Winter 2016
MAGAZINE
UP FRONT
2 Chancellor’s Message 4 First Person: San Bernardino Native Michael Tesauro (M.A./MFA ’15) Chronicles the Crisis Before the Terror
Executive Editor:
Sheryl Bourgeois, Ph.D. Executive Vice President for University Advancement
5 First Person: Thank You, Mr. Trump, for Strengthening My Muslim Faith, Says Chapman Scholar Essraa Nawar
Managing Editor:
Mary A. Platt, APR Director of Communications platt@chapman.edu Editor:
Dennis Arp arp@chapman.edu Staff Writer:
Dawn Bonker (MFA ’18) bonker@chapman.edu Design:
Hayden Design Editorial Office:
One University Drive Orange, CA 92866-9911 Main: (714) 997-6607 Delivery issues / change of address: (714) 744-2135 Chapman Magazine (USPS #007643) is published quarterly by Chapman University. © 2016 Chapman University. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Orange, Calif., and at additional mailing offices.
CHAPMAN NOW
ON THE COVER: The opening of Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University sparked our graceful cover image by children’s book illustrator Cindy Derby ’08, who envisioned a little girl inspired to sketch her dreams on paper and then realize them on stage. These days, Derby’s own artistic dreams are coming true, providing insights about the dedication and aspirations of students in Chapman’s College of Performing Arts. Learn more about Derby’s journey on page 16, and go inside Musco Center on page 22.
ON THESE PAGES: Since childhood, Daniel Malikyar ’17 has seldom been without a camera in his hands, but it was at Chapman that he became an Instagram hit. Dramatic images captured atop buildings and bridges, on narrow ledges and trails earned him ardent followers, including brand managers and creative directors. In the past year, he has done commissioned shoots in New York, China, Thailand and Bali. Along with fellow business majors and soccer teammates Karam Gill ’16 and Reed Matthews ’17, Malikyar founded 23FIFTN Media, a creative content firm. Among those wowed by Malikyar’s work was Elite Helicopter Tours, which sent him hovering over iconic landmarks such as the Santa Monica Pier, seen here at sunset just before a hailstorm. His swift rise has been a wild ride indeed, Malikyar allows. “There are a lot of talented photographers who aren’t able to monetize what they do,” he says. “My experience and studies are paying off at a quick rate.”
6 Dyslexia Summit Highlights Growing Opportunities to Gain from Cognitive Diversity 6 Paleontologist Who Helped Inspire Jurassic Park Is Joining the Chapman Faculty 7 Nationally Respected Legal Scholar Matthew J. Parlow Will Lead the Fowler School of Law 8 Centenary Look at World War I Showcases the Premiere of a Symphony Composition 9 Chapman Is the New Home for Artifacts and Papers Surrounding the Challenger Tragedy 11 Anderson Center Economists Forecast Job Growth Fueled by Consumer Spending DEPARTMENTS
10 Voices & Verities 13 In Memoriam: Sheldon Disrud, Richard Bye, Jim Miller, Cory O’Connor 32 Bookshelf 34 Sports: Award-Winning Soccer Player Haley Fedden ’16 Shows the Strength of Her Leadership FEATURES
16 Whimsical Drawings of Cindy Derby ’08 Illustrate a Path to Publishing Success
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Chapman Magazine One University Drive Orange, Calif. 92866-9911
18 As the First Baby Boomers Turn 70, We All Can Rev Up to Some Timely Tips for Longevity
The mission of Chapman University is to provide personalized education of distinction that leads to inquiring, ethical and productive lives as global citizens.
28 California’s Rich and Artful History Blossoms with the Launch of the Hilbert Museum
chapman.edu
22 Musco Center Gives Chapman’s Talented Student Performers the Venue of Their Dreams
ALUMNI NEWS 36 Chapman Initiative Gives a Boost
to Students as They Gather Insights from Alumni 38 Class Notes
Chapman Magazine is printed on recycled-content paper.
LETTER FROM THE CHANCELLOR
IN-BOX
Putting a Priority on Career Services This year will be an important one for me, as I assume the presidency of Chapman University. On Sept. 1, after serving for 10 years as Chapman’s chief academic officer, I will follow in the footsteps of the most successful president in American academia: Dr. James L. Doti. It is hard to overestimate the incredible role that President Doti has had in turning Chapman into a first-rate institution, and he certainly set a very high bar for me. But it is exactly because of the wonderful school that President Doti has developed, that I am truly excited at the opportunity to lead it, and to put my own imprint on an institution we all love so dearly. As I develop ideas and priorities for the next several years, I cannot avoid reflecting on how, more and more, universities are being evaluated on the basis of their job placement rates following graduation. One of the most important things a university can do is to offer lifetime career services for its students and alumni. At Chapman, we are committed to providing best-in-class resources that will prepare our students to enter the job market, and help students and alumni find success and fulfillment in all of their professional endeavors. In addition to the fundamentals, like resume writing and interview skills, we must support our students and alumni in the areas of career exploration, establishing professional goals and developing career search strategies. Most important, we need to offer opportunities for networking. Statistics show that nearly 80 percent of all jobs are landed as a result of networking, so by connecting students and graduates with alumni mentors and Chapman corporate partners who “Think Chapman First,” we
Board of Trustees OFFICERS David A. Janes, Sr. Chair Wylie A. Aitken Vice Chair Joann Leatherby Vice Chair Scott Chapman Secretary Zelma M. Allred Assistant Secretary TRUSTEES Donna Ford Attallah ’61 Raj S. Bhathal James P. Burra Michael J. Carver Phillip H. Case Akin Ceylan ’90 Irving M. Chase Hazem H. Chehabi Stephen J. Cloobeck Jerome W. Cwiertnia Zeinab H. Dabbah (JD ’12) Kristina Dodge James Emmi Dale E. Fowler ’58 Barry Goldfarb Stan Harrelson Roger C. Hobbs William K. Hood Mark Chapin Johnson ’05
2 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE
can help our Panthers get that much-needed “foot in the door.” We want our entire Chapman Family to “Think Chapman First” and to consider Chapman their “career connection for life.” This effort is really about establishing a career continuum. I believe that making career preparation and support a top priority at Chapman will be a real differentiator for potential students and their parents who are trying to decide which college to attend. For our current students, thinking about getting an internship or job isn’t something that should wait until graduation. It’s a process that should begin much earlier by seeking out and utilizing the valuable career resources offered at Chapman. For our alumni, it means that no matter where they are in their careers, they can always come back to Chapman to find the resources, support and connections they need. For employers, it means they can count on Chapman to be a true partner in their recruitment and hiring of our alumni and students. We have some work to do, but my goal is to see Chapman set the standard in the area of career services for our students and alumni alike. So stay tuned, and remember to “Think Chapman First.” Best regards,
Daniele C. Struppa
Jennifer L. Keller Parker S. Kennedy Laura Khouri Charles D. Martin James V. Mazzo Ann D. Moskowitz Sebastian Paul Musco David E. I. Pyott Harry S. Rinker James B. Roszak The Honorable Loretta Sanchez ’82 Mohindar S. Sandhu Ronald M. Simon Ronald E. Soderling Emily Crean Vogler Karen R. Wilkinson ’69 David W. Wilson
Randall R. McCardle ’58 (M.A.’66) Cecilia Presley Barry Rodgers Richard R. Schmid R. David Threshie
EMERITUS CHAIRS The Honorable George L. Argyros ’59 Doy B. Henley Donald E. Sodaro
Board of Governors
EMERITUS TRUSTEES Richard Bertea Lynn Hirsch Booth Arlene R. Craig J. Ben Crowell Robert A. Elliott David C. Henley Jack B. Lindquist
EX OFFICIO TRUSTEES James E. Blalock (JD ’09) Reverend LaTaunya Bynum ’76 Reverend Don Dewey James L. Doti Barbara Eidson Kelsey C. Flewellen ’05 Reverend Dayna Kinkade Melinda M. Masson Linda D. Ruth Reverend Felix Villanueva Reverend Denny Williams
OFFICERS Melinda M. Masson Chair Michael Penn (JD ’04) Executive Vice Chair Paul A. Cook Vice Chair Rebecca A. Hall ’96 Secretary GOVERNORS George Adams, Jr. Marilyn Alexander
Lula F. Halfacre Andre Lisa Argyros ’07 Margaret Baldwin Deborah Bridges Brenda Carver Eva Chen Ronn C. Cornelius Suzanne Ellingson Kathleen M. Gardarian Judith A. Garfi-Partridge W. Gregory Geiger Steve Greinke Galen Grillo (EMBA ’13) Sinan Kanatsiz ’97 (M.A. ’00) Elim Kay ’09 Scott A. Kisting Dennis Kuhl Thomas E. Malloy Suki McCardle Lori Smith James F. Wilson EMERITUS GOVERNORS Marta S. Bhathal Kathleen A. Bronstein Gary E. Liebl Jean H. Macino Richard D. Marconi Jerrel T. Richards Douglas E. Willits ’72
EX OFFICIO GOVERNORS Sheryl A. Bourgeois James L. Doti
President’s Cabinet Nicolaos G. Alexopoulos George L. Argyros, Jr. ’89, (JD ’01) Julianne Argyros Joyce Brandman Heidi Cortese Sherman Lawrence K. Dodge Onnolee B. Elliott (M.A. ’64) Paul Folino Douglas K. Freeman Marie Gray Frank P. Greinke Gavin S. Herbert Shelley Hoss Steeve Kay Joe E. Kiani General William Lyon Frank O’Bryan The Honorable Milan Panic Lord Swarj Paul James H. Randall The Honorable Ed Royce Susan Samueli Ralph Stern David Stone Alan L. True
LETTERS, EMAILS, COMMENTS AND POSTS We just finished reading the fall 2015 issue of Chapman Magazine. Just when we think the last issue is the best you have done, you top it again. Barbara really related to “The Rooted Revolution” (page 20). Thanks for your fantastic contributions to Chapman. Barbara ’64 and Bill Parker ’52 Re: “The Spin on ‘Frankenfoods,’” Fall 2015 If we want to discuss real ways that we can grow enough food for the world, why don’t we talk about putting an end to the meat and dairy industries? These are clearly extremely wasteful. All of those resources and farmland could go to feed the world many times over. We can feed the more than 56 billion farm animals that are slaughtered each year worldwide, but putting food on the table for 7 billion humans is impossible without GMO technology? Robert Schumaker
In the Next Chapman Magazine A classroom exercise grows to become the hugely successful Chapman Economic Forecast. An innocent typo sparks a new idea, transforming a high-profile project by graphic design students. We explore these and other moments when hard work meets serendipity, creating bullish stories of breakthrough.
I just finished reading the Chapman Magazine Fall 2015 issue. Wow, Chapman has changed. I think back to the early ’60s. The Dapper Dans (“By the Light of the Silvery Memories,” page 36) would sing at dress-up lunch with devotions on Sundays. There Is a Balm in Gilead was my favorite. Professor Jim Miller was my hero. Warren Crowther ’61 (“Working a Lifetime to Affect and Serve,” page 39) ran an afterschool center for street boys. I helped there a bit. Chapman was small, the honor system was in effect, and it worked. I loved school. The Artist Lecture Series invited world-class speakers – Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Mead, Ray Bradbury, etc., and I went to all the events. Chapel was required twice a week. This is the way I remember Chapman – close-knit, trust prevailed. Plus, it was still known as a Christian college, Disciples of Christ. Christian Heritage and California Christian College roots were non-discernable in the (fall) magazine. OK, I accept the evidence: Chapman University is PC secular to the core. The article “In the House on the Street that Will Go
Unnamed” (page 26) astounded me. There were no biblical considerations of the pros and cons of the issue, just political-correctness ideas of today’s world. I feel sad that Chapman has veered from its biblical base. But please continue to send Chapman Magazine. I still love Chapman. Jim Dods ’63 Re: “In the House on the Street that Will Go Unnamed,” Fall 2015 Fantastic article, well-articulated! So many articles that aim to discuss (LGBTQ) topics are very difficult to follow, I think usually because the writer is ignorant of what (or even who) they’re actually trying to write about. Good for you! Nicole D’Arcangelis
Chapman Magazine Online Don’t forget to check out Chapman Magazine online, with Web-only stories, links to video, slide shows and more. Find it all at chapman.edu/magazine. Look for these icons indicating additional features available online:
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W I N T E R 2 016 | 3
FIRST PERSON
My Hometown Was in Crisis Before the Terror
Thank You, Mr. Trump, for Strengthening My Faith
By Michael Tesauro (M.A./MFA ’15)
By Essraa Nawar
4 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE
Mr. Trump helped empower Muslim women. Most of the activists speaking up to refute Mr. Trump’s comments are Muslim women. Despite misconceptions of oppression, many of us for years have been sharing a message of female Muslim empowerment. In fact, here at Chapman University Leatherby Libraries, we hosted an exhibit titled Empowering Muslim Women in which we showcased the role of women in Islamic history.
makes people shudder in fear, I couldn’t give the reaction he wanted. I did feel disturbed when it was revealed that Farook and Malik had concocted nebulous plans involving schools. My mother was a principal in San Bernardino, and they had looked at her school and others. I do indeed fear the terrorist next door, but there were all kinds of terrors in San Bernardino, and a terrorist is more likely to look like me (a guy with fair skin and brown hair) than like Farook or Malik. For a too-brief moment, my hometown – finally – was the focal point of intersecting conversations about gun control and violent crimes. And then, quickly, the story veered toward terrorism. That’s understandable, but heartbreaking. San Bernardino’s other problems are put on mute. I ask myself where the calls for prayer and the assertive Facebook posts were prior to the Inland Regional Center shooting, the darkest moment of a tragedy that has been going on for a long time, in slow motion.
I
hate politics. But unfortunately it has been impossible to avoid campaign rhetoric the past few months, even though my mum has been advising me all the way from Egypt not to engage in any political conversations. She always says, in a lower voice on the phone, “You know, someone might be watching you.” I used to just laugh and assure her that she had nothing to worry about. Until Donald Trump suggested a ban on all Muslims traveling to the U.S., it never hit me that she might actually have something to fear. My thoughts changed again just a few days later, despite how hurtful and outrageous Mr. Trump’s comments were. In fact, I started to feel “thankful” for Mr. Trump and his comments because I think they actually benefited American Muslims and Americans in general. Here’s why.
Michael Tesauro (M.A./MFA ’15) is a writer and professor. A version of this story originally appeared on Zocalo Public Square.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
B
efore the terrorist attack that killed 14 people Dec. 2, San Bernardino, where I grew up, was already famous for violent crime. Shootings came in three categories: gang-related, drug-related or police-related. Sirens were as commonplace as barking dogs and mailboxes. The violence is why people leave. I moved to neighboring Redlands hoping to escape. And so I wound up living nine doors down from the townhome rented by Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the San Bernardino shooters. I walked my dogs by the place but don’t remember ever seeing them. On the day of the shooting, I stayed inside and listened to my hometown next door become a worldwide talking point for the first time in my life. Within hours, MRAPs – military-grade mine-resistant vehicles – were circling my neighborhood. Helicopters were overhead. San Bernardino had come back to me. By night I was locked down, and by Thursday morning the area was a federal investigation site. Two days after the massacre, the police tape had been taken down. I could move freely, so I chose to go see my neighbor’s house in person. Watching news crews crawl through the shooters’ realm was a perfect crystallization of how fast the media eye flickers. This was a “better story” than the office-party carnage – here were a driver’s license and baby toys and prayer mats and ammunition. Growing up in San Bernardino, you live in a radius of violence, so you come to
expect horror being within walking distance. In Redlands I live amidst all kinds of people from all kinds of places. I am good friends with a Tunisian family a few doors down. A single father lives across the street; we have different views on politics, but we get along because we’re both young. That is more or less my social circle. I don’t know most of my neighbors because they are everchanging. We live near the headquarters of ESRI – a global mapping company, which often brings in employees on H-1B visas. They and their families will rent a home close by, work for a time, and eventually leave. On my block the new Muslim family does not cause a stir. Many ESRI employees are of South Asian or North African descent. Seeing men and women in traditional garb is not new or different. This is why Farook and Malik fit in. The Thursday immediately following the shooting, an L.A. news anchor asked me, “How does that make you feel that they were right there? That they had bombs?” My answer was along the lines of, “That’s the world we live in, I guess.” I saw a clear disappointment in his face. While I know his job is to perpetuate a version of the news that
His comments brought Muslims together. For the first time in years, Muslims around the world are united. We have raised the largest amount of money for victims of the San Bernardino attack, participated widely in vigils, interfaith events and rallies, and reached out to non-Muslim American friends, neighbors and co-workers to help demystify Islam. What happened in Paris, Boston, San Bernardino and other places is not only against Islam but also against human nature. Our religious leaders are sharing a message of kindness, love and peace for the whole of humanity.
As far as I’m concerned, the scariest thing to come out of the Muslim world is algebra.
University Muslim Community to share a clear message that was reflected in a logo Dr. Stearns created. It reads “Not in our Community: Stop hate crimes against Muslims. Stand up for love, not for hate.”
The Rev. Gail Stearns, Ph.D., dean of the Wallace All Faiths Chapel, speaks during a campus vigil after the Paris terrorist attacks.
He helped us realize that Islamophobia is real. Despite receiving two hate letters myself, I continue to feel overwhelmingly empowered. But after Mr. Trump’s comments, there were reports of mosques being vandalized, Muslim men and women receiving insults, and children being called names in school. I consider myself lucky to work in a place where everyone is supportive. My supervisor and mentor, Dean Charlene Baldwin of the Leatherby Libraries, took time to talk to me about Mr. Trump’s comments so I knew I was appreciated. She also saw that the hate letters were investigated. In addition, the Rev. Gail Stearns, Ph.D., dean of the Wallace All Faiths Chapel, stood with the Chapman
Mr Trump’s comments prompted others to restore our faith in America – and humanity. I was really close to losing faith in the “real America” of my dreams. I had begun to question the application of freedom of religion and the Constitution’s promise of equality, justice and fairness. But in the months after Mr. Trump made his comments, America responded with love and support. I hear a police officer in New York wore a headscarf to show solidarity, while others organized “Wear a Hijab Day” to show support. Neighbors and co-workers are calling, emailing and texting Muslim friends to show they are here for us. Some people even found opportunities for humor. Sometimes the most powerful messages are delivered with a hug or a pat on the shoulder just like the hundreds I have received. These actions are what we all need in times like this. They make me feel the beauty of this campus community and this nation. So thank you, Mr. Trump. It may not have been your intention, but your words showed me that the beautiful spirit of my adopted country endures. Essraa Nawar is development coordinator for Leatherby Libraries at Chapman University. A version of this story originally appeared on The Huffington Post. W I N T E R 2 016 | 5
CHAPMAN NOW
Parlow Selected to Lead Fowler Law
The Lessons of Dyslexia A Chapman summit highlights the opportunities as well as the challenges. he inaugural Chapman University Dyslexia Summit not only sought to open eyes but to broaden minds about the “limitless opportunities” available to those who think like a dyslexic. The 300 or so students, educators and others attending the daylong conference in Beckman Hall heard a range of speakers address the challenges and, yes, benefits of dyslexia. Dyslexics often become more adaptable and find solutions others missed, experts say. “Be yourself, embrace your strengths, follow your brilliant ideas with a passion, and your opportunities will be limitless,” said Virgin Atlantic mogul Sir Richard Branson, who has dyslexia and spoke to attendees via a video that kicked off the summit. Dyslexia is a general term for disorders involving struggles with processing language. Paleontologist Jack Horner displayed the signs of dyslexia as a child and was labeled a failure in school. Yet he became one of the world’s leading experts on dinosaurs, his work inspiring Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. “I dropped out of college seven times,” said Horner, who will join the Chapman faculty this fall as a Presidential Fellow (see accompanying story). Fumiko Hoeft, Ph.D., of the BrainLens neuroimaging lab at the University of California, San Francisco, presented new science that shows fundamental brain differences in dyslexics. She noted that those with dyslexia show strengths in creativity and reasoning. Ben Foss, founder of the advocacy organization Headstrong Nation, recalled teachers labeling him “lazy,” and telling him to just apply himself and he’d be more successful. The author decided to “own” his dyslexia, developing a philosophy focused on what 6 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE
he can do rather than what he can’t. Foss advocates for schools and universities to do away with standardized testing, which can stigmatize those with reading disabilities but who might be gifted in areas that can’t be quantified by a basic exam. As the summit wound down, it became clear that the consideration of cognitive
Professor Richard Bausch, left, joins Chapman students Claire Bendig ’18, Tera Gaines ’19 and Christopher Matista ’17 for a panel discussion during the Dyslexia Summit.
diversity will be ongoing at Chapman. “The University is not just about the practical pursuit of providing physical accommodations for students,” said Jerry Price, Ph.D., vice chancellor and dean of students at Chapman. “It’s about a shift in our way of thinking, from a focus on minimizing our students’ deficits to maximizing their talents.”
A Dinosaur-Sized Welcome Awaits Jack Horner, a groundbreaking paleontologist, MacArthur Grant recipient and senior adjunct scientist for the Smithsonian Institution, will join Chapman University as a Presidential Fellow, beginning this fall. Horner, who inspired the Alan Grant character in Jurassic Park, credits his career success to “turning ideas upside down and re-evaluating them.” “Virtually everything I do comes from challenging the current status quo,” he says. Horner retires in June from his 33-year tenure as Regents Professor of Paleontology at Montana State University and curator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana. “We are hiring Jack for his unconventional and extremely successful approach to creativity and learning,” said Daniele Struppa, Ph.D., chancellor and president-designate at Chapman. “It is his ingenuity and his sense of curiosity and wonder that he will bring to Chapman as we continue to re-think the meaning of education and how students learn.” His creativity and findings in the world of paleontology drastically changed the field:
atthew J. Parlow, a nationally respected legal scholar with roots in Southern California, has been selected the new dean of Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law. He’ll start July 1, succeeding Thomas J. Campbell, dean of the law school since 2011. Campbell is taking on the role of full-time professor at Fowler Law. Parlow returns to Chapman after serving as associate dean for academic affairs at Marquette University Law School, where he has taught for the past seven years. He served on the Chapman law faculty from 2005 to 2008. He has also been a visiting professor at Yale University and a fellow at Loyola Marymount University. “Returning to Chapman is a special and exciting opportunity,” Parlow said. “The law school has made tremendous strides in its first 20 years, and is poised now for even greater success.” Parlow’s nationally recognized expertise in land use and urban redevelopment, passion for sports law and tenure as associate dean at Marquette highlight the quality academic and
administrative experience he will bring to the dean’s role, said Daniele Struppa, Chapman chancellor and president-designate. “In addition to a great legal mind, he brings a wealth of experience with colleagues throughout Southern California. We anticipate he will build even more bridges between Chapman and the Southland legal and business communities, helping to educate and place our practice-ready graduates,” Struppa said.
“The law school has made tremendous strides in its first 20 years, and is poised now for even greater success.” – MATTHEW J. PARLOW
Following a national search, Parlow was selected by a Chapman committee that included Reginald Gilyard, dean of the Argyros School of Business; Thomas Phelps, co-founder of Manatt Phelps, an international law firm; Parker Kennedy, chairman and chief
Matthew J. Parlow
executive officer of First American Financial Corporation; and Wylie Aitken, president and founding partner of Aitken, Aitken & Cohn. In the five years of Campbell’s tenure as dean, the Fowler School enacted a broad practice-ready curricular overhaul, created a new Business Law Emphasis program, and received a landmark $55 million gift from Dale E. Fowler ’58 and his wife, Ann, which named the school. “We are delighted to welcome Matt Parlow back to Chapman University and the Fowler School of Law,” said Chapman President Jim Doti. “His expertise in legal affairs, coupled with teaching skills that earned him awards at both Chapman and Marquette, only begin to hint at the strengths he’ll bring to the law school.”
Darling Foundation Gift Names Law Library Renowned paleontologist Jack Horner will be digging for creativity and new ways of learning at Chapman.
Horner and his teams discovered the first evidence of parental care in dinosaurs. He was a leader in the now-widely-accepted theory that dinosaurs were warm-blooded social creatures. At Chapman, Horner hopes to teach an honors class on thinking differently by revealing some of the students’ own preconceived ideas. “I want them to learn how to ask questions differently than other people, and to evaluate answers more effectively,” he says.
For more than a decade, the Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation has been a major supporter of Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law, and in particular the school’s law library. Recently the Foundation added a gift of $2.78 million, bringing its total law library gifts to $5 million. Chapman is recognizing this generosity by naming the law library in honor of Hugh and Hazel Darling. The gift will be invested in a permanent endowment, with income to go to the Hugh and Hazel Darling Law Librarian Chair, which is currently held by Professor Linda Kawaguchi. “We continue to be immensely grateful to the Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation
for their ongoing and generous support of the Fowler School of Law, its programs and its library,” said Tom Campbell, dean of Fowler Law. “The law library is at the heart of a law school, the nexus of its knowledge and scholarship. There could be no more appropriate names to associate with our law library than those of Hugh and Hazel Darling.” The law school plans a special ceremony in March to dedicate the Hugh and Hazel Darling Law Library. In honor of the endowed chair, a bronze sculpture of Sir Winston Churchill will be commissioned to inspire Chapman students and visitors. Churchill was a hero to Hugh Darling.
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CHAPMAN NOW
Challenger Archive Provides Insights on Ethics
A Worldly View of War The U.S. premiere of a new composition highlights a centenary look at WWI. ne of the most devastating battles of World War I inspired a new musical work that brought out the best in the Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra. Under the direction of maestro Daniel Alfred Wachs, director of orchestral activities at Chapman University, the youth symphony collaborated with the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra to provide the U.S. premiere of Passchendaele at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Wachs said the young musicians were “giddy” about playing in Disney Hall and delivered what was perhaps the greatest concert he has heard them play. The performance of the new work by British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage highlighted the weeklong event “World War I: A Centenary Perspective” in Los Angeles. Perspective and context were provided by Chapman history professor Jennifer Keene, Ph.D., an internationally recognized expert on the Great War. Keene spoke prior to the Disney Hall concert in January during a roundtable at the Los Angeles Central Library. “Passchendaele is one of the most famous battles in World War I because the failed Allied
attack in Belgium against entrenched German forces came to symbolize the futility of trench warfare,” Keene explained. “Heavy rains turned the battlefield into a sea of mud, but soldiers were still ordered to attack into heavy machine gun and artillery fire. The image of men and horses literally drowning in mud seemingly gave truth to the phrase heroes led by donkeys.” Keene said this battle embodies the enduring image of WWI generals squandering the lives of hundreds of thousands in pursuit of pointless attacks that became the predominant memory of the war. “For this reason, playing an original piece of music with the title Passchendaele commemorates the suffering and bravery of fighting men along the Western front, and asks the question: Why did they have to fight and die?” Keene added. Turnage’s composition is intended to encourage the musicians and audiences to think for themselves and “make their own minds up for their generation,” Wachs said. “The young musicians are very distant from the First World
Directed by Daniel Alfred Wachs, Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra musicians collaborate on the U.S. premiere of Passchendaele at Disney Hall. The concert was part of “World War I: A Centenary Perspective.”
War, but they should know what happened.” The other works on the Disney Hall program included Carl Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony, The Inextinguishable, which the Danish composer wrote during World War I, and American composer Charles Ives’s well-known The Unanswered Question, which draws audiences into contemplation about war. The WWI commemoration culminated with a performance that featured the Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art exploring music written around WWI, interspersed with readings of letters from the war. The youth orchestra is a musical affiliate organization of Chapman University and Chapman’s Musco Center for the Arts.
Exploring Ives’ Musical Legacy In a celebration of American composer Charles Ives, the Pacific Symphony and Chapman University are teaming up for “Interplay 2016: American Visions, American Voices.” The festival examines Ives’ music and legacy through music, theatre and dance performance as well as lectures and classes. Among the highlights:
Steven Mayer
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Huck Finn Meets Charles Ives
A Transcendental Masterpiece
Pacific Symphony: Ives and Gershwin
A lecture by Pacific Symphony artistic advisor Joseph Horowitz exploring the connections between Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Charles Ives’ Second Symphony. April 7 at 11:30 a.m., Salmon Recital Hall. Free.
A multimedia exploration of Ives’ life and legacy, with script by Joseph Horowitz and visuals by Peter Bogdanoff. The Chapman University Singers perform with pianist Steven Mayer and baritone William Sharp in a concert curated by the Pacific Symphony. April 3 at 2 p.m., Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman. Tickets: $10–$20. Visit muscocenter.org.
A concert preceded by a special presentation featuring Alan Chapman, David Prather, William Sharp and Chapman University students. April 7, 8 and 9 at 8 p.m., Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Tickets: $25–$99. Visit pacificsymphony.org or call (714) 755-5799.
eports and letters related to the Challenger shuttle disaster — documents that might have saved seven astronauts’ lives — were donated to Chapman University in January, nearly 30 years to the day after the shuttle exploded in the cold skies over Cape Canaveral. Allan J. McDonald, one of the rocket engineers who sounded the warning that the rocket boosters’ O-ring seals would fail in the chilly weather that January morning, formally presented the collection to the Leatherby Libraries’ Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives. Included in the donation was an O-ring, a 12-foot diameter cord made of Nitrile rubber. The artifacts and papers join a previous personal collection donated by the late Roger Boisjoly, another Morton Thiokol engineer who implored NASA officials to scrub the Jan. 28, 1986, launch, arguing that it was unsafe in the weather conditions. Together, the collections are an unmatched record of the ethical and political forces that were at odds and set the Challenger up for tragedy, said Mark Maier, Ph.D., director and founding chair of the leadership studies program in Chapman’s College of Educational Studies. Maier was instrumental in obtaining the McDonald donation. O-ring seals that failed in cold weather, leading to the Challenger shuttle disaster, are included with the archive of documents donated to Chapman by rocket engineer Allan J. McDonald, left, shown with Chapman leadership studies professor Mark Maier, Ph.D.
“Added to the Boisjoly collection, the McDonald archive will serve as primary source material for every future scholar studying the Challenger accident,” Maier said. During a talk on the day of his donation, McDonald described the mismanagement leading up to the 1986 Challenger launch. At multiple junctures, he warned NASA officials that the O-rings would not hold the joints in the rocket boosters in the cold weather. A failure of the seals would allow pressurized gas to leak and explode. And on launch day, “I did the smartest thing I ever did in my life — since my wife is here I’ll say it was the second smartest thing I ever did in my life. I refused to sign the launch recommendation,” McDonald said. The personal repercussions were difficult. He was demoted to a “non-job job” at Morton Thiokol and faced months of testifying before a presidential commission investigating the disaster. The investigation vindicated McDonald, who was reinstated to his job by an act of Congress. He continued his career at Morton Thiokol and went on to redesign changes that improved the safety of future shuttle missions. He also wrote Truth, Lies, and O-rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. McDonald urged students to remember the leadership lessons behind the Challenger disaster, no matter what their field of work. “Do the right thing for the right reasons, at the right time with the right people, and you’ll have no regrets for the rest of your lives,” he said.
The annual Wassail Holiday Concert is among the Chapman events airing on KCET.
Chapman Programming Finds a Home on KCET By Michelle Yee (MFA ’17) If you’ve ever watched the annual Wassail Holiday Concert or Dialogue with Doti on television, you already know about Chapman University’s relationship with KCET, the nation’s largest independent public television station. It’s hard to believe that it’s only been five years since Chapman and KCET started working together, says Pamela Ezell ’81 (MFA ’87), director of Panther Productions at Chapman. A meeting with KCET executive Juan Devis laid the groundwork for the programming connection. It was clear from the start that the University and the station had mutual interests. Based in Los Angeles, KCET serves 11 counties in Southern and Central California. In addition to airing Dialogue, which features President Jim Doti interviewing newsmakers, KCET provides a TV home for a Chapman tradition, the much-beloved Wassail concert. Since an edited version of the concert started airing on the station, Chapman has been able to secure a national distributor, providing even wider exposure for the University’s music programs and students. Ezell sums up the Chapman-KCET relationship simply. “We’re a good match,” she says. W I N T E R 2 016 | 9
CHAPMAN NOW
Acting Pros from Caan It turns out the star of Misery does his best work on a blissful set. “When you’re having a good time on a picture and you like people, some kind of osmosis takes place,” said James Caan, who visited campus in December teach a master class on acting. “I mean people don’t consciously think about it, but the picture’s invariably better.” Another thing he’s noticed: “The most talented people in this business are always the nicest.” Speaking in Chapman’s Waltmar Theatre soon after he had received Chapman’s Lifetime Achievement in the Arts award at American Celebration, the Oscar-nominated actor speculated
LEVIN
“Constraints are not obstacles to overcome but the scaffolding we need to do creative things. This understanding is a starting point to create something beautiful and amazing.” Janna Levin, Ph.D., Chancellor’s Fellow at Chapman University and professor of astrophysics at Barnard College of Columbia University, during her talk “Creativity from Limits” at Sandhu Conference Center. Levin is the author of a popular science book, How the Universe Got Its Spots, and a novel, A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, which won the PEN/ Bingham prize.
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Job Growth in the Forecast, Chapman Economists Say California is shifting gears from recovery to expansion. CAAN
that his student audience might be too young to know much about his work. “I’m in 127 pictures and I bet you haven’t seen four of them,” Caan joked. He needn’t have worried. For 90 minutes, the students were enthralled by his stories and peppered him with questions about everything from The Godfather to Elf. Don’t count on luck, Caan advised: “When you get your shot, you’d better be ready. I studied for three or four years before I even went out on an audition. Study, study, study and work.”
On the walk over they had talked about family matters. Bosch and Haller
TOSSING
“Sleep is a drive. It’s very much like the drive to breathe,” says Peter Fotinakes ’76, M.D., medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. “You can hold your breath, but at some point your body takes over and you can’t hold it any longer. The same thing happens with sleep. You start building up a debt, and that grows and grows until sleep starts slipping through. You can’t suppress it forever.” Speaking on the podcast Straight Talk M.D., Dr. Fotinakes offers insights from research and experience, including tips on beating insomnia. One way to promote sleep is to time
the same age. In fact, the girls were planning to room together in September at Chapman University down in Orange County. Both had
10 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE
Belay Honored with Presidential Medal
applied to the school without knowing celebrated their acceptance letters
your exercise to about 2–4 hours before your expected bedtime, the Chapman alumnus says. “That way you raise your core body temperature a little bit, then it falls at your expected bedtime. That drop promotes falling asleep and staying asleep.” His best advice for those nights when sleep just won’t come? Quit trying to force it. “You have to build up your confidence that you’ll be able to sleep,” he says. Sometimes he even prescribes a mantra: “The worst thing that can happen if you don’t sleep is that you eventually will sleep.” Ommm. Zzzzz.
he jobs are coming back. That was just some of the good news to come out of Chapman University’s 38th Annual Economic Forecast, presented in December to some 1,500 business leaders at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, Calif. California employment will grow by 2.4 percent this year, in turn boosting consumer spending and household formation, according to the projections of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research. Of all the
the next six years, according to the report. “California is shifting gears from recovery to expansion,” Adibi said. And what about those dropping oil prices on the national economy? They certainly distressed the stock market in 2015, but the time-proven econometric model used by the Anderson Center points to positive effects emerging in 2016, Doti said. The model’s equations suggest that the drop in crude oil prices will prompt a 1.5 percent rise in GDP in the first half of 2016, counterbalancing the sluggish growth in exports. Historically, Chapman’s Economic Forecast is a model of accuracy. A review of research for the 10 years beginning in 2004 shows that Chapman’s forecasts of real GDP were more accurate than those of 30 “Blue Chip” agencies.
were half brothers and had daughters
the other’s intention until they
&TURNING
A robust healthcare sector is expected to help drive job growth in California, says economist Esmael Adibi, Ph.D., director of Chapman’s Anderson Center for Economic Research.
state’s metropolitan areas, Orange County had the third lowest unemployment rate in 2015, outpaced only by San Francisco and Santa Clara, according to the report, authored and presented by economists Jim Doti, Ph.D., Chapman president; and Esmael Adibi, Ph.D., professor and director of the Anderson Center. Orange County’s slower job recovery stems from the challenges faced by its two main employment sectors – financial services and construction. Home building is slow and first-time buyers are discouraged by short supply of affordable housing in the county, Adibi said. But Orange County job sectors showing sturdy growth were education and health services, leisure and hospitality and professional and business services. Statewide, healthcare jobs are expected to increase over
on the same day on Facebook. From there their plan to be roommates quickly formed. The fathers were happy about this because they knew they would be able to pool their efforts to monitor the girls’ well-being and adjustment to college life. Excerpt from the new novel The Crossing by best-selling author Michael Connolly
Michael Belay, the Chapman University public safety officer who sold his home to help pay for a school in his hometown of Tembien, Ethiopia, now has experience with receiving as well as giving. At the annual Chapman staff holiday breakfast in December, Belay was presented with the highest honor awarded by the University – the Presidential Medal for Distinguished Contributions to Humanity. For more than 15 years, Belay has dedicated much of his life to raising funds and supplies for the people of Tembien, where many children have been orphaned by the AIDS epidemic and the country’s wars. Belay founded Hands Across the Planet to Poor Youth (HAPPY), a nonprofit to provide ongoing support to Tembien (happyinethiopia org). Among his most recent actions was to refinance his car to buy uniforms and school supplies for students in the village.
Chapman University, its staff and students, as well as many other benefactors, have also contributed to HAPPY, providing the school with computers and the town with ambulances and other necessities. “Michael Belay is an incredible example of the Chapman spirit and the Schweitzer way,” said President Jim Doti, referencing Albert Schweitzer, the 20th-century humanitarian known as the “guiding spirit” of Chapman. “(Michael) reflects so much honor upon our University.” Belay is currently working to bring clean water to Tembien – a project that may cost several million dollars. Clean water could prevent myriad illnesses borne of pollutants and other impurities in the current supply. “Chapman is my home, and you are my family,” Belay said, accepting the medal from President Doti. “How could I ever have imagined how wonderful my dream of
President Jim Doti presents public safety officer Michael Belay with the University’s highest honor – the Presidential Medal for Distinguished Contributions to Humanity.
America would be, how thankful I am to live in the United States of America, and how happy I am to be in the Chapman Family. This award symbolizes hope and dreams.” W I N T E R 2 016 | 11
CHAPMAN NOW
IN MEMORIAM
Instead of teaching to the tests, junior high science instructor Ann Rice is transitioning to project-based learning. Thanks to lab and field work in a Chapman partnership, she feels she can also let her students do more exploring. “I have the confidence not to spoon-feed them lessons,” she says.
irst as a child and then as a teacher, Ann Rice developed the soul of a scientist. She lived to discover and to foster a similar spirit in her junior high students. But 15 years into her teaching career, her zeal hit a wall. “I felt like just a deliverer of information,” Rice says. “I wasn’t making anyone love science.” Lately, a Chapman University program has made Rice an investigator again and put her back in the lab. She’s building and testing robots, sifting sediment for mine waste, even hiking the desert at night in search of fluorescent scorpions. For the past two years, she’s been recharging her scientific spirit. And she’s not alone. “It’s great to be around people who love science the way I love science,” says Rice, an eighth-grade teacher at Brookhurst Junior High School in Anaheim. “Now I remember what it’s like to sit down in the lab and get my hands dirty.” Collaboration and teacher growth are two key goals of The Chapman Anaheim Science Partnership (CASP). Funded by a grant from the California Department of Education, the partnership aims to enrich science instruction 12 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE
by helping teachers learn from college professors how to bring more hands-on and project-based activities to their classrooms. Such strategies support the new standards outlined in Common Core and enrich the teaching of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), says Chapman Professor Frank Frisch, Ph.D., who is principal investigator on the collaborative program. Nothing could be more important, says Frisch, who teaches in the Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences at Chapman. “For me it comes down to stewardship of civilization,” he says. “We like to think of ourselves as a civilized and literate people, and the only way to do that is through our teachers.” Clay Elliott, the science curriculum specialist for Anaheim Union High School District, says the three-year program is a boon to his district’s science teachers, who are nurturing their students’ skills as future innovators. “That’s a very exciting motivation, to think that we as teachers can shape these kids to be one step ahead and ready for the next opportunities,” Elliott said.
Chapman Professor Matthew Gartner, Ph.D., guides science teachers through a chemistry experiment at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzyx, Calif.
In large part thanks to the Chapman partnership, Rice feels equipped to inspire a new generation of scientific investigators. “I’m a realist, so for me to be optimistic is unusual,” she says. “But I’m confident that we can go forth and explore.” Beyond ready, Rice is downright excited. “My original love is reawakening,” she says. “This is why I wanted to become a science teacher in the first place.”
Sheldon Disrud n early director of choral music who helped many Chapman University alumni launch singing and music education careers, Sheldon Disrud has died. He passed away Dec. 13 in Fullerton, Calif. He was 91. Disrud was among the first faculty who joined Chapman when it moved to Orange in 1954. Among his students was Jim Schamp ’62, whom Disrud helped become a Dapper Dan at Disneyland. Schamp kept in touch with Disrud and in recent years joined a choral group Disrud created – the DizChords. Schamp remembered Disrud as a gifted teacher with boundless enthusiasm for music. “He was pure joy and fun,” said Schamp, recently retired from his own career teaching music in junior and senior high schools. “He gave us a wide variety of music, from the very best of the Renaissance up through modern music. I remember doing things by Charles Ives with him. He did the whole gamut, plus madrigal music. The Chapman Madrigals were a big part of his work.” In addition to teaching at Chapman, Disrud directed Disneyland’s annual Candlelight Procession for many years. He also enjoyed a successful performing career outside teaching. In his early college days he formed a vocal sextet at L.A. City College, and was contacted by an agent whose client, a singer, was looking for backup singers. The singer was Mel Torme, and Disrud and his friends became “The Mel-Tones.” As a performer, Disrud routinely rubbed elbows with the likes of Les Baxter, Marilyn Horne, Paul Whiteman and the future Mrs. Henry Mancini. He is survived by his partner of 53 years, Marc Guardiola, and family members Bradley Swenson, Sherwood Swenson, Luke Swenson, Gayle Markens and Heidi Masley.
dedicated supporter of Chapman University for more than three decades, Richard Bye passed away Jan. 13. He was 68. Along with Roseanne, his wife of 47 years, Bye became involved with Chapman in the early 1980s, developing a deep affection for Chapman’s programs and people that was returned by all those who came to know them. Over the years, the Byes took a particular interest in the College of Performing Arts, reflecting their appreciation for the hard work of the students and their lifelong passion for the arts. The couple ultimately established the Roseanne Bye Scholarship, an endowed scholarship fund that supports theatre and dance students, creating extraordinary opportunities for future generations of young artists. In addition, Richard maintained strong ties with the athletic programs and studentathletes at Chapman. Beyond attending countless men’s and women’s games spanning the wide array of Panther sports programs, he also consulted with coaches and assisted on the sidelines. What’s more, he paid for equipment and a host of other
department needs. All along the way, he reveled in every success of the Panthers, whether it came in the classroom, on the field or after graduation. “He was our ‘coach’ of all sports,” said Athletic Director Terry Boesel. “Never without an opinion, Richard could be counted on to attend every competition, big or small, and to help in any way he could.” When Chapman teams played on the road, “he often knew the results before I did,” said Doug Aiken ’09 (M.A. ’09), associate director of athletics and previously sports information director. “Richard’s passing leaves a void within Athletics; he will be missed by our coaches and athletes alike,” Boesel added. A celebration of Richard’s life was held Feb. 27 in the Wallace All Faiths Chapel at Chapman, with a gathering afterward on Gray Victory Way at the Lastinger Athletics Complex. To honor Richard’s memory, the family encourages donations to the Richard and Roseanne Bye Endowed Scholarship, Chapman University, 1 University Drive, Orange, Calif. 92866.
Photo by Mary Platt
Photos by Dennis Arp
After guiding the junior high and high school teachers through a research project at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzyx, Calif., Chapman Professor Christopher Kim was impressed with the participants’ ability to reach their own conclusions with minimal instruction. “We’re in the data age, and their ability to manage and analyze insights from data will serve them and their students well,” says Kim, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry in the Schmid College of Science and Technology. The Anaheim teachers are preparing to help their students thrive in a new era of projectbased learning. In planning those projects, they’re seeking to combine a level of control with a new freedom to explore. “I really feel like the students are ready for that,” Rice says. “It’s the teachers who need to relearn and let go of that control.”
Richard Bye
Roseanne and Richard Bye are shown with 2014–2015 Richard and Roseanne Bye Endowed Scholarship recipients, clockwise from top left, Teamarie Oxborrow ’17, Josie Morgan ’17 and Chelsea Davis ’17. W I N T E R 2 016 | 13
IN MEMORIAM
Cory O’Connor
Jim Miller ames C. Miller, professor emeritus at Chapman University and longtime inspiration to generations of students, passed away Nov. 11. He was 88. Known as “Killer Miller” to countless classes because of his high expectations for his students, and for his homespun “Things Mama Said” maxims, Miller taught at Chapman for 47 years. He joined the Chapman faculty in 1956, when the campus in Orange consisted of five buildings and just 250 students. His Chapman experience included 13 different offices, teaching classes in seven departments: cultural anthropology, speech, English, history, political science, religion and education. Born in Collinsville, Texas, Miller was the last of eight children and the first in his family to attend college. He was a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard and Marine Corps, serving during World War II and the Korean War. At Chapman, Miller was known for his immense enthusiasm for teaching. He would enter his classes at a fast lope, as if he couldn’t wait to teach. He was the first to credit his love for life to his deep religious faith.
A Remembrance
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Chapman University is planning a celebration of Miller’s life during the spring semester. The family requests that those wishing to honor Miller make a donation to Cal Farley’s Boys’ Ranch in Amarillo, Texas – a favorite charity of the professor.
By William Cumiford ’63, Ph.D., associate professor of history
About a decade ago one of my advisees, Laura, a history major, dropped by my office for a chat just days before her May graduation. She spoke very excitedly about securing her credential and entering the public schools. Not long into our conversation she mentioned that one of her favorite professors, Jim Miller, played a key role in helping her decide on a teaching career. This did not surprise me, because I had heard numerous students make such comments over the previous 10 years I had taught at Chapman. Laura further remarked that she was taking Professor Miller the last time he was teaching his fabled course on the American West, and she was quite surprised that I was in the course the very first time he offered the class in spring 1962. 14 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE
“He represents the best of the teaching profession,” said Ambassador George L. Argyros ’59, a student of Miller, during a huge gathering at Chapman when the professor retired in 2003. “He’s always positive and has a great sense of humor.” On the occasion of his retirement, the Jim Miller Parking Structure was dedicated and an endowed Chapman scholarship was established in his name. Miller was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara. He is survived by sons Gregg and Reade, as well as grandchildren Alicia, Richard, James and Emma.
In fact, Jim had been teaching at Chapman for five years before I arrived on campus as a junior transfer student in 1961. In addition to his myriad assignments in seven different departments at Chapman, Jim taught night school for many years in San Pedro and in the federal prison at nearby Terminal Island. He was the consummate work horse who genuinely loved every second in the classroom. It was quite sad for those of us in the Department of History to see Jim’s health decline over the past two years. The spring in that familiar step, bounding across campus, was a sight that all of us missed. Jim, aside from being a former Marine, was a true American patriot in every sense of the word. It makes me smile to think
how appropriate it was that he passed on Veterans Day. Just as with Laura and generations of other students, Jim had an enormous impact on my formative years of undergraduate education. He had a unique and endearing way of making history come alive, and I, along with so many others, sensed that history was a vital, living thing under Jim’s tutelage and patient mentoring. He and other master teachers at Chapman inspired me to enter the university teaching profession, for which I am eternally grateful. We have lost a Chapman Legend, but we can be thankful that Professor Jim Miller is now safe in the arms of his beloved “Mama.”
eloved by students and alumni who remember him as the “soul of the Chapman community” and “slightly mad but definitely a genius,” Professor Cory O’Connor passed away Dec. 28. He was 59. “The many remarkable tributes on Facebook are testament to Cory’s impact,” said Chapman University Chancellor Daniele Struppa. “Time and again, his students remark on his positive attitude and his unwavering support and encouragement.” An assistant professor of advertising and public relations, O’Connor came to Chapman in 2003 with a Harvard MBA and a wide background in the entertainment industry, including executive positions with the Walt Disney Co. and the American Film Institute. Under his direction, Chapman teams consistently excelled in the National Student Advertising Competition, winning a national championship in 2010. Tributes by students and alumni flowed during a memorial service for O’Connor held Jan. 16 in the Wallace All Faiths Chapel. In addition, shortly before O’Connor went on permanent disability in October, faculty and students of Dodge College of Film and Media Arts celebrated his life and work with a tribute in Folino Theater. In his honor, room 206 in Marion Knott Studios was named the Cory O’Connor Classroom.
A Remembrance
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By Ashley Beall ’07
I believe I was meant to begin at Chapman the same year Cory O’Connor began teaching at the University in 2003. I believe in fate and luck, and so did he. Coming from Texas, I was in a whole new world and ready to make my mark. My first advertising class was taught by a wild-haired man named Professor O’Connor. He seemed unconventional, and I liked that. I excelled in his classes and requested him as my advisor. We just clicked. He might say it was because we were both Irish. In his classes, he used the course book as a guide, but life lessons, real experiences and case studies were more relevant, as many of us learned when we joined Chapman’s team in the National Student Advertising Competition, which was a passion for Cory. We lived and breathed that project, and Cory watched us push
ourselves and our creativity. He expected dedication from us, and we learned to expect it from ourselves, too. We also ramped up the Chapman Ad Club in those first years together. He encouraged me to run for president my senior year, which was probably the time I was closest with Cory. I once showed up four minutes late to an Ad Club board meeting and he kicked me out and canceled the meeting. I begged him to let us meet, but he refused. And I’m glad. That was one of the most important lessons I learned from him – people’s time is valuable, and as the leader you must be on time. Some of my favorite times were sitting in an oversized chair across from Cory in his dimly lit office at Dodge College. It felt like a strange mix of talking to your teacher, consulting with a father figure, and some kind of weird therapy. I can still see him looking at me (somewhat seriously) over the brim of his glasses, and then throwing his head back in an unexpected bellow of laughter. It was in that office that he coached me to go into advertising sales, a career I hadn’t considered. And now I am the director of ad sales for TRIBEZA Magazine in Austin, Texas. He truly helped me realize my dreams. He also made me feel special, as he did a lot of his students. He saw our potential and helped us see it for ourselves. He had so much faith in me that he nominated me for the Spirit of Chapman award — and I ended up winning. I never would have dreamed that for myself. Being a part of his initial freshman class, I felt like a first-born child. After I graduated, we kept in touch, and he continued to be supportive. He was like family to me and others. I can’t help but reference the book Tuesdays with Morrie. I always considered my experiences with him “Tuesday’s with Cory.” He will be dearly missed, but he leaves a legacy at Chapman that will live on for many, many years.
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“It’s important not to impose yourself on the characters—to sketch them and see if there’s a story there, then see where the journey takes them,” artist Cindy Derby ’08 says of her illustrations.
HER CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS WIN PRAISE FOR THEIR WHIMSY AND SOPHISTICATION, PUTTING THE CAREER OF CINDY DERBY ’08 ON AN ARTFUL UPSWING. Story and photos by Dennis Arp
A
s an artist and illustrator, Cindy Derby ’08 takes precious care of her portfolio. “It’s like my child,” she says. So after she handed that child to the judges at a high-profile international showcase, she was understandably anxious when she didn’t see it among the other entries. “I asked, ‘Did I do something wrong?’” Derby recalls. “Someone on the panel looked at my nametag and said, ‘Don’t you worry.’ Now I’m thinking, ‘What does that mean?’” In short order, Derby learned what it meant: Her career was about to get a substantial boost. The judges announced she had won the top prize in the juried portfolio showcase of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. “I was in shock,” she says. That shining moment during a summer 2014 conference catapulted Derby from a wannabe to a working illustrator of children’s books. The most immediate benefit was a trip to New York to meet with book publishers, art directors and editors. Now she has an agent and is working on multiple projects, including one with a well-established author. “The conference was a recognition that my dreams can happen,” Derby says. 16 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE
A background in theatre and puppetry inspires the award-winning illustrations of Cindy Derby ’08.
“It was inspiring to have all these people behind my work, but it was also a motivation. I realized I have so much work to do to bring my storytelling to the next level.” Art directors and others in the industry
describe Derby’s illustrations as whimsical yet sophisticated. Her style and vision are unique, they note. Showcase reviewers singled out for praise her watercolor Journey Home, which shows a melancholy elephant with two
long-legged birds perched on its back and a village of simple homes visible through its translucent body. One judge shared that the work stirred deep emotions. To hear that there’s drama in her work pleases Derby, in part because she has traversed a twisty path to a career as an illustrator. The vast majority of her formal training is in theatre, not art. Derby developed a love for theatre growing up in the San Francisco Bay area and then had a “beautiful experience” in the College of Performing Arts at Chapman. Studying with professors such as Tamiko Washington, Michael Nehring, Thomas Bradac and John Benitz, “I learned to tell stories – to really express myself,” she says. “It was the most rewarding experience I could have had.” Along the way, Derby also began to explore the visual arts. One day, her good friend Leah Kendrick ’08 gave her a blank canvas and encouraged her to try painting. Derby enjoyed the creative energy it sparked. Before long she had bought 20 more canvases and enrolled in a couple of art classes. She found similarities in the evolution of a visual-art piece and a play.
“A picture book is a stage for sharing your art,” she says. “The longer I do illustration, the more I meet people from theatre backgrounds.” But there’s another step in Derby’s own artistic evolution. After Chapman, she earned a master’s degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, where she developed a love of puppetry. Funding from Puppet Animation Scotland and the Jim Henson Foundation helped her develop characters and shows, including one based on her picture book House of String. When she performed the show at the REDCAT theatre at Disney Hall in Los Angeles, LA Weekly said it “brimmed with canny vision and visual poetry.” “I saw the most visual theatre abroad, and that has really influenced my illustration,” Derby says. “I learned about myself as a creator. I feel like my work is full of all kinds of textures, which come from all kinds of influences.” Now book illustration is Derby’s overriding passion, providing a singularity of purpose she finds she has to modulate. For a while there, she was obsessing over characters during 12- to 14-hour days at her Marin County kitchen table, which doubles as her art studio. These days she’s
The Girl with the Yellow Cape by Cindy Derby ’08
consciously connecting with the childlike sense of fun that was her original inspiration. “It’s important not to impose yourself on the characters – to sketch them and see if there’s a story there, then see where the journey takes them,” she says. As she works on several tracks to see her publishing dream realized, Derby clearly is enjoying her own artistic journey. “My personal development and my development as an artist go hand in hand,” she says. “The rewards may come, and they may not. But the most important thing about the work is that I’m happy doing it.” W I N T E R 2 016 | 17
Rerouting ... Reroutıng
The first boomers are hitting 70, which calls for a milestone moment of reflection. But no matter what generational road we’re on, we can all get hip to these timely tips.
By Dawn Bonker (MFA ’18) See that fire roaring just ahead? Don’t panic. It’s just birthday candles. Lots of them. And more will be firing up soon as the first batch of baby boomers – those born in 1946 – continue hitting the big seven-O in 2016. But it’s not just another navel-gazing moment for the “Me Generation” and its ever-fascinating – just ask them! – journey along the road of life. On the occasion of this demographic checkpoint, it’s cause for us all to think about what’s around the bend. Because as the boomers zoom ahead, the rest of us aren’t
(Born 1946–1964)
far behind. Which leads us to this nugget of truth: “I always say to my students that healthy aging begins at birth,” says Sara J. Gilliland, Ph.D., DPT, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Chapman University. “Most of what we do now has implications for later.” Luckily, there’s time for us all to try a few new ideas, wherever we are on the road of life. So we asked Chapman social scientists and researchers for advice and suggestions. No matter the generation, there’s something to help us make the most of our journey. And there’ll be no need to summon Siri for directions, we promise.
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Tune up your relationship. It’s not uncommon for couples to arrive at the empty-nest years and discover they have little in common anymore, says Brennan Peterson, Ph.D., chairman of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Chapman. Such differences often contribute to what counselors are calling “Silver Divorce.” Discuss what new interests you both could be passionate about. Plan that passion into your lives. Whether it’s volunteering or travel, this new chapter done right “can almost feel like a new marriage,” Peterson says.
Think about where your children and grandchildren are going to afford family housing. “What we need is to build new Levitttowns,” says futurist and author Joel Kotkin, Chapman Presidential Fellow, referencing the suburban communities built for returning veterans after World War II. Boomers are still a mighty voice in the voting booth and public-policy world and can push for well-planned development rather than defaulting to NIMBYism and anti-growth postures. That could be a lasting legacy. Make like a flamingo and stand on one leg. No, really. The tendency to take it easy on achy joints is understandable. But exercise is actually the antidote, says Gilliland, the assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences. Do this every day: Alternate standing on one foot while brushing your teeth at the bathroom sink or doing simple tasks at the kitchen counter. If you wobble, the counter is there for support. You’ll be surprised how quickly balance and strength will improve, she says.
(Born 1965–1980)
Get in the driver’s seat, already. As the middle-child generation, you’re more practical than boomers and tougher than millennials, Kotkin says. And you “understand the links between the generations,” says Lori Cox Han, Ph.D., professor in Chapman’s Department of Political Science. That’s the stuff of leadership, which is needed everywhere from the school board to Capitol Hill. So run for office or help out a likeminded candidate. “You’re the grown-ups at the table, too,” she says. Keep building your skillset. This comes from Tom Turk, Ph.D., professor of management in the Argyros School of Business and Economics, who says it applies to all. Turk is wary of all these agedefined categories. “A 25-year-old accountant is more similar to a
50-year-old accountant than he is to a 25-year-old sales rep.” Nevertheless, he caved to our badgering. Despite the number of boomers speeding toward retirement, the economy is growing too slowly to guarantee a slew of midcareer promotions for gen-X’ers, Turk says. To advance, “you’ve got to keep updating your skills. Basically, if you can’t do something better next year than you did this year, you’re kind of at risk.” Make time for that talk with Mom and Dad. Discussing medical choices and end-of-life issues won’t be easy, but avoiding it is worse, says Jennifer Bevan, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Chapman. “Communication research consistently finds that aging parents and their adult children avoid discussing future caregiving needs,” Bevan says. Too often, a lack of planning forces families to rush into decisions that may be unnecessarily costly or not reflect Mom or Dad’s wishes.
(Born after 1980) Park it now and then and visit Grandma and Grandpa. Because many of your parents jumped right into family life, your grandparents will be around for years to come. Relish it. The trend toward delayed marriage and childbearing – even seen among immigrants – could change all that, says Peterson, who has published widely on the topic of delayed childbearing and its implications on family life. “This might be one of the last generations to have long relationships with grandparents,” Peterson says. Consider a career in health care. You don’t necessarily need to go to medical school. As boomers age, they will need a variety of healthcare providers, including physical therapists and pharmacists, says Lawrence M. Brown, Ph.D., PharmD, president of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and associate dean of student and academic affairs at the Chapman
University School of Pharmacy. Pharmacists in particular will be critical to the holistic team approach because chronic conditions are increasingly managed and lessened by drug therapies, Brown says. Look up from your mobile device. Take frequent breaks or risk suffering “text neck.” And no, this isn’t something your helicopter parents called and told us to tell you. Text neck is an increasing problem physical therapists are seeing. It’s triggered by a sustained head tilt while staring at a smartphone, says Gilliland. The spine is designed to comfortably support the head in a “a nice vertical loading” kind of tower. Lean over all the time in text mode and it’s akin to dangling a bowling ball from your neck. Chronic headaches, neck and shoulder pain can result, as well as postural damage over the long run, she says. W I N T E R 2 016 | 19
In the most vibrant communities, moments emerge with a power to resonate for generations, to leave brushstrokes on history. Chapman University is enjoying just such a moment. The opening of Marybelle and Sebastian P. Musco Center for the Arts, along with the launch of the Hilbert Museum of California Art, marries substance with influence, sparking extraordinary levels of artistic momentum. As patrons fill the 1,044 seats of Julianne Argyros Orchestra Hall, Musco Center presents an inaugural season rich with educational and professional performances. Student ensembles are stretching themselves as never before, and some of the finest artists in the world are Chancellor Daniele Struppa, right, explores arriving on campus to the new Hilbert Museum of California Art share the gift of their with exhibit curator Gordon T. McLelland, left, and museum founder Mark Hilbert. virtuosity. At the same time, the Hilbert Museum is welcoming students, faculty and visitors drawn by the many charms of 20th-century narrative paintings that interpret the vivid history of the Golden State. The museum is a signature cultural asset that dovetails with a growing national movement toward representational art. At Chapman, the artistic forward movement is unmistakable. These two new world-class cultural venues open remarkable pathways to creative enrichment. The vision is realized, the doors are open. Who knows what dreams may come?
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Student musicians Christian Mininsohn ’18 and Lorianne Frelly ’19 are eager to perform in the Musco Center.
PERCHANCE
TO
By Richard Chang Marybelle and Sebastian P. Musco
“Lives can be made more meaningful because of what this incredible venue will help make possible.” President Jim Doti
efore he knew there was such thing as Musco Center for the Arts, James Neal ’17 harbored theatrical dreams of attending Chapman University. Then two summers ago he visited campus and saw a structure rising up to meet his greatest expectations. “I got chills,” recalls Neal, a native of San Jose. It turns out that Neal’s father had recently dreamed of walking on campus with James and watching a world-class performing arts center take shape. Now – for the Neals and so many others – the dream is real. The March opening of Marybelle and Sebastian P. Musco Center for the Arts provides a new world of opportunities, lifting up the musicians, vocalists, actors and dancers who are eager to call it home. There’s so much to celebrate, beginning with the March 19 opening-night roster of performers, led by opera stars Plácido Domingo, Deborah Voigt and Milena Kitic, as well as an orchestra and chorus of 150 singers conducted by Grammy winner John
DeMain. In addition, a free Community Open House and Arts Festival will be held April 2; highlights include a spectacular performance by all the major Chapman student and faculty ensembles, the Pacific Symphony playing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Grieg’s Piano Concerto (featuring acclaimed Chapman faculty concert pianist Grace Fong), and an all-day outdoor and indoor festival on four stages starring local and student performers. Many more performances are planned through May in the opening and preview season, including a Chapman production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice on April 15, 16 and 23. No wonder, then, that the campus and the wider Chapman community are so excited. “When I saw our students, who are so talented in music and theatre and dance, I thought it was a shame not having the facility that their talents warrant,” says Chapman President Jim Doti. “Lives can be made more meaningful because of what this incredible venue will help make possible.”
Photo by Doug Gifford
From lovers of the Bard to baritones and ballerinas, Musco Center gives Chapman’s talented performers a venue to match their limitless aspirations.
“Having a world-class venue to perform in during college is a great way to expand your horizons.
I’m really excited.” Lexi DiFilippo ’18, dance major
As a performance space, the $84 million Musco Center really is top of the line. The architect is Los Angeles-based Pfeiffer Partners Architects, which also designed the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, USC’s Glorya Kauffman International Dance Center, the Colburn School of Performing Arts in Downtown Los Angeles, and the renovation and expansion of the Griffith Park Observatory. The acoustics were designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, who was also the acoustician for Walt Disney Concert Hall, the revamped Sydney Opera House, the Danish Radio Concert Hall, Helsinki Music Centre and Mariinsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia. Musco Center features an 88,142-squarefoot theatre, seating capacity for 1,044, a three-level lobby and advanced lighting, sound and broadcast systems. Other highlights include Julianne Argyros Orchestra Hall, the main stage (named for the Women of Chapman support group), which is large enough to accommodate a wide variety of productions, a retractable flying orchestra shell, a highly sophisticated Continued on next page
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“We’re all 18 to 22 and we’ll get a chance to be in a performing arts center designed for professionals like Plácido Domingo,
which is amazing.” Julia Dwyer ’16, vocal performance major
D I D
Y O U
K N O W
There’s much about Musco Center that makes it special. To wit, the following project details, provided by Pfeiffer Partners architects William Murray and Brian Nichols.
Continued from page 23 • Out
streaming audio/video electronic system called K-SAVE provided by the Steeve and Helen Kay Family Foundation, nine dressing rooms, ample wardrobe facilities and storage areas, and a trap room below the stage. “We have a stage here that can be set up to do anything,” says Giulio Ongaro, Ph.D., dean of the College of Performing Arts. “The interior of the building is extremely well designed. Acoustically and with the sight lines, it’s designed for a superior audience experience. There’s no limit to what we can conceive and do in there.”
a campus tradition of providing green space for students to enjoy. With its sloping design, the Plaza also evokes memories of the historic core campus’ late, great Sunken Lawn, now the Bert Williams Mall. • The
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17,000 square feet of gray carpet with cardinal
accents in the lobby showcase a sublimation print. The design is linked aesthetically to the greenery of Renaissance-era manor gardens. • Above
Room to Go Around
the William Hall Grand Staircase is a three-story
chandelier of 100 globes, which extend through each level of the lobby, eventually reaching to within 10 feet of the floor. (see facing page) • The Photo by Nathan Worden ’13 (MBA ’15)
outhern California residents are fortunate, with several fine performing arts facilities to choose from, including Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. But Musco Center fills a niche in the most populous part of Orange County, where professional, state-of-the-art facilities are lacking. “Not to take anything away from what’s going on in other places, but (Musco Center) expands the lexicon and music into another place that’s different, with a different audience,” says Richard Bryant, interim executive director of Musco Center. The impressive facilities at Musco Center will make it a magnet for professional performers and productions. Ultimately, however, the Center is for Chapman students. “It’s got to be for students,” says William Hall, Ph.D., founding dean and artistic director of Musco Center. “It’s got to be for education.” Daniel Alfred Wachs, an associate professor of music who also directs the Chapman Orchestra, has been a key organizer of the April 2 Community Day, which he calls “the largest collaboration in the history of the College of Performing Arts.” “For students, it’s a professional stage,” says Wachs, “When you perform on a professional stage, it’s different than in a rehearsal space. The way that you project sound, hold yourself – all of that becomes more real-world. It will be a real-world
front, the Bette and Wylie Aitken Arts Plaza extends
shell of the theatre is inspired by the garden at Murray’s own home. As the architect searched for an effective and attractive sound-diffusion element, he thought of the layered stalks of the acanthus plant in his back yard. (pictured left)
“As the Center is • Scattered
integrated into the fabric and the curriculum experience and a real-world hall. It will be very interesting to see how (the students) hold themselves.” Since Musco Center will be wired with Internet and streaming capabilities to complement the latest audio and visual technologies, it will help students behind the scenes get a leg up on production and the growing field of entertainment technology. “They’ll be able to move into the industry without missing a beat,” Ongaro says. Many at Chapman also see the Center as a recruitment tool. “We intend to show every single prospective student Musco Center,” Wachs says. “Chapman doesn’t do things in a small way. We do things in a big way.”
acoustic design for the walls and carved-wood
of the University, it’s not just another room, not just another space, but it actually works as a laboratory for new ideas.” Maestro Daniel Alfred Wachs, Chapman Orchestra Conductor
throughout the Center are tangerine-sized
lights termed “crystal droplets.” They dot the
An Artful Complement he construction and opening of a multimillion-dollar performance center seems timely, but it won’t render existing performance venues on campus obsolete. Memorial Hall, built in the 1920s, has been the main home of the University’s performing arts since Chapman moved to Orange in 1954. However, it does have its limitations: Sets have to stay onstage during productions, the stage is often too small, and the acoustics aren’t exactly built for intimate classical music concertos. Memorial Hall will still be used for lectures, panels and other important events. Waltmar Theatre will continue to host theatre and dance performances, as well as rehearsals. Oliphant Hall will still serve music Continued on next page
cherry-wood seating boxes seemingly at random – but not quite. The lights mimic drops of water settled on a leaf. Look closely and you can see tiny bubbles that conjure droplets, each one unique. • One
of the most integral designs of the theatre may
go unnoticed by guests. Between the acoustic wall panels are sound-diffusion “banners” that extend down to soften sound for dramatic performances and pull up to intensify music during concerts. The banners are patterned to resemble the wall panels so closely that they appear translucent. Another clear sign that Musco Center is a cut above.
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“It’s a professional-caliber theatre with some of the best technology out there. We’re going to have
a lot of fun in that theatre.”
O R I G I N
Margot New ’18, theatre technology major
S T O R I E S
reams can be so ethereal; who knows where they begin? But for many students in the College of Performing Arts,
“In middle school, we built our own stage to perform on. The play was You Can’t Take it With You, and my character was Alice. We built the sets and everything. It was outside, but there was a cover over it. I think they actually still use that stage. It was such a fun experience.”
Alex Kessinger ’16 trained at her mom’s dance studio at age 9. “It’s a great feeling to have someone you’re so close to help develop your passion for life,” she says.
artistic wonderment traces back directly to crystal-clear childhood moments. On the occasion of Musco Center’s opening, we sought out these origin stories.
Photo by Doug Gifford
Aspirations born on homemade stages, at summer camps, in family rec rooms, will now take flight in a world-class venue at Chapman University. So we asked: What’s your earliest Continued from page 25
“The arts are an impassioned expression of humanity that the world so needs today. And although the arts might not change the world, they certainly will affect the human beings who will change the world. This is history in the making, and I’m prouder than ever to be a part of the Chapman Family.” Grace Fong, DMA, director of piano studies, Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music 26 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE
students, who utilize the John and Donna Crean Orchestral Recital Hall, the M. Douglas Music Collection, practice rooms and the Steeve and Helen Kay Music Technology Center. In addition Salmon Recital Hall, with 220 seats in Bertea Hall, will continue as a valuable performance space. Still, as excitement grows for Musco Center and the calendar fills with student performances, award-winning pianist Vadym Kholodenko on April 26, the Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra on May 3 and much more, those associated with the new premier facility say the sky’s the limit. “As the Center is integrated into the fabric and the curriculum of the University, it’s not just another room, not just another space,” Wachs observes, “but it actually works as a laboratory for new ideas.” Neal, the Chapman screen-acting student, can’t wait to see another dream realized when he performs in Musco Center’s first theatre production, The Merchant of Venice, alongside his mentor, Chapman Professor Michael Nehring. “To be equals with him, that really drove me to want to do this play, and to be directed by Professor (Tom) Bradac,” Neal says.
performance memory?
“I was 4 and in Christian Music Theater Camp. I played a nose. We were all the five senses, and I was the sense of smell. I had three lines, and it was great. I have no idea what my lines were, but I remember our song – It Makes a Lot of Sense.” Sarah Brown ’16, vocal performance major from Palo Alto, Calif. “I danced in a small studio in Michigan – very nice, but nothing like the Musco Center. I was 3, and we did a ballet-tap combo, like little bunny hops. I remember having so much fun – just beaming with joy, feeling so supported by my family and friends. That’s why I still dance today – because I love it.” Sarah Baker ’16, dance, Clayton, Mich.
Michael Nehring as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.
Neal auditioned with a special feeling “that this is where I need to be,” he adds. “And I kept thinking back to my dream. And lo and behold, I got a really good part. “I’m thrilled to death, and it might sound silly, but I felt like something greater than me gave me this opportunity.” Dean Hall, who has seen countless advances and milestones during his 53 years at Chapman, feels an energy building at the University and in the region’s arts community. “There’s an atmosphere on campus that’s literally thrilling,” he says. “We’ve all been waiting for this for a long time.”
Camryn Eakes ’18 tap danced at age 6 in the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, Calif. “I just remember it being so big,” she says.
Lena Romano ’17, theatre studies, Tucson, Ariz.
“My mom went to the cantor of my synagogue and asked, ‘Can my son play piano during silent prayer?’ They were like, ‘OK, why not?’ I played this little Jewish folk tune, and I remember that I was so nervous. I had practiced for like 40 minutes, which for me as a 4-year-old was an eternity. I remember thinking it was the worst thing ever, and that I was never performing again. My mom made me do it again, and now here I am. Elliott Wulff ’16, vocal performance and keyboard collaborative arts, San Diego
Carlos Hernandez ’17 played flute in a church band at age 8 and now performs in the Chapman Saxophone Quartet. In between, he was a drum major at Foothill High School in Santa Ana. Wulff is a member of the University Singers and Opera Chapman. An Edgar Sholund Scholarship winner, he has performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Now he’s ready to see if Plácido Domingo is right and the Musco Center is “built for singers.” “It’s such a far cry from the little wooden stage at my synagogue, where I was just dinking away on my little piano,” Wulff says. “It’s moments like these that define for me what it’s like to perform. It reinforces my belief that this is what I need to be doing with my life.”
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Hilbert Museum of California Art
“Our purpose is to cast a spotlight on this style of representational art,” says Mark Hilbert, whose passion for California Scene paintings is evident in the Hilbert Museum.
167 N. Atchison St. in Orange (across from the Orange Metrolink station) • Open Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.– 5 p.m. • Free admission, free parking • hilbertmuseum.org •
California Scene Painting:
A
N A R R A T I V E
R E V O L U T I O N
By Mary Platt
The rich history of California blossoms in the exhibition that launches Chapman’s new Hilbert Museum.
By Gordon T. McClelland Curator of the Hilbert Museum’s inaugural exhibition, Narrative Visions
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P
resident Jim Doti once stated in a lecture that “every great university has a distinguished museum of art,” and he was right.Now Chapman University is celebrating the opening of just such a museum, featuring works that tell compelling visual stories of California’s history. The Feb. 26 grand opening of the Hilbert Museum of California Art means that Chapman students, alumni and staff, as well as visitors from all over the world, will get a chance to view engaging works of representational art from the collection of Mark and Janet Hilbert. “This is the first art museum totally dedicated to the display of California Scene paintings,” Mark Hilbert said. “Our purpose is to cast a spotlight on this style of representational art and, through traveling exhibitions, share California’s rich art heritage with people all over the world.”
The 7,500-square-foot Hilbert Museum is an elegant space on Atchison Street next to Chapman’s Partridge Dance Center. It’s a short walk from the Orange Metrolink station, adding to its accessibility. While the museum’s works will be of interest to even the most sophisticated art connoisseurs, each exhibition will be set up so that people new to art appreciation enjoy the experience. In addition to descriptive plaques and information panels detailing works and museum sections, the plan is for docents or special guests to give occasional talks that provide additional insights. Exhibitions will emphasize the educational value of the works. Each show will have direct links to corresponding academic departments on campus. For example, a number of the artists featured in the museum’s inaugural exhibit, Narrative
Visions: 20th Century California Art from the Hilbert Collection, produced animation art and preproduction art for Hollywood studios, including Disney, Warner Bros., MGM and Universal. Works by studio artists will be of special interest to students at Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. Students learning to paint watercolor background art for animated and feature films will find a number of the 1930s-era watercolors of special interest, as they were painted by well-known animators of that era. In addition, students taking fine art painting and commercial art classes at Chapman will benefit from studying the works of amazingly creative California artists and considering how styles evolved over the past 100 years. The inaugural Narrative Visions exhibition features 100 oil and watercolor paintings
California Scene painting was overlooked for several generations as being outside the mainstream of the nearly universal international artistic push toward abstraction. Scene painting is part of a movement that has been called – unfairly – conservative and reactionary. As this view goes, the overall movement of American Scene painting began as a 1920s-era reaction by certain artists against the rapid advance of technology, the growth of American cities and the burgeoning popularity of Modernist art. American Scene painters – typified by the triumvirate of Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry – celebrated the rural life, pastoral scenes, positive American virtues and representational art – that is, art with recognizable subject matter. Meanwhile, they rejected the influence of abstraction and of Europe – particularly France – on American art. Certainly Benton and his followers in the Midwest were reacting against the mainstream. But within its time the American Scene movement was looked upon by the “art establishment” in New York as quaint, backward-looking and parochial. Yet, in some ways, the American Scene movement was indeed a real revolution, and Modernist to boot. It sought to establish a uniquely American form of art, drawing on local history and culture, distinct from Europe. And in many ways, it followed a thread that had carried on from the earliest days of American painting, which, in that time before fast transportation and communication, had developed local and regional “schools,” such as the Hudson River School of the 1860s.
When we come to California Scene painters, the life histories, purposes and goals of the artists were quite different from those of their compatriots in the Midwest. Many of the California painters were lured to the Golden State between the late-1920s and the 1950s by the promise of artistic employment offered by the movie and animation houses. Walt Disney, for example, selected artists for his studio based on their ability to tell a story in their works. There seemed no particular animus against Modernism or abstraction (indeed, Disney championed some forms of Modernist art in films like Fantasia, and in Destino, his hoped-for and uncompleted animated film short with surrealist Salvador Dali). California opened these artists to a new world where they were free to paint what they wished in their off-studio hours. The storylines they chose – portraying the everyday lives of factory workers, ranchers, carnival workers and others – were the myriad human tales of California as it grew and changed over the decades of the mid20th century. Thus, in many ways, the revolution of the California Scene movement was a narrative revolution. The artists weren’t reacting against any particular art movement (and as they moved into the 1950s and ’60s, some of them began to embrace and experiment with increasingly abstractionist ideas). In fact, they were celebrating and narrating the many and diverse stories that make up the state of California, here at the edge of the country, on the Pacific Rim, with its singular outlook on the world.
Continued on next page
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Continued from page 29
produced from 1930 to 1970, when Scene painting was the most popular art form in California. Featured are some of the world’s finest examples of the style. Among them: • San Dimas Train Station by Millard Sheets. This is one of the finest watercolors of the 1930s by this celebrated American artist.
• If I Had The Wings of An Angel by Barse Miller. Not only is this work beautifully designed and painted, but its subject matter tells a visual story, which is what narrative art is all about.
• Sunday at the Plaza by Phil Dike. This large-scale work was reproduced in Fortune magazine shortly after it was painted, and since the 1940s it has been part of at least eight important American museum exhibitions as well as being reproduced extensively.
“Knowing that they will be shared with the students, faculty, visiting researchers and the wider public brings a special excitement to this opening. We can’t wait to see their faces light up when they see these paintings.” The collection was decades in the making, and now that the museum has become a brilliant reality, the moment provides a special culmination to a rewarding process, Hilbert said.
• Arches by Roger Kuntz. This 1961 work is a fine example of this artist’s Freeway Series, which has received much attention from the art community in the past three years.
• Back From the Ride by Emil Kosa Jr. This work won a top prize in the 1954 National Academy annual exhibition in New York City. It is California-style watercolor painting at its best.
Like Kuntz, artists George James, Keith Crown and Edward Biberman also produced engaging more-recent works featured in the museum. “We’re delighted that Chapman will be the new home to the type of works we have devoted ourselves to collecting,” Hilbert said.
Making the Scene
“Five years ago, I never would have dreamed that this museum would be possible,” he said. “It’s been quite a journey. And now we’re part of a whole new family, which is a wonderful feeling.” Gordon T. McClelland has authored 15 art books and five museum exhibition catalogs on California art and history. In addition, he has curated 18 art exhibitions throughout California and three in Europe.
Newport Pier by Milford Zornes
Photo by Dennis Arp
The pier has known many incarnations since it was originally built in 1888. Interestingly, Zornes chose a muddy brown for the sky in his 1956 watercolor. We had to settle for a cloudless bright blue.
For longtime Californians, viewing the works in the Hilbert collection can be a transportive experience. These California Scene paintings take us across Photo by Dennis Arp
decades in time, but the settings the artists depict often remain wonderfully familiar. So we got to thinking: Why
look like today? In one case we went so far as to attempt a photographic homage. The project deepened our appreciation for these talented artists and for the California coast.
See more photos of Scenepainting locations and read about how the Mary by the Sea tribute image came together at chapman.edu/magazine.
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by Lee Blair
This 1934 oil-on-canvas work depicts the artist’s wife, Mary Blair, also a renowned painter, “presiding watchfully over an undeveloped expanse of pristine California coastline,” as a previous exhibition describes it. Alas, this stretch of the Palos Verdes Peninsula is no longer pristine; the 102-acre Terranea Resort now calls it home. However, a public trail hugs the coast and skirts the resort grounds, giving us a chance to snap the accompanying tribute image. Our “Mary” is Chapman public relations assistant Brittany Hanson, who used Google Earth to help scout out the location. One happy note of continuity: The Point Vincente Lighthouse, built in 1926, appears in both the painting and our image.
Untitled Houses by George James
Built starting in the 1920s, the Crystal Cove cottages are iconic in Orange County. James painted them in the ’50s, when the dwellings were little more than shacks, made largely from scavenged wood dragged to a location popular with Hollywood filmmakers and Prohibition bootleggers. A $17 million project saved 14 of the cottages from the wrecking ball, and now they’re rented out as part of the Crystal Cove State Park Historic District. We couldn’t pinpoint the cottages in James’ watercolor, so we tried to tap into the spirit of his painting.
China Cove by George James
Photo by Dennis Arp
locations and capture what they
Mary by the Sea
Photo by Troy Nikolic
don’t we revisit some of the
This location vexed us at first. Images of China Cove in Newport Beach just didn’t match up to this 1950s watercolor. Then we realized that the work actually depicts Pirate’s Cove in Corona del Mar. The steps in the background are the giveaway.
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books
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Dante’s Foil & Other Sporting Tales (Black Scat Books) Mark Axelrod, Ph.D., professor of English This collection of rousing stories mashes literary history and sports lore into a satirical inferno, skewering academic jargon and postmodern analysis.
Pedagogy of Insurrection: From Resurrection to Revolution
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The School Called Marriage: How to Graduate with Flying Colors
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(It’s About Time) Matt Munson, assistant professor of accounting
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(Macmillan Education) Adam Leipzig, adjunct professor of film, with Barry S. Weiss and Michael Goldman
This book guides the newly married, highlighting the responsibilities, uncertainties and realities of marriage that shock every couple at one point or another.
Story is the guiding principle, and collaboration is an essential skill for successful filmmaking. This guide offers compelling insights from Hollywood professionals.
Matriarchs of the Messiah: Valiant Women in the Lineage of Jesus Christ
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(Peter Lang Publishing) Peter McLaren, Ph.D., distinguished professor in critical studies
(De Gruyter) Edited by Karen J. Lloyd, Ph.D., assistant professor of art, with Claudia Lehmann, Ph.D.
Wielding his pen like a Scottish broadsword, McLaren battles all that would negate our humanity and prevent us from loving and living in peaceful co-existence with others.
An homage to the late Roman Baroque sculptor, this collection documents Bernini’s stay in Paris in 1665 and the subsequent decade after his return to Rome.
The author shares advice from his mentors throughout the years on how students can change their perspective and add productivity to their lives.
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Jewish Resistance to Romanianization, 1940–1944
“Every single chapter was details, details,” Professor Anna Waterhouse says of writing the novel Mycroft Holmes with basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. “We never moved on until we both were happy with the chapter.”
Alongside a Legend A star-studded collaboration produces a prequel in the Sherlock Holmes canon. By Michelle Yee (MFA ’17) So what’s it like writing a book with basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? “So easy,” Anna Waterhouse says of her experience with the recently published novel Mycroft Holmes. Waterhouse, a professor in Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, previously worked with Abdul-Jabbar on two documentary films – On the Shoulders of Giants, about the Harlem Rens basketball team, and Kareem: Minority of One, for HBO. The novel was Abdul-Jabbar’s idea. He’s been a big Sherlock Holmes fan since his early years in the NBA, says Waterhouse, who wasn’t a fan until he approached her about co-authoring the work. Mycroft Holmes follows Sherlock’s older brother, a British government employee, and his quest to solve a mystery involving Trinidad and the British Empire. To prepare, Waterhouse read the annotated two-volume set of the Arthur Conan Doyle works and other novels of the 1860s and 1870s to get a feel for Victorian England. She and Abdul-Jabbar started by writing a detailed 55-page treatment, then continued their collaboration from afar. Waterhouse would get a rough idea for a chapter and email it to Abdul-Jabbar, who added his own input. The exchange continued for the novel’s 45 chapters. “Every single chapter was details, details,” Waterhouse says, “We never moved on until we both were happy with the chapter.” Their hard work paid off. The reviews are positive, and their publisher, Titan Books, wants two sequels. What should Sherlockians expect from this new book in the canon? “Keep in mind that Mycroft Holmes is not a detective,” Waterhouse says. “It’s 30 percent mystery, 60 percent action-adventure, and a little bit of romance for the rest of it.” Elementary, isn’t it? 32 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE
Intertwingled: The Work and Influence of Ted Nelson (Springer) Edited by Douglas R. Dechow, Ph.D., digital humanities and sciences librarian, and Daniele C. Struppa., Ph.D., chancellor and professor of mathematics Celebrating the life and work of Theodor Holm “Ted” Nelson, a legendary pioneer of early computing, the book delves into products of a unique mind.
Is Mommy?
(Peter Lang Publishing) Edited by Jennifer H. Waldeck, Ph.D., associate professor of communication studies, and David R. Seibold, Ph.D. In this handbook for scholars and practitioners, sound theory and research are explored as the blueprints for successful organizational transformation.
Latino Civil Rights in Education: La Lucha Sigue
(Beach Lane Books/ Simon & Schuster) Victoria Chang, lecturer, Department of English, and Marla Frazee (Illustrator)
(Routledge) Edited by Anaida Colón-Muñiz, Ph.D., associate professor of educational studies, and Magaly Lavadenz, Ph.D.
In this irreverent picture book, award-winning poet Victoria Chang and celebrated artist Marla Frazee show that all toddlers love their mommies – no matter what.
Educators, sociologists and attorneys reflect on inequality and family engagement to improve schooling conditions for Latino students.
(University of Texas Press) Emily Carman, Ph.D., assistant professor of film The treatment of women in Hollywood receives a thorough shakeup in this work, which recognizes female stars as creative artists and savvy businesswomen.
Social Movements and New Technology (Westview Press) Victoria Carty, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology From the Tea Party to Occupy Wall Street, this book examines how the emergence of new communication technologies is affecting social movement activism.
(Palgrave Macmillan) Stefan C. Ionescu, Ph.D., associate research fellow at the Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education The author investigates “Romanianization” and the patterns of responses to that policy by the gentile and Jewish inhabitants of Bucharest.
Legal Ethics: The Lawyer’s Deskbook on Professional Responsibility, 2015–2016 ed. (ABA-Thomson Reuters) Ronald D. Rotunda, JD, distinguished professor of jurisprudence, and John S. Dzienkowski, JD In his updated deskbook, Rotunda explains the analysis of statutes, procedural rules, case law and codes governing the conduct of lawyers and judges.
(Cedar Fort) Jo Ann Skousen, adjunct professor of English This book shines a light on Jesus’ remarkable maternal ancestors, all of whom were bold risk-takers and creative problem-solvers.
Pier Paolo Pasolini. Prospettive Americane (Metauro Edizioni) (Pesaro, Italy) Federico Pacchioni, Ph.D., associate professor of Italian studies, and Fulvio Orsitto, Ph.D. This volume of international essays offers a fresh image of Pasolini and demystifies the mythical aura that is connected to this famous Italian poet.
Daniel Friederich – Luthier d’Art (Dark Hollow Films) Jeff Cogan, associate professor of music Cogan does extensive research and interviews to show us why Friederich’s guitars were the best ever made.
After Coal (Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University) Edited by Sally Rubin, assistant professor of documentary film, Tom Hansell and Rebecca Jones This documentary film profiles inspiring individuals who are building a post-fossil-fuel future in the coalfields of eastern Kentucky and South Wales. W I N T E R 2 016 | 33
D L E I F TESTED
R ARD-WINNE W A , S S O L AND IN IN VICTORY OWS THE HALEY FEDDEN ’16 SH POWERFUL INFLUENCE OF HER LEADERSHIP. Story by Allison Jenney (MFA ’16) | Photo by Larry Newman
Of all the things that motivate Chapman University soccer player Haley Fedden ’16, personal awards barely even register. Which helps explain why she won a conference award for sportsmanship and team play. “I’ve never met such a selfless person,” says Chapman women’s soccer coach Courtney Calderon. A senior team captain, Fedden was a natural choice for the Brine Award of Distinction, as selected by coaches in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). The honor recognizes sportsmanship, community service and academic success as well as impact on the field. Fedden is a three-time All-SCIAC selection with a 3.38 GPA as a political science and business administration double major. She also works with One Degree Leadership, which seeks to help adolescent girls build confidence through team sports, and she helped organize a soccer camp for at-risk youth through the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Fielding questions about all aspects of life, Fedden came to admire the youngsters with whom she built a bond bigger than soccer.
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On the field, it is Fedden who is admired. A tenacious defender, she often marks the best player on the other team. “Fitness, hard work, dedication, desire, determination – all of these are things we never question about her,” Calderon says. “She’s one of those players people gravitate to. She’s not very vocal, but when she speaks everyone listens.” Fedden’s success hasn’t come without challenges. Early in her Chapman experience, she commuted to Los Angeles, where her dad was in a rehabilitation center battling liver cancer. Soccer became Fedden’s escape, offering a sense of normalcy when the world seemed anything but ordered. The bond with her Panther teammates was never stronger or more needed than when Fedden’s father passed away during her sophomore year. The team attended his memorial service in uniform and held a moment of silence at a game. They also donned black wristbands in his honor, wearing them every game thereafter. “My mom never really said anything about it,” Fedden recalls, “but at senior game, she said, ‘Tell them how important it was for me that they wore those wristbands.’” Through it all, somehow Fedden remained a rock for her teammates, as they were for her.
SPORTS ROUNDUP New Hall of Famers Inducted “Doing so well in school and being a leader for a team is sometimes weightbearing,” Calderon says. “She handles it like nothing.” Achieving a balance of athletics and academics is its own reward, Fedden says. And there has been plenty of fun along the way. Her semester studying abroad in Thailand is a highlight. She took two political science and two business classes as she also developed an appreciation for differences of culture and teaching style. Then there was soccer. “I loved playing with (the locals),” Fedden says. “It’s a sport that brings people together all over the world.” Her time in Thailand didn’t stop Fedden from connecting with her Chapman teammates. “She was just starting her captainship,” Calderon says. “We had a meeting and they set it up so that every single player was on Skype.” For Fedden, being a good teammate even extends beyond her own squad. In addition to coaching, Calderon teaches at Katella High School in Anaheim, and after sharing with the Panthers that a Katella student wanted college guidance, Fedden stepped in. “Haley met with her, helped her write her admissions letter and talked to her about college,” Calderon says. “Little things like that – she’s awesome.” Fedden says she’s the one who has benefited. “I don’t know any other school where, with all that’s happened, I would’ve been able to play soccer, go abroad and still be there for my family,” she says. “It was a blessing to be here.” Calderon becomes teary at the thought of Fedden’s graduation. “I’m going to miss her,” the coach says. “She’s going to be super successful in life. I hope my kids are like her.”
Baseball star Alex Taylor ’03, soccer great Eunice Bobert ’82 and the 1995 national championship softball team were honored this fall as the newest inductees to the Chapman University Athletics Hall of Fame. The 36th annual Hall of Fame ceremony and banquet featured the unveiling of the honorees’ names on the Hall of Fame wall on Gray Victory Way as part of the Lastinger Athletics Complex. The new inductees were also recognized during halftime of the Panthers’ football game against Cal Lutheran at Ernie Chapman Stadium.
McKibbins Rushes to Honor
McKibbins
Women’s Golf Added
The Chapman University football team placed five seniors on All-SCIAC teams, with Jeremiah McKibbins ’16, Sean Myers ’16 and Alex Rorie ’16 earning first-team honors, while Hunter Peterson ’16 and Drew DeMarco ’16 were named to the second team. McKibbins, the Panthers’ all-time leading rusher and all-time leading scorer, set an array of career, season and single-game records this year. His average of 14.3 points per game was tops in the SCIAC and ranked fourth in all of Division III. This is the third All-SCIAC first team selection for McKibbins.
Chapman University Athletics will add women’s golf as its 21st varsity team for the 2016–17 school year. Ming Lao, head coach of the men’s team, will also coach the women when the season begins in the fall. Lao is in his third year as Panthers head coach after four seasons as an assistant. “This is our final step in completely aligning our sport sponsorship with the SCIAC,” said Director of Athletics Terry Boesel. Chapman joined the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2011 with the expectation of growing from 17 to 21 teams. With the latest addition, Chapman will sponsor 11 women’s and 10 men’s teams.
Reid Sets Record Pace
Reid
Kimmel Athlete of the Year
Senior Chris Reid ’16 left his mark on Chapman cross country history this year, capped by a record-breaking run at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship in Winneconne, Wis. Reid became the first-ever Chapman runner to qualify for the championship event. Though the temperature was below freezing all morning, Reid broke his own school record on the 8-kilometer course. He finished with a time of 25:54.10, breaking the record by nearly two seconds.
Boston Kimmel ’16 is the first Chapman student-athlete in men’s soccer history to earn the SCIAC Athlete of the Year Award. This is Kimmel’s third consecutive season earning All-SCIAC recognition. A senior captain, he ranked among the SCIAC leaders in five offensive categories, including assists (No. 2) and goals (No. 5). What’s more, he and junior Marco Saglimbeni ’17 were named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-West Region team. Kimmel earned second-team honors for the second time in his career, while Saglimbeni is a first-time All-West Region honoree. W I N T E R 2 016 | 35
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percent of alumni would recommend Chapman to future students.
“It was so wonderful to hear the congresswoman’s Chapman experience. It’s great to know that we have alumni doing amazing things in the world,” said McCarthy.
By Hallie Nicholson (M.A. ’14) n spring 2012, Chapman University launched a program to bring alumni and students together with the goal of gathering the stories, opinions and perceptions of Panther graduates from multiple generations. Along the way, the Alumni Discovery Initiative has facilitated more than 350 interviews, helping the University gain a deeper understanding of alumni members’ time as Chapman students, their lives as working professionals and their relationship with the University today. The Alumni Discovery Initiative hires and trains current Chapman students, known as Alumni Discovery Ambassadors, to connect with alumni for face-to-face interviews throughout Southern California and across the nation. Interviews are often conducted while students are in their hometowns for the summer, spring and winter breaks. The program was recently expanded to include online interviews to overcome geographical barriers and reach more alumni. For instance, a recent interview was done via Skype with Mohammed Al-Nuaimi ’11, who started at Deloitte Consulting as a student and now works at the company’s office in Abu Dhabi. By bringing students and alumni together, the Alumni Discovery Initiative not only strengthens alumni connections with the University, but it also gives the student Alumni Discovery Ambassadors an opportunity to build their Chapman Family network and get a glimpse of what life is like as a Chapman graduate. 36 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE
percent believe that with their Chapman education they got more or somewhat more than they paid for.
The Alumni Discovery Initiative brings Panthers together, gathering insights and showing students real-world pathways to success.
A Day in the Life Several Alumni Discovery Ambassadors got an inside look into the careers of the alumni they interviewed. Stefan Metrakos ’16 interviewed Michelle (Medeiros) Chang ’09, a people programs specialist at Google, at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Olivia Dadgari ’18 visited Laura Aiken ’07 at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., where Aiken is a quality analyst. “I thought it was amazing that Laura would take the time out of her day to talk to me. I was able to get a personal tour of Facebook headquarters,” Dadgari said. Kelly McCarthy ’16 interviewed Congresswomen Loretta Sanchez ’82 at her office in Garden Grove, Calif. Sanchez offered insight into her political career and her involvement with Chapman as a member of the Board of Trustees.
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percent said their Chapman experience was very or somewhat significant to their success.
A Small World After All Though Chapman University has grown significantly over the decades, many aspects of the Chapman student experience have withstood the test of time. One theme that resonated throughout the interviews was the value of Chapman’s close-knit community and commitment to personalized education. Alumni from across the decades reminisced about their close relationships with faculty members and classmates. “My most significant memory of my time at Chapman is an overall sense of family,” Moe Caryl ’96 said during her Alumni Discovery Initiative interview. “From my softball team to my Disciples on Campus group, the Chapman community represented my home away from home.” Disneyland also has a long tradition as beloved part of the Chapman student experience, for both work and play. Kristine Avena ’16 was interested to learn that interviewee Leon Duty ’66 worked at Disneyland as a student and went on to enjoy a 30-year career in human resources with the company. Kathleen Fleming ’58 shared with Olivia Del Rio ’16 that she atended Chapman the year Disneyland opened and frequently visited the park with fellow students. “It’s great to see that some Chapman traditions never change,” Del Rio said. To learn more about the Alumni Discovery Initiative, contact the Office of Alumni Engagement at (714) 997-6681 or alumni@chapman.edu.
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percent are happy with the communication they receive, while 22 percent would like to see information targeted to specific interests.
percent say Chapman offers interesting and rewarding opportunities to get involved.
percent think Chapman is headed in the right direction.
ALUMNI REPORTED THAT THEIR MOST POSITIVE EXPERIENCES AS STUDENTS INVOLVED:
27%
22%
faculty and staff
15%
campus organizations
13%
the people they met
their classes
LOCATIONS OF ALUMNI PARTICIPANTS
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15
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NY
ID
1
13
1
CA
1
2
CO
281
IN
1
2
4
PA
IL
NV
MA
4
NJ DC
1
2
AZ
5
TX HI
8
8
Abu Dhabi
1
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8
9
3
2
Galal Kernahan ’48
CLASS NOTES 1960s
Email your news and photos to alumni@chapman.edu or mail to: Alumni Engagement, One University Drive, Orange, Calif. 92866. Any photos received by mail will be scanned and returned. Class notes are subject to editing due to space. To post class notes and photos online, visit alumni.chapman.edu.
1950s Elaine Berriman, B.A. education ’58, celebrated her 80th birthday on Feb. 2. Her son and daughter arranged a family party with more than 20 attendees at the Wild Artichoke in Yorba Linda, Calif. 1 Maxine (Todd) McIntosh, B.A. liberal studies and education ’57, and Don McIntosh, B.A. education, history and recreation leadership ’58 (M.A. education ’64), celebrate their 60th anniversary March 2. Both are retired. Don served in the Army for six years. He later worked for the Rowland Unified School District, and Maxine worked at Silverado Elementary School. They moved to London when Maxine received the Fulbright Teacher Exchange. They hosted foreignexchange students for more than eight years and have three children, including their daughter, Mary Ann, who has four daughters (pictured).
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Dynamic Activism
2 Paul Godshaw, B.A. physical education ’67 (M.A. education ’74), celebrated his 70th birthday last spring in Mission Viejo, Calif., with former Chapman roommates Kent Moore, B.A. sociology ’66 (M.A. education), and Mike Walker, B.A. sociology ’67. The three friends have remained close over the past 50 years and meet for breakfast each month. 3 Coralee (Hoffmaster) Johnson, B.A. physical education ’66, moved to Minden, Nev., in 2012. She loves everything about her new small-town lifestyle, especially the close proximity to family. Cora regularly volunteers as a tour guide for the Nevada State Museum in Carson City, and she is looking forward to her 50-year class reunion at Chapman University in May 2016. Ronald McGinley, B.S. management ’68, is a director of Angels of Southwest Louisiana, a nonprofit in entrepreneurship educational development and economic diversification in Southwest Louisiana.
1970s 4 Jay Pettibone, B.A. education ’79, retired after 25 years with the Department of Homeland Security as a special agent. He currently works at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Jay played professional baseball from 1979 –1985 with the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins.
Karen Unger, M.A. counseling psychology ’74, is the author of Brain Health for Life: Beyond Pills, Politics and Popular Diets (2014), in which she explores the possibility of preventing Alzheimer’s disease. The book has won two awards: the gold medal in the Living Now Book Awards, Mature Living/Aging category; and first place in the USA Best Books Awards, Health/Aging 50+ category.
1980s Tedd Hall, B.A. education ’83, retired after 30 years in corporate sales leadership in the information technology field. He currently works as a real estate agent and chief marketing officer with Keller Williams’ “Team Debbie” (Debbie Hall) in Yorba Linda, Calif. Quinn Wildman, B.S. computer science ’83, celebrated 30 years working at Embarcadero Technologies in 2015. After transitioning from the company, he is now searching for new opportunities in the Santa Cruz area.
1990s Echo Baker, B.A. art ’92, had her artwork accepted into the 119th Annual Open Juried Exhibition of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, one of the oldest women’s art clubs in the country. The exhibition was in December 2015 at the National Arts Club in New York.
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5 Brian D. Buehler, B.A. business communications and economics ’97, joined Los Angeles-based private equity firm Triton Pacific as a partner and will serve as president of Triton Pacific Securities, the firm’s captive broker-dealer. 6 Robert “Ken” Denson, B.S. business administration ’95, is the touring manager for REO Speedwagon. While traveling with the band, he got a chance to pose with the Commissioner’s Trophy won by the 2015 World Series Champion Kansas City Royals. Ken’s career in live entertainment began during his time as Chapman student body president when he put on a concert (featuring The Offspring and Rancid) to raise money for Mary’s Kitchen, a local food bank. After the event, he was offered a job with the bands’ promoter and has been touring with bands since 1999. Jeff Garvin, BFA film and television ’98, authored his debut novel, Symptoms of Being Human, published by Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins in February 2016. The novel takes place in Orange County, where Jeff was born and raised.
7 Jacob Abramson, BFA film and television ’04, received an Emmy award for creating a public service announcement reminding people to not leave kids and pets in their vehicles. The PSA, Hot Cars Can Kill, was produced by the City of Surprise, Ariz., where Jacob is a video production coordinator. This is Jacob’s third Emmy nomination and first win. Alan Baxter, BFA film and television ’02, won second place in the Slamdance Screenwriting and Teleplay Competition 2015 for his pilot script Escape/Artist. His script beat out more than 3,500 entries. 8 Lauren Brenner, B.A. leadership and organizational studies ’09, launched Hibiskiss Clothing, a T-shirt line she manages from home on Oahu, Hawaii. Brenda Brkusic, BFA film and television ’04, is the executive producer of program development and national productions for PBS SoCal. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame at her alma mater, Township High School, in La Grange, Ill., in November 2015. 9 Garrett Calcaterra (MFA creative writing ’02) had his second novel published in his
By Melissa Grace Hoon
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young adult fantasy series The Dreamwielder Chronicles. Souldrifter was published by Diversion books in September 2015. John Cheney (MFA film production ’07) published his second novel, the espionage thriller The Apocalypse Men. Rachael Cianfrani, B.A. criminal justice ’01 was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Child Creativity Lab. The Lab’s mission is to nurture the creative mindset of children to build creativity, divergent thinking, problem-solving and the ability to innovate. Patrick Cole, B.A. leadership and organizational studies ’05, was promoted to digital marketing director at The Walt Disney Studios. 10 Nicole (Vasquez) Cozean (DPT ’06) is a physical therapist who specializes in treating interstitial cystitis, pelvic pain and pelvic floor dysfunction. She earned her advanced board certification as a women’s clinical specialist, making her one of a select few holding this credential. She was recently selected a board member of the Interstitial Cystitis Association. Erika Decker, B.S. business administration ’05, is a cultural
marketer at Google in Venice, Calif., helping to shape digital campaigns for brands such as Samsung, Nike, Xbox and Disney. She led Brand at PlayStation, which introduced the hugely successful platform launch of PlayStation 4. 11 Chris Eggleton, B.A. economics and B.S. business administration ’02, is managing director of operations for Newpark Resort/Property Management, which recently entered into a partnership with Destination Hotels Inc., the largest operator of independent hotels in North America. Under the leadership of Eggleton and managing director of business development Chris Retzer, B.S. business administration ’01, the company will focus on growing its real estate presence and brand in Park City, Utah. Destination Hotels began operating in November as Destination Utah. Arthur Fishel, BFA film production ’09, won the grand prize at the 2015 Scriptapalooza Feature Screenwriting Competition for his horror/thriller screenplay Diary of a Jesuit. The screenplay is a fictional account of how three priests deal with a trial of faith when confronted by the devil during an infamous 1949 exorcism in St. Louis.
alal Kernahan ’48, was born into a family of Methodist ministers on the rural outskirts of Phoenix. With public service as a career goal, he attended Chapman in the nascent days after World War II. At that time, Chapman was housed on Whittier College’s campus. After the war, Kernahan transitioned with Chapman when it moved to its own home in Los Angeles. He enjoyed being part of a student body of just more than two dozen, led by one-man faculty Bert C. Williams, Ph.D. “It was almost like having a gifted tutor,” he recalls. On the way to a degree in philosophy, Kernahan paid his tuition by working as a bus driver and dishwasher before moving on to graduate school at Boston University, where he earned a master’s in religious studies. Kernahan’s colorful career blossomed all over the globe. He attended World Council of Churches training in Geneva, then worked on special projects in Soviet-occupied Berlin with church advocates. Later, he spent three years teaching theological seminary in Buenos Aires and as the pastor of a Methodist Church in Rosario, Argentina. “I became a community activist in a series of causes wherever in the world I found myself,” Kernahan said. At age 90, Kernahan remains a dynamic activist, advocating for greater public awareness concerning the history of the “unusual SpanishEnglish bilingual birth of the State of California.”
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Jeff Harris, B.A. communications ’07, was hired in 2015 as administrative assistant in the technical recruiting department at Facebook. Ken Bunt ’93
A Dream Awakens By Melissa Grace Hoon en Bunt ’93 had long dreamed of a career in entertainment – and what better place to live your dream than at Disney, where it’s known that dreams come true? As president of Disney Music Group, Bunt is responsible for Disney’s recorded music, publishing and live-concert business. He works with artists such as Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, and he has overseen soundtracks such as for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Frozen. He began his career with Rick Ruben’s Def American Records, working with Johnny Cash, Sir Mix-a-Lot and the Black Crowes before transitioning to Hollywood Records and Disney in 1998. “I love the diversity and unpredictable nature of my job,” Bunt said. “One moment I may be dealing with a music video and then the next working on a concert idea for China.” Life at Disney affords Bunt the opportunity to imbue every task with unlimited creativity – a skill he says was fostered by his Chapman experience. “Chapman had a tremendous impact on my career,” Bunt said. “The liberal studies education I received along with the ability to be general manager of KNAB (Chapman Radio) was invaluable.” Bunt organized many campus concerts for Chapman Radio, including one featuring No Doubt “just before they exploded.” But his favorite memory stands apart from all others: meeting his wife, Jennifer (Schrank) Bunt ’92, in an art class.
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Adriana (Hernandez) Triggs, B.M. violin performance and music education ’07, was selected to perform the California premiere of composer Stephanie Ann Boyd’s new work for violin and piano this spring as part of the 50 State Sonata Project. The project is part of a two-year initiative celebrating the life and work of John Kendall, who helped bring the Suzuki method of teaching music to America. Dana (Ingrassia) Heyde, B.A. English ’02, celebrated her oneyear anniversary in 2015 as a partner at Cottle Keen Lopiccolo & Heyde, a law firm in Orange that specializes in family law, estate planning and civil litigation. 12 Lindsey Jacobs, B.A. theatre ’09, married Chris Bellamy on Aug. 2, 2015 in San Clemente, Calif. 13 Rachel Karten, film and television ’03, is a senior account executive at ID-PR, a public relations firm in the Los Angeles area. She represents Uzo Aduba (Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on Orange Is the New Black; pictured) among others. 14 Breanna (Kenyon) Schultz (J.D. ’09) married Scott Schultz on Oct. 3, 2015. Breanna is an associate attorney with the R. Rex Parris Law Firm. Scott is a project engineer building the world’s largest airplane at Scaled Composites. 15 Anna Lee Lawson, B.A. film and television ’02, co-stars in The 4th, written and directed by André Hyland. The film premiered in January in the NEXT section at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
The Rev. Todd Adams ’94
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Beau Menchaca, M.A. school counseling ’00, was nominated for a second consecutive year as a National Life Changer of the Year. He is a higher-education coordinator at Century High School in the Santa Ana Unified School District. Chek Meserbee, B.A. English ’01, was a teaching intern at a language school in his homeland of Kabardino-Balkaria Republic in Russia in 1998. He was also a teaching intern at Anaheim Union High School District in 2005-2007, and studied abroad in KabardinoBalkaria, earning a certificate diploma in Russian from Kabardino-Balkarian State University. In 2011, he earned his M.A. in education/curriculum and instruction for English and language arts from the University of Phoenix. In 2015, Chek was hired as a teaching intern in the Anaheim City School District. Scott Nelson, B.A. psychology ’08, earned his PsyD in clinical psychology in 2012, and completed licensure requirements for the practice of psychology in California in December 2015. He has private practice locations in Orange County and the South Bay area, with an emphasis on psychological testing, assessment and evaluation.
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Mary Plummer, B.A. English ’07, was promoted to senior political reporter at Southern California Public Radio after covering arts education for the station for 2-1/2 years. Ray Sanchez, B.A. communications ’04, proposed to Christine Yang on Sept. 5, 2015, next to Wailua Waterfalls on Kauai, Hawaii. 16 Tiffany (Smith) Limer, B.A. theatre ’09, and her husband, Luigi, welcomed a baby girl, Giuliana Sofia Limer, on Aug. 25, 2015. They live in Houston. Kevin Staniec, BFA film and television ’01, founded 1888 Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation, presentation and promotion of cultural heritage and literary arts. Named for the year the City of Orange was incorporated, 1888 Center develops educational programs, produces collaborative projects and publishes relevant literature from around the world, with the goal of enriching the local diverse neighborhoods and engaging the national community. Melissa Webster, BFA theatre and dance ’01, and Ken Rotunno were married Aug. 2, 2014, at Monte De Oro winery in Temecula, Calif. Erin O’Sullivan, BFA theatre and dance ’06, was maid of honor. Adrienne (Kimble) Ainbinder, B.A. communications and BFA theatre
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and dance ’01; Bodie Quirk, B.A. communications and Spanish; Heidi (Martin) Quirk, B.A. organizational leadership ’01; and Robin (Jordan) Gallagher, B.A. psychology ’03, also attended. Melissa is an education specialist for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, and works in Oxnard. Ken is an aerospace engineer and works in Redondo Beach. They live in Calabasas.
2010s Michael Berner (MFA screenwriting ’14) is a writer’s assistant on MTV’s The Shannara Chronicles. He is also working in the writer’s room for a new AMC series. 17 Devyn Bisson, BFA creative producing ’14, premiered The Wave I Ride, a feature-length documentary about surfer Paige Alm. 18 Ania Catherine, B.A. political science ’12, received her M.S. in gender policy from London School of Economics. She is a dance artist and choreographer in Los Angeles, merging her academic studies with her artistic practice in a form of visual activism. She has directed music videos and short films that have appeared on The Huffington Post, in the International Museum of Women and at the Los Angeles Center for
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Digital Art. In addition, she was featured in VICE for a music video she directed and choreographed for producer Jamie Jones. Michael Crile (M.A. psychology ’13) obtained certification from the California Sex Offender Management Board as a certified sex offender provider at the apprentice level in June 2015. Michael works with the Counseling and Psychotherapy Center Inc. America to help its mission of “No More Victims.” Jordan Curcuruto, B.M. music performance ’14, was selected to present at the first Transplanted Roots Percussion Symposium last summer at McGill University in Montreal. She performed three pieces for speaking percussion, one of which was an original composition. Jordan was also accepted to perform in the inaugural International All-Star Ensemble for the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in November 2015. Joe DeHart, B.S. business administration ’10, launched I Chase Dreams, a travel blog, photography and lifestyle business. He is traveling the world for two years for the business. 19 Justin Deimen, BFA creative producing ’12, launched the inaugural Southeast Asian Film Financing Forum in Singapore. The event brought Europe’s most
prestigious co-production lab, Ties That Bind, into Singapore, and featured keynote speaker Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 20 Riley (Donovan) Coughlin, B.A. communications ’10 (MBA ’13), married Johnny Coughlin on July 18 in Las Vegas, Nev. There were 23 alumni and three Chapman staff members in attendance. Whitney StandringTrueblood, B.A. political science ’10, and Dominique Escalante, B.S. business administration ’09, were in the bridal party. 21 Brian Drummy, BFA theatre performance ’10, will play the lead role in Troll, an original work by Ken Greller, opening April 8 at The Secret Theater in New York City. Sarah Faulkner, B.A. English ’12, received the 2015 Trollope Prize, awarded by the University of Kansas, for her article investigating Anthony Trollope’s 1869 novel He Knew He Was Right. Sarah was awarded a $2,000 honorarium and publication of her essay in The Fortnightly Review. Sarah is in the second year of her Ph.D. program in English at the University of Washington, where she received the Richard J. Dunn First-Year Teacher Award as an instructor of composition.
A Call to Serve By Melissa Grace Hoon he Rev. Todd Adams ’94 recently was named president-elect/senior vice president by the Pension Fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In his new role, he will manage more than $3 billion in assets. A native of Oklahoma, Adams says that 25 years ago he would never have imagined serving as a fund manager. He credits his strong serviceoriented foundation to business courses he took at Chapman, and to everything he learned about himself, his community and service as a Panther. “Chapman opened my eyes to the global nature of our country and the importance of maintaining a global perspective,” said Adams, who traveled to Honduras on a Disciples of Christ mission through Chapman his sophomore year. “The (Honduras) trip provided an environment to further engage my call to ministry.” Adams learned to serve others during his time on campus as director of student awareness and as a student recruiter for the Office of Admission. He went on to represent Chapman at recruiting events for Mike Drummy, then assistant vice chancellor and chief admission officer, and Mike Pelly, vice chancellor and dean of enrollment management. Now as the pension fund manager, Adams serves more than 12,500 members, providing investment plans in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. He will become the fund’s president Sept. 1.
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Jon-Barrett Ingels (Class of ’00)
Erin Rosselli (M.A. ’03)
Lessons of Failure By Melissa Grace Hoon on-Barrett Ingels (Class of ’00) packaged his insecurities and what he calls failures into a rousing success. He recently published his first book, the nonfiction memoirnovella How to Succeed by Failing, with Black Hill Press, an independent publishing house run by Kevin Staniec ’01. Writing wasn’t Ingels’ plan, but his inner artist begged to be published after events in his life were impossible to ignore. A student of theatre at Chapman University, Ingels moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career just before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At a time when he was still finding his way in the world, Ingels’ equilibrium was shaken by a deep concern for the nation’s future. He and some friends headed to Canada, chronicling on film their attempt at escape. How to Succeed by Failing tells a coming-of-age story through the ups and downs of this endeavor. After graduation, Ingels found his “reality, the challenges, the struggle” shocking, especially amid the fear that permeated our post-9/11 culture. He wanted to share his experience and “failures” in his memoir to encourage others to take control of their lives and realize their dreams. Ingels says Chapman fanned his artistic flame. After studying playwriting with Chapman Professor Ron Thronson, Ingels discovered his voice. Falling “deeply in love with Shakespeare,” he also learned the power of listening and reacting. “I was a dreamer back then. Now I have to force myself to keep dreaming,” Ingels said. “That’s why I write.”
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Top Teacher of Tech
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22 Hillary (Foss) McDaniel, B.S. business administration ’13, and Doug McDaniel, B.S. business administration ’13, were married in Sonoma, Calif. on Sept. 26, 2015. The wedding party included Garrett Addison, B.A. power of language ’13; Anthony Jacobsmeyer, B.A. psychology ’13; Jessica Phelps, B.A. public relations/advertising and BFA film production ’13; and Ali Hill, BFA theatre performance ’13. The flower girls were the daughters of Byron Werner, BFA film and television ’94. Matt Garbutt, B.A. public relations and advertising ’12, and Nicholas Coll, B.A. public relations and advertising ’10, launched Good Old Sport, a company that highlights sports news online, and offers games and community to its subscribers. Jordan Goodsell, BFA theatre performance ’15, played the role of George Bailey in A Wonderful Life: The Musical at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Fort Myers, Fla. He also appeared in 3-D Theatricals’ production of The Addams Family in the role of Founding Father.
Adam Herbets, BFA television and broadcast journalism ’14, was awarded two Golden Mike Awards, the most prestigious broadcast journalism award in Southern California, for an investigative piece on how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs withheld money from a local veteran for years. He was also honored for excellence in photojournalism. 23 Turner Jacobs, B.A. history (MFA television broadcast journalism ’12), earned his M.A. in peace and conflict studies at the University of Oslo in June. He is the international and recruitment coordinator at Radio Nova, Oslo’s student radio station. The station is the first radio station in Norway to have daily English-language news bulletins. Turner is developing an English-language student news program. Kyle Kim-E, B.A. strategic and corporate communications ’14, launched KhamaiWare, a sociallyconscious business that sells shoes handcrafted by artisans in Cambodia. For every pair of shoes sold, KhamaiWare gives a family in Cambodia a ceramic water filter,
which provides clean water for 10 people. Kim-E launched KhamaiWare after a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Neda Lahidji, B.M. vocal performance ’13, was featured on Playbill.com for his performance as Raffaela in New York University’s mainstage fall 2015 production of the musical Grand Hotel. Neda is pursuing an M.M. in vocal performance for music theatre at New York University Steinhardt. Danny Langhorne, B.A. English ’12, proposed to Hannah Fry, B.A. English ’16, by placing a full-page ad in The Panther. Both are former editors for the newspaper. 24 Morgan Lauff, BFA theatre performance ’15, starred as Bill Medley in the West Coast premiere of That Lovin’ Feelin’, a musical biography of the Righteous Brothers. 25 Erin Lim, BFA television and broadcast journalism ’13, is one of the newest hosts/correspondents for E! News Hollywood. Prior to joining the Los Angeles-based team, she hosted for E! Asia based in Singapore, as well as hosted and starred in shows in Southeast Asia for two years.
By Dawn Bonker (MFA ’18)
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Anna Lisa (Biason) Lukes (MBA ’13) joined Golden State Foods as the executive director. She oversees all operations, including strategic planning, fundraising, organizational management and collaboration with internal and external partners.
School of Public Health. She was the first-ever recipient of a National Science Research Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for chemistry and attended the Lindau Nobel Laureate Conference in Lindau, Germany.
Carlos Lopez Estrada (Class of ’11, film production) is directing his first play, Ded!, about the Day of the Dead. The play will run in October at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles. Carlos won a Latin Grammy for his animated film for artists Jesse & Joy, which made him the youngest director to win a Latin Grammy to date.
Rena Nishijima, B.A. dance performance and BFA public relations/advertising ’12, joined the marketing department at San Francisco Ballet, the oldest professional ballet company in America.
Margot Kahn, B.A. psychology ’15, is the CEO and co-founder of Synergybox, a company that rents and sells portable batteries to restaurants, hotels and related venues for guests to charge their cell phones during activities. 26 Carina Minardi, B.S. chemistry and biological sciences ’10, earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Georgetown University in December 2015 and has accepted an offer to attend the Advanced Professional MPH Program at Yale
27 Haley Quartarone, BFA television broadcast journalism ’13, and Bill Londen, BFA film production ’13 (MBA ’15), are engaged. Bill proposed to Haley on her 25th birthday in September 2015. 28 Kara Rutkin, B.A. public relations and advertising ’11, and Robert Flicker (Class of 2011), were promoted to account executives at Kirvin Doak Communications, Nevada’s largest public relations agency. Casey Stolberg, BFA film production ’15, has worked as a
cinematographer on music videos for triple-platinum-selling artist Warren G, and the Warner Bros. recording duo Nico and Vinz. Casey also completed a documentary for the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, highlighting multiple sclerosis in the Latino community. In August, he will begin production on his first feature, an independent drama set at the Salton Sea. Amanda Whiddon, B.A. religious studies ’10, was hired as the business representative for SAG-AFTRA’s promotional announcements and theatrical trailers department. Jana Winternitz (Class of ’13), and producing partners Michael Gallagher and Steve Greene, were the winners of Legendary House of Horrors, a short-film program and joint-initiative launched with YouTube Spaces to identify emerging creative talent. Gallagher and Winternitz will produce alongside partner Michael Wormser through their Cinemand label, along with content studio Kids at Play. Nathan Zencey, B.A. political science ’11, was given a Schedule C Appointment with the Office of Business Affairs and Public Liaison at the U.S. Treasury Department for the Obama Administration in December 2015.
very veteran elementary school teacher has faced one of “those” classes – a mix of students who hop around like popcorn kernels in a hot pan, aren’t keen to follow instructions and would rather do things their way, thank you very much. Last year, Erin Rosselli (M.A. ’03) had just such a class of kindergarteners. But rather than force them to toe the line, Rosselli loosened the technology reins. She ramped up her students’ access to iPads and guided them through a host of creative activities that let them take more charge of their learning. Behavior problems plummeted, the students produced digital presentations on American symbols and animal habitats, and academic success climbed. “It was incredibly rewarding to watch,” she says of her students at Panorama Elementary School in Orange, Calif. That kind of innovative spirit won Rosselli another reward – the title of 2015 California Teacher of the Year. Rosselli was among only five educators statewide so honored. Now Rosselli is teaching her colleagues how to use iPads and digital apps in their classrooms. This school year she became an instructional specialist for educational technology and academic measurement in the Orange Unified School District. Instead of just one classroom, she’s in nearly a dozen every week, helping teachers. The students are the ultimate winners, she says. “We need to start with the youngest students to show them that technology isn’t just for consumption, it’s for creation,” she says.
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ALUMNI NEWS AND CAMPUS EVENTS
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Blake Lukanowski, B.A. psychology ’15, was rafting down the Ayung River in Bali when he met Ali Nabizadeh (DPT ’10) in the same boat. Ali spent nearly three weeks exploring Bali with family members. Their adventures included the Ubud Monkey Forest, an elephant park and snorkeling at Blue Lagoon. Blake and Ali
P R O W L
were on the same raft with just six others when they discovered their Chapman connection halfway down the river. “We had no trouble sharing our love and appreciation for Chapman, and all that it does for the students and alumni,” Lukanowski said. “Once a Panther, always a Panther!”
Save the Date for Your Class Reunion Did you graduate in 2011, 2006, 1991 or 1966? If so, your class reunion is coming up this year during The Chapman Family Homecoming Celebration. Mark your calendar for this great get-together Sept. 30 through Oct. 2. For more information, please contact Sarah Buckley ’14, alumni engagement coordinator, at sbuckley@chapman.edu.
FRIENDS WE WILL MISS
Edgar Eugene Bailey Jr., B.A. sociology ’66, passed away Dec. 26, 2015. He was one of the first African-American students admitted to the University of Texas. Later he transferred to Chapman, where he met his wife, Karen Ellen Finley, B.A. English ’64. They married May 1, 1965, in a ceremony officiated by Edgar’s former Chapman roommate and dear friend, Bob Vinson, B.A. philosophy ’64. Edgar worked for the Orange County Juvenile Hall as a family guidance counselor; he was one of the first two AfricanAmericans hired for this position. Later, he worked 20 years for Pacific Bell, from which he retired in 1994. Karen passed away in 1993. Edgar is survived by his 14 children: Margaret, Edgar, Ariel, Don, Barbara, David, Mary, Eddi, Hansel, Jesse, Samuel, Isaac, James and Noraline; and 28
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grandchildren. Chapman is deeply rooted in the family, as nine of its members attended the University, including: Margaret (Putman) Finley, B.A. communications ’34 (Karen’s mother); Don Finley (Karen’s father); Iber Means, B.A. sociology ’48; Margaret Bailey, B.A. liberal studies ’90; Ariel Bailey Fernald, B.A. in sociology, and peace and justice ’90; Don Bailey, teaching credential ’03; Eddi Bailey, B.A. Spanish ’05; Mary Bailey, B.A. sociology ’07; and Trey Fernald, B.A. communications ’91. Maurine (Marks) Houston, B.A. sociology ’41, passed away Dec. 22. Maurine married Harold Ritchie Houston in a ceremony officiated by Dr. George Reeves, Chapman College’s president at the time. At Chapman, she was a member of the Theta Sigma Gamma sorority. Maurine’s life after Chapman included 20 years working in her Lakeport walnut grove in connection with the Diamond Walnut Association. Maurine is survived by her daughter, Carol Hayes, and son, Bud, along with five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Alumni Bottomless Mimosa Brunch Hosted by Greek Alumni Saturday, April 2 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Barbara Bush Patio, Bush Conference Center
Leonardo M. Eifert, B.S. mathematics ’13, passed away Dec. 5, 2015, from post-surgery complications. He was the son of Dr. Georg H. Eifert, former associate dean of Schmid College, and his wife, Diana. Leonardo was nearing completion of his studies to earn a teaching credential from California State University, Long Beach. He played piano and guitar and loved playing chess, teaching classes across Orange County. Twice he even beat Chapman physics professor Yakir Aharonov, Ph.D., who is renowned for his skill at the game. Leonardo is survived by his parents and his brother, Daniel. Those wishing to honor the life of Leonardo are encouraged to support Chapman’s Schmid College Fund for Excellence. The goal is to create an endowed Scholarship Fund for Excellence in Mathematics in Leonardo’s memory.
Dan Cutler Wooldridge, B.A. history and political science ’68, passed away Oct. 4, 2015, in Elk Grove, Calif. At Chapman, he served as editor of The Panther. Following graduation, he joined the World Campus Afloat staff as advisor for publications during fall 1968. As a student, he was part of Semester at Sea, which fueled his interest in naval history and political affairs. He held state, county and local political positions in Southern California for more than 40 years. He is survived by his wife, Chancy Jones Wooldridge, BFA art ’79, and their children, Lindsay, Travis and David. A tightknit group of Chapman alumni gathered in Sacramento to pay tribute to Dan in October.
Akin Ceylan ’90
Catch up with friends, share memories and get to know more members of the alumni family over a glass of bubbly at the brunch. This event is open to all alumni ages 21 and older. Your ticket includes a full breakfast buffet along with bottomless mimosas and beer, and an add-on option for admission to Greek Skit in Memorial Hall following the brunch at 1 p.m. Proceeds support the Greek Endowment Fund.
Lionsgate Hires a Pack of Panthers
Entertainment Industry Mixer
Six Chapman students were selected to intern at Lionsgate Entertainment during the spring semester. Congratulations to Alexandra Corvino (MFA ’17), Ankush Khemani ’18, Ashkan Payami (MBA ’17), Katie Swinnerton ’17, Rachael Conrad ’16 and Sarah Kahan ’17. “I will be meeting and welcoming each of them to Lionsgate with Panther Pride,” said Akin Ceylan ’90, chief operating officer of Lionsgate Home Entertainment and member of the Chapman University Board of Trustees. Chapman students comprise 10 percent of the Lionsgate intern pool, which has representation from 24 universities.
Wednesday, April 20 | 7 to 9 p.m. Santa Monica, Calif. Speaking of Ceylan, the 4th Annual Alumni Entertainment Industry Mixer is right around the corner, hosted by the COO and Lionsgate. The event is a unique opportunity to reconnect with classmates and faculty, as well as make new connections with other industry members.
Stay Connected Whether you live close to campus or across the country, there are opportunities throughout the year to stay connected.
• Connect with fellow alumni and Chapman Family members to build your professional network. • Attend alumni events like Chappy Hour, the Chapman Family Homecoming Celebration, reunions and more. • Interact with and mentor current students. • Take advantage of exclusive alumni discounts on shopping, dining, entertainment and more. But we can’t let you know about these events and opportunities if we can’t reach you. Update your contact information using our quick and easy online form at chapman.edu/alumni-update.
Find Us Online Web: chapman.edu/alumni Blog: blogs.chapman.edu/alumni Facebook: facebook.com/chapmanuniversityalumni Twitter: @ChapmanAlum LinkedIn: Search for Chapman University Alumni Association
oshiko “Toshi” Ito ’46 cradled her rough-edged Chapman diploma and pulled out a creased graduation photo. “I was so young,” she said. “My hair was so black then.” During a recent visit to Chapman, Ito reflected on a time seven decades ago
when she sought to build a new life out of the turmoil and prejudice of World War II. The occasion was a screening of the Emmy-winning documentary The Legacy of Heart Mountain, which chronicles the wartime struggles of Japanese American internees. Life was grim at the Wyoming camp where Ito and her family were held. Barbed wire ringed the compound, and the uninsulated buildings offered little respite from the winter chill.
After the war, Ito found a different existence on the Chapman campus, then in Los Angeles. “I felt so welcome, so accepted there,” she recalled. She chose Chapman for its sociology program, and because it was welcoming other Japanese American students. “It was such an honor for Chapman to accept me because we were so hated at that time,” Ito said. The screening offered the University a chance to honor Ito, 91, for her example of resilience and her dedication to social work. Ito accepted a proclamation but quickly pivoted back to her own gratitude, not just for the opportunity to finish her education but for the friendships that have endured.
Her brief remarks completed, Ito asked if any of her Chapman classmates were in the Memorial Hall audience. “I’m here, Toshi!” shouted Toni Siamis ’48. “I’m over here.” The two women rushed as fast as they could to embrace off stage. As the lights went up and the hall started to empty, the friends stayed side by side, their hands overlapping. Their smiles were so young.