Chapman Magazine Fall 2016

Fall 2016

MAGAZINE

Executive Editor:

Sheryl Bourgeois, Ph.D. Executive Vice President for University Advancement Managing Editor:

Mary A. Platt, APR Director of Communications platt@chapman.edu Editor:

Dennis Arp arp@chapman.edu Staff Writer:

Dawn Bonker (MFA ’18) bonker@chapman.edu Design:

Hayden Design Editorial Office:

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Chapman Magazine One University Drive Orange, Calif. 92866-9911 The mission of Chapman University is to provide personalized education of distinction that leads to inquiring, ethical and productive lives as global citizens. chapman.edu Chapman Magazine is printed on recycled-content paper.

ON THESE PAGES: It’s been a quarter-century since Chapman last inaugurated a president, so the occasion was particularly special when the University community welcomed Daniele Struppa to his new role Sept. 30 in Marybelle and Sebastian P. Musco Center for the Arts. The joy and excitement were obvious – on stage and among audience members, seen on the big screen behind the Women of Chapman stage, as Struppa accepted the University Mace from President Emeritus Jim Doti, and the Chapman Medal from Board of Trustees Chair David Janes.

Excerpts from Struppa’s Inaugural Address are on page 2, and a profile of the incoming president begins on page 22.

Photo by Nathan Worden ’13 (MBA ’15)

ON THE COVER: Kyle Lee ’14 is a physicist, not an artist. But as he prepared to graduate from Chapman two years ago, he knew he wanted to give something special to his mathematical mentor. So he dived into creating the drawing of Daniele Struppa you see on our cover – sketching and erasing, shading and obsessing, getting it “good enough to reflect my immense gratitude.” A first-generation college student, Lee credits Struppa with providing opportunities “I might not have thought I could handle.” Now that he is pursuing a Ph.D. in particle physics at Stony Brook University in New York, Lee says that “to have someone so accomplished rooting for you is a wonderful thing.” And what of his drawing? Well, it occupies a place of honor in Struppa’s new presidential office. “Kyle has a passion for learning that will carry him far,” Struppa says. “But more than that, he is a humble and generous young man.”

UP FRONT

2 President’s Message 3 First Persaon: After Speaking to Educators in China, Professor Suzanne SooHoo Brings Back Questions About Ancient Traditions and Changing Roles CHAPMAN NOW

5 The Holocaust Studies Program Gets a Transformative Gift Featuring Research Material on Renowned Rescuer Oskar Schindler 7 Award Season Is Just Under Way, and Already Dodge College Students Have Earned Academy Award and Emmy Honors 8 With Stranger Things, Matt and Ross Duffer ’07 Deliver a Monster Hit That’s Binge-worthy TV to the Power of Eleven 11 Returning to Chapman as Fowler Law Dean, Matt Parlow Shows He’s Practiced at Developing Strategic Partnerships 15 An Ugly Campaign Season Stokes Flames of Dread that Are Likely to Burn Well into the Future, Fear Researchers Say DEPARTMENTS

12 Voices & Verities 14 Bookshelf 32 In Memoriam: Elie Wiesel, Fritzie Williams, James Emmi, Onnolee B. Elliott (M.A. ’64), Margery Enix, Stan Califf FEATURES

16 For Chapman Communication Studies Alumna Joanna Rosholm ’07, Assisting First Lady Michelle Obama Is a Singular Honor 18 The University’s Ambitious New Center for Science and Technology Will Provide Room for Research to Truly Flourish 22 Daniele Struppa Brings a Passion for Creative Connection and a Vision of National Prominence to his New Role as President 26 Campus Life Is Enriched by the Contributions of Many Staff Members, Including These Faces of Chapman 28 Seventy-Five Years After the Attack, Pearl Harbor Remains a Touchstone Moment, Living in Memory and Emotion ALUMNI NEWS 36 His Caregiver Role Strengthens a Special Bond,

Leading Jon Dyer ’62 to Support Specialized Health-Science Learning

38 Class Notes

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Excerpted from Daniele Struppa’s Inaugural Address, Sept. 30, 2016

n any journey, as every climber knows very well, the only way to progress is to never stop. As educators, we know that constant intellectual mobility is a fundamental component of success.

So as teachers, we must convey to each class the idea of movement on the path toward intellectual and spiritual growth. And Chapman students must be engaged to achieve this growth and continue moving on this path. In other words, the entire process of questioning — studying, teaching, learning — is a rejection of stasis. It is a rejection even of comfort — of allowing ourselves to gradually, slowly, almost imperceptibly freeze into that which we know.

It is a refusal to ever allow our path to end.

As I assume the role that’s been entrusted to me, I pledge to you, the Chapman Family, the larger community and to future generations, an unrelenting commitment to a vibrant intellectual environment.

An environment that will foster constant growth in our faculty and in our students. An environment committed to the difficult but exciting work of contrasting, comparing and creating new conversations from

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Officers David A. Janes, Sr. Chair Wylie Aitken Vice Chair Joann Leatherby Vice Chair Scott Chapman Secretary Zelma M. Allred Assistant Secretary Trustees Donna Ford Attallah ’61 Raj S. Bhathal James P. Burra Michael J. Carver Phillip H. Case Akin Ceylan ’90 Irving M. Chase Hazem H. Chehabi Jerome W. Cwiertnia Zeinab H. Dabbah (JD ’12) Kristina Dodge Dale E. Fowler ’58 Barry Goldfarb Stan Harrelson Gavin S. Herbert, Jr. Roger C. Hobbs William K. Hood

2 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

our different cultural sensibilities and experiences. An environment that encourages growth and movement across borders and generations.

Chapman is here to create this environment. For students, Chapman is here to help you embark on your unique journeys — on paths you must define and commit to following — so you one day may become global intellects and global citizens.

For trustees, administrators, faculty and staff, Chapman is here to give you the forum and the means to convey your expertise, knowledge and support to our students. To help clear the path for them to follow.

For the larger community, near and far, Chapman is here as a source of intellectual and personal excellence — the place where tomorrow’s leaders will embark on their journeys. And a beacon to those who wish to come here to learn and to work — those who long to blaze their own paths.

My dear fellow members of this remarkable family: Chapman University is, indeed, a very special place.

Thank you.

Mark Chapin Johnson ’05 Jennifer L. Keller Parker S. Kennedy Laura Khouri Thomas E. Malloy Charles D. Martin James V. Mazzo Ann D. Moskowitz Sebastian Paul Musco James J. Peterson Harry S. Rinker James B. Roszak The Honorable Loretta Sanchez ’82 Mohindar S. Sandhu Ronald M. Simon Ronald E. Soderling Emily Crean Vogler Karen R. Wilkinson ’69 David W. Wilson

Robert A. Elliott David C. Henley Randall R. McCardle ’58 (M.A.’66) Cecilia Presley Barry Rodgers Richard R. Schmid R. David Threshie

Emeritus Chairs The Honorable George L. Argyros ’59 Doy B. Henley Donald E. Sodaro

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Emeritus Trustees Richard Bertea Lynn Hirsch Booth Arlene R. Craig J. Ben Crowell

Ex-Officio Trustees James E. Blalock (JD ’09) Reverend LaTaunya Bynum ’76 Reverend Don Dewey Barbara Eidson Reverend Dayna Kinkade Melinda M. Masson Linda D. Ruth Daniele C. Struppa Reverend Felix Villanueva Reverend Denny Williams

Officers Melinda M. Masson Chair Michael Penn (JD ’04) Executive Vice Chair Paul A. Cook Vice Chair Rebecca A. Hall ’96 Secretary

Governors George Adams, Jr. Marilyn Alexander Lula F. Halfacre Andre Lisa Argyros ’07 Margaret Baldwin Deborah Bridges Brenda Carver Eva Chen Ronn C. Cornelius Robin Follman-Otta (EMBA’15) Kathleen M. Gardarian Judith A. Garfi-Partridge W. Gregory Geiger Steve Greinke Galen Grillo (EMBA’13) Sinan Kanatsiz ’97 (M.A. ’00) Elim Kay ’09 Scott A. Kisting Dennis Kuhl Suki McCardle Lori Smith James F. Wilson Emeritus Governors Marta S. Bhathal Kathleen A. Bronstein Gary E. Liebl Jean H. Macino Richard D. Marconi Jerrel T. Richards Douglas E. Willits ’72

Ex-Officio Governors Sheryl A. Bourgeois Daniele C. Struppa PRESIDENT’S CABINET

Nicolaos G. Alexopoulos George L. Argyros, Jr. ’89, (JD ’01) Julianne Argyros Joyce Brandman Stephen J. Cloobeck Heidi Cortese Sherman Lawrence K. Dodge Paul Folino Douglas K. Freeman Marie Gray Frank P. Greinke Gavin S. Herbert Shelley Hoss Steeve Kay Joe E. Kiani General William Lyon Frank O’Bryan The Honorable Milan Panic Lord Swraj Paul James H. Randall The Honorable Ed Royce Susan Samueli Ralph Stern David Stone Alan L. True

FIRST PERSON

Critical Questions, Unbound Ideas

By Suzanne SooHoo

“M

y grandmother had bound feet. As a young child, I bathed her crumpled feet in a warm basin of water and wondered: What destiny does she wish for me?”

That’s how I opened a lecture I gave in China to fellow university and school educators this summer. They were curious about their American-born cousin, and I was eager to know them. In the classrooms, I would learn about their definitions of good teaching and learning and their theoretical/ philosophical foundations. At social hours, I learned about their daily lives as we shared meals. They were hungry for Western ways of thinking about schooling.

It’s difficult to grasp the full import of this historic opportunity. That’s because there exists this prevailing assumption: A communist country such as China would not be interested in an approach to teaching and learning that is founded on the development of critical consciousness and social transformation. And yet, that’s precisely where colleague Peter McLaren and I spent this past June as we participated in building infrastructure for critical pedagogy in northeast China.

We were invited by the administration of Northeast Normal University in Changchun, the capital and largest city

of Jilin Province, to engage with graduate students and teachers in works by Paulo Freire and McLaren, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor in Critical Studies at Chapman University. Furthermore, Peter and I were given three-year appointments as honorary directors of the Center for Critical Pedagogy Research.

What kind of conversations could I expect? What kind of conversations could I evoke? I was interested in their identities, inspirations and agency as transformative educators. I wanted to discover how they see their roles as educators and what philosophies inform their practice.

As I came to know the students, I found that the concept of dialogue perplexed them. It was not customary in classrooms or lecture halls to carve time for dialogue pairs or groups. One student explained that telling or listening to the ideas of his peers may not be time well spent. Instead, “We want to hear the teacher’s ideas,” he said. “Our ideas are not as important as yours.”

This sentiment reflects traditional Chinese principles of respect for elders and humility. One tries not

to draw too much attention to one’s self in a collectivist society. I pondered: How does dialogue occur between you and me if there is no concept of I or self in China, a country where humility restrains one from speaking up?

As a result of this reflection, I brought back questions about the role of tradition in contemporary society. What history or traditions do we bring forward in our lives?

How are these values or practices relevant in new contexts? When things change, what stays the same and why?

You can only understand who you are if you know where you have been. So I’m considering the influence my ancestors have in my life. What did they intend for me to do?

There’s one more question that occupies my thoughts. What life did my grandmother wish for me? I am a senior professor now, one of only 10 Asian American endowed chairs in the United States. With unbound feet, I blaze a path of a woman warrior, social justice educator. I hope I haven’t disappointed her.

Suzanne SooHoo, Ph.D., is the Jack H. and Paula A. Hassinger Chair in Education in the College of Educational Studies at Chapman University.

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IN-BOX

EXCERPTS FROM THE CONVERSATION ON THE GLOBAL CITIZENS WALL IN THE STUDENT UNION:

LETTERS, EMAILS, COMMENTS AND POSTS

According to the National Institute for Civil Discourse, 78 percent of Americans think incivility is preventing our nation from moving forward.

How can we discuss political differences without polarizing our communities?

Re: “A Culture of Inclusion,” spring 2016 issue Very nice article, Dennis Arp. The fundamental principle which is required by a society today is the inclusion of the marginalized people in that society.

Nitin Labhane Re: “A Real Page-Turner,” spring 2016 issue I remember when I first met President Doti.

It was upon the inauguration of Schmid Gate.

As I approached him, I thanked him for his work and his dedication to making Chapman No. 1 in Film/TV, over USC’s program. This was significant to me since I chose Chapman over USC. It was a moment in which we both acknowledged our love of taking the challenge rather than going into something that’s comfortable and safe. If there could be one impression that Jim would leave as a lasting legacy for all Chapman people, it is to never get too comfortable with your vocation; continue to elevate your limits. Great things await!

• A lot of “polarizing” issues consist of one side requesting social/economic equity/justice, and the other side saying the oppressed should not be protected/helped. Grow a conscience and listen when those who are suffering speak!

• We must listen to those who disagree with us, and elect politicians who will do the same.

• Our two-party system is WAY polarized, and bias on both sides is preventing productivity. However, countries with larger, multi-party systems (such as Italy) historically are even less capable of effecting change. Do we need large organizations to speak on behalf of our ideals?

Upcoming in Chapman Magazine In the year ahead, the Fowles Center for Creative Writing will celebrate its 20th anniversary by welcoming another lineup of literary leaders, including Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, shown at left. In our winter issue, we’ll survey the history of the Fowles Center series and preview the upcoming events.

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4 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

© Nobel Media AB 2010 (Angel Navarrete)

Johnny Maravelis ’08

• I don’t think 320 million people in the U.S. should only have two major political parties they can fit into and have all their voices heard. We need to facilitate discussions aimed at expanding knowledge, as opposed to arguing for who is right or wrong.

• Start small: Improve public education, which will foster discussions from the younger generations.

Young people need to get involved for change to happen!

• Teach kids from a young age to be empathetic and understanding. We are more focused as a culture on beating someone at something. Empathetic kids will grow to engage in civil, healthy, positive discourse and vigorous debate that will lead us forward.

CHAPMAN NOW

Schindler Archive

hapman University’s nationally recognized Holocaust Education program and its Sala and Aron Samueli Holocaust Memorial Library have received a major gift that will further distinguish its reputation: the most complete collection in the world of primary and secondary source material on the life and times of Holocaust rescuer Oskar Schindler.

The collection – to be known as the Oskar Schindler Archive, donated by historian David M. Crowe, Ph.D. – includes interview transcripts, the author’s extensive notes and copies of archival documents gathered during Crowe’s many years of research on the life of Schindler and those he rescued. The Archive also includes materials that were given to Crowe since the publication in 2004 of his definitive biography Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the True Story Behind ‘The List.’

“The Oskar Schindler Archive is a transformative gift that adds an extraordinary resource to the Sala and Aron Samueli Holocaust Memorial Library,” said Marilyn Harran, Ph.D., director of Chapman’s Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education and Stern Chair in Holocaust History.

“Dr. Crowe’s collection is rich in materials that will interest scholars researching the Holocaust and World War II, and also those more generally interested in the topic of rescue.”

Crowe, an emeritus professor of history at Elon University, said that with several visits to Chapman, he became “deeply impressed with the leadership and commitment of the Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education and of the University to Holocaust education and research.

This, coupled with the close ties of the Center to three ‘Schindler Jews’ – Leopold and Ludmilla Page and Leon Leyson – convinced me that Chapman was the perfect home for the Oskar Schindler Archive.”

The Archive will be housed in the Brandman Survivors Room, part of the Samueli Holocaust Memorial Library on the fourth floor of Chapman’s Leatherby Libraries. The room and Archive will be open by appointment to Chapman students, faculty and visiting researchers.

Crowe undertook intensive research that involved travels throughout the United States, as well as multiple trips to the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Israel and Argentina. He

Photo: Jeanine Hill

‘A Transformative Gift’

Historian David M. Crowe, left, recently presented to Chapman his singular collection of source material on the life of Holocaust rescuer Oskar Schindler. Joining Crowe at the new home of the Oskar Schindler Archive in the Brandman Survivors Room at Leatherby Libraries are, from left, Ludmila “Mila” Page, Schindler’s List survivor and widow of Leopold Page; Daniele Struppa, president of Chapman University; and Marilyn Harran, director of the Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education.

carried out research in national and local archives, and interviewed Schindler Jews and close friends of Oskar Schindler.

The Archive also includes Polish documents that provide the detailed history of Schindler’s most important factory in Krakow – Emalia – and how he acquired it during the war, as well as his attempt in 1944 to protect his workers by transferring them to a new factory near his

hometown of Brnenec (Brünnlitz) in what is now the Czech Republic.

The Archive details the complexity and differing versions of the “List” and includes copies of a large collection of postwar letters between Oskar and friends. These letters detail the complexities of his life in exile, first in Bavaria, then Argentina and finally in Germany, where he died in 1974.

CU Scholars to Access Shoah Testimonies Chapman University is now offering students and faculty access to the first-hand accounts of thousands of witnesses to genocide.

Through its Leatherby Libraries, Chapman has become the first California institution to purchase the Visual History Archive perpetualaccess license through ProQuest. This provides access via the USC Shoah Foundation to a fully streaming video collection of 53,000 primarysource testimonies of survivors and witnesses of genocide.

“This is one of the largest digital collections of its kind in the world, with interviews conducted throughout 63 countries and in 41 languages,”

said Charlene Baldwin, dean of the Leatherby Libraries.

The collection includes testimonies from the Holocaust, the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, Nanjing Massacre, Armenian Genocide and Guatemalan Genocide. In addition, there are nearly 700,000 photographs, documents and works of art.

Access to the digital archive is available through live-streaming 24/7 to Chapman students, faculty and staff. The Leatherby Libraries subscription was substantially supported by Chapman’s Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education.

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CHAPMAN NOW

Photo: Scott Stedman ’14

Getty Exhibit to Showcase Historic Mural Higgy Vasquez restores the 37-year-old mural painted by his renowned father, Emigdio Vasquez.

Higgy Vasquez

restored mural on the side of a Chapman University-owned apartment building in Old Towne Orange will be part of The Getty Center’s popular Pacific Standard Time exhibition in 2017.

The 37-year-old work by renowned artist Emigdio Vasquez illustrates centuries of MexicanAmerican history. It is considered a masterwork and a treasured record of local Latino heritage.

“It tells a story of struggle, of history and of the daily lives of the people in the neighborhood,” says Higgy Vasquez, son of the late artist. Higgy Vasquez was hired by Chapman to restore the

mural after the University purchased the property as campus housing.

Emigdio Vasquez produced more than 400 oil paintings and 22 murals during his 50-year career. The North Cypress Street mural was restored in the same spirit of historical stewardship that gave new life to the 1931 Cypress Street Schoolhouse a few blocks away. That site – the last remaining Mexican-American segregated schoolhouse in Southern California – now houses Chapman’s Early Human and Lifespan Development Research Facility.

No ‘Fixing’ Needed Photo: Mary Platt

Those who learn differently aren’t broken but instead offer ‘a journey of change,’ Dyslexia Summit speakers say.

By Dawn Bonker (MFA ’18) onathan Mooney was one of “those kids” – the sort who drove teachers to park him in the hallway because he couldn’t sit still in class, the athlete who thought he was at college just to play soccer.

Then he heard an inspiring professor speak about the glories of English literature, and his imagination caught fire. But what about his dyslexia, his struggles with writing and those who said he shouldn’t even be in college?

Prove them wrong and don’t sweat the spelling, the professor said. So Mooney did. Today he is a writer, public speaker and activist working to foster acceptance and celebration of the unique abilities of students with learning differences. Speaking at Chapman University’s Second Annual Dyslexia Summit, Mooney 6 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

From left, Skye Montgomery ’17, Stephen Plantan (JD ’17) and Alexa Corbett ’15 (MFA ’17) speak about their experiences as Chapman students with dyslexia on a panel at the 2016 Dyslexia Summit.

underscored the conference’s theme of embracing cognitive diversity.

“I want to talk about a different path forward for people who learn differently,” said Mooney, who hopes to change the perception that those with dyslexia need “fixing.”

“My story and the stories of so many others we’ve heard here today is the antithesis of that fix-it mentality,” he said. “I went on this journey of change, and I didn’t change a thing about myself.”

Mooney’s message was shared by all the

summit speakers, who called on society to embrace learning differences rather than see them as disorders to be treated.

More than 300 people attended the summit, organized by Lisa Cupolo, director of Chapman’s Cognitive Diversity Project, with support from James Montgomery, managing director of March Capital Partners and a strong supporter of education.

John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, opened the conference with videotaped remarks in which he described the advantages of dyslexia.

“You’re able to picture the whole outcome of something. You’re able to see all the moving parts. It’s easier for you to go A-B-C-Z in ways that others cannot,” he said.

Thanks to neuroscience and education research, we better understand dyslexia, said Maryanne Wolf, director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University. There is no single source or cause of dyslexia, but there are strategies and tools that can improve reading and writing.

“There’s such hopefulness about the changes and ever more specificity about what we can do,” she said.

Students Earn Academy Award, Emmy Honors ward season is under way, and already it has been kind to Chapman University students. Two have earned Student Academy Award honors, and one an Emmy.

At the 43rd Student Academy Awards, Dodge College students Brian Robau ’17 and Brenna Malloy ’16 captured silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the narrative category. Robau took home the award for his short film It’s Just a Gun, while Malloy captured the bronze for her short film Rocket. Both films are now eligible to compete for Oscars in the Live Action Short Film category.

“This is a landmark moment for our film school and reflects tremendous credit on the talent of our students,” said Bob Bassett, dean of Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

“These two films in particular effectively tap topics very much in the zeitgeist – how women define themselves and how the prevalence of guns is shaping our society.”

Top 10 Rankings for Chapman, Dodge hapman University continues to earn the respect of voters in national rankings.

In the 2017 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” published by U.S. News & World Report, Chapman moved up to No. 6 in its category, which places it in the top 5 percent of 124 Western regional universities.

Chapman was also recognized by U.S. News as one of only two universities in the region to be ranked as “Most Innovative.”

The “America’s Best Colleges” rankings provide the most thorough examination of how more than 1,500 U.S. four-year schools compare on a set of a dozen indicators of excellence.

Chapman has also received outstanding national rankings from the Princeton Review, Forbes and the Fiske Guide to Colleges.

In addition, each year The Hollywood Reporter releases its list of the top 25 film schools in America, and once again Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts ranks in the top 10, holding steady at No. 7. The publication praises the professional-quality Knott Studios facilities and notable alumni Justin Simien ’05 (Dear White People) and Matt and Ross Duffer ’07 (Stranger Things).

Brian Robau ’17 won silver for his short film It’s Just a Gun, (photo below), and Brenna Malloy ’16 took bronze for Rocket (poster at left) at the 43rd Student Academy Awards. Both are now eligible to compete for Oscars in the Live Action Short Film category.

Tyler Newman ’18

Robau and Malloy’s success comes a year after Daniel Drummond ’14 became the first Chapman student to win a Student Academy Award, winning the top prize in the Alternative Film category for his inventive film Chiaroscuro.

Meanwhile, at the 68th Annual L.A. Area Emmy Awards, Tyler Newman ’18 won for his documentary Music Matters: L.A. Kids and Their Music. Newman produced, filmed and edited the work, which won for Outstanding Achievement in Children/Youth Programming.

New Project Highlights AC Martin Partnership he new Center for Science and Technology rising swiftly on the northeast corner of Chapman’s campus in Orange highlights the longtime collaboration between the University and the distinguished Southern California-based architectural firm AC Martin Partners.

The firm has designed many of Chapman’s most iconic buildings, beginning with Argyros Forum in 1992.

“AC Martin designs have a transformative effect on their surroundings and the people who occupy the buildings,” says Kris Eric Olsen, vice president for campus planning and operations at Chapman. “Their brilliant architectural work at the University has contributed mightily in transforming a sleepy collection of structures into a world-class campus.”

The firm’s design work has won a number of awards, including a Plaque of Honor from Real Estate & Construction Review, recognizing the Fish Interfaith Center as “One of the Top Projects in Southern California.”

AC Martin’s designs at Chapman include: •

1992 – Argyros Forum

•

2004 – Fish Interfaith Center, Leatherby Libraries and Oliphant Hall

•

2012 – Argyros Forum expansion

•

2013 – Doti Hall

•

Currently under construction, opening in 2018 – Center for Science and Technology (shown in rendering above)

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CHAPMAN NOW

From left, Chapman University alumni Ross and Matt Duffer ’07 relax in the secluded writers’ room where they work on Stranger Things.

The Duffer brothers ’07 deliver a monster hit that’s binge-worthy TV to the power of Eleven. his fall, Netflix saw its stock price leap 26 percent, and in its third quarter it attracted an additional 3.6 million viewers. In short, Stranger Things happened – and not just in a metaphorical way. This runaway summer hit is credited with boosting the entertainment company’s fortunes.

A 1980s-themed nostalgia trip down horror-movie lane, Stranger Things is the brainchild of creators and showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer ’07. During a scorching summer of superheated campaign rhetoric, the Duffer brothers provided an escape hatch into addictive storytelling that for many came to epitomize binge-worthy television.

The Stranger Things plot revolves around a town turned on a tilt when a boy named Will disappears, a weird little girl named Eleven arrives and a paranormal mystery unfolds.

The Duffers, graduates of Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, are now busy filming the much-anticipated season two, scheduled for summer 2017 release. We visited with the bearded and slightly befuddled twin brothers earlier this year when the colossal fan following had just taken off.

Sitting in the quiet Hollywood Hills house where they holed up to write, the brothers shared insights into the message they tried to convey in their story, and the Chapman experience where it all began.

First of all, we’re very worried Q

about Will.

Duffer: (smiling) I’m worried

A Matt about Will. The whole idea is that they did bring him back, but he’s been in this environment, the Upside Down, for about a week, which can’t be healthy. That’s something we’re interested in potentially exploring and what kind of effect that would have on him physically and psychologically. Not good, it’s not good.

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Reviews have been terrific – The New Q

Yorker, The New York Times and even

(laughing) We weren’t stalking A Ross: people with our cameras, but yeah, we

Stephen King praised it. But it’s been really fun to watch the fan response on social media.

People adore those kids and this story.

Ross Duffer: Yeah! We didn’t know what to expect. Netflix is a big company, but really it’s a small group of us putting this together, and we were in this little bubble.

We were all excited about it, but we had no idea that it would have this response.

obviously were going around making movies. … That outsider who doesn’t have a ton of friends but is trying to make art — there’s definitely a lot of us in that.

A

Q

In other interviews, you’ve compared

yourselves to your characters – the nerdy kids playing Dungeons and Dragons and poor Barb, the uncool teen. But what about Jonathan, the kid behind the camera, communicating through his art? Is there a little of you in Jonathan?

Hooking a lot of the dramatic action Q

to such young characters can be tricky.

How did you sell that idea?

A Matt: Our argument and pitch to Netflix

was that it works on two levels. You can have 12-year-olds watching the show and they’re going to relate to these kids and they’re going to feel like they’re having an adventure just like we felt when we were their age watching Goonies. And it’s also going to work for people our age and older who grew up on these films.

Master pumpkin carvers Ryan Tolentino ’02 (Jonathan) and Brittany Hanson (Barb) led a team of Chapman Strategic Marketing and Communications staffers who turned gourds into Demogorgon for the University’s annual Halloween party.

You really know you’ve made it when they break out the baby-related cosplay.

STRANGER MANIA Few phenomena burrow so deeply into America’s pop culture psyche as has Stranger Things. Manifestations of the mania abound, especially on the Web. Here are a few of our faves:

Jimmy Fallon plays that mouth breather, Steve, but the point of this Tonight Show sketch is to give Barb a chance to vent about being left in the Upside Down.

What about your Q

experience at Dodge

A Stranger Things Christmas is a mashup that imagines the kids of Hawkins, Ind., as Peanuts characters College helped foster your searching for the holiday spirit. There’s little filmmaking careers? doubt that Will Byers will need psychiatric help, Ross: You can try a lot of but at a booth staffed by Eleven? Don’t miss the Snoopy-inspired dance party to different things (at Dodge). … the Stranger Things theme.

It gives you a safe place to play around.

A lot of people come into film school and want to – and we made the same mistake – they want to make a masterpiece right away. And A charming element of the Stranger it’s like, just focus and try to tell a story.

Things plot is watching the boys teach Matt: When you move into Dodge it’s the odd girl raised in a laboratory how to be this beautiful community of film nerds, and a friend, how to trust people. they’re all into the same stuff that you’re Ross: There’s something so innocent into. That’s what’s key – being in a group of and sweet about how central really, really smart kids who love the same friendship is to them. When you really boil things we did. it down, that’s what really matters. It’s those

A

Q A

That master of canine deadpan, Doug the Pug, meets the challenge of playing all the series’ roles in Stranger Pugs.

very simple life lessons – being a good friend can go a long way.

Matt: On television there’s been this huge avalanche of shows with antiheroes. A lot of our characters are good-hearted people.

And they have a lot of compassion.

Was that your universal truth you were Q

trying to convey?

I hope so. Even when there’s

A Ross: darkness, people leave the show feeling

a bit of hope there. … It’s about these friends who are there for each other, no matter what – that there’s this mom who’s there for her son, no matter what. And to us there’s something both universal and hopeful about that. … That’s where we wanted to go.

F A L L 2 016 | 9

CHAPMAN NOW

Physician Assistant Program Ready to Launch in January hapman University’s Physician Assistant program has received accreditationprovisional status, allowing the University to welcome its first PA students starting in January. This status, granted by the Accreditation Review Commission on the Education for the Physician Assistant, approves the opening of Chapman’s PA program at the Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine.

“We have been planning for this moment for several years and couldn’t be more pleased

to launch this degree program,” said Janeen Hill, Ph.D., founding dean of Chapman’s Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, which houses the Master’s of Medical Science PA Studies program. “Chapman’s continued growth in health sciences lays the foundation for the future of healthcare providers in Orange County and beyond.”

Chapman will admit 25 students in the inaugural class, with an increase to 35 the following year and 50 in 2019.

The Rinker Health Science Campus includes ample lab space for research.

Justice Alito to Speak at Chapman .S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is coming to the Fowler School of Law in 2017. The associate justice will give the keynote speech at the Chapman Law Review ’s Annual Symposium on Feb. 10 in Kennedy Hall.

Alito will be the third U.S. Supreme Court justice to visit Chapman. Clarence Thomas was at the grand opening of Kennedy Hall in 1999 and returned to give an address in 2007, and Justice Antonin Scalia visited Chapman in 2007 to give the Madison Lecture and to participate with law students in a re-enactment of the famous 1905 Lochner vs. New York trial.

Tickets for Alito’s address will be available to the public. The on-sale date has yet to be announced.

Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. was nominated

by President George W. Bush and took his seat

10 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

Justice Samuel Alito

on the nation’s highest court in 2006.

Previously he served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law and a visiting professor at Duke University School of Law. The Chapman Law Review Symposium features the theme “The Future of the Legal Profession.”

Fowler Law Notes

Grads Far Exceed Bar Pass Rate nce again, graduates of Chapman University’s Dale E. Fowler School of Law exceeded the California ABA-accredited law school average pass rate for first-time takers of the state bar exam. The law school achieved the sixth highest bar pass rate of the 21 ABAaccredited law schools in California in that category, ranking 15 percentage points above the California ABA-school state average of 47.5 percent.

This is the 11th time that Fowler Law graduates have exceeded the California ABAaccredited law schools’ average bar pass rate since the school began its Bar Exam Preparation Program in 2009. The unique in-house program complements students’ traditional coursework to prepare them for the California and out-of-state bar examinations.

Included in the program are for-credit courses taught during the academic year and a supplemental bar prep program following graduation. The supplemental course includes topic reviews, practice essays and performance exams with immediate feedback, four mock bar exams and live review of 700 multiple-choice questions from the mock exams.

Supreme compliment: Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate for president, named Fowler Law professor Tom Campbell as a top candidate for Supreme Court justice. In an interview with C-SPAN in October, Johnson named Campbell along with Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School. The former New Mexico governor stated that he thought Campbell would interpret the Constitution through a lens of “original intent.” In addition to being the former dean of the Fowler School of Law, Campbell is a former congressman and California state senator. He has a JD from Harvard and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago. He clerked with Supreme Court Justice Byron White.

‘I Like to Build Bridges’ Returning to Chapman as Fowler Law dean, Matt Parlow shows he’s practiced at developing partnerships that expand the school’s influence. n old land-use map. A framed poster of Cesar Chavez signed by the activist’s widow. A shelf lined with bobbleheads of all the Milwaukee Brewers’ racing sausages.

And a portrait of Sir Thomas More, the lawyer martyred by Henry VIII. Yes, eclectic would be the right word to describe the artwork and mementoes decorating the office of Matthew Parlow, the new dean of the Dale E. Fowler School of Law at Chapman University. It’s “just fun, conversational stuff,” as Parlow describes it.

But conversations are not to be underestimated, in Parlow’s view.

“I oftentimes will say, ‘Let’s noodle on that. Let’s talk through it.’ I like to connect with people and I like to build bridges,” says Parlow, who began as Fowler dean in July, succeeding Tom Campbell, who had served in the role since February 2011.

Parlow looks forward to employing an expansive leadership style as he focuses on the school’s direction in the next several years. Stop by his office for a chat – everything there has a story, from Parlow’s admiration for More to his interest in landuse law and sports law. And he’ll happily strike up a conversation about his goals for Fowler: continuing to enhance the school’s practice-ready curriculum, expanding community partnerships, building interdisciplinary programs and telling the world what the law school has achieved in

Photo: Challenge Roddie

By Dawn Bonker (MFA ’18)

“Fowler Law is ahead of the curve on practice-ready education. We’re doing impactful things in the community through our clinics, and I think we have a great success story to tell,” says Matt Parlow, who returns to Chapman as Fowler dean after a stint at Marquette University Law School.

the 21 years since its founding. That last one he emphasizes with a smile and open arms.

“Our alumni are doing incredible things.

Our faculty and students are doing great things, and I think we need to tell that story,” he says.

Although the Yale Law School graduate comes to Fowler from Marquette University Law School, where he was associate dean for academic affairs, Parlow is no stranger to Chapman. The Los Angeles native served on the law faculty from 2005 to 2008. Now he can’t imagine a better time for a homecoming.

“Fowler Law is ahead of the curve on practice-ready education. We’re doing impactful things in the community through our clinics, and I think we have a great success story to tell. So to be able to come back to a community that you care about, that has done great things and has the potential to do even more was a really exciting opportunity,” he says.

A particular point of pride is the school’s

skill at preparing students “to hit the ground running as lawyers.” More schools are trying to emulate that focus because law firms are increasingly throwing over the old model of training new lawyers in favor of practiceready hires, Parlow says.

“It was something that was not as in vogue as it is now, but it’s always been at the core of who we are and what we do. Part of our goal is to continue to be ahead of the curve on that,” he says.

Add to that an outstanding bar passage rate (see related story, page 10) and a bit of heart, and you have a unique place, Parlow says.

“Some prefer a school that’s bigger and a little more anonymous. But we’re a very personalized place. That’s a Chapman hallmark, that’s a Fowler hallmark. It’s part of what differentiates us,” he says. “And I think that’s why we attract special people, in terms of faculty, staff and administration, but in particular, the students.”

F A L L 2 016 | 11

CHAPMAN NOW “These drawings we create, they go out into the world and BALL

somehow live forever. As a kid, I had dreams of being part of this business, and all those dreams came true. The people whose names I saw on the screen while I was dreaming – they all became my friends.”

“

Phil Roman, renowned animator and founder of Film Roman, the studio best known for producing animation for The Simpsons and classic Warner Bros. cartoons. Roman joined in a Q&A with Linda Jones Clough, director of the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity and daughter of the late Looney Tunes legend, during Professor Bill Kroyer’s class on history and aesthetics, at the Digital Media Arts Center.

I think we may be seeing a seismic shift in American identity. The social changes this election is riding on top of are powerful, long-term demographic changes. We’re seeing people segregate not just racially but into ideologically distinct enclaves – people not being able to relate to each other or talk to each other. …

This is the point at which we cease to be a white Christian nation, and there’s probably no going back.

I think that poses a question about national identity that we’re probably going to be wrestling with in a divisive way for a lot of years to come.”

JONES

Molly Ball, national political correspondent for The Atlantic, speaking in September as part of the Chapman Dialogue series hosted by the Fowler School of Law.

Drawings and other artful touches enhance the letters of support to Leslie Jones (Class of ’89)

by Chapman students and faculty. In the top photo, professors Denise Johnson, left, and C.K. Magliola share a laugh with student letter writers FRAMPTON Maria Harfouche ’19 and Ashleigh Dennis ’17.

12 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

Love Letters to Leslie

ROMAN (right)

As a former basketball player at Chapman, Saturday Night Live actress Leslie Jones (Class of ’89) knows all about the rough and tumble of competitive sports. But nothing could have prepared her for the viciousness she faced just for starring in the female-cast reboot of Ghostbusters.

Internet trolls attacked the idea of the film with hateful abuse, and when Jones tried to call them on their cyber-bullying, it only got worse.

Misogynistic and racist tweets drove Jones from Twitter for a time, but they also spurred students and faculty at Chapman to respond with acts of kindness.

With guidance from professors Denise Johnson (art history), C.K. Magliola (sociology/women’s studies) and Cindy Rehm (life drawing), a letter-writing event was organized.

“As scholars and as creative people, we knew it was necessary to create an alternative reality that’s supportive,” says Magliola, advisor to Chapman Feminists. “Leslie could not be left to feel alone.”

More than three dozen notes of support were penned, some with artful drawings. “I know that love letters won’t end racist and misogynistic attacks,” Amanda Ball ’17 writes in her note, “but I hope that you are comforted knowing that people love and support you.”

After the letters were displayed on a wall in the Student Union, they were mailed to Jones, who tweeted her appreciation. Meanwhile, the faculty members continue to use the story of cyber-bullying and the Chapman community’s response as an opportunity for insight.

“Ultimately the conversation in our classes provides tools of criticality,” Johnson says. “Rather than shrinking from bullying, it’s an example of making the world the kind of place you want it to be.”

Chapman Swag:

Hogan emailed Gordon.

“I thought it must be a mistake, because he described some of the pictures, and I’ve never been fishing,” said Gordon, associate professor of political science and associate dean of Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. “Then it occurred to me it might be my sister’s camera.”

Sarah Gordon, Ph.D., an associate professor of French at Utah State University, had

Don’t Leave Home Without It Here’s a fun story about two sisters, two brothers, a waterlogged camera and some tidy little detective work that wound its way back to Chapman. Oh, and the story comes with a moral: Never doubt the mysterysolving power of Chapman swag.

Let’s start with the moment of discovery. Brothers Scott and Randy Marrett, Ph.D., a geology professor at the University of Texas, were trout fishing in Yellowstone this summer when Randy stumbled on a rusty digital camera in the clear waters of the Fall River. The camera, seen here, clearly was a loss, but the SIM card seemed salvageable.

MILLER (right)

joined Ann for a 2011 social science conference in Hawaii that included a Chapman alumni gettogether. The same camera Sarah used in Hawaii went with her on a 2012 Fall River fishing trip.

You guessed it – she dropped the Cannon point-and-shoot in the river, where it was found by the Marretts four years later.

Completing the story’s happy ending, Ann Gordon is glad to have back the Chapman photos she hadn’t realized were lost.

“It’s like finding a time capsule you’d forgotten you buried,” she says.

MIGNOLA

Indeed, the brothers were able to download photos that included several showing people smiling and posing at Waikiki Beach.

They knew the location because Diamond Head is in the background.

Several of the Hawaii photos also show people holding a Chapman pennant, which is why Scott reached out to the University and ended up trading emails with Brady Hogan, director of alumni engagement at Chapman. Hogan saw the photo shown here and recognized alumnus Wayne Bennett ’48, left, who has since passed away, as well as Marcus Hokama and Professor Ann Gordon, Ph.D. So

DEADPOOL BEFORE AND AFTER

“I remember a moment when I was a kid. I was sitting on the edge of my dad’s bed – what I was doing on my dad’s bed, I have no idea. But I was reading Dracula, and I thought, ‘This is it. This is what I want to do.’

Some people like airplanes;

I like fog and coffins.”

Mike Mignola, artist and writer who created the popular comic book series Hellboy, speaking to Chapman art students in Argyros Forum.

There’s nothing like a $760 million box-office smash to make a filmmaker forget his humble beginnings. Except that Deadpool’s Tim Miller remembers his early days quite vividly, thank you.

“The first film I made was called So You Have an STD – I’m not kidding, really it was,” Miller told an audience of mostly Dodge College film students in Folino Theater recently. “I did Spanish Pampers commercials – and I loved it. I tried to do the best Pampers commercials ever.”

And now that he’s one of the hottest directors in the industry?

“I live in the same house and make my own breakfast every morning,” he says. “I didn’t cure cancer. Directing this movie didn’t make me a better person, so I’m not going to act like it did.”

F A L L 2 016 | 13

BOOKSHELF

Suspenseful Novel Turns Up the Heat

Martin J. Smith

F

irst-hand experience with a California wildfire is not a thing easily forgotten.

“The rising panic. The powerless despair. The stinging eyes.

The acrid smell of burnt everything,” Chapman University creative writing lecturer Martin J. Smith writes in a recent essay recalling a 1993 fire that destroyed 441 homes in Laguna Beach, Calif.

Layer onto those memories an imagined murder, deception, online sex and Southern California’s trademark Santa Ana winds and you have the makings of Smith’s latest mystery novel, Combustion, published this fall by Diversion Books.

The mystery revolves around the discovery of a murdered land developer when the pond where

his body was dumped is drained for firefighting efforts. Meanwhile, a fire looms nearby, and an investigator races to find answers before evidence and clues disappear in flames.

Author and reviewer Gordon McAlpine says Smith’s work is “as compulsive as its wind-fueled wildfire. Combustion is a tour de force of suspense writing.”

But Smith says he also used the story to explore that other growing and wild force in contemporary life – the Internet.

“You’re not quite sure who you’re dealing with on the Internet,” he says. “And that can go wrong in a million different ways.”

I Liked It, Didn’t Love It: Screenplay Development from the Inside Out (ESE) Rona Edwards, lecturer at Dodge College, and Monika Skerbelis In the newly expanded third edition of what is considered the quintessential bible on development, Edwards and Skerbelis shed light on the inner workings of the feature film and TV development process.

American Constitutional Law, Volumes 1 & 2 The Knight Proper

Party at the President’s

(Inkshares) Matt Deller, lecturer and artistic faculty at Dodge College, and Adam Greven

(Izida Publishing House, Sofia) Atanas Radenski, Ph.D., professor of mathematics and computer science

Knights, zombies, witches and a father’s quest to reconnect with his long-lost daughter all are part of a new Dark Fantasy novel from the writer of Manhattan Undying and debut author Adam Greven.

The plot of this Bulgarian crosscultural novel develops around the historic changes in Eastern Europe in the late ’80s and early ’90s through the life of a professor moving to America.

14 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

(West Academic Publishing) Ronald D. Rotunda, JD, distinguished professor of jurisprudence These accessible constitutional law books feature cases, interactive questions and the historical context of founding legal principles and theories of constitutional interpretation.

Holocaust, Genocide, and the Law (Oxford University Press) Michael Bazyler, JD, 1939 Society Law Scholar in Holocaust and Human Rights Studies Bazyler’s work examines the background of the Holocaust and genocide through the prism of the law, the criminal and civil prosecution of the Nazis and their collaborators, and contemporary attempts to criminally prosecute perpetrators for the crime of genocide.

Culture in Law and Development (Oxford University Press) Lan Cao, JD, Betty Hutton Williams Professor of International Economic Law This book is a scholarly examination of conventional law and development projects funded by institutions ranging from the World Bank to the U.S. Agency for International Development.

FOR YEARS?

By Robyn Norwood

An ugly campaign season stokes flames of anger and dread that are likely to burn well into the future, Chapman researchers say. and Edward Day, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology. “For example, Democrats are more afraid of climate change than are Republicans and less afraid of Muslims. But many of our fears do not show strong political differences.”

Politicians don’t create the fears that fuel their campaigns, Gordon and Bader said, but they may increase them.

“The nature of the relationship is uncertain,” Bader said. “I would say that campaigns are adept at determining people’s fears and playing upon them. But political campaigns themselves by talking about fears are going to stoke them as well. Put another way, I think terrorism fears were not caused by the political campaigns, but the political rhetoric in this campaign has likely heightened those fears.”

Fear appeals are not new to campaigns, Gordon said.

Photo: Dennis Arp

he ballots have been counted and the presidential campaign that seemed as if it would never end is over. Yet the Chapman University Survey of American Fears makes it clear that fears highlighted by the divisive 2016 election existed before the first convention speech and aren’t likely to evaporate just because the votes have been cast.

“Fear of government corruption, the top fear for two years in a row, reflects declining levels of trust in government that we’ve seen over the past decades,” said Ann Gordon, Ph.D., an associate professor of political science and one of three principal investigators for the Chapman Survey of American Fears, first conducted in 2014.

(Public trust in government reached a threedecade high shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks but has declined sharply in the 15 years since, according to data from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.)

The 2016 Chapman Survey of American Fears, the first to be conducted in a presidential election year, was dominated by politically charged concerns. Fears of terrorist attacks, not having enough money for the future, being a victim of terror, government restrictions on firearms and ammunition, economic or financial collapse, identity theft and the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare also ranked among the top 10 things Americans fear most.

Nor does the climate of fear reflect the concerns of a single party.

“Fears are driving both sides,” said Christopher Bader, Ph.D., a professor of sociology and a co-investigator with Gordon

Student researchers contributing to the Chapman University Survey of American Fears include, back row from left, Annika Ford ’16, Andrew Calloway ’18, Kai Hamilton Gentry ’18, Sarah LeMay ’18, Brittney Souza ’18, Kunal Sharma ’18 and Natalie Gallardo ’18. The survey’s principal investigators are, seated from left, professors Christopher Bader, Ann Gordon and Edward Day.

“The most famous example may be the ‘Daisy Girl’ advertisement from 1964, in which President Johnson stoked fears that Goldwater would start a nuclear war,” she said, citing the television ad for Lyndon Johnson in his campaign against Barry Goldwater in which a small girl counted the petals of a daisy before a nuclear explosion.

“It’s important to note that the use of nuclear weapons had already been part of the campaign rhetoric, and the advertisement capitalized on those fears; it did not create them,” Gordon said.

Troublingly, a society predisposed to distrust government and believe in cover-ups might also be vulnerable to fabricated ones.

Nearly a third of respondents in the survey believed the government is concealing information about “the North Dakota crash” – an incident the investigators made up, Bader said.

“We know that our government has engaged in conspiracies before – Watergate, Iran-Contra, etc. – but if it becomes the default position of Americans to distrust the government, this could have a huge effect on upcoming elections,” Bader said. The trend could be toward more extreme candidates, with programs that might serve the public good being victimized by fears that there is a hidden agenda behind them, he added.

The 2016 election is over, but the fears have not all been extinguished.

“Unfortunately, the fear of government officials, high distrust of government (as seen in our measures of conspiracies and others), do not suggest a more rational discussion post-election,” Bader said. “Some of the fire will naturally die down, but the long-term trends in distrust are troubling.”

F A L L 2 016 | 15

2015 Official White House photo by Amanda Lucidon

FLOTUS perandi

O

For Chapman alumna

Joanna Rosholm ’07, assisting the First Lady is a singular honor.

Interview by Dawn Bonker (MFA ’18)

16 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

Before she was press secretary to First Lady Michelle Obama, Joanna Rosholm ’07 was a Chapman University student sitting in a political communications class. That’s where she first got the inkling that politics was for her.

It was a good hunch. Rosholm joined the White House team helping Michelle Obama advance her main initiatives focusing on health, education and military families. Here the communication studies alumna talks about her behind-the-scenes work and what comes next after her six years in the White House.

First Lady Michelle Obama holds social media time with press secretary Joanna Rosholm ’07, right, and senior video producer Duncan Wolfe.

How did you get the political bug?

Q

Any Chapman experiences or professors help spark that?

A I actually caught the political bug at

Chapman. My political communications professor, Dr. Kevin Jones, taught an amazing class that inspired me to want to learn more, so he helped me find supplemental reading and even helped me throughout the process of applying to graduate school to further my studies.

What attracted you to behind-theQ

scenes political communications? will never forget watching a clip

A Ifrom the movie The American President in Dr. Jones’ class. He told us that many former White House staff members were consulted in the making of the movie to make it as accurate as possible. I was so intrigued by that behind-the-scenes peek at the life of political communication, and I wanted to learn more.

reality of working in the White House different from our television impressions?

With any TV show or movie, there are a lot of similarities and some differences.

We work very long hours, we have our work phones with us wherever we go and are always on call. One difference: The White House really is usually smaller than people think, so you are constantly walking by and among very important and fascinating people. When Marine One lands on the South Lawn, it’s right outside my window – and very loud!

A

What was one of your first “this is really Q

the White House” moments on the job?

A Honestly, I have them almost every

day. I’ve worked here for six years and I still have to pinch myself. The public tours of the house happen right downstairs from my office, so I often have to weave my way through tourists to get to meetings in the West Wing. Hearing kids squeal when they

you pay close attention to all the A Ifthings the First Lady has done, from

see Bo or Sunny, or seeing a veteran overwhelmed by the fact that they are in the White House reminds me daily how lucky I am to be able to see it and walk through it every day. On top of it all, this First Lady is so intelligent and inspiring; I am so thrilled and grateful to be able to work for her every day.

Carpool Karaoke to appearing on Ellen or the Tonight Show, you’ll notice she does them all with a purpose: to talk about one of her initiatives. The First Lady said it best in a recent interview with Variety magazine: “I have never been afraid to be a little silly, and you can engage people that way. My view is, first you get them to laugh, then you get them to listen. So I’m always game for a good joke.”

In the last year of President Obama’s Q

time in office, what has your office been working on and what is the legacy the First Lady hopes to leave?

Mrs. Obama has four initiatives that focus on health, domestic and global education and the military community, and we’ve been working diligently to make an impact while we still have the backdrop of the White House.

Was there ever an idea that she wasn’t Q

on board with but eventually came

A

around to, and how was she convinced to change her mind?

She is involved in every idea and decision that’s made, and she always has the most insightful input. The First Lady knows that if she wants to reach a particular audience, she has to go where they are.

For example, she wanted girls and women in the U.S. to follow her on her recent trip to Liberia and Morocco. Girls and young women are often on their phones, so we decided to do something fun and unexpected: launch her Snapchat account!

A

But she’s not shy about having a little Q

fun, appearing on Carpool Karaoke with James Corden and mom dancing with Jimmy Fallon. How do you decide when and which such appearances are useful to her message?

Any advice you would give Chapman Q

students interested in a similar career path?

A Follow your passion! If something

about school excites and inspires you, follow it. Meet with as many people as you can and take as many internships as you can.

As much as you’ve been able to think Q

ahead during this busy election season, what might be next for you?

A After nearly 10 years in D.C., my next

Official White House photo by Lawrence Jackson

Most of us have seen The West Wing, Q Veep or House of Cards. How is the

stop will likely be New York City. It has been an absolute honor to serve this President and First Lady – I know I am going to miss it. For now, I am focused on working hard to help the First Lady make an impact with the little time we have left. Then maybe I’ll put down my phone and catch some shut-eye!

Obama works with press secretary Rosholm during videotapings in the Map Room of the White House.

F A L L 2 016 | 17

Chapman’s ambitious new Center for Science and Technology will provide room to stretch. Where better to see a culture of research truly flourish?

BUILDING TO hapman chemistry professors pride themselves on interacting with each student during lab sessions, but to get to those students they must weave in and out of alleylike aisles.

A molecular biologist is researching pancreatic cancer, but sometimes she grows cell cultures in a converted closet to protect them from contamination.

Unquestionably, profound research and personalized teaching happen every day in the University’s science programs, despite the age of its well-used buildings and the challenges posed by cramped laboratories.

“Nothing stops me,” says Melissa A. Rowland-Goldsmith, Ph.D., who teaches molecular genetics and researches compounds that may slow cancer of the pancreas.

But how will the work be easier and even more ambitious in the new Center for Science and Technology, rising fast on the east side of campus? Just ask the faculty who will work and teach in the 2.25-acre complex. Terrific new buildings matter – for better spaces to teach and explore, so students and cultures can grow; for team-oriented laboratories and collaborative workspaces that mirror the career environments students will enter; for state-of-the-art technology and facilities that streamline complex research.

And yes, it’s also about necessities like special dishwashers, social areas for students and, believe it or not, the delight of pulling a marker from your lab coat and turning to one of the many glass walls that will line the 18 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

Photo: Nathan Worden ’13 (MBA ’15)

By Dawn Bonker (MFA ’18)

In a lab at Hashinger Science Center, biochemistry and molecular biology major Taryn Miyake ’17 lifts a specimen from a tank of liquid nitrogen as professors Marco Bisoffi and Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith look on.

corridors and noodling through a problem with a student.

“That’s going to be great for faculty and students,” Rowland-Goldsmith says. “To have this big space where you have room to write things out. We can just go to town.”

Making big leaps is precisely the idea behind the $130 million facility that will be the new home of the Schmid College of Science and Technology. From the carefully chosen glass walls to a $1 million lab dedicated to food safety research, the Center is envisioned as the staging ground for 21st-century research and teaching. Forget those outdated notions of the lonely scientist holed up in a lab. Make way for – sorry, here comes a buzzword, but one that’s not going away – collaboration.

“We understand as educators that peer-topeer and mentor-to-mentor relationships are vital to the process of learning, both inside and outside the classroom,” says Schmid’s dean, Andrew Lyon, Ph.D. “Having a building that has space intentionally allocated to (team) and group learning relationships, which may occur in an ad-hoc fashion, is extremely important.”

With teamwork in mind, it’s fitting that the Center’s unique design even incorporates the adjacent Ernie Chapman Stadium.

Located on the site of the University’s former tennis courts, the Center will feature an exterior flank that doubles as the visitor bleachers overlooking Wilson Field.

That design was necessary to preserve the stadium, but faculty love the heart-of-the-

Framing for the Center for Science and Technology was nearly complete this fall. Above, Kyvan Elep ’17 peers into a controlled chamber holding a sample of peat in a lab run by Professor Jason Keller.

campus connection it lends. They’re also excited that the working labs will be viewable through clear glass walls, ending the image of the lab geek working silently behind closed doors, says Elaine Benaksas Schwartz, Ph.D., an associate professor of chemistry.

Science needs to be seen to be understood, or at least appreciated, she says.

“When people come and see us, they’ll actually see how we operate. They’ll see those working labs. We have an obligation to the public to convey how science happens,” she says.

All majors will benefit, too. With the additional space, Schwartz envisions more lab-based courses for non-science majors. “(Teaching) doesn’t have to be at the depth a science major is studying. But

certainly understanding the scientific method – observation, how you build from that, the hypothesis – everybody should know how to think in those ways because you can solve all kinds of problems that way,” she says.

There’s also the responsibility to prepare students for the career settings that dominate science and technology industries. Lyon keeps a stack of blueprints for the Center on a work table in his office and quickly turns to the pages where that mission will be evident.

On one page, he points to a sketch that includes podlike work areas where small groups can team up on projects. On another page, he notes areas designed to foster informal meetings.

“Those experiences help our students become better prepared for the dynamic,

team-based, collaborative environment that is found in so many workplaces.”

Schwartz has first-hand experience with such spaces and can attest to their importance.

She spent 15 years in pharmaceutical research and development before joining Chapman. During a tour of a temporary lab recently built in a portable building on campus, she points out the hallmarks of that work style. Long lab benches float like islands so that colleagues can easily move back and forth. Pipes, shelves and hardware are placed slightly over the work areas, allowing for easy face-to-face discussion.

Away from the benches and chemicals are desklike writing areas for small groups.

Students chat as they move about and cross paths. The teamwork makes for a busy and pleasant but structured vibe. And that’s what professional life will look like for many of these students, Schwartz says.

“If you can’t work on a team, you become ineffective,” she says. “You have to work with your small group and cross boundaries with other groups so your project can advance.”

The new Center will give research itself room to grow, too. Schmid professors are proud of what they’ve accomplished in existing facilities. But they’re eager to spread their wings in a space they say will help attract more grants for major projects.

“In the eyes of granting agencies, corefunction facilities and the like actually enhance the positivity of the reviews,” says associate professor Marco Bisoffi, Ph.D., F A L L 2 016 | 19

Photo: Nathan Worden ’13 (MBA ’15)

At left, students Jessica Rush ’18 and Kyvan Elep ’17 join Jason Keller in a lab where the professor and field ecologist stores soil samples from peat bogs as part of his research into greenhouse gases. Below and at right, architectural renderings offer a glimpse into the new Center, which will include a dramatic archway entrance.

INSIDE THE CENTER The Center for Science and Technology will consist of two halls – the Hall of Science and the Hall of Technology.

Designed by the award-winning architectural firm AC Martin, the complex will feature a dramatic arch design, in keeping with the Prairie-style architecture of Old Towne Orange. The Center features: • 18

teaching labs and 22 research labs.

• A

computational sciences supercomputing room.

• Research

prep spaces and storage areas for long-term studies.

• State-of-the-art

equipment and computing resources to support computer science, software engineering, computational and data science, molecular biology, microbiology, organic and physical chemistry, food science, environmental science, and ecology.

• A

graduate student lounge.

• An

outdoor amphitheater.

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who collaborates with Rowland-Goldsmith on the cancer research. “Let’s face it, we’re much more likely to have research funded.”

Lyon agrees. Great ideas ultimately win funding – from government and private sources – but he says it’s easier to dream big when you know there will be room to carry out the effort.

“The facilities within which research is conducted, and the research tools available within those facilities, can often dictate the complexity of the problems being tackled,” he says.

Finally, there’s the everyday business of things like pure cell cultures. It is a testament to the science faculty’s can-do spirit that they’ve flourished in the existing facilities.

For example, Jason Keller, Ph.D., is an ecologist who slogs through wetlands ranging from Minnesota peatlands to tidal marshes of Southern California to study their greenhouse-

gas dynamics. Currently he and several undergraduates are studying some of the ways methane gases are being released in wetlands. It’s unique research that may lead to more projects, he says.

And it’s messy. Keller stands in the center of his small lab and describes the almost comical dishwashing drill for lab glassware he and his students use in the process of soil analysis. Essentially it involves a quick rinse in a tiny sink – too small for some of the equipment – a trip across the hall with tubs of glassware for a soapy scrub, an elevator jaunt to the fourth floor with carts of glassware for an acid wash with a fume hood, and a dip in nano-pure water – only available on the fourth floor – and then back to the main lab where they dry.

“That tangible ability to just do dishes in the new Center is surprisingly exciting,” Keller says with a laugh. “How many hours

What really excites the science faculty are the doors the new Center will open.

They see a growing ability to recruit rising-star faculty with innovative research, and especially the capacity to enroll even more high-achieving students eager to dive into that work.

in the past few years have I spent just walking around with dishes?”

Back in Rowland-Goldsmith’s shared lab, everyone is on guard to protect the cell cultures critical to the molecular biologist’s research into polyphenols’ ability to inhibit pancreatic cancer cells. Extraordinary efforts even go into the careful maintenance of the heating, ventilation and cooling system.

Ideally, to prevent mold and other contamination, investigators should avoid shared laboratories.

“We don’t have a designated room for cell culture,” she says. “We have to be extra, extra careful. And we’ve been OK. We train our students really well.”

There’s also new lab equipment that arrived in September, but they have yet to free up lab space for its installation. So the completion of the new labs, sinks, cabinets, meeting rooms, glass walls and sciencethemed artwork sketched out in those blueprints is eagerly awaited. Even the facilities’ real-time construction can be

observed via a campus webcam at cstsouthcam.chapman.edu.

Yet, what really excites the faculty are the other doors the new Center will open. They see a growing ability to recruit rising-star faculty with innovative research, and especially the capacity to enroll even more high-achieving students eager to dive into that work.

“The building is awesome. But more than that it’s really a reflection of what the sciences are about at Chapman right now,” Keller says.

And the future students? They are dream material.

“Who knows?” Rowland-Goldsmith wonders. “Maybe this is going to allow us to get students who find that they want to go into cancer research as a career. … Maybe they’re going to be the ones who find something to really slow down cancer. Who knows? It’s absolutely more than just new offices and sinks. It’s training brilliant minds.”

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Mathematician Daniele Struppa brings a passion for creative connection and a vision of national prominence to his new role as the University’s president.

By Dennis Arp

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The

Photo: Sheri Geoffreys

ore than utility, there’s elegance and beauty in the equations that spread across the whiteboard in Daniele Struppa’s office. Though the renowned mathematician has spent a decade in administration as Chapman’s chief academic officer, his ties to teaching and research are as close as the nearest felt-tipped marker.

But although he revels in working through complex calculations, that doesn’t mean Struppa inhabits his own narrow world.

Just ask him and he’ll step you through the connections: The meter of a Shakespeare sonnet, the grace of a Renaissance painting, the chords of a classic guitar riff all get their life blood through the artery of math.

“Everything I love,” Struppa says, “is connected with mathematics or mathematical ideas.”

His affection for numbers and for learning began as a child in his native Italy, where his parents – both lawyers – stoked his curiosity and encouraged him to explore. His mom especially coaxed him to see how one discovery leads to another, connecting math to art, geography to history, the classical thinkers to the real world in front of him.

His heroes became people like Piero della Francesca, Alberti and Leonardo – Renaissance figures if there ever were ones.

And along a pathway that led him to study in America and build a career in academia, he became fluent in three languages, developed a love for classical music, climbed some of the world’s most challenging peaks, nurtured deep and lasting friendships, all as he also penned publications with names like “Computations in the Ring of Quaternionic Polynomials.”

Multiplier Effect “Great teachers need to know so much more than just the subject they teach, so they can see how everything fits into the big fresco,” Struppa says. “Ultimately it comes back to passion. Throughout my life, I’ve never lost my passion for the intellectual enterprise.

I really feel emotionally invested in that pursuit. Every time I read a book on a subject I’ve never studied before, I feel new doors opening – I feel like a young kid. So as an intellectual, I’m still 15 years old.”

Now Struppa has brought that scholarly passion to a role for which he has spent a lifetime preparing. On Sept. 30, he was formally installed as the 13th president in the 155-year history of Chapman University,

culminating a week of wide-ranging inauguration events that featured visiting speakers and thought leaders (see page 25).

During the presidential investiture ceremony in Chapman’s Musco Center for the Arts, guests sampled from Struppa’s artistic tastes, enjoying a passage from Dante’s Divine Comedy read by Federico Pacchioni, the Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco Chair in Italian, and a selection from Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, sung by mezzosoprano Erin Theodorakis ’17.

In addition, speakers from all of Chapman’s communities shared warm words of support for a colleague they have come to know simply as Daniele.

“He is the right person at the right time to lead Chapman through the next chapter of our history,” Joann Leatherby, vice chair of Chapman’s Board of Trustees, said in her remarks during the ceremony. “Daniele is a true Renaissance man in the deepest sense.”

When the moment of symbolic torchpassing arrived, Struppa accepted the University Mace from his predecessor and mentor, Jim Doti. Both smiled broadly, reflecting the friendship that unites the pair, as it has throughout their decade of collaboration.

During his 25 years as president, Doti led Chapman through a period of unprecedented growth, taking the school from a small liberal arts college to its current position as a thriving midsized university with an expanding reputation for excellence. As chancellor, Struppa played a key role in that growth. He helped recruit world-class faculty members such as Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith and

National Medal of Science recipient Yakir Aharonov. And now as he assumes the presidency, Struppa is focused on Chapman’s next leap in its continuing ascent.

“This is a dream job in many ways, but it’s also a huge challenge because I have to follow Jim Doti,” Struppa says. “Working with our board and so many others here, he led us during a time when we took huge strides. Now our challenge is to make another big leap.”

Struppa’s goal is to guide Chapman “to be nationally and internationally regarded as a center of academic and personal excellence.”

To do that, he sees Chapman advancing its growing emphasis on research and the sciences as well as adding targeted programs such as engineering. But for Chapman to succeed in a realm “where our competitors are going to be major-league,” the University will need to think bigger and get better across all colleges, schools and departments, he says.

Continued on next page

Voices “Daniele is not only interesting, he’s interested in the other person.

He’s interested in where they came from and what they’re all about.”

— Jim Doti, Ph.D., president emeritus

“When I went to him with the idea of launching a literary journal (now called TAB), by the end of the meeting he had said, ‘You need to talk with (graphic design professor) Claudine Jaenichen.’ I didn’t know her, but we’ve been working together ever since.

Daniele puts ideas and people together in a seamless way; then he keeps all of us in motion.”

— Anna Leahy, Ph.D., associate professor of English and director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

“I love Daniele’s vision that Chapman will be ranked in the top 100 nationally. I think that is a powerful statement.”

— Rebecca Hall ’96, secretary, Board of Governors

“The diversity of thought, of experience, of culture Daniele fosters means that students learn as much from each other as they do in the classroom.”

— Wylie Aitken, vice chair, Board of Trustees “He has a way of connecting with people on multiple levels. Every interaction is an opportunity. Every moment is a teachable moment.”

Photo: Jeanine Hill

— Lisa Sparks, Ph.D., dean of the School of Communication and wife of President Struppa

Inauguration week offered President Daniele Struppa a chance to participate in a service of blessing with interfaith leaders, above, and to enjoy a celebratory moment with his wife, Lisa Sparks, Ph.D., dean of Chapman’s School of Communication.

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24 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

Photo: John Saade Photo: Dennis Arp

“We need to continue to hire great faculty, recruit great students and then have everyone push each other to pursue achievement,” Struppa says. “It’s a trajectory toward a level of excellence we touch in some areas but don’t yet in others. We need to be driven by this goal of being the very best at what we do and offering our students something that can’t be replicated.”

Struppa’s passion for excellence is contagious, his colleagues say.

“He’s dynamic and inspiring – has high expectations and challenges you to make a difference,” says Nina Lenoir, vice chancellor for undergraduate education at Chapman.

“I’ve never had a sense that he was playing politics; I don’t think he has the patience to do that. His focus is on improving the experience of students, and that’s what I admire, because I try to emulate that.”

For his part, news and documentary film student Leon Dominguez-Lukic ’17 says that taking a class with Struppa is equally inspiring.

The honors course he took, called “The Quest for Immortality,” was “one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had,” the senior says.

Struppa’s class explored the complexities of cancer from many different angles, and Dominguez-Lukic says his chief takeaway was “I shouldn’t be afraid of math and science.”

“I developed a confidence in something I had feared before,” he says. “I learned that I can’t just be a filmmaker or just a mathematician, or just an anything. His class helped me step outside of any singular focus to get a better fix on the world all around me.”

Ismael “Smiley” Calderon ’08 knows firsthand Struppa’s commitment to the student experience. Calderon was a tool-crib assistant in Facilities Management at Chapman while he pursued his B.A. in biology. When his work schedule prevented him from taking an honors calculus class with Struppa, the then-

Photo: Dawn Bonker (MFA ’18)

The Multiplier Effect

chancellor volunteered to meet with Calderon weekly – essentially teaching a class of one in his office.

“He’s an administrator, teaching, doing research, leading the University, and here he takes time to meet with me each week?” says Calderon, who now works at Chapman’s Center of Excellence in Earth Systems Modeling & Observations. “It’s a classic case of leading by example. I can tell you that his generosity and the way he comes alive when he talks about innovation, those things have left an imprint on me.”

There’s nothing quite like getting the chance to deepen the understanding of a student, Struppa notes. That’s why he plans to continue teaching during his presidency, just as he did when he was dean of the College of Art and Sciences at George Mason

At top, the hanging of Struppa’s presidential portrait in Memorial Hall is a photo op treasured by his daughters Athena, left, and Arianna. At left, the president teaches an honors course exploring the complexities of cancer. Above, he shares a moment with Professor Yakir Aharonov, winner of the National Medal of Science.

University and as chancellor at Chapman.

“As teachers, every day we experience the marvel of that connection,” Struppa says.

“As president, one of my goals is to inspire all of our faculty to thrive at that point.”

But beyond the chance to inspire the 15 students in a class and the hundreds of professors on the Chapman faculty, he now has the privilege of pursuing a vision that unites the entire Chapman University community in a quest for next-level excellence, he says And in a way, that pursuit brings Struppa back to his foundation in mathematics.

Because as president, it’s as if he gets to go inside one of his own equations.

“I get to be the multiplier,” he says with a smile.

Photo: Nathan Worden ’13 (MBA ’15)

Filmmaker Werner Herzog

Mezzo-soprano Erin Theodorakis ’17

C

hapman University inaugurated its 13th president on Sept. 30 with all the pomp and pageantry of the academic tradition. But leading up to the Investiture Ceremony for President Daniele Struppa, the new leader was also feted with a weeklong series of events that reflect his many and varied interests, from science to film and poetry.

Inauguration Week boasted a star-studded lineup that included many celebrities and academic noteworthies, including actor-singer Leslie Odom Jr. (Broadway’s smash Hamilton), legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog, Google’s “Chief

Photo: John Saade

Photo: Nathan Worden ’13 (MBA ’15)

Pomp & Pageantry, Artistry & Insight

•

Actor-singer Leslie Odom Jr.

Evangelist” Gopi Kallayil, famed physicists Sir Roger Penrose, Paul Davies and Yakir Aharonov, and noted literary critic Marjorie Perloff.

Memorable moments abounded.

Here are two: •

Herzog’s freewheeling presentation during “A Celebration of Creativity in the Arts” in Musco Center included footage from his new film, Into the Inferno, showing researchers perched at the edge

Dean Gail Stearns, Sir Roger Penrose

of a volcano during an eruption.

He also described his awe at encountering the 35,000-year-old cave paintings in Chauvet, France, during production of his film Cave of Forgotten Dreams. But that awe still didn’t surpass what he felt when as a child he bought his first book after looking at it longingly in a store window for weeks. “When I got it home and opened it, the shudder I felt is still with me today,” he said.

Highlighting a dialogue on paths to innovation in art and science in Leatherby Libraries, Aharonov shared that he tends to enjoy creative breakthroughs when he relaxes at the end of a day.

Sometimes the Chapman professor and National Medal of Science recipient will lie in bed, pondering a physics problem, and after he drifts off to sleep he’ll wake up with a solution. This revelation astounded Penrose. “That’s a wonderful skill, which I don’t share,” he said. “I often have ideas and think I’ve found a wonderful solution, then I wake up and it’s utter nonsense.”

F A L L 2 016 | 25

Author Studs Terkel once described work as a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread. Those of us privileged to work at Chapman University know first-hand the levels of sustenance our toil can provide. On these pages, we regularly profile professors, deans and researchers who guide students along the path to personal growth. But the daily contributions of many others also enrich this community and make life here more meaningful. Here are a few of those …

Stories by Brittany Hanson Photos by Troy Nikolic

MAN ON THE SCENE nside the sound stage, buffered walls swallow Jose Herrera’s footsteps. He holds up his hands, points at the ceiling and laughs.

“This…this is super cool,” he says.

At Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Herrera is the ultimate behind-the-scenes guy. He volunteers on multiple student films each semester, providing construction expertise that can help turn an empty sound stage into a Middle American living room, a medieval castle or a midcentury tiki bar.

Without him, many a filmmaker’s vision might get lost on the journey from page to screen.

After a career as a construction contractor, Herrera wanted to show

26 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

a different side of himself in retirement, so he started driving from his home in Redlands to act in student films and learn about cinematography at Chapman. He has played everything from a Civil War soldier to a comic foil. But he contributes so much more to the process.

“When we worked on my thesis film, Jose stayed with us to the end, which was like 3 a.m.,” says Sara Polito ’16, who designed sets for multiple student films. “He literally saved the project – and probably my sanity. The thing is, he doesn’t just do the work for you, he shows you the right way to do it, which I think is awesome.”

Herrera says that at Chapman, everyone learns from each other.

“In my day, life in construction was rough. Here, it’s kids who are learning,” Herrera says. “I get my rewards too – I’m helping them and it keeps me in shape. It’s a two-way highway.”

Herrera gets a lot of satisfaction from passing on his skillset to a new generation.

“When you know something that they don’t, you get to show it, with no intention other than seeing their faces light up,” he says. “It’s a pleasure.”

THREADS OF LOVE at Cavins treats her costume shop like a laboratory: There must be an abundance of order.

“Versatile, flexible and responsible – those are the principles we work under,” she says.

In fact, Cavins comes to her role as costume shop manager at Chapman with a background in chemistry. Ask her about the principles of dye dynamics, and she will detail how and why chemicals respond to the composition of the fabric. Need formal suits to bend and flex for balletlike movement?

Cavins creates an internal elastic garter that keeps shirts neatly tucked and suits smooth.

Her skills have been on display in just about every stage play, dance performance and Broadway-style revue during her 16 years at Chapman.

“At some point I realized I wasn’t going to be the one with her name up in lights,” Cavins says, “but I would get to see my students’ names there instead.”

Alicia Guy, associate professor of dance at Chapman, says Cavins

has come through for her many times – “probably too many to count,” she adds. “From the year I hosted Cirque du Soleil and choreographed Art Through Collaboration … to the multiple years of her making my costume visions come to life, her knowledge, skill and expertise are greatly appreciated.”

At any given time, Cavins and her College of Performing Arts teammates are building, opening or closing a show, with hundreds of pieces of costuming on deck.

For Chapman Celebrates this year, with its 116-member cast, there were 428 costumes, which meant more than 1,000 items needed curating.

For Cavins, it’s a dream job.

“I couldn’t ever imagine someone would pay me to have this much fun,” she says.

DRIVER OF SMILES

HEALING WORDS omething shifted in the life of Melissa Hoon, Chapman University alumni communications specialist, when her mother gave her a small, blue diary.

At age 4, Hoon filled that diary with writings about her day. Those scribbles were the groundwork for what Hoon considers her life’s calling – helping others heal through journaling. In 2013, she founded Inner Awakening Writing Center, through which she teaches her journaling and meditation program.

Workshops serve human-trafficking survivors, homeless mothers, developmentally disabled adults and others seeking healing. Hoon also teaches journaling to Chapman students through the Health and Healing Club, as well as to staff during campus workshops.

“I left her class feeling lighter

and with more room in my mind for new experiences and information,” says Traci Mueller, who works in University Advancement at Chapman.

Hoon’s workshops are rooted in her graduate studies in South Africa, where she worked with abused children.

“I knew I wanted to be dedicated to that population,” Hoon says.

“It tugged at my heartstrings.”

When she returned to America, she began giving journaling prompts to clients while working for an antisex-trafficking organization in New York. Later, as a trauma counselor in Sacramento, she developed her workshop format.

She sees journaling keep anxiety in check and goals in focus – for herself and her students. It seems that teaching also serves the teacher.

“I live for this,” she says.

areful and controlled, Howard Lauck noses the Chapman shuttle to one of its scheduled stops between the campus parking lots and Schmid Gate. When the doors open, his broad smile and spirited welcome turn a potentially rote encounter into a moment of connection. For many students and staff members, his greeting means their day is off and running.

So it has been for the 38 years since Lauck first started making the rounds at Chapman, first as the contract deliverer of the bulky water jugs that keep Panthers hydrated and now as the driver who keeps their lives moving forward.

“Howard is one of those timeless Chapman jewels who helps make our University shine brightly,” says President Emeritus Jim Doti. “I never ceased to be amazed to see his vibrant smile and receive his kind greetings as he lugged heavy water containers up flights of stairs.

Now, in his new role at Chapman,

I see that same smile as he greets the passengers who board the Chapman vans.”

Doti notes that television personality Huell Houser once told him the most special thing about Chapman is that everyone – from students to professors to those who tend the landscaping – is friendly.

“Howard is the epitome of someone who has become everyone’s friend,” Doti says.

Once during a State of the University Address, Doti asked Lauck to stand and accept his thanks. The Memorial Hall audience gave Lauck a boisterous ovation. Not bad for someone who technically wasn’t yet a Chapman staff member.

A former drag boat racer and B-52 pilot, Lauck now finds time to work on the NASCAR Super Truck his son drives. Not to worry, however, because the elder Lauck always keeps to the speed limit and never misses a stop.

After all, it’s one more chance to brighten someone’s day.

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BEYOND THE

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INFAMY Seventy-five years later, PEARL HARBOR remains a touchstone moment, living in memory and emotion.

By Dennis Arp

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives

lint Paulson ’49 can still see in his mind the Los Angeles back yard where he was standing on Dec. 7, 1941. He remembers that he was with his cousin, who was wearing his Army uniform. He recalls details of the radio bulletin he heard, even though the report came from inside a neighbor’s house.

He didn’t realize it at the time, but from that moment forward his life would pretty much divide between what happened before Pearl Harbor and what came after.

About 48 hours later, the Navy called Paulson to active duty, and in short order he was on a ship headed to the Pacific. His ultimate destination was an island he never could have found on a map – a place called Guadalcanal.

“I wasn’t in the original invasion force – if I was, I wouldn’t be talking to you now,” says the Chapman alumnus, now 97. “But I got a taste of the bombing. I was lucky to get through that.”

Even 75 years later, the attack by the Empire of Japan on a U.S. naval base in Hawaii remains a powerful touchstone moment. Beyond the 3,600 killed or wounded, the 188 aircraft destroyed and the 15 ships damaged or sunk, the ripple effects of Pearl Harbor stretch across the landscape of history, affecting countless lives as they also drive perceptions and policy.

“Such a moment almost reflexively pulls you out of a narrow perspective,” says Gregory Daddis, Ph.D., Chapman professor of history and director of the University’s War and Society graduate program. “You have something in common with people you don’t even know.”

Understandably, such an event prompts strong emotions. But it’s vital that those who come later “think deeply about how acts of war can cause unintended consequences,” Daddis adds.

As the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor approached, we sought out the voices of those who could provide perspective on the milestone moment, including Daddis, a

retired Army colonel who served in Iraq and taught at West Point, and Alexander Bay, Ph.D., a Chapman history professor whose research and teaching focus on Japan.

For most Americans, the attack marks the start of World War II – and for service members like Paulson, it certainly was. But what came before also is important, Daddis says, citing U.S. intervention in the Japanese sphere dating to the mid-1800s and pre-WWII economic policies intended to strangle Japan.

View of battleships shortly after Japanese torpedo bomber attack at Pearl Harbor. The USS California is at left, listing to port after receiving two torpedo hits.

In the center is the USS Maryland, with the capsized USS Oklahoma alongside. The USS Neosho is at right, backing clear of the area. Most of the smoke is from the USS Arizona.

“When we see these seminal events like Pearl Harbor simply as unprovoked attacks by a savage enemy, I think it’s probably worthwhile to do some soul-searching and consider how U.S. policies might have been a factor,” Daddis says.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives

View toward Pearl Harbor Navy Yard during or soon after the raid. The USS Nevada is in the center distance. The large column of smoke to the left is from the USS Shaw, burning in dry dock. The largest mass of smoke comes from the Arizona.

How the attack is viewed in Japan today depends on who you ask, Bay says. There’s the widespread realization that it woke a sleeping giant – a concern that even plays out in historical records of Japanese cabinet meetings leading up to December 1941.

“In one of the notes, the emperor asks someone in the military, ‘If we declare war on America, how long before we achieve victory?’” Bay says. “The answer was, ‘In under six months.’ So the emperor responds, ‘That’s the same thing you said about the China War,’ which at that point had been going on for three years. I think the muted response was then, ‘But emperor, China is so big.’ It’s at that point the emperor says, ‘You think the Pacific Ocean is any smaller?’”

Despite the emperor’s reservations, the impetus for attack was strong, with its inspiration traceable to the 1904–05 RussoJapanese War, Bay says. In the Battle of Tsushima Strait, Japan’s stunning naval attack led Russia to accept peace terms brokered by Theodore Roosevelt.

“This was the reigning paradigm for the attack on Pearl Harbor,” Bay says.

“In Japan’s experience, wars are won with big, decisive naval battles that knock out a fleet, then you sue for peace.”

These days in Tokyo, there are strong factions that seek to revive the nationalist

For Japanese Americans Paul Nagano ’42 and Toshi Ito ’46, the days after the Pearl Harbor attack brought internment in relocation camps. Their stories are at chapman.edu/magazine.

Two days after Pearl Harbor, Clint Paulson ’49 was called to active duty, and eventually he was sent to an island in the Pacific: Guadalcanal.

fervor of such military triumphs, Bay notes.

In recent years, the right-leaning administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sought, with some success, to reinterpret Article 9 of its post-war constitution, which precludes Japan from using military force.

“In the last election, they got enough votes in the upper house to go forward with constitutional revision, but how far they go with it will be a public PR issue,” Bay says.

“They may be a little careful for fear of a public backlash.”

Still, Japanese connections to Pearl Harbor are probably strongest in revisionist-history

circles “that take pride in a time when Japan took the fight to the enemy,” Bay adds.

And how do U.S. officials feel about Tokyo taking steps toward a return to a fullfledged military?

“I think they welcome it,” Bay says.

“We’re looking for people to support our various overseas engagements. My sense is that as long as the China threat looms large over Japan, they will be very happy we’re there and have their back. And we are very happy they are there and have our back.”

Nationalist zeal isn’t isolated to Japan, of course, with evidence as close as the U.S. election. Many Americans are now weary of war while also longing for the supremacy that military might can produce.

“Part of the problem we see, not just in the political campaign today, is that hyper-nationalism narrows your field of view – your sense of appreciation for the larger world,” Daddis says.

Continued on next page

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Collection of Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin, USN. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph

It’s no secret that Winston Churchill viewed Pearl Harbor as his nation’s salvation.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives

In this regard, Daddis sees parallels between Pearl Harbor and 9/11.

“We want to use these traumatic events as something to rally around,” he says, “and in the process it becomes difficult to question the policies that led up to them, because to do so is to be unpatriotic.”

Pearl Harbor and 9/11 are also similar in that those who planned them didn’t foresee the prodigious response headed their way, Daddis adds. Likewise, both attacks solidified the “special relationship” between the U.S. and Britain.

It’s no secret that Winston Churchill viewed Pearl Harbor as his nation’s salvation.

“No American will think it wrong of me if I proclaim that to have the United States on our side was to be the greatest joy,” Churchill writes in his history of WWII, reflecting on his feelings after speaking with President Franklin Roosevelt the day of the attack.

“Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation,” Churchill continues, “I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful.”

Like Churchill, Clint Paulson would have to endure many sleepless nights before the joy of victory would be realized. He spent 19

‘The Next Bomb May Be Our Last’

Chapman historians Gregory Daddis, left, and Andrew Carroll converse next to a replica display of Ensign William Czako’s letter written from inside the USS New Orleans during the Pearl Harbor attack.

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As director of Chapman’s Center for American War Letters, Andrew Carroll often receives the front-line writings of service members with interesting back stories of their own. For instance, a copy of the letter that follows was found stuffed inside a headboard at a Seattlearea home, generations after it was written.

Penned by an ensign while his ship was at the center of the Pearl Harbor attack, the letter “gets to the heart of our project,” says Carroll, an author and historian. “We’re trying to capture history through the eyes of those in the eye of the storm.” William Czako wrote to his sister, Helen, from inside the USS New Orleans even as hundreds of Japanese planes bombarded the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Here is an edited excerpt from his letter.

At left, th Below le from alo

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives

At left, the Maryland is at berth, with men working on the capsized hull of the Oklahoma alongside.

Below left, the burned-out Arizona is destroyed in the attack. Below, sailors speed to rescue a survivor from alongside the USS West Virginia during or shortly after the raid.

Dear Sis: It is now 9:05 Sunday morning and we’ve been bombed now for over an hour. Our antiaircraft guns are yammering and every so often a bomb strikes so close as to rock the ship.

Again a bomb. We’re helpless down here in the Forward Engine Room because our main engines are all torn down. We’re trying to get under way if possible. We were just struck by a bomb near the bow. We’re fighting back as much as possible, because we have no power to load our guns, no power circuits to fire them. It is all being done by hand.

This seems to you like a nonchalant letter, but it’s the straight dope. There are only a handful of us down here, as most of our men are ashore on liberty. They really caught us sleeping this time. Those bombs are getting closer – God grant that they do not hit that loaded oil tanker that is lying right across from us. Ten million gallons of fuel would bathe this ship in an inferno of fire. I am on the interior communications telephone and I can hear

the various stations screaming orders at one another. A man just brought us our gas masks.

Wave after wave of bombers must be coming.

We’ve been struck several times now but fortunately there are no casualties yet.

The next bomb may be our last, but I will keep writing until I am told to stop or am given another job. Strangely, Sis, I’m not excited, but my heart is beating a little faster from all that firing. I don’t know why I am writing this, because if we are hit with a bomb here they won’t find enough of me and the rest, let alone this letter.

I imagine it is to show myself that I can be calm under fire. A few of the boys here are whitefaced and their voices hushed and choked. They too know that this is no joke or mock battle but the real stuff. For out of a cloud-studded blue sky on a Sabbath morning, death comes riding unheralded to claim for its own the unprepared and unbelieving. Who thought that they would strike in such a manner when most men were ashore and spending their payday on those traditional Saturday night sprees? They would

months as a signalman on Guadalcanal and then was assigned to an AKA attack ship that took him to the Philippines and New Guinea.

After four years in the Navy, he had enough points for a discharge. Two days before he got back to Los Angeles, the U.S. dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, hastening the end of the war.

In 1945, Paulson started at Chapman, living in a Quonset hut on the L.A. campus.

There he studied sociology toward a professional goal of reducing juvenile delinquency. After a long and rewarding career in education, he retired to Northern California, where he lives with his wife, Jo. Seventy-five years after the life-changing events at Pearl Harbor, memories of his wartime service remain strong and vivid. For instance, Paulson recalls that after U.S. forces gained control of Guadalcanal, one day he stood on a pier next to a Japanese prisoner who had been brought into American custody.

As a small group waited for a transport vessel to arrive, an American officer motioned to the flurry of U.S. activity and asked the POW, “What do you think of all this?”

Paulson recalls that the Japanese soldier looked out beyond the dock to where American warships stretched clear to the horizon. “This,” the prisoner said, “is what we didn’t realize.”

not dare to attack us, let alone Pearl Harbor, the mightiest and most fortified base in the world.

They could not get within a thousand miles of this place before we’d know it – no they dare not, but they did. Ah, there was one explosion – perilously close. Yes, we were hit but not badly.

The bomb struck between the bow and stern of another ship tied up just ahead of us.

There is another lull and only sporadic bursts from our pom-poms. Preparations to get under way are still continuing. It seems impossible with all that machinery torn up, but still we’ll do what we can. The order has come now to secure from general quarters. We were under fire for nearly two hours and I’m going to sneak up topside to see what happened.

Ensign William Czako survived the attack on Pearl Harbor and went on to fight in the Pacific. Because of censorship rules, he had to hold onto his letter for a year before he was allowed to mail it. After the war, he remained in the Navy, working at a shipyard in Norfolk, Va., for more than 30 years.

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IN MEMORIAM

Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor who became a treasured voice of justice and hope for Chapman University students, Elie Wiesel passed away July 2.

He was 87.

“We feel tremendous gratitude for the time that Professor Wiesel spent as Distinguished Presidential Fellow at our University from 2011–15, as well as for his previous two visits in 2005 and 2010,” said Marilyn Harran, Ph.D., director of Chapman’s Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education and Stern Chair in Holocaust Education. “While knowing that no single individual could be the voice of the 6 million murdered in the Holocaust, he nonetheless devoted his life to witnessing on their behalf and sustaining memory, as well as inspiring people around the world to reject neutrality and speak out against injustice, racism, violence and hatred.”

Wiesel’s book Night, based on his harrowing experiences in the Nazi death camps, joined Anne Frank’s The Diary of a

Photo: Jeanine Hill

Elie Wiesel

Young Girl as two of the greatest literary works witnessing the atrocities committed under Hitler. Though Wiesel was liberated at the end of World War II, his father died while they were captives after a brutal beating Wiesel witnessed as he lay nearby. He later learned his mother and younger sister had been killed in the gas chambers.

Wiesel first visited Chapman in 2005, the 60th anniversary of his liberation from the Buchenwald concentration camp. He returned in 2010, and in 2011 he began a five-year appointment as a Distinguished Presidential Fellow. In that role, Wiesel often met with small groups of undergraduates and gave talks in Memorial Hall and Fish

Interfaith Center. His message was that too many people remained silent under the Nazis, and he told listeners they must be vigilant to avoid silence in the face of injustice in their own world.

“Nobody knows everything. The thing is: Do we have the questions? I love questions because they contain the word ‘quest.’ Beware of answers. Remain with the quest,” Wiesel told an audience of nearly 300 during a 2012 visit to Chapman.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, with the committee calling him “a messenger to mankind” whose missive was “one of peace, atonement and human dignity.”

Memory and Hope: A Tribute to Elie Wiesel

By Marilyn J. Harran Like many others, I met Elie Wiesel through his words. His memoir Night was the first book I assigned my students when I began teaching at Barnard College in 1976. I still have my copy, corners curled, words underlined, and margins filled with notes.

I never thought I would be lucky enough to meet him, but I was, first in 2005 when he came to Chapman University for the dedication of the Sala and Aron Samueli Holocaust Memorial Library, and then again in 2010, when he returned to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education. On that occasion, President Jim Doti invited him to 32 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

accept a five-year appointment as Distinguished Presidential Fellow, spending one week each spring here. Over the next four years, he met with hundreds of students in dozens of classes, from English and law to religious studies and French. He spoke to large audiences and engaged in public “conversations” with Chancellor Daniele Struppa and others.

His schedule was daunting, especially for a man in his 80s. Yet, never once did he complain.

Instead, he approached each day with delight, and, as I discovered, he liked surprises. Although he would listen patiently when I shared with him months in advance a minute-by-minute

itinerary, when he was here, each morning he would ask me with a smile, “What are we doing today?” I still am amazed that someone who had been subjected to so much horror and suffering in his youth could approach each day with such trust and hope.

I learned that when he said a class or an event or a conversation had been “good,” let alone “very good,” it truly meant something. His eyes lit up when I would hesitantly propose a new idea for his next visit. One year, as we met to plan the week, I told him I had been struck by one particular passage: “My inner geography is not an American geography. It is a very strange,

A Gift of Inspiration

“The opposite of love is not hate but indifference.

And the opposite of education is not ignorance but indifference. I believe the No. 1 goal of education is to fight indifference.” — ELIE WIESEL

Among his many talents, Professor Wiesel was an artful speaker and an engaging conversationalist. Here are some of our favorite quotes from his visits to Chapman over the years:

“Ethics doesn’t mean that I can help the whole world. But it does mean I must try.”

“To write Night, I had to mute the voice of imagination. Because every word is true.”

“I write everything three times. The first draft is very long, and the last is very short. I am my own censor. If I write a novel and a character is not essential, that character is out. If lines are not essential, out. I edit myself without compassion for my own words.”

“Every writer has a voice. Listen to that voice. Don’t argue with that voice. It will take you longer to write, but you are young. You have time.” faraway geography. These are places that are no longer here or anywhere. Sometimes I say to myself that they exist only in me, that when I go, they will go.” I suggested we have a readers’ theatre performance on that theme.

He immediately agreed. We presented “The Worlds Within the Words of Elie Wiesel” on April 18, 2013. The script interwove passages from 16 of his works, encompassing five decades of his writing. For once, I think, he was truly surprised. At the conclusion of what had been an unforgettable student performance, Professor Wiesel came on stage. He was visibly moved, telling the students that their

performance was far more than he could have imagined, repeatedly turning to them and saying, “It was good, really good.” I think perhaps on that evening he realized that those faraway places would not disappear with his passing, but would instead live on within us, and, like Elie Wiesel himself, be a gift of both memory and hope.

Marilyn Harran, Ph.D., is Stern Chair in Holocaust Education and director of the Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education at Chapman University.

An earlier version of this remembrance appeared in the September 2016 issue of JLife magazine.

“Art is the absence surrounding the presence. I think art is what you take off, not what you put on.”

“I’m not sure I’m the best teacher in my class, but I know I’m the best student.

If you knew how much I’m learning from you here today, you would be jealous.”

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IN MEMORIAM

CHAPMAN SUPPORTERS

James Emmi A member of the Board of Trustees and an advocate for Chapman University programs in technology and engineering, Jim Emmi passed away May 14, just shy of his 100th birthday.

Before becoming a successful real estate investor, Emmi held executive positions in a number of aerospace firms and played an instrumental role in the development of the P-51 Mustang at North American Aviation.

The creator of the Fowler School of Law’s first endowed professorship, Fritzie Williams, passed away in August.

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(M.A. ’64)

A devoted supporter of the Leatherby Libraries who cultivated a passion for both science and history, Onnolee B. Elliott passed away Aug. 20.

Fritzie Williams

The doors of the new law school had not yet opened in 1995 when Williams established the Frank L. Williams Professorship in Criminal Law in honor of her late husband, Frank L. Williams Jr., the longtime leader of the Orange County Public Defender’s Office until his death in 1981.

Though the couple had no connections to Chapman University, Williams chose to support the fledgling law school because she and her husband had wanted to do something for Orange County and she supported the school’s mission.

“I hope this professorship can encourage students to think more about the law,” she said, “rather than just the monetary benefits of being a lawyer.”

Chapman President Emeritus Jim Doti called Williams’ gift one of the most important during Chapman’s period of rapid growth.

“During the 25 years of my presidency, I really believe this endowed professorship was one of the most significant and transformative gifts in terms of its impact on our University,” Doti said.

Williams bestowed an additional $1 million to the school in 2014, a gift that was commemorated by the naming of the Fritzie G. Williams Lecture Hall in Kennedy Hall.

“Fritzie Williams was one of the most delightful people I have met in all my years as Chapman’s president,” Doti said. “Her verve, spirit and charisma brightened any room.”

Onnolee B. Elliott

The long-range fighter and fighter-bomber was used in World War II and Korea, among other conflicts.

Emmi’s passion for science education is reflected in the Emmi Scholarship program for outstanding students who are focusing on fields known as STEM – science, technology, engineering and math.

“It was Jim’s hope that the Emmi Scholars will become extraordinary leaders and contributors in their chosen fields and, ultimately, make our world a better place,” said Jim Doti, Chapman president emeritus.

“It meant so much to him to be able to leave at Chapman a lasting legacy that will benefit so many.”

Doti also recalled Emmi’s comments upon receiving the Citizen of the Year Award at Chapman’s 2012 American Celebration, when Emmi said with great gusto at the podium, “I keep telling Jim Doti that Chapman has to do more in engineering!”

Emmi also was an avid yachtsman who enjoyed regaling listeners with tales of picking up a boat in Finland and sailing it back to Newport Beach. He was a member of two Newport Beach yacht clubs – the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, where he had served as a commodore, and the Balboa Yacht Club, where he had served as treasurer.

Before earning a master’s degree in chemistry from Chapman in 1964, Elliott earned a bachelor’s degree from USC in 1948 and began a career in health science, specializing in hematology. Her work at Coulter Laboratories resulted in advancements in the automation of blood analysis and the development of equipment and processes for hemoglobin electrophoresis.

She went on to work at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange but continued her wide studies, later adding a Ph.D. in history with a focus on California.

Elliott’s many generous gifts to the Leatherby Libraries resulted in the creation of the Onnolee Elliott Library of Science and Technology, among other projects.

Charlene Baldwin, dean of the Leatherby Libraries and a close friend, called Elliott “a pioneer for women in science, pushing the envelope of opportunities through indefatigable commitment.”

Elliott’s other gifts led to the naming of a study carrel in honor of her mother, an endowment for science materials, and support for two of the Leatherby Libraries annual awards: the Star Award, honoring the notable accomplishments of library staff, and the undergraduate research prize now named by Tam and Kevin Ross.

Elliott also served as a founding member of the Leatherby Libraries Board and served on the President’s Cabinet at the invitation of then-President Jim Doti.

“I was fortunate to come to know this special woman,” Doti said. “I admired her spunk, drive and determination which proved to be infectious. Indeed, I always left our visits together feeling newly energized and ready to conquer the world.”

IN MEMORIAM

CHAPMAN PROFESSORS

Margery Enix A cellist, author and professor of music at Chapman from 1976 to 2000, Margery Enix, Ph.D., passed away Sept. 24. She was 81.

Specializing in strings and music theory, Enix successfully combined careers in performance, teaching and scholarly writing.

“As a brilliant and extraordinary professor, she exerted a positive influence on Chapman students for nearly a quarter of a century,” said Joseph Matthews, D.M., a professor emeritus of music at Chapman University. “Their many successes attest to her remarkable skills and her warm and supportive nature.”

Enix published widely, and her book Rudolf Matz: Cellist, Teacher, Composer is considered the definitive biography of the 20th century Croatian musician. She also wrote articles on the cello and music theory that appeared in national and international academic and professional journals,

including American String Teacher. In addition, Enix lectured at universities throughout the United States, Great Britain, Germany and the former Soviet Union.

She began her academic career at Oklahoma State, and after earning a bachelor’s degree she continued her studies at Yale, adding a bachelor of music in cello performance while studying under distinguished cellist Luigi Silva. Enix went on to earn a master’s and a Ph.D. in music at Indiana University.

During her long career, Enix received a grant from the Ford Foundation as well as several other research grants from major institutions. At Chapman, her colleagues in the faculty honored her with the Valerie Scudder Award for distinguished teaching.

“Her tradition lives on through her students, many of whom are active musicians and teachers,” Matthews said.

Stan Califf A professor emeritus who helped shape the Department of Psychology and served several times as its chair, Stan Califf, Ph.D., passed away July 2.

“Stan was a well-loved member of the Chapman community who’s work benefited our students for generations, and he will be greatly missed,” President Daniele C. Struppa said.

Interested in the ministry as a young man, Califf earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley before turning to the study of human behavior and the mind instead. He completed a second undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Redlands and went on to earn a master’s degree at USC and a Ph.D. at Claremont Graduate University.

Arriving at Chapman in 1963 after teaching for three years at Augustana College in Illinois, Califf helped build Chapman’s psychology program and was involved in developing and monitoring the programs offered at the many Chapman

Academic Centers in California that are now part of Brandman University.

He is remembered as an important mentor – firm but gentle – by Jeanne M. Walker, Ph.D., now director of Chapman’s Psychological Counseling Services.

Professor emeritus Ronald L. Scott, Ph.D., a former colleague in the Department of Psychology and longtime friend, called Califf “a gentle and thoughtful person who had Rogerian ‘unconditional positive regard’ for all he met.”

Scott also noted Califf’s passion for nature photography. “I still have a small collection of nature photos that Stan gave me,” Scott said.

A lover of travel as well as teaching and scholarly research, Califf and his wife, Georgina, spent a semester at sea as he taught with World Campus Afloat, then a Chapman enterprise.

His survivors include three children – Kristen, Jon and Catherine – as well as 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

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A LEGACY OF BROTHERLY

L VE HIS CAREGIVER ROLE STRENGTHENS A SPECIAL BOND, LEADING JON DYER ’62 TO SUPPORT SPECIALIZED HEALTH-SCIENCE LEARNING.

By Brittany Hanson

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Dorothy Dyer, World War II-era elementary school secretary, was not the kind of woman who took no for an answer – unless it was a “no” of her own.

If you ask Jon Dyer ’62 who he takes after in his family, he’ll smile, laugh and say he probably has his late mother’s obstinate streak as well as her fierce commitment to her family.

Dorothy’s youngest son, Keith – Jon’s little brother – was born with cerebral palsy, among many other physical impairments. When Dorothy was told that Keith would not walk, she became determined that he would. She had that same defiant response when doctors told her that Keith would never speak and that he would be better off under institutional care.

Growing up, Jon had a front-row seat as he watched his mother challenge the odds set out for his brother. Her determination and the dedicated care given by medical therapy specialists made a lasting impression.

After graduating from Chapman, Jon built a career with Pfizer pharmaceuticals on the East Coast, but when his mom’s health began to fade he packed up his life and returned to the family home in Palo Alto, Calif., to take on the role of Keith’s caregiver. He makes sure his brother has a comfortable life supported by a backbone of brotherly affection.

Now it’s Jon who’s the determined advocate saying “no” when necessary.

Jon and Keith don’t get many visitors – Keith’s fragile health doesn’t allow for it.

In fact, Jon almost never leaves Keith’s side.

But today offers a rare opportunity to open their home.

Jon answers the door at the pretty corner house his parents bought in the 1970s – the one with drought-tolerant plants ringing a synthetic lawn. It’s a little past 10 a.m. and Keith is cycling through mile three on his goldenrod stationary Schwinn.

The scuttle-whir of the bike slows as Keith calls out, “Jon – how far?”

“Two more miles, Keith,” his brother answers.

The pedaling resumes, a little faster this time.

This visit is the first time that Janeen Hill, dean of Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, and Jon have met, giving them a chance to talk about their shared passion: the future of medical caregiving. Because he has seen how the right kind of comprehensive care can change lives, Jon is supporting the future of therapeutic health care at Chapman University.

With a gift through his living trust, Jon is establishing his legacy at Chapman via an endowment for Crean College. Additionally, he is making leadership gifts during his lifetime to fund the annual Jon P. Dyer ’62 Fellowship, which provides critical research support for Crean programs such as Communication Sciences and Disorders, Athletic Training, Marriage and Family Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies and Physical Therapy.

“We’re at the crossroads of new discovery and how patients are helped,” says Hill, Ph.D. “And our students need to be able to translate.

They need to know about new discoveries and how to turn them into care.”

“I can’t think of a more dynamic career with more change every day or with more movement every day,” Jon says of therapeuticcare providers.

A Noble Calling Jon’s own career started in information analysis in the Air Force before he transitioned to the business side of Pfizer. After years of caring for Keith at home, Jon has acquired skills with IVs, injections and home healthcare regimens – enough that some of Keith’s doctors tell him he could instruct.

“I don’t want another job,” Jon says with a laugh.

Photo: Brittany Hanson

The Realm of Potential

When his mother’s health started failing, Jon Dyer ’62, left, quit his influential East Coast job to return to his childhood home in Palo Alto, Calif., to care for his brother, Keith, whom he calls “the bravest person I know.”

Across the living room, Keith carefully dismounts his bike after listening to his pedometer tell him he’s finished the three-mile course. As he waits for his attendant to assist him, Keith answers questions about his life with his brother.

When they were kids, who was the prankster?

“Oh, it was Jon – he’d tease me, but I’d tease him back,” Keith says affectionately, tilting his head in Jon’s direction. Jon confirms this, adding that Keith is adept at the joking riposte and loves to let him have it.

Keith excuses himself as he moves to the next part of his daily routine. Before he went blind in his 20s, Keith would watch Giants baseball games on TV with his mom. He still keeps up with his favorite team by listening to the broadcasts.

Embracing His Role Not a lot of people ask Keith questions.

“People underestimate him. They direct all their questions at me when they want to know his information, but I tell them, ‘Heck, why don’t you ask him yourself?’” Jon says.

For Keith and Jon, days are carefully planned but frequently punctuated with medical issues – some they’re prepared for and others they’re not. Right now, pneumonia is the chief concern.

Through it all, a deep and purposeful love endures. Keith depends on Jon, and Jon embraces his brother with care and respect.

“His whole life, doctors have been coming at him with needles, poking him. He never complains,” Jon says. “Keith’s got to be the bravest person I know.”

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CLASS NOTES

Mary Ellen Barnes ’50

Write of Way

By Melissa Grace Hoon

M

ary Ellen Barnes, B.A. English ’50, can still see the staff of The CEER, Chapman’s yearbook, sitting around a conference table brainstorming formatting ideas. As a copy editor on the 1950 yearbook, as well as a writer for The Panther, she knew she was taking steps toward fulfilling her “girlhood dream” of becoming a writer.

Mary Ellen is now an accomplished author with four books under her belt: Teresa and the Cowboy, The Road to Mount Lemmon, Peregrine and Forged by Fire, which was named one of the top 10 Southwest Books of 2005. She has written since she was 11, and now at age 88 she is working on even more books.

At Chapman, Mary Ellen met Clyde Barnes, B.A. sociology ’50, her “one true love.”

“I can still hear him calling me from the quad to come down from my dorm room to go for a stroll,” she says. The young couple married, and Clyde went on to attend medical school while Mary Ellen taught English and art in California secondary schools. Clyde passed away in 1988.

When their four children were young, Mary Ellen put her writing career on hold – until her now-grown son, David, a computer science major, gently teased her for “writing by hand on a yellow pad” and taught her how to use the computer. Nothing has stopped her since.

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Email your news and photos to alumni@chapman.edu or mail to: Alumni Engagement, One University Drive, Orange, Calif. 92866. Any photos received by mail will be scanned and returned. Class notes are subject to editing due to space.

To post class notes and photos online, visit chapman.edu/alumni.

1960s Lawrence (Larry) Beard, B.A. physical education ’63, welcomed his sixth great-grandchild on July 4.

He has five children – Christopher, Adrien, Don, Angela and Cynthia – as well as 13 grandchildren, including Brandy Beard, B.S. accounting ’06. Larry retired from a career in real estate, sales and marketing in 2008, and moved to Germantown, Md. Larry was honored as Most Improved Player on the men’s basketball team during his time at Chapman.

Beverly (Utter) Crawford Ames, B.A. English ’66, is professor emerita of political science and political economy at UC Berkeley, and is the former director of the school’s Center for German and European Studies. She teaches courses on theories of international political economy, American foreign policy, feminist theories of international relations, ethnic and religious conflict, and global conflict and the refugee crisis. She has written many policy papers and articles, as well as co-edited a book on the causes of cultural conflict in Europe, Greece, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia. She has received

fellowships from the Turkish National Science Foundation, and from the European Commission to study the demographics of the refugee crisis in Turkey and Europe. In 2015, she was a volunteer providing aid to homeless refuges in Izmir, Turkey.

In late 2016, she spent two months in Germany researching refugee integration, working directly with refugees.

Dr. Rita Ramirez, B.A. history ’65 (M.A. education ’71), ran for Congress in the 8th District of California. She earned her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction/reading from Louisiana State University.

1970s Terrence Okumura, B.S. geology and chemistry ’76, earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in geology from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

He worked for Exxon and as a geology consultant before retiring in 2010. He sailed around the world in 2012 and spent ample time in Southeast Asia and India. He went on safaris in Botswana and Namibia while sailing around Africa in 2014.

He plans to travel more in the future.

1980s Matt Clabaugh (MBA ’84) reopened the Birch Hills Golf Course in Brea, Calif., along with partners Scott Chapman and Andy Blaine of Imperial Golf, LLC. Raul Guerra, B.A. Spanish and physical education ’82, moved to McAllen, Texas, in July. He played on Chapman’s men’s soccer team for four years.

Olga Niebla-Hernandez, BSBA business management ’88, celebrated the six-month anniversary of Paint Party 101, the business she runs with her son, Maxwell.

They offer painting parties and painting instruction to customers throughout Southern California.

Her husband, Art Hernandez, B.S. computer science ’87, has been photographing portraits, newborn babies, weddings and other celebrations for 12 years.

Fernando Saenz (M.S. food science ’83) returned to his native Ecuador after graduation and worked at Nestle Research and Development Center for 14 years.

He has been working for Corporacion Favorita, a supermarket chain, for the last 18 years, and he is currently operations vice president.

His three sons are married, and he has four grandchildren.

Scott A. Fishman, DDS, B.A. biology ’86, was featured on On Air with Ryan Seacrest in August, discussing the latest flossing recommendations. He works to educate pediatricians, parent groups, elementary and preschools in Southern California. He served as president for the USC Pediatric Dental Association in 2003 and 2011. He has been active in the Pediatric Dental Alumni Association for more than 20 years and teaches residents in the USC Pediatric Dentistry Program. He has served on the board of the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry Foundation and is a board member for AYSO Soccer. He and his wife, Grace, have three daughters.

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Erin Hunt Rado ’87

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Traces of Healing

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1990s Ken Bunt, B.A. liberal studies ’93, and Jennifer Bunt, B.A. liberal studies ’92, celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary this year.

They were married at Chapman Chapel.

Julie Malley, B.S. movement and exercise science ’90, provided medical support for four-time Olympian Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia during the 2016 summer Olympic Games.

Chris Mole, B.A. film and television ’91, hired Dan Brumer, BFA film production ’12, for several production jobs, including creating athletes’ promotional videos for the 2016 U.S. Open tennis tournament.

Chris and his wife welcomed their first child this year.

2000s René Bennett, B.A. political science ’05, this year celebrated her four-year anniversary at Gilead Sciences Inc., in the Government Affairs Department. She and her husband, Josh, celebrated their son Aidan’s second birthday in July.

Brenda Brkusic, BFA film and television ’04, won her fifth and sixth Emmy Awards at the Television Academy’s Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards in July as executive producer for Variety Studio: Actors

By Melissa Grace Hoon on Actors and China’s Challenges: Can China Be Harmonious? She was nominated for two additional Emmys as producer of Buried History with Mark Walberg and executive producer of The 49th Annual California Student Media Festival. She was nominated by members of the Television Academy to run for the Academy’s Board of Governors. Brenda is the executive producer of program development and national productions for PBS SoCal. Seth Casteel, BFA film and television ’03, published his new book featuring photography of rescue kittens, Pounce, in October.

Seth has previously released several best-selling books, including the wildly successful Underwater Dogs.

Janet Gilray (M.A. teaching ’03) wrote and recorded “Indiana Home,” a song with a music video celebrating the bicentennial of Indiana’s statehood. The song was selected as the official singalong song for the statewide celebration.

Tianna (Avalos) Haradon, BFA dance performance ’01, accepted a position as development manager at The Wooden Floor, a progressive arts-for-youth nonprofit that works to transform the lives of young people in low-income communities through the power of dance and access to higher education.

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Kristin (Ritchey) Katz, B.A. psychology ’07, and her husband, Joshua Katz, BFA film and television ’04, welcomed their second child, Charles Max Katz, on July 18. Their first son, Henry Scott Katz, was born Jan. 30, 2014.

Lindsay Mayer, B.A. communications ’05, earned her second Emmy award. The award honored her as a producer on the A&E original docuseries Born This Way. Mark Alan Miller, BFA film production ’05, and his wife, Stefanie, welcomed their first child, Zoe Elizabeth Miller, on July 30.

They celebrated their 16th anniversary Aug. 8. Mark is vice president of the film production company Seraphim Inc. He won a Saturn Award for Nightbreed: The Director’s Cut, which he produced.

Matthew J. O’Neill (MFA screenwriting ’05), a Santa Monica screenwriter, sold to NBC a sports medicine drama series inspired by world-renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews. LeBron James will produce the show.

“I

just wanted to create a line of cool-looking Celtic art. I never imagined it would become a wellness tool,” said Erin Hunt Rado ’87, owner of the Celtic Art Store.

Seven years ago, Erin began designing “Mandalynths” – her trademarked term for her Celtic art that is a cross between a mandala and labyrinth. When a Mandalynth’s series of unbroken lines is traced, it “captures attention and helps people focus” – a key to behavioral management – and effectively reduces symptoms of anxiety, stress, PTSD, ADHD and autism, Erin says.

She first learned that her art could be used as a therapy tool at a Renaissance fair in 2010.

A man who had bought her art before told her that his son with Asperger syndrome traces her art when he gets upset, and it calms him down.

Later, a woman told Erin that she was nine months free of anxiety medication because she traced Mandalynths each time she hit a trigger.

At a Colorado Renaissance fair, a young military veteran became physically defensive when someone playfully pretended to jab him with a fake sword, Erin recalled. She showed him how to trace the Mandalynth, and, you guessed it, he calmed down.

Erin attends medical conferences to learn about and share her work and its effects.

What’s more, Belmont University in Tennessee is conducting an anxiety study using Mandalynths for wellness management.

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Suraya Iller ’02

Baking for Good

By Melissa Grace Hoon

W

hen Suraya Iller ’02 helped her husband, Joseph, run his behavioral clinic for children with autism and Down syndrome, she became sad each time she heard of children on special diets being denied a tasty treat.

“I don’t believe that just because you are eating a special diet you should not get to enjoy good food,” she says.

Thus, Evolve Bakery was born. It started six years ago in Orange County as Loving Nutrition, a bakery of fresh vegan goods (gluten-free and soy-free upon request) distributed in-house as well as at farmers’ markets and Mother’s Market stores. Suraya closed her business after a few years to focus on her young, growing family, but she recently re-opened due to an “overwhelming amount of requests.”

Suraya first developed her baking skills during childhood; she honed her business and philanthropic skills during her years at Chapman University.

“In Third World countries, my husband and I organized medical camps to help people in poverty,” Suraya recalls. “Locally, we help families with special-needs children, and we offer great food to all people with special diets.”

As she serves her established markets and regular customers, Suraya hopes to also open an Evolve Bakery location in South Orange County, eventually expanding into a café offering vegan and gluten-free meals.

“I’m grateful that I’m able to do what I love and make others happy at the same time,” Suraya says.

40 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

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Andrew Quillin, B.S. business administration ’09, married Katie (Nethery) Quillin (M.S. communication science and disorders ’15) on July 9 at Casa Romantica in San Clemente. Alumni in their wedding party included Christy Richter (M.S. communication science and disorders ’15) and Charles Vickery, B.A. leadership and organizational studies ’09 (MBA ’10).

Dr. Charles Ruby, B.A. psychology ’08, earned his Au.D. in audiology and is the clinical audiologist at Orange County Physicians Hearing Services.

Robert R. Selway, B.S. business administration ’07 (MBA ’10), was promoted to vice president at California United Bank in Irvine.

He was also elected as executive committee group leader for the AthletesTouch OC-II professional business networking group in Costa Mesa. Additionally, Rob was elected as an office mentor for the Plant a Seed Institute, whose goal is to help young adults achieve their career dreams.

Jack Vollebregt (JD ’08) and his wife, Jessica, are excited that their daughter, Marianne, started school this year – so much so that Jack was inspired to run for a seat on the Capistrano Unified School

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District board this fall. “I’ve always had an interest in public service, and this seems like the right time to get involved,” Jack says.

Stacy Waymack Thornton (MFA screenwriting ’05) was runner-up in Best Comedy and Best Action – two of the three categories in which she was nominated at the 2016 Northern Virginia (NOVA) International Film & Music Festival. Her latest screenplay, Erkermer, was an official selection for the festival.

In addition, it was selected Best Drama Feature Screenplay at Go West Film Fest 2016 in Oakhurst, Calif., and Jury Award Feature Screenplay at the Go Independent International Film Festival in Washington, D.C. Elizabeth Wilder, B.S. biological sciences ’06, works with her business partner and father, Bob Wilder, CFP, at American Wealth Management Inc. Elizabeth obtained her certified financial planner (CFP) certification in August.

Brian Winter, B.S. accounting ’07, married Erica (Leuthold) Winter, B.S. accounting ’08, on Nov. 11, 2011, at Chapman Chapel.

Alumni in their wedding party included Alexander Lozano, B.S. accounting and business administration ’07; Danielle Lozano,

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B.S. business administration ’07; Kevin Knipp, B.A. political science ’07; Michael Rich, B.S. business administration ’08; Megan Crowley, B.S. biological sciences ’08 (DPT ’11); Kristin Lazenby, B.S. accounting and business administration ’10; Skyler Kressin, B.S. business administration ’08; and Andrea Acosta, B.M. music education ’09.

2010s Graeme Aegerter, B.A. sociology ’15, directed a documentary on the Navajo Reservation during summer this year. This winter, he will travel to Kajiado, Kenya, and Cape Town, South Africa, for six months to co-produce two feature-length documentaries.

The films will tell the stories of Maasai girls rescued from early forced marriage and female genitalia mutilation, as well as the resurgence of skin-bleaching in South Africa.

Jordan Batti, B.A. communication studies ’15, started Allkiind, an apparel company.

Amanda Bernhardt, B.A. communication studies ’12, and Matthew Bernhardt, B.S. biological sciences ’12, married July 3 at Lincourt Vineyards in Solvang, Calif. They met their junior year at Chapman.

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Photo: Azzura Photography

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Tiffany Lewis ’04

21

A Joyful Recipe

By Brittany Hanson

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Avery Bissett, B.A. political science ’17, interned this summer for Samantha Summers, B.A. political science ’15, at The Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. Josh Dale, B.S. business administration ’13, and Alicia (McManigal) Dale, B.A. accounting and business administration ’13, were married at The Summit House in Fullerton on Aug. 21. Nathan Worden, BFA film production ’13 (M.A. leadership development ’15), photographed the wedding.

Justin Deimen, BFA creative producing ’12, co-founded Southeast Asian Audio-Visual Association (SAAVA), a creative producing network in Southeast Asia, and runs the Aurora Media Capital media fund. SAAVA will launch the second edition of the Southeast Asian Film Financing (SAFF) Forum, which welcomed Cheryl Boone Isaacs last year as a keynote. This year’s keynote is Kathy Morgan, executive producer of The Danish Girl.

Amanda Eden, B.A. communication studies ’12, married Matthew Bernhardt, B.S. biological sciences ’12, on July 3 in Solvang, Calif. Alumni in their wedding party included Ben Levitt, B.S. biological sciences ’12; Brittany Levitt, health sciences ’12; Alex Kurnow, BFA screen acting ’11; Raleigh

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Barrett, peace studies and political science ’12; and Kelly Lonergan, BFA graphic design ’12. The couple traveled in Europe for three months and will move to New Zealand.

Laurie (Swain) Geers, B.A. public relations and advertising ’13, married Eric Geers on June 4 in Temecula, Calif. Breana Fischer, B.A. public relations and advertising ’13; Taryn (Garn) DelPonte, B.A. communication studies ’14; Sarah Cox, B.A. English ’15; and Emily Pizanie, B.A. public relations and advertising ’13, were in her bridal party.

Andrew Harman, B.A. history ’15 (M.A. war and society ’16), is the first graduate of Chapman’s new War and Society Master’s Program.

Lauren (Bruschi) Jacobson, B.A. communication studies ’11, and Willie Jacobson, B.A. communication studies ’11, were married Aug. 6 at St. Joachim Catholic Church in Costa Mesa.

They celebrated with family and friends, including more than 20 Chapman alumni.

Amanda Kristedja, B.S. physics and computer science, and mathematics ’13, celebrated her

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marriage to Joe Vezzani in Newport Beach. Chapman alumni attending: Brenden Brown, B.S. mathematics ’14; Hannah Smith, B.S. mathematics ’12; Kayla Heath, B.S. athletic training ’13; Parker Colborn, B.S. political science ’12; and Amy Treadwell, B.A. integrated educational studies ’13.

Neda Lahidji, B.M. vocal performance ’13, won the Classical Singer Online Summer Competition.

She also graduated from New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, earning her M.M. in musical theatre and an advanced certificate in vocal pedagogy.

Tim Lineberger, B.S. business administration ’11, accepted a position as the Michigan communications director for the Trump-Pence political campaign.

Tim had previously consulted on local, state and federal political campaigns in California, and has also served in communications roles for corporations, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Tim took a leave of absence from his third year teaching at Chapman’s Fowler School of Law to join the TrumpPence campaign.

ood has power. It can communicate love, care and commitment. To Tiffany Lewis ’04, founder and president of The Table Together, food provides a way for the simplest of needs to create connections.

The basic acts that go into planning a meal – preparing a shopping list, getting the groceries, cooking and serving – all show care of thought, she says.

As she expands opportunities for her own success, Lewis is putting her communications degree to work. She credits her time at Chapman University with giving her the confidence to get her message out in seven courses: her YouTube channel “The Table Together with Tiffany Lewis,” her blog TheTableTogether.com, cooking classes at Sur La Table, presentations on stage at The Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival, a social media presence on Instagram and Facebook, and via her consulting business.

For Lewis, all the world’s a table – any surface can serve as a place to gather, share food and make a connection. An elegantly lit dining room or a plate on your lap on the couch – each is opportune. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful, she says.

And for the holidays, Lewis offers some easy advice: Don’t stress yourself out. Give guests a task or a dish to bring. And, of course, keep it simple.

“They’re not expecting a Michelin-star dinner – they’re expecting their host to hang out with them,” she says.

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Photo: The Huffington Post

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Sharaf Mowjood ’05 interviews supporters of Donald Trump.

He Has Questions

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By Melissa Grace Hoon

T

wo weeks into Sharaf Mowjood’s freshman year at Chapman in 2001, his life’s path took a dramatic shift. In the wake of 9/11, Sharaf’s questioning nature ramped up in his attempt to gain a clear understanding of the world’s state of affairs.

“Film classes took on new meaning. I questioned and learned more through my social science classes. I started to build a network and an experience that which would have a lifelong effect on me,” said Sharaf ’05.

He went on to get a Master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and to write for The New York Times. He then took a fellowship with NBC News, covering stories such as the 2012 and 2016 elections, the rise of ISIS, Syrian refugees, Hurricane Sandy and the Arab Spring. Today he is senior producer for political video at The Huffington Post, which means that he’s been overseeing the site’s coverage of the 2016 presidential election. It’s been an interesting season, to say the least.

“Everything we thought about how an election is run was tossed out,” Sharaf says.

Among other things during the campaign, Sharaf, a Muslim American, interviewed supporters of Donald Trump, asking them on camera about their feelings about Muslims.

The reporter has a passionate connection to this work – especially when content goes viral.

“Those moments are always fun, and we realize that the work we do has a responsibility to it,” he says.

42 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

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Taylor Mack, B.S. business administration ’10, celebrated his one-year work anniversary with SpaceX as a technical recruiter.

He married Amy Rae Mack on April 6, 2014, at the Oak Canyon Nature Center in Anaheim Hills.

They live in Orange.

Shannon Mueller, BFA dance performance ’12, presented her contemporary dance piece Where Is the Line? at the Young Choreographer’s Festival at Symphony Space in New York on June 18. The piece explores the struggles in defining ethics and how such struggles can result in conflict.

Bear with Us, a film written by Russell Nickel (MFA ’14), won Best Feature, Best Supporting Actor (Cheyenne Jackson) and Best Supporting Actress (Alex McKenna) at FilmQuest.

Ryan Robinson, B.S. business administration ’12, quit his full-time job in August to expand his existing role as a content marketing consultant for companies such as LinkedIn and CreativeLive in the San Francisco Bay Area. He also writes for Forbes, Entrepreneur and Business Insider, and launched his own line of business-related online courses.

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Tyler Russell, B.A. multimedia journalism ’11, and Jonathan Katz, B.A. screenwriting ’10, created Escape Bus, Orange County’s first mobile escape room.

Megan (Wisler) Schmidt, B.A. psychology ’12, married Jordan Schmidt, B.A. communication studies ’11, on Aug. 29, 2015, at St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point.

Alumni in the wedding party included Chelsea Allen Haines, B.M music education ’12; Sarah Horst, B.M. music performance ’12; Marquel Gerson, (Class of 2012); Courtney Hoffman, B.S. business administration ’10; and Laura (Berger) Coker, B.A. political science and communications ’12.

Katie (Gardiner) Taylor (MBA ’12) and Jeff Taylor were married July 3 in Santa Barbara.

Heather Thompson, B.A. psychology ’12, graduated from the California State Parks Peace Officer Academy, Basic Visitor Services Training in Chino, Calif. Her first work assignment is at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area.

Jared Wallace, B.A. history ’13, married Lauren Abel, B.A. history ’13, on Aug. 7 in the Fish Interfaith Center at Chapman.

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The Wimberley Bluegrass Band (consisting of Danielle Wimberley, B.A. strategic and corporate communications ’16; James Wimberley, B.S. mathematics ’16; Mark Wimberley, B.A. communication studies ’16; and Michael Wimberley, B.A. strategic and corporate communications ’16) released its latest album, Traveling, in July. Adam Borecki, B.M. composition and performance ’12, engineered the album on Chapman’s campus. Traveling is available on CD Baby, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and more.

Jaime (Kuntz) Yacko, B.S. business administration ’10, married Kurt Yacko, B.S. business administration ’09, on Oct. 25, 2014 in Whitefish, Mont. Alumni in their wedding party included Tom Yacko (JD ’15); Josh Rogers (JD ’12); Taylor Wilson, B.A. public relations/advertising ’09; Matt Irsfeld, B.S. mathematics ’09; Elyse Mueller, B.A. public relations/advertising ’10; and Michele (Allred) Feilhaber, B.S. business administration ’11.

FRIENDS WE WILL MISS

Frances Bastien (Class of 1939) passed away Jan. 17. She and her husband, Allen, had two children, Stephen and Barbara.

Frances received a teaching degree at Occidental College and taught preschool before moving onto bookkeeping and property management. Known for her keen business skills, she and her husband developed land in the Burbank area after World War II.

John Donnelly, B.A. social science ’73 (M.A. education ’79), passed away April 30 in Seal Beach. He is survived by 24 cousins. He taught special education in the Anaheim High School District for more than 25 years. He also taught classes focusing on holistic education at Chapman, National University and Coastline College.

Stephen Hopkins, B.A. sociology ’63, passed away Jan. 20. At Chapman, he played baseball and threw the javelin on the track team. He was the Associated Men’s Student President. He married Chapman Homecoming queen Ruthie (Gortsema) Hopkins, B.A. sociology ’64. They had two children, Shannon Thompson and Matt Hopkins, and four grandchildren. Steve worked for Allstate Corp. in several locations for 31 years before retiring to Asheville, N.C. He volunteered for 10 years at Food for Fairview, and taught weekly English lessons to Hispanic families through Literacy Counsel of Buncombe County.

He also volunteered at Fairview Elementary and Cane Creek Middle schools. He was an active member of Central United Methodist Church in North Carolina.

Dennis Kelly’s photo is courtesy of Theater at the Center.

Anton Gress, B.A. theatre ’15, passed away Sept. 24 in Santa Fe, N.M. He graduated from Desert Academy in Santa Fe before attending Chapman, where he was a disc jockey for Chapman Radio and also worked in the theatre office. He is described as someone who lit up a room with his radiant smile, and who made everyone laugh. He is survived by his parents, Robin Coale and Larry Gress, and brothers Tristan, Andy and Matthew.

Dennis Kelly, B.M. music ’67, the beloved Chicago actor, passed away from lung cancer on May 29 at age 72. The many plays and musicals Dennis starred in include Broadway’s Into the Woods (2002), Annie Get Your Gun (1999) and Damn Yankees, as well as in national tours of Jekyll & Hyde, Urinetown and Anything Goes. In Chicago, he was best known for his work as Ben in Stephen Sondheim’s Follies (1981 and 1988). He won Chapman’s Achievement in the Arts Alumni Award in 2010. He is survived by Ami Silvestri, his partner of 24 years and a wellknown Chicago actress; daughter, Raenelle; sister, Christine; and ex-wife, Jeannie. The photo above features him onstage with Silvestri in his last stage appearance, in On Golden Pond at Theater at the Center in Munster, Ind.

Nelson Nociar, BFA communications ’94, passed away May 3 in San Jose, Calif. He is survived by his mother, Jeannette; brother, Nathan; and his girlfriend, Audra Robles. During his time at Chapman, Nelson was general manager of Radio Chapman (now Chapman Radio). He worked as a real estate manager for Renew Life. (continued on page 44)

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Tom ’60 and Pat Elliott ’60 (M.A. ’74) are unstoppable. They proved as much in June, when the couple spent 21 days visiting 11 countries and traveling 21,000 miles.

They started by flying to Bucharest, Romania, for a river cruise, before then visiting the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul. It was there that Pat suggested to Tom: “Why don’t we just fly around the world visiting different countries?”

So off they went to Dubai during Ramadan, when it was illegal to eat in public from sunrise to sunset.

They traveled all day looking for a place to eat, before finally settling on room service at their hotel.

BULG

PA N T H E R S

O N

T H E

P R O W L

Tansu Philip, B.A. political science, BFA television and broadcast journalism ’16, ran into Shea Pitoy, business administration ’16, while zip-lining in Hawaii this year. Tansu’s tattoo of Chapman’s “window of opportunity” tipped Shea off that she was also an alumna.

ISTAN B U L

A R IA

BA NG KO K

The Elliotts also journeyed to Bangkok, only to find that Pat didn’t have enough blank pages in her passport to leave as scheduled for Vietnam. She called the American Embassy, but it was closed.

“We just decided to stay in Bangkok for two more incredible days,” Pat says.

The couple capped off their trip by meeting with the Bangkok supplier of the orchid arrangements Pat designed for American Celebration for 20 years. Strolling through his magical compound among thousands of flowers provided the perfect conclusion to a memorable adventure.

F R I E N D S W E W I L L M I S S (continued) He practiced business maintenance law for more than 40 years. Jay is survived by his wife, Dana; their sons, Kevin and Mike; and two grandsons, Ian and Finn.

James (Jay) P. O’Neil, B.A. political science ’69, passed away March 4. He was born in Worcester, Mass., and graduated from La Jolla High School in 1964 after attending 13 schools in 12 years, including in Japan. Jay received a law degree from California Western School of Law in 1973 while serving in the California Army National Guard.

44 | CHAPMAN MAGAZINE

Safar Shakeyev, BFA film production ’14, died in July in Kazakhstan. He was known for

being loyal and passionate, and he cared about the little things in life that many people take for granted. Safar’s films screened at various film festivals, including the 2011 National Film Festival for Talented Youth, where he won Best Experimental Film for Facing You. He is survived by his parents, Yerkesh and Zhybek Shakeyev.

John Young (Class of 1971) passed away May 8. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1967, but instead attended Chapman, playing for the Panthers Division II national championship baseball team. In 1969, he signed with the Detroit Tigers and became the Florida State League batting

champion and most valuable player. He ended his baseball career in 1977 and was inducted into the Chapman University Hall of Fame in 1989. He received the Constitutional Rights Foundation Commitment to Youth Award and Ora’s Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award. He is survived by his wife, Sheryl Shannon Young; sons, Dorian and Jon; and daughter, Tori.

Alumni Brunch This fun-filled all-alumni brunch returns to campus in April 2017, hosted

by Greek alumni. Check back for the date and time at chapman.edu/alumni.

Kyle Herron ’18

ALUMNI NEWS AND CAMPUS EVENTS

Aimie Vaughan-Früehe ’91

Assisting with a Dream Kyle Herron ’18, a strategic and corporate communications major, landed his dream internship at Columbia Records, working under Aimie Vaughan-Früehe ’91, vice president of promotion.

“For years, I looked for a way to fuse my academic skills and creative passion, and, no surprise, the Chapman Family answered the call,” said Kyle. “I was blessed to cross paths with one of the University’s strongest career advocates, Jo Bandy, who showed me that living my dream could quickly become my reality.”

Jo, director of career and industry at Chapman, connected Kyle with Aimie.

“Kyle has been fantastic. His vibrant personality, appetite to learn, computer skills and love of music make him a delight to have in our office,” said Aimie. “I too interned in the music business while attending Chapman, and I can say with full conviction that without my internship I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Visit chapman.edu/alumni/ career-services to learn how Chapman’s career and industry team can support you.

Find Us Online

Web: chapman.edu/alumni Blog: blogs.chapman.edu/alumni Facebook: facebook.com/chapmanuniversityalumni Instagram: @chapmanualumni Twitter: @ChapmanAlum LinkedIn: Search for Chapman University Alumni Association

5th Annual Alumni Entertainment Industry Mixer Thursday, April 6, 2017

The top alumni professional event of the year is hosted by Akin Ceylan ’90, COO of Lionsgate Lionsgate Headquarters, and Alumni Association president. It’s a unique Tiato Restaurant opportunity to reconnect with classmates and faculty, Santa Monica, Calif. as well as make new connections with other industry members. More info: chapman.edu/aeimixer.

State of the University Address Come join in President Daniele Struppa’s enthusiasm as he discusses how far the University has come and shares his vision for the future.

Dan Steele ’15 Endowed Memorial Scholarship Here’s a chance to contribute to the legacy of Dan Steele, BFA television and broadcast journalism ‘15, who passed away Nov. 13, 2015, and support the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts need-based scholarship in his name. Donations can be made through chapman.edu/ dan-steele.

Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, 11 a.m.

Musco Center for the Arts

Save the Date for Your Class Reunion Did you graduate in 2012, 2007, 1991 or 1967? If so, your class reunion will be held during the next Chapman Family Homecoming Celebration. Mark your calendar for this great get-together Oct. 6–8, 2017. Interested in being a class representative? Contact Beth Hofeldt at hofeldt@chapman.edu.

I AM CHAPMAN.

As a high school senior visiting Chapman for the first time, Santiago Villarreal ’19 remembers feeling “scared about a big change, scared of being myself.” Before he took the campus tour, he explored the Student Union, stopping when he came to a wall displaying poster-sized photos of smiling students. They looked strong and confident, Villarreal thought.

Their posters shared declarations like “I am Filipino American” or “I am Christian.” Some statements struck him as fearless – “I am gay” or “I am a survivor of rape.” Each poster had the same bottom line: “I am Chapman.” Villarreal started feeling “like I’d be free to be who I am here,” he says. Now that he’s a sophomore, he co-curates the “I am Chapman” wall with colleague Juliana Nalbandian ’18. What began as a two-week exhibit featuring a dozen students who happened to be on campus during summer 2014 is still growing in its third year of life. More than 100 students are now represented on posters, with the concept expanding to include alumni as well.

“The idea is to convey that no matter what identities students have, they are welcome here,” says Michael Keyser, assistant director of the Student Union. The exhibit is particularly popular in fall, when new students are still adapting to university life, Villarreal notes. He 䤀 䄀䴀 攀琀栀椀漀瀀椀愀渀 愀渀搀 瀀漀氀椀猀栀⸀ sees the project helping them the way it 䤀 䄀䴀 瀀猀礀挀栀椀挀⸀ 䤀 䄀䴀 愀 猀琀愀甀渀挀栀 挀漀渀猀攀爀瘀愀琀椀瘀攀⸀ helped him. “You feel part of something bigger than Chapman as a university,” he says.

“You’re part of a whole family of people.”

I am a Civil rights supporter.

I am liberal.

I am exploring my faith.

I AM CHAPMAN. Victoria Turner| CHAPMAN STUDENT

I AM german.

I AM japanese.

I have overcome depression.

I AM an Iranian-American.

I AM a feminist.

I AM muslim.

I AM CHAPMAN.

I AM CHAPMAN.

steven karrmann| CHAPMAN STUDENT

Negeen Lotfi| CHAPMAN STUDENT

I am gay.

I am from a working class family.

I am a story teller.

I AM a child of deaf adults.

I AM fluent in American sign language.

I AM a middle child.

䤀 䄀䴀 䌀䠀䄀倀䴀䄀一⸀

I AM CHAPMAN.

I AM CHAPMAN.

猀愀爀愀 欀漀爀愀樀挀稀礀欀簀 䌀䠀䄀倀䴀䄀一 匀吀唀䐀䔀一吀

Ryan King| CHAPMAN STUDENT

Jacque Ivankovic| CHAPMAN STUDENT

I AM patient.

I AM quadrilingual.

I AM a jewish iranian-american.

I AM a free spirit.

I AM a rape survivor.

I AM unbounded.

I AM a fitness nerd.

I AM a jesus freak.

I AM 13 different nationalities.

I AM CHAPMAN.

I AM CHAPMAN.

I AM CHAPMAN.

LAUREN KELLEY| CHAPMAN STUDENT

Vidal Arroyo| CHAPMAN STUDENT

Yasi Sanandaj| CHAPMAN STUDENT