VP Allen-Diaz promises to wear bees, eat insects for scholarship donations

Celebrities, UC employees, students and people from all across California are tapping into their social media networks and making promises to raise money for UC student scholarships.

VP Barbara Allen-Diaz has made her own daring promise. If she can raise $2,500 by Halloween, Allen-Diaz promises to wear a colony of bees, highlighting the importance of pollinators to the health of agriculture and the planet. If she raises $5,000, she promises to eat protein-rich insects, a plentiful and low-cost source of protein critical to meeting the world’s growing food demand.

Assistant VP Tu Tran is making a promise on the VP’s promise. “If Barbara does the bee thing, I will donate $500,” Tu said. “If she eats the scrumptious larvae meal, I will donate another $500, for a total of $1,000.”

To see VP Allen-Diaz’s promise and to donate, visit http://promises.promiseforeducation.org/vpanr. Feel free to share this link on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks to raise money for UC students.

Norm Gary, professor emeritus in the Department of Entomology at UC Davis, has graciously agreed to wrangle the bees. Mark Hoddle, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Entomology at UC Riverside, has enthusiastically volunteered to help round up some larvae and maybe crickets for her to eat.

Currently, some regents and all 10 campus chancellors have made promises. Governor Jerry Brown promises to host a "Brown Bag" lunch at his office in Sacramento with a student from each UC campus if people donate $10,000 on his promise page.

To see promises made by Jamie Foxx, Dan Dooley, Bob Sams and others, visit http://www.promiseforeducation.org.  The campaign ends Oct. 31.

Promise for Education is a UC systemwide fundraising effort for undergraduate scholarships. All funds raised will provide direct scholarships and grants to undergraduate students from California with a demonstrated financial need. For more information about the Promise for Education campaign, see http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/30065.

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