Channeling Her Passion to Support Education

Universities are magnets for the curious, the explorers. "We've always been involved with universities, wherever we lived," said Elaine Antoniuk, describing how she and her late husband, Stephen, left their home in Alberta, Canada, to live in places as far-flung as Iran and Chicago, Oklahoma and London, Wyoming and San Diego. "They were wonderful assignments," she said of Stephen's work as a petroleum geologist. Until his passing eight years ago, they traveled to all corners of the world, often with their three children in tow.

"I like to be stimulated. I've got a curious mind, and I just like to know about things," said Antoniuk, who has channeled that passion to support the research of graduate students at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. (She endowed a similar scholarship at University of Alberta for students studying the Arctic.) Antoniuk has been a Chancellor's Associates donor for 16 years; a supporter of ArtPower!; and more recently, a member of the York Society, providing for the campus through an estate gift.

Like many volunteers and homemakers, once her children were on their own, Antoniuk began an inner exploration, becoming a "story maker" and artist in the medium of book art. In a recent engagement with UC San Diego, one of her works was featured in the 2013 San Diego Book Arts National Juried Exhibition in the Geisel Library.

Endowment