VOLUME 46, ISSUE 21
monday, january 7. 2013
new year, new science
UC Logo an "oh no!"
A look at ucsd research
Hoops picking up Speed
A Flushable Idea
FEATURES, Page 6
Teams begin conference play
Opinion, Page 4
SPORTS, Page 12
Campus
MEdicine
Large Grant Will Help Fund Struggling Theatre & Dance Department BY Sarah Moon
Staff Writer
www.ucsdguardian.org
photo by brian monroe
Las Vegas Cancer Center to Shut Down BY Emily pham
The Molli and Arthur Wagner Dance Building is one of several venues named for the long-time supporters of UCSD Theatre and Dance. The Wagner Family recently pledged a mutlimillion dollar gift to help the struggling department.
T
he Wagner family has pledged a $2.2 million donation to UCSD’s Department of Theatre and Dance in response to budget cuts and concern over professional training opportunities for theatre students. The donation is a lead gift in establishing the UC San Diego Division of Arts and Humanities’ Student Production Fund. Founding chairman of the department Arthur Wagner and his wife Molli Wagner will serve as co-chairs of the Student Production Fund, which aims to achieve a $7 million endowment to ensure and support student performances. “It’s very important to have a source of guaranteed funding, especially in a time when state fund-
The Wagner family, which has been involved with the Department of Theatre and Dance for two decades, has pledged a $2.2 million gift to fund student productions.
ing is so unpredictable,” Theatre and Dance Department Chair Jim Carmody said. The Wagner gift will be used exclusively towards the department’s undergraduate and graduate theatre and dance productions. Funds will cover sets, costumes, sound, lighting and projections for shows, as well as provide a guaranteed funding source for department necessities. “The gift will not allow us to start producing more elaborate shows, but it will allow us to plan next year’s season and those that follow See Wagner, page 3
ACADEMIC Affairs
Major Changes for Administrative Personnel in 2013 Heads of Scripps Institution and Jacobs School departing marks year of administrative turnover. BY Mekala Neelakantan
senior staff writer This quarter, UCSD will face various changes in faculty across different departments and affiliated institutions. These incoming and outgoing faculty shifts will include a new provost for Muir College, the first-ever Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, a search for the new Director of Scripps Institute of Oceanography and a new Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering. According to Muir Provost Search Committee Chair Dr. Barbara Sawrey, Muir College’s newest provost will be announced during the
middle of this quarter. Susan Smith, the current Provost, announced her intentions to retire at the end of the 2012 calendar year, after heading the position since 2005. After retirement from her post as provost and as faculty within the department of Visual Arts, Smith plans to spend time in Northern California, completing a book on women in medieval art and beginning a project on 19th century popular photography. The Muir Provost Search Committee is comprised of Dr. Sawrey, Muir College Dean of Student Affairs Patricia Mahaffey, Warren College Provost Steven Adler, several other professors, an alumni representative and student representatives Elizabeth Garcia and Kit Wong. The committee is currently in the process of conducting interviews with over 30 applicants for the position. “The staff and students…would love a Provost who embodies the theme of celebrating the independent spirit and is committed to preserving the things that make Muir
College so special,” Garcia, who was not at liberty to discuss the committee proceedings thus far. Beginning Jan. 1, Dr. Linda S. Greene of the University of Wisconsin-Madison will begin her position as UCSD’s first ever Vice
UW-Madison. As VC-EDI, Greene will work with Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Suresh Subramani and various departments and UCSD Programs to promote equal opportunities and inclusiveness and intro-
linda greene
tony haymet
frieder seible
Incoming vice chanellor for equity, diversity and inclusion
Outgoing director of scripps institution of oceanography
Outgoing dean of jacobs school of engineering
photos courtesy of lawwisc.edu, scripps institution and jacobs school of engineering
Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Dr. Greene was chosen for the position in September 2012 after a nationwide search by the UC Board of Regents and comes to UCSD after completing her affairs as Evjue-Bascom Professor of Law at
duce associated strategic initiatives. Dr. Greene, who had been preparing for her position as VC-EDI after the winter break, was not available for comment by press time. See faculty, page 3
Staff Writer
UCSD administrators announced their decision to close the Las Vegas Nevada Cancer Center after struggling to keep the 142,000-foot center open for almost a year. In a Dec. 12 announcement, officials said the small conglomerate of independent oncology practices, which UCSD bought out of bankruptcy in Jan. 2012 for $18 million, had failed to compete against other companies in Nevada due to an unsteady patient referral base. UCSD’s short-lived involvement with the center was the first time in history any University of California had purchased and operated an outof-state clinical practice. In early November 2012, UCSD attempted to keep the center afloat by entering negotiations to lease onethird of the center to three Nevada cancer companies, including the main partner, the Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada (CCCN). But the pending partnership fell apart when an unnamed CCCN hospital operator refused to approve a deal that denied for-profit doctor groups from occupying the center, according to the U-T San Diego. “At the 11th hour, we were notified that they were not going to sign the waiver for the land-use covenants.” UCSD Dean of Clinical Affairs Tom McAfee told the U-T San Diego in Dec. 12 article, “UCSD shuts down Nevada clinic, expansion disrupted.” “It leaves us in a very uncomfortable situation of not being able to complete the lease.” Throughout the year, attempts to restore the center’s withering patient referral base were unsuccessful in the midst of higher Californiamandated taxes and the challenges of new management. McAfee wanted to keep the center non-profit as per the agreement UCSD had made with the Nevada Cancer Center during the purchase, but UCSD simply could not sustain the center without a partnership and decided to close its doors. UCSD’s original goals to expand its clinical trials for the Moores Cancer Center, establishing an out-ofstate academic program and offering specialized procedures to Nevada’s residents, according to McAfee, have been delayed. “Had we known it would turn out this way, we probably wouldn’t have gone forward in the first place. We didn’t go into Las Vegas to get into the real estate business,” McAfee said in the U-T San Diego. As a result, 350 cancer patients were notified in December to find a new oncologist and an additional 75 Nevada Cancer Center employees received layoff notices the same day that UCSD announced the decision to close the center. Plans to expand have been disrupted, but UCSD plans to approach the idea of a partnership with another similarly non-profit oncology group in the future.