FROM THE CHANCELLOR

By M.R.C. Greenwood

The recent visit of UC President Robert C. Dynes provided an excellent opportunity to showcase our campus's distinctions. I was very proud to introduce our new president to representative faculty, staff, students, alumni, research partners, and community friends and to join him in applauding their remarkable achievements.

This issue of our magazine also presents examples of the many ways that UC Santa Cruz faculty, students, and alumni are making a positive difference across the disciplines, from advancing social justice and increasing appreciation for cultural differences to working toward cures for cancer and inventing implantable devices to overcome blindness.

In fact, the innovation and intensity of the campus are driving progress in many fields, and in a number of prestigious studies, UC Santa Cruz shines. For example, our campus is ranked first in the nation for research impact in both the space sciences and the social sciences. We have been named the second most influential research institution in the world in the physical sciences. And, among more than 60 elite universities, UC Santa Cruz ranked 15th for the percentage of bachelor's degree recipients in all disciplines who completed doctoral degrees.

UC Santa Cruz is making exceptional progress toward our goals— but we face serious fiscal challenges.

Although the University of California expects to participate in addressing the state's fiscal emergency, the proposed budget cuts would jeopardize the world-class quality and access that characterize our university. The innovations that UC researchers create and the contributions made by our highly educated and trained graduates affect every one of us.

Greenwood
Photo: r. r. jones
A strong University of California will continue to advantage all Californians through advances in health care and agriculture, progress in education, expressions of cultural richness, and other benefits that Californians enjoy from UC's research, teaching, and service.

Today, more than ever, UC Santa Cruz needs the continued support of our alumni, parents, and friends. Your advocacy on behalf of the university will help us share more widely the facts of UC's contributions to our society.

And your support in the form of gifts is also vitally important. As student fees increase and state support declines, your donations are more critical than ever. Your contributions to UC Santa Cruz create undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships for deserving students, make possible important research activities like those chronicled in these pages, and help build the classrooms, labs, and other facilities in which our students prepare for their futures.

I thank you most heartily for your past assistance, and invite you to continue your generous support of our students and faculty.

Signature

M.R.C. Greenwood
Chancellor

 

 

If you are interested in legislative advocacy efforts, please contact our Government and Community Relations Office; to learn about private gift support, please contact our Development Office. Both offices can be reached by calling (800) 933-SLUG (7584) or visit giving.ucsc.edu.

A strong University of California will continue to advantage all Californians through advances in health care and agriculture, progress in education, expressions of cultural richness, and other benefits that Californians enjoy from UC's research, teaching, and service.

 

 

 


Return to Spring 2004 Issue Contents