Awards
2024 UCSC Alumni Awards Recipients
Fiat Lux Award: George M. Kraw (Cowell ’71)
Alumni Achievement Award: Keith Curry (Oakes ’99), Jacob Martinez (Oakes ’04)
Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award: Kamari Maxine Clarke (MA ’94 & Ph.D. ’97)
UCSC Ethos Award: Paul Fielder (Merrill ’84 & Ph.D. ’89)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award: Neroli Devaney (College
Nine ’19)
Fiat Lux Award
The Fiat Lux Award honors UC Santa Cruz alumni and friends who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and distinguished service in support of the university’s programs and goals.
George M. Kraw (Cowell ’71, history and Russian studies)
George M. Kraw (Cowell ’71) earned his BA in history and Russian studies from UC Santa Cruz. He was a member of the first UCSC rugby team. After graduating, he attended graduate school at Berkeley, where he received an MA in history and a JD from UC Berkeley Law. In 1981, he started his own law practice in Silicon Valley, which eventually became the Kraw Law Group and where he still works.
Alumni Achievement Award
The Alumni Achievement Award is presented to UC Santa Cruz graduates who are renowned for their distinguished professional achievement, leadership, and service to the community. The alumni receiving this award have made a positive impact in the lives of others and are recognized for their longevity and consistency of accomplishments over their professional lifetime.
Keith Curry (Oakes ’99, American studies)
Dr. Keith Curry (Oakes ’99) earned his degree in American studies. He is the President of the Compton College and CEO of the Compton Community College District. Dr. Curry is responsible for overseeing all departments and functions of Compton College. Dr. Curry co-founded and chaired Black Student Success Week. He currently serves as chair of both the National Panel on Black Student Enrollment and the Black Student Enrollment Expert Advisory Committee. His recent honors include the 2024 Diverse Issues in Higher Education—Diverse Champion Award.
Jacob Martinez (Oakes ’04, evolutionary biology)
Jacob Martinez (Oakes ’04), who earned a degree in evolutionary biology from UC Santa Cruz, founded Digital NEST—a technology workforce development hub providing youth in rural communities with high-demand technology skills, mentoring, and hands-on experience. NEST stands for Nurturing Entrepreneurial Skills with Technology. Since its founding in 2014, it has expanded, with locations in Watsonville, Salinas, Gilroy, Modesto and Stockton. Jacob serves as an external advisor to the Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz. He received The James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award in 2020 and a Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur Fellow in 2018.
Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award
The Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award recognizes UC Santa Cruz graduate alumni for notable achievement in a career directly related to their degree program. The recipient’s graduate degree from UC Santa Cruz played a significant part in their career success.
Kamari Maxine Clarke (MA ’94, anthropology) (Ph.D. ’97, anthropology)
Dr. Kamari Maxine Clarke (MA ’94, anthropology) (Ph.D. ‘97, anthropology) is the distinguished professor of transnational justice and sociolegal studies at the University of Toronto. With extensive research on legal institutions, international domains, and the politics of globalization, Professor Clarke has authored numerous books and articles, led a range of individual and collaborative research projects, and is an internationally recognized sociolegal scholar of law, culture, and power. She is currently working on two research projects. One focuses on geospatial technology, human rights evidence and the problem of ocularity–that is contemporary challenges with modes of seeing and knowing truth. The other is concerned with the Problem of Absence-Presence in the Black Atlantic World. She is a dedicated teacher and mentor who has directed over 40 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
UCSC Ethos Award
The UCSC Ethos Award recognizes alumni whose work and contribution to their community embodies and reflects the ethos of UC Santa Cruz. Award recipients embrace diversity, strive for an inclusive community, and have an abiding commitment to social justice and equity. They seek truth and the advancement of knowledge to serve society. They solve problems with courage, respect for diverse thoughts, and a willingness to be experimental. They celebrate others’ heritage, uniqueness, and contributions with a deep respect for human dignity and desire for transformational change.
Paul Fielder (Merrill ’84, psychobiology) (Ph.D. ’89, biology)
Dr. Paul Fielder (Merrill ’84, psychobiology) (Ph.D. ’89, biology) is currently a vice president emeritus at Genentech, Inc. Fielder received his undergraduate degree in psychobiology and Ph.D. in biology with a focus on reproductive endocrinology from UC Santa Cruz with Professor Frank Talamantes. He was then a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Fielder joined Genentech in 1993, where he has contributed to the development of many of Genentech’s life-changing biological therapeutics. More recently, Fielder has been a pioneer in helping to shape Genentech’s efforts in diversity and inclusion.
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award
The Outstanding Recent Alumni Award recognizes UC Santa Cruz alumni who have graduated within the past 10 years who reflect the values and mission of UCSC. This award honors recent alumni who are recognized for their notable professional achievements and contributions to society.
Neroli Devaney (College Nine ’19, sociology)
Neroli Devaney (College Nine ’19) returned home to Arcata, CA after graduating with a degree in sociology from UC Santa Cruz. She wasted no time putting her UCSC education and KZSC student experience to work. She connected with the local arts agency Playhouse Arts to start a local radio station, Humboldt Hot Air, which is a grassroots internet radio station that has become an essential community hub for folks to share their ideas, art, and music. Devaney’s dynamic and determined leadership resulted in the FCC awarding Humboldt Hot Air the license to broadcast as KHHA 94.7FM.
2025 UCSC Alumni Awards
Nominations open Monday, February 3, 2025 | Celebration to be held Friday, October 17, 2025
