Construction is scheduled to start next week on two new bike parking lots with a total of 500 spaces at Everson and Rock halls.

At first, the new lots in the campus core will serve as an alternative to the temporary loss of spaces due to building construction in the area: Walker Hall (renewal and seismic corrections), and Chemistry and Chem Annex (fire suppression and seismic corrections).

Note, however, that the new lots on the west side of Rock Hall and at the northeast corner of Everson will be permanent.

And, when construction is completed, parking will be restored on the east side of Rock Hall and on the south side of Walker — resulting in a net increase of 600 parking spaces, which will be very welcome considering that three new classrooms are going into the back of Walker Hall.

‘Books,’ readers sought for Human Library

The UC Davis Library is seeking volunteers for its new Human Library, coming this spring as part of a worldwide movement for social change.

The UC Davis Human Library needs “books” and readers. Anyone associated with the UC Davis community is invited to apply — this includes students (undergraduate, graduate, professional, medical, post-doc, etc.), staff, faculty and alumni.

“Books” should represent groups that have been exposed to stigmas, stereotypes or prejudices.

If you are interested in participating or want to nominate a member of the UC Davis community, send an email to ucdhumanlibrary@ucdavis.edu. An date for the event will be set once volunteers are secured.

The Human Library at UC Davis has the support of a UC Davis Diversity and Inclusion Innovation Grant.

Read more.

Recruitment for Administrative Advisory Committees

The UC Davis administration is seeking applications for membership on Administrative Advisory Committees for 2018-19. The committees address topics such as arts, child and family care, diversity, student services, and research, and provide an opportunity for all constituencies — Academic Senate and Academic Federation members, staff, graduate students and undergraduate students—to participate in governance of the campus.

“As a member of an Administrative Advisory Committee, you can ensure that your constituency's perspectives are well represented in the committee's recommendations to the administration,” Ralph J. Hexter, provost and executive vice chancellor, said in an email to the campus community.

“You can also help representatives from other constituencies understand your interests and concerns and, in turn, learn more about their views of campus issues.”

The Administrative Advisory Committees website inclues a list of the committees with brief descriptions of their activities, as well as the application form. The application deadline is April 9.

Woodland Professors and Ph.D.s social hour

Liza Grandia, associate professor in the Department of Native American Studies, wants to meet her faculty colleagues who, like her, call Woodland home. So she has organized a monthly social, the first of which is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. this Friday (Feb. 23) at the Uvaggio wine bar, 703 Main St.

“Lots of people have responded enthusiastically to the idea,” said Grandia, who joined UC Davis in 2012.

She moved here from Massachusetts and had a short timeline to find a house. “Davis folks actively discouraged me from even looking at Woodland,” she said. “As an anthropologist, it struck me as strange. So I decided to drive up in the rental car to see for myself.

“I parked on First Street in the heart of the historic district and walked up to the Carnegie library. The roses were in bloom and neighbors were talking on the street. Online I saw that Woodland had an amazing community theatre program at the Opera House, and the community had two (now three) dual immersion schools.”

She fell in love with the city and a house with soaring ceilings, wood floors, space for gardening, kitchen with butler’s pantry, a claw-foot tub, “all at a price I could afford on a humanities professor salary.”

But, she added, “With the long hours of being a single-mothering professor, I haven’t had an opportunity to meet many people. So the idea of the happy hour began.”

She calls it Woodland Professors and Ph.D.s, and it is scheduled to meet the last Friday of every month. For more information, contact Grandia by email.

Colombian Consulate services, on campus Feb. 24

A “mobile consulate” is coming to UC Davis this Saturday (Feb. 24) — the Colombian Consulate from San Francisco. It is partnering with UC Davis Extension’s Center for International Education to provide consulate services such as renewing passports, registering for Colombian identification cards and registering to vote.

The mobile consulate will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in 1211-1215 International Center.

“This unique event supports our population of Colombian students and faculty (and other Colombian nationals in our area) by providing them with a convenient opportunity to access critical consulate services,” a UC Davis Extension spokesman said.

Picture this! Improved eLearning Studio

The eLearning Studio, a high-quality, lower-cost recording center that faculty use to make instructional videos, has been refreshed and simplified — and is ready for wider use.

Faculty have typically used the studio to narrate slides, “but people are starting to be more creative with it,” said Mark Wilson, instructional designer, by creating scripted segments instead of simply recording standard lectures. Wilson and other academic technology specialists can assist with ideas and advice about how to optimize the use of video.

The room (50 Hutchison Hall) has features you’d expect — a wireless microphone, good lighting and “learning glass” that functions as a sort of transparent whiteboard between the speaker and the lens.

Read more in TechNews.

Fall housing: Honda Smart Home

Even if you’re not looking for a new place to live, you might want to consider this — applying to be the next occupant(s) of the Honda Smart Home, a zero-net-energy house in UC Davis West Village.

The application period is open for 2018-19. This unique opportunity is open to faculty, staff or graduate students.

In addition to showcasing Honda’s vision for sustainable, zero-carbon living and personal mobility, the home functions as a living laboratory where the company, along with researchers from UC Davis and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. evaluate new technologies and business opportunities at the intersection of housing, transportation, energy and the environment.

More information is available online. The page includes links to the occupancy agreement and interest form; for full consideration, prospective occupants should complete the form as soon as possible but no later than 5 p.m. March 16. (Sorry, feline and canine occupants are not being considered this time.)

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