Campus officials reported the safe evacuation from Egypt of all 10 UC students in a UC Davis Summer Abroad program. UC ordered the evacuation because of concerns about violence surrounding the opposition to the president, whom the military ousted just days after the UC evacuation.

The instructor’s son also left the country. The instructor, Noha Radwan, associate professor of comparative literature at UC Davis, elected to stay in her native Cairo.

UC Davis confirmed July 5 that all of the students evacuated from Cairo had completed their travel and reached their final destinations safely, one to Istanbul, Turkey; one to Paris; and the rest to the United States.

The group included eight UC Davis students and one student each from UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. They arrived in Cairo on June 18 for Radwan’s course on the works of Egyptian authors and filmmakers. They were scheduled to leave on July 16.

Zachary Frieders, associate director of the Education Abroad Center at UC Davis, said the decision to close the program and evacuate the students was based on a thorough analysis, consultation with risk and safety leadership on campus and at the UC Office of the President, and advisories from the U.S. State Department and others.

UC's chief investment officer retires

Marie N. Berggren, UC’s chief investment officer and vice president for investments since 2006, has retired. She oversaw an investment portfolio of approximately $80 billion, including retirement, endowment and cash assets.

Berggren, who joined UC in 2002, said she decided to retire for personal reasons, according to a news release from the UC Office of the President.

“We are grateful to Marie Berggren for her years of dedicated service as chief investment officer and the many contributions she has made to the University of California,” UC President Mark G. Yudof said.

In her stead, Melvin Stanton, associate chief investment officer, and Randy Wedding, senior managing director-fixed income, will manage operations and oversee the investment portfolio, under the direction of UC Chief Financial Officer Peter Taylor.

UC regents at their meeting next week are expected to approve an acting CIO to serve while they conduct a national search for Berggren’s replacement.

Read the complete news release.

Library to close 2 drop-off bins, leaving 3 for your books

The University Library will close two of its five book drop-off bins effective Monday (July 15).

Due to decreased use, the university is closing the bins on Bioletti Way north of La Rue Road and on Hutchison Drive east of Bioletti Way. The intended closures were announced last October.

Library patrons can continue to drop off books at these locations (see map):

• Near the Activities and Recreation Center — on the west side of La Rue Road north of Orchard Road
• Near Asmundson Hall — on the east side of California Avenue opposite Kleiber Hall Drive
• Near the School of Education — on the west side of Old Davis Road just north of Hutchison Drive

Most materials borrowed from the University Library may be returned to any UC Davis library, or the drop-off boxes. However, recalled items and materials from reserve collections must be returned directly to their home libraries.

Blood drive nets 372 pints

The ASUCD’s summer blood drive netted 372 pints June 26-27, and, phew! — it concluded one day before the start of a heat wave that might have kept people from visiting the bloodmobiles on the Quad.

Brie Leon of BloodSource said, “We missed the 106-degree weather, thank goodness! We had a good turnout … and I know it’s because of all the help and support that we get on and off campus.”

She said the blood bank registered 429 people, including 124 first-timers. Not everyone ends up donating, for a variety of reasons, which accounts for the actual collection of 372 pints.

“Fabulous,” Leon said, “especially since we need all the help we can get in summer!”

Follow Dateline UC Davis on Twitter.