Alumni News
Celebrating the Class of 2025: Innovators, advocates, and future leaders
Highlighting a handful of graduates who are ready to make a difference
Charting coastal futures
Alumnus William “Monty” Graham, the new director of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center—one of the nation’s leading hubs for environmental science—brings deep expertise in coastal ecological oceanography and a foundation shaped by UC Santa Cruz values.
In Memoriam: Michael Cowan
Michael Cowan joined UC Santa Cruz in 1969, just four years after the university opened, bringing with him a passion for American studies, literature, and the arts.
Almost Alumni Celebration welcomes class of 2025 to growing alumni network
The event served as both a festive kickoff to commencement weekend and a joyful transition from student life to the next chapter as proud UCSC alumni.
Changing the story: Acclaimed author William Finnegan on his long journey to The New Yorker
Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Finnegan (Cowell, ‘74, Literature), this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Humanities Undergraduate Alumni Award, spoke of the need for self-reinvention, crooked paths, career switches, and “changing your story” during his acceptance speech at this week’s Celebrating the Humanities event.
Experimental economist explores overlooked aspects of human behavior
Alumna Alessandra Cassar, now a professor at the University of San Francisco, found her path by working with UC Santa Cruz’s Learning and Experimental Economics Projects (LEEPS) laboratory as a graduate student.
Applying the science of social impact
UC Santa Cruz alumna Jennifer Rigney uses her Ph.D. in Psychology to support mission-based organizations in making effective, data-based decisions about their programs. She has helped advance the ocean conservation goals of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and now supports early childhood development as the director of evaluation and learning for First Five Monterey County.
Highlights from Alumni Reunion Weekend 2025
Alumni Reunion Weekend 2025 brought nearly 400 UC Santa Cruz alumni, faculty, staff, and friends back to campus for a joyful celebration filled with meaningful conversations, milestone reunions, and lasting memories.
Celebrating impact: The Sabatte Family Scholarship
The inaugural cohort of Sabatte Family Scholars is wrapping up their first year at UC Santa Cruz. Several scholars recently gathered with members of the donor’s family to celebrate the generous vision of the late Richard Sabatte.