Service, Outreach Efforts Recognized at Diversity Awards
Twenty-five individuals, departments, units recognized

Ioana Patringenaru | Feb. 14, 2011

The first time Eduardo Fricovsky came in contact with UC San Diego, he was a ninth-grader coming from a neighborhood where violence and drug use were common occurrences. Fast forward a few decades and Fricovsky is now a faculty member at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, mentoring a diverse student population. He also volunteers at UCSD’s Student-Run Free Clinic Project, which serves a diverse population.

“I owe so much to this campus,” Fricovsky said at the 16th Annual Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Diversity Awards Ceremony held Tuesday at the Price Center.

He was one of 17 individuals and eight departments, organizations and units recognized for their outstanding contributions in support of UCSD’s commitment to diversity and understanding of other cultures.

“Diversity is fundamental to our mission and it is a fundamental part of our excellence,” Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said Tuesday.

This year’s ceremony is all the more special that it coincides with the campus’ 50th anniversary, celebrating achieving the extraordinary—exactly what the award recipients have been doing. Fox said.  “I know each one of you knows how important diversity is to UC San Diego,” she told the audience. “In fact, nothing is more important to me.”

The award winners come from a wide range of disciplines, Fox also said. Some helped heal racial tensions last year. Others reached out to underserved populations on campus and beyond. Others forged partnerships to help the university and the community. Fricovsky brings together many of these achievements.

A Success Story

From left: Dr. Sandra Daley, UCSD's chief diversity officer, Dr. Eduardo Fricovsky and Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.
Photos/Kevin Walsh

Fricovsky graduated from what was then Gompers High School. His neighborhood was defined by gangs and drugs, he said. But he strived to stay away from these influences. “For me, education has always been the most important thing in my life,” he said.

In ninth-grade, he enrolled in a UCSD outreach program run by Dr. Sandra Daley, now the campus’ chief diversity officer. In 1997, he became a UCSD student. He graduated in 2002 with a degree in biochemistry and chemistry. He went on to the UCSF School of Pharmacy, where he graduated in 2006. He wanted to come back to UCSD and received a three-year fellowship at the School of Medicine here. Finally, he applied for an opening at Skaggs and has been an assistant professor there for three years.

When he’s not mentoring students at Skaggs, or bringing middle and high school students to campus for “Pharmacist for a Day” events, he volunteers at the Student-Run Free Clinic, working with faculty across disciplines to help an underserved population.

Fricovsky is evidence that UCSD has achieved its outreach mission—and can achieve it over and over again, said Chief Diversity Officer Daley. Faculty and staff members worked in the community and stayed the course, allowing Fricovsky to graduate college and build a successful career, she said. Now he’s giving back as a faculty member here.

“It’s UCSD at its best,” Daley said.

Healing tensions

Mentha Hynes-Wilson, dean of student affairs at Thurgood Marshall College, with Dr. Sandra Daley and Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.

Several of the other recipients were recognized for stepping up at a difficult time for the campus last year, after a racially themed off-campus party and an unauthorized broadcast on Koala TV.

Mentha Hynes-Wilson, the dean of Student Affairs at Thurgood Marshall College, was cited for creating teachable moments and working closely with the Black Student Union in closed-door conversations. She also helped heal the campus by creating safe spaces and intergroup dialog in the Marshall community, officials said. She also encouraged students to go back to their high schools and communities and generate interest for higher education among students of color. Finally, she co-chaired the production of “Triton Voices: Diversity and Community at UC San Diego,” a multi-media orientation program.

“I’m really humbled,” Hynes-Wilson said after the awards ceremony.

She emphasized that her work is only a part of many campus efforts. “I’m standing on the shoulders of others,” she said.

Reaching Out

Michael O. Navarro, a graduate student at UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, with Dr.Sandra Daley and Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.

While Hynes-Wilson was working at Marshall, Michael O. Navarro labored at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. As a student who grew up in Compton, he worked with five other graduate students to plan a large diversity forum at Scripps. He also met with Vice Chancellor Tony Haymet and together they set up a trip to Compton High School to speak with students. The trip resulted in “Focus on the Future,” a summer event that allowed Los Angeles and San Diego high school students to take courses at UCSD for three weeks. Scripps’ Focus on the Future team also received an award Tuesday.

“I’m grateful to be recognized,” Navarro said. “There are so many great programs to increase access and unify our campus.”

In addition to on-campus contributions, many were recognized for their efforts off campus. Elizabeth Santillanez is a program manager and community health representative supervisor for the Comprehensive SDSU-UCSD Cancer Center Partnership. She has been central to the recruitment and retention of an extraordinary diverse team of community health representatives. Diversity and outreach have been a focus for Santillanez ever since she joined UCSD in 1995, after earning a master’s degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, officials said.

Whatever their accomplishments, unity was the common theme Tuesday, said Tom Leet, assistant vice chancellor of Human Resources.

“Unity must be the product of our efforts,” he said.