Watts Then and Now - CSUDH Dateline Dominguez

Transcription

DOMINGUEZTODAY
THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, DOMINGUEZ HILLS
SECTION
Watts Then
and Now
Honoring History,
Transforming
Our Community
2014-2015
DONOR HONOR ROLL
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, DOMINGUEZ HILLS
Fall 2015
| www.csudh.edu
1
HO NO RI NG H I ST O RY
Our university’s
enduring mission over the
last five decades has been
to provide education
that is accessible and
transformative.
IN TH IS ISSUE
Dominguez Today is published by University
Communications and Public Affairs, an office
within the University Advancement Division.
This summer, California State University, Dominguez Hills embarked on an
important and ambitious commemoration of the 1965 Watts Rebellion, which
played a pivotal role in shaping our university’s history and mission. As you
may be aware, in the aftermath of the 1965 Watts Rebellion, Governor Pat
Brown determined there was a community in crisis and turned to higher
education, a proven path to upward mobility, as a way of bringing greater
opportunity and hope to individuals and the community at large. The governor
made the historic decision to relocate our university from Palos Verdes to its
present location in Carson, providing increased access to a college education
to our surrounding communities.
President
Willie J. Hagan
Five decades later, the campus community is engaged in examining the
rebellion’s impact and legacy through a year-long series of interdisciplinary
programs and activities taking numerous forms and expressions, including
film screenings, workshops and conferences, days of service within the Watts
community, academic symposia, and a founders’ dinner honoring individuals
instrumental in shaping our university’s history and some of the remarkable
individuals continuing to make a difference in our communities.
Art Director
Laura Drake
One of the exhibits created in conjunction with the commemoration, Watts:
Then and Now, is featured in this issue of Dominguez Today. The exhibit
displays photos and historical exhibits from the six days of the 1965 Watts
Rebellion alongside images of the present-day Watts community. As your
schedule permits, I invite you to visit this fascinating exhibit, which runs
through January 28, 2016, and also to consider attending some or all of the
many other Watts commemoration activities taking place throughout the
remainder of the academic year.
Photographers
Nate Brown (B.A. ’13)
Petra Pream
Our university’s enduring mission over the last five decades has been to provide
higher education that is both accessible and transformative. I am extremely
proud of the impact CSU Dominguez Hills has had in shaping our communities
and of the extraordinary work and accomplishments of our students, faculty,
and staff. Also in this issue of Dominguez Today, you can read about university
faculty and alumni who are examining issues of social justice and developing
programs fostering a diverse and inclusive community.
By May 2016, CSU Dominguez Hills will have awarded nearly 100,000
undergraduate and graduate degrees. These graduates first came to
Dominguez Hills as students, drawn almost exclusively from communities of
the South Bay surrounding the campus. It is next to impossible to imagine our
community absent CSU Dominguez Hills and the opportunities and hope the
university continues to provide. I remain humbled by the opportunity to serve
as president of such an outstanding institution of higher education and by the
remarkable students and families we serve and support.
Sincerely,
Willie J. Hagan, Ph.D.
President
Vice President of University Advancement
Carrie E. Stewart (M.A. ’12)
Director of University Communications
and Public Affairs
Brenda Knepper (M.A. ’09)
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A CATALYST
FOR CHANGE
Providing Higher Education
to a Community in Need
EDITORIAL STAFF
WATTS REBELLION
A 50th Anniversary
Commemoration
Features
Editor
Amy Bentley-Smith
Contributing Writers
Amy Bentley-Smith
Paul Browning
Cathi Douglas
Brenda Knepper
Laurie McLaughlin
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2014-2015
DONOR HONOR ROLL
Your Generosity Transforms Lives
Departments
ON THE COVER
Spring 2015
“Watts Then and Now” exhibit
features an in-depth series of
photos of contemporary Watts
by CSUDH assistant professor
of art Ellie Zenhari.
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28
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SPOTLIGHT
FACULTY FOCUS
FACULTY NEWS
ALUMNI PROFILE
CLASS NOTES
ATHLETICS
facebook.com/CSUDH
twitter.com/DominguezHills
instagram.com/CSUDominguezHills
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DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
| www.csudh.edu
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William Franklin has been a champion
of students at CSUDH since he joined
the Division of Student Affairs in 2007 as
director of its support programs for firstgeneration and low-income students.
Now he will continue to support student
success beyond the classroom as the head
of the division. Franklin was named the
permanent vice president of student affairs
in July, after a year of serving in the role on
an interim basis.
“I am honored to serve the students at
CSU Dominguez Hills as the new vice
president,” he said. “This is a unique place,
with a unique mission and we arguably
have one of the best student bodies in the
CSU. I am excited and ready to partner with
a phenomenal team in student affairs to
move the division to the next level.”
William Franklin (center) with students
during Freshman Convocation.
University’s DHTV Wins Three
Telly Awards
DHTV, the broadcast programming service
of CSUDH, won three 2015 Telly Awards
honoring outstanding local and regional
cable and online video productions.
The team received bronze awards for its
“OSHA Entertainment Safety Certificate”
commercial, “Freshman Convocation –
Wrap-Up,” and “Dig It: Anthropology,”
which featured anthropology students
conducting research at Dominguez Rancho
Adobe Museum.
TOP: Bernie Clinch, Kim McNutt.
BELOW: Calvin Ko, Mario Congreve.
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DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
What’s New on Campus?
Active Learning Classrooms
The latest innovation on college
campuses nationwide is now at CSUDH.
With the start of the fall semester,
CSUDH opened the doors to two Active
Learning Classrooms (ALC) in Welch
Hall and a business Case Study ALC in
the Leo F. Cain University Library.
The rooms feature computer access
and mobile device connections at
each desk or workstation, with a
centralized station for the instructor.
Large flat-screen monitors are hung
throughout the rooms so students and
faculty may present materials to the
entire class, and each desk grouping
has a microphone for students to
verbally interact with the class.
“These cutting-edge classrooms
provide an opportunity for our
faculty to engage in rich, intense
and lively problem-solving
classroom interactions where all
students communicate and test
their knowledge with the support of
their peers and faculty,” said Provost
Ellen Junn. “Research shows that
these active learning pedagogies
significantly improve student
academic motivation, interest,
knowledge and course performance,
and also result in greater student
retention and success.
University Bestows Honorary Doctorate on Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker, an Academy Awardwinning actor, honored and respected
humanitarian, director and producer —
and native son of the City of Carson —
was conferred the honorary degree of
Doctor of Humane Letters during the
2015 College of Arts and Humanities
commencement ceremony. He also
delivered a commencement address.
“I’m grateful for this opportunity and
was really humbled and touched that
you have judged my work worthy of
recognition at this degree,” Whitaker
said in his remarks. “But my greatest
honor today is to be able to stand
alongside the graduates of 2015….
You’re an extraordinary group of women
and men and it is my privilege to count
myself now amongst you.”
SPOTL IGHT
Campus News
William Franklin: New Vice
President of Student Affairs
And that connection has deepened
further in recent years. In 2013, the
Whitaker Peace & Development
Initiative (WPDI) was looking for a
certification program for its peace
keepers, and one of Whittaker’s
colleagues mentioned CSUDH’s
Negotiation, Conflict Resolution and
Peacebuilding program, and thus
began a collaborative partnership
between WPDI and CSUDH to jointly
create a conflict resolution education
curriculum for WPDI’s Domestic
Harmonizer Program.
“All that searching and the whole time
the answer was waiting right here across
the street from where I grew up. Right
where it all began,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker grew up a couple hundred
yards from the campus as a child.
He noted he and his family’s deep
connection to this place — he used to
run his dog through the field where
the StubHub Center now stands, and
his older sister graduated from
the university.
“As a campus, our top priority is to
provide a high-quality, excellent
student-centered learning environment
for all of our students and faculty.”
Male Success Alliance Helps Carson Win All-America City Award
The City of Carson was named
a 2015 All-America City by
the National Civic League,
thanks in large part to the role
the California State University,
Dominguez Hills Male Success
Alliance (MSA) plays in the community.
The All-America City award celebrates
efforts in communities across the nation to
tackle the most pressing issues of the day.
This year’s award focused on how cities
engage and support vulnerable young men
and boys, aligning with national efforts such
as the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper
Initiative. MSA, with its mission to reverse
the poor educational and social outcomes
for young men of color through academic
support, professional development, and
mentoring, proved to be a perfect program
for Carson to highlight.
“This award recognizes MSA as one of the
most stellar organizations in the country,”
said Vice President of Student Affairs
William Franklin.
| www.csudh.edu
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The honeycomb ceiling on a number of
CSUDH buildings had baffled campus
energy manager Kenny Seeton since he
began working at the university in 2011.
How could he improve the design’s
inefficient lighting system?
But with a bit of ingenuity, he and his
team came up with a custom housing
that not only blends with the distinctive
architectural feature designed by
CSUDH’s master architect, A. Quincy
Jones, but also reduces energy use
and brightens the walkways below.
As a result of that creative approach,
CSUDH received the 2015 California
Higher Education Energy Efficiency and
Sustainability Best Practices Award in
the Lighting Design/Retrofit category.
“I had the idea of creating something
similar to indoor lights with ceiling tiles.
I realized we could just make our own
frames and then bolt them up. We spent
hours working on the design ourselves.
I’m pretty proud about that,” Seeton said.
As many as 220 student-veterans annually will
receive additional educational support and
resources, thanks to a $1.1 million five-year
grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Campus
Happenings
Special Olympics
CSUDH partnered with the City of Carson as a Host
Town for the Special Olympics World Games Los
Angeles 2015. The campus provided the perfect
base for 94 athletes and coaches from Dominica,
Palestine, Turkmenistan, Syria and Mali to rest,
practice, enjoy entertainment, and check out the
sites in Carson before competing in the Games.
The project resulted in the replacement of
441 58-watt u-tube fluorescent fixtures with
179 45-watt LED fixtures. The estimated
annual energy savings of the new lights is
101,188 kilowatt hours, with an annual cost
savings of close to $13,000. The university
spends approximately $100,000 a month
on electricity.
“The honeycomb architecture turned
out to be very inefficient for lighting,”
Seeton said. “Before our updates, there
was a light in every fourth honeycomb.
Now there are three-quarter fewer
lights, but we have much better lighting
and are saving a good amount of
energy and money.”
Freshman Convocation
CSUDH alumna and Olympic gold
medalist Carmelita Jeter helped the
university welcome approximately
1,000 new Toros to campus during
Freshman Convocation 2015. The
students received advice from
administrators and peers on how to
succeed in college and were feted
with a party afterward.
Julie Evans explains to Pine Ahsoon some of the services
offered at the Veterans Student Program office.
Mervyn Dymally Institute on Campus Continues Legacy of Namesake
black people in Los Angeles during
the 1960s and ’70s, and used his
political voice to influence public policy
to improve the social and economic
development of the disadvantaged
communities he represented.
The California African American Political
and Economic Institute that Dymally
spearheaded into law and brought to
CSUDH in 2003 now bears his name
and is more poised than ever to ensure
it lives up to his legacy, thanks to a
$250,000 baseline appropriation in the
state budget supported by the California
Legislative Black Caucus and approved
by California Governor Jerry Brown.
As the first African American to serve in
the California Senate and as a lieutenant
governor, Mervyn M. Dymally helped
break down barriers that marginalized
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DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
“The Mervyn M. Dymally African
American Political and Economic Institute
endeavors to be the convener and
facilitator of issues directly affecting
the well-being of African-American
communities locally, regionally and
nationally through open dialogue with
elected officials, business leaders,
SPOTL IGHT
Veterans, First-Generation
Students to Benefit from $2.3
Million in Federal TRiO Grants
CSUDH Honored with Sustainability Best Practices Award for
Creative LED Lighting System
academic and social justice research,
civic engagement opportunities — all
leading to new or enhanced policy
initiatives,” said its director, Brenda
Riddick.
In the past year, the institute has hosted
small business workshops for local
African-American entrepreneurs, the
Black Family Conference in association
with the Awaken the Greatness
Foundation, and a Women in Leadership:
Path to Political Power Conference,
featuring Congresswoman Maxine
Waters and National Black Congress
CEO E. Faye Williams, along with state
and local female politicians, business
leaders and economists.
“We look forward to continuing the
work of the institute with in-depth
think-tank research on matters affecting
African-American communities to
drive public policy debates leading to
meaningful and impactful legislation.”
Riddick said.
The new Student Support Services Veterans
(SSS-Veterans) program is one of two
university programs awarded federal TRiO
grants this year in support of low-income,
first-generation college students. CSUDH’s
existing Student Support Services also
received $1.2 million to continue its services
to 160 students annually through 2020.
Student Support Services offers individualized
academic tutoring, advising, career
counseling, and other resources to ensure
students persist, succeed and graduate.
As with Student Support Services, SSSVeterans will provide comprehensive
support to student-veterans through
a similar host of services, along with
resources unique to the needs of
veterans. The creation of a separate SSS
program specifically for veterans arose
from necessity: in 2014, more than 200
of CSUDH’s students who served in the
military met TRiO’s criteria but could not be
served under the regular SSS program.
“Because of this grant, many of our veterans
on campus now will benefit greatly, gaining
access to a host of new and expanded
support services,” said University President
Willie J. Hagan.
Chancellor White Visits Campus
CSUDH was the first stop in Southern California of
Chancellor Timothy P. White’s CSU 23-campus tour
for the 2015-16 academic year. He spent the full day
on campus with President Willie J. Hagan, meeting
with prominent alumni, visiting new facilities, and
engaging faculty and students involved in inventive
new programs.
Feria de Educación
The seventh annual Feria de Educación proved
to be another successful partnership event with
Univision. It continues to be the largest Spanishlanguage education fair in
Southern California, attracting
more than 20,000 people to
campus. The event’s overall
goals are to encourage parental
involvement in their child’s
education, reduce the Latino
dropout rate, and promote a
college-going culture.
| www.csudh.edu
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A CATALYST
FOR CHANGE
In August 1965, the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles erupted in flames, fanned by years of racism and inequity experienced
by its predominately African-American residents. When the smoke of the Watts Rebellion settled, a new state college was seen
as a potential catalyst for change. And whether by chance or by fate, 346 acres of farm land just five miles from the rebellion’s
epicenter became what is today known as California State University, Dominguez Hills.
The debate over where South Bay State
College would be built had been ongoing
since Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown
signed the new college into law in April
1960 — the same year the California Master
Plan for Higher Education and the state
college system were created. At one
point approximately 40 site proposals for
a campus were submitted to the state,
according to Greg Williams, director of
Archives and Special Collections at CSUDH.
“By 1963 the legislature still couldn’t make
a decision, and by early 1965 it was thought
that there had to be a college that year or it
would all fall apart. California Assemblyman
Vincent Thomas was instrumental in getting
$50,000 to open the college in the Rolling
Hills bank building,” said Williams.
Thomas’ stop-gap measure meant that
approximately 40 students could enroll
and begin taking classes at California
State College Palos Verdes — as it had
been renamed — in September 1965 while
officials decided on a permanent site. Three
locations under consideration were in San
Pedro, south Torrance, and farther northeast
on a portion of historic Rancho San Pedro
land known as Dominguez Hills, which
was brought into consideration in 1963
when the service area for the university was
widened. A group of area residents seeking
to incorporate the surrounding area into a
city had lobbied strongly for it.
“The committee was not just trying to move
for incorporation, but discover an identity
that best fit our area,” said Gilbert “Gil”
Fifty years later, CSU Dominguez Hills
continues to be shaped by its founding
mission to be accessible and transformative
to all who aspire to earn a college degree.
The university has been credited for opening
the doors of higher education wider, not
only to a more ethnically diverse population,
but to a high percentage of students who
are first in their families to attend college.
Smith, a local resident and a founder of
the City of Carson who went on to serve 13
years on the Carson City Council, including
two as mayor. “Among our efforts were
items related to city services, access to
facilities, and a location for a state university.
“Our incorporation efforts included buy-in
from the Dominguez-Carson-Watson family,
which owned many of the sites up for
consideration,” added Smith, who made
proposals to the state college trustees
numerous times, including a meeting in
July of 1965.
According to a history of the university,
written by emeritus history professor Jud
Grenier, the trustees planned to decide on
a campus site at their next meeting.
Photo courtesy of L.A. Fire Department Historical Society
The Watts Rebellion
But then on August 11, 1965, 21-year-old
Marquette Frye, an African-American man, was
pulled over for drunk driving, which escalated
into a scene that drew larger and larger
crowds. In the ensuing six days following the
arrest of Frye, his brother and mother, Watts
became a combat zone in which hundreds of
businesses were destroyed, 34 people died
and thousands injured. It was clear that more
than just a traffic stop was at play.
“It was not a riot, but a rebellion of a
community directing their anger and
frustration at the symbols of their oppression;
racism and capitalism were attacked by
police and burning exploitative businesses,”
said Keith Claybrook, Jr., a lecturer of
Africana studies at CSUDH.
After the rebellion, Gov. Brown visited the
Dominguez Hills location and was quoted
by the Los Angeles Times on Oct. 21, 1965,
as saying the site “would provide access
to a college for minority group students in
southern Los Angeles who do not now have
a college close at hand.” That same month,
state college trustees selected Dominguez
Hills as the site for the new college.
The decision wasn’t without controversy,
however, with Thomas calling it ‘de facto
segregation’ in which the college would
become a minority campus; he proposed
The Dominguez Hills campus plan by noted modernist architect A. Quincy Jones. The original plan for the Palos Verdes campus included a Small College
Complex with a view of the ocean. When the decision was made to locate the campus in Carson, Jones simply re-used the same building plan.
SECTION
In many ways the underlying causes of
the Watts Rebellion spurred the civil
rights movement of the 1960s and led
the country’s growing minority population
to demand greater equality and more
opportunities for upward mobility. Higher
education was seen as a major path toward
better employment opportunities, higher
wages, and a higher standard of living.
creating two small colleges, one in the South
Bay and one at Dominguez Hills. Palos Verdes
Peninsula and Torrance site proponents
claimed the college had been taken from
them, lamenting that the decision was a
“sociological experiment in a troubled area.”
But despite attempts to stop the sale by
Thomas and others, the state legislature
authorized it in early 1966, and that
summer the campus was relocated from
the bank to a temporary facility on the
north side of Victoria Street while the
permanent campus was built. In 1968 —
the same year the City of Carson was
incorporated — the first buildings were
completed and classes officially started
on the Dominguez Hills location.
The college’s student body, which had
been predominantly if not all white in
1965, steadily became more diverse as the
years progressed, reflecting the region’s
changing demographics. And curriculum
began to reflect that change.
“By 1969, minority students were calling
for more classes in cultural studies,” said
Williams, noting that Dominguez Hills
students were empowered by protests at
San Francisco State calling for curriculum
that was more inclusive of all cultures. “An
African history course started that year. It
was around that time that the Black Student
Union began on campus.”
Today, CSUDH is continuously ranked
high for conferring degrees to students of
color, and its success in creating upward
mobility for its students, community service
programs, and overall contribution to
the public good. Last year the university
received the President’s (Barack Obama)
Higher Education Community Service Honor
Roll’s highest honor, the Presidential Award.
JOYCE JOHNSON
(B.A.’70; M.A.’72) was
among the first
local residents to
enroll at CSUDH
when it was moved
to Dominguez Hills
in its temporary
location.
“The college worked for me because
I was a stay-at-home housewife in my
30s with a daughter,” said Johnson.
“My neighbor behind me — DELORES
LEMMONS (B.A. ‘70; M.A. ‘84) — we started
taking classes, and those classes led to
more classes. We both ended up with
bachelor’s and master’s degrees [from
CSUDH], and I went on for my Ph.D. [at
the University of California, Irvine].”
“Cal State Dominguez Hills has
contributed immensely to this community.
It serves as a place of culture when it
comes to art and music and theatre, and
it provides a centerpiece for this city
[Carson],” said Johnson, CSUDH professor
emerita of English. “It has changed the
lives of so many people in this area who
have gone on to use the education that
they got at Dominguez Hills to better
themselves and to build a future.”
| www.csudh.edu
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SECTION
3
5
In recognition of the Watts Rebellion’s historical significance to Los Angeles, the state, and the nation, and the
pivotal role it played in shaping the university’s history and mission, California State University, Dominguez
Hills is devoting the entire 2015-16 academic year to commemorating the rebellion’s 50th anniversary.
Through a series of events and activities, the university is exploring the causes of the uprising, its civic,
political, economic and cultural legacies, and the state of race relations, political and social movements today.
Watts Commemoration
Campus Banners
Prior to the start of the fall semester,
commemoration banners were installed
along walkways around campus. The
banners include thought-provoking and
inspirational messages about social justice
and racial equality and photos of worldrenowned leaders, activists, scholars,
writers, and others.
Academic Symposium
A two-day academic symposium, Fire and
the Quest for Transformation, featured
CSUDH professors, alumni, and noted
scholars from across the state examining the
conditions for African Americans in the 1960s
in Los Angeles that led to the rebellion, the
influence of minority protest, and what has
changed in the past five decades.
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Day of Service
Armed with paint brushes, cleaning
supplies and gardening tools, students
and university leaders joined community
members to give Fire Station 65 a droughttolerant native landscape that promotes
sustainability practices in the community,
and beautify the Bradley Milken Family
Source Center to enhance the learning
and work environments for children and
families of Watts.
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Watts Writers’ Workshop
Artists, poets and musicians from the
legendary Watts Writers’ Workshop came
together for a 50th anniversary gathering
at California State University, Dominguez
Hills to honor the legacy of the workshop
that was formed in the wake of the 1965
Watts uprising.
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Monthly Lunchtime
Discussion Group
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DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
9
SAVE THE DATE
WATTS REBELLION BOOK CLUB
1. Watts Rebellion Commemoration Banner. 2. Volunteers painted
fences, installed new landscaping, and other jobs at the Day of
Service in Watts. 3. Father Amde Hamilton, an original member of
the 1965 Watts Writers’ Workshop, is pictured with a guest at the
50th reunion. 4. Artist Enkone live painted Watts Writers’ Workshop
member Raspoet Ojenke. 5. Participants and members of the
campus community listen to nationally regarded scholars at the
Fire and Quest for Transformation academic symposium.
6. Keith Claybrook, Jr., lecturer of Africana studies at CSUDH speaks
at symposium. 7. A film screening of “California State of Mind: The
Legacy of Pat Brown” was followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Sascha
Rice, granddaughter of Pat Brown. 8. Honoree Pablo Portillo (center)
with his family at the Founders’ Dinner. 9. Guests enjoy a reception at
the “Watts: Then and Now” exhibit.
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Tuesday, December 1, 2015 through
Tuesday, April 26, 2016 | Noon
Library South | Fifth Floor | Piano Room
2
The CSU Dominguez Hills campus
community will discuss books and readings relevant to the
1965 Watts Rebellion, protests and activism, and race relations.
Students, faculty, staff, and the general public are welcome to
join this lunchtime brown bag meeting. Visit the Watts Rebellion
Book Club website at wattsbookclub.wordpress.com for the
group’s reading list.
THE ALBERT MCNEIL JUBILEE
SINGERS OF LOS ANGELES
Community Concert
February 4, 2016 | 7:00 — 9:00 pm
University Theatre
The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, a
traveling company of 12 to 18 artists,
have garnered international acclaim and focused worldwide
attention on the vast body of folk music termed “African-American.”
They will be performing on February 4, as part of the Watts
Rebellion 50th Anniversary Commemoration.
SEE CSUDH.EDU/WATTS FOR MORE INFORMATION AND ADDITIONAL EVENTS.
| www.csudh.edu
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Founders’ Dinner
Community Builder Award
Danny Bakewell, Sr.
Elegantly set in the Loker Student Union Ballroom on campus, the Founders’ Dinner on October 8 honored
civic leaders who were instrumental in the establishment of the university in the City of Carson, and
recognized individuals and organizations dedicated to improving our local communities.
Today, he continues to combine activism and
civic-minded entrepreneurship as owner of
The Bakewell Company, one of the largest
African-American commercial real estate
development groups in the western United
States and parent company of Bakewell
Media, which owns the Los Angeles Sentinel
and the LA Watts Times newspapers.
“What motivates me every day is to make sure
that the quality of life, particularly for black
people in our community, is elevated to the
quality of life for all people,” said Bakewell.
Danny Bakewell Sr.
STUDENT CIVIC ENGAGEMENT Award
Pablo Portillo, a senior human services major, is
driven by his desire to help others, particularly
those from underserved communities. It led him
to volunteer with the CSUDH Center for Service
Learning, Internships and Civic Engagement,
where he assisted with the annual Pow Wow,
hosting the Special Olympics athletes on
campus this summer, and offering his expertise
in landscaping for the Day of Service in Watts.
Community Leadership Award
“Sweet” Alice Harris
Well-known for her vision and generosity,
“Sweet“ Alice Harris has dedicated her life to
providing assistance to disadvantaged people
through her nonprofit, Parents of Watts (POW).
Photo by Ellie Zenhari.
Pablo Portillo
“Community service has changed me as a
person. It has opened my eyes to how it’s not
about you, but it’s about everybody else. It feels
really good when you give back,” said Portillo.
“I can remember when I needed help, and
a family in Alabama gave me help when I
was nothing,” she said. “They gave me a job,
and I promised them that whenever I find
somebody in the same shape and wearing
the same shoes I wore, I would do for them
what they had done for me.”
Tim Watkins
Community Impact Award
Watts Labor Community Action Committee
(Ted Watkins, Sr. and Tim Watkins)
Today, POW operates more than 15
programs that provide shelter for the
homeless, tutoring, parenting classes, and
drug counseling for anyone who needs it.
The Watts Labor Community Action
Committee (WLCAC) “sprang to life” in
1965 in the wake of the Watts Rebellion
from Ted Watkins, Sr.’s compassion and
drive to improve the quality of life in the
area through community service, job
training, and services for seniors.
Harris is a proud alumna of CSUDH, as are a
number of her children and grandchildren.
For the past 15 years, son Tim Watkins
has led WLCAC as president and
CEO and expanded his father’s vision
to include sustainable community
development programs and housing
initiatives, and serve as an umbrella for
coalitions and public policy institutes for
the betterment of Watts.
“My dream for Watts is it becomes a
community where anyone can work, live
or play,” he said.
Pablo Portillo volunteers at the Day of Service in Watts.
12
DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
| www.csudh.edu
13
SECTION
Danny Bakewell, Sr. arrived in Los Angeles
in the late 1960s when African-American
civil rights activism was at its peak. The New
Orleans native quickly joined the efforts, first
working for the anti-poverty Neighborhood
Adult Participating Project before co-founding
the nonprofit Brotherhood Crusade.
founders’ Award
Gilbert D. “Gil” Smith
Gil Smith was a pivotal figure in the
founding of the City of Carson, serving as
first chair of the Citizens Committee for
the Incorporation of Carson, which formed
in 1963. His desire to create educational
opportunities for this new city made him a
zealous leader in the successful campaign
to bring the proposed South Bay State
College to the area.
With support from the Dominguez-CarsonWatson families that owned the 346 acres
known as Dominguez Hills, he and the
citizens committee began lobbying the
California State College Board of Trustees
and legislature, touting its central location,
ample land and strong support of residents.
The same year the first buildings opened
on the Dominguez Hills site in 1968,
Carson officially became a city, and
Smith was elected as one of its first
councilmembers, serving for 13 years,
two years as mayor.
“It has been my privilege to work with
every president of Cal State Dominguez
Hills and with every chancellor of the CSU
system to establish this university with an
Gilbert D. “Gil” Smith
educational program relevant to the needs
of a very diverse student population,” said
Smith. “It’s my university, and whatever this
university requires, me and my family, we
will try and do whatever we can to help it.
Cal State Dominguez Hills is an oasis within
a major industrial area and the educational
opportunities it will provide to this growing
population is beyond anything that we can
imagine possible.”
founders’ Award (Posthumous)
Edmund G. “Pat” Brown
Edmund G. “Pat” Brown served
from 1959-1967 as California’s 32nd
governor. A strong proponent of broad
access to higher education, he signed
the seminal California Master Plan for
Higher Education that established the
University of California, California State
University and California Community
College systems in 1960, the same year
he signed the law that created a state
college in the southwest portion of
Los Angeles County.
Gov. Pat Brown signs bill for the purchase of Dominguez Hills land for the college (1966).
14
DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
In 1965, while touring the devastation
from the Watts Rebellion, he asked
to see the Dominguez Hills site that
was proposed for the new college
and decided its proximity to the
underserved communities impacted
by the uprising was the best choice to
permanently locate the campus.
On exhibit in the University Library Cultural Art Center through January 28, 2016, “Watts: Then and Now”
is an exploration of the Watts Rebellion in vivid detail alongside an honest and intimate portrayal of the
community 50 years later.
Watts Then
Curated by Greg Williams, director of
Archives and Special Collections, the
“Then” portion of the exhibit covers the
six days of unrest in August 1965 through
photos and news clippings, behind-thescenes government correspondences and
reports, and reactions from both a black
and white perspective, and also takes a look
at the groundswell of artistic expression
that arose in the days and years following.
In compiling the collection, which also places
the events in a historical context, Williams
said he wanted to “reveal to students and
the community the converging elements that
brought about the Watts Rebellion, and this
rather tumultuous time of the 1960s in which
racial animosity was exposed.”
(Continued on page 14)
CSU Dominguez Hills students learn about the 1965 Watts Rebellion at the Watts: Then and Now archive exhibit.
| www.csudh.edu
15
Watts NOW
The collection features items that depict
early official reaction to the events that took
place in Watts beginning on August 11,
1965. Included are early news headlines,
telegrams, a draft of the resolution
to deploy the National Guard, and
photographs documenting the strife as it
took place on the streets in Watts.
Sixty-five photographs of contemporary
Watts taken by Art and Design Assistant
Professor Ellie Zenhari provide the “Now”
portion of the exhibition. A snap-shot of
Watts taken over the course of several
months, the dramatic compositions capture
the people and places that make up this
multi-layered community.
Reports by the Los Angeles Police
Department, National Guard, and other
agencies document law enforcement’s
response and perspective of the uprising.
Selections focusing on state and community
responses to the Watts Rebellion in the
aftermath include the McCone Commission
Report, and memorabilia from the Watts
Writers’ Workshop, the Watts Summer
Festival, Wattstax and the Watts Labor
Community Action Committee.
Zenhari had never visited Watts before
beginning work on the project, but quickly
realized the community was dynamic.
“I believe in the power of images as a tool
to bring awareness and ultimately social
change,” Zenhari said. “The Watts photo
series intends to take a closer look at the
complex realities of Watts communities and
instigate visual interest and curiosity to see
the extraordinary among the ‘ordinary.’”
This fall, Zenhari is leading students from
photography and motion design classes on
trips to Watts to shoot images and video
for a spring semester interdisciplinary
exhibit that will showcase the students’
perspectives on the Watts community. Many
of the students are from that community or
nearby communities.
“When you go as a group for a class project ...
it gives it a different meaning which I think
can be more powerful,” Zenhari said.
Front page, Los Angeles Times, August 14, 1965.
Map showing lives lost and damage and destruction of property that
took place during the Watts Rebellion.
Williams also includes items in the exhibit
that illustrate the history and continual
tradition of social unrest in the United
States. Racial incidents in Detroit, Los
Angeles, Little Rock, Chicago, St. Louis, and
other cities “happened prior to Watts and
negate any opinion that the rebellion came
out of nowhere,” said Williams.
Archive selections documenting the early
development of California State College,
Dominguez Hills depict the actions taken by
state leaders to purchase the Dominguez
Hills land to provide minority populations
impacted by the rebellion with access to
higher education.
News clippings, magazine covers and other
memorabilia from 1965 helps to place the
startling events in Watts in a regional and
national context. That memorable year
saw the growth of the counter-culture, an
evolutionary civil rights movement, and the
assassination of Malcolm X. In addition, the
Voting Rights Act and Medicare became
law, combat troops arrived in Vietnam,
Muhammad Ali knocked out Sonny Liston,
the Dodgers beat the Twins in the World
Series, and “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham
and The Pharaohs was the number one song.
In Los Angeles, the Dorothy Chandler
Pavilion and the Department of Water
and Power Building opened, the LA Rams’
Fearsome Foursome were at their peak,
and the Watts Rebellion took place.
16
DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
Collection of books with a focus on the Watts Rebellion,
rebellions and race relations.
The exhibit also features a looped
video, “Watts Rebellion: Mapping
Connections,” produced by
students in Vivian Price’s social
documentation class. The video
was a student-faculty collaboration
covering the background of the
Watts Rebellion and exploring its
meaning today. The film can be
viewed at tinyurl.com/wattsfilm.
Anarchy Los Angeles special event magazine.
Western Union Telegram. Lt. Governor Glen Anderson received
several telegrams from citizens concerned about the rebellion.
Glen M. Anderson Papers.
| www.csudh.edu
17
SECTION
(Continued from page 13)
Donor Honor Roll
Your Generosity Transforms Lives
Dear Friends,
California State University,
Dominguez Hills recently concluded
our second-best fundraising year
on record, with $5.7 million in cash
gifts, pledges and in-kind donations
received between July 1, 2014 and
June 30, 2015. Whether your gift
went to scholarships, facilities, or
student and faculty research, there
is no question that it is contributing
to student success. Thank you for
your generosity!
The past year had many highlights; first among them was a terrific
show of support from our alumni, friends, and partners in the
surrounding community. Significant gifts from the Pritzker Foster
Care Initiative, Kaiser Permanente, and Southern California Edison,
among many others, all made a significant impact on the university.
Furthermore, a generous legacy gift by Bruce Johnson, the son
of an alumnus, will provide crucial scholarship resources to the
students of the future.
In addition to these critical gifts, another highlight of the year was
an inspiring display of Toro spirit from the university community.
The Senior Class Gift had a record-breaking year, with the Class of
2015 raising $6,000 and increasing giving by over 400 percent!
Four filtered water stations were installed around campus as a
result of their efforts. The Faculty and Staff Campaign for Student
Support was extraordinarily successful as well, raising over $15,000
for grants. The Toro Fund, which benefits the most pressing
campus needs, recorded a 14 percent increase in giving over
previous years.
It is our privilege to recognize all who gave $100 or more during
this fantastic year through the Annual Donor Honor Roll. Thank you,
again, for your thoughtfulness, your giving spirit, and above all, for
investing in our students and the future of Dominguez Hills. Go Toros!
Sincerely,
Philanthropist $500,000 +
Michael Agron
Benefactor $100,000 - $499,999
Consulado General de Mexico
en Los Angeles
Bruce Johnson
The Molina Foundation
Patron $50,000 - $99,999
The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley
Charitable Trust
Kaiser Permanente
The Laurence Korn MD Foundation
The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris
Foundation
Leader $25,000 - $49,999
The Carson Companies
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Edison International
Follett Higher Education Group
The Maureen P. McCarthey Foundation
Pritzker Foster Care Initiative
Shell Pipeline Company
Southern California Edison
STEM Advantage
Toyota Motor Sales, USA., Inc.
UCLA Medical Center Pathology and
Laboratory Medicine
Univision
Associate $10,000 - $24,999
99 Cents Only Stores
Alcoa Foundation
American Honda Motor Co.
CA Retired Teachers Scholarship
Foundation of Division #44
Chevron Products Company
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Code Four
Georgia and Nolan Payton
Foundation
Good Samaritan Hospital
Huntington Memorial Hospital
Louise Loether
Providence Health & Services Little Company of Mary
Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute
of Valencia, INC
Maria Romero ‘00
State Farm Mutual Automobile
Insurance Company
StubHub Center & LA Galaxy
Kathleen Tibone ‘75
Watson Land Company
Scholar $5,000 - $9,999
Carrie E. Stewart, M.A. ’12
Vice President, University Advancement
Executive Director, CSUDH Philanthropic Foundation
California Collegiate Athletic
Association
California Water Service Company
City of Carson
Lee and Miguel Dominguez l u
DoubleTree Hotel-Carson
Enterprise Holdings Foundation
Beverly and Donald Gerth
Intuit, Lacerte Software
Carmelita Jeter ‘06
Mrs. William A. Little
T. Roy Nakai
Toro $1,000 - $4,999
Aidan’s Red Envelope Foundation
Anonymous
Gayle Arnise Ball-Parker ‘78 u
Shirley Benson
Vernon Blackburn ‘73 n
Gwen Yoshiko Brockman ‘96 u
Cheryl Browne ‘82
California Faculty Association
California Retired Teachers
Association
California Retired Teachers
Association South Bay Div. 46
Todd Carcelero ‘92
Cerritos Regional Soccer Club
Lois u and Henry Chi
Audrey Christie
City National Security Services
Computer Comfort
Controls Group SSA-JCI Inc.
James Cooper u
Crossfit 5150
Phil D’Amato
Nancy and Edward Alexander
Jean Egan u
Karen and James Ellis
ExxonMobil
Robert Fenning u
Jean C. Ferguson
Friends of Golf
Suzanne Gemmell u
Naomi Goodwin u
Sharrell Hardy ‘15
Joy ‘93 and Douglas Heiner
Jackson N. Henry u
Kai-lih Kelly and Tsungchi Kenny Hsu
Dorota Huizinga u
ILWU Credit Union
Inner City Youth Orchestra of
Los Angeles
International Alliance of Theatrical
Stage Employees
Ellen Junn u and Allan Greenberg
Kaplan Higher Education
Keith S. Feder, MD, Inc
H. Keith u and Yonnie Lee
Los Angeles County Employees
Retirement Association
Chris Manriquez u
Milken Family Foundation
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Northrop Grumman Corp.
Mary Sue and Donald Herman
Pepsi Beverages Co
Katy Pinto u
Jeffrey H. Pitler ‘91
Ricoh USA
Laura J. Robles u
Barbara Rodney
Larry Rosen u
Hamoud Salhi u
Marcine E. Sankey ‘01
Rosetta Skelton
Shirley and Gilbert Smith
So. CA. Pensioners Group
Jose Solache ‘06
South Bay Workforce Investment Board
Southern California Gas Company
Southern California Junior Bach
Festival
Spectrum Industries
Carrie Stewart ‘12 u
Tom and Marilyn Sutton u
The Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California
The Moore Family Foundation
Carol u and Randahl Tubbs u
UFCW Union Local No. 324
Christine ‘13 and Brent Walker
Luz C. Watts u
Friend $500-$999
Anonymous
Aquarium of the Pacific
Janna Bersi u
Keith Boyum u
Jessica Burchett
Dennis G. Butler
California Association of Professional
Music Teachers
California School Employees
Association
City National Bank
Lenora u and Roger Cook
CSUDH Academic Affairs Office
CSUDH College of Education
CSUDH Loker Student Union
Judy Daley
Jamie L. Dote-Kwan u
Traci A. Goodbar
Aletheia Gooden
Garry Hart u
Rodrick Hay u
Hearts and Hands United in Giving
John M. Hemmans ‘93
Robert D. Hendricks
Ivy Heritage Foundation Operation
Fund
Josephine A. Jackson
Cheryl A. Jackson-Harris ‘82 u
Robert Joplin ‘72
Eric David Kaplan ‘87
David J. Karber l u
Eunice Krinsky u
L.A. Electrical Workers Credit Union
Michael Li ‘02 u
Robert Lovitt
Marin Community Foundation
Laurel and Stephen Mastro u
Mu Phi Epsilon Palos Verdes
Alumni Chapter
Music Teachers Association of California
Jack P. Newburn ‘82
Laura M. Phillips u
Jeffrey Poltorak u
Primary Care Associates of California
Medical Group
RollGiving
Michael Rouse ‘83
SEIU Local 721
NOTE: Every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of the information published in this Honor Roll. Please accept our apologies for any inadvertent omission or error, and contact the Office of Development at (310) 243-2182 so we can correct our records.
18
DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
PHIL ANTHRO PY
2014–2015
Being a mother and a full-time student
puts some hardships on our family’s budget,
especially when the semester starts and
there is a need to buy book and supplies.
The scholarship award is definitely a big help.
— Veronika Honda, a junior majoring in business administration with an accounting
concentration, is recipient of the Chiou-Hsiung “Bear” Chang Scholarship.
Clementine Sessoms n
Janet C. Smith ‘90
StubHub
Kathleen T. Taira ‘74 u
Target Corporation
Teamsters Local 986 Charity Fund
United Way California Capital Region
University of California, Los Angeles
University of West Los Angeles
Vanguard University
Betty ‘76 and Neil Watanabe
Brenda Watts
Woodbury University
Supporter $250 - $499
6th Medical Recruiting Battalion
Achieve Beyond Pediatric Therapy &
Autism Services
Paul Agbonkpolo ‘77
Jill Allison Aguilar ‘84, ‘97 u
Joyce Allen ‘80
Alpha Vista Services
Faye Williams Arnold ‘75 u
Karen and Anthony ‘84 Ayala
Ava Battle ‘90
Betty Dixon Bell ‘99, ‘04
Jake Bernstein
Big 5 Sporting Goods
Boice M. Bowman u
Peter M. Detwiler
California Native Plant Society
So. Coast Chapter
California Faculty Association
Dominguez Hills Chapter
Capital Group Companies Charitable
Foundation
Lanece M. Carpenter ‘05
Children’s Hospital of Orange County
Lewis Colick
Krista Cordoza ‘10
CSUDH Athletics Department
CSUDH Black Faculty and Staff
Association
CSUDH College of Arts and Humanities
CSUDH College of Natural and
Behavioral Sciences
CSUDH Information Technology
CSUDH Latino Faculty and Staff
Association
CSUDH Library
CSUDH Office of the President
CurtisCARE Child Development
Programs
Jackie Dixon ‘93
Sarah and Herman ‘84 Duncan
Ensign Facility Services
Leena Furtado u
Rachel Gleckman
Aegis Therapies
Denise Govan ‘97
Muhammad Hassan ‘11
Paul Herrera
Pamela Hillman u
Barbara Hobbs ‘96
Interface Rehab
Steven D. Johnson ‘84, ‘08
Reza Karkia
Carole Keen
Mary F. Kehew
Kellogg Garden Products
Robert Kelly ‘69
William Kelly ‘79, ‘82
Maria Elena Ubago-Khachaturians
and Andre Khachaturians u
Kindred Healthcare Operating
Karla Knauss ‘97
Gary M. Kuwahara ‘83 u
Kimberly Larson ‘98 u
Denise ‘02 and Aden Leonard ‘93
Los Angeles County Federation of
Labor - AFL-CIO
Los Angeles Party Designs Inc.
Jonathan P. Marmor ‘79
Clarence A. Martin u
Masada Homes
Stephan Mayhew ‘87
Ali Mazhin ‘01
Kevin Mc Elroy ‘07
Mediscan Staffing Services
Viola Mitchell ‘02
Jerry D. Moore u
Mozart Piano Studio
My Therapy Company
Newport Language Speech &
Audiology Center
Veronica Njoku ‘06
Occupational Therapy Association
of California
Arinade Olaluwoye ‘82
Diane Oley
Orthopaedic & Neurological
Rehabilitation
Gemma ‘88 and Mustapha Olatoye
Oyewole ‘88, ‘97
Pacific Child & Family Associates
Michael A. Perez ‘75, ‘84
Janice A. Plank ‘75
Preferred Healthcare Registry
Progressus Therapy
Rockstar Recruiting
Michael Rudberg ‘91
Herbert Y. Sato ‘83
Sea World San Diego
Steven F. Sedrak ‘01
Beth Shibata ‘90
Steven Robert Silbiger ‘88, ‘94
Karlton D. Skindrud u
Roblyn Smith ‘76
Mark Sotzkowski
South Coast Therapy
Speech, Language & Educational
Associates
St. Joseph Hospital
Stephen Laurel Mastro Family Trust
Henry Taboada ‘72
John Thomlinson u
Kathleen Tornow Chai ‘90
Total Education Solutions
Mary Kresevich ‘75
University of California Los Angeles
Medical Center
Starleen and George Van Buren
Clare and F. Aguilar u
Wellness Works
Joseph Wen u
Contributor $100 - $249
Anonymous (4)
Nicole and Steve Agee
Kimberly Agosti ‘78
Alahambra Place Partnership
Kathleen ‘82, ‘04 and Richard ‘81 Alvarez
Thomas and Elizabeth Anderson
Barbara Ann Aranguren ‘86
Linda ‘85 and Dana Aratani
Glenda and Joel Arellano
Attorney’s Certified Services
Mary Auth ‘81 u
Alta Ballard
Beth Ballard
Laura E. Baril ‘02
Donald Joseph Barnett l u
Alejandra Barrales ‘13
Marisol Barraza ‘11
Asten Barta
Virginia Becker ‘72
Wanda Bell ‘92
Belly Bombz Kitchen
Delores Benjamin u
Julie Berthiaume ‘92
Virginia Jane Bixler ‘92
Joy Bland ‘11
Sharon and William Blischke u
Damon Blue ‘93
Lela Bohannon ‘98
Regina Bohorquez ‘05
Elsa ‘01 and Rigo Bonilla
Frances ‘95 and Thomas Booth
Jennifer ‘10 and Christopher Bordewich
Bowermaster and Associates
Insurance Agency
Roberta Allen Bowman ‘87
Datoya Bradley ‘11
Khaleah Bradshaw ‘09 u
Loyce and Joseph Braun u
Anne and Paul Brenner
Delisa S. Brister ‘10
Betty Brookens ‘81
Delarie Elaine Brooks ‘82
Lee Broussard ‘96
Carla D. Brown ‘84
Mark Burgan ‘83
Cynthia Burgess l
Brenda ‘05 and Vincent Burr
Theodore Emmett Burton ‘89
Lilia Bustamante ‘96
Judy ‘88 and Marc Butsumyo
Moses Calhoun ‘91
California Community Foundation
Reeva Castillo
Aaronn Castro ‘12
Janet Detrick Cazares l
Ernestina Chavez ‘93
Lisa Marie Chavez ‘08
Emily and Robert Murphy
Marleen and Gareth Ching
Carlota Cinco ‘09
Suzanne ‘07 and Anthony Cistulli
Stanley Clark u
Jean Clary ‘09
Magdalene Cobb ‘76
Linda M. Cohen ‘77, ‘83
Mihoko Abe Colletti ‘87
Joan ‘01 and Gayle Collins
John E. Conklin Jr. ‘93
Lori Conlan
Loretta Mack Cooper ‘00
Mia and John Cornejo
Courtyard by Marriott Los Angeles
Westside/Culver City
Jose S. Cuervo u
Tatum and Joseph ‘93 Curran
Custom California Painting
Milton F. Daniels ‘74
James Davenport ‘91
John Davis ‘92 u
Cordella Davis-Raymond l
Ylla and Mario ‘80 DeLeon
Cecilia ‘09 and Jose Delgado
Ronald Michael Delhomme ‘83
Kara Dellacioppa u
Aderonke and Afolabi ‘83 Denloye
Elizabeth Yuki DeSoto l u
Dolores Doll-Sales ‘00
Deborah Douglas u
Howard Douglas ‘84
Philip Douglas ‘78
Timothy Dowell ‘75
Joanna l u and Alfred Dunklee
Alnita Rettig Dunn ‘78
Tiffany Edlin ‘08 u
Adria R. Edwards ‘95 u
El Pescador Family Restaurant
Haywood Epperson l
Joseph M. Escobar
Monica and James ‘01 Essilfie
Etonomous Arts & Apparel
Daryl Evans ‘96
Miriam Falk ‘13
Salim Faraji u
Allison and Aaron ‘93 Farish
Susan Farma ‘07, ’09
Anna-Marie Farquhar ‘08
Janet J. Favreau
Kristy and Ronald Fedrick
Christine C. ‘94 and Christopher T.
Fernandez
H. Fetcenko ‘97 u
Ricardo Fimbres ‘00
Dorothy M. Fisher u
Fluor Foundation
Cheryl Ford Boyce ‘80
Kenneth Ford ‘79
Linda Forment ‘92
Esmay ‘86 and Gordon Fraser
Robert Gallinari ‘13
Dana J. Galvin ‘89
David Andres Gamboa ‘05 u
Blanca ‘11 and Ross Quintana
Eugene Garcia u
Lawrence Garcia ‘75
Donna Garnier ‘92
Karen and James ‘92 Garza
Cristina Gaytan ‘04
GenCorp Foundation
Dawn and Rodney Gentry
Judith and Richard Gibson
Cynthia Gilkeson ‘92
Patrick Gillespie ‘05
John R. Goders u
Arthur Lewis Goldman ‘92, ‘94
Melissa ‘93 and Armando Gomez
April Gonzalez ‘05 and Scott Wood
Kumari Devi Gossai ‘91, ‘99
Lawrence Edmund Gray ‘70 u
Ronald Green ‘99
Nancy and Judson Grenier u
Maria Guerrero l
Jason Guidry ‘09
Helen and Allen Gulbradsen
Gregory Haeseler ‘85
Jeffrey Hale ‘13
Solomon Hamburg
Kamal Hamdan ‘95 u
Rochelle C. Hamilton ‘97
Tracey Haney ‘00
Wesley Y. Harada ‘78
Roshone Harmon ‘01
Dovie Harness u
Carmen and Robert Hedges ‘86
Gayle A. Heifetz ‘04 u
Charles Heins
Eve and J. Maxie Hemmans
Tiffany Herbert u
Gary Hercules
Wanda Sunami Higaki ‘96, ‘00
Kay ‘79 and Lewis Hiigel
Coawetta Hinnant ‘83
Jill Hirschman ‘75
Malaika W. Horne ‘99, ‘07 u
Fumiko Hosokawa ‘84 u
Hubert Watson’s Property Management
Lynn Hutcheson ‘81, ‘92, ‘97 u
Alan Huynh ‘10
Carolyn and William ‘90 Insalaco
Louise Ivers u
Stephen Craig Iverson ‘88
Vincent Jackson ‘87
Sharon Jerrell Jakes-Williams ‘96
Lina ‘01 and Willie James
Elaine and Luis ‘94 Jauregui
Linda and George Jennings u
Joyce Johnson, ‘70, ‘72 u
Claudette Jones ‘86
Maisha Jones ‘04
Patricia Ann Jones ‘92
Ray Judy l
Patricia u and Robert Kalayjian
Jay Kaufman ‘82
Lauren ‘96 and David Kennedy
Joann Kennelly l
Marjan Khorashadi-Zadeh ‘09
Jamie Lytle Webb-King l u
Judith Alnette King-Rundel ‘98 u
Nancy Jean Kingston ‘72
Amy Knight ‘91
Kogi Group Corp
Kathryn Kramer
Eloise and Larry Kroeze
Alicia L. Lee ‘71
Andrew John Leist ‘08
Janice Lentz-Brennan ‘94
Katherine Lewis ‘84
Rosalind Lilly ‘94
Michael Lin ‘05
Janice K. Lloyd-Govaerts ‘91
Patricia ‘02 and Timothy Lowe
Grace Loya
Dennis P. Luzon ‘98
Peter David Mack ‘10
Margaret and Richard Madrigal
Irma D. Maggio l
Cayleen and Mitchell Maki u
Antoinette Marich ‘81 u
Denise Marrufo ‘12
Ebony K. Martin ‘10
Phyllis Martin ‘83
Danielle Martinez ‘05
Preston Mason, Jr. ‘73
Lorraine ‘11 and Craig Mautner
Justin May ‘13
Verna Anne McBride ‘03
Jean McKelvie
Esther C. McKinley ‘79
Nancy McManus
Susan and J. Dennis McQuaid
Martha Medina ‘10
Ronald Meier ‘97
Stephana ‘75 and Robert ‘78 Metoyer
Dorothy Stephens Michel ‘81
LEGEND: l Alumni Certificate or Credential u Faculty/Staff
n Deceased
| www.csudh.edu
19
Donor Honor
Roll
Jamie and Andrew Michell
Cindy and Douglas ‘05 Miscikowski
Octarve F. Mitchell ‘13
Cecila and Dick Monod De Froideville
Monster Fuses
Morongo Casino Resort and Spa
Dorothea S. Mosby ‘82
Maria Mosquito
Naomi l u and Terrence Moy
PJ Moysset ‘84
Mulligan Family Fun Center
Jan Murphy ‘82
Mary Murphy
Marion Annabelle Murray ‘77, ‘79
Museum of Contemporary Art
P. and H. Newmark
Russell Newton ‘84
Valerie u and Peter Nguyen
Norman Lloyd Nishizu ‘90
Ramona Nostaja
Oakland Velocity
Lisa Orman l
Erlinda and Ryan ‘09 Ortega
Karen and Ronald ‘84 Otsuji
Camille Y. Page ‘92
Betty ‘80, ‘85 and Victor Paieda
Anthony Parker ‘95
Linda Cataldo Parker ‘78
Barbara Parlapiano
Nenad Pasic ‘12
Deborah L. Pavich ‘10
Rosi l and Curtis Pedersen
Thomas E. Philo u
Harry Wendell Poole ‘85
Steven Portugal ‘07
Sudha S. Prakash ‘06
Roy Pugh ‘76
Frances A. Pullara ‘81, ‘86
Sean Quinn ‘87
Patricia Rahman ‘93
Patricia Reed-Cunningham ‘81
Elena Taborda Reigadas ‘92
Nola ‘79 and David Satcher
Patricia ‘81, ‘84 u and James Riple
Andrea Riser- Zanders ‘11
Gary Rivera ‘99
Riviera United Methodist Church
Diane M. Henschel u and
John W. Roberts u
Joann and Ronald ‘97 Rodriguez
Sylvia Rodriguez ‘02
Carol Rosauer ‘99
Ormond Rucker ‘99
Veronica ‘96 and Juan Sanchez
Gary Sayed u
Deborah J. Scaife ‘94
Schools First Federal Credit Union
Timothy Woods Scott ‘84
Lyndra and Oliver Seely
Julio J. Sequeira ‘11
Ramon Session ‘92
Mahmooda Shaikh ‘91
Karen ‘96 and William Shore
Eric Silbiger ‘90
Regina and Steven Silver
Susan Lee Silverstein ‘90
Matt W. Skeahan ‘06
Alonzo Slade ‘75
Chelia Smith
Lisa and Tony Smith
Melvin Smith ‘78
Michael P. Smith u
Danny Sneed ‘80
Maxine ‘84 and Karl Spingarn
Dennie S. Stansell ‘79
Paula Starr ‘14
Jennifer L. Steffen ‘88
Diana Dean Stevens ‘02, ‘06
Floyd Stevens ‘79
Mary Ann Talbert ‘76
David Still ‘71
Anne Stone
Frank A. Stricker u
Georgia Stuart ‘97
Subbotin Family Trust
Alicia L. Sutton ‘94
Earl Swope ‘73
Sycuan Casino
Laura Talamante u
Minerva and Robert ‘99 Tate
Cathy and James ‘72 Taylor
Oliver Taylor ‘93
Ann H. Terrill ‘85
The Betty J. Blackman Revocable Trust
The Ice House Comedy Nightclub
& Restaurant
The iO West Theatre
The Jeffrey and Niedenthal Family Trust
The Lobos Truck
The Michael and Laureen Paolozzi
2007 Trust
Marsha Ann Thomas ‘70
Jimmie L. Thompson ‘92, ‘94
Janice and Thomas ‘82 Thompson
Sandra Timmons ‘11
Ann ‘82 and Clinton Tompkins
Anorene and Thomas Townsend
Son Tran ‘15
Karen ‘84 and Navin Triverdi
Lynette Truesdale ‘09
Thao Truong ‘09
Kathryn and Marco Turk u
Cynthia ‘88, ‘96 u and Gregory Turner
Mary Umekubo ‘85
Yajaira Uribe ‘06
Lorraine and Joseph Valinches
Brett Vanliew ‘01
Nicole Vazquez u
Ana and Salvador ‘91 Vega
Kathryn and Carlos Velasco
Carlos Velez u
Ruby Jane Villanueva ‘07
Veronica Villanueva ‘04
Alfred Viramontes
Marcia Melton Wade ‘95
Joyce Marie Wagner ‘91
LEGEND: l Alumni Certificate or Credential u Faculty/Staff
20
DOMINGUEZ TODAY
n Deceased
| Fall 2015
James Waight ‘67
Joshua Walden ‘12
Virginia ‘89 and Willard Warden
Christine and Stuart ‘05 Watanabe
Lorenzo Watkins ‘93
Kimberly Watson ‘11
William Webb ‘80
Lethia Wedgworth ‘90
Rose Welch u
Deni and Kenneth Weller
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Geraldine Lucille Whaley ‘94
Arthur Williams ‘83
Brian Williams ‘06
Michelle R. Williams ‘94
Patricia and Steven ‘71 Williams
Judith and William ‘81 Williams
Dorothy E. Wilson
Ralph Ensign Wilson, Jr.
Anne F. Wittels ‘75, ‘79
Diana Wolff l u
Donna Wong ‘77
Mimi Worth ‘07
Juanita L. Wright ‘95
Michelle ‘91 and Philip Yapelli
Maite Zabala-Alday u
Florence Zamperini
Josephine Zarro ‘71 u
Emy Lou and Vincent Zimmerer
Leo F. Cain Society
Lee Anderson n
Anonymous (4)
Sharon and William Blischke u
Margaret Blue ‘80 u
Boice Bowman u
Hansonia Caldwell u
Eleanor Chang
Lois u and Henry Chi
Lynn Chu
Lynne Cook n
Garold Faber n
Jean Gress-Gordon
Harlan Hahn n
Jackson Henry u
Winston Hewitt n
Woodell Jackson ‘79
Yvonne Johnson n
Bruce Johnson
Johnetta Jones ‘77
Helen Kawagoe
Monica Little
Katherine Loker n
Mary McFall ‘74
Victoria Peasley ‘85
Helen Proctor ‘95
Charldene Schneier ‘84
Carolyn Sensabaugh ‘92, ‘99
Carole Shea u
Frank Stricker u
Jean Thompson ‘99, ‘00
Roselyn White ‘71
Aki-Home: Furnishing Scholarships to Business Students
Being a part of the fabric of the
communities it helps furnish is part of the
philosophy of Aki-Home, the Japanesebased furniture store, and its parent
company Nitori Holdings Co. Ltd. So
when Nitori opened Aki-Home stores in
Southern California — including one in
Torrance — it looked to give back in much
the same way it has done in Japan and
throughout Asia.
The company has hosted beach
clean-ups, funded school supplies for
children in need, and this summer,
committed $200,000 to support
scholarships for students at five Southern
California universities through its Nitori
International Scholarship Foundation,
Graduating students who give toward their senior class gift are
learning what it means to contribute to future generations — the
gift they make now will benefit the students who come after them.
“It’s great to know we’re giving something back,” noted Jesica
Rodriguez, last year’s executive vice president for Associated
Students, Inc. (ASI) and one of the contributors to the Class of
2015 campaign.
That’s exactly the sentiment the Office of Alumni Relations
wanted seniors to leave with when it established the iGave Senior
Class Giving Campaign in partnership with ASI three years ago.
“We want to nurture a culture of philanthropy among our
alumni, and one way to do that is to start while they’re still
students on campus,” said David Gamboa, assistant vice
president of external relations, which oversees alumni relations.
The seniors give what they can afford — typically the minimum
donation is their class year in dollars: $20.13, $20.14, $20.15.
They also choose what their class gift will be. The first year of
the campaign, it was laptops for the library loan program; the
following year, a treadmill for the campus fitness room; and
in 2015, seniors wanted a water bottle filling station where
students could get fresh water and reduce plastic bottle use.
The campaign has grown year over year, and as a result of the
Class of 2015 raising $6,000, they were able to purchase not
just one water station but four.
“We hope our seniors see that by giving even a small
amount they are collectively making a difference,” said
Andre Khachaturians, senior director of annual giving and
advancement services.“ We hope they feel a sense of pride in
helping to make CSUDH even better.”
For more information about the iGave and other annual giving campaigns,
call Andre Khachaturians at (310) 243-3276.
which has been awarding monetary
scholarships to students in Asian nations
since 2005. The universities chosen were
Chapman University, UC Irvine, Cal Poly
Pomona, USC and CSU Dominguez Hills.
“We are honored that the Nitori
International Scholarship Foundation
chose to support CSU Dominguez Hills
and its students,” said Joseph Wen, dean
of the College of Business Administration
and Public Affairs. “The Nitori Scholarship
is just another example of building win-win
partnerships with our business community.”
The $25,000 Nitori Foundation gift to
CSUDH will provide $2,500 scholarships
to business students during the 2015-
PHIL ANTHRO PY
2014–2015
Senior Class Gift Develops
Culture of Philanthropy
2016 academic year. In addition to the
scholarship awards, Aki-Home is interested
in developing internship opportunities for
CSUDH students in the near future.
“Community and social contributions are
among the pillars of all Nitori divisions,
including Aki-Home,” said Marwa Cabell,
chief human resources and compliance
officer with Nitori USA Division. “We at
Aki-Home look forward to continuing
this great tradition of social responsibility
here in our local communities and
throughout the United States. Nitori’s
scholarship to CSUDH and the four other
universities is definitely one way in which
Nitori and Aki-Home want to be involved
in supporting our local communities.”
Center for
Innovation in
STEM Education
Takes Off
Through a $1 million endowment
established by the Annenberg Foundation,
the Center for Innovation in STEM Education
(CISE) launched in 2014 and this year has
really gotten off the ground in a big way.
Led by Wallis Annenberg endowed professor
Kamal Hamdan as director, and professor
of mathematics Matt Jones as associate
director, CISE is fulfilling its multi-pronged
mission to not only serve as a facilitator of
regional resources toward the advancement
of science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) in K-16 education, but
also build a pipeline of future students into
careers in STEM and STEM education.
CISE is actively working with faculty in
the College of Natural and Behavioral
Sciences — 13 of whom are newly hired — on
a number of STEM in education research
and curriculum development initiatives
in collaboration with colleagues across
colleges, disciplines, K-12, community
colleges and businesses. The center has also
brought together education and corporate
leaders to form the CISE Council of Advisors
Associate professor of chemistry Kenneth Rodriguez led students through an electrolysis experiment during FUSE
(First-Year Undergraduate STEM Experience), a CISE summer program for incoming STEM students.
to share their experience, expertise and
connections to benefit CISE.
Through its efforts to inspire engaged STEM
teaching and learning, the center hosted
a number of activities this year, including
two STEM in Education conferences — one
for youth and one for educators — along
with multiple seminars and professional
development institutes for local teachers.
CISE also announced the creation of Women
in STEM Education (WiSE) and selected the
first cohort of students, 12 from Dymally
Senior High School in Los Angeles and two
CSUDH STEM majors. WiSE aims to increase
the number of women in STEM-related fields
through opportunities for female students to
engage in STEM activities and mentorship.
.For more information about CISE, visit www.csudh.edu/CISE.
| www.csudh.edu
21
PHIL ANTHR O PY
heart condition, but several successful
treatments and surgeries had allowed
her to be very active throughout most of
her life. Her death was a terrible shock.
“I lost my way after that. I went into
therapy,” said Nakai. He had to find a
way to bring gaman back into his life.
To meet Nakai today, you would not
sense the tragedy he has endured.
In the last 15 years, his perseverance
allowed him to turn his anguish into
purposeful acts helping others. In
2009, he published the self-help book,
Elephant a la Mode: An Epicurean Guide
to Life, a title that’s a play on the old
joke: “How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.” The book comprises
notes to Leslie, filled with life lessons,
and he followed it a year later with more
“father’s insights” in his second book,
Oh Butterfly, By the Way. He founded a
summer camp for children and is an
avid supporter of Rady Children’s
Hospital in San Diego and The San
Diego Foundation.
“GAMAN” in the
Face of Tragedy
Tsuyoshi Roy Nakai has donated
$60,000 over the years in scholarships
to the Department of Communications.
His generosity has created opportunity
for many students and celebrates the
life of his vibrant daughter and CSUDH
alumna, Leslie.
There’s a 1943 photograph of a baby
boy sitting on his mother’s lap in the
Library of Congress archives. The image
was taken by Ansel Adams while he was
documenting life at the Manzanar War
Relocation Center in California’s Owens
Valley, where Japanese Americans
were sent during WWII. That little boy is
Tsuyoshi Roy Nakai.
22
DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
“If you Google my mother’s name and Ansel
Adams, you’ll see the photo,” says Nakai.
His mother, Mitsuyo, his father, Nori — both
graduates of San Pedro High School — and
extended family were forced to relocate to
Manzanar. Roy Nakai was born in the camp,
and he grew to understand the Japanese
term used by the internees, gaman, which
means “to persevere.”
Perseverance has been the byword in
Nakai’s life. When the camp closed in 1945,
his family moved back home to Lake Elsinore
and ran a hot springs spa. Nakai excelled
in academics in high school, and went on
to become a pediatric dentist — a vocation
he was passionate about. He also became a
proud father to his only child, Leslie. All had
commenced as planned, until a series of
life-changing events would alter his path.
By Laurie McLaughlin
“In 1993, a dental chair fell and crushed
two of my fingers, and one finger was
amputated on my dominant hand,” said
Nakai. He could not be insured, so he sold
his dental practice and reinvented himself
with a career in computer software and
put his energy into being Leslie’s dad.
He went to her soccer and tennis games
and encouraged her as she worked
toward her undergraduate degree in
communications at CSUDH.
“Leslie had a wonderful time at Dominguez
Hills,” said Nakai. “She wanted to work in
radio and television.”
Leslie graduated in May 2000, and just
seven months later, at the age of 25, she
suffered a heart attack on Thanksgiving Day
and died 11 days later. Leslie had a lifelong
In 2001, Nakai established the
Leslie Nakai Memorial Fund at CSU
Dominguez Hills. Since that time, he’s
donated $60,000 toward the fund,
which provides $5,000 in scholarships
to communications students each
year. Ultimately, his trust will go to The
San Diego Foundation with annual
distributions to CSU Dominguez Hills,
and he hopes the scholarship will go on
in perpetuity.
“Leslie got a lot out of being at
Dominguez Hills, and I want to honor
her,” he said. “I present the award to
the students at the communications
banquet, and I meet every recipient.
I know the scholarship is meaningful
to them.”
Nakai hopes the financial assistance these
students get from Leslie’s fund helps
them persevere in life — the gift of gaman.
“My aim is that because someone helped
them, these students will also give back.
Each person’s small contribution adds up.”
For information on how to establish a scholarship,
contact the Office of Development at
(310) 243-2182 or email [email protected].
Supporting FUTURE
GENERATIONS
of Students.
Bruce Johnson recently set up two charitable gift annuities at CSUDH. One of these annuities
will benefit the existing Philip Johnson Endowed Scholarship in Physics in honor of his father,
Philip, who went back to college after retirement and earned a Bachelor of Physics from
CSUDH in 1980. The second annuity is toward the creation of a music scholarship to honor his
mother, Yvonne, who taught piano throughout her life and passed down a love of music.
Leave a legacy of support that will help future
generations of students receive an exceptional
educational experience.
Find out how you can create or contribute to an endowment
like the Johnson family, create a scholarship named in honor of
someone special, or make another type of planned gift.
Contact Beri Eisenhardt, senior director of development
at (310) 243-3156 or email [email protected].
OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT
(310) 243-2182
|
[email protected]
|
www.csudh.edu/investinus
| www.csudh.edu
23
PHIL
SECTION
ANTHRO PY
BELOW: Leslie Nakai with her
grandmother, Mitsuyo Nakai.
MAIN: Tsuyoshi Roy Nakai.
By Paul Browning
V I V I AN PRI CE D ELV ES I NT O L AB OR
AND W ORK PL ACE I S S UES W I T H H ER
S T UD ENT S AND COL L EAGUES
helped steer Price
toward activism and a
career focused largely
on race and gender,
labor studies, and
social justice. As an
associate professor
of interdisciplinary
studies at California
State University,
Dominguez Hills
since 2005, Price
now teaches and
researches those and
related topics with
her students and
colleagues.
Working in a pharmaceutical factory in
the 1970s, Vivian Price and her co-workers
were asked during a meeting “Why are
so many bad products slipping by?” She
said, “The line is moving too fast,” and was
promptly fired the next day for having a
“bad attitude.”
“I was just trying to point something
out, which was really about the working
conditions,” said Price, who worked several
manual labor and trade positions after
graduating with a master’s degree in history
at a time when jobs in teaching were scarce.
“You weren’t supposed to do that as a
worker. You were supposed to keep your
opinions to yourself and just nod your head.
The only way you could have a voice and
work security was to be in a union.”
A reinforcement of her interest in the civil
rights and anti-war movements, the incident
was one of many during that time that
24
DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
“I feel this is really important for our
students for a variety of reasons,” said Price,
who coordinates the on-campus Labor,
Social and Environmental Justice Fair each
year with her students. “When it comes to
work, they are all going to end up being
employers and employees, and they gain a
lot of practical knowledge from labor and
women studies, which can be applied in
nearly every profession.”
Working with students as fellow
researchers, Price has delved deep into
such issues as disability in the workplace,
migration, service learning, and women in
non-traditional fields.
In February 2015, Price and three students
presented findings from their research
on the global experience of women
seafarers at the Pearls of Power Conference,
which took place at the California State
University Maritime Academy in Vallejo,
At the conference, the research team
presented their examination of what
women seafarers identify internationally
as major issues, challenges, and coping
mechanisms, and offered recommendations
for women’s longevity in the industry.
“Professor Price is an amazing resource and
she really cares about us being engaged
with our work and connecting it to our
personal realities,” said Jennifer Ovalle,
a CSUDH child development major who
presented at the conference. “I learned
so much doing the reading and research
for this project, and it will stay with me
throughout my life.”
“Our women seafarers research was a lot
of fun and a good example of the types of
trade work women do around the world,”
said Price. “It’s not something that you would
traditionally expect women to do, so that
research really opened the students’ eyes.”
Price is also a documentary filmmaker
and has released her work to a worldwide
audience by producing three feature-length
films: “Hammering It Out: Women in the
Construction Zone;” “Harvest of Loneliness,”
a film about the Bracero Program, which
recruited Mexican laborers for temporary
work in the United States; and “Transnational
Tradeswomen,” which focuses on the historic
role of women in Asia’s construction industry.
Her students recently produced the short
documentary “Mapping Connections:
The Watts Rebellion and California State
University, Dominguez Hills,” which
examines CSUDH’s historic connection to
the Watts Rebellion and that community.
“At this point in my life and career I find
it very satisfying to do these research
projects and films with students, along
with teaching,” she said. “They had such
a great response during the film debut
that they launched a campaign on social
media to draw more attention to it. I’ve
been fortunate to be successful with
documentary filmmaking, and it just thrills
me to see my students engage their
passion in the same way.”
| www.csudh.edu
25
FAC U LTY F OC U S
Education for Social Justice
Calif. The project was one of several Price
has conducted through CSUDH’s Faculty
Scholar Program, which awards qualified
faculty one less course to teach per
semester to help support collaborative
work with students.
A Change is
Going to Come.
But When?
By Laurie McLaughlin
What happens after a community
rises up in protest and demands an
end to inequality, brutality, racism
and economic injustice? Justin
Gammage, CSU Dominguez Hills
assistant professor of Africana
studies, examines whether or
not civil rights movements —
both past and present —
have effected change.
For the last couple of years, an
angry chorus of protest has risen
in response to a string of police
shootings that have resulted in the
deaths of unarmed African Americans
across the United States. The Black Lives
Matter movement, along with other activist
groups, have newly elevated an old,
persistent issue into the national dialogue.
26
DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
“In the last three years, there have been
the largest gatherings of people since
the civil rights era — and not just African
Americans — who have had issues
with the use of excessive force by law
enforcement,” said Justin Gammage,
assistant professor of Africana studies.
“I think it has heightened peoples’
consciousness. It has encouraged youth
to advocate for themselves, to voice their
concerns, and it has provided a venue for
them to engage in a public discourse.
“But in terms of practical and structural
changes in policy, I’m not sure it’s found
its way there yet. Some states have made
changes regarding law enforcement
procedures — and the Confederate flag
came down in South Carolina — but we
will have to see if there will be structural
change on the horizon.”
Gammage’s research examines historical
African-American social movements to
see if they have resulted in improved
economic security for local communities.
“During the civil rights and black power
movements decades ago, a number
of demonstrations were centered
on providing equal opportunity in
employment. In other sectors, it was
equal access to home ownership, access
to schools, ending discrimination in
awarding government contracts, and
membership in trade unions,” added
Gammage. “All of this was a quest for
economic resources, which should lead
to financial stability for communities and,
more particularly, families.”
The results of these movements have
been mixed, Gammage said, noting
that President Lyndon Johnson’s war on
poverty and initiatives he enacted in the
1960s to engage and address issues of
poverty ultimately weren’t sustainable.
“Three-quarters of the current AfricanAmerican community is largely
impoverished, and that’s consistent with
prior generations,” he said.
However, some areas of inequality have
seen degrees of improvement.
“There have been huge strides in the
sphere of voting, and African Americans
as well as other groups have had more
access to higher education within
the last decade,” said Gammage.
“African Americans and other ethnic
groups also are more present in
entertainment. So gains have been
made, but it hasn’t translated to better
economic conditions for the collective
community.”
Gammage is working to find solutions
for this gap in opportunity. He is part
of San Francisco-based Afrometrics, a
think tank focused on solution-based
suggestions and analysis addressing
African Americans’ concerns.
“Our position is to provide the
necessary research to produce
viable solutions for transforming the
conditions we face,” he said.
Afrometrics serves as a forum where
scholars and activists can research
challenges within the Africana
community and provide datadriven solutions. Like the discipline
of Africana studies, the coalition
encourages discussions about cultural
differences that lead to consciousness
raising. Gammage has also played
an active role in hosting teach-ins
so that people are informed of the
laws and their rights with the hope of
diffusing tensions when engaging law
enforcement.
NEW BO O KS
FRO M FACULTY
Hugo Asencio and Rui Sun,
assistant professors
of public administration,
co-edited Cases on
Strategic Social Media
Utilization in the Nonprofit
Sector (IGI-Global, 2015), which
brings together cases
and chapters examining the practical and
theoretical components of creating an online
social community for nonprofit organizations.
Nancy Erbe, professor
of negotiation,
conflict resolution and
peacebuilding, and
Anthony H. Normore,
professor of graduate
education, co-edited
Cross-Cultural Collaboration and Leadership
in Modern Organizations (IGI-Global, 2015), an
interdisciplinary analysis of how organizations
can responsibly embrace complex problemsolving and creative decision making.
Kenneth Roth, adjunct instructor in digital
media arts, Kirti Celly, professor of marketing
and management, and Charles Thomas,
assistant professor of accounting and finance,
contributed chapters.
Nationally, the ultimate results of the
most recent public demonstrations
are yet to be seen, said Gammage, but
they have spawned an ongoing and
spirited national conversation.
M.C. Kate Esposito,
professor of special
education and Anthony
H. Normore, professor of
graduate education, coedited Inclusive Practices
and Social Justice Leadership
for Special Populations in
Urban Settings: A Moral Imperative (Information Age
Publishing, 2015), a volume in the series Educational
Leadership for Social Justice, which comprises
educational research and practice that supports
more inclusive school environments.
“Movements like Black Lives Matter
have had impact, because police
brutality, racism and inequality have
become societal questions. They’re
not just discussions in the small
spaces where people feel like
they’ve been mistreated. It’s on
CNN and on social media. This
discourse is happening right now
all over the country.”
Larry Rosen, professor of
psychology, Nancy Cheever,
professor of communications,
and L. Mark Carrier, professor
of psychology, co-edited
The Wiley Handbook of
Psychology, Technology and
Society (Wiley-Blackwell, 2015), an evidence-driven
examination of contemporary technology’s
impact on society and human behavior.
“Ultimately, it comes down to
exchanging information between
the two entities,” said Gammage.
“We approach our research and
activities in a way that produces
truthful information so that everyone is
operating with fact versus opinion.”
| www.csudh.edu
27
Fall 2015 welcomed 33 new faculty, part of a multi-year strategy to increase the number of
tenure-tenure track faculty on campus. These new professors bring a wealth of knowledge
in their respective fields and have already settled into life as Toros. We reached out to a new
professor from each of the colleges and asked them to tell us the one question they strive
to answer in their research.
HOW DO YOU MANAGE SPORTS VENUES AND A PORTFOLIO OF SPORTS BRANDS IN
A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT?
Yann Abdourazakou,
Associate Professor, Management and Marketing
As faculty in the business administration’s sports entertainment and
hospitality management program, Abdourazakou is interested in
using the major arenas and teams in the region as case studies
to examine effective management models. He’s also looking into
innovative models and strategies in sponsorship, naming rights and
other partnerships in the entertainment industry.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY
WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF TRADITIONAL
AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN
CONTEMPORARY ART?
Devon Tsuno,
Assistant Professor,
Art and Design
Throughout
art history,
innovations in
technology have
played a key role
in visual arts by
developing visual language, research
and cultural documentation. Artists
developed needs and applications
for traditional technologies like hand
tools, the camera obscura, and oil
paint that later influenced the need
for new technologies like 3D printers,
high-resolution digital cameras, and
software programs like AutoCAD
and Photoshop. In Tsuno’s paintings,
prints and installations documenting
the Los Angeles watershed and
horticulture in Los Angeles, he utilizes
traditional and new technologies as
tools of art making.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES
28
DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
Saili Kulkarni,
Assistant Professor,
Special Education
Using qualitative
case studies,
Kulkarni seeks
to highlight the
rewarding and
challenging
experiences faced by special
education teachers in large urban
districts. She is looking into how
to shift special education teacher
dispositions using critical special
education frameworks that focus on
social models of disability and cultural
critiques of traditional schooling.
Why You Little Thief!
Biologist Discovers Robber
Ant Caste
Biology professor Terry McGlynn and his
research team at the La Selva Biological
Station in the tropical rainforest of
northeastern Costa Rica have evidence
to suggest a distinctive thieving caste
within the ant Ectatomma ruidum. This
thieving behavior has been previously
documented, but this is the first time that
a specialized caste of thieves has been
described in ants.
McGlynn and the team, which included
students from CSUDH, studied the
behavior and composition of these
robber ants over the course of three
FAC U LTY NEW S
Meet the Faculty
HOW DO BELIEFS ABOUT DISABILITY
AND RACE INFLUENCE THE
RETENTION OF URBAN SPECIAL
EDUCATION TEACHERS?
months last summer, documenting
consistent behaviors that helped thieves
steal from neighboring colonies. They
avoid detection, walk more quickly
when in the territory of their victims,
and when physically caught, drop their
food; whereas non-thieving ants are not
inclined to do so. The team concluded
that because these particular ants are
unlike their fellow foraging ants in these
ways, they form a distinct caste.
Their findings have been published in the
journal Animal Behaviours (November
2015, Vol. 109; 243-247).
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
HOW DOES VISUAL/SPATIAL COGNITION IMPACT SUCCESS IN PHYSICS
AND SPACE SCIENCES AS CAREER TRAJECTORIES?
Ximena Cid, Assistant Professor, Physics
Cid’s research in physics education seeks to identify effective
approaches that make the sciences, particularly physics, more
accessible. She is currently writing 3D simulations for areas that
are abstract in nature, such as magnetic fields, electric fields, etc.
By creating 3D simulations the goal is to reduce cognitive load
that is typically used to create mental images, allowing the user to
use their working memory more efficiently.
Instilling Gratitude in Children (All Year Long)
Assistant professor of psychology
Giacomo Bono, a leading scholar in the
social and psychological benefits of
gratitude, is among a team of national
experts working with the University of
California, Berkeley’s Greater Good
Science Center to lay the scientific
foundations of gratitude and apply
that science through education and
intervention strategies.
Bono recently was awarded a $1.3 million
grant from the Templeton Foundation as
the principal investigator on phase two
of the Center’s Expand the Science and
Practice of Gratitude Initiative. He will be
leading the development of a preschool
gratitude curriculum and a separate one for
grades 4 through 12. The curriculum will be
piloted throughout the United States.
“The overall goal of this latest research
is to provide a resource for improving/
strengthening social emotional learning and
character education programs — by helping
teachers and students connect more deeply
so that students can start working on their
inner game and life planning.”
Bono is the author of Making Grateful Kids:
The Science of Building Character, published
by Templeton Press in March 2014.
COLLEGE OF NATURAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
HOW CAN SOCIAL WORKERS PROVIDE CULTURALLY SENSITIVE SERVICES TO
ENGAGE IMMIGRANT FAMILIES IN MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT?
Hannah Nguyen, Assistant Professor, Human Services
Nguyen’s research engages the voices and lived experiences of
consumers and communities to inform culturally relevant mental
health services for immigrant families. She is also interested
in examining mental health within cultural, migration, and
socioeconomic contexts. Her current work explores how culture
shapes the beliefs about mental illness and the help-seeking
practices of Vietnamese-American families.
COLLEGE OF HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND NURSING
| www.csudh.edu
29
Dear Toro Alumni,
As a proud alumnus of
California State University,
Dominguez Hills, I was
honored to have been named
the new assistant vice president
of external relations overseeing
alumni relations. Being a part
of a team of fellow alumni
all working to strengthen
the legacy of our great alma
mater is very rewarding, both
personally and professionally.
Our alumni are vital to the growth and success of Cal State
Dominguez Hills and its students, and it is my goal to
strengthen the bond between the university and alumni and
showcase the great things you are doing in your careers that
demonstrate the value of your degree.
In just 50 short years, CSUDH has graduated more than
95,000 individuals — alumni who have gone on to distinguish
themselves in various industries. What better way for
students to feel pride in their university than to hear those
stories about graduates who have walked through the same
campus, sat in the same classrooms, and gone on to establish
themselves in their careers?
Our programs and services are designed to reconnect
you to the university, while also allowing you to share your
expertise and connect with other professionals. Examples
include Professor for a Day, where we bring alumni back to
the classroom; Speed Mentoring, where alumni talk one-onone with students; and our successful alumni summer series,
which included kayaking, networking socials, and the third
annual CSUDH Alumni Dodger Day.
To learn about upcoming programs and events and receive
special alumni benefits, join the Alumni Association. A lifetime
membership is free and one of the best ways to show your
Toro Pride. Visit www.csudh.edu/alumni and click on
“Join Now.”
Thank you to all our alumni for your continued support,
engagement and advocacy.
Sincerely,
For the most part, he remained behind
the scenes, but during a 1997 segment
of his KPFK live radio show, Hutchinson
took a call about Sherrice Iverson, a
7-year-old black girl who had been found
murdered in a casino restroom in Primm,
Nevada. Summoned to a news conference
in Leimart Park by the attorney representing
Iverson’s mother, Yolanda Manuel,
Hutchinson suddenly found himself in the
spotlight. Surprisingly, he discovered that
he was a good spokesman who could think
on his feet and understood the news media.
By Cathi Douglas
HUMANITIE S ALUM NU S ,
NOTE D AUTHOR AND
ACTIV IS T WOR KS
FOR E QUALITY
As a teenager, Earl Ofari Hutchinson stood on a
street corner in Watts, transfixed as protesters
clashed with police officers, buildings burned,
and crowds looted and destroyed businesses.
“I realized the power of one,” Hutchinson
said. “One person can make a difference. It
was a defining moment and prompted me to
figure out how to take an issue and engage
the community to prompt policy change.”
Today, Hutchinson (M.A. ’89) often taps into
that vivid adolescent experience in his work
as a noted author, activist and political
commentator who appears frequently
on national news broadcasts to offer
thoughtful insights on topical, breaking and
controversial news stories.
Since then, he speaks out forcefully, most
recently on the issues of police abuse
and misconduct. As he challenges police
commissions and government leaders to
recognize their responsibilities, however, he
keeps in mind his late father’s advice that
“people are people.”
“Coming of age for me involved the harsh
realization that race is a dominant factor
in America,” Hutchinson recalled. “I saw
it up close and personal, the impact of
neighbors who had almost nothing but
couldn’t live anywhere else, and the
realization that America unfortunately is
a racially Balkanized country.”
“You find despite problems, biases, hatred
and ignorance, people are no different than
you,” he noted.
Hutchinson takes pride in his CSUDH
humanities degree and recognizes the
university’s role in the Watts community
and surrounding cities in changing lives
through the transformative power of higher
education. Fittingly, he served as master of
ceremonies for the university’s Founders’
Dinner, which honored change agents in the
community and individuals who contributed
to CSU Dominguez Hills’ history.
Witnessing these serious social
conflicts energized young Hutchinson,
prompting him to become politically
involved as a Cal State Los Angeles
undergraduate sociology student
in the late 1960s. He volunteered
with the Young Democrats and got
involved in the black consciousness
movement, including as a founding
member of that campus’s Black
Student Union.
Hutchinson continued his
political activism beyond college,
establishing the Los Angeles Urban
Policy Roundtable, maintaining a
subscription newsletter, hosting a
radio show, and authoring 15 books,
including 1996’s Betrayed: A History
Photo by Angela Hoffman.
David A. Gamboa, ’05
Assistant Vice President of External Relations
Voice for
Change
of Presidential Failure to Protect Black
Lives. All the while, he worked a full-time
position as a safety engineer for the State
Compensation Insurance Fund.
In his rare free moments, Hutchinson, who
lives in unincorporated Windsor Hills,
studies tai chi, practices yoga and continues
his lifelong devotion to fitness and running.
He is a father of two grown children, who in
many ways have followed in his footsteps:
his daughter Sikivu Hutchinson is a feminist
author and activist, and his son Fanon
Hutchinson is a videographer and producer
of short films, who is also a CSUDH alumnus
(B.A. ‘10). His grandson, Sean Collins, is
currently a senior at CSUDH.
| www.csudh.edu
31
ALU M
NI PR O F IL E
SECTION
ONCE A TORO,
ALWAYS A TORO!
1980s
SHAWN ASHLEY (B.A. ’76; M.A. ’84)
IRMA ARCHULETA (B.A. ’81; M.P.A. ’98)
retired in June 2015 after 37 years
of service at Long Beach Unified
School District, the last four of
which were as principal at Jordan
High School. Ashley holds the
distinction of the second-longest
serving principal at Long Beach
Polytechnic High School. During
his 15 years as its principal, Poly
received numerous academic
recognitions from Newsweek
and U.S. World & News Report,
and athletic recognitions from
Sports Illustrated.
JAMES REEVES (B.A. ’77; M.A. ’88)
TANYA FISHER, Ed.D. (B.A. ’81)
was named
superintendent
of Selma
Unified School
District in
Selma, Calif. in
July 2015.
Fisher
previously
worked as assistant superintendent
of education services at Santa Clara
Unified School District. She is a past
recipient of the California School
Boards Association Golden Bell
Award for innovative programs
focusing on culturally responsive
teaching practices.
KAREN KNUEVEN (B.S. ’89; M.S.N. ’96)
was named Citrus Valley Health
Partners’ chief nursing officer in
July 2015. She has been CBHP’s
chief nursing executive (CNE) for
Inter-Community Hospital in Covina,
DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
LINDA ROSE, Ed.D. (B.A. ’91; M.A. ’93)
is one year
into her
tenure as
president of
Los Angeles
Southwest
College. Rose
previously
served as vice
president of academic affairs at
Santa Ana College, and spent 17
years at Cerritos College, where she
was dean of the Liberal Arts Division
and a tenured faculty member in
the English Department.
MICHAEL J. BOWLER (M.A. ’95)
was awarded first place in the
young adult category at the 2015
Hollywood Book Festival for his
novel, Spinner. Bowler has authored
eight books, including A Matter of
Time (Silver Medalist from Reader’s
Favorite) and The Knight Circle
series’ novel, Children of the Knight
(Gold Award Winner in the Wishing
Shelf Book Awards).
KEI KAMARA is fast
becoming a Major
League Soccer
superstar. A top goal
scorer this season, he
led the Columbus Crew
to the 2015 playoffs.
Kamara played soccer at
CSUDH from 2004-2005,
earning All-American,
first-team All-Region,
first-team All-CCAA,
and CCAA MVP honors.
The Sierra Leonean
footballer was drafted to
the MLS in 2006.
STEPHEN SCHATZ (M.A. ’98)
is the new deputy superintendent
for the Hawaii State Department of
Education. Schatz brings 20 years
of educational experience to the
leadership post. He most recently
served as assistant superintendent
for the Office of Strategy, Innovation
and Performance, overseeing
assessment and accountability, data
governance and analysis, and policy,
innovation, planning and evaluation.
MARTIN ROSENBLATT (M.A. ’93)
has been promoted to regional
executive director of InnovAge
Greater New Mexico’s Program for
All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly
(PACE). Rosenblatt previously
served as center manager for the
Albuquerque PACE location, and
worked as the bureau chief of
quality, fraud and abuse detection
and control for the state of New
Mexico’s Medicaid program.
JACQUELINE HERD (B.S. ’94; M.S. ’99)
has been hired as vice president
and chief nursing officer at Midtown
Medical Center in Columbus, Ga.
She previously was chief nursing
officer at Atlanta Medical Center,
Western Medical Center in Santa
Ana, Calif., and Centinela Freeman
Health System in Inglewood, Calif.
KEVIN PILLAR had what
can only be called a dream
season this year with the
Toronto Blue Jays of Major
League Baseball, beginning
as the fourth outfielder and
moving up to the starting
lineup. His highlight reelworthy catches and solid
batting helped the Jays
reach MLB’s American
League Championship Series
playoffs. At CSUDH, Pillar was
an All-American center fielder
and set the NCAA Division II
record with a 54-game hitting
streak in 2010, and holds the
CSUDH all-time record career
batting average of .367.
2000s
MARC ALVILLAR (B.A. ’01)
returns as head coach for Los
Angeles Harbor College’s baseball
program, which he previously led
from 2004 to 2010. For the past four
years he was assistant varsity coach
at Los Alamitos High School.
KAMISHA MCCARGO (B.S. ’01)
has been hired as a project
manager by WNC, a national
investor in real estate and
community development initiatives.
Prior to WNC, McCargo served as
a vice president of acquisitions for
Alliant Asset Management.
CINDY CLARK (M.A. ’02)
recently retired as the director of
communications of the UC San Diego
Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
where she was employed for the past
30 years. As director, she oversaw
communications, marketing and
outreach for the entire Scripps
Institution.
JEZELLE FULLWOOD (M.A. ’03)
has been appointed principal of
Grant Elementary School in the
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School
District. Fullwood previously was
2010s
TANEEKA BOURGEOIS-DASILVA
(CRT ’11) was awarded a 2015
National Indie Excellence Book
Award for her recent children’s
fiction book Broccoli Chronicles.
In 2008, Bourgeois-daSilva started
TCD Kids Foundation, a non-profit
organization that provides youth
with tutoring, mentoring, service
learning, community-based projects
and more. Bourgeois-daSilva
also founded Building Voices, an
independent publishing company
that specializes in children’s fiction.
JORDAN YALLEN (B.S. ’14)
played the 2015 season with the
Arizona White Sox, a farm club of the
Chicago White Sox, which signed
him as an undrafted free agent.
Jordan played baseball at CSUDH
in 2013 and 2014. He was named
Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2014.
NIECY NASH is on a role — or two — this past
year. The former theatre major at CSUDH
was nominated for a 2015 Primetime Emmy
Award in the Outstanding Supporting
Actress in a Comedy Series category for her
role as Denise “DiDi” on the HBO comedy
sitcom “Getting On,” and she’s been getting
attention for her scene-stealing performance
on the current Fox show “Scream Queens.”
director of curriculum and instruction
with Palmdale School District and
principal of Palmdale’s Tumbleweed
Elementary, a Turnaround Intervention
Model School. In addition she is an
adjunct faculty member in the CSUDH
College of Education’s Graduate
Education division.
ADAN PULIDO (B.A. ’06)
became the new head golf coach
for Culver City High School, where
he also teaches Spanish. Pulido is a
native of Culver City.
CUAUHTÉMOC AVILA (M.A. ’08)
has been
named the
new
superintendent
for the Rialto
Unified School
District. He
brings to the
position more
than 20 years in education, as a
teacher, curriculum specialist, and
principal at every level. He
previously worked in Compton and
Glendale Unified School Districts,
and most recently was assistant
superintendent for educational
programs for the Los Angeles
County Office of Education.
© 2015 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Matthias Clamer/FOX.
© Daniel Herlensky/Columbus Crew SC Communications.
32
1990s
© Toronto Blue Jays.
was appointed
in July 2015 as
interim
co-president
of Marymount
California
University.
Reeves joined
Marymount in
1978 as a member of the faculty,
eventually taking on leadership
roles, including dean of student
affairs, vice president and senior vice
president. Reeves has been
instrumental in growing the student
body and expanding the San Pedro
campus and a second campus at the
Marymount Castle in Lucerne, Calif.
was elected in July 2015 as vice
president of the Long Beach
Community College District Board
of Trustees by her fellow trustees.
Archuleta has served on the board
since 2014. In October, she retired
after seven years as vice president
of student affairs at Evergreen Valley
College in northern California.
Calif., since 2014, a position she
continues to hold. Before joining
CVHP, Knueven served as CNE at
several southern California hospitals,
including Olympia Medical Center
in Los Angeles, Kaiser Baldwin Park,
and Verdugo Hills Hospital.
| www.csudh.edu
33
C L ASS NOTES
1970s
I N M EM O RIA M
passed away on September 28,
2014. Avant worked as a math
teacher for the ABC Unified
School District for 31 years until he
retired. During those years he was
elected adviser of four different
culture clubs and organized the
multicultural club, peer assistant
leaders club and the cheerleading
squad. During his time at Whitney
High School he was the author of
Writing Across The Curriculum,
which was a proposal that led to
Whitney High receiving the “Golden
Bell Award” from the California State
Superintendent of Education.
Toros’ Enthusiasm
Impresses New
Athletic Director
Summer
2015!
ATHL ETIC S
JOEL L. AVANT (M.A. ’73)
SOU TH B AY N AT I V E CO MES H O ME
TO R U N C SU D H AT H L ET I CS
By Cathi Douglas
DOROTHY MORRISONGORDON (B.A. ‘73; M.A. ‘82)
passed away
on October
9, 2015. She
was 89 years
old. MorrisonGordon
owned and
operated an
educational
institution for over two decades
before her retirement in the 1990s.
The institution later developed into
a full-service educational learning
center named Applied Behavioral
Science Institute.
MARLENE PADILLA
AGUILERA (B.S. ’15)
unexpectedly
passed on
August 27,
2015, while
teaching
abroad in
South Korea.
Aguilera
spent her last
three years of college as a CSUDH
corps member and team leader
for Jumpstart for Young Children,
serving preschool children from
low income families in Compton,
Calif. Aguilera made a tremendous
impact in many lives, especially the
children she served.
Share your career, family, and
personal news with the Dominguez
Today magazine. Please submit a
class note, with photo(s), by email to
[email protected].
34
DOMINGUEZ TODAY
| Fall 2015
ABOVE: More than 50 alumni
and their family and friends
were brought together July 11
to paddle kayaks in the calm
ocean channels around Naples
Island in Long Beach, and to
enjoy the sun, sand and good
conversation.
The Office of Alumni Relations upped its cool and
hosted their first Alumni Summer Series of events
this past summer. The series kicked off with an
Alumni and Family Kayak Day in Long Beach,
followed by networking socials in Culver City,
downtown L.A. and Long Beach, and concluded
at Dodger Stadium for CSUDH Alumni and
Friends Dodger Day. The summer series allowed
CSUDH alumni to connect with fellow
Toros who live within their surrounding
communities while also connecting back
with their alma mater.
LEFT: Culver City-area Toros Sam
Obembe (B.S. ‘06), Gabrielle McKeney
(B.S. ‘01), Khadija Cooper (guest),
Oliver Mbolo (B.S. ‘01) were among
those who came out to the social at
Rush Street.
BELOW: Toros gathered at Feugo at Don Chente Bar and Grill
rooftop in downtown Los Angeles for refreshments and fun.
Pictured: Inez Ayala (B.A. ‘04) showing off the license
plate holder given out.
A Gardena native, Jeff Falkner began as CSUDH’s director of athletics in August after
serving one year as athletics director at New Mexico Highlands University, following
a four-year stint as AD at Graceland University in Iowa. He lives in Gardena once
again, with his wife, Hannah, and their two young children. He recently sat down with
Dominguez Today to talk about his journey back home and his student-athletes’
success both on and off the field.
What is it like returning to your Southern
California roots?
I feel like I’ve come home at the end of
a long journey. I was a student-athlete at
West Torrance High School and played
baseball at Grand View University in Des
Moines, but I always knew I wanted to
coach sports. I found a coaching job on an
American Legion summer team in North
Dakota and since then have gone where
the opportunities have taken me — to Ohio,
Kentucky and New Mexico.
BELOW: Maroon and gold cheered on the
boys in blue at the 3rd Annual CSUDH Alumni
and Friends Dodger Day.
ABOVE: A group of fun-loving Toros got
to know each other at BO-Beau Kitchen
+ Roof Tap in Long Beach.
FOR UPCOMING EVENTS VISIT
WWW.CSUDH.EDU/ALUMNI
Why did you want to lead Toro Athletics?
I loved my job and the community at New
Mexico, but when I witnessed the passion
the Dominguez Hills administration has for
serving students — particularly the underserved population — I thought, ‘Why not do
this in my own backyard?’ For some people,
the image they have of Dominguez Hills is
the athletics program. If athletics can facilitate
campus pride, add to university culture,
generate alumni interaction, and boost
awareness, the program is something to be
passionate about.
What has impressed you about the
university’s coaching staff and students?
Both the athletes and coaches impress me
with their enthusiasm about being a Toro.
As a coach, you play a pivotal role in a
young person’s life and you get to work with
athletes, which is a cool job.
Which issues and challenges make Cal
State Dominguez Hills distinctive?
Our students are high-energy. They are
committed to success; they’re dedicated.
They’re good kids who come from all walks
of life. That makes this place special. Many
of our students are non-traditional and
might not feel engaged with the university,
but involvement in athletics and attending
games creates attachment to the institution.
How will you measure student-athletes’
success in the coming year?
We want to help prepare students for
success. Wins and losses aren’t our only
measuring stick. We’ll focus on the student
experience and the ways we can help
student-athletes maximize their abilities in
all areas. We’ll look at retention rates and
graduation rates — there are lots of factors
that go into student-athletes’ success. It takes
all of us doing our part to make sure our
students have a good experience.
Why are academics important for studentathletes’ future success?
Student-athletes face challenges balancing
classroom studies and athletics competition.
I think a lot of us realize that we would have
been better off approaching our college
classes with more intensity. There are
benefits to getting the marks that can help
launch you in your chosen career, and we
want to help arm our student-athletes with
the tools necessary for whatever comes next.
| www.csudh.edu
35
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1000 East Victoria Street, WH 490
Carson, CA 90747
If you do not wish to continue receiving this magazine
or you are getting more than one copy, please e-mail
[email protected] or call (310) 243-2182.
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Permit No. 2056
Los Angeles, CA
PARENTS PLEASE NOTE
If your son or daughter is no longer at this address,
please e-mail [email protected] or call (310) 243-2182.
your gift
opens doors
Higher education provides pathways to opportunity
and success. Empower the next generation of students
with a gift to the TORO FUND, the annual fund for
CSU Dominguez Hills.
Your gift to the Toro Fund ensures that our students
receive an exceptional educational experience.
THE TORO FUND
Office of Development | (310) 243-3276 | [email protected]
www.csudh.edu/torofund

Watts Then and Now - CSUDH Dateline Dominguez

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