Remembering Richard Blum

The University of California Santa Barbara celebrates the life, and contributions, of Richard Blum, who passed away earlier this week. He was an alumni of UC Berkeley, a member of the UC Board of Regents, and founder of the Blum Network across the UC system. He was dedicated to raising awareness of poverty and inequality at home and abroad, as well as providing avenues for engagement. To fulfill this vision, he established interdisciplinary centers at several UC campuses focused on learning, research, and action on these issues. Here at UCSB, the Blum Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy has developed robust curricular, research, and public programming to foster interdisciplinary, socially engaged research and learning about poverty and inequality, with the larger goal of contributing to collective action that advances intersectional economic and environmental justice regionally, in the United States, and abroad. We are grateful for Richard Blum's vision and critical contributions to make this work possible these last few years, and going forward.