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History of the UCSB Alumni Association
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Although the Alumni Association of the University
of California, Santa Barbara, was incorporated as a non-profit organization in
l965, its history begins early in the twentieth century. |
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In March 1909 the California Legislature and Governor
James S. Gillett turned and existing city normal school into Santa Barbara State
Normal School of Manual Arts and Home Economics with Ednah Rich as president. It
was a two-year school dedicated to training teachers in two specialized disciplines. Over
the next half century the school would evolve with appropriate name changes until
attaining its present status as a general campus of the University of California
in l958. The first change came in l9l9 under its new president, Clarence Phelps,
when the school's mission was broadened to the training of all elementary teachers
and the name was shortened to Santa Barbara State Normal School. In l921,
when the Legislature agreed with Phelps and others that elementary teachers should
have a four-year college education and redesignated all state normal schools,
Santa Barbara State Normal School became Santa Barbara State Teachers College. When
it was recognized in l935 that the state teachers colleges had diversified their
academic offering and were granting liberal arts degrees, they were allowed to
drop the word "teachers" from their titles. Santa Barbara State
College, however, existed only until l944 when new legislation abolished it and
created in its stead the University of California, Santa Barbara College. |
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The first organized alumni effort recorded took
place in February l9l9 when the Class of l918 organized the Alumni Association
of the Santa Barbara Normal School Manual Arts and Home Economics. The
total alumni body then was 600. The Association's objective was "to
foster a greater love in the graduates for their Alma Mater and to render greater
service to the public, to education and to members of the association." Any
graduate could be a member, but only those who paid annual dues of one dollar
could vote. Mrs. J.C. Miller was appointed as permanent secretary. |
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An informal Alumni Association existed for the
next several decades with volunteers organizing reunions around athletic events
and homecoming parades. Although the university gave no financial support
to the organization, there were various dues programs, and faculty members and
college deans worked on programming. Hoy Dia, the Santa Barbara State College
alumni publication, was published in a variety of formats from 1931 to 1947 when
the name was changed to Santa Barbara Alumnus. |
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On November 17, 1944, Robert Sibley, executive
manager of the California Alumni Association at UC Berkeley, invited the alumni
of Santa Barbara College and former students of Santa Barbara State College who
completed two years of academic work to join the California Alumni Association
and to form the Santa Barbara Chapter of the California Alumni Association (the
President of the group to become an ex-officio member of the general council
of the California Alumni Association.) |
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UCSBC Provost J. Harold Williams appointed E. L.
'Chally' Chalberg, director of placement, to be Alumni Counselor in 1954. He
recruited a dedicated board of directors which adopted a Constitution and Bylaws
and began some of the programs which persist to this day. Chalberg was replaced
by Professor of History Robert Kelley '48 in 1960. |
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When the University California
Santa Barabara College moved to Goleta in 1954, Director of Placement E. L. "Chally" Chalberg
(at right, standing) oversaw a revitalization of alumni activities. Among the
board members he recruited to reorganize the alumni association were (from left,
seated) June Koenig Brouhard '54, Neil Goedhard '49, Joe Costantino '53, and
Priscilla Simms '55; and (standing ) Richard Dietz '54 and Ted Knudson '51, pictured
at a January 1960 meeting. |
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In 1962, for the first time, the University allocated
funds in support of the Alumni Relations Program. These funds provided
the salary for a part-time secretary to the faculty alumni director and for record-keeping. Under
Chancellor Vernon I. Cheadle, the support grew, and eventually the University
hired a full-time professional alumni director. In September 1965, the
UCSB Alumni Association incorporated under the laws of California as a non-profit,
charitable organization and became the publisher of the alumni publication which
was then called UCSB Alumnus. |
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Through the rest of the 60s and early 70s an executive
director and a secretary guided the growth of the Association. A part-time Alumnus
editor and office assistant provided program and membership support. Early
fund raising efforts to provide scholarships for local high school students centered
around selling pumpkins out of a pumpkin patch in Carpinteria. New Year's
Eve and Fiesta parties were sponsored by the Alumni Association and were well
attended as alumni interest in UCSB increased. The Association also designed
and implemented the University's first Annual Fund Campaign using alumni volunteers
to call other alumni and Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego to support
the University. |
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In 1969, the Association opened the Alumni Vacation
Center at Francisco Torres residence hall in Isla Vista. After three years,
the program moved to campus and is now known as the Family Vacation Center, serving
some 2,700 UC alumni and friends each summer. |
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In l973, the Board of Directors of the Alumni
Association voted to underwrite the initial operational expenses of the UCSB
Foundation, a charitable organization formed to accept gifts on behalf of the
campus. Douglas E. Schmidt '60, George D. Kieffer '69, Franklin T. Lloyd '62.
Phillip D. Rowe '60, Roger W. Whalen '61, Gary C. Gallup '61, William Rauth ’66,
Lynn Reitnouer ’55, Mark Bertelsen ’66, Steve Mendel ’63, and
Stephen E. Cooper ‘68 have each served as chair of the UCSB Foundation. |
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In the mid-70s, the Association hired a full-time
associate director and a membership/travel director, and appointed committees
on investments, financial self-sufficiency and Regent selection. The Association
also launched the successful UCSB Alumni Association Theater Program (since closed)
and assumed temporary responsibility for the University's Athletic Hall of Fame. It
also opened, and subsequently closed after three years, another vacation
center in San Diego. |
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An Alumni Regent has always served on the Board
of Regents of the University of California. In the 1970’s this was expanded
to two Alumni Regents. It has been the responsibility of the combined Alumni
Associations of the University of California (AAUC) to provide these two ex-officio
alumni members of the Board of Regents. Every four years. one of the voting
Regents is a past or present member of the UCSB Alumni Association Board of Directors. Edward
Morris '50 (1975-76), George D. Kieffer '69 (1979-80), Douglas E. Schmidt '61
(1983-84), R. Marilyn Lee '69 (1987-88), Gail Greenwald Uilkema'65 (1991-92)
and Ralph Carmona M.A. ’74, Ph.D. ‘84 (1995-1996), Kent Vining ’70
(1999-2000), and Barbara Bodine ‘70 are the UCSB Alumni who have served
as Alumni Regent. |
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Philip J. Bugay ’81 will serve as UCSB Alumni
in 2007-2008. In 1987, Governor George Deukmejian appointed former UCSB Alumni
Association President Meredith Ford Khachigian '66 to a regular seat on the Board
of Regents where she served as Chair in 1991-1993 and in 1997-1998. Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Bruce Varner ’58 to the Board of regents
in 2006. |
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Growth of the Association has enabled it to become
more financially self sufficient. Increases in dues, marketing, investment
and other income has meant the Association can rely less on the University for
support. Under a plan drafted in l976 by alumni and University leaders,
an orderly phase down of University support was begun. |
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In 1980, The Alumnus, then a tabloid, adopted a
magazine format. The magazine began to print in color, partially subsidizing
its expense by accepting advertising. In 1981, the name of the magazine
was changed to Coastlines. |
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Since 1982 membership in the Association nearly
tripled from 6,000 members to over 20,000 members. Membership benefits include:
career services, group health and life insurance, loan programs, UC library privileges,
special on-campus privileges and an array of financial services and discounts. |
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There are now regional UCSB alumni clubs all over
the United States. There are also several constituent groups. |
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A long-range planning process begun in 1991 by
the Board of Directors is reviewed and updated annually to guide the Association. |
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The current high-priority item for the Association
is completion of Mosher Alumni House. |
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Structured fiscal commitments to other priorities
limit the ability of the State of California to provide opportunities for higher
education to the citizens of our state. It is the responsibility of the
members of the Alumni Association to do all that they can to support higher education
in the state of California. This will be the major goal of the Association
in the coming decade. |
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2/06 |
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Presidents past and present of the Association gathered at the Valhalla
party June 3, 2005:
(from left) Frank Stevens '59, John Hobson '63, M.A. '65,
Chuck Loring '72,
George Thurlow '73, Lorin Letendre '68, M.A. '69, Doug Schmidt
'60,
Gail Greenwald Uilkema '65, Bill Russell '40, Meredith Ford Khachigian '66,
Gary Erickson '63, Kent Vining '70, Norm Wood '64, and Gwen Brown '71
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Alumni Association - All rights reserved
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