UCSD Alumni Association

Infobox_University


image_size =150px
name =UCSD Alumni Association
established =1964
president =Mark Diamond
director =Armin Afsahi
type =501(c)(3)
city =La Jolla, San Diego
state =California
country =USA
colors =Navy Blue and Gold color box|#000080color box|#FFB300
website = [http://www.alumni.ucsd.edu]
affiliations=University of California, San Diego

History

The UCSD Alumni Association was formed by a small group of honorary members in 1964. In 1972, The University of California Regents provided funding to help newer UC campuses establish alumni organizations and the first staff member at UC San Diego was hired in 1972. Shortly thereafter, the Chancellor appointed a committee to recommend purposes, functions, and organization. In 1977, the Articles of Incorporation were executed, making Alumni & Friends a separate non-profit organization.

The Association has grown today to represent over 116,000 alumni. Its mission - to foster a lifelong, mutually beneficial relationship of alumni and students with UCSD. The Association works to provide alumni with continued access to the resources of the University, communicate new developments on campus, and facilitate a network for alumni and student interaction.

The Association awards undergraduate scholarships, recognizes outstanding alumni, faculty and students, assists the University with legislative advocacy, and brings alumni together in social, educational and networking forums - in San Diego and across the nation. The Association publishes @UCSD magazine, CampusLoop e-newsletter, and hosts an interactive website.

Prominent Alumni

Ancel Keys, SIO, Ph.D. ’30: In 1961, Dr. Keys appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine and was dubbed Mr. Cholesterol by the popular press for discovering a link between cholesterol and heart disease.

Tim Roemer, ’79: Member of the 9/11 Commission for 18 months.J. Stephen “Steve” Peace, ’76 and John DeBello,’75: Creators of the 1978 sci-fi spoof, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Michael Robertson ’90: Received the Outstanding Alumnus at the 2002 Alumni Awards for Excellence because of his entrepreneurship.

Rachel Axler, '04: Writer for Comedy Central’s Emmy Award-winning program, "The Daily Show". Josh Billauer, ’98: Co-founded the non-profit foundation, Life Rolls On (www.liferollson.org), in 2002.

Romas Kudirka, ’98: Lithuanian-American water polo player, chemist, and member of the avant-garde music group Three Dry Mice.

Maurizio Seracini, ’73: Internationally recognized expert in high-technology art analysis and character in Dan Brown’s popular bestseller The Da Vinci Code.

David E. Shaw, ’72: founded the D. E. Shaw Group in 1988, which today has more than $20 billion in assets and has redirected his expertise toward developing precise targeted drug therapies for illnesses and disease. He is also the recipient of the 2006 Outstanding Alumnus Award.

Ricardo Chavira, M.F.A. ’00: Plays Carlos Solis, the jerky husband of Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) on ABC television’s saucy runaway hit Desperate Housewives.

More prominent alumni: http://alumni.ucsd.edu/prominent/index.htm

Facts of Note

UCSD: The Institution

*Forward Thinking at the Gateway to the Pacific: Nestled along the Pacific Ocean on convert|1200|acre|km2 of coastal woodland, UCSD is a powerful magnet for those seeking a fresh, next-generation approach to education and research. Since its founding almost five decades ago, UCSD -- one of ten campuses in the world-renowned University of California system -- has rapidly achieved the status as one of the top institutions in the nation for higher education and research.
*Students: UCSD received more than 45,000 applications for fall 2007 admission (the second highest application rate in the University of California system). The average high school GPA of admitted freshmen for fall 2007 was 4.06 and average SAT Reasoning scores were 634 Critical Reading, 670 Math and 640 Writing. Total campus enrollment for fall ‘07 is 27,500.
*Economic Impact: UCSD is an engine for regional economic growth. UCSD faculty and alums have spun-off close to 250 local companies, including over a third of the region’s biotech companies. In addition, UCSD is San Diego County’s third largest employer (behind the federal government and state government), with a monthly payroll in excess of $96 million and nearly 27,000 employees.
*Specialized Resources: UCSD’s graduate and professional schools include Scripps Institution of Oceanography; School of Medicine; School of International Relations and Pacific Studies; Center for U.S. – Mexican Studies; Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Jacobs School of Engineering (graduate and undergraduate), and Rady School of Management. The campus is also home to the UCSD Medical Center; the San Diego Supercomputer Center; California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2); Center for Research in Computing and the Arts; Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture, and Archaeology (CISA3); Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation; and Institute of the Americas.

Alumni Directors

Membership

Initially, in the Association was free to any person who attended a minimum of six quarters at UCSD or who graduated from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In 1975, a dues membership program was established, but was discontinued in 1977. 55 life members were acquired during the two years.

In August 1989, a more comprehensive membership campaign was launched. Currently, nearly 8,000 alumni are members of the Association. Eligibility for annual or life membership is extended to individuals who completed a minimum of six quarters at UCSD. Affiliate membership is available to friends of UCSD interested in supporting the Association.

tudent Outreach

The UCSD Alumni Association is directly connected to two student programs; UCSD Student Foundation and COAST. The UCSD Student Foundation (www.studentfoundation.ucsd.edu) is designed to introduce students to philanthropic enterprises and concepts and the workings of educational foundations. COAST (www.thecoast.ucsd.edu), which stands for Chancellor’s Organization of Allied Students, is a group of students who participate in a variety of UCSD External Relations events and give their insight to issues about UCSD from the student perspective.

External links

UCSD Main Page http://ucsd.edu/
UCSD Alumni Association http://alumni.ucsd.edu/
External Relations http://www-er.ucsd.edu/
UCSD Student Foundation http://studentfoundation.ucsd.edu/
COAST http://thecoast.ucsd.edu/
UCSD CampusLoop http://alumni.ucsd.edu/update/email.asp
@UCSD Magazine http://alumni.ucsd.edu/magazine/index.htm
@UCSD Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/La-Jolla-CA/UCSD/23426235024