News Archive

August 22, 2024 — San Diego-based business leader, art collector and philanthropist, Matthew Strauss, died on Aug. 20. He was 91. Together with his beloved wife of 70 years, Iris, Strauss made a major impact on San Diego with support in areas including arts, culture and cancer research.

July 16, 2024 — New gifts to Rady graduate fellowships of $10,000 or more will be matched through June 2027 The importance of graduate fellowships cannot be overstated for students who want to break through financial barriers and access advanced degrees. “Without the support of a fellowship, there is no way I would be able to attend the Rady School of Management,” said Jai'lyn Richardson, a second-year full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) student at the school. “It has made a UC San Diego education possible because I would have never been able to move from my home state of Alabama to pursue a graduate education in California without the extra financial support.” Richardson’s fellowship will enable her to do an internship in Nashville this summer, where she will be a venture fellow at LaunchTN, supporting economic development through venture capital in the region.

July 9, 2024 — Entrepreneurial spirit and groundbreaking innovation have become synonymous with UC San Diego and its alumni. With that same ethos, the campus has launched the UC San Diego Founders’ Pledge. The new initiative allows entrepreneurs, equity holders and early investors to commit a portion of their anticipated equity gains to UC San Diego, with the ultimate goal of helping to address some of the world’s most pressing problems.

May 28, 2024 — Susan Chipman, a pioneer in the field of cognitive science, has pledged a $1 million planned gift to the University of California San Diego’s Department of Cognitive Science. The Susan E.F. Chipman and Robert G. Fitzgerald Graduate Fellowship Fund in Cognitive Science is the first of its kind in the UC San Diego department, which was the world’s first department established in cognitive science.

May 21, 2024 — A $21M gift from Aiiso Yufeng Li (Jeff) and his wife, DongDong Li (Doreen), honors unique efforts at UC San Diego to link chemical and nano engineering more strongly. In recognition of this gift, the department will be named the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering.

May 14, 2024 — James “Jim” Simons, co-founder of the Simons Foundation, renowned mathematician and quantitative investing leader, died on May 10 in New York City. He was 86. The Simons Foundation has provided more than $142 million to UC San Diego.

May 7, 2024 — Joan Klein Jacobs, a dedicated and visionary philanthropist, civic leader and patron of the arts died on May 6. She was 91.

May 2, 2024 — Stephanie Fraley, Marygorret Obonyo and Daniela Valdez-Jasso have been named Prebys Research Heroes. Grants totaling $1.5 million from the Prebys Foundation will support their research focused on advancing health care and medical discoveries.

May 1, 2024 — Undergraduate student Solange Jackson, a recipient of the UC San Diego UJIMA Network Black History Month Scholarship, hopes to make a positive impact on health care policies in underrepresented or marginalized communities.

April 23, 2024 — The campus and local community is invited to support the success of young scholars at The Preuss School UC San Diego, a charter middle and high school on the university campus, at the annual Preuss Promise benefit celebration on April 27 at The Preuss School.