Beyond Brilliant

UC Riverside is acclaimed for creating an academic environment and peer network that supports students like no other comparable campus in the nation. The successful completion of Beyond Brilliant, UC Riverside’s first fundraising initiative dedicated to student-focused priorities across the university, helped create even more opportunities for Highlanders to shine.

Building a brighter future, together.

Thanks to the support of hundreds of Highlander alumni, volunteer leaders, and friends, we successfully raised more than $50 million over two years to expand need- and merit-based scholarships and fellowships. Thanks to the philanthropic support of donors like you, we continue to broaden access and ensure affordability to our world-class educational experience, helping to propel next generation students into bright futures.

Impacts

Expand Access and Opportunity

Your support makes a UC Riverside education attainable for California’s best and brightest, helping students overcome obstacles as they seek admission and work toward degree completion.

Increasing undergraduate student scholarships
Increasing graduate student fellowships

Energize Learning and Discovery

Your support empowers innovative teaching and learning strategies and funds the creation of inspiring spaces such as state-of-the-art labs and classrooms equipped with experiential technologies.

Expanding undergraduate and graduate student internships and experiential learning
Inspiring spaces and capital projects to enhance the student experience

Enhance Health, Well-being, and Sense of Belonging

Your support funds the resources, centers, and programs that provide for students’ basic needs, nurture mental and physical wellness, and foster our culturally diverse campus community.

Caring for students’ basic needs and improving health and well-being
Enriching student groups and programs

Match Update

The Trustee Student Support Match Challenge created a tremendous outpouring of support for UCR students since the launch of Beyond Brilliant on October 4, 2021. This match is now closed and we look forward to launching another match opportunity in the future. Thank you to all of our donors who participated to increase the impact for Highlanders!

Generosity inspires generosity

If you are interested in inspiring the next wave of philanthropic support for UCR students, please consider making a gift to bolster future matching efforts. Contact Nesha Crossman, Senior Executive Director of Individual Giving, at nesha.crossman@ucr.edu or (951) 235-6571 to learn more and discuss options.

Articles, News, and Videos

The people of UC Riverside – students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters – truly are beyond brilliant. Here are their stories…

April 27, 2022

Late UCR professor honored through endowed award

Tom Morton, a professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of California, Riverside, died March 3, 2020. He is remembered as a global citizen and scientist who embraced foreign languages and cultures, demonstrated a cross-disciplinary passion for scientific research, and who showed concern for the environment.

February 15, 2022

Endowed gift will broaden the horizon for UCR students

A $2 million gift from the Pollitt family will fund scholarships that support study abroad opportunities.

October 04, 2021

UC Riverside launches student-centered Beyond Brilliant

No student should have to choose between buying books or food. Or pass up an internship opportunity because they can’t afford gas. Or drop out of school to ease the financial burden on their family. But these choices are a reality for many students who attend the University of California, Riverside.

October 04, 2021

Board of trustees lead Beyond Brilliant by example

There’s more to university life than filling out admissions forms, showing up for classes, and studying for tests. Erik Anderson, an Inland Empire business leader and philanthropist, wants all students at the University of California, Riverside to take advantage of the world-class education they are being offered. And he’s pledging $5 million to help make that happen.