January 3, 2007
 Happy New Year and welcome back to campus.
I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season, and had a chance to visit and relax with loved ones.
UCSD Technology Unites
Military Families for the Holidays
I understand how difficult it is to be separated from family members during the holidays. That’s why I’m so proud of our staff at the San Diego Supercomputer Center who teamed up with the Freedom Calls Foundation to reunite military families – who were separated by more than 7,000 miles - via a videoconference in December. About 25 families from Camp Pendleton were able to spend about half an hour each at a 50-inch LCD screen talking to their loved ones stationed at Camp Fallujah and at the Al Asad Marine Airfield in northern Iraq. The conversations were made possible through satellite uplinks and the Internet. This is a great example of UC San Diego technology making a difference in the community.
New Student Housing in the Works
Our UC San Diego community continues to grow each year as student enrollment steadily increases. For that reason, we are adding new student housing on campus. Plans for new undergraduate housing have been approved by the UC Board of Regents and construction is set to begin in July. The project will add housing for more than 1,000 students. In addition, construction is already underway for new graduate student housing which should be completed this spring and will provide housing for 800 single graduates.
Tritons’ Triumphs
In addition to attracting the best and brightest students, UC San Diego also attracts top-notch athletes. Congratulations to our Tritons who triumphed on the field, on the court and in the water last fall.
- The Men's Water Polo finished third in the nation. Their final record was 26-6 (all-time best for wins). They won the Western Water Polo Association title and beat UCLA, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, Loyola Marymount, Long Beach State and Pacific among others. Senior Jesse Casellini was the WWPA Player of the Year.
- The Women's Soccer team went 20-2-2, won the CCAA Championship for the sixth time in seven years, advanced to the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals and were ranked third nationally in the final poll.
- The Women's Volleyball team went 26-3, finished second in the NCAA, won the NCAA Pacific Regional and advanced to the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals.
- The Women's Cross Country team qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships for the fifth consecutive season and wound up 16th in the nation.
I’m proud to be a Triton and a member of the UC San Diego family, and I look forward to the opportunities and accomplishments of this new year.
With warm regards,
Marye Anne Fox
Chancellor
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