Alumni News

1998-99 Alumni Association Councilors



Banana Slug Spring Fair 2000 on April 15


photos: Shmuel Thaler

At Banana Slug Spring Fair 1999 (clockwise from left): Visitors talk with campus representatives at the student life fair at the Music Center plaza; visitors peruse the schedule for the day as they wait for a bus; Meg Zweiback ('69) and Tom Weiner ('70) greet each other during the 30-year reunion of the pioneer class; fair attendees relax in the sun during a performance of Two Gentlemen of Verona by UCSC's student touring troupe, Shakespeare To Go.

UCSC rolls out the red carpet for alumni, current and prospective students, their families, and friends at Banana Slug Spring Fair campus open house on Saturday, April 15. This annual event showcases UCSC's academic programs and offers reunions, tours, lectures, and receptions. Alumni highlights are listed below. For more information, contact University Relations at (800) 933-SLUG or locally at (831) 459-2501. Web site for the event: admissions.ucsc.edu/bssf

Events to welcome alumni:

The all-alumni reunion luncheon is the keystone event for all alumni. Graduates from the classes of '70, '75, '80, '85, '90, and '95 will get special recognition as they celebrate five- through 30-year reunions. Guests will be seated together by class year.

The first campuswide reunion specifically for African American alumni and friends will offer a weekend of events including a family reception, mentor's circle, and Saturday night dinner and dance. J. Herman Blake, the founding provost of Oakes College, Paula Powell, director of the UCSC African-American Student Life Resource and Cultural Center, and other key visionaries past and present will participate. Contact organizer Adilah Barnes via e-mail at ABPro1@aol.com or the Alumni Association at (800) 933-SLUG.

Encuentro 000 will be the first campuswide reunion of UCSC Chicano and Latino alumni and classmates from1965 through the present. Three days of activities will include a faculty reception, Saturday night dinner and dance, and traditional post-party menudo brunch on Sunday. Events will focus on ways alumni can contribute to enhanced educational opportunities for California's Latino students. Contact organizer Olga Nájera-Ramírez via e-mail, olga@cats.ucsc.edu, or the Alumni Association.

A founder's luncheon honoring women's studies founding faculty and students will be held on Sunday, April 16. All women's studies alumni and friends are invited, including all graduates of Introduction to Women's Studies and other classes offered by the department. Professor Bettina Aptheker and Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood will participate. Contact the Women's Studies Department at wst@cats.ucsc.edu or (831) 459-4324.

Every college will hold a reception late Saturday afternoon. In addition, Oakes will hold a 25th anniversary celebration featuring founding provost J. Herman Blake and current provost David Anthony III on Saturday afternoon. At Merrill, Los Mejícas dance troupe will perform and students will paint the moat. Porter will feature a performance by the Marimba band Kuzanga. For more information, call the programs coordinator at your college.




Alumni giving reaches record high

A lumni donations to UC Santa Cruz broke all previous records last year. Alumni gave almost $1 million to the campus in 1998­99 ($931,739), a 22 percent increase over 1997­98. Of the 1998­99 total, alumni gave $223,896 in gifts and pledges to the Alumni Association Scholarship Fund (AASF), bringing the endowment to over $800,000.

This year, the Alumni Association's goal is to bring the fund's value to $1 million or more. Since the AASF was founded in 1991, the association has given scholarships based on need to 68 undergradutes. One such recipient is Jenny Aguas, a junior Latin American/Latino studies major at Stevenson. "Many barriers are broken thanks to the help we receive from those who have already walked through similar paths as ours," she wrote. "I realized that obtaining a college education is not as frightening as it seemed; on the contrary, it is a power that no one can take away from me."

This year, the association was able to make $2,500 awards to 11 students, including Aguas (see photo, below).

The classes of '70, '75, '80, and '95 may take a lead role in helping the Alumni Association reach or exceed its $1 million goal for the Alumni Association Scholarship Fund. Graduates from these years have been invited to make "class gifts" to the campus; their donations (up to $50,000) will be matched by a "challenge grant" from the Alumni Association.

Last year, the classes of '69, '74, '79, and '94 responded to a similar invitation, giving $202,768 to the campus for a variety of uses. Interested alumni and friends can support the campus and help the Alumni Association meet its $1 million scholarship fund endowment goal by making a donation this year. For more information, contact the Annual Fund at University Relations at (800) 933-SLUG.

 

Eleven undergraduates received $2,500 Alumni Association scholarships this year based on financial need and demonstrated commitment to obtaining higher education. The recipients are (front row, l­r): Jeff Francis (College Eight, environmental studies), Yvonne Rodriguez (College Eight, physics), Tatonia Taylor (Oakes, sociology), Marisol Tavera (College Eight, biology), Sonia Verduzco (Kresge, Latin American/Latino studies); (second row, l­r): Gilbert Velasquez (Kresge, Latin American/Latino studies), Vince Hernandez (Merrill, environmental studies), Cesar Becerra (Crown, psychology), Jenny Aguas (Stevenson, Latin American/Latino studies), Rhiana Gonzalez (Crown, biology). Not shown: Nghi Tran (Crown, undeclared).

Photo: UCSC Photo Services

 




Alumni Association welcomes 10,000th member

Melyssa Jo Kelly (Kresge '96) was the 10,000th member of the UCSC Alumni Association. Photo: Courtesy Melyssa Jo Kelly

T he UC Santa Cruz Alumni Association welcomed its 10,000th member this past fall. The 10,000th member is Melyssa Jo Kelly, a re-entry student who graduated from UCSC with a degree in women's studies in 1996. "I joined so I could stay in touch and make it easy for faculty and my classmates to get in touch with me," said Kelly, an administrator of the violence against women programs for the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women.

Popular benefits of membership are the free library borrowing privileges at all UC campuses, the alumni locator service that helps graduates find their old friends, and discounts at campus recreation facilities, according to Rob Barandas (Crown '91), membership and marketing director for the association. "But the main reason people join is to show support for the campus," said Barandas. "It's nice to get the benefits, but they want to maintain their connections to the campus."

By enrolling 25 percent of the 40,000 graduates for whom it has addresses, the Alumni Association is doing very well for a campus of its size and age, said Barandas. About 49,000 students have graduated from UCSC. Among UC alumni associations, the UCSC organization trails only UCLA and UCSF (which offers only graduate degrees) in the ratio of graduates to members, he noted.

The association was established in 1968 to promote, influence, and support the educational, cultural, and social life of UCSC. Its members serve the university, its colleges, and students, and members help guide the university in the future. A 24-member alumni council is the governing body of the association. Membership fees help support campus programs, including undergraduate scholarships.

Annual membership dues are $35; lifetime membership is available for a one-time payment of $450, or five payments of $100/year. All graduates are offered a free one-year membership to introduce them to the association.

This year, the association will publish a comprehensive Year 2000 Alumni Directory that will be available for members to purchase.

To join the Alumni Association, call (800) 933-SLUG toll-free or locally, (831) 459-2530

 


 

 

Didn't your parent teach you
to say thank you?

 

Thank an outstanding UCSC faculty or staff member.

Celebrate a remarkable UCSC graduate.

Nominations are now open for the 2000­01 Alumni

Association Awards for faculty, staff, and alumna/us of the year.

Deadline: Friday, June 2

 

Information and nomination forms available on the Web at

alumni.ucsc.edu/programs/index.html or upon request

Contact the Alumni Association

(800) 933-SLUG or via e-mail, alumni@cats.ucsc.edu

 

 

 

 


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