CSUMB Magazine Fall Winter 2019

FALL / WINTER 2019

Monterey Bay THE MAGAZINE OF CSU MONTEREY BAY

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HONORING OUR PAST 2 5 TH A N N I V E R S A R Y S P E C I A L E D I T I O N

Dear friends of Cal State Monterey Bay, In the early 1990s, Monterey County’s leaders faced an economic crisis with the closing of Fort Ord. They turned that crisis into an opportunity by enabling the founding of a new university.

This academic year, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the founding of Cal State Monterey Bay. Created in 1994, CSUMB owes its existence to the political leaders, community visionaries and education pioneers who helped launch our university.

The story of our founding provides an important reminder of what people can accomplish when united in a common cause, of what a fledgling institution can accomplish when it fully accepts a challenge to meet an ambitious deadline.

For the first year of its existence, CSUMB was not only hiring its faculty and staff, admitting its first group of students, and coming up with an innovative new curriculum, it was also transforming an abandoned military base into a college campus.

Many elements of the founding story of CSUMB continue to drive our efforts today.

We are committed to serving the communities that helped create us. We provide educational opportunities for the underserved populations of our region. We are working with a wide range of groups to make sure more of our region’s students are able to pursue a higher education, while collaborating with local community colleges to educate more teachers for area schools. We are creating academic majors, such as our recently launched physician assistant program, to address specific local needs.

The spirit of innovation that marked our founding is fundamental in so much of what we do. We continue to tap into the can-do spirit that marked our beginnings as a university.

When President Bill Clinton spoke at our dedication ceremony in 1995, he said: “There is nothing that we have to do at the national level as a people that we cannot do if we follow the directions that you have laid out here: common sense; common ground; higher ground. … Think about what we have in common. Think about possibilities, not problems. Believe in the future.”

As demonstrated in this edition of the magazine – we celebrate our 25th anniversary, and the future of CSUMB has never looked brighter.

PHOTO BY RANDY TUNNELL

Sincerely,

Eduardo M. Ochoa, President

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PHOTO BY DAVID ROYAL

Rain fell throughout the last of three ceremonies on Saturday, May 18, 2019, at CSUMB’s 23rd annual commencement. It was believed to be the first time in university history that it rained at graduation.

Executive Dean Hank Hendrickson (third from the left) and Founding President Peter Smith (standing) with staff at CSUMB’s first office on Hilby Avenue in Seaside in 1994.

Vol. XII, No. II Fall/Winter 2019 Published twice yearly for alumni, donors and friends of Cal State Monterey Bay by University Communications.

Features

Departments 28 SNAPSHOT

Send letters to the editor and address changes to marketing@csumb.edu.

The new College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences building opened its doors this fall

President Eduardo M. Ochoa

30 & 32 STUDENTS Ana Gonzalez and Aileen San found purpose and community in campus groups

Assistant Director of University Communications Noah Rappahahn Editor Sophia Huang McKenzie Art Director Joan Iguban Galiguis ’06 Writers Liz MacDonald Sophia Huang McKenzie Joey Perotti ’12 Noah Rappahahn

34 STAFF 6 FULL CIRCLE Science professor closed Fort Ord as a U.S. Army captain 25 years ago

Finance employee Reyola Carlisle has worked at CSUMB the longest of all

36 FACULTY 10 VISIONARY BEGINNINGS Cinematic Arts & Technology department continues to innovate and evolve

Director of nationally-known Service Learning Institute marks two decades

38 ATHLETICS 14 2 5 FOR THE FIRST 25: HONORING OUR PAST CSUMB recognizes 25 outstanding achievers in our first 25 years who have helped us get to where we are today

Coach Walt White brings winning ways to Otter baseball

40 NEWS BRIEFS 42 ALUMNI

GO ONLINE FOR ADDITIONAL CONTENT, PHOTOS AND VIDEOS: CSUMB.EDU/MAGAZINE

Global studies grad travels the world as U.S. diplomat

44 CLASS NOTES

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Assistant Professor John Olson in front of Building 48 on campus, the former headquarters for the U.S. Army’s 4th Battalion, 17th Infantry, 7th Infantry Division. When Fort Ord closed in 1993, the building was the last one that Olson, then battalion logistics officer, locked up for the Army.

FULL CIRCLE U.S. Army officer who closed Fort Ord now a CSUMB professor

BY NOAH RAPPAHAHN

Assistant Professor John Olson first arrived at the soon-to-be California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) campus in the summer of 1991 as a U.S. Army captain, at a time when the PHOTO BY JOAN IGUBAN GALIGUIS

“campus” had a much different purpose.

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For much of the 20th century, Fort Ord military base served as a classroom for soldiers who attended class in the field and conducted “research” in foreign nations across the world. With shorter hair and equipped with the tools to fight and win our nation’s wars, the “pupils” of this era arose before dawn and spent their days and nights training in the dense foliage now known as Fort Ord National Monument.

Olson has had the unique privilege of leading both the young soldiers stationed at Fort Ord in the early 1990s and teaching CSUMB students in the Department of Applied Environmental Science in 2019.

While the curriculum has changed significantly over the subsequent 25 years, the land that was once Fort Ord remains a place to learn for the eager young minds whose impact will have global significance.

From 1991-93, Capt. Olson served in various roles with the U.S. Army’s 4th Battalion, 17th Infantry, 7th Infantry Division. He was battalion logistics officer when he learned that Fort Ord would be deactivated. The news came as a surprise to Olson, as he was already in the midst of supervising the units’ move to Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington.

“The original plan was for 7th Infantry Division not to go away, but to move to Fort Lewis. We were in the middle of packing up to move

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to Fort Lewis when I was informed that we were deactivating,” he said.

“As the battalion logistics officer, my mission changed from move everything, to turn everything in. I knew it was a very large operation to make everything disappear within six months time.”

Preparing Fort Ord to be deactivated was a tedious and timeconsuming operation, especially from a logistics standpoint, but there were some perks to being on such a short timeline. The Army’s Moral, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) program, for example, provides service members and their families with recreational community activities to help contribute to their retention, readiness and emotional well-being. In this case, the MWR had a 12-month budget but only six months to spend it.

“One of the most entertaining parts about closing down Fort Ord was the excess MWR fund. MWR used the funds to buy tee times at Pebble Beach and gave them away to the soldiers. A lot of young soldiers were able to play Pebble Beach who otherwise would have never had that opportunity. I’ll never forget that.”

It was not all fun and games for Olson, however, who was ultimately responsible for ensuring that every last piece of gear was submitted back into the Army’s logistics system for redistribution across the country.

Once this mission was complete, it was Olson who physically locked the doors on the last buildings owned by the Army on Fort Ord. Olson left the military shortly after Fort Ord’s closure in 1993 and changed careers, becoming a freshwater scientist. He studies how rivers, lakes and streams are influenced by their watersheds.

His knowledge improved river health and management across the nation, first in the Southeastern United States while earning his master’s in Environmental Science from Columbus State University in 2002, and later in the Great Basin, Rocky Mountains and Desert Southwest

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while earning his doctorate from Utah State University in 2012. It wasn’t until 2015 that Olson considered returning to the place he once knew as Fort Ord. “I never really thought specifically about returning to CSUMB, but I did know that it had been created and existed. We drove through here in the early 2000s just to see what was still here, and we were amazed to see that some of our old buildings were still standing. I acknowledged CSUMB as a possibility, but there were several reasons I thought that it would never actually happen.”

In December 2015, Olson was a researcher at the Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas. While visiting San Francisco for a conference, he was on a ferry when he noticed three different people had emailed him regarding a job posting at CSUMB. “I was very happy at the Desert Research Institute and was planning on staying there for the rest of my life.

But when I saw the job posting specific to freshwater ecology with large emphasis on spatial analysis I thought, ‘That’s sort of my thing, I should probably apply for this!’ ” Olson landed the interview and received parking instructions from CSUMB’s University Personnel. The instructions directed him to a parking lot outside of building 48 – the same parking lot where he once parked as Capt. John Olson more than 20 years prior.

“When I arrived, I pulled into that same exact parking lot where I used to park years before. It was just completely surreal. It was all the same, but all completely different at the same time.”

Olson officially returned to CSUMB for the spring semester of 2017, nearly 24 years after he locked the doors to Fort Ord in 1993. He has since mentored eight graduate students and 16 undergraduate students on various freshwater ecology research projects.

One project in particular stands out. It is funded by the Department of Defense (DOD) and studies

Capt. John Olson with the U.S. Army’s 4th Battalion, 17th Infantry, at Fort Ord military base in the early 1990s.

PHOTOS PROVIDED

Olson collecting water samples with CSUMB students for freshwater ecology research. environmental DNA at several military installations on California’s Central Coast.

Olson and his student researchers have measured environmental DNA at over 100 sites across Vandenberg Airforce Base, Camp Hunter Liggett, Camp Roberts, Camp San Luis Obispo and Los Padres National Forest. The research results will be used to design better conservation strategies both for DOD and non-DOD lands.

“I had about 20 students out collecting data across all these locations. The students really had the full experience: driving remote roads, getting stuck, fording rivers and accessing beautiful and remote places that most people don’t ever get the chance to see,” Olson said.

“We can identify these places where the highest conservation value exists and better protect them.

It is very valuable, applicable and important research that we are doing.”

Although his professional mission has changed significantly over 25 years, Olson has observed some similarities between the leadership values in his role as a military officer

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I am still doing a lot of the same basic things, just with a different purpose. I give a team a goal and a challenge to achieve, while helping them understand how what they are doing fits into the broader context.

I get to explain how their actions will affect the greater good.”

and as a faculty member at CSUMB. “I was really surprised by how many of my military leadership skills transferred over to teaching. I was never really taught how to teach, but I would always hear other professors referring to a term called ‘scaffolding.’

I finally figured out that was the same

concept we used in the military called ‘crawl, walk, run.’ It’s the same exact concept, so I found that those skills really translated well from military officer to faculty.”

“I am still doing a lot of the same basic things, just with a different purpose. I give a team a goal and a challenge to achieve, while helping them understand how what they are doing fits into the broader context. I get to explain how their actions will affect the greater good.”

Over the last 25 years, CSUMB has undergone its own scaffolding process and successfully transformed a former military base into a nationally-recognized, comprehensive university that prepares students to be innovative leaders and thriving citizens. Olson’s personal story seems to mirror it all, and take it even one step further.

“It’s really full circle for me. I was stationed here in the Army, and now I am here conducting research with CSUMB students; research that is being funded and used by the DOD. It’s just amazing how this has all come together.” MB

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Luis Camara and Enid Baxter Ryce, current and former department chairs, inside the CART studio.

VISIONARY BEGINNINGS Cinematic Arts & Technology continues to innovate and evolve after 25 years

Before there was Cinematic Arts & Technology (CART), there was Teledramatic Arts & Technology (TAT). The department began with the inception of California State University, Monterey Bay and has grown and evolved with the university over the past 25 years. CSUMB was billed as “the 21st CSU for the 21st Century,” and Luis Valdez, the famed playwright and film director, created the TAT department with an eye towards the future.

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PHOTO BY JOAN IGUBAN GALIGUIS

BY JOEY PEROTTI

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“And Luis responded, ‘Well…

That’s kind of old hat.’ Because remember, this was in the ‘90s — ‘93, ‘94 — and he already saw the writing on the wall, anticipating the digital revolution as it exists today.”

That foresight led to the naming of the department. “(Valdez) coined the term ‘Teledramatic Arts & Technology,’” Esparza said. “It was the fusion of theatre, film, television, radio, multimedia, cyberspace.”

The focus on overlapping curriculums was “something new that would be an educational and experiential platform for our students so that they would be at the forefront of these new opportunities and applications, not only theoretical but practical.”

Esparza helped Valdez launch his vision at CSUMB. He previously worked with Valdez in the early days of the world famous El Teatro Campesino (Farmworkers Theater).

Valdez started Teatro in 1965 to dramatize the farm workers’ plight and support Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers labor union.

In those early days, they were not just building the TAT department from the ground up, but an entire university.

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“When we took over the facilities here, it was all the old buildings. And it was going to take a number of years to make them habitable. Hardly any resources. Coming from my Teatro background, creating something out of nothing, I would scavenge around the limited budgets to see what we could put together,” Esparza said.

“It was all improvisation. I had a pickup that we were using to move stuff around, because there were no vehicles that we had access to. So I got the first service parking sticker. We were just doing it. That excitement, no holds barred, it was pretty grassroots.”

Phil Esparza (left) and CART founder Luis Valdez

Beyond his technical savvy, Esparza also helped teach a lot of those early classes, with many of them being “team-taught.”

As the university expanded over the years, the department went through growing pains. After a string of department chairs, Enid Baxter Ryce, currently director of CSUMB Salinas Center for Arts and Culture, took over the position in April of 2009.

Ryce said she came during a time of great change. Theater had moved to the Music and Performing Arts department, and digital media, performance art and radio were being de-emphasized in the curriculum.

Traditional broadcast television was being phased out.

“The changes in technology happened soon after: videotape went away, radio changed, podcasting became important, single-camera

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cinema dominated television. It was an exciting time of rebuilding and responding to what the professional needs of our students would be,” Ryce said. “During my time as chair, we weathered not only seismic shifts in technology, but also the Great Recession. Yet, we were still able to grow, thrive and innovate.”

Luis Camara, current chair of Cinematic Arts since 2017, came to CSUMB in 2009. “When I found the Monterey Bay campus, it just seemed like it was in a great location for making films,” says Camara. “It had a very intriguing and interesting student population, and a very coherent mission statement that I agreed with.”

In the 10 years he’s been on campus, Camara has seen the department change and evolve.

“We changed our name from Teledramatic Arts & Technology to Cinematic Arts & Technology, which signifies something of an ideological change for the department and how it sees itself and what it sees itself doing,” Camara explained.

The name change was a point of contention for some, but TAT “wasn’t helping people understand what our department was about,” Camara said.

“When the department was formed, it still had more of an adherence to radio and the dramatic arts and theatre, so the word ‘teledramatic’ was more allencompassing.”

The student population has become much more diverse since, so the department responded by growing its production curriculum, offering new classes.

“We’ve also expanded our film studies classes to include classes on queer cinema, documentary history, and horror film. The department has broadened its scope and it has also, I think, improved the way we deliver our production curriculum. But it’s a department that’s in a constant state of change,” Camara said.

The challenge to stay technologically relevant is equaled only by the challenge of staying

PHOTO PROVIDED

CSUMB President Peter Smith and Provost Steve Arvizu first contacted Valdez and approached him with, “How would you like to come and create a theater department?” explained Phil Esparza, media production specialist and operations manager of CSUMB’s World Theater.

culturally relevant.

“How do we connect and become relevant to our community at large in the Monterey Bay area?” Camara asked. “That’s a really important thing. That’s one of our biggest challenges but also one of our biggest accomplishments, if not our biggest accomplishment. I think we’re a department that has deep ties to the community, that has done work that is relevant to the culture of the community — not just in Monterey Bay, but at large with spearheading events.”

He cited as examples: the department’s partnership with the Philip Glass Center for the Arts, Science, and the Environment to help run its annual Days & Nights Festival, and a military veterans’ history project involving students.

As the campus continues to grow, so does Cinematic Arts & Technology.

With the completion of the Academic III building, all of the CART offices will be centralized for the first time in the university’s history.

“I think that can only strengthen the sense of community within the department,” Camara said. “I can’t predict what’s going to happen in the future. All I know is we’re in a good place right now to respond to the needs of our student population because of the support we have received, both in purchasing new equipment and the new building.”

Reflecting on the department, Esparza smiled.

“Biggest accomplishment? Basic creation. We brought it into being.

It was the first one, I believe in the country, that fused this new technology with the old disciplines.

Just the fact that it happened, and it had its imprint. (Valdez) is a visionary, and his basic concept … was right on.”

Phil Esparza, inside CSUMB’s World Theater, trailblazed for the pioneering CART department.

PHOTO BY JOAN IGUBAN GALIGUIS

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Go online to csumb.edu/cinearts to learn more about Cinematic Arts & Technology.

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Postcard from CSUMB’s Fort Ord Digital Collection

California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) grew out of Fort Ord, a decommissioned U.S. Army base with a rich history dating back to 1917. Throughout the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, Fort Ord was a major location for basic training, reaching its heyday during the Vietnam War. Celebrities such as Jerry Garcia and Clint Eastwood completed boot camp here. In all, more than 1.5 million men and women received basic training at Fort Ord. – From the CSUMB History written in 2004 by George Joyce and Lori Wood

Fort Ord closed in the summer of 1993, and one year later, California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) was officially recognized as the 21st campus in the California State University (CSU) system.

Richard E. “Hank” Hendrickson, then Executive Dean of CSUMB, signed the deed for the land on Aug. 29, 1994.

Since that day, the growth and development of CSUMB has continued across academic programs and infrastructure alike, with the demolition of nearly 300 former Army structures and near constant construction. CSUMB opened the new College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences building in October 2019, and the new Otter Student Union is scheduled for completion in 2020.

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These buildings will allow for increased enrollment and further development of innovative academic programs.

Enrollment has grown from 650 full-time students in our first year to more than 7,500 in 2019. That number is slated to increase to 12,500 over the next decade. The university is producing responsible citizens and creative leaders for the 21st century and is poised to continue growing as a dynamic institution of higher learning. Yet CSUMB remains a steward of place with a commitment to service, just as Fort Ord was for 77 years.

CSUMB’s Founding Vision Statement adopted on Sept. 27, 1994, established the university’s core values and inspired its development. (Read the statement online at csumb.edu/-

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vision) As we approached our 25th anniversary, the campus community came together in November 2017 to re-engage our vision statement and develop a new strategic plan to guide us into the future. The next issue of the university magazine to be published in the spring will feature more information about the new strategic plan.

Earlier this year, CSUMB’s Founding President Peter Smith reflected on our first 25 years: “CSUMB has become a truly wonderful and important example of what public higher education can be. And I know that growth towards even greater innovation, diversity and excellence will continue.”

– Sophia Huang McKenzie and Noah Rappahahn

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First 25

HONORING OUR PAST In celebration of our 25th anniversary, CSUMB is recognizing a company, a foundation and 23 individuals and couples for helping to make the university what it is today. This is not a comprehensive list by any means — innumerable others have fueled our growth and contributed to our progress — but these are 25 among the many who deserve our thanks.

S TORIES BY SOPHIA HUANG MCK ENZIE

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Leon Panetta

First 25

VISIONARIES At his 2013 investiture, CSUMB President Eduardo M. Ochoa applauded the leaders whose bold vision and steadfast work paved the way for the university: “(They) saw a base closure with potentially devastating economic impact as an opportunity to turn ‘swords into plowshares,’ and to lay a cornerstone for a new path of economic, social, and cultural flourishing for Monterey County and the Central Coast region.”

U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

He rose to the heights of power in Washington, D.C., and the world, but Leon Panetta always remembered where he came from. At CSUMB in 2013 for a retirement event celebrating his 50 years of public service, Panetta said: “I’ve never forgotten one thing …

Washington is where I work, but this is my home.”

Born and raised in the Monterey Bay area, Panetta was first elected to political office in 1976. He represented the region for 16 years in Congress before ultimately becoming Secretary of Defense in 2011.

When the Army announced plans to close Fort Ord in 1991, suggestions for its reuse ran the gamut from the mundane (office buildings) to “an amusement park on the scale of Disneyland,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Then Congressman Panetta led a community task force that issued a 600-page strategy report for Fort Ord in May 1992 that proposed developing a new California State University (CSU) campus. That set the stage for all that followed.

“Fort Ord represented 25 percent of our local economy. It was a challenge … to develop a reuse plan that really would not only restore our economy but also fit with what the Central Coast is all about,” Panetta recalled in Monterey County Weekly in April 2019.

“Having CSU Monterey Bay continue to develop as a large campus in the CSU system has been one of the more rewarding aspects of what happened, because we really did in many ways convert swords into plowshares.”

Then White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, U.S. Congressman Sam Farr and President Bill Clinton at CSUMB’s inauguration ceremony on Sept. 4, 1995.

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CSUMB INAUGURATION CEREMONY PHOTOS BY GREG PIO

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Sam Farr U.S. CONGRESSMAN

A family tragedy led to Sam Farr’s pivotal role in the founding of CSUMB. In the 1960s Farr was a Peace Corps volunteer in an impoverished area in Colombia. During a visit from family, his younger sister was thrown from a horse and died because of inadequate medical care.

“It was this very personal experience that gave me my sense of purpose. I knew I wanted to fight in the War on Poverty and create access to education, healthcare and housing,” Farr said in the keynote speech at CSUMB’s 2017 Commencement.

After hearing about Fort Ord’s closure, then state Assemblyman Farr envisioned transforming the military base into a university. Farr had observed a cycle of poverty among Salinas Valley farming communities similar to Colombia’s. He believed a local gateway to higher education would help break it.

Many rejected and fought his idea, including military and city officials.

Undaunted, Farr ran for U.S. Congress in 1993 and won. He then worked tirelessly to establish CSUMB. “One of the proudest moments of my career was being able to take a vision of higher education in California, and get a new local university placed right here on the sand dunes of Fort Ord,” he said. “Did we win the War on Poverty? No, but we’re making a difference.”

Henry Mello

PROVIDED PHOTO

STATE SENATOR

Watsonville native Henry Mello represented Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties for 22 years.

In September 1991, when founding a university at Fort Ord was only an inkling of an idea, Mello invited CSU Chancellor Barry Munitz and other higher ed officials to come see the closing base.

Just weeks later, the CSU Board of Trustees voted to explore the possibilities at Fort Ord, according

to a 1997 report published by The California Higher Education Policy Center. Less than a year after that, the CSU decided to establish a new university at the former military base.

Mello, who died in 2004, had “a singular legislative record” because he frequently had more bills signed into law than any other senator, according to The Online Archive of California.

Among them was Senate Bill 899, which created the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) and contained language allowing the federal government to directly convey land to the CSU. The first parcel transferred in July 1994, and the campus eventually received nearly 1,400 acres.

U.S. Congressman Sam Farr told Monterey Bay magazine in 2017, “If Mello had not introduced a bill to create FORA, and that language had not been included, most likely CSUMB would not exist today.”

Founding Year Catalog. “All who are associated with The California State University are energized by its possibilities and inspired by the path it is forging as it begins its historic journey.”

Leon Panetta

Barry Munitz CSU CHANCELLOR

In the early weeks of his new job as chancellor of the largest four-year university system in the nation, Barry Munitz was presented with what he described as “a single, inspired idea”: convert a closing military base into a university.

It had never been done before, but that didn’t dissuade Munitz.

Chancellor from 1991 to 1998, he saw an opportunity to meet statewide future enrollment demands while facing budget cuts during an economic downturn.

The product of a free education at Brooklyn College in New York, Munitz understood the critical role of higher education in society.

“Like many Cal State students, I came from an immigrant background, and Brooklyn College was the only place I could go for an education. It was my only prayer for socioeconomic mobility,” he told the New York Times in August 1991.

“This is a campus with unlimited potential,” Munitz wrote in CSUMB’s

Sam Farr

Henry Mello

Barry Munitz

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Peter Smith

First 25

PRESIDENTS At 25 years old, Cal State Monterey Bay is one of the youngest universities in the CSU system and has had just three presidents. All brought a wealth of experience and proven leadership ability to the unique challenges of building and guiding a new university. All accomplished vital goals and advanced the university’s role as a catalyst for educational, cultural and economic development in the region. Each has earned their place in CSUMB’s history.

1994 TO 2005

CSUMB’s founding president arrived in 1994 ready to build a 21st-century university from the ground up. Peter Smith was already a seasoned politician and an education innovator. He had an insider’s experience and an outsider’s perspective.

“He was the right man for the right job. He came with particularly unique credentials,” U.S. Congressman Sam Farr told the Monterey County Weekly in 2005. “To get Peter was key, because he had been a member of Congress and had credibility in Washington.

(And) he was a professional educator and administrator.”

In the 1970s Smith helped establish the Community College of Vermont and became its founding president.

In the 1980s Smith shifted to politics, serving as a state senator, lieutenant governor and then a U.S. congressman for the state of Vermont. He returned to education in the 1990s as a dean at George Washington University and head of a federal commission studying college education finance.

In CSUMB’s Founding Year Catalog, Smith described the university as a “pioneering effort” and “truly a work in progress.”

“As you see our commitment to educate purposeful and humane lifelong learners through using institutional and community resources, you will realize this is no ordinary place,” he said. “You are not here simply to be taught, but to teach and learn actively as well.”

For ten years from 1995 to 2005, Smith guided CSUMB through all stages of accreditation, and student enrollment increased from 650 to 4,000. The university became known for its outcomes-based curriculum,

CSUMB President Eduardo M. Ochoa is congratulated by CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White at his investiture on Nov. 15, 2013.

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a strong science and technology program, its focus on first-generation college students, and its commitment to service learning.

Dianne F. Harrison

CSUMB PHOTOS

2006 TO 2012

Dianne F. Harrison took the helm as CSUMB’s second president with ambitious plans for growth. She announced goals to accelerate student enrollment, embark on an extensive building program, strengthen community partnerships, and increase private fundraising.

She possessed nearly 30 years of experience as faculty and a top administrator at Florida State University, a campus with 40,000 students. Within months of her arrival, CSUMB broke ground on two major construction projects: a baseball/ softball complex and the $64 million Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library. Phase two of campus housing and the demolition of more than 100 old army buildings was also on the agenda.

“I plan to act as boldly as I can to move us forward as opportunities arise, to generate positive energy and enthusiasm for this university,” Harrison said in her first State of the University address in September 2006.

CSUMB needed Harrison’s optimism in a period of financial insecurity. During her six years as president, the state slashed millions in funding during an economic recession. Harrison still managed to increase enrollment by 50 percent and the number of staff and faculty by 20 percent. She also expanded undergraduate and graduate degrees from 22 to 31, including a new nursing baccalaureate program.

The Salinas Californian in August 2011 lauded Harrison for “being smart and staying nimble” in trying times.

She earned a reputation for building strong relationships with public and private organizations, as well as for her commitment to students, academic excellence and strategic leadership.

Eduardo M. Ochoa 2012 TO PRESENT

Like many students at CSUMB, President Eduardo M. Ochoa’s parents came to the United States seeking the American Dream for their children.

They immigrated from Buenos Aires, Argentina, when Ochoa was a teen.

“We always stand on the shoulders of our forefathers,” Ochoa told the Monterey County Weekly in 2013. “My parents came here to give us a better life, and I’m reaping the benefits. I hope to share that with my kids and other immigrant kids just beginning the climb.”

Ochoa earned a master’s degree in nuclear science and engineering and a Ph.D. in economics and worked as a professor, dean and provost at multiple California universities.

In 2010 the Obama Administration appointed him U.S. assistant secretary for post secondary education.

Ochoa became president of CSUMB in 2012 and focused on the role of the university as a steward of the community. He told The Chronicle of Higher Education in 2018: “At CSUMB we take responsibility for advancing our region socially, economically and culturally. … We have a strong mission of social equity and social justice and providing access (to education) for underserved communities.”

In 2014 Ochoa founded Bright Futures Educational Partnership, a collaborative initiative involving education, business and community leaders, to improve “cradle-to-career” educational outcomes in the region.

Doing so would have the greatest impact by sending positive ripple effects through multiple aspects of life, including poverty, health, crime and the local economy, he said.

Furthering innovation has been another hallmark of Ochoa’s presidency. In 2015 the state bestowed two Awards for Innovation in Higher Education upon CSUMB totaling $8 million. The programs honored were CSin3 — a collaboration with Hartnell

College that allows students to earn a computer science degree in three years — and a developmental math course called Math Huge.

“For CSUMB, the context for innovation is in looking for ways to do what we do better, more efficiently and effectively. This is something that has been part of the DNA of the campus since its inception,” Ochoa said.

Student enrollment and graduation rates have hit new highs under Ochoa’s leadership. The university expanded to three commencement ceremonies in 2018 and graduated a record 2,348 students in May 2019.

Ochoa began his eighth year as president in August 2019.

Peter Smith

Dianne F. Harrison

Eduardo M. Ochoa

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Earl Lawson

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STAFF

When CSUMB opened its doors to students in 1995, CSU Chancellor Barry Munitz praised the university as “a campus with unlimited potential” employing “one of the finest faculties and staffs in the country.”

These four are among those who have left an indelible mark on the university.

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC SAFETY/CHIEF OF POLICE

Just about everything at CSUMB has changed in 25 years, Police Chief Earl Lawson says. He arrived on campus on Christmas Day 1994 after starting his law enforcement career a few years earlier at Cal Poly Pomona.

He became CSUMB’s police chief in 2010.

In the beginning, the buildings were “pretty much boarded up, locked up, locked down,” he said. “It was literally the way the military had left it. Most of the internal doors had the keys hanging in the locks.”

The police spent much of their time early on dealing with “Ording,” people scavenging for military souvenirs and anything of value, Lawson said. A bowling alley at what is now Parking Lot 903 was a prime target. He would spot students wearing bowling shoes with “FOB” on the toe for “Fort Ord Bowl.”

Lawson is known for collaborating with other agencies and taking on leadership roles. He has served as president of the Monterey County Chief Law Enforcement Officers Association and first chair of the California State University’s Chiefs’ Group.

He’s proudest of his people (many of his young officers are CSUMB alumni), the sense of community they foster, and the police department’s role on campus. “(We) incorporate what we called ‘Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design’ to eliminate criminal opportunities from capital construction projects, from small renovation projects, even the landscape on campus,” Lawson said.

The department works closely with its campus partners to make the

Earl Lawson has served with the University Police for 25 years, including nine years as chief.

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university as safe as possible, he said.

“It’s now built into the culture of the campus.”

Bobbi Bonace DIRECTOR OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS

Bobbi Bonace returned to CSUMB in February 2019 as one of the first 12 inductees to the new Otter Athletics Hall of Fame. The university has come a long way from “recruiting people off the bike trails,” she told The Lutrinae student newspaper.

Bonace joined the staff in 1996 as CSUMB’s first athletic director. She brought 30 years of experience from UC Santa Barbara and Washington State University (WSU), where she was director of WSU’s gay and lesbian program.

At CSUMB she founded the athletics program, started 10 Otter athletic teams, helped build the kinesiology program, chaired the department, and advocated for social justice and equality. When Bonace retired in 2007, friends and colleagues created a Bobbi Bonace Scholarship for female students pursuing sportsrelated careers.

“I think we do things differently than other universities,” Bonace said of CSUMB. “We open doors for people to be who they actually are and create a climate here where that’s actually possible.”

Richard E. “Hank” Hendrickson

PHOTOS PROVIDED

CSUMB’S FIRST FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE

Richard E. “Hank” Hendrickson seemed the ideal choice for CSUMB’s first full-time employee. He had history at Fort Ord as garrison commander from 1985 to 1989, and had already been working on the new university project for a year while employed at San Jose State University.

Hendrickson shared his experiences in the CSUMB History written in 2004.

“It wasn’t that big of a change,” Hendrickson said about switching to academia from the military. “At Fort Ord, I was in charge of churches,

grounds, schools — anything other than troops. The same type of work is done at a university. There’s a chain of command in the military, and there’s a chain of command in the university.”

CSUMB hired Hendrickson as Executive Dean in 1992. Thinking of an official name arose as one of his earliest duties. Hendrickson and CSUMB’s two other full-time employees considered the possibilities — UFO, the University of Fort Ord, was one of the rejects — and polled the tenants of 915 Hilby Ave. in Seaside, the university’s first office. At the end of that year, the CSU approved the name submitted: California State University, Monterey Bay. Work on campus accelerated after the federal government awarded $15 million to CSUMB in July 1994. Many higher ed experts said adequately founding a university would take three to four years. Hendrickson and his team had 13 months.

CSUMB opened its doors on schedule in Fall 1995. Hendrickson retired six years later as Vice President for Administrative Services.

social worker, Haskell provided direct counseling and psychological services and was a key developer of CSUMB’s master of social work program. She launched and chaired campus and community committees related to social justice and health, and served in leadership roles for local, state and national organizations. In 2013 she co-authored an award-winning book, “Combined Destinies: Whites Sharing Grief About Racism.”

Her many accolades include the 2015 Social Worker of the Year for the California chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, and the 2019 Welcoming Diversity AntiRacism Award from NCBI.

Caroline Haskell SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS SERVICES

Caroline Haskell left big shoes to fill when she retired in June 2019 after 23 years. The founding director of the Personal Growth and Counseling Center (PGCC), she oversaw Health and Wellness Services which grew to include the Campus Health Center, Campus Chaplaincy, Health Promotion & Education, Student Disability Resources, the Campus Sexual Assault Advocate and the campus affiliate of the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI).

“We practice an integrated model of wellness, utilizing complementary and alternative forms of treatment,” Haskell wrote in 2017. “Intrinsic to our approach is the focus on student development, emphasizing personal responsibility, learning, growth and empowerment.”

A board-certified, licensed clinical

Bobbi Bonance

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FACULTY Excitement built steadily in the summer before CSUMB’s opening.

San Francisco Gate reported in June 1995 that 5,200 people had applied for 30 available faculty positions. These are five of those founding faculty, whom Founding President Peter Smith called men and women of “courage” and “extraordinary quality.”

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, DEAN EMERITA

Marsha Moroh likes a challenge.

She became the first woman to earn a doctorate in computer science at the Polytechnic Institute of New York in 1979. After 25 years as a professor in New York, she moved across the country to help found CSUMB. “I came to CSUMB because of the incredible challenge of starting a new university,” she told the Otter Realm student newspaper in 2015.

Moroh joined faculty working around-the-clock, doing everything from unpacking computers to reading resumes. It was exhausting, yet exhilarating. “We felt like we were really building something,” she said.

Moroh hired virtually all the College of Science (COS) faculty, oversaw the design and construction of the Chapman Science Academic Center, and led the college to national recognition.

When she retired in 2015, Moroh credited the faculty for the college’s phenomenal success: “My greatest accomplishment is the faculty I hired.”

William D. “Bill” Head William D. “Bill” Head left the Bahamas and one of the most productive marine labs in the world to come to CSUMB. “It is rare that an interdisciplinary group of educators has the opportunity to design a science curriculum without the constraints of pre-existing academic departments,” Head wrote in the Journal of Geoscience Education in 2006.

Head, who holds a doctorate from Oregon State University, founded CSUMB’s interdisciplinary Earth Systems Science & Policy Division.

In 2009 he started the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC), recognized as one of the best

Marsha Moroh outside the College of Science building in 2015.

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COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, PROFESSOR EMERITUS

undergraduate research programs in the country. Head was also pivotal in CSUMB securing federal grants to support under-represented and first-generation students in mentored research and entry into graduate programs.

Prior to his retirement in 2015, Moroh said, “If it wasn’t for Bill, we probably wouldn’t have a science building.”

James W. Rote COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, PROFESSOR

James W. Rote loved the sea and spent his life exploring and conserving it. He first traveled the world’s oceans in the Navy, then became a marine scientist.

He earned a doctorate from Stanford University and built an exceptional career as a government environmental advisor, bridging the divide between science and public policy. As senior scientific advisor to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Rote was crucial to the designation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 1992.

At CSUMB he helped launch the innovative, interdisciplinary COS program linking natural science, physical science, technology, economics and policy. Physical limitations caused by multiple sclerosis forced him to resign in 1997.

He died in 2006.

The college established The James W. Rote Distinguished Professorship in Marine Science and Policy in 2003 to honor Rote and his legacy. The professorship aims to inspire ocean stewardship through education and outreach. It funds research scholarships and events including graduate seminars, a lecture series and a political candidates forum.

Dorothy M. Lloyd CSUMB PHOTOS

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, DEAN EMERITA

Dorothy Lloyd began her career as a public school teacher before moving to higher education and playing

instrumental roles in the founding of not one, but two CSU campuses.

Lloyd, who earned a doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles, joined CSUMB in 1994 as founding dean of the College of Professional Studies. She previously helped establish CSU San Marcos in 1989.

During Lloyd’s tenure at CSUMB, enrollment in the college increased from 128 to more than 1,500. She oversaw undergraduate and graduate programs in business, education, liberal studies, health and human services, public policy, and human performance and wellness.

A Black History Month event in 1999 honored Lloyd as a “hero, mentor and educator” and for her work to eliminate sex discrimination and prejudice, the Otter Realm reported.

Granting her dean emerita status in 2006, CSUMB declared: “Dr. Lloyd helped CSUMB overcome the challenges of its first years, earn accreditation, and send forth countless students to become highly successful

CSUMB’s master’s in education program. She also aided in creating lower-division learning requirements, a scholarship program, and the service learning curriculum.

Sleeter has published more than 140 articles, 19 non-fiction books and two novels. She became CSUMB’s first professor emerita in 2003.

William D. “Bill” Head

in their chosen careers.”

Christine Sleeter COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, PROFESSOR EMERITA

Christine Sleeter’s experiences with desegregation in the 1970s sparked her interest in multicultural education. A White teacher, she was assigned to a racially and ethnically diverse, working-class high school in Seattle, Washington. She later received a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin and became an internationally-known researcher, author, speaker and education reformer.

“There is not a simple bag of tricks or techniques, but rather a lifelong project of engaging students, trying to make teaching relevant to communities, studying from different traditions and perspectives, and continually changing yourself and your teaching,” Sleeter said in 2016 in National Youth-At-Risk Journal.

Sleeter led the development of

James W. Rote

Dorothy M. Lloyd

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DONORS From state-of-the-art buildings, to transformative scholarships, to game-changing stadium lights, these donors helped make it possible. Vice President of University Advancement Barbara Zappas wrote to donors in 2017: “Your generosity provides a lifelong memorable college experience for our students who move into the world with the skills and values to make them successful.”

They came from humble beginnings, yet Joel and Dena Gambord became inspiring philanthropists. The Gambords gave $10 million to CSUMB in March 2015, the largest donation the university has received to date.

“We have been blessed by the good fortune during our lifetime to have the resources to create an opportunity to assist others in our community,” the Gambords said.

In recognition of their generous gift, the university named its new academic building at the time — the $43 million home of the College of Business and the School of Computing and Design — the Joel and Dena Gambord Business and Information Technology (BIT) Building.

Both Gambords are no strangers to the Monterey Bay area. Dena’s father, a carpenter, helped build Fort Ord. Her mother worked in sardine canneries in Monterey.

During the Korean War, Joel was drafted and sent to Fort Ord for boot camp. After the war, he started a small business as a contractor and built a real estate development empire in Silicon Valley.

“There are much larger universities to which we could contribute, but our gift would get lost in the shuffle,” Joel said. “At CSUMB, we know whatever we do there, we will have an impact.”

Bob and Sue Antle

CSUMB President Eduardo M. Ochoa (left) with donors Dena and Joel Gambord outside the Business and Information Technology building named for them.

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From the start, Bob and Sue Antle were among CSUMB’s staunchest supporters. Dedicated philanthropists, they gave of their time, talent and treasure to the university “I remember (Bob) coming up to me and saying it was the best thing to happen: to establish this campus, and to give young people here, who

might never have the chance, the opportunity to get a good education and to improve their lives,” Leon Panetta recalled about Bob at a memorial service in 2014.

The Antles met at Watsonville High School and were married for 58 years. At a young age, Bob took over the produce company started by his father, Bud Antle. He became a leader in the industry and co-founded produce giant Tanimura & Antle.

Bob served as vice chairman of the Panetta Institute and president of the CSUMB President’s Council for many years. CSUMB awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2007. Sue helped found and support CSUMB’s “Have a Heart for Students” scholarship fundraiser for 20 years.

The family established the Bob Antle Memorial Scholarship in 2014 for first-generation students from farmworker families. In Bob’s obituary, the family called CSUMB’s Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library “one of Bob’s proudest accomplishments.”

Upon Sue’s death in March 2018, CSUMB President Eduardo M. Ochoa praised her decades of fundraising work: “(She) helped open the door of opportunity for many first-generation students and transformed lives.”

PHOTO PROVIDED

Monterey Peninsula Foundation If you’ve cheered for the Otters at a nighttime sporting event or enjoyed the glow of the new stadium lights shining in the distance, thank the Monterey Peninsula Foundation (MPF). A $1.5 million grant, one of the foundation’s largest gifts ever, enabled CSUMB to install 16 stadium lights and host night games for the first time.

“It’s going to make a huge impact on our ability to market and promote our programs, and invite the community out to our campus to see what we believe is really great NCAA Division II competition,” Athletic Director Kirby Garry told the Monterey Herald in January 2019, as the project neared completion.

The foundation began in 1937 as

a small charity golf event hosted by Bing Crosby and became the famed AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It has since distributed $135 million to hundreds of non-profits in Monterey County. CSUMB has received more than $8.4 million from the foundation, a donor for 23 consecutive years.

Tanimura & Antle

Led by patriarchs George Tanimura and Bob Antle, two longtime Salinas Valley farming families joined forces in 1982 to form the industry-leading farming company Tanimura & Antle.

The company is committed to funding education programs in the community, and nowhere is that more visible than at CSUMB. In honor of the company and its founders, the university named its centerpiece building the Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library.

The company gave the largest private donation of $4 million for the library’s construction.

Ahead of its dedication in December 2008, the Monterey County Weekly described the $64 million library as “architectural performance art” with “a transcendent edifice of soaring glass and sculpted concrete.”

The biggest building on campus at 136,000 square feet, the library serves as the social and academic hub of the university, and an enduring testament to Tanimura & Antle’s support.

perhaps Navy veteran and science student John Freutel said it best in his condolence message: “Thank you for the great science building. Students here are learning to use science to improve the lot of all life on Earth.

All the good things that come about because of our training come from your generosity and investment in our future.”

Bob and Sue Antle

Monterey Peninsula Foundation

Patricia & Robert Chapman

In fall 2003, CSUMB opened the Patricia and Robert Chapman Science Academic Center, the university’s first new building. The state-of-the-art facility was named for the Chapmans, who gave $2.5 million toward construction of the $24.5 million building.

“From my first day here, I have been impressed with the quality of the university leadership and faculty, the accomplishments of the students, and the strong teamwork ethic at CSUMB,” Patricia said.

When Robert died in August 2016,

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ALUMNI Cal State Monterey Bay has graduated more than 20,000 students in its first 25 years and prepared them for success in every industry and field, from agriculture to zoology. Here we highlight four of our outstanding alumni who are making an impact in their communities, the region, the state and the world.

B.A. GLOBAL STUDIES, 2001

The youngest of six children born to immigrant farmworkers, Merlyn Calderon Schultz was the first in her family to attend college. CSUMB changed the trajectory of her life, and she became a national labor union leader and a U.S. diplomat.

At CSUMB she honed an interest in international politics and was named Outstanding Senior for her community service work. After graduating, Schultz went to work for the State Legislature in Sacramento and later became California political director for the United Farm Workers of America, the country’s largest farm workers union. She quickly rose in prominence, and was elected UFW’s national vice president in 2008.

Schultz began her foreign service career with the U.S. Department of State in 2011. She has since served in Mexico, Cameroon and Costa Rica. Last spring Schultz returned to the United States to accept a state department role in Washington, D.C., helping leaders stay informed and handle crises around the world.

“CSUMB prepares you for the world. Literally, I’m proof of that,” Schultz said.

Read more about Schultz in the Alumni department story on Page 42.

Jakob Heuser B.S. TELECOMMUNICATIONS, MULTIMEDIA, AND APPLIED COMPUTING, 2004 M.A. INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES, 2006

Merlyn Calderon Schultz at the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in January 2015.

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As a freshman in a basic computer class at CSUMB, Jakob Heuser discovered his talent for teaching when he began helping struggling classmates. He worked as a tutor throughout college, and parlayed that ability and other skills into a phenomenal career in the tech world.

Linkedin, the top social network for professionals, hired Heuser in 2008 as one of its first 10 web development team members. Heuser became Principal Web Developer, and the team grew to over 120 in the six years he worked for the company.

Heuser joined the leadership of Pinterest in 2015, another social networking giant. He left two years later “to focus on solving the problem of satisfaction in careers and the workplace” as an entrepreneur, advisor and engineer, he said.

Heuser credits CSUMB for providing him with the interdisciplinary skills to succeed.

“CSUMB gave me aspects of the education you might get from a business school or art academy, all rolled into one,” he said.

Heuser gives back to his alma mater as a leading alumni donor and a member of the Dean’s Leadership Council for the College of Science. He speaks to computer science classes, facilitates student participation in industry events and conferences, and promotes diversity and women in technology. In appreciation, the faculty lounge in the Gambord Business Information and Technology Building is named for him.

Iris Peppard

PHOTOS PROVIDED

B.A. INTEGRATED STUDIES, 2003

The award-winning, non-profit Everyone’s Harvest began as Iris Peppard’s senior capstone project at CSUMB. She believed everyone deserved access to fresh, affordable and locally-grown organic produce, including low-income families.

Peppard founded Everyone’s Harvest in 2002 and served as its executive director for 14 years.

She shepherded it into a thriving organization which sponsors multiple community food programs.

Everyone’s Harvest currently operates certified farmers’ markets and farm stands in Marina, Pacific Grove and Salinas. Unlike most farmers markets, all accept food

stamps. Everyone’s Harvest also sponsors healthy cooking workshops for youth, and community gardens which employ homeless workers.

Peppard’s work has not gone unnoticed. Monterey County named her Outstanding Woman of the Year in 2007. Edible Monterey Bay magazine honored her with its “Local Hero” Award in 2012. Monterey County Weekly included Peppard in its “25 for the Next 25” in 2013 as someone shaping the region’s future.

“My success is not just my own.

It’s because of everyone involved. It’s about a movement. It’s about food justice,” Peppard said of the accolades.

In 2016 Peppard returned to the Reno, Nevada, area where she was born and raised, and is now working for the One Truckee River conservation and stewardship program.

served on more than 20 committees and task forces. In the community Woodridge worked with the Boys and Girls Club, Monterey County AIDS Project and more. At graduation Woodridge received the President’s Exemplary Achievement Award given to one senior for their contributions to CSUMB and the community.

Woodridge has remained focused on service, working for non-profit and social justice organizations for more than 25 years. Now a manager with the County of San Mateo Health System’s Whole Person Care pilot program, Woodridge helps the most vulnerable people with multiple chronic and potentially life-ending conditions to improve their physical, mental and social health. MB

Bethtina Woodridge B.A. HUMAN COMMUNICATIONS, 1999

When CSUMB welcomed students for the first time in August 1995, Bethtina Woodridge was one of 33 Pioneers, the university’s first freshmen. Woodridge, who uses the pronouns they, them, their and we, recalled that time in the 2016 keynote speech for CSUMB’s annual Spotlight on Service. “(We) were excited young people, committed to social justice.

We wanted to make sure everyone understood the value of giving back, learning in, from and with community,” Woodridge said.

In a CSUMB Service Learning class, they first heard the quote that became their motto for life: “Service is the rent you pay for living, it is the very purpose of life, not something you do in your spare time.”

“At CSUMB, we had incredible mentors who modeled and reinforced hard work and struggle,” Woodridge said.

On campus Woodridge helped start and lead groups including the student government organization and

Jakob Heuser

Iris Peppard

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New Home for Liberal Arts Achieving another milestone in our comprehensive master plan, CSUMB officially opened the doors to the new home of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Oct. 11, 2019.

The $40 million, 48,000-square-foot CAHSS building is located on Divarty Street next to the Gambord Business and Information Technology Building. Built to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standards, it features an art gallery, amphitheater, and a 200-seat film screening and lecture hall. “(The building) was designed to function as the heart of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and it’s set up in such a way that the shared spaces are built to engage visitors and become the hub of the college,” CAHSS Dean Ilene Feinman said.

“With the new building, we have redoubled our dedication to faculty, staff, students and our community partners in a signature space that invites innovation and collaboration.”

The mural “Skylight: Transmission of Knowledge/Windows to Justice” painted by CSUMB Professor Emerita Johanna Poethig graces the main entrance of the building. University Corporation and Roxana “Rocky” Ruth Earley Keland, a member of the first graduating class of the Visual and Public Art (VPA) department, provided major funding for the mural.

Keland, an unwavering supporter of VPA, died on March 3, 2019.

To honor her memory, the building’s VPA Art Gallery opened with “Quintessence,” an exhibit of photographs representing her final body of work.

The building’s RND Amphitheater is named for donor Robert Nathan Danziger. His gift supported a new CSUMB and Monterey Jazz Festival partnership launched in March 2018 to provide a series of jazz education activities.

From Top to Bottom: CAHSS building as seen from Divarty Street; “Skylight” mural at the main entrance; RND Amphitheater

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Go online to csumb.edu/cahss to learn more about the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and the new building.

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Ana Gonzalez

S T U DE N T S

Shaping a Better Future Associated Students president dedicated to sustainability, environmentalism Ana Gonzalez, CSUMB’s new Associated Students (AS) president, never thought college was a possibility growing up. She was born and raised in a town in Mexico just south of San Diego, and no one in her family had earned an undergraduate degree before. Her mother, however, dreamed of her two daughters being educated and living in the United States.

“My mom is the biggest reason I’m here today. Growing up with a single parent, I thought how can I make her dream of being in the U.S. my dream?”

Gonzalez said. “I make her happy having accomplished all this, and it’s made me really happy.”

From the seventh grade on, Gonzalez would wake up at 5 a.m. to accompany her sister across the border to attend school in San Diego.

During her junior year of high school, she took a trip to visit colleges across California. The group’s last stop was at CSUMB, and Ana was captivated by a beautiful pink-orange sunset over the campus.

“It’s a cheesy story, but I looked up and knew it was the right school for me,” she said.

At first, Gonzalez worried about the financial burden it would place on her family to attend college so far away from home. “My sister really pushed me to go far and give myself the opportunity to be away from the border,” she said. “To allow myself to actually have the education I deserve.”

Gonzalez has made the most of the opportunity. She will graduate this spring with a degree in environmental

studies and a minor in Chicanx studies. She’s discovered a passion for environmental community leadership, a pursuit that came into focus for her during her service learning placement with the Watershed Institute and Regeneración: Pajaro Valley Climate Action.

“I had the opportunity to work with farm workers and talk about how our communities are being more impacted by climate change, and what we can do about it,” said Gonzalez.

In June, Gonzalez presented at the Next Earth conference on some of the complexities she’s faced as a firstgeneration Chicana working within the environmental movement.

She discussed times when she felt like an insider or an outsider: “I’ve felt like an outsider with my family. It’s difficult because of the opportunities and privilege I have versus my family in Mexico. Reusing or thinking about where trash goes is not a priority when you may go days without water or worry about your next paycheck.

“I feel like an insider just being at CSUMB and in leadership positions on campus. When I have the opportunity to talk about the environment with

other students, I feel good. They are willing to listen and think about my perspective.”

Her peers clearly value Gonzalez’s approach, since they voted for her to represent them as AS president.

She aims to use her platform to lobby for financial aid in Sacramento, to research the possibilities for sustainability programs called for in the campus master plan, and to initiate conversations about a Dream Center for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students.

After she graduates, Gonzalez plans to apply for a fellowship in the State Capitol, and then take some time to travel and decide on her long-term goals. She’s interested in serving in the Peace Corps and continuing her studies in a master’s degree program.

Whatever path Gonzalez takes, her Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) mentor, Professor Tori Derr, sums it up nicely: “Ana is playing an active role in shaping a more sustainable future.”

– Liz MacDonald

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Creating Community

Aileen San

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Affinity group president found sense of belonging, leadership opportunity

S T U DE N T S

Growing up in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Aileen San was not prepared for the relatively small Asian community at California State University, Monterey Bay. “The environment I grew up in, I was surrounded by Asians pretty much all the time. All the public schools I went to were majority Asian, and then coming here it was very much a culture shock for me,” San explained. “That motivated me to find that sense of community on campus and try to get as involved as I possibly could and find that community and that family.”

San, who graduated last May with a bachelor’s degree in marine science, found that community within the Asian Pacific Islander Association (APIA) at CSUMB. She was an active member throughout college and served as president last academic year.

San first learned about APIA at Otter Showcase, CSUMB’s annual student organization fair, and began attending meetings occasionally, she said. After APIA Week in the spring semester — when the group hosts multiple social and educational events — San’s attendance picked up. Then she decided to serve in a leadership role as treasurer.

“I felt like taking on a leadership position would give me that shove to become even more involved and find a deeper sense of community on campus,” she said.

San ultimately became APIA president her senior year. Under San’s direction, APIA was recognized as the first winner of the new Affinity Organization of the Year award.

“Organizations in this category focus on the cultural richness of their community. This award is given to the

Inter-Club Council organization that has gone above and beyond to create a community on campus for individuals to find their home away from home,” said Dan Burfeind, coordinator of student organizations, leadership development and assessment.

“When I stepped up as president, one of the bigger obstacles for us as a club was general member retention, making sure we had general members coming to our meetings consistently,” San explained.

On the flip side, “one of the bigger accomplishments is that we’ve had students who don’t identify as Asian or Pacific Islander join our club, find a sense of community, and also be heavily involved as board members.”

In fact, 2019 was the most active year yet for CSUMB’s eight Affinity groups for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds: Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, Chicanx/ Latinx, Native American, Students with Disabilities, Rainbow (LGBTQ+), Undoc-U (Undocumented) and Veteran Students.

More participants than ever attended the Affinity Graduation Ceremonies held for these groups, and 80 percent of the students were the first in their families to graduate from college, according to Bianca Zamora, Cross Cultural coordinator.

“These eight identity-based graduations enliven CSUMB’s as well as the Otter Student Union’s mission to support, validate, and amplify a diverse student body,” Zamora explained.

“As under-represented student populations have historically been excluded from institutions of higher education, these student populations and their communities are reshaping their narratives, claiming their brilliance, celebrating their identities, and paving pathways for future students,” Zamora said.

For San, APIA also gave her the chance to grow into the leader she is today.

“I remember before I stepped into a leadership position, it just felt really intimidating because I had no prior experience. I’ve learned a lot about leadership and working with other people,” San said.

“It’s helped me a lot with interpersonal skills as well as intrapersonal skills. Dealing with stress. Dealing with issues within the organization. But also learning to be the bigger person and stepping up and making that first move to resolve your issues.”

As for APIA’s outlook, San said, “It provided a sense of family on this campus for me, and I hope it does the same thing for future students as well.”

– Joey Perotti Go online to csumb.edu/affinity to learn more about Affinity Groups and Affinity Graduation Celebrations.

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We’ve Come a Long Way

Reyola Carlisle outside the university’s newest building and the home of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

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PHOTO BY JOAN IGUBAN GALIGUIS

CSUMB employee has witnessed 25 years of transformation

STA FF

“Furniture and chairs don’t show up by themselves,” said Reyola Carlisle, the university’s longesttime employee — now a senior contracts analyst in Finance — and the woman responsible for most of the chairs that students, staff and faculty sit in arriving on campus.

Carlisle started at the university almost 27 years ago.

She was hired to do secretarial and clerical work for Richard E. “Hank” Hendrickson, Fort Ord’s former garrison commander and the man charged with overseeing the transition from military base to university. (Hendrickson was named executive dean and later vice president for Administration and Finance.)

For 12 years prior, she’d worked as a civilian employee in public affairs for the Department of the Army at Fort Ord. When the base was selected to close, she saw the writing on the wall. She wanted to remain in the MontereySalinas area to raise her son, so she responded to a newspaper ad for a secretary in what became Campus Planning and Development.

On her first day, she showed up at the office suite on Hilby Avenue in Seaside to find a woman screwing together her desk extension — Maria Pantoja, Hank’s second-in-command.

Carlisle coming on board marked

the third person hired, and another set of hands to make sure the soon-to-be university had what it needed to open a new campus.

“A title didn’t describe what we did,” Carlisle said. “We did everything, including putting furniture and chairs together.”

The small team did much more. They ensured the institution got funding, and oversaw the renovation and retrofitting of military buildings into university classrooms and residence halls.

Two years later when students first arrived, Carlisle was part of the small cadre of employees greeting them with information and helping to register them for classes.

“I never envisioned having problems finding parking,” she said, laughing. “But here we are with 7,500 plus students.”

Carlisle grew along with the university, her initial clerical role evolving into new positions as she — and the university — figured out what needed to be done and did it. In her years with the Administration and Finance department, Carlisle focused on public works, infrastructure and facilities.

“You don’t see the procurement folks in the background,” she said.

She ran contracts for old buildings to come down and new buildings to rise up, working with everyone from architects and engineers to janitorial service providers. As she worked behind the scenes, she also had a frontrow seat for the transformation of the campus.

“Our whole focus was to build the campus and keep it moving forward,” she said.

In addition to her job, Carlisle

took advantage of the CSU’s employee fee waiver program to take classes.

“I love the student-to-teacher ratio, the time the faculty takes to sit down and explain things in everyday terms. It’s amazing what they do to help the students succeed,” she said.

She only stopped taking classes three years ago when her grandson, Rocco, was born.

“When I became a grandma, I had to readjust the priorities in life.”

Now, Rocco also has a baby sister, Capriana. Carlisle still attends Capstone presentations, however.

“I learn so much when the students present their Capstones,” she said. “I loved going to school here. Who knows, maybe when (the grandchildren) are old enough, they will want to come here to school.”

Looking back, Carlisle fondly recalls the sense of community from those early days.

“We had lots of get-togethers, potlucks and events all the time.

We even had a bowling team in the early years. Everybody knew everybody,” she said. “I grew up here; this is my home.”

Even when reflecting, Carlisle can’t help but look to the future: “It’s been a long time coming, but we’re about to get a new student union. Our master plan calls for bigger spaces for sporting events and a new recreation center is on the horizon. The feasibility study for a new science building is about to get underway.

“We’ve come a long way,” she said. “And it’s still moving forward.”

– Liz MacDonald

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Bringing Civics to Life

Seth Pollack in front of the new “Rise2Change” mural inside the CSUMB Service Learning Institute.

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PHOTO BY JOAN IGUBAN GALIGUIS

Service Learning director has led model program for two decades

FAC U LT Y

What does it mean to be a good person? That question is at the heart of Service Learning Institute Director Seth Pollack’s scholarly career.

“We’re trying to teach students to be morally-grounded, thoughtful and compassionate,” Pollack said.

“It’s not just a bunch of hours to meet a requirement, and it isn’t just a component that can be added on where students apply what they’ve learned in a community setting.”

Pollack believes that service learning has the potential to transform academia. For more than two decades, he’s led the program that represents the national — and international— standard for socially-responsible and civically-engaged learning in higher education. He’s also taught the practice across the European Union and in South Africa over the course of two Fulbright fellowships.

Service learning has been part of CSUMB since its inception.

“There was a nice synergy between the emergence of a national funding stream for service learning and the founding of the university,” Pollack said.

CSUMB received the first-ever grant from the Corporation for National & Community Service, a federal agency founded in 1993 to promote service and volunteerism in higher education, as well as in K-12 education across the country.

The agency was looking for pilot programs, and the new university had the opportunity to do things differently from the start.

At the time, Pollack was completing his doctorate at Stanford.

He became acquainted with the

program and its founding director, Marian Penn, while coordinating a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) grant for service learning programs across CSUMB, Stanford, Mills College and Portland State University. In 1997, two years after the university got its start, he joined the Service Learning Institute as its first faculty director.

CSUMB’s program stands out among universities for multiple reasons. Not only is it required of every graduate, it’s structured as a faculty-led academic department with curricular content. It’s an essential part of the education with clearly-defined objectives centered on teaching students about civic involvement, social justice and inequality, Pollack said.

The structure has proven highly successful. CSUMB is the only institution to be recognized twice as the leading university service learning program in the nation by the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, receiving the inaugural award in 2006 and then another in 2010.

But seeing the actual impact on individual lives and communities is more meaningful to Pollack.

At this point, CSUMB graduates have leadership roles in many area nonprofits, agencies and schools where current service learners are being placed.

“I’ll be out in the community describing how the program works to a new school or nonprofit, and the person I’m talking to will say, ‘Oh, I was a service learner.’ I’m finding over and over that our partners are our former students,” said Pollack. “We’ve created a virtuous cycle.”

That makes maintaining the relationships the program needs to work a little bit easier, although Pollack admits running a program the

scale of CSUMB’s is challenging.

“Each semester, we’ve got 1,700 students in more than 60 classes working with 200 partners. For our program to be real, relevant and meaningful, humans need to know each other,” he said. “It takes immense time and energy to manage, build and maintain.”

Fortunately, Pollack has the support of faculty across the institution who are equally interested in transforming their scholarship into community-based research.

Biology Professor Henrik Kibak and his pre-med students are a great example. They’re speaking to East Salinas residents about their healthcare challenges to better understand the factors that contribute to inadequate and inequitable medical care. In the future, when Kibak’s students are medical care providers, they’ll be equipped with both the conceptual knowledge and practical skills to contribute to improved equality and access to healthcare for their patients.

More than 20 years in, Pollack’s passion remains high, and the service learning program continues to evolve.

Last year, the lower-division courses were reimagined to better align with the CSU’s general education requirement for civics.

“We have the opportunity to do transformative work to bring civics to life, make it not something you memorize, but something you participate in,” Pollack said.

“Now it will be around real world things that matter, and students will find their voices in the process. This could become a model for the state of California.”

– Liz MacDonald Go online to csumb.edu/service to learn more about the Service Learning Institute.

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Winning Ways

Walt White, CSUMB’s head baseball coach, has set Vanessa multipleJacquez records.

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PHOTO BY CSUMB ATHLETICS

Coach Walt White making CSUMB Otter baseball history

AT H L E T IC S

On four occasions, the graduating seniors on the CSUMB baseball team have missed the university’s commencement ceremony. And their head coach, Walt White, is hoping it happens again next May.

PHOTO BY CSUMB ATHLETICS

Walt White

“We have our own special graduation at a hotel on the road,” White said. The students don their caps and gowns, someone streams “Pomp and Circumstance” on the stereo, and diplomas are handed out as families proudly look on.

“When we have graduation in a hotel, it means we did really well athletically,” White said. It means the team is in postseason competition.

Since White joined the coaching staff in 2010, hotel graduation ceremonies have become a more regular occurrence. The year prior to his becoming head coach, the Otters had suffered a season with 41 losses and just eight wins. But White arrived determined to bring a change in attitude to his players.

“I believed in our players,” he said. “If you treat people the right way and earn their respect, they’ll give you everything they’ve got. I wanted to get the most out of those kids.”

In just one season under his leadership, the team made Otter baseball history. They went 21-28 that year, breaking the school record for total wins, winning percentage and conference wins.

“That was the most important season we’ve ever had,” White said. “That team changed the perception of our program.

Once you start developing that culture, it gets passed down from class to class. Ultimately, it keeps building your program.”

In 2013, just three season’s into White’s tenure, the Otters claimed their first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular season title and made their first postseason appearance. White was named Coach of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCWBA) West Region and CCAA. Prior to the Otters, White spent 15 seasons as the associate head coach at Sonoma State, his alma mater. Before moving into coaching, White spent nearly a decade playing in the minor leagues with the Arizona

Diamondbacks AAA affiliate team and in the Florida Marlins organization.

“There are a lot of good players who aren’t great coaches, but having the experience makes me more relatable,” White said.

He had his eye on the program at CSUMB from the beginning. “I wanted the position when I first heard about it.” White said. “I knew it could be something special down the road, and I wanted to build the program.”

White looks for the same sense of connection when he’s recruiting players.

“I want a kid to be 100-percent committed this is the best place for them,” he said. “I would rather lose a recruit because they found a better fit than chase someone and have them not be fully sure.”

A large part of what makes CSUMB the right fit comes down to embracing the total student experience. White takes his players’ academic performance seriously and expects them to be involved on campus and in the community.

“It’s about developing the person as well as the player,” White said.

With a solid program in place, White hopes more of the local community will come enjoy watching the team compete. Thanks to funding from the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the baseball facilities have seen several upgrades in recent years, including new lighting which allowed the Otters to play their first night games at home.

“It’s only getting better as we go,” White said. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished and proud to be part of a university that is continually pushing forward. I can’t wait to see what we become in five, 10, 15 years.”

– Liz MacDonald Go online to otterathletics.com/baseball to learn more about the team and see their game schedule.

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College of Business launches Responsible Business MBA

California State University, Monterey Bay, announced its inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class this year. The first honorees — including eight student-athletes, two coaches and one national championship team — were inducted on Feb. 16, 2019, at the University Center.

“Our Hall of Fame allows us to recognize individuals who have shaped our identity and contributed significantly to the growth of our university and athletics programs,” Director of Athletics Kirby Garry said. “(We) look forward to building on this new tradition in future years.”

In alphabetical order, the inductees were: Dana Andrews – Women’s Basketball (2006-09), all–time leading scorer; Bobbi Bonace – Administrator/Coach (1996-2007), first director of intercollegiate athletics; Cicillia Chudivan – Women’s Golf (2007-10), All-American, all-time winningest golfer; Rheann Fall – Volleyball (2008-11), All-American, career kills leader; Brian Haggett – Baseball (2012-13), first Academic All-American; Bob Johnson – Community supporter, passionate backer of Otter Athletics and CSUMB; Devougn Lamont – Men’s Basketball (2005-06), first player to average 20 points per game; Chealsea (Laning) Brown – Water Polo (2005-08), career record holder for goals and points; Ashlee Trotter – Softball (2006–09), captain of first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championship team; Bill Trumbo – Administrator/Coach (2000-06), led CSUMB to NCAA Division II membership; Erik Uppman – Cross Country (1998-2001), captain of first conference championship team (California Pacific Conference); Team of Distinction – 2011 Men’s Golf Team, CSUMB’s first national championship team.

The College of Business at CSUMB launched the world’s first Responsible Business Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree program in fall 2019. The entirely new curriculum is designed around the theme of “Innovation, Responsibility, Impact,” with a quintuple bottom line adding “Ethics” and “Equity” to the traditional triple bottom line of “People, Planet, Profit.”

“We’re emphasizing critical systems thinking, continuous improvement, integrated communications, and creative problem solving — in an expanded quintuple bottom line context — to develop the Responsible Business mindset and toolkit,” Dean Shyam Kamath said.

Responsible Business goes beyond the triple bottom line to educate business leaders to develop and transform organizations into 21st-century business models. The quintuple bottom line enables businesses to achieve financial success while taking care of valuable human and environmental resources, Kamath said.

With busy working professionals and executives in mind, the program is 100% online to offer maximum flexibility. The curriculum consists of 38 units delivered in sequence across 14 individual courses. The online MBA degree can be earned in as few as 18 months.

“The faculty have thoughtfully created a unique education experience,” said Nicolas Dahan, program director. “It builds on the university’s tradition of concern for community, ethical leadership, social justice, and environmental stewardship.”

Go online to mba.csumb.edu to learn more.

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PHOTOS PROVIDED

CSUMB Otter Athletics inducts inaugural Hall of Fame members

N E W S BR I EFS

CSUMB professor, researchers decode white shark genome

California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) achieved reaffirmation of its accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in July 2019.

The reaffirmation is for 10 years, the longest achievable period of accreditation.

The WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) commended CSUMB in a number of areas, particularly the increase in graduation rates since 2011.

A recent Chronicle of Higher Education publication recognized CSUMB as one of three public universities in the U.S. with the greatest improvements in graduation rates. The Commission also praised the university for its commitment to the whole student, a culture of innovation and strong regional stewardship.

“I would like to thank all the many faculty, staff and administrators who made this achievement possible through their on-going and lasting commitment to reflection and improvement which was visible throughout the Institutional Report submitted to WSCUC as part of the reaccreditation effort,” President Eduardo M. Ochoa said.

Accreditation aids institutions in developing and sustaining effective educational programs and assures the educational community, the general public, and other organizations that an accredited institution has met high standards of quality and effectiveness.

Assistant Professor Nate Jue with the School of Natural Sciences at Cal State Monterey Bay collaborated with an international team of researchers to decode the entire genome of the white shark. The results of their study were announced in March 2019 and marked a major scientific breakthrough which could assist in cancer prevention in humans.

The findings were published in the scientific journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

Through comparisons with other species, genetic adaptations in the white sharks can help scientists better understand how important processes like the repair of damaged DNA may function in other organisms including humans.

The researchers discovered unique blood-clotting and cancer-protection genes within the white shark genome.

Further studies may assist medical researchers in their efforts to prevent cancer, treat age-related ailments and heal injuries in humans.

In addition, researchers were shocked to discover the size of the white shark genome measured approximately one-and-a-half times the size of the human genetic code.

Decoding the white shark genome may also assist with the conservation of this often feared, yet vulnerable species by providing information about white shark population dynamics.

PHOTOS PROVIDED

WASC grants accreditation for 10 more years

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Ready for the World First-generation, global studies grad becomes international diplomat

As a girl living in the farming communities of Salinas and Castroville, Merlyn Calderon Schultz (B.A., Global Studies, 2001) never imagined she would become a national labor union leader or a foreign diplomat for the United States. Cal State Monterey Bay changed the trajectory of Schultz’s life and started her on a journey to experiences and places far from her California home.

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PHOTOS PROVIDED

CSUMB alumna Merlyn Calderon Schultz represented the United States as a Cultural Affairs Officer in YaoundĂŠ, Cameroon. She has also served abroad in Mexico and Costa Rica.

A LUM N I

“CSUMB prepares you for the world. Literally, I’m proof of that,” Schultz said. “Traveling around the world, I’m working alongside colleagues who are your Yale graduates, your Harvard graduates, and you know what? I’m performing well, I’m able to compete and move forward foreign policy. And I got my education at CSUMB, and I’m very proud of that.”

Schultz is the youngest of six children born to Mexican-immigrant, farmworker parents. Her father was a tractor driver in lettuce fields, and her mother labored for 23 years in an artichoke cannery.

“I don’t think we really realized we were poor. We always had amazing food, my mother and father always provided for the family. But the truth is, we were poor,” Schultz said.

The family lived in the “tougher neighborhoods” surrounded by gang violence, she said. Friends were shot and killed when she was in middle school. Her older siblings all had children of their own by the time they were 16, and none went to college.

Schultz began exploring a different path, thanks to a teacher and a CSUMB advisor. An English teacher at North Monterey County High encouraged the talkative and argumentative teen to use her traits in a positive way. Schultz became active in student government and developed an interest in international politics.

An advisor with Educational Talent Search at CSUMB, a federally-funded program of the U.S. Department of Education, began encouraging Schultz to pursue higher education.

“She would come to North County, pull me out of class, and talk to me about the steps it takes to go to college. I found out about all the rich opportunities I could have if I kept going into higher education, … and I found out about CSUMB,” Schultz said. “It was a huge advantage that (CSUMB) was in my backyard, which allowed me to go to school and keep a connection to my community.”

Schultz became the first person

in her family to go to college and earn an undergraduate degree. She continued on to graduate school, obtaining a master’s in public administration from the University of Southern California. At CSUMB, she was named Outstanding Senior for her community service work with Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, the Monterey County AIDS Project and Mothers of Chualar.

The latter is a community group that grew from a CSUMB class which tackled environmental policy. The students organized and educated mothers in the nearby farming community of Chualar about the health dangers in their drinking water caused by agricultural runoff, pesticides and septic systems. The group succeeded in convincing Monterey County officials to dig a new well to provide a source of clean water.

“My education (at CSUMB) was super hands on. When I was there, I remember 30 students would be a big class, and we had the very best professors that were traveling from the Ivy Leagues to come teach us. And we were paying a CSUMB price for them, which was awesome! We were going out into communities and using in the field what we were learning in the class.”

After graduation from CSUMB, the California Department of Consumer Affairs awarded Schultz a fellowship in Sacramento. She later went to work in the State Legislature for then Assembly Appropriations Chair Judy Chu, as a senior legislative assistant focusing on public health policy issues.

Drawn to help farming families like her own, Schultz became California political director in 2007 for the United Farm Workers (UFW) of America, the country’s largest farm workers union. She quickly rose in prominence and was elected UFW’s national vice president in 2008.

Her father had died years before, but her mother was present for the momentous occasion.

“She was over the moon!” Schultz said. “My mom really saw the benefit of the union and having union representation. She was super, super proud.”

Her foremost accomplishment with UFW was establishing stronger regulations requiring shade, water and extra breaks to protect farm workers from heat stroke, Schultz said.

She then turned to the world stage, beginning her foreign service career with the U.S. State Department in 2011. She has since served in Mexico, Cameroon and Costa Rica. Her responsibilities have included providing aid to refugees in Cameroon escaping Boko Haram terrorists.

“I’m very proud of the work we did in Cameroon, in helping women and children,” Schultz said. “They were the greatest victims of that terrorism and violence.”

Last spring Schultz returned to the United States to accept a role with the State Department’s Operations Center in Washington, D.C. “We handle crises around the world, keep State Department leaders abreast of current news, and facilitate communication for the secretary of state with foreign leaders,” Schultz said.

No matter where her life and career take her, Schultz said she will always feel a special closeness and connection to Cal State Monterey Bay. “Those are my roots, that’s where I started. Nothing was possible until I started there,” Schultz said. “I feel so tremendously thankful for my CSUMB education and proud to be an Otter!”

– Sophia Huang McKenzie Merlyn Calderon Schultz is one of four outstanding CSUMB alumni included in “25 for the First 25,” recognizing her as someone who has helped make the university what it is today during its first 25 years. Read about the others in the Cover Story starting on Page 15.

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2018

Summer Faso (B.A., Psychology) is a special education teacher for the Moreland School District in San Jose, California. She is working on obtaining a Moderate-to-Severe Education Specialist Instruction Credential at San Jose State University while working full time.

Faso says she cannot wait to change the lives of special education students and teach them the skills they need to become successful citizens.

Kelly Galten (B.A., Human Communication) moved to San Luis Opispo, California, wrote a novel for National Novel Writing Month and is working on publishing her poetry.

Jordan Leininger (B.A., Social and Behavioral Sciences) went on the trip of a lifetime to Egypt in February 2019. As a historian, Ancient Egypt is one of his favorite historical eras and seeing the amazing sites he had learned about his whole life was the most incredible experience, he said. Leininger is an artifacts specialist for the city of Monterey and manages, catalogues and conserves the city’s

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historical collection. He also helps create new exhibits and curates the city’s museums including Colton Hall, the birthplace of the state of California.

In October 2018, he helped create a beer called “Dank & Dusty” with his favorite brewery, Alvarado Street Brewing Company, for the inaugural Monterey Peninsula Archives Crawl, a self-guided tour of at least 19 area archival collections. Leininger says he had a wonderful Service Learning experience at CSUMB and is proud to give back by working with new Service Learning students.

Brittany Lopez (B.A., Psychology) earned her RADT(Registered Alcohol and Drug Technician) certification and was promoted to her current position as a substance abuse counselor with Geo Group, Inc.. She counsels recently released probationers and parolees at Monterey County Day Reporting Center. She is currently working on becoming a certified drug and alcohol abuse counselor. In her personal life, Lopez became engaged to a fellow CSUMB alumni.

Dinora Martinez (B.A., Spanish Language and Hispanic Cultures) served as an AmeriCorps literacy tutor at a Salinas elementary school for one year after graduation.

Upon completing her service year in July 2019, Martinez moved

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to Southern California to begin working on her master’s degree in Spanish with a concentration in Chicana and Chicano Studies at Cal State Fullerton.

Victor Martinez (Master of Social Work) has started his dream career as a psychiatric social worker providing an array of mental health and substance use services to youth involved in the juvenile justice system.

Martinez works for the Monterey County Health Department and has had the opportunity to work alongside members of a multidisciplinary team from local non-profits, the probation department, social services, Monterey County Office of Education, and Natividad Medical Center. The team’s goal is to meet the holistic needs of youth and families, and provide the necessary resources for them to successfully navigate the county’s public systems.

Cristina Zaragoza (B.S., Biology) works as an embryology lab technician at Reproductive Science Center. Zaragoza says she wasn’t always sure about a career in the medical field, but now she loves

her work and the field of reproductive science.

2017 Maddison Burton (B.A., Social and Behavioral Sciences) earned her Master of Science in Human Resource Management from the University of Southern California in August 2018. Since October 2018 she has been working as an HR manager with the University Corporation at Monterey Bay. Iliana Cardosa (B.S., Collaborative Health & Human Services) had a baby boy, Joseph Axel Cardosa, on Feb. 13, 2019.

Joseph has one older brother, Xavier.

Michelle Meissner (B.S., Kinesiology) graduated from Columbia University with a master’s degree in nursing. While at Columbia, she was awarded a Nursing Scholar scholarship for exemplary academia. She is now employed as a registered nurse at New York Presbyterian Hospital and plans to enroll in a doctor of nurse practitioner program.

C L A SS NO T ES

Melissa Miranda (B.A., Psychology) recently was promoted from part-time to full-time employment with the Salinas Union High School District as a Typist Clerk II. She plans to pursue her goal of becoming a special education teacher.

Miranda says her time and accomplishments at CSUMB helped her develop skills, better her work ethic, and grow into the person she has become.

Christina Muirhead (B.S., Collaborative Health & Human Services) works as a financial aid counselor at CSUMB. She is also a healthy lifestyle coach for the YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program. She began a Masters of Social Work program in August.

2016

Axanthi Anthony (B.A., Visual and Public Art) has been working as a graphic designer for Plumeria Consulting, LLC, since 2018. She and her boyfriend, Langston, have a 1-year-old daughter born on May 27, 2018, and planned to move to Los Angeles in August so that he can pursue a career with LA County Fire.

Guillermo Rodriguez (B.A., Collaborative Health and Human Services; Master of Social Work, 2018) is a clinical supervisor with Valley Health Associates in Salinas, working in the substance use and mental health disorder field. He celebrated 12 years of sobriety in 2019 and is grateful for a second chance at life and the opportunity to guide others overcoming addiction. Rodriguez said “the best part of it all” is returning to CSUMB as a lecturer in fall 2019 to teach a social work course in the same program from which he graduated.

Ester Santiago-Sanchez (B.A., Liberal Studies) teaches sixth-grade English Language Arts/ Social Studies in the Gilroy Unified School District.

Drew Stuck (B.S., Kinesiology) highlights and promotes the life science community in Northern California as manager of business development for the South San Francisco office of the California Life Science Association (CLSA). His responsibilities include sustaining and improving CLSA member satisfaction while identifying opportunities for growth and utilization of the association’s membership vendor community. Stuck and his wife, Bernadette, live in Emeryville, California, with their dog, Jack.

Alora Tejeda (B.S., Kinesiology) recently earned a physical therapy assistant degree. She is working part time at an outpatient clinic, Central Care Physical Therapy in Chino, California, while considering other job opportunities in Southern California.

2015 Jena Barrera (B.A., Global Studies) went back to school at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and graduated with a master’s degree in nonproliferation and terrorism studies. She is also working part time as a social worker for the Franciscan Workers of Junipero Sera, a homeless shelter in Salinas.

Nicole Perez (B.A., Social and Behavioral Sciences) completed a two-year registered nursing program in 2018 and currently works in the operating room as a clinical nurse at Clovis Community Medical Center.

2014 Breanne Edwards (B.A., Humanities and Communication) moved to Colorado after graduation and became a snowboard instructor for two years.

She moved back to California three years ago and began working as a personal injury paralegal and recently received her

notary license. In addition, she is a volunteer youth volleyball coach and has a golden retriever, age 12.

Lauren A. Floyd (B.A., Humanities and Communication) graduated in 2018 from the University of Southern California with a master’s degree in journalism.

She has been writing for the Los Angeles Sentinel for more than a year and was recently promoted to editorial assistant.

Carlos Jurado (B.A., Global Studies) received another promotion at MidPen Housing, the affordable-housing real estate developer he’s worked for since graduation, and is now associate project manager.

Jurado says he loves his job and is thankful for the connections he made at CSUMB for helping him find it.

Helen Krummenacker (B.S., Mathematics) has published her first solo novel, “Forever’s Too Long,” a 1940s paranormal detective novel, after previously co-authoring a series of science fiction, horror and mystery books.

She works for Santa Cruz County as an accounting technician.

2013 Hilary Hampton (B.S., Communication Design) lives in the Portland, Oregon, area and is

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employed as a senior designer at Edison Software, a Silicon Valleybased startup company.

She has worked on several successful application and website launches and currently designs icons, interactions, experiences and interfaces to expand the availability of the company’s applications on more platforms. Hampton has also launched her own company, Left Hook Design, and designs for brands, small businesses and projects she’s passionate about, with the goal of working for herself full time in 10 years.

Kimberly Kellam (B.A., Liberal Studies) has earned a teaching credential, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, and is less than a semester from finishing her administrative credential, all through CSUMB. She has also been teaching sixth-grade math and science at Walter Colton Middle School in Monterey.

She taught for five years before taking a new role this year as an academic coach, supporting teachers at her school. She is also co-director of the Junior Wings program, a homestay program between Nanao, Japan, and Monterey. She has traveled to Japan four times. Kellam said it’s been an adventure, and she is so thankful for the beginnings at CSUMB.

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Alisa Paseman (B.A., Social & Behavioral Science) is studying to earn a master’s degree in clinical and health counseling. She also has been working as an inhome therapist teaching coping and communication skills to clients and their families, and was recently hired by the YMCA as a youth development teacher.

Kylie (Fields) Whent (B.A., Communications) graduated in June 2019 from Brandman University with a master’s degree in teaching and a singlesubject credential in English. She teaches seventh and eighth-grade English in the Washington Union School District in Salinas and also coaches for the girls’ water polo program at Notre Dame High School. In her personal life, Whent was married in Felton, California, on March 29, 2019.

2012 Timothy Johnson (B.A., Psychology) is a petty officer second class in the U.S. Navy and earned a master of science degree in strategic intelligence from the National Intelligence University in Bethesda,

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Maryland, in July 2019. His thesis was titled “RussoUkraine: Evaluation of Warning Intelligence.”

Johnson was the youngest and most junior ranking member of his cohort, afforded the opportunity less than three years into service.

Jennifer Lucido (B.A., Social and Behavioral Sciences) completed a master of arts in the Cultural Resources Management Program at Sonoma State University in 2015. She has since published a number of academic papers on Spanish colonial history and archaeology in California. The California Mission Curators and Directors Conference recognized Lucido for her work furthering the preservation and protection of the California missions with the Father Fermin Francisco de Lasua Award for 2014. Lucido currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member at CSUMB.

Tyler “T.J.” Scott (B.S., Business Administration) says he’s been very busy in the seven years since he graduated from CSUMB. He began working as a front office supervisor at the Intercontinental The

Clement Monterey hotel, while also employed as an independent contractor at FourWinds Travel in Carmel. The travel agency sent him on an unforgettable trip to explore the islands of Fiji.

He was later promoted to front office manager at the hotel and decided to focus on a hospitality career.

Scott met his now wife, Avery, when they were co-workers at the hotel.

They began dating after both leaving the hotel for positions at Bernardus Lodge and Resort in Carmel Valley. A few years later in May 2017, he proposed to her with a golden snitch at Harry Potter World at Universal Studios Hollywood. They were married on Nov. 4, 2017, with the beautiful scenery of Monterey Bay in the background. In March 2018, the couple moved to Roseville, California, where Scott became Director of Operations for Winchester Country Club. In December 2018, he started a digital marketing and advertising business called Glasswater Digital with his brother. Scott hopes to eventually focus on the business full time. Scott and his wife welcomed their first child, a daughter named Rylie, on May 11, 2019.

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2011

Dominick Guglielmo (B.A., Teledramatic Arts & Technology) has been freelancing as a post producer for the ad agency Deutsch, Los Angeles, since 2017. Prior to that, he was on staff at Imaginary Forces, a visual storytelling and brand strategy company. On July 14, 2018, he and fellow CSUMB alumni, Niki Zelenksy, were married.

Hilary O’Neil-Johnson (B.S., Kinesiology) recently started a new position at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a gastrointestinal nurse practitioner. She is an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, where she is also teaching in the family nurse practitioner program.

Shelly Lungstrum (B.S., Business Administration) has been promoted to assistant director of special events for Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, the largest wine and spirits distributor in the United States. She started as an intern for the company, which is headquartered in Miami, Fla., more than six years ago. In her current

role, she handles large meetings and events, including the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and the New York City Wine & Food Festival.

She’s also responsible for the company’s charitable donations. In October 2018, she passed the Level 2 Wine & Spirit Education Course, globally-recognized as the international standard in wine and spirit knowledge. She is also an avid supporter of the Women of the Vine & Spirits, a foundation committed to advancing and empowering women in the industry. Lungstrum loves to travel and says her favorite spot of all time is South Lake Tahoe, which is back close to home.

Barcelona, Spain, is a close second because studying abroad there in 2009 was “the most life-changing and important experience for me, as it led me to move to Miama six months after I graduated from CSUMB,” she said.

Emily Wood (M.S., Instructional Science & Technology) published the book “E-Learning Department of One” through the Association for Talent Development (ATD) in December 2018.

In February 2019, she spoke about e-learning development in a limited resources environment at the ATD TechKnowledge conference in West Palm Beach, Florida.

2010 Amanda Kahn (M.S., Marine Science) has joined the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories as the new assistant professor of invertebrate ecology.

Paige Newbury (M.A., Education) is an awardwinning teacher in the Santa Cruz area. She says she is passionate about helping her students and is proud to have had several of them attend CSUMB.

2009 Michelle Baker-Nauta (B.A., Liberal Studies) taught for seven years in the Monterey Peninsula School District after graduation. She met her husband at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and they moved to Hawaii after getting married.

Baker-Nauta has been teaching for three years for the Hawaii Department of Education.

She has redeveloped the science curriculum for oceanography to incorporate more lessons about algae, led career groups which include the New Teacher Bootcamp for all first- and second-year teachers, and participated in Kahua, the year-long study program to include more ancient Hawaiian history and culture in the curriculum. This year was her first as a grade-level chair. In her personal life, Baker-Natua competes in outrigger canoe regattas including the Queen

Lili’uokalani distance race, the largest outrigger race in the world.

Tristan Mansson-Perrone (B.A., Teledramatic Arts and Technology) completed a two-year master’s program in media management at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 2019. His thesis focused on incumbent Nordic media companies, holistic sustainability transformation, and impacts on biodiversity integrity. Mansson-Perrone has been working at NatureFootage, a natural history video library, since February 2010. He started as an assistant editor and now leads partnership development as licensing and account manager for Europe.

2008 Vanessa (Henry) Gonzales (B.A., Humanities and Communication) is employed as an administrative support coordinator for the CSUMB Department of Social Work. She was previously employed for five years in the financial services industry.

Gonzales says she is elated to be on campus again and excited to be involved with

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the Master of Social Work program and see it and the university grow!

Louis Martin (B.A., Humanities and Communication) wrote and self-published a book called “The True Believers” in 2017 about cultism in traditional martial arts.

The book was successful enough for him to quit his job and start writing full time. He now owns his own website and has published a second book.

2006

Savannah (Armstrong) Prince (B.S., Earth Systems Science and Policy) has been teaching middle school science for 12 years and is currently employed by the Imperial Unified School District in Imperial, California. She earned a master’s degree in cross cultural teaching and published a children’s book, “Manny the Mola,” that she wrote as part of her senior capstone project.

In her personal life, Prince is married with two daughters and volunteers as their Girl Scout troop leader and swim team coach.

2005 Rey Anthony M. Osoteo (Teaching Credential, Mathematics) is a literacy specialist at the John Steinbeck Library in Salinas.

2004 Daniel E. Prescod (B.A., Humanities & Communications) recently became counsel of business and legal affairs at Levity Live Production in Los Angeles. He handles production-related matters for various television shows and The Improv comedy clubs.

2003 Blanca Melchor (B.A., Human Communication) worked with CSUMB TRiO Upward Bound after graduation, helping low-income students from the tri-county area pursue higher education. She earned a master’s degree in counselor education from San Jose State University and recently started a new job at Gavilan College in Gilroy, California, as a non-credit counselor in continuing education. She serves primary English learners and adult students working towards their high-school equivalency diploma. She’s been married for six years and has a child, Ximena, age 4.

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Melody Rico (B.S., Earth Systems Science and Policy) is the Event Sales Manager at Embassy Suites by Hilton, Monterey Bay. She was honored with a Platinum Club Member Award from Atrium Hospitality, which manages 82 hotels. She reached her sales goals for the past three years and was one of 33 sales managers out of 300 who were rewarded with a trip to Florida to celebrate their accomplishments.

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Princess Pope (B.A., Social and Behavioral Science; M.A., Education, 2005) recently became Community Relations Director for Monterey County Housing Advocates, which strives to reduce the shortage of affordable housing units available to students, seniors, veterans, lowincome and the homeless.

As an undergraduate at CSUMB, Pope served on the Associated Students as a Multicultural Senator.

As a graduate student, she served as CSUMB

Upper Division Academic Senator, and was honored to be the first African American student named a Sally Casanova Scholar.

Pope is an educational advocate and community organizer. For the past 19 years she has served on the executive committee of the Monterey County NAACP as Education Chair and College Scholarship Coordinator. For five years she volunteered on the board of directors of the Village Project as secretary. In Summer 2019 she completed a nine-day intensive, transformational leadership training with the United Way of Monterey County (UWMC). She supervised CSUMB Service Learning students and has volunteered on community and educational boards, including for Monterey Peninsula College and Monterey Peninsula Unified School District. In her personal life, Pope has been married to Ray Pope — UWMC 2019 Lifetime of Service Award winner — for 43 years. They have six children and six grandchildren.

Bobby Quiñonez (B.S., Earth Systems Science and Policy) was promoted to the position of College Administrative Analyst in November 2017, and is completing his 15th year as a CSUMB employee. He is serving a second term as president of the CSUMB Alumni Association during CSUMB’s 25th Anniversary and excited that his wife

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of 14 years, Amber (Bowles) Quiñonez (B.A., Humanities and Communication, 2002), has joined the board this term.

2002 Kate (Ammerman) White (B.A., Social and Behavioral Sciences) has earned a doctorate degree in education and is employed as director of continuing education at California State University, East Bay.

2011 and earned a master’s degree in comparative culture. She also married, had two boys and started working as a teacher at universities in the cities of Tokyo and Chiba. She currently teaches at the International University of Health and Welfare, a medical university in Narita, Japan.

1999 Shawn De Haven (B.A., World Language and Cultures) went to Japan in

Christina McGovern (B.A., Liberal Studies and Teaching Credential) has

been an educator for 22 years, teaching all levels from elementary to postgraduate students aspiring to become teachers. She recently moved back to the Monterey area and is employed by the North Monterey County Unified School District as a middle school English and social science teacher. She is also working with the Youth Cinema Project, which connects arts integration in education with her passion for theater. She has worked with The Western Stage theater company in Salinas for more than 20 years.

Phillip Pletcher (B.A., Teledramatic Arts and Technology) recently became lead agent

in technical support for Capital Insurance Group, where he’s been employed for 24 years. He was recently widowed after serving as primary caregiver for his partner for more than 18 years. He is writing again after a 16 year hiatus. He won first prize in the early 2000s in the Rhode Island Institute Screenplay Contest.

SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE! Share news of your activities and achievements.

Go to csumb.edu/alumni Select News, then Submit a Class Note and fill out the form.

HCOM graduate travels country in ‘skoolie’

Elizabeth Hensley atop the school bus she and her partner converted into a tiny home.

Elizabeth Hensley (B.A., Human Communication, 2016) is taking the road less traveled. After earning a master’s degree in American Studies from Kennesaw State University in Georgia in December 2018, she and her partner, Richard Tilford, decided to eschew a traditional lifestyle and travel full-time in a school bus converted into a tiny home.

Their goal is to explore the country, live sustainably, better

understand American culture and write a book about their adventures.

They purchased the bus, a 1996 Thomas International school bus, in April 2018 and spent the summer turning it into a home on wheels at a cost of about $10,000 for the bus and conversion. The bus includes solar power, laminate flooring, black-out curtains, a porta-potty, electric pumped water, a kitchen area and a bed. They dubbed the bus “Little House on the HWY” after the classic book “Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

As of August of this year, Hensley and Tilford had traveled more than 19,000 miles across 37 states, attending tiny house and “skoolie” (converted school bus owner) festivals and expos along the way.

Everywhere they go, they attract attention and field questions from the curious. The couple says they practice an open-door policy and are happy to give tours to visitors. They’ve been featured in stories on the radio, television and in newspapers, including on the front page of the Orange County Register.

Find them on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook and visit LittleHouseonTheHwy.com to learn more.

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