A UC Santa Cruz education is transformative. It has the power to change the life trajectories of our students, springboarding tomorrow’s innovators, critical thinkers, and organizational and community leaders into the world. Over the past two years, our entire institution has re-examined and recommitted to what it means to be a truly student-serving institution with an extraordinary research profile. Simply put, we know that we must pull every lever available to us to ensure our students succeed in both the short and long term, and that all of our students have full access to the wide range of opportunities this great university provides.
With this commitment to access, I am thrilled to announce the official launch of our Student Success Initiative. This wide-ranging effort will increase financial support for our undergraduate and graduate students, and advance their access to the guidance and experiences fundamental to their education and ultimately future success. Through this five-year initiative, we will enhance our existing resources and develop new programs, opportunities, and other means of support for our students. Our efforts will fall into three broad themes:
- The cost of higher education should not hinder any student. We will work to provide additional financial support to our undergraduates and graduate students in need through scholarships and fellowships to ensure they have access to all the educational, research and working-world experiences we offer.
- Navigating university life can be overwhelming for some students. New initiatives across campus will add to the programs we already have in place, providing students the support they need to develop the skills required to find future personal and professional success.
- UCSC is known for its whole-student approach to education, cultivating life-changing opportunities and providing students with a well-rounded educational experience. Philanthropic support will allow us to expand the number and range of opportunities we offer, deepening both individual and community impact.
Our new Student Success Initiative website is a great source of information. Please take a few minutes to more fully explore this initiative and learn about the many ways it will help students get the most out of their UC Santa Cruz education, enabling future success and social mobility.
Our campus has long been a supporter of equity and social justice, and we already are making a difference in the lives of thousands of students. My hope is that through our Student Success Initiative and the philanthropic support of our extended community we can expand that number exponentially, showing ourselves to be a leader at the intersection of innovation and social justice, seeking solutions, and giving voice to the challenges of our time. Together we can create transformative change.
