Media Contact: Dolores Davies, 858.534.5994 or ddavies@ucsd.edu

UC SAN DIEGO & SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO
ESTABLISH NEW SAN DIEGO REGIONAL STUDIES NETWORK

The San Diego Historical Society and the University of California, San Diego's Civic Collaborative have joined forces to establish the San Diego Regional Studies Network (SDRSN), a clearinghouse for scholars, professionals, and concerned citizens interested in subjects related to San Diego's history, culture, economy, and environment.

SDRSN will hold its first meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 20 at the Museum of San Diego History, where the group will present its first major opus: a 120-page directory of San Diego County historical resources. According to Abe Shragge, a UCSD historian and the coordinator for SDRSN, the directory, which includes more than 110 entries, will soon be available as an on-line resource for historical researchers. Due to space constraints, attendance at the event is limited. Interested members of the public who would like to attend should call (858) 822-3125.

According to Shragge, the Feb. 20 event is the first in a series of meetings designed to bring scholars and interested citizens together to stimulate discussion on a host of critical San Diego issues, as well as to raise the level of regional consciousness and knowledge. The program will include welcoming remarks by Robert Witty, executive director of the San Diego Historical Society, and a presentation on "San Diego as Subject: In Search of Our Regional DNA," by Mary Walshok and Michael Schudson, co-directors of the UCSD Civic Collaborative.

Additional speakers will include naval historian and author Bruce Linder, UCSD professor and environmental specialist Mark Spalding, and San Diego State University professor and Mexican American history specialist, Richard Griswold del Castillo.

Linder, a senior associate with Booz-Allen & Hamilton as well as an award-winning author on naval history and maritime affairs, has recently completed a fascinating history of the U.S. Navy in San Diego, entitled "San Diego's Navy." The book, scheduled for release in May 2001, focuses on the impact the Navy has had on the San Diego region since its first days here during the Mexican War up to the present day.

Spalding, an attorney who teaches courses in international environmental policy and law at UCSD's Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, coordinated the recent successful effort to save Laguna San Ignacio in Baja California, the last pristine birthing grounds of the Pacific Gray Whale. Spalding's research interests include trade and the environment, conservation, protected areas, and ecotourism. He represented San Diego on the Good Neighbor Environmental Board, a presidential and congressional advisory committee on U.S.-Mexico environmental relations.

Del Castillo, chairman of the SDSU Department of Chicano and Chicana Studies, is an award-winning author of numerous books and articles on the history, politics, and culture of the Mexican American experience. He is currently working on a Mexican and Chicano history of San Diego.

The UCSD Civic Collaborative was established in 1999 with a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts. The aim of the grant was to create a program that would focus on better integrating the university's research and teaching expertise with the needs and interests of the San Diego region. The Collaborative has organized a number of talks and roundtables on topics of interest to both researchers and community constituencies. Since its founding, the Collaborative has funded nearly 50 research grants focused on a wide range of San Diego issues and problems, ranging from the study of the Plaza Mercado initiative in Oceanside to the development of GIS maps tracking inner-city neighborhood infrastructure investments.

For more information about the UCSD Civic Collaborative or the San Diego Regional Studies Network, please call 858.822.3125 or visit the Collaborative's web site at http://ucsd-civic-collaborative.org