Dashew Center honors Doby for long UCLA career
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 9, 2002 9:00 p.m.
By Christina Jenkins
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
[email protected]
Carnesale. Wooden. Judge Joe Brown.
The likes of UCLA’s academic, athletic and alumni elite
attended a posh reception Wednesday to recognize the achievements
of a colleague in all three arenas.
Winston Doby, a three-time UCLA graduate, four-year track and
field athlete and former vice chancellor, was honored by the Dashew
International Student Center as the recipient of the center’s
annual Neil H. Jacoby Award.
The Jacoby Award itself was the result of Doby’s idea to
create an award that recognizes “individuals who have made
exceptional contributions to humanity and a commitment to enhancing
international understanding.”
In January, Doby left his post as the vice chancellor of student
affairs at UCLA, a position he held for 20 years as the
longest-serving vice chancellor in UCLA history. He now serves as
the vice president of outreach for the UC.
In past years, award recipients have included people such as
Kirk Douglas and Ted Turner. This year, the Center recognized one
of its own.
Doby was behind the center’s inception in 1978. He was an
advocate for the construction of a center on campus.
The Dashew Center, housed in Bradley International Hall, works
to integrate UCLA’s foreign and domestic students.
“He was one of the people who recognized the need for
having a center on campus ““Â so it literally
wouldn’t be where it is today (without him),” said
Chancellor Albert Carnesale.
Many undergraduates don’t have the experience of studying
abroad, Doby said, adding that more students should take advantage
of the opportunity, and that the destination is unimportant.
“It really doesn’t matter where ““ to just do
it, to experience difference (is important). You gain perspective
by experiencing cultures that are greatly different from your
own,” Doby said.
“Winston is the father of the Jacoby Dinner. What better
way to honor the guy who came up with the idea?” Carnesale
said.
In recognition of Doby’s 33-year career at UCLA, Carnesale
announced the university is establishing the Winston C. Doby
Endowed Scholarship Fund for students in financial need.
But Carnesale wasn’t the only one to recognize
Doby’s contributions to the UCLA community.
Stan Dashew, the center’s namesake, called Doby “the
most intelligent man I have ever met.” Others at the
reception had similar praise.
“No written word or spoken plea can teach the children
what they should be, nor all the books on all the shelves ““
it’s what the teachers are themselves,” former coach
John Wooden said, applying one of his famous quotations to
Doby’s success as an educator.
The nearly 450 guests in attendance were a testament to
Doby’s vast connections.
“You cannot travel around Southern California and say you
are from UCLA without people saying, “˜Whoa, you must know
Winston Doby,'” Carnesale said.
Doby earned a B.A. in mathematics, an M.A. in education and a
doctorate in higher education from UCLA. As an undergraduate, he
was a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
Kourt Williams, a 1985 graduate of UCLA, remembered Doby as
being an inspiration.
“Brother Doby has always served as a role model for
me,” said Williams, also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi.
Williams played football at UCLA in the early 1980s, and credited
Doby for refocusing his attention on academics.
“I will always attribute my success (to him),”
Williams said. Williams is now working toward a Ph.D., and said
Doby wrote him a letter of recommendation.
Other dignitaries in attendance included the Chinese Consul for
Education. More international students studying at UCLA hail from
China than from any other country.
“Most of our students ““ they’ve been given a
lot of help by the center. I’m always inspired by the spirit
of promoting cultural understanding. It is my wish that the Dashew
International Center will continue to grow in that
direction,” said E Xuewen.
The reception is the Center’s largest fund-raising event.
Wednesday’s dinner raised $180,000 that will be used to fund
the Center’s programs throughout the next year.
