Graduation and other news from the Mission campus.
Leadership and trust
Ah, graduation day. The rustle of robes, the solemnity of processional marches, the purr of camera phones, and the Santa Clara sun shining down on a sea of happy grads clad in leis, sunglasses, and mortarboards.
And what of speeches on this, the 156th Santa Clara graduation day? Addressing the thousands assembled for undergraduate commencement at Buck Shaw Stadium on June 16, veteran political journalist David Broder shared some good advice he once received about commencement speeches: “Remember, Broder, it’s not about you. Keep it short.” (Stormy applause, cheers.)
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David Broder
Photo by Charles Barry |
At The Washington Post since 1966, Broder was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for distinguished commentary and has covered every national political campaign and convention since 1960. He’s been dubbed the “high priest of political journalism.”
Looking back at how the country has changed in the 56 years since he graduated from college, 77-year-old Broder reflected on profound differences that had split this country in the 1960s and ’70s, and how, not coincidentally, political leadership by baby boomers today is marked by sharp rancor and divisiveness. So the simple task for today’s graduates, he said, is to restore trust in America.
“Find a cause that unites your enthusiasm and energy,” Broder said. “Life will be fuller and richer if you find a way to bind yourself to community and causes that are larger than yourself.”
The evening before, Dan Warmenhoven, CEO of Silicon Valley-based Network Appliance, addressed the graduate commencement at the University’s Leavey Center. “Now is the time to define you,” he told the 522 graduates from the School of Education, Counseling Psychology, and Pastoral Ministries, the Leavey School of Business, and the School of Engineering. He asked grads to think carefully about what success really means to them.
The SCU School of Law held its commencement May 19. Judge Richard C. Tallman ’75 returned home to address the law class of ’07 in the ceremony in the Mission Gardens. Since 2000, Tallman has served as a U.S. Circuit Judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He cautioned the new grads to take their ethical obligations seriously. “Simply put, people remember professionalism and courtesy,” he said. “Conversely, they never forget the opposite.”
Honoris causa
As part of graduation ceremonies, the president and Board of Trustees conferred honorary degrees upon Broder and Tallman, and upon Warmenhoven and his wife and partner in philanthropy, Charmaine, for their leadership and service.
Honorary degrees were also presented to the Sobrato family, recognizing its long history of generosity to the University and to giving back to the community. Honored were Sue and John Sobrato ’60 and their children, John Michael ’83, Lisa, and Sheri M.A. ’94.
Also honored were Lorry I. Lokey and Joanne Harrington. Lokey has translated his success in business into philanthropy supporting educational institutions, and Harrington has given tremendously of her time and talent to the University and volunteer service in the community. Read more below about the challenge grant they’ve made to support the new Learning Commons and Library. DA, KCS, and SBS
The $5 million challenge
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Very good friends of the library: Harrington and Lokey
Photo by Charles Barry
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Lorry I. Lokey loves libraries and education. And in his latest display of that passion, Lokey, 80, Bay Area business leader and founder of Business Wire Inc., has given the University a $5 million challenge grant for the new Learning Commons, Technology Center, and Library.
Lokey will match all donations to the library, dollar for dollar, up to $5 million. In addition to this challenge, Lokey has previously made gifts of more than $29 million to Santa Clara University to become one of its largest donors.
Lokey’s gift, plus the matching funds from other donors, will complete the funding for the $95 million library. “A library is the heart of a learning institution,” says Lokey, “and it’s a privilege to be able to make a major grant to a very fine university.”
After a series of jobs in newspapers and public relations, Lokey launched Business Wire in San Francisco in 1961 with $2,000. It quickly grew to become a news industry powerhouse, now distributing an average of 17,000 corporate and academic press releases a month. When Lokey sold the business in 2006 to Berkshire Hathaway, the company controlled by investor Warren Buffett, it was valued at roughly $600 million. His philosophy of philanthropy is to give it all away—which is nearly $320 million so far. DA
Donor recognition
The $5 million challenge grant for the new library is a wonderful capstone to the Campaign for Santa Clara. The University would also like to recognize the following donors for their important contributions, along with an apology for inadvertently omitting their names from the publication celebrating the Campaign that was published earlier this spring.
- Michael R. Barsanti ’84, MBA ’97 and Michelle Barsanti
- Hugh L. Isola ’54 and Mary Lou Isola—Parent ’88
- Kissner Family Trust
- George and Mary Ann Leal Foundation
- Philip Rolla ’62
- Race Street Foods
- David J. Riparbelli ’79 and Marisa Riparbelli ’82
- Jim and Jean Riparbelli
- Paride and Pia Riparbelli—Parent ’79
- Roger V. Smith MBA ’69 and Judith Smith—Parent ’85
- Dale J. Vogel and Nancy Bird—Parent ’06
Bricks from a virtual world
This spring, a new building went up at Santa Clara—but you won’t find it on the actual Mission campus. You’ll need to go to the university’s virtual campus in Second Life. That’s where Michael Ballen, instructional technology resource specialist, has created a virtual simulation of the new Learning Commons, Technology Center, and Library that is under construction in the “real world.”
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown in popularity and today is inhabited by close to 7 million people from around the globe.
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| Come on in: The virtual version of the new Learning Commons, Technology Center, and Library is already open for business to Second Life avatars. |
The new library will open its doors in fall 2008. In the meantime, the virtual library in Second Life will give the campus community an opportunity to explore everything the building has to offer. The virtual library will include a reference desk staffed by “virtual” librarians, a teaching classroom, a reading area, a conference room, a theater, an art gallery, a bookstore, and a café.
About a half dozen faculty members from various disciplines plan to incorporate the Second Life experience into their courses next fall, including lectures in the virtual theater and dance choreography in the virtual multipurpose studio. One political science professor has plans to create an international conference where students from his class can discuss political issues with students from other countries, avatar to avatar. (An avatar is a graphical image that represents a person, as on the Internet.)
While the focus of the project is the new commons and library, the virtual campus also includes the Mission Church and the de Saisset Museum. Live religious services can be streamed into the virtual church, and Santa Clara students, faculty, and staff can display their original digital artwork in the virtual museum. KCS and KL
Rewarding those who right wrongs
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Katharine and George Alexander
Courtesy the Alexanders
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It’s one thing to applaud lawyers who show courage, self-sacrifice, and a commitment to justice. It’s another thing to back the praise with a $1 million endowment for a prize recognizing those qualities.
This spring, SCU’s School of Law announced the establishment of the Katharine and George Alexander Law Prize, to be awarded annually beginning in March 2008. Made possible through the generosity of the Alexanders, the award will bring recognition to lawyers who have used their legal careers to help alleviate injustice and inequity. It’s also hoped that recognition of such individuals will improve the image of lawyers around the world.
Katharine Alexander practiced law for 25 years as a public defender for Santa Clara County and taught law courses for several years at San José State University. George Alexander served as professor of law at SCU for 34 years and as dean of its School of Law for 15 years.
Nominations for the prize are due by Nov. 30. DA
More information about the award and nomination forms.
For the record
More than 1,250 freshmen will join the Bronco family in fall 2007, after another record-breaking year for admissions. This year, 9,459 prospective students submitted applications —almost 1,000 more than last year’s admission cycle, which yielded Santa Clara’s largest-ever freshman class.
A little over half of the applications were from California; Washington and Hawaii were the next largest contingencies. The increase in applications was reflected across the country, with a particular boost in the northeast.
Students of Asian-American and Hispanic descent each make up about 15 percent of the incoming Class of 2011, and the number of African-American students is almost double that of previous years, up from 2 percent or 3 percent to 5.2 percent. “As a percentage jump, that’s huge,” says Eva Blanco, assistant dean of admission and financial aid.
But the numbers may not be telling the whole story: Six percent of students indicated their race as “other,” which typically includes most multi-ethnic students, and 13 percent did not specify a racial background at all. This is a growing trend, Blanco says, with more and more prospective students each year choosing not to identify their ethnicity on their applications. SS
Tops in IP and diversity
Patent and trademark vs. piracy and theft: If you want to understand the ins and outs of intellectual property (IP) law and learn how to foster innovation and encourage its application for the commonweal, then one of the top 10 IP programs in the country would be a good place to start. Such as Santa Clara.
U.S. News & World Report recently ranked SCU’s law school in the top 10 both for its IP program and for being one of the 10 most diverse schools in the country—particularly valuable assets in an increasingly digitized and globalized economy. The magazine’s 2008 graduate school rankings were released this spring, also placing the law school as one of the top 100 in the nation.
“We’re gratified by the growing national recognition we are receiving,” said law school Dean Donald J. Polden. SCU law grads are no doubt gratified as well by another statistic cited by U.S. News: 95.5 percent of them are employed within nine months after graduation. DA
Respect and the market
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Meir Statman says reputation isn’t enough
Photo by Charles Barry |
Listen to the following words, and then say how they make you feel: General Electric. Toyota. Starbucks. Union Carbide.
If the first three evoked something solid and good—something in which you’d invest your portfolio—that’s not a surprise. They were ranked in Fortune magazine’s most recent list of the most admired companies. The problem is, according to research by SCU’s Meir Statman, they may not be as good an investment as you’d think.
Statman is the Glenn Klimek Professor of Finance at the Leavey School of Business. His research focuses on behavioral finance—how investors and managers make financial decisions and how these decisions are reflected in financial markets. He co-authored a study published earlier this year that is the first to look at the performance of stocks of the “most admired” companies since Fortune began publishing its list in 1983.
The study finds that stocks of admired companies had lower returns, on average, than stocks of despised companies. Why? “We admire a stock or despise it when we hear its name, whether Google or General Motors,” Statman says, “before we think about its price-to-earnings ratio or the growth of its company’s sales.” And because we have these good feelings, we may be willing to pay more for a stock than we should.
Naturally, the study caught the eye of Fortune: read its look at Statman’s research (PDF), as well as the study itself (PDF). SBS
Better business building
Photo by Charles Barry
Grading, pouring, framing—yes indeed, construction began this May on the new home for the Leavey School of Business. When completed, the new facility will be about 86,000 square feet, more than doubling the space available in Kenna Hall, its current home. “Green” planning, construction, and operation have earned it Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The two-story central core will be home to undergraduate and graduate student services, a concierge-styled business center, and a cyber café. Ample seating for informal meetings, group study, and individual relaxation is found throughout the three floors, including space on a south-facing terrace overlooking the plaza.
Fundraising for the $48.7 million building has reached the 80 percent mark, with a generous lead gift provided by venture capitalist and SCU parent Donald Lucas. The building is slated to open in fall 2008. “Although it’s exciting to see construction begin, we still have millions to raise,” notes Business School Dean Barry Posner. “Every investor in the building, at whatever level, signals their recognition that the Business School building is crucial to the future vitality of business at Santa Clara—and in Silicon Valley.” DP
Prayers and emergency prep
At a noon Mass in the Mission Church on April 17, in the wake of the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech university, the Santa Clara community offered prayers for the victims, their families, and friends. President Paul Locatelli, S.J., also sent a message of condolence to the president of Virginia Tech and to the VT community.
The dimension of the tragedy was shocking. But the killings also sparked questions on campus about whether it could have happened here at Santa Clara—and what the campus response would be. In terms of emergency preparedness, one precaution the University was already in the process of implementing this spring is the Connect-ED system of emergency notification—to be implemented whether the crisis is a power failure or a police action. Now up and running, Connect-ED allows for simultaneous cell phone, text messaging, and e-mail communications to faculty, staff, and students. But for it to work, members of the campus community have to make sure their contact information is registered with the system. SBS
Robot search and rescue—with a national award to boot
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Robohelp: Casey Kute’s creation
Photo by Charles Barry |
Since grade school, Casey Kute has had her eye on a career in robotics. That vision has come into focus for the junior in mechanical engineering, thanks to her education and opportunities at Santa Clara, which also helped her win a prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship this spring.
The Goldwater Scholarship was established by Congress in 1986 to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students intending to pursue careers in those fields. Kute was one of 317 winners from a field of 1,100 applicants. She is one of only 54 engineering students among the recipients.
“She has the large vision and she has the technical expertise,” says Richard Osberg, director of the Office of Fellowships and director of the Honors Program. He helped guide Kute through the process of applying for the Goldwater.
Kute has developed that expertise working in the Robotics Systems Laboratory (RSL) at the University. “I was very adamant about finding a place that had a really strong robotics department and one that would actually let me work in it as an undergraduate,” Kute says. The heads of most robotics labs either eyed her skeptically or flat out refused to allow her access as an undergraduate. But SCU associate professor Christopher Kitts, the RSL director, told her she could begin working in the lab the second quarter of her freshman year if she came to Santa Clara, after she’d settled in to college life. “He was true to his word,” she says. KCS
Gimme shelter
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Problem-solvers and the prof: from left, students Patricia McGlynn, Cristina Sanidad, and Rebecca Jones with Associate Professor of Sociology Laura Nichols ’90. Not pictured: students Zachary Mariscal and Olga Vasserman.
Photo by Charles Barry |
Solving homelessness is not just an academic question. At the same time, outreach programs that are on the front lines can benefit from rigorous research, though they don’t often have the resources to undertake it. That’s where five SCU undergraduates come in, tackling research designed to help right here in Santa Clara County—and, as a result, winning a national academic award.
The Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology presented the 2006 Student Problem Solving Exercise on Homeless Outreach to the Santa Clara research team for examining best practices in outreach programs throughout the country and applying what they learned in the classroom to the larger community. Rebecca Jones ’07, Patricia McGlynn ’07,
current seniors Zachary Mariscal, Cristina Sanidad, and junior Olga Vasserman worked under the guidance of associate professor of sociology Laura Nichols ’90 to examine homeless outreach programs in New York City, Chicago, San Diego, and Philadelphia.
The students presented their findings to the Santa Clara County Collaborative on Housing and Homeless Issues.
The five sociology majors entered the competition as part of the service-learning portion of Nichols’ course in social stratification.
Nichols herself is a veteran of community-based learning programs at Santa Clara, where she earned her undergraduate degree. She was also recently recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advacement of Teaching for her scholarship and work in community-based learning with a fellowship in the foundation’s Service Learning for Political Engagement Program. Nichols is one of only 25 faculty members from public and private universities across California who received this honor.
As part of the fellowship, over the next two years Nichols will work with colleagues from a wide variety of disciplines to create, implement, and reflect on service learning with the goal of increasing students’ understanding, skills, and motivation for political participation. EE
An active, active duty
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Thomas Millar
Courtesy Thomas Millar |
This spring, three members of the University’s information technology department participated in the Iron Bronco Triathlon. John Mobley swam 2.4 miles. John Bright biked 112 miles. And Thomas Millar ran 26.2 miles…7,500 miles away from home.
Millar, a PC specialist at Santa Clara and a chief warrant officer in the U.S. Army, was called to active duty in autumn 2006. He is based out of Kuwait and was on assignment in Afghanistan during this year’s Iron Bronco.
Team IT 2.0.3, as they call themselves, participated in the triathlon last year when Millar was on campus. Despite being in a war zone this year, Millar knew he wanted to participate again. So over the course of two weeks in late April and early May, Millar sent his mileage via e-mail to Mobley. That would be mileage running around the Kandahar Airfield, the Bagram Airfield, and on a treadmill at the Salerno Forward Operating Base. He surprised his teammates with his commitment to the competition amid his other responsibilities overseas.
At the same time, Mobley and Bright, who served in the Marine Corps and Air Force respectively, know the importance of being included in life back home when serving overseas. “John and I really feel for Tom being ‘in country.'” Recalling his days of service, Mobley notes, “When I received a letter it was a reminder that someone back there remembered me.”
Two hundred and forty six participants completed the Iron Bronco this year. Of the finishers, 81 individuals completed the mileage alone, 165 were on teams of two or three people. And one was on active duty, serving his country. KCS
Religious feminism
Here’s one to ponder: Why is it that so many religions, often criticized for relegating women to the bottom of their hierarchies, do not fail to engage women intellectually?
Last fall a group of SCU students set out to answer that and other questions connecting theology and personal religious experience. They embarked on a project that became the Religious Studies Student Gender Initiative (SGI). In April, the examination of religious and ethical questions led them to an international conference in Syracuse, N.Y., and they brought back ideas—and more questions—in May to a symposium at SCU and a session of the Ethics at Noon program, sponsored by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
Under the banner “Feminism, Sexuality, and the Return of Religion,” the conference brought together priests, theologians, and scholars with philosophy, politics, and anthropology. To get there, the SCU students had to come up with $10,000—the bulk of which was supplied by the Faculty-Student Research Assistant Program.
Gender studies major Jessica Coblentz, an SCU Provost Junior Research Fellow, played a key role in organizing the project. This upcoming academic year, as a Hackworth Fellow for the Markkula Center, she will continue looking at questions raised by the intersection of gender and religion.
Other students participating in the SGI were seniors Angela Bustos, Stephanie Edwards, Kim McGiven, James Servino, and Tessa Weston; and juniors Theodore Dykzeul, Christina Leone, and Maggi Van Dorn.
Among the more provocative questions shared by SGI students at the May symposium on campus: Why aren’t there Catholic, female priests at SCU? Is fundamentalism necessarily a threat to feminism? Can you separate a Western conception of modernity from a religious agenda?
Without offering neatly packaged answers, Coblentz offered an observation about the student experience at Santa Clara: “Every time we deny oppressive demands by submitting only to the good, every time we act according to dignity in our colleagues, every time we listen, sincerely, considering the views of another, that’s when we begin to be feminists in this religious community.” JC
Honoring service and Ignatian ideals
From left: Alumni Association Executive Director Kathy Kale ’86 and Alumni Association President Laurie Hernandez ’85 with award recipients Edward Panelli ’53, J.D., ’55, Zygmunt Wiedemann ’70, Joseph Pert MBA ’77, Sean Walsh ’92, Kathleen Bruno ’81, Adolph Quilici ’53, and President Paul Locatelli, S.J. ’60.
Photo by Brandon Milligan ’00
The annual Alumni Anniversary Awards dinner on April 28 honored a number of alumni who have given back to the community, the Alumni Association, and the University over the years.
Ignatian Award
The Ignatian Award recognizes alumni who live the SCU ideals of competence, conscience, and compassion and who have been a credit to the University through outstanding service to humanity. President Paul Locatelli, S.J., paid tribute to the award recipients for “acting justly, loving mercifully, and humbly serving those less fortunate than themselves.”
Kathleen Bruno ’81 For more than 10 years, Bruno has been a member of Our Lady’s Ministry, a nonprofit organization that works with Catholic Lay Missionaries to provide spiritual assistance to the poor, neglected, and needy. She also uses her vacation time from her job as the vice president of sales at Visible Path Corp. to travel around the world with the missionaries to bring money, clothes, food, and hope to the poorest of the poor.
Edward A. Panelli ’53, J.D. ’55 In a career spanning half a century as attorney, judge, and now as a moderator in the judicial system, Panelli has consistently demonstrated leadership and integrity. As a lawyer he always found time to help the downtrodden and was sometimes repaid by poor Italian immigrants not with money but with tremendous gratitude and a gift of pears or a bottle of wine. Appointed to Santa Clara County’s Superior Court by Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1972, he sought to educate both young and experienced lawyers about the benefits of settling cases early. In 1985 he was named to the California Supreme Court. He has also served Santa Clara, including as the first elected layperson to the University Board of Trustees in 1963. He served on the board for 43 years, 19 as chair.
Joseph Pert MBA ’77 Through efforts at both the local and national levels, Pert helps feed those who would otherwise go hungry. He has served on executive boards for Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties and Food Chain, a national organization dedicated to “rescuing” perishable food for distribution to the needy. Pert is also a senior national accounts manager at Basic American Foods, a company that supplies dehydrated products to the food industry, and he has led the company to donate more than $550,000 to help the people most affected by Hurricane Katrina. He currently heads a joint corporate and community effort to provide nutritious food for needy youth as part of after-school food programs at Boys & Girls Clubs across the nation.
Adolph M. Quilici ’53 For 61 years, Quilici not only had a distinguished career in engineering, but has also given his time, energy, and support to a wide variety of religious and community organizations, including the Catholic Diocese of San Jose, Boy Scouts of America, the Healthy Neighborhood Venture Fund Task Force, and many others. While on the board of trustees for the United Way, Quilici chaired one of its annual fundraising campaigns that raised $26 million, an amount that has yet to be matched.
Sean Walsh ’92 Walsh entered the Jesuit Volunteer Corps shortly after his graduation from SCU and was placed at Seattle hospice, assisting men afflicted with HIV or AIDS. He continued his AIDS ministry work in Seattle for another four years, spent the next few years coordinating adult literacy programs for Americorps, and completed a master’s degree in nonprofit administration at Seattle University. He now works with foster children at the YMCA-Seattle, helping young adults transition out of the foster-care network to living on their own.
Bannan Award
The Louis I. Bannan, S.J., award was established in 2000 as a way to pay tribute to the heart and soul of one of Santa Clara’s most dedicated and devoted supporters. The Bannan Award recognizes those who have given distinguished service to the Alumni Association and Santa Clara University.
Zygmunt Wiedemann ’70 “Santa Clara is family,” says Wiedemann. First introduced to SCU in the third grade, he was involved as an undergraduate with the rowing team, The Santa Clara newspaper, and the Red Hat Band. He played the tuba and loved revving up the fans with the Santa Clara fight song. In 2000, he took it upon himself to find the original lyrics and hire an orchestra to re-record the fight song, and to work with students to restore the Red Hat Band to its full glory. KK
Solid Core
The blueprint for integrating undergraduate curriculum
Cultivate habits of mind and heart. Engage with the world. Acquire knowledge. Educate the whole person. These fundamental learning goals are at the heart of Santa Clara’s educational mission, and they’re the foundations of the University’s new core curriculum.
The new Core—to be in effect by Fall 2009—is the result of more than 14 months of research in national developments in best practices in general education and 200 campus meetings and open forums with Santa Clara faculty, staff, students, and trustees.
Why undertake such a massive examination? “We wanted the new Core to express Santa Clara’s mission more distinctively, to have a clearer set of learning goals, and to offer a more coherent education that helps students integrate their learning,” says Chad Raphael, associate communication professor and chair of the Core Curriculum Revision Committee during its final phase.
Building a new structure
Santa Clara’s new Core Curriculum looks at education not as a series of isolated requirements but as a series of progressions that lay the foundations for learning and let students explore what they can do with their ideas, both with the Core and within their major. Particularly notable to Santa Clara’s new Core Curriculum:
- The Science, Technology, and Society requirement teaches students about aspects of science and technology and explores their impact on society.
- Cultures and Ideas seminars move away from survey classes to thematic courses, such as tracing the idea of democracy throughout the globe.
- Civic Engagement classes encourage active, informed participants in public life.
- Religion, Theology, and Culture courses promote a critical reflection on religious belief and practice.
A larger blueprint of coursework furthers developmental learning and curricular coherence. Students begin their work with foundations courses, followed by explorations and integrations classes.
Foundations introduce students to University learning, and many classes—such as cultures and ideas and the first religion requirement—will relate to themes of the students’ residential learning communities.
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Hands on learning: Professor of Civil Engineering Sukhamander Sing introduces students to new concepts.
Photo by Charles Barry |
Explorations courses, usually taken during the second and third years, foster the breadth of learning students need for contemporary life, such as natural science, and the arts.
Integrations classes help students make connections among other classes in the Core and their major. These are not additional courses, but aspects of classes students already take for the Core or their major. Students also choose a “Pathway” from any four related courses that fulfill core requirements and may focus on a range of themes.
The new Core will be integrated into the larger curriculum, with the goal of providing rigorous education within disciplines and an understanding of how the pieces fit together—in the classroom, the community, and the world at large. EE