April 27, 2011

TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
 
Dear Colleagues:
 
I am pleased to take this opportunity to write to you about our campus's upcoming Staff Celebration Week.
 
This year, we will kick off the week on Friday, May 6, with our Staff Luncheon and presentation of Staff Citations of Excellence and Supervisory Certificates -- as well as numerous prize drawings! Staff Celebration Week continues the week of May 9-13. Our scheduled events include the Ice Cream Social on Monday, May 9; the 15th annual Professional Women's Association Conference, "Composing Your Life: Creativity, Community and Career," on Tuesday, May 10; a special lecture by former Women's Basketball Coach Mark French and the Staff Social on Wednesday, May 11; the Staff Assembly Cookie Contest on Thursday, May 12; and a new event this year, the UCSB Chef Showcase, a cooking exhibition with three of our talented campus chefs, on Friday, May 13.
 
You can find more information about these events on the Chancellor’s Staff Advisory Council (CSAC) website at http://csac.ucsb.edu/events/scw.2011. CSAC will also be distributing a calendar of events in the near future.
 
My wife, Dilling, and I are tremendously appreciative and enthusiastically supportive of the activities of Staff Celebration Week. Each and every year, it is an opportunity to come together, enjoy one another's company, and celebrate the relationships and friendships that make our campus such a wonderful place to work and learn. As the state’s budget difficulties continue, recognizing the outstanding work that we do in support of our academic, research, and public service missions is tremendously important. Despite the uncertainties that surround us, we have much to celebrate in support of one another, and I encourage you to participate fully in the events of this week. Because we so deeply appreciate all that our staff colleagues do, Dilling and I have also made a special effort to help provide scholarships for staff to promote professional development opportunities through the Dilling Yang Staff Scholarship program in Human Resources.
 
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 our Staff Celebration Week events.
 
Sincerely,
 
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor