A legendary music executive is among the UCLA graduates being recognized by the UCLA Alumni Association this year for his philanthropy.
The 2019 UCLA Awards ceremony, which celebrates some of the local, national and international impact of UCLA’s nearly 500,000 alumni, will be held June 8 at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center.
“The UCLA Alumni Association proudly brings together the Bruin family to celebrate the impact and accomplishments of truly remarkable award recipients,” said Julie Sina, UCLA’s associate vice chancellor for alumni affairs, which oversees the awards. “On a magical night in Westwood we will spotlight these legendary icons and community leaders, who magnify what is best, brightest and inspirational about UCLA. What a wonderful way to help honor UCLA’s 100th birthday.”
Morris “Mo” Ostin, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1951 and went on to a successful career with Verve Records, Reprise Records, Warner Bros. Records and DreamWorks, is this year’s Edward A. Dickson Alumnus of the Year. Ostin is responsible for signing some of music’s biggest names, including Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones, Madonna, Prince, Neil Young, the Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Ostin, who helped to shape the music industry through his 32-year career at Warner Bros. Records, including a quarter century as the company’s chairman and CEO, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a lifetime achievement award in 2003.
On campus, Ostin has played a significant role in advancing the arts, athletics, education and medicine through philanthropic support. The Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center, designed to provide students with access to the latest advances in music technology; the Mo Ostin Basketball Center, a centralized home for the men’s and women’s Bruin basketball programs, and the forthcoming Mo Ostin Academic Center for Student-Athletes are among his most recent contributions to UCLA. In addition, he serves on boards of visitors for the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.
This announcement was originally published on the UCLA Newsroom.