Menlo Magazine - Winter 2022

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Women @ Menlo

WINTER 2022

Let’s Celebrate!

By Pamela Gullard, Editor in Chief, and Dr. Lisa Villarreal, Senior Editor

Women have attended Menlo College for fifty years! While we rejoice in the contributions of these women, let’s look back to the year they first arrived, most of them living in a newly remodeled Howard Hall.

It was 1971. Married women were not allowed to get a credit card without their husbands’ signatures, single women needed a male co-signer, and female applicants were frequently issued card limits up to 50% lower than men with identical incomes. Many women were fired when they got pregnant–a practice only partially curtailed by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act enacted six years later. Undergraduate programs across the country admitted many more men than women, and graduate programs were mostly closed to female students.

But the women at Menlo had different ideas. As you can see in our section “Celebrating Fifty Years! The First Women of Menlo,” they seized the academic opportunities offered at the College and subsequently brought their talents to changing their professions. Anne Clifford Younglove ’73 says of her education at Menlo’s School of Business Administration Program: “Practicing professionals taught me to use my wits, know the rules, keep my ethics intact, and not be afraid to innovate.”

While we consider the expanding roles available to women, in this issue we also look at the evolving construct of gender. Today’s students and faculty are helping our society create a broader and more inclusive sense of gender and sexuality. Listen to Alex Armira ’22 tell us who they are (page 21). Consider the history of gender representation in the media from Professor Zaki Hasan (page 3). And review the independent projects from men and women students on politics and gender (page 5).

In this issue, we showcase the ways that our faculty members encourage all our students to bring their talents to the table. We also show you the many different, exciting ways that our students tackle problems—and build their dreams from who they are.

In 1971, the first class of women at Menlo College posted their names on the bulletin board in their dorm, Howard Hall.

Cover: Russel Abigail “Abby” Roxas ’22 (seated) and Miranda Canniff ’22 (standing) take their place in history against the backdrop of a few men from Menlo College in 1971. Photos by Lisa Ann Villarreal

M EN LO COL L EGE M AG A ZIN E | W IN T ER 20 2 2

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Pamela Gullard SENIOR EDITOR Lisa Ann Villarreal, Ph.D.

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Women @ Menlo We invite you to celebrate the fifty years that women have attended Menlo College! And let us use this occasion to explore our contemporary view of gender inclusivity. How did our attitudes towards gender change in 1971, and how are our views changing now? In this issue, we look at the ways new perspectives on gender reverberate through our social, economic, and cultural lives.

Fifty Years: Changing Views 1 Message from President Weiner 2 Letters to the Editor 3 Representation Matters 9 You’ve Come a Long Way 11 Menlo’s First Women!

19 Through the Gates 24 Investing in Social Change

Student Life 10 Financial Women 39 WILD Empowers Leaders 40 Common Book 41 Fall Events 45 Quartet of Twins!

Internships 31 Teamwork and Leadership Student Perspectives 5 Politics and Gender 8 Leap to the Future 21 Exploring Gender Identity 23 I Am

Faculty and Classroom 25 The Dinner Party 27 Faculty News 29 LGBTQ Life in America 37 Marketing the Mask

Art 33 36 55

Alumni 32 43 53

International Alumni Fran Schulz Blazes Trail In Memoriam

Athletics 46 Fall 2021 Sports

Sculpture Show Art of the Campus Art Donations, with Thanks

Menlo College Magazine, 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 Tele: 800-55MENLO, editor@menlo.edu, www.menlo.edu

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mona Ahmadi Alex Armira ’22 Bianca Barros ’21 Erik Bakke Jessica Berger Becky Conway ’74 Tatum DiOro ’22 Victor Garcia ’21 Irene Gilbert ’73 Diana Guardado ’23 Mark Hager Zaki Hasan Nancy Hayes Michaela Haynes ’22 Chara Higaki ’22 Dylan Houle Lan Jiang Julie Juergens Alison Kliachko-Trafas ’75 Melissa Michelson Cynthia Mulit’73 Joy Rendahl Jordyn Sanico ’22 Barbara Sarpa ’74 Lisa Villarreal Steven Weiner Anne Clifford Younglove ’23 DESIGN Marsha Gilbert PHOTOGRAPHY Ryan Barnett ’19 Crystal Cebedo ’20 Miranda Dutton ’24 Tim Krauss ’25 Douglas Peck Esteban Ramirez ’23 Caitlin Sorenson ’19 Samuel Spector ’21 Lisa Ann Villarreal EDITOR Tricia Soto Linda Teutschel PRESIDENT OF MENLO COLLEGE Steven Weiner CHAIR OF THE BOARD Micah Ka-ne ’91 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Thomas (Tom) Byers Alma Clayton-Pedersen Andrea (Andy) Cunningham Howard (Howie) Dallmar ‘74 James (Jim) Davlin Chris Garrett ‘94 J. Michael (Mike) Gullard Joe Hurd David Irmer, Sr. ’58 Helene Kim Jordan Long ’09 Larry Lopez ’84 Roxane Marenberg Zoanne Nelson Colin O‘Malley Fran Schulz ’85 Roger Smith Shireen Udenka Benjamin (Ben) Wagner EMERITI TRUSTEES John Henry Felix ’49 Julie Filizetti Charles (Chop) Keenan III ’66 T. Geir Ramleth ’87

Menlo Prepares Students for the World They are Entering Forty-four years after Menlo College was founded to educate men, and men alone, the first class of women walked onto campus. That was 1971, and those women brought profound changes to the classrooms and playing fields of the College.

Fast forward fifty years to 2021; American colleges and universities now enroll almost six women for every four men – the largest female-male gender gap in the history of higher education. Here at Menlo, men still outnumber women, but the gap is small and growing smaller. Women in our society still play catch-up in the labor force and in leadership positions, but education may be the wellspring for a welcome change in the labor force in the decades ahead.

Fifty years ago, the debate in the halls of Menlo was about opening our doors to women. In the succeeding decades, the conversation has become much more nuanced and more expansive. Reflecting societal changes, our students – and others of their generation – embrace the fluidity of gender in ways that would have left people gawping in 1971. Campus life reflects the times (a reality that speaks to the fallacy of colleges being ivory towers!). As captured so masterfully

by Editor-in-Chief Pamela Gullard in her book Through the Gates, Eighty-Five Years of Menlo College and its Times, world events permeate campus life, and here at Menlo we accept the responsibility to engage our students with the world as it evolves. We’re hardly the first to appreciate our role in reflecting –and shaping society; the educator and astronaut Christa McAuliffe once observed, “I touch the future. I teach.”

A growing number of people are moving beyond the idea that we live in a world where sexuality and gender come in only two forms: gay/straight, male/female – which were the only labels I and others of my generation knew for most of our lives.

Some of our students of today tell us that they aren’t one or the other, but perhaps neither. Or maybe both.

The words we use to capture this fluidity can be discomfiting, prompting many to shy away from participating in important conversations. Cis, transgender, transsexual, queer, intersex, and asexual are freighted terms. And that’s today. Our societal norms continue to evolve. Colleges have an important role to play in going beyond grappling with labels, to further understanding and equity for all. To ensure we support all our students, we must engage in this vital conversation.

Let the journey continue.

A postscript: We celebrated the fact that our campus was free of Covid-19 for most of the fall semester, despite full residence halls and in-person classroom instruction.

Our community was virtually 100% vaccinated, we tested weekly, and we mandated masks indoors – and it paid off. As we look forward to the start of the spring semester, though, omicron looms large, and concerns about future variants vie for our attention, along with the medical innovations that we trust will eventually allow us to ratchet down our anxiety about the pandemic. I look forward to celebrating that fine day soon!

Steven Weiner Menlo College President

Photo by Crystal Cebedo ’19: 1 WINTER 2022

Letters to the Editor I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed reading the most recent Menlo College Magazine. Really well done. I truly appreciate how much work your team invests in getting this publication “out the door!” Thank you for all you do.

Roxane Marenberg, Menlo College Trustee Atherton, CA

Superb job and content!!

Kristina Powers President, Institute of Educational Effectiveness San Diego, CA

As always, THANK you for all you for a great magazine. The articles are fantastic, short, to the point, and engaging to the public and internally for us.

Mouwafac Sidaoui Dean of the Menlo College School of Business San Francisco, CA

Thanks for bringing me joy! As always, you produced a fantastic magazine.

Chris Garrett ’94, Menlo College Trustee San Carlos, CA

Menlo College seems to be thriving!

Excellent!

David G. Martin ’58 Ridgefield, CT

Best magazine yet, and thank you for the shout-out. Your team is the best.

David Irmer ’58, Menlo College Trustee Tiburon, CA

Received my Menlo Magazine this weekend. It gets better and more thorough every issue. On a sad note, I read that Jay Naidu, Director of Human Resources, passed away. He was a real gentleman and always helpful to me. I will definitely miss him.

Bill Hopkins Rancho Mirage, CA

Correction:

In the previous issue of Menlo Magazine, we used the original name of the marketing agency established by Caitlin Sorensen ‘19 and Kylie Wetzel ‘19. The current name is Honey & Hive.

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Representation Matters

By

Zaki Hasan Adjunct Professor, Mass Communications

The media reflect and shape our changing views of gender and sexuality. To understand current representations, I ask my students to look at ways mass media has often been on the forefront of expanding the boundaries for what is deemed acceptable to view or discuss. New portrayals of gender roles and the complexities of sexuality can have a profound impact on unconscious stereotypes.

The intimacy of the screen in one’s living room can allow viewers a relaxed space to identify with the rich personalities of many people, some of whom those same viewers might ignore on the street.

It’s easy to marvel in 2021 at the level of diversity and representation we see onscreen, but each milestone was made possible by the daring portrayals of earlier artists. Lucy Ricardo of I Love Lucy made us laugh, but also think about her constant effort to find a way to perform with her husband’s band. She was told that her place was in the kitchen. In 1970, thirteen years after Lucy ended, The Mary Tyler Moore Show presented Mary Richards tenuously showing her blustery boss that women are an essential part of the newsroom. Skip forward to 2006 and we see the character Liz Lemon from 30 Rock running a massive network television series, albeit while contending with critiques of her appearance and questions of if/when she’ll get married and start a family. Through humor and clever writing, television has revealed the real challenges women face at home and in the workplace.

The same applies when examining how homosexuality has been depicted, from the hushed innuendo of the two lead characters in 1959’s Ben Hur to modern sitcoms like Ellen and Will & Grace that examine and normalize the gay experience. In another mark of progress, we can look back at the time when gay actors like Rock Hudson and Anthony Perkins had to remain closeted or risk their entire careers. While this certainly remains the case for many performers, there’s also no doubt that young people of today are offered a broader range of resonant stories, up to and including a gay superhero appearing with husband and child in Marvel Studios’ Eternals.

Progress didn’t come easily. Courageous writers and producers of foresight and will pushed back against production companies and network heads who feared offending the sensibilities of contemporary audiences.

But some creators insisted that they wouldn’t be steered by the presumptions and prejudices of the times.

Norman Lear produced All in the Family, using the character of Archie Bunker (an old school bigot played by Carroll O’Connor) to expose baked-in, provincial prejudices through humor. Meanwhile, the All in the Family spin-off Maude, starring Bea Arthur, offered one of the first discussions of abortion in a sitcom framework.

And although it prompted network push back, letters of protest, and even a few affiliate defections, Lear went ahead with that two-part storyline, which is rightly hailed today for its groundbreaking depiction of a sensitive, complicated topic.

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Even if earlier screen stories might be deemed overly broad or even problematic from a 2021 context, many writers took steps toward a more inclusive art. They made it possible for people from marginalized groups to see characters who looked, acted, and talked like them. But they also showed people outside those groups that other lifestyles exist, they’re normal, and they matter. It’s an essential paradox of the post-cinematic era that although people from cultural groups live and breathe and just go about their day-to-day existence together, being shown — and seen — onscreen makes the inner lives of people from all groups somehow more real.

Representation matters.

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Students Explore the Intersection

Politics

Gender

By Melissa R. Michelson, Ph.D., Dean of Arts & Sciences and Professor of Political Science, with Bianca Barros ’21, Victor Garcia ’21, and Rasmia Shuman ’22 I teach a number of political science classes at Menlo College, ranging from Latinx Politics to Civil Liberties to Political Marketing. In all of those classes, I often talk about the role of gender and how it interacts with other identities, including race and partisanship. In general, women are more likely to need to be recruited to run for office (rather than thinking to do so on their own), and often are working in supportive (invisible) roles rather than as candidates for office. When elected, they are more likely to focus on issues of family and childcare, compared to their male peers. Women of color like Senators Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Mazie Hirono, former Senator Shirley Chisholm, and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris are role models for many women, and their stories illustrate the multiple challenges of their intersectional identities.

Dr. Melissa Michelson

Having already had a taste of the fascinating ways in which race and gender matter in politics, three of my students approached me with the idea of having a group IDR (individual directed research) class to learn more. Instead of the individual work of a classic IDR, we designed the course as a weekly Zoom where the students would all read some of the same books and papers and could meet with the professors who authored that work to ask them questions. It was amazing. My colleagues were enthusiastic participants, and the small scale of the “class” allowed each of the three students space to explore their specific topics of interest. Their final projects—a magazine, a website, and a series of podcasts—are brilliant, and I’m so proud to share them with the Menlo community.

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Bianca Barros ‘21

“So far, we have three published episodes... with Dr. Nadia Brown, Dr. Jennifer Lawless and Kamala Harris with Dr. Evelyn Simien.”

The Gender and Race in U.S. Politics IDR with Professor Michelson was one of my all-time favorite classes at Menlo. Every week we were exposed to new materials in the field of gender equity in politics. I focussed my research on the obstacles women face when running for office and the overall representation of women in politics. The best part was that Professor Michelson invited the authors of the top-tier research papers and books in the field to speak to our class. I was amazed with the opportunity to hear from researchers and politicians who were leading the movement towards greater equity, and wanted to extend the same opportunity to the Menlo community and beyond. I worked on transforming highlights of the guest lectures into a podcast series in partnership with WILD Club (Women in Leadership Development) at Menlo. So far, we have three published episodes that include topics such as the politics of identity in the U.S. with Dr. Nadia Brown, gender stereotypes in politics with Dr. Jennifer Lawless and the symbolic empowerment of Kamala Harris with Dr. Evelyn Simien.

I plan to publish more content from the IDR and will continue my research beyond politics in the future, interviewing other experts and diving into how gender equity can be improved in different industries. Stay tuned!

WILD

Womxn In Leadership Development

Women in politics series

Dr. Nadia Brown

WILD

WILD

Womxn In Leadership Development

Women in politics series

Dr. Jennifer Lawless

Womxn In Leadership Development

Women in politics series

Dr. Evelyn Siemen

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Politics

Gender

My first thought for presenting material from the IDR was to create a website with a live dashboard. Though I did not have the technical skills to do that, the website aspect stuck with me and I continued to look up political candidates’ election websites. Some of the politicians had a blog about their experiences on the campaign trail, and that inspired my idea of a blog. A blog could be shared, would be easy to follow, and I could publish episodes in my portfolio. A blog would also open conversations about the barriers that exist for Latinx candidates and even candidates of color running for office. When my first episode aired, I got about 100 views on the first day, including friends and some of the candidates I know, with one sharing it on their campaign Facebook page! To this day the viewership continues to grow incrementally. This is one of my proudest projects.

Victor Garcia ‘21

“What do low voter turnout and the increase in the cost of political campaigning have to do with aspiring Latinx running for office?”

In my Independent Research on Women in Politics, I was able to pursue the root of why there is a lack of female representation in politics, and even in the field of political science. Experts came to the class to help us understand the challenges women faced before, during, and after entering the political arena. Several of the experts expressed hope for further representation for women, especially women of color. When potential women candidates have the information that they can run, and will be supported when they do, an educated push for more representation in leadership can be effective. Thus, my individual Magazine shares the enlightenment that our guest speakers, and my mentor Dean Melissa Michelson, have provided me. It is a platform to encourage others to educate themselves on the challenges and opportunities in this field and make change within.

WOMEN IN

“Throughout the challenges of getting women to run for office,

POLITICS

Rasmia Shuman ‘22

it can be even more challenging to get them elected into the office once making the decision to run for office.”

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ISSUE 10

A Leap to the Future for our Students

By Diana Guardado ’23 Oprah Winfrey once said, “The true meaning of courage is to be afraid—and then, with your knees knocking and your heart racing, take the leap anyway.” I took my first major leap when I became a locker attendant at age 15. As one of the youngest employees entering the work field for the first time, I had to grow comfortable with the unknown.

Despite my lack of experience, I dedicated my time to cultivate the discipline and passion in serving others. One of the disciplines I acquired involved depositing all my checks directly to my savings account with the understanding that “one day” the money would become a necessity. Today, as a proud Menlo College student pursuing a degree in political science and public policy, I am grateful to have created a safety net of funds to cover a small portion of my higher education. Many students at Menlo College and elsewhere rely on their personal savings, full-time jobs, and student loans to float above water during their years in college.

With another leap of faith in my abilities, I became a student leader for the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU). I represent independent non-profit colleges and universities by advocating for issues faced by our student population. Among those issues is the need for an accessible and equitable federal financial aid program that will empower students to pursue their academic and career goals. Besides personal savings, I benefit from Cal and Pell Grants. While working closely with the leaders at AICCU, I learned that over 28,000 Cal Grant recipients and 57,000 Pell Grant recipients also depend on federal grants, internal, and external scholarships to afford tuition and housing.

With this newly acquired knowledge and my growing interest in financial aid, I earned a speaking opportunity at the California Student Aid Commission’s “Statewide Student Leadership” event in September 2021. I informed the audience about the recent marginal increase in Pell Grant funding that has created an ongoing conversation among educators and politicians. The AICCU’s “Double the Pell” campaign, which I co-chaired, attracted the attention of Congress and the Biden administration as part of the conversation about furthering these investments. I called our commissioners to ask those closest to the issues for guidance in creating an equitable and accommodating financial aid package. As a collective, we should intentionally take courageous leaps to secure the academic and financial future of our generation and those following. Otherwise, further barriers will make it impossible for many students to jump.

To continue the momentum behind the increases in academic funding, students, professors, and alumni need to highlight their personal stories. Our most powerful tools are our own voices.

Photo by Caitlin Sorensen ’19 MENLO COLLEGE MAGA ZINE

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The 1971 advertising slogan for a “woman’s” cigarette from 1971 – the year that

the first female students enrolled at Menlo College – celebrated the progress of the women’s liberation movement. Much had been accomplished, yet there was so much more that needed to be done. And there still is.

Despite significant social, economic, health, education, and legal progress, women continue to face daunting obstacles, including the lack of funding for women-led high growth startup companies. Almost 85% of venture capital (VC) funds go to all-male founding teams, and less than 3% to all-female founding teams; male/female founding teams get 12% of the funding. A recent survey found that for every $1 raised by male founders of early-stage companies, female founders raised 37 cents. The story is worse for founders of color and other “underestimated” founders. The shortfall in funding for women entrepreneurs is in marked contrast to demonstrated ability to effectively utilize capital: A study of 300 investments by a VC firm over ten years showed that teams with at least one woman founder outperformed all-male teams by 63%.

While in recent years female entrepreneurs have been somewhat more successful securing VC funding, unless the pace of change accelerates, it will take many decades before parity is achieved. In 2013, I committed to do my part to redress that inequity by focusing my energies on supporting women entrepreneurs.I’m helping women entrepreneurs secure access to the same network of investors and advisors that their male counterparts enjoy. I hope to make a real difference in the opportunity these founders have to build and grow their business.

I’ve invested in 30 women-led companies across a variety of sectors – healthcare, robotics, manufacturing, consumer products and businessto-business software, along with creative solutions to social, economic or sustainability problems. I can’t invest in every company that I find deserving – there are so many – but I offer to meet any woman entrepreneur to provide pro-bono advice and mentorship.

There have been many successes, as well as some failures from which we all learned valuable lessons.

It has been an honor and a privilege to work with so many talented, innovative, and brave women.

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By Nancy Hayes, NKH Group Principal Menlo College Provost’s Advisory Council Member

Financial Women of San Francisco Bay Area

By Mona Ahmadi, Adjunct Professor, Finance; Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, Earnin; Board Member, Financial Women of San Francisco My journey in higher education and business started at age 17, when I was denied the right to further my education because of systematic social and religious discrimination in Iran, where I was born and raised. I fervently believed I should not be denied an education because of my gender—or my political or religious views—and made the bold decision to move to the United States in order to alter the course of my life. In the intervening years, I’ve assimilated into American culture, facilitated by my enrollment in public and private educational institutions, including the University of San Francisco. I’ve also benefited from employers who advocated for my advancement.

I believe in giving back to institutions that support women. In 2014, I received a graduate scholarship from Financial Women of San Francisco, and recently joined its board to promote and empower women in finance and business. I also serve on the board of TMC Community Capital to spread its mission of providing affordable microlending for minorities and women, and other underserved business owners.

While all too often women must do more than their male colleagues to prove themselves, awareness of the value of inclusion and diversity is on the rise. Here in California, for example, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 826 in 2018, which requires public companies in the state to have women on their boards by the end of 2021. In yet other ways, the pipeline for female leaders seems to be widening, reflecting the significant gains in educational attainment that women have made in recent decades.

I am proud to be celebrating these necessary changes – and making Menlo students aware of them — as a new adjunct faculty at Menlo College.

Scholarships from Women for Women

Financial Women of San Francisco (FWSF) awards scholarships to Bay Area women whose educational aims include careers in finance and financial services. In addition to financial support, scholarship recipients have the opportunity to be mentored by FWSF members as well as attend career development and networking events. FWSF will accept applications for their 2022 funding cycle between January 1, and March 21, 2022.

Contact info@ FinancialWomenSF.org for additional information.

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Celebrating Menlo’s First Women Students!

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For

almost forty-five years, Menlo College admitted only men, and these students were taught almost entirely by male faculty. But 1971 brought a seismic shift at the institution—about fifty women were enrolled, and they quickly began leaving their imprint on the intellectual atmosphere, the sports, and the culture of Menlo College.

Here are a few reflections from some of these accomplished women about those early years and their subsequent careers.

Menlo College Women’s Tennis Team, 1971 MENLO COLLEGE MAGA ZINE

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Women @ Menlo

The First Women at Menlo College Anne Clifford Younglove ’73 I can’t believe 50 years has passed. I have so many wonderful memories of friendships made, balancing education and joy-filled antics! I came to California in early 1971 to tour colleges, including Menlo, where my brother was enrolled. It was a far cry from the regimented East Coast Girls Prep school I was attending.

An enormous oak outside Registrar Philler Curtis’s office was spellbinding; the weather and the open warmth of the campus was intoxicating. Mr. Curtis asked me what I could contribute to Menlo; every other interview was what the school could give me. He made me think for a moment. I then told him that women could bring academic competition. Then he offered his hand to welcome me to Menlo.

Besides academics, I loved being on the tennis team, bringing field hockey to Menlo, the theatre productions with Professor Phil Schultz, car rallies, and the powder puff football games. I am proud to say that I still have friends I made at Menlo 50 years ago!

The relationships built with our professors were most amazing. One outstanding evening, about five of us went to the Oasis with our professor Al Jacobs. We were studying Othello and we spent all evening and into the wee hours discussing Shakespeare’s power of observation of human psychology. We talked about Iago and why he was such an accomplished villain. Al Jacobs was so passionate about his subject; he wanted us to understand the significance of Shakespeare’s understanding of the human psyche. This made an enormous impact on me.

I also attended the School of Business Administration at Menlo, and I can say without a doubt that I use my SBA education every day of my life. Practicing professionals taught me to use my wits, know the rules, keep my ethics intact, and to not be afraid to innovate.

Regarding the high points of my life, the first is that I married Steve Younglove ’73 forty-six years ago. The second, was having two wonderful children who have provided us with six grandchildren. For my career, Menlo provided the foundation of the marriage of education and business. I wrote grants in the education field to intertwine business and industry, in particular to foster innovation in preparing students to enter the work force with industry qualifications, whether they wanted to continue to higher education or move directly into industry.

“I TOLD HIM THAT WOMEN COULD BRING ACADEMIC COMPETITION.” 13 W INT ER 2022

With thirty years in this field, I became the Chairman of the Board (now past-chair) of the nonprofit Vital Link.

It was a moment 50 years ago that an admissions counselor changed my idea of what college could be. In that moment, a college chose to go coed. Those moments changed the trajectory in my life, and for those moments, I have nothing but gratitude.

Cynthia Mulit ’73 My first impression of Menlo was shock. For the first time, I experienced what it was like to have my ideas respected by adults. I noticed little things first.

My professors addressed me by “Miss Jackson” instead of by my first name.

Bathrooms were no longer labeled “Girls” and “Boys” but “Men and “Women.” The big things at Menlo–the values Menlo embodied–proved to be in sync with the little things. My professors had high standards regarding knowledge acquisition and the process of thinking and writing. They believed in my worth and treated me with dignity. I reasoned that if I were being treated like an adult, I had better start acting like one. I responded by excelling academically for the first time.

I was 16 when I started Menlo, having just graduated from an all-girls Catholic high school. The ratio at Menlo was 1 woman to 11 men. I never had so much fun in my whole life. Teachers, staff, and peers were smart, kind, and wonderfully different. Scott Seaman taught me about making art. I tutored a prince from Saudi Arabia. The drama teacher, a Hollywood actor, brought a spiritualist to the student union.

We also gathered at the student union to follow the unfolding Watergate activities and the downfall of President Nixon.

Until Menlo I had been living in a mindless slumber in which other people made the rules for me. Menlo taught me to take myself seriously. For example, Dr. Eugene Bales exposed me to teaching by offering me a tutoring experience. Dr. Bales asked me to pick a topic for an entire interim philosophy course. I had been utterly bored in high school and made C’s and even a couple of F’s. I thirsted for what Menlo gave me and I woke up. I became an A student. I am a believer in education that gives young people second chances.

My biggest take away from Menlo was the skill of rigorous thinking that I learned from Dr. Bales. Gene modeled excellence in careful, reasoned thinking. It is hard to find a way to fully thank a person whose influence you see in every thought project you’ve ever performed.

One of the best feelings I’ve ever had was thanking Dr. Bales for teaching me how to think in the Acknowledgements section of my own Ph.D. dissertation.

After Menlo, my business partner and I co-founded a nonprofit working with the State of California and the federal government to bring internet access and online information resources to at-risk communities. I could not have co-authored or designed that multimilliondollar project without the thinking skills that I learned at Menlo. Many years later, I began a second career in therapy for a community underserved by the field of counseling, the intersex population. I pursued my Ph.D. and in my 60’s, in 2020, I successfully defended my dissertation. I finally feel the satisfaction that I first glimpsed at Menlo–rigorous academic work that unites mind, heart, and service.

A Professor Remembers

Dr. Eugene Bales, PhD, Stanford University, was teaching philosophy at Menlo College when the first women arrived on campus. He subsequently became dean and then provost of the College, and is remembered fondly by many students, including many of the new arrivals. In a 2021 interview, he recalls that first day: I remember Cynthia Jackson Mulit. She came to college when she was sixteen, a smart, strong-willed student. The first day of classes in 1971, she sat in the last seat by the door, sideways in her chair, daring me to get her interested in anything I said.

I must have said something interesting because years later, she wrote in her thesis that “In [Dr. Bales’ classes], I first saw into my soul.’ It was gratifying to teach a student like her.

The men cleaned up a little when the women came, were a little less rough and tumble in class. They also liked the competition, the intellectual challenge from the women. We were all beneficiaries of the new ideas they brought to Menlo.

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Women @ Menlo Irene Gilbert ’73 For high school, I attended a very small boarding school for girls in northern New Hampshire. That’s where I learned that Menlo College was recruiting girls for the first coed class. Menlo was the perfect experience for me: a small school, far away from my home, where I received a great education, made close friends and generally had a great time in my first two years of college. I had a chance to be on the tennis and ski teams, which would never have been available to me at a larger school.

Having done well academically at Menlo, I transferred to Stanford and ultimately went to law school at Santa Clara University, where I graduated magna cum laude. I had a successful and fulfilling career as an attorney, mostly as an in-house counsel in financial services.

Now happily retired, I look back fondly on my two years at Menlo College.

Joy Rendahl, resident assistant of Howard Hall, 1971-1973 The first women at Menlo College lived in Howard; a business student, Kathy Alves, and I were the resident assistants. I also worked as the secretary to the Dean of Students and Director of Athletics, Robert L. Thomas, a former Navy aviator. He was like the poster of a Marine, with close-cropped, snow-white hair and an erect posture. Some people were intimidated by him until they got to know him better and saw his warmth. He brought order, consistency, and compassion to the student affairs office.

The campus had an international flavor, with students from Saudi Arabia, Chile, Hong Kong, and other places. It was a melding of different cultures on campus, which was an eye opener for me. The cross-fertilization of cultures in the classroom and socially brought new ideas and many opportunities to network.

I had a degree in statistics from Stanford University, but I took seven courses at Menlo, mostly business, and I enjoyed them all. In one small business class, a local entrepreneur came as a guest lecturer to teach us how to write a business plan, find a place for office space, create a marketing plan, and do all the things we would need in the real world. My idea was starting a yacht brokerage. The lecturer critiqued our projects and poked holes in all our arguments, just like a bank or financier would do. I learned so much.

The two-year letters and sciences division was much larger in those days and many of the students partied and had crazy college fun. The few business students were mostly returning Vietnam vets who were very hardworking. They knew what they wanted to do in life and they were excellent students. It was wonderful to have them in class.

There was a little plot outside my apartment at Howard Hall where I planted a garden, hung a hammock, and put in a little cherry tree. I went back to campus in 2016 and that tree was huge!

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Menlo College Yearbooks Now Online

Wondering how Menlo has changed from its earlier years? Check out the digitized collection of Menlo College & School of Business Administration (SBA) yearbooks! Under the direction of former Dean of Library Services, Valeria Molteni, the library team, including several student assistants, undertook a project to digitize the Menlo yearbook collection and make it available digitally at jstor.org.

Please look for the direct link to the collection under Menlo College Yearbooks in the A-Z Database list linked on the Bowman Library homepage.

Although the collection features many yearbooks, it is not a comprehensive collection. The Library does not own yearbooks for the following years: 1933-1935, 1937-1954, 1958, 1960-1963, 1974-75, 1978, 1981, 1986, 1992-1993, and 1996-2008. If you have copies of yearbooks from any of these years, we would be happy to scan your copy and include it in the online collection. Please contact Anne Linvill at: alinvill@menlo.edu.

Making yearbooks available digitally to students, alumni, and interested parties provides a unique look at the history of Menlo College and the transformation of its students and endeavors through the years.

This content downloaded from 132.174.250.7 on Thu, 28 Oct 2021 19:54:47 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

M E NThis L content O C OLLEGE MAGA ZINE downloaded from 132.174.250.7 on Thu, 28 Oct 2021 20:08:14 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

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Women @ Menlo

More Women Flock to the College

Becky Conway ’74 I am proud to be a part of the second class of women enrolled in Menlo College. My most memorable experience was playing on the tennis team (top row, second from left) where I made long-lasting friendships. To this day my teammate and doubles partner Andrea Prim-Dickens (bottom right in the photo) is still one of my closest friends. We get together often and meet on the Big Island of Hawaii almost every year. Currently I live in Newport Beach, CA and have three adult children and 6 granddaughters. I will always cherish my time at Menlo College, especially the memories I made with close friends.

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Barbara Sarpa ’74 The following is an excerpt from Through the Gates: Eighty-five Years of Menlo College and its Times: In 1972 I called Menlo College to find out about the school and what it could mean for me. [Admissions Administrator] 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 my entire family was there with me to celebrate. I’m so proud to be a graduate of Menlo College!

Alison Kliachko-Trafas ’75 My first impression of Menlo was that it was a beautiful and serene campus. Almost immediately, a couple of students came up to me and we started talking. Everyone was friendly. I loved to explore some of the quiet woods behind the campus, and study on the tranquil lawn of the Menlo Boys School that was right next door. The College offered small amenities to make us feel at home. Every Sunday, the cafeteria brought a huge delicious sourdough roll to share at each table, and an ice cream buffet.

Along with how small and personal the college was, I have to say that the ratio of boys to girls at the time appealed to me. It was a place to get to know most of the people on campus, including other students, professors and staff. Not many colleges offer that kind of intimacy and community.

I fondly remember many of the professors I had, such as Joseph Bertrand, Al Jacobs, Jan Dykstra, Howard East, Phil Schultz and Carlos Lopez. I also fondly remember Dorothy Skala and Bill Moser on staff, and Ray Solari, coach of the football team. He let me travel with the team as a statistician and work in his noon class on football strategy.

I learned a lot in the classes and liked them all. My favorite was Western Civilization with Professor Joseph Bertrand. He made history really interesting with a lot of humor and knowledge. I also enjoyed Honors English with Professor Al Jacobs. He listened to the class in terms of what books we were interested in reading, and we all appreciated that.

I attended from 1973 through 1975. My sister arrived a couple of years later, a testament to the positive experience I had there.

I went on to Pomona College, majored in film studies, and then worked in the film and television industry before marrying and moving to Long Beach to have a family. While raising three daughters, including twins, and two stepsons, I worked in marketing at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and, for over 22 years, was a student coordinator in the Nurse Practitioner program at California State University, Long Beach. I loved working on a campus, just as I loved being on the small, friendly and beautiful campus of Menlo College.

“IS THIS (APPLICATION) FOR YOU OR YOUR SON? IT WAS FOR ME.” MENLO COLLEGE MAGA ZINE

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Menlo’s History and “Herstorian”

By Pamela Gullard, Editor, Menlo College Magazine Menlo College, established in 1927–when Americans first began buying cars instead of horses–has a long history of educating students to thrive through whatever transitions their era presents, including stunning shifts in technology, global relations, and social attitudes. The 1970s–like the 2020s–brought huge cultural changes. Roles for men and women were re-examined and, at Menlo College, this meant that women were invited to campus as students for the first time.

Changing an all-male institution into one that welcomed women brought some soul-searching. In the summer of 1969, Menlo College President Richard O’Brien had appointed a committee to study the transition. For three weeks they debated the merits of coeducation, concluding that “our society has changed to such a degree that separate education for young men and young women now appears to be archaic.”

The ensuing debate about accommodations for women may look quaint to us. While discussing the need to hire female faculty, these men wrote that the curriculum would need to include tennis, golf, archery, bowling and ballet. When Dr. Leon Loofbourow, Professor of History and Literature, worried about the “cell-block atmosphere of our dormitories,” a fellow committee member reminded him that “this generation of women would take it; they like austere conditions.”

The chapter on the 1970s in my book Through the Gates: Eighty-five Years of Menlo College and its Times, shows how these men grappled with stereotypes. Students, also, reflected on their attitudes, as you can see in the following excerpt. During my research, I cringed at the word “girls.” You may cringe also. I hope that feeling will lead to a celebration of the progress that has been made toward treating everyone with respect. May that progress continue.

1970s: Menlo Finds its Place in the Culture Wars, an excerpt Menlo Goes Coed In the 1970s, new courses, a more global student body, and new places to meet changed the environment of Menlo College, but the biggest change came with the first class of women. For 65 years, the only voices on the Menlo campus had been the deeper tones of men. In the late 1960s, more of those men asked for the broader educational experience of studying alongside women. A committee headed by Provost John D. Russell concluded that adding the intellectual talents of women would . . . “improve the educational experience at Menlo College.”

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“Our society has changed to such a degree that separate education for young men and young women now appears to be archaic.”

They had no trouble finding capable students for the planned women/men ratio of two-to-three. Liberal arts courses were added, Howard Hall was transformed into a women’s residence, and “Miss Rita M. Gramann,” formerly the dean of women at a small college in Missouri, was hired as the first Dean of Women.

Men on campus welcomed this change, but were not always exactly sure how to handle it. In the student newspaper, one writer begins, “Tuesday afternoon (October 22, 1970) was a bit too early to find out any definite policy changes which will take effect next year when women enter Menlo—won’t it seem awkward, calling them women instead of girls.”

He and other men on campus worked on their progressive attitudes as they anticipated the arrival of the first class of women. One editorialist in the student newspaper pointed out that the administration should not impose paternalistic social rules on the new students. He wrote that Menlo College was right to make rules for the safety of women and so “we all should not expect that totally unrestricted dorm hours will be enacted,” but, he added, “let’s give the girls the same chances we have, to manage our own hours and lives.”

As you can see in this issue of the magazine, the first women of the College managed their lives just fine. If you would like to learn more about the ways women and men experienced Menlo through the years, you may buy a copy of Through the Gates at the Menlo College Campus Store.

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FINDING ALEX: Exploring Gender Identity through Self Expression

By Alex Armira ’22 Alex Armira (she/they) is a senior marketing major at Menlo and president of Spectrum G.S.A., a Menlo student organization where LGBTQ+ students and allies can connect and learn about the LGBTQ+ community.

My hair is not masculine.

I was not always Alex; it was an identity I stumbled upon in my journey learning about myself. I had tried out various names that never seemed to quite fit with how I saw myself, how I thought others should see me. It is not to say that I was not Alex before, but that I am more Alex now than I ever have been.

My hair is not feminine.

I have gone through many internal (and external) hurdles to come to the way I express myself today. From changing my name to enforcing my pronouns, the most significant step for me in my journey with gender expression was my hair.

It started with hiding my hair in a beanie in middle school. The beanie was accompanied by baggy hoodies and hand-me-down plaid shorts. It disassociated me from femininity; from behind people would be sure I was male, but when they saw my face that idea would soon disappear. I felt good at times when people couldn’t tell what I was, but then my legal name would give it away and I was just another tomboy in their eyes.

My hair is not docile.

My hair is vibrant.

My hair is alive.

I had always questioned my gender. I thought I might be a man at times, but that really didn’t fit with how I saw myself, neither did being a woman. Actually, thinking of myself as a man felt more comfortable than saying I was a woman. At the time, I didn’t realize I didn’t have to be anything.

I got my first undercut in high school. The top half was still long, the bottom half buzzed down with a design. It was the first time my family began to believe I was queer–funny how much hair can serve as a statement. I had come out before, but this started to cement it. The beanie they had seen as a phase, of course, but cutting off half of my hair, that was real to them. I started to find out who I was, but I did not feel like I was quite there yet. Around that time or soon after I started going by Alex too (still, only with those I trusted). It was the first time I felt more like myself.

My journey continued in college and I felt so afraid. I was still figuring myself out, and I was not ready to put myself out there. But the friends I have made here at Menlo were so supportive, and every day I felt a little more confident in who I was.

I cut the top half of my hair short. At first, I was scared it would scream out my identity. I felt self-conscious. Vulnerable. I felt good with short hair but guilty for it. It felt as though there was so much pressure for my hair to express who I was.

I was letting the ideas of femininity and masculinity define my hair instead of just doing what I liked or how I felt comfortable.

As I let the fear go, it opened the door to a world of fun. Having my hair short and dyed “fashion colors” is now an important aspect of my identity. It is not something that I could ever give up and will not.

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My hair shows that I am Alex.

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Use Your Words to Respect Gender Identity This year, Menlo is implementing the ability for students to self-identify their gender and to designate their “chosen name” which will be used in lieu of their legal name (except where the legal name is required). This means that the campus directory, class rosters, the Menlo Online Learning Environment (MOLE), and other school documents and forums will identify students by their chosen name to avoid misnaming and misgendering.

A study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that when compared with peers who could not use their chosen name and pronoun, young people who could were 71% less likely to experience symptoms of severe depression, 34% less likely to have thougths of suicide and 65% less likely to attempt suicide. Menlo College is acting to promote students’ mental health and wellness, and to foster a campus environment where all students’ identities are acknowledged and validated.

Students, faculty, and staff can lend their support by taking steps to use each other’s correct names and pronouns. A Menlo student, who asks to remain anonymous, explains why it is important to be mindful of the ways we speak and think about gender, and why creating opportunities to share names and pronouns can help:

A Student Speaks All people have a gender identity–even cisgender people (those whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth).

However, some may not identify as the sex with which they were born. A study by Meerwijk and Sevelius (2017) reports that 30 in every 100,000 people identified as transgender–not including those who identify as non-binary (someone who does not identify as exclusively feminine or masculine).

A cisgender person might never think about specifying their preferred name, gender, or pronouns, so they might wonder why they should use pronouns in their bios, email signatures, Zoom names, and other areas where they describe/address themselves. But it’s beneficial to those who do not identify with their birth sex for everyone to identify their pronouns.

Gender can be easy to forget about, especially when we interact online. We might use slang that expresses gender bias or makes gender assumptions (sis, girl, etc.). While it can sometimes be easy to assume someone’s gender based on their profile picture, what they identify as may not be the same as what you think they look like. But being misgendered can make some feel invalidated, judged, or disrespected. It’s not just a harmless mistake, but can create real feelings of distress (especially when a transgender or non-binary individual may experience it on a daily basis). Asking someone about their pronouns can avoid misgendering, and specifying your own pronouns demonstrates that you understand the importance of not making assumptions about someone’s gender identity.

Additionally, it is harder to spot someone who is transgender or non-binary when most people specify their pronouns. Before pronouns were common to have in bios and other places, those who did specify them were immediately assumed to be non-cisgender and were often attacked for it. As someone who gets misgendered in real life, on phone calls, or even on Zoom (never on purpose), it would be comforting to know that I am not the only person with my pronouns next to my name. It can make a situation feel safer and leaves people less singled-out.

I know that Menlo is an institution that cares for the LGBTQ+ community, and most want to learn how to be better allies; I believe considering pronoun use is an excellent place to start.

Russell, S.T., Pollitt, A.M., Li, G., & Grossman, A.H. (2018). Chosen Name Use Is Linked to Reduced Depressive Symptoms, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicidal Behavior Among Transgender Youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 63(4), 503-505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.02.003 Meerwijk, E.L., & Sevelius, J.M. (2017). Transgender Population Size in the United States: a Meta-Regression of Population-Based Probability Samples. Am J Public Health, 107(2), e1-e8. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303578

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Investing in Social Change

By Julie Juergens, Adjunct Professor of Management

Gender equity, simply put, means that women and girls have the same rights, protections, and access to resources and opportunities as men and boys. Period.

This is because issues affecting women and girls address the root causes of society’s most pressing problems and cut across economic, social, political, cultural, and environmental lines.

Women and girls make up half of the world’s population yet less than 2% of our philanthropic dollars fund organizations focused on women and girls. And while organizations focused on gender-equity have experienced a steady increase in philanthropic support over the past few years, in reality this translates into a relatively small percentage of our overall philanthropic giving. And funding for women and girls of color and those facing other intersectional barriers is even lower.

Organizations supporting women and girls make up nearly 3.5% of all charitable organizations, so at the very least, our philanthropic dollars should align with this percentage. But given that supporting women and girls creates a ripple effect that benefits everyone, simply by increasing the funding to gender-equity organizations increases the positive ROI of benefiting the greater good.

The bottom-line is that improving the lives of women and girls advantages families, communities, and nations — not just today but for generations to come.

“If you want to lift up humanity, empower women.

It is the most comprehensive, pervasive, high-leverage investment you can make in human beings.” ― Melinda Gates MENLO COLLEGE MAGA ZINE

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Dinner Conversation

By Mark Hager, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, with Lisa Ann Villarreal, Ph.D., Senior Editor

What would Frida Kahlo, Kamala Harris, Audrey Hepburn, and Margaret Thatcher talk about at a dinner party?

Students in my course Psychology of Women in Organizations study women in twentieth/twenty-first century history and stage conversations between them, seeking to imagine their way into their subjects’ perspectives in order to understand the social and psychological factors that influence women’s experience.

The course arose from the desire to craft a better understanding for students about women’s changing roles in organizations. Mindful of the challenges of a man teaching this content, the importance of allyship and our individual and collective understandings of feminism still spurred me to take on this course when the faculty member who designed it was unavailable. Using her guidelines, we explore topics such as gender stereotypes, communication styles, sexual harassment, leadership, and life/work balance, and give special attention to the specific challenges facing women of color, women entrepreneurs, and Silicon Valley women. Approaching this study through the lens of psychology allows us to examine the systemic features of the organization, but also to get at the lived experience of individuals in organizations. Alongside gender studies, we look at studies of abilities and disabilities, of racial and ethnic identity, and how these aspects of the individual intersect.

The project for this course grew out of a desire to let students explore the content in a creative way while still hitting the depth of psychological science that informs our twenty-first century understanding. The concept derives from the intersection of works by two contemporary feminist artists. Judy Chicago is a feminist visual artist, and her installation The Dinner Party (currently housed in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art in the Brooklyn Museum) inspired the visual element of this project. Designed to make visible women’s experience in and contribution to history, the piece gives women a place at a table from which they have historically been excluded. The

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work is staged at a massive dinner table, with place-settings that represent each guest.

Chicago constructs a narrative from women’s social psychological biographies, using imagery to create metaphorical interpretations of their lives or key moments, as well as their multigenerational connections with the women on whose shoulders they stood.

Like Chicago, the students create place settings for their project representing influential women in history. The students then stage conversations among their chosen guests that both represent these women’s perspectives, historically, but also extrapolate how they might understand their lives today, with twenty-first century theories and language. That borrows from Caryl Churchill’s feminist play Top Girls. Top Girls is a conversation of women in art, fiction, and history at, again, a dinner party; they’re celebrating a woman’s achievement in a man’s world but simultaneously reaching back in time, recognizing the influences on their lives and on our contemporary time.

During the semester the students have been doing these very deep readings of empirical research on the psychology of gender and gender relations published in academic journals. Simultaneously, the students are reading biographies and contemporary published work connected with their chosen guest. Through their projects, the students reveal how these psychological theories intersect with the lives of the women they are studying and how they can help us understand women’s experiences.

Students’ reactions to the course and the project are hands down some of the most positive but also the most eye opening I’ve heard.

They discover things they never expected, coming away with a heightened sense of language and a more critical view of their own lived experiences. They tell me, “When you speak about this class, talk about how we changed.” They want everyone to take the class, so they have to examine these issues. They’ll say it’s the best class they ever took and it’s also the hardest work they’ve ever done, and they’re very proud of that.

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FA C U LT Y N E W S Associate Professor Sergey Anokhin and Associate Professor Fabian Eggers were rated among the top 30 most prominent researchers in their field this fall. The World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development recognized their work in entrepreneurial orientation based on bibliometric analysis.

Senior Adjunct Professor Pamela Gullard’s latest fiction, titled “Listen,” will appear in the May 2022 issue, vol. 31, of the New Ohio Review.

Trustee and Adjunct Professor Helene Kim is teaching The Role of Blockchain in Business Model Innovation, which studies the rapidly emerging global industry around enterprise blockchain, smart contracts and crypto currencies. This is the first time that the College has offered a course on blockchain, and it has attracted interest among Menlo students from diverse backgrounds and nationalities who aspire to careers in finance, technology management and digital transformation. The first student cohort is planning to launch a Blockchain Club next spring under Professor Kim’s direction.

Provost Grande Lum participated in ‘Bravethrough’ for Peace Day with Maya Soetoro-Ng, Menlo’s 2021 Commencement Speaker. Seen on the left, Provost Lum’s alter ego Space Ghost celebrating Halloween 2021 during the Menlo costume contest!!

Professor Lisa Mendelman recently published several new pieces in literary studies. In “Diagnosing Desire: Mental Health and Modern American Literature 1890-1955,” a piece in American Literary History’s special issue dedicated to second books, Mendelman glosses her new project on the history of mental health for which the Huntington Library awarded her a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Research Fellowship. With Octavio Gonzalez (Wellesley), she has authored a screenplay introduction to their edited cluster on “The Character of Contemporary Literary Criticism” for the Association for the Study of Arts of the Present/Journal. With Heather A. Love (University of Waterloo), she discussed our evolving diagnostic cultures as a way of introducing their edited cluster on “Modernism and Diagnosis” for Modernism/modernity.

Dean Melissa R. Michelson’s latest book, LGBTQ Life in America: Examining the Facts was released in December 2021 (turn to page 30 to learn more about this book. She also published a blog in The Fulcrum on the Ask Every Student campaign to increase college student voter registration, as well as an op-ed in the San Mateo Daily Journal about redistricting. Michaelson had two articles accepted for publication: ‘Cultivating a Beginner’s Mind: How Textbook Writing Improves Your Undergraduate Teaching” 27 WINTER 2022

(in PS: Political Science & Politics), and “Sports Elites, Counter-stereotypical Statements and Immigration Attitudes” (in Social Science Quarterly), and was quoted extensively in the media, including the SF Chronicle, AP, the San Jose Mercury News, the Minneapolis Post, Inside Higher Ed, the Sacramento Bee, and the LA Times.

Dean La’Tonya Rease Miles (left) with student Madison Thompson ’24.

Dean of Student Affairs La’Tonya Rease-Miles was recognized by Facebook for the first-generation student Facebook group she co-founded to promote online community building. She was also featured in an episode of the Student Affairs Now! Podcast about the experiences of first-generation students.

Dean of the School of Business Mouwafac Sidaoui was asked by the National Business and Economics Conference to present “Thinking Through Design: A Case Study of How Data Science Teams Use Design Thinking at Hitachi Vantara.”

Under the direction of Director Annika Steiber, Menlo’s Rendanheyi Silicon Valley Center offered three executive courses this year. Collectively, the three courses attracted almost 100 senior leaders from across the globe, representing Accenture, Bank of the West, Ericsson, GE Appliances, HP, Intel, and more. Lead instructors included Stephen Denning and John Hagel, both well-known from Forbes, the Peter Drucker Forum, and the World Economic Forum. The Center also offered ten webinars on such varied topics as climate change and its disruptive impact on businesses. (Contact Dr. Steiber at Annika.steiber@menlo.edu if you are interested in taking part in the Center’s mission to speed up development of new knowledge in the field of management.)

Adjunct Professor Don Uy-Barreta was invited to share his thoughts on opportunity costs with MoneyGeek in their Expert Insights column. As Professor Uy-Bareta explained it, an opportunity cost is the regret you may have from not taking another option–not just the explicit costs of a choice, but also the implicit ones.

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CAMPUS NEWS Four New Top College Rankings:

Menlo College Students See ROI! In their list of America’s Top Colleges 2021, Forbes ranked Menlo College among the top 16% of colleges in the country.

PayScale ranked the College in the top 7% of the best universities for a bachelor’s degree based on their 2021 College Salary Report.

For the twelfth year in a row, the Princeton Review recognized Menlo College as a top business school and a “Best in the West.”

Niche ranked Menlo College as the #16 most diverse college in America. The College is also distinguished as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) – only 1% of all colleges and universities have both of these recognitions.

Menlo Competes at the NAIOP SV University Challenge

In November, students of the Real Estate Center program took part in the 2021 University Case Study Competition in Santa Clara. The competition is sponsored by the commercial real estate development association known as NAIOP, and this year’s audience included Menlo trustees, faculty, and staff, along with hundreds of Certified Real Estate professionals from around the Bay Area. Wiley Gross ’22, Team Captain Michaela Haynes ’22, and Wolfgang Lachance ’23 represented Menlo with their proposal for a new development project in Sunnyvale’s Moffett Park. Their pitch was singled out for its professionalism and ambition – characteristics that are surely shared broadly among Oaks everywhere.

Wiley Gross ’22 (right), Team Captain Michaela Haynes ’22 (middle), and Wolfgang Lachance ’23 (left) receive real estate honors. Photo by Angela Schmiede 29 WINTER 2022

An Exploration of LGBTQ Life in America

Dr. Michelson’s seventh book, and her third with social scientist Dr. Brian F. Harrison, LGBTQ Life in America, uses a series of questions and fact-based answers to explore falsehoods, myths, and misconceptions about LGBTQ people. The result is an examination of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expectations and norms, as well as the history of discrimination and mistreatment of LGBTQ people and how that persists today. Some entries reach back centuries for historical context, or to show how the lives and treatment of LGBTQ people has changed over time; others compare the U.S. to other parts of the world—but the focus is on current events and realities in America.

By Melissa R. Michelson, PhD, Dean of Arts and Sciences Published last month by ABC-CLIO Press, our book is appropriate for anyone who wants a clearer understanding of LGBTQ people and issues, but we deliberately wrote it with younger readers (high school and college students) in mind. In fact, we hired multiple students as test readers of the book to ensure that we were hitting that mark.

The book was truly delightful to write. Most of my books (including my two previous books with Brian) describe my current research (with the notable exception of my textbook on California politics). This book was more of a research adventure, and I learned a lot—not just from the deep dive into academic sources and news stories, but from talking to Brian, our editor, and our research assistants about what myths and misconceptions we should include and how to approach answering them.

Instead of reading the book from cover to cover, readers can choose from among the 49 questions that interest them—for example, “Is being LGBTQ a choice?” (question #3), or “Are bisexual people just confused gay (or straight) people who can’t make up their mind?” (Q23), or “Can children really know that they are transgender from an early age?” (Q30) and read a factbased summary of the research answering that question. We expect it to be an indispensable source for people of all ages who want to know more about LGBTQ people, their successes and shared history, and the current challenges they face.

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INTERNSHIPS

I Learned to be a Member of a Team... and a Leader

By Tatum DiOro ’22

This past summer I completed a marketing and sales internship at Cidersoft, a software development firm. I worked directly with Menlo alum and CEO, Ilya Lipovich ’99.

Lipovich and I connected on Linkedin through POWERWALK (now BUILT), the personal training business I started. When I entered Menlo’s internship program, I asked Lipovich if Cidersoft was hiring.

In my three months at the firm, I learned how Cidersoft builds software projects with fully managed teams, following the Agile development method. Those teams included experts like project managers, highly-vetted developers, and designers.

I had major preconceptions before I began my internship. I thought I’d perform monotonous sales calls and write social media posts on software trends, for three long months at Cidersoft. Or maybe I’d have strict deadlines with big repercussions if I missed one. From what I’d heard, the software industry is pretty cut-throat. I was also worried about being micromanaged on my projects.

In reality, all my higher-ups encouraged me to speak up and proactively manage my internship and workload. The intense and enjoyable days at Cidersoft developed my understanding of marketing and business writing. I wrote a high-level audio course content script for a top-rated iPhone/Android app. I also drafted and delivered social media posts, blog posts, and articles for Forbes.

The rebranding content work I completed at Cidersoft built up my career portfolio.

More importantly, I learned how to be both a supportive member and a leader within the team environment. I appreciate everyone at Cidersoft’s feedback, daily conversations, and hanging at the office. It was a wonderful and life-changing summer.

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A Good OPTion for International Students International Students Find Success – and Challenges – in the U.S. After Graduation

By Dylan Houle, Executive Director of Internships and Career Services International students come from all over the world to study at Menlo College. After they graduate, many choose to take advantage of Optional Practical Training (OPT) which allows them to live and work in the U.S. for up to one year. Many use that time to try to secure corporate sponsorship for longer-term work visas like the H-1B, which are primarily awarded through a lottery system.

Current International Student Representative Celina Husung ’22 recently brought together three alumni – Sam Baker ’20, Amelie Elsässer ’20 and Paolo Nogoy ’20 – for a virtual panel discussion to share their experiences pursuing the H-1B visa.

Sam Baker ’20, an international student from Canada, graduated with a degree in finance and secured a job offer as an Associate Consultant at Bain & Co., one of the world’s top consulting firms. The company sponsored him for a temporary H-1B work visa and he was selected during the lottery.

“It’s a really competitive process so networking with people who work at the company is important,” Sam said. “I was super lucky to get connected to someone at Bain through the internship that I did while at Menlo, so that was how I got my foot in the door.”

Amelie Elsässer ’20, a student from Germany, converted her audit & assurance internship at Deloitte into a full-time job. However, she shared that she wasn’t selected through the H-1B visa lottery the first time she was sponsored, but is maintaining a positive attitude about her experience working in the U.S. “Dont be too focused on the H-1B visa,” she advises. “Enjoy the [OPT] year that you get through your degree and everything else will fall into place.”

Deloitte is currently sponsoring her application for a second time and she is waiting on the results.

Paolo Nogoy ’20, from the Philippines, took a somewhat different path from Sam and Amelie after graduation. First, he worked as a technical recruiter for a staffing agency before being recruited back to Menlo College to work on the admissions team. His new job at Menlo College greatly improves his chances of securing an H-1B visa because educational organizations are exempted from the H-1B visa cap.

“I would not recommend job hopping too much after graduation” Paolo said, but the chance to work for his alma mater and potentially stay in the U.S. long term “is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Already these alumni are taking what they learned about the job search to help their fellow international students transition into the U.S. workforce. For example, Baker provided critical mentorship to Bianca Barros ’22 and Basil Merk ’23 as they successfully navigated the interviewing process at Bain & Co. Barros, who graduates in December, will be joining him in the San Francisco office as an Associate Consultant while Merk will be following several months after to participate in the consulting firm’s prestigious summer internship program.

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Silicon Valley Sculpture 2021

A New View on Art 33 WINTER 2022

Katharina Powers, owner of Art Ventures Gallery in Palo Alto, writes, “Menlo College is a minimalist, serene, breathing campus that invites the presence of grand sculptures.” And grand sculptures were to be had in abundance when Menlo and Art Ventures Gallery once again joined forces to co-host the Silicon Valley Sculpture (SVS) 2021 in September. The lead artist for this year’s event was Foon Sham, a Macauborn sculptor and professor of fine arts at the University of Maryland, whose works are displayed at the Smithsonian Museum in our nation’s capital and elsewhere around the world. Thanks to the generosity of the artist and his family, the sculpture that Sham exhibited at SVS 2020 is on permanent display on Menlo’s campus. History repeated itself following SVS 2021, when yet a second Foon Sham sculpture was donated to Menlo College for permanent display.

Plans for Menlo College to host an annual Silicon Valley Sculpture Art Fair were launched before Covid-19, but the first two shows took place under pandemic conditions. Referring to the plan to host an art exhibition during a pandemic, artist Ryan Carrington observed that “it is about hope in a way. People need sculpture. They need experiences.” Planning for SVS 2022 has already begun, a testament to the atmosphere of enduring hope on campus.

Photos by Miranda Dutton ’24, Tim Krauss ’25, and Lisa Ann Villarreal

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A picturesque setting...

By Dylan Houle, Executive Director of Internships and Career Services If Menlo’s campus provides a felicitous setting for an al fresco sculpture gallery, this is due in large part to the tireless efforts of those who tend the plants and trees that contribute to its natural beauty. Menlo College boasts one of the most picturesque quads in Silicon Valley, with its iconic Oak trees, proud Redwoods, and the chalky Aspens that spring forth from the neatly mowed fescue grass.

Ezequiel “Zeke” Zamora, a member of the college’s facilities team, has worked to maintain the natural splendor of the campus for years.

Originally from Michoacán, a state on Mexico’s western coast, Zeke moved to the United States 20 years ago and has built a successful career in landscaping.

Landscaping is a six-days-a-week job that requires meticulous attention and careful planning. Water management is one of the most pressing challenges, Zamora says: “We are in a drought now so we have to be very careful.”

With so much plantlife under his care, does he have any favorites? “The Carlos Lopez tree,” Zamora says (the Redwood tree afront Michaels Hall dedicated to former president Dr. Carlos Lopez). But mostly, “I just try to keep everything nice. It feels good when someone gives a compliment.”

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Marketing the

MASK A Project to Use Consumer Behavior Knowledge on Campus

By Lan Jiang, PhD, Associate Professor of Marketing I always tell my students how broad the scope of marketing is, beyond selling goods or services. On a daily basis, we are constantly marketing ourselves and our ideas to various target audiences. Good ideas need marketing, too, to be effectively implemented. Our consumer behavior class students have used their knowledge about consumer attention to help our community focus on an important message at the moment: still masking up!

After a semester with everyone back on campus, we are happy and proud to see Covid well under control in our community. It took time and lots of effort for the public to understand the importance of vaccination and masking, but the education of science, storytelling, social influences, and other measures helped everyone accept the requirements. While the rule of masking up is followed fairly well in class, reminders are still needed in such places as the fitness center and the dining hall.

In a busy environment, people are distracted with all types of stimuli. In the dining hall, students take off their masks to eat and socialize, and some forget to attend to the masking rule when they leave the table. What could serve as an effective reminder to grab their attention among the distractions?

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Five groups of students from the consumer behavior class used their knowledge about “attention” to design mask wearing campaigns to help alleviate the problem. “Attention” requires more devoted cognitive processing towards stimuli, and at a higher level than exposure.

It is an easy concept, but it can be challenging as we often live in a state of sensory overload, and our behaviors are being reshaped by this state.

Rule #1 in attracting attention is relevance, i.e., something that is of interest to our students. Who knows this best? Our students themselves, of course. They know their superheroes, they know the latest released Certified Lover Boy album, and our Oakie is definitely the star. All these were enlisted in our campaigns. Have you seen them in the dining hall?

The style of the messages is mostly chill and lighthearted, to stand out from the usual serious warning tone which could lead to alert fatigue. As we are well educated on the science/rational aspect, a fun approach serves as a good attention grabber. These projects are great examples of how the knowledge learned in class can be used to solve real-life problems and help promote positive behavioral changes in the community..

OAKIE SAYS MASK Mask Wearing in the CafeteriaUP!!

Campaign

Mask Wearing in the Cafeteria Campaign

Wearing in the Cafeteria Campaign

Mask Wearing in the Cafeteria Campaign

Photos by Crystal Cebedo ’20 and Lisa Ann Villarreal MENLO COLLEGE MAGA ZINE

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STUDENT LIFE

Women Gone

WILD

Empowering Leaders at Menlo College

By Chara Higaki ’22, President, Womxn in Leadership Development Womxn In Leadership Development (WILD), founded in 2019 by Bianca Barros, aims to help womxn fight oppression, stigmas, and constraints that stop them from achieving their full potential. Our activities help empower womxn to be impactful, conscious, and innovative leaders. We also emphasize the importance of mental health, making WILD a safe place for womxn to express themselves.

As a club, some of our goals include: promoting innovative leadership, in order to equip womxn with the confidence they need to navigate this complex world; empowering womxn with the necessary skills to identify and address discrimination and inequality in the professional world beyond the Menlo community; and fostering connections within the womxn of Menlo College.

For instance, during the pandemic, WILD hosted a Galentines Day Event as a celebration of thyself. Participants munched on chocolate-covered strawberries and played an icebreaker game of We’re Not Really Strangers to discover commonalities and to become more aware of their worth. This event is a celebration for womxn to feel worthy of love, whether or not they have a partner, with the help of a community of womxn doing the same. We want members to embody confidence that radiates to those around them.

The Womxn In Leadership board meets once a week on Monday nights to plan events and potentially collaborate with other schools. Last year, the event series included a presentation by Rika Nakazawa, the vice president, and client partner at Conduent, and the CEO and co-founder of BoardSeatMeet. She spoke powerfully about breaking through glass, bamboo, silicon ceilings of the enterprise landscape.

This year WILD, along with the Alumni Engagement and Development office, will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the admittance of womxn. Along with empowering current womxn at Menlo college by offering off-campus opportunities and speaker events. WILD plans to take its members to the Women’s March in San Francisco. We will stand with other individuals who move with the feminist movement. WILD is also included in a network with other womxn led groups at different institutions, including De Anza College, to provide virtual events for each other’s members.

We want to empower womxn and encourage anyone that identifies as a womxn to join our club. We hope members of WILD feel that this time and space are safe. WILD also promotes inclusion and is open for anyone who identifies as an ally to womxn. Our society will be facing deep problems in the next decades and we will need to rely on thoughtful, powerful authorities. WILD is helping to develop rising leaders.

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WILD creates frequent opportunities for students and faculty to come together. Here, Dean Melissa Michelson congratulates Sigrid Eriksson Loid ’22 at a recent event honoring students who have made contributions to gender equity.

2021-2022 Common Book

Memoir of a Refugee

By Erik Bakke, Executive Director of Academic Success and International Student Services The 2021-22 Menlo College common book is The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui, a graphic novel about, according to Bui, “parents and children.” It chronicles the family’s departure from Vietnam in the late seventies as war refugees, their journey to the United States, and their construction of a new life. Many in the popular press have drawn parallels between Bui’s representation of the end of U.S. military engagement in Vietnam in 1975 and the recent end of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan.

The purpose of the common book is to help promote reading among Menlo College first-year students and provide a foundation text for broad-based discussion. Throughout the fall semester of 2021, students, staff, and faculty were encouraged to read The Best We Could Do and participate in group discussions.

Bui’s direct and poetic account of an American immigration story has struck a chord with Menlo students and led to lively conversation, including student-led discussions about the parallels between the author’s circumstances and the students’ experiences.

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E V E N T S — Living Li fe to the Fullest!

Spoken Word

Costume Contest

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The pandemic forced our students to make many adjustments to life on campus this fall, but as the pictures on these pages display, they nonetheless found ways to thrive - through engagement, action, and otherwise finding purpose in their lives.

Oak traditions live on. Below are some highlights from campus events this fall sponsored by the Student Government Association. Residential Life, student organization the Grow Love Collective, and more.

Photos by Miranda Dutton ’24, Esteban Ramirez ’23, and Samuel Spector ’21

International Food Fest

Club Fair Petting Zoo Women’s Soccer Holiday Party

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ALUMNI

Blazing a Trail for the Future Interview with Fran Schulz ’85

By Jessica Berger, MA, Director of Communications Looking back, first-generation college student and alumna Fran Schulz (née deBie) ‘85 enthusiastically describes her busy life as a Menlo student. She joined the Orientation Committee, was a founding member of Omega Psi (a community-focused sorority), joined Alpha Kappa Psi (a business society), and was involved in student government. She fondly remembers the School of Business Administration (SBA) Day as a terrific opportunity created by professors for students to meet industry executives. Fran also joyfully recalls the parties at the dining hall, and beams when she tells the story of meeting her husband, Doug ‘84 - son of Harold ‘48 - at Menlo. “Doug sat behind me in our capstone class, and we attended a Menlo wedding together. We danced and the rest was history!”

Fran credits Menlo with preparing her to lead: “I felt that there was no challenge too great that I couldn’t accomplish.” Not long after graduation Fran was recruited from the Stanford Research Institute by the accounting firm Arthur Young (later to become Ernst & Young). “At EY about 30% of partners are women now, and it’s more common to see part-time work, telecommuting, and more,” Fran notes. But this wasn’t the case when she began her career. Fran remembers many occasions where she was the only woman in the room. She was one of the earliest women in the Bay Area to make partner as an auditor - as well as work while having had children. “The presumption was that you would work for six or seven years, and then quit and have your children. I was the first auditor in the Bay Area to work part-time. My colleagues were asking, ‘How do we make it work for Fran?’”

Over the next ten years Fran worked part-time schedules while volunteering at the school of her two daughters, Nicole and Courtney. As her children grew, Fran also grew in her career, managing IPOs and mergers for life sciences companies, and eventually joining boards as a volunteer. Now Fran pays it forward by joining the board of Women in Bio, which seeks to prepare women for working in the life sciences industry as well as for board leadership roles.

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Fran credits her parents with instilling her with a sense of giving back. “Nobody in my family had gone to college, and my parents saw getting involved and giving to one’s community as a means of a different sort of education.” Indeed, Fran always had giving back to Menlo on her mind; first she recruited students at the beloved “Meet the Firms” annual accounting event organized by Professor Janis Zaima, and now as a member of the Board of Trustees, where she is Chair of the Audit Committee and also a member of the Investment Committee.

Fran Schulz enjoys a moment on campus with Gianna Fernandez ’22 and Rasmia Shuman ’22. Photograph by Samuel Spector ’21

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A Quartet of Twins!

With four sets of identical twins on campus this year, we’re seeing double all the time at Menlo. The fact that all eight are studentathletes makes for more double-takes: they’re always in motion!

The twins hail from far and wide: Wahiawa, Hawaii (Angelina and Angielyn Dela Cruz ’23), Trondheim, Norway (Christian and Fredrik Ingul ’22), El Dorado Hills, California (Connell and Jack Kane ’25), and La Valette-du-Var, France (Anaïs and Fiona Lefrique ’23). Worldwide, identical twins are born once out of every 250 births, which means we have more than our fair share – and we celebrate it!

Photos by Lisa Ann Villarreal

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ATHLETICS

Fall 2021 Season in Review

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ATHLETICS

By Ryan Barnett, Sports Information & Operations Director After being sidelined by the pandemic, Menlo College’s return to athletics for the first time since the 2019-20 season was a rousing success. The Oaks performed like they hadn’t missed a beat. The fall season netted 26 wins, 6 All-Conference honorees, 5 tournament wins, 1 nationally ranked team, and 1 All-American – all good enough to position the Oaks as the cream of the crop in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Expect continued success through the winter and spring seasons!

Women’s Soccer Menlo College Women’s Soccer kicked things off with their best start in program history. The Oaks came out of the gate with a nine-game unbeaten streak. The team ultimately finished in sixth place in the conference, after a pair of signature draws against two of the best teams in the NAIA. Menlo had two All-Conference honorees, Kori-Ann Koverman ’22 and Ally Salzwedel ’22.

Men’s Soccer Men’s Soccer had a slightly slower start to the season, as the young team took some time to grow together.

They were ready for action, though, when it came time for conference play. The Oaks placed third overall, which earned the Oaks a home playoff matchup against Westmont that saw the Oaks down the Warriors 3-0.

Menlo went on to the final site in Costa Mesa, where they dealt a crushing 5-0 defeat to The Master’s University, punching their ticket to the championship game against host Vanguard University. The Oaks and Lions duked it out in the finals, but the Lions came up victorious 1-0. Brett Fitzpatrick ’22, Levin Ledergerber ’24, and Evan Snodgrass ’22 were named to the All-GSAC team, and Caden Mink ’23 was named to the Academic All-District team, which honors players who have been stellar both on the field and in the classroom.

Women’s Volleyball Women’s Volleyball showed excellent growth over the course of the season, finishing with seven wins. Jaden Scott ’22 tallied 260 kills, and Cassandra Orozco ’25 led the Oaks and the entire conference with an average of 1.1 blocks per set. The team finished in ninth place in the extremely competitive field.

Photos by Douglas Peck 47 WINTER 2022

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ATHLETICS Cross Country Under the direction of first-year Coach Daniel Simpson, Menlo College Cross Country had a stellar season, culminating with three runners who made it all the way to NAIA Nationals. The star-studded Oaks were led by Naomy Lagat ’22, who finished third in the conference finals, and went on to become the program’s first AllAmerican in over 30 years. On the men’s side, both Connor Oldham ’22 and Conner Dmytriw ’22 finished in the top-300 at Nationals.

Golf Running from September all the way to April of each year, golf has the longest season of any of the Oaks’ sports. Menlo Men’s and Women’s Golf teams both got off to great starts this fall, and both teams garnered national attention. The men’s golf team won their final two tournaments of the fall season, while the women’s team won all three of their final tournaments. The Oaks Golf Programs will return to action in the spring.

49 WINTER 2022 Angela Peralta

Emily Sandoval

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In Memoriam Alvin “Al” Harrington ‘56: 1935 - 2021 Alvin “Al” Harrington, an American Samoan-born actor, showman, and businessman, influenced entertainment throughout Hawaii and the world. Like many islanders from Honolulu, Al moved to the mainland to attend Menlo College, finishing his education with a B.A. in history from Stanford University in 1958. After graduation, Al spent two years on a Mormon mission in Samoa and relearned his ancestral language.

He then worked as a history teacher and football coach at Punahou, his former high school, while working in entertainment on the side.

In 1972, Al made the full-time career leap into performing with the role of Detective Ben Kokua in Hawaii Five-0. Three years on the show gave him global recognition.

Afterwards, Al would become a Waikiki showroom headliner and recording artist.

In retirement, Al spent time in Utah and California doing film work before returning permanently to Hawaii. His film appearances included Forrest Gump, and a return to network television for the reboot of Hawaii Five-0 as a surf shop owner. In 2018, Al was recognized with the Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts Lifetime Achievement Award. He is survived by his wife Rosa, his children Alema, Tau, Summer, Cassi, and several grandchildren.

John Nelson ‘57: 1937-2021 John Nelson’s parents immigrated from Greece to Seattle and his father died when he was six months old. John worked as a newspaper boy, elevator operator, and a grocery delivery boy through his childhood to help support his mother and nine siblings. Attending Menlo College to study art history, John went with classmates on an inspiring trip to Europe. This expedition began a lifetime of travel and art appreciation. After moving to Los Angeles, John refurbished furniture to save up funds to travel back to Europe and acquire Parisian antiques for resale. With business and life partner Robert Rounds, John Nelson Antiques was born.

Starting from the side yard of a used furniture store, the business grew into a sophisticated establishment over 50 years strong featuring two showrooms - one on Melrose Place - with antiques collected from around the world. John’s career gave him a life full of travel and fun with friends across the globe. He insisted: “Keep your eyes open and observe the world.

There is so much to see, never stop looking.”

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Mansour Akram Ojjeh ‘74: 1952-2021 Mansour Ojjeh lived a global lifestyle as a French Saudi Arabia-born entrepreneur. After studying at the American School in Paris, he earned a business degree at Menlo College. He would go on to earn a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Santa Clara. Ojjeh was a shareholder and leader in the McLaren F1 team from 1984. Mansour became involved in F1 Racing when TAG, his father’s company, began to sponsor the Williams team. After winning a championship title with Williams, McLaren’s team convinced Mansour to invest in them instead for what would become nearly a 40-year legacy. His teammates described him as ultra-competitive, determined, and passionate with an easygoing, warm-humored disposition. McLaren Electronics, the McLaren F1 road car, McLaren automotive, and McLaren Applied Technologies were all a result of his support. Outside of racing, Mansour carried on his father’s legacy through Techniques d’Avant Garde, a holding company which supports numerous investments. TAG acquired Heuer, a struggling watch company, and transformed it into the luxury, internationallyrecognized watch brand it is today. TAG Aviation became a major supplier of global charter jet services, and the U.K.’s Farnborough Airport was revitalized under his leadership. Mansour is survived by his wife Kathy and his four children Lana, Lia, Sara, and Sultan.

David Stouffer ‘66: 1946-2021 David Stouffer grew up in Southern California and pursued his education at Menlo College, UC Irvine, and Pepperdine’s School of Law. Afterwards, he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. Upon his return Dave worked in the Public Defender’s Office before pursuing a 30-year long career with Merrill Lynch, retiring as Vice President. He was a true “waterman” as an ocean lifeguard as a youth who then re-qualified at age 40. Dave scuba dived, played AAU water polo at the LA Coliseum, and went on to race Finn sailboats in the 2008 Olympic qualifying trials. He belonged to the Balboa Yacht Club for over four decades and started racing the Finn in 1964. Dave is survived by his wife Karen, daughter Lara, granddaughter Alexandra, step-daughter Dawn, stepgrandsons Park and Chauncey, and brother Richard. He will be especially missed by his fellow alumni at Menlo College. In a conversation with President Steven Weiner, alumnus Captain Michael Lilly ‘66 lamented: “... I lost my Menlo classmate and friend for 57 years last night.

He passed peacefully with his family around him. One of my closest and best friends. That’s the kind of connection one gets at Menlo.”

Compiled by Michaela Haynes ‘22

Robert Jones ‘52: 1932-2021 Mitchell McDowell ‘52: 1928-2021 William Green III ‘59: 1939-2021

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Campus now graced with a Prince, a Princess, and Einstein Shortly after the curtain came down on SVS 2021, Menlo College received donations of two new sculptures to add to the permanent display of art on campus. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Grande Lum and his brother Jordon Lum, a senior manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, donated Foon Sham’s Shifting Perspectives in honor of their parents Hampson and Evangeline Lum. The sculpture was later renamed as Prince (left) to underscore its relationship to the Sham sculpture known as Princess (right), which the artist and his family donated to Menlo in 2020.

The artist Giuseppe Palumbo made the second donation, gifting his sculpture entitled Einstein (see page 35) to celebrate the arts in higher education. This and the other generous donations enhance our beautifully landscaped campus and further our mission to mold well-rounded business leaders for the twenty-first century.

Photographs by Lisa Ann Villarreal 55 WINTER 2022

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Non Profit Org US Postage PAID Denver, CO Permit No 5377 1000 El Camino Real Atherton, CA, 94027-4301 www.menlo.edu

Menlo Athletics is Back!