UC Riverside holds many special memories for David Hadley ’71 and ’73, a retired researcher in diagnostic cardiology.
It’s where Hadley started dating his wife, Cheryl Hadley ’71, when they were both undergraduates. It’s also where he discovered his interest in geophysics.
“I had a tremendous experience here and it really affected the arc of my life,” said Hadley, a member of the UCR Foundation Board of Trustees since 2019. “I felt it was important to give back to other students.”
That’s why in honor of Giving Tuesday on Dec. 2 he’s pledged $5,000 to the UCR Fund if 150 donors give to the fund.
Hadley has donated regularly to UCR for more than 30 years, including helping to establish a scholarship in 2000 named after an influential professor, Shawn Biehler, that supports students studying geophysics.
For this Giving Tuesday, the Office of Annual Giving and campus leadership are spotlighting the UCR Fund due to the uncertainties facing research funding and other broader financial challenges.
Created in 1999, the fund is unrestricted and can be used to support a variety of student, staff, faculty, and university needs.
“The UCR Fund provides our campus leadership with the flexibility to respond to the university’s most urgent priorities, from supporting students in need to sustaining essential programs that keep UCR moving forward,” according to the university’s Annual Giving team. “By contributing to the UCR Fund, our community can make a direct and immediate impact where it is needed most.”
The UCR Fund has supported financial aid, student experiences, research, and economic development programs. Examples include helping a student organization launch a new program or helping create a new degree offering. It was also used to help transition UCR to online learning and working during the pandemic.
As a first-generation student, Hadley said UCR played an important part in shaping his life and continues to do so for new generations of students.
“It gives us a lot of joy to help out,” Hadley said. “People should consider donating to the UCR Fund to help preserve and extend the success of this institution and to help students thrive and be successful in their lives.”
Learn more about the UCR Fund and Giving Tuesday.
