50th anniversary events

50th anniversary events include:

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation

January 28, 2015

Speaker: Angela Davis, distinguished professor emerita in the History of Conciousness and Feminist Studies departments at UC Santa Cruz

Anita Hill

February 26, 2015

"Speaking truth to power"

Climate Conference

March 13-14, 2015 (including annual Fred Keeley Lecture)

Alumni Weekend 2015

April 23, 24, 25, and 26, 2015

Founders Celebration 2015

October 2015—stay tuned for details

Visit the 50th Anniversary Celebration Calendar to see all 50th anniversary events. 

Leading the charge

UC Santa Cruz changed the life of California Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird.

"It didn't teach me what to think but how to think and how to analyze," said the 1972 politics grad who was affiliated with Stevenson College. "It's been the basis of an entire career for me."

As a way to mark that experience, Laird—one of the first openly gay men to serve in the California Legislature—is heading a committee to help celebrate a half century of innovation and learning at UC Santa Cruz during the 2015 anniversary year.

The 50th Anniversary Leadership Committee, comprised of 23 outstanding alumni, is currently planning events around some of the campus's most exceptional grads.  

The 50th Anniversary Leadership includes:

John Laird (chair), Stevenson '72

Hilary Bryant, Porter '94

Fernanda Coppel, Merrill '07

James Edmund Datri, Stevenson '89

Charles Eadie, Cowell '74

David Graves, Crown '74

James Gunderson, College Eight '77

Paul Hall, Merrill '72

Teri Jackson, Stevenson '77

Gail Michaelis-Ow, Cowell '74

Shree Murthy, Graduate Division '96

Ezequiel Olvera Jr., Oakes '05

Julie Packard, Crown '74

Jock Reynolds, Stevenson '69

M. Sanjayan, Graduate Division '97

Nikki Silva, Porter '73

Sabrina Solin Weill, Stevenson '92

Danielle Soto, College Ten '08

Hector Tobar, Oakes '85

Alec Webster, College Eight '02

Lisa Witter, Stevenson '95

Michael Woo, Cowell '73

Ron Yerxa, Graduate Division '74