Music filled the air as an ample breakfast buffet filled the plates of more than 1,100 people gathered for the annual Staff Appreciation Breakfast on May 15.
Cosponsored by the Staff Advisory Board and the Chancellor's Office, the popular event spilled out of Cowell Dining Hall, filling tables set up on the balcony and surrounding areas.
Acting Chancellor George Blumenthal was on hand to thank staff for all they do to ensure UCSC's success.
"Since I became chancellor last July, I've come to appreciate all of the contributions that staff make to the amazing accomplishments of UCSC," Acting Chancellor Blumenthal said.
He added that staff members are pivotal to campus innovation, and encouraged people at the breakfast to keep the ideas coming by visiting him during his open office hours. (To request an appointment, use the online request form available online.)
Blumenthal and SAB chair-elect (next year's chair) Eric Grabiel gave certificates of thanks to the four outgoing Staff Advisory Board members, Judy Scarborough, Heather Metz Egli, Kitty Woldow and Pamela Edwards.
An always-popular part of the staff breakfast, raffle prizes, became even more popular this year as the number of prizes grew to double last year's total. Prizes included a gift basket from the staff in Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action and Title IX; Shakespeare Santa Cruz tickets; a three-month Wellness Card; and four $100 gift certificates to local businesses such as Starbucks, Clouds, Crow's Nest, and Trader Joe's. Blumenthal gave an "Out to Lunch" certificate good for lunch with the chancellor and Assistant Chancellor Ashish Sahni.
Providing entertainment was the Rolling Cultivators band, made up of Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems staff members. The band played waltzes, Irish jigs and reels, old-time fiddle tunes, bluegrass and contra dance tunes. Getting in the spirit of the event, band members decided to donate their performance fee to the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.
