Monday, November 11, 1996
Bloomingdale’s hosts The Ultimate Premiere
Celebrities headlined last Thursday evening at the opening of
one of four new Bloomingdale’s department stores in Southern
California at The Ultimate Premiere, a night of dinner and
entertainment to benefit the UCLA School of Medicine.
The premiere began in the new Bloomingdale’s store in the
Century City Plaza. The store, which officially opened to the
public Saturday, was arranged for guests to roam while
entertainers, some on stilts and others on rollerblades,
mingled.
A red carpet led guests from the store out to a large white
tent. Outside, a small group of protesters called upon passing
guests to boycott Guess, claiming it runs "sweatshops" to
manufacture its line of clothing, which is sold by
Bloomingdale’s.
Inside, it was a calm, ethereal feel with dim pastel colors and
a slight haze from smoke machines. Jerry Seinfeld took stage as
emcee for the evening and joked, "It’s very rare I get to see this
many people who aren’t watching my show," as the event took place
the night his sitcom, Seinfeld, airs. Other entertainers included
musicians John Mellencamp and Phil Collins and speakers UCLA
Chancellor Charles Young and Michael Gould, chairman and CEO of
Bloomingdale’s.
Proceeds from the Premiere will benefit the school through The
Aesculapians, or The Friends of the UCLA School of Medicine, led by
Michael Ovitz, president of the Walt Disney Company. The
Aesculapians have raised money for the Medical School since 1974,
helping to replace declining state funds.
Monies raised will go directly to the Provost/Dean of the
Medical School, Gerald S. Levey who will direct the private funds
where they will have the greatest impact. The priorities for the
School and faculty currently, in addition to maintaining the school
as a leading institution in biomedical research, teaching and
patient care, are Human Genetics/Gene Therapy, Neuroscience, Cancer
Research and Treatment, Men’s and Women’s Health, among others.
UCSF/Stanford merger ‘sound’
The proposed merger between the hospitals of the University of
California, San Francisco and private Stanford University is a
"sound business decision" Â but respected UCSF Chancellor
Joseph Martin won’t be around to run it, UC regents learned
Friday.
News that Martin will be leaving next July to become dean of the
Harvard Faculty of Medicine dismayed some regents.
"It doesn’t help," said Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, who is also a
regent. "The medical center is larger than any one human being, but
certainly Joe cast a very long shadow."
However, Davis said he does expect the merger to be approved,
particularly in light of the favorable report delivered Friday by
an independent review team.
UC President Richard Atkinson said he regretted Martin’s
departure, but was "confident of the ability of the strong team
that he has put in place on the campus to provide the continuity
necessary to further develop the proposed merger."
The report found that the merger makes financial sense and
warned regents "the time to decide has arrived."
The proposed merger would unite UCSF Medical Center, Mount Zion
Medical Center, Stanford University Medical Center and Lucile
Salter Packard Children’s Hospital under a private, nonprofit
corporation.
Proponents say it will cut costs and give the merged hospitals a
competitive edge.
But opponents fear job layoffs and question the wisdom of
transferring public assets to a private entity. There are also
questions about how the move will affect employees currently
represented by a union.
Both Stanford and UCSF have offered employment to 95 percent of
their workforce affected by the merger.
Union members have complained that the regents, through the
management of UCSF, violated state rules by keeping details of the
merger secret. That complaint is to be aired before an
administrative law judge.
Compiled from Daily Bruin staff and wire reports.