Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi will join other UC leaders and state officials Monday (April 30) on a panel discussing “A Morrill Act for the 21st Century: How to Reinvigorate the Act’s Underlying Principles For Today’s Realities.”

The panel discussion will take place on the west lawn of the state Capitol, as part of a program on the economic and social legacy of the Morrill Act. Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln 150 years ago this year (July 2), the act gave birth to UC and other land-grant universities, charged with making higher education available to the masses and advancing the cutting-edge fields of the day: agriculture and engineering.

The program is scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m. with a welcome by UC Provost Lawrence Pitts, followed by an actor portraying President Lincoln, addressing the values behind the Morrill Act.

UC President Mark G. Yudof is scheduled to speak at 12:45 p.m., on “Universities and the Public Good: The Importance of a Well-Educated Population to Broader Economic Prosperity.”

The program concludes with the panel discussion, starting at 1:30 p.m.

Strategic Sourcing Vendor Fair

This year’s Strategic Sourcing Vendor Fair promises to be the biggest ever. It’s scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday (May 3) in Freeborn Hall.

The participating vendors — nearly 50 in all — hold systemwide agreements through the UC Office of the President or have local, campuswide agreements. Many of these vendors have catalogs available in UCD Buy.

Vendor representatives will answer questions about how campus departments and units can save money through the agreements.

Admission is free and open to all organizations on the Davis and Sacramento campuses. The organizers said refreshments will be provided, and door prizes will be awarded.

Ron Paul plans rally on the Quad

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is scheduled to bring his presidential campaign to the Quad next Thursday night (May 3).

Paul, who is seeking the GOP nomination, is due to give an address at 7 p.m., amid a rally set to run from 6 to 8 p.m.

“We have a good support base and we showed the campaign it would be good to hold a rally here,” said Mike Pinter, a graduate student in chemistry who leads Youth for Ron Paul at UC Davis. About 20 people are active in the chapter, Pinter said.

Pinter and others gauged support for Paul by collecting signatures on campus and at the Davis Farmers Market. Some 500 people signed on, said Pinter, describing the total as the third highest among college campuses in California.

Paul has been appearing on college campuses across the country. So far in California, he’s been to UC Berkeley, UCLA and California State University, Chico — and drawn at least 5,000 people to each, Pinter said.

“We see that as our baseline,” Pinter said of his expectations for next Thursday’s rally.

Ticket deadline near for TGFS

UC Davis is buying lunch for us on Wednesday, May 9 — but only if your departments and units get their ticket orders in by Monday (April 30).

The occasion is the annual Thank Goodness for Staff Picnic, to be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the Hutchinson Intramural Field next to ther west entry parking garage.

Several recreation events lead up to TGFS: bowling, golf (sign-up deadline April 27), volleyball, tennis and, on Tuesday, May 8, the TGFS Fun Run-Walk (registration is now under way: $5 through May 6, and $8 on May 7 and 8).

Gunrock Bingo takes place at the picnic — and squares were still available as of Thursday (April 26).

More information.

Bicycles up for bid

Abandoned and unclaimed bicycles are going up for auction once again: Saturday, May 5. The sale takes place indoors — in the west entry parking garage — so the auction will go on, rain or shine.

The Bicycle Program holds auctions every fall and spring. Prices in the most recent sales averaged $30 to $40, said David Takemoto-Weerts, coordinator of the Bicycle Program.

More than 400 bicycles are typically on the auction block: all sizes and types — cruisers, mountain bikes, road bikes, BMX and even a few children’s bikes — with most in the “fixer-upper” category, Takemoto-Weerts said.

The auction is set to take place in the west entry parking garage. Bike viewing runs from 8 to 9 a.m., and the sale runs from 9 until all of the bikes have been put up for bid.

The Bicycle Program accepts cash, check or major credit card with proper identification. Parking is free.

More information is available online, or by calling Takemoto-Weerts, (530) 752-BIKE (752-2453).

Katehi to deliver Vanderhoef International Lecture

International House announced that Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi will give this year's Vanderhoef International Lecture, the third annual.

Katehi became UC Davis’ leader in 2009, succeeding the chancellor for whom the lecture series is named, Larry Vanderhoef.

The 2012 program is scheduled for Monday, May 7, at I House, 10 College Park, across from Howard Way at the north edge of the campus. A reception begins at 6:30 p.m. and the lecture at 7. Admission is free and open to the public.

"International House is pleased to have Chancellor Katehi, who was an international student at UCLA, delivering this talk," said Elisabeth Sherwin, I House executive director.

For more information, call Sherwin, (530) 753-5007.