UCSD Alumni Annual Report 2011-2012

UC San Diego is more than a place, it’s a state of mind. Hence the title for this year’s Annual Report covering July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012. But what do we mean by that? The modern English word college is derived from the Latin root "collegium," which meant community, society, or guild. I think most of us would agree that that sense of college community continues long after graduation. The University becomes for alumni a state of mind, a way of continuing to access the intellectual power of the place, and the accumulated experience of other alumni in an increasingly demanding world.

We have accepted the challenge of keeping the connections between alumni, and between alumni and UC San Diego, vibrant and energized. As an alumnus, I am proud of the fact that we have reshaped ourselves over the last few years to become a resource for continuing education, for interconnections through our burgeoning professional groups and our growth in online communications, and as a lodestone for career development. We are in the midst of re-envisioning UCSD Alumni as a resource where hyper-connectedness is valued and valuable. We embrace alumni as our partners, not as customers.

Alumni are UC San Diego’s most permanent constituency. The perceived value of our degrees rises and falls with the intellectual strength of the University. And so we have a stake in this extraordinary place, as no one else does. That is why we celebrate UC San Diego as a state of mind. When we privilege it in this manner, we privilege all alumni.

We hope you will agree with us that this work, the work of this last year, is invaluable. Together, our journey continues.