Runners Rally to Support Student Scholarships During Difficult Economic Climate
Nearly 1,500 people turn out for Chancellor’s Challenge 5K

Roxana Popescu | October 26, 2009

Sam Corbett, an assistant director in Transportation Services, took the title of Chancellor’s Challenge champion.

View a photo slideshow of the event

74 degrees, slight northerly breeze. Everyone agrees: It was a spectacular day for a 5K. The gloomy financial climate only helped bolster spirits at the 14th annual Chancellor’s Challenge 5K Run/Walk for Scholars on Friday, reminding the runners and donors that their contributions couldn’t come at a more crucial time for the university.

In a brief pep talk Chancellor Marye Anne Fox didn’t wait a moment to address the race’s special relevance this year, saying it is of extra importance because of the recession.

“By participating, you are helping UC San Diego students succeed, so thank you,” Chancellor Fox told  the nearly 1,500 students, faculty, alumni, staff and friends who participated.

As of Oct. 23, this year’s event raised $195,563, bringing the total funds raised since 1996 through the event to nearly $2.3 million. Over that time, scholarships generated by 5K participants and sponsors have benefited more than 800 undergraduates. Fox has added $5,000 for every $50,000 raised as part of the race, and matched all new and increased gifts with discretionary funds up to $40,000. Gifts to the Chancellor’s Challenge 5K contribute to the $50 million fundraising goal of Invent the Future: The UC San Diego Student Support Campaign.

At the sound of the alarm, participants sprinted off like there was no tomorrow.

Despite its serious goal, the race was a cheerful affair. Literally. As racers crossed the finish line, supporters whooped and gave them high fives, and volunteers with water bottles stood on hand to help the glistening runners hydrate. And since no 5K race would be complete without someone wearing something zany, a group of runners coordinated with spandex in all sorts of fetching colors. (A gentleman in a chef’s hat and apron – on top of his running clothes, of course – was one of the more eye-catching characters.)

The overall winner, Brian Ball, 24, came in at 14:53 minutes. Ball, running as a UCSD community supporter, came from Fillmore, north of Los Angeles, to visit a friend who studies here.

“Just a little tired,” he panted seconds after he crossed the finish line and shook the Chancellor’s hand. Ball dedicated his victory to Leon Roach, a UCSD student who died in September after a pole vaulting accident.

Sam Corbett, an assistant director in Transportation Services, took the title of Chancellor’s Challenge champion. Each year, individuals are selected to participate on behalf of one of four groups: students, faculty, alumni and staff.

After the race, runners said they enjoyed passing through the shady eucalyptus grove.

“It was a really good race,” Corbett said afterward. “It’s all about the cause – raising money. I relied heavily upon financial aid” as a student at UC Davis and UC Berkeley, he added.

Corbett, competing as a staff member, received a trophy engraved with his name and an invitation to dine with Chancellor Fox. Allan Timmerman, a professor at the Rady School of Management, took last year’s Chancellor’s Challenge title. 

The other three Chancellor’s Champions this year were Jarrod Hammes ’00, who attended UCSD as an undergraduate and then got an MBA from the Rady School of Management, in the alumni division; Cody Higginson ’10, a senior in Muir College and pharmacological chemistry major, in the student division; and in the faculty division, Dan Scanderbeg ’00, who did his undergraduate and graduate studies at UCSD and is now an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center.

Darcy Bingham, who was the event’s co-chair along with Reed Vickerman of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, said she was struck by how much the 5K has grown over the years.

Bingham, who supported the event with her husband, Robert Bingham, through a donation, noted that 64 percent of students here need financial aid. Given the current financial climate nationwide and the unprecedented budgetary constraints faced by the university, she was pleased that so many people rallied behind this cause.

Young Alumni posed with Chancellor Marye Anne Fox before the race.

“UCSD students are phenomenal,” she said. “They’re game changers in the state. So, by supporting them we are investing in our future. This helps drive our economy.”

Seeing current students at the race and knowing that some of them will benefit from her financial support “makes it real, makes it personal,” she added.

Sustainability, viability, planning for the future: It’s a message that carried over into other areas, as well. Organizers strived to ensure that the event was as environmentally sustainable as possible. The Wellness Center and USE Credit Union provided reusable water bottles for participants. Organizers also encouraged online registration in an effort to save paper.

This year’s Chancellor’s Challenge sponsors included Fisher Scientific; Darcy and Robert Bingham; Amylin Pharmaceuticals; the UCSD Emeriti Association; Arthur Brody and Phyllis Cohn; the Dr. Seuss Foundation; Peter ’67 and Peggy Preuss; UCSD Alumni Association; USE Credit Union; Andrew and Erna Viterbi; the UCSD Retirement Association; Alan Swinney, ’89; The Burnham Foundation; Pauline Foster; Regents Bank; Oceanids; and Elizabeth Van Denburgh ’78.