Three open houses this week offer a look at “Campus Tomorrow,” the launching point for an update of the Davis campus’s Long-Range Development Plan, or LRDP.

Campus officials scheduled a total of four open houses. The first was last Thursday, and the next three are as follows:

• Wednesday, Oct. 28 — noon-2 p.m.
• Wednesday, Oct. 28 — 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 29 — 6-8 p.m.

All open houses are being held in Nelson Hall (formerly the University Club). If driving, please use Lot 5, Lot 5A or Lot 10; Campus Planning and Community Resources is sponsoring complimentary parking for the evening programs.

The public is invited to view a collection of illustrations demonstrating the LRDP's major themes and referencing a variety of planning issues, most notably housing and transportation. Feedback is welcomed in the LRDP process.

For more information, you may sign up for email notifications or send questions by email to the planning team. Look for the sign-up form and a contact button on the “Campus Tomorrow” website.

Hazmat team cleans up small spill in Young Hall

Campus authorities evacuated Young Hall around 5 p.m. Monday (Oct. 26) while hazardous materials personnel cleaned up a small chemical spill in a lab. Student health evaluated and cleared one person for release, officials said.

The campus Fire Department and Yolo County partner agencies responded to the spill — about 200 mililiters of acrolein — just before 5 p.m. and finished up about 8:30 p.m.

Environmental Health and Safety planned an inspection today of the lab where the spill occurred. It remained closed this morning, while the rest of the buildiung reopened.

Cybersecurity training module now available

UC’s new cybersecurity training course, an online program, is now available in the UC Learning Center: lms.ucdavis.edu. The training, which should take about 50 minutes, is required for all faculty and staff.

Ralph J. Hexter, provost and executive vice chancellor, sent an email Oct. 16 announcing the training mandate, and Staff Development and Professional Services will follow up this evening with an email giving employees more specifics on accessing the course. Employees have until Jan. 31 to complete the training.

In other cybersecurity news, UC Davis recently passed muster in an outside review of the university’s protocols for payment-card transactions.

Payment cards are accepted all across the campus, at the Coffee House and the Mondavi Center, for example, and in departments that accept online payments for event registrations. Because the volume of such transactions has grown to 2 million a year, UC Davis is now subject to a higher level of scrutiny — and, as a result, had to bring in an auditor to confirm the university met PCI (payment-card industry) security standards

Accounting and Financial Services (part of Finance, Operations and Administration) and Information Security (part of Information and Educational Technology), worked with the auditor to ensure UC Davis' compliance in areas ranging from maintaining a security network and protecting cardholder data, to controlling access and managing vulnerabilities.

Online Q&A: Undocumented immigrants and higher education

Andrea Gaytan, director of the AB540 and Undocumented Student Center, will participate in Capital Public Radio’s Facebook Q&A about undocumented students.

The Facebook discussion is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 29), the same day the radio station (90.9 FM Sacramento) presents a documentary about an undocumented student attending UC San Francisco’s dental school. The documentary can be heard on Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

Gaytan and fellow UC Davis alum Angelo Williams, legislative director for the California Student Aid Commission, will join reporter Katie Orr for the Facebook conversation.

The radio documentary launches a three-part View From Here series about undocumented immigrants in California.

Mini Medical School: Registration opens Nov. 3

UC Davis’ Mini Medical School — a university-level course preparing people for life’s second half — is far from miniature in popularity. So, as the 14th annual school approaches, be advised that registration opens next Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The school, free of charge, is scheduled from 9 to 11 a.m. on six consecutive Saturdays, Feb. 6 to March 12, in the Sciences Lecture Hall on the Davis campus. Seating is limited; organizers ask people not to register unless they intend to attend all sessions.

The School of Medicine started the program to give the public an opportunity to become scholars in the science of normal human aging and the avoidance of diseases associated with aging. Top academic physicians and scientists provide the instruction.

Topics (and presenters) include anatomy of aging, Michael McCloud; medications and the older adult, Timothy Cutler; fitness and sports in midlife and beyond, Jeffrey L. Tanji; and nutrition, Marlia Braun. See the complete syllabus.

This isn’t a health fair. Mini Medical School is designed around a sophisticated curriculum with extensive information and instruction at the level of a first- or second-year medical student.

But the classes also include humor and fun. The final class includes diplomas for the “graduates,” a class photo and refreshments.

Registration: Online or by phone, (916) 734-4680. If you attended in 2013, 2014 or 2015, you’re asked to wait until Nov. 12 to apply for the 2016 school, so as to give other people a better chance to participate. Questions are welcome by email.

Costume rentals at The Enchanted Cellar

The Department of Theatre and Dance can transform you into Frozen’s Elsa or Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow, just in time for Halloween.

The department’s Enchanted Cellar costume rental shop has about 175 head-to-toe costume kits available for rent for about $75 each — which includes the cost of dry-cleaning, said Roxanne Femling, costume shop director. Individual pieces, like suits or hats, are also available for rent.

UC Davis students, faculty, staff and alumni receive a 30 percent discount on rentals.

Some of the costumes have been used for theater productions, and others were assembled specifically for the rental shop, Femling said. They include Greek gods and goddesses, and characters from anime series.

The rental shop (in the basement of Wright Hall) is open year-round, and proceeds help fund a student assistant who works in the department. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays — which means your last day to get a Halloween costume is this Friday (Oct. 30). You can ask for an after-hours rental appointment by calling (530) 752-0740.

Halloween rentals can be worn for multiple events, as the costumes aren’t due back until Nov. 4.

Check out The Enchanted Cellar’s Facebook page to see some of the costumes.

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