As president, Hurtado will help lead one of the world’s largest interdisciplinary research organizations devoted to the study of education and learning.
A New York Times news analysis examines accusations from liberal justices that the U.S. Supreme Court is increasingly using its emergency docket to intervene before states’ highest courts can weigh in. Richard Hasen, founding director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at the UCLA School of Law, said the court’s action in an election-mapping dispute may have been a response to what appeared to be a novel redistricting approach in New York — potentially a one-off move rather than a signal the justices will routinely intervene in state election-law decisions. Still, Hasen said he could not recall another elections case where the court intervened on an emergency basis before a state high court had acted. Read more about UCLA in today’s New York Times.
Los Angeles Times’ “De Los” reported that according to UCLA’s 2025 Hollywood Diversity Report, which looked at the 104 top-performing English-language movies released in 2024, only 1% of leading roles went to Latinos; less than 5% of directors were Latino; and approximately 2% of writers were Latino. Latinos make up nearly 20% of the U.S. population. When it comes to gender, the disparities were even more glaring. There were zero Latina directors and screenwriters in the top theatrical movie releases of 2024. Read and see more about UCLA in The Independent, Men’s Journal and other outlets.
In an interview on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” UCLA’s Richard Hasen joins host Terry Gross to unpack the ramifications of President Trump’s SAVE Act, legislation that would allow for a federal takeover of elections, making registration and voting much more difficult. Hasen, who is also the founding director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at the UCLA School of Law, discusses how we got here, the barriers the act would pose to voters, the realism of the act making 2026’s election timeline, and whether such a move is constitutional. Read more about UCLA in today’s NBC News, Wall Street Journal and other outlets.
UCLA professor Elissa Hallem’s work deepens understanding of how parasitic worms invade human hosts and opens doors to new strategies to fight infection.
An article in Vice features new findings from the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA that found Gen Z and Gen Alpha media consumers, ages 10 to 24, prefer emotionally available male characters over unknowable, emotionally distant superheroes by a huge margin. The study, titled “Teens & Screens,” is part of the center’s Teen Snapshot series, and gets into specifics of characters already on TV that are shining examples of these preferred male archetypes. Read more about UCLA in today’s Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and other outlets.
In a Mercury News commentary piece co-written by UCLA’s Ramesh Srinivasan, the professor of information studies warns of the hidden environmental toll of AI data centers and the risks associated with AI’s rising surveillance of individuals’ data. Srinivasan, who is the founder and director of the Digital Cultures Lab at UCLA, and his co-writer urge that there are ways to wield technology responsibly that benefit all, offering some insights into a possible blueprint for change. Read more about UCLA in today’s New York Times, CBS News and other outlets.
LAist reported that Union Rescue Mission found that 87% of women living at the shelter were not up to date on breast cancer or cervical cancer screenings. “We couldn’t just ignore it anymore,” said Mary Marfisee, the shelter’s family medical services director and a UCLA faculty physician. “We can't refer them out. It’s been harder and harder to get women's health services, so we just sat down and said, ‘No, we gotta do it ourselves.’” See more about UCLA in NPR, CalMatters and other outlets.
In a New York Times article about how HBO Max’s “The Pitt” portrays psychosis, UCLA psychologist Carrie Bearden, director of the Center for the Assessment and Prevention of Prodromal States, explained that suspiciousness and unusual thoughts can signal elevated risk for developing a psychotic disorder. The story underscores the importance of recognizing and addressing early symptoms. See more about UCLA in today’s Bloomberg, People and other outlets.
