November 5, 2010
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Colleagues:
The news of the tragic death late last month of UC Santa Barbara student Lucas Ransom in a shark attack off Surf Beach in northern Santa Barbara County was a terrible shock to his family and friends as well as our campus community. I have talked with the Ransom family and have expressed our feelings of heartfelt condolence and profound loss.
Lucas was a junior Chemical Engineering major who touched the lives of many of his fellow students and faculty and staff here at UC Santa Barbara, as well as his many friends and acquaintances throughout California.
The Ransom family wishes to express their gratitude for the nurturing environment that Lucas thrived in here by establishing a scholarship fund in his honor. The Lucas Ransom Memorial Scholarship is intended for economically disadvantaged students in engineering and in the sciences. Information on the scholarship fund can be found at https://secure.my-websites.org/supporter/donatenow.do?n=Fs@5Cs&dfdbid=1133564.
In recognition of Lucas and in honor of his memory, I urge us all to reflect on the ways in which his life illuminated all that is good about our UCSB community and how we may sustain each other in this loss.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor