Onward California Tour to Stop at UC San Diego

Participants will choose from 10 flavors of gelato—one for each UC campus

Did you know that a UC San Diego alumnus was the first to sequence the human genome? Or that Vitamin K was discovered at UC Berkeley? Did you know that the University of California community includes musician Jack Johnson, a UC Santa Barbara graduate, and UC Irvine alumnus Roy Fielding, co-founder of the Apache HTTP Server Project and architect of the HTTP/1.1 protocol used worldwide for Internet access?

Complimentary gelato

Whether you realize it or not, the University of California, or one of its graduates, has played a part in your day. That’s the theme of the Onward California Mobile Tour, a statewide roadshow hosted by the University of California to build awareness of the impact the university has on our everyday lives. The tour celebrates noteworthy UC individuals and innovations and encourages passionate supporters to share why they believe in UC. The interactive tour will stop at UC San Diego Monday, Oct. 15.

Naia Bar Gelato, which has its roots at UC, will be serving complimentary gelato with 10 flavors to choose from—one for each campus.  Among the selections will be green tea in honor of UC San Diego’s sustainability efforts. The interactive tour experience includes a photo booth with UC props, an “I BELIEVE IN UC” art wall and a postcard station where guests can share their UC story.

“UC touches the lives of all Californians, even though many people may not be aware of how the university’s work directly affects them,” said Dan Dooley, UC senior vice president for External Relations. “This tour brings the university to Californians in their own communities and gives them the opportunity to engage with UC in a new and unexpected way. We hope that building understanding of how UC contributes to the daily lives of all Californians will further strengthen public appreciation and support for the mission of public higher education in our state.”

Educating Californians about the value of UC has become increasingly important amidst the decline in state support for higher education. At UC San Diego, only 6.6 percent of the campus’s total revenues come from State of California funds for education. Yet that small investment in UC San Diego makes a big impact on the region in terms of the economy, healthcare, skilled workforce, businesses, jobs and more. UC San Diego is the largest employer based in San Diego County, and more than 600 companies have been founded by UC San Diego faculty, staff and alumni, including many local biotech and technology firms.

The Onward California Mobile Tour will be at UC San Diego Town Square Monday, Oct. 15 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The tour will also visit Fashion Valley Mall on Sunday, Oct. 14. To learn more, visit OnwardCalifornia.com or follow the tour on Twitter: @OnwardCA and #OnwardCA.