Chancellor Announces New Undergraduate Scholarship Program

Photos by Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego Publications

Graduates from three local high schools will be eligible for a new undergraduate scholarship program–the Chancellor’s Associates Scholars–announced yesterday by Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. Beginning Fall 2013, the university will provide $10,000 a year for four years at UC San Diego to graduates of Gompers Preparatory Academy, Lincoln High School and The Preuss School UCSD. These schools, which partner with UC San Diego, work with historically underserved communities to support their youth throughout high school, and in seeking an education that prepares them to be college-ready.

“We are committed to our local community and the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Khosla. “These scholarships will strengthen our efforts to enroll highly qualified local students who will become our future leaders and innovators.”

To be eligible for the scholarships, graduates of the three schools must also meet two other criteria: They must be accepted to UC San Diego and they must be eligible for the University of California’s Blue + Gold Opportunity Plan. Under the Blue + Gold plan, educational and student services fees will be covered for California residents whose families earn less than $80,000 a year and qualify for financial aid.

The scholarship program is a multi-year pilot made possible by funding from Chancellor’s Associates, a university donor group. This loyal network of alumni, parents and friends makes an annual investment of $2,500 each, giving the chancellor the flexibility to respond to the university’s most urgent needs and critical priorities. In recognition of Chancellor’s Associates’ generosity, scholarship recipients will be known as Chancellor’s Associates Scholars.

“We are confident that this initiative will be a success and we hope to eventually expand the program beyond our partner schools to reach even more students in our community,” said Khosla. “But this is an important initial step.”

Approximately 45 students from the three schools will be offered the inaugural Chancellor’s Associates Scholarship. The Preuss School, which is located on the UC San Diego campus, is a unique charter middle and high school for low income, highly motivated students who strive to become the first in their families to graduate from a four-year college or university. The school, which opened in 1999, is jointly charted by the San Diego Unified School District and UC San Diego. Recognized by Newsweek as the top transformative high school in the nation for two years in a row, Preuss graduates are consistently accepted to four-year colleges and universities at a rate of nearly 95 percent, and almost 100 percent are going on to some form of higher education.

Gompers Preparatory Academy, a charter school in Southeast San Diego, opened in September 2005 with an enrollment of 950 students in grades seven to nine. Gompers now enrolls 950 low-income students in grades six to twelve. In June 2012, Gompers graduated 100 percent of its first senior class, and 100 percent of the class was accepted to two- and four-year colleges.

Lincoln High School, also located in Southeast San Diego, re-opened as a collection of four theme-based small schools in Fall 2007 after the old school facilities were razed and completely re-built. In developing curriculum, the teaching staff put special attention to data-driven instruction and culturally responsive content, with a heavy emphasis on teacher professional development. Since 2007, Lincoln students have achieved double-digit gains on state test scores every year.

UC San Diego’s partnership with all three schools is overseen by the Center for Research in Educational Equity, Assessment and Teaching Excellence (CREATE). CREATE was established as part of the university’s efforts to support local K-12 outreach and college preparation efforts, specifically for students too often underrepresented in college. The center functions like an educational field station, assessing the success of schools like Preuss and applying the principles learned through research and observation to other local schools with underserved students. One of the key aspects of the partnership between UC San Diego and these three schools is the presence of UC San Diego students on each school's campus. UC San Diego students serve as tutors and interns; they become the face of college, and are seen as positive role models and mentors.