Paul Padilla

Biography

The Development Office has set up the Paul Padilla Memorial Undergraduate Travel Fund. This fund will support students to travel to conduct historical research and to participate in our study abroad opportunities.  If you would like to contribute to the fund in honor of Paul, you may do so online (by going to this link: https://giving.ucla.edu/Campaign/Donate.aspx?SiteNum=29); if you want to use another method, please contact Peter Evans in Development: pevans@support.ucla.edu.

The following tribute is from Chair and Professor Carla Pestana:

Paul Padilla, long-time member of the UCLA History community, died unexpectedly from a fall at his home, on Sunday, November 10, 2019. First as a student and later as a staff member, Paul made a lasting impact on the History department and the larger university community.  Sorely missed by all who knew him, his passing is mourned by students, faculty, and staff across campus.

At the time of his death, Paul was Undergraduate Advisor for the Department of History and staff liaison to the history honor’s society, Phi Alpha Theta. Those roles, as important as they were, do not begin to encompass his place at UCLA.  His kindness and generosity gave him an outsized impact, as did his willingness to step in and support any worthy endeavor.

Paul, a native of Los Angeles, attended UCLA as an undergraduate, earning his BA in History in 1978. He immediately entered the graduate program to study Medieval History.  As a graduate student, he worked with Geoffrey Symcox, Father Robert Burns, Albert Hoxie, and—after his arrival on the faculty—Teo Ruiz.  Although he earned his MA in 1980, Paul withdrew from the doctoral program in 1991 with C. Phil status, just shy of completing his doctorate. His father had died, and Paul joined the UCLA staff in order to support his family.

As a staff person, Paul worked in the Registrar’s Office and the Academic Advancement Program, the latter a program which benefited Paul himself when he was an undergraduate and where he worked as a Tutor.  In 1995, he returned to the department as an Undergraduate History counselor recruited by then Chair Ron Mellor to replace counselor Sylvia Dillon.  This year, Paul was in his 45th year of association with UCLA and his 27th year as a staff person, twenty-four of those years employed in our department. Paul was an avid UCLA football fan, serving as a member of the Rally Committee and regularly attending games.

Given his longevity (as well as his capacious memory), it is little wonder that Paul was the unofficial historian of the department.  Any question anyone had about our practices or traditions, or past faculty, or other historical matters, they went to Paul. An inveterate storyteller, Paul could remember illustrative details.  One set of tales he recently recounted involved his role driving faculty member Albert Hoxie (1912-1999) around Europe decades ago.  Hoxie, who served as a lecturer for decades and left his estate to the department, wanted slides of European locations to illustrate his lectures. He traveled year after year to photograph sites; and, with Paul as his driver, the two had numerous adventures.  The most difficult aspect of writing such a tribute about Paul is that Paul himself is not here, to fill in the gaps in our information and enliven our memories with a well-chosen story.

Since Paul’s death, tributes have poured in.  He was the “heart and soul” of the department, according to one former staff member.  He always had a kind word for everyone, along with helpful advice for students, whether graduate or undergraduate, who stopped in to speak with him.  He enjoyed friendships with a wide-range of former staff, students, and faculty, and the current department community similarly feels this loss. A celebration of his life was held on November 25, 2019.

History advisor Paul Padilla remembered for kindness, dedication – Daily Bruin article about Paul Padilla