Volunteers Show Visitors the Best of UC San Diego

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John Meyers is the designated tour guide for the Visitors Tour Program’s monthly architectural tours.

After retiring from a 20-year career as a physician with the U.S. Air Force, John Meyers settled in San Diego and began his own private medical practice. He was drawn to San Diego in part because of the new School of Medicine that was taking shape at the University of California, San Diego. In 1967, he joined the volunteer academic staff and began teaching. That marked the beginning of his lifelong commitment to the university. Today, Meyers’ volunteerism includes leading the monthly architectural campus tours for the UC San Diego Visitors Tour Program.

“The teacher part of me loves to impart information,” said Meyers. “It is so rewarding to see the wonder and amazement of the visitors as they become acquainted with this economic and academic powerhouse.”

Meyers has been a volunteer tour guide with the UC San Diego Visitors Tour Program for more than 20 years now. The program offers free, guided walking and bus tours of the campus for local residents, new faculty and staff, returning alumni and the general public. Visitors are shown highlights of the 1,200 acre UC San Diego campus, including award-winning architecture, renowned Stuart Collection artworks and state-of-the-art campus facilities.

The Visitors Tour Program showcases highlights of the UC San Diego campus, like the iconic Geisel Library.

In 2010, in honor of UC San Diego’s 50th Anniversary, an architectural campus tour was added to the program’s offerings to showcase the design and history of the university, from 1960s modernist structures to new sustainable buildings. Meyers offered to write the script that would narrate the 90-minute bus tour, and today he continues to serve as the designated tour guide for the monthly architectural tours.

“It was really fascinating to learn about the architectural point of view of the campus,” he said. The tour was designed based on the book “The Campus Guide: University of California, San Diego,” which gives a detailed account of the physical history of UC San Diego.

The Visitors Tour Program continually modifies its tours to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the campus. Recent additions include the new Structural and Materials Engineering building, the Stuart Collection public art piece “Fallen Star” and the LEED Platinum certified Charles David Keeling apartments.

Bus tours of campus include a stop at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

In addition to leading campus tours, Meyers continues to volunteer with the UC San Diego School of Medicine. He assists his wife, Betty Joan Maly, M.D., in teaching an elective course called “The Healer’s Art,” which enables students and volunteer faculty to discover the personal and human meaning in their daily experience of medicine. Meyers and his wife are also longtime donors to the Chancellor’s Associates.

“I’ve been volunteering with UC San Diego for the past 35 years and I continue to feel very enthusiastic about giving these tours,” said Meyers. “UC San Diego is a magnificent treasure for our region, the country and the world.”

For more information about the Visitors Tour Program, and to make a reservation, call (858) 534-4414 or visit www.ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/tours.