This endowment was established to support and expand the annual Book Collection Contest, which has been sponsored by the Friends of the UCSC Library for over 30 years. Thanks to the generosity of the donor, the contest now recognizes the literary accomplishments of local high school students, as well as UCSC undergraduate and graduate students; the response from the local community has been extraordinary.

Ethel Hammond Curtis attended Dominican College in San Rafael before matriculating at UC San Francisco, where she earned her R.N. and B.A. degrees. Her service in the World War II Army Nurse Corps earned her the University of Liege Medal as well as the U.S. Army's Bronze Star and promotion to Captain. She received her M.A. at the University of Chicago and taught public health at UC Berkeley and lived in Oakland with her husband Dr. Cecil Curtis; she moved to Santa Cruz in 1993.

Aware of her family's early involvement with UC Santa Cruz, Mrs. Curtis began contributing to the campus in the 1960s, culminating with several special gifts in memory of her beloved niece, Sally. Sally Jane Hammond was born with a defective heart. In her too-short life of 46 years, Sally attended Cabrillo and Monterey Peninsula College, where she was a talented student of art. She also worked as an independent set designer, was on the staff at UC Santa Cruz, and was a devoted supporter of the UCSC Library. Her memory survives through UCSC's Sally Hammond Scholarship program.