April 15, 2009

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to take this opportunity to write to you about Staff Celebration Week on our campus. This year, events will be held the week of May 18-22, 2009. In addition to the Ice Cream Social, hosted by Staff Assembly on Monday of that week, the Professional Women’s Association annual conference on Wednesday, and the Staff Luncheon, organized by the Chancellor’s Staff Advisory Council on Friday, this year holds a special treat. Our campus staff organizations have come together to host a lecture on Tuesday, May 19 by Jack Canfield, a long-time and generous supporter of our campus and internationally-known author of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series. Mr. Canfield will lecture on “The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.”

Both Dilling and I are tremendously appreciative and enthusiastically supportive of the activities of Staff Celebration Week. Year in and year out, it is a wonderful celebration of the accomplishments and contributions of all our staff colleagues. In this uncertain and difficult budget climate, recognizing the tremendous work of staff across our campus and the support they give our students and faculty, and each other, has never been more important. UC Santa Barbara has gained significant recognition in recent years for our passionate commitment to excellence and diversity and we value and appreciate the key role our staff colleagues play in this rise in prominence. Because they are so near and dear to our hearts, Dilling and I have also made a special effort to help provide scholarships for staff to encourage and further professional development opportunities for them, through the Dilling Yang Staff Scholarship program.

I hope you all will join me in supporting and encouraging participation by all our staff colleagues in the activities of Staff Celebration Week. To learn more about all the activities planned for this week, visit the CSAC website at http://csac.ucsb.edu. I send my sincere thanks to all our staff colleagues for your dedication and commitment to our campus. I look forward to seeing you at the Staff Celebration Week events.

Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor