UCR on the rise?

Two interesting articles have been released that put UCR in a good light. UCR usually makes the negative lists on National University rankings (most notably with The Princeton Review, which never really seems to change their rankings).

The first article (interestingly enough by US News and World Report) places UCR at #9 on the 2009 'Best Colleges: Up-and-coming National Universities.' The methodology is mentioned here. The schools on this list are 'worth watching because they are making promising and innovative changes.'

The second is a new college ranking list by Forbes Magazine that completely shatters the US News and World Report and Princeton Review college rankings. We're talking virtually all of the usually highly ranked schools are pushed down in favor of smaller liberal arts universities. UCR ranked #236 out of 569. That may seem low, but it was ahead of perennial rankings powerhouse USC, and UC campuses in San Diego, Irvine, Davis and Santa Cruz. I do question the list's methodology, but it does seem rather student focused, rather than institution focused.

The I.E. Identity

Here is an interesting read on the identity of those in the Inland Empire written by Jonathan Turner at U.C. Riverside: Reject 'Empire' Identity

UCR San Diego Reunion 2007

Last weekend I spent my weekend in San Diego, California.

I had a nice mini-vacation with several of my fellow UCR Business buddies. It was a nice way to catch up.

What did we do? Here are some highlights:

• Rented a 10 person speed boat and cruised around Mission Bay.
• Chris proceeded to get pulled over from the Ocean 'Police' pretty much as soon as he took the wheel. Haha.
• Loads of stories from Cindy that shocked pretty much everyone.
• Salt water in eyes = Ouch.
• Dinner at Black Angus. I hadn't been to a Black Angus is years...
• Loads of silliness in drug stores. I think we almost got kicked out of one store.
• Random Hotel Antics. Pretty much the worst bed I've slept on in a long time. Go Ramada. Haha. But we made the most of it.
• Late breakfast/brunch at Denny's. I hadn't been to Denny's in years either. Dan and Mike ate wayyyy too many packs of sugar. That's what happens when too much testosterone is at the table.
• A lovely stroll and picture session in Balboa Park.
• Drove back up to Irvine. Got loads of Fro Yo at Yogurtland. Coolest Fro Yo concept yet. This is the longest line I've stood in for food in a while. You pay by the ounce. As much yogurt and toppings as you want. You can totally go overboard... like me... haha.
• We departed ways after taking some final pictures.
• Drove back with Dan to his Apt. and played with his doggie Smokie. Cutie pie. :)

Pictures can be located here.

So Cal Post 4: The Highlander Reunion & Gay Karaoke (Mon. June 4th, 2007)

Monday night after working at Google, I headed over to lovely Riverside, CA for the annual banquet for the UC Riverside Highlander. After possibly the worst traffic I've experienced in some time, I finally made it to the Mission Inn in Downtown Riverside around 7:15pm. The Mission Inn is by far one of the coolest landmarks in Southern California.

I parked on the street and walked up to the hotel. In typical fashion, there was brand new Lamborghini parked outside. I made my way to the Spanish Art Gallery room only to find not one single person I know. I called James in a panic and found out that James, Brian, Milt & Steve were at the Bar. I met up with those guys. I haven't seen some of them in years... so It was pretty damn fantastic... just like old times.

We eventually made our way to the banquet in the Spanish Art Gallery. I saw more familiar faces like Joe, Danielle, Mrs. B., Zuhair, Chapman, etc. However, it made me miss all of my old co-workers who couldn't make it.

After drinking alcoholic drinks, long conversations, picture taking, grubbing, laughing, trash talking and the awards ceremony, the banquet had ended.

What is a post-college student to do? Fear not! Karaoke at a Gay Bar to the rescue! We headed on over to The Menagerie, one of a whopping 2 gays bars in Riverside. That's not bad, considering how conservative the city is in general.

We sang a mix between 80's songs and boy/girl band pop. James got into the Karaoke a lot. He kicked off the night by singing a drunken version of 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' by Bonnie Tyler. Make sure to check out the karaoke video on YouTube! We sang a group version of 'Come Sail Away' by Styx. Lastly, Chapman and I butchered a Spice Girls song.

We parted ways after Karaoke. I however, got a little reminiscent about Riverside. So I decided to drive random places around the city. Mainly spots around the University, Downtown and Riverside Plaza. I'm still amazed at how quickly things change for the better in Riverside.

Highlander Banquet & Reunion - June 4, 2007

Fun Week Ahead

So the next week or so will be great. I'm looking forward to a few things in particular:

• Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards stops by the headquarters of Google in Mountain View, CA today.
• The grand opening of Hunters Nightclub in San Jose on Friday.
• Driving to Los Angeles on Saturday morning. Just a random weekend visit. You can probably catch me roaming WeHo at night.
  
• Possibly meeting up with my old US Chamber of Commerce boss, Brent, in San Diego this weekend. I haven't seen him in about a year.
• Working from the Santa Monica Google Office on Monday 6/4/07 so I don't have to use a vacation day. I love this office!
• Going to the Spanish Art Gallery at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA for the annual UCR Highland Banquet on Monday 6/4/07.
• The John Mayer Concert at the HP Pavilion in San Jose on Tuesday 6/5/07. Ben Folds 5 is the opener. Yay!

Córdova Goes To Purdue

UCR Chancellor, France Córdova, has been selected as Purdue's first female president. I've been super impressed with what she's done in her time at UCR. Even though UCR's 7th Chancellor had a relatively short tenure, her accomplishments in branding, ranking, the Palm Desert Campus and the medical school were fantastic. I'm sorry to see her go!

The Full Story Here

UC Riverside Success Spotlight

Stefani Schaeffer, selected this week as Donald Trump's newest Apprentice, is a 1996 graduate of UCR.

Schaeffer majored in English and psychology, according to her "Apprentice: Season Six" bio.

According to UCR, Schaeffer, formerly of Palm Springs, was selected as a Los Angeles Magazine "Young Rising Star" in 2006 for excellence in law, and now works as a trial attorney in Los Angeles

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