For the first time, UC Santa Cruz is expanding its annual alumni reunion weekend with "Day by the Bay," an open invitation to the Santa Cruz community to visit the UCSC campus on Saturday, April 17 for a fair and picnic along with a host of other activities.
Alumni, parents, students, neighbors, and local community members are invited to enjoy the many events free of charge, ranging from a panel discussion on the future, to a robotics demonstration, music, dance, tours of the arboretum and farm, and booths hosted by colleges, academic departments, and class reunions.
A complete listing of the many activities and events can be found at the Day by the Bay web site. Events are free, but registration at the web site is encouraged to ensure ample food and beverages.
"We are proud to be a part of the Santa Cruz community and want to extend an open invitation to our friends and neighbors to experience and enjoy all the campus has to offer," said Donna Murphy, vice chancellor of University Relations.
The day begins at 9:30 a.m. with a family bike ride cosponsored by the Amgen Tour of California race that comes through Santa Cruz in May. Riders and all types of bikes are welcome. Helmets are required.
Members of the Slug Cycling team will lead the five-mile ride, pointing out sights along the way such as the newest colleges 9 and 10, Science Hill, and the new Digital Arts Research Center. The ride will also cover a portion of the Stage 3 route of the Amgen Tour, circling down Empire Grade to the main entrance.
Another bike ride, this time for mountain bikes and intermediate to advanced riders, will cruise fire roads and trails on the upper campus and Wilder Ranch State Park. It takes off at 3 p.m. and helmets are required.
Earlier in the morning, from 11 a.m. to noon, three distinguished UC Santa Cruz graduates will return to campus for a panel discussion that will explore the next generation of communities, work, and health care, offering insights into the way we'll live in the years to come. Scheduled moderator is UCSC linguistics professor Jaye Padgett.
Jamais Cascio, a 1988 graduate of Cowell College in anthropology and history, will share scenarios that cross boundaries of technology, the environment, and society. Cascio is a writer, leader, visionary, and research fellow at the Institute for the Future. The journal Foreign Policy named him one of the top 100 global thinkers and a "moral guide to the future."
Shannon Brownlee, a 1979 graduate of College Eight in biology, is a nationally known writer and essayist whose book, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine is Making Us Sicker and Poorer was named the best economics book of 2007 by the New York Times. She will share her findings on the costs -- both fiscal and emotional -- of health care and unnecessary treatment.
David Bank, who graduated from Oakes College in 1982 with a degree in politics, is now vice president of Civic Ventures, a San Francisco non-profit that helps older workers at or near retirement put their talents and experience to work through "encore careers" that combine social impact and continued income. Bank is a former journalist who covered technology and philanthropy for The Wall Street Journal. His book, Breaking Windows: How Bill Gates Fumbled the Future of Microsoft was named one of the best business books of 2001 by the Harvard Business Review.
Then, from noon until 4 p.m., everyone is invited to the green expanses of the East Field for a community fair and picnic. The field overlooking the Monterey Bay will be filled with booths and myriad activities including a climbing wall, science lab, juggling club demonstration, crafts, live music and dance.
Alumni, colleges, academic divisions, friends groups, and students will also come together to celebrate reunions. Alumni graduating in 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005 will celebrate five- to 40-year reunions.
Beer, wine, and food will be for sale.
Parking will be free of charge for Day on the Bay. Vehicles will be directed to the East Remote parking lot, just below the East Field. Transportation alternatives will be available for persons requiring assistance.
