annual report 2024-2025

Letter from Chancellor Cynthia Larive

UC Santa Cruz has a proud legacy of innovation, academic excellence, and social impact. Since our founding in 1965, we’ve pushed boundaries through bold, interdisciplinary research and inspired generations of students through high-quality teaching and hands-on learning committed to making a difference in the world. As we celebrate our 60th anniversary, we honor that history while looking ahead to an even more impactful future.

This past year has given us countless reasons to be proud. Across this report, you’ll find many examples of the remarkable work underway on our campus to drive lasting change and support student success.

One of the year’s most meaningful milestones was the launch of the Sabatte Family Scholarship, made possible by a $22.2 million bequest from the late alumnus Richard “Rick” Sabatte. His extraordinary gift — the largest scholarship gift in campus history — will fund full four-year scholarships for about 40 high-achieving students annually for the next 30 years, transforming the lives of more than 1,000 students.

We also celebrated the UC Regents’ approval of Strathearn Ranch near Hollister as the newest UC Santa Cruz natural reserve. This 2,400-acre oak-studded landscape will serve as a living laboratory and outdoor classroom for students and researchers across the UC system, becoming the seventh reserve stewarded by our campus and the 42nd in the UC Natural Reserve System.

And we were thrilled to witness the debut images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, home to the largest camera ever built. Its unveiling was decades in the making, and UC Santa Cruz researchers were at the heart of it from the beginning. Faculty, students, and alumni alike contributed to this groundbreaking project, which promises to redefine how we understand our universe.

We celebrated the 25th anniversary of both The Humanities Institute and the Genomics Institute and their incredible impact on our campus, our community and the world. We also celebrated the opening of the Film and Digital Media department’s cutting-edge Social Documentation Lab to support graduate students in socially engaged media production. 

While we know there are challenges to overcome, I am incredibly proud of all we accomplished in the past year and energized by what lies ahead. As we continue to expand student opportunity, grow our research impact, foster an inclusive campus climate, and build a more resilient, sustainable university, I know our future is limitless.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Larive
Chancellor