15th Annual Chancellor's Challenge
5K Supports Scholarships, Celebrates 50th Anniversary Oct. 22

Jade Griffin | Oct. 4, 2010

5K participants line up at the starting line at last year's race. The event has raised $2.3 million since its founding.

Chancellor Marye Anne Fox will lead the 15th annual Chancellor’s Challenge 5K Run/Walk for Scholars—a campus tradition to raise critical funding for undergraduate scholarships—on Friday, Oct. 22.  Undergraduate scholarship funds are essential to ensure that students from all social and economic backgrounds have access to a world-class UC San Diego education.

With the support of faculty, staff, alumni, parents, students, friends and community sponsors, the Chancellor’s Challenge 5K has raised $2.3 million in scholarship funding since it was established, and has helped 835 promising students attend UC San Diego.

This year’s Chancellor’s Challenge 5K will celebrate the university’s landmark 50th Anniversary and the outstanding students, faculty, staff and alumni who have achieved the extraordinary over the past five decades. 

“Each year at the Chancellor’s Challenge 5K, I am impressed by the campus community’s dedication to supporting undergraduate scholarships,” said Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.  “As we celebrate the university’s 50th Anniversary, our sight is set firmly on the next half century.  We must support our students, as they represent our future leaders and innovators.”

In honor of the university’s milestone anniversary, Fox will add $5,000 for every $50,000 raised, and will match new and increased gifts with discretionary funds up to $50,000. 
Participants will be provided with a special 50th Anniversary Chancellor’s Challenge 5K T-shirt at the event.  Attendees are also encouraged to don vintage UC San Diego apparel from the last 50 years.  Anniversary gear can be purchased at the UC San Diego Bookstore or online at http://bookstore.ucsd.edu/ucsd50th.htm.

Scholarship recipients pose with Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.

UC San Diego alumni in attendance can gather, network and show their Triton pride before and after the event in the “Alumni Chalet,” hosted by the UCSD Alumni Association.  The UC San Diego Student Foundation representatives will also be on hand in the tent to share information on the value of student support.

The advance fee to participate in the Chancellor’s Challenge 5K is $10 for students, $15 for all others. Day-of-race registration is $15 for students and $20 for others.  Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Proceeds from sponsorships, gifts and registration directly benefit undergraduate scholarships at UC San Diego.  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.”

The Oct. 22 race will begin at 12:15 p.m. from the North Campus Field, adjacent to RIMAC, and will continue on a scenic course through the UC San Diego campus.  Participants may run or walk the 5K course; lunch and a brief awards presentation will follow.  In the event that weather precludes running or walking along the course, lunch and T-shirts will still be provided inside RIMAC Arena. 

To ensure that the event is as environmentally sustainable as possible, USE Credit Union and the UC San Diego Wellness Center will provide reusable water bottles for participants.  Online gifts and registration are also encouraged to minimize paper usage. 

This year, volunteers can count their time at the 5K toward Volunteer50: The Chancellor's Call to Service.

Event sponsors include: Fisher Scientific International Inc.; Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Celgene; Pfizer Inc.; Peter ’67 and Peggy Preuss; Dr. Seuss Foundation; Alan Swinney, ’89; UCSD Alumni Association; USE Credit Union; Andrew and Erna Viterbi; UCSD Emeriti Association; UCSD Retirement Association and The Burnham Foundation.

To volunteer for the event, please email pvansise@ucsd.edu.  Volunteer hours will count toward “Volunteer50: The Chancellor’s Call to Service.”  The program is a challenge from Chancellor Fox to the entire campus community to perform 50 hours of service during the university’s 50th Anniversary celebration. 

To register for the Chancellor’s Challenge 5K and support undergraduate scholarships with an online gift, please visit www.ucsd.edu/5k. 

Giving to UC San Diego

Fifty years ago, the founders of the University of California, San Diego had one criterion for the campus: It must be distinctive.  Since then, UC San Diego—recognized as one of the top ten public universities by U.S. News & World Report and named by the Washington Monthly as number one in the nation in rankings measuring “what colleges are doing for the country”—has achieved the extraordinary in education, research and innovation.  But with higher education’s share of state revenue declining each year, we must increasingly rely on financial support from private sources to continue to provide the local impact, national influence and global reach as one of the world’s leading research universities.  As we celebrate our milestone anniversary, we also look forward to a long future of UC San Diego visionaries, innovators and overachievers, thanks to our generous donors.  Visit www.giving.ucsd.edu or www.50th.ucsd.edu for more information.