Student Experience

Investing in the future: UCSC retirees Edward and Miriam Landesman champion excellence in teaching and research 

UC Santa Cruz retirees Ed and Miriam Landesman continue to support the university philanthropically, investing in areas close to their hearts like Cal Teach and the Emeriti Association, and expanding accessibility to excellence in teaching and research through the Landesman Lectures. Ed worked at UC Santa Cruz for 28 years before retiring in 1994, and Miriam taught for nine years, also retiring in 1994.

May 20, 2026

By Haneen Zain

Edward (Ed) and Miriam Landesman are members of the UC Santa Cruz Emeriti Association, supporting campus initiatives, excellence in teaching, and accessibility to the sciences. Ed, professor emeritus of mathematics, and Miriam, former Lecturer in mathematics and economics, continue to invest in the future of the university and its students, championing the Landesman Lectures and supporting Cal Teach. 

Ed earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from UC Los Angeles. Upon graduating with his Ph.D. in 1965, Ed was offered a one-year position at UCLA; simultaneously, the brand-new University of California, Santa Cruz, campus was opening its doors. 

Familiar with University President Clark Kerr and Chancellor Dean McHenry (who had taught at UCLA in years prior) and the new university’s emphasis on groundbreaking research, undergraduate education, and excellence in teaching, Ed decided to teach and do research at UC Santa Cruz. 

“All of those characteristics were precisely the kind of thing that interested me,” Ed said. “I knew I was going to be leaving UCLA after that one year, so I took a trip up to UC Santa Cruz, applied, and the rest is history.” 

Ed was a professor of mathematics at UC Santa Cruz for 28 years before retiring in 1994. Throughout his career, he was driven by a belief that students were capable of far more in mathematics than they believed possible. In addition to his top research in partial differential equations, Ed also served as the provost of Crown College and as the associate academic vice chancellor for undergraduate education.

Ed made it his mission to teach in a way that motivated students and gave them a genuine appreciation for the discipline, regardless of where their studies took them.

Beyond the classroom, Ed spearheaded several initiatives that extended his impact well beyond UCSC’s campus. Early in his tenure, he placed graduate students directly into Santa Cruz County schools to work alongside teachers and students. He then founded the Monterey Bay Area Mathematics Project (MBAMP), originally a summer program that brought in middle and high school teachers from across the region to sharpen their math skills. MBAMP continues to this day to provide year-round mathematics enrichment, now for math teachers from kindergarten through high school. He also launched the Math Diagnostic Testing Project at UCSC, a system designed to ensure that incoming students were placed in the correct mathematics courses.

When former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called on the UC system to encourage more UC students to pursue teaching careers in the schools, the result was Cal Teach—a program for undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors interested in exploring a career in teaching. 

Ed urged the team at the UC Office of the President (UCOP) that was launching Cal Teach programs across the UC campuses also to keep in mind the pool of prospective teachers at community colleges. Ed was recalled from retirement to help with this endeavor. Through the Aurora Project, Ed partnered with roughly 20 community colleges to introduce their students to the idea of teaching as a career, providing opportunities at community colleges parallel to the Cal Teach programs on the UC campuses. Even now, twenty years later, UCSC’s Cal Teach program maintains community college partnerships that help launch transfer students into math and science teaching careers.

Miriam received her bachelor’s in mathematics from the University of Chicago and two master’s degrees from Stanford University: one in mathematics and one in education. 

Miriam came to UC Santa Cruz, after teaching mathematics at Cabrillo College, when an opportunity arose to teach a course that immediately caught her interest. The class in the Mathematics Department was designed for students who had arrived at UC Santa Cruz unable to place into pre-calculus or higher. Miriam felt confident she could help these students move forward, and knew UCSC would provide the resources to make that possible. 

Over her nine years at the university, she also taught regularly for the Economics Department, where she found deep reward in showing students how calculus and linear algebra applied to their field. 

“Mathematics applies to many other disciplines,” she said, “and I was fortunate to be able to help students see it carry over into economics, into education, as well as further into higher-level mathematics classes.”

Together in their retirement, Ed and Miriam have established multiple funds in support of UC Santa Cruz: The Edward and Miriam Landesman Cal Teach Endowment, the Edward and Miriam Landesman Emeriti Association Endowment Fund, and the Landesman Fund for Future Teachers in Math or Science. In addition to their established funds, the Landesmans continue to provide advice and encouragement that have strengthened the Cal Teach program at UC Santa Cruz and resulted in the creation of the annual Emeriti Association Landesman Lectures.  

Cal Teach

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, UC Santa Cruz’s Cal Teach program is one of nine such programs in the UC system. Cal Teach supports STEM undergraduates and graduates in their early teaching careers with middle and high school classroom internships and supporting coursework, augmented by community, mentoring, financial support, and professional development. Cal Teach helps students to refine their career plans and develop broadly applicable professional and communication skills.

With philanthropic leadership from the Landesmans (and their former students and colleagues who make donations in their honor), Cal Teach has been able to sustain modest scholarships for nearly all Cal Teach interns, typically over 100 students each year. The Landesman Fund has also helped Cal Teach launch at least 150 Cal Teach students into teaching careers through reimbursements for the standardized tests and background checks necessary for entering teacher credential programs, as well as reimbursements for supplies as they set up their first classrooms. Since the program’s start, 1,435 students have participated in at least one Cal Teach internship.

For alum Zoe Rane Iyer (Merrill ’18, mathematics; MA/credential ’19) Cal Teach was the perfect opportunity to gain experience in the field. Since graduating, they have hosted 10 Cal Teach interns in their classroom. 

“Cal Teach was a great program for me to get field experience and network locally with only a year left before I graduated college,” they said. “This in turn allowed me to get my credential right after graduation, so I could start working ASAP! The field experience from Cal Teach was essential to me in making this important decision for my future career.”

Jennifer Sanchez (Oakes ’13, mathematics education; MA/credential ’16) is a math teacher at Branciforte Middle School in Santa Cruz. She completed the UCSC MA/Credential Program in 2016 and has hosted 17 Cal Teach interns in her classroom since 2021. 

“Cal Teach helped me get experience in different classroom settings and observe different teaching styles,” Sanchez said. “It allowed me to explore if I was really interested in teaching without having to commit to it first.” 

Student Edan Laxamana (Crown ’26, biology) plans to pursue a career in teaching after graduation and says that Cal Teach played a significant role in that decision. 

“Cal Teach has provided me with an incredible community of supportive and inspiring staff, as well as invaluable opportunities for hands-on experience working directly with students and teachers. Through Cal Teach, I’ve developed essential life and communication skills that I will carry with me into my future career.” 

The Landesman Lectures

The inaugural Landesman Lecture took place in 2025 with UC Santa Cruz Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Terrie Williams, and the Emeriti Association hosted the second Lecture in April 2026 featuring UC Santa Cruz Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz and slam poet Jasmine Schlafke. 

The event blended science, poetry, and storytelling to explore our deepest origins and shared humanity. The event closed with a performance from alumna August Lee Stevens (Merrill ’22), a rising Bay Area singer who recently held a residency at the SF Jazz Festival in early April 2026.

Attendees left the lecture feeling inspired, curious, and connected. 

Thank you for the creative courage the three of you brought to all of us tonight. Like one audience member said, my mind is spinning with ideas and inspiration. These ideas feel so true.”

– Landesman Lecture attendee Katie Cordes

The Landesmans hope the lectures not only inspire students, but also help increase accessibility to the sciences. They see UC Santa Cruz as the optimal place to make that happen. 

“We want speakers who are doing top research and who are also known for their excellence in teaching. UCSC has such faculty. It’s a great place for that to happen,” Ed said. 

The Landesmans hope these kinds of lectures continue to inspire faculty, staff, and students at UC Santa Cruz. 

“We hope these lectures will bring together UCSC students and faculty, as well as community members of all ages,” Ed said. “We hope that students will be inspired to pursue studies in science or math, and they will appreciate the role of science and mathematics in society.”

Through their decades of work, first as faculty and now as emeriti, the Landesmans have built a lasting legacy that will leave a mark on UC Santa Cruz students, faculty, staff, and community members for years to come.