Today, the Library proudly celebrates that the namesake of our Sally T. WongAvery Library building has been named a recipient of UC San Diego’s prestigious Chancellor’s Medal. This honor is reserved for those who have made transformative contributions to the university and the broader community. Sally WongAvery ’75 joins this year’s distinguished group of recipients alongside alumni David Goeddel ’72 and Ken Kroner, PhD ’88. Their remarkable accomplishments will be celebrated in an awards ceremony in March 2025.
For the first time ever, this year’s Chancellor’s Medal recipients are all UC San Diego alumni. Since its establishment in 2000, the Chancellor’s Medal has been awarded to select community leaders and philanthropists whose long-standing contributions and involvement have supported promising students, furthered meaningful research, and helped the university and region grow and prosper.
Please join us in celebrating WongAvery’s dedication to education and community!
Sally WongAvery ’75
Empowering scholars’ lifelong love of learning through novel library resources
For more than three decades, UC San Diego alumna, attorney, educator and philanthropist Sally WongAvery has been committed to building community and expanding education. Her transformational gift to UC San Diego created the Natasha Wong Endowment for East Asian Collections, the Sally T. WongAvery Fund for East Asian Collections and the WongAvery East Asian Collections Collaboration to sustain and bolster the body of East Asian works at UC San Diego. This remarkable contribution was recognized with the naming of the Sally T. WongAvery Library, a testament to her deep commitment to supporting libraries and lifelong learning.
WongAvery is also a committed leader at UC San Diego and across the region. She serves on the UC San Diego Foundation Board of Trustees and is an active leader of the Chinese community in San Diego, serving as the first female elected president of the Chinese Benevolent organizations, president of the Chinese School of San Diego, and co-founder of both the San Diego Chinese Historical Society and the Chinese Bilingual Preschool. WongAvery embodies UC San Diego’s commitment to fostering a culture of inclusivity and empowerment through her activism to assist newly arriving Chinese immigrants to our region and their paths to U.S. citizenship. She has served as an interpreter and translator for Chinese immigrants in the court system and as an instructor of food safety with the County of San Diego’s Public Health Services department.
WongAvery is a recipient of the Outstanding Teaching Award by the Southern California Council of Chinese Schools, the Susan B. Anthony Leadership Award and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. She was inducted into the San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame for her role as a culturally competent bridge builder. She also supported the establishment of the WongAvery Music Gallery at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge, and contributes to the WongAvery Asia-Pacific Peace Museum in Toronto, which promotes understanding of East Asian history.
Content in this post is adapted from the campus announcement, UC San Diego Announces 2025 Lifetime Legacy and Chancellor’s Medal Awardees by Jade Griffin.