Six graduating women will share an unrestricted cash award of $53,500, an unexpected gift from the now-defunct Santa Barbara City Club whose members sought to reward top female graduates at UC Santa Barbara for a "job well done."
The City Club Prize, one of the top cash awards for graduating seniors in the nation, is divided annually among the highest academically achieving women majoring in a social science.
A computer prints out the names of the women with the top six grade point averages who are notified by mail about the checks that will be sent to them. The prizes generally come as a complete surprise to the recipients, who can spend the money any way they wish.
The six 2004 winners are:
Sarah Mayer, communication and psychology, Santa Barbara, $11,000; Jaime Bond, business economics--accounting emphasis, Bakersfield, $10,500; Cherie Riban, business economics--accounting emphasis, Culver City, $9,500; Anna Verner, global studies, Yucca Valley, $8,500; Sarah Baitzel, anthropology, Rancho Palos Verdes, $7,500; Lauren Ponsford, communication, San Diego, $6,500.
The Santa Barbara City Club was established in the 1920s by a group of women who were interested in the political process.
The club disbanded in 1978, sold its property and bequeathed the income to UCSB with the stipulation that interest on the investment must be used "to reward the achievements of women who best exemplify the ideals of the club."
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