Three generous supporters of UCSC—Anne Neufeld Levin, Robert Stephens, and Julie Packard—will receive a major campus honor at the upcoming Scholarships Benefit Dinner, a gala celebration dedicated to making the dream of higher education a reality for all students.
Now in its fourth year, UCSC's benefit dinner has become an important fundraising event supporting undergraduate and graduate scholarships and fellowships. It will take place at 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 3, at Seascape Resort in Aptos.
The campus will award two Fiat Lux ("Let there be light") Awards at the event: one to Anne Neufeld Levin and one presented jointly to Julie Packard and Robert Stephens.
Award recipient Anne Levin is a tireless advocate for the campus. A past president of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation, she has served as a Foundation trustee for 19 years. She has contributed to programs, organizations, and capital projects across the campus, including scholarships; the University Library; the Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community; the Seymour Marine Discovery Center; and research and teaching in the natural sciences and humanities. Levin, who escaped Austria with her family in 1939, also endowed the Neufeld Levin Chair in Holocaust Studies in 1995, which is further enhanced by her family's archive in Special Collections of the University Library. A Santa Cruz resident since 1964, Levin and her husband, Paul, own Palco Labs, a Santa Cruz-based company that develops medical products and devices.
Julie Packard and Robert Stephens are spouses, graduates of UCSC, and longtime residents of Soquel. They have helped UCSC as volunteers and financial supporters in such areas as the Arboretum, Predatory Bird Research Group, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Friends of Long Marine Lab, and Seymour Marine Discovery Center.
Packard has also contributed to Crown College at UCSC. Executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which she helped found in 1975, Packard earned bachelor's and master's degrees in biology at UCSC. She has been a trustee of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for more than 25 years, chairing its Conservation Program Committee, which oversees a nationwide environmental grant-making program.
In addition to serving on the Friends of Long Marine Lab board for many years, Stephens was cochair of the capital campaign committee for the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. He also serves on the Packard Foundation board, and owns the Elkhorn Native Plant Nursery near Elkhorn Slough. Stephens has a bachelor's degree in psychology from UCSC.
The inaugural Fiat Lux Award was presented to campus and community benefactor Jack Baskin at last year's Scholarships Benefit Dinner, in November 2005.
Proceeds from the annual dinner provide undergraduate scholarships, internships, research opportunities, and graduate fellowships. Many recipients are students who might not otherwise be able to attend UCSC. The dinner draws community members as well as university leadership, UC Santa Cruz Foundation trustees, elected officials, students, distinguished alumni, and regional leaders.
Individuals may purchase tickets to the dinner for $200, or may sponsor a table for $2,000 and up. RSVPs are due by January 12. For more information, call (831) 459-5003 or e-mailspecialevents@ucsc.edu.
Editor's Note: You may download photos of Neufeld Levin, Stephens, and Packard.
