A.D.J. "Tony" Haymet, Ph.D.

Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Robert S. Sullivan, Ph.D.
Dean, Rady School of Management

For more than five decades, the internationally renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has pioneered climate  change research, beginning with the 1958 measurement of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Since then, Scripps has expanded the scope of its research, studying how human activities drive and affect global weather and climate patterns.

Vice Chancellor for Marine Sciences, Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Dean of the Graduate School of Marine Sciences, Tony Haymet, shares how Scripps is working closely with state agencies and others to respond to profound climate challenges that will soon face the region—from sea-level rise to wildfires. With this insight, Haymet also details how Scripps is imparting the need for “green” leadership to decision-makers throughout California, the nation and the globe.

Closer to home, Scripps is working with UCSD’s Rady School of Management to usher sustainability, conservation and green practices into the corporate arena. Robert Sullivan, dean of the Rady School, will highlight how together with Scripps the school is working to create and cultivate new, groundbreaking methods and initiatives for driving a new “green collar” class of business leaders.

Date:  September 25, 2007
Location:  San Francisco, CA

Date:  September 26, 2007
Location:  Silicon Valley, CA

SPEAKER INFORMATION

UC INITIATIVES TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING PDF

Mark H. Thiemens, Ph.D.
Dean, Division of Physical Sciences

From Al Gore’s award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth to an agreement to curb global warming between the world’s “Group of Eight” industrialized countries, the issue of climate change weighs heavy on the global population. What really, though, is the quantifiable scientific evidence driving the “green” movement? Where is the supporting data found?

Enter Mark Thiemens, professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and dean of the Division of Physical Sciences at UC San Diego. The internationally renowned scientist’s discoveries have improved understanding in areas as diverse as climate change, the origin of the solar system, acid rain and the accumulation of greenhouse gases.

Here, Thiemens will demystify the science behind climate change and global warming—taking an around the world journey from 20-foot-deep ice pits at the South Pole to dense rainforests of South America. Not only will Thiemens share his fascinating findings, but he will discuss how the information can be effectively used at the voting polls, on Capitol Hill and in our everyday lives.

Date:  October 3, 2007
Location:  Washington D.C.

SPEAKER INFORMATION

UC INITIATIVES TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING PDF

“Susan Shirk has written the definitive book at the right time.”
Madeleine K. Albright

Susan Shirk, Ph.D.
Director, UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation

Once a sleeping giant, China today is the world’s fastest growing economy—a dramatic turnaround that alarms many Westerners.

Susan Shirk, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State during the Clinton Administration, knows many of today’s Chinese rulers personally. Looking at the world through their eyes, Shirk explores where the real danger in Chinese politics lies: not in the country’s astonishing growth, but in the deep insecurity of its leaders. The more developed and prosperous China becomes, the more threatened the regime feels of its own citizens. This fear likewise influences China’s foreign policy, presenting a real possibility of conflict if the U.S. does not come to understand China’s internal situation and handle the country with care.

Dr. Shirk serves as Director of the University of California’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. She is a professor at UCSD’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. She has written articles appearing in The Washington Post, Financial Times and Wall Street Journal, as well as several books on China.

Signed copies of Shirk’s most recent acclaimed book, China: Fragile Superpower will be available during the evening.

Date: October 16, 2007
Location:  Los Angeles, West

Date: October 17, 2007
Location:  Los Angeles, East

SPEAKER INFORMATION

The Changing Political Landscape

Americans vote by filtering small bits of information and using their instincts.  This 'gut rationality' works best when the choices are clear, and not complicated. “People don’t learn more than they need to to make a simple choice. You’re choosing between two brands.”

Samuel Popkin, Ph.D.
Professor of Political Science at UC San Diego

In political campaigns, the public makes apt use of its values, which serve as a prism for interpreting the larger world. This homing device allows voters to quickly combine their bedrock beliefs with a smattering of new information and make, on the whole, reasoned decisions. People learn from past experiences, daily life and the news media, and they flesh out their world view based on their default values, according to UCSD Political Science Professor Samuel Popkin, a leading scholar on voting behavior, public opinion, and campaigning.

Popkin introduced this notion in his classic book, “The Reasoning Voter,”an insider’s look at campaigns, candidates, media and voters.  He convincingly argues that voters make informed logical choices, using the example of President Ford choking on a tamale while campaigning against then candidate Ronald Reagan in the Texas Republican primary of 1976. From the fact that Ford seemed to know nothing of their food (he did not know to shuck the tamale and choked as a result), Popkin says Mexican American voters could reasonably infer he would know little about them or their culture and therefore that they would have reason to prefer Reagan. They could reasonably reach such a conclusion without having to know much about the detailed policy positions of either candidate.

Date: March 13, 2007
Location: Orange County, California

SPEAKER INFORMATION

INVITATION (PDF)

“While we are getting to know the enemy, we cannot forget who we are.”
Gershon Shafir, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology at UC San Diego

Why did the Middle East become the cradle of terror? And why now? Does poverty foster terrorism? What is the strategy of terrorists? Is the “global war on terror” wrong? As a nation struggling against terrorism around the globe, we are reminded that terrorism has a long and inglorious history as a political strategy. It has, however, undergone a particularly dangerous mutation in the Middle East during the past decade with terrorists relying on religious justification to attack international targets. The turning point of this campaign was the linkage between a small group of Arab Salafi jihadis, a sideshow in the Afghani liberation war against the Soviet Union, and larger pools of Muslims in Europe and Asia to engage in a campaign of international terror with breathtaking ambition. To engage in successful counterterrorism we must be willing to pay attention to the terrorists’ own explanations as to why they declared war on the U.S. and the West.

Date: March 27, 2007
Location: Sacramento, CA

SPEAKER INFORMATION
INVITATION (PDF)

“Stem cell research is likely to lead to substantial changes in the ways we diagnose and treat human disease in the future."

Dr. Larry Goldstein, ’76
Director of the Stem Cell Research Program, UC San Diego

Patricia S. Churchland, BPhil
Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department, UC San Diego

Dr. Michael Kalichman, ’75
Adjunct Professor of Pathology, UC San Diego, School of Medicine
Director of the Research Ethics Program, UC San Diego

While the scientific community has reported a great deal of progress in the field of stem cell research, an ethical debate still remains around the research and use of embryonic stem cells. Armed with a better understanding of cancer stem cells, ways of manipulating human embryonic stem cells and differentiating them in different stem cell types, scientists are optimistic about the treatments that can potentially be developed as a result of stem cell research for cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other devastating genetic diseases.

Join us for an open conversation about advancements in the field, ethical considerations surrounding the research and how scientists are meeting these challenges. Can stem cells successfully be gathered from amniotic fluid as an alternative to the use of embryonic stem cells? How may a historical perspective of past controversies concerning medical technologies help us to better understand the modern debate? What should we expect from the research efforts in the near—and distant—future?

Date: April 4, 2007
Location:  San Diego, CA

SPEAKER INFORMATION
INVITATION (PDF)

What we want here is something we haven't seen before on Broadway, costumes that are more related to contemporary cutting-edge dance rather than sequins and spangles. It's not a retread, more of a remix—classy, sexy and witty.”
Judith Dolan, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Division of Arts and Humanities, UC San Diego

How do you translate words and music into visual imagery? How do you maximize the impact of a character with costume? How do you reconcile artistic choices with the economic realities of contemporary American theater? These questions are the daily challenges facing a professional stage designer. Professor Dolan produced over 80 sketches for the costumes in LoveMusik and then oversaw their construction in seven New York City workshops until they arrived at their first dress rehearsal. She shares the collaborative processes involved in the mounting of a theatrical production, the long journey from sketch to stage and its importance to the success of a seamless performance.

The highly anticipated Broadway musical, LoveMusik will open to the world for the first time in May. UCSD alumni, parents and friends, however, are invited to experience an insider’s perspective and exclusive sneak preview of the new musical which follows the lives of the unlikeliest of lovers—the brilliant, intellectual German composer Kurt Weill and a lusty girl from the streets of Vienna who became his muse and star, Lotte Lenya—spanning 25 years through Berlin, Paris, Broadway and Hollywood.

Penned by Alfred Urey, LoveMusik is staged by 21-time Tony Award-winning director, Harold Prince, whose credits include The Phantom of the Opera, Evita and Cabaret. Award-winning actors Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy will headline the show, performing a full range of Weill’s songs in costumes created by UCSD’s very own Tony Award-winning designer, Judith Dolan.

Date: April 17, 2007
Location:  New York, NY

SPEAKER INFORMATION
INVITATION (PDF)

“With each promotion, the challenges facing leaders get harder. With increasing pace, complex strategic decisions must be made in environments of dynamic change. Every leader who aspires to big impact will make mistakes.”

Saj-nicole A. Joni, ’73, Ph.D., ’77
CEO, Cambridge International Group Ltd.

How do great leaders continue to raise the bar and sustain their leadership intentions and results over time? What happens when you break into the senior ranks, and then want to succeed at a whole new level?

Drawing on her experiences as a UCSD-trained mathematician, as a faculty member at MIT, a top executive in global companies such as Microsoft and CSC Index, and now as an internationally known strategist and third opinion advisor to some of the world’s top executives and leaders of educational institutions, Joni will discuss:

• The dynamics of developing the right inner circle for your leadership
• The truth about trust in organizations
• How to get the provocative power of the third opinion working for you
• Sustaining intention and delivering results

In addition to gaining important insight into successful leadership practices from Joni, who is also a Forbes.com columnist on business leadership, attendees will receive signed copies of Joni’s book, The Third Opinion.

Date: April 19, 2007
Location:  Boston, MA

SPEAKER INFORMATION
INVITATION (PDF)

MORE

UCSD Alumni Association Overview
The UCSD Alumni Association was formed in 1964 by a small group of early graduates, and has grown today to represent over 100,000 alumni. Our mission is to foster a lifelong, mutually beneficial relationship of alumni and students with UCSD. The Association works to provide alumni with continued access to the resources of the University, communicate UCSD news and happenings, and facilitate a network for alumni and student interaction. MORE

The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What's Next
Since its founding nearly 50 years ago, the University of California, San Diego has rapidly achieved the status as one of the top institutions in the nation for higher education and research. In order to keep UCSD at the forefront of academic and research excellence, the university launched The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What's Next in July 2000. Donations to the comprehensive $1 billion fundraising campaign help support students and faculty, expand academic programs, fund research endeavors and strengthen innovative funds to meet the highest priority needs. The Campaign for UCSD has generated over $800 million to date, but there is nearly $200 million to raise before the campaign concludes in June 2007. The campaign provides a way for alumni, parents and friends to make a lasting contribution to the university and be an integral part of UCSD's next chapter of growth. MORE

Office Hours:
Mon - Fri, 8AM - 4.30PM