Seven people were honored during the annual UCSB Alumni Association Awards Banquet on June 3 at Corwin Pavilion.

Recognizing the special role of teachers, Paula Bruice, senior chemistry lecturer, received the association’s Distinguished Teaching Award. She is an expert in making organic chemistry understandable and has taught at UCSB since 1971.

Former students and long-time supporters of alumni activities were also saluted. Angela Belcher, ’91, Ph.D. ’97, a materials science and bioengineering professor at MIT and winner of the MacArthur “genius” fellowship, received a Distinguished Alumni Award.

Robert Sipchen, ’76, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times journalist, was another distinguished alumni awardee. He is a former Daily Nexus staffer and has worked with the UCSB Press Council.

Robert Lorden, ’49, a former Associated Students director responsible for creating the University Center and other service institutions, received the Graver Alumni Service Award. His association with UCSB spans six decades.

A Lifetime Achievement Award went to William Cunningham, ’52, a retired Kraft Foods executive with extensive experience in Latin America. He was honored for a “lifetime of cross-cultural service and entrepreneurship.”

Another Lifetime Achievement Award was received by Dionicio Morales (1937-1943) for 65 years of civil rights work, principally for founding the Mexican American Opportunities Foundation.

Two Honorary Alumni were named this year. They were business leader and UC Santa Barbara Foundation trustee and former chair Alex Pananides and acting Executive Director Dick Jensen, whose ties to UCSB go back to 1964.