Alumni
-

Tech industry leader and UC Santa Cruz alumna Susan Wojcicki dies at 56
Susan Wojcicki, a visionary tech executive and former CEO of YouTube, passed away August 9, 2024, at the age of 56.
-

Preparing California’s agricultural lands for climate change
Two UC Santa Cruz researchers won a total of more than $1.5 million in federal funding for their research that’s helping to create sustainable “agroecosystems” in response to climate change and other increased environmental pressures.
-

An overlooked side-effect of the housing crisis may be putting Californians at increased risk from climate disasters
In a new article for the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UC Santa Cruz researchers laid out the foundation for their highly-anticipated upcoming study of how lack of affordable housing in urban areas of California may be driving increased development in and near wildlands, leading to more severe climate change impacts.
-

New grant funding will help UC Santa Cruz build and diversify a climate resilience workforce for the Monterey Bay region
UC Santa Cruz will receive more than $2 million in funding to support education and training programs for undergraduates, graduate students, and working professionals as part of a larger $71.1 million federal grant to the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and a host of local partners.
-

The Humanities Institute receives Global Public Humanities Award
The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz was honored as one of the two inaugural winners of the “Public Humanities Award for Leadership in Practice and Community” at the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes annual meeting in May 2024.
-

Philanthropy in action: Alumna Roberta Gordon invests in students for Earth’s future
Roberta Gordon bridges science, law, and philanthropy for environmental progress
-

New public archives will share wisdom, artifacts from Dolores Huerta’s lifetime of successful social change leadership
UC Santa Cruz received a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to help establish new public archives documenting the legacy of social justice activist Dolores Huerta, through a partnership with the Dolores Huerta Foundation. UCSC will hire a project archivist and two new postdoctoral scholars to support development of Huerta’s archives and to produce…
-

G. William Domhoff and Catherine Cooper receive Dickson Emeriti Professorships
Distinguished Professor Emeritus G. William Domhoff, who was a member of both the psychology and sociology departments at UC Santa Cruz, and Professor Emerita of Psychology Catherine Cooper recently won Edward A. Dickson Emeriti Professorships.
-

Fashion, community, and academics: First-gen student Izzy Zazueta’s path to graduation
Izzy Zazueta (John R. Lewis ’24, politics), a third year, dean’s honors, and first-generation student, will graduate from UCSC with extensive research experience, involvement with nearly a dozen organizations, and will be attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Sociology Ph.D. program.
-

Researchers explain social media’s role in rapidly shifting social norms on gender and sexuality
A new paper by UC Santa Cruz psychologists describes how social media has supported an explosion of diversity in gender and sexuality in America by empowering authentic self-expression. However, these technologies have also equally enabled a cultural backlash.
-

Compassion in action: Alumna Diane N. Nguyen leads with love through her philanthropic firm
From a young age, UCSC alumna and alumni councilor Diane Nguyen felt the desire to help others. Now as the founder of her own philanthropic firm, Lead with Love Consulting (LwL Consulting), Nguyen is at the forefront of impactful change.
-

California State Board of Food and Agriculture visits campus
On April 30, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Secretary Karen Ross and members of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture held their April Board meeting at the Hay Barn on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus.