Greetings, CRC Community:
 

We hope you enjoy this week's edition of Region Matters.  Our goal is to make this newsletter an asset to our campus and community partners.  Please continue to send your requests for inclusion, along with any comments or questions, to crcinfo@ucdavis.edu. 

As 2014 comes to a close, the UC Davis Center for Regional Change celebrates another year of significant impact in improving outcomes for communities throughout California and beyond.  The CRC is committed to producing research that is relevant and actionable for change-makers in the policy, non-profit, business, and foundation sectors.  In short...research that matters for regions. 

Our work would not be possible without your continued partnership and commitment to engaged scholarship for sustainable and equitable communities and regions.  To support this partnership, we ask you to please consider joining our Friends of Regional Change Donors' Circle.  Your tax-deductible contribution will help the CRC lead efforts to promote healthy, prosperous, sustainable and equitable change on a regional scale.  Your support will help empower the CRC to: 

• Generate innovative, solutions-oriented research to resolve pressing social issues;

• Grow the next generation of regional change scholars, with an emphasis on students from under-represented groups; and

• Help bring CRC research into the hands of regional change-makers in policy, advocacy, business and philanthropic communities.  

Thank you for considering joining our Friends of Regional Change Donors' Circle.

As always, we welcome your questions, comments, or suggestions about our work.  Here's to a New Year full of health, happiness, peace, and justice for all!

Sincerely,

Jonathan K. London, Ph.D.

Director; Center for Regional Change
   

CRC Participation in Community-Based Research/Digital Media Conference

The Provost's Forums on the Public University and the Social Good

Keeping Track of One's Moral Compass Despite Pressures to Lose It:

How a Public University Can Maintain Its Integrity

Dr. Haavi Morreim, Professor of Human Values and Ethics at the University of Tennessee, will discuss how public universities hold a special position of trust.  As institutions established to serve the public interest through the creation and dissemination of knowledge, and as recipients of public investment, they have responsibilities to public welfare and operating ethically in ways that go beyond what is expected in the marketplace.  And yet, diverse financial pressures and competitive forces threaten the integrity of public universities.  They potentially transform their longstanding culture of seeking and disseminating knowledge for its own sake, to one focusing on what will please the market in the short term.  While such a transformation is not inherently unethical, it can invite corruption that can be countered only by a strong culture of integrity at all levels of the institution, from the top leadership on down.  The CRC is proud to co-sponsor this forum.

Date: November 20

Time: 3:00pm - 4:30pm

Place: Multipurpose Room, Student Community Center, UCD Campus 

The Salton Sea fills crucial ecological niches in California's Inland Empire and beyond.  Its wetlands and fish attract as many as 400 species of migrating birds.  However, the Salton Sea is rapidly shrinking due to drought, the sale of Colorado River water to coastal cities, and restrictions on inflow sources.  In addition to the loss of habitat for wildlife, the shrinking sea generates dust that is inhaled by local children and other residents, leading to some of the highest asthma rates in California.  "This is a disaster waiting to happen, if it hasn't already started," said Bruce Wilcox, who runs the environmental arm of the Imperial Irrigation District.  To read the full article, click here.

Call for Papers: "Neoliberalism and Public Higher Education"
In order to promote critical reflection and public discussion on the impact of neoliberalism on higher education, the Julian Samora Research Institute (JSRI) at Michigan State University is hosting a national conference on Neoliberalism and Public Higher Education in March 2015.  JSRI is seeking original, professional papers presenting formal research results and analyses of emergent issues and trends which contribute to our understanding of, and point to ways to move beyond, neoliberalism in public higher education.  Deadline: December 15
 

UCD Stats Club PhoRaiser

The Statistics Club at UC Davis is teaming up with Pho King 4 for their first Statistics Club "PhoRaiser!"  Please mention the UCD Stats Club at the time of purchase as 10% of the proceeds will go to the club.

Date: November 19

Time: All day event

Place: Pho King 4 - 226 Third Street, Davis

Assets Matter: Building an Inclusive Economy for All Californians  

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is holding its annual symposium.  This promises to be one of the largest statewide gatherings of policymakers, nonprofit leaders, funders, government officials, and academia - all focused on how to work together to create a more inclusive economy.

Date: November 20

Time: 10:00am - 6:00pm

Place: 101 Market Street, San Francisco

Registration is required. 

UC Berkeley Seeks Cooperative Extension Specialist

The Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley seeks an Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist in Water Resources and Climate Change Adaptation.  For more information about the position, including required qualifications and application materials, click here. 

Deadline: December 12
  

EPA Accepting Applications for Grant Program

EPA Request for Proposals

The EPA also announces the availability of funds for the Community Scale Air Toxics Ambient Monitoring award and solicits proposals designed to assist state, local and tribal communities in identifying and profiling air toxics sources, assessing emerging measurement methods, characterizing the degree and extent of local air toxics problems, and tracking progress of air toxics reduction activities. 

Deadline: January 5