Had a good espresso at the coffee cart lately? Well, enjoy it while you can. The future of campus coffee is not looking good since the local guru has decided that her work here is done. Who will train our amateur coffee vendors to prepare a true cappuccino?
Well, Sara’s influence on the UCSB coffee quality is not the only (and definitely not the most important) thing we’re going to miss. Who will demand of us visual clarity in graphic and geographic representation? And who will guide us in the correct pronunciation of European names (ahem, BeAR-GH-tAHn)? These are all questions Sara Fabrikant’s fellow geographers face as we reluctantly accept the fact that the department is losing to the Swiss one of our finest.
Sara will be returning to her hometown in Switzerland, where she will take up the position of Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Zurich. Not only is this opportunity for Sara special because she will be working at her alma mater, but the GIScience Center she will be working in is among the largest and most prestigious GIS research centers, worldwide.
On August 14, friends and colleagues of Sara Fabrikant gathered at the Clarke’s household for a farewell party in her honor. It was a wonderful chance for people to share Sara’s company on one of her few remaining days. The party’s diversity in attendance alone is a testament to how many people she has touched in Santa Barbara. Following true Geography department tradition, the BBQ wouldn’t be complete without Dan Montello’s specialty tri-tip: one of Sara’s Santa Barbara favorites. Later Dan made the first toast:
"We are here to send off our colleague and friend Sara Fabrikant. It was a surprise to me that she decided to leave, as I assumed people only left Santa Barbara willingly when their ashes were cast into the ocean. In any event, it is hard to know what to say at a time like this, as it is sad for us, but we wish her happiness and success. I am sure she will charm everyone in her new department as she charmed everyone here when she first interviewed in our department."
Another high point of the evening was when Keith and Margot Clarke presented Sara with a print of a vintage Santa Barbara map. It was, of course, fittingly wrapped in maps as well, which led to the entertaining spectacle of Sara fighting to keep them intact while unwrapping the gift. Sara was proudly wearing and pointing out to the guests another memorable parting gift (again a map, of course) –a little t-shirt shaped pin with a Japan map print.
Sara’s absence will truly be felt. For one, a collective sigh of relief will be heard throughout the campus from anxious coffee venders. But in all seriousness, we will all miss Sara’s bright, cheery personality, humor, and animated character. And as we wish her happiness and success wherever the road takes her, we hope it also brings her back to Santa Barbara again sometime in the near future.
To quote Sara’s 2005 "new year greetings card" to her friends, “…I am not leaving paradise, aka Santa Barbara, easily. I will miss my U.S. friends and colleagues; I will miss the beauty and the perfect climate of the South Coast, and I will miss the laid-back Californian life-style. After nine exciting years in the New World I am looking forward to a new beginning back in the old country and my hometown Zurich. After all, for the second time in a row Zurich was ranked ‘most livable city in the world’ this year ! I am also very excited to be near family and old friends again. I know the move back will not be easy at first, but at least I will have daily access to the best chocolate joghurts in the whole wide world to help me along the way!…cheers, sara”
Article by Maral Tashjian; see the photos from the BBQ.
