Please find below the University of California announcement regarding the passing of our dear friend and colleague Dr. Charles E. Nathanson, Executive Director of San Diego Dialogue. The words strive to summarize his extraordinary life and vibrant career, including his unique contributions to San Diego and Baja California. Chuck will always be remembered with love and affection. With a heavy heart and on behalf of UCSD, I express my deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

Mary L. Walshok
Associate Vice-Chancellor of UCSD Public Programs and Dean of UCSD Extension

In Memoriam: Charles E. Nathanson, Ph.D., 1941-2003; Pioneered San Diego Dialogue

Dr. Charles E. Nathanson, visionary co-founder of San Diego Dialogue at the University of California, San Diego, died peacefully in his home on Thursday, June 5, 2003 in Del Mar, California. Chuck, as his friends and colleagues fondly called him, fought an 18-month battle with cancer.

For more than a decade, Dr. Nathanson served as the Executive Director of San Diego Dialogue--a leading forum for policy analysis, research and public education in the San Diego/Baja California region. Under Dr. Nathanson's leadership, the goal of the Dialogue was to improve the region's quality of life through cross-border development, promoting school reform, and building more livable communities. Moving forward, San Diego Dialogue will continue to strive for a more integrated crossborder region.

By bringing together leaders and thinkers from throughout California and Baja California, Chuck championed the ideal that man-made borders should not be barriers to innovative, solutions-oriented thinking. With an invited
membership of more than 150 individuals from San Diego and Baja California, including business leaders, high-tech entrepreneurs, media representatives, educators, scholars and cultural and civic leaders, the Dialogue has
contributed to the transformation of cross-border communication and planning. Through Chuck's unwavering guidance, the Dialogue had expanded its interests to include K-12 education reform and sustainable
development.

Chuck's message always focused on enlightened engagement through active listening, creativity and consensus building. In his relentless pursuit of regional prosperity, public education and literacy, access to technology, affordable housing and policy research, he brought together individuals whose paths would not otherwise have crossed. Augustine P. Gallego, Chancellor of San Diego Community College District and Chair of San Diego
Dialogue said, "Chuck was deeply respected by colleagues on both sides of the border. He saw a pressing need to bring people together, and he did it so well."

Dr. Mary Walshok, Associate Vice-Chancellor of UCSD Public Programs and Dean of UCSD Extension praised Chuck, saying "He exemplified the important role a research university can play in addressing regional challenges and opportunities. Chuck was truly passionate about ideas. He knew how to pull together complex information and tapped into multiple sources of expertise--all in the service of answering questions and solving issues identified by the community."

Chuck's staff described him as one of those rare individuals who had an uncanny ability to live in the present while keeping an eye on the future. He was an intuitive leader who used simple conversation to communicate his
vision. He was energetic, inspirational and admired by all those who had the opportunity to work with him.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Dr. Nathanson served in a variety of academic positions and was also a member of the press. He received his B.A. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from Brandeis University. He taught sociology at Brandeis University, the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of California, San Diego. His journalism career included work as I.F. Stone¹s assistant at I.F. Stone¹s Weekly in Washington, D.C., and as
an assistant city editor at the Detroit Free Press.

Dr. Nathanson lived a life of vigilant service and perpetual dedication. He served on the boards of the NTC Foundation Civic, Arts and Cultural Center, the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Association of Parents of University Students, and on the advisory council of the Immigration Museum of New Americans. Additionally, Chuck served on the Port Chairman's Advisory Committee for the Port of San Diego. He also served on the Citizens Advisory
Committee for Transportation SANDAG and the MTDB Community Leaders committee.

Chuck was a member of many organizations including the City of Chula Vista Blue Ribbon Economic Development Strategy Steering Committee, the Speaker's Commission on State/Local Government Finance--headed by former California Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, and the Strategic Framework Citizens Committee for the City of San Diego.

Outside of the Dialogue, Chuck engaged life through his love of the outdoors, running and hiking in Torrey Pines, cross-country skiing and tennis. He read extensively in the fields of sociology, history and anthropology.

Chuck is survived by his wife of 31 years, Dr. Laura Nathanson, their daughter Sara and his father Ben Nathanson.

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