October 14, 2003
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Colleagues:
It is with enormous sadness that I share with you the news that our longtime colleague and dear friend David Sheldon has passed away. David was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few months ago.
David was a beloved member of our UCSB community. He served as our vice chancellor for administrative services from 1988 until his retirement in 2001. In this position, he was responsible for all support services for our campus, with oversight of the departments of business services, facilities management, computing, accounting, staff personnel, public safety, and environmental health and safety. Prior to joining UCSB, he spent 22 years at UC Irvine in various positions, including director of computing and telecommunications and associate vice chancellor for administrative and business services.
David once described his work as “a potpourri of responsibilities and activities which, from one moment to the next, move from the incidental and ephemeral to the sublime and long lasting.” David was an outstanding leader; his work and his relations with people were characterized by integrity and humanity. He helped make UCSB a better place, and the results of his hard work and dedication--during a period of extraordinary growth and development for our campus--continue to be felt.
Our hearts go out to David’s wife, Beverly, and their daughter, Stacey. We grieve with them for their loss, and our own loss. At the same time, we honor David for his many contributions to our campus community. We remember his warmth, sincerity, and wonderful sense of humor.
We also remember his deep devotion to our campus and its people--a devotion that Beverly shared. As the associate director of our Office of Relations with Schools from 1988 to 2001, Beverly helped attract many exceptional students to UCSB. David and Beverly both loved this campus. Before their retirement and after, they worked behind the scenes in countless ways, quietly giving of themselves to help others.
A memorial service is planned for Sunday, October 19, at 3 p.m. at the Unitarian Society, 1535 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara.
We are grateful for the time we had with David. And we will miss him.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor