OFFICE OF THE PROVOST
THURGOOD MARSHALL COLLEGE
July 26, 1993
ALL AT UCSD
Dear Colleagues:
As you may have already heard, The Regents of the University of
California approved our recommendation to rename Third College at
their May meeting in San Francisco. The era of Thurgood Marshall
College at UCSD, therefore, unofficially began on the first of
this month. My staff and several offices of the campus will
spend much of the summer preparing the necessary physical changes
throughout the campus. Indeed, the signs on the College's
administration building have already been changed.
Thurgood Marshall College will continue to reflect the important
academic and cultural traditions that have guided Third College
for the last quarter of a century. We feel that the programs of
the College are a tribute to the life and career of the late
Justice, and will continue to develop students as both scholars
and citizens. Our Partners At Learning Program (PAL) trains and
places UCSD students in local inner-city elementary schools as
tutors and mentors. Our required core curriculum, Dimensions of
Culture, presents first-year and transfer students with a
rigorous three-quarter social science sequence. Under the
auspices of Thurgood Marshall College, the Price Public Affairs
Forum brings an uninterrupted series of distinguished speakers
addressing current social issues to the campus and San Diego
community (the Price Forum speaker this fall is Marian Wright
Edelman, October 22). The student leadership program of the
College will continue to provide students with opportunities for
personal growth. As always, Thurgood Marshall College will
maintain its twenty-year-old tradition of inviting its graduating
seniors to bring two members of their family across the stage at
commencement to receive their degree together.
An important new aspect is the anticipated establishment of the
Thurgood Marshall Institute. Under the directorship of Professor
Peter Irons, the Institute (currently in the "Project" phase)
will have three chief responsibilities: 1) sponsor faculty
research in the areas of public law and education; 2) host annual
conferences on issues relating to public law and education; and,
3) promote collaborative faculty/undergraduate research projects.
The thing that will not be so easy to change will be our
automatic and lingering references to the campus' northwestern-
most college as Third College. I, like you, will spend much of
next year guarding my speech in that regard. In the spirit of
meaningful caprice and in order to help quickly impress Thurgood
Marshall College upon the consciousness of the campus, we are
instituting the 5-cent rule. Here's how it works. If you catch
anyone saying "Third College," you should collect a nickel from
them. When you have garnered a sufficient stockpile of nickels,
send them to Tom Rutter at UCSD Financial Aid for student
support.
I wish to thank all members of the UCSD community--students,
faculty, staff and alumni--for showing the courage to change and
to advance proudly the philosophy that created this unique
College over two decades ago. The presence of Thurgood Marshall
College on the University of California San Diego campus says a
great deal about our character as educators and people.
Welcome to the era of Thurgood Marshall College!
Best Wishes,
Cecil Lytle
Provost