Events

Research Lunch & Learn: Research-enabling agreements (MTAs, DUAs, and more)
2025-10-08 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join Jeff Jackson, Director of Innovation Transfer, and team on October 8, 12-1 p.m., as they discuss research-enabling agreements including Material Transfer, Data Transfer and Use, Nondisclosure Agreements, and Unfunded Collaboration Agreements. Speakers will share which agreements are appropriate in which situations, how to initiate review of such agreements, campus process, best practices for you to help make things more efficient, and potential pitfalls.

UCSC Community Connections Fall Gathering
2025-10-08 11:00 - 13:00 | Arboretum, 122 Arboretum Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join UC Santa Cruz Community Connections on Wednesday, October 8, for our Fall Gathering. Our first general meeting of the academic year, it’s an opportunity to meet old and new friends, share a potluck lunch, learn more about the organization, investigate our array of interest groups, and join our group. The organization is open to campus and community members. Upcoming meetings on November 5 and February 4 are speaker meetings that begin at 11:30 am.
Meetings are held at the beautiful Arboretum, Horticulture Building II Classroom. Detailed directions to the Arboretum can be found on the Arboretum website.
October 8 11:00 – 1:00 Interest Group signups at 11:00 & Fiat Musica performance
Attendees are asked to contribute to the meeting lunches, see “Potluck instructions” except for this October 8th meeting where the lunch will be provided by the Board.

CSE Colloquium: Can Great Programmers Be Taught?
2025-10-08 11:00 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: John Ousterhout, Stanford University
Abstract: People have been programming computers for more than 80 years, but there is little agreement on how to design software or even what a good design looks like. As a community, we talk a lot about tools and processes, but hardly at all about design. In this talk I will describe my recent work to identify and communicate a set of software design principles, including a new software design course at Stanford that is taught more like an English writing seminar than a traditional programming class, and a book on software design, which is based on the concepts from the class. I will also present a few of the design principles, such as "classes should be deep" and "general-purpose classes are deeper."
Bio: John Ousterhout is the Bosack Lerner Professor of Computer Science, Emeritus at Stanford University. His prior positions include 14 years in industry, where he founded two companies (Scriptics and Electric Cloud), preceded by 14 years as Professor of Computer Science at U.C. Berkeley. He is author of the book "A Philosophy of Software Design", co-creator of the Raft consensus protocol, and creator of the Tcl scripting language and the Tk toolkit. Ousterhout received a BS degree in Physics from Yale University and a PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has received numerous awards, including the ACM Software System Award, the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award, the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, and the U.C. Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award.
Hosted by: Professor Mohsen Lesani
*Refreshments such as coffee and pastries will be provided.

Drop-In Figure Drawing
2025-10-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Elena Baskin Visual Arts Center, Baskin Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Drop-In Draw provides a live model and room monitor. There is no formal lesson and only dry media is allowed (no paints).
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ADVISORIES
– These events contain mature content and nudity.
– Drop-In Draw is subject to the possibility of last-minute cancellation without notification, and sessions are not guaranteed.
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ADMISSION
– FREE and open to the public
– UCSC Art Department Room L-101
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
This series occurs weekly on Tuesday evenings during fall quarter, including the following:
– Tue., Sep. 30, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
– Tue., Oct. 7, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
– Tue., Oct. 14, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
– Tue., Oct. 21, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
– Tue., Oct. 28, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
– Tue., Nov. 4, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
– Tue., Nov. 18, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
– Tue., Nov. 25, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Additional dates to be announced for winter and spring quarter.
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PARKING
– Parking by permit or ParkMobile.
– Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event.
– Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS).
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

Yoga as Healing Series
2025-10-07 17:30 - 19:15 | Health Center (Student Health Center), 525 McLaughlin Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Yoga as Healing is an offering for students at UC Santa Cruz who identify as survivors of interpersonal violence. Together, we will practice gentle body movement, breathwork, meditation, and more—all from a trauma-informed lens.
This 7-week program is limited to 8–10 participants in each cohort and is intended to provide a safe and predictable environment for survivors to build community.
At the beginning of each session, participants will have time to share their progress and personal experiences with the class. This will be followed by asana practice (physical postures), and the class will close with journaling, art, and reflection.
CARE will provide yoga mats, blocks, and a blanket for each participant. You are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and bring a water bottle for hydration.
Participants are welcome to join Yoga as Healing for any of the sessions; attendance at the orientation is not required. The sessions run from October 7 through November 25, with no session on November 11.
This event is open to all UC Santa Cruz students. Fill out an interest form to sign up.

US - India: Normalization or Reset?
2025-10-07 14:30 - 20:00 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
The US–India relationship stands at a crossroads balancing strategic pragmatism with shared democratic values. Recent tensions over trade, tariffs, and technology have raised questions about whether the partnership is being recalibrated or simply cooling.
The 8th annual AIMA US–India Conference examines how the two countries can review their priorities and either restore normalcy or redefine the relationship for a multipolar world.
Join thought leaders and decision-makers from across policy, industry, and academia where we’ll explore one of the world’s most consequential relationships at a moment of reassessment. As the global landscape shifts and new alliances emerge, the conference examines how the US and India can navigate economic and strategic tensions while sustaining long-term cooperation. Key sessions will address AI governance, global conflict dynamics, and advances in human health and biotechnology.
Agenda

2:30 pm – Registration
3–3:55 p.m. – Inaugural Session: US India: Normalisation or Reset?
This opening session explores recent shifts in US–India ties and the roots of friction. With global alliances in flux, the discussion focuses on how leaders might reframe priorities, manage divergence, and steer the relationship toward strategic coherence.
4–4:45 p.m. – Panel 1: The Great AI Race: Who Sets the Rules?
AI is rapidly transforming global power dynamics. This session delves into the emerging competition over AI standards, access to critical technologies, and regulatory influence. Can the world agree on common frameworks before divides become entrenched?
4:50–5:45 p.m. – Panel 2: War Games and Peace Plans: Geopolitics of a World on Edge
In an increasingly polarised world, nations are turning to pressure and deterrence over diplomacy. This discussion looks at the fragility of global order, the risks of escalating conflict, and the role India and the US can play in rebalancing global cooperation.
5:50 – 6:35 p.m. – Panel 3: Biohacking Human Health
As scientific understanding of genetics and immunology grows, so does the possibility of extending not just life span but health span. The panel examines how AI, genomics, and metabolic science are converging to personalise and revolutionise human wellbeing.
6:35 p.m. – Networking Reception
An opportunity for speakers and attendees to connect informally and continue the conversation.

Who should attend
The conference will bring together policymakers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, academics, investors, and senior professionals to explore new strategies for US–India cooperation in a fast-changing global landscape.
Registration

Pre-registration is mandatory
Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis

Road Trip! Light in the American West, from Baja to the Yukon
2025-10-07 12:00 - 17:00, 2025-10-06 12:00 - 17:00, 2025-10-04 12:00 - 17:00 | Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, 11 Cowell Service Rd, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
The photographs in this exhibition, made between 2004 and 2025, span across the American West from the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico to The Yukon territory in Canada. Paul Schoellhamer’s (Cowell ‘69) color photographs invite us to travel with him and reflect on our relationship to land, the light that shapes it, and the freedom – contested but essential – to move across it.
The exhibition draws on voices across time and perspective that frame the American landscape as more than a stage for beauty and awe. For Chief Satanta of the Kiowa Nation, to roam the land freely was life itself. For N. Scott Momaday, land must be “believed to be seen.” For Eliot Porter, light and reflection imparted magic to Glen Canyon’s waters. For Wallace Stegner, saving natural places meant saving fragments of our collective sanity. For Brook M. Thompson, the Klamath River is recognized with personhood. Alongside these perspectives, Paul’s images press us to see public land not as scenery to extract or aestheticize, but as sustenance and history. Land is alive and contested. To see closely is not to linger on a romanticized vision of the American landscape, but to reckon with responsibility: how we safeguard access, how we imagine “wildness,” and how we hold space for futures beyond our own. For Paul, this exhibition is a call for students to encounter land and light firsthand and let those encounters be their teachers.
Opening Reception
October 4, 2025
1-4pm
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Join us every Friday for Art Fridays.
No experience necessary. Supplies and snacks provided.

Sep 26 Snail Mail/Postcards
Oct 3 Souvenir Keychains
Oct 10 Stamp Magnets
Oct 17 Cyanotype Totebags/Pouches/Pencil cases
Oct 24 Candy Around The World Linocuts
Oct 31 Abstract Felt Collages
Nov 7 Phone Photos/Buttons
Nov 14 Travel Related Patches With Upcycled Materials
Nov 21 Thanksgiving Break! No Art Friday
Nov 28 Unexpected Landscape Surrealist Collage

Please note that the date and the project is subject to change.

Community Day: Free Admission at the Arboretum
2025-10-07 09:00 - 17:00 | Arboretum, 122 Arboretum Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
The first Tuesday of each month, the Arboretum is open without charge to visitors. See dates and times UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden is open. NOTE: Due to limited parking at the Arboretum and the popularity of Community Day, we greatly encourage visitors to carpool, bike, walk or use public transportation as much as possible.

Familiar Touch Screening
2025-10-06 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-10-06 19:00 | Communications Building, 7487 Red Hill Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
This is a public screening and discussion of FAMILIAR TOUCH. Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant), a retired cook, prepares breakfast in her sunny and cozy kitchen — a dish she seems to have made many times before, although small and puzzling errors now punctuate her comfortable routine. When her son (H. Jon Benjamin) arrives to dine with her, she mistakes him for a suitor. Their “date” takes them to an assisted living facility, which Ruth does not remember that she had previously selected for herself. Among her fellow memory care residents, Ruth feels lost and adrift, certain she has found herself somewhere she does not belong. As she slowly begins to accept the warmth and support of care workers Vanessa (Carolyn Michelle) and Brian (Andy McQueen), she finds new ways to ground herself in her body, even as her mind embarks on a journey all its own. Writer-director Sarah Friedland’s coming-of-old-age feature compassionately follows the winding path of octogenarian Ruth’s shifting memories and desires while remaining rooted in her sage perspective. Sarah Friedland is a filmmaker and choreographer working at the intersection of moving images and moving bodies. Her work has been presented in festivals and art spaces including the New York Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, Mubi, MoMA and the Performa19 Biennial. From 2021 – 2022, she was both a Pina Bausch Fellow for Choreography and a NYSCA/NYFA Fellow in Film/Video, and was named to Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2023. Her short film trilogy, MOVEMENT EXERCISES, is distributed by Video Data Bank. Sarah has been working in creative aging for the last eight years, as a caregiver to artists with dementia, and as a teaching artist facilitating intergenerational films and workshops for older adults. FAMILIAR TOUCH is her debut feature film.
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ADMISSION
– FREE and open to UCSC affiliates
– Doors are scheduled to open 30 minutes prior to event start time
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PARKING
– Parking by UCSC permit or ParkMobile.
– Baskin Engineering Lot #139A and Core West are the closest parking lots to the Communications Building.
– Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS)
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This program is open to all UC Santa Cruz affiliates consistent with state and federal law.

AM Seminar: Applications of the Flow-Density Relationship in Traffic Modeling
2025-10-06 16:00 | Jack Baskin Engineering, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Dr. Martha Shott, Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Sonoma State University

Description: Many mathematical models of traffic are macroscopic in nature, meaning that they model the relationship between average speed, density, and flow along a road or freeway segment. One of the fundamental relationships connecting these three quantities is the flow-density relationship, for which various models have been proposed since the 1930s. In this talk, we will discuss some of the more commonly used models of the flow-density relationship, as well as how those models are used within the contexts of stop-and-go congestion, catastrophe scenarios, and freeway infrastructure assessment.

Bio: Dr. Martha Shott is an applied mathematician and professor at Sonoma State University. She received her B.S. in Mathematics from Davidson College in North Carolina and subsequently earned her Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of California, Davis. While much of her research continues from her dissertation related to traffic flow modeling, Dr. Shott also works with undergraduate students on ecological modeling. Outside of academia, she enjoys running, cooking, playing board games, and adapting 80s pop music to be about her pets.

Hosted by: Professor Julie Simons

Western Regional Hub: Undergraduate Success Group Meeting
2025-10-06 14:00 - 15:00
Members of the hub’s working group focused on Undergradutate student success will meet to share ideas and strategize.
If you would like to be involved in the hub’s work, please contact Richard at riraygoz@ucsc.edu

Tracing and Shaping Paths in Design Space
2025-10-06 12:30 - 13:30 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Presented by Max Kreminski

Description:
It’s notoriously difficulty to evaluate interfaces intended to support creative work – but as software creative tools proliferate, the importance of understanding whether and how these tools support user creativity continues to grow. In this talk, I discuss several related approaches to making sense of user interactions with creativity support tools. I focus in particular on how AI-supported evaluation methods can help us illuminate a design tool’s expressive range; trace user trajectories through design space; and potentially even intervene to shape these trajectories while the interaction is still unfolding.Bio:
Max Kreminski is a human-computer interaction researcher focused on designing expressive and approachable computational systems to support creative work and play. Their research has been featured in outlets such as The New Yorker, New Scientist, and The Verge; published and exhibited at top HCI and AI conferences, including CHI, UIST, and NeurIPS; and honored with a variety of awards, including the Best Paper award at the ACM Conference on Creativity & Cognition. Max currently directs the Storytelling Lab at Midjourney and previously served as an assistant professor at Santa Clara University.Hosted by: Professor Christina Chung
When: Monday, October 6 from 12:30PM to 1:30PM
Location: IN-PERSON @ SVC 3212 — viewing room @ UCSC Main Campus, E2-280. LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED AT BOTH LOCATIONS! Faculty and students are highly encouraged to attend.
Zoom info: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/98638310898?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 986 3831 0898
Passcode: [REDACTED]

CM Seminar - Tracing and Shaping Paths in Design Space
2025-10-06 12:30 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Presenter: Max Kreminski

About: It’s notoriously difficulty to evaluate interfaces intended to support creative work – but as software creative tools proliferate, the importance of understanding whether and how these tools support user creativity continues to grow. In this talk, I discuss several related approaches to making sense of user interactions with creativity support tools. I focus in particular on how AI-supported evaluation methods can help us illuminate a design tool’s expressive range; trace user trajectories through design space; and potentially even intervene to shape these trajectories while the interaction is still unfolding.

Bio: Max Kreminski is a human-computer interaction researcher focused on designing expressive and approachable computational systems to support creative work and play. Their research has been featured in outlets such as The New Yorker, New Scientist, and The Verge; published and exhibited at top HCI and AI conferences, including CHI, UIST, and NeurIPS; and honored with a variety of awards, including the Best Paper award at the ACM Conference on Creativity & Cognition. Max currently directs the Storytelling Lab at Midjourney and previously served as an assistant professor at Santa Clara University.

Hosted by: Professor Christina Chung
IMPORTANT: There will be a remote viewing room at UCSC Campus, in E2-280.
ALSO IMPORTANT: There will be lunch served at both locations.

Printing Party in McHenry Library
2025-10-06 12:00 - 13:30 | McHenry Library, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
On Monday, 10/6, Special Collections and Archives is bringing our BookBeetle (a mini replica Gutenberg-era common press) into the 3rd floor hallway of McHenry Library for a printing party!

Participants will:✔️ learn the mechanics of early printing in the West✔️ decorate the cover of a notebook that’s yours to take home!

Very casual; just drop by! It takes less than a minute, and trust us–it’s fun!

AI Frontier: Data, Agents & Robots at TechWeek SF
2025-10-06 11:00
Join us for an immersive SF Tech Week experience hosted by the Silicon Valley AI Pioneer Club and UC Santa Cruz GenAI Center — where AI builders, investors, innovators and top researchers converge to explore the technologies shaping tomorrow. Details and reservations are available at https://partiful.com/e/OtqKL1z4hvYDLMk0uP8w

ECE 290 Seminar: Operational Cybersecurity of Modern Power Systems
2025-10-06 10:40 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Dr. Daniel Arnold, Lead Power Systems Engineer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Description: The adoption of new types of generation and loads, such as data centers, small modular reactors, and electric vehicles servicing equipment presents many challenges for system operators who are tasked with maintaining the safety and efficiency of the power grid. New consumption patterns, IoT connectivity of these devices, and emerging control paradigms, make it possible for these devices to be utilized to disrupt the operation of the power system. In this talk, I will discuss our past research efforts at the intersection of control theory, power systems, and AI to model, simulate, and mitigate cyber threats in the electric grid. I will close with a discussion of contemporary issues in power systems which will need to be addressed by the research and industrial community in the near future.

Bio: Dr. Daniel Arnold is a Lead Power Systems Engineer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and an Adjunct Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2015 and was an ITRI-Rosenfeld Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 2016-2017. From 2017 to 2025 he was a Research Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His interests are at the intersection of the fields of control theory, optimization, machine learning, and power systems. His recent work focuses on the use of these techniques for cybersecurity of the electric power system and other critical infrastructure.

Hosted by: Professor Soumya Bose, ECE Department

Zoom Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/97975378707?pwd=[REDACTED]

Free Guided Tour of the UCSC Farm
2025-10-05 14:00 - 15:30 | Hay Barn, 94 Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, United States
Take a free, guided tour of the 30-acre organic UCSC Farm. Visitors can enjoy touring the organically managed greenhouses, hand-worked garden beds, orchards, row crop fields, and children’s garden, while learning about the history of the site and the basic concepts of organic farming and gardening. Perched on a meadow near the campus entrance, the farm also offers spectacular views of the Monterey Bay. Heavy rain cancels.

RSVP

Spotlight Santa Cruz - Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors at City Lights Theater
2025-10-04 20:00
Use the Banana Slug alumni promo code "SLUGS" to purchase discounted tickets to City Lights Theater Company's October 4 performance of Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, directed by UCSC alumna Caitlin Lawrence Papp (Crown '24, M.A. '25, theater arts).

Caitlin will be available to meet the UC Santa Cruz alumni in attendance at an afterparty hosted by City Lights where audience members are invited to check out the set up close, chat with the artists, and enjoy refreshments chosen in the spirit of the play.

ABOUT DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS
Take Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire story and mix it up in the style of Mel Brooks and Monty Python. You’ve got Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, a lightning-fast, gender-bending comedy featuring lots of wordplay and six actors playing over a dozen roles. Penned by veteran comedy writers Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, this sexy sendup of the classic takes us from the English countryside to Dracula’s Transylvania castle. When her sister Mina is struck by a disease of the blood, Lucy Westfeldt and her fiancé enlist the help of female vampire hunter Doctor Jean Van Helsing. Could the answer lie with the dangerous—and seriously hot—Count Dracula?

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Caitlin Lawrence Papp (Crown '24, M.A. '25, theater arts) is a local actress, dramaturg, and director, excited to be back directing at City Lights Theater Company, where she also serves on the Board of Directors. She was recently in CLTC's production of Head Over Heels in the role of Gynecia. She previously directed Making God Laugh and several podcasts on the City Lights podcast channel, including Much Ado About Nothing. Some other directing credits include The Revolutionists, The Little Mermaid, Sound of Music, Annie, The Music Man, and The Addams Family.

ABOUT CITY LIGHTS THEATER COMPANY
Since 1982, City Lights Theater Company has been inspiring and challenging audiences with a host of plays and musicals, many of them fresh new works. The company’s downtown San Jose theater is a bustling space that attracts artists, educators, students, and playgoers alike.

TRANSYLVANIA AFTER DARK
Join the free virtual talkback "Transylvania After Dark" on October 7 at 7 p.m. where you can step behind the velvet curtain with director Caitlin Lawrence Papp (Crown '24, M.A. '25, theater arts) and members of the cast.

Opening Celebration—Celine Grenier Retrospective Exhibition
2025-10-04 14:00 | Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery, Baskin Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
2025 marks Céline Grenier’s 50th graduation anniversary from the Art Department at UC Santa Cruz. This retrospective celebrates the Santa Cruz-based alumna’s vast body of work in a diverse range of media. Grenier is both inspired by the beauty of life closely examined and horrified by man’s trajectory. She works from a large mental catalog of imagery and refuses to stick to one style
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ADMISSION
– FREE and open to UC Santa Cruz affiliates.
– Gallery hours are Mon.–Sat., noon–5:00 p.m.
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FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
– Ongoing exhibition is Sept. 30–Oct. 25, 2025.
– Opening celebration is Oct. 4, 2:00–4:00 p.m.
– Additional events and information may be announced here
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PARKING
– Lot 124 & 125 are the closest parking lots to the event.
– Parking is by permit or ParkMobile.
– Refer to TAPS for more parking information.
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This program is open to all UC Santa Cruz affiliates consistent with state and federal law.

Celebrate Sustainably: A Fall Field Day
2025-10-04 12:00 - 14:30 | Social Sciences Lawn, College Nine, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
This school year, PoCSC is implementing a new quarterly field day program where each quarter we come together for a fun, community-bonding day of activities, food, and conversation. This series is an informal educational opportunity for the UCSC community to engage with each other while learning about different themes within environmentalism, such as inclusive sustainability.

Through this Fall Field Day, we will celebrate the new school year, fall birthdays, and bring awareness to PoCSC’s 10th anniversary. We aim to educate on how both global and personal celebrations can create immense amounts of waste, and we will offer ways you can be more sustainable within your own home or at events like music festivals, national holidays, and more.

Come to Celebrate Sustainably: A Fall Field Day for a meal, birthday cake, live music, bouquet making, cyanotype printed birthday cards, birthday crowns, and more!

Celebrate Sustainably: A Fall Field Day
2025-10-04 12:00

Fall is for Planting!
2025-10-04 10:00 | Arboretum, 122 Arboretum Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join us on the patio at Norrie’s Gift & Garden Shop at the Arboretum & Botanic Garden.
The UC Master Gardeners will host a pop-up booth to give information and answer questions about the benefits of planting in the fall and growing Mediterranean climate plants.
We know how hard it is to resist a beautiful blossom in the springtime, but fall really is the best time for planting. By planting in the fall, your plants will benefit from winter rains, shorter days, and cooler temperatures. This means they’ll be well established come springtime, and you’ll be able to enjoy the blossoms in your own garden.
Norrie’s features plants from the Mediterranean regions of South Africa, Australia, Chile, and California. At this pop-up, we will be selling a rare native iris for the first time. We will also have special offerings of Dudleya varieties grown here at the Arboretum from wild, collected seed.

Campo-Sano Climate Action Conference
2025-10-04 09:00 - 17:00 | Colleges Nine and John R. Lewis College Multi-purpose Room, 615 College Nine Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Campo-Sano Climate Action: A Regional Conference on California Farmworkers and the Environment will be co-hosted on October 4th, 2025, by the University of California, Santa Cruz, and community partners
The conference will address the challenges of resilience amid the impacts of climate changes and the many other compounding risks farmworkers face. We will first review lessons learned from developing practical remedies and health promoter training designed to protect farming communities. Next, we will involve all attendees in deliberating ways to scale up these protective efforts and make them sustainable amid mounting social and political challenges.
Program Description
The daylong conference will start with a morning session including testimonies of health promoters from local community-based organizations (CBO’s) and UCSC students. The frontline community health workers will describe the challenges they face in trying to protect farmworkers from environmental stressors in a context that is also overshadowed by chronic but intensifying political and economic vulnerabilities.
A report will also be delivered by faculty on the two-year effort supported by funding from a Californian Climate Action grant to develop the Campo-Sano data app. This app is designed to inform local farm communities on climate related risks from exposures to high temperatures, flooding, wildfire air pollution, groundwater contamination and other risks. We will showcase how this application can be used on mobile phones to support farmworkers who want to report their experience of these risks anonymously to state agencies and legal advocacy groups.
A keynote luncheon presentation will be followed by a dialogue between representatives of state agencies and local community-based partners. Discussion panels and breakout sessions will engage these CBO’s and state agency officials to explore the extension of workplace protections for farmworkers and further regulation enforcement, as well as the possible scale-up of Campo-Sano trainings across the state. This dialogue is critical in the face of the federal government’s retreat from protecting agricultural workers, their employers and the food security they support for our wider community.

Movie on the Lawn
2025-10-03 20:00 - 22:00 | Oakes Lower Lawn, Oakes College, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
As Slug Start continues, join us for a cozy evening under the stars on Oakes Lawn at 8 PM with a screening of Us. Kick back with free popcorn, candy, and plenty of other snacks while you enjoy the film. It’s a fun, laid-back way to relax, connect, and meet your fellow Slugs.

You Belong Here: The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities.
To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy for UC Publications.

The NEXTies: Earth & Sea
2025-10-03 17:30 | Seymour Marine Discovery Center, 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060
Get ready for an unforgettable evening at our NEXTies spin off event: The NEXTies Earth: & Sea! Join us for a night of celebration, featuring delicious drinks, captivating performances, and the presentation of awards to the environmental pioneers who’ve made Santa Cruz a leader in climate resilience. From innovative waste reduction solutions to groundbreaking scientific achievements, it’s time to recognize the progress we’ve made.
Enjoy food and drinks available for purchase, live music, and awards that highlight the incredible work of our local community. This is a dressy event, so wear that outfit you’ve been waiting to debut and bring a jacket to enjoy the stunning ocean views from our terrace. We can’t wait to see you on the red carpet!

Envisioning HSI: Nurturing Sustainable Institutional Change
2025-10-03 13:00 | Colleges Nine and John R. Lewis College Multi-purpose Room, 615 College Nine Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join the HSI Initiatives Team for an afternoon of reflection, collaboration, and community at UC Santa Cruz’s Fall 2025 Envisioning HSI Session. As a Hispanic-Serving Research Institution, UCSC is committed to creating sustainable systems and structures that strengthen our mission in research, teaching, and service.

This session will bring together changemakers from across campus to nurture shared strengths, explore opportunities, and co-create pathways for collective action.

Date: Friday, Oct. 3, 2025 (RSVP by Sept. 26)

Time: 1:00–4:30 PM (doors open at 12:45 PM with a special performance by Mariachi Eterno de UCSC)

Location: Nine/Lewis College Multi-Purpose Room

The event will conclude with a brief reception featuring performances by Grupo Folklórico Los Mejicas.

Environmental Health and Justice: Successes and Future Challenges
2025-10-03 12:30 | Stevenson Event Center, Stevenson Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join UCSC's Microbiology & Environmental Toxicology Department and the Global and Community Health Program for this special symposium!
See agenda here.
Please join us for this collaborative, interdisciplinary symposium to highlight and celebrate the important work being done in Global and Community Health at UC Santa Cruz. The symposium will feature talks on environmental determinants of health by faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates. Community speaker, Brian Roeder of the Never Again Moss Landing community group that formed in response to the Vistra Moss Landing Battery Fire will speak as well as environmental health luminary keynote speaker, Brenda Eskenazi from UC Berkeley.
Please join us for a reception at 6:00 – 7:30 PM.
Co-sponsored by the METX Department and Global and Community Health Program
