November 2006
 UC San Diego is the one of the best places to study and work. In addition to being the 8th best public university in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report, we were also recently rated as one of the best workplaces for commuters. Our students, staff and faculty are out in the community volunteering and researching, and we also host community members on our campus. UC San Diego has a world-renowned faculty, including four new faculty whose election to the Institute of Medicine was just announced and one faculty member who recently had a minor planet named after him. To sum it up, UCSD Rocks!
Open House — UCSD Rocks!
UC San Diego’s Open House 2006 was a huge success! More than 7,500 people visited our campus during the Open House event on Saturday, Oct. 21. This year’s theme was fitting — UCSD Rocks! We had a successful career fair attended by a steady stream of interested candidates. Prospective students and their parents toured the campus as hundreds of employees and students staffed more than 150 booths, offering information about university organizations and departments. There was plenty of fun and entertainment, including our first-ever “Battle of the Bands,” a rock-climbing wall, and a variety of food opportunities. La Nueva 106.5 FM radio station broadcast live from the School of Medicine campus. Thanks to everyone who volunteered and worked on the Open House. This event was a wonderful way to show the community what UC San Diego is all about and all that we have to offer.
Every 5K Participant Is a Winner
Hundreds of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members laced up for the 11th annual Chancellor’s Challenge 5K Run/Walk for Scholars. We had more than 1,400 registrants and about 100 volunteers participate on Friday, Oct. 20. This event is important to me because it raises money to provide support for promising students who may not be able to attend UC San Diego without private support. Since its inception in 1996, this event has raised more than $1.7 million for more than 600 undergraduate scholarships. Also, this year, alumnus Michael Robertson, ’90, and Leslie Burcham Robertson paid $25 each for participants who finished before them — it cost Michael a total of $3,350 in contributions to the university, and Leslie a total of $2,975. The overall winner of the 5K was student Bill Walkowicz who finished in 15 minutes, 51 seconds. Congratulations, Bill. And congratulations to everyone who participated in this year’s Chancellor’s Challenge 5K. You’re all winners because of your support of UCSD.
UC San Diego Employee Appreciation
UC San Diego staff members play an integral
role in supporting and promoting the university’s
mission of higher education. I was
honored to recognize staff at the 39th
annual Service Awards Program and Ceremony
who have served the University for 10
years or more. In all, 500 employees
were honored for their service: 155 people
have served for 10 years; 144 served for
15 years; 97 served for 20 years; 56 people
served for 25 years, 32 served for 30
years, 14 served for 35 years and two
have worked for the university for 40
years. The 40-year honorees were
Joseph Watson, Vice Chancellor of Student
Affairs, and Linda Murphy, a recent retiree
from the linguistics department.
Combined, the service of all the honorees
equals 8,580 years and over 17.9 million
working hours! Thank you to all
of our staff members for your dedication
and daily service to this distinguished
university.
Eye on Expansion
The UCSD Shiley Eye Center expansion is
under way. The official groundbreaking
ceremony was held on Friday, Oct. 27.
The expansion will include a new, two-floor
wing for clinical and research space,
and faculty offices. Also, the number
of exam rooms at the Anne F. and Abraham
Ratner Children’s Eye Center will
double, from four rooms to eight.
The UCSD Shiley Eye Center is the only
full-service eye center in San Diego,
which makes it very popular. Patient
care and research have accelerated rapidly
over the years, creating the need for
more space and services. The UCSD
Shiley Eye Center sees more than 55,000
patient visits a year. The total
number of patient visits to all of the
Department of Ophthalmology locations
— the UCSD Shiley Eye Center, the
UCSD Hillcrest Medical Center, the Veterans
Hospital and the traveling EyeMobile for
Children - is about 110,000 a year.
In 1991, the year the UCSD Shiley Eye
Center was founded, there were only about
35,000 patient visits a year at all of
the department of ophthalmology locations.
The much-needed expansion projects should
be completed in 2007.
There is so much that UCSD has to offer and if you were not able to join us for Open House, please come by and see us soon. Things are changing every day — it is very exciting — and we look forward to sharing it all with you!
With warm regards,
Marye Anne Fox
Chancellor
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