UCSB Alumnus George Thurlow to Join UC Board of Regents

George Thurlow of Santa Barbara will join the governing Board of Regents of the University of California as a regent-designate on July 1. Following a one-year term as regent-designate, he will serve a one-year term as an ex-officio voting regent.

Thurlow, who is publisher and chief executive officer of the weekly Santa Barbara Independent, recently was elected treasurer of the Alumni Associations of the University of California and, as such, will become one of the alumni representatives on the Board of Regents. The AUCC is the umbrella organization representing the interests of all alumni groups in the UC system.

A 1973 graduate of UC Santa Barbara, Thurlow has been very involved in the leadership of the campus's alumni association for many years. He is a past president of the UCSB Alumni Association and a former member of its Board of Directors. He is also a past member of the Board of Directors of The UCSB Foundation.

"George has been an outstanding alumni leader and a tireless, dedicated volunteer for our campus," said UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang. "Our university is fortunate to have the benefit of his vision, wisdom, and guidance. We look forward to his active participation in the important work of the UC Board of Regents."

The Board of Regents is made up of 26 voting members: 18 appointed by the governor for 12-year terms, a student appointed by the Regents to a one-year term, and seven ex-officio members. These include the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, Superintendent of Public Instruction, the president and vice-president of the Alumni Associations of UC, and the president of the university. In addition, two faculty members – the chair and vice-chair of the Academic Council – sit on the board as non-voting members.

Thurlow said his goal as a Regent would be to serve as "a voice for academic excellence, student diversity, and careful stewardship of our scarce UC resources."

Thurlow has been publisher of the Santa Barbara Independent since 1994. Earlier in his career he served on the faculty of California State University, Chico, where he taught journalism and was adviser to the student newspaper. As a journalist, he worked as editor of the weekly Chico News & Review, a reporter at the Woodland Daily Democrat, and as a reporter and editor of the now defunct Santa Barbara News & Review. His work as a freelance reporter has appeared in more than a dozen newspapers and magazines.

In Santa Barbara, Thurlow is involved in many community organizations and currently serves on the boards of directors of the Santa Barbara Foundation, the Santa Barbara Downtown Organization, and Partners in Education. He also is vice-chair of the Board of Directors of Pacific Broadcasting Co., which operates KDB, Santa Barbara's classical music radio station.

Among his many professional affiliations, he is treasurer of the Board of Directors of the California Newspaper Publishers Association and chair of the board of the association's foundation. He is also chair of the Board of Directors of the Colorado Springs Newspaper Group.