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UCSB Receives a $50 Million Donation

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Rachel Miller Student Contributor, University of California - Santa Barbara
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCSB chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Although UCSB maintains the stigma as a party school, gleaning nicknames such as U Can Study Buzzed and University of Casual Sex and Beer, the University of California, Santa Barbara has actually skyrocketed in academics and become one of the chief hubs for scientific research in the past three decades. With five Nobel laureates on its staff, it is no surprise that UCSB has attained recognition as an exceptional research doctoral program. Our university is currently highly ranked in the National Research Council’s most recent survey of research doctoral programs, placing first in the country in materials sciences based on a compendium of scores in multitudinous categories. UCSB’s accumulated scores for the chemical engineering category put us in third place, just after Caltech and UC Berkeley. As for the electrical engineering category, UCSB finished in fifth place, following Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and Caltech. On Saturday, May 12, UCSB Alumni Jeffrey Henley and his wife Judy aided in our mobilization towards a more academically acknowledged school when they pledged $50 million dollars to UCSB.

Henley and his wife stated in a telephone interview that their hope for their incredibly generous donation is to support school research as well as exemplify the need for private contributions to public schools, considering the UC system’s current economic problems and massive reductions in state funding. In addition, the Henleys want their charitable donation to correct the public’s perception of UCSB, changing the public’s view of UCSB as just a party school to UCSB’s real status as an academically excellent university.

“I’m a product of it and I love it,” Henley said of UCSB. “People like myself have to step up more and more to help the UC system. It’s one of the remaining crown jewels of California and is a great economic engine for California and the United States. We can’t let it deteriorate or stand still.”

Of the Henley’s $50 million pledge to our university, $25 million has been given upfront to finance a new building, which will be named Henley Hall. Henley Hall will hold the Institute for Energy Efficiency, in which $5 million will be given to recruit and retain the institute faculty. Nevertheless, UCSB must acquire an additional $25 million for the rest of the building’s necessities. Furthermore, the Henleys have pledged another $20 million to finance and fund the College of Engineering, accounting for faculty recruitment, graduate student support, and equipment.  

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Rachel Miller

UCSB

Rachel is a senior at UC Santa Barbara and studies Communication and Global Peace and Security. Rachel is from a small, beautiful town in southern California called Palos Verdes. However, Palos Verdes is just one of the many places Rachel has lived. Rachel spent her childhood moving and traveling all over the world, living in places such as Indianapolis, Indiana; Santiago, Chile; Vienna, Austria; and Orlando, Florida. Rachel has found her heart and her home in California, choosing to spend her college years in sunny Santa Barbara. However, Rachel continued her wanderlust when she studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain in Fall 2012. At UCSB, Rachel is an immensely dedicated and involved member of her sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma, where she held the positions of Panhellenic Delegate, Inter-Greek Counselor, Rho Gam, and a member of the Nominating Slate. Best Buddies, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is a passion of Rachel's, as she is their Social Media Coordinator as well as an active and proud member. As a member of the Lambda Pi Eta Communication Honors Society, Rachel is able to implement her prowess and affinity for communication and communication-related issues. When Rachel is not writing, participating in Kappa events, or volunteering, you can find her in the gym, on the soccer field, watching Modern Family, or cooking. Rachel's love for sports, food, and writing often times go hand-in-hand, as one may see in her weekly blogs. For the past two summers, Rachel has been freelance writing for the Los Angeles Times, and hopes to continue her career pursuit of journalism after she graduates. Rachel is elated to be a part of Her Campus's fabulous team and loves every moment of it!