It is said that Khosla repaid the three Magi’s gift of gold, frankincense, and myrrh by giving them tenure.
Photo by: David Vereau Gorbitz
UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla will present the UC San Diego community with a “holiday gift” this Friday in honor of the University’s commitment to public service and the larger community. A ceremony attended by other administrators and people with reportedly “nothing better to do” will be held in the Student Services Center Multipurpose Room starting at 11:30 a.m.
“UC San Diego chancellors have a long history of giving back to the community,” read the press release written by the University Communications and Public Affairs (UCPA) office under Chancellor Khosla’s name. “From public service and Volunteer 50 to student scholarships and the Triton 5K, UC San Diego chancellors have regularly given back to the community.”
Michael Ringly, an employee in the Financial Aid office, said, “As soon as I saw the campus notice, I put the event on my calendar. I have to make sure I don’t schedule any work during the event, so it’s important to get the notice as soon as possible. They usually have catering at these things, so I try to go whenever I can.”
While approximately 100 staff and faculty members are expected to attend, no students are expected to. John Johnson, a third-year Marshall student, said, “Chancellor’s what? What is this ‘holiday gift’ crap, anyway? Do they really think we care? Have they ever met a student? They probably spend all day sending these so-called gifts to my inbox.” Johnson added, “Maybe they need to get out of their office-to-reserved-parking loop and actually see the rest of campus.”
Samantha Kelly, a graduate student in the Department of Political Science expressed a similar sentiment, saying, “UCSD likes to talk a lot about how they’re making the university and world a better place, but it always seems to turn into a bunch of meetings and committees. I would think that, being faculty administrators, the leadership of the university would want to actually do something good instead of talking about doing something good. I’m pretty sure the catering bills for their events and meetings are bigger than whatever they’ve actually accomplished at this point.”
The Chancellor’s office would not comment on the points raised by Kelly and others. The office directed reporters towards the UCPA office which released a statement reading, in part, “The UC San Diego community is committed to upholding our Principles of Community and working to the highest levels of public service to our larger community and the state.” An unnamed employee walking back into the Chancellor’s Complex after a lunch break was quoted as saying “I think we did some good work in our weekly status meeting yesterday. We had this great taco bar — you should have been there. Actually I think I have a picture on my phone …”
The Chancellor’s gift has yet to be announced publicly. Some people have speculated that it is related to the new installation in the Stuart Collection in Revelle College, while others have hoped that it will be the announcement of a new parking structure. According to inside sources, the Chancellor’s gift is a plaque to be placed in North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood, which is currently under construction. The plaque is to read: “Made possible by the Hard Work of Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla and Others — December 7, 2018.”
