January 3, 2000 Alumni Association names award winners for 1999 By Karin Wanless A biology professor, the department assistant for women's studies, and an alumnus who was an environmental biologist defending the human rights of indigenous people in Colombia have won the three top awards given annually by the UCSC Alumni Association. Barry Bowman, Nicolette Czarrunchick, and Terence Unity Freitas, the first person to receive an association award posthumously, were nominated by students, alumni, faculty, and staff; the three were selected by the UCSC Alumni Association Council, the association's governing body. They will be honored at a luncheon on Saturday, February 5, starting at 12:30 p.m. in the Stevenson College Dining Hall. In addition to these awards, nine students will receive recognition for service to their colleges, and 11 recipients of Alumni Association scholarships will be honored. The awards ceremony is open to the public. Tickets to the event, which includes lunch, cost $12 for the general public and $10 for current Alumni Association members and must be reserved by calling the Alumni Association at (831) 459-2530 no later than Friday, January 28. Barry Bowman, a professor of biology at UCSC, won the Distinguished Teaching Award. Former and current students and colleagues wrote letters in support of his nomination, characterizing Bowman as a supportive, yet challenging, mentor to junior faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students. One of his former graduate students wrote, "He encouraged us to drop our passive learning style we had grown accustomed to as undergraduates, and begin to question and think independently of our textbooks and professors." Barry Bowman Photo: Don Harris Bowman's students and colleagues praised him for his clear and often humorous delivery of difficult subjects in his lectures. A colleague wrote, "Barry has a kind, sweet nature which he is able to project to any size audience, and although he is an exceptionally dynamic speaker (in fact, like all great lecturers, he's a bit of a ham), his energetic delivery is always tinged with self-effacing humor and modesty." Bowman has served for 12 years as the director of the Minority Biomedical Research Support Program (MBRS), a program dedicated to providing research experience, as well as academic and financial support, to minority students. A biochemistry undergraduate who performed research in Bowman's lab through the MBRS program wrote of Bowman's "undying commitment in the advancement of people of color in the sciences. With the guidance, support, and encouragement of Professor Bowman, I am able to reach my potential as a student of color in the sciences." Nicolette Czarrunchick Photo: Don Harris Nicolette Czarrunchick, who won the Outstanding Staff Award, has worked for the Women's Studies Department for nearly 15 years as the department manager; before that, she worked for more than two years as a secretary at Thimann Labs. In nomination letters, faculty, students, and staff praised her for her "legendary patience" and "unfailing empathy, enthusiasm, and expertise." As the academic student adviser, who also received her degree in women's studies as a re-entry student in 1993, Czarrunchick is highly regarded by students and faculty for her "understanding of both the intellectual import of feminist scholarship and the needs of our undergraduate students," according to one faculty member. Czarrunchick also edits and produces the women's studies annual newsletter sent to alumni and is helping to organize the women's studies library at Kresge College. Terence Unity Freitas Photo courtesy of Julie Freitas Terence Unity Freitas, a 1997 B.A. recipient in biology and environmental studies, won the Alumni Achievement Award for his work with the U'wa people of Colombia. He was a key activist in the United States who tried to halt the plans of Shell Oil Company and Occidental Petroleum to drill in U'wa territory. He helped establish the U'wa Defense Working Group, a coalition of several environmental organizations, brought an U'wa leader to the United States for several speaking engagements, and led marches in Los Angeles, where Occidental Petroleum is headquartered. Last winter, while working with the U'wa to set up a culturally appropriate school, Freitas and two other Americans were kidnapped and killed by Colombia's largest rebel group. "The committee members felt that the selfless devotion represented by Terry's work with the U'wa people of Colombia characterized the highest UCSC ideals of service to others," said Carolyn Christopherson, executive director of the Alumni Association. In nominating Freitas for this award, a fellow alumna wrote, "He brought what he learned at UCSC in academics and during his lifetime to help this nation of people preserve their culture. I know that Terence worked extremely hard to achieve all that he did in his short 24 years of life. He was a giving person, who gave to people unconditionally. He expected nothing in return except your friendship." Return to Front Page