Welcome to a new year and 'Tuesday Newsday'

Welcome to Tuesday Newsday! This new weekly email will showcase top news about the campus and the media coverage we're receiving, messages from campus leaders, and "news you can use" for faculty, staff, and students. You'll find it in your inbox every Tuesday.

This is an exciting year for UC Santa Cruz. January marks the beginning of our 50th anniversary celebration, with a kickoff #throwbackthursday event on January 15 and special events throughout the year. Check out our interactive 50th Anniversary Timeline and add your voice to this collective history. (My first post appears in June 1973).

We were just ranked among the top 25 public universities in the country by U.S. News and World Report, and the prospect of turning 50 has gotten me thinking about what makes this university distinctive. A spirit of daring and a willingness to ask tough questions permeates UC Santa Cruz. There's also a desire to contribute to the "common good" that unites us.

And no wonder. We were founded in the 1960s during a decade of sweeping social change. UC Santa Cruz was born with a mandate to be different.

Today, we talk about UC Santa Cruz as "the original authority on questioning authority." That willingness to challenge the intellectual status quo is a hallmark of this campus--and a testament to the courage of our bold thinkers, whose ideas sometimes provoke ridicule from more conventional thinkers and often turn out to be prescient.

Intellectual daring continues to lead to new discovery, greater understanding, and a more just world. Evidence is all around us: Researchers at the UCSC Farm figured out how to grow strawberries organically when the industry said it couldn't be done; social psychologist Craig Haney has bucked the trend to advocate for more humane treatment of prison inmates; and historian Dana Frank is questioning authority at the highest levels of government when she testifies before Congress about the turmoil in Honduras.

Our alumni demonstrate that independent streak, too. Crusading journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Dana Priest (Merrill, '81, politics), exposed the government's secret "black site" prisons and the mistreatment of wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital. Recent graduates Bar Smith (College Ten, '12, electrical engineering) and Tom Beckett (Kresge, '13, history with a minor in technology and information management), have invented an affordable desktop 3-D router that promises to revolutionize the "maker movement."

These achievements are built on the foundation of critical thinking that is at the heart of a liberal arts education. A broad education is literally liberating. The ability to read with an open mind, write clearly, communicate effectively, and challenge assumptions are skills that serve our graduates not only in their first jobs but throughout their lifetime. As the pace of change speeds up, we must all commit to being lifelong learners.

UC Santa Cruz is a sanctuary of independent thought, a place to take risks and accomplish great things. Have a great year, and I look forward to seeing you around campus.