UCSD Chancellor’s Medal going to longtime university supporters
UCSD Press Release
To paraphrase Hilary Clinton, it takes a village to build a university, and for 50 years the Village has been contributing to the growth of UCSD.Now, to honor its heritage at the Nov. 13 Celebrate50 gala, the university will salute two individuals and three couples — all but one of whom are La Jollans — for their “support and service.” Audrey Geisel, Irwin and Joan Jacobs, Jerome and Miriam Katzin, and Ernest and Evelyn Rady and Pauline Foster of Rancho Santa Fe will receive the Chancellor’s Medal. one of the highest honors given by UCSD.
Among those expected to attend are community leaders, donors, alumni, faculty, staff and friends, who will be treated to music, dance and video celebrating the historic events and people that marked the university’s growth. The event is a fundraiser for undergraduate scholarships and fellowships.
Five days later, across the campus, Founders Day will commemorate the university’s official founding in 1960. For an full list of all the activities planned as part of the anniversary celebrations, go to www.50th.ucsd.edu.
Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said in a press release that each of the medal winners “has generously devoted time, energy and resources to support and improve the university. Their influence will have a lasting, positive impact on the UC San Diego campus.”
Here are some of the reasons they were selected, as outlined in the press release:
Audrey Geisel
She “has made a lasting impact on nearly every area of the campus — from the UC San Diego Libraries, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Health Sciences, to student scholarship and fellowship support and the renovations of the Faculty Club and University House. The University Library was renamed Geisel Library for Audrey’s husband, Theodor Seuss Geisel — also known as Dr. Seuss — as a result of her support of the UC San Diego Libraries.She has given more than 10,000 of her late husband’s original drawings, sketches, books and other memorabilia to UC San Diego’s Mandeville Special Collections Library.
Irwin and Joan Jacobs
They “are dedicated advisors and longtime They “are dedicated advisors and longtime university friends and supporters. In 2003, they pledged $110 million — the largest gift in the history of the university — to the Jacobs School of Engineering. Most recently, the couple pledged $75 million to build the Jacobs Medical Center on UC San Diego’s east campus in La Jolla. They have also made significant gifts to numerous scholarship and fellowship programs, the School of Medicine, the Division of Arts and Humanities, the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, the Stuart Collection and the Rady School of Management, where they are recognized as founding donors. Both Irwin and Joan have also served as board members on the UC San Diego Foundation.Jerome and Miriam Katzin
They “have made a lasting impact on the university through their visionary leadership and generous philanthropy. They have given several significant lead gifts that have enabled the university to raise further funds for the construction of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center, the Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center and the Ratner Children’s Eye Center. They have also supported graduate fellowships and contributed to the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, UC San Diego Libraries, and endowed numerous faculty chairs and funds, including the Katzin Chair for Jewish Civilization.”Ernest and Evelyn Rady
“With a $30 million lead gift in 2004, they helped establish UC San Diego’s world-class, entrepreneurial business school, the Rady School of Management. They also contributed an additional $5 million toward the expansion of the business school’s campus. … He has shared his business expertise through his role as chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Rady School of Management.”Pauline Foster
She “is an active volunteer, philanthropist, business owner and champion for UC San Diego and … has served as chair of the UC San Diego Foundation, a position that her late husband Stanley also held. She is recognized as a founder of the Rady School of Management. In 2006, Foster donated $5 million to create the Stanley and Pauline Foster Endowed Chair and she committed an additional $2.5 million to the Rady School of Management to launch the Fellowships for the Future initiative for MBA students. Foster and her family were also instrumental in establishing the Abraham Ratner Children’s Eye Center and the Ratner Children’s Eye Mobile.IF YOU GO
• Reception 5:30 p.m.• Dinner at 7 p.m.
• Tickets are $250 per person
• Call (858) 534-7835 or visit www.50th.ucsd.edu.