Featured Video: The cultural effect on gene selection

In On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin said “From so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." For the past century, however, researchers have ignored the two key words in that sentence “are being” when it comes to human beings. They believe that once humans invented culture, we stopped evolving. But did we? View Video...

The Dean and Chairs Asks… Nick Scurich

Valerie Jenness, Dean of the School of Social Ecology, and the chairs Linda Levine from the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior and Carroll Seron from the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, interviewed Assistant Professor Nick Scurich about his research on judgment and decision making in legal settings. His research brings together the academic fields of psychology and criminology to better understand risk assessment of criminals and risk communication with judges and jurors. Listen or Read Interview...

TED Talk: False Memories

Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor of Social Ecology, recently spoke about her extensive research on false memories at the TEDGlobal 2013 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Within the first week of her talk being posted, it had been viewed over 300,000 times. Loftus has shown that memory is constructed and reconstructed. She describes it like a "Wikipedia page — you can go change it, but so can other people.” View Video...

New Dean’s Leadership Council Members

Susan Hori and Maurice Sanchez join the Social Ecology Dean's Leadership Council, dedicated to advancing the School of Social Ecology's goals and mission. Hori is the Administrative Partner for the Orange County office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, and specializes in land use planning and environmental issues affecting development. Sanchez serves as the National Leader of BakerHostetler’s Distribution and Franchise Industry Team, with an emphasis in representing motor vehicle manufacturers and distributors. Hori and Sanchez will collaborate with the other distinguished members of the Council, which include: Nancy Beverage, Hazem Chehabi, Salma Chehabi '09, Scott Dubchansky, Peter Fischler '80, Gary Fudge, Emile Haddad, Julie Hill, Janice Johnson, Joan Kelly '77 and Jim Peterson.

Field Study Advisory Board Members

The School of Social Ecology welcomes the inaugural members of the Field Study Advisory Board, composed of Social Ecology faculty, staff, community partners, alumni and students. The Board’s mission is to be involved in the strategic planning efforts to continue the excellence of the program. The 2013-2014 Board members include: Margaret Anderson, Christina Beecher, Jane Dawson, Patricia DeVoe, Daphne Felicitas, Doug Houston, Larry Jamner, Michael Lieu, Dheyani Malde, Jim Meeker, Mickey Shaw, Geoff Ward and Ashley Vikander.

PPD Distinguished Fellows

The Department of Planning, Policy, and Design is pleased to welcome the inaugural class of Distinguished Fellows for the 2013-2014 academic year. The program was established to connect senior planning and policy leaders to graduate students and alumni in urban planning. The Fellows include: Laura Archuleta, Rob Elliott, Emile Haddad, Curt Pringle, and Gaddi Vasquez. Learn More...

Social Ecology Shares $2.8 Million NSF Grant

On September 24, 2013, the National Science Foundation (NSF) granted UC Irvine a $2.8 million award through the Hazards category of the NSF system-wide Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) program to address the communication of climate change science to actionable information for the public. The UC Irvine project will build a broad knowledge base for flood resilience, articulate a strategy for more effectively translating climate science into actionable information to catalyze behavioral change, and advance understanding of whether, and to what extent, parcel-level flood data can contribute to more flood resilient communities. Co-PI Richard Matthew, Professor of Planning, Policy, and Design, leads the Social Ecology Team which includes Victoria Basolo, David Feldman and Douglas Houston, and will engage over a dozen graduate and undergraduate students over the next four years. Learn More...

FLASH Gift

Roxane Cohen Silver, Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior, was awarded a gift from Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. (FLASH) to study psychological responses to hurricanes and other extreme weather events. This project is a collaboration between Silver and decision scientists at Carnegie Mellon University and wind engineers at the University of Florida, Gainesville.

Hindelang Award

Geoff Ward, Associate Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, is the recipient of the 2013 Hindelang Award from the American Society of Criminology for his remarkable book, The Black Child-Savers: Racial Democracy & Juvenile Justice. The Hindelang Award is generally regarded as the most prestigious book award in the field of criminology. Learn More...

American Psychological Foundation Visionary Grant

Jodi Quas, Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior, and Richard Matthew, Professor of Planning, Policy, and Design, have been awarded a 2013 American Psychological Foundation Visionary Grant to study how fundamental emotional and relationship processes operate in children and adolescents growing up in countries plagued by war and sociopolitical conflict, particularly on pro-social processes such as empathy, emotional understanding, and altruism. Findings will inform interventions designed to improve relationships among individuals and empathetic concern for one another that can be integrated into broader peacebuilding efforts across the globe.

Newkirk Fellowships

Graduate students Jessica Perez, Nick Petersen and Matthew Valasik are the Social Ecology recipients of Newkirk Center Fellowships. This award funds student research that is commensurate with the mission of the Newkirk Center, which aims to improve science's response to community needs and to increase the effective uses of scientific results for the benefit of society. Learn More...

Watson Fellowship

Calvin Mingione, Master of Urban and Regional Planning graduate student, is the 2013-2014 Watson Fellowship recipient. As a MURP student, Mingione intends to gain the education and skills that will allow him to enter the field of community planning. His future ambitions include working in community advocacy and educating underprivileged community members about resources that are available to them. Learn More...

PPD Advisory Board Fellowship

Victoria Kim, Master of Urban and Regional Planning graduate student, is the 2013-2014 Department of Planning, Policy, and Design Advisory Board Fellowship awardee. As a MURP student, Kim intends to focus on international planning and to undertake research on development in Istanbul, Turkey. Learn More...

Microsemi/Peterson Fellowships

Graduate students Alex Keena, Jonathan Markovitz, Natalie Pifer, and Anjuli Verma have been named the 2013-2014 Microsemi/Peterson Fellows. Students who receive this award are associated with the Center for Law, Society and Culture, which promotes interdisciplinary work on the role of social, cultural and historical factors in the development and interpretation of law. Learn More...

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Provost Welcome

On September 25, 2013, Social Ecology faculty, staff, alumni and supporters welcomed recently named Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Howard Gillman to the UC Irvine family with a reception at the Newkirk Alumni Center. Gillman is UC Irvine’s chief academic and operating officer, assuming primary responsibility for academic and organizational functions, as well as for advancing the university’s excellence in education, research and public service. Learn More...
Pictured: Marian Bergeson and Howard Gillman

Donor Wall Reception

The Social Ecology Dean's Leadership Council and other Social Ecology supporters gathered for a reception on October 22, 2013 to honor this year’s additions to the list of supporters on the Donor Wall in the Social Ecology's Dean's Office. The wall recognizes the many transformative gifts made by both alumni and the community over the last 40 years. This year’s additions include Amy and Peter Fischler, Subir and Susnata Ghosh, Joan and Eamon Kelly, Experian, and Urban Land Institute.
Pictured: Joan and Eamon Kelly

Partnership with the Urban Land Institute

The Department of Planning, Policy, and Design has partnered with the Urban Land Institute - Orange County/Inland Empire to support graduate student education. The Urban Land Institute's generous gift will provide a lectureship for a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning practicum course on affordable housing for the academic years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.

Gift to Field Study Program

Valerie Jenness, Dean of the School of Social Ecology is extremely pleased to announce that The Dubchansky Family has made a generous gift to support the Field Study Program, which is a pillar of the School of Social Ecology. With additional resources made possible by this gift, new steps will be taken to inspire and serve students, faculty and community partners through seminars, conferences and an improved inter-active website. Scott Dubchansky is a member of the Dean's Leadership Council. The School is truly grateful to him and his family for their generous contribution.

Criminal Justice: A Sociological Perspective

Charis E. Kubrin, Associate Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, is the co-editor of Introduction to Criminal Justice: A Sociological Perspective, which was just released by Stanford University Press. It is the first textbook to approach theories and practices of criminal justice from a sociological perspective. It empowers students to develop expertise in criminal justice and understand how its central tenants are informed by broader sociological principles and concepts, such as power, race, gender, and class. Learn More...