December 2009 - San Diego Community College District

San Diego Community College District
with excellence
City College
Mesa College
Miramar College
Continuing
Education
December 2009
M
ixing jazz music with education is like a piece of
art – it appreciates more over time.
The hundreds of thousands that have tuned into City
College’s KSDS Jazz88 Radio during the past four
decades would no doubt agree.
Story continues on page 10.
We—With Excellence | December 2009 1
Chancellor’s
Message
Constance M. Carroll, Ph.D.
Chancellor, SDCCD
Community Colleges as Patrons of the
Arts and Culture
In these days of economic strife and high unemployment,
community colleges are quite rightly viewed as “engines for
economic recovery.” Workforce education and economic
development have dominated much of the community college
effort in recent years for the benefit of countless students, local
communities and the nation itself.
America, however, has other dimensions, which are currently
eclipsed by the grim realities of the economy. As a nation, we
are forgetting that culture and the arts are as important to
success as preparation for work. This issue of the San Diego
Community College District newsletter is an acknowledgment
and celebration of the arts and humanities. These fields have
provided a valuable tool throughout the ages for understanding,
defining and illuminating the human experience. The arts
and cultural studies have also been instruments of promoting
and challenging social structures and policies. And, in some
instances, they have been vehicles for healing.
The Cathedral of Florence, Il Duomo - Santa Maria del Fiore, completed by
Brunelleschi, with patron support from the Medici family.
2 san diego community college district
One doesn’t often think of community colleges as patrons of
the arts and culture. When we think of patrons, who come to
mind are the Medici family whose support literally transformed
the City of Florence, notably its great cathedral. We think of
the Athenian leader Pericles whose public treasury provided
for the construction of temples and civic buildings and whose
private patronage supported some of the tragedies of the great
playwright Aeschylus. We might even think of America’s own
Congressional effort to support the arts and culture through the
establishment in 1965 of the National Endowment for the Arts
and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
At the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, there is a
wonderful quote of President John F. Kennedy inscribed in the
marble:
There is a connection hard to
explain logically but easy
to feel between achievement
in public life and
progress in the arts.
The age of Pericles was also
the age of Phidias.
The age of Lorenzo de Medici was
also the age of Leonardo da Vinci.
The age of Elizabeth was also the age of Shakespeare.
And the new frontier
for which I campaign in public
life can also be a
new frontier for American art.
Community colleges are new frontiers for many who are
seeking a first or second chance at opportunity, so it is fitting
that cultural studies and the arts become part of the fabric of
these important learning institutions for students.
Alumni Profile
A n o t h e r M i r ama r G r a d u a t e L e a d s
San Diego’s Fire -Rescue
Miramar College alumnus Javier
Mainar became San Diego’s 16th San
Diego Fire-Rescue chief on October 19,
succeeding Chief Tracy Jarman, also a
Miramar graduate.
In appointing Mainar, Mayor Jerry
Sanders – yet another Miramar alum
– said, “I couldn’t be happier to have
someone of Javier’s talents taking the
helm of our Fire-Rescue Department.
This is a man who enjoys the respect
of virtually everyone from his fellow
employees to other top fire officials
around the state.”
Former San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief
Jeff Bowman said the mayor made a
tough but correct decision by choosing
52-year-old Mainar, who served under
Bowman as a fire captain.
As chief, Mainar directs a department
with an estimated $200 million budget
and a staff that includes more than
1,200 firefighters, lifeguards, paramedics,
emergency medical technicians and
civilian personnel.
When asked why he would want
to lead the department during such
challenging economic times, Mainar
cites a sense of obligation. “I have served
for 29 years with San Diego Fire-Rescue,
been promoted all the way, developed
great relationships and enjoyed a good
lifestyle. It’s time to give back.”
In addition to administrative
positions, Mainar has worked in San
Diego’s busiest fire stations and has
served as an investigator with the Metro
Arson Strike Team, conducting well
over 1,500 fire investigations. During
the 2007 firestorms, he served as the
department’s incident commander.
According to Mainar, over 50 percent
of the City’s general fund is dedicated
to San Diego’s public safety sector. He
understands difficult decisions need to
be made and wants to provide accurate
information and make the most effective
recommendations to Mayor Sanders,
who has called for a $34 million cut
from Fire-Rescue’s budget.
Perhaps Mainar has spent 29 years
in one city because he relocated every
year as a child in an Air Force family.
Born in Madrid, Spain, the long-time
Californian also lived in Japan, Idaho
and Washington. While attending high
school in Lancaster, California, he met
and grew to admire the lifestyle and
career of a federal firefighter who worked
at Edwards Air Force Base. Not long
after graduating high school his parents
received orders to transfer to Germany.
That’s when Mainar moved with friends
to San Diego.
Mainar was recruited by the collegebased Fire Academy after enrolling in
the fire science associate degree program
at Miramar. In college, he discovered
the fire prevention side of instruction,
finding it much more interesting and
challenging than expected.
“Miramar instructors were really role
models,” he recalled. “They were former
firefighters – very motivational and
passionate about firefighter careers.”
Mainar graduated from Miramar
College with an associate in fire science
in 1984. He received his bachelor’s
degree in public administration from
San Diego State University in 1992
and moved up through the ranks
of San Diego Fire-Rescue,
serving in virtually
every department,
including the
last three
years as
Assistant Fire Chief for Support
Services where he oversaw logistics, fire
communications, fire prevention and
fiscal and administrative services.
Mainar is married with three children.
His 21-year-old son is currently enrolled
in the Fire Academy at the college with
hopes of joining San Diego Fire-Rescue.
We—With Excellence | December 2009 3
Alumni Profile
Berkeley Grad Jumpstarts
Career Taking CE Classes
San Diego News Network Business Editor Helen Chang
arrived five minutes early to enroll in a digital photography
class at North City Campus.
The class was already full. Chang estimated that there
were 45 people in line ahead of her. Undeterred, the veteran
journalist plans to be back the next time digital photography
is offered at the Continuing Education campus.
This would have marked the ninth Continuing Education
(CE) class taken by the Berkeley graduate of both master’s
and bachelor’s degree programs. Three years ago – when
Chang moved to San Diego – she enrolled in a North City
HTML computer language class and hasn’t stopped taking
CE classes since then.
Why? Because the classes have helped Helen successfully
re-invent her professional self to survive in the rapidly
changing, always competitive news media job market. As
a guest speaker at a recent San Diego Press Club writingfor-the-web workshop, she recommended the North City
computer classes to a room full of journalists and public
relations practitioners.
During a subsequent interview, Chang spoke passionately
about the relevancy and quality of the classes. “I wanted to
write for About.com but my skills were not up to date with
the job market, so I developed a list of subjects to learn.”
That list led her to North City Campus in Kearny Mesa
where she has completed two HTML classes, three Internet
Marketing classes, Digital Editing, Content Management
and QuickBooks, a bookkeeping program. In addition to
digital photography, she also wants to learn video editing –
both offered at North City.
Journalist Helen Chang interviews area biotechnology executives at a recent industry event.
4 san diego community college district
North City Ca
mpus
Dean Jim Vinc
ent
conservative
ly estimates
that 30 perc
ent of
the campus’s
students
enrolled in co
mputerrelated clas
ses hold
bachelor de
grees or
higher. “We h
ave even
had a few P
h.D.s.”
Helen Chang with family in Hawaii, circa 1973.
“I’ve traveled extensively and lived in a lot of different
areas but have never found this level of classes offered free of
charge,” Chang noted. Not until, of course, she enrolled at
North City, one of six CE campuses throughout San Diego
where virtually all vocational classes are free.
Born and raised in Honolulu, Helen is the daughter of
a University of Hawaii professor and attended the same
high school as President Barack Obama. At UC Berkeley,
she earned a master’s degree in journalism and a B.A. in
comparative literature.
As a journalist, she has been a TV reporter in Singapore
and has written for Business Week, Elle and Time magazines,
the San Francisco Chronicle,
MSNBC.com, Wired Magazine online, Fodors.com, the San
Diego Business Journal and other publications.
Chang spent her first two years in San Diego as a freelance
writer. In February – thanks in part to Continuing Education
– she landed a full-time job as Business Editor for San Diego
News Network (SDNN), a fledgling online news service.
In October, the full-time SDNN editorship became parttime because Chang now has book projects on her plate. “It
was quite unexpected, but I had offers to write two books at
the same time.”
As a book author, Chang continues to employ her
multimedia skills.
“In fact, one of the projects I am working on now is a
book about creating information products on the Internet
– so all those (CE) classes I took gave me a foundation of
knowledge for what I am ghostwriting about for this client.”
Other ghostwriting projects planned include books on
investing in real estate, launching a business and personal
finance, as well as a spiritual biography.
Helen with her mother.
We—With Excellence | December 2009 5
Terrence J. Burgess, Ph.D.
President
San Diego City College
P r o f ’ s P u b l i c A r t Pa s s i o n
EnhaceS
The Urban Art Trail, the BenchMark Project, Tweet Street...
For two decades, City College Graphic Design Professor
Candice López and her students have been beautifying San
Diego streets, sidewalks, waterfront and neighborhoods – one
project at a time.
More than ten years ago Lopez founded the Urban Art Trail
project that transformed inner-city areas into student-designed
works of art throughout the City of San Diego. This is when
she first became interested in public art.
“At that time, the area was plagued by crime and illegal drug
activity, and my husband and I helped form a neighborhood
watch but couldn’t make even a small dent in the problems,”
López recalled. “I decided the best way to change these issues
was to create a sense of place
and to make it so compelling
and interesting that other
people would want to live in
our community and establish
local businesses.”
“I realized with a little
imagination and paint, the
electrical (transformer) boxes
that dotted each block could be
the start of a transformation
using art.”
Next, her BenchMark
project
brought 150
Graphic Design Professor
individually-designed benches
Candice Lopez.
to downtown San Diego.
The student and artist-designed benches were on display
throughout downtown and eventually auctioned off to
benefit arts education programs.
Then Tweet Street came to life as an outdoor park
designed with upscale, safe homes for birds displaced
by downtown development. Next, with the help of
neighborhood kids, artists and engineers she brought
inspiration to depressed areas with her colorful Mosaic and
Sidewalk Poetry project.
6 san diego community college district
Rita M. Cepeda, Ed.D.
President
San Diego Mesa College
Throughout her career, Lopez has urged
college and high school students to employ
their design skills to
make a difference
in their community.
Currently, the
energetic designer
chairs the city’s
Arts and Culture
Commission, working
on the Mayor’s
downtown vision
plan.
In September,
Professor López was
named a 2009 Fellow
by the American
Institute of Graphic
Arts (AIGA). She
was among only
Bringing art to public schools.
22 nationwide that
received this distinction. A former AIGA vice president of
Education and Community Outreach, Lopez established the
AIGA San Diego Link program to work with at-risk high
school students with an interest in art and design.
There’s more. The tireless educator teamed with husband
Rafael López, a renowned illustrator, to paint large-scale
murals with elementary school children, teachers and families,
reflecting her commitment to bring art onto public school
campuses and into classrooms.
City College President Terry Burgess stated, “Professor López
is a nationally-recognized graphic artist who has served the
students of City College and the San Diego community for
many decades. Her students have become the ‘who’s who’ of
graphic artists in the region.”
Sidewalk electrical boxes
transformed by art.
Mesa College
Museum Studies
graduates are making
their mark at some
of the region’s most
prestigious museums,
including the San
Diego Museum of
Art, the Museum of
Contemporary Art
San Diego and the
Mingei International
Museum.
In Oceanside, Danielle Susalla worked on San Diego NOW:
Eight UCSD Visual Artists, an exhibition designed to encourage
a meaningful dialogue between fine arts master’s candidates and
the greater San Diego art community. As assistant director of
the Oceanside Museum of Art, Susalla wears many hats, from
managing volunteers to helping decide on which exhibitions to
showcase.
At the San Diego Natural History Museum, lead designer
Michael Field is developing an exhibit opening next spring that
will feature Southern California gems and minerals. A designer
for 24 years, Field has worked on exhibits ranging from Faberge
Imperial Eggs to dinosaurs to diamonds.
Field still helps out at the Mesa College Art Gallery, which
serves as a laboratory for students. “The quality of the program
at Mesa is fantastic,” Field said. “Students learn all aspects of
operating a professional museum. Every exhibit is different, and
being around the students feeds my creativity.”
Susalla and Field are products of the Museum Studies
program at Mesa, one of only three community colleges in
California and of only a handful in the nation to offer degree
programs. Mt. San Antonio College in Northern California
modeled its program after Mesa’s.
According to Program Director Alessandra Moctezuma, the
Mesa museum program attracts two types of students. About 60
percent are art history or studio art majors who transfer to fouryear institutions after earning their associate degree. Others
are practicing artists, or professionals from fields such as law,
marketing and business, who are seeking a career change and a
way to break into the museum field.
Susan Myrland is one such example. After years of consulting
for foundations and nonprofits, she wants to transition into
the art arena. “I learned about the Mesa program from my
Gallery
of Grads
Make
Museum
Scene
instructors at UCSD,” says Myrland. “It’s exactly what I
needed to gain experience to work in a gallery or museum. I’ve
compared notes with friends at other schools – their coursework
is all theoretical. At Mesa, I get the right balance of theory and
practice.”
In agreement was Elene D. Ramirez, San Diego Art Institute
Museum of the Living Artist education coordinator. Ramirez
came to Mesa after receiving her B.A. from UCSD in art
history. “I needed practical experience in the many diverse areas
that is required to design and install art exhibits…and I found
that at Mesa College.”
Danielle Susalla designs exhibits at the Oceanside Museum of Art.
Lead designer Michael Field at the San Diego Natural History Museum.
We—With Excellence | December 2009 7
Patricia Hsieh, Ed.D.
President
San Diego Miramar College
Anthony E. Beebe, Ed.D.
President
San Diego Continuing Education
Integrated Arts Approach
Envisioned
As a new arts and humanities building rises on campus, an
innovative cross-curricular, career-based approach is carefully
being crafted by the collective expertise of five faculty – Art
Professors Bob Fritsch and DeeDee Coppedge, Graphic Arts
Professor Rex Heftmann, and Music Professors Channing
Booth and Mark Hertica.
“We envision an integrated approach to the arts and music
programs where fine arts students will provide illustrations and
creations for our graphics students to feature in their designs,”
noted Fritsch, arts and humanities department chair. “Graphics
students will work with music students on multimedia
production and sound engineering for film, video and Internet
applications.”
All five teachers believe that integrating art and music
programs, embedding multi-cultural exploration and focusing
on real-world application will result in a powerful learning
experience.
With a career-focus approach, studio artist Fritsch advises
students aspiring to be professional artists to transfer to colleges
“where the money is” for sales, sponsor and gallery connections
– like California Institute for the Arts, UC Irvine and Yale.
San Diego Potter’s Guild member Coppedge regularly
exhibits at the Guild, the UCSD Craft Center, Otis Art
Institute (her alma mater) and Wenford Bridge Pottery in
Cornwall, England.
Heftmann, who holds a Master’s in Fine Arts in
photography, has designed publications for museums,
galleries, artists, patient information systems, historic property
redevelopment, and business information and promotion.
Hertica and Booth believe training for careers in
contemporary music requires determining its relevance to
8 san diego community college district
From left: Professors Bob Fritsch, DeeDee Coppedge, Rex Heftmann,
Channing Booth and Mark Hertica.
our past. Together, they are developing a comprehensive
musicianship program where, for the first time, students will
not need to go elsewhere to complete their associate degree.
With advanced degrees in Western music and
Ethnomusicology, Hertica’s global perspective underscores every
class he teaches and is evidenced by a close relationship with the
Center for World Music.
Berklee College of Music alumnus Booth is an accomplished
composer and pianist. He likens Miramar’s current electronic
music production program to teaching swimming in a “kiddie
pool.” He speaks enthusiastically of the new building that will
feature state-of-the-art music facilities, including a recording
studio, control room with isolation, mixing suite and
dedicated labs.
Jobs are available for graduates where sound systems are
used, including amusement parks, recording studios and radio
and television studios. And jobs abound for jingle writers,
composers and producers on the Internet, where location is
irrelevant. To keep up with technology, Booth is pursuing Apple
Logic certification.
What will remain unchanged is Booth’s and Hertica’s
commitment to make music relevant to every subject taught
on campus, whether it’s chemistry (varnish on violins), biology
(wood used in instruments), or physics (the belief that all
matter is composed of vibrating strands of energy).
If everything is literally a symphony of strings, Miramar’s
new arts and music program will play like a fine-tuned
orchestra.
Choral Groups
Perform and
Inspire
If you want to see what a retired banker, a
beautician, a dentist, and a life coach have in
common, visit a Continuing Education choral
group rehearsal and watch each find their place as a
soprano, alto, tenor or bass, then sing their
heart out.
The Cedar Center Chorus, Pacificares and
NOTEables are three groups that meet weekly in
choral classes through the Continuing Education
Emeritus program.
Students come from all walks of life and vary in
ages from their 30s to 90s. Some have been with the
group for more than 20 years, and new students have
joined the group as recently as this fall. “We welcome all
ages, and all levels of experience,” says Eunice Williams,
Continuing Education instructor and conductor for the groups
since 2004.
The greater San Diego community benefits when these
semi-professionals perform at venues around town. The groups
entertain both small and large audiences from local middle
schools to large public music festivals in Balboa Park.
“I love the community that has been formed by the
students,” Williams said. “I also love that we really create
something so excellent for the audience.”
The repertoires are as varied as the students themselves.
Vocalists and musicians perform jazz, classical, Broadway show
tunes, and even folk.
The groups are self-supporting, with the exception of the
Cedar Center Chorus, which has access to special funds donated
by Minnie M. Swanson, a former member. In 1986, Swanson
died at the age of 98, leaving the group $314,000. Interest
from her gift continues to pay for uniforms, sound equipment,
sheet music and rental fees for public performances such as the
annual Minnie Swanson music festival in Balboa Park.
Cedar Center Chorus at the Minnie Swanson Choral Festival in Balboa Park
(April 2009) is one of three Continuing Education choral groups that perform
throughout the community.
Recent venues include performances at the San Diego
Summer Pops, a Neurosciences Institute Gala fundraiser,
Twilight in the Park Summer Concert Series at the Spreckels
Organ Pavilion and the Shiley Theater at the University of San
Diego. In 2008, the NOTEables choral group performed at the
AMC Theaters in La Jolla Village for the San Diego premiere
of the movie Young@Heart, an inspirational documentary
that proves life is available to those who choose to keep living
it—regardless of age.
“I sincerely, believe that music changes lives,” says Williams.
“I think everyone should be singing.”
In December, the Cedar Center Chorus will perform a holiday
concert at the Neurosciences Institute Auditorium, singing
traditional holiday tunes from around the world including
favorites in Hebrew, French and German. A violin, percussion
drums, and bamboo musical instruments from the Philippines
will accompany the multicultural performance that is open to
the public.
We—With Excellence | December 2009 9
Continued from cover page.
KSDS DJ Chris Springer’s Latin Grooves is on the air Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m.
Managed by a small staff of
dedicated professionals, the membersupported station relies on over 30
citizen-announcers to create an
eclectic musical mix that caters to
both the casual and serious jazz fan.
Founded in 1951, the station began
programming jazz in 1973 and became
San Diego’s only full-time jazz station
in 1985.
Broadcasting mainstream/
traditional jazz, the non-profit FM
station is dedicated to promoting
the arts in San Diego. In addition
to broadcasting, cable-casting and
webcasting, the station continues to be
big on promoting jazz via community
outreach.
Six years ago, station manager Mark
DeBoskey initiated Music Matters, a
community program that has benefited
thousands of high school and middle
10 san diego community college district
school music students and is expected
to leave its imprint on thousands more.
The radio station uses its broad
reach to collect and donate musical
instruments to San Diego City Schools.
Now in its fifth year, Music Matters has
provided nearly 500 instruments to be
used by students in middle and high
schools who might not otherwise be
able to participate in music programs.
Music Matters was recognized in
2009 by the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, which provided the radio
station with a grant.
KSDS has also purchased and
facilitated the teaching of the Wynton
Marsalis Jazz for Young People
curriculum in 60 local K-12 schools.
In 2005, the League for Innovation in
the Community College named KSDS
an Innovator of the Year for the youth
curriculum, educational jazz festival
and its partnership with San Diego City
Schools.
At City College, the station
sponsors, promotes and hosts the
California Music Educators Association
(CMEA) Educational Jazz Festival. In
its sixth year, the clinic-style format
prepares students for the competitive
festivals that follow in the spring and
brings 300-plus students and their
families to the campus every March.
The annual KSDS Jazz88 Ocean
Beach Jazz Festival is another prime
example of community outreach.
Suggested by San Diego Community
College District Board of Trustees
President Rich Grosch, the five-yearold festival features top local, national
and international jazz artists.
“The impact that the radio station
and the festival has had on the
community has been overwhelming,”
Grosch stated. “By bringing in world
class talent, Mark DeBoskey and his
dedicated crew produce a first-class
cultural event for Ocean Beach and
the surrounding communities of San
Diego. In turn, KSDS has broadened
the appreciation and recognition of
authentic jazz and the San Diego
Community College District.”
This year, DeBoskey was presented
with the CMEA 2009 Jazz Educator
of the Year award for establishing the
festival. “Mark’s dedication to music
education is an inspiration and model to
all of us,” said Merryl Nelson, president
of the local CMEA chapter. “His
generous commitment of time, energy
and resources touches students’ lives
and encourages their dreams.”
KSDS Program Director Claudia
Russell is also active in community
outreach. In October, she emceed a
tribute to jazz and blues legend Jeannie
Cheatham, which was a fundraiser
for the Carlsbad Museum of
Making Music.
“I think our impact on the
region is really two-fold: As an
entertainment resource and
as an educational facilitator,”
Russell explained. “I’m really
proud of the fact that we are
mostly live radio and have
announcers who can connect
immediately with an audience.”
“Jazz 88.3’s generosity and
advocacy for building quality district
jazz curriculum and programs has been
consistent and powerful,” said Karen
Childress-Evans, San Diego Unified
School District Visual and Performing
Arts director. “We feel most fortunate
to have the resources and support of
KSDS, one of our strongest and most
effective community partners.”
This year, according to Arbitron,
Inc., more than 80,000 listeners tune
in to KSDS on a weekly basis. Five
years ago, the station’s audience was
estimated between 40,000 and 50,000.
In 1993, the National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) awarded KSDS
the Jazz Station of the Year distinction.
KSDS was a finalist for the same award
in 2004 and 2005 and was NAB’s 2008
Large Market Station of the Year.
Large market, indeed. Jazz fans
in 50 nations listen to KSDS Jazz88
through the Internet.
Jazz88 INternational appeal
Mike garant
finland
I love your
station. Keep up
the good work!
Raimar Bremberger
brazil
Howard lee
canada
Gunnar Witschi
Switzerland
Victor zambrano (l)
Venezuela
I’m a journalist so my life is full
of stress every day, and listening
to Jazz88 at work keeps me away
from insanity and helps put a smile
on my face even when things are going really bad. It also
helps me to gain inspiration and compose some music
once in a while.
We—With Excellence | December 2009 11
kudos
Accomplishments & Achievements
kudos
Accomplishments & Achievements
National Flash Fiction Award First of 2 Honors Football Field
Flash fiction by Mesa College English Professor Bonnie
Zobell has been recognized as one of the 50 best flash
fiction stories published online in 2009.
And on October 23, the creative writing teacher’s short
story, Sea Life, was published in the prestigious literary
print annual and online journal, Night Train. Read at
www.nighttrainmagazine.com/contents/zobell_9_2.php.
Night Train publishes only about 2.4 percent of
the 280 submissions received on average monthly.
Zobell’s flash fiction that placed her in The
Wigleaf Top 50 (Very) Short Fictions of 2009 is
entitled, Real Estate, can be found at
http://wigleaf.com/2009top503.htm. “I’m honored since there are some great writers
in the top 50, like Robert Olen Butler and Stuart Dybeck,” Zobell stated.
Flash fiction, aka Short Shorts, is a story consisting of 1,000 words or less.
“Seussical,” a musical, enjoyed a successful run at City College’s Saville Theatre, while the drama, “School of the Americas,” received critical
acclaim while playing at Mesa College’s Apolliad Theatre. Mesa students David MacDonald and Lydia Ellis-Curry are pictured below.
For decades, the City and Mesa drama
departments have significantly impacted
the region’s performing arts scene and
beyond, offering critically-acclaimed
productions at bargain prices to the
general public while providing a pool of
stage, TV and film talent.
City College boasts a mailing list of
over 1,000 names, including many senior
citizens “who are thrilled to attend our
shows – complete with an orchestra – for
$10,” stated Visual and Performing Arts
Coordinator/Director June Richards.
“We believe we serve a population that
would not be able to afford a musical
theater production without our help.”
City’s 280-seat Saville Theatre
produces one musical every semester
for three weekends each. Last year, the
college gave away many tickets to various
organizations on and off campus to its
production of “Seussical the Musical.”
12 san diego community college district
Meanwhile, the Mesa College Theatre
Company (MCTC) charges only $10 for
the general public and $5 for students,
staff and campus neighbors.
“Our students have proven themselves
as talented actors, managers, designers,
and directors,” Drama Program Director
Kristan Clark said. “Our students have
gone onto drama programs at SDSU,
UCSD, San Francisco State, UC Santa
Cruz, UCLA, USC, Rutgers, Columbia,
Harvard’s conservatory program, and
the American Conservatory Theatre, San
Francisco” and elsewhere.
Mesa alumni may be seen in recurring
roles on television and feature films, in
commercials and print ads, on stage at
regional theatres throughout the country,
Off-Broadway and internationally.
Alumni are also founding members of
theatre companies in New York, San
Diego and Los Angeles.
Gallery Draws Regionwide
Among regional venues, MCTC
students and graduates can be found
producing feature films throughout
Southern California, and working on
stage and behind the scenes at the La
Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe Theatre,
Escondido Performing Arts Center and
other area theaters, according to Clark.
The Mesa theater company produces
four to five shows annually, ranging from
classic to contemporary, comedy, drama,
absurdist and Shakespeare. All are staged
in the College’s Apolliad Theatre.
An estimated 230 art appreciators from throughout
the region frequent each exhibit at the San Diego Mesa
College Art Gallery. This number is in addition to
SDCCD faculty, staff and students.
“We usually fill up the G-101 lecture hall (seats
about 190 in a building separate from the gallery)
during the artist lectures,” said Gallery Director/
Art Professor Alessandra Moctezuma. “We also
have outside (community) people that come to the
receptions.”
During the academic year four exhibits feature art
by emerging and established contemporary artists. The
college art gallery is an educational forum that presents works of professional artists in
a range of media, dealing with diverse issues. “The gallery also showcases outstanding
artwork created by students in the art department,” she noted.
The works on display reflect a variety of topics in order to engage students from
other disciplines and departments, including exhibits in collaboration with Chicano
Studies, Women Studies and the Black Studies departments.
Classes from City College, CSU Fullerton, SDSU, USD and San Diego MET High
School also view gallery exhibits.
Facelift
The Mesa College
football field and track
reopened in September
after undergoing a major
facelift that was funded by
voter-approved Proposition
N. Originally dedicated
45 years ago, the facility
was named after Merrill
Douglas, Mesa’s first
athletic director.
Mesa has produced
many athletes who
became National Football
League players, including
Tony Banks, Monty
Jackson, Cliff Hicks, Lew
Barnes, Matt Kofler, Jim
Peterson, Scott O’Shell,
Casey Tisdale, Shon
King, Paul Berner, Darren
Comeaux, Ray Wells, Justin
Green, Bob Leque and Matt
Mazlowski.
Also, alumni Mike
Martz and Steve Fairchild
coached NFL teams, while
Olympic Gold Medalists
Arnie Robinson and Felix
Sanchez are track and field
graduates.
We—With Excellence | December 2009 13
kudos
Accomplishments & Achievements
World Cultures’ Book Fair
Literary Fan Favorite
Authors, students and books lovers
came together this fall at the fourth
annual City College International
Book Fair.
The six-day literary event is a major
component of the college’s ten-yearold World Cultures Program, which
exposes students, faculty, staff and the
community to a broad array of global
cultural diversity found in people,
groups, beliefs, traditions and customs,
plus the best in music, drama, literature,
lecturers and art. World Cultures
provides a forum for artists, musicians,
singers, dancers, actors, writers,
historians, spokespersons for numerous
causes, athletes and educators from
throughout the world.
During the book fair, as every year,
numerous authors signed and discussed
their literary works, and all events were
free and open to the public.
As always, diversity reigned. Two
very different novels among the new
books showcased were illustrative of
that diversity. The Sandman, a David
Lucero thriller, is set at an Iranian
nuclear research facility, while Dancing
with Butterflies, by Reyna Grande, is
about four women whose stories and
friendships are as rich as the Folklórico
dance that brought them together.
Professors Laurel Corona and Mike
Ornelas were among the featured
authors. Other writers appearing were
Gustavo Arellano, Ana Castillo, Marilyn
Chin, Cheryl Klein, P. J. Sainz, Willie
Perdomo, William Powers, Terrence
Stubbs, Barry Sanders, Rodolfo Acuña,
Ella deCastro Baron, Perla Batalla, Ying
Chang Compestine, Janet Gastil, Rick
Halsey, Larry Keough, José Lozano and
Úrsula Tania.
Some of the many books showcased at this fall’s fourth annual City College International Book Fair are
shown above. Authors, students and books lovers mingled at the well-attended six-day World Cultures
Program event.
14 san diego community college district
CAPED
Crusaders
Honored
Mesa College Professors
Jill Baker (above) and Jill
Jansen have been recognized
for outstanding work by the
California Association on
Postsecondary Education and
Disabilities (CAPED).
Baker, the college’s audiovisual
librarian, received the 2009
CAPED Teacher of the Year Award
for her work on accessible
instructional materials and
classroom technology to further
the education of students with
disabilities.
DSPS Counselor Jansen
received the 2009 CAPED
Recognition Award for
development of an intern model
for future learning disability
specialists.
kudos
Accomplishments & Achievements
Two Grand Openings and a Groundbreaking
Opening ceremonies were held at the
Mesa College Allied Health Education
and Training
Facility
and the
Educational
Cultural
Complex
Skills Center,
Mesa’s Allied Health
while
Education and Training
ground was
Facility
broken for
the Miramar College Library Learning
Resource Center.
All are voter-approved Propositions
S and N projects. Mesa’s $28.9 million
Allied Health building now positions
the SDCCD as the regional leader
in providing hundreds of skilled
professionals ready to meet California’s
skyrocketing demand for jobs in allied
health occupations.
The three-story, 57,000 square foot
facility includes numerous sustainable
features, classrooms equipped with
smart technology and laboratories
outfitted to simulate real-world medical
and healthcare facilities. While grand
opening ceremonies were held October
14, the building opened in time for the
start of 2009 fall semester.
Continuing Education’s ECC Skills
Center had its grand opening on
November 5. The new 67,000 square
foot center consists of three buildings for
such programs
as the
automotive,
appliance
repair,
business
ECC Skills Center
information
technology and CISCO, as well as
graphics and electronic assembly classes.
It is believed to be the nation’s largest
automotive instructional skills center
of its kind. The project, including land
acquisition cost $35.7 million.
The highly anticipated $48.4 million,
three-story Miramar College Library/
Learning Resource Center, broke
ground on November 16. The 100,000
The 2009 Outstanding
Classified Employees
of the Year are (from left,
back row) Richard Rogers,
DSC Facilities Services, 20
years of service; Lisa Munoz,
Centre City Campus Student
Services, nine years; Jackie
Clark, Miramar College
Student Affairs, 17 years; and
Theresa Johnson, City College
Admissions, 35 years. Front
row, from left are Juan Ortega,
Mesa Administrative Services,
22 years; and Darwin Browne,
City Disabled Support Programs
& Services, who has served for
ten years. Note: City College
vote resulted in a tie between
Browne and Johnson.
Miramar’s Library/Learning Resource Center
square foot LLRC will rise between
two classroom buildings currently
under construction and will include
library space, classroom, computer labs,
tutoring services, media production
facilities, faculty offices and work areas.
Completion is expected in 2011.
with excellence
December 2009
Published by the
San Diego
Community College District
Office of Public Information
& Government Relations
619-388-6500 • www.sdccd.edu
Executive Editor: Richard Dittbenner
Editor: Mary Lee
Text Coordinator: John Nunes
Graphic Design: Cesar Gumapas
Contributions from:
City College Communications Services
Mesa College Communications Services
Miramar College Communications Services
Continuing Education Communications Services
The San Diego Community College District is
governed by its Board of Trustees. No oral or
written representation is binding on the San Diego
Community College District without the express
written approval of the Board of Trustees.
We—With Excellence | December 2009 15
Free Live Music Every Week
The Mesa College Music Department continues its long-standing
tradition of making music throughout the region, featuring a vast
array of musical styles, instruments and cultural traditions for the
general public to feast on – at little or no cost.
Quite popular is the Mesa College Recital Hour in which
accomplished professional musicians and students perform.
The Recital Hour, which is free and open to the public, showcases
musical accomplishments of Mesa faculty, students and guest
musicians.
Sponsored by Bumble Bee Foods, the Recital Hour is held on
Wednesdays during the fall and spring semesters at 1 p.m. in Room
C-119. You’ll want to arrive early as seating is limited. The remaining
performances scheduled for this semester are December 9 and 16.
To view the schedule online, go to www.sdmesa.edu/music/
recital.cfm.
In addition to sharing their talents on campus, several members
of the college’s music faculty have performed throughout the region
and at the national level including Professors/Guitarists George
Svoboda (pictured) and Bob Boss and Professors/Saxophonists Bob
Magnuson and James Romeo.
Romeo leads the Mesa College Concert Jazz Band and the
college’s big band orchestra.
Public
Popcorn
One of 30 commissioned artists, City
College student Bonn Liang (pictured)
sculpted Popcorn Chicken for the Port
of San Diego’s Urban Tree-6 program
along the Embarcadero.
Inspired by his childhood memories
of the Big Top Circus, the sculpture
was installed in August along the
harbor. Liang described his work as
a “humorous sculpture with kinetic
energy.”
Built in the City College drama
workshop over two months, the
behemoth kernel box stands 10-feet
tall and weighs 400 pounds. It
is adorned with over 100 baby
chickens and designed to sway
and spin in the wind to encourage
interaction.
Liang credits City College
Art Professors Y.C. Kim, Duane
Gardella and Wayne Hulgin as the
biggest influences in his life as an
artist. “They taught me to use myself
as the muse, whether it is a good
moment in my life or a bad one.” He
plans to transfer to Long Beach State
to obtain his Bachelor of Arts degree.