Faced with a downturn in visitors, the San Diego History Center (SDHC) decided to take an innovative approach to boosting museum attendance – let visitors determine how much they wanted to pay for their visit. The museum’s “Give Forward” admissions program launched in October 2016 and, to date, has given it a significant boost in attendance. This fundamental shift in admissions was inspired by the research of Ayelet Gneezy and Uri Gneezy, faculty at the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego, and experts in charitable giving. Working with the Rady School professors, the museum determined the best way to increase admissions was to allow visitors to contribute based on their experience in the museum, instead of paying a set admissions fee. In addition, the museum highlights to visitors that admissions donations help pay for other people to visit in the future.
Kyoto University of Japan, one of the University of California San Diego’s international partners, will open an office in San Diego in early April, both campuses have announced.
The University of California San Diego’s Division of Arts and Humanities is welcoming its first visiting artist under the newly established Roghieh Chehre-Azad Distinguished Professorship. “Parissa,” Iran’s most distinguished female vocalist, will visit UC San Diego during the first part of spring quarter to share her deep knowledge of the “Radif”—the classical repertoire of Persian traditional music. She will present a talk, Tuesday, April 4, from 5 to 7 p.m., in the Conrad Prebys Music Center, Recital Hall. The dean of the Division of Arts and Humanities, Cristina Della Coletta, will give the introduction.
The University of California San Diego’s fine arts programs are ranked among the top in the nation. Department of Visual Arts lecturer Huai Li is among the many talented teachers who enhance that reputation and influence aspiring artists at the university. With a goal of engaging the greater San Diego community in her work—not unlike the university’s own efforts to reach beyond campus—Li is opening a solo exhibition titled “You Fascinate Me” March 11 at the Sparks Gallery in the Gaslamp Quarter in Downtown San Diego.
UC San Diego Research Affairs –The Office of Innovation and Commercialization launches the first of an eighteen-month entrepreneurial seminar series, free and open to anyone at UC San Diego and the general public, including members of any other research institutions, Mar. 9.
In the largest display of scholarship and creativity in visual arts at the university, UC San Diego Department of Visual Arts graduate students have organized two full days of programs designed to welcome the campus and community. The annual events known as the “Ph.D. Symposium” and the “Open Studios” highlight graduate student achievements. The programs take place Friday, March 3, 3:30 – 9 p.m. and Saturday, March 4, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. in three campus locations: the University Art Gallery, the Structural and Materials Engineering Building and the Visual Arts Facility.
