The Ceremony - University of La Verne
The Ceremony - University of La Verne
The Ceremony - University of La Verne
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VOICE<br />
Summer/Fall 2011<br />
Her<br />
Moment<br />
Devorah Lieberman<br />
is inaugurated as the<br />
18th president <strong>of</strong> the<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>
Remember <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> Down the Road<br />
Tell <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> about your bequest!<br />
Make sure your estate plans and wishes are known so that your<br />
bequest will serve the university far into the future.<br />
<strong>The</strong> university wants to thank you during your lifetime<br />
and recognize you as a member <strong>of</strong> the Veritas Society.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Veritas Society has access to special events such as<br />
Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Holiday Choral Concert,<br />
and invitations to President Lieberman’s house.<br />
To learn more, please contact Julia Wheeler, Development Director<br />
at (909) 593-3511, ext: 4686 jwheeler@laverne.edu<br />
Please also visit our website: www.laverne.edu/planned-giving<br />
TRUTH<br />
UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE<br />
* VERITAS SOCIETY *<br />
VALUE SERVICE<br />
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT<br />
To Reach <strong>The</strong> Stars, We’ve Got To Reach Out To Each Other<br />
Fifteen months ago, while Provost and Vice President at<br />
Wagner College in New York City, I received a call asking<br />
me to consider applying for the Presidency <strong>of</strong> the <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>. Although I grew up in Covina, I was only slightly<br />
familiar with the university. However, when I read <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s<br />
120-year history and its foundational values, I was struck by how<br />
similar they are to the values that I hold in my own life, as well as<br />
the priority and purpose <strong>of</strong> higher education. This feeling only<br />
became further reinforced with each <strong>of</strong> my successive visits to this<br />
university.<br />
On July 1, I began my tenure as the President. Once I <strong>of</strong>ficially<br />
arrived, I wanted to know everything about this fine institution.<br />
I began by touring our beautiful campus, visiting multiple<br />
classrooms and <strong>of</strong>fices, stopping by to speak with everyone that I<br />
met to learn about <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s history and traditions. Every day<br />
was what I called “Devorah’s magical mystery tour.” I visited with<br />
faculty, students and staff members <strong>of</strong> nearly every department,<br />
members <strong>of</strong> the Board <strong>of</strong> Trustees, alumni, local community<br />
members and friends <strong>of</strong> the university. In September, I presented<br />
our State <strong>of</strong> the <strong>University</strong> address before an overflow crowd in<br />
the Ludwick Conference Center. On October 21, we set new<br />
benchmarks with our successful inauguration, which was attended<br />
by over 1,500 individuals from our 11 campuses, our greater<br />
community and nationally. And Homecoming! What a great<br />
day — filled with exciting events, accomplished alumni, exuberant<br />
students and delicious food — wrapping up with a winning<br />
football game. I have attended Board meetings, faculty retreats,<br />
athletic events and midnight student government meetings. As<br />
a person at the inauguration aptly described me, “She is everywhere.”<br />
And, I have enjoyed every minute <strong>of</strong> these events and<br />
activities. Yes, all <strong>of</strong> this keeps me very busy, but I would not have<br />
it any other way.<br />
One <strong>of</strong> my top priorities is to keep you informed about <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong>’s “happenings.” Communication is key to our success. Just<br />
look at the way social media has increased dramatically. Technology<br />
has made it better and faster than ever, with easy access to<br />
calling, e-mailing, skyping, Facebooking and Tweeting, to name<br />
only a few. I will be using all <strong>of</strong> these tools to increase my accessibility<br />
and communications with you.<br />
Our outstanding magazine, the VOICE, is one <strong>of</strong> several<br />
ways we communicate. Through my conversations with alumni,<br />
I see that you will always have a special place in your heart for<br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>. I also know it is not always easy for you, our alumni<br />
and friends, to keep abreast <strong>of</strong> all that happens here. We are<br />
pulled in varying directions — time with our families, careers<br />
to pursue, and the simple requirements <strong>of</strong> day-to-day life. With<br />
the VOICE, we take pride in presenting news and information<br />
about the university, showcasing our ever-increasing accomplishments<br />
and our vision for the future. <strong>The</strong>re is much <strong>of</strong> which we<br />
should be proud today and I predict that we will continue to<br />
increase this pride in the future.<br />
While technology is wondrous and amazing, giving us tools<br />
to communicate faster and in more ways than ever, I believe that<br />
balance is vital to good health. As you take time during your day<br />
to slow down, you can enjoy stories <strong>of</strong> our special alumni and<br />
friends here in the VOICE. We also send the wish that, as you<br />
enjoy a leisurely stroll through its pages, you’ll remember “<strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong>... those were some <strong>of</strong> the best years <strong>of</strong> my life.”<br />
I invite you to stay in touch with the university, with a note, a<br />
phone call, a FAX, an e-mail, or a text. Drop us a few lines using<br />
the Leo Lines form on the back cover <strong>of</strong> the VOICE, or, stop by,<br />
if you are in the area. If I am not in my <strong>of</strong>fice, you may find me<br />
at Davenport with our students, at Barbara’s Place with faculty or<br />
staff, walking the track, or viewing art in one <strong>of</strong> our many galleries.<br />
I would love to meet you, say hello, reminisce and share excitement<br />
for the future <strong>of</strong> the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
Devorah Lieberman, Ph.D.<br />
President
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR<br />
Presidential Inauguration Has Passed,<br />
But <strong>The</strong> Afterglow Of Pride Remains<br />
As I write this, it’s less than a week<br />
after the inauguration <strong>of</strong> our new<br />
president, Devorah Lieberman.<br />
It was a big event. Maybe the biggest in<br />
the history <strong>of</strong> the school.<br />
<strong>The</strong> full day <strong>of</strong> events started with four<br />
academic symposia in the morning, which<br />
transitioned into a luncheon event all its<br />
own, followed by the robing and procession<br />
<strong>of</strong> hundreds <strong>of</strong> academic representatives,<br />
which preceded the Inauguration<br />
<strong>Ceremony</strong>.<br />
<strong>The</strong> thing that impressed me most was<br />
the pride. Everyone who had some role was<br />
proud to participate, and everyone merely<br />
attending was proud to witness the historic<br />
event. Afterward, everyone was proud <strong>of</strong><br />
the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
I know I was. With a new leader, recordsetting<br />
enrollment numbers, a transformation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the campus through recent and ongoing<br />
capital projects, it feels like <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
is taking a step up to a new level. It feels<br />
like we have grown up a little and now see<br />
ourselves in a different light.<br />
Part <strong>of</strong> our goal with this issue <strong>of</strong> the<br />
VOICE is to capture some <strong>of</strong> the event<br />
and share it with you. We have several stories<br />
and lots <strong>of</strong> photos <strong>of</strong> the event, plus<br />
even more photos <strong>of</strong> Homecoming Weekend,<br />
<strong>of</strong> which the Inauguration was a part.<br />
In addition, we have many other points<br />
<strong>of</strong> pride in this issue. One <strong>of</strong> those capital<br />
projects is a renovation <strong>of</strong> the football stadium,<br />
which includes a new track and new<br />
artificial turf.<br />
We’ve also got great stories about alumni<br />
doing great things. <strong>The</strong>re’s a story about<br />
Arturo Delgado and Gary Thomas, who<br />
got their doctorates from <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s College<br />
<strong>of</strong> Education & Organizational Leadership.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y went on to become superintendents<br />
<strong>of</strong> schools for two <strong>of</strong> the largest<br />
counties in the nation.<br />
A pr<strong>of</strong>ile <strong>of</strong> Marlin Heckman, longtime<br />
librarian at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>, is the personification<br />
<strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> the tenets <strong>of</strong> the university’s mission<br />
statement: Lifelong Learning. Though<br />
retired, Marlin is a busy author and pho-<br />
2 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
tographer and is a handful to keep up with.<br />
In addition, we take great pride in presenting<br />
to you one <strong>of</strong> the most popular<br />
alumni ever to come out <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>: Eric<br />
Bishop. Eric is so well-known and wellliked<br />
that I felt comfortable using only<br />
his initials in the headline, since everyone<br />
seems to know him simply as, “EB.”<br />
We’ve also got six pages <strong>of</strong> “Leo Lines,”<br />
so you can see what many <strong>of</strong> your fellow<br />
alumni are up to.<br />
Some <strong>of</strong> the stories, like the ones about<br />
Marlin and Eric, were so good that we<br />
asked our writers for expanded versions<br />
that you can find in our electronic magazine,<br />
the Voice Online (www.laverne.edu/<br />
voice).<br />
As you thumb through this<br />
issue <strong>of</strong> the VOICE you<br />
might also notice these little<br />
things about the size <strong>of</strong> a postage<br />
stamp that look like a bar code seen<br />
through a kaleidoscope.<br />
With the Internet serving as the current<br />
information superhighway, it was just<br />
a matter <strong>of</strong> time before someone came up<br />
with a way to link up print and electronic<br />
media. That’s what these tags do. Those<br />
with a properly equipped electronic device,<br />
such as a “smart” phone can hold the device’s<br />
scanner over a tag and coding in the<br />
tag takes the reader right to that web page.<br />
One thing we’re all about here is giving<br />
our readers options for getting all the information<br />
they want about the university. So,<br />
there’s one more.<br />
I hope you enjoy this issue <strong>of</strong> the<br />
VOICE. Check out the Voice Online for<br />
more, and please feel free to send us a Leo<br />
Line (see the back cover <strong>of</strong> this magazine).<br />
Rusty Evans<br />
Editor<br />
VOICE<br />
Vice President, <strong>University</strong> Advancement<br />
Jean Bjerke<br />
jbjerke@laverne.edu<br />
Director <strong>of</strong> Public Relations<br />
Charles Bentley<br />
cbentley@laverne.edu<br />
Editor and Creative Director <strong>of</strong> the Voice<br />
Rusty Evans<br />
revans@laverne.edu<br />
Writers<br />
Charles Bentley, Lisa O’Neill Hill,<br />
Alisha Rosas, John Ross,<br />
Mark Vidal, Rusty Evans<br />
Cover Image<br />
Tom Zasadzinski<br />
Photographers<br />
Jeanine Hill, Nancy Newman,<br />
Mark Vidal, Walt Weis,<br />
Tom Zasadzinski, Rusty Evans<br />
Graphic Designer<br />
Rusty Evans<br />
Director <strong>of</strong> Alumni Relations<br />
Beth Elmore<br />
belmore@laverne.edu<br />
Leo Lines<br />
Malissa Hernandez<br />
mhernandez@laverne.edu<br />
<strong>The</strong> Voice is published by<br />
the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
Office <strong>of</strong> <strong>University</strong> Advancement<br />
Please address all correspondence to:<br />
Voice, <strong>University</strong> Advancement,<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>,<br />
1950 Third St., <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>, CA, 91750<br />
e-mail voice@laverne.edu<br />
www.laverne.edu<br />
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Contents<br />
UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE<br />
VOICE<br />
Vol. 92 No. 1 Summer/Fall 2011<br />
PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION ISSUE<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Ceremony</strong><br />
With plenty <strong>of</strong> pomp and circumstance, Devorah Lieberman is<br />
sworn in as <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s 18th president, galvanizing the Campus<br />
Community and launching a festive Homecoming Weekend.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Symposia<br />
A veritable Who’s Who <strong>of</strong> national scholars, possibly the most<br />
accomplished ever to visit <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>, lead academic panels<br />
focused on university Mission Statement tenets.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Sculpture<br />
In conjunction with the historic event, artist Seth Kaufman<br />
makes a third contribution to the Muriel Pollia Sculpture<br />
Garden on campus, the city’s only public art display.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Weekend<br />
<strong>The</strong> energy created by the Friday inauguration carries over into<br />
a most festive Homecoming Weekend, which included food,<br />
fun and a football victory.<br />
Leveling <strong>The</strong> Playing Field<br />
New track, football grid will serve more <strong>of</strong> the student body,<br />
and heighten the athletic recruiting allure.<br />
Macro Managers<br />
Alumni Arturo Delgado and Gary Thomas set school policy as<br />
superintendents <strong>of</strong> schools in two <strong>of</strong> the largest counties in the nation.<br />
A Work In Progress<br />
Marlin Heckman has four degrees and a 42-year career as librarian<br />
behind him, but he’s most excited about what’s yet to come.<br />
a.k.a. E.B.<br />
In 24 years, Eric Bishop made his mark on the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong> as a student, teacher and mentor.<br />
4 18<br />
News & Notes Leo Lines<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
Too much mail? If you would prefer to enjoy the Voice online at www.laverne.edu/voice instead <strong>of</strong> receiving<br />
the printed version, please check the box on the back cover <strong>of</strong> this magazine and send it in. Thanks!<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
★<br />
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 3
<strong>The</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s College <strong>of</strong> Education &<br />
Organizational Leadership has been granted national accreditation,<br />
a confirmation <strong>of</strong> the college’s high standards<br />
and commitment to producing top educators and leaders.<br />
<strong>The</strong> National Council on Accreditation <strong>of</strong> Teacher Education<br />
(NCATE) announced the decision in October,<br />
four months after the college received full accreditation<br />
for seven years from the California Commission on Accreditation.<br />
<strong>The</strong> California decision renews the college’s<br />
authorization to <strong>of</strong>fer state credentials in all locations to<br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> students who complete any program that prepares<br />
educators and leaders for roles in schools.<br />
<strong>The</strong> national accreditation provides the college with<br />
an advanced standing and means that people across the<br />
country recognize that <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> has met the highest standards.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> university and the community are now seeing<br />
that our college is a national player,” said Mark Goor,<br />
Dean <strong>of</strong> the College <strong>of</strong> Education & Organizational<br />
Leadership. “This is the first national accreditation for<br />
the CEOL, which is significant in that it puts us in a<br />
different stratum <strong>of</strong> colleges <strong>of</strong> education nationwide.<br />
It gave us the opportunity to examine national level<br />
standards and show that we can meet that high level <strong>of</strong><br />
standards.”<br />
Goor said prospective students know NCATE and<br />
want to know if the college <strong>of</strong> education they are considering<br />
is nationally accredited because such accreditation<br />
has significant benefits.<br />
“When our graduates go to other states, they have an<br />
easier time getting accreditation because their transcript<br />
will be stamped with the NCATE accreditation,” he said.<br />
To read the full story <strong>of</strong> the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s NCATE accreditation, please visit:<br />
laverne.edu/voice/CEOL.<br />
4 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
News & Notes<br />
CEOL Earns National NCATE Accreditation<br />
<strong>The</strong> new Athletic Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
makes a strong first impression on guests.<br />
Rusty Evans image<br />
Mark Goor, Dean <strong>of</strong> the College <strong>of</strong> Education & Organizational Leadership,<br />
says NCATE accreditation has taken <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> to national prominence.<br />
Jeanine Hill image<br />
Athletic Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame Is A Brilliant New Showcase<br />
With a giant, eye-catching Leopard head<br />
graphic affixed to its storefront glass, <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong>’s new Athletic Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame is impossible<br />
to miss upon entering the Sports<br />
Science & Athletics Pavilion’s northeast<br />
doors.<br />
Paved with an actual section <strong>of</strong> the floor<br />
with the basketball court’s jump circle from<br />
the Old Gym right in the middle, the Hall <strong>of</strong><br />
Fame is a shrine to 77 <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s greatest<br />
sports figures, including Roland Ortmayer,<br />
Dwight Hanawalt, Ben Hines and Bob Richards.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are plaques with the names <strong>of</strong> all<br />
members, plus a new interactive history on a<br />
computer monitor.<br />
Down the hallway, there’s also a new bank<br />
<strong>of</strong> trophy/display cases for visitors to enjoy.<br />
NEwS & NOTES<br />
An architect’s rendering shows the re-designed corner at Second and D streets near<br />
the entrance <strong>of</strong> the new residence hall and the new location <strong>of</strong> the university bookstore.<br />
Residence Hall On Pace For July Opening<br />
A redesign <strong>of</strong> one corner <strong>of</strong> the university’s<br />
new residence hall will provide additional safety<br />
and dramatically change the appearance, as it<br />
moves along toward its July 2012 opening.<br />
<strong>The</strong> new look, depicted in the rendering<br />
above, provides more sidewalk space and<br />
room for foot traffic around what will surely<br />
be a busy entrance to the hall and the bookstore,<br />
which will be relocated to the new<br />
building from its current location near the<br />
intersection <strong>of</strong> Bonita and D Street.<br />
<strong>The</strong> adjacent parking lot, located west <strong>of</strong><br />
Paul Alvarez says experience with such<br />
endeavors helps him to give his students<br />
broader perspective in athletic training.<br />
the residence hall site, opened in late September.<br />
In addition, a new patio area on Hanawalt<br />
House’s west side was completed in October<br />
and provides an outdoor area for dining and<br />
social events.<br />
<strong>The</strong> residence hall, part <strong>of</strong> the 10-year Master<br />
Plan set forth by the university’s Board <strong>of</strong> Trustees,<br />
was designed to integrate with the Sara &<br />
Michael Abraham Campus Center to provide<br />
a more dynamic and centralized campus environment<br />
for students now and in the future.<br />
Renovated Auditorium<br />
Earns L<strong>of</strong>ty National<br />
Architectural Acclaim<br />
<strong>The</strong> Ann & Steve Morgan Auditorium,<br />
which underwent a massive part renovation/<br />
part restoration in 2010 and re-opened<br />
last April, has been selected to appear<br />
as an Outstanding Design in American<br />
School & <strong>University</strong> Magazine’s November<br />
Architectural Portfolio issue.<br />
First opened 85 years ago as Founders<br />
Auditorium, the venue is still serving the<br />
needs <strong>of</strong> its students thanks to the exquisite<br />
structural and cosmetic renovation. <strong>The</strong> Ann<br />
& Steve Morgan Auditorium was scheduled<br />
to appear in the renovation/modernization<br />
category <strong>of</strong> the annual showcase celebrating<br />
the best in education design.<br />
This recognition gives the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> national acclaim in an education<br />
design sourcebook used by administrators<br />
at institutions <strong>of</strong> higher education<br />
nationwide.<br />
<strong>The</strong> redesign by Phillips Metsch Sweeney<br />
Moore Architects <strong>of</strong> Santa Barbara, funded<br />
largely by private donations, called for replacing<br />
all seats and fixtures, new doors and<br />
windows, louvred shutters, a brand-new climate<br />
control plant, as well as structural reinforcements,<br />
acoustic enhancements and new<br />
lighting.<br />
Alvarez Joins Team USA At World <strong>University</strong> Games<br />
Paul Alvarez, Athletic Training &<br />
Education Program Director & Pr<strong>of</strong>essor<br />
<strong>of</strong> Movement & Sports Science at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
served as one <strong>of</strong> a select few athletic trainers<br />
to take care <strong>of</strong> American athletes during<br />
the World <strong>University</strong> Games at Shenzhen,<br />
China in August.<br />
For Alvarez, now in his 25th year as a<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essor and head <strong>of</strong> the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong>’s award-winning athletic trainer’s<br />
program, the China trip was quite a feather<br />
in his cap. From a personal standpoint, it<br />
was further validation <strong>of</strong> his successful<br />
ascent through the ranks <strong>of</strong> athletic training<br />
and a reflection <strong>of</strong> his devotion to his<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ession.<br />
From a pr<strong>of</strong>essional standpoint, it means<br />
Alvarez’s Sports Science students have one<br />
more reason to listen closely in class.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> reason I was on the team is<br />
that I still practice, and there are a lot <strong>of</strong><br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essors who don’t,” Alvarez said. “<strong>The</strong>y<br />
didn’t need an academic on the team; they<br />
needed someone who could tape and take<br />
care <strong>of</strong> the athletes. I think that my being<br />
involved — just like the work outside <strong>of</strong><br />
class that George Keeler and Mike <strong>La</strong>ponis<br />
do in Communications, that Reed Gratz<br />
does with music, that Jerome Garcia does<br />
with biology — all <strong>of</strong> these are things that<br />
give our students an edge.”<br />
Alvarez followed up by organizing a gathering<br />
on campus with a photo essay about<br />
his experiences in China, followed by a discussion<br />
<strong>of</strong> the politics and resource cost <strong>of</strong><br />
putting on such a large international event.<br />
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 5
6 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
COVER STORY<br />
Devorah Lieberman models her new colors to the cheering approval <strong>of</strong> an estimated 1,500 in attendance at the Inauguration.<br />
Tom Zasadzinski image<br />
COVER STORY<br />
Upward Momentum<br />
<strong>The</strong> inauguration <strong>of</strong> Devorah Lieberman as <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s 18th president infuses the<br />
campus with a high level <strong>of</strong> energy as she sets a course for future achievement.<br />
By John Ross<br />
It’s not <strong>of</strong>ten that an entire university gets caught<br />
up in a moment, swept away by emotion, but then<br />
the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> hadn’t had the chance to<br />
celebrate like this in 26 years.<br />
That was when Steve Morgan took <strong>of</strong>fice, the beginning <strong>of</strong><br />
the longest presidential tenure in the school’s 120-year history.<br />
So, on October 21, when Devorah Lieberman took the<br />
stage, took the oath, took the plunge as the university’s<br />
18 th president and its first female president, the electricity<br />
was palpable. Every one <strong>of</strong> those 1,500 or so gathered<br />
for the inauguration ceremony in the university’s Sports<br />
Science & Athletics Pavilion — from national scholars<br />
and Board <strong>of</strong> Trustees members to rambunctious freshmen<br />
— had their hands clapping, their toes tapping and<br />
their sensual sails set to catch every last wave <strong>of</strong> energy.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Friday ceremony kicked <strong>of</strong>f a festive Homecoming<br />
Weekend for <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>, surely one <strong>of</strong> the most memorable<br />
in the school’s history. Whether attending the<br />
morning symposia or the afternoon ceremony, viewing<br />
the events live on streaming video, or connecting with<br />
fellow alumni on Saturday and Sunday, those in town for<br />
the weekend were treated to an electricity that pulsated<br />
through the campus community.<br />
Of course, Ann and Steve Morgan, presidential partners<br />
for a quarter <strong>of</strong> a century <strong>of</strong> growth and dynamic<br />
leadership, were on hand to share in the celebration. On<br />
stage, Morgan gave Lieberman a congratulatory hug, and<br />
wished her well. It was through Morgan’s leadership that<br />
the university pulled out <strong>of</strong> dire financial straits <strong>of</strong> the<br />
late 1980s. That leadership and stewardship, and that <strong>of</strong><br />
the Board <strong>of</strong> Trustees, now provides the university an opportunity<br />
to further enhance its service to students and<br />
community seldom seen in higher education.<br />
<strong>The</strong> university now finds itself with a dynamic new leader,<br />
and is poised like no other to meet the needs <strong>of</strong> the people<br />
who live and work in the region, the state, and beyond.<br />
Nationally-renowned academicians and <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
deans and faculty spoke in morning symposia sessions<br />
on campus. <strong>The</strong> symposia were capped by an address<br />
by luncheon keynote speaker Lee Shulman, who, when<br />
president <strong>of</strong> the Carnegie Foundation for the Advance-<br />
Continued on Page 8<br />
With Natural Sciences Chair Robert Neher leading the way out with the<br />
ceremonial mace, President Devorah Lieberman gestures to some <strong>of</strong> the<br />
academic representatives in attendance at the inauguration ceremony.<br />
Tom Zasadzinski image<br />
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 7
Excerpts from Devorah Lieberman’s Inaugural Address:<br />
ment <strong>of</strong> Teaching, led the transformation <strong>of</strong><br />
the way students are taught in college.<br />
While each <strong>of</strong> the four symposia focused<br />
on one <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s four Mission Statement<br />
tenets, much <strong>of</strong> the day addressed the university’s<br />
commitment to diversity and inclusivity.<br />
By virtue <strong>of</strong> its heritage and mission, <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
is uniquely poised to meet the needs <strong>of</strong> emerging<br />
demographics that are beginning to define<br />
America’s cities and metropolitan areas.<br />
Few urban or metropolitan universities are<br />
the equal <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> in serving the underrepresented.<br />
Half <strong>of</strong> its students are the first in<br />
their families to attend college, and more than<br />
90 percent <strong>of</strong> them continue as sophomores,<br />
weathering the uncertainties <strong>of</strong> their first year<br />
<strong>of</strong> study at a university. Fully 70 percent earn<br />
their baccalaureate degrees within six years, a<br />
figure significantly above the national average<br />
for a population as diverse as <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s.<br />
Why is the university so successful? During<br />
inaugural presentations, three reasons<br />
8 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
COVER STORY<br />
“Dr. Stephen Morgan, committed leader <strong>of</strong> this institution for 26 years, I salute you for the vision you brought<br />
to the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> when named president in 1985. I thank you; we all thank you for your unwavering<br />
and continuing support through this transition, enabling us to continue <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s successful trajectory.”<br />
Continued from Page 7<br />
“We live in an age I label, ‘a crisis <strong>of</strong> confidence,’ which<br />
cuts across government, health care, business, industry,<br />
financial, and, yes, even higher education.”<br />
emerged. <strong>The</strong> faculty and staff are inordinately<br />
dedicated to mentoring students and<br />
helping them succeed. <strong>The</strong> mission <strong>of</strong> the<br />
university fosters lifelong learning, diversity,<br />
civic engagement and values <strong>of</strong> spirituality,<br />
themes that resonate with traditional and nontraditional<br />
students who want better lives for<br />
themselves, their families, and their children.<br />
Anyone walking around the campus center<br />
through Homecoming Saturday’s fair<br />
<strong>of</strong> campus organizations would have found<br />
it easy to feel the earnestness <strong>of</strong> students to<br />
make a difference on campus and in their<br />
communities. <strong>The</strong>re was also an air <strong>of</strong> fun.<br />
For them, opportunities are boundless. This<br />
is the culture that <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> has nurtured<br />
since its founding in 1891 and which it is<br />
committed to expand in the future through<br />
two new programs Lieberman will initiate:<br />
<strong>The</strong> 2020 Vision and <strong>The</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> Experience.<br />
Concluding her address, Lieberman asserted:<br />
“Today is our moment…tomorrow is our future.”<br />
Pure rhetoric from a new president? Not if<br />
you listened to the post-inaugural comments <strong>of</strong><br />
faculty and staff, <strong>of</strong> delegates who represented<br />
Devorah Lieberman repeats an oath given by the<br />
Honorable Manuel Ramirez, left, and also gets a hug from<br />
her predecessor, Steve Morgan.<br />
Tom Zasadzinski images<br />
45 institutions during the ceremony, <strong>of</strong> alumni<br />
and parents, and students who participated.<br />
Clearly, they believe that synergy among<br />
trustees, faculty, and staff – encouraged by the<br />
new president – is elevating the university to<br />
a position <strong>of</strong> national significance that will allow<br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> to attract the human and financial<br />
resources needed to achieve its vision and<br />
expand its educational opportunities to populations<br />
in Southern California and beyond.<br />
A commencement is a beginning. So too<br />
is an inauguration. But there is a difference.<br />
Commencement exercises embark students<br />
into a future <strong>of</strong> myriad opportunities and<br />
uncertainties. An inauguration is the celebration<br />
<strong>of</strong> expanded vision and prospects for an<br />
institution and new energy to achieve its potentials,<br />
under a new and inspired leader.<br />
And so, the inauguration <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s new<br />
president, and the accompanying Homecoming<br />
Weekend testified to the fact that <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong> is now launched on a steeply upward<br />
trajectory. As President Lieberman wrapped<br />
up her her inaugural address, she issued one<br />
<strong>of</strong> her first directives: “Fasten your seatbelts!”<br />
“Over the past 60 years, our country’s belief in<br />
the abilities <strong>of</strong> our social institutions to provide<br />
long-term solutions to the problems <strong>of</strong> our complex<br />
society has undergone significant erosion.”<br />
“Solutions to the crises <strong>of</strong> our time are sitting before me<br />
in this room. Tempting though it may be to rely on social<br />
institutions, it is important to keep in mind that those<br />
institutions are composed <strong>of</strong> individuals like you and me.”<br />
If anyone was waiting for Devorah Lieberman<br />
to make a statement about academics,<br />
they can now get on with their lives.<br />
With the assembly <strong>of</strong> an educational<br />
Who’s Who for the academic symposia that<br />
preceded her inauguration, and a focus on<br />
the four tenets <strong>of</strong> the university’s Mission<br />
Statement, Lieberman demonstrated that<br />
she’s not only serious about education, but<br />
that she enters her presidency with a healthy<br />
respect for tradition.<br />
<strong>The</strong> observations and outcomes from those<br />
learned discussions encompassing lifelong<br />
learning, spirituality, community and civic engagement,<br />
plus inclusivity and diversity publicly<br />
framed the context for the university’s<br />
120-year history. <strong>The</strong>y will also assist in structuring<br />
the institution’s strategic “2020 Vision”<br />
and provide the foundation for “<strong>The</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
Experience,” the emerging integration <strong>of</strong> curriculum<br />
and co-curriculum for all students.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> university commits itself to promoting<br />
education that facilitates lifelong learning,”<br />
said Mark Goor, Dean <strong>of</strong> the College<br />
<strong>of</strong> Education & Organizational Leadership,<br />
in opening the panel on that relevant topic.<br />
“Teaching students how to learn, how to<br />
think critically, to do constructive research,<br />
and to access and integrate information in<br />
order to prepare them for continued personal<br />
and career growth is our priority.”<br />
Employers demand that employees be<br />
nimble in adapting to evolving knowledge,<br />
technology, and social, economic, and environmental<br />
conditions. A liberal education,<br />
said symposia speaker Carol Geary Schneider,<br />
president <strong>of</strong> the Association <strong>of</strong> American<br />
Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), has been<br />
INAUGURATION<br />
proven to provide the most effective foundation<br />
to succeed in this economy.<br />
Schneider presented data from a 2010 survey<br />
showing that employers want colleges to<br />
place more emphasis on, among other learning<br />
outcomes, teamwork in diverse groups<br />
and global and intercultural knowledge<br />
along with oral and written communication.<br />
“Diversity is an integral part <strong>of</strong> what the<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> is and what the university<br />
would like to be,” said Abe Helou,<br />
Dean <strong>of</strong> the College <strong>of</strong> Business & Public<br />
Management, who introduced the inclusivity/diversity<br />
panel.<br />
Combined, the elements <strong>of</strong> community<br />
engagement, when coupled with the notion<br />
<strong>of</strong> civic involvement – the duties <strong>of</strong> citizens<br />
“Challenge lights the fire <strong>of</strong> change and opportunity. We<br />
will challenge ourselves and our colleagues, seizing this<br />
opportunity, embracing our institutional niche, and creating<br />
a pr<strong>of</strong>ound collective vision.”<br />
Mission-Driven Symposia Make Bold Academic Statements<br />
By John Ross<br />
“Our strengths will help to define our identity: a diverse<br />
demographic student body; strong community-based foundational<br />
values; our geographic location; and relevant<br />
curriculum, as well as outstanding faculty and staff.”<br />
Dr. Carol Geary Schneider talks about lifelong learning in the Ann & Steve Morgan<br />
Auditorium during one <strong>of</strong> four academic symposia held on campus on Oct. 21 — part<br />
<strong>of</strong> Presidential Inauguration activities.<br />
Jeanine Hill image<br />
to participate in the governance <strong>of</strong> their<br />
communities — create a powerful force for<br />
public good and personal growth. Both elements<br />
are essential components <strong>of</strong> the university’s<br />
mission.<br />
That these symposia featured renowned<br />
leaders in higher education underscores that<br />
the university is on a path to achieve national<br />
recognition for its ability to infuse the tenets<br />
<strong>of</strong> its Mission Statement throughout every<br />
student’s experience. In so doing, <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
has the opportunity to become a new model<br />
<strong>of</strong> an urban university.<br />
To read more about the academic<br />
symposia and view a complete list<br />
<strong>of</strong> guest speakers, please visit: www.<br />
laverne.edu/voice/symposia<br />
“In 2011, we are much more complex, but with the same<br />
integrity and commitment to academic excellence and<br />
institutional values. On this solid foundation, we will<br />
be intentional, forward-thinking, bold and successful.”<br />
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 9
<strong>The</strong>re is almost no chance that visitors<br />
will overlook the most recent addition<br />
to the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s Muriel<br />
Pollia Sculpture Garden. <strong>The</strong> nine-foot stainless<br />
steel piece is anything but subtle and was<br />
created to honor a person who has brought a<br />
bold and pulsing energy to the university – its<br />
18 th president – Devorah Lieberman.<br />
<strong>The</strong> sculpture, titled “Lignum Spire,” was<br />
taken from vision to reality by Southern California<br />
artist Seth Kaufman. <strong>The</strong> third public art<br />
piece included in the sculpture garden, located<br />
between the Campus Center and<br />
the <strong>University</strong> Quad, was dedicated<br />
to President Lieberman at her inauguration<br />
ceremony’s reception.<br />
In addition to Lignum Spire,<br />
Kaufman has two other pieces on<br />
display inside the Campus Center.<br />
His artwork was first noticed by<br />
Director <strong>of</strong> <strong>University</strong> Art Galleries<br />
Dion Johnson, who kept in touch<br />
with Kaufman after an exhibition<br />
<strong>of</strong> his work was hosted by the Harris<br />
Art Gallery last fall.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re is something incredibly<br />
compelling about his work,” said<br />
Johnson. “I admire how he is able<br />
to find the balance between absurdity<br />
and elegance.”<br />
According to Kaufman, finding<br />
such balance requires countless<br />
hours and the right motivation.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> efforts behind my pieces<br />
truly reflect what I am feeling or<br />
doing,” he said. “Instead <strong>of</strong> having<br />
a discussion about what I feel, I try to express it<br />
through a metaphorical way through the materials<br />
I use, how I feel, what I’m thinking.”<br />
After finding his muse, Kaufman combines<br />
his creative energies with artistic techniques<br />
that help make his work unique and representative<br />
<strong>of</strong> the world’s natural elements by the materials<br />
he uses. For example, Douglas fir wood<br />
was used as the original material for Lignum<br />
Spire, which translates to “wooden” (lignum)<br />
and “architecture” (spire). However, in order to<br />
create a lasting piece for the outdoor sculpture<br />
garden, Kaufman had to design his piece to<br />
withstand the elements.<br />
Using lost wax casting and taking nearly 40<br />
hours to complete, Kaufman took his wooden<br />
sculpture and created a mold <strong>of</strong> it first out <strong>of</strong> wax<br />
10 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
INAUGURATION<br />
Kaufman Piece Is Dedicated To New President’s Arrival<br />
By Alisha Rosas<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re is<br />
something<br />
incredibly<br />
compelling<br />
about his work.<br />
I admire how<br />
he is able to<br />
find the balance<br />
between<br />
absurdity and<br />
elegance.”<br />
– Dion Johnson<br />
Director <strong>of</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
Art Galleries,<br />
on Seth Kauffman<br />
and then out <strong>of</strong> plaster. <strong>The</strong> cavity <strong>of</strong> the piece<br />
is kept hollow as the mold is covered in stainless<br />
steel, leaving the finished product not only<br />
a more durable, exact replica <strong>of</strong> the original art<br />
piece, but also one that is significantly lighter.<br />
Kaufman said he was proud to have the<br />
piece used to celebrate the inauguration <strong>of</strong> the<br />
university’s 18 th and first female president. “It’s<br />
shocking to have your work, which doesn’t aspire<br />
to do anything more than exist, be appropriated<br />
for a public art piece,” he said.<br />
“When someone buys my work, there is a<br />
tremendous humility I feel along with appreciation.<br />
For the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> to use<br />
it to honor their new president, it<br />
really takes it to another level.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> idea to have an art piece<br />
dedicated to President Lieberman<br />
as part <strong>of</strong> her inauguration festivities<br />
stemmed from Executive Vice<br />
President Phil Hawkey, who felt it<br />
would help memorialize the day<br />
and its significance to the university.<br />
Hawkey was then given the task to<br />
generate monetary support for the<br />
piece. Donors that helped make<br />
Lignum Spire a reality at the university,<br />
include: Kurt Rothweiler and<br />
KAR Construction, Rancho Pacific<br />
Electric, Valley Crest <strong>La</strong>ndscaping,<br />
Robert Kim <strong>of</strong> Hanover Pacific<br />
Company and Lewis Companies.<br />
“This sculpture represents the<br />
new energy and dynamism President<br />
Lieberman brings to this university,”<br />
said Hawkey.<br />
Kaufman agreed. “<strong>The</strong> piece is<br />
energetic, honest, reflective … it’s<br />
modest in scale, but has a prominent presence,”<br />
he said. “I think you could describe her with<br />
the same adjectives.”<br />
At the reception that followed her inauguration,<br />
President Lieberman stood and listened to<br />
Kaufman describe the work and meticulous attention<br />
to detail required to create the sculpture<br />
dedicated in her honor.<br />
“Understanding the process <strong>of</strong> how this<br />
sculpture was created makes me appreciate its<br />
beauty even more,” she said. “Every time I walk<br />
past, I will let it serve as a reminder <strong>of</strong> the many<br />
challenges and sometimes, twists and turns we<br />
will face as we move forward as an institution,<br />
but when that happens, like the sculpture, we<br />
will work together to find a path that will take<br />
us upward toward success.”<br />
“Lignum Spire,” created by Seth Kaufman<br />
in honor <strong>of</strong> Devorah Lieberman’s<br />
inauguration, is the third piece <strong>of</strong> public<br />
art in the Muriel Pollia Sculpture Garden<br />
on the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> campus.<br />
Rusty Evans image<br />
HOMECOMING<br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> safety Arsian Erdinc celebrates a second quarter fumble recovery during<br />
the Leopards’ 30-21 Homecoming victory over Chapman at Ortmayer Stadium.<br />
Rusty Evans image<br />
Jacob Acevedo, left, and Jenae<br />
Hodges were crowned king<br />
and queen during a coronation<br />
ceremony at halftime <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Homecoming football game.<br />
Nancy Newman image<br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> fans celebrate the home team taking the<br />
halftime lead into the locker room.<br />
Rusty Evans image<br />
Alumni Treated To<br />
Traditional Fun, Plus<br />
Winning Football<br />
And so the Homecoming call went out<br />
and the alumni came, and they were<br />
treated to a magical weekend indeed.<br />
Saturday’s mid-October weather was suitable,<br />
even summer-like, reaching into the 90’s<br />
— all but ideal for all but the football team,<br />
which also faced a formidable Chapman <strong>University</strong><br />
squad. Still, the Leopards endured and<br />
brought home a 30-21 victory before a frenzied,<br />
sun-screened crowd that filled the home<br />
side grandstand.<br />
Though the football triumph may have been<br />
a pleasant surprise to those who have attended<br />
Homecoming in recent years, the student organization<br />
fair and barbecue lunch near the<br />
center <strong>of</strong> campus delivered its full measure <strong>of</strong><br />
robust fun. Dancing by spirited squads <strong>of</strong> students<br />
filled the streets, followed by a parade,<br />
kept the mood light and spirits high.<br />
After the football game, there was more<br />
food, plus live music from a stage set up in<br />
Sneaky Park.<br />
Sunday’s traditional class reunions brought<br />
together alumni from 1951, 1961, 1971,<br />
1981, 1991 and 2001, where plenty <strong>of</strong> memories,<br />
stories and laughs were exchanged. <strong>The</strong> <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong> faithful discovered their “Dear favored<br />
spot,” is just as green (and orange) as when<br />
they left it.<br />
View more images <strong>of</strong> Homecoming<br />
Weekend Online. Visit: http://<br />
laverne.edu/voice/hwimages<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was plenty <strong>of</strong><br />
reminiscing and a lot <strong>of</strong><br />
catching up to do at the<br />
Class <strong>of</strong> 1961’s 50-year<br />
reunion. Reunions were<br />
also held for the classes<br />
<strong>of</strong> 1951, 1971, 1981,<br />
1991 and 2001 during<br />
Homecoming Weekend.<br />
Nancy Newman image<br />
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 11
As he took in the thundering approval <strong>of</strong><br />
the home fans packed into Ortmayer<br />
Stadium during the closing seconds<br />
<strong>of</strong> his team’s Homecoming victory over Chapman,<br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> head football coach Chris Krich<br />
may have been tempted to think, “It doesn’t get<br />
any better than this.”<br />
But in the back <strong>of</strong> his mind, he knows it<br />
can. This time next year, Krich’s Leopards<br />
will be pounding artificial turf during home<br />
games, as plans for a stadium renovation<br />
went into action at the end <strong>of</strong> the just-completed<br />
football season. <strong>The</strong> bulk <strong>of</strong> that plan<br />
involves resurfacing the football field as well<br />
as the rubberized track and field areas.<br />
<strong>The</strong> university will replace the football<br />
field’s weary natural turf with the artificial<br />
12 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
ATHLETICS<br />
A new artificial turf football/soccer/lacrosse field and a new rubberized track and field surface surrounding the field will not only<br />
give the facility an eye-catching facelift, but also open the area to sports science classes, intramurals and other student activities.<br />
Leveling <strong>The</strong> Playing Field<br />
New track, football grid will serve more <strong>of</strong> the student body, heighten athletic recruiting allure.<br />
By Rusty Evans<br />
stuff, called FieldTurf, which resembles the<br />
AstroTurf <strong>of</strong> the 1970s only in that it is<br />
green. FieldTurf is just as weatherpro<strong>of</strong> and<br />
provides excellent traction, but is much s<strong>of</strong>ter<br />
than some <strong>of</strong> its predecessors. It also looks<br />
fabulous.<br />
“It will definitely be a plus for recruitment,”<br />
Krich said. And that’s how things will<br />
get better. <strong>The</strong> better the facility, the better<br />
the chance <strong>of</strong> attracting more <strong>of</strong> the very athletic<br />
student-athletes. That generally translates<br />
to more victories on the field, bringing<br />
more fans and alumni out to the games, creating<br />
more excitement all across campus.<br />
“Anytime you have something new like<br />
this to show a recruit, it’s exciting,” Krich<br />
said. “<strong>The</strong>y see the new field and the new<br />
track and they get excited. I think it’s great.<br />
Anytime you’re building something new,<br />
something like this is always a good thing.<br />
Especially in this economy, it shows how<br />
strong <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> is, to be able to give Ortmayer<br />
Stadium a different look.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> football program is not the only beneficiary.<br />
With the resurfaced track, <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> will<br />
once again be able to host a track meet. Gone<br />
will be the current patchwork quilt <strong>of</strong> a track.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are new areas for long jump and triple<br />
jump, and the steeplechase course has been<br />
re-routed.<br />
Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams,<br />
displaced by removal <strong>of</strong> the baseball field that<br />
served as their home, will play their home<br />
games on the new field, which will have permanent<br />
field markings. <strong>The</strong>re are also plans<br />
Continued on 13<br />
Continued from 12<br />
to add a women’s lacrosse team, which will<br />
use the field as well and have its own markings.<br />
One other effect that is likely to boost<br />
morale lies in bringing a few teams back<br />
onto campus. <strong>The</strong> return <strong>of</strong> the men’s and<br />
women’s track team and both soccer teams<br />
doubles the number <strong>of</strong> sports playing on<br />
campus. <strong>The</strong> lacrosse team makes nine.<br />
“This is a win-win situation, for both the<br />
Athletic Department and the entire university,”<br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> Athletic Director Julie Kline<br />
said. “It will be a point <strong>of</strong> pride, a point <strong>of</strong><br />
engagement for the community. It’s great<br />
from a recruiting, retention and student life<br />
standpoint. I’m beyond thrilled.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> durability <strong>of</strong> FieldTurf also opens the<br />
door for use by more <strong>of</strong> the student body.<br />
For <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s Movement & Sports Science<br />
Department it means access to what is, essentially,<br />
a new one-acre lab. Intramurals and<br />
other fun events will also be staged on the<br />
new field.<br />
“It’s an opportunity to expand our recreation<br />
and expand our fitness and wellness<br />
needs <strong>of</strong> the students,” Kline said. “With the<br />
addition <strong>of</strong> lights, we’ll be able to expand the<br />
hours <strong>of</strong> use to meet the student body needs.”<br />
Some <strong>of</strong> those lights will be affixed to<br />
100-foot-tall poles designed to help direct<br />
the light downward and not outward into the<br />
surrounding neighborhood. That wouldn’t<br />
be good for the university’s image, one that<br />
has been enhanced greatly by recent projects.<br />
“This project reinforces the growing sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> a vibrant campus, and not only in Athlet-<br />
“Especially in<br />
this economy,<br />
it shows how<br />
strong <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
is, to be able to<br />
give Ortmayer<br />
Stadium a<br />
different look.”<br />
Chris Krich<br />
Head Football Coach<br />
ATHLETICS<br />
A jumble <strong>of</strong> patches that has kept the track together, and depressions and bare spots<br />
on the grass are telltale signs <strong>of</strong> the need for the stadium renovation at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
Rusty Evans image<br />
ics, but with the Movement & Sports Science<br />
program as well,” said Phil Hawkey,<br />
Executive Vice President and the person in<br />
charge <strong>of</strong> campus construction. “<strong>The</strong>re’s a lot<br />
<strong>of</strong> satisfaction, in the larger scope. We have<br />
rebuilt our campus. More than 50 buildings<br />
have been built or remodeled. We’ve doubled<br />
our property and positioned ourselves for a<br />
“It’s great,<br />
from a<br />
recruiting,<br />
retention and<br />
student life<br />
standpoint.<br />
I’m beyond<br />
thrilled.”<br />
Julie Kline<br />
Athletic Director<br />
successful future.<br />
“We’ve created an environment in which<br />
students may supplement the educational<br />
experience they have here outside the classroom.<br />
Along with a school’s academic reputation,<br />
parents and [prospective] students<br />
make judgments based on what they see.<br />
We’ve created a very nice setting here.”<br />
“Along with<br />
a school’s<br />
academic<br />
reputation,<br />
parents and<br />
students make<br />
judgments<br />
based on what<br />
they see.”<br />
Phil Hawkey<br />
Executive Vice President<br />
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 13
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION & ORGANIzATIONAL LEADERSHIP<br />
Macro<br />
Managers<br />
Arturo Delgado and Gary Thomas share more than <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> alumni status: Both are<br />
Superintendents <strong>of</strong> Schools <strong>of</strong> counties with school systems among the largest in the nation.<br />
By Lisa O’Neill Hill Community Engagement<br />
Growing up in East Los Angeles as one<br />
<strong>of</strong> seven children, Arturo Delgado<br />
learned to look out for his siblings.<br />
His parents instilled in Delgado a hard work<br />
ethic. Teachers recognized his potential.<br />
“I had some influential teachers throughout<br />
my life,” said Delgado, who is now<br />
the Los Angeles County Superintendent<br />
<strong>of</strong> Schools, the top education leader <strong>of</strong> the<br />
nation’s most populous and diverse county.<br />
“I admired them. I guess that admiration<br />
turned into wanting to be like them.”<br />
Gary Thomas understands that perspective.<br />
Working in education felt like his calling.<br />
“I feel like education is really the noblest<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ession there is,” said Thomas, San Bernardino<br />
County Superintendent <strong>of</strong> Schools.<br />
“It really is an extremely important aspect <strong>of</strong><br />
our democratic society.”<br />
As superintendents, Delgado and Thomas<br />
share similar responsibilities, concerns and<br />
challenges. <strong>The</strong>y are committed to helping<br />
children receive a quality education, even as<br />
support for public education has eroded and<br />
budget cuts have created large obstacles.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y also share something else: both men<br />
earned doctorates from the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong>’s College <strong>of</strong> Education & Organizational<br />
Leadership (CEOL). <strong>The</strong> superintendents<br />
say <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> helped them further their<br />
careers through its rigorous program.<br />
“We prepare leaders,” said Mark Goor,<br />
Dean <strong>of</strong> the College <strong>of</strong> Education & Organizational<br />
Leadership. “People who want to be<br />
high-level administrators and leaders come<br />
to the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.”<br />
In fact, a quarter <strong>of</strong> superintendents and<br />
administrators in California have earned<br />
their doctorates from <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
14 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
Delgado, who was appointed to his post<br />
in July, is responsible for ensuring the financial<br />
and academic stability <strong>of</strong> 80 K-12 school<br />
districts that serve more than 2 million preschool<br />
and school-age children.<br />
He began his career in education more<br />
than 30 years ago as a bilingual teacher in the<br />
Baldwin Park and Rowland Unified School<br />
“I had some influential<br />
teachers throughout my<br />
life. I admired them. I<br />
guess that admiration<br />
turned into wanting to be<br />
like them.”<br />
– Arturo Delgado<br />
Los Angeles County<br />
Superintendent <strong>of</strong> Schools<br />
Districts. Delgado said he recognized early in<br />
his career that he wanted to be an administrator.<br />
He aspired to be a school principal because<br />
he enjoyed being around the students<br />
and working with teachers.<br />
After administrative posts for the Rowland<br />
and Norwalk/<strong>La</strong> Mirada Unified School<br />
Districts, Delgado served as an elementary<br />
school principal for more than eight years for<br />
the Azusa Unified School District.<br />
As he began to get to know a number <strong>of</strong><br />
people in the district administration, he realized<br />
it wasn’t that much <strong>of</strong> a jump to become<br />
superintendent. Prior to his position in Los<br />
Angeles County, Delgado was the superintendent<br />
<strong>of</strong> the San Bernardino City Unified<br />
School District. While the magnitude <strong>of</strong> his<br />
new job may be much larger, the underlying<br />
goals are the same, he said.<br />
“It’s incredible,” he said <strong>of</strong> the scale <strong>of</strong><br />
his new position. “<strong>The</strong> one thing that stays<br />
constant is that when you are working with<br />
people they want clarity, they want articulation.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y want to look to a leader they can<br />
trust. <strong>The</strong> scale gets bigger but those things<br />
don’t change,” he said.<br />
Education has changed significantly in the<br />
more than 30 years that Delgado has been in<br />
his career. “Every decade it seems to be a different<br />
emphasis,” he said.<br />
And just about every decade brings a new<br />
challenge: “We are trying to look to the future<br />
to see how we change our message and<br />
prioritize and be able to compete with fewer<br />
resources and how we build partners to do<br />
that.”<br />
In the short-term, the Los Angeles County<br />
Board <strong>of</strong> Supervisors has already identified<br />
challenges for Delgado to tackle. He has<br />
been charged with improving the education<br />
in camps and juvenile halls across the county.<br />
Delgado has been visiting those facilities to<br />
assess the caliber <strong>of</strong> education and see how<br />
well educators are trained and guided for<br />
teaching that population.<br />
“It’s a big job,” he said. “We have over<br />
12,000 kids in those halls. <strong>The</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> that<br />
education has been lacking for some time for<br />
a number <strong>of</strong> reasons. A big part <strong>of</strong> that is<br />
what will happen when they transition to a<br />
regular school. How far behind are they?”<br />
Continued on 16<br />
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION & ORGANIzATIONAL LEADERSHIP<br />
Superintendent Arturo Delgado oversees K-12 education <strong>of</strong> more than 2 million children in 80 Los Angeles County school districts.<br />
Walt Weis image<br />
As San Bernardino County Superintendent <strong>of</strong> Schools, Gary Thomas sets the educational pace for 417,000 students in 538 schools.<br />
Jeanine Hill image<br />
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 15
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION & ORGANIzATIONAL LEADERSHIP<br />
Continued from 14<br />
Delgado’s other big challenge is the Head<br />
Start program.<br />
“L.A. County has the largest Head Start<br />
program in the nation. We are expanding<br />
programs and trying to get kids ready<br />
for school, especially in poor areas. <strong>The</strong>re<br />
is a great opportunity for doing some good<br />
things. Already, I’m excited,” he said.<br />
Delgado said one <strong>of</strong> his top goals is to take<br />
a look within the organization and streamline<br />
it. That will allow the county to be better<br />
positioned to respond to needs, he said.<br />
He will undoubtedly tap into the foundation<br />
he received at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> to do that.<br />
His education at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> helped him discover<br />
his own leadership style, he said.<br />
“You learn to build bridges and listen and<br />
hear perspectives about education and organization<br />
and leadership. Working together<br />
with people with different styles was a big<br />
help,” Delgado said. “You discover your own<br />
style through that process.”<br />
Thomas agreed. He also earned his master’s<br />
degree at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
“I was really looking for a program that<br />
recognized that people who were working<br />
full-time would need flexibility,” he said. “<strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong> just had a very accommodating model<br />
which allowed me to do my job as well as get<br />
my course work done. That degree and administrative<br />
credential helped me secure my<br />
first administrative position.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> degrees at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> prepared Thomas for<br />
managing schools and districts and becoming a<br />
strong leader. “In addition, I would say in the<br />
doctoral program, we did a lot with emerging<br />
technologies, which was extremely helpful.”<br />
Thomas began his career in 1979 as a junior<br />
high social studies teacher in the Charter<br />
Oak Unified School District. That wasn’t<br />
exactly what he had planned. He had aspired<br />
to teach high school but was told he was too<br />
young; he was only 22.<br />
“I ended up in junior high. I swore I<br />
would never teach junior high and I spent<br />
my entire teaching career there,” he said. “I<br />
just remember how I was when I was a junior<br />
high kid and I didn’t want to deal with that.”<br />
He spent some time thinking about the<br />
middle school teachers he’d had and tried to<br />
emulate what they did in the classroom. That<br />
proved to be successful, he said. He realized he<br />
needed to have respect for the age group, set<br />
guidelines and rules for students and then fol-<br />
16 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
low through with enforcing the rules. He also<br />
knew to make the classroom environment fun.<br />
When Thomas first began teaching, educators<br />
and students were not facing the same pressures<br />
they are today. “We have a larger array <strong>of</strong><br />
indicators people watch to determine whether<br />
there is success,” he said. “<strong>The</strong> formulas and<br />
things people have used have changed.”<br />
Thomas said he has seen a deterioration <strong>of</strong><br />
support for public education. Class sizes are<br />
larger than they have ever been, schools have<br />
skeleton support staff and it has been difficult<br />
for schools to obtain the material and<br />
equipment they need.<br />
Despite all <strong>of</strong> that, “We have still seen<br />
an increase in student achievements,” said<br />
Thomas, whose county serves about 417,000<br />
students in 538 schools. “Teachers in the<br />
“I ended up in junior high. I<br />
swore I would never teach<br />
junior high and I spent<br />
my entire teaching career<br />
there. I just remember how<br />
I was when I was a junior<br />
high kid and I didn’t want<br />
to deal with that.”<br />
— Gary Thomas<br />
San Bernardino County<br />
Superintendent <strong>of</strong> Schools<br />
classrooms as well as principals are doing an<br />
extraordinary job given the reduction <strong>of</strong> resources<br />
that we have had.”<br />
Thomas, who has held numerous administrative<br />
positions and who served as superintendent<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Silver Valley Unified School<br />
District and the Lucerne Valley Unified<br />
School District, began his first full four-year<br />
term in January; he had spent the previous<br />
two years filling out the term <strong>of</strong> the former<br />
superintendent. His priorities include closing<br />
the access and achievement gap, improving<br />
dropout and graduation rates and preparing<br />
students for college and careers. He<br />
is particularly passionate about a program<br />
designed to increase college-readiness.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Early Assessment Program (EAP)<br />
is a collaborative effort between the California<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> Education (CDE),<br />
the California State <strong>University</strong> (CSU),<br />
and the State Board <strong>of</strong> Education (SBE)<br />
to avoid incoming CSU students’ need for<br />
remediation in English and mathematics.<br />
Students take a voluntary test in the 11th<br />
grade; the results give them an idea <strong>of</strong> their<br />
college readiness in English and math. Students<br />
with acceptable scores on the EAP who<br />
are admitted into the CSU system can enroll<br />
in college credit-bearing courses in those<br />
subjects as entering freshman without taking<br />
remedial courses. If a student does not pass<br />
the EAP, that student can be <strong>of</strong>fered solutions<br />
in his or her senior year.<br />
“What we are really trying to do is move the<br />
remediation to the K-12 side,” Thomas said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> San Bernardino County Superintendent’s<br />
<strong>of</strong>fice, working with Cal State San<br />
Bernardino and the Chaffey Joint Union<br />
High School District, has developed a pilot<br />
where Cal State San Bernardino will<br />
provide a guarantee <strong>of</strong> admission for all<br />
graduating Chaffey seniors who successfully<br />
complete CSU entry requirements<br />
and achieve passing rates on the EAP.<br />
Three community colleges — Chaffey, Crafton<br />
Hills and Victor Valley — also have<br />
agreed to accept EAP scores and UC Riverside<br />
has agreed to look at the program,<br />
Thomas said.<br />
“We are really pushing to get as many<br />
partners as we can in the pilot,” he said.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> effort here is to see that EAP students<br />
are coming into college successfully prepared<br />
for college-level coursework, to align high<br />
school coursework and college-entrance requirements,<br />
and to reduce higher education<br />
remediation costs.”<br />
For Delgado and Thomas, the most rewarding<br />
part <strong>of</strong> their jobs is seeing the impact<br />
– in the short-term and over the longterm<br />
– <strong>of</strong> education.<br />
“You are really transforming lives — anything<br />
from that first-grader who all <strong>of</strong> sudden<br />
discovers he can read, to a high school student<br />
who finally works out algebra or geometry, to<br />
the first time a kid has an opportunity to perform<br />
on a live stage,” Thomas said.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> artistry that comes out <strong>of</strong> youth is<br />
amazing. I think opening minds <strong>of</strong> people<br />
about the possibilities that there are, that is<br />
really exciting about education.”<br />
Related story: Read about the College <strong>of</strong><br />
Education & Organizational<br />
Leadership’s recent accreditation at:<br />
http://laverne.edu/voice/2011/11/ceol<br />
A Work<br />
In Progress<br />
After earning four academic degrees and a<br />
42-year career as librarian, Marlin Heckman<br />
is most excited about what’s yet to come.<br />
By Mark Vidal<br />
If there is one thing Marlin Heckman lacked when he retired after<br />
31 years as head librarian, it was the mentality <strong>of</strong> slowing down.<br />
He didn’t have it then, and he doesn’t have it now. Between prepping<br />
for his upcoming books, attending book signings, traveling the<br />
world and working on his iPad, Marlin has lived up to the mission he<br />
shares with the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>: lifelong learning.<br />
“I read about a book a week, usually have two or three going sometimes.<br />
I read you have to keep your brain active,” Heckman said. “Too<br />
many people sit down in front <strong>of</strong> the TV and never move again.”<br />
For Heckman, a resident <strong>of</strong> Hillcrest Retirement Community in<br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>, being on the move is as important<br />
to staying active as it is to lifelong<br />
learning. He is adamant about going on<br />
Lifelong Learning<br />
daily walks, he practices Pilates and enjoys aerobic exercises in the<br />
pool. He also spends time raising turnips, tomatoes and cucumbers<br />
in his garden, and shooting nature photographs with his Nikon D40.<br />
Although he admits, he’s still learning.<br />
But if Heckman is spotted sitting on the couch, especially recently,<br />
he is likely to have a mountain <strong>of</strong> postcards by his side and his Flip-<br />
Pal portable scanner on his lap. He’s working on what he plans to call<br />
“California at Night from Sunset to Sunrise” — one <strong>of</strong> several books<br />
he has composed entirely out <strong>of</strong> antique postcards.<br />
“I call postcards the e-mail <strong>of</strong> that day,” Heckman said, referring<br />
to circa 1890 – 1915, when postcards grew to prominence. Since<br />
1990 Heckman has accumulated thousands <strong>of</strong> postcards from antique<br />
shows, shops, yard sales and gifts. “You never know what you’re<br />
going to find.”<br />
Postcard books are Heckman’s way <strong>of</strong> documenting California’s<br />
history. Once he has identified a theme, such as California scenes<br />
depicted at night, he’s ready to start planning for a book.<br />
Why the portable scanner? Heckman is also the designer <strong>of</strong> his<br />
books. Using self-publishing services available on the Internet, specifically<br />
MyPublisher.com and Blurb.com, he uploads scanned images<br />
<strong>of</strong> the postcards and strategically lays them out on pages. He writes<br />
his own captions and selects the appropriate stock for each project.<br />
It’s an efficient and cost-effective process that gives Heckman design<br />
and production control, though it wasn’t always like this.<br />
<strong>The</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> his earlier books were published the traditional way<br />
ALUMNI<br />
An author and photographer, former <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
librarian Marlin Heckman once wrote a book about front doors.<br />
Mark Vidal image<br />
with Arcadia Publishing, based in Chicago. “Lordsburg/<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>,”<br />
“Santa Barbara,” “Long Beach,” “Santa Catalina Island,” “Pasadena,” and<br />
“Santa Monica,” make up the heart <strong>of</strong> his vintage postcard history series.<br />
“I chose areas that would be <strong>of</strong> interest. Someone vacationing in<br />
Santa Barbara might want something to take home,” Heckman said.<br />
To this day he still receives royalty checks for his vintage postcard<br />
history series.<br />
For Heckman, the perks <strong>of</strong> being an author and a self-publisher are<br />
spontaneously pleasant.<br />
“<strong>La</strong>st summer, I got a call from a publisher saying there’s a new<br />
bookstore that moved to Belmont shores in Long Beach and he wondered<br />
if I would come and do a book signing. This is for a book<br />
(“Long Beach”) I published 10 years ago,” Heckman shared. “I came<br />
and signed them all.”<br />
He received another special call last summer, this time from a lady<br />
who read in the paper that he would be doing a book signing in Long<br />
Beach. She had an old picnic basket full <strong>of</strong> vintage postcards she had<br />
accumulated and she wanted to donate them to Heckman.<br />
Thanks to a kind lady’s generosity and Heckman’s creative edge, he is<br />
equipped to create a short series <strong>of</strong> postcard books that will feature California<br />
in winter, at nighttime and in classic sunshine in the near future.<br />
Read the expanded version <strong>of</strong> Mark Vidal’s story<br />
about Marlin Heckman in the Voice Online. Visit:<br />
http://laverne.edu/voice/2011/11/heckman<br />
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 17
18 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
ALUMNI<br />
Leo Lines<br />
Mildred (Adams) Patterson ’32 and Gordon Keith Patterson celebrated their 75th<br />
wedding anniversary with friends and family on July 30, 2011.<br />
1940s<br />
Ruth Beard ’48 submitted a poem she recently<br />
wrote, “Life Ending Assurance,” to the<br />
local Cross Keys daily TV channel where it<br />
was shown for a week.<br />
1950s<br />
Janice Fillmore Martinez ’59, ’76, ’78<br />
and her husband, Richard, volunteered as<br />
hosts in Brethren House at Bethany Seminary<br />
August and September. <strong>The</strong> previous<br />
eight years, they were volunteers at New<br />
Windsor Conference Center in New Windsor,<br />
Md.<br />
1960s<br />
Doris Hopwood Dunham ’60, ’92 was<br />
ordained as a minister in the Church <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Brethren on September 12, 2010. She is<br />
working as a volunteer in the Bereavement<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> Optimal Hospice in Bakersfield,<br />
Calif., and is enrolled in an online MA<br />
program in Christian Studies/Pastoral Ministry<br />
through Grand Canyon <strong>University</strong>.<br />
Al Rouse ’64 retired after 18 years with<br />
the Washington State Department <strong>of</strong> Transportation.<br />
He hopes to play more golf and do<br />
some traveling.<br />
Mary Kay Ogden ’68, ’73, Marion<br />
Grundvig ’84, and David Rivera ’10 participated<br />
in the Church <strong>of</strong> the Brethren’s<br />
Children’s Disaster Services training last year.<br />
<strong>The</strong> two-day training session taught communication<br />
and listening skills, positive toys<br />
and games, the dynamics and stages <strong>of</strong> disaster<br />
and the agencies responding to disasters,<br />
simulated exercises, and how to set up a<br />
“shelter” in the church gym.<br />
Dr. Todd DeMitchell ’69, ’73 was selected<br />
as the Distinguished Pr<strong>of</strong>essor for the<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> New Hampshire. <strong>The</strong> university’s<br />
website says: “It’s not surprising that<br />
Todd DeMitchell was named team captain<br />
and most valuable player for his football<br />
team at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> College in California. To<br />
his colleagues in the UNH Department <strong>of</strong><br />
Education, the one-time All-American still<br />
fulfills those roles as a leader, top scholar,<br />
teacher, mentor, and friend.”<br />
Paul Handley ’69 retired July 2010 from<br />
the Los Angeles Department <strong>of</strong> Water and<br />
Power (LADWP), after 30 years serving as<br />
an energy and conservation consultant. Paul<br />
moved to Windsor, Calif., with his wife <strong>of</strong> 28<br />
years. <strong>The</strong>y are happily restoring their new<br />
home and pursuing their passions: reading,<br />
traveling and drinking wine.<br />
1970s<br />
Dr. Biff Green ’72, ’76 has retired after<br />
serving 20 years as President <strong>of</strong> Friends <strong>University</strong>.<br />
Prior to his tenure as President <strong>of</strong><br />
Friends, Biff served as Vice President <strong>of</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
Advancement at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong>. His wife, Binnie (Brandt) Green, is<br />
also a proud 1973 alumna <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
Joseph Davalos ’73 and Mark Davalos<br />
’75, ’96, siblings, are now both superintendents.<br />
Joe was selected last summer as the educational<br />
leader for the Suquamish tribe and<br />
their extensive programs. Mark was recently<br />
selected in the St. Helens School District,<br />
west <strong>of</strong> Portland, Ore.<br />
James McCutchen ’81 is proud<br />
to announce his daughter, Phylicia<br />
Elaine McCutchen, a 2009 graduate<br />
<strong>of</strong> Georgia State <strong>University</strong> was married<br />
to Steven Fair on April 2, 2011 in<br />
Stockbridge, Ga.<br />
Martin (Marty) Lomeli ’78, retired <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong> City Manager, is now the new Interim<br />
City Manager in Irwindale. Marty received<br />
a bachelor <strong>of</strong> arts in public administration<br />
from the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
Mary Ann Harvey-Melleby ’79, ’91 retired<br />
as public affairs director <strong>of</strong> Monte Vista<br />
Water District in May after 32 years working<br />
in the field <strong>of</strong> public relations and marketing.<br />
In April 2011, she was sworn into <strong>of</strong>fice as<br />
a Director on the San Gorgonio Pass Water<br />
Agency in Beaumont, Calif.<br />
Pamela <strong>La</strong>wson ’79 is opening her own<br />
law practice after 20 years with Hunterton &<br />
Associates in <strong>La</strong>s Vegas, Nevada.<br />
1980s<br />
Hidefumi Mizutani ’81 is running a kindergarten<br />
in Japan.<br />
Dr. Stephen J. Cavanagh ’83, ’84, pr<strong>of</strong>essor<br />
and associate dean for academic and<br />
clinical affairs in the College <strong>of</strong> Nursing at<br />
Wayne State <strong>University</strong> in Detroit, will be<br />
the new dean <strong>of</strong> the School <strong>of</strong> Nursing at<br />
Continued on Page 19<br />
Tim Hartnett ’73 recently retired from<br />
coaching high school football after a<br />
38-year career. Tim and his wife, Linda<br />
(Corso), have three children and six<br />
grandchildren, who range in age from<br />
1 to 12. <strong>The</strong>y now have the freedom to<br />
spend more time with the grandchildren<br />
and recently took a vacation to Alaska.<br />
<strong>The</strong> family makes it a point to get<br />
together as <strong>of</strong>ten as possible and shares<br />
an annual week at the beach. Hartnett<br />
is also devoted to his church; he is an<br />
elder at the Lutheran Church <strong>of</strong> Prayer<br />
in Bakersfield.<br />
Continued from Page 18<br />
the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Massachusetts, Amherst.<br />
Stephen has published more than 40 scholarly<br />
papers and reviews for nursing research<br />
journals. He has also generated more than $8<br />
million in external federal and state funding<br />
to develop nursing practice arrangements,<br />
support diversity in nursing, and increase the<br />
nursing workforce.<br />
Andre Bossieux ’83, ’88 recently received<br />
the San Bernardino County Department <strong>of</strong><br />
Behavioral Health’s Shine a Light on Child<br />
Abuse Award. While he was a student at<br />
the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>, Andre accepted<br />
a weekend recreational job at the LeRoy<br />
Haynes Center for Children and Family Services,<br />
in <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>, where he continued to<br />
work for 26 years. He is currently a program<br />
manager for San Bernardino County’s Transition<br />
Age Youth Program (TAY). Andre<br />
earned a bachelor <strong>of</strong> arts degree in communications<br />
and a master <strong>of</strong> science degree in<br />
healthcare administration at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
Rosalia Machuca Ortega ’84 lives in<br />
Whittier, Calif., and has 16-year-old twin<br />
daughters (her pride and joy) who will be juniors<br />
at <strong>La</strong> Habra High School. She has been<br />
an AFLAC agent since April, 2009, working<br />
ALUMNI<br />
Leslie Crucil ’84 wrote the book, “You<br />
Don’t Need to Know That: <strong>The</strong> Saga<br />
<strong>of</strong> Sammy,” which documents 20 years<br />
<strong>of</strong> her daughter’s life with Autism. <strong>The</strong><br />
book was recently published and Leslie<br />
does speaking engagements.<br />
out <strong>of</strong> the Fullerton <strong>of</strong>fice. Before that, she<br />
had worked various jobs, including branch<br />
<strong>of</strong>fice administrator at Edward Jones Investments,<br />
in Whittier and administrative jobs at<br />
stock brokerages in Los Angeles.<br />
Dennis Smith ’85 was appointed the City<br />
<strong>of</strong> Irwindale’s chief <strong>of</strong> police. Dennis started<br />
out as a psychology major while at the <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> because he liked helping<br />
people. After a police ride-along, Dennis<br />
changed his career path and received a bachelor<br />
<strong>of</strong> science degree in public administration<br />
from the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>. Dennis<br />
has worked for the Claremont Police Department<br />
for 27 years.<br />
Brian Young ’87 is a retired worldwide<br />
Director <strong>of</strong> Sales and Marketing, has been a<br />
Scoutmaster for Boy Scouts <strong>of</strong> America for<br />
the past five years and is a Kindergarten thru<br />
12th grade substitute teacher.<br />
Mary Elizabeth Anderson ’87 returned to<br />
the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> to pursue a master<br />
<strong>of</strong> science degree in Leadership & Management<br />
after living and working in Wyoming<br />
for the past eight years in the corporate online<br />
e-learning and foodservice industries.<br />
She said she hopes to return to Northwest<br />
Wyoming down the road to build a multilayer<br />
training and service company focused<br />
on hospitality and entertainment. “It has<br />
been a blast coming back to <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> and<br />
seeing all the wonderful improvements and<br />
diverse student population!” she writes.<br />
Dr. James E. Smith II ’88 was recently announced<br />
as the 2011 recipient <strong>of</strong> the Distinguished<br />
Alumni Award at St. Luke’s School<br />
Youlonda Copeland-Morgan ’87<br />
has been named associate vice chancellor<br />
for enrollment management at UCLA.<br />
Since 2008, Youlanda has served as associate<br />
vice president <strong>of</strong> enrollment management<br />
at Syracuse <strong>University</strong>, managing<br />
a $450 million financial aid budget.<br />
She is also the recent past chair <strong>of</strong> the<br />
board <strong>of</strong> trustees <strong>of</strong> the College Board,<br />
where she helped launch the Advocacy<br />
and Policy Center to promote research<br />
and solutions for national and state education<br />
issues. She previously served as<br />
vice president and dean at Harvey Mudd<br />
College in Claremont, Calif., overseeing<br />
admissions and financial aid, and, prior<br />
to that, as director <strong>of</strong> financial aid at<br />
Occidental College in Los Angeles and<br />
at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
in New Canaan, Conn. James has been a<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essor at Washburn <strong>University</strong> in Topeka,<br />
Kan., since 2008. He holds a master’s degree<br />
in social work from Virginia Commonwealth<br />
<strong>University</strong>, in Richmond, Va., a master’s degree<br />
in public administration from the <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>, and a Ph.D. in family<br />
life education and consultation from Kansas<br />
State <strong>University</strong>.<br />
Michelle Cox ’89 recently earned a Ph.D.<br />
in Counseling Studies from Capella <strong>University</strong>.<br />
She is an associate pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> the<br />
School Counseling and Psychology Department<br />
at Azusa Pacific <strong>University</strong>.<br />
1990s<br />
Jewell Henderson ’90 was appointed to<br />
the Alabama Ethics Commission in May<br />
Continued on Page 20<br />
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 19
Continued from Page 19<br />
2011 for a four-year term. Dr. Henderson<br />
relocated from Pasadena, Calif., to Montgomery,<br />
Ala., in 2003 and served as an assistant<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essor at Auburn <strong>University</strong>, Auburn,<br />
Ala., from 2003 until her retirement<br />
in 2007. She has an educational consulting<br />
enterprise: C & J Enterprises, LLC.<br />
Tony Velebil ’91 founded the start-up<br />
company Symbuyosis. Symbuyosis brings<br />
local businesses, customers and nonpr<strong>of</strong>its<br />
together. When customers purchase from<br />
merchant partners, those merchants make a<br />
donation <strong>of</strong> the same good or service to a local<br />
charity.<br />
Susan Zytnik-Kunzler ’91 is Campaign<br />
Chairperson for a candidate seeking a position<br />
on the School Board <strong>of</strong> Hacienda <strong>La</strong><br />
Puente School District.<br />
Michelle L. (Brune) Collins BA ’93 married<br />
Patrick Collins in a beautiful ceremony<br />
conducted by a friend on their property in<br />
Glade Park, Colo., which is above Colorado<br />
National Monument. Michelle teaches high<br />
school English in Basalt, Colo., and is adviser<br />
for the school newspaper. She recently earned<br />
a master’s degree in Education in Curriculum<br />
and Development.<br />
Lou DeVita, ’93 was inducted into the<br />
St. Francis High School Athletic Hall <strong>of</strong><br />
Fame. Selections for the Athletic Hall <strong>of</strong><br />
Fame were made by a panel <strong>of</strong> alumni and<br />
school administrators based on nominations<br />
submitted by our alumni. He graduated<br />
from Loyola Marymount <strong>University</strong> in<br />
1987 with a degree in finance. He went on<br />
to earn a MBA from <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> in 1993. He<br />
has held executive level positions for most <strong>of</strong><br />
his career and is currently a Vice President<br />
with Bank <strong>of</strong> America. For the past 17 years,<br />
Lou has lived in the Seattle area with Tami,<br />
his wife <strong>of</strong> 23 years, and their three children<br />
John, Bryn and Bret.<br />
Dawn Del Vechio ’94 earned an MBA<br />
at Cal State Los Angeles in 1999 and a certificate<br />
in community college teaching at Cal<br />
State Dominguez Hills in 2003. While working<br />
full-time in retail management and later<br />
in advertising, she also worked part-time as<br />
a classroom math teacher and a private tutor<br />
in math and test prep. Most recently, she<br />
accepted a position in November 2010 as an<br />
adjunct faculty member at Le Cordon Bleu<br />
College <strong>of</strong> Culinary Arts in Pasadena, Calif.,<br />
teaching applied math to the student-chefs.<br />
20 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
ALUMNI<br />
Leo Sayles ’89 was recently hired as the<br />
head volleyball coach at NCAA Division<br />
I Gardner-Webb <strong>University</strong>. Gardner-Webb,<br />
located in Boiling Springs,<br />
N.C., competes in the Big South Conference.<br />
Leo served as the head volleyball<br />
coach at Bryan College from<br />
2004-2010, compiling a record <strong>of</strong> 153-<br />
11. After going 22-44 his first seasons,<br />
the 2006 AAC Coach <strong>of</strong> the year went<br />
131-67 overall with a 70-14 record in<br />
conference play. His teams achieved 5<br />
consecutive 20+ win seasons, reached<br />
the NCCAA national championship<br />
Final Four in 2009, advanced to the<br />
NCCAA national tournament in 2007,<br />
twice reached the conference championships<br />
and once advanced to the<br />
NAIA Regional championships. Leo<br />
and his wife, Tanya (Hirsch) Sayles, are<br />
settling into their new area with their<br />
five children.<br />
Dr. Jennifer (Osko) Summers ’94 received<br />
a Doctor <strong>of</strong> Psychology degree in<br />
Clinical Psychology in June 2011. She<br />
moved to Hawaii and works at the <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> Hawaii Counseling and Student Development<br />
Center.<br />
Raymond Cota ’95 is police chief for the<br />
Sedona, Ariz., Police Department. Raymond<br />
has more than 30 years <strong>of</strong> law enforcement<br />
experience, and his career includes supervising,<br />
managing and commanding all functions<br />
<strong>of</strong> a police department. Raymond’s last<br />
assignment was as Police Captain in Corona,<br />
Calif. He earned a bachelor’s degree in public<br />
administration from the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong> and completed public administration<br />
graduate studies at California State <strong>University</strong>,<br />
San Bernardino. He is also a graduate <strong>of</strong><br />
the FBI National Academy, the Department<br />
<strong>of</strong> Justice Drug Unit Commanders Academy<br />
and the Los Angeles Police Department West<br />
Point Leadership Program.<br />
Col. Leon M. (Mike) Bridges ’96 was recently<br />
inducted into the U.S. Army’s Officer<br />
Candidate School Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame at Fort Benning,<br />
Georgia. He is a 31-year Veteran <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Army National Guard, including a combat<br />
tour in Iraq leading an Embedded Provincial<br />
Reconstruction Team during the Surge period<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Campaign. He resides in Anchorage,<br />
Alaska, and is Director <strong>of</strong> Logistics/J4/<br />
G4 for the Alaska National Guard.<br />
Lydia Ortega ’97 was honored by California<br />
State Assemblyman Mike Morrell at the<br />
63rd District’s 2011 Women <strong>of</strong> Distinction<br />
Luncheon in Ontario. Lydia is recently retired,<br />
but served as director <strong>of</strong> records, registration<br />
and evaluation at Cal State San Bernardino.<br />
Lydia also served as acting director <strong>of</strong> housing<br />
and residential life, acting associate vice president<br />
<strong>of</strong> enrollment services and director <strong>of</strong><br />
admissions and records. Ortega has a master’s<br />
degree from the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
Russ Douglas was recently named general<br />
manager <strong>of</strong> Devcon® Security’s San Diego<br />
branch. His primary focus is hiring and<br />
training sales people and technicians in the<br />
San Diego area. In his spare time, Russ is<br />
heavily involved within his church community<br />
as a drummer for the church band, and<br />
is an assistant coach for the <strong>La</strong>guna Niguel<br />
Little League. Russ studied media communications<br />
and broadcast journalism at the <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
2000s<br />
Joni Moody ’00 moved in 2010 from a<br />
town near Boston, where she practiced appellate<br />
criminal defense, to Evanston, Ill. She<br />
is a LL.M. degree candidate in International<br />
<strong>La</strong>w, with the added focus in Comparative<br />
<strong>La</strong>w and Rule <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong>w, at DePaul <strong>University</strong><br />
College <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong>w in Chicago.<br />
Scott Francis ’00 was recently hired at<br />
<strong>The</strong> Port <strong>of</strong> Tacoma as real estate manager.<br />
He will be responsible for real estate sales and<br />
marketing, contract negotiations, property<br />
management and new business development.<br />
He received a master’s degree in Business Organization<br />
from <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> in 2000.<br />
Dr. Maryam Davodi-Far ’01, an assistant<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essor at National <strong>University</strong>, has been appointed<br />
to serve as the Director <strong>of</strong> the Center<br />
for Cultural and Ethnic Studies at National<br />
<strong>University</strong>.<br />
Manny Escalante ’01 ran the Long Beach<br />
Marathon barefoot in October to raise aware-<br />
Continued on Page 21<br />
Continued from Page 20<br />
ness for the charity, Soles4Souls, and about<br />
a new physical challenge. “I frequently get<br />
asked why I run barefoot and it gives me a<br />
chance to talk to people about the great work<br />
being done by Soles4Souls. We <strong>of</strong>ten forget<br />
that for many people shoes are a welcomed<br />
luxury.” Manny, who since 2001 has lost 50<br />
pounds, completed 3 Ironman Triathlons<br />
and other races, trained for a year to run the<br />
race barefoot.<br />
Danielle Pashone ’02 married Ryan Frisco<br />
and is excited to announce the birth <strong>of</strong><br />
their first child, Haley.<br />
Nick Lemas ’02, ’05 a native <strong>of</strong> Hayward,<br />
Calif., met the girl <strong>of</strong> his dreams when he attended<br />
the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>. On July 16,<br />
2011, at a beautiful ceremony at the <strong>La</strong> Cañada<br />
Flintridge Country Club, he married Ali Scherer.<br />
Nick and Ali honeymooned in the Dominican<br />
Republic and make their home and their<br />
new life together in Southern California.<br />
Christine Boucher ’03 obtained a master’s<br />
degree in Criminal Justice from Boston<br />
<strong>University</strong> and is now a second-year law student<br />
at Concord <strong>La</strong>w School.<br />
Johnnya Center Burruss ’03 is Post Production<br />
Coordinator for <strong>The</strong> Talk on CBS<br />
starring Julie Chen, Holly Robinson Peete,<br />
Sharon Osbourne, Sara Gilbert and Leah<br />
Remini. She is also the Creator/Editor in<br />
Chief <strong>of</strong> SalsaSouthBay.com. She recently<br />
married Fernando Burruss, who is the Technical<br />
Operations Supervisor at KCBS-TV<br />
and KCAL-TV in Los Angeles. <strong>The</strong>y have a<br />
beautiful, 3-year-old daughter who recently<br />
filmed a Target commercial and has appeared<br />
in a GAP clothing store brand ad.<br />
Ayana Moultrie ’03 is a mom <strong>of</strong> a 6-yearold<br />
who is full <strong>of</strong> wonder and humor. She<br />
works in post production on several different<br />
reality TV shows for Atlas Digital, a sub<br />
company under Pilotware. Every year since<br />
graduation from <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> she has attended<br />
the Homecoming street fair and football<br />
game.<br />
Sandi Willis ’05 graduated from San Jose<br />
State <strong>University</strong> with a master’s degree in Library<br />
and Information Science.<br />
Shirden Prince ’06 is the new Vice Principal<br />
at Jacobsen Middle School in Tehachapi,<br />
Calif.<br />
Robert Hastings ’06 says he has given up<br />
on healthcare after more years than he cares<br />
to remember and is writing and illustrating<br />
ALUMNI<br />
Sara (Kirk) Mertaban ’04 and Amir<br />
Mertaban were married on Jan. 1,<br />
2011, and celebrated with a reception<br />
on March 13. Sara and Amir met at<br />
Fairplex and both work there in the<br />
Sales department.<br />
children’s books. He recently had his first two<br />
books published through Createspace and<br />
Amazon, the first, “<strong>The</strong> Blue Kangaroo (It’s<br />
Nice to be Different),” and the second, “<strong>The</strong><br />
Spirit Wolf (Life is a Never-Ending Lesson).”<br />
<strong>The</strong> second book is going to be a series. Robert<br />
is finishing the second book and reports<br />
at least a third will follow. Robert says it has<br />
been fulfilling writing and illustrating the<br />
books. Life throws us lots <strong>of</strong> curves and he is<br />
very happy for this one, he says.<br />
Adam Carranza ’08 traveled to Washington,<br />
D.C. and met with members <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Obama administration and attended an intimate<br />
reception with the President. Adam was<br />
part <strong>of</strong> a small group <strong>of</strong> members <strong>of</strong> the People<br />
For the American Way Foundation’s Young<br />
Elected Officials Network. Adam is a clerk at<br />
the Mountain View Board <strong>of</strong> Education, and<br />
graduated from <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> with a bachelor <strong>of</strong><br />
arts degree in Speech Communication.<br />
Leslie Elrod ’08 is the new service manager<br />
at 24 Hour Fitness in City <strong>of</strong> Industry,<br />
Calif. Leslie was a member <strong>of</strong> the Women’s<br />
Basketball Team in 2007 and 2008.<br />
Erin Konrad ’09 earned a master <strong>of</strong> fine<br />
arts degree in creative writing from Goddard<br />
College in July.<br />
Bobby Olgin ’09 and Rieschelle Roberts<br />
’09 moved to Ismir, Turkey, to teach English<br />
as a second language (ESL) at ISTEK <strong>University</strong><br />
in Bursa, Turkey.<br />
Jenny Genovese ’10 is furthering her education<br />
by taking courses at <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong> in order to obtain a multiple subject<br />
teaching credential as well as a master’s de-<br />
Reinel Campa ’05 graduated in August<br />
2011 from Antioch <strong>University</strong> Los<br />
Angeles with a master <strong>of</strong> arts degree in<br />
Organizational Management.<br />
gree in Special Emphasis. Additionally, she<br />
works as a substitute teacher for Claremont<br />
Unified School District.<br />
Little Leos<br />
Steven Dugan ’89 and his wife, Kimberly,<br />
are proud to announce the birth <strong>of</strong> their<br />
first grandchild, a girl, named Gracie Skye<br />
Dugan. She was born 5/7/11 at 12:07 a.m.<br />
She weighed 7 lbs., 14 oz. and was 20 inches<br />
long.<br />
Erin D. Lopez ’92 and Art Cadena are<br />
pleased to announce the birth <strong>of</strong> their first<br />
child, Maximilian Blessing Cadena, born<br />
Jan. 25, 2011.<br />
Marissa Espinoza ’94 and Ira Kruskol<br />
welcomed their son, Max Andrew Espinoza-<br />
Kruskol born on November 5, 2010. Max<br />
weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces and was 21-1/2<br />
inches. Marissa and Ira are thrilled with this<br />
little addition to their family!<br />
Misha (Kellogg) Drapalik ’95 welcomed<br />
Whitney Lee Drapalik, born September 15,<br />
2010, 5 lbs., 15 oz., 19 inches. Big sister Vivian<br />
turns 3 in January.<br />
Sandra Perez (Gonzalez) ’95 Little sister<br />
Amelia Marin joined big sister Lucilla on<br />
September 9, 2010. Born at Arcadia Methodist,<br />
Amelia was 7 lbs., 1 oz., and 20 inches<br />
long. She was welcomed by Sandra Perez and<br />
her husband, Zachary Gonzalez, to their new<br />
Continued on Page 22<br />
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 21
Continued from Page 21<br />
home in Diamond Bar, Calif.<br />
Heather Soon McCaulley ’96 and her<br />
husband, Jim, welcomed Gavin Daniel Mc-<br />
Caulley on August 3, 2010. He joins big<br />
brother Jack who is 3.<br />
Hector D. Casas ’06 is proud to announce<br />
Delina Nicole Casas was born on September<br />
24th, 2010, at 11:06 a.m. She weighed 7<br />
lbs., 12 oz. and was 20 inches. She joins her<br />
big brothers, Dominic and Dylan.<br />
Nicole Aptekar ’08 and husband, Jeff<br />
Aptekar, are pleased to announce the birth<br />
<strong>of</strong> their triplets, Jacob, Ava and Olivia, who<br />
were born on January 17, 2011.<br />
In Memoriam<br />
Esther Robinson ’46 passed away Thursday,<br />
June 30, 2011. Her health had been<br />
failing for several years, and in late May she<br />
began a rather lengthy hospital stay. Unfortunately,<br />
she was unable to make a recovery<br />
and was later discharged to her assisted living<br />
quarters at Baycrest Center in Coos Bay,<br />
Ore., where she received hospice care for her<br />
remaining time. At Esther’s request, and in<br />
keeping with a Robinson tradition, there<br />
were no memorial services. Esther was a<br />
schoolteacher.<br />
Edna Cecilia Hertz ’49 passed away at<br />
the age <strong>of</strong> 103 on February 4, 2011. She<br />
had been a Claremont Manor resident since<br />
2005. Edna was the youngest <strong>of</strong> four brothers<br />
and one sister and grew up in the small<br />
farming community <strong>of</strong> Malvern in Southwest<br />
Iowa. One <strong>of</strong> 24 students, Edna graduated<br />
from Malvern High School in 1924. She<br />
attended <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> College and also attended<br />
Claremont Graduate <strong>University</strong> to work toward<br />
a school administrative position. Edna<br />
taught taught fourth grade in Ontario, Calif.<br />
Edna lived in Claremont, Calif., since 1964.<br />
After 44 years in the education field, Edna<br />
retired in 1972.<br />
Rosemary Thomason ’51 passed away<br />
May 31, 2011, in Fresno, Calif. Rosemary<br />
was 82 and had a long career as an elementary<br />
school teacher in Fresno. Rosemary is<br />
survived by her son and daughter.<br />
Don Hodson ’53 passed away in June<br />
2008. He is survived by his wife <strong>of</strong> 53 years,<br />
Barbara; his sister, Patricia Allen; his three<br />
children, Judy and Don Hodson, and Sandra<br />
Henderson, and nine grandchildren.<br />
Peter van Wyke ’65 passed away on Jun<br />
22 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
ALUMNI<br />
John Joines ’07 and Christine Joines<br />
’10 welcomed son Jakob last year on July<br />
13. Jakob is a bustling 1-year-old and<br />
loves to play with his toys, especially his<br />
best buddy, Huckle Cat! John and Christine<br />
recently moved to <strong>La</strong>dera Ranch in<br />
South Orange County where Christine is<br />
a seventh grade <strong>La</strong>nguage Arts teacher at<br />
Serra Catholic School. John is in his 11th<br />
year at the Disneyland Resort where he<br />
is a Guest Service Manager for Security<br />
Operations. Jakob’s “Grammy,” Dorothy<br />
Joines, is Manager <strong>of</strong> Mail Services<br />
& Capital Projects Operations at the<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
1, 2010, at his home in Apple Valley, Calif.<br />
Pete was born in Santa Monica in 1943, but<br />
lived in Santa Barbara during his childhood<br />
years. Pete graduated from the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong> in 1965. He was active in football and<br />
baseball while at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>. He retired in 2003<br />
after 29 years <strong>of</strong> service. Pete and his wife Carol,<br />
recently celebrated 33 years <strong>of</strong> marriage. Pete<br />
is survived by his wife, Carol; two daughters,<br />
Kimberly Mays and Jennifer Vaccari; two sonsin-law,<br />
Wesley Mays and Robert Vaccari; three<br />
grandchildren, Morgan Mays, Christopher and<br />
Thomas Vaccari; his sister, Ann Fontana ’84<br />
and brother, John van Wyke.<br />
Judy Sible (Keith) ’74 passed away on<br />
Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011. She died <strong>of</strong><br />
complications from diabetes after battling<br />
for more than 50 years. She was married to<br />
Lloyd Keith ’73 for 35 years and is survived<br />
by her two children and two granddaughters.<br />
She taught in the Arcadia Unified School<br />
District until she retired to raise her children.<br />
Dorothy McCullough ’76 passed away<br />
on February 26, 2011, in Glendora, Calif.<br />
Dorothy was an alumna <strong>of</strong> the CAPA program<br />
and received a bachelor <strong>of</strong> science degree<br />
in behavioral sciences.<br />
Betty Ruth Sharp ’78 passed away on September<br />
6, 2010, in Fallbrook, Calif., where<br />
Ruth Morgan ’36 alumna and mother<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> President<br />
Emeritus, Steve Morgan, passed away<br />
on September 27 at the age <strong>of</strong> 96. Ruth’s<br />
connection to the <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> community<br />
spans nearly a century. Ruth was born<br />
on March 9, 1915 to J.L. and Grace<br />
Hileman Miller, an alumna who graduated<br />
from <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> in 1914. Ruth<br />
attended Bonita High School during<br />
the Great Depression and became a<br />
second-generation <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> alumna<br />
in 1936, before going on to become a<br />
teacher. In 1937 she married Thomas<br />
Morgan and later had two sons, Tom<br />
and Stephen. <strong>The</strong>y remained generous<br />
donors to the university, supporting<br />
multiple scholarship and endowment<br />
funds. Ruth was a resident <strong>of</strong> Hillcrest<br />
Retirement Community for 11 years.<br />
She is survived by her two sons, Tom<br />
and Stephen Morgan ’68, daughterin-law<br />
Ann McMurray Morgan ’71,<br />
’74, ’96; one granddaughter, Kesley<br />
Morgan Johnston ’00, and her husband,<br />
Robert; three great-grandchildren,<br />
Mackay, Charlie, and Stephen.<br />
she lived with her husband, Bruce. Glendora<br />
had been Betty’s home for 40 years. She was<br />
retired from the Glendora Unified School<br />
District, having worked for 27 years as a<br />
speech therapist. Betty was born in Azusa,<br />
Calif., in 1930 and attended Citrus High<br />
Continued on Page 23<br />
Continued from Page 22<br />
School and Monrovia-Arcadia-Duarte High<br />
School, graduating in 1949. She earned a<br />
master’s degree from <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> College. Betty<br />
was a sweet, thoughtful lady who cherished<br />
her family and friends. Her kindness touched<br />
many lives, and she will be greatly missed.<br />
In addition to her husband, her survivors<br />
include daughters Susan Benson, Carol Alvarado<br />
and son David Sills; 7 grandchildren<br />
and three great-grandchildren.<br />
Aleen E. Agranowitz ’88, described as the<br />
Angel <strong>of</strong> Long Beach, passed away at the age<br />
94. Aleen was featured in the Winter/Spring<br />
2006 issue <strong>of</strong> the Voice for her work as the c<strong>of</strong>ounder<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Speech and <strong>La</strong>nguage Development<br />
Center in Buena Park, the former site<br />
<strong>of</strong> Mira Linda Elementary School. For more<br />
than 55 years, Agranowitz, a Boston native<br />
who was in the WAVES during World War<br />
II and moved out to Southern California in<br />
the late 1940s, dedicated her life to working<br />
with those who have aphasia. Her daughter,<br />
Sara Jones, who is the supervisor <strong>of</strong> speech and<br />
language development at the SLDC, says her<br />
mother passed away at her home surrounded<br />
by family members, including her two sons<br />
and three grandchildren. Aleen wrote several<br />
books on aphasia and received a doctorate in<br />
Organizational Leadership from the <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> at age 82.<br />
Mary Ann Manning, wife <strong>of</strong> Paul Patrick<br />
(Pat) Manning ’91, died <strong>of</strong> breast cancer on<br />
May 8, Mother’s Day. Mary Ann, 46, and<br />
Pat had been fighting her cancer for more<br />
than 10 years. Pat graduated from the CAPA<br />
program and moved to the northwest to help<br />
take care <strong>of</strong> Mary Ann’s parents in 1995.<br />
Lois Neil-Sambar ’94 passed away October<br />
11. She was 76. <strong>The</strong> Crescenta Valley<br />
Chamber <strong>of</strong> Commerce “Woman <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Year” in 2001, Neil-Sambar was a prominent<br />
local educator and philanthropist. While<br />
principal <strong>of</strong> Rosemont Middle School, Neil-<br />
Sambar helped the school attain California<br />
State Distinguished School status in 1990<br />
and 1994, and National Blue Ribbon School<br />
recognition in 1993. It was during that time<br />
that Lois earned a doctorate in education at<br />
the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
Catherine Arra, ’01 passed away May 29,<br />
2011.<br />
Kevin Linn Shively, son <strong>of</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> trustee David Shively, passed away<br />
October 30, 2011 Kevin was born and raised<br />
ALUMNI<br />
Lloyd Carleton Brandt ’49 passed<br />
away March 4 at the age <strong>of</strong> 86. He is<br />
survived by his wife <strong>of</strong> 61 years, Lois<br />
Brandt ’48; his children Bernice Binnie<br />
Green ’73 (Biff ’72,’76), Jan Newcomer<br />
’75 (Bill ’73), Karen Pierson<br />
’79 (Gary ’77), and Roy Brandt (Debbie).<br />
Lloyd was born in Pomona on<br />
Oct. 22, 1924, to Jesse and Kathryn<br />
’26 Brandt and grew up in <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>,<br />
the second <strong>of</strong> six children (sisters Betty,<br />
Bernice, Dorothy and Marian; brother<br />
Daryl ’52). He was grandfather <strong>of</strong><br />
eight and great-grandfather <strong>of</strong> two.<br />
in Bakersfield, Calif. He attended Slipping<br />
Halos Preschool, Heritage Christian Schools,<br />
Garces Memorial High School, CSUB,<br />
and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical <strong>University</strong><br />
where he received his bachelor’s degree in<br />
Aeronautical Sciences. <strong>The</strong>re he became a<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>icient pilot and flight instructor which<br />
led him to proudly serve in those capacities<br />
for Loyd’s Aviation at the Bakersfield<br />
Jet Center. To say that he loved to fly is an<br />
understatement! He would drop everything<br />
to get “behind the stick” and soar the skies<br />
over the western United States. He was a funloving,<br />
“life <strong>of</strong> the party” kind <strong>of</strong> guy who<br />
was loved by all his family, friends and acquaintances.<br />
Kevin loved his family and had<br />
a very special relationship with his grandparents;<br />
he enjoyed seeing to each and every<br />
need they might have. Kevin will be sorely<br />
missed by all! Kevin was preceded in death<br />
by his maternal grandparents William Guenther<br />
and Donna and Vern Ruedy. Kevin is<br />
survived by his mother and stepfather Diana<br />
and Ray Schill, father and stepmother David<br />
Warren Carter ’58 passed away on<br />
July 21, 2011, at age 74. Warren Carter<br />
was an entrepreneur, teacher, and<br />
an agricultural leader. As an almond<br />
farmer in McFarland, Calif., Carter<br />
served on the Almond Board <strong>of</strong> California<br />
from 1979 to 1992, including<br />
two years as chairman and four years<br />
as vice chairman. His valuable leadership<br />
contributed to the sustained<br />
growth <strong>of</strong> the California almond industry,<br />
leading to its position as global<br />
leader <strong>of</strong> almond production. Carter<br />
served on the board <strong>of</strong> the McFarland<br />
Unified School District from 1981 to<br />
1994, and was also a past president <strong>of</strong><br />
the Kern County Farm Bureau. Warren<br />
was also a trustee for the <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> from 1965 to 1992.<br />
It was his idea to initiate a centennial<br />
fundraising campaign at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>, in<br />
the decade leading up to 1991 — the<br />
university’s 100th anniversary. That<br />
campaign, with Warren as chairman,<br />
raised $881,000 in the first two years.<br />
In 1985, the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
awarded him an honorary doctorate <strong>of</strong><br />
laws. Warren is survived by son Doug<br />
Carter ’83, ’85 and daughter-in-law<br />
Dena Carter ’83; son Ken Carter ’85<br />
and daughter-in-law Renee Carter;<br />
daughter Karen Campbell and sonin-law<br />
Joey Campbell; brother Wayne<br />
Carter ’50; sister Opal Wilkinson<br />
’52; and 10 grandchildren. His wife,<br />
Lenore Carter ’58, passed away in 2009.<br />
and Janie Shively, brother Kyle Shively and<br />
grandparents Angie Guenther and Sherlo<br />
and Ila Shively.<br />
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 23
In his roles as adviser, pr<strong>of</strong>essor, director<br />
and dean, one principle has been paramount<br />
for Eric Bishop: students always<br />
come first.<br />
Bishop has been known to say he had<br />
1,500 children that he enjoyed caring for – a<br />
reference to his commitment to students at<br />
the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>.<br />
“Many have graduated and left me, but I<br />
always seem to adopt more,” he has said.<br />
When he left his full-time job at the <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> in 2007, Bishop had been<br />
at the university for 22 <strong>of</strong> the previous 24<br />
years in one capacity or another. His roles included:<br />
student, faculty member, and above<br />
all, mentor and respected member <strong>of</strong> the <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong> family. Countless people had come to<br />
rely on the man they knew as “EB.”<br />
“I used to joke with people that I had<br />
served in every category at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>: as a classified<br />
staff member, a faculty member and an<br />
administrator. It was hard leaving,” Bishop,<br />
now Dean <strong>of</strong> Chaffey College District’s Fontana<br />
Campus, said.<br />
He said he found it particularly difficult to<br />
leave the students. And students also found<br />
ALUMNI<br />
a.k.a. E.B.<br />
In 24 years, Eric Bishop made his mark on <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> as a student, teacher and mentor<br />
By Lisa O’Neill Hill<br />
After a long stay<br />
at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>,<br />
Eric Bishop now<br />
devotes his<br />
time to helping<br />
students at<br />
Chaffey College’s<br />
Fontana Campus,<br />
where he is Dean<br />
<strong>of</strong> Students.<br />
Walt Weis image<br />
24 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011<br />
Diversity/Inclusivity<br />
it tough to say goodbye to their champion<br />
and friend.<br />
<strong>The</strong> timing was right, however, and Bishop<br />
couldn’t pass up such an opportunity. He<br />
said he was fortunate to land at an institution<br />
that “mimics and mirrors the same values at<br />
ULV.”<br />
His contributions to <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> have earned<br />
him respect from students, faculty and staff.<br />
In 2008, he was named the Distinguished<br />
Alumni Award Winner for Service to Alma<br />
Mater. That prompted formation <strong>of</strong> an “EB<br />
Fan Club” on Facebook, where students,<br />
alumni and colleagues left him notes <strong>of</strong> congratulations<br />
and spoke <strong>of</strong> his impact.<br />
“You’re what ULV is all about…family, dedication,<br />
excellence,” one former student wrote.<br />
He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1988 and<br />
began working in <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s Communications<br />
Department. After a short stint away from<br />
campus, he returned in 1994 with a master’s<br />
degree and began work as a faculty member,<br />
teaching journalism and mass communications<br />
while advising for the Campus Times.<br />
He moved into administration in 2001,<br />
first working as Director <strong>of</strong> Academic Advising<br />
and later as Associate Dean <strong>of</strong> Academic<br />
Support and Retention Services. He worked<br />
in administration for six years.<br />
Earlier this year, Bishop, who earned a<br />
doctorate in organizational leadership, was<br />
chosen to speak at <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>’s commencement<br />
ceremonies.<br />
Bishop said he was flattered to be asked to<br />
deliver a commencement speech. He said he<br />
was honored to have the opportunity to address<br />
college graduates and future educators<br />
and hoped to <strong>of</strong>fer words <strong>of</strong> wisdom and encouragement.<br />
Simon Bouie, who graduated from <strong>La</strong><br />
<strong>Verne</strong> in 1999, has said Bishop would do<br />
anything in his power to help someone.<br />
“He is a reflection <strong>of</strong> what one can argue<br />
is the most intriguing thing about a <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
education,” Bouie said, “the opportunity for<br />
a student to not only learn from, but to become<br />
engaged in the lives <strong>of</strong> their instructors<br />
and establish true, lasting friendships.”<br />
Read an extended version <strong>of</strong><br />
this story at: http://laverne.edu/<br />
voice/2011/10/a-k-a-e-b/<br />
With a record 2,000+ new students this Fall, our<br />
loyal family <strong>of</strong> donors is more vital than ever. Your<br />
support ensures our growing student body can<br />
experience a superior <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong> education.
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong><br />
1950 Third Street<br />
<strong>La</strong> <strong>Verne</strong>, CA 91750<br />
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