SUBJECT:

Passing of Former Provost and Professor Faustina Solís

Faustina Solís, a former Thurgood Marshall College provost, assistant chancellor and professor at UC San Diego, died on August 3 at the age of 90. Solís was a pioneer and leader in education and public health. She was the first Latina to be appointed to a provost position at UC San Diego. Due to her extensive background in public health, she was the first full professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine without a medical degree or doctorate. She was also elected president of the California Association for Maternal and Child Health, the first lay person to head the organization which had traditionally elected physicians to the post.

While at UC San Diego, she established public health coursework for undergraduates and medical students, and introduced ethnic content in the medical school curriculum, based on her experience in social work and the development of healthcare services for underserved populations. Solís also promoted mentoring programs and aimed to engage new students-particularly from minority backgrounds. Solís's contributions were honored in 1990 when Thurgood Marshall Lecture Hall on the UC San Diego campus was renamed the Faustina F. Solís Lecture Hall.

Over the course of her career, she served as deputy director of the public health division of the California State Department of Health, and was coordinator and director of the Farm Workers' Health Service Program with the State Department of Public Health from 1967 to 1971. She was also directly involved in the establishment and operation of community health program for Latinos in San Ysidro and San Diego County, and held consultation appointments in Guadalajara, Venezuela and Ecuador.

Faustina Solís was a beloved campus leader who helped establish the foundation of excellence on which our campus has been built. Memorial services are incomplete. Please check the Thurgood Marshall College website (http://marshall.ucsd.edu/) for updates.

We will always be grateful for the legacy she created, and her many contributions to our campus and community.

Pradeep K. Khosla Chancellor Suresh Subramani Executive Vice Chancellor - Academic Affairs