BEST OF THE BEST
UCLA ranked as the nation’s No. 1 public university for the eighth consecutive year.
IN MEMORIAM
Transformative Bruin Ralph Shapiro ’53, J.D. ’58 died Aug. 14, but left an indelible mark on UCLA’s past, present and future.
JASON DE LEÓN WINS NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION
UCLA professor and alumnus Jason De León won the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction for his book “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling.”
WE ARE UCLAVIAN
This Bruin field guide to all things birds showcases the myriad ways our feathered friends inspire art, science and more across the UCLA College.
GRADUATE STUDENT EXCELLENCE
The UCLA Division of Physical Sciences has launched an unprecedented campaign — funding all physical sciences graduate students for two years of their time at UCLA.
A TRUE BRUIN
A new plaque honoring the life, impact and Bruin legacy of Paul Terasaki was unveiled in the life sciences building that bears his family’s name. At the event, his son, Mark Terasaki ’75, announced the Paul I. Terasaki Endowment for Graduate Excellence in Life Sciences, a $500,000 endowment to support graduate education.
LIFELONG LEGACY
A trailblazer in law and philanthropy, Antonia Hernández ’71, J.D. ’74 was awarded the UCLA Medal for her dedication to social justice.
QUANTUM QUEST
Prineha Narang, UCLA professor of physical sciences and of electrical and computer engineering, has been awarded a nearly $2 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for a four-year project to create new probes using entanglement and quantum photonic states.
A NEW MAJOR
UCLA’s inaugural, three-person cohort of disability studies majors graduated, including Catarina Gerges ’24.
HONORING JUNETEENTH
Cheryl Keyes, chair of the UCLA Department of African American Studies, spearheaded the university’s inaugural Prelude to Juneteenth Day Celebration.
HISTORIC IMPACT
Meyer and Renee Luskin’s landmark $25 million gift will propel UCLA’s Meyer and Renee Luskin Department of History into the future.
SCIENCE BOOSTERS
From professors Sherie and Donald Morrison’s $15.4 million gift, UCLA Life Sciences will establish the Sherie L. and Donald G. Morrison Endowed Graduate Support Fund in Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics.
BIOSCIENCE BREAKTHROUGHS
Celebrating a decade of driving major innovations, from an epigenetic aging clock to strategies for brain mapping, the UCLA Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences hosted an innovation panel to envision the next 10 years of breakthroughs.
POLICY MATTERS
The second annual UCLA Barbra Streisand Center lecture — “A Requiem for Roe v. Wade: When Property Has No Privacy” — turned the spotlight on reproductive justice with a keynote presentation by Michele Bratcher Goodwin, a legal scholar at Georgetown Law.
BLUE AND GOLD GENIUS
Former U.S. poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera ’72 was named one of UCLA’s two 2024 MacArthur Fellows.
PHOTONICS POWER
Arthur E. Levine ’73, M.B.A. ’76 and Lauren B. Leichtman made a gift of $650,000 to support the hiring and research of Pradip Gatkine. The UCLA assistant professor in physics and astronomy brings a new level of expertise in photonics.
BON APPÉTIT
Explore the new website for the UCLA Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies.
“THE MIND OF THE MOVEMENT”
Civil rights icon and UCLA faculty member Rev. James Lawson Jr. died in June at 95. His work continues to inspire future leaders across campus and far beyond.
COMPASSIONATE CHANGE
Distinguished professor of history David N. Myers, who holds the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History, was named the new director of the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute.
READING LIST
Browse the Bruin Bookshelf for publications from the UCLA College community, including: