together in transition

The first three months of 2025 have brought great transition to the UCLA community. Julio Frenk began his tenure as UCLA's chancellor, ushering in a new era of leadership for the campus' chief executive office. Simultaneously, greater Los Angeles was overwhelmed by wildfires that caused unprecedented devastation, disproportionately impacting underserved L.A. communities. 

Immediately following the fires, the Bruin community rallied support for those impacted. UCLA donated space at UCLA Research Park for a disaster recovery center run by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Over 1,000 Bruin volunteers have supported the FEMA disaster recovery center connecting over 19,000 households to recovery resources since it became fully operational on Jan. 15.

In this issue we spotlight Adam Bell ’91, Cert.’03, and Cushon Bell ’93, one of many families that lost their home (pictured above) in Altadena to the Eaton Canyon fire. As you learn about how the fire unfolded for this Bruin family and their ongoing challenges to return to Altadena, I encourage you to also consider the lasting impact this will have on this historically Black community. It will take a collective community effort to recover from this disaster, and UCLA intends to be here for the long haul.

For updates and resources related to the Los Angeles area fires you may visit the UCLA Alumni community support website and reference UCLA Newsroom for ongoing updates.

Cory Rosas
Bruin story since ’16
Director, Alumni Diversity Programs & Initiatives

diversity digest spotlight

our offerings

Dr. Julio Frenk, UCLA’s seventh chancellor, recently hosted a special UCLA Alumni Town Hall, UCLA Connects: Developing a Collective Vision for UCLA’s Future — a dedicated space for conversation, reflection and exchanging ideas. Watch the recording of the lively discussion moderated by Julie Sina, associate vice chancellor for Alumni Affairs.

On March 4, UCLA Alumni partnered with the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute, Dialogue Across Difference Initiative and the Common Experience at UCLA to host Stanford psychologist and author Jamil Zaki for a three-part series of events exploring empathy, kindness and social connection. The visit included a roundtable discussion, a public lecture as part of the Compassion Conversation series, and an intimate dinner dialogue with students and alumni. Learn more about these events and listen to the lecture.

The Latinx Success Center opened on UCLA's campus with a celebration on Cesar Chavez Day to support students and the community. The center is a key part of UCLA's continued effort to become earn the Hispanic-Serving Institution designation.

The Climate and Wildfire Research Initiative (CWRI) builds diverse interdisciplinary research coalitions to understand the intricate dynamics that drive wildfires and their impacts on communities in our region. They provide decision makers with up-to-date, high-quality, actionable knowledge to address the growing wildfire crisis.

Bruin stories start here. We are looking for Bruins that inspire you and exemplify stories of change, impact, purpose and community. Whether through career achievement, family commitments, volunteer work, being the first to accomplish, overcoming challenges or acts of kindness, every Bruin has an important story to share. Nominate a Bruin today.