A network of inclusion
As California becomes more diverse, so do UC Santa Cruz students—including more than a third from families in which neither parent has a four-year college degree. Donors are working to ensure that opportunities to succeed in the sciences, arts, politics, and society are available to all regardless of circumstances. The Academic Excellence Program, Lamat, Summer Research Experience, and Summer Research Institute are giving students experiences that might otherwise have been out of reach. Services for Transfer and Re-entry Students (STARS) supports those transferring from community or other colleges, re-entry students, military veterans, and student parents. The Doris Duke Conservation Scholars program brings 20 underrepresented students a year to campus to experience hands-on conservation research and leadership opportunities. The Dreamweavers Fund provides aid and scholarships for young undocumented immigrants, while the Smith Renaissance Society supports students who lack traditional familial support. Ensuring a welcoming place and services for LGBTQ students, a bequest will provide an endowment for the Lionel Cantú Queer Center. Students from the Central Valley and Compton High School in LA have access to special scholarships. And the new Koret Undergraduate Research Scholarships are awarded to scores of students regardless of discipline—ensuring opportunities whatever their backgrounds or majors.
Key support provided by Julie Packard (Crown ’74, biology; M.A. ’78), Siemens, Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation, Anne Irwin, David Kirk, Bill Dickinson (Cowell ’68, philosophy), Janet and Wylie Greig, Koret Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Bernard Osher Foundation, Crankstart Foundation, Craig Wilkerson (Merrill, ’88, biology), Bev Crair (Stevenson ’83, computer and information science), Tom Akin (Cowell ’74, biology), AT&T, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County.