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The Regents of the University of California
 

campus briefs

GRAD RATES UP

University of California graduation rates are at an all-time high, improving over the past decade even as UC accommodated unprecedented enrollment growth. According to an annual report prepared by UC, graduation rates increased steadily through fall 2002, outpacing national averages and showing particularly strong gains for underrepresented minority students. Within six years of entering as freshmen, nearly 78% of UC students had graduated, up from 72% for those who entered in 1986. Underrepresented minority students showed even faster growth, with graduation rates after six years increasing to 69%, up from 56% for those who entered in 1986. In addition, UC persistence rates have been steadily rising. As of 2001, 92% of freshmen persist into their second year at UC, up from 89% in 1986. Persistence rates for underrepresented students continuing through to their second year at UC increased from 84% in 1986 to 89% in 2001.

WINDOW TO THE BRAIN

Scanning a patient’s brain metabolism with positron-emission tomography (PET) can improve a doctor’s ability to forecast the patient’s future cognitive functions by up to 30%, a new UCLA study discovered. Published in the journal Molecular Genetics and Metabolism, the findings suggest that PET may offer physicians a new tool to help with earlier diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The use of a PET scan sharply increased the ability of physicians to predict whether the condition of patients with early memory complaints would significantly worsen in the years after their initial examination, said Dan Silverman, associate director of imaging at the UCLA Alzheimer’s Disease Center and assistant professor of molecular and medical pharmacology.

RETIRED ADMIRAL HEADS LABS

Acting on the recommendation of UC President Robert C. Dynes, the UC Board of Regents recently appointed retired Admiral S. Robert Foley as vice president for laboratory management. As vice president, Foley, a longtime naval commander and consultant on energy and defense issues, will have primary responsibility for the university’s management of the three national laboratories it administers on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration. UC manages Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Foley succeeds John P. McTague as vice president for laboratory management. Bruce B. Darling, UC senior vice president for university affairs, served as interim vice president for the past 10 months to resolve management problems at the laboratories.