Devotion

A former NBA player, a teacher, an attorney, and a cowboy—the 2014 Alumni Award honorees. They were recognized at the President’s Dinner in April 2014.

Harold Keeling ’85

Ignatian Award

For nearly two decades Harold Keeling enjoyed a pro basketball career in the U.S. and internationally. The first years of his life were in the projects of New Orleans, where his grandmother, Ruby Rowley, regularly opened her home to neighborhood children. Eleven years ago, Keeling co-founded Rowley Residences with his mother and sister, opening two group homes in Atlanta to provide a safe environment for more than 400 children and adolescents. The program offers tutoring, counseling, and life skills development. Keeling is chief financial officer and serves as a mentor; you might find him playing hoops with the kids on one of the full-length courts he built. He’s proud that many Rowley kids graduate from college and come back to share their stories. “There’s nothing like helping people’s lives get better,” he says.

Fred Lentz ’65

Ignatian Award

Over the course of his 34-year teaching career in the ethnically diverse city of La Habra, California, Fred Lentz grew frustrated that too many high-ability students weren’t reaching their potential because they were unprepared for—or even unaware of—college and career opportunities. In 2002, he co-founded Advance, a nonprofit providing free, bilingual, one-on-one college counseling to high school students, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college. The center has assisted thousands with admissions applications, financial aid questions, scholarship searches, and SAT preparation. Graduates have gone on to medical school, passed the California bar exam, and enrolled in Ph.D. programs. Recently, a retired police chief called Advance the most effective gang prevention program the Southern California city has seen. Lentz served as executive director 2003–09; now on the board of directors, he continues to lead fundraising efforts.

Charles Packer J.D. ’80, MBA ’80

Louis I. Bannan, S.J., Award

At Santa Clara Law, Charles Packer found a welcoming and collegial environment and thrived under professors including Dennis Lilly, Herman Levy, and Jerry Kasner. An expert in trusts and estates, he is on the management committee of Hopkins & Carley and co-chair of its family wealth and tax planning practice. He also shares professional advice with the SCU community: As chairman of the University’s Planned Giving Advisory Council, Packer has shaped and grown the Bergin Society, a recognition program for those with SCU provisions in their estate plans. During the last decade, membership in the Bergin Society has nearly doubled, ensuring access to financial resources for future generations. Packer also co-chairs the planning committee of the law school’s annual Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium. More than 600 professionals attended the symposium in 2013; proceeds from the event fund a professorship in memory of the late Jerry Kasner, who taught nearly four decades at SCU.

Robert Warren

Paul L. Locatelli, S.J., Award

Raised among the horses and wheat of Kansas, Bob Warren was born a cowboy. He joined Santa Clara in 1991, serving as director of human resources and later as vice president for finance and administration. He helped see the University through two decades of dramatic change, from construction of 19 buildings to a 600 percent increase in the University’s endowment. He fortified the bonds of the Santa Clara community, including among trustees, faculty, staff, alumni, building contractors, investment managers, public officials, and neighbors. Recently retired, Warren plans to spend time playing with his three grandchildren and riding horses. He’ll also continue to assist the University in fundraising as Vice President Emeritus, University Relations.