George R. Blumenthal
Founders Gala 2014
Cocoanut Grove
October 25, 2014
Thank you, Teri.
It's always a pleasure to be in the presence of one of our most distinguished graduates.
Welcome!
This is our eighth annual Founders Celebration--our annual tribute to individuals who've made major contributions to society, and a celebration of campus values, of our history and traditions, and of our future.
Tonight, we are honored to have with us Toni Morrison, one of the greatest storytellers of our time. I hope most of you were able to attend her Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics lecture this afternoon. I will return to Ms. Morrison and our other honorees in a few minutes.
First, I'd like to share some of my thoughts on our story and the role of storytelling in a liberal arts education.
The UC Santa Cruz story is built on courage—the courage to be different, to challenge the status quo… to make the world a better place.
Our founders took the best of the public research university and combined it with the best of the small privates—and gave us UC Santa Cruz.
They gave us our colleges: Small living and learning communities
They gave us research excellence… and hands-on learning opportunities for students, who get to work alongside brilliant faculty.
And they gave us access: The University of California is the University of Opportunity—today, more than ever. Consider the frosh class at UC Santa Cruz this fall: 41 percent first-generation students--students who will be, when they graduate, the first in their family to earn a four-year college degree. And 36 percent underrepresented minorities.
These are the brightest, best academically prepared students in the state.
At UC Santa Cruz, we emphasize independent thinking over rote memorization.
We encourage questioning.
We encourage creative expression.
And we expect a breadth of intellectual engagement that prepares graduates not only for their first jobs but for a lifetime of learning.
Let's talk for a moment about the humanities.
The humanities are all about asking the big questions.
What bigger question is there than: What is it to be human? What unites us? What separates us? Why do we love? Hate? War with one another?
In literature, philosophy, our own History of Consciousness program… scholars and students engage in these core questions.
In history, our scholars are more committed than ever to inclusivity. A history that's more inclusive of race, ethnicity, gender, ability, and life experience.
In literature, authors like Toni Morrison… and our own Karen Yamashita… bring issues of identity and belonging to the fore. Their stories speak to the range of human experience… pain and injustice--as well as hope, perseverance, love, and triumph.
Across the disciplines, our professors partner with students. Professors like Alan Christy of history, who has taken students to Japan to do original research about the lives of Okinawans in World War II. To tell their stories.
This bold, inclusive, hands-on approach truly engages our students.
Asking the big questions requires the ability to think deeply, to engage deeply, to write thoughtfully. To listen carefully, speak articulately, and argue passionately.
It requires empathy. The ability to put yourself in another's shoes.
As we feel both the challenge and the opportunity of globalization, we must be guided by greater empathy, greater understanding, a greater sense of our interconnectedness.
UC Santa Cruz offers something important to the world. The evidence is all around us, in the profound stories being told by our graduates.
They are telling the stories of our time: Ebola. Climate change. The immigrant experience.
Our alumni are journalists, senior fellows at think tanks, novelists and film makers -- all telling our stories.
Think of award-winning director Cary Fukunaga, who graduated with a degree in history and told the story of Central American immigrants in his film Sin Nombre… He just won an Emmy for his direction of the breakthrough television series, True Detectives.
Think of our alum Ron Yerxa, producer of the Oscar-nominated films Nebraska and Little Miss Sunshine.
And think of Michael Scherer, the Washington bureau chief for TIME magazine, who graduated with a degree in creative writing. Today, he's covering Washington!
As of this summer, our alum "Bro" Adams is chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and our alum Kathy Sullivan is the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
All of these storytellers, immersed in the issues and challenges of our times, enhance our story, the UC Santa Cruz story.
When you ask big questions, you get big answers. This is why Times Higher Education just ranked us first in the world for research influence.
This is why The Campaign for UC Santa Cruz is attracting new support across the disciplines. We're now more than 60 percent of the way toward our goal of $300 million. This past year we raised more money than we ever have in a single year. I am so grateful for the support we are receiving.
As we approach our 50th anniversary, we have a unique opportunity to celebrate our story -- to celebrate our role as the Original Authority on Questioning Authority!
I hope you'll join us during our 50th anniversary year. We have special events planned throughout the year, as well as a very special Alumni Weekend in April and a special Founders Gala in the fall. In January, Professor Emerita Angela Davis will be the keynote speaker at our Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation!
Tonight is also a celebration! Thank you for being a part of this dynamic community. Now, let's honor some very special people.
Our first honor is bestowed each year by the Academic Senate upon a faculty member with a distinguished record in research. The 2014 Faculty Research Lecturer is psychology professor Craig Haney. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Craig Haney.
Our next award is the Alumni Achievement Award. This award is presented each year to a UC Santa Cruz graduate who has provided outstanding service to the campus, or who, through their achievement, has brought distinction to the university. Tonight's recipient is Mark Headley. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mark Headley.
The Fiat Lux Award is presented by the UC Santa Cruz Foundation to alumni and friends to honor their service in support of the university's programs and goals. This special award goes to those who have generously offered distinguished and sustained service to the campus. Tonight, it's an honor to present the Fiat Lux Award to the Joseph and Vera Long Foundation. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Long family to advance coastal science research at UC Santa Cruz. Please welcome Milton Long, grandson of Joseph and Vera Long.
Finally, the UC Santa Cruz Foundation Medal. This award recognizes individuals of great distinction and achievement, whose contributions reflect our campus's vision and ideals. This year's Foundation Medal goes to the great Toni Morrison. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in recognizing the 2014 Foundation Medal recipient, Toni Morrison!#####
