“I am pleased to bestow this honor on four individuals who exemplify this university’s tradition of excellence and public service,” Chancellor Gene Block said in a university press release.
Chancellor Emeritus Charles E. Young created the medal in 1979 for UCLA’s “Golden Year,” celebrating the Westwood campus’s 50th year in operation. It has been given annually to recipients such as former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and business and civic leaders Eli and Edythe Broad, according to a university press release. The medal recognizes individuals for demonstrating outstanding leadership in their respective fields.
This year the recipients are UCLA alumna Linda Griego, philanthropist Lloyd Cotsen, businessman Richard S. Ziman and Charles M. Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering.
“Fueled by intellect and a deep commitment to serving others, this year’s UCLA Medal recipients have worked diligently to support higher learning and improve the world we live in,” Block said.
Griego, who received her degree from UCLA in 1975, has contributed to the economic recovery and development of Los Angeles. She was president and chief executive of Rebuild L.A., an organization that helped with the economic recovery of South Los Angeles from the 1992 riots.
Since then, according to a press release, Griego has served on numerous boards for nonprofit and corporate organizations, such as the CBS Corporation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Cotsen has been sponsoring the archaeology program at UCLA for over 40 years and is the largest individual donor in the history of UCLA’s College of Letters and Science. He has also been a part of various cultural and educational organizations such as the Getty Trust, the Los Angeles Public Library and the Huntington Library.
“Lloyd has been an invaluable supporter of the Getty for many, many years. He served as an able trustee and played a very important role in the renovation and reimagining of the Getty Villa. We join others in saluting Lloyd on this wonderful honor,” said Ron Hartwig, vice president of communications at the J. Paul Getty Trust.
Because, like all the recipients, Ziman has demonstrated leadership in his field, the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA, created for education and research in real estate, was named for him in 2001.
Ziman was also volunteer chairman of the board of the City of Hope National Medical Center for six years and is the founding chairman and former chief executive of Arden Realty Inc., the largest commercial real estate owner in Southern California, according to a press release.
Vest is president emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has served in various government advisory committees and has influenced policies on science, education and national security, said a university statement. He was given the National Academy of Engineering’s Arthur M. Bueche Award in 2000 for shaping government policy to foster research and links between academia and industry.
He will be the keynote speaker at the commencement ceremony for the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science in June, where he will also receive his medal.
The recipients are chosen based on nominations sent to the UCLA Office of the Chancellor, typically written by a dean. The letters contain background information about the candidates and are discussed by the Chancellor’s Executive Committee, which makes the decision, said Elizabeth Kivowitz, a university spokeswoman. Letters are then sent to the recipients, who are asked to accept the medal at a ceremony suggested by the nominator.
Chancellor Block will present the medals at four separate ceremonies throughout May and June.