Global incubator addresses world needs

Entrepreneurs and technology innovators from around the world came to SCU in July to participate in a two-week program that allowed them to network with Silicon Valley foundations and business executives.

The Global Social Benefit Incubator program was sponsored by SCU’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society to support the work of those who are committed to using technology to address urgent human needs throughout the world.

Speakers included legendary Silicon Valley marketing consultant Regis McKenna; Akhtar Badshah, the senior director of community affairs at Microsoft, and SCU faculty.

“The entrepreneurial spirit and rapid development of technology that characterizes the best of Silicon Valley is propagated through this program,” said Jim Koch, founding director of the CSTS. “We hope the resources of our region will advance their promising technological innovations in service to humanity,” Koch said.

He added that like many Silicon Valley companies, incubator participants have been successful in uncertain business climates and against staggering odds. “Using creativity and a deep understanding of their local markets, they find new solutions that create hope and opportunity,” Koch said.

Other program partners included the Tech Museum of Innovation, the “Glocal” Forum in Rome, Italy, and the World Bank.

New faces at SCU

Geoff Bowker to head CSTS

SCU’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society (CSTS) announced the appointment of Geoffrey Bowker as executive director. Bowker comes to SCU from the University of California, San Diego, where he was professor and chair of the communication department.

As a professor in communication and environmental studies at SCU, Bowker will also be the first person to hold the Regis and Dianne McKenna Chair in Science, Technology, and Society.

Bowker replaces Jim Koch as executive director of CSTS. Koch, a professor of management and former dean of SCU’s Leavey School of Business, will remain with the center as founding director and will be active in international and social entrepreneurship projects.

Calderon named vice president of development

Nancy Trish Calderon is SCU’s new assistant vice president of development. She comes to SCU from the Redleaf Group, a global venture operating company. As vice president of operations, Calderon managed investor relations and internal operations for the $230 million company. As part of a five-person executive management team, she oversaw a portfolio of 26 high-tech startup companies.

Grad school news

Record number of applicants for law school

The entering class of 2004 was selected from the largest pool of applicants in the history of SCU’s School of Law. The 5,289 applications represented a 104 percent increase over the number received three years ago.

The 324 students accepted represent 31 states and 109 undergraduate schools. Women make up a record 54 percent of the class, while 49 percent are from ethnic minority groups traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession. This percentage reflects an ongoing commitment to diversity, as recognized by U.S. News & World Report, which ranks the School of Law among the top 10 most diverse law schools in the country.

Law school admitted to national honor society

The School of Law has been admitted to the Order of the Coif, legal education’s national honor society. Fewer than half of the American Bar Association-accredited law schools are members of Coif. Membership recognizes the significant contributions of a school’s faculty, staff, and students to the quality of a law school program.

School of Engineering among top 10 percent for female enrollment

The Engineering Workforce Commission ranks Santa Clara University 35th nationally (out of 350 schools) in the percentage of female undergraduates enrolled in engineering programs.

The engineering department’s female enrollment figure of 26.8 percent is almost 9 points above the national average of 18 percent.

Engineering, history faculty members awarded professorships

During his Convocation address on Sept. 14, University President Paul Locatelli, S.J., announced that Computer Engineering Professor Ruth Davis has been awarded the Robert W. Peters Professorship, which was established by a gift from Bob ’61 and Carol Peters.

Davis has served SCU in many capacities, including as a member of the Gender Climate Task Force and as director of SCU’s Virtual Development Center.

Locatelli also announced that History Professor Gerald McKevitt, S.J., was awarded the Ignacio Ellacuría, S.J., University Professorship for Jesuit Studies. This chair, a gift from the Jesuit Community, is designed to advance the distinctive excellence of Jesuit education and Catholic intellectual tradition at Santa Clara University. McKevitt, one of the premier American historians of Jesuit history, is in Seattle this fall where he holds a visiting chair at Seattle University.

SCU among the best in the West again

For the 15th year in a row, Santa Clara University was ranked second among 124 master’s universities in the West by the U.S. News and World Report. SCU also ranked second in the Western region among “great schools at great prices.” Loyola Marymount University ranked third, Gonzaga University was fourth, and Cal-Poly in San Luis Obispo was fifth.

In its annual ranking, “Best Colleges 2005,” the magazine compared SCU to similar comprehensive universities that offer a range of undergraduate programs and master’s degrees, but few doctoral programs. The Western region includes all colleges and universities from Colorado to the West Coast, including Texas.

The magazine also noted that, among master’s universities in the West, SCU has:

• the highest average graduation rate—82 percent.
• the highest average freshman retention rate—92 percent
• the second highest peer assessment score—4.0
• one of the highest average alumni giving rates—24 percent

SCU’s residential learning communities, where students take linked courses as a group, live in the same residence hall, and get to know their professors and one another, were also singled out in a list of academic programs that can contribute to student success.

Locatelli accepts fourth term as president

SCU President Paul Locatelli, S.J., ’60 was unanimously elected to an unprecedented fourth six-year term by the University’s Board of Trustees.
The current term of Locatelli, who has been president since 1988, ends in 2006. This decision adds another six years to his tenure.
Board chairman A.C. “Mike” Markkula said Locatelli’s service to SCU “has been nothing short of exemplary.” [See “AfterWords,” for more from Markkula.]

Locatelli said, “It is a blessing to be part of Santa Clara at this most exciting time in our history. The University has attracted an exceptional community of faculty and staff, students and parents, trustees and other volunteers, alumni and benefactors. I am excited at this opportunity to continue guiding my alma mater on its path to becoming recognized as one of the nation’s most distinctive Catholic, Jesuit universities.”

Locatelli earned his undergraduate degree in business from SCU, a doctorate in business administration from the University of Southern California, and a master of divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. He was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1974.