Rita Rothman ’70

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A dedicated alumna, volunteer and supporter, Rita Rothman’s boundless commitment to UCLA has served the university well for more than 30 years. By trade, she works for HDR Investment Company in real estate development and property management. Motivated by “going back to school without grades,” she devotes countless hours in support of the UCLA family and its mission.

Raised in a family of Bruins, Rothman received her undergraduate degree in art history with honors in 1970. She began her volunteer and philanthropic involvement in 1982 with UCLA Gymsters, a booster group for men’s and women’s gymnastics, where she served as president for seven years. She later became involved with the College of Letters and Science, serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council, the Humanities Executive Council and helped found the Academic Advancement Program Scholarship Council, serving as its chair. She is currently active on the boards of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, the UCLA Center for Society and Genetics, the UCLA College Awards Dinner and the UCLA Friends of Art History, which she founded and serves as president.

Rothman found herself involved in the Cognitive Science Research Program (CSRP) in continuance of her late father’s passionate interest. She helped establish and support the Raymond C. Rothman Endowed Collection in the History of Cognitive Science, while educating herself in the disciplines of cognitive science.

From1995 to 2009, she served on the UCLA Foundation Board of Trustees, the Board of Governors and the Board of Directors. She has been Governor of the UCLA Foundation since 1997, a member of the Diversity Committee since 2001 and a part of the Nominations Committee since 2003. She was one of the founding members of Women and Philanthropy in 1994 and continues to sit on its board today. Her involvement has also included Gold Shield Alumnae and Friends of English.

Rothman’s leadership and generosity has reached numerous additional areas of the university including The Chancellor’s Fund, the Wooden Athletic Fund, UCLA Women’s Gymnastics, the UCLA Athletic Performance Center, the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center and the Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology (CASIT). She is also a life member of the UCLA Alumni Association. Her broad-based involvement and advocacy the last three decades continues to help shape the course of UCLA’s present and future.