Gifts to ACE of all sizes combine to support the next generation of math and science teachers, researchers, engineers, and health care professionals.

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For more than three decades, the Academic Excellence (ACE) Program has been successful in reducing the achievement gap for minoritized and underserved students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). ACE increases educational equity through community building, peer mentorship, and supplemental active learning experiences aligned with academic coursework. This important work would not be possible without the help of our supporters. Please help us bring more diversity to the future of STEM.

Generous gifts from UC Santa Cruz community members as well as friends, students and families of students in the ACE Program have allowed us to open doors into STEM fields for over 700 unique students each academic year.  These gifts allow us to increase our support by offering more problem solving sessions, mentoring sessions, professional development workshops and other hands-on STEM opportunities for our student population. We have waitlists every quarter and would love to serve even more STEM students!

We encourage you to view our student testimonials to hear perspectives of why ACE is so valuable to our students! 

Thank you to the following major donors for their support of ACE students!

  • Granite Rock and the Woolpert Family Fund
  • AT&T Aspire Program
  • Julie Packard: Dean’s Fund for Diversity in the Sciences
  • Joe Konopelski and Nancy Cox-Konopelski
  • The Mervyn L. Brenner Foundation Inc.
  • UC Santa Cruz alumni, past and present ACE students, and their families, since the 1990s 

ACE fiscal support is administered by the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences (PBSci). Please join us. Gifts to ACE of all sizes combine to support the next generation of math and science teachers, researchers, engineers, and health care professionals. 

Your tax-deductible contribution will help ACE serve more students in selected math and science coursework. 

Make a gift