Giving Opportunities
Vice Chancellor’s Fund for Special Initiatives
Your dollars will enable UCSB’s Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Dr. Michael D. Young, to support areas most in need. These currently include the areas of tutoring and advising, special services for low-income and first-generation UCSB students, and support for disabled students. Your contribution to the fund will provide the vice chancellor with the flexibility and resources required to meet students’ changing needs.
Student Resource Building (SRB)
The Student Resource Building (SRB), a building conceived by, created for, and responsive to students, opened in February 2007. The SRB represents the first time in UCSB’s history that critical support services are located centrally in one easily accessed, state-of-the-art facility. The SRB draws students, staff and faculty together to create a co-curricular environment that meets students’ developmental needs while facilitating their intellectual, social and personal growth. Your gift will support the SRB and its programs and services in a number of important ways. To learn more, click on the links below.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
A University of California education is one of the best investments available. Fees, which are relatively low when compared to private universities, buy students an educational experience in one of the top major research universities in the world. But with an annual student budget in excess of $23,000 per year, a family can expect to pay $92,000 over the course of a student’s four-year baccalaureate degree. To cover these costs, low-income families and, increasingly, middle-income families need financial assistance, particularly in the form of need-based scholarships that relieve students of loan and debt.
Your donation to financial aid will support scholarships for students who otherwise could not attend UCSB. Through your generosity, students will achieve their dreams of a college education.
Alcohol and Drug Program
UCSB is fighting substance abuse, particularly high-risk drinking, in a variety of innovative and effective ways. Your gift to UCSB’s alcohol and drug program, no matter the size, will help students to learn about and be supported in making responsible choices. Your dollars will combine with those from other involved and interested individuals to fund a variety of initiatives including the College Alcohol & Substance Education (CASE) program; peer health educators such as Students Teaching Alcohol Responsibility or STARS; online risk assessments like e-chug; confidential counseling, alcohol-related classes, and group advising sessions; and brief intervention, screening, and referral services.
Student Mental Health
More and more students in need of mental health services are enrolling at college campuses across the country. UCSB, in line with this national trend, is seeing larger numbers of students whose levels of psychological distress require an intensive, individualized, campus-wide response. Your gift to student mental health will support UCSB’s integrated services offered by psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, disabilities specialists, the dean of students, and departments such as Student Health Services, the Counseling Center, and the Disabled Students Program.
Career Services
Career Services provides that all important bridge between a student’s college career and his/her employment or continued education. By providing resources that range from interest inventories to career information to actual job interviews, Career Services helps students and alumni to make key decisions, connect with employers, and attain professional goals. Your donation will support internships, career counseling and advising, fairs and workshops, career assessment and planning, and development of job search skills. With your help, students can successfully transition from the world of academe to the world of work.
Green Initiatives
Student affairs is poised to undertake a major energy initiative: A 133-kilowatt photovoltaic array mounted on the roof of UCSB’s Recreation Center. This initiative represents a significant step forward on UCSB’s path to increased environmental stewardship through the use of alternative energies that address global warming. The solar project, 50% funded to date, is Phase I of a three-phase project that will assist the Recreation Center in reaching gold—or even platinum—LEED-EB certification. No other college or university has attempted such certification for its recreational facilities. UCSB’s project, the first of its kind, will provide a viable example of—and will set the standard for—the greening of recreational facilities be they on college campuses, in large metropolitan complexes, or in city and county parks.