May 2005

Dear Colleagues:

Welcome to “Chancellor’s Corner”

I’d like to begin this letter with some thoughts about the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. As you’ve probably heard, San Diego was one of three finalists to be the Institute’s host city. I want to congratulate our Bay Area friends and colleagues on San Francisco’s successful bid to be the site of the CIRM headquarters, and I know we are all eager to join them in scientific collaborations and alliances that will expedite our efforts to implement stem cell research. San Diego and UCSD should take enormous pride in the high quality of our proposal and the remarkable collaboration across all regional sectors to assemble that proposal.

I was privileged to join such distinguished leaders as Malin Burnham, Ivor Royston, and Larry Goldstein on the podium at the April 30 site visit by the search committee. As the newest San Diegan in the group, I expressed awe at this region’s meteoric rise as a global biotech hub and at our unlimited potential for ever-greater discoveries and advances. I am confident that San Diego will be a key player in the growth of this new Institute, and I want to extend personal thanks to the leadership shown by Biocom, the S.D. Regional Economic Development Corporation, and our own UCSD CONNECT in this important venture.

“UCSD Near You” National Outreach to Alumni, Parents

This spring, we launched a new nationwide outreach program, “UCSD Near You,” that is bringing together alumni, parents, and friends across the country. We began on February 23 with a visit to Washington, D.C., and have since held gatherings in San Diego, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Orange County, and New York City. This first phase of “UCSD Near You,” will wrap up with a May 10 visit to Boston and a trip to Sacramento in the near future. While this first tour was my introduction to UCSD friends and family nationwide, future tours will showcase the work of other campus leaders, prominent faculty and outstanding students. Throughout this national tour, I have been so pleased by the welcome reception we have received at each stop. Our constituents clearly feel invested in UCSD, and like most shareholders, they are eager to share their ideas and aspirations for our campus. Thanks to all who have contributed to the early success of “UCSD Near You.”

Student News: Services Center Groundbreaking, AS Elections

On April 25, I was delighted to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for what, in my view, will be one of the most significant capital projects in UCSD’s history: the 102,000-square-foot, five-story Student Academic Services Facility. Scheduled for completion in April 2007, and designed by renowned San Diego architect Rob Quigley, the new center will provide one-stop shopping for a range of student services including financial aid, registration and admissions, in a warm, welcoming environment. To learn more about plans for the facility, please visit: http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/thisweek/2005/may/05_02_studentcenter.asp

One noteworthy aspect of the ceremony was the presence on stage of two outstanding student leaders: outgoing Associated Students (AS) President Jenn Pae and incoming AS President Christopher Sweeten. Working with Jenn and the AS officers in my early months as Chancellor has been a tremendously rewarding experience. I wish them the very best as they prepare to graduate, and I hope they will remain active in the UCSD family as alumni leaders. Chris was on hand for our May 5 Chancellor’s Associates spring celebration of “Stellar Students,” and it was a pleasure to introduce him to our benefactors and community partners. I congratulate Chris and all the newly-elected AS officers, and I look forward to working with them in the coming year.

Faculty News: Nine Scholars Receive Top National Honors

UCSD’s reputation as a mecca for extraordinary scholars and innovators was fortified in recent weeks with the news that nine faculty have received national recognition for career achievements. Please join me in congratulating:

— The five new UCSD fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Jack Keil Wolf, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering; Ajit P. Varki, professor of medicine and cellular and molecular medicine; Linda Preiss Rothschild and M. Salah Baouendi, professors of mathematics; and Michael L. Norman, professor of physics.

— The three new UCSD members of the National Academy of Sciences: Shu Chien, professor of bioengineering and medicine and chair of the department of bioengineering; Gary Cox, professor of political science and chair of the department of political science; and Michael Karin, professor of pharmacology in the UCSD School of Medicine.

— Composer Roger Reynolds, a professor of music and Pulitzer Prize-winner who has been honored with a new Library of Congress project devoted to his music that was unveiled at the Library on April 25.

— Peter Gourevitch, professor at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, who has been offered highly prestigious fellowships for the 2005-06 academic year from The Russell Sage Foundation, The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.

Staff Association News & Events

Early next month, the UCSD Staff Association will hold two important events, one aimed at boosting financial aid and the other at building campus community spirit. On June 6, Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill in the Price Center will support the Staff Association Scholarship Fund by donating 20 percent of proceeds from lunchtime transactions when customers present a Staff Association flier. And June 10 will be my first experience of the annual “Chancellor’s Take Me Out to the Ballgame” when the San Diego Padres play the Chicago White Sox at Petco Park. For more information about “Ballgame” tickets or Rubio’s scholarship event fliers, e-mail sachair@ucsd.edu.

Cross-Cultural Center Celebrates Milestone Anniversary

As described in a special report in this issue of “Chancellor’s Corner,” the UCSD Cross-Cultural Center is unique among campus facilities here or anywhere else. Launched on May 26, 1995 after years of planning, the “Cross” quickly became a campus icon, and today, it is a favorite campus destination for many alumni, neighbors, and local schoolchildren. I invite you to read the perspectives of eight early Cross advocates, and I also invite you to join in the festivities at two anniversary events, the May 26 “Cultivating Community” gathering and the May 27 “All People’s Party.”

Stuart Collection Welcomes “Bear” Sculpture to Campus

Starting tomorrow, the 16th and newest sculpture in UCSD’s world-famous Stuart Collection will begin taking shape in the new Academic Courtyard of UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering. Artist Tihttp://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/arts/BearStuartCollection.asp m Hawkinson’s “Bear” will be a 20-foot-high assembly of eight uncarved granite boulders, an engineering feat that will join other Stuart Collection sculptures, like “Sun God” and “Snake Path,” as a campus treasure. I hope you will be able to drop by the “Bear’s” new home and see this memorable creation in the making. To learn more about “Bear” and the other Stuart Collection sculptures, see: http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/arts/BearStuartCollection.asp

As always, I encourage you to provide comments via my web page. Please pass along any suggestions via my chancellor@ucsd.edu email address.

With warm regards,

Marye Anne Fox