George Thurlow, a former journalist and publisher of the Santa Barbara Independent who went on to serve as an administrator at UCSB, has joined the Board of Directors for the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology at UCSB, Mr. Thurlow embarked on a 20-year career in journalism, including a three-year stint as Professional in Residence at CSU Chico, before returning to Santa Barbara to become publisher of the Independent in 1994. His writing and reporting have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Sacramento Bee, TIME magazine, the San Francisco Examiner, and numerous other newspapers and magazines. Mr. Thurlow served as assistant vice chancellor for alumni affairs at UCSB from 2006 until his retirement in December 2020. During that period, he also served as special assistant to the chancellor on Isla Vista, and as a member of the inaugural Isla Vista Community Services District Board of Directors. Mr. Thurlow has been a Board member and chair for many local nonprofits, including the Santa Barbara Foundation, the Fund for Santa Barbara, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, and Partners in Education, among others. A past president of the California Society of Newspaper Editors, he is currently working as a consultant for the Colorado Newspaper Group, and is assisting in the relaunch of the Maui Times in Hawaii.
“George has strong ties to the local nonprofit community, and will undoubtedly be an asset to our organization,” said Scholarship Foundation President and CEO Barbara Robertson.
The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara is the nation’s largest community-based provider of college scholarships, having cumulatively awarded more than $137 million to over 55,000 county students since its founding in 1962. A nonprofit organization, the Scholarship Foundation also provides free financial aid advising services. For additional information, visit www.sbscholarship.org.
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