UCLA to Honor International Financier and Philanthropist Gary Winnick With 2001 Jacoby International Award at April 17 Gala

Former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen to deliver keynote address

The Dashew International Center for Students and Scholars at UCLA will present the 2001 Jacoby International Award to financier and philanthropist Gary Winnick, founder and chairman of Global Crossing Ltd. Winnick will be honored for his outstanding commitment and contributions to enhancing international understanding and peace.

UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale will present the award to Winnick at a dinner gala at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17. More than 600 guests are expected to attend the event, which will feature a keynote address by former U.S. Senator and Secretary of Defense Bill Cohen. U.S. Rep. Jane Harman also will be attending and will introduce Carnesale. Proceeds from the gala will benefit the programs and services of the Dashew International Student Center.

"I am honored to receive the prestigious Jacoby International Award from the Dashew International Center at UCLA and to support the important work of the Center," Winnick said. "Like the Dashew Center, I am a strong advocate for economic and cultural globalization who believes that the free exchange of ideas is the best path to peace and prosperity."

Winnick's global investment career spans nearly three decades. Since its founding in 1997, Global Crossing has raised more than $20 billion in capital, has over 16,000 employees worldwide, and is a member of the S&P 100. When completed, the Global Crossing Network, enabling worldwide broadband communications, will connect five continents, 27 countries and more than 200 cities around the world.

Winnick is also the chairman of Asia Global Crossing. Asia Global Crossing is building one of the first truly pan-Asian networks that, in combination with the worldwide Global Crossing Network, will provide the Asia Pacific region with access to major business centers worldwide.

He is also the founder, chairman and CEO of Pacific Capital Group, a merchant bank that is a principal investor in such fields as telecommunications, media, real estate, financial services, health care and biotechnology. A native of Roslyn, New York, Winnick is a graduate of C.W. Post College.

In the area of philanthropy, Winnick is a member of numerous national and international philanthropic boards, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Special Olympics and Hillel International. He and his wife, Karen, are patrons of universities, libraries, hospitals, the arts, and worldwide literacy and humanitarian projects. Winnick recently received the Simon Wiesenthal Center's prestigious Humanitarian Laureate Award. He and his family have contributed the lead gift to create the Winnick Institute/Jerusalem, a new global center for world peace and tolerance.

The Jacoby Award was established in 1983 in honor of Neil H. Jacoby, founding dean of UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management and one of the founding members of the International Student Center. The highest honor bestowed by the Dashew International Student Center, it is presented to individuals who have enhanced international and intercultural understanding through their professional or volunteer endeavors.

Previous recipients include Ted Turner, Kirk and Anne Douglas, Dr. Armand Hammer, former Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, Peter V. Ueberroth, Ambassador Lester Korn, Joan B. Kroc, Irving and Jean Stone, Norman and Ellen Cousins, UCLA Chancellor Emeritus Charles and Sue Young, the late Coca Cola chairman Roberto Goizueta, BankAmerica CEO Richard Rosenberg, Wilbur Woo and Sidney Harman.

For more than 40 years, the Dashew International Student Center for Students and Scholars (formerly known as the International Student Center) has provided a broad range of educational, cultural and academic programs and services to UCLA's international community. Throughout the year, the center generates social programs that foster new friendships among UCLA's international students and scholars, domestic students and the greater Los Angeles community.

For more information about the 2001 Jacoby International Award Dinner, call Geoffrey Stern at (310) 825-3104. Media representatives interested in covering the event should call Marisa Osorio at (310) 206-3986.