SUMMER 2017
IN THIS ISSUE | SUMMER 2017 On the cover: Menlo musicians in the 1930s with Dr. Lowry Howard, first president of Menlo College, back row second from left.
2 New Look
6 Help Refugees
8 King’s Hawaiian 9 RAD Book Art
10 Innovation
11 Special 90th Anniversary Section By Pamela Gullard
• R ead how Menlo College changed through the decades 12 The Twenties
14 The Thirties
16 The Forties
• H ear the voices of alumni describe the atmosphere of each era • L earn why Menlo College has been loved by so many people for so long
18 The Fifties
20 The Sixties
22 The Seventies
24 The Eighties
26 The Nineties
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Darcy Blake CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Terri Givens, Darcy Blake, Pamela Gullard, Mark Hager, Melissa Michelson, Leslie Sekerka, Marianne Marar Yacobian, Deborah Brown McCabe, Angela Schmiede, Erik Bakke, Aaron Gillespie, Brian Brownfield ’17
28 New Century 30 Psych Art
DESIGN Darcy Blake, Marsha Gilbert PHOTOGRAPHY & GRAPHICS Darcy Blake, Andrey Poliakov, OaksSports.com, Justine Fiesta ‘19 SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR Pamela Gullard
32 Alumni
34 Apollo Night
35 Red Cross
38 Fashionista
39 Love Is...
40 Safest!
EDITORS Linda Smith, Linda Teutschel, Pamela Gullard, Cheryl Collins COLLEGE PRESIDENT Richard A. Moran BOARD OF TRUSTEES T. Geir Ramleth ‘87, Chair Micah Kane ‘91, Vice Chair Tom Byers Lee Caraher Andrea Cunningham Howard Dallmar ‘74 James A. Davlin Chris Garrett ‘94 Mike Gullard David C. Irmer ‘58 Harry W. Kellogg, Jr. ‘63 Connor Limont ‘75 Jordan Long ‘09 Larry Lopez ‘84 Tom Morehouse ‘62 Sean Mendy William (Bill) Redmon Tom Scannell Laurie Shaw Tyler Edelstein Tuttle Benjamin Wagner Emeriti Trustees John Henry Felix ‘49 Julie Filizetti Charles “Chop” J. Keenan III ’66
41 Meet the Dean 44 Soccer News
45 Awards
47 New Coaches 48 2016-17
50 Commence
52 Dreams
56 Year
53 Teaching
The Menlo Advantage, published by the Menlo College Office of the President, brings news of the College and its community to alumni, parents, and friends. 1000 El Camino Real, Atherton, California 94027-4301 Tel: 650-543-3901, pr@menlo.edu, www.menlo.edu
A New Look for Menlo College in 2017
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major ef for t to give our campus a fresh new st yle has come to a successful conclusion. Laura Scot t, of Studio Scot t in San Francisco, along with our campus branding commit tee, created a graphic image for the College that infuses the strength and endurance of the College’s symbol, the might y oak tree, into a monogram “M .”
The pointed shape of the new athletics logo emphasizes the dynamism and focus of Menlo College spor ts. Our new branded merchandise is now available in the Campus Store. Continue our Menlo tradition by purchasing the latest Menlo gear.
We are Menlo! 2 S U M M E R 2 017
FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Welcome to the Menlo College Board of Trustees
Benjamin (Ben) Wagner
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Appointed by President Obama, Wagner served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California from 2009 through 2016. In that position, he oversaw a team of 90 attorneys. He served for three years on Attorney General Eric Holder’s Advisory Committee, where he worked with DOJ leadership on developing national law enforcement policy. He also served as Co-Chair of the White Collar Crime Subcommittee. Wagner also co-chaired the Mortgage Fraud Working Group of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District from 1992 to 2009, he litigated financial crimes, tax evasion, health care fraud, and domestic terrorism. From 2000 to 2009, he was Chief of the Special Prosecutions Unit, where he supervised a team of prosecutors concentrating on major federal crimes. He graduated in 1986 from New York University School of Law.
PHOTO: DOUG PECK PHOTOGRAPHY
t Gibson Dunn, Wagner handles government investigations, criminal white collar defense and civil litigation, and investigations in the technology sector. His extensive experience involves the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) and the False Claims Act (FCA), as well as mortgage fraud, securities and investment fraud, health care fraud, cybercrime, public corruption, government contracting fraud, and environmental crime. Dr. Richard A. Moran
President Moran Announces Retirement Dr. Richard Moran is retiring from Menlo College effective August 31, 2017. In recognition of his many achievements as president, the Board of Trustees will bestow the honorary title of President Emeritus on Dr. Moran coincident with his retirement.
One of his last steps toward furthering the progress of the College was to guide the development of the new logos (see facing page). Many thanks to Dr. Moran, his wife Carol and all their family for bringing to the college a warm and welcoming presence. The Menlo College community wishes the Moran family the best in the years to come.
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PHOTO: Andrey Poliakov
FROM THE PROVOST
Provost Terri Givens enjoys the give and take of the classroom.
Celebrating Relationships
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We often talk about the way that Menlo College transforms lives, but it’s not only in the classroom. For our students, the people they meet in the dorm, in the cafeteria, and on the quad foster relationships that often become the bedrock of their lives as they move out into the world. Family is one of the most important parts of a social network, but friends can be just as important as students move on to start careers, form their own families, and celebrate new milestones in life.
One of the last events I shared with my father before he passed away was a commencement ceremony. I was so proud that he could see me as a professor in my regalia. Jarl Mohn, the commencement speaker for the Menlo College class of 2017, reminded me of this when he spoke of his experience with a recent health scare. Listening to the speaker was one of our grads who had recently lost his father, whom he memorialized on his graduation cap. Jarl Mohn said his experience reminded him to focus on relationships, and in many ways, that’s what celebrations like a 90th anniversary and a commencement are really all about.
I was moved to tears when Regina Hernandez ’17 sang the national anthem at commencement. One of the first events I attended at Menlo College was Apollo Night, a celebration of the talent on this campus. The first time I met Regina was when she sang at that event two years ago. Although she is moving on, I know this year’s commencement celebration is just a continuation of all the graduates’ relationships with Menlo College. The relationships that have been forged during their time here will continue. As we look forward to celebrating Menlo College’s 90th entering class, I hope you will join me in supporting this new, diverse group of students who will define the future of the college with their own vision.
by Terri Givens, Provost s Menlo College prepares for its 90th anniversary, I look forward to my third year as provost. Each year brings new reasons for celebrating. Our most recent commencement reminded me yet again of the importance of celebrations.
Over 90 years, Menlo has not only educated thousands of students, we have also brought together students, faculty, and staff from around the country and from around the world who have become colleagues and friends in a way that is facilitated by our small campus.
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Congratulations to the Class of 2017 and welcome to the Class of 2021!
Melissa Michelson Making a Difference
PHOTO: DARCY BLAKE
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he last few months have been busy ones for Menlo College Political Science Professor Melissa R. Michelson: a publication in the top journal in her field, hosting a national conference, the release of two new books, and a 12-week national book tour. The topics she addressed in the varied endeavors were wide-ranging, including Latino voter turnout, Muslim American political attitudes and behavior, the politics of local priests in the U.S. and Ireland, and how to change Professor Melissa Michelson attitudes on LGBT rights. Latino Politics. Michelson has been conducting randomized getout-the-vote experiments with Latino citizens since 2001, when she tested methods of increasing turnout in the small California town of Dos Palos. Since then, she has conducted hundreds of get-out-the-vote (GOTV) experiments all over the country, mostly targeting Latino voters. Her efforts in California in 2010, and in Texas in 2012, were the subject of a coauthored article published in the November 2016 issue of the American Political Science Review, the number one journal in political science. Michelson and her coauthor Ali Valenzuela found that messages targeting Latinos should be tailored to match their level of acculturation, measured using publicly available data from the U.S. Census Bureau and voter registration files. Muslim American Politics. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and increasingly during the past few years, Muslim Americans have been the subject of intense public interest and scrutiny, but little is known about how they think and act in the context of U.S. politics. In December 2016, Michelson convened a national workshop on Muslim American Politics at the Menlo College campus, bringing together three dozen experts from around the country to talk about the state of political science expertise on the community and how to move that scholarship forward. That meeting is now generating publications, including a forthcoming book on the topic.
The Politics of Priests. Priests are not often considered political actors, but in a new book released in April 2017, Michelson and her co-authors argue that pastor attitudes and behaviors should be understood as similar to that of street-level bureaucrats. Their experiments find that priests are responsive to cues about whether they should be more attentive to their institutional reference groups (their bishops) or to their parishioners, and that they display a significant amount of discretion in the degree to which they deliver church messages to their flocks. [A Matter of Discretion: The Politics of Catholic Priests in the United States and Ireland (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017)]. LGBT Politics. Public opinion is generally fairly stable over time, but since 1996, public support for same-sex marriage has increased from just 27 percent approval to over 60 percent approve. Looking to explore the basis for this phenomenon, Michelson and her coauthor, Brian F. Harrison of Northwestern University, conducted a series of experiments on how to change minds on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights. The results of their 17 experiments on the topic, conducted all over the country from 2010 to 2014, often in cooperation with local advocacy organizations, is presented in the 2017 book Listen, We Need to Talk: How to Change Attitudes about LGBT Rights. They found that people are often willing to change their attitudes about LGBT rights when they find out that others with whom they share an identity (for example, as sports fans or members of a religious group) are also supporters of those rights, particularly if they find the information somewhat surprising. Listen, We Need to Talk provides a blueprint for thinking about how to bring disparate groups together over contentious political issues. Seeking to share that message about how to break through our red and blue silos, and talk about politics with people with whom we disagree, Michelson and Harrison spent February, March, and April 2017 on a national book tour. Over the course of 12 weeks— launching with a book party at Menlo College on February 7, 2017—the pair gave 38 talks in 36 cities across the country. Stops included college campuses from Texas to New York, and from Iowa to Maryland, as well as in high schools and local bookstores. At each stop, they shared their message about the importance of conversations about contentious issues, of being willing to listen as well as being willing to talk, and of how to use our shared connections with our friends and family members to open minds to attitude change. The book hit the charts briefly during the tour, with Amazon calling it the #1 new release in civil rights. You can get your own copy at the Menlo College Campus Store, and if you stop by her office, Michelson will probably even sign it for you. [Listen, We Need to Talk: How to Change Attitudes about LGBT Rights (Oxford University Press, 2017)].
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RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP Students Respond to Institutionalized Banning of Refugees
PHOTOS: ANDREY POLIAKOV
By Associate Professor Marianne Marar Yacobian
In response to the current climate, Dr. Yacobian and the Menlo College Student Government Association are working tirelessly to raise funds and awareness for Syrian refugees by partnering with the International Rescue Committee.
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enlo College Associate Professor Marianne Marar Yacobian and Menlo College students began raising funds and awareness for the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015. The war in Syria and the restrictions on immigration in America have increased the need for aid as the numbers of refugees from Syria surge.
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Dr. Yacobian, Associate Professor of Global Studies, has ethnographic experience among refugee populations in the Middle East. Her award-winning critical ethnography research predicted both the intensification and collapse of Middle Eastern-US refugee relations. Her activism currently revolves around the restoration of refugee human rights and the dismantling of xenophobia and Islamophobia. Dr. Yacobian is requesting that donations for refugees be made at the online site: CROWDRISE. Checks can also be sent to:
Marianne Marar Yacobian Menlo College 1000 El Camino Real Atherton, CA, 94027-4301 Write DIY099 in the memo line. Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global leader in emergency relief, rehabilitation, protection of human rights, post-conflict development, resettlement services and advocacy for those uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression. The IRC is on the ground in 42 countries, providing emergency relief, relocating refugees, and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster. The International Rescue Committee has helped more than 3 million Syrian refugees and internally displaced people to recover and rebuild their lives, providing medical and other critical aid, ensuring refugees have access to legal counseling, and helping women and girls who are victims of violence.
Ethical Action in the Workplace By Leslie Sekerka, Professor of Management
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enlo students are poised to take the helm of business management, on their way to becoming the next generation of corporate leaders. Preparing millennials for this role requires helping them develop a keener sense of ethical awareness and emboldening their desire to lead in a responsible manner. Professor Sekerka’s approach to teaching business ethics fosters students’ ability to perceive and address ethical issues proactively, before problems become a threat to the organization. Her scholarship in adult moral development and moral courage serves as the backbone of Menlo’s business ethics coursework. She has recently been recognized as a pioneer in the field, reshaping how ethics is taught in undergraduate, graduate, and executive education. Over the past few years, Professors Sekerka and Marar Yacobian have teamed up, blending their academic interests to study prominent workplace ethical issues and how to effectively address them. By coupling Sekerka’s understanding of ethical decision-making and moral competencies with Marar Yacobian’s awareness of multiculturalism, the two have found a complementary research trajectory that has made profound advancements to the existing scholarship. After publishing a model that compares ethical decision making from a Western or Individualistic path with a Middle Eastern or tribal-collectivist path, they realized the enormity of potential that lay before them. From its inception, their idea has been to increase adult moral development in organizational settings by broadening employees’ perspectives, and then promoting personal responsibility for moral action in daily organizational life.
Spotlight on Islamophobia
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s negative messages toward Middle Eastern immigrants inundate the media, ill-informed biases often lead to unwarranted fear and anxiety in the workplace. Given the current sociopolitical climate, xenophobia and Islamophobia are quickly becoming key ethical concerns. Recognizing this emerging issue, Professors Sekerka and Marar Yacobian have turned their attentions toward workplace discrimination and the role leaders play in modeling appropriate behaviors, specifically cultivating multicultural awareness, respect, and inclusion. Distorted information and apathy can prompt negative emotions that slowly work to erode civility among coworkers, potentially damaging international stakeholder relationships. Unaddressed hyper-stereotyping and sensitivity toward Muslims can unintentionally become institutionalized in organizations vis-à-vis recruiting, hiring, pay/promotion, and retention practices and can also fuel subtle or overt harassment in everyday workplace routines. With the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment around the world, the two scholars’ most recent work calls attention to public leadership. The research explicates how to engage proactively in addressing Islamophobia in the workplace. When multiculturalism is cast as a threat to one’s national values, anti-immigrant discourse can aggressively promote stereotypes of Islam. With mindfulness, rolemodeling, and education, new forms of discriminatory behaviors can be managed before deep and lasting harm is created.
Dr. Leslie Sekerka
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r. Sekerka argues that business ethics scholarship needs to have immediate and lasting practical application. This proves to be useful to Menlo students, who need tools that can demonstratively help them strengthen their capacity for ethicality – as peers, teammates, employees, global citizens, and potential ethical leaders. Dr. Sekerka continues to advance her work on moral competency, showing how specific skills can support effective ethical decision-making and the ability to proceed with ethical behavior. With a seemingly endless parade of headlines that affirm the regularity of unethical business practices (e.g., Wells Fargo Bank’s opening of fraudulent accounts, Mylan’s EpiPen price gouging, and sexual harassment at Fox News, to name a few), it is essential that we teach, cultivate, and role-model skill sets that endorse moral courage. Students relate to and understand the idea of ethics being like a “moral muscle.” Dr. Sekerka’s empirical work supports that these muscles (competencies) can be strengthened and honed with attention and practice. Using this approach, students quickly grasp that to stay ethically fit, you have to work out! Her class encourages students to identify their own ethical issues, and to ascertain where they exercise moral competency, or justify inaction. Most people think they are ethical, but lack an ability to report ethical issues and/or rationalize their own unethical behavior. So popular is her recently published work, appearing in venues like the Handbook of Virtue Ethics in Business & Management and the Journal of Public Integrity, that she has been invited to speak at a number of events this summer, including teaching a “master class” to other business ethics academics at the Teaching Business Ethics conference at Brigham Young University. She will also be presenting her latest studies at the Humanistic Management Meeting and the European, Eastern, and Annual Academy of Management conferences.
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King’s Hawaiian CEO Shares What’s in Their Cupboard with Students
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ing’s Hawaiian aired their first-ever Super Bowl ad during the 2017 championship game. The following day, the company’s CEO Mark Taira ‘76 and Executive Vice President John Linehan visited Menlo College to share the story of their business success with Menlo College students. King’s Hawaiian is America’s leading baker of sweet Hawaiian dinner rolls. King’s Hawaiian revenues have grown almost sevenfold since the development of their strategic plan in 2005, and the company is now the largest Hawaiian food company in the world. After implementing a new strategic plan, their company moved away from a “bread business” mentality to one of premium Hawaiian foods, including the recent introduction of their brand of Hawaiian barbecue sauce. Linehan said, “We’re set to build a global food community, not just a brand.” Taira described how the family moved from their small town of Hilo to Honolulu, and later to California after working his father’s handmade recipe into a mass-produced product. Linehan explained that the business soared with a new strategic plan that defines their goals and puts all resources into getting there. The plan includes a mission, a vision, and strategic imperatives: 1. Our mission: “We deliver irresistible Hawaiian food with aloha spirit.”
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2. O ur vision: “You have to have some progress stakes in the ground along the way.” 3. O ur strategic imperatives: “These are things that need to get done.” Since their strategic plan’s inception, the number of households who use the brand at least once a year has increased from about 6 million to about 36 million. As the Super Bowl ad suggests, King’s Hawaiian delicious rolls are so good, they don’t stay in the cupboard for long.
We deliver Hawaiian food with aloha spirit. -CEO Mark Taira ‘76
Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl Discuss RAD Books and Art
The unique presentation included a demonstration of paper cut art in the making. As Schatz read excerpts from the books, artist Stahl demonstrated under magnified projection how she creates her art, cutting hand-drawn portraits from black paper. The bold graphically styled portraits of women look similar to block prints. Schatz said that she conceived of writing the books when she thought about what kind of books she would have loved to read as a kid. She described how she focuses on stories about women who “aren’t always known.” She attempts to introduce readers to a wider range of inspiring women beyond the group of those who are more typically recognized. She defines these women as rad, meaning cool, awesome and radical. As an example of amazing women, she read a story from her book about Hypatia, a Greek mathematician, astronomer, and Kate Schartz and Miriam Klein presented RAD Books and art. Inset, a peek at the paper art as it is created.
philosopher of the Byzantine Empire who was killed in 415 B.C. by an angry mob – a victim of political jealousy. Schatz also read a story about the ENIAC programmers. In 1946, six brilliant young women programmed the U.S. Army’s first allelectronic computer, the ENIAC. It was part of a secret World War II project that included a massive 80’ x 80’ machine programmed by the women “with no operating manual or programming information.” Although they succeeded in their efforts through many nights of determinedly burning the midnight oil, their work was not widely recognized for over 50 years. In conclusion, Stahl who had been working on her art throughout the reading, completed her hand-cut portrait. When she held up the finished art for a viewing, the audience responded with gasps of awe, admiration and a resounding applause. Schatz wondered about the many stories of inspiring women that we’ll never read. She asked, “What will you do to make the world rad?” The presentation was made possible by Menlo College Bowman Library, with support from the Menlo College Art Committee.
PHOTOS: ANDREY POLIAKOV
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uthor Kate Schatz and illustrator Miriam Klein Stahl discussed their books RAD American Women A-Z and RAD Women Worldwide at a campus-wide event at Menlo College in March 2017. The women met at Berkeley High School, where Schatz taught creative writing, and where Stahl teaches art.
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Jessica Carlson ’19, Maxwell Barnes ’19, Yasmin Gomez ’20, and Russell Perkins ’20
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University Innovation Fellows Honored in Pinning Ceremony
he University Innovation Fellows, a program of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school), was established by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation with funding from the National Science Foundation. The Fellows are a community of students leading a movement to ensure that they and their peers gain the necessary attitudes, skills and knowledge required to compete in the economy of the future. After four Menlo College students were selected as University Innovation Fellows in 2017, they were recognized in a pinning ceremony honoring their service as change agents. Menlo College students Maxwell Barnes ’19, Jessica Carlson ’19, Yasmin Gomez ’20, and Russell Perkins ’20 were among the representatives of 58 institutions from 7 countries who joined the program this year. The four students attended a 12-week training program that included workshops on design thinking and “the power of saying yes” within an organization. The students’ training culminated in a Silicon Valley Meetup with 300 other Fellows and faculty sponsors that included visits to Google, Microsoft, and SAP. Jessica Carlson ’19 is focused on improving diversity by creating a team to compete in a Microsoft Challenge to improve diversity and inclusion in higher education. Yasmin Gomez ’20, a first generation college student, plans to find ways to acknowledge diversity in innovation and entrepreneurship. “It’s not just about race and gender. We’re asking how we might bring out diversity,” Gomez explained. 10 S U M M E R 2 017
Maxwell Barnes ’19 wants to work on creating an innovation space on campus. Russell Perkins ’20 said, “This experience opened my eyes to how much people are willing to help if asked. It’s all about innovating with purpose. We’re trying to make big impacts on the world. We’ve got to feel vulnerable first in order to do that.” Menlo College President Richard Moran attributed Menlo College trustee Tom Byers as “the igniter who made all of this happen.” Professor Byers is a professor at the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, where he focuses on high-growth entrepreneurship and technology innovation education. Carlson read an inspirational quote by Meetup speaker Daniel Seddiqui from notes she took at the training program. Seddiqui is a Bay Area job-hunting expert and cultural analyst who worked 50 different jobs in 50 states in 50 weeks, which he captured in 50 Jobs in 50 States - One Man's Journey of Discovery across America.
Happy 90th birthday, Menlo College! Welcome to the special section celebrating 90 years of providing excellent education in intensive classes tailored to bring out the talents of each student. In 1927, Menlo was a small, two-year men’s college with a student population that was mostly white and affluent. Today, it’s a four-year college for men and women from diverse demographics and ethnicities. In this section, you can see how Menlo College changed through the decades. And you will hear the voices of alumni describing the atmosphere of each era. They will tell you why Menlo College has been loved by so many people for so long.
Alumnus Michael Lilly, student of sociology professor Jan Dyksrta, shown here, says: “Jan is truly the paradigm of a perfect professor. He is not only caring with a thirst to teach, but he truly wants his students to learn.”
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The spirit of Menlo is a very difficult thing to describe, but it is certain that our life here is dynamic. This is not a preparation for life, IT IS LIFE. We do not recognize Menlo as a temporary sojourn while waiting to get somewhere else. The spirit is to live the life of Menlo while we are here with the hope that we will assimilate constructive ideals and habits that will mark the “Menlo Man” when he goes -- Dr. Lowry Howard, President Menlo School and Junior College, 1927 elsewhere.
TIMELINE
Drawings from Lowry Howard’s The Story of Menlo: Past Present, and Future, 1931.
1927 | February—Dr. Lowry Howard becomes President of Menlo School, a small boys’ preparatory institution located on the former Fife estate in what is now Atherton, California.
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1927 | March—Dr. Howard and Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur, President of Stanford University, begin planning a new joint venture whereby Menlo will expand its program to include the first two years of undergraduate education for all Stanford students. Menlo’s new two-year college is expected to eventually move to a site near the Stanford Golf Course.
1927 | July—Lacking dorms for the expected college students, Menlo College rents the first of three houses in Palo Alto for off-campus residences. Students will commute to class via school buses.
The Twenties Let us rejoice that we are living in a peaceful age. Inventions that improve communication between nations tend to peace. As soon as we know our foreign brothers intimately we will not want to fight them, we will want to understand them . . . The present generation has this matter of no more wars in its own hands. How are you going to act in the light of your knowledge of what has happened in the past?
1927 | September—Menlo’s twoyear men’s college opens its doors to 27 new students! The curriculum includes such core subjects as Latin, rhetoric, and philosophy. Within months, the new institution also has a drama club, a full music program, and a football team.
--Dr. Howard, President, speaking on Armistice Day, 1929
1928—The first on-campus dorm, called Upper House, helps alleviate severe crowding for the college’s 112 students, and the student newspaper, eventually called the Oak and Acorn, publishes its first issue.
1929—A student union, constructed in the lower floor of a second on-campus dorm, provides a soda fountain and sandwich bar, a barber shop, a bookstore and a pool and game room.
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Today, modern methods of transportation, manufacturing, and living have been radically changed. Any young person can now gain information and knowledge about matters that took him thirty or forty years of actual experience to learn thirty years ago, without the pains and fatalities it took before, and he can put them to use. What this generation needs, and should be endeavoring to form, is a new code of ideals and morals that is economically fit.
--Student editorialist in Menlo’s college newspaper, February 28, 1930
TIMELINE
LEFT: Commencement class of 1934. ABOVE: Menlo’s track team produced Olympic athletes.
1930 | The Menlo College track team, organized the year before, wins its league championship. Pole vaulter William W. Miller (’32) goes on to win a gold medal at the 1932 Olympics and discus thrower Gordon G. Dunn (’33) wins silver at the Olympics in 1936. Teams at Menlo include water polo, tennis, basketball, soccer and rugby.
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1931 | Menlo begins to feel the Great Depression. Charles F. Michaels, President of the Board of Trustees, quietly saves the college with large, no-interest loans to the institution. Construction is finished on the east wing of El Camino Hall, which will eventually include a west wing (built in 1941) and a large, charming room that will become the Russell Center.
1932 | Stanford University drops a proposed venture with the College for jointly providing undergraduate education. Menlo graduates continue to transfer to Stanford and the institutions share faculty. Enrollment drops and Menlo–along with the country – experiences financial stress. President Howard informs faculty that they must take their third 10 percent cut unless their annual salary falls below $800.
The Thirties The smoker [a sports rally at the Barbecue Pit] maintained the standard of the first gathering with its abundance of cigars, entertainment, refreshments, prizes, and yells. Coaches Heinecke and Hughes talked on the prospects of the football team. Skipper Renwick outlined the soccer outlook in a few words. Charles Bubb entertained the students with an illustrated trumpet lesson on triple-tonguing and fast scales. As Menlo students gathered around the Barbecue Pit fire and boomed forth school yells and songs, a new Menlo Spirit rose from the embers. A new confidence in Menlo, a spirit of cooperation in activities and classes has been growing these first few weeks of school. Opportunity for experience is available in many lines. Music, publications, dramatics, student government, photography, athletics, debating, radio work, social affairs, and skiing. -- Editorial Board, Oak and Acorn student newspaper, October 14, 1938
1936 | Dean William Kratt agrees to coach a polo team though he has never ridden a horse! He also coaches the golf team and becomes a lifelong player.
1938 | Campus student leaders debate whether the U.S. should take action against German expansionism. “War is Hell!� declares one student editorial.
1939 | Financial difficulties ease and enrollment reaches 150. Campus clubs flourish, including the Triad Club open to students who show leadership and are in the top 10% of their class. Members of the Mask and Wig drama club write and stage elaborate theatre productions regularly performed for packed houses of cheering students and their dates. MENLO COLLEGE
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When I enrolled at Menlo College in 1940, the campus had a very pastoral setting, almost like being on a farm. I had come from Los Angeles at a time when Hollywood was really booming, and now I was out in the country, surrounded by big estates, quiet roads, and some very beautiful landscapes. It was quite a change. Menlo was a small, all-male school then, and we had to wear a coat and tie to dinner every night. Because it was a small school, I developed very close relationships with the faculty, which significantly bolstered my interests in classical music, art and literature, interests that I still have today.
--Wilfred “Bill” Fletcher ’42
TIMELINE
LEFT: Students board a TWA flight for a faculty-led trip to Europe and the Middle East. RIGHT: Roy Pryor teaches radio repair to support Menlo radio station, KOAK.
1941 | After the Pearl Harbor attack raises alarms about the safety of the West Coast, Menlo prepares for wartime with classes such as fire protection, a counseling program preparing students for battle, installation of a rifle range under the gymnasium, and voluntary efforts, such as a fundraising program that donates three jeeps to the armed forces.
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1942 | As students face rationing of butter, meat, and other “luxuries,” one expresses the campus stoicism: “The Union as well as the kitchen is having a rough time in getting enough to supply all the boys at Menlo. In the future, let’s remember that this is war and we must do our bit.”
1944 | Beloved President Lowry Howard suffers a severe heart attack and must step down. The next year, Menlo Dean William Kratt returns from military service to accept the role as president. Law professor John D. (“Judge”) Russell also returns from service to teach, mentor students, and eventually fill various positions, including as the director.
The Forties When I first encountered Menlo’s bucolic campus I was a wide-eyed 16-year-old in an all-male, all-white student body, attending classes and participating in sports with a goodly number of very mature returning veterans of WWII. Things have changed with the passing of time. Menlo is now coed and has a more diverse student body, ethnically and geographically—all changes for the better. Certain things remain the same, however: the safe, park-like campus, and the caring, nurturing faculty, who work tirelessly to help every student reach their full potential. A Menlo education comes as close as possible to an Oxford tutorial, and it prepared me well for my lifelong journey in business, community causes, public service, the U.S. military, education and diplomacy. I shall be forever grateful for this priceless gift. --John Henry Felix ’49 1945 | Of 1,300 Menlo alumni who joined the service, 51 give their lives.
dormitories, one of which is wryly called Stalag 17 by its occupants.
1946 | With the help of the G.I. Bill, military veterans flock to colleges, including Menlo. By spring semester, college enrollment is a record 192 students.
1948 | The Commons dining hall is completed. Eventually, this building will be converted to the Bowman Library. A two-year-old football team, the San Francisco 49ers, begins professional practices on Menlo fields, with players such as Y.A. Tittle mingling with students at lunch.
1947 | With housing needs rising, Menlo purchases metal Quonset huts from Army surplus to create two
1949 | Dr. William Kratt presides over the founding of a School of Business Administration (SBA) at Menlo. The four-year SBA program runs parallel with the two-year Letters and Sciences (L&S) curriculum, and the institution is re-named Menlo School and Menlo College.
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It has been sixty years since I graduated from Menlo, yet I still consider those golden years as one of the great learning experiences of my life. While at Menlo I had the unique honor of being instructed by “Judge” Russell, F. Philler Curtis, Donovan Fischer, Edgar Weaver, Leon Loofbourow, Chris Connor, J. Crooks, and other icons of the Menlo faculty. Weaver, Fischer, Loofbourow, and others lived on campus as Dorm Masters and ate in the Commons, along with other faculty members. Even the wives of Fischer and Loofbourow joined them at evening meals. The faculty families never sat at a special table but joined the students, and this informality formed a bond that to this day lives on in our hearts. --Michael Paige ’54
TIMELINE
LEFT: John D. (Judge) Russell, Director of the School of Business, front right, encourages the Glee Club. RIGHT: Menlo College memorabilia.
1953 | Menlo begins purchasing acreage on Alejandra Drive from the Gilmore estate for the track and athletic fields.
1955 | John D. Russell becomes Director of Menlo College, both its two and four-year programs, a position he holds until 1977.
1954 | Palo Alto architect Kingsford Jones presides over a campus-wide building boom, blending his mid-century style with the older California Revival buildings on campus. Students move into Howard and Michaels Hall.
SBA student Nick Reynolds meets Bob Shane in accounting class. At night, they enjoy jamming with Bob’s Stanford friend Dave Guard, mostly covers of Harry Belafonte and the Weavers. By 1958, the first album of The Kingston Trio creates a sensation with the hit “Tom Dooley.”
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1956 | Ground is broken for the Florence Moore Science and Engineering Building, financed by a quiet philanthropist who donates large grants to further education in California. This classroom complex and 228-seat auditorium replaces the re-purposed Officers’ Club from WWI.
The Fifties My sophomore year, 1955, I was a member of our basketball team. Our team was good during my freshman year, but it was outstanding the next year. I was the captain. Our coach Mr. Penn had recruited some wonderful players, in particular Mike Preseau and John Koljian. We had practiced all of October and November and were ready for our season opener. The first week of December, Mr. Penn died. Needless to say the team went into shock; we were devastated but there was no time to hire a new coach, so our Athletic Director Bo Molenda stepped in as our coach. Now Bo was a great football coach, but did not have any plays or defenses for basketball. He was a great motivator, however, and he understood the game. Thanks to Mike and John we ended up beating Hartnell, which tied us with San Jose City College for the league championship.
1956 | Plans are drawn for athletic fields and a track across Alejandra Drive from the main campus. Construction follows years later when use agreements are ironed out between Menlo, campus neighbors, the Town of Atherton, and the Gilmore Corporation selling the land. Football coach John “Bo” Molenda inspires his players to one of three championships in the decade.
The playoff game was in San Jose. The gym was packed and loud; San Jose was leading 66-67 with 3 seconds to go and our forward Jed Warner threw up a hook shot from the right side and . . . swish, we won 68-67. --David Diestel ’55, SBA ’57
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Judge Russell, Carlos Lopez, Patrick Tobin, Captain Walters, just to name a few, are the reasons that I am so dedicated to Menlo, not only for the education they offered, but for their personal approach. My friendship with people like Judge and Carlos after graduation was huge. I am especially grateful for the many letters I received from them while serving a year in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. These gave me so much hope and support and, frankly, without those kind words, my tour would have been much more difficult. --Karl Ludwig Buder ’66
TIMELINE
LEFT: Students wear collared shirts and sport jackets to class. RIGHT: Brawner Hall completes the campus building boom. Photo Tom Haflinger ‘06
1962 | Menlo’s School of Business Administration (SBA) is granted national accreditation, and the college entrance is moved from Alejandra Drive to El Camino Real. The former dining hall is converted to a state of the art library. The Jon G. Bowman family generously donates funds for the project in memory of their son Timothy Dillon Bowman, for whom the library is named.
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1966 | Inspired by the Civil Rights movement sweeping the U.S., several Menlo College students ask administrators why the college does not admit African-Americans. Patrick Tobin, Professor of Humanities, writes eloquently about the need for integration and a student says, “Get Black students on campus and not just a token two.” Two years later, Director of Admissions F. Philler Curtis welcomes the first African-American students.
1967 | The Menlo Committee for Cultural Advancement (MeCCA), a student group advised by Professor Jan Dykstra, takes a campus-wide poll regarding issues involving the Vietnam conflict, which has raged for three years. About a third of the students support the war, about a third wish the U.S. would withdraw, and about a third think other factors are in play, such as it is “too late to back out.”
The Sixties
Upon arrival at Menlo, I remember the warm reception by Director of Alumni Relations Dorothy Skala and Director of Menlo College John (Judge) Russell, the friendly teachers and the perfect educational environment for me. The low student/ teacher ratio allowed for everyone to be involved in class. After studying during the weeknights, a gallon of “Rouge Mountain” would enhance discussions on political and social philosophies. Sometimes those of us who had turned twenty-one would saunter to Menlo Park to the Round Table Pizza where we consumed large Italian sausage and pepperoni pizzas costing about $2.00, prepared by the friendly pizza makers of Greek ancestry. Pitchers of beer costing about 80 cents each accompanied the pizza. The weekend social events were largely off-campus dances with live bands organized by the social committee. These offered us the opportunity to meet those of the opposite sex from other schools in the Bay Area. The frosting on my Menlo College cake was joining Professor Patrick Tobin’s study tour group beginning in Spain and continuing on through North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt), Greece, Italy, Switzerland and France. ~Michael S.F. Chun ’66
1969 | Brawner Hall, with its distinctive clock, anchors the south edge of the campus, providing state-of-the art classrooms. The theatre in its basement earns its nickname “The Pit,” from a snag in architect Kingsford Jones’s plans. He was informed by an Atherton official that his three-story building was a half story too tall for Town regulations. Jones asks the construction crew to slope landscaping so only 2 ½ stories peek above ground level.
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In 1972 I called Menlo College to find out about the school and what it could mean for me. Dorothy Skala asked, “Is this for you or for your son?” It was for me, though I was a mother of three. My husband had accepted a position as Director of Personnel at Stanford University and I wanted to further my education. Menlo was one of the best experiences of my life. Although I chose Accounting as my career choice, my classes with John “Judge” Russell almost changed my mind. When I graduated in 1974 along with two other women, my entire family was there with me to celebrate. --Barbara Sarpa ’74
TIMELINE
LEFT: Professor Donald J. Albers and student use a state of the art electronic calculator. RIGHT: Women were first admitted in 1971.
1970 | President O’Brien appoints a committee to study the possibility of coeducation. This is partly in response to a letter from student Nelson Berry to Dean of Students Harold E. Munsterman regarding a disciplinary hearing for having a woman in his dorm room. Writes Berry, “College age individuals are required to fight 2 2 S U M M E R 2 017
for their country, yet they are not allowed a direct vote in the policies of their country. A similar situation exists at Menlo.” As feminists make their case across the country, students and faculty at Menlo debate what women could bring to the Menlo experience.
1970 | Earth Day at Menlo! President Richard F. O’Brien invites faculty and staff to a workday to remove the weedy asphalt of a closed road running through campus. They bring trucks, scoops, tractors, and a spirit of good cheer while replacing the tar with grass and trees. Everyone celebrates the pretty campus.
The Seventies I was one of the founders of PALMS (Pan Asian League of Menlo Students) and my most vivid memories involve that club and Patrick Tobin (may his soul rest in peace). PALMS needed money to operate, so we students tried many fund-raising ideas. Once, we rented the movie Lawrence of Arabia for a whole weekend. Ticket sales were dismal the first day and disaster loomed. So, someone came up with an ingenious idea. We asked a blond, blue eyed, red-blooded American student to volunteer to put on the clothing of a Bedouin Arab (borrowed from a Saudi student) and carry a sword (borrowed from another Saudi student) and asked him to ride a white horse (yes, borrowed from yet another Saudi student, who kept the horse in a ranch in Portola Valley) and run through campus and out onto Santa Cruz Avenue crying out to all within earshot to come and watch Lawrence of Arabia at Menlo College. We sold out for the entire weekend. Our coffers were full. --Amr Mohamed Khashoggi ’77
1970 | The new International Club, with Faisal al-Saud (’72) as president, celebrates a long history of international students at Menlo College. At the time, Menlo has about 80 foreign students representing 26 countries. The number is much higher today.
1971 | The first class of women is admitted to Menlo College. Provost Russell explains that education for life and leadership in the 1970s can best be realized in a learning situation that includes both sexes “on a normal, equal, and wholesome basis.”
1973 | The SBA and College introduce the “winterim” term of a new 4-1-4 year, with a month of study on special topics sandwiched between 4-month semesters. Professor Patrick Tobin and others lead world tours and introduce students to new areas of study.
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This era was a transition point for the college. We had the best of the past, such as the SBA; a wonderfully diverse, multi-national student body; and “Judge” still advising, mentoring and loving Menlo! And we also had hints of what would be great about Menlo’s future, such as the four-year sports teams, additional fouryear degree programs, and far better dining than SAGA. The past and the future sometimes conflicted, but what always remained true was Menlo’s care for our students, and the students’ care for one another. Menlo lasted for only four years of our lives, but our memories, friendships and connections to Menlo last a lifetime. Once an Oak, always an Oak! --John U. Rohrer ’89
TIMELINE
LEFT: Basketball coach Bud Presley instructs his winning team. RIGHT: Dorm rooms are almost as austere in the 1980s as this depiction from the 1930s.
1980 | The new Haynes-Prim Pavilion is dedicated in honor of its financiers from the Haynes and Prim families.
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1981 | Menlo College, which has had its own radio station since 1938 when its first radio tower was built on campus, opens the year with “bold new concepts in programming,” according to student engineer Ted Chavalas.
1987 | The Menlo College Letters and Sciences two-year program is expanded to four years so that students can complete undergraduate education without transferring. WASC accreditation for this “senior college” allows humanities students to graduate with SBA students. According to President Richard F. O’Brien, Menlo College becomes “the only small, residential, coeducational, non-sectarian college in Northern California.”
The Eighties Menlo College. When I first started there, there was no gym. The front parking lot extended to just in front of the dining hall we called “Saga.” Kratt Hall, El Camino Hall, and College Hall were dorms for all boys. Howard and Michael Halls, all girls. The campus was small, secure, and beautiful. Struggling with two big suitcases and a couple of boxes, I made my way to Howard Hall, my first place of residence. I was feeling a bit anxious, but more excited than anything else. I think I was in room B4. Settling in was easy. I had a fabulous roommate and the dorm room was bigger than I expected, with a big window that let in the bright California sun. The bathrooms down the hall were clean, and there was an outdoor swimming pool right across from the dorm. I felt that I was ready to spend the next four years of my life there.
1989 | After 32 years at Menlo College, beloved Dorothy Skala, Director of Alumni Relations/Placement, retires. Starting in 1957 as secretary to School of Business Administration director John Russell, she has mentored countless students. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation awards Menlo $300,000 for faculty and curricular development, a grant
that tops decades of extraordinary support from the Hewlett family. Rosemary Hewlett is also instrumental in the Menlo College faculty exchange program with Oxford University in Britain and in the development of the Bowman Library, providing many hours of her valuable time.
--Francie Ohara Namigai SBA ’80
Menlo College introduces a course on desktop publishing whereby Susannah Barber, the new head of the Communication Department, plans to teach design with Page Maker, “one of the most advanced desktop publishing computer programs offered to the public.”
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As an international student thousands of miles away from home, I cherished the family-like environment. Furthermore, the ease of access to faculty allowed for an excellent educational experience. The business classes ably combined invaluable lessons from academia and professional experience. I will always remember the lively discussion on Pixar’s IPO with Professor Donna Little. Professor Craig Medlen made the topic of economics interesting! In the international business classes, Professor Michael Schultz exposed us early on to the powerful notion of globalization. I am thankful to Menlo College for providing a home and inspiring my professional path. --Theodora Maradjieva Jamison ’98
TIMELINE
LEFT: Professor Lowell Pratt brings his knowledge of classics and contemporary literature to the classroom. RIGHT: Student R. J. Goldberg celebrates, 1991.
1992 | New Menlo College president John (Rick) Berthold reviews the relationship between the school and the college. He concludes that to avoid bureaucratic redundancies and to best serve their student populations, the two institutions should separate.
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1993 | Under the leadership of Dean James Waddell, Menlo College institutes a Professional Studies Program (PSP). This allows working adults and anyone interested in business management to complete a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree through evening classes.
Menlo College Trustee Rosemary Hewlett and her husband William provide a $1 million grant for a Visiting Scholars program, allowing professors from around the world to study and lecture at Menlo for a semester or a year.
The Nineties What was one of my most important experiences at Menlo College? I met my future wife Elizabeth (Elizabeth Reed ’91) in Dr. Marilyn Thomas’s class. I needed an upper division English class and so I signed up for one that met in the boardroom at Brawner. While Dr. Thomas was breaking down twentieth century literature, she also unwittingly served as matchmaker for Liz and me. I grew up in San Francisco and went to a large public high school, so when I first came to Menlo College I was struck by the bucolic, private campus and I thought, “I could get used to this.” At Menlo College, we did not get a handed-down education like you would have in a larger institution, but rather, faculty, students, and administrators all participated in a collegial environment. I counted my professors amongst my friends, calling many by their first names—Lowell (Pratt), Al (Jacobs), Pete (Arnovick) and Kurt (Servos). I knew them as not only incredibly learned people, but also as distinct personalities. They taught us students the work habits of collegiality, building on the strength of others, and those work habits have extended into my career long after Menlo. --Wilson D. Bean ’90
1994 | Professors Dr. Marilyn Thomas and Dr. Eugene Bales begin teaching at Harris Manchester College, part of Oxford College in Great Britain. They are Menlo College’s first faculty members to participate in a multi-college exchange program spearheaded by John Henry Felix (’49). Dr. Felix continues to generously support this program.
Dr. Berthold and the Board of Trustees begin the separation of the college and school by creating two separate boards and three entities: the school, the college, and a parent company with a supporting charity that handles matters concerning both the school and college, such as the shared dining facilities and sports fields.
1995 | Menlo College streamlines the SBA and L&S degrees under one umbrella. After heated discussions, members of the Menlo College faculty shift from a liberal arts and business administration instructional program to a “more unified management course of studies.” Thus, Menlo College becomes a united, four-year School of Management. MENLO COLLEGE
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It was cold and muggy out as I headed toward Brawner Hall and I wished I had hot chocolate to accompany me. And there it was in the hallway—hot chocolate with cookies. Then I went to the library to study and starting getting really hungry, but, not wanting to break my concentration or leave the building, I wished there were cookies. And then someone brought in a huge tray of cookies! My point isn’t about the food, but about the little details that the staff, professors, and the entire Menlo community took into consideration and provided. One of the plus sides of having attended Menlo is the requirement to take business classes, which really expanded my frame of reference and gave me a sense of being an entrepreneur. --Loan Thach ’11
TIMELINE
LEFT: Graduates at 2014 Commencement. RIGHT: Drawing of the Russell Center from Lowry Howard’s The Story of Menlo: Past Present, and Future, 1931.
2009 | The first Señor Carlos Lopez Memorial Soccer Tournament is held in honor of the beloved professor of history, soccer coach, chairman of the humanities department, and president of Menlo College.
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2010 | After almost twenty years of discussions and negotiations, Menlo School and Menlo College complete the separation of their two institutions. Menlo College affiliates with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) sports league.
2011 | Menlo College introduces three new majors in Accounting, Finance, and Marketing. The other majors are International Management, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Marketing Communications, Psychology, Real Estate, and Sports Management.
A New Century When I walked around the campus for the first time there was a peacefulness that resonated through the beauty of the oak trees and open lawns. I became so anxious to start my journey at Menlo that I got my first job in the Menlo bookstore a few weeks before my freshmen year started. This was great because I got to meet and greet instructors, students, and visitors. Beyond the personalized education, I valued my ability to grow as a leader. At larger institutions, being proactive is more challenging and time-consuming. I truly enjoyed being the President of the African American Student Union because we shared unfamiliar cultural events and issues with the entire student body. I remember a talent show contest we hosted in the Florence Moore Building theater, inspired by the popular “Apollo Amateur Night” from the syndicated television show “It’s Showtime at the Apollo.” Menlo students showcased their singing, dancing, or comedy skills. The energy that night was phenomenal! I am a Mass Communications graduate; however, the overall experience at Menlo best prepared me to be a great business leader.
~David Lamar Williams-Pinkney ’02
2014 | Menlo College receives accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), an honor that only 5% of the world’s undergraduate business schools have achieved.
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The Dinner Party
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On March 15, the Menlo College Art Committee under the direction of Erik Bakke, Director of the Writing Center and Intensive English Program, hosted a reception for an exhibition of student art work entitled “Diversity.” Also on view was “The Dinner Party,” an installation featuring students from Professor Mark Hager’s Psychology of Women in Organizations class. The exhibit was in the style of “The
Dinner Party,” an installation artwork created by feminist artist Judy Chicago, depicting historical women who are invited to an imaginary dinner party. For the psychology class, students examined the life of a prominent woman of the 20th or 21st century, exploring issues of social and cultural capital and challenges of voice and embodiment women experience in social contexts. As Chicago did, students created table settings for their historical guests, including a plate representing key elements of their lives and a table runner signifying important social issues and individuals who had been strong influences. The exhibit challenged viewers to consider their own experiences of social roles and gender and invited them to nominate their own guests, prompting discussions about who would be interesting, appropriate, or provocative. Dr. Hager presented his ongoing research on the course at the December 2016 meeting of the Oxford Women’s Leadership Symposium at Somerville College, Oxford University, UK.
Pictured on the opposite page are students at the reception for “The Dinner Party” and art by some of the artists, including the photo above.
The exhibition “Diversity” featured the artwork of Menlo College students as well as two works by guest artist Kitty Teng. Some of the artists took diversity as a theme for their subject matter and others offered diverse approaches to media and aesthetics. On display were works discussing feminism, the presidency, justice, equality, beauty, Homo sapiens’ place in the universe, and natural and supernatural worlds. Some of the diverse media included makeup, paint, pencil, fabric, photography, and found material. Menlo College Student Artists include: Brooks Carillo • Jessica Carlson • Colin Casey • Vanessa Dixon • Max Hauser • Michael Hauser • Madison Holm • Xiuqi Huang • Ashlee Hunt • Kyle Lewis • Koa Luty • Diana Marquez • Danielle McCarthy • Samantha Newman • Gionn Peralta • Russell Perkins • Jason Sisneros • Sophia Stein • Kaylin Swart • Trey Taniguchi • Cristhy Trejo Cruz • Jessica Valenzuela • Colin Wan • Natalie Washington • Brittany Woods-Orrison • Hanyu Ye MENLO COLLEGE
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Advancement Office Name Change Reflects its Mission As the Advancement Office evolves, it is important to have a name reflective of the overall goals. The newly named Office of Alumni Engagement and Development has a mission to develop a robust culture of philanthropy that is focused and manifested through meaningful, effective constituent engagement that includes programs, events, communications, volunteer opportunities and increased philanthropic opportunities with alumni, parents and families, students and other supporters of the College.
Alumni are the core and foundation of support for the College. We are committed to developing a lifelong relationship with all members of the Menlo family. We intend to do so through relevant programming, events, activities and engagement opportunities. In partnership with our alumni, we will continue to ignite potential in our students and increase the brand of the College.
Our annual OAKS-in-Industry event was held in March 2017 at Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company. Many thanks to owner and alumnus Chris Garrett ’94 for his support as the host for the evening. The event was a success with great growth potential. We hope to see you there next year!
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THANK YOU TO ALL SPONSORS, DONORS, AND SUPPORTERS! Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company, GW & Wade, Avantgard Spa, Angel Island/Tiburon Ferry, Bay Club, Capers Eat and Drink/Loft Bar & Bistro, Divine Winery, Lindsay Wildlife Experience, Moran Manor, Oakland Symphony, Old World Spirits, Pizzeria Delfina, Serenity Day Spa, Bash Catering, The 515 Band, Smuin Contemporary Ballet, St. George Spirits, The Wine Project, Winchester Mystery House, Piacera Restaurant, Howie Dallmar ’74, Chris Garrett ’94, David C. Irmer Sr. ’58, Harry Kellogg ’63, Bruce Paton and Geir Ramleth ’87.
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APOLLO NIGHT 2017 Apollo Night is always an amazing event! For the last two years I have had a role in making sure it went on without a hitch. Though this event is hosted by the Black Student Union, it is open to everyone no matter their skin color or belief, and to me, this is symbolic. At a time when there is such a great divide, events like this help bring us all together. Apollo Night this year brought together many different talents and many different ethnic backgrounds, which paid off in great entertainment for the cheering audience. I thank the Menlo Community and Menlo College BSU for the support in making this event happen year after year!
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--Braxton Liddell ‘18
American Red Cross and Menlo College Keep Close Ties
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enlo College alumnus Hanna Malak ‘12 accepted a new position in the development department for the American Red Cross in San Francisco. He is working with the Leadership Education and Development Program (LEAD), designed to enhance leadership capacity. LEAD supports employees to develop their knowledge, skills, and experiences to excel in any area of the organization. Part of Malak’s duties will be working with local organizations to ensure that the Red Cross has the resources needed to execute their humanitarian mission. Malak has been a committed supporter of the Red Cross for many years. Under his leadership, Menlo College’s Red Cross Club nearly tripled blood donations. Malak was also on the American Red Cross National Youth Council, and he was selected for the 2010-11 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) American Red Cross Leadership Program. Menlo College’s collaboration with the Red Cross has continued with student volunteers Carolina Velez ‘18 and Matthew Manning ’17. In 2017, Women's Soccer player Carolina Velez will be representing Menlo College in the Red Cross/NAIA Collegiate Leadership Program. This prestigious program is open to all NAIA student-athletes around the country, and offers a $2,000 scholarship. The Red Cross and the NAIA are working together to inspire a diverse Red Cross volunteer leadership by exemplifying the values of the NAIA "Champions of Character" program. The program allows student-athletes to give back to the school
Hanna Malek ’12 with Carolina Velez ’18 (left), and Matthew Manning ’17 (right)
and community by becoming Red Cross ambassadors recruiting blood donors on their college campus. Velez said, "Keith Lambert (former Women's Soccer Head Coach and current Men's Soccer Head Coach) reached out to me thinking I would excel if I was accepted into the program, so I applied," Velez stated. "I am extremely excited to represent Menlo College in Washington, D.C., and I can only imagine how much I will learn these next two years." After completion of the program in D.C. this summer, Carolina will lead the blood drives on campus next year.
27 units of blood, ending the drive with 37 units. The energy and passion that donors bring to drives is contagious and truly makes my job easy." As one of the nation’s premier humanitarian organizations, the American Red Cross is dedicated to helping people in need throughout the United States and, in association with other Red Cross networks, throughout the world. They depend on the many generous contributions of time, blood, and money from the American public to support lifesaving services and programs.
Matt Manning ‘17, Senior Class President, has volunteered to coordinate the blood drives at Menlo College this year. "Our blood drive was a great success, and we absolutely smashed our goal of collecting
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In Memoriam Professor Grant Rollin, 1947-2016 Menlo College mourns the passing of Grant Rollin, Adjunct Professor of Accounting. He died suddenly on December 30, 2016. Menlo College President Richard Moran referred to Professor Rollin as someone who made an impact on the College broadly, and in particular, on the students who were privileged to attend one of his classes. Professor Rollin spent 18 years with Deloitte & Touche in its San Francisco office, including seven years as Partner-in-Charge of services to emerging entrepreneurial companies. His loyalty to Deloitte & Touche was evident in a recent letter he wrote to the editor of the Menlo Advantage regarding a story about a Menlo alumnus who accepted a job at Deloitte. He noted, “Speaking from experience…good choice.” Professor Rollin held senior management positions in a number of Silicon Valley companies, including as a founding employee of the San Jose Sharks, the Chairman and CFO of Canna Group, and a co-founder of Certent (formerly EASi). He was also a founder and Chairman of Equity Administration Solutions, Inc., and a founding Chairman of the US Chamber of Commerce's Small Business International Committee. Professor Rollin received his MBA from Michigan State University, and his BBA in accounting from Western Michigan University. The Menlo College community joins many others in the Bay Area and beyond in our expression of sorrow over Professor Rollin’s passing.
Theodore A. Anastasopulos ‘52 1932–2016 A member of one of the pioneer Greek families in Hawaii, Theodore A. Anastasopulos, died at home in Kailua on December 10, 2016. Anastasopulos received a Master’s Degree in Education from State College Boston in 1968. He taught for many years at Honolulu’s Central Intermediate School and later, at his alma mater, Roosevelt. In 1965, Ted, and his parents and sister founded Saints Constantine and Helen Cathedral of the Pacific. He served in various leadership positions over the years, including Parish Council President.
Ted Anastopulos '52 at A Legacy of Menlo Alumni; in Hawaii, an 85th anniversary reception hosted by John Henry Felix ‘49 at the Waiale Country Club in 2013.
IN MEMORIAM Joseph "Joe" Stroube ‘47, 1929–2016, Corsicana and Dallas, Texas Friend Adams ‘55, 1933–2017, Plantation, Florida Richard Swanzy Morgan ‘41, 1926–2016, Honolulu, Hawaii Frederick Lawson Adams Jr. ‘48, 1928 – 2016, Pebble Beach, California
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Denzell O. Perry Rises to Fame with the Boys & Girls Club
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enzell Perry’s introduction to the Boys & Girls Club began when he was a six-year-old struggling with a learning disability. In the California city of Compton, Perry’s mother struggled to support and feed her family, but she, along with Perry’s grandmother, significantly shaped his foundation in life, which included a fundamental faith in God. When he had not begun to speak at age five, Perry’s family introduced him to the Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club in Los Angeles. The introduction changed his life. In the years since, Perry found his voice, and his involvement with the club grew with a succession of increased responsibilities that shaped him into a national youth leader. Along the way, Perry’s faced multiple adversities: he lost multiple loved ones, including his brother and cousin due to gun violence; four of his closest childhood friends are deceased, and one is serving a 10-year sentence in prison. Perry credits the Boys & Girls Club with keeping him “off the streets and out of gangs.” In 2012, in one of the highlights of his association with the Boys & Girls Club, he was selected as one of five candidates at the
National Youth of the Year Awards in Washington, DC, where he met former President Barack Obama. Perry said “President Obama told me to never put a restriction on how far you can go in life.” Perry was attending UC Irvine when his childhood friend and then-Menlo College student Jacobi Patterson ’16 introduced to him to Menlo College. When Perry visited his friend on campus, he recalled the “Menlo family culture,” and discovered that Provost Terri Givens and Menlo College Trustee Sean Mendy were involved in the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula. He decided to transfer to Menlo College. Perry said, “The level of opportunities for students at Menlo College has made all the difference for me.” Perry is a junior, majoring in Human Resources at Menlo College, and a high school success coordinator at the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula. The Peninsula Club partners with parents, schools, and the community in academic enrichment, school engagement, targeted dropout prevention, and character development for youth. He has an opportunity there to work under Michael Jones, a senior director who has motivated and inspired Perry.
At Menlo, Perry also serves as the executive director of a campus organization called Black Educated Men (BeMen), which serves to educate and change the perception of men of color in society. In his role as an advocate for youth at Menlo College, Perry recently called on his network to help a fellow Menlo College student procure an internship recommendation for Ernest & Young. Perry said unassumingly, “Someone did it for me.”
Alexandra “Allie” Winkler Shares Accounting Skills in the VITA Program
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llie Winkler is a co-site coordinator for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. “Tax return preparation can be very expensive,” she said. “If you make under $54,000, you qualify for free help. Our services, and the possibility of getting a refund are first-rate reasons to make an appointment with us!” Winkler wanted a small community-feeling place when she set out for college, and Menlo College fit the bill. Winkler is an accounting major who interned with Price-WaterhouseCoopers last summer. She already has a job offer in auditing that she will start in September. During her time at Menlo, she worked part-time, helping a local CPA with tax work. “I’ve learned so much there,” she said. Winkler is a peer tutor and a note taker in the Academic Success Center, and she is President of the Beta Alpha Psi accounting honors society. “I’m happy that I’ve had a great experience at Menlo,” Winkler said. “Professor Little was a huge help getting me up to speed with the program. Course material in the entrepreneurship class was unique. I particularly liked the case studies where we learned about businesses in Silicon Valley. A lot of what we learn here at Menlo, we’ll be able to take into the field.”
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Amaryon Bates, A Model Student
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maryon Bates had a one-in-a million experience while selling luxury accessories and sportswear at a part-time job at Michael Kors in the Stanford Shopping Mall. As they say in the modeling world, he was discovered. A representative from the modeling trade noticed him, and recommended that he consider a modeling career. Bates, who had never modeled before, checked out his chances, and he was immediately chosen to sign a two-year contract with Look Model Agency in San Francisco. “My business classes at Menlo College really helped me with that contract,” he said. “Menlo gave me tools that I was able to use for the transaction. I think of Menlo as a knowledge source!” After his first two months at Look, he has an agent, and he has already spent a day modeling for Jansport backpacks. In his first commercial photo shoot, he spent the day with a backpack posing in a car, skateboarding, and walking up and down the streets of San Francisco. Bates hasn’t always made wearing the best colors his priority. He refers to his hometown Sacramento as a close-knit family town. He spent most of his time playing basketball and participating in track & field. When he was in high school, he started his own t-shirt line when he worked part-time at a silk screen shop. Bates has also marketed for The Streetwear Truck, a mobile clothing retail store. Located inside of a 20-foot step van, The Streetwear Truck is a store filled with local clothing brands including t-shirts, shorts, hats, and accessories. “That’s where I learned to express myself through clothes,” he said. To market his clothing line, he also learned about event planning, contractual agreements, and media promotion. Bates is a finance major and President of the Black Student Union (BSU). After graduation from Menlo College, he hopes to start his own business as a marketing consultant.
PHOTO: DARCY BLAKE
His BSU involvement with events such as the recent Apollo Night have added to his event-planning skills. “I’ve always been into business,” he explained. “I started out as a kid selling energy drinks at events, and all of my experiences have helped me learn how to run a business.” Bates is not the first Menlo College student to pursue part-time modeling, and will no doubt not be the last. The College’s location in the Bay Area, with San Francisco so close by, makes it ideal. Adding yet more diversity to his professional experience, Bates was delighted when he was accepted to work at the Super Bowl last year. He proudly emphasized, “I’m the only student at Menlo who did that!”
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Love is Defined in an Exhibit at the Menlo College Library “What is Love,” a song by American singer, music producer, and Fox primetime actress V Bozeman, is also the subject of a survey by Menlo College student Anna Gurevich ‘19. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Adjunct Professor Jessie Bingham’s Human Motivation psychology class looked at 100 definitions of love by famous people. Gurevich found the topic so interesting, she decided to encourage Menlo College students to write their own definitions, which she collected in a jar. Response to her project grew, and soon she had collected over 123 definitions. Eager to capitalize on the opportunity for people to read each other’s definitions, Gurevich exhibited her collection of definitions in Bowman Library.
Gurevich spent much of her childhood training as a gymnast in her hometown of Hamburg, Germany, before she came to Menlo College to major in sports management. Last semester, she took a break in her studies to volunteer in a media center for journalists at the Olympics in Brazil. “People at Menlo College don’t think differently about love than celebrities, or society in general,” said Gurevich. How does Gurevich define love? Her answer to the age-old question sounds like the beginning of an epic poem: “Love is where rationality ends and where the soul begins.”
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Among the 10 Safest College Campuses in America Ranked First in California and Fourth in the Nation as the Safest College Campus by Universities.com
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niversities.com recently ranked Menlo College first in California, and fourth in the nation as the safest college campus in America. Established in 1996, Universities.com is an online search site that provides information and rankings about colleges and universities for the college selection process. In their 2017 rankings, Menlo College received national recognition with these top scores. The report praised Menlo College’s campus security for aroundthe-clock work to make Menlo College one of the safest colleges in America. The review stated that the small private college’s low crime rates and location in Atherton, CA offers a “plethora of good reasons to feel safe on campus.”
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Menlo College was commended for their own LiveSafe mobile safety app. Students and staff can download the app to their Android or Apple smartphones for a quick and easy way to communicate with campus security. An exceptional feature of the app is the ability to send reports to security with GPS location tags, photos, video, and audio. Security personnel can easily send mass emergency alerts and safety tips to everyone who has downloaded the app. Other safety measures at Menlo College include a Campus Watch Program, similar to neighborhood watch programs, aimed at encouraging the entire campus community to take part in keeping one another safe. The school also hosts annual prevention programs on various safety issues, such as sexual assault and alcohol awareness.
Meet Andrea Peeters, Dean of Student Affairs
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arlier this semester, Andrea Peeters, M.A. was appointed as the new Dean of Student Affairs at Menlo College. Peeters brings 15 years of student-centered experience, most recently as Menlo’s Director of Student Success. In her new role, Peeters will collaborate with all campus partners to further enhance the Menlo student experience. “This role is a culmination of everything I love about working with students,” said Peeters. “Helping students realize not only the value of the college experience, but the importance of embracing their time at Menlo in order to have the world at their fingertips when they walk across the stage at commencement.” Peeters is from Santa Barbara, CA, where she worked as a high school guidance counselor and college adjunct faculty member for 9 years. Immediately prior to joining Menlo College in 2015, Peeters took a solo 8-month adventure across the country, where she explored the many cultures of the U.S. and took roots for a time in Durham, NC as a restaurant consultant.
PHOTO CREDIT: Justine Fiesta
Peeters holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Washington State University, a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Loyola Marymount University, and will receive her Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Capella University this year. She also holds a teaching credential and a secondary administrative credential from Cal Lutheran University. Her current research examines first-generation college student engagement as it pertains to their decision to return to college for their sophomore year.
Student Affairs provides support for clubs and events on campus to enrich the lives of all students, including the first “Color Run” hosted by the Menlo College Club Spectrum to raise awareness of LGBTQ issues. From left to right: Jessica Madison, Maya Mogensen, Bryce Etzler, Jessica Soliai. MENLO COLLEGE
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The GSAC Cliff Hamlow Award winners including Bryce Etzler fourth from the left in the front row, and Jonnythan Munkholm, third from the left in the back row.
Cliff Hamlow Champion of Character Award By Aaron Gillespie Sports Information Director
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he Cliff Hamlow Champion of Character Award is given to one male and one female studentathlete on each GSAC campus who demonstrates outstanding athletic achievement, campus and community leadership, future ambition and embraces the five core character values of the NAIA Champions of Character program (Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Sportsmanship and Servant Leadership). Student-athletes must be at least a junior academically and carry a 3.0 GPA. The award is named after former Commissioner Cliff Hamlow who served the conference from its inception in 1986 to 2012. Dr. Hamlow was also a key leader in the creation of the NAIA's Champions of Character program. Bryce Etzler – Cliff Hamlow Award Recipient Bryce Etzler, a member of the Menlo College Softball team, is one of the most involved individuals on and off-campus. She is in her second year as a resident assistant and is actively involved in planning events on campus, including the creation of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Menlo, where she cooked meals for the group during every weekly
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meeting. Within a matter weeks, the FCA became one of the largest group gatherings on campus. The softball team followed her lead, as Bryce helped Menlo assist in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Camp, where the team took part in interacting with youngsters through games and competition. She also played a vital role in working with the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, helping harness the power of female athletes to impact society. Her servant leadership is also on display at Sanctuary through Menlo Church, where she is a greeter and is actively involved in the church’s many service projects. Bryce has set up a mentorship opportunity between a few of the older women at Menlo Church and female students at Menlo. Despite missing a majority of the 2016 season with multiple injuries that lingered into the offseason, her willingness to embrace opportunities to contribute continued to shine. Jonnythan Munkholm – Cliff Hamlow Award Recipient Jonnythan Munkholm, a member of Menlo College Track & Field team, is a former men’s basketball player who made the transition in 2016. In his first year on the Track & Field team, he earned All-GSAC
honors in the Men’s High Jump and Men’s Triple Jump, finishing second and third, respectively. Using his basketball knowledge, he volunteers at local basketball tournaments and camps on the operations side. In the classroom, he maintains a 3.40 grade point average, and accepted an internship at Moss Adams LLP, Certified Public Accountants. A standout in the NAIA Five Core Values, Jonnythan is an active member of the local Ronald McDonald house in Stanford, where he has provided meals and entertainment to local families and collected donations as part of their charity drive. Through Operation Christmas Child, he is regularly involved in donating Christmas toys for children in need and providing care package kits for the homeless. During Menlo’s OAKtoberfest, he was an integral part in the setup and execution of the 5k fun run. During the spring months of 2016, Jonnythan coordinated set up for the March of Dimes where he helped collect over $300 in cash donations and raised awareness of the needs of premature babies. He is also a regular assistant at CPR classes in Stockton and Tracy. Menlo is proud of its award winning students!
Jonnythan Munkholm competed in both the high jump and triple jump at the NAIA Championships.
Bryce Etzler received All-GSAC honors for her stellar defense at first base and her .431 batting average. MENLO COLLEGE
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PHOTO: OAKSSPORTS.COM
Soccer News
Carolina Velez, left, represented Menlo College in the Red Cross/NAIA Collegiate Leadership Program in Washington, D.C.
New Soccer Coaches Continue Winning Tradition
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enlo College, a soccer powerhouse, capped its 201617 men’s season by winning the GSAC Conference championship, an incredible accomplishment. Head coach Eric Bucchere will now bring his knack for developing players to the pros as an assistant coach with the Reno 1868 FC of the United Soccer League (USL). But Menlo, tapping into the other side of its powerhouse, will have no gap in coaching talent. Keith Lambert, head of the winning women’s soccer program for four years, will move into the men’s head coach position. In the women’s program, Lambert put together a remarkably successful four-year run that included a 39-26-11 overall record and a California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) championship and NAIA National Championship Opening Round appearance in 2014. In 2015, he led the team to the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) tournament, advancing to the semifinals, in the program’s first season in the ever-competitive conference. Under Lambert’s
tutelage three players were named All-Americans, three claimed All-Region honors, nine were GSAC and NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 12 brought home All-Conference honors.
Robin Hart, Women’s Head Coach
With Lambert’s move, Menlo College is pleased to welcome Robin Hart as the new head coach of the women’s program. Hart comes to Menlo after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Div. II Sonoma State University where she helped the team to a CCAA regular season championship in 2015 and a runner-up finish in 2016.
In addition to her most recent duties at Sonoma State, Hart was the Head Coach of the Santa Rosa United Soccer Club and also as an Assistant Coach for the Region IV Olympic Development Program. Prior to these positions, Hart was an assistant coach at her Alma Mater, San Francisco State University, for three seasons and also served as the Head Coach of the East Bay United Soccer Club for six seasons. Hart enjoyed a tremendous collegiate playing career, playing two seasons for the SF State Gators back in 2007 and 2008, earning All-CCAA Second Team honors and All-CCAA First Team accolades, respectively, as well as spending two seasons at CSU Bakersfield.
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Menlo Athletics Honors Student-Athletes at Banquet enlo College Athletics hosted its annual All-Athlete Banquet in April to honor its student-athletes for another phenomenal season of competition. The following student-athletes were nominated by their head coaches and voted as award winners by the athletics department.
Glen E. Dorst Award Winner: Ryan Onizuka
Sports Performance Award Winner: Kelsey McKeon
Originating in 1957 and sponsored by alumnus Glen E. Dorst, who took an active interest in the development of youth in athletics, the Glen E. Dorst Award is presented each year to a Menlo College senior male or female student-athlete who most personifies the standards of sportsmanship in each phase of his/her life.
The Sport Performance Award is named in honor of a male or female student-athlete who best embodies the message and goals of the Sports Performance department through hard work and commitment in and out of season.
F. Philler Curtis Award Winner: Rachael Chinn The F. Philler Curtis Award is presented each year to a senior female studentathlete who by scholarship, leadership and athletic ability has made an outstanding contribution to campus life at Menlo College.
Don W. Baer Award Winner: Denzel Guewell The Don W. Baer Award originated in 1954 in memory of Don W. Baer, a former manager for the football team. This honor is awarded each year to a senior male or female student-athlete who shows the greatest qualities of all-around leadership.
Menlo College Athletics Department Service Award Winner: Matt Ganibi The Menlo College Athletic Department Service Award is presented each year to a student whose contributions to the athletics department by way of sports information, game operations or marketing and promotions are immeasurable.
Iron Oak Award Winner: Brian Ha The Iron Oak Award is named in honor of a male or female student-athlete who overcame challenges and physical obstacles through commitment and hard work to return to their sport to make an impact.
Freshman of the Year Award Winner: John Paine The Freshman of the Year Award is awarded to the outstanding male or female studentathlete for an academic year, who by their accomplishments in their sport have brought recognition and success to their teams and the intercollegiate athletic program.
Bud Presley Coach of the Year Winner: Jake McKinley
NAIA Soccer All-American Kaylin Swart receives the Don Baikie Award for Female Athlete of the Year from head coach Robin Hart.
The Bud Presley Coach of the Year Award is presented to the Head Coach who, by way of success on the field of play, in the community, or in the classroom has made a major impact on the lives of their studentathletes and the Menlo College community.
Don Baikie Female and Male Athlete of the Year Award Winner: Kaylin Swart Winner: Troy Lakin The Don Baikie Athlete of the Year Award is named in honor of a long-standing Menlo College Hall of Fame Director of Athletics; this award is the most prestigious honor a Menlo athlete can earn. It is awarded to the outstanding male and female athletes for an academic year, who through their accomplishments in their sports have brought recognition and success to their team and the intercollegiate athletic program.
Troy Lakin, Don Baikie Award Male Athlete of the Year, with wrestling head coach Joey Martinez. MENLO COLLEGE
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Troy Lakin, right, shows his laser-like focus as he faces off against an opponent.
Troy Lakin Wins National Title
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four-year team member, senior Troy Lakin concluded a remarkable Menlo College wrestling career in March of 2017. The Concord, California native became the first Menlo College National Champion since 2008 as the 125-pound competitor capped off his career in style with an absolutely dominating performance at the NAIA National Championships in Topeka, Kansas.
It was the end of a remarkable career for senior Troy Lakin. Heading into the event there was one certainty: Lakin would have to beat someone he had not beaten yet in his senior season, and he would have to do so in the semifinals. Check and check. After a flawless first day of competition, Lakin set out to get the proverbial monkey off his back as he faced off against 125-pound national #2 seed and West Region champion Matthew Nguyen of Eastern Oregon. Nguyen had handled Lakin at the NAIA West Regional weeks prior, marking the second time that year he had defeated him. Despite the odds seemingly stacked against him, Lakin wrestled a fantastic match to kick off day two and earned an 8-6 victory in overtime, giving him the right to wrestle for a national championship later that day. Momentum was clearly in Lakin’s corner as he prepped for the nationals match against the #1 overall seed and fellow senior Adrian Camposano of Campbellsville, Kentucky. Lakin was a man on a mission in the finals and dominated from the opening whistle, winning a 15-6 major decision to put the exclamation mark on his historical career. With the win, Lakin joined some elite company and became the seventh national champion in Menlo wrestling history and the first since 2008. He finished the season 32-6 overall.
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Menlo Athletics Welcomes New Head Coaches Denise Sheldon – Women’s Volleyball With Atlee Frechette becoming the inaugural head coach of Men’s Volleyball, the search for a new Women’s head coach concluded with Denise Sheldon being named the 11th head coach in program history. She is a Bay Area native and Sacred Heart alum who has spent the past five years working in various roles with the USA Volleyball National team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Most recently, Sheldon was the U.S. Women’s National Team Manager and spent the 2016 summer with the team at the Olympics in Rio. She also has worked as the Director of Girls’ High Performance – National Team Pipeline. In this role she was in charge of scouting and recruiting elite athletes to get them into the performance and training channels of the National Team.
Denise Sheldon, new head coach of women’s volleyball, replaces Atlee Frechette, who will become the head coach of Menlo College’s first varsity men’s volleyball team.
Denise Sheldon has more than 20 years of experience on the national and international level and serves on the Board of Directors for the Team Colorado Volleyball Club. She was the head coach at St. Francis Central Coast Catholic High School for five years and has been the head coach of various club teams including: USA Volleyball High Performance Volleyball Teams, Skyora Enterprises, Peninsula Juniors, Team Colorado and Bring it Promotions. She is USA Volleyball CAP Level IV Certified and a Coaching Education Instructor. Coach Sheldon played collegiately at University of Nevada-Reno where she was an Academic All-WAC team member. Prior to playing at UNR, she was a First Team Junior College AllAmerican.
John Carrion – Baseball Menlo College Baseball has its newest Head Coach with the recent hiring of former Chico State Assistant Coach John Carrion. Carrion brings a wealth of experience, a connection to the Bay Area, and a track record of success with him to the Menlo College campus.
John Carrion, new head coach of baseball, brings deep experience to Menlo.
In his two seasons as an Assistant Coach at NCAA Division II Chico State, Carrion helped lead the team to back-to-back California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championships resulting in two trips to the NCAA National Tournament. In those two seasons, the Wildcats amassed an 80-33 overall record and led all of Division II in fielding percentage at an impressive .983. Prior to coming to Chico, Carrion served as head coach at Holy Names University in Oakland from 2012-2015. He had the privilege of being the first head baseball coach in the school’s history, building the program from the ground up. During his time at Holy Names he also established the program’s Strength and Conditioning program and worked on the administrative side as an Assistant Athletics Director. His previous coaching resume includes stints as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, UC Davis, the head coach of the Tubingen Hawks Baseball Club in Germany, and assistant positions at both Cal State East Bay and Yuba College. John played his collegiate baseball for two years at Solano College before finishing his final two years at UC Davis. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Communications from UC Davis and a Master of Kinesiology and Physical education from Cal State East Bay.
Atlee Frechette – Men’s Volleyball Atlee Frechette, head coach of the new men’s volleyball team, was an outstanding college athlete at California State University Sacramento where she was named First Team All-Big Sky Conference 2005 and 2006.
Menlo College Men’s Volleyball is set to kick off its inaugural season in 2017-18 and it will do so under the guidance and tutelage of a familiar face, former women’s volleyball head coach Atlee Frechette. Frechette recently completed her fourth season as the head of the women’s program where she led the team to a Cal Pac title in 2014 and finished fourth in all-time wins for a women’s volleyball head coach at Menlo College. Menlo’s first ever regular men’s volleyball season will begin in the spring of 2018. MENLO COLLEGE
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A Few Moments in the 2016-17 Season of the Menlo Oaks
Menlo athletes excel in the classroom and on the field. Top row: Soccer Kaylin Swart, Cross Country Megan Thompson; middle row: Wrestling Troy Lakin, Soccer Ike Arinze, Shot Put Joe Alvarez; bottom row: Basketball Alexis Delovio, Cross country L to R: Richard Runkle-Edens, Erick Parsons, Noble Boutin. All photos by Brian Byllesby.
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Steele Escobedo Receives 2017 Board of Trustees Award
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here are only two things you can’t do: that’s walk on water and fly. Everything else is possible.
Steele Escobedo ’17 was awarded the College’s highest honor, the Board of Trustees Award, conferred by Board Chair T. Geir Ramleth ‘87. An accounting major, Escobedo was described by Associate Professor of Accounting Donna Little as a “classroom leader and standout from day one.” Director of Athletics Keith Spataro noted that Escobedo has been “a model student-athlete for four years, and his commitment and contributions to the Menlo College campus have been remarkable and unmatched.” In addition to his success in the classroom, Escobedo was a standout wrestler for four seasons, twice earning All-American status. He was a two-time Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete, and earned NWCA Scholar-Athlete accolades on three different occasions. Off the mats he has spent two years as an intern for PricewaterhouseCoopers in San Jose where he will begin full time employment this fall. David Laflamme ’17 received the Golden Oak Service Award, presented to “the student who exemplifies the true spirit of scholarship and volunteerism through service to the Menlo College community.” Laflamme has showcased his immense talent in graphic design, video production, and photography for a number of campus initiatives, including the production of a campus virtual tour video and many promotional pieces in his role as the Director of Marketing for Club Sports,
PHOTOS: ANDREY POLIAKOV
Menlo College honored 56 top students for their academic success and leadership qualities at the annual Honors Convocation ceremony on April 20, 2017. The honors included the induction of 29 students into the Beta Gamma Sigma honors society, and ten students were inducted into Alpha Chi. “Today, Menlo College recognizes the best and brightest,” said Menlo College President Richard Moran in his opening remarks.
at a student th r o n o h st e h ig eh EES AWARD is th T S U R T f ip, leadership, o h D rs R la A o O h sc h THE B g u ro enlo College. Th ho receives this award truly can receive at M rw graduating senio . e th , e ic rv se d n a ge sion of the Colle is m e th s ie d o b em Intramurals and Recreation. Laflamme has also conducted numerous graphic design workshops for students and staff on campus. Regina Hernandez ’17 and Brian Brownfield ’17 were honored with the Menlo Spirit Award. The Menlo Spirit Award is awarded to a graduating senior who has given generously of his or her time during their four years at Menlo College. Hernandez has been a four-year member of the Competitive Cheer team, was a resident advisor, and is currently an intern on campus with Sodexo. She also showcased her vocal talent by performing the National Anthem at athletic events, and annually performing at Apollo Night. Brownfield has served in a variety of roles with the Athletics Department, most notably as the play-byplay voice of over 200 on-air web streams
of home varsity sporting events, and as the sports writer for the Oak Press student newspaper. He was also co-founder and president of the Ultimate Frisbee Club, and served on the administrative council of the Sports Management Club. Other honors extended included the Al Jacobs Award to Jessica Carlson ‘19; the Don Jordan Award to Hiba Salem ‘19; the Wall Street Journal Award to Alexander CoatesMcDowall ‘17; the Psychology Award to Jessica Madison ‘18; and the Judge Russell Award to Kyle Lubke ‘17. Eight Richard F. O’Brien Awards were also presented to: Jeremiah Testa ‘20, Lauren Harrison ‘20, Noble Boutin ‘19, Madeline Miller ‘19, Ryan Barnett ‘18, Kilisitina Petelo ‘18, Rosendo AmayaWood ’17, and Jessica Newman ‘17.
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he San Mateo County Sheriff’s Color Guard and the Bag Pipes of the Prince Charles Pipe Band kicked off the celebration of Menlo College’s 90th anniversary with the May 6, 2017 commencement ceremony on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Atherton, California. The audience and the class of 2017 were treated to a rendition of the National Anthem sung by one of their own, Regina Hernandez ‘17, and the ceremony was officially convened by Grand Marshals Linda Smith, Dean of Library Services, and Douglas Carroll, Professor of Sports Management and Mass Communications. History was once again made: the class of 2017 was the largest graduating class in Menlo College history, with 209 graduating seniors taking part in the day’s festivities. President Richard Moran thanked the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and graduating military veteran Ismael Alvarez ’17 to a raucous round of applause. “I know that each of you had a journey to get to this point,” said President Moran. “For some of you it was smooth sailing, but whatever your path, we celebrate your accomplishment.” President Moran then provided the class with advice that was humorously gleaned from some of his favorite Country & Western songs. The advice included tidbits from the Chris Williams song “Don’t Wait” and from Miranda Lambert’s “Hide Your Crazy.” Chairman of the Board of Trustees T. Geir Ramleth ’87 spoke on behalf of the Board of Trustees, noting Menlo’s unique ability to adjust and adapt to an ever-changing world. He wished the class a healthy and prosperous future. Board of Trustees member Jordan Long ’09 served as the Menlo College alumni representative. He urged the class of 2017 to stand together as Oaks and “to stay involved with the College at any level that works for you and your lifestyle.” Student 5 0 S U M M E R 2 017
PHOTO: ANDREY POLIAKOV
2017 Commencement Government President Andrew Hernandez ’17 rounded out the welcoming with greetings to his peers.
Valedictorian Eden Cotter ’17 spoke to the benefits of service and compassion toward others and the merits of laughter, kindness, and love in every phase of life. Professional Studies Program Co-Valedictorians Kiley Bantillo ’17 and David Hauwert ’17 each spoke about taking advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. The day’s keynote speaker was President and CEO of National Public Radio (NPR) Jarl Mohn. Mohn’s extensive media experience has spanned all platforms, and includes over 20 years in radio and the creation of E! Entertainment Television. Mohn was also the former executive vice president and general manager of MTV and VH1, where he architected the strategy of long-form programming. Mohn shared three “life themes” to the audience that included the importance of blind, dumb luck; the value of crushing failure; and the benefits of being delusional. Weaving these three themes into specific situations in his life that have helped guide him to his successes, Mohn provided such guidance as “when the phone rings, answer it,” and also remarked on the power of having big goals by saying “if people aren’t snickering or laughing at your aspirations, you aren’t thinking big enough.” He left the students with a question about failure: “Will it become a catalyst for you or does it become your narrative?” Mohn congratulated the class of 2017 on all of their successes both in the past and yet to come. The members of the class of 2017 took the stage to receive their diplomas and a handshake from President Moran. A cap toss, confetti floating down from the sky and festive music concluded the ceremony, which was officially brought to a close by Grand Marshals Dean Linda Smith and Professor Douglas Carroll.
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Commencement Speakers Encouraged Graduates to Seize Opportunities Clockwise from top: Eden Cotter, Valedictorian Kiley Bantillo, Valedictorian Professional Studies Program David Hauwert, Valedictorian Professional Studies Program Jarl Mohn, Keynote Speaker
Graduates Pursue their Dreams
Jarl Mohn advised the commencement audience, “When the phone rings, answer it.” These Menlo College athletes did just that. Menlo College baseball All-Americans Jason Alexander ‘17 and Julian Jarrard ’17 and our left-handed Kevin George ’18 all signed contracts with pro teams this spring. Alexander signed with the Los Angeles Angels, Jarrard was picked up by the Milwaukee Brewers, and George was selected by the Chicago White Sox. George is the second Oak in the last two seasons to be selected by the White Sox, and the 7th Oak to be drafted in the last seven years. Alexander was named an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention. The right-hander made 14 starts for the Oaks, totaling a 9-2 overall record. He struck out 84 and walked just 15 in 89.2 innings of work, and boasted a team-best 2.71 ERA. Jarrard, also an honorable mention All-American, was the most powerful shortstop in the GSAC conference. He hit 22 home runs, second in a single-season in program history, drove in 56 runs, drew 13 walks and slugged .723. George was Menlo’s relief pitcher all season last year, appearing in 23 games and tossing a bullpen-leading 50 innings. The California native struck out 69, walking just 19 during his stellar junior campaign.
Kevin George
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Julian Jarrard
Jason Alexander
Menlo College Faculty Bring Real World Experience to the Classroom
Clockwise from top left: Dr. Leslie Sekerka with guest speaker Cheryl House, Chief Compliance Officer at Adobe; Dr. Douglas Carroll at new student orientation; guest speaker Celeste Ford, Founder and CEO of Stellar Solutions; Dr. Marianne Marar Yacobian at Shining a Light on Autism event; guest speaker Lisa Douglass, Founder and President of Douglass Results; Massimiliano Genta ’16, co-inventor of sensing film recognized at the Korean K-Challenge. Photos by Darcy Blake, Andrey Poliakov, and Justine Fiesta ’19. MENLO COLLEGE
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Menlo Hosts Fascinating Activities Twelve Months a Year Inventors, writers, social activists, musicians and others changing our world came to Menlo College in 2016-17. Students have many options for attending events that touch their particular interests or that present new ways of thinking. Here, we show just a few of the activities taking place outside the classroom, along with a snapshot of summer construction that will make the campus even more inviting to future visitors. Photos this page, clockwise from top: Menlo College’s first annual Color Run to celebrate a rainbow of human rights; Dr. Michael Laufer being interviewed by national media for the invention of the EpiPencil, an off-the-shelf alternative to the EpiPen; talented Ibrahima Mobley ’19 and Lene Lauti ‘19 entertain during Menlo College’s OAKtoberFest, Nate Jackson ’02 speaks to students about his second book. Photos top of second page, clockwise from upper left: Chris Neider, founder of SendBot, supervises a test of his delivery robot on campus; campus leaders introduce new students to Menlo’s acorn mascot; Lee Caraher, a Menlo board member, teaches business etiquette.
Summer at Menlo Every summer, Menlo College is an active site for youth camps and other events, but this year has been especially lively. By the end of July, we will host more than 7,500 students and professionals for programs as varied as sports and chess camps, corporate picnics, and exchange programs with educational institutions from as far away as Singapore and India. At the same time, the modernization of the campus continues. Board Member emeritus Charles J. (Chop) Keenan and a local builder have donated millions of dollars of in-kind construction to improve the function of many campus buildings. This has resulted in a chessboard of moves between staff offices. In the fall, the Administration Building will be the home of the Center for Academic & Professional Success, bringing together Career Services, the Internship office, and the Academic Success Center (advising, math and writing center, testing and tutoring), which will be renamed the Gullard Family Academic Success Center. 5 4 S U M M E R 2 017
A Whole Lot of (Moving and) Shakin’ Goin’ On
Photos clockwise from upper left: The new sports pavilion; our logo graces the Admissions Building lobby; construction of athletic offices in lower floor of Kratt dormitory; refurbishment of an office; a local volleyball academy takes over a Menlo parking lot.
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The Celebration Continues The 90th celebration to commemorate the founding of Menlo College, kicked off at commencement on May 6, 2017, will continue throughout the coming academic year. Watch your mail for information about 2017-18 events. Come back to campus! We would love to see you and hear stories about your college days.
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MENLO COLLEGE
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