Past Events
Signature Events
Alumni Weekend
UC Santa Cruz Alumni Weekend
An Evening at the Tate Britain Featuring Professor Isaac Julien
UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive, in partnership with the leadership of UC UK, invites you and a guest to a special evening at the Tate Britain to celebrate the first major UK exhibition by one of today's most compelling artists and filmmakers—UC Santa Cruz Professor Sir Isaac Julien.
Commencement
UC Santa Cruz Commencement celebration
Evolutionary | Revolutionary
A remarkable evening of art, science and life.
Farm & Garden
UC Santa Cruz Farm & Garden Benefit Dinner
Foundation Medal/Living Legends
The UC Santa Cruz Foundation Medal recognizes individuals of exceptionally distinguished achievement whose work and contribution to society exemplify the vision and ideals of UC Santa Cruz
Founders Celebration
A celebration of the alumni and faculty who exemplify the best of UC Santa Cruz.
John R. Lewis College Dedication Celebration
Join us as we celebrate the renaming of College Ten in honor of John R. Lewis. We will celebrate this momentous occasion with powerful speakers and performances, and a call to action to empower our students to seek justice and create necessary trouble in their educational journey and beyond.
Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation
Annual convocation celebrates the life and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Research Center for the Americas: Sharing Futures, Speaking Truths
Please join us for a celebration with civil rights and feminist icon Dolores Huerta (distinguished honoree) and community organizer Cristina Jiménez (keynote speaker), co-founder of United We Dream, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Research Center for the Americas (RCA).
Return to the Redwoods
Introducing a reimagined campus experience for UC Santa Cruz alumni. Return to the Redwoods welcomes alumni, friends, and family back to UCSC for a weekend of celebration, exploration, and an opportunity to relive the beauty of our campus. Reserve your apartment or residence hall room and join us in the Redwoods.
Scholarship Benefit Dinner
Join us for an inspiring evening as we gather in support of students.
Sidhartha Maitra Memorial Lecture
The Maitra lecture series, established in 2001, seeks to enrich the intellectual life of UC Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz community.
UC Santa Cruz 50th Anniversary
In 2015, UC Santa Cruz marks its 50th anniversary with a variety of events, including exhibits of iconic art and photographs, special activities, and a series of events in the fall that will celebrate the campus's roots, demonstrate its growth, and showcase its future.
UC Santa Cruz Alumni Awards Celebration
Introducing a reimagined campus experience for UC Santa Cruz alumni. Return to the Redwoods welcomes alumni, friends, and family back to UCSC for a weekend of celebration, exploration, and an opportunity to relive the beauty of our campus. Reserve your apartment or residence hall room and join us in the Redwoods.
UC Santa Cruz in NYC: Celebrating the work of Beth Stephens
UC Santa Cruz Dean of the Arts Celine Parreñas Shimizu, in partnership with Art Professor Beth Stephens, invites you to a special evening reception at Performance Space New York.
Notable Events
Faculty & Staff Campaign Launch
Celebrate the public launch of The Campaign for UC Santa Cruz
From Books to Moocs
Books to Moocs event listing
Jerry Garcia's 73rd Birthday
Jerry Garcia's 73rd Birthday at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History
Launch!
We launch. Ideas, dreams, passions, big thoughts, lives, careers.
Robert Reich on Saving Capitalism
"Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few"
Silicon Valley Campus Grand Opening
The opening celebration of the UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Campus, a multidisciplinary teaching and research hub
The Deep Read
Welcome to The Deep Read, a new program by The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz that invites curious minds to think deeply about literature, art, and the most pressing issues of our day. We’ll read books from a wide range of genres, exploring their implications on our politics, inner lives, and communities.
The Universe in Verse 2020
The Universe in Verse—an annual charitable celebration of science through poetry, created and hosted by Maria Popova of Brainpickings.
The attics of our lives - UC Santa Cruz
A preview exhibit of the Grateful Dead Archive
Through the Back Gate
Insider’s view of the UC Santa Cruz Farm and UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden
Undiscovered Shakespeare: Troilus and Cressida – PT 1
This three-part virtual reading of one of Shakespeare’s most unusual tragedies continues the “Undiscovered Shakespeare” collaboration between Santa Cruz Shakespeare, The Humanities Institute, and The Shakespeare Workshop.
Unquiet minds
A Gala Dinner Spiced with Tantalizing Talks
Lecture Series
A Fortress in Brooklyn
Join authors Michael Casper and Nathaniel Deutsch in conversation with Lila Corwin Berman about Casper and Deutsch’s new book A Fortress in Brooklyn.
A Public Dialogue: Living in a Frayed Democracy
We’re all impacted by this deeply polarized moment. How do we navigate life while political and cultural divisions are dangerously amplified and the world’s oldest democracies are under threat?
Alumni Achievement Award
In 1984, the UCSC Alumni Office began honoring alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their field. Recipients are alumni of UC Santa Cruz who have rendered special and outstanding service to UCSC or who, by personal achievement, have brought distinction to the university.
An evening with Jennifer Brea
Join Academy-Award Nominated Filmmaker Jennifer Brea and anthropologist and writer Megan Moodie for an evening of conversation and reflection on chronic illness, the global crisis of care, and Covid-19.
Beyond the End of the World Lecture Series: Nick Estes and Melanie Yazzie of The Red Nation
Nick Estes (Lower Brule Sioux) and Melanie Yazzie (Diné) of The Red Nation, respond to the prompt: What lies beyond dystopian catastrophism, and how can we cultivate radical futures of social justice and ecological flourishing?
Bunnett Research Sympoisum
The Bunnett lecture series is hosted annually by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in honor of Professor Emeritus Joseph Bunnett
Emeriti Lectures
Emeriti Lectures presented to the community by the distinguished Emeritus Faculty and generously sponsored by the Chancellors Office.
Faculty Research Lecture
Faculty Research Lecture is an annual event which dates back to 1967; selected Faculty Research Lecturers are considered an elite group, as the honor is among the highest bestowed upon a faculty member by his or her own campus colleagues.
Flatté Lecture in Science
Stanley Flatté Memorial Lecture presented by the UC Santa Cruz Department of Physics. Don't really have a description for this one. I can ask Branwyn or Eva if they have a better description of this lecture.
Kraw Lecture Series on Science and Technology
The past, present, and future of DNA-based forensics.
LASER Talks
Leonardo Art & Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER) is an international program bringing together artists, scientists, and scholars for presentations and conversations.
Mandel Lectures
The Mandel Lecture is designed to promote public awareness and appreciation in Astronomy generously sponsored by Steve Mandel and Carol Foote.
Morton Marcus Poetry Reading
The Annual Morton Marcus Poetry Reading honors poet, teacher, and film critic Morton Marcus (1936–2009). Morton, a nationally acclaimed poet, called Santa Cruz his home for more than 50 years.
Noel Q. King Memorial Lecture
A lecture series that honors Noel Q. King, "founding father" of Merrill College and religious studies at UC Santa Cruz.
Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture Series
The Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture Series is a lively forum for the discussion and exploration of ethics-related challenges in human endeavors.
SEEDS of Something Different: A Research University with Experimental Roots (2000-2010)
A live and participatory event series featuring readings from the new illustrated book Seeds of Something Different: the Oral History of the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Sinsheimer Distinguished Lecture in Biology
The Sinsheimer Distinguished Lectureship in Biology was established in 1992 by Chancellor emeritus Robert L. Sinsheimer and his wife, Karen.
Slugs & Steins
Reading Dickens Today with Professor John Jordan
Social Justice Lecture Series
UC Santa Cruz Social Justice lecture series
Sweetness in the Blood: Race, Risk, and Type 2 Diabetes
In launching the new book, Sweetness in the Blood: Race, Risk, and Type 2 Diabetes, James Doucet-Battle, a medical anthropologist and Assistant Professor of Sociology at the UC Santa Cruz, takes up the important task of weaving together complex strands of theory, practice, and experience into a coherent narrative about Type 2 diabetes, a seemingly simple disease to understand
Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Water Dancer
Bookshop Santa Cruz, The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz, and Marcus Books present: A virtual event with Ta-Nehisi Coates, in conversation with Adam Serwer, on Friday, November 20th, at 6:00 p.m. Pacific.
The Deep Read: Margaret Atwood
The Deep Read: Margaret Atwood Live September 22
The Original Thinkers Series
Original thinkers from one great university ask the big questions and push boundaries in talks that illustrate the breadth of UC Santa Cruz research.
University Forum
Immigration policies in the United States: Understanding violence nation-wide and in Santa Cruz
University Forum: Election Series
The Deep Read: Margaret Atwood Live September 22
Visualizing Abolition
The Institute of the Arts and Sciences and The Humanities Institute are pleased to present a poetry reading and conversation with award-winning American poet Reginald Dwayne Betts and renowned social psychologist Craig Haney, moderated by Professor Gina Dent.