Year of Scholarly Values - Committee

Professor of Sociology and Education

Richard Arum is a professor of sociology and education, as well as director of the UCI-MUST (Measuring Undergraduate Success Trajectories) Project. His work at UCI includes research on the value and measurement of liberal arts education, funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, and co-principal investigator with Duncan Pritchard on the Anteater Virtues project, funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Arum has also been involved in supporting the Samueli Academy charter school in Santa Ana, the UCI-LIFTED (Leveraging Inspiring Futures Through Educational Degrees) prison education program, and ECCLPS (Environmental Climate Change Literacy Project). Prior to UCI, he was a faculty member at New York University, a senior fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and director of the education research program at the Social Science Research Council.

Chancellor’s Professor of Chemistry

Distinguished Professor of Computer Science

Michael Goodrich's research is directed at the design of high performance algorithms and data structures with applications to information assurance and security, the internet, machine learning, and geometric computing. Dr. Goodrich has co-authored textbooks in computer science and research papers on efficient solutions to a number of fundamental computational problems, including contributions to efficient and secure distributed data structures, information privacy, social networks and cloud security.

Distinguished Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, Sociology, and Nursing

Valerie Jenness is a Distinguished Professor of Criminology, Law and Society and the Chair of the Academic Senate. For decades, she has conducted research on issues related to crime, law, and inequality. Her work has focused on prostitution, hate crime, prison violence, prisoner grievance systems, and LGBTQ issues in criminal justice, as well as law, policy, and criminal justice reform. Tying this work together is her fundamental interest in how axes of social differentiation and systems of social control intersect with consequences for people's lives. Her research has shaped public policy in the criminal justice system at both the national and state levels. It all reflects her commitment to values, scholarly and otherwise.

Vice Chancellor for Research

Pramod P. Khargonekar is vice chancellor for research and Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering and computer science. Before joining UCI, he was head of the directorate of engineering at the National Science Foundation. Previous positions include chairman of the department of electrical engineering and computer science and Claude E. Shannon Professor of Engineering Science at the University of Michigan, and dean of the College of Engineering and Eckis Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida. His scholarly and professional interests include: confluence of machine learning and control; advanced manufacturing; energy system decarbonization; climate change mitigation, adaptation; and resilience; societal impacts of technology; research policy; and visions for the future of universities to meet the challenges of the 21^st century.

Dean, Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing

Mark Lazenby, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Dean of the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing and Professor of Nursing and Philosophy at UC Irvine. Dr. Lazenby’s scholarship bridges nursing and philosophy, emphasizing the ethical dimensions of care, which aligns with his commitment to fostering scholarly values. With a background that includes serving at Yale Schools of Nursing and Divinity and the University of Connecticut’s faculties of nursing and philosophy, he has led initiatives in palliative care and global health and is dedicated to promoting a culture of ethical inquiry and academic rigor across the university.

Distinguished Professor of English

Julia Reinhard Lupton is a Distinguished Professor of English, co-director of the New Swan Shakespeare Center, and interim director of the UC Humanities Research Institute. In her various leadership roles at UCI and UC, she has championed values-based approaches to research development. Her research focuses on Shakespeare and virtue ethics. As a scholar, teacher, and dramaturg of Shakespeare, she explores theater as a platform for ethical inquiry, examining virtue through the perspectives of different characters. The author of five books on Shakespeare, Lupton frequently teaches in the community and received the 2023 Daniel G. Aldrich Jr. Distinguished University Service Award.

Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Anatomy and Neurobiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

David Reinkensmeyer’s research focuses on improving movement recovery after neurologic injury using robotics, wearable sensors, and computational neuroscience. He is the co-inventor of an arm exoskeleton used in rehabilitation facilities worldwide and a sensorized glove for dexterity training that many stroke patients have used at home. He is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation, co-director of the NIDILRR COMET Robotic Rehabilitation Engineering Center, lead editor of the book Neurorehabilitation Technology, and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. At UCI, he helped develop a large engineering laboratory class in which students build robots and race them in a final competition.

Assistant Professor of Art History

Luiza Osorio G. Silva is an assistant professor of art history, archaeology, and visual studies. Her research focuses on ancient Egyptian kingship from a non-royal perspective. She is the assistant director of the Mastaba of Akhmerutnisut Documentation Project, which documents the tomb of a palace attendant in the royal cemetery of Giza. As a Brazilian Egyptologist, she is committed to developing Egyptological studies in Brazil and Portugal and making the ancient world more accessible to diverse audiences. She co-hosts a podcast about ancient Egypt in Portuguese, titled "Três Egiptólogues Entram Num Bar."