Campus News
Announcing Inspiring Change: The Campaign for UC Santa Cruz
Inspiring Change supports the entire university and highlights five interconnected priorities that capture the breadth of our work and our aspirations.
Dear Campus Community,
This week, we are taking an important step toward our future with the launch of Inspiring Change: The Campaign for UC Santa Cruz — the largest and most transformative fundraising campaign we have ever pursued.
This $750 million comprehensive campaign will expand access to life-changing educational opportunities for students and advance the ideas, discoveries, and creativity that improve lives across California and the world. The campaign will run through 2030.
From our founding, UC Santa Cruz has been a place of powerful, lasting, and redefining change. We were built to do things differently — to pair the intimacy of a liberal arts college with the rigor and reach of a world-class research university. We’ve never been afraid to tackle the complex, urgent challenges of our day. Inspiring Change builds on that legacy and on our shared belief that education is one of the most powerful forces for good in society.
Already, more than 42,000 generous donors have contributed nearly half of our campaign goal during the quiet phase of the campaign. Their gifts are opening doors for students, fueling hands-on learning experiences, supporting faculty research, and strengthening the well-being of our region and the world beyond.
The campaign is co-chaired by two remarkable alumnae and philanthropists: Julie Packard, ocean conservationist, and Bev Crair, a technology executive and advocate for women in engineering. Both credit UC Santa Cruz with shaping the leaders they became, and both exemplify the impact of a UC Santa Cruz education: curiosity paired with purpose, and discovery driven by compassion.
Inspiring Change supports the entire university and highlights five interconnected priorities that capture the breadth of our work and our aspirations:
- Life-changing educational experiences for every student
- Bold solutions to climate and environmental challenges
- Health and wellness for our region and the world
- Research and innovation that open new frontiers
- Creativity and dialogue that inspire understanding and connection
Each of these themes reflects who we are — a campus where collaboration drives discovery and where curiosity meets opportunity.
Donors play a critical role in advancing our efforts to pursue breakthrough research and to change lives and strengthen society.
This support ranges from the establishment of the $22 million Sabatte Family Scholarship Endowment, which supports full-ride scholarships for high-achieving students with financial need, to our donor-supported, rapidly growing programs in global and community health that are preparing future health-care professionals, physicians and leaders to serve the Central Coast.
This campaign is not only about dollars. It’s about impact — the opportunities created for students, the discoveries that protect our planet, and the partnerships that lift up our communities. It’s about investing in the future we all want to build together.
We are announcing this campaign during an unprecedented time in higher education. There is no better time than now to pursue this ambitious campaign, seek resources to support our extraordinary students, advance research as federal support is declining, and continue our work to realize the campus’s greatest aspirations. We must continue to keep our eyes on the horizon.
I am deeply grateful to everyone — faculty, staff, students, families, alumni, donors and friends — whose dedication makes UC Santa Cruz the extraordinary place it is. Together, with the help of our closest friends and supporters, we will Inspire Change for the benefit of all.
With deep appreciation,
Cindy
Cynthia Larive
Chancellor