UC Santa Barbara Parents Fund

The Parents Fund creates a community of parents actively engaged in their students’ college experience and provides the primary vehicle to philanthropically support the campus. Ensuring UC Santa Barbara’s academic excellence requires more than state funds and student fees. It requires the involvement and generous support of all UC Santa Barbara parents, affording valuable enrichment to every student.

Why Parent Support is Important

Unrestricted gifts to UC Santa Barbara provide flexible funding for top priorities and respond to the needs for new interdisciplinary programs, best practices for innovative teaching, and expanded services that support student success. However, any gift from a parent, to any designation on campus, helps to build the success of our Parents Fund. From programs, to facilities, to scholarships, parent gifts combine with other annual contributions to enhance nearly every aspect of undergraduate life.

All parents will receive a phone call from our Annual Fund students asking for their support through the Parents Fund. We encourage parents to make leadership gifts of $1,000 or more to become members of the Chancellor’s Council and enjoy tailored benefits. Membership in the Chancellor’s Council helps parents build a closer relationship with UC Santa Barbara as well as with other parents.

Chancellor’s Council benefits for supporters of the Parents Fund include:

• Invitations to university events, including our popular regional parent receptions
• Campus parking privileges
• Direct liaison with the Parents Fund & Outreach office for inquiries and referrals
• Recognition in the annual Report of Private Giving
• Receipt of university publications including UC Santa Barbara Today and Coastlines
• Reserved seating and parking at commencement for the current academic year

Gifts of all sizes are sincerely appreciated and truly make a difference. Private support to UC Santa Barbara through the Parents Fund is tax-deductible. Any parent interested in learning more about supporting the Parents Fund is encouraged to contact parent.outreach@ia.ucsb.edu.

Parent Outreach: Events and Receptions

Our outreach efforts serve as a bridge between families and their students at the university. Throughout the academic year, our goal is to keep families engaged with their students’ college experience and the accomplishments of UC Santa Barbara. Please join our outreach efforts by attending events on campus or parent receptions hosted in your community. Discover how you can gain access to an academic area or program that interests you while networking with fellow parents and university representatives.

Parents Chair

The Parents Chair(s) provides volunteer leadership for parent outreach and fundraising activities through out the academic year, working closely with campus staff and the UC Santa Barbara Board of Trustees.

Sarah Argyropoulos, 08-09 Parents Chair

Sarah and her husband, James, are current UC Santa Barbara parents of Alexander. Sarah is a Trustee of the UC Santa Barbara Foundation. The Argyropoulos family established the James and Sarah Argyropoulos Endowed Chair and Program Endowment in Hellenic Studies.

Sarah Argyropoulos (right) with son Alexander (center) and Dilling Yang, wife of UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry Yang.