UCI School of Social Sciences
Spring Magazine 2021
be BOLD
because breaking the mold is part of your Anteater legacy
be BOLD
a publication of the
UCI School of Social Sciences
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writers, designers, editors, & photographers
Heather Ashbach, Bria Balliet, Christine Byrd,
Luis Fonseca,
Pat Harriman, Aaron Orlowski,
Kiali Wong Orlowski, Kara Roberts, Steven Zylius
special thanks to contributing photographers from:
BWR, DDI, Low Shutter Media, UCI Athletics
School Leadership
Bill Maurer, Dean
Michael McBride, Associate Dean
Jeanett Castellanos, Associate Dean
Barbara Sarnecka, Acting Associate Dean
Rebecca Ávila, Assistant Dean
Marketing & Communications
Heather Ashbach, Executive Director
Luis Fonseca, Digital Media Production
Development
Tracy Arcuri, Executive Director
Liz Codispoti, Director
Ian Delzer, Associate Director
Melissa Churlonis, Coordinator
featured on cover:
Undergraduate commencement speakers Shelby Smith and Bethany Urbano were selected
from among their graduating peers to deliver the social sciences commencement address.
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Be Bold is offered this year digitally.
featured stories

Message from Maurer
It's hard to believe a full year has passed since our last issue of Be Bold in which
we went fully digital due to the pandemic.

Finding her fit
Ta’Myrah Hudson, first-generation Anteater, shares the importance of creating community and campus involvement opportunities to help Black students thrive at UCI

Ready and willing to serve
As a chief of staff in the California State Assembly, Allison Lim ’15 is empowered
to lead and create change

Borderless research
UCI anthropology doctoral student Tawfiq Alhamedi earns support from the National Science Foundation and others to examine historical migrations between the Arab world and East Africa
Blazing a new path
First-generation scholar and undergrad commencement speaker Bethany Urbano is committed
to making education accessible to all
Beyond the classroom
UCI social policy and public service major and undergrad commencement speaker Shelby
Smith is a testament to the school’s boundaryless spirit

Anteaters on the frontline
Hope King, ’93 anthropology, is a senior epidemiologist at the CDC

Strength through adversity
How senior psychology major Karen Garcia has forged her own path

Are granny flats a solution for California’s affordable housing shortage?
Study by UCI economics grad student Sarah Thomaz looks at potential, pitfalls of affordable dwelling units in Los Angeles County

The American dream in Irvine
How Emily Ha, business economics and public health policy major, is crafting her own
version

Joining forces to forge better futures
UCI School of Social Sciences and Center for Educational Partnership are collaborating
to increase educational access for first-generation students

Manahuu (Hello) to a bright future
UCI senior Brad Greene greets opportunity with optimism, perseverance and a nod to
his Native American heritage

Unlocking mysteries of the bilingual mind
Prestigious grants fuel language science graduate student Christian Navarro-Torres’ research
Life in the fast lane
UCI alumnus Ken Marlin ’79 reflects on his fast track from the Marines to UCI to Wall
Street

Get out of your comfort zone
Real estate business leader and DLS Exec. Committee member Pam Kessler ’88 offers
advice to current Anteaters

A front-row seat to political history
Igor Bobic ’10 political science caught historic footage of the Jan 6 insurrection at the Capitol while reporting for the Huffington Post
A wild ride
Cyclist and triathlete Michael Marckx ’87 seeks thrills in business and on the road

No excuses, no regrets
UCI alumnus Kevin Madsen ’05 pushes the boundaries as a professional race car driver,
coach and mentor

A scholar/activist for undocumented students
Laura Enriquez, UCI Chicano/Latino studies associate professor, earns Academic Senate award for outstanding early career accomplishments

A straightforward style
UCI sociology professor Judith Stepan-Norris earns Academic Senate Award for service, an honor that spotlights her consensus building leadership approach and equity-driven work

Cognitive decline distorts political choices
Disconnect found between political affiliation, political decisions in the cognitively
impaired

Population distribution can greatly impact COVID-19 spread, UCI-led study finds
Contagion disparities can affect perception of risk, demand for healthcare services

Breaking down baseball
UCI economist Michael McBride develops new metrics for player valuation based on team
contributions, rather than individual skill

The pandemic in prison, new B.A. program
New site shares personal stories of COVID conditions inside California’s state prisons while UCI launches first UC in-prison B.A. completion program

Looking to new sources, solutions for fire prevention in Orange County
UCI anthropologist Salvador Zárate to document practices and expertise of weed abatement workers with funding from Haynes Foundation

The Simpatía Scale
New tool developed by UCI researchers measures variation in a uniquely Latinx cultural
value

The power of networks
UCI researchers join forces with national team to study U.S. food supply chain disruptions
and innovations due to Coronavirus closures

Using math to understand equality, fairness
UCI cognitive scientist Nadia Chernyak receives NSF CAREER grant to study connection between children’s cognitive skills & pro-social behavior

Demystifying science
UCI logic and philosophy of science assistant professor Lauren Ross receives NSF CAREER
grant to bring clarity to scientific explanation

Under the rainbow umbrellas
Book by UCI professor Rocío Rosales explores the complex stories of immigrant street
vendors in LA

The origins of unfairness
Book by UCI logic and philosophy of science associate professor Cailin O’Connor explores how inequities emerge and why they persist

Moving forward
Book by UCI sociologist Francesca Polletta explains how we can find our way back from political polarization without having to become friends first

Rankings roundup
All established UCI social sciences graduate programs rank in top 50 of respective
fields
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