May 4, 2006

TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce that George Thurlow has graciously agreed to serve as our next Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Affairs and Executive Director of the UCSB Alumni Association, effective June 1, 2006.

I would like to thank our Search Advisory Committee, whose members are listed below, and its chair, Dr. Paula Bruice, for their wise and diligent work to bring this national search to a successful conclusion, with a unanimous and enthusiastic endorsement to recommend Mr. Thurlow. I would also like to thank Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement John Wiemann for his contributions and recommendation. I extend my sincere thanks as well to all of our alumni, faculty colleagues, and community members who participated in the consultation process.

As a 1973 graduate of UC Santa Barbara, Mr. Thurlow has been a long-time alumni leader and dedicated volunteer for our campus. He is a past president of the UCSB Alumni Association and a former member of its Board of Directors. He is also a past member of the Board of Directors of The UCSB Foundation. Mr. Thurlow is well known to many in our community as the publisher and chief executive officer of the Santa Barbara Independent since 1994. He is also involved in many community organizations and currently serves on the boards of directors of the Santa Barbara Foundation, the Santa Barbara Downtown Organization, and Partners in Education. He is vice-chair of the Board of Directors of Pacific Broadcasting Co., which operates KDB, Santa Barbara’s classical music radio station. Among his many professional affiliations, he is chair of the Board of Directors of the Colorado Springs Newspaper Group, treasurer of the Board of Directors of the California Newspaper Publishers Association, and chair of the board of that Association’s foundation.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Thurlow was a faculty member at California State University, Chico, where he taught journalism and was an adviser to the student newspaper. As a journalist, he was the editor of the weekly Chico News & Review, a reporter at the Woodland Daily Democrat, and a reporter and editor of the now-defunct Santa Barbara News & Review. His work as a freelance reporter has appeared in more than a dozen newspapers and magazines.

With our campus’s continuing rise in prominence, the dynamic momentum of our Campaign for UC Santa Barbara, and the day-by-day progress on our new Mosher Alumni House, this is an exciting time for our alumni and for our entire campus community. I hope you will all join me in extending a warm welcome to George Thurlow as our new Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Affairs and Executive Director of the UCSB Alumni Association. Please also join me in thanking Richard Jensen for his dedicated service as our Interim Executive Director of the UCSB Alumni Association for the past eight months.

Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor

Search Advisory Committee for the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Affairs and Executive Director of the UCSB Alumni Association
Paula Bruice, Chair, Senior Lecturer, Chemistry and Biochemistry; Former Member, UCSB Alumni Association Board of Directors
Gwen Brown, President-Elect, UCSB Alumni Association
Stephen Cooper, Chair-Elect and Vice Chair - Development, UCSB Foundation Board of Trustees
Merith Cosden, Professor, Education
Sandra Geissler, Graduate Students Association Representative
Hua Lee, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Loy Lytle, Dean, Extended Learning Services; Faculty Representative, UCSB Alumni Association Board of Directors
James Mattinson, Professor and Chair, Geological Sciences
Lisa Przekop, Associate Director, Admissions; Staff Representative
Lynn Reitnouer, Trustee, UCSB Foundation Board of Trustees
James Stofan, Director of Alumni Affairs and Special Events, UC Office of the President
William Villa, Member, UCSB Alumni Association Board of Directors
Andrea Wells, Associated Students Representative

Consultant to the Committee
Joe Castro, Executive Director, Office of Academic Preparation and Equal Opportunity