Summertime

School is out and it’s sort of a buzz*.

Now that most Luskin students are off enjoying home-cooked meals, internships in far away places or new jobs as change-agents, the rest of us can sit at our desks and reminisce about the days when we were 23 and had the world at our fingertips. We can also enjoy the many wonderful things that summer brings in Los Angeles. Or we can have World Cup parties and dress in funny costumes.

I’ve come to realize that there are two types of Luskin colleagues – those with kids (we share stories around the coffee machine about sleepless nights, swim lessons gone awry, and the fact that there really should be 29 hours in the day) and those without kids (I listen to people talk about their weekend hikes, morning yoga sessions and amazing nights out in Hollywood).

Luckily we live in a city that provides ample options for those on every end of the spectrum. If you have children, you can look forward to:

Garden Concerts for Kids at the Getty
You can bring a picnic blanket, snacks and wine. Kids love dancing around the grass to the music. It is a lot of fun.

Summer $1 Movies
I realize these are shown on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but a vacation day in the middle of the week is always good!

Make it and Take It
Come sit by the ocean at Dockweiler Beach to learn, enjoy, and make a craft project at this FREE “Make It and Take It” Craft Class for kids 0-12 years old.

Santa Monica Airport Observation Deck
Kids can watch planes take off and land from a platform just off the runway. There’s also a large park with picnic tables as well as a dog park.

And for those who have more free time, use of both hands at all times, can stay up late, sleep in here are some options (most are kid-friendly too!):

Beach Eats
Grab some delicious gourmet bites from great food trucks, then enjoy the sand, water, and sunset at Marina “Mother’s” Beach in Marina del Rey! WHEN: Thursdays TIME: 5:00pm – 9:00pm PARKING: available in Lot #10 at a rate of $0.25 for each 15 minutes. $2 minimum for credit card payment.

Marina Del Rey Summer Concert Series

Tuesday Wine and Jazz
With sponsorship by kjazz 88.1 FM, fine wines by Stella Rosa and food by Wolfgang Puck Catering, Hollywood & Highlands Wine & Jazz Concert Series invites you to unwind every Tuesday evening.

Culver City Third Wednesday (July 16, August 20)
Visit Downtown Culver City every Third Wednesday to sample seasonal, artisanal cuisine and cocktails from Downtown Culver City’s award-winning restaurants and bars. Retailers and businesses will also have specials and discounts exclusive for the event. Eat, drink and dine, enjoy live music under the stars, shop and sample from one-of-a-kind boutiques and view art at gallery gatherings during Third Wednesdays. Third Wednesdays feature special offers and free goodies from over 25 participating businesses throughout the downtown area, as well as outdoor entertainment and activities ranging from wine and food tastings to free pole dancing lessons. Valet and free two-hour parking are available. To find out more and see a list of participating businesses and special offers visit http://www.downtownculvercity.com

Outdoor Movies

This list is just the tip of the iceberg on things to do in this great city. If you have great ideas, please send them along. I should be posting the next Lemon by next summer so it will be perfect timing!

As you are aware, there’s been several months in between Lemon postings. I can’t think of a good enough excuse off the top of my head, but I will say that it’s somewhat time consuming to put together good lists and come up with fun story ideas. So, if you would like to contribute stories or photos for the newsletter, please let me know!

Since the last edition came out, there have been some new additions to the Dean’s office. Let me take a minute to introduce you to the following people:

Michelle Anderson, Career Services
Michelle Anderson, Career Services

If you enter Michelle’s office and it looks like she’s been crying, offer her a pillow and blanket and tell her that you will manage the office while she takes a nap. She had a baby girl – Natalie – four months ago, and has been back from maternity leave for just over a month. She’s one of the lucky ones around here who doesn’t get much sleep these days, yet she’s always got a friendly smile on her face – perfect for helping our Luskin students navigate career opportunities and choices. It’s also possible that she has been crying due to the fact that her parents are originally from the Netherlands and raised her such that she never ate at fast food joints (to this day, she’s never eaten Taco Bell, Burger King, Wendy’s, etc.)!! To further embarrass you, I will tell you that her guilty pleasure televeison shows are Real Housewives and The Little Couple. Pre-baby she enjoyed doing Zumba and Kickboxing. Post-baby she’s lucky to find time to eat (she once told me that she had finally eaten some hummus and chips by 3 p.m.) so needless to say she doesn’t need workout classes anyway. If you want to brighten her day, stop by with some chocolate.

Tammy Borerro, Event Coordinator

Tammy is returning to her alma mater (UCLA class of 2002 in English and Asian American Studies) to take over Luskin’s event coordination duties. If you’ve already had the pleasure of working with Tammy – or watching her in action – you know that she has hit the ground running. She has an eye for things that those of us who are not event coordinators by nature don’t have. A common quote from Tammy in during her first few weeks while helping me with my events was, “Ummm, I have an idea. Can we change this?” She would say this in the nicest way possible, and her ideas are fresh and new! Prior to joining Luskin, she most recently planned events for LA Fashion Week, Los Angeles Asian pacific Film festival, Indian film Festival of Los Angeles, and World Poker Tour to name a few. She love watching and playing sports. This may explain her full commitment to her World Cup staff party costume. She’s looking for a tennis partner to help her get out and get active. Although be forewarned: She promised to provide a helmet to her partner.

Sharon Hong, Communications Associate

If you walk into Sharon’s office, she will likely look like she does in the above photo – wrapped up in a blanket like she’s home on her couch watching TV. Except she’s probably grinding out some amazing stories for the web or magazine. She is both a Bruin (BA English) and Trojan (MA Journalism) with a serious loyalty to bandwagons. She’s previously reported for the Associated Press London, Albany Times Union, SeattlePI.com, Houston Chronicle, and freelanced for the LA Times community papers. Her favorite beat was on the energy business desk at the Chronicle reporting on the BP oil spill (but covering Luskin events is likely surge ahead, right Sharon?). But her lasting journalistic legacy, which won’t fall off the Internet, was about the Spice Girls reuniting for a summer tour. Note to pop culture junkies: Victoria Beckham is slightly shorter than me in real life. Please note: she doesn’t have perfect vision, and only wears my glasses on occasion. So, if she’s passed you in the hallway and did not greet you, it’s probably because you were a blurry shape.

Yadi Younse, Alumni Relations

Before coming to UCLA Luskin, Yadi worked in the legal sector and for several non-profits serving youth and families. She received her B.A. in Philosophy with a minor in Public Policy from UCLA and did her masters at Cass Business School in the UK and Naruesuan University in Bangkok. Outside of Luskin, Yadi does extensive volunteer work with UCLA and organizations that serve foster youth. If she has any time left, she hopes to one day have four children (maybe adopt one). (Editors Note: I would like to see what she thinks about this plan after the second one).

So, as we settle into summer, please take a moment to share your summer stories, travel plans, research topics and anything you want broadcast in the Lemon!

Happy Holidays

If you’ve even been around the Dean’s suite, then you are familiar with our restaurant-style atmosphere. As I sit here typing this, I am trying to remember a day where there was something under 500 calories sitting on the counter next to the coffee maker. Because even when someone brings apples to a party, they have to come with some ridiculously delicious and un-nutritional dipping sauce (I’m looking at you Tuyet Tran).

(Sidenote: This recipe comes from a parenting web site. Because everyone knows your kid won’t eat an apple without a side of brown sugar).

So, in addition to the thousands of leftover sandwiches and salads that make their way over to the food counter in the Dean’s suite throughout the year, the last two months have been even worse. For some, they see no problem bringing Candy Bar Cookies on a Tuesday morning (cough, Alex Boekelheide, cough) because they either ride their bike 30 miles per day, attend regular sessions of BHIP or do the 12 staircases of Christmas in their spare time.

Or there are pregnant people who are allowed to eat without guilt. These people (Melissa Bersofsky) walk around with a bag of 70 Rice Krispy treats and hand them out to everyone. And, if you already got one, you should have another because there are still 20 left in the bag. And whatever is left from that will just sit on the Dean’s suite counter until someone comes to eat it. And if that never happens, well I guess I should eat it so it doesn’t go to waste.

No Christmas holiday should be without a white elephant gift exchange party. Because these tend to get quite competitive, VC Powe thinks ahead by making sure we’re all carbed up and ready for battle by bringing her famous spaghetti. I mean, why would you eat regular spaghetti when you can cover it in cheese? It’s just the Luskin way, I guess.

I remember when Assistant Dean of Administration Dawn Zelmanowitz first started at UCLA Luskin. It seemed like a lot of our initial interactions were about food – how many sandwiches for a faculty meeting? How many kabobs for the holiday party? Do we need a vegetarian option?

Eventually, Dawn came to learn that we are much more than just lunch meetings and dinner parties. I figured the Lemon would also be a good way for people to get to know more about Dawn as well.

Q&A With Assistant Dean of Administration Dawn Zelmanowitz
Blog/website you visit everyday
The New York Times – religiously

Most played song on your Spotify/Pandora playlist:
N/A

Last book you read cover to cover:
I have to plug two books – “Island of the Blue Dolphins” by Scott O’Dell (winner of the Newbery Award) and “Where the Red Fern Grows” by Wilson Rawls. I originally read them as a teenager, but they’ve stuck in my mind and I revisit them from time to time.

Best place to get a burger:
Father’s Office

Favorite thing to do in LA/favorite LA haunt:
I love to try new restaurants.

Your worst trait:
No comment

Fictional leader you admire:
Fa Mulan

Real life leader you admire:
Eleanor Roosevelt

If you weren’t an academic/ Assistant Dean, what would you be doing:
Sports Analyst

Your life motto:
Treat others as you would wish to be treated

***********************************************************************
I will leave everyone with that last thought as we all break for the holidays. See you in 2014!

P.S. Dudley Bersofsky-Rodgers likes to be treated with lots of hugs and also likes dancing with future Luskin leaders.

Happily Ever After

Happy Friday, everyone. It’s hard to believe October is here, and we are no longer supposed to wear white. Obviously whoever invented the no white after labor day rule never lived in Los Angeles where it’s 82 degrees year round. This antiquated fashion rule also didn’t take into account the power of Olivia Pope’s wardrobe and how her amazing white fashion choices would lead some Luskin staffers to wear white in honor of the Season premiere of Scandal.

(If you are questioning The Lemon’s reference to a smutty television show, please note I linked to Time Magazine above. We are a balance of smarts and smut).

Anyway, October signals the beginning of the winter holiday season, and in the coming months, I would love to share your holiday recipes, traditions, photos, trips, etc., on the Lemon. I must admit that having young children has rekindled my interest in all holidays. After a 30-year hiatus, I now find myself trick or treating again, and just as I did with my younger brother, I can steal all of my kids’ candy and keep it for myself. It’s nice to feel like a kid again.

Now let’s get to the important stuff. We increased our contest submissions from 1 entrant to the first contest to six entrants this time around. We had 5 correct answers, but the person who answered first with the correct entry was Hien McKnight. CONGRATS.

Please click on the contest link above for the new challenge. We’ve also added some restaurant recommendations under the ‘Food for Thought’ tab.

As you contemplate your answer over the weekend, here are some things happening in and around Los Angeles this weekend.

Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch (Runs October 4-30; West Hollywood).
10X The Party 10th anniversary of Walt Disney Concert Hall. (Saturday, October 5 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Downtown)
LA Weekly’s Bedrocktoberfest (Saturday, October 5 3-10 p.m.; Echo Park)
Food Truck Movie Night (Saturday, October 12 5:30 p.m.; Van Nuys)
Los Angeles Haunted Hayride (Runs October 4-31; Griffith Park)

And finally, the Happily Ever After Part. There were two September Luskin weddings:

Congratulations to Ian Holloway

and Norman Wong

Welcome to Fall

It may not have felt like Fall over the past few weeks as you walked in the 90 degree heat from structure 3 to the Public Affairs building, but if you need a fix of cool weather, please come to the Dean’s suite because the air conditioning in here has it feeling about 48 degrees.

Before we get too far into this, please click on the contest link at the top of the page to enter this month’s contest. The deadline to enter is next Friday, September 27.

A new school year is upon us and with that I am hoping to get The Lemon on a more regular schedule. To begin, the blog will come out every Friday morning (sorry for the late post today as I am still getting my feet under me), and hopefully include a variety of fun entries, including a preview of things to do around the Los Angeles area for the upcoming weekend, a recap of events around the school during the previous week, new book selections, restaurants, and interesting things that our staff and faculty have been doing away from work.

As noted before, you can email me anytime with story suggestions, photos, tips, recommendations, etc.

A lot of people – Dean Gilliam included – have pressed about where the name, “The Lemon” came from. Please refer to the About page for the answer.

Things to Do This Weekend: Sept. 20-22
75th Annual Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
Promenade Beer & Wine Festival
Pasadena Greek Fest
Redondo Beach Lobster Festival
UCLA Football Game
Amazing Mini Scavenger Hunt Adventure

Recapping the Annual Luskin Badminton Tournament
As you probably know by now, Waiyi Tse has worked tirelessly to create healthy competition among the faculty and staff at the Luskin School. In April, it was the first annual quiz bowl, which the Urban Planning team won in a late comeback. Every summer, it’s the badminton tournament. There are not only prizes for the winning team, but also for the best costume.

Here’s a look at this year’s teams:

Prior to the event, the Chairman of the Board (Waiyi), put together a bracket. Based on two hours of random practice over the summer, the team of Brian Taylor and Matt Hurst were given the No. 1 seed, which meant they had a bye in the first round. On gameday, it was time to see if Waiyi made the right decision.

As the team of Robin McCallum and Yaz Diaz dominated their competition, it was starting to look like they were the team to beat. The championship game definitely pitted the two best teams against each other with one minor exception: Matt Hurst was basically unable to hit any birdie hit to him.

When asked what the strategy going against No. 1 see would be, Robin said: “Hit it to Matt.”

Unfortunately, weather factors (wind) seemed to work against that strategy, and each birdie aimed for Matt eventually sailed over to Brian, who carried is team to a slight 15-13 victory over Robin and Yaz.

Now we just have to wait a year for the rematch.

Summer Postcards
While I was sitting around my house in yoga pants watching the live stream of Big Brother 15 raising a human life, many of you were actually out in the world enjoying the summer and seeing the world.

Public Policy Professor, Sarah Reber enjoyed family vacations in Flathead Lake, Montana

and Sequoia National Park:

Social Welfare Professor Laura Abrams and her family visited New York and hit up the Empire State Building:

and the Fountains at Battery Park:

Urban Planning Professor Chris Tilly coordinated a 5-panel Working Group on “Organizing precarious workers” and taught a mini-course on “Using cross-national comparisons to study work” at the Latin American Association of Labor Sociologists Congress (which happens every four years) in São Paulo, July 2-4. Even more impressive is the fact that he functioned in Spanish and Portuguese through the whole conference.

Robin McCallum out road-tripped everyone by going Los Angeles-Las Vegas-Zion-Bryce-Grand Canyon-Flagstaff-Sedona-Yuma-San Diego-Los Angeles with her husband and three kids.

Using a dose of creativity we’ve come to expect, Yaz Diaz shared the postcard below comprised of images from her trip to Berlin. After biking around Berlin and enjoying the food she is now working on a painting from a scene in Berlin.

UCLA Luskin Faculty and Staff Newsletter

Welcome to the first UCLA Luskin internal newsletter. This web page will be updated often with new information as it becomes available. Feel free to bookmark this page and check back as often as you like. I will send emails every couple of weeks with all the new information, and a reminder to come visit.

The newsletter is designed to share interesting, fun information among the faculty and staff. It’s a way to share ideas and stories that others may find interesting, and to also share things from Frank that people may not know are happening in the School.

There are no real guidelines as to what will be shared, and we are open to posting on a variety of topics. Please stop by the Dean’s suite any time to share any story ideas you have.

Exclusive Video from the First Annual UCLA Luskin QuizBowl ShowDown
In a stunning (some people would call it lucky!) come-from-behind victory, Urban Planning won the inaugural QuizBowl ShowDown. Over 100 people crammed into Room 2355 to watch their favorite professors, staff and students compete against each other. Lingering in last place all night, in a competition dominated by Social Welfare and Public Policy, Urban Planning pulled out a victory in the last round – they know their state capitals! The Dean’s Office organized the proceedings, Frank provided the pizza and beer, and all proceeds benefited the departments’ end of year student celebrations. Student cheering sections chanted encouragements to their teams all night long (and there was a lot of trash talking too!).

Thank you to these faculty & staff competitors: from Social Welfare, Laura Abrams, Gerry Lavina, & Ian Holloway; from Public Policy, Sarah Reber, Mark Peterson, & Maciek Kolodziejczak; and from Urban Planning, Robin Liggett, Brian Taylor, & Robin McCallum.

Facebook photos (if you’ve got more photos – send them our way!):

Video from the event

On Writing
Earlier this year at a lunch for visiting Professor Michael Dukakis, the discussion turned to the poor writing habits of some college students. To be fair, times are changing, and with technological advances, communication styles are different than they used to be. The questions posed, however, was ‘do Professors have time to teach proper writing skills while sticking to their curriculum?’ Do students make time to read, which only leads to stronger communication skills and greater knowledge of words?’

Common sense tells us that reading makes us smarter, but in a world filled with reality television, texting and other technological advances, is it possible our students are not learning the basic skills of writing beginning at a young age? I fear that by the time my daughter is in college she will actually believe that this sentence – IDK. C U L8er – is proper English. If you had to google “IDK” you are not alone. Also, you are old.

David Ogilvy, who is considered an advertising legend, believed that the better his employees wrote, the further they’d advance in his company. In 1982 he sent a memo to all of his employees at his advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather. The memo was titled, “How To Write” and included 10 writing tips (listed below).

These might be worth sharing with Luskin students. Perhaps one of the tips below will resonate or inspire. As Luskin students graduate and begin to explore Professional opportunities, an email is sometimes the first impression they will make. A poorly written email or cover letter is the first impression, and done poorly may be the first – and last – impression of our students.

So, these writing tips are not just for writing papers, they’re also for communicating in other facets of life. After all, people who write well, do well.

David Ogilvy’s Writing Tips
“Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches. Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:”

1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times. (The Dean’s office has a copy of this book for those who would like to read it)
2. Write the way you talk. Naturally.
3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
6. Check your quotations.
7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning — and then edit it.
8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
10. If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.

After Hours
In 2007, Professor Lois Takahashi and her husband, Dave White, founded the Rosalynd Winery in Napa Valley. White, who is Rosalynd’s winemaker, focuses on a small lot of pinot noirs and chardonnays sourced from the Russian River Valley and Napa Carneros. And, clearly he knows what he’s doing as Rosalynd was recently selected as “Best Pinot Noir, Napa County” by Bohemian Magazine. If you’re itching to try this award-winning wine, Rosalynd – named after the main character in White’s 2007 novel, The Good Life: A Chris Garrett Novel – check out the web site: http://rosalyndwinery.com/ .

Dave White making greatness.

Back in March, Urban Planning Professor Michael Storper spent two days as a guest lecturer at the School of Public Affairs at the University of Costa Rica, in San Pedro Montes de Oca, San José, Costa Rica.  Storper was asked to do all of his lecturing in Spanish, which he did by borrowing from his Portuguese.  Needless to say after two days of lecturing, a presentation of his new book, meeting with the students, and meeting with the professors, all in Spanish – Storper was ready to relax on the Osa Peninsula. There he saw abundant wildlife — macaws, toucans, dolphins, and lots of surfing crocodiles.  According to Storper, “the surfers didn’t seem to mind”.

Michael Storper in a question and answer with students, University of Costa Rica

Luskin Kids
Also Congratulations to Social welfare field faculty member Michelle Talley who announced the birth of her adopted son, Aiden Shawn, who was born March 18, 2013. He is healthy, happy, growing, and changing everyday.

Aiden Shawn

College Bound
Rowena Barlow in the business office won’t brag about her son Nathaniel, but she should. He was accepted to UCLA, UCSB, Berkeley and NYU. He made his decision to attend Berkeley in the fall. Congratulations to Rowena and her family!

Also from the business office: Belinda Vigil’s daughter, Lauren, is graduated from Quartz Hill High School in May. She was on the Principal’s List with a 3.6 GPA for her senior year, and was accepted to a number of universities including Cal State San Bernardino, California State Monterey Bay, and Sonoma State, but chose to go to California State University, Northridge. She is majoring in Anthropology with an emphasis on Archeology. She hopes to participate in the many field studies that Cal State Northridge has to offer including travel to Mexico and perhaps Egypt which is her dream destination. Eventually, Lauren would like to earn a PhD, become an Archeologist, and travel to Egypt.

Runner’s Digest
It all started during the Fall in Michigan where apple cider doughnuts were abundant. Social Welfare Professor Alfreda Iglehart realized that she may have eaten one too many doughnuts, and decided she needed to do something about it. One of her fellow classmates would run 3 miles a day, and Alfie figured she could easily do that.

“I didn’t make it a quarter of a mile before I was out of breath,” Iglehart recalled. “That was in March. By August I could run six miles without stopping.”

That six miles has turned into 37 marathons completed, 27 half marathons and 2 ultra marathons, including the Avalon (Catalina) Benefit 50-Mile Run where she finished second in her age group. She has traveled the world to compete in the races from New York City to Mt. Rushmore to Beijing, Bangkok and Iceland.

The goal is to run 40 marathons. But first up is the Rio de Janeiro Half Marathon in July.

Alfreda Iglehart displays her running medals in her fifth-floor office.