Track and Field Alumnus Establishes the Anthony DeLucia Performance Fund
9/17/2020 8:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
OF NOTE:
Last week, our campus faculty and staff received a communication from the Chancellor's office with updates on the status of the campus budget and recommendations from the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC). Part of the BAC's recommendations included a suggested recommendation on the elimination of our Athletics program. In keeping with our push to #KEEPUCRATHLETICS, we are sharing even more stories about our student-athletes and individuals connected to UCR and how their lives have been positively impacted by UCR Athletics.
RIVERSIDE, Calif – In many ways, Dr. Tony DeLucia, class of 1970, is the perfect blueprint of a University of California, Riverside student-athlete. Highlanders are passionate, inspired students and gritty, hard-working athletes. Often known for boasting a higher GPA than their non-athlete counterparts, UCR student-athletes are familiar with putting in hard work and creatively competing to achieve goals on and off the field. Dr. DeLucia's experiences as a student-athlete directly shaped the trajectory of his career, including an appearance in front of Congress testifying on behalf of the American Lung Association. The student-athlete experience is a life changing one, and Dr. DeLucia's generous gift in the form of the Anthony DeLucia Performance Fund is an ode to that experience, born from the desire for future Highlanders to have the opportunity to be impacted by UCR in the same way, and to turn around to impact the world, much like he has.
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Early Experiences On Campus Made UCR A Natural Fit
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Dr. DeLucia, now a faculty member at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), looks back fondly on his time at UC Riverside. "I started going to UCR as a high school student because Mr. Grant, my Chemistry teacher at John W. North High School, had a student intern from the Chemistry department," DeLucia explained. "Mr. Grant was my favorite teacher, a real cool guy, and he took a real interest in me. His intern took me up to the chemistry lab at UCR one day and we created an organic molecule, and I'm just floored, I'm going 'This is awesome!' So, when I got a California state scholarship and enrolled in undergrad at UCR, I felt at home on the academic side, doing my thing."
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DeLucia is a proud Track & Field alumnus who competed in the half mile, mile and mile relay from 1967-70 while earning his BA in Biology. He attributes much of his physical performance and personal development to his beloved Coach Chris Rinne. "I always had superb professors at UCR, and once we had Chris we had superb coaches too. He definitively raised that bar," DeLucia commented. "Chris Rinne was like a brother to me." DeLucia was a two-sport student-athlete his first two years at UCR, competing on the golf team as well. After Coach Rinne showed up his second year, he chose to quit the golf program and focused on Track & Field, pushing himself to excel with the help of his new coach.
Â
During his undergraduate years, Dr. DeLucia worked in the greenhouses focusing on air pollution research with renowned professors in the biological sciences. He thinks back fondly to time spent singing German songs in Chemistry with Dr. James Pitts, a brilliant smog photochemist and a man with a "real world perspective."Â
Â
Passion For Running Inspires Air Quality Research
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At ETSU, Dr. DeLucia's focus is on topics around community empowerment, social determinants of health, sustainable economic development and climate and air topics. Dr. DeLucia said, "My time at UCR intimately impacted my future as faculty at Eastern Tennessee. Air quality was what I was researching at UCR. Southern California had some of the worst air quality, so I would try and recreate these atmospheres in the greenhouses and study them." His time spent training as a Track & Field and Cross-Country student-athlete is what sparked his interest in local air quality. He recalled, "When I was out running, I would see these toppled over seedlings, and I knew (the air quality) was bad, and it certainly wasn't doing the seedlings any good, I wondered, 'What is it doing inside my lungs?'"
Â
Dr. DeLucia's passion and involvement in studying the connections between air quality and running has brought him to the forefront of his research field. He is a member of numerous professional organizations and served as the top volunteer in the American Lung Association, forging impactful relationships with other organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Centers for Disease Control, American Public Health Association, Local Government Commission and Association of Schools of Public Health. Among other exciting opportunities, DeLucia's interest in air quality coupled with his physical fitness as a student-athlete lead to his participation in a NASA study using trained runners in a high altitude chamber to mimic the dehydration issues facing astronauts, an experience he recounts joyfully.
Â
Impact From Time at UCR Inspires Endowment and More
Â
The impact UC Riverside had on Dr. DeLucia as a student-athlete has manifested through his philanthropy. He explained his motivation to creatively donate a research award he received in the early 80's at ETSU, "It all fits together, my career, athletics. UCR was a huge part of it and I am trying to pay it forward." He continued, "It all comes back to UC Riverside, and my experiences there. We had world class people who came and lectured at UCR. When I won a $1000 research award (at ETSU), I used the money to establish a lecture series at ETSU like the one that was so impactful to me at UCR. I wanted to bring that vitality I felt as a student at UCR to the ETSU campus."
Â
His passion for making an impact and helping his community ultimately lead to his decision to run for office in 2004. "I had served as long as they'd let me with the American Lung Association. I started doing things at the local level and began working directly with communities on big picture solutions for some of our deeper societal issues. I ran on my core values, they are embedded in everything I do," DeLucia said. It is clear that whatever the endeavor, Dr. DeLucia is there to make a positive impact. His life's work is the primary indicator of the values Dr. DeLucia holds so dear, the same values he hopes his endowment will instill in future UCR student-athletes for generations.Â
Â
"Coach Nate Browne got me going, and since I had such a good relationship with Coach Rinne, I decided to build this endowment to support the program," he said. "These programs have good kids and that is what I want to support. I don't look at money as an important thing, I want to give it away. I want the environment and experience for student-athletes to be wholesome, like it was for me in my time competing and researching at UCR."
Â
Dr. DeLucia says, "The metaphor of my life is "running man" which started as a passion from youth and became what defines me today. More the marathon type than sprinter, I have put long term positive change in the crosshairs. I keep saying I was blessed to receive a world class education in California through the UC system and now I get to pay it forward hopefully to future generations."Â The Anthony DeLucia Performance Fund is his way to give back to UCR and ensure that the Track & Field and Cross-Country student-athletes are awarded every opportunity to be successful.
Last week, our campus faculty and staff received a communication from the Chancellor's office with updates on the status of the campus budget and recommendations from the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC). Part of the BAC's recommendations included a suggested recommendation on the elimination of our Athletics program. In keeping with our push to #KEEPUCRATHLETICS, we are sharing even more stories about our student-athletes and individuals connected to UCR and how their lives have been positively impacted by UCR Athletics.
RIVERSIDE, Calif – In many ways, Dr. Tony DeLucia, class of 1970, is the perfect blueprint of a University of California, Riverside student-athlete. Highlanders are passionate, inspired students and gritty, hard-working athletes. Often known for boasting a higher GPA than their non-athlete counterparts, UCR student-athletes are familiar with putting in hard work and creatively competing to achieve goals on and off the field. Dr. DeLucia's experiences as a student-athlete directly shaped the trajectory of his career, including an appearance in front of Congress testifying on behalf of the American Lung Association. The student-athlete experience is a life changing one, and Dr. DeLucia's generous gift in the form of the Anthony DeLucia Performance Fund is an ode to that experience, born from the desire for future Highlanders to have the opportunity to be impacted by UCR in the same way, and to turn around to impact the world, much like he has.
Â
Early Experiences On Campus Made UCR A Natural Fit
Â
Dr. DeLucia, now a faculty member at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), looks back fondly on his time at UC Riverside. "I started going to UCR as a high school student because Mr. Grant, my Chemistry teacher at John W. North High School, had a student intern from the Chemistry department," DeLucia explained. "Mr. Grant was my favorite teacher, a real cool guy, and he took a real interest in me. His intern took me up to the chemistry lab at UCR one day and we created an organic molecule, and I'm just floored, I'm going 'This is awesome!' So, when I got a California state scholarship and enrolled in undergrad at UCR, I felt at home on the academic side, doing my thing."
Â
DeLucia is a proud Track & Field alumnus who competed in the half mile, mile and mile relay from 1967-70 while earning his BA in Biology. He attributes much of his physical performance and personal development to his beloved Coach Chris Rinne. "I always had superb professors at UCR, and once we had Chris we had superb coaches too. He definitively raised that bar," DeLucia commented. "Chris Rinne was like a brother to me." DeLucia was a two-sport student-athlete his first two years at UCR, competing on the golf team as well. After Coach Rinne showed up his second year, he chose to quit the golf program and focused on Track & Field, pushing himself to excel with the help of his new coach.
Â
During his undergraduate years, Dr. DeLucia worked in the greenhouses focusing on air pollution research with renowned professors in the biological sciences. He thinks back fondly to time spent singing German songs in Chemistry with Dr. James Pitts, a brilliant smog photochemist and a man with a "real world perspective."Â
Â
Passion For Running Inspires Air Quality Research
Â
At ETSU, Dr. DeLucia's focus is on topics around community empowerment, social determinants of health, sustainable economic development and climate and air topics. Dr. DeLucia said, "My time at UCR intimately impacted my future as faculty at Eastern Tennessee. Air quality was what I was researching at UCR. Southern California had some of the worst air quality, so I would try and recreate these atmospheres in the greenhouses and study them." His time spent training as a Track & Field and Cross-Country student-athlete is what sparked his interest in local air quality. He recalled, "When I was out running, I would see these toppled over seedlings, and I knew (the air quality) was bad, and it certainly wasn't doing the seedlings any good, I wondered, 'What is it doing inside my lungs?'"
Â
Dr. DeLucia's passion and involvement in studying the connections between air quality and running has brought him to the forefront of his research field. He is a member of numerous professional organizations and served as the top volunteer in the American Lung Association, forging impactful relationships with other organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Centers for Disease Control, American Public Health Association, Local Government Commission and Association of Schools of Public Health. Among other exciting opportunities, DeLucia's interest in air quality coupled with his physical fitness as a student-athlete lead to his participation in a NASA study using trained runners in a high altitude chamber to mimic the dehydration issues facing astronauts, an experience he recounts joyfully.
Â
Impact From Time at UCR Inspires Endowment and More
Â
The impact UC Riverside had on Dr. DeLucia as a student-athlete has manifested through his philanthropy. He explained his motivation to creatively donate a research award he received in the early 80's at ETSU, "It all fits together, my career, athletics. UCR was a huge part of it and I am trying to pay it forward." He continued, "It all comes back to UC Riverside, and my experiences there. We had world class people who came and lectured at UCR. When I won a $1000 research award (at ETSU), I used the money to establish a lecture series at ETSU like the one that was so impactful to me at UCR. I wanted to bring that vitality I felt as a student at UCR to the ETSU campus."
Â
His passion for making an impact and helping his community ultimately lead to his decision to run for office in 2004. "I had served as long as they'd let me with the American Lung Association. I started doing things at the local level and began working directly with communities on big picture solutions for some of our deeper societal issues. I ran on my core values, they are embedded in everything I do," DeLucia said. It is clear that whatever the endeavor, Dr. DeLucia is there to make a positive impact. His life's work is the primary indicator of the values Dr. DeLucia holds so dear, the same values he hopes his endowment will instill in future UCR student-athletes for generations.Â
Â
"Coach Nate Browne got me going, and since I had such a good relationship with Coach Rinne, I decided to build this endowment to support the program," he said. "These programs have good kids and that is what I want to support. I don't look at money as an important thing, I want to give it away. I want the environment and experience for student-athletes to be wholesome, like it was for me in my time competing and researching at UCR."
Â
Dr. DeLucia says, "The metaphor of my life is "running man" which started as a passion from youth and became what defines me today. More the marathon type than sprinter, I have put long term positive change in the crosshairs. I keep saying I was blessed to receive a world class education in California through the UC system and now I get to pay it forward hopefully to future generations."Â The Anthony DeLucia Performance Fund is his way to give back to UCR and ensure that the Track & Field and Cross-Country student-athletes are awarded every opportunity to be successful.
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