It all started here. - Giving to UC Santa Cruz - University of California ...

Annual Giving Sparks
Physics/Mathematics
Library Endowment
Jeff Skala (Crown ’85) and
Meredith Smith (College Eight ’00)
have never actually met—but the
UCSC experience connects them
in a way that has enriched their lives
and benefited the entire campus.
In 1996, Smith was a UCSC
16
Reunion Giving—
A Strong Tradition
The April 2001 Banana
Slug Spring Fair hosted a
record number of alumni
reunions, bringing together the
classes of 1971, 1976, 1981,
1986, 1991, and 1996. Alumni
surpassed last year’s reunion
giving total, presenting
Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood
with a check for $133,766 at
this year’s All-Alumni Reunion
Luncheon. A large portion of the gift went to the Alumni
Scholarship Fund which, thanks to generous support
from alumni and others, will begin offering multi-year
scholarships starting in 2001–02.
Annual Giving Highlights
freshman working for the Telephone
Outreach Program (TOP), contacting
parents and alumni about opportunities
to support the campus. One of the
alumni she called was Jeff Skala, now
a computer programmer in Boulder,
Colorado, and the two immediately
hit it off. Smith and Skala have stayed
in touch over the years. She keeps
him posted on UCSC events, and he
has become a mentor, helping her
with educational and career advice.
Through TOP, Skala has contributed
regularly to a wide range
of campus programs, including the
University Library’s Buy-A-Book
program, a gift he dedicated in part
to Meredith Smith.
This year, Skala made a very
special contribution, establishing a
University Library subject endowment
in honor of his grandmother. The
Virginia McAfee Physics/Mathematics
Left to right: Former roommates and Stevenson ’91 grads Wendy
Blatt (economics); Jennifer (Chorne) Wallace (psychology),
with baby Linsey; Joanne Salustri-Cherep (literature)
Endowment supports library collections
in physics and mathematics, the
two fields of Jeff’s challenging double
major. Virginia McAfee graduated in
1929 from the University of Michigan
with a degree in library science. She
worked for five years in the Detroit
Public Library system and was a strong
supporter of community libraries
throughout her life. Skala says that
the endowment, funded with an
inheritance from his grandmother,
is the ideal tribute:
“My grandmother was dedicated to
libraries—and she also truly appreciated
the sense of community that is so
much a part of UCSC. This is the kind
of gift she would have made herself—
and it’s also a way for me to thank
the UCSC campus for the wonderful
undergraduate education it provided.”
Other special events at
this year’s Banana Slug Spring
Fair included the 35th anniversary
of Stevenson College,
the 30th anniversary of Kresge
College, and celebrations
for the Latino Alumni
Network; the Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, Transgender
(GLBT) Resource Center;
Black Escargot (UCSC’s
African American alumni
affinity group); the Economics
Department; and the
Community Studies Department.
For information about reunion giving or to
get involved in next year’s reunion activities, visit
alumni.ucsc.edu.