Campus News
Welcome back to Winter Quarter
I hope you had time over the holiday break to rest, reconnect, and recharge.
Dear Campus Community,
Welcome back and happy new year! I hope you had time over the holiday break to rest, reconnect, and recharge. In my experience, winter quarter is when the academic year really begins to fly. Soon we’ll be immersed in the work of teaching, learning, research, and creative scholarship, and before long, spring and the end of the academic year will be upon us.
Already we are deep in planning for one of the year’s major milestones. I’m pleased to share that the Commencement 2026 website is now live. Ceremonies will take place on our East Field from Friday through Monday, June 12-15. The website includes scheduling details as well as information about registration and important deadlines. Commencement is a highlight of the year for me. It’s important to honor great accomplishments, and I look forward to recognizing our graduates this spring.
This month gives us another important opportunity to come together and reflect as a community. Please mark your calendars for our 42nd annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Convocation. This year’s installment will be 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 27, at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. Our keynote speaker, Larry McDonald, is a legendary reggae percussionist whose life and work reflect the power of music to unite people and advance justice. I hope you’ll join us for this meaningful evening honoring Dr. King’s legacy.
I also want to highlight an event that reflects UC Santa Cruz’s deep commitment to thoughtful dialogue and civic engagement. On January 10, we will host the Northern California High School Ethics Bowl, organized by our Center for Public Philosophy. I’ve had the pleasure of serving as a judge in the past and have seen firsthand the care, rigor, and generosity of spirit that define this program. My thanks to the faculty, staff, students, and volunteers who make this fantastic event possible, and to the high school students who bring such curiosity and seriousness to complex ethical questions.
Looking ahead to spring, I encourage you to take part in The Humanities Institute’s Deep Read, one of my favorite campus programs. This year’s book selection, “Entangled Life” by Merlin Sheldrake, explores the hidden networks that connect and sustain life. Through shared reading, salons, and public events including Sheldrake’s visit to campus May 31, the Deep Read brings together our campus and broader community in thoughtful and engaging ways.
Finally, I want to take a moment to recognize two extraordinary faculty members: David Deamer, professor emeritus of biomolecular engineering in our Baskin School of Engineering, and David Haussler, distinguished professor of biomolecular engineering and scientific director of the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute. I’m delighted to share that both have been named Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, the highest distinction for academic inventors. Their groundbreaking contributions to nanopore sequencing, genomics and the UCSC Genome Browser have made a lasting impact globally, and we are incredibly proud of them.
To our extended campus community, thank you for all that you do to make UC Santa Cruz such a vibrant, caring, and creative university.
Wishing you a strong start to the quarter,
Cindy
Cynthia Larive
UC Santa Cruz Chancellor