Julie and David Hatoff
Julie and David Hatoff long envisioned having MiraCosta College be a campus filled
with major cultural and intellectual events, much like their time together at Pomona
College in the 1960s.
The couple, who have donated to MiraCosta College for decades, have pledged $500,000
to fund the Hatoff Tapestries Endowment, which is designed to encourage more collaborations
and promote more culturally relevant activities.
For their many contributions to the college, the Hatoffs will be recognized as Philanthropists
of the Year at a college breakfast for the community to be held October 21 at Cape
Rey Resort in Carlsbad.
“May this endowment help make wonderful MiraCosta an ever-better college for generations
of future students,” the Hatoffs said in a description of their donation.
Julie and David Hatoff, who have been married 53 years, met at Pomona College in Claremont,
and they enjoyed the small classes and many interactions with the faculty members.
She went on to be an English instructor at MiraCosta College, rising to become Vice
President, Instructional Services, until she left MiraCosta in 2008. David became
a gastroenterologist at UC San Diego and the San Diego veteran’s hospital.
To encourage more students to attend their alma mater, the Hatoffs established a scholarship
to Pomona College for community college students in San Diego County. Three MiraCosta
College graduates have since graduated from Pomona College thanks to the scholarship.
During her time at MiraCosta College, Julie Hatoff worked to expand the world of students,
including bus trips to Los Angeles to visit museums there and visits to the college
by prominent speakers, such as poet Maya Angelou or renowned architect Buckminister
Fuller.
She said she hopes the endowment will continue those efforts. Their description of
the endowment says it will serve “to further strengthen the social fabric of MiraCosta
by fostering cross-disciplinary initiatives that will bridge divides of all kinds:
between arts and sciences, staff and students, town and gown, military and civilian,
left and right, minority and majority, national and international etc.”
Tori Fishinger, interim associate director of the Office of Advancement, said Julie
Hatoff has been donating to MiraCosta for more than 20 years, including scholarships
and funding programs such as art and theater.
She said the endowment will enrich the student experience at MiraCosta College.
“They are bringing together MiraCosta College as a collective community,” Fishinger
said. “The Hatoffs are helping MiraCosta College meet our mission of educational opportunities
for all.”