AAUCSF Wall of Fame Project

The Wall of Fame is a good project for UCSF alumni organizations because it addresses some of the unusual characteristics of this population.

Unlike most universities, UCSF lacks rallying points such as a campus center (like Harvard's Square), a symbolic monument (like UCB's campanile), or a sports team (like Stanford's football team.) There's nothing for our alumni to get nostalgic about.

Nothing traditional, that is. Rather, graduates from UCSF feel strong allegiances to their labs, their PIs, department chairs, faculty, or their research or clinical teams.

So the Wall of Fame offers an opportunity for alumni to recall and celebrate these people. In doing so, they will resume their allegiances to this extraordinary institution.

The steps in this project:

  1. fund it
  2. involve all UCSF schools
  3. design a selection process
  4. design the wall and plaques
  5. invite nominations
  6. make selections
  7. get plaques made, hang them
  8. unveiling ceremony
  9. ongoing (annual?) invitation/selection/plaque-making/hanging ceremonies

Wall of Fame PowerPoint presentation