August 18, 2003

UCSC raises $22.7 million in private support in 2002-03

By Louise Donahue

Led by grants for adaptive optics, engineering, and biology, UC Santa Cruz raised $22.7 million in private support in the form of gifts and grants during 2002-03.

The total marked the second-largest amount ever raised by the campus. A record $24.4 million was raised in 2000.

"This outstanding level of support will allow the campus to continue its key role in an array of disciplines, from adaptive optics to the New Teacher Center," said Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood. "The generous support from our donors is especially critical as the campus faces the funding challenges posed by the state budget shortfall."

The largest single gift came from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which gave $9.1 million to establish a Laboratory for Adaptive Optics. The new laboratory strengthens UCSC's position as an astronomy powerhouse and a national center for research in adaptive optics, which sharpen the vision of ground-based telescopes by removing the blurring effects of the Earth's atmosphere. The grant is the largest contribution from a private foundation in the history of the campus.

A tradition of support for the Baskin School of Engineering continued with a $1 million gift from the school's namesake, retired engineer and philanthropist Jack Baskin. The latest contribution will help fund a second engineering building now under construction and will create an endowed chair in the newly forming Department of Biomolecular Engineering.

Making science more engaging for undergraduates was the goal of a $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to Manuel Ares. Ares, a professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology, was one of 20 scientists nationwide who were appointed Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professors.

The New Teacher Center drew $1.66 million from various sources, including a $750,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation. The Carnegie grant will allow the innovative education center to further expand its reach by working with selected postsecondary education departments. Under the partnership, support for new teachers will extend from college preparation through their first two years in the classroom.

A research project on how to bridge the digital divide affecting Latinos brought the Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community a $249,449 award from the W. T. Grant Foundation. Including additional grants, the center raised a total of $425,000.

The University Library's Special Collections was enhanced by a donation of photographs, valued at close to $800,000, from renowned California photographers Pirkle Jones and his late wife, Ruth-Marion Baruch. The photographs, part of the Jones and Baruch archive that has been bequeathed to the library, include the couple's landmark 1968 documentary series on the Black Panther Party.

The archive of science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, also held in
Special Collections, received a cash gift of $141,000. The gift, from the
estate of Heinlein's widow, Virginia, was accompanied by an additional
$36,000 grant from the Heinlein Trust to support the work of the UCSC
Heinlein Scholar in organizing and preserving the archive and preparing it
for scholarly use. The Heinlein archive features a priceless collection of
the author's original manuscripts, correspondence, and personal library.

"Private philanthropy is crucial as UC Santa Cruz fulfills its mission for
teaching, research, and community service," said Ronald P. Suduiko, vice
chancellor for University Relations at UC Santa Cruz. "The remarkable level of support we've received this year demonstrates a broad base of generous donors, affirming the excellence of our faculty and students, and the hard work of our development staff."

Individual donors provided crucial support to the campus. In the last fiscal year, gifts to the Annual Fund, including gifts from UCSC Alumni Association councilors, other alumni, UC Santa Cruz Foundation trustees, parents, and friends, totaled $2,600,920. This includes $100,109 for the Alumni Association Scholarship Fund.

Trustees of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation, which supports the campus through advocacy and private fundraising efforts, gave $1,295,891 this past year, with 100 percent participation from board members.

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