Leading the Way
Sucesses of Visionary Alumni Span Wide Spectrum of Fields

Malinda Danziger | June 6, 2011

The successes of our alumni constantly remind us that UC San Diego is more than a place; it is a state of mind. The university not only imparts knowledge, it teaches its students how to think, and UCSD alumni bring those cognitive abilities into the world and make it a better place.

Following is just a sampling of the visionary alumni who have changed, and are changing the world. Their successes span the spectrum of careers from biotech to literature, and include entrepreneurs, artists and politicians. Even so, they are just a narrow slice, a sliver, of the 130,000 alumni who have graduated over the years. They are the vanguard of the UC San Diego generations who impact our daily lives.

In celebrating them, we are celebrating all UCSD alumni.

Robert Berlinger

• Robert Berlinger, M.F.A. ’83

  Director, television and theater, whose work includes directing episodes of The West Wing, Arrested Development and Third Rock from the Sun

Gary Curtis

• Gary Curtis, Revelle ’69

  President and CEO of Percutaneous Systems, Inc., a medical device/treatment development company

Jodi Finkel

• Jodi Finkel, M.P.I.A. ’92

  Humanitarian and co-founder of nonprofit MuJER (Mujeres por la Justicia, Educacion, and Reconocimiento)

Peter Preuss

• Peter Preuss, M.A. ’67

  Former UC Regent, founder and former chairman of Integrated Software, envisioned creation of the Preuss Charter School on the UCSD campus

Gary Jacobs

• Gary Jacobs, Revelle ’79

  Chairman and CEO, Jacobs Investment; chair and co-founder of High Tech High, HTH Learning and HTH Foundation

Connie Mariano

• Connie Mariano, Revelle ’77

  First Filipino-American to reach the rank of Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy, first woman named director of the White House Medical Unit and former chief physician to three sitting presidents

David Goeddel

• David Goeddel, Revelle ’72

  Bio-researcher elected to the National Academy of Sciences for successfully using genetic engineering to coax bacteria into creating synthetic human insulin

Steve Hart

• Steve Hart, M.A. ’80

  Co-founder and chief technical officer, ViaSat Inc., a global satellite communications company

Kurt Campbell

• Kurt Campbell, Muir ’80

  Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, co-founder/former CEO of the Center for a New American Security

UC San Diego graduates have made a significant impact in terms of the economy, healthcare, skilled workforce, businesses, jobs and so much more. The university’s graduates will be coming back to campus to celebrate the achievements of all alumni during the third annual UCSD Alumni Weekend, June 16-19. For more information, complete event details and registration, visit www.alumni.ucsd.edu/alumniweekend.

UCSD Alumni is fortunate to have generous sponsors that have stepped forward to help support the Alumni Weekend events and activities. These sponsors include:

• Visionary Sponsor: Geico
• Innovator Sponsor: Bank of America
• Game Changer Sponsors: Estancia; Susan, Ph.D. ’86, and Steve Hart, M.A. ’80; Pamela Fadem Palisoul, ’72 and Philip R. Palisoul; SAIC; Bud Tribble, ’75; and Volt
• Pioneer Sponsor: Jerrilyn Malana, ’86
• Media Partner: The Daily Transcript