Changemaker News

UCSD students give back to community during Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

January 13, 2024 - MISSION BAY, Calif.— University of California San Diego (UCSD) did their part this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend with a Day of Service, followed by a week of more services. The work is done in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On Saturday, dozens of UCSD students joined Mission Bay High School students in doing projects at Mission Bay High. Read more

Kick Off 2024 with Changemaker Week

January 9, 2024 -  As part of Changemaker Week 2024, UC San Diego invites the campus community to join in a transformative weeklong celebration dedicated to igniting change and fostering the spirit of activism. To be held Jan. 13-20, the lineup of in-person and online events is designed to empower students, staff, faculty and alumni to take action toward driving positive impact in their regional community and beyond. 

The event series—hosted by the Changemaker Institute and sponsored by various units and organizations across campus—encourages participants to dive into an array of workshops, volunteer projects and community discussions. Interested attendees can choose to participate in a panel led by local business leaders, sip on hot cocoa while learning about student organizations and even march alongside peers in the city’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade Read more

Stories of Transformative Impact Shared During Changemaker Fellow Showcase

May 9, 2023-  How do you educate children about the importance of mental health and wellbeing? What happens when you take an anti-racist approach to examine quantitative research? How do you address the problematic narratives that prevent solidarity among communities of color?

These are just a few of the questions that UC San Diego graduate students and faculty members are exploring with the support of two Teaching + Learning Commons Changemaker fellowship programs at the university—the Changemaker Faculty Fellows Program in Community Engaged Learning (CEL) and the Changemaker Fellows Anti-Racist Pedagogy Learning Community (ARPLC). Read more

Photo by Erik Jepsen

California's Nation Leading Service Programs to Unite Communities

November 11, 2022-  California Governor Gavin Newsom, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and California Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday work alongside volunteers and California Volunteers corps members in Fresno, CA. Ahead of Veterans Day, these community projects highlighted the state’s unprecedented commitment to uplifting volunteer and service opportunities. Watch now

UC San Diego Celebrates its Inaugural Cohort of College Corps Fellows

October 25, 2022-  UC San Diego students joined more than 3,200 undergraduates this month for a statewide launch and swearing-in ceremony in celebration of the first #CaliforniansForAll College Corps Fellows. 

Led by California Volunteers and the California Office of the Governor, College Corps is a statewide paid service program that engages students in community-serving opportunities, while also receiving financial compensation and other benefits. Read more

UC San Diego Named Inaugural Partner in Statewide College Corps Initiative

April 21, 2022 - Undergraduate fellows to support post-pandemic challenges in local K-12 schools as part of new public service initiative. 

Students at UC San Diego have big hearts. They are eager to make a difference by dedicating time outside of the classroom—from preparing supplies for those experiencing housing insecurity to writing cards for seniors to combat loneliness during the pandemic, to devising new ways to reduce waste and protect our planet.

Applications are now open for undergraduate students to apply to be part of a new statewide program designed to help address some of California’s most urgent challenges. UC San Diego was selected as an inaugural partner of #CaliforniansForAll College Corps, an initiative designed to create debt-free pathways to a college education while engaging students across the state in public service. As one of 45 inaugural partners, UC San Diego’s service projects will focus on K-12 education and work toward closing the educational gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Read more

First ‘Wise Elder Changemaker’ Awards Celebrate San Diegans Age 65+

April 19, 2022 - Five remarkable people are being celebrated by the Life Course Scholars Program at UC San Diego with “Wise Elder Changemaker” awards.

Born out of a desire to highlight the life work and current accomplishments of San Diegans 65 years and older “who have had a significant impact on people, land, communities and movements for change across our region,” the inaugural awards recognize changemaking work that ranges from food justice to housing advocacy, from the arts, to gender and racial equity, to community healing. Read more

Welcome in 2022 with UC San Diego’s Changemaker Week

January 13, 2022 - The start of the year offers new opportunities to take action that positively benefits our local communities, region and more. At UC San Diego, students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members are ringing in 2022 with Changemaker Week from Jan. 15–22. As part of the fourth annual celebration, a weeklong lineup of free virtual events will highlight the outstanding changemaking work happening at UC San Diego and beyond. Read more

Meet UC San Diego’s New Cohort of Changemaker Faculty Fellows

November 12, 2021 - The Changemaker Institute at the University of California San Diego today announced its 2021-2023 cohort of selected fellows. Seven faculty members have been selected to participate in the Changemaker Faculty Fellows Program, a two-year faculty development program designed to cultivate a robust learning community and campus network of changemakers committed to addressing real-world challenges through their teaching. Read more

"Down for Change: Envision a Different Future": Triton Tools & Tidbits Podcast Episode for 4:3

January 21, 2021 - Do you want to make change for a different future but not sure how? Listen to UC San Diego student Changemakers share their passions and give tips on how you can get started towards becoming a Triton Changemaker. Read more

Campus Kicks Off 2021 with Virtual Changemaker Week

January 14, 2021 - UC San Diego is kicking off 2021 with a weeklong virtual event series dedicated to learning the skills and taking the steps needed to change the world for the better. During the third annual Changemaker Week—which will be held Jan. 16-23—students, staff, faculty and alumni can participate in an array of free workshops and online activities centered on public and community service, social innovation, research, social justice and more. Read more

UC San Diego Names 2020 - 2022 Changemaker Faculty Fellows

December 17, 2020  - Now in its second year, the Changemaker Faculty Fellows Program has named 16 faculty members in its 2020-2022 cohort. This two-year-long faculty development program enables faculty members to build a robust learning community and campus network of changemakers committed to addressing real world challenges through their teaching. Read more

UC San Diego launches Changemaker Institute for those dedicated to making a difference

October 26, 2020  - Led by the African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together,” UC San Diego launched its Changemaker Institute this month. A “changemaker,” according to UCSD, is “anyone who has the courage to do things differently and takes creative action to solve social problems.”Read more

UC San Diego Announces Launch of Changemaker Institute

October 15, 2020  - The new campuswide initiative will champion, oversee and reinforce changemaking efforts throughout UC San Diego. Read more 

Going Out On Top

March 12, 2020 - The triton basketball teams win both the men's and women's California Collegiate Athletic Association(CCAA) Tournament title en route to their respective NCAA tournaments.

Undergraduate Students Bring Intranet to Rural Ghanaian School

March 12, 2020 - Undergraduates from the Global Ties program developed a computer server and intranet system that allows students to access Internet pages and class material downloaded by teachers without internet. This project will be installed this summer in Senase, Ghana at the Semanhyiya American School in order to meet the needs of students who struggle with accessing educational material. Read More

“60 minutes” Correspondent Bill Whitaker to Address Class of 2020

March 5, 2020 - Emmy-Award winning "60 Minutes" correspondent Bill Whitaker, a celebrated journalist hitting the front lines of major news like big pharma's connection to the opioid epidemic and presidential campaigns, will deliver the keynote address at the All Campus Commencement on June 13-14. With more than 10,000 guests and 10,000 students expected to attend, this event aims to promote a sense of community between UCSD students and families. Read More

Twelve-Hour Race to Design a Diverse Smart City

February 6, 2020 - 12 hour Change-A-Thon event, led by the UC San Diego Black Resource Center, was held on campus in order to challenge students to think of solutions to problems that impact black communities revolving around health and wellness, law and community enforcement, and access. Read More

Lim(b)itless in India: UC San Diego Students Travel Abroad to Empower Amputees

February 6, 2020 - Project Lim(b)itless pushes for accessible mobility aid by creating a project that makes custom built prosthetics from the scan of the user's residual limb and delivers it to them. It has the potential to be extended to all areas of the world like India in busy cities like Jaipur to isolated villages. Read More 

Seventh College: Training the Next Generation to Address “A Changing Planet”

January 30, 2020 - Seventh College will welcome its first class of students this fall with Kate Antonovics, teaching professor in the Department of Economics, at the helm as its newly appointed inaugural provost. Read more at thisweek@ucsandiego.

Engineer Transforms Personal Experiences into ‘Bridges to Education’ for Underrepresented Students

January 23, 2020 - When he was 10 years old, Oscar Vazquez-Mena learned that his ancestors, the ancient Mayans, had once been a technologically advanced culture that excelled in mathematics, astronomy, art and architecture. Yet all around him in Chiapas, his home state in Mexico, families lived in poverty and children did not have access to many educational opportunities.

Now, as an assistant professor of nanoengineering at UC San Diego, Vazquez-Mena is working to support the educational development of students from marginalized communities in the United States and across the border. Read more at thisweek@ucsandiego.

UC San Diego Names Inaugural Changemaker Faculty Fellows

October 31, 2019 - Eight UC San Diego faculty members have been named inaugural 2019-2020 Changemaker Faculty Fellows, a program created in partnership between the Teaching + Learning Commons and the Center for Student Involvement, with the support of the Changemaker Steering Committee. This yearlong faculty development program provides an opportunity for selected faculty members to integrate community engaged service-learning (CESL) into their teaching, research and public service, while being recognized as campus leaders in CESL pedagogy. Read more at thisweek@ucsandiego.