March 8, 2008

March is Women’s History Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the diverse and historic accomplishments of women. March is also the month that the San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame holds its annual induction ceremony. I’m excited that two of this year’s inductees have ties to UC San Diego. I’m also pleased that one of our stellar female professors and researchers has been appointed the new provost of Sixth College. This is an exciting time for the university, as we continue to grow and build on our strengths, enhance the diversity of the campus, work across disciplines and unite as a campus community.

Women’s History Month
In honor of Women’s History Month, the UCSD Women’s Center will host a couple of special programs to celebrate the historic struggle of women to obtain equal rights, equal opportunity and equal justice.  One of the events will bring together a diverse group of women to discuss their roles as mothers, daughters, wives, sisters, workers, scholars and activists.  This is a time to reflect on the role of American women in history, and how women of every race, class and ethnic background have played a critical role in shaping our society.  For more information on this event and other programs in March, click here.

The UCSD Women’s Center is a valuable resource on our campus and is one of our three campus community centers.  The others are the Cross-Cultural Center and the LGBT Resource Center.  These centers provide educational, cultural and social events, lectures, diversity training, academic and community resources, workshops, discussion and support groups.  I encourage all students, faculty and staff to utilize these centers and take advantage of the programs they offer. 

Women’s Hall of Fame
The 7th annual San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at the Price Center on March 29.  This year, two of the five inductees have ties to UCSD.  Marianne McDonald is a professor of Classics and Theatre.  She is an accomplished author and a legendary influence in San Diego’s theatres.  Her plays have been performed at the Old Globe.  The other inductee with ties to UCSD is Judith Munk, who will receive her award posthumously.  She designed the internationally renowned cable foot bridge at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in addition to other UCSD buildings.  For more information on the inductees or to reserve a seat at the induction ceremony, click here.

New Provost Named
Sixth College will soon have a new provost.  Science historian and Professor Naomi Oreskes has been appointed to serve as the second permanent provost of the college, which was established in 2002.  Her appointment will begin in July.  Professor Oreskes has been a member of the UCSD faculty since 1998 and she’s served as co-chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women.  She is best known for her work and leadership in climate change, specifically her role in establishing that there is scientific consensus on global warming, that the earth is warming and humans are the cause.  She is a natural fit to lead Sixth College, as her extensive interdisciplinary research and teaching on issues related to science, technology and culture resonate with the college’s theme of culture, art and technology. 

Connecting with the Campus Community
I’ve been so pleased to connect with the campus community through a series of Town Hall meetings that began last fall.  I want to thank everyone who attended the Student Town Hall last month.  We had a lively discussion and I appreciate your suggestions, and will work hard to implement as many of your ideas as possible.  I heard your request for more classroom space, and we will address that need as we continue with our expansion plans.  I heard your request for fair-trade only products on campus, which is something we responded to after the first Student Town Hall meeting.  We’re now switching to fair trade coffee in all of our Housing and Dining facilities and we will continue to look into expanding the fair trade choices on campus.  I liked the suggestion of a Dine with a Staff Member program.  And I was pleased to hear that students are finding the installation of new media in classrooms helpful.  For those students who still have questions or ideas, I encourage you to sign up for my walk-in hours by clicking here.  The walk-in hours are open to students, staff and faculty.

The next Town Hall meeting will be for faculty.  It will be held from 1—2 p.m. on March 11 at the Faculty Club – Atkinson Pavilion.  This is an opportunity for us to communicate directly, share ideas, discuss concerns and ask questions.  I hope to see you there.

Record Number of Applications Received
UC San Diego once again received a record number of applications for fall admission, more than 47,000 freshman applications, up 5 percent from the previous year.  Nearly 25 percent of the applicants will be the first in their families to attend college.  We also received nearly 10,000 transfer applications, up 10 percent from last fall.  UCSD continues to be one of the most popular universities in California and in the University of California system.  We received the third highest number of applications in the UC system. 

We were also pleased to see a significant increase in the number of applications from underrepresented students, as we continue our efforts to improve diversity on our campus.  The number of African-American applicants increased more than 12 percent. Mexican-American applicants went up more than 18 percent from last year. And Latino applicants were up more than 9 percent.  Now it’s up to us to show our admitted students what our university has to offer and how important diversity is at UCSD.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll hold a series of events on campus for our newly admitted students.  I encourage you to chat with these potential students and tell them what it is you enjoy so much about UCSD. 

Kyoto Laureate Lecture
UC San Diego is honored to join our partners at San Diego State University and the University of San Diego in hosting the seventh annual Kyoto Laureate Symposium, an academic lecture series.  Dr. Hiroo Kanamori, one of the three 2007 Kyoto Prize recipients, will speak at UCSD on March 13 about his development of earthquake prediction methods, what causes earthquakes and why earthquakes on the sea floor produce tsunamis.  The event is free and open to the public. 

The Kyoto Prize is Japan’s highest private award for lifetime achievement in the fields of Advanced Technology, Basic Sciences, and Arts and Philosophy.  Each year, the Kyoto Prize is presented to individuals and groups worldwide who have contributed significantly to the betterment of humankind.  If you’re interested in attending the Kyoto Laureate Symposium, click here for more information.

We have a lot of special events on campus this month.  I hope you’re able to attend one or two of them.  Good luck with finals week and enjoy your spring break.

With warm regards,

Marye Anne Fox
Chancellor