Letter from the Chair of the UC San Diego Foundation

Peter Preuss, UC San Diego Foundation Board Chair

UC San Diego is an academic powerhouse and economic engine, recognized as one of the top ten public universities by US News & World Report and ranked number one in the nation for public service by the Washington Monthly. Today our impact and influences is known around the globe, but we must find ways to fund the excellence that is UC San Diego for generations to come.

Our new chancellor, Pradeep  K. Khosla, understands the challenges that shrinking budgets have created to an already battered bottom line. But I am confident that with a visionary who recognizes the power of philanthropy at the helm, our future is bright.

The forty-two member Foundation Board of Trustees joins the chancellor in a greater focus on fundraising. With a total endowment of more than $380 million, the board is entrusted with raising and managing the investment of its charitable gifts. The trustees include prominent community members, university administrators, and faculty and alumni representatives – all aware that with the state’s decreased investment, the campus must raise additional private support to stay competitive.

I am so very proud to be the first alumni chair of the UC San Diego Foundation – not only because I am a graduate of this stellar institution, but also because I understand the integral role private support must play to sustain the excellence of our academic programs and excellence in research that impacts society, the environment, and human lives. The Foundation Board of Trustees now has the highest percentage of alumni ever serving as trustees, illustrating a deeper level of engagement of alumni with UC San Diego.

I also treasure the University of California system as an incredible gem and the best public higher education system in the world. I was honored to be an alumni regent during 1994–95 and an appointed regent from 1996–2008.

I look forward to working with my fellow trustees and Chancellor Khosla to raise support for the university and share what UC San Diego is doing for our community and the world.

Peter Preuss
Chair
UC San Diego Foundation