Newswise — More than 225 guests, including 88 scholarship recipients from the University of California, San Diego, convened on campus February 8 for the university's annual Hearts and Scholars dinner that allows students to express their gratitude to the generous benefactors who made their scholarships possible. The event is hosted and underwritten by members of the UC San Diego Undergraduate Scholarship Council.
The evening of thanks and celebration at the Faculty Club also featured a special tribute to Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Joseph Watson, who has played an integral role in helping to expand and enhance UC San Diego's undergraduate scholarship offerings. After more than 40 years at UCSD, Watson will retire from his position at the end of this academic year. Since he started in his current post in 1981, the number of endowed undergraduate scholarship funds has increased exponentially, from just two to 92, and scholarship awards have increased from less than $100,000 to more than $2.2 million per year.
The creation of the Mary S. and Joseph W. Watson Endowed Scholarship Fund was announced at the Feb. 8 event, and will be funded by donations from Watson's friends, family and colleagues in honor of his lasting contributions to UCSD.
"Through the years, Joe Watson has put countless hours of work into the creation of undergraduate scholarships to give more students an opportunity to receive an education from UC San Diego. If not for this support, many of these students would have not have been able to attend college at all," said Keith Brant, UCSD's vice chancellor of External Relations. "With the scholarships he helped to establish, Joe has left a legacy that will last well into the future."
Following the special tribute and announcement of the new scholarship fund, the attendees—including generous donors such as Sheldon ('72) and Susan Engelhorn, Charlotte Nielsen, Charlie Robins, and Herbert and Sybil York—conversed with the students who they have assisted with scholarship support, sharing experiences and forging bonds that are likely to last a lifetime.
UCSD student recipient Tsinsue Chen expressed how she has benefited from the support that she received: "This scholarship has helped me tremendously. I am very thankful for the opportunity to get to know my donor better, and to interact with her at the Hearts and Scholars dinner. I definitely would consider her a mentor, and someone to look up to." Chen plans to graduate this spring with a major in Biochemistry and Cell Biology with the goal of attending medical school in the fall.
Representatives of corporations that have established scholarships were also on hand for the event. Amylin Pharmaceuticals, for example, sponsors summer research scholarships, the Chancellor's 5K, and contributes to both the Hearts and Scholars and Fiesta de las Estrellas scholarship events. Other corporations that have established scholarship funds for UCSD students include BAE SYSTEMS, Northrop Grumman, Siemens Building Technologies, Union Bank of California and USE Credit Union.
Alumni, parents, friends and companies interested in investing in the future of UC San Diego students with an undergraduate scholarship fund can contact Kim Signoret-Paar, director of development for Student Affairs, at (858) 534-0263 or [email protected]. Gifts for undergraduate scholarships contribute to the $1 billion fundraising goal of The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What's Next.
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