"I have had a wonderful career at UC Santa Cruz, and I can't imagine that I would have been happier anywhere else."

Woody Allen once said: "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying." Bruce Thompson, a long time Lecturer in the History Department at UC Santa Cruz says he "looked into both of those possibilities, and has been told that neither is very likely."

Bruce chose to make a planned gift because "the idea of leaving a legacy, something that will continue to make a difference in this world after I leave it--that idea appeals to me. The money in my 403b account will go to UC Santa Cruz tax-free, and it will make a difference by helping to ensure the future of a program I've done half of my teaching in recent years: Jewish Studies. The opportunity to honor the Program's founder, Murray Baumgarten, by directing my contribution to the Chair named for him, was another incentive to make a substantial gift. I am delighted that there is an opportunity for me to give something back to this great University, and that future generations will benefit from my gift!"