News

A report from The Chronicle of Higher Education gives UC Riverside a No. 1 ranking in freshmen retention rates. UCR is ranked alongside 24 other campuses nationwide that lead the charge in serving low-income students. Like other rankings that have meaningful underpinnings, the list is nuanced. The ranking is found...

UC Riverside registered the second largest year-to-year increase in freshmen applications for fall 2023 among University of California campuses, setting a new campus record for applications. Numbers released Friday by the UC system show that overall applications were down 2.2%, while UCR showed a 3.7% increase, with 2,097 additional applicants...

Several weeks ago, UCR News published a faculty Q&A about the text-generating capabilities of ChatGPT, and its potential impact on academic essay writing and education. In the ensuing weeks, concerns have been raised about an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot created by OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, that has been incorporated on...

One-third of U.S. households — more than 40 million homes — cook with gas. There has been much consternation about the danger of gas stoves in the news lately and talk of banning them since a Consumer Product Safety commissioner recently suggested the move. Environmental Protection Agency data show gas...

After several weeks of rain, Southern California remains under advisories for flooding, high winds, and high surf. Early this week, 90% of California was under a flood watch. L.A. County — which has received 2 to 6 inches of rain along the coast and in coastal valleys and about 8...

In October, Elon Musk took control of Twitter in a $44 billion deal, saying he hoped to enhance Twitter’s mission as “a digital town square." His changes to moderation practices have since led civil rights groups to allege his actions will increase hate speech and misinformation. This week, Musk’s Twitter...

A chaotic rollout of tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour has drawn renewed scrutiny of whether Ticketmaster unfairly dominates the ticketing industry. We asked Carolyn Sloane, a UC Riverside economics professor, whether Ticketmaster has outsized influence on ticket prices. Sloane teaches a "Rockonomics" course and is a "Swiftie" — a...

A chaotic rollout of tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour has drawn renewed scrutiny of whether Ticketmaster unfairly dominates the ticketing industry, a charge that first surfaced in earnest in a 1990s skirmish with the grunge band Pearl Jam. We asked UCR experts whether Ticketmaster is a monopoly and should...

Coming off its two most successful seasons ever, UC Riverside Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Magpayo said the team was looking to make the jump “from good to great.” The needle is trending toward Magpayo’s goal. Following a win against Idaho on Dec. 11, the men’s team has won five of...

It’s long been said that writing an angry letter – but not mailing it —– is an effective way of venting without backlash. UC Riverside researchers say the converse — penning letters-never-sent expressing gratitude — carries a benefit, as well. There is an entire area of study in psychology devoted...

In wake of a renewed COVID-19 lockdown, Chinese citizens protested openly in the streets the past several days. It's a rare display in China, where civil unrest is historically greeted with harsh government recriminations. We asked UCR professors Perry Link and Rich Carpiano to weigh in. Link co-translated The Tiananmen...

The narrative surrounding the virtues of yoga instruction inside prisons is incomplete, according to a UC Riverside professor who taught yoga in prisons for several years and has written a book about the experience. “There is a false narrative, which is ‘if you improve yourself, you won’t get incarcerated,’” said...

The lessons in today’s preschool animated series are a moonshot from the anvil-dropping antics of their parents’-parents’ generation. Case in point: UC Riverside psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky is the “gratitude expert” for a new preschool animated series from Apple TV+, “ Sago Mini Friends.” The concept of gratitude is writ...

Proposition 30 would call for Californians earning more than $2 million per year to help fund zero-emission vehicle purchases and infrastructure, and — to a lesser extent — to fund wildfire response and prevention. It would generate between $3.5 to $5 billion annually by taxing the personal incomes of 35,000...

Most political scientists and prognosticators predict a GOP win in the U.S. House of Representativeson Nov. 8, and so much of the media’s focus has turned to a tighter suite of contests – those for U.S. Senate seats. UC Riverside political scientists and other social scientists were polled recently on...

Students often take camera-phone photos of slides during an instructor’s presentation. But the question has lingered whether this practice helps students remember information. A first-of-its-kind study answers the question, finding that taking pictures of PowerPoint slides during an online presentation helped students remember the slide content better than for slides...

More than 70 years ago, a pair of psychologists conducted a study in which they asked young Black girls to choose between Black and white dolls. The girls overwhelmingly chose white dolls, ascribing positive attributes to them. The Black girls’ choices and reasoning were interpreted by study authors to indicate...

Sept. 25, the Center for Social Innovation released a report based on census data that asserts only 11% of Latinos in the Inland Empire have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 35% overall in California and 33% nationally. Latinos comprise 51 percent of the 4.65 million people who live...

The past week has been one of alternately hopeful and discouraging news in the 7-months-long invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We asked Ukraine expert Paul D'Anieri for guidance on whether the developments signal a winddown in Russian aggression or if they foretell a next, more perilous chapter. D'Anieri wrote the...

Sept. 8, Queen Elizabeth II died at 96 after a 70-year reign, the longest of any British monarch in history. We asked a UC Riverside British history expert, Jonathan Eacott, and a British-born UCR political scientist, Shaun Bowler, to assess the future of the monarchy. Q: At the queen’s passing...