At UC Santa Cruz, you never have to look far for inspiration. Walking around our campus is a good start, though I am inspired by much more than the sweeping vistas and majestic redwoods that define our landscape. Our students, staff, faculty, and alumni are my source of inspiration. They are the practitioners of the groundbreaking multidisciplinary research, distinguished scholarship, creativity, and innovation that unfolds daily on our campus and beyond. They help us imagine what the world can be, as they work tirelessly to create a future more just, inclusive, and equitable.
Here’s some inspiration from just the past quarter:
• Commencement 2024, held over four days within the past week, offered all in our campus community a lesson in perseverance. The Class of 2024 is an especially resilient one. Many of our new graduates—roughly 5,000 were awarded degrees—had to navigate the reality of a global pandemic from their last days of high school through their early university years or as they studied at a community college before transferring to UC Santa Cruz. Their determination and pursuit of excellence are simply inspirational. View our commencement slideshow and share in the jubilation of the graduates and their friends and families.
• Three of our professors each received $100,000 Mellon Foundation grants to advance their pioneering research in the realms of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Their work champions those who are too often undervalued and undermined in American society.
• Three faculty members were elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. Three others were named 2023 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the world’s largest general scientific societies. These honors recognize those who have spent their careers doing innovative, meaningful work. I am grateful that these faculty members and so many others have chosen to make UC Santa Cruz their professional home.
• For many students, spring break is a time to relax and recharge before the annual sprint to the end of the academic year. This year, however, 15 undergraduates chose a different kind of break. They immersed themselves in a week-long service-learning experience, partnering with environmental and economic justice organizations in Watsonville through our Alternative Spring Break Program. That these students chose to spend their vacation working to help others makes me hopeful that a more just and equitable world is possible.
• Earlier this spring, I had the pleasure of attending the UC Santa Cruz Retirees Association annual scholarship celebration. It was a special opportunity to gather with retirees who have maintained such a strong connection to our university and to celebrate the scholarship recipients. The association’s Bruce Lane Memorial Scholarship is given to veterans who chose to serve their country before furthering their education, while Silver Slug awardees are the children of staff members or staff members themselves who are also attending the university while working. Their stories are so inspiring, and I am thrilled that people from so many walks of life make UC Santa Cruz a stop on their journeys. Seeing people transform their lives for the better through education is both gratifying and inspiring.
• We hosted 200 alumni on campus in April as part of Alumni Reunion Weekend 2024, which celebrated the graduating classes of 1965 through 1974. I had the pleasure of meeting with dozens of the graduates. Each had a unique story, but there was a common thread: UC Santa Cruz was a place where they could discover and explore their interests. It was—and still is for so many—a place of inspiration and transformation that served as a launching pad, sending them on journeys that continue to this day, often to places they never thought they would go.
Inspiration is something I have been thinking a lot about lately. Earlier this year, we launched our Inspire Series; think of it as an inspiration roadshow for our alumni, parents, and friends. I have the honor of moderating panel conversations with our faculty, engaging with them on important issues of our day. Our first event, in Los Angeles, focused on Global and Community Health. Our San Francisco event tackled Artificial Intelligence, and we talked about Climate Change in San Diego. We have even more Inspire conversations in the planning stages, with stops in Seattle, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and New York City coming this next academic year.
The Inspire Series was born out of a desire to pull back the curtain on the work unfolding on our campus and examine and discuss the issues of our time through our distinctive UC Santa Cruz lens. We hope that these conversations will strengthen our relationships and spark new connections.
In closing these events, we ask the panelists and the audience members, “When was the last time you felt inspired? When was the last time you learned something new? When was the last time you pushed the boundaries of your understanding of complex issues?” The answers have been fascinating. How would you answer these questions?
Cynthia Larive, Chancellor