The Global Campus
Drs. Ernest ’66,’72,’89 and Leslie Meyers Zomalt ’64,’79 help students participate in the world
As UC Santa Barbara undergraduates, both Ernie ’66,’72,’89 and Leslie ’64,’79 participated in university-sponsored international programs. These experiences played a significant role in their personal development and their understanding of the mutual interdependence of our world. The Ernest and Leslie Zomalt International Education Fund was established years ago to provide scholarships for students participating in UCSB’s Education Abroad Program. By permanently endowing this fund through both a bequest in their living trust as well as a Charitable Gift Annuity, the Zomalts will have a place in the journeys of countless students.
In 1962, the University of California sent Leslie to Bordeaux, France, as part of the first cohort of Education Abroad Program students. Founding director Bill Allaway believed in full immersion for one year. Leslie lived with a French family: a machinist, his wife, and two young daughters.
Leslie studied political science in France while the country elected Charles de Gaulle and dismantled its empire in Southeast Asia and North Africa. Not 20 years had passed since the end of World War II. Later, her host father joked that if he knew Leslie’s last name was spelled the German way, he might have kicked her out.
“It was all a great adventure,” said Leslie. “I returned to UC Santa Barbara and changed my major to history.”
Ernie also witnessed historical events during his experience abroad. Along with six classmates and an advisor, he spent two months in Pakistan. The group participated in a program sponsored by UC Santa Barbara and the U.S. State Department known as Project Pakistan. Through this “people to people” program, the group met with student leaders at several universities across the country. In addition, the group helped build a shower facility for an orphanage.
“Our group raised money for the project and provided manual labor to assist the builders,” said Ernie. Meanwhile, Ernie worried about his grandmother, who lived a block and a half away from the Watts Riots. On the students’ final night, war broke out between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. The next morning, they caught the last flight to leave Pakistan for months and were on their way home.
“When you return, you realize that you have to focus on the larger issues of the world along with the particular ones at home,” said Ernie, who would also major in history.
Leslie and Ernie met several times on campus and then again on Leslie’s first day as UC Santa Barbara’s dean of student activities. Ernie, in the office next door, had started as an assistant dean that same morning. Both led distinguished careers in higher education, helping to open Cal State San Marcos in 1990. Leslie established advising services for the College of Arts and Sciences for the new university and led that area until retiring in 1999. Ernie retired as executive vice president in 2000.
Both Ernie and Leslie have remained engaged with EAP. Leslie is a founding member of UC Santa Barbara’s EAP Ambassadors Council. By establishing the scholarship while they were still living, the Zomalts have experienced the impact of their gift on students. Now, the charitable gift annuity provides the couple with dependable income during their retirement years and will provide additional funding for the endowed scholarship in the future.
“Leslie and Ernie Zomalt have been pillars of support for the UC Santa Barbara Education Abroad Program for many years, profoundly influencing its growth and success. The scholarship fund that they created in 2007 has empowered dozens of deserving students to realize their EAP dreams. Legacy gifts, in particular, provide a lasting impact, securing the program's future and enabling it to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of our global community,” said Dr. Fabio Rambelli, UCSB EAP faculty director.
“Study and/or service abroad is an important function of public higher education. I hope the University continues to send large numbers of students abroad,” said Leslie.
Published November 2024
When you return, you realize that you have to focus on the larger issues of the world along with the particular ones at home.
Ernie Zomalt ’66,’72,’89
