belonging to the badger and spider clans of the Hopi Tribe has always been a source of pride to Nikishna Polequaptewa ’05, perhaps because he knows what it’s like to be alone – to feel like he’s a tribe of one. His mother left home when he was a baby; his father went to prison when he was 3; and he grew up living in foster homes or with relatives on and off the Arizona reservation. “Even though I moved around, I always knew my American Indian identity,” Polequaptewa says. “I always felt closely tied to my reservation, my tribe and its customs.” Today, as director of the American Indian Resource Program, he works to instill the same sense of pride and belonging in American Indian students at UC Irvine and at elementary and high schools throughout Southern California. Because of his efforts, Polequaptewa earned a 2008 Living Our Values Award, which are awarded annually by Chancellor Michael Drake to staff, faculty and students whose actions best embody UCI’s values of respect, intellectual curiosity, integrity, commitment, empathy, appreciation and fun. “With low numbers of American Indians pursuing higher education, Nikishna continues to inspire individuals from reservations throughout the U.S. to receive college degrees,” writes Chau Ha Nguyen in her nomination letter. Nguyen is a third-year international studies major who accompanied Polequaptewa on an Alternative Spring Break mission to aid the fire-devastated La Jolla Indian Reservation. “Nikishna’s constantly on the road, going from school to school, reaching out to students. He’s promoted the growth of Native American interests on university campuses everywhere.” Established by student affairs, the American Indian Resource Program aims to serve the population of current students and alumni and to increase the number of American Indian students on campus through K-12 outreach. Projects include a FIRE Mentorship Program to encourage American Indian high school students to attend college, summer academies to introduce high school and transfer students to life at UCI, and an Anteater Bridge program to start American Indian students in grades 6-8 on the path to academic success. Polequaptewa also organizes on-campus events to spread awareness about American Indian issues and customs – including a Nov. 12 talk by American Indian law professor Paul Apodaca as part of this year’s Native American Heritage Month. “We want to create an American Indian presence on campus and in the community,” he says. “It makes American Indian students feel less alone.” Polequaptewa knows firsthand the importance of outreach. While attending Sherman Indian High School, a boarding school in Riverside, he participated in UCI's American Indian Summer Institute in Computer Science residential program and the California Alliance for Minority Participation, a summer program that prepares incoming freshmen for their college experience. The programs gave him the mentors he needed for success. “I’ve always known I’d go to college, even though I had no parents or way to pay for it. I did it by doing the best I could at school,” he says. He enrolled in UCI’s information & computer science program, switching majors in his fourth year to environmental analysis & design to “build things that help people directly.” “College was difficult. I had a lot of extra stress because there were so few American Indian students.” He served as president of the American Indian Student Association all four years, with only a few active members to help with projects such as tutoring high school students, expanding summer programs, staging the annual UCI powwow in June and presenting workshops to elementary and middle school children to “let them know the culture’s still alive.” After graduating, he earned his master’s in resource management from Central Washington University, and then developed an air-monitoring program for the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians. He returned to UCI in October 2007 after Manuel Gómez, vice chancellor of student affairs, supported his proposal for the program. Polequaptewa runs the program out of the Center for Educational Partnerships, which provides office space, support and supplies, and hopes to someday establish a permanent center. His wife, Yolanda Leon, serves as program coordinator, and they have a young daughter. His tribe is growing. He hopes the program will become a model for the entire UC system, helping students like him who have little support. “I grew up with nothing and I made it. I want other American Indian students to know they can make it, too.” — Kathryn Bold, University Communications
Celebrating Native American Heritage
Month American Indian law professor Paul Apodaca will speak at UC Irvine at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, in the Student Center Pacific Ballroom B to mark Native American Heritage Month and the new Native American Heritage Day. Apodaca will discuss cultural perceptions and realities, according to Nikishna Polequaptewa, director of the UCI American Indian Resource Program, which organized the event in conjunction with the American Indian Student Association. Held in November, Native American Heritage Month will, for the first time, include a new national day of tribute honoring American Indians’ contributions to the U.S. Native American Heritage Day will fall on the Friday after Thanksgiving. “This day helps raise awareness about the past and current realities faced by Native people,” says Yolanda Leon, American Indian Resource Program coordinator and American Indian Summer Institute in Computer Sciences director. Apodaca is associate professor of American studies at Chapman University, past editor of the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, and former curator of American Indian art, folklore and California history for the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art. He wrote the musical score for the Academy Award-winning documentary “Broken Rainbow” and consults for Disney Imagineering, Universal Pictures and Knott’s Berry Farm. —Kathryn Bold, University Communications
Fire sparks action: UCI student Lori Chiu leads Alternative Break effort to aid fire-devastated La Jolla Indian Reservation (09.29.2008) When the chaotic wildfires of fall 2007 started to burn across wide swaths of Southern California, Lori Chiu didn’t sit idly by. Instead, the UC Irvine junior hooked up with UCI’s Center for Service in Action to raise money for the thousands displaced by flames. When the fires were finally out, Chiu, accompanied by Nikishna Polequaptewa, director of UCI’s American Indian Resource Center, and 13 student volunteers, headed to the La Jolla Indian Reservation on an Alternative Spring Break mission to restore what had been lost to the fires. While most college students hit the beaches or the ski slopes on break, others like Chiu volunteer for Alternative Spring Break to perform short-term projects for community agencies and learn about issues such as literacy, poverty, racism, hunger, homelessness and the environment. When Chiu and her fellow volunteers arrived on the reservation, the group was shocked by the extent of the damage: More than 55 homes were lost, and 90 percent of the reservation’s 10,000 acres had burned. “We saw skeletons of trees and empty spaces where houses used to be,” Chiu says. “It was an eye-opening experience. When you actually see it, you feel the sense of loss. The land was so beautiful, but it hurt to see how devastated it was. It made us realize why we were there.” The group cleared refuse from the fire, gathered recyclables and delivered them to a local collection station. They planted oak trees and buckwheat saplings to bolster hillsides eroded by a debris flow during the winter rains. And they helped local children with their homework and encouraged them to apply to college. After each day’s work, the volunteers participated in cultural presentations with Luiseño Indian Tribe members, learning about tribal history and government, their cultural use of music, and the fire’s effect on their lives. “The Luiseño community members shook our hands and were so in awe that we would give up our spring break to come here,” Chiu says. "They were touched and expressed their appreciation – that was one of the greatest rewards.” Chiu plans to develop more programs with Alternative Break
next year, engage first-year students in volunteer activities
on campus, and attend law school after graduation. She has recorded
her experiences with the Luiseño Indians in a blog to
tell others about the importance and rewards of volunteering. For information about participating in the winter Alternative Break, contact the Center for Service in Action at 949-824-3500; deadline for applications is in November. — Hanan Eisenman, University Communications
American Indian Summer Institute in Computer Sciences American Indian high school students whose futures lie in computer science got a small taste of what’s in store by participating in AISICS, the American Indian Summer Institute in Computer Sciences. The summer program at UC Irvine is funded by the National Science Foundation. This summer, students from five states and 11 tribes lived in campus dorms during the three-week class. They worked with Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences professors and graduate students. And, in a unique twist, they invited elders and storytellers into the mix to develop interactive story projects that combined computer game technology with American Indian tradition. A closing ceremony was held Aug. 2 on the sixth-floor patio of Donald Bren Hall for students and their parents. It included a traditional ceremony affirming students’ commitment to using their educations to improve the lives of American Indians. AISICS has been offered most summers since 1991. Recently, it has been led by Nikishna Polequaptewa, director of the new American Indian Resource Program. He works to instill a sense of pride and belonging in American Indian students at UCI as well as at elementary and high schools throughout Southern California. The AISICS program is directed by Yolanda Leon of UCI’s Center for Educational Partnerships. Daniel Frost, Department of Informatics lecturer, is the principal investigator on the NSF grant. — Cathy Lawhon, University Communications
Alumnus Nikishna Polequaptewa nurtures cultural pride in UCI’s American Indian students (06.09.2008) Belonging to the Badger and Spider clans of the Hopi Tribe has always been a source of pride to Nikishna Polequaptewa ’05, perhaps because he knows what it’s like to be a tribe of one. His mother left home when he was a baby; his father went to prison when he was 3; and he grew up living in foster homes or with relatives on and off the Arizona reservation. “Even though I moved around, I knew my American Indian identity,” Polequaptewa says. “I always felt closely tied to my reservation, my tribe and its customs.” Today, as director of UCI’s new American Indian Resource Program, he works to instill the same sense of pride and belonging in American Indian students at UCI and in Southern California’s elementary and high schools. “I want American Indian students to have the kind of role models and resources I didn’t have,” he says. Established by the Office of Student Affairs, the resource program aims to increase the number of American Indian students at UCI by reaching out to students in kindergarten through community college. Polequaptewa also wants to offer current students and alumni access to campus events that highlight relevant issues and customs. A special graduation ceremony to be held in May, for example, provides recognition to the accomplishments of American Indian students. Outreach projects focus on preparing young students for university life. The FIRE Mentorship Program encourages American Indian high school students to attend college. Summer academies introduce high school and transfer students to UCI, and an Anteater Bridge program launches sixth- through eighth-grade students on the path to academic success. Polequaptewa manages all of that. He knows firsthand the importance of outreach. While in high school, he attended UCI’s American Indian Summer Institute in Computer Sciences residential program. He also signed up for the Summer Science Academy sponsored by the California Alliance for Minority Participation. In both programs, he found mentors who helped him gain practical skills, such as how to build Web sites and become a successful student. “I always knew I’d go to college, even though I had no parents or way to pay for it,” he says. “I did it by doing the best I could at school.” He enrolled in UCI’s information and computer science program, switching majors to environmental analysis and design to “build things that help people directly.” He served as American Indian Student Association president all four years, with only a few active members to help him tutor high school students, expand summer programs, stage the annual UCI powwow in June, and present workshops to elementary and middle school children to “let them know the culture’s still alive.” After graduating, Polequaptewa earned his master’s in resource management from Central Washington University, and then developed an air-monitoring program for the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians. He returned to UCI in October after Manuel Gómez, vice chancellor of student affairs, supported his proposal for the program. “Nikishna’s story is a testament to the power of a university education to transform lives,” Gómez says. “Every student like him, who opens doors for others, reminds us of how important educational equity is, not only for individuals, but for society.” Polequaptewa runs the program out of the Center for Educational Partnerships and hopes to establish a permanent center. His wife, Yolanda Leon, serves as program coordinator, and they have a young daughter, Nahui Numkina. His tribe is growing. He hopes the program will become a model for the UC system. “I grew up with nothing and I made it. I want other American Indian students to know they can make it too.” —Kathryn Bold, University Communications
New UC Irvine program reaches out to American Indians (05.01.2008) Mike Estes treasures the ancestral heritage he learned about as a child on a Lakota reservation. He is looking for a way to instill that heritage in his own children, and he may have found it in a new UC venture to strengthen the American Indian community by empowering its future leaders. UC Irvine's American Indian Resource Program, now in its sixth month, is recruiting every segment of the American Indian population: teenagers, who need educational opportunity; parents, who want to sustain their culture over generations; and tribal leaders, who are seeking partnerships to help serve their people. Estes came with his son, Benny, to UCI's first American Indian Family Day on April 19, and he plans on bringing his two daughters when they reach high school. "I would love for all my children to come to UC Irvine because of this program," said Estes, a financial management expert. "Our family really wants to get involved in what Nikishna has built here, and we would like to support what he's done." Nikishna Polequaptewa, the resource program's founding director, is a UCI alumnus from the Hopi Tribe in northeastern Arizona. Abandoned by his mother as an infant, and losing his father to prison at age 3, Polequaptewa had no home or family of his own. But he drew emotional support from his Hopi Badger and Spider clans, and he had faith in a higher power. "When I was a little child in a foster home in Los Angeles, I believed that the Creator would keep me safe and guide me with the right people at the right times," Polequaptewa said. "That belief has taken me through many wonderful and difficult experiences." Polequaptewa's first big break came in high school when he participated in UCI's American Indian Summer Institute in Computer Sciences, an 8-week residential program funded by the National Science Foundation. Smitten by the campus, he enrolled as a freshman and served as president of the American Indian Student Association all four years. The position overwhelmed him, he said, because the need for American Indian programming far outpaced the number of students who could help him sustain it. "After putting so much time and energy into raising awareness of American Indian issues and culture, my GPA fell to a 1.9 in my fourth year," he said. With the support of his wife, Yolanda León, Polequaptewa got back on track, graduated with a degree in environmental analysis and design and earned a master's in resource management at Central Washington University. He launched an air quality program for the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, but his thoughts kept returning to his struggles at Irvine. "I did not want the same fate for future American Indian students that came through UCI," he said. "So I wrote a proposal to Dr. Manuel Gómez to see if he would be interested in supporting the creation of an American Indian Resource Program." Gómez, UCI's vice chancellor of student affairs, saw that the program could be a capstone of existing American Indian outreach, including the American Indian Student Association's annual UCI Pow Wow, which celebrates its seventh anniversary May 31 and June 1. "The tribes have immense needs in areas like health care, environmental sustainability and telecommunications, and they don't want their children to lose their cultural identity," said Gómez. Polequaptewa recently led students on a service-learning Alternative Spring Break Program to help restore the fire-ravaged La Jolla Indian Reservation, and he has lined up support from the American Indian Chamber of Commerce, the Environmental Protection Agency and Southern California Edison. He also has taken the lead in forging a wider network as the inaugural statewide coordinator of the Inter-Tribal Collegiate Alliance. "I have never seen a program take off as quickly as this one," said Stephanie Reyes-Tuccio, director of UCI's Center for Educational Partnerships, which houses the program. "Nikishna is not only deeply knowledgeable about what Native American students need, but passionate as well, and he has built on his relations with local tribes and organizations to make great strides." Citing new UC admissions data that show a 2.6 percent decline in freshman American Indian students in one year, Reyes-Tuccio said, "I believe this program will be a systemwide model for work with this important student population. Clearly, we have a long way to go with respect to increasing representation of Native American students at UC. If anyone can take us there, it's Nikishna." —Donna Hemmila, University of California Office of the President Your University is produced 10 times per year by the Strategic
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Alumnus Nikishna Polequaptewa directs new program to connect American Indian students to campus (01.28.2008) Belonging to the badger and spider clans of the Hopi Tribe has always been a source of pride to Nikishna Polequaptewa ’05, perhaps because he knows what it’s like to be alone – to feel like he’s in a tribe of one. His mother left home when he was a baby. His father went to prison when he was 3. He lived in foster homes or with relatives on and off the Arizona reservation. “Even though I moved around, I always knew my American Indian identity,” Polequaptewa says. “I always felt closely tied to my reservation, my tribe and its customs.” Today, as director of the campus’s new American Indian Resource Program, he works to instill the same sense of pride and belonging in American Indian students at UCI as well as at elementary and high schools throughout Southern California. “I want American Indians to have the kind of role models and resources I didn’t have,” he says. Established by Student Affairs, the program aims to increase the number of American Indian students on campus (currently about 100) through K-12 outreach, and to serve the population now on campus and graduates. Projects include a FIRE Mentorship Program to encourage American Indian high school students to attend college, summer academies to introduce high school and transfer students to life at UCI, and an Anteater Bridge program to start American Indian students in grades 6-8 on the path to academic success. Polequaptewa also organizes on-campus events to spread awareness about American Indian issues and customs. “We want to create an American Indian presence on campus and in the community,” he says. “It makes American Indian students feel less alone.” Polequaptewa knows firsthand the importance of outreach. While attending Sherman Indian High School, a boarding school in Riverside, he participated in UCI's American Indian Summer Institute in Computer Science residential program and the California Alliance for Minority Participation, a summer program that prepares incoming freshmen for UCI. The programs gave him the mentors – spiritual guides – he needed. “I’ve always known I’d go to college, even though I had no parents or way to pay for it. I did it by doing the best I could at school,” he says. He enrolled in UCI’s information & computer science program, switching majors in his fourth year to environmental analysis & design to “build things that help people directly.” “College was difficult. I had a lot of extra stress because there were so few American Indian students.” He served as president of the American Indian Student Association all four years, with only a few active members to help with projects such as tutoring American Indian high school students, expanding American Indian summer programs, staging the annual UCI powwow in June and presenting workshops to elementary and middle school children to “let them know the culture’s still alive.” After graduating, he earned his master’s in resource management from Central Washington University, then developed an air-monitoring program for the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians. He returned to UCI in October after Manuel Gómez, vice chancellor of Student Affairs, supported his proposal for the program. Polequaptewa runs the program out of The Center for Educational Partnerships, which provides office space, support and supplies, and hopes to someday establish a permanent center. His wife, Yolanda Leon, serves as program coordinator, and they have a young daughter. His tribe is growing. He hopes the program will become a model for the entire UC system, helping students like him who have little support. “I grew up with nothing and I made it. I want other American Indian students to know they can make it, too.” —Kathryn Bold, University Communications
Students Help in Relief Effort of Santiago Fires (11.05.207) The Santiago fire has burned through 28,400 acres since Oct. 21. It is now 90 percent contained, and it is expected to be fully contained by Nov. 4. According to Calfires.com, California's source for fire updates, 'Fifteen homes and nine outbuildings have been destroyed [while] eight residential structures and 12 outbuildings were damaged.' The fire's total cost is an estimated $14.2 million. Arson is the suspected cause of the Santiago fire. As the investigation continues, organizations and groups throughout Orange County are collecting donations to aid those who were evacuated or displaced by the fire. UC Irvine's Center for Service in Action, previously known as the Volunteer Center, is working in conjunction with Operation OC, a relief effort originally established to help those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The CSA has set up collection bins for non-perishables, hygienic supplies, clothing, etc. in the courtyard of the Student Center, and in its office at Student Center G301. The American Indian Resource Program is another campus organization that is collecting supplies and monetary donations. Collection bins are located at the Cross Cultural Center and the Center for Educational Partnerships in Research Park. AIRP focuses on helping the Indian reservations that have been affected by the fires in San Diego County. '[The tribal reservations] don't have a lot of that infrastructure ?' water, sewer, trash and fire departments ?' so they have volunteer firefighters who [use] an old 1950s fire truck. A few guys volunteer their time to do firefighting,' said Nikishna Polequaptewa, director of AIRP, 'So when the fire came, the few guys rounded up what equipment they could, what water they could [and tried] to tackle the blazes.' The La Jolla Indian Reservation is among those devastated by the fires. The Poomacha fire started at the Reservation and is still burning at 85 percent containment. 'Ninety-five percent of the La Jolla Reservation has been burned. [There are] no shrubs, no trees, nothing?'just burnt hills. Twenty-five percent of the population there has lost homes,' Polequaptewa said. Many have been sleeping in the Tribal Hall because it has a large clearing around it, so it didn't burn down. AIRB hopes to organize a trip to San Diego in late November to deliver the supplies. Furthermore, AIRB and the CSA are planning to host a rebuilding project at a reservation as this year's 'Alternative Spring Break.' Also, the UC Irvine men's tennis team traveled to Fallbrook, Calif. last weekend to help in the cleanup effort following the recent Southern California fires. The team cleared debris and searched for valuables. 'It was without question the single biggest moment in our Teams maturity as we helped those who were so less fortunate than ourselves,' Coach Trevor Kronemann said. Campus organizations are not the only ones pitching in to help out. Professor William Tomlinson and a group of his students built a Web site to link evacuees with people willing to host them. Tomlinson and approximately 20 of his students developed the Web site in the Calit2 building. He explained that the most important thing is to get the word out about www.calfirehelp.com because although there are 150 hosts, only about 10 to 15 evacuees are utilizing the Web site. For more information about ways to help, visit: calfirehelp.com, operationoc.com, www.volunteer.uci.edu, www.airp.uci.edu or www.californiavolunteers.org —Evonne Liew, New University Newspaper
New UCI center promotes diversity in technology fields (01.08.2004) UC Irvine has established a research center in its School of Information and Computer Science (ICS) to study diversity in the computing and information technology fields. Through research, outreach and educational programming, the Ada Byron Research Center (ABRC) will work to combat an increasing disparity of women and other underrepresented persons studying and working in the technology disciplines. “The percentage of women and underrepresented populations — Latinos, African Americans and Native Americans — in computing and information technology has not grown proportionately with the industry,” said Debra J. Richardson, ABRC director and the Ted and Janice Smith Interim Dean of ICS. “This translates into a loss of opportunity and economic advancement, a loss of talent in the workforce and a loss of creativity in shaping the future of information technology.” The center is named for Augusta Ada Byron, who is commonly regarded as the world’s first computer programmer. Byron’s program, written in the early-19th century, described how a calculating machine might compute Bernoulli’s numbers which occur in many diverse areas of mathematics. In an 1843 article, Byron predicted that the calculating machine might be used one day to compose music, produce graphics, and be instrumental in both practical and scientific use. Byron’s prescient comments anticipated by more than a century much of what we think of today as information technology - from scientific computing to computational arts. ABRC will leverage activities at other UC campuses, including: Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as Irvine. Through such initiatives as new classes and academic majors, ABRC will study the underlying reasons for women’s and underrepresented populations’ lack of participation in computing and information technology, and address the critical issues impeding these groups from participating fully in the fields. ABRC also is a key participant in the newly established National Center for Women and Information Technology, a national coalition of organizations that have joined forces to ensure that women are represented in the influential work of information technology. “The School of Information and Computer Science, which has a long history of fostering comprehensive education in computing, is the ideal home for the center,” said William Parker, UCI vice chancellor for research and graduate studies. “Under Dean Richardson’s leadership, ABRC will formalize and leverage current diversity efforts and expand interdisciplinary research and curricular revisions to encourage a more diverse population studying, teaching and creating information technology applications.” As part of its mission, the center will support research fellows, a speaker series and workshops aimed at addressing the challenges and solutions to promoting diversity. Currently, women constitute nearly half of the U.S. workforce, yet hold less than 18 percent of the jobs in information technology. Further, only one out of every 1,000 students earning computer science degrees is a Native American student; 12 are Hispanic and 30 are African American. “A center dedicated to attracting students who haven’t been exposed to computer science is an exciting and very much needed endeavor,” said Nikishna Myron, an ICS junior and president of the American Indian Student Association. “This center can help to excite Native American students and support their interests in computing.” Supported by an initial gift from Microsoft and UCI seed funding totaling $70,000 for three years, the center will create a network bridging academia and industry by addressing where and why women and other underrepresented students drop out of the technology pipeline. “In a knowledge-based society, it is important that all members contribute to shaping the future of information technology,” said Mark Hayes, manager of university relations at Microsoft Research. “Microsoft Corporation is committed to advancing the state of the art in research and scholarship, supporting innovation, enhancing the teaching and learning experience, and empowering students to realize their full potential with technology.” Sample of ABRC initiatives: • Laptops for Literacy: a project investigating the potential contribution of laptop computers to students’ literacy development and academic achievement. The project will focus on schools that have a culturally and linguistically diverse population. • ABRC’s Outreach Road Show: an endeavor that will demonstrate through interactive classroom presentations to junior high and high school students the extensive career options available to them, such as drug design, patent law and special effects in the media. • Bachelor of science degree program in informatics: a new offering in the ICS Department of Informatics that will promote experience-based computer science to facilitate access, retention and completion for underrepresented students. THE SCHOOL OF INFORMATION AND COMPUTER SCIENCE: Founded as a department in 1968, information and computer science became a school in December 2002. It is home to the largest computing program in the UC system and leads innovative research into new information and computing technology, including studies of its economic, commercial and social impact. For more information, visit www.ics.uci.edu. To learn more about the center, please visit: http://abrc.uci.edu. About the University of California, Irvine: UCI is a top-ranked public university dedicated to research, scholarship and community. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing UC campuses, with more than 23,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,300 faculty members. The third-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3 billion. —Michelle Wiliams, School of Information & Computer
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