September 2, 2008

Education changes lives.  It opens minds, exposes people to different views and different cultures, and allows people to pursue chosen careers and make a difference in this world.  When I started college, I thought I’d become a teacher.  Instead, my professional career took a turn towards chemistry and research.  I fell in love with the idea of creating new knowledge.  As we begin a new academic year, I hope to instill in our students that same passion for learning, teaching and innovation. 

Welcome New and Returning Students
The first time I stepped onto the UC San Diego campus, I was thrilled to be here.  And now I love to watch that expression of wonder and exhilaration on the faces of new students.  One of the most memorable weeks of a student’s life is the first week of freshman year.  For many, it’s the first time they’ve been away from home and on their own.  It’s a very exciting time, but also can be a bit nerve-wracking.  In an effort to make students feel comfortable, and to give them a chance to meet new friends and experience campus life, we hold an annual Welcome Week before classes start.  This year the week kicks off on Sept. 21 with our Convocation and Dinner.  This is a chance for new students from all over campus to come together for the first time and unite as UC San Diego Tritons.  The day after Convocation, students are treated to one of my favorite events, the Triton Power Hour pep rally.  This energy-packed event invigorates students and instills Triton pride.  Other Welcome Week activities include a fair, block party and the Un-Olympics, a fun competition between the six colleges.  The winning college walks away with the coveted Golden Shoe trophy.  For more details about Welcome Week, click here.

California Native American Day
Also in September, we’ll kick off our celebration of Native American history and heritage.  California Native American Day will be officially celebrated on Sept. 26 this year and that’s when we’ll hold our kickoff event at The Loft in the Price Center East.  We’ll also host a series of free events through November – Native American Month – to honor Native Americans and strengthen our partnership with San Diego’s tribal communities.  These programs include workshops, receptions, lectures and discussions, a film festival, and a high school essay contest.  Participants of the contest will also have a chance to attend a writing workshop at Viejas, a co-sponsor of the essay competition.  The workshop will be taught by UC San Diego graduate and undergraduate students.  Click here for more information about our campus celebration.

Celebrating Our Staff
A big thank you to the UC San Diego Staff Association and all of our volunteers and sponsors for making this year’s All Staff Picnic a fun day in the sun.  This annual picnic is our way of celebrating our staff members, who truly are the backbone of the university.  Our staff maintains our day-to-day operations, and makes this campus a great place to learn and work.  More than 4,000 people attended the picnic, enjoyed the barbeque and rooted for their favorite UCSD Staff Idol contestant.  Congratulations to this year’s winner, Candace Tarry from Transportation and Parking Services.  She sang “Piece of My Heart” by Janis Joplin and captured the title with her performance.  I’d also like to thank all of the people who brought their own reusable cups and mugs to the picnic.  This year’s picnic theme was “Staff is the ‘s’ in sustainability.”  You probably noticed all of the recycling and composting bins.  And the food was served on compostable plates, with compostable utensils.  Thanks for helping make UC San Diego a leader in sustainability.  To view pictures from the Staff Picnic, click here.

Climbing the Ranks
UC San Diego continues to gain worldwide recognition for excellence in education, research and public service.  In recent weeks, UC San Diego was ranked seventh among the top 50 national public universities by U.S. News and World Report.  We also were listed on a new roster of “up and coming schools.”  In addition, The Princeton Review’s annual college guide ranked UC San Diego the sixth best value among public universities in the United States.

The National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) ranked UC San Diego first among Division II schools based on student-athlete graduation rates, academic strength and athletic prowess of the university.  And 79 UC San Diego student-athletes were named to the 2007-08 California Collegiate Athletic Association All-Academic Team.  The student-athletes had to be a letterwinner in one of 13 CCAA-sponsored sports and had to maintain a GPA of 3.40 or higher.

Forbes.com announced UC San Diego graduates rank third nationally in their salary earnings among U.S. public universities.  The rank was based on a new study by PayScale.com that looked at earnings of alumni at colleges around the country. The survey covered graduates with 10-20 years experience in the work place. 

I am so proud of these rankings, and I hope you are too.  Our stellar students, staff, faculty and alumni are the reason we’ve been able to achieve this global recognition and status as one of the leading higher education and research universities.  I thank you for your support and dedication. 

With warm regards,

Marye Anne Fox
Chancellor