Excellence in Stewardship Awards
Learn about the Excellence in Stewardship Awards program.
Overseen by the UC San Diego Foundation’s Donor Relations and Stewardship Committee, the annual Excellence in Stewardship Awards promotes outstanding donor stewardship. The program recognizes UC San Diego employees who, although their job descriptions may not include donor stewardship, demonstrate excellent results in engaging with and acknowledging our donors and supporters.
2025 Excellence in Stewardship Award Nominations
Nominations are now closed for the 2025 Excellence in Stewardship Awards. Please direct any questions about the program to Taylor Thomas at t2thomas@ucsd.edu.
Who May Nominate, Who May Qualify
When you nominate such an outstanding individual, the Excellence in Stewardship Award encourages and recognizes that employee for exemplary efforts that demonstrate the impact of philanthropy and significantly strengthen a donor's relationship with the university.
Any UC San Diego employee, UC Foundation Board Trustee, or campus volunteer, who is familiar with the individual may nominate. Individuals may not self-nominate and are not eligible to win more than one award in a five-year period. Please note that employees are not eligible for nomination if their job description intrinsically requires the stewardship of donors. This includes Advancement staff, University Communications staff, Government and Community Relations staff, vice chancellors, deans and other senior administrators or campus leaders. Employees who are currently enrolled at UC San Diego as students are not eligible for nomination.
Award Categories
- Faculty
- Staff
Awardees selected by the UC San Diego Foundation Donor Relations and Stewardship Committee will be notified in April and recognized by the UC San Diego Foundation in June 2025.
Award Criteria
Our colleagues demonstrate Excellence in Stewardship through meaningful activities that:
- Demonstrate impact of a donor's philanthropy
- Are personalized and meaningful to our supporters
- Strengthens the relationship between UC San Diego and the donor
- Are innovative, original and cost-effective
- Show persistence and a long-term commitment to consistent, high-quality stewardship efforts
2024 Excellence in Stewardship Award Winners
Faculty Category:
- Robert Brill '88 , Professor of Scenic Design, Department of Theatre and Dance
- Irene Litvan, MD, FAAN, FANA, Director, Parkinson’s and Other Movement Disorder Center, UC San Diego Health
Staff Category:
- Guadalupe "Lupe" Cruz Fernandez, Director, PATHS Scholars Program, UC San Diego Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Stephanie Lehman, PhD , Lead Donor Coordinator, UC Health Milk Bank
Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, Dr. Alexander Khalessi, Annika Nelson, Dr. Rajesh Gupta, Phyllis Epstein, and Jeff Silberman at the UC San Diego Foundation Board dinner on June 8, 2023
at the UC San Diego Foundation Board dinner on June 23, 2022 (Not pictured, Andrew McCulloch)
2021 awardees Karin Marsolais '80 and Drs. Gentry Patrick and Jason Sicklick
2020 awardees Drs. Ed Abeyta, Robert Naviaux and Stuart Sandin

Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, Dr. Brian Keating, Dr. Shu Chien, Jesse DeWald
and Sandra Timmons '81 at the UC San Diego Foundation Board dinner on June 6, 2019
2018 awardees Dr. Susan Shirk and V. Adrian Camacho
2017 awardees Dr. Ellen Beck and Rudy Murillo accepted their awards with Sandra Timmons
at the UC San Diego Foundation Board dinner on June 22, 2017
2016 awardees Mary Beebe, Dr. Catriona Jamieson and Lynda Claassen accepted their awards
at the UC San Diego Foundation Board dinner on June 2, 2016
2015 awardees Ann Klein and Rand Steiger accepted their awards
at the UC San Diego Foundation Board dinner on June 4, 2015
2014 awardees Barbara Parker, MD and Portia Bibb accepted their awards
at the UC San Diego Foundation Board dinner June 12, 2014
2013 awardees Nigella Hillgarth and Debbie Soldano accepted their awards at the UC San Diego Foundation Board dinner on June 21, 2013
Note: this page has a friendly link that is easy to remember: http://blink.ucsd.edu/go/stewardship-awards