March 14, 2011
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Colleagues:
Our UCSB family is tremendously saddened by the catastrophic events in Japan, and the terrible losses inflicted by last week's earthquake and tsunami.
Our campus was immediately in touch with our Education Abroad Program students living in the affected areas, and they are all accounted for and safe. We have also made contact with faculty and staff members who were working or traveling in Japan. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, but at this time there have been no reports of injured or harmed students, faculty, or staff from any of our UC campuses.
According to our Office of International Students and Scholars, UCSB has 47 Japanese students and 28 Japanese scholars, primarily researchers, currently on campus. The office has reached out to each of these individuals to offer our services and support in this time of crisis.
Our Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies has posted an informational flyer on their website at http://www.eastasian.ucsb.edu/, which contains links to assist those searching for family, friends, or colleagues in Japan, as well as other helpful resources.
Numerous charities are accepting donations to aid in the international relief effort, including the Red Cross (www.redcross.org), Santa Barbara-based Direct Relief International (www.directrelief.org), and other agencies.
For those who have been affected by this tragedy, or perhaps just need someone to talk to about these events, our campus has counseling services and other resources available to you. Please do not hesitate to e-mail me at henry.yang@chancellor.ucsb.edu if you have questions about where to seek information or assistance.
I am touched by the heartfelt compassion expressed by our campus community in response to this disaster. Together, we will continue to find ways to offer our support to the people of Japan in the weeks and months ahead.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor