June 14, 2004
Awards and Honors
Rushton Award established
for academic excellence in Chinese
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Matthew Pendergast (center) with his UCSC Chinese
teachers lecturers Jacqueline Ku (left) and David Keenan.
Photo: Scott Rappaport |
History major Matthew Pendergast has been honored with the first-ever
Peter Rushton Memorial Scholarship for academic excellence in the Chinese
language. The award was created to honor Rushton, a lecturer in Chinese
at UCSC who died in 2000. Language studies lecturer Jacqueline Ku (his
spouse), family members, and friends had previously established the
Peter Rushton Endowed Memorial Fund in memory of the life and work of
the distinguished Chinese instructor.
The scholarship is intended to assist a full-time undergraduate student
each year with travel expenses to China. Preference is given to those
who are interested in visiting China or Taiwan to pursue studies through
the Education Abroad Program. Pendergast said he would use the award
to support his internship this summer with the Reuters news agency in
Peking. He spent last year studying Chinese at Southwest University
for Minorities in Chinas Sichuan Province.
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Firefighters honored;
gift redirected to help others
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UCSC firefighters (l-r) Britten Miles, Capt. Don Brookes, and
Coleen Canright-Ulrich work on the Cedar Fire in San Diego County. |
Grateful residents of the Julian area have expressed their appreciation
to Santa Cruz County firefighters--including UCSCs Fire Department--for
helping save the historic San Diego County town during the Cedar fire
of 2003.
"The brave firefighters of Santa Cruz County . . . fought to save
our homes as everything around burned. We know that through their heroic
efforts our home was one of many that they saved," the owners of
the Mohata Ranch and three families wrote in a letter to firefighters.
Three UCSC firefighters, Don Brookes, Britten Miles, and Coleen Canright-Ulrich,
and a UCSC fire engine were part of a five-engine "task force"
from Santa Cruz County joining the fight against the blaze (see Currents
story).
The letter writers said they had wanted to give a donation to Santa
Cruz County firefighters but were "selflessly asked that we redirect
it to the Steven Rucker and Doug McDonald family funds to honor their
fallen and injured brothers. The firefighters were deeply saddened by
the loss of engineer Rucker, as are we." See story
on Rucker. The letter writers donated $2,000 to the Steven Rucker Fund
and $1,000 to the Doug McDonald Fund.
Rucker was killed and his fellow Novato Fire Protection District firefighter
Capt. Doug McDonald was severely burned trying to save a mountain home
near Wynola in October 2003 when the fire flared up and overran them.
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