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Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion named

Muriel McClendon has been named Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the UCLA College’s Division of Social Sciences. She succeeds Eric Avila, who is now the chair of the Chicana/o Studies Department.

McClendon teaches and writes about the social history of the English Reformation.  She serves as Vice Chair for Graduate Affairs in the History Department, was formerly the Chair of the European Studies IDP, and has served on a number of campus committees.

She will serve as the Division’s liaison to Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Jerry Kang.  She will interact with others in similar roles in each division and school across UCLA.  As Associate Dean, McClendon will assist Interim Dean Laura Gómez in developing strategic plans and evaluating policies and practices aimed at promoting a diverse, inclusive and respectful environment for faculty, staff and students in Social Sciences.

UCLA political science students witness historic Brexit vote

While Americans prepare to celebrate Independence Day this weekend, 68 UCLA political science students are traveling through Europe and witnessing first-hand the dramatic results of Britain’s referendum to leave the European Union.

Technique from biology helps explain the evolution of the American car

Borrowing a technique that biologists might use to study the evolution of plants or animals, the scientists plotted the “births” and “deaths” of every American-made car and truck model from 1896 to 2014.

After kicking addiction, graduating UCLA student reboots life

This week, Hale, 53, will graduate with a degree in sociology and celebrate his transition to a new life at the campus’s Native-American graduation celebration on Friday at 4:30 p.m. with 18 other graduates.

Archaeologists and geographers team to predict locations of ancient Buddhist sites

In a study published this week in Current Science, archaeologist Monica Smith and geographer Thomas Gillespie identified 121 possible locations of what are known as Ashoka’s “edicts.”

Law professor Laura Gómez named interim dean, UCLA College Division of Social Sciences

Professor Laura Gómez has been appointed interim dean of the UCLA College Division of Social Sciences. She will assume the new post on July 1, when Dean Alessandro Duranti is scheduled to step down and return to the faculty.

A media-savvy celeb, Trump knows how to get coverage, journalists say

Donald Trump is a political phenomenon, a man extremely adept at maximizing his celebrity, which has kept him in the media spotlight throughout the presidential primary season and left his opponents fumbling in the wake of his wildly non-traditional, off-the-cuff publicity tactics, said political journalists Dylan Byers and Sasha Issenberg at a public discussion Tuesday night at UCLA.

Presidential ads put to the test: SpotCheck evaluates 2016 campaign commercials

Politics and media experts from UCLA and Vanderbilt University will provide a data-backed understanding of commercials’ persuasiveness and effectiveness with SpotCheck, a new approach to rating political ads.

Seven UCLA faculty elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences announced the election of 213 new members who include some of the world’s most accomplished scholars, scientists, writers and artists.

Are they friends or not? Just a second of laughter can reveal relationship status, UCLA study finds

Hearing other people laugh together, even for just one second, can be enough information to gauge whether or not those people are friends, according to a UCLA study.