The University Library has launched a visioning process, to continue through fall quarter, to reimagine the future of the Shields, Carlson Health Sciences, and Physical Sciences and Engineering libraries.

Through a yearlong, campuswide conversation with students, faculty and staff, the library will assess how its physical space, technology and services can best serve the UC Davis community and support student success in the 21st century. Opportunities to share ideas will include focus groups, town hall meetings, and surveys of faculty, students and staff.

The visioning process represents the first of three phases leading up to a possible major redesign of the University Library buildings.

As the academic hub of the university, the library touches nearly every student, faculty member and researcher during their time on campus. It serves as a gathering place, a space for quiet study and collaboration, and a place for deep thought and discovery. Now, the University Library invites you to help answer the question: “What more could it be?”

To learn more about the library’s space planning process and how you can get involved, visit https://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/about/spaceplanning.

1,164 turn out for Blood and Marrow Drive

The numbers are in from UC Davis’ first three-day Blood and Marrow Drive: 1,164 participants, or nearly 400 a day!

Sacramento-based BloodSource conducted the drive April 19-21, lining up bloodmobiles on both sides of the Quad. The blood bank reported that it collected 864 pints of blood (not everyone who signs up is able to complete the donation process, for a variety of reasons) — and 366 pints came from brand-new donors. In addition, 47 people joined the Be the Match bone marrow registry.

“Because of the generosity of our donors, many patients will be granted another day,” said Felicia Roper of BloodSource. “It was also wonderful that in just the three short days that we were on the Quad, I saw many donors and volunteers wearing their blood drive T-shirts proudly each day!”

The next campus blood drive is scheduled for Tuesday-Wednesday, June 28-29.

New olive oils hit the shelves

UC Davis’ 2016 olive oils are on the shelves at all UC Davis Stores.

The center also offers these blends (followed by Flynn’s descriptions):

• Silo — Bright fruitiness, with a peach flavor.
• Gunrock — Grassy, with the blend’s traditional peppery kick.
• Roasted Garlic — Perfect for drizzling over popcorn and potatoes.

Prices per 250-milliliter bottle: $12 for Silo, Gunrock and Roasted Garlic; and $15 for Estate. Proceeds go to the Olive Center for its continued research and operations.

Corto Olive Co. and Lucero Olive Oil donated the olives for this year’s Silo and Gunrock blends, while California Olive Ranch donated the olives for Roasted Garlic. Bondolio Olive Oil donated the milling, and The Olive Oil Factory donated the bottling.

‘Bici & Bevi’ benefit for Olive Center

An event that combines olive oil tasting and wine tasting, with a bike ride in between, is scheduled for Saturday, May 28, as a benefit the UC Davis Olive Center.

The Bici & Bevi Yolo Olive Oil and Wine Ride is presented by Hot Italian pizza and panini bar of Davis. In Italian, “Bici” and “Bevi” translate to “bike” and “drink,” respectively.

The schedule calls for meet-up at 8 a.m. at Hot Italian, 500 First St., Davis, and a bike ride from there to the Robert Mondavi Institute of Wine and Food Science (home of the Olive Center) for “Olive Oil 101” and olive oil tasting.

Then comes a 10-mile bike ride to Bondolio Olive Oil in Winters for a tour of the mill, followed by lunch (Hot Italian pizza from Bondolio’s wood-burning oven). Then the bike group goes to Putah Creek Winery for wine tasting, before riding back to Hot Italian, arriving at about 2 p.m. for more olive oil tasting.

The registration fee of $150 includes all of the above plus a bottle of premium extra virgin olive oil from Yolo Press. The last day to register online is Friday, May 27.

UCDMC earns another ‘A’ for hospital safety

The Leapfrog Group, an independent hospital watchdog group that includes some of the country’s largest employers and health-care purchasers, has again awarded UC Davis Medical Center an “A” on its most recent Hospital Safety Score.

The Leapfrog Group assigns “A” through “F” grades to more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals twice a year based on the hospitals’ ability to prevent errors, injuries, accidents and infections. The evaluation is considered the gold standard for ranking hospitals nationwide on the likelihood that patients will be free from preventable harm during hospital stays.

The Spring 2016 Hospital Safety Score marks the sixth consecutive time that UC Davis has achieved the highest grade.

“The Leapfrog grade is one of many indicators of the quality of the care we provide our patients at UC Davis,” said Ann Madden Rice, chief executive officer of the UC Davis Medical Center. “Our consistent top performance in this survey reflects the diligence of our care teams in making safety our highest priority.”

Read the complete news release.

IN MEMORIAM: ‘Viva la Vida’ honoring Francisco X. Alarcón

Taller Arte del Amanacer (TANA), or Art Workshop of the New Dawn, run by the Department of Chicana/o Studies, announced a celebration of life for Francisco X. Alarcón, from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday (May 7) at TANA, 1224 Lemen Ave., Woodland.

Alarcón, a poet and long-time continuing lecturer in Spanish at UC Davis, died Jan. 15. Read his obituary. People coming to the celebration are invited to bring a poem (or photo) for a community altar. The poems will also be included in a chapbook.

For more information, contact Javier Pinzon by email, or Melissa Moreno by email or phone, 530-661-6217.

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