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AUDREY GEISEL DONATES $1 MILLION TO UCSD FACULTY CLUB

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) today announced a gift of $1 million towards the expansion of the Ida and Cecil Green Faculty Club, from longtime supporter Audrey S. Geisel.

The Faculty Club is a dining and conference facility located in the center of campus and serves as a gathering place for faculty, staff, graduate students and community members. The campus plans to expand the Faculty Club’s kitchen and dinning room, while adding a new conference room, and a reading room/library, which will be named the Seuss Library in recognition of this gift. The university’s goal is to raise a total of $3.64 million for the expansion, which will come entirely from private support.

“I am deeply grateful to Audrey Geisel for this generous gift to the campus community,” said Robert C. Dynes, chancellor. “This gift is a great tribute to the people of UCSD - the exceptional faculty, staff and students who will benefit most from the expansion of this center.”

“Through the years I have gained an appreciation for the work carried out on behalf of UCSD’s students and the larger community,” said Geisel. “I wanted to help with the expansion of the Faculty Club because it is the heart of the campus – a place where faculty, staff and students can come together to exchange ideas and learn from one another.”

Geisel, a founding member of the Faculty Club, is currently Honorary Co-chair of the UCSD Campaign Cabinet, a group of community leaders who are actively working on behalf of the university’s $1 billion fund-raising campaign. The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What’s Next, was publicly launched in March 2003, and has already raised $485.8 million.

The Faculty Club was founded in 1969, and has approximately 1,100 members. Aside from weekday luncheon service, the Faculty Club also provides catering services, meeting rooms and banquet facilities for private breakfast meetings, luncheons, receptions and dinners.

“The hope is to reach our fund-raising goal quickly and break ground by the spring of 2004,” said Sally Ashburn, president of the board, UCSD Faculty Club. “The Faculty Club expects continued growth in membership, especially with the campus increasing its faculty and student enrollment in the next few years, so expanding the facility is a must.”

Geisel is president of the Dr. Seuss Enterprises, overseeing licensing and productions based on the Dr. Seuss trademark. She also is president of the Dr. Seuss Foundation and the Dr. Seuss Fund, which supports a variety of causes, especially literacy programs. In addition to her role as Honorary Co-chair of the UCSD Campaign Cabinet, she serves on the University Librarian’s Advisory Board, Board of Visitors of the School of Medicine, Cancer Center board, Chancellor’s Associates, and was a community advisor to the UCSD Medical Center Auxiliary. A longtime La Jolla resident, her community involvement spans numerous charities and organizations, including the Center for Family Literacy, La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe Theatres, San Diego Zoological Society, and many others. In recognition of her gifts to UCSD, including the library Endowment, the main library is named the Geisel Library.