Wednesday, February 25, 1998
Awards recognize outstanding students
DONATION: 10 million contribution to benefit more
undergraduates
By Marisa Yamane
Daily Bruin Contributor
All the glitz and glamour of Hollywood was present at UCLAs
annual College of Letters and Science Awards dinner. This mini
Academy Awards event was held on Monday night at the Regent Beverly
Wilshire Hotel.
College of Letters and Science Provost Brian Copenhaver opened
the program by announcing a landmark gift.
Universal Studios Chairman Emeritus Lew Wasserman and his wife,
Edie, have donated a $10 million gift to Campaign UCLA, the
campus-wide fund-raising effort first established in May 1997.
Most of the gift, $8.75 million, will go to the Edith and Lew
Wasserman Fund for Undergraduate Support at UCLA, to provide
scholarships for promising undergraduate students.
This gift will help 100 students every year to get their
education, forever, said Chancellor Albert Carnesale, about the
largest gift ever designated for undergraduates.
More students than you could ever count will benefit from the
generosity of the Wassermans, he said.
The Wassermans have also presented the university with a
$250,000 maintenance fund for the brand-new UCLA Palm Springs
Center.
On top of that, the Wassermans have donated their estate in Palm
Springs, valued at $700,000, for UCLA meetings, events, and
conferences.
Another contribution of $300,000 will establish the Edith and
Lew Wasserman Fund for The Geffen Playhouse, to subsidize the
operating costs at the UCLA-owned theater.
Its very necessary, said Lew Wasserman of UCLAs latest and most
ambitious fund-raising endeavor, Campaign UCLA.
Ive thought 10 thousand times that its a good idea. I decided to
make my gift early.
Wasserman is an honorary co-chair of Campaign UCLA and a member
of the campaign cabinet.
Actor John Lithgow, whose wife teaches in the history department
at UCLA, was the master of ceremonies for the awards dinner.
The evening was just so wonderful and inspiring last time that I
was so delighted to be asked again, said Lithgow, who was the
master of ceremonies two years ago.
The College of Letters and Science recognized and presented the
Charles E. and Sue K. Young Undergraduate and Graduate Student
Awards to eight exceptional students, and the Faculty Award to a
professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
The 1998 recipients of the Charles E. and Sue K. Young Graduate
Student Awards, which included a $2,000 prize, are Christopher
Campbell (sociology), Alison Hamilton (anthropology), Beth Lorenzo
(musicology), and Amber Puha (mathematics). The award winners are
all outstanding students in their respective departments.
This award symbolizes the values of the UCLA community and to
receive this is a tremendous honor, Campbell said.
Its special because it combines academics, teaching, and
commitment to the UCLA community, he said.
The 1998 Charles E. and Sue K. Young Undergraduate Student
Awards went to Roberto Alvarez (English), Elizabeth Lamers
(musicology), Michelle Toy (business economics), and Marina Dorian
(psychology and Russian).
Receiving this award is a special honor for me because I didnt
apply for it, said Toy, who plans a career as an entrepreneur.
I was nominated by the economics department, and I didnt find
out til they told me I had won, she said.
Experience everything that UCLA has to offer, whether its
academics or community service. Enjoy your years beyond the books,
she advised her peers.
The Faculty Award of $5,000 was presented to Charles M. Knobler,
a professor and department chair of chemistry and biochemistry. He
is internationally renowned as one of the worlds experts in the
science of chemicals in their liquid state.
Finally, the College presented Dr. Mitchell D. Covel and his
wife, Susan, with the evenings highest accolade, the Honorary
Fellow Award. The Covels received a standing ovation for their
24-year involvement in fund raising.
The Covels opened their home and hearts, and have given
generously of their time. Its out of their love for UCLA,
Chancellor Carnesale remarked.
The Covels were overwhelmed by all the accolades they have been
receiving.
When we donated, we never expected all the attention, Sue Covel
said.
Late last year, Sunset Commons was renamed Covel Commons in
their honor.
MICHAEL ROSS WACHT/Daily Bruin
Chancellor Albert Carnesale speaks at the College of Letters and
Sciences Awards dinner. Eight students each received $2000 prizes
this year, and with a donation by Lew and Edith Wasserman, even
more outstanding students will be recognized in the future.