HNU Today Spring 2009

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Spring 2009 Holy Names University is continuing its positive momentum forward in the midst of the external economic downturn. This May 2009 we are beginning the renovation of the first floor of Brennan Hall into a new Student Center complex that includes a café and dining area, new centers for Civic Engagement and Health and Wellness, and an advanced Technology Support Center as well as enhanced classrooms equipped with stateof-the-art technology. This newly renovated facility has all the promise of energy and engagement depicting the 21st century HNU technologically advanced experiential learning environment. To date we have raised $1.26 million, exceeding our original goal of $1.25 million, for this project. We are deeply grateful to all of our generous donors, especially given the financial challenges that everyone is experiencing. Our plan is to complete this project over the summer and to dedicate our new Student Center in Fall 2009.

our students receive the highest quality education that prepares them to make the most significant difference possible.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Dalian University (DU) in Dalian, China, to explore a potential partnership between our two universities in our business programs.

We already have several ties with Dalian. It is a Sister City of Oakland and the sister and brother-in-law of Helen Xu, HNU Assistant Professor of Business, are professor and Assistant Dean at the School of Physical Science and Technology at Dalian University. The University enrolls approximately 20,000 students and incorporates over 20 colleges. The representatives of the university were extremely welcoming, open to my presence, and made me feel very much at home. We are exploring a 2 plus 2 and/or 3 plus 1 partnership, whereby Dalian students would study for two or three years at DU and then come to HNU to complete their baccalaureate This Fall 2009 we will be launching sev- degrees in business. HNU students would eral new academic programs. A new Master also have the opportunity to attend DU of Arts in English, “The Writer’s Craft,” will to study Mandarin and/or business and focus on creative and scholarly work in the to experience firsthand China’s cultural, areas of professional writing, creative writing, civic, and economic realities. This is a very and composition studies. This program will exciting opportunity and would heighten our combine in-classroom learning with innovative on-line options. A new undergraduate interdisciplinary major, Intercultural Peace and Justice, will combine social, scientific, theological, and historical analyses of conflict with the study of strategies for promoting peace and justice. A culminating course that integrates travel or community service aligned with studying the challenges and solutions of peacemaking and social justice will be required of all majors. The Business Department is initiating a new MBA concentration in Energy and Environment Management that will link the sciences with business in exploring the issues surrounding our environmental realities. Our Education Department has developed a major in Early Childhood Development in partnership with our community college neighbor, Merritt College. Each of these programs is aligned with the mission of Holy Names and meets a critical 21st-century need. I am very proud of our faculty for its innovative and creative Sister Rosemarie Nassif and President of Dalian University, thinking and for its dedication to assure that Dr. Pan Chengsheng

international aspects to a new level. Given China’s prominence in our world and the need to expand the opportunities for global perspectives in every student’s educational experience, we will be working diligently to bring this partnership to an actuality in the next year or two.

Your gift transforms the lives of each of our graduates and is the stimulus package that truly makes the most positive difference in our world.

This May 2009 we will send forth over 300 HNU graduates, equipped intellectually and morally to make a positive difference in our world. The present reality they are facing is like no other. All that they have become at Holy Names and all the ways they have learned to creatively navigate unusually challenging questions and issues will be put to serious test. We realize that in today’s economic climate every contribution you make is a significant sacrifice. We want you to know that there is no investment that delivers a more positive return than the investment you make in supporting the quality of a Holy Names University education. We see that return in a powerful way at every HNU Commencement. Your gift transforms the lives of each of our graduates and is the stimulus package that truly makes the most positive difference in our world. This May 2009 we are more deeply grateful than ever for your support and engagement with HNU. You deserve to be as proud as we are on Saturday, May 16!

Happy Commencement 2009!

Gratefully,

Rosemarie Nassif, SSND, PhD President

LIBERATING MINDS • TRANSFORMING LIVES • SINCE 1868

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VOL. XXVI No. 1

S pring 2009

Contents

HNU Today strengthens the shared connection among alumni, the University and the community. The magazine is published two times a year for the University’s alumni and friends by the Office of Institutional Advancement. The diverse opinions expressed in HNU Today do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or polices of Holy Names University.

02 “Water is not for sale” is mantra of campus Earth Week events

spotlight on student, university

Biology undergrad conducts research using new software that’s part of the recent science lab renovation, then has abstract accepted for presentation at prestigious national conference in April.

04 Two new graduate programs

This fall, a new MA in English focuses on “The Writer’s Craft” while a new MBA concentration in the Business Department addresses the great need for management in the energy and environment fields.

07 Six HNU grads are passionate

about their causes

Dedicated alums give it their all, whether working in local government to protect a county’s health care programs or fighting against nuclear weapons.

10 Challenge Campaign successes

Donors step up to help Marie-Rose Durocher Legacy Society’s challenge campaign keep rolling during equally challenging economic times.

16 2 008 Alumni Honor Ball recalls another ball, another time

Comments for the editor may be sent via e-mail to: alumni@hnu.edu

Pair of SNJM-sponsored Earth Week events highlight Sisters’ commitment to safeguarding the planet’s water.

03 New science lab software puts

More than 180 alums, guests, faculty, staff and current HNU students brought back vestiges of HNU’s CoHoNa Balls of the 50s and 60s at Claremont Country Club during Homecoming Weekend.

Holy Names University is a private, four-year, co-ed, Catholic university located on 60 wooded acres in the hills of Oakland, California. An academic community committed to the full development of each student, HNU offers a liberal education rooted in the Catholic tradition, empowering a diverse student body for leadership and service in a diverse world.

Or in writing to: Holy Names University Attn: Alumni Relations 3500 Mountain Boulevard Oakland, CA 94619

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Readers, you can also update your information online at: www.hnu.edu/alumni/alumniUpdateForm.html Universit y Officers

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2 3 4 5 6 7 10 12 14 15

Campus News Student News Faculty News SNJM News Hawk Sports Center Main Feature Fundraising Alumni News Class Notes; In Memoriam 2009 Alumni Awards nominations

Rosemarie Nassif, SSND, PhD, President Dav Cvitkovic, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Stuart Koop, Vice President for Finance and Administration Lizbeth Martin, Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Miller, Vice President for Student Affairs Sr. Carol Sellman, Vice President for Mission Effectiveness Alumni Executive Board President Julie Echaniz ’75 Past Presidents Board President Maura Kelly Koberlein ’84 HNU Today Staff This issue of HNU Today is directed and published by the Office of Institutional Advancement: Executive Editor

Dav Cvitkovic Vice President for Institutional Advancement Contributing Writer and Editor

Rose Marie Cleese Cleese Creative Alumni and SNJM reporter

Sr. Carol Sellman, ’69, ’78 MM Vice President for Mission Effectiveness

On the Cover Every May, Holy Names University sends a fresh crop of graduates out into the world to put their years of learning to both intelligent and compassionate use. Here, HNU president Sister Rosemarie Nassif addresses the Class of ’07.

Design, Production and Photography

Jen Slusser Graphic Designer

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Campus news

Restorative Justice at San Quentin Examined H

oly Names University students and over 90 guests gathered on Wednesday, March 4th, to hear Jack Dison and Bryan Smith speak on the topic of restorative justice, a presentation sponsored by the Catholic Identity Committee of the University.

The Facilitator...

After teaching sociology and criminology at the university level for some 30 years, Jack Dison moved to California where he pursued further graduate studies, including work at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and at the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies at Fresno Pacific University. Over the past five years he has spent much of his time in various restorative justice activities and projects. He facilitates small victim-offender groups at San Quentin and works with Circles of Support and Accountability through Restorative Justice for Oakland youth. During his talk, Dison described restorative justice as a vision and process of doing justice in a format completely different from the criminal justice system.

Restorative justice tries to find ways of healing broken relationships when a crime has been committed. This work views conflict as an opportunity for a community to engage in processes that promote repair, reconciliation, and the rebuilding of relationships while preserving the safety and dignity of all members involved: the victim, the wrongdoer, and the community at large. It is a totally voluntary process that currently exists at San Quentin prison. ...and the Recipient

Bryan Smith, one of four children from a working-class family, found himself in the role of “class clown” when he was in school.

He frequently acted out in school and by his junior year in high school he was using tobacco and drugs to “manage the pain” he felt

Bryan Smith and Jack Dison explore effective program for the incarcerated about being different from others. One evening, he and several other young men were involved in an incident in which another young man was killed. At 19 he was sent to San Quentin where his life was a nightmare. Happily, he met Jack Dison and participated in the restorative justice program that led him away from his denial of this crime to acceptance and rehabilitation. While in San Quentin he participated in many spiritual, educational, vocational, and selfdevelopment programs, including the Victim Offender Education Group. He was paroled from San Quentin State Prison in August 2007 after serving over 20 years for this homicide conviction. He is currently employed in a drug-and-alcohol treatment center in Berkeley where he conducts group sessions and teaches classes.

The audience was totally engaged in listening to the stories these men shared and had the opportunity of experiencing “the holy” through them.

On-Campus Earth Week Events Focus on Safeguarding the Planet’s Water

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he Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary of the US-Ontario Province have taken a public corporate stand to safeguard water, which they espouse as a human right and a public good. Both the lack of water and the commercialization of water have a significant impact on the economic situation and the Sisters maintain that “water is not for sale.”

To promote this SNJM stance, the Sisters who minister at Holy Names University invited the campus community to two educational programs during Earth Week. On Tuesday, April 21st, Holy Names University and Holy Names High School students who participated in projects related to water shared the fruits of their work. Four Holy Names High

School students presented a video they made during their mid-session in January with Blue Planet Run. The video highlights some of the facts about water consumption and encourages reflection on ways to conserve water. Holy Names University students in Vanessa Handley’s biochemistry class made a presentation on the biochemical water analysis project they have been working on to monitor Pyrethroids in our local watersheds. Their results will serve as a resource for both local and regional water regulatory agencies. On Wednesday, April 22nd, the University sponsored a free on-campus showing of the film, Flow, to members of the campus and to the public. Following the viewing of the film, speakers from Food and Water Watch in San Francisco shared additional information with the audience about water conservation in the Bay Area and addressed the questions of those present. At the end of each of these events, those in the audience were given an opportunity to commit to an action regarding the safeguarding of water.

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Student news

Biology student’s research gets national exposure O

n April 17th, at the 2009 National Conference for Undergraduate Research held at the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse, Felicity Harris presented her abstract on the effects of a calming image on one’s exhaling capacity. Chosen from thousands of submissions, Felicity’s abstract, “Visualized Guided Imagery Increases Forced Expiratory Lung Volume (FEV1),” was recognized by the NCUR review committee as “a unique contribution to your field of study. Your scholastic achievements and efforts are impressive and we hope you continue this high standard of excellence into graduate school and beyond.”

Felicity’s advisor, Julia Smith, Professor of Biological Sciences, is the first to admit New lab software enables Felicity Harris to that “the only reason Felic- prepare research abstract to present at leading ity could accomplish what undergrad research conference. she did is because of the new software, part of the science lab renovation intended to provide our students with the resources they need to be competitive in biology.”

Says Felicity, “This particular software from iWorx allows you to calculate pulmonary functions. I wanted to find out whether visualizing a calming image would increase one’s FEV [forced expiratory lung

volume]. I used 19 subjects from HNU and had them imagine such things as humming in their grandmother’s kitchen or listening to the rain from under a blanket. There was a significant difference between the control group and the test group. I found that calming imagery can actually increase volume.”

Professionalism Leads to Publication

When Professor Smith saw “the compelling results” of Felicity’s work, Smith suggested submitting an abstract to NCUR. “I’ve been here 15 years,” says Smith, “and I’ve never seen a biology student take her own research and present it to a wider community. She was able to produce a professional product in an undergraduate class and to be competitive in a professional setting. I believe her research is of a quality to merit publication.”

Felicity’s mentor, Assistant Professor of Biology Jennifer Sherwood, concurs. She is assisting Felicity with her independent study during her final semester, which includes preparing her research results for publication. Says Sherwood, “Felicity is a phenomenal student. I see Felicity’s success as nucleating the process of getting more students involved in doing research with faculty. We have more phenomenal students and the equipment is a great first step in facilitating our students to do research, which is huge for the students for when they are applying to grad school and huge for the University, too. A plus at HNU is that it’s small enough that faculty can spend a lot of time with students as they conduct their research.”

As for Felicity, she’s forging ahead, hoping to obtain a research internship so she can conduct further tests on asthma patients and getting ready to apply for med school. “I’ve wanted to get into medical research ever since I did an internship at Children’s Hospital in Oakland,” Felicity reveals. “I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else.” Now, thanks to HNU’s upgraded science lab, neither can a lot of other people!

Career Fair Opens Doors for HNU Students For nearly two hours on Wednesday, February 25th, some 150 HNU students got a glimpse of today’s job market as 16 employers, plus representatives of HNU’s graduate and civic engagement programs, assembled in the Brennan Lounge to talk up their current and future opportunities. Starting at noon, students dropped by to explore positions ranging from internships and volunteering to part-time jobs and fulltime career positions with employers as diverse as the Chabot Space & Science Center, KBCW/KPIX, the East Bay Regional Park District, the Peace Corps, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, and the Oakland Police Department. A consensus on several things emerged from the questionnaires participating employers left behind: they love the energy and diversity of HNU students; they think that student job fairs are an extremely important tool in the current economy, allowing for networking and honing of interview skills; and, if you’re going to speak a second language, Spanish is number one with Chinese a distant second.

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faculty news

Two Exciting New Post-Graduate Offerings New Books by

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wo post-graduate programs coming to the HNU campus in the next 12 months have both the right and the left sides of the brain covered! Available starting next fall, “The Writer’s Craft” is a new MA degree from the English department that promises to enable writers to “live the writing life.”

The Business Department will broaden the timeliness and practicality of its offerings when its Energy and Environment Management Concentration for HNU’s MBA program rolls out in the spring of 2010.

Dr. Dan Schmidt Dan Schmidt, director of “The Writer’s Craft” MA program, waxes enthusiastically about the new program that combines all the kinds of writing he’s dabbled in himself. Dr. Schmidt explains, “This master’s offers something both useful and unique in that it combines creative writing with professional and teaching writing instead of focusing on just one.” Participants in the program will be able to create their own individualized program of classes and workshops and receive input from colleagues, higher-ups, and professional writers. “The program slogan,” he reveals, “is ‘Write to Live. Live to write.’ and resonates with people who see writing as their passion.” Beth Martin, VP for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, relishes the innovative structure of “The Writer’s Craft.” She says, “Students get to learn about different kinds of writing and choose master teachers who can offer mentoring remotely. This is not the same old masters in English!”

Meanwhile, over in the Business Department, Director of the MBA program Jim Durbin and colleague Dr. Paolo Ricci ready the Energy and Environment Management Con-

centration, a vital new component of HNU’s MBA program that addresses a huge need in a highly critical high-growth area that is becoming a major piece of the U.S Government’s domestic agenda and addresses international concerns about global warming, biodiversity sustainability, and people’s health. In his proposal, Professor Durbin states, “It is essential that HNU take a leading role in this field as soon as possible. …HNU has strong and growing biology, physics, business, and nursing programs for undergraduates; the graduate MBA program has the exact mix of expertise and international qualifications that makes this proposed specialization inevitable, as well as necessary, for both HNU and the national and international communities.” At the outset, Dr. Paolo Ricci, an industry expert and HNU business professor, will teach the three courses being developed expressly for this concentration. He observes, “From climate change to green technologies to nuclear energy, national and international needs must be met by practical solutions that require advanced, yet practical, academic training.” Ricci believes what makes this offering unique is that it’s based on science business analysis.

HNU Faculty

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ook for two compelling books written by HNU faculty in your local bookstore or favorite book e-tailer in the coming months, each of which, in two very different ways, helps we beleaguered humans to live a more centered, fuller, realized life.

Exploring the third age of nurses

The chair of HNU’s Department of Nursing, Fay Bowers, DNSc, FAAN, has just coauthored with Dr. William A. Sandler, Professor of Sociology and Business at HNU, a 180-page book that offers “third-age” nurses ways to rethink, remap, and renew their careers during their next stage of life. Why Retire? Career Strategies for Third-Age Nurses addresses the new paradigm on aging, the Third Age, or that period of life from ages 50 to 75 that has traded in its negative images of decline, disuse, and disease for energy, renewal, and growth. This practical, paperbound book, scheduled for April 2009 publication, helps nurses younger than 50 integrate the book’s principles into future career plans. For nurses into their Third Age, there is a wealth of wisdom and strategies for maximizing these years. And healthcare leaders will find this guidebook an essential resource in dealing with the nursing shortage. Publisher is Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing.

Associate Professor Jim Durbin and Dr. Paolo Ricci Vice President for Academic Affairs Beth Martin affirms the urgent need for management in this area, stating, “We want to train people who can deal creatively with complex, cuttingedge problems, problems that we haven’t had to deal with as a society before, in regard to energy sources, uses, and policy. We’re responding to a current need that’s even more urgent in this economic environment.”

Fay Bowers, DNSc, FAAN

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snjm news

SNJM On-Campus Presence Grows

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e are pleased to announce that in January Susan Wells, snjm, was appointed the Coordinator for Civic Engagement and Special Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs. In this position, Sr. Susan helps promote student success and deepen the students’ experi-

Sr. Maureen Hester

Father James Conlon Dawn and dusk are focus of this Book of Hours

While Bowers and Sandler’s new book deals with one’s public life, Father James Conlon, Director of HNU’s Sophia Center, has written a book that takes one on a decidedly inner journey. Recently acquired for publication by Wyndham Hall Press, Conlon’s eighth book, Beauty, Wonder and Belonging: A Book of Hours for the Monastery of the Cosmos, unlike a usual Book of Hours, focuses only on dawn and dusk, the most transitional and dramatic times of each day, to provide “a context in which to integrate humanity’s emerging vision of the world of beauty, wonder and belonging with the practice of everyday engagement in life. … As each person ponders his or her destiny, the book helps the reader prepare to enter the portal of each new moment with the curiosity of a child, the heart of a mystic and the voice of a prophet.” The book’s seven chapters are divided into the days of the week with each one assigned a particular theme. Within each chapter are brief commentaries or musings on seven components, such as Theme, Reflection, Prophetic Voices, and Response.

Father Conlon reflects, “There is a generation of seekers, ‘urban contemplatives,’ who are looking to lead a more interior life, feeling a call to a greater depth while wanting to maintain a connection with everyday life.”

Those with a need for deep cultural therapy will welcome Conlon’s latest work. Publication date is yet to be determined.

Sr. Susan Wells ences as citizen leaders and citizens of the campus. She collaborates with students, faculty, and staff in organizing programs and services that align with the mission and vision of the University and its strategic plan to ensure a positive experience for all students. In this new role, Sister Susan traveled with students to Tutwiler, Mississippi, for spring break where they helped build homes with Habitat for Humanity and interacted with the SNJM staff and students in the Tutwiler Community Center. Welcome, Sister Susan!

Following her recent retirement, Sr. Maureen Hester has returned to campus to open the Office of Social Justice and Civic Engagement. To prepare for this work she attended a national training meeting of Campus Compact at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. Campus Compact was founded by four university presidents in the 1980s and now represents some 6 million students dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement, and servicelearning in higher education. Sr. Maureen serves as our liaison between this important organization and civic engagement efforts throughout our campus. Through a grant she offered two faculty training sessions last fall, which enabled HNU to sponsor four service-learning classes this spring. Working with Sr. Shirley Sexton who coordinates student placements, Sister Maureen has 50 students doing community-based learning experiences this semester. We are pleased that Sr. Hester remains a vital part of the HNU campus community!

Eight Sisters of the Holy Names Celebrate 50 Years The Sisters of the Holy Names rejoiced with those sisters who celebrated their 50th anniversary of profession on Saturday, April 18th, at St. Cecilia Church in San Francisco.

All but one of the Sisters were alumnae of Holy Names University. Those celebrating their Golden Jubilee were: Sr. Elizabeth Adams ’60, Associate Professor of Music at HNU from 1973 to 2005; Sr. Dolores Barling ’64; Sr. Deborah Church ’61, Associate Professor of History at HNU from 1979 to 2007; Sr. Doreen Crossett ’55; Sr. Sharon Francis ’65; Sr. Margaret Kinzie ’66; Sr. Margaret Lynch; and Sr. Dianne Nixon ’67. Also remembered during the ceremony was Sr. Margaret Airey, who entered the community with these sisters, but died in January of 1972.

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hawk sports center

New Athletic Director’s

First 250 Days D

ennis Jones ’98 has been wearing the cleats of HNU’s Athletic Director for less than a year, but his athletic coaching connection with the University began long before 2008. Before he took the helm of HNU sports on July 1st, he had been the men’s head basketball coach for four seasons and coach of the women’s basketball team for six seasons before that. And as an undergraduate student pursuing a BA in history and social science, Jones was on the HNU basketball team. Currently doing double duty as the men’s basketball coach while heading up the University’s athletic program, Jones took some time out on March 6th to reflect on his first 250 days as Athletic Director.

sports events, photos, videos, blogs and a forum. Once students sign up, all sections of the site are open to them.

“This has been a real joy to me,” Jones shared, “As the athletic director, I’m much more connected to all the teams. Plus I have a great group of eight coaches. I’ve learned that certain things take time, so I’ve had to look at everything and say that these are the things we can do right now and these other things are for later.” So far, “the things that we can do right now” add up to an impressive lot.

The final piece of Jones’ trifecta is the Champions of Character program, which also began last fall. HNU instituted this program in collaboration with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to instill in students an understanding of character values in sport and also provide practical tools for student-athletes, coaches, and parents to use in building exemplary character traits. Student-athletes volunteer their time with such organizations as Habitat for Humanity and the Alameda County Food Bank. In addition to training, guidelines, and behavior models, the program also includes a Champions of Character fellowship open to those in their fifth year of participation. For more information, visit: http://www.hnuhawks. com/intercollegiateAthletics/championsCharacter.html.

New athletics head pulls off hat trick in first months One of Jones’ most visible accomplishments is the launching of the Sports Department’s social networking site, hawkpower.ning.com, last September. Said Jones, “This new site is on the cutting edge of social networking and is very user- and reader-friendly, thanks in large part to Greg Hutton [mens’ golf coach and campus webmaster] who helped get it up and running. It has terrific visual impact, it’s good for recruiting, and it gives a better sense of “you are there” at the games. For parents who live far away, it’s their connection with their kids’ games.”

The interactive site includes a list of imminent HNU

Also launched in the fall of 2008 was the new Experiential Learning Program (ELP), designed to give HNU graduate students the opportunity to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world settings.

Currently, there are 11 graduate students in the program, with six other positions open (e.g., women’s soccer, golf). Appointments last up to a year; participants receive up to six units a semester and an on-campus living space. Learn more at: http://www.hnu.edu/studentLife/learningCommunities/experientialLearning.html.

Jones mused, “ We’ve been doing a lot recently, so much more now to help our athletes than 10 years ago…and we should be. We’re not just focusing on games and budgets, but also on other programs to help make them successful. As this first year gets closer to the end, I’m both happy and sad: happy about what’s been accomplished in the last eight months but sad to see some of the students go as they graduate. But I also have a great sense of moving forward to next fall!”

HNU Athletic Accomplishments: 1994–2008 5 California Pacific Athletic Conference All-Sports Awards: 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2005–06 35 Conference Championships 22 NAIA National Tournament Appearances 22 Regional Tournament Appearances 2 Regional Championships 23 Conference MVPs 27 Academic All-Americans 23 NAIA All-Americans 17 Conference Coach of the Year Awards

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FEATURE

Two strong bonds unite the six alumni profiled in this article: their fierce, unrelenting commitment to serving their fellow human beings and a deep appreciation of their time spent at HNU. From a vocal anti-nuclear-bomb activist to a public health nurse quietly going her way to affect change, these exemplary individuals have trod the extra mile to help better the lives of the sick, the less fortunate, the troubled, and, yes, even every person on the planet.

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Jeanne Boyce, MA ’81 Honored by Calaveras County as “Government Person of the Year”

Since December 1999, Jeanne Boyce MA ’81 has been director of the Calaveras County Health Services Agency, whose mission is to provide public health and behavioral health (mental health and substance abuse) services to the County’s citizens. In January she was selected as the Government Person of the Year by the Calaveras Enterprise Advisory Board, recognized for her nine years as director, overseeing the agency’s departments and providing legal, political, and financial administration. In an interview that appeared in The Calaveras Enterprise in January, Boyce, 54, who controls the largest budgets in the county, discussed the agency’s accomplishments and the challenges she faces in these tough economic times. “My biggest challenge has been the lack of resources,” the widely respected director reveals. “There is always a need for more funding and more staff. You simply learn to live within certain constraints.” Living with the current state budget situation that she likens to “a house of cards,” Boyce has been able to establish perinatal and drug court programs, which she calls “my two proudest moments.”

The three years she spent at HNU getting a master’s in education and human development played a huge role in leading her to a public policy career. “After I got my BA in liberal arts at San Francisco State in the 70s, I was living and working in San Francisco. I wanted to get my master’s and HNU had one of very few evening masters programs back then; it catered to working professionals, plus it had a more intimate learning environment,” she recalls. “When I earned my MA in 1981, I also received a certificate in gerontology, which was very unique at the time. The MA and the certificate changed my life because they got me into public policy. Shortly after, I met a state assemblyman who served on the assembly health committee and dealt with senior issues. I ended up working with him as a consultant in the Legislature and I’ve been in public policy ever since.”

Anne Symens-Bucher, ’82

Jeffrey Core, ’02

Lifelong peace activist named “Catholic Woman of the Year”

Holy Names University graduate’s long, winding road to ordination

Last November, Anne Symens-Bucher ’82, a cofounder of the Nevada Desert Experience, a pacifist organization formed in the early 1980s to promote peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons, was one of two East Bay women honored as Catholic Woman of the Year by the Catholic Charities of the East Bay at its annual award ceremony. When Symens-Bucher was majoring in community studies at UCSanta Cruz, she read a book about the Catholic Worker Movement and, leaving college, headed to New York to become more involved. “After a year in New York, I felt ready to finish my education,” the 51-year-old social activist recalls.

“My mom [Rita O’Neill Bucher ’54] was such a Holy Names girl. The relationships she kept with her Holy Names friends left a big impression on me. I decided to apply to Holy Names and when I handed her the letter of acceptance, it meant a lot to her. I was in my mid-20s and had come back really excited about learning, finishing 36 units in one year. I had incredible teachers and so much freedom to create what was meaningful to me, such as doing my thesis on the dropping of the atomic bomb. It was a great full year for me, to have intellectual and philosophical dimensions of learning attached to my activism.”

In June of 2011, Jeffrey Core ’02 will be ordained a diocesan priest after four years of theological studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. It’s been quite a circuitous journey for the 38-year-old native of Washington State. After graduating from high school in 1989, he worked at a number of jobs. But when he chaperoned a youth function, suddenly young adult ministry became an option.

“I thought maybe I should be doing more than working as a chef,” Core relates. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans, studying at the novitiate in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and taking simple vows at Santa Inez in California. In 1998, when he moved to the House of Studies in Berkeley, he knew he finally had to address his lack of a college degree.

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was a radical at Catholic Worker,” she reflects. “Now I want the peace movement to be more peaceful. I believe peace comes into our world one relationship at a time. We have to foster relationships with people with whom we disagree, reaching out with openness about why people do what they do.” For many years, Symens-Bucher was a co-director of the Franciscan’s Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation office. Today, she and her husband, Terry, are collaborative trainers at Bay Area Nonviolent Communication, helping couples and parents learn to communicate in a positive, non-confrontational manner.

“I decided Holy Names was where I’d be best off,” Core says. “I had zero experience with colleges, and something clicked. There was a sense of community, a small-town feel in the middle of the Bay Area. And the professors, while they were incredibly available and flexible, held us to a very high standard. In my last year, I was elected class president and then chosen by my classmates to be commencement speaker. I still hold this as a very high honor — like getting a SAG award instead of an Oscar® — when you’re chosen by your peers.”

After earning his BA in history and philosophy at HNU, Core worked several years for Oakland Park and Rec (“philosophical historians are not in big demand”) and then worked at the Idaho Food Bank and in young adult ministries with Diocese of Boise. After working in campus ministry at the University of Great Falls in Montana, he attended the seminary in the Diocese of Spokane and in the fall of 2007 entered the Theological College at the Catholic University of America. Looking back on his long journey, Core says, “HNU was one of the best experiences of my life…easily among the happiest of my life thus far.”

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Maria Herrington, ’04

English Project invited back to remote Mexican settlement for second year This coming July, Maria Herrington ’04, who teaches Spanish part time at HNU, will head to a remote corner of Mexico for the second summer in a row to bring English — and more — to a small ejido (indigenous communal land granted by the government) whose 750 or so inhabitants are Ch’oi, direct descendants of the ancient Maya. Herrington’s “Teach English in Chiapas Project” came about because of a meeting in San Francisco with Don Alfredo, a native of that ejido, Ignacio Allende. Alfredo has been working to bring economic and educational help to Ignacio Allende, and Herrington, 26, who was working on her masters in Latin American Studies at UCBerkeley, determined that she wanted to help.

“The goal of my project is to help this marginalized indigenous group compete in Chiapas’ tourist-driven economy,” explains Herrington, “and also help them preserve their native traditions. At HNU the service learning portion of my education and my work in student government gave me focus and a foundation. I learned to be not only a member but also an activist in the community. I hope my project espouses that: serving as well as teaching.”

Herrington’s project began last year and included a single two-week session during which Herrington and five other women taught English lessons for two hours each day to students aged 12 and up and also helped two families with their tourist-based business plans. At the end of the session, the community asked the group to return. “This year, we have a pair of two-week sessions planned and a goal of 12 participants per session,” Herrington outlines. “Also, in addition to teaching English, we’ll be introducing a community literacy program, basic hygiene and sports for both girls and boys, and a journal project that involves the students writing and making their own books.” For more information or to sign up for one of this summer’s sessions, go to myspace.com/chiapasproject. As of press time, there were still 10 openings available out of a total of 24 spots.

Letteria Fletcher, ’06 After taking the “next step,” what’s next? Giving back.

When Letteria Fletcher ’06 received her BA in psychology in the spring of 2006, she made a bit of history. She was the first student from the Next Step Learning Center to graduate from HNU. The odds of her finding Next Step were not stacked in her favor. Homeless. Drug-addicted mother. Runaway. High school dropout. Alcoholism. Drug addiction. Today Fletcher not only has her BA but also a masters in psychology from HNU (’08) and now works at Youth Emergency Assistance Hostel, counseling homeless youth transitioning out of the foster care system (“I wake up every morning grateful that I get to do what I do”). Within a year, she will be a licensed marriage and family therapist.

It all started to turn around for Fletcher in 1997 when she checked into the Chrysalis women’s treatment center in Oakland. Says Fletcher, “The ability to accept help is really a big factor.” When she was six months into sobriety she told her counselor, Sister Lorraine, that she was thinking of going back to bartending. Sister Lorraine quickly steered her to Next Step Learning Center, the adult literacy program founded in 1994 in Oakland by the Sisters of the Holy Names and run by Center CoDirector Sr. Cynthia Canning, SNJM. “The Sisters worked with me one on one,” Fletcher relates.

“They turned every small victory into an opportunity to convince me I was smart.” When Fletcher had trouble passing the math section of the GED, the Sisters tutored her, discovered she had dyslexia, and helped her overcome it. She finally passed the dreaded math section of the GED. “As a young African American woman whose grandma cleaned houses for a living and whose mother used drugs for much of her life and never finished high school, it never occurred to me that my life could be any different,” says Fletcher.

“That’s why it’s so important to have somebody who believes in you and can help you craft a different vision for your future. I send a lot of our kids to Next Step. I try to show them that I believe in them, most often before they are ready to believe in themselves. Next Step and the Sisters did this for me and it has made all the difference.”

Claudia Benton, ’08

Alum named Ventura County’s “2009 Community Nurse of the Year” On February 12, Claudia Benton MSN ’08 had the honor of being named 2009 Community Nurse of the Year in Ventura County at the annual David C. Fainer Awards ceremony. The awards are given “to individuals whose personal ethics and professional performance reflect Dr. Fainer’s ideals of involvement, commitment, and contributions to health care in the community.” In also receiving certificates of recognition and congratulations from the California State Assembly and Congress and surrounded by her husband, four children, friends, and co-workers, Benton, 43, was overwhelmed and acknowledged to those gathered that it was humbling to be given such an honor in the company of other honorees with up to 55 years of service in the County. Her award acknowledged her work in orienting and mentoring other nurses, empowering people to advocate for themselves, and offering very positive, culturally sensitive care.

Benton’s own history of nursing began in Colombia, South America, when she received a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1989 from a Jesuit university in Bogota. In 1993, a year after arriving in the U.S., she passed the two-day test for RN on her first attempt. In 2006, she was invited by the California Nurses’ Foundation to be a member of a Blue Ribbon panel that met once a month to train nurses in Oakland on Cultural Awareness Education for Clinical Staff in a Health Care Setting. When Benton heard about the HNU masters program, she jumped at the chance to sign up. For the next two years, in conjunction with her Blue Panel meeting, she stayed at Founders Hall while she studied. “I really liked the professors, the level of education, the flexibility, plus the broadcast aspect allowed me to work full time in Ventura!” she enthused.

Next on Benton’s agenda is a PhD, but in the meantime, she’ll continue to focus on public health, making home visits to the underprivileged, and providing home education.

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fundraising

Generous Response to the Challenge Campaign H

NU Today informed its readers in its Fall 2008 edition of our Marie-Rose Durocher Legacy Society challenge campaign. Since that announcement, Maura and Derril Koberlein agreed to help us raise $1,000,000 in planned gifts during the next four years by matching every two dollars of newly declared planned gifts up to a maximum amount designated by them.

We are also pleased to share with you that we have several new members of the Legacy Society, two of whom we are highlighting in this issue: Wyn Ernest and Ann Reynolds.

eficiary of Ernest’s Trust, the Wyn Ernest Endowed Scholarship was created. Ernest’s concern with our country’s healthcare system continues with the new administration in Washington, D.C. Recently she said, “I hope and trust that [the new way of dealing with health issues] will not negate adequate and effective care for us older citizens. My experience of a hospital stay goes back; I can remember when a patient got a backrub by a nurse every night!!” Thank you, Wyn, for your caring concern for the nursing program at Holy Names University and our ability to touch the lives of so many who are in need of excellent health care.

Ann Reynolds has made it her life’s work, as a teacher, tutor, counselor, and educational consultant, to help young people achieve their full learning potential. Reynolds’ interest in Holy Names University stems from her association with Arlene Sargent, former chairperson of the Nursing Department, and as a member of the HNU Nursing Leadership Board. Reynolds provided the vitality and leadership that helped raise $300,000 in support of the development of the Master of Science in Nursing program at Holy Names University. She shares

her vision, energy, and expertise as a trustee of Holy Names and she is a member of the Enrollment Management and Institutional Advancement committees of the Board. In the fall of 2006 the Ann Reynolds Scholarship was established for women entering the MBA program at HNU. Reynolds believes in the mission of Holy Names University, especially its emphasis on reaching out to those who might not attend college. In her experience, when the University receives donations, they are carefully and frugally spent and used to the maximum. She has waxed spontaneously about Holy Names, “I like being there! I have even audited several classes during the past few years. HNU has a good nurturing feeling.

It is an exciting place to learn!” With this in mind, she generously responded to our challenge campaign and informed us that we will be remembered in her estate plans.

Thank you, Ann! Your generosity is inspiring. Ann and her husband, Jon, have created a lasting legacy of giving that is truly unparalleled. Thank you, Ann and Jon, for your inspiring leadership.

Two new scholarships created Wyn Ernest first came to know Holy Names University because one of our nursing students treated her in a health facility near her home in Vacaville. Ernest was so impressed with the care she received, she contacted the University about the possibility of creating a scholarship for nursing students, particularly those interested in geriatric work. She and her son came to visit the campus last fall and met with Fay Bower, chairperson of the Nursing Department, and one of the students in the MSN program. Based on this visit, Ernest was sold on Holy Names University!

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fundraising

HNU Student Center slated for fall opening Students returning to the HNU campus on Wednesday, August 26th, to begin their Fall 2009 semester will find a brandnew Student Center awaiting them on the ground floor of Brennan Hall. The transformation of the Hall into a 15,800-squarefoot, full-service Student Center with classrooms, faculty offices, lounge space, food services, a technology support center, and a café-style outdoor patio is a remarkable accomplishment that will have taken just 1-1/2 years from conception to completion.

In addition, the funds for the $1.25 million capital project have come together in this short period of time, actually having exceeded the goal at press time by $10,000.

“Despite a very difficult economic time,” says Dav Cvitkovic, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, “our donors have been very resilient and we’re particularly appreciative of their generosity. We’re thrilled to have reached our goal and then some on the eve of the renovation. I want to thank all of those who jumped at this special opportunity to advance the student experience on campus.”

The Student Center renovation begins immediately after spring commencement on May 12th, giving contractors just 3-1/2 months to put together HNU’s new stateof-the-art Student Center, which includes an academic wing with classrooms, faculty offices, and a new faculty development center, plus conversion of the current Brennan Lounge into a new advancedTechnology Support Center. The Hall’s other wing will offer students lounges for individual or group study, as well as a host of student services centers offering learning and tutoring, laptop computer loaners, career guidance, health and wellness materials, and civic engagement opportunities. In the St. Francis Courtyard, students will enjoy snacking and kicking back on the new patio. With HNU experiencing its largest enrollments in its history, the Student Center is expected to be a greatly welcomed new “heart and hub” of the University campus for resident, commuter, and adult students alike.

The Life and Legacy of Robert Summers Last fall we received word that former Regent, Robert Summers, who died in August, had remembered Holy Names University very generously in his will. The result of this bequest, the Robert W. Summers and Beverly Summers Scholarship, will target students who are interested in pursuing careers in science/medicine and journalism.

able to get many gifts for Holy Names from Chevron through the years, but the greatest gift was Bob himself.”

Bob was generous to Holy Names in numerous ways. He introduced many business leaders to Holy Names and he participated in every event sponsored by the College. De-

Robert Summers and his sister, Beverly In gratitude for his gift, a memorial Mass was celebrated in McLean Chapel on February 26th, the sixth-month anniversary of Bob’s death. After HNU president, Sister Rosemarie Nassif, welcomed our guests, Sister Irene Woodward, who had been president when Bob was most active with Holy Names, shared her reflections of his life. She recalled, “During this time, we also started an annual Business Symposium, bringing the business and civic leaders together on our campus for a full day, to dream and plan together for a better Oakland and East Bay. We were fortunate to have some significant leaders in the corporate world of Oakland as members of our Boards, but we did not know anyone from Chevron, which had recently moved its corporate headquarters out of San Francisco to San Ramon, and which was eager to establish good relations with this new part of the world. The gift from Chevron to us, one that has endured to this day, was the assigning of Bob Summers, their manager of public affairs for the East Bay, to head up their relationship to Holy Names. Through his position, he was

spite his frequent presence, Bob was never imposing nor did he seek the limelight. Sr. Irene concluded by saying, “So, when Bob died last summer, we had grateful memories of a truly gentle man, and we will always hold them fondly and sacredly. But the story is not finished. Bob did one final thing in the same way he had done everything — quietly, modestly, without bringing attention to himself, but with deep loyalty and devotion. I might say that he fulfilled every university president’s dream: to learn one day that someone has left the institution a very significant amount of money for student scholarships. We had no idea that he included us in his will, much less, such a very large gift.”

Thank you, Bob, for your service to Holy Names University over the years and especially for remembering our students so thoughtfully — your partnership with us will enable our students to achieve their dreams of receiving a college education.

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Homecoming

ALUMNI NEWS

2008 1948

Class of 1948

Class members in attendance at Homecoming included Cathryne Keys Allan, Margaret Bendorf Callahan, Claire McAleer Canning, Sr. Paul Gerard Gustafson, Andine O’Connell Hadfield, Mary McEnhill McInerney, Julia Morrell, and Ginnie Moran Rarig.

Class of 1958

1958

Class members in attendance at Homecoming included Barbara McKinley Affolter, Angela Campbell Backman, Toni Grupalo Caulfield, Marie McCoy Frisbie, Sr. Joan Katheryn Giubergia, Rosemary Knight Harrar, Maureen Sullivan Jacobs, Claudia Harshner Johnson, Mary Joyce, Mary Anne Johnson Kaarto, Jeanette Pelusi MacDonald, Sydney Nunez Perryman, Karen Jorgensen Profet, Ellie Robertson, Angela Griffith Skrivanich, Sr. Della Stanton, Anna Turner Stephens, Sheila Scanlon Wilkins, Carmen LaRossa Williams, Ann Rowland Young, and Marcia Stone Zimmerman.

Class of 1963

1963

Class members who attended Homecoming events on campus included Joan McGlynn Cattalini, Clara Felix George, and Maria Elena Armanino Lawbaugh.

Class of 1968

1968

Class members in attendance at Homecoming included Kathy Mendonca Adleman, Patricia Loftus Allegretti, Marylouise Amarante Bailey, Micaela Mena Baker, Carmen Rocha Bergmann, Grace Prindiville Campbell, Kathleen Rebello Collins, Sandy Colombo, Rosemary Cortez, Kit O’Malley Doerr, Antoinette Cardinale Ericksen, Dolores Fiscalini, Judith Herman Grady, Mary Meyerle Kelly, Charlotte Pacheco Lundberg, Nancy Yerby McCormick, Patsy McKittrick, Carol Alm Porter, Paula Dyste Rothling, Susie Schnieders, Lois Mayer Sonneman, Sr. Nancy Teskey , Pat Mulera Vallejo, Marianne Bleymaier Ware, and Shirley Smyer Watson.

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ALUMNI NEWS

1973

1978

Class of 1973 Class members in attendance at Homecoming included Maureen Murphy Bergondy, Loretta DiLoretno Caughran, Kip Thomas Dettmer, Barb Witt Garcia, Phil Gibson, Colleen Freitas Manak, Ronda Theisen, and Dolores Andorka Travis.

Class of 1978

1988

Class members who attended Homecoming events on campus included Marie Thornton Johnson and Barbara Koehler Rogers.

Class of 1988 Class members who attended Homecoming events on campus included Anne-Dunlap Kahren and Michael Mosby.

Class of 2003 Class members who attended Homecoming events on campus included Kether Dooley and Ann Connolly Olson.

Class of 2008

2003

Class members in attendance at Homecoming included Katie Clark, Tiffany Ho, Stephanie Jimenez, Jennifer Perkins, Martha Spivey, Liz Widren, and Andrew Wilson.

Put Yourself in the Picture

2008

Homecoming Weekend 2009!

October 9 & 10 Save the Date!

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Class Notes

07

66

97

Susan E. Lawrence ’66 “I retired in June from teaching at Marin Catholic High School after 40 years of teaching.”

Theresa D. Handis ’07 “Thank you to all the instructors and staff for a wonderful experience at HNU!”

Karen Lowden Abude ’97 became a mother this year, for the third time, to Mario Makan Abude.

Tina Lowden ’97 is now a docent at Christ the Light Cathedral in Oakland.

96

Vivian M Prater ’96 “I lost my husband, Wallace, on 6/22/08. He had a blood clot in his leg that went to his lungs. We enjoyed 30 years and 9 months of marital bliss.”

72

Bettye Hornsby-Burns ’72 is HNC junior class 1949–50, Raskob Institute of Learning graduate 1972, Reading Specialist, M.Ed., and retired teacher.

Nathalia Lie Hwang ’72 “I miss the Lab and the old school. Wish I were young again.

I just returned from China visiting one of its best schools. Once a year, the China Ministry of Education has a teachers’ conference, all expenses paid, for teachers in China. I met teachers from Tibet, Mongolia, Sinkiang, Singapore and Malaysia.”

71

Katherine Donovan Perez ’71 Dr. Perez, a professor at St. Mary’s College, has a best-selling book from Corwin Press: More Than 100 Brain-Friendly Tools and Strategies for Literacy Instruction. Her next book is Differentiated for teachers.

Rosalie Bracco Reberg ’71 “I remain committed to education, spending 22 years as a teacher and the last 13 in school administration. I am currently principal of Bernard Hughes Elementary School in Modesto.”

70

Theresa Ward Jung ’70 “After 7½ years back in the Oxnard house I grew up in, Alan and I find ourselves moving back to Boise where we raised our four children. Three children, one son-in-law, and two grandchildren live in Idaho. The fourth calls Portland home.

Alan is looking to retire to golf, fish, and consult. I hope to be back working in the church.”

Judith A. Craig ’66 “Retirement is great!”

64

Bernice Marlow Chamberlain ’64 turned 90 in June. She has lived at Sun City, Roseville, for the last 12 years and enjoys playing 18 holes of golf three times a week. When Toni Simon-Windy, class of ’65, visited Bernice, the nonagenarian had just hit a score of 104. After teaching in the Oakland school district for 17 years, she has enjoyed her retirement and stays fit by playing golf.

60

Clarice Condon Hill ’60 “My husband, Terry, and I are both retired after each teaching for 40 years.

I keep busy with five grandchildren, helping at the Ojai Valley Museum and pursuing my love of art, calligraphy, illustration, and stitchery.”

57

Mary Ann Marinak ’57 “I’m still doing what I love — playing the violin in String Quartet and other chamber music, working in my garden, and teaching private violin students in my home are still my first priorities.”

56

Margaret Foley Ward ’56 “I am grateful for the scholarship that helped me begin my college years at Holy Names at the Lake. The best teachers were in our classrooms and wonderful classmates were our friends.”

42

Elizabeth M. Chadwick ’42 “I retired from the University of Arizona and at 87 am still active in the Opera Guild of Southern Arizona. After 54 years in Tucson, I’m almost a desert rat!”

I n M em o riam Christiane K. Monroe ’91 April 7, 2008 Jeanette Marie Bolce, SNJM ’63 August 17, 2008 Mary Theresa Cruz MacGillivray ’55 September 18, 2008 Leonie Holloway Allen Cassidy ’76 October 31, 2008 Joan Marie McNamara MacIntyre ’54 (Sister of Patricia McNamara Schnell ’56) November 8, 2008 Roberta Mary Furrer, SNJM ’42 November 24, 2008 Paul Godkin (Regent Emeritus of the University) November 29, 2008 Kathy Huebner ’80 December 10, 2008 Mary Teresina Bretz, SNJM ’57 December 17, 2008 Charlotte Bettencourt Wixson ’63 December 22, 2008 Francis Gerard FitzPatrick, Sr. (Regent Emeritus of the University, husband of Mary Nunes FitzPatrick ’46, RIP) December 30, 2008 Peggy Ann Welp McNamara ’53 February 16, 2009 Cecelia Eifert Desmond ’61 March 7, 2009 Dorothea L. Murphy ’37 March 15, 2009

HNALink Join now by going to: www.hnu.edu/alumni Stay connected with HNU and your classmates by joining the alumni online community. Update your class notes online and find fellow alumni.

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5/5/09 11:00:30 AM

Holy Names University 2009 Alumni Awards

Make your

nomination today!

What are the Alumni Awards?

For over 30 years the Holy Names University Alumni Association has been honoring outstanding alumni and members of the faculty who provide service and leadership in their communities, their church, or at the University. The Alumni Association has also recognized those with extraordinary accomplishments in their career. A challenge for any organization is finding ways to make long-standing and meaningful traditions vibrant and pertinent today as its constituency grows and changes. The same holds true for the Alumni Association, which is currently in the process of reviewing the type and number of awards.

How can I participate?

If you know of a deserving alum or faculty member who has greatly benefited the University or his or her community or profession please nominate him/her in recognition of that individual’s service, dedication, and achievements. If you have ideas about the types of awards that the Alumni Association should consider please submit those suggestions.

What if I’m not sure about whom I’d like to nominate?

There are many deserving members of the Alumni Association and the University faculty. Even if you just have an idea, send it our way and we’ll research it further.

2009 Nomination Form The Holy Names University Alumni Association recognizes exceptional faculty and alumni on an annual basis. Faculty are recognized for outstanding service to the University. Alumni are recognized for outstanding achievement in a profession, exceptional service to the Church or the community, or outstanding volunteer service to the Alumni Association and the University.

Please nominate a deserving professor or member of the Alumni Association in recognition of his/her service, dedication and achievements. You may make copies of this form to fax or mail to the Alumni Association.

Thank you.

My Name

Address

City/State/Zip Code

Phone

E-mail

Name of Nominee

Statement of Support

How can I submit my nomination or award suggestions?

You may fax or mail copies of this form to the Alumni Association or submit your nomination electronically. Fax the form to (510) 436-1233 or mail it to Holy Names University, Attn: Alumni Relations, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, CA 94619 or e-mail us at alumni@hnu.edu. (To download a nomination form, go to www.hnu.edu and key in “2009 Alumni Awards” in the search box.)

Please prepare a statement or attach the following: • A listing of the nominee’s outstanding contributions or achievements • Professional and/or volunteer activities and recognition • Letters of support

✁

What if I am interested in serving on the Alumni Awards Committee?

Please contact Julie Echaniz, HNUAA president, at echaniz_tj@ yahoo.com, or Steven Borg, HNUAA Awards Committee chairperson, at steven.borg@calbt.com. Or you may call the HNU Alumni Relations Office at (510) 436-1240.

All nominations must be received by June 15, 2009

Fax to: (510) 436-1233 Mail to: Alumni Relations, HNU, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, CA 94619 E-mail to: alumni@hnu.edu

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HNU’s CoHoNa Ball Redux

Popular ball from the 50s and 60s makes its 21st-century debut

A

wonderful new addition to HNU’s Homecoming Weekend, truth be told, is not totally new. Last September’s Alumni Honor Ball, held at the Claremont Country Club, had its roots in HNU’s CoHoNa Ball, an annual gala dinner dance held annually in the 50s and 60s at various venues around the Oakland area. Sounding ever so much like a Hawaiian dance or volcano, the name

Guests are warmly welcomed to the Claremont Country Club for the 2008 Alumni Honor Ball of the annual ball was actually a contraction of the College of Holy Names. The Ball was something alumni looked forward to anxiously every year.

Last year’s affair not only marked the rebirth of an annual alumni tradition but also the 140th anniversary of Holy Names University. Some 110 alumni, along with 50-plus alumni guests and over 20 other faculty, staff, and current HNU students gathered at the Claremont Country Club on Saturday,

September 6th, for an evening of dining, dancing, and, of course, non-stop reminiscing. Event co-chair and Alumni Executive Board President Julie Echaniz ’75 recounts, “When the Alumni Executive Board started planning Homecoming 2008, we talked about having an evening event, something elegant, especially in light of the fact that we were also celebrating HNU’s 140-year anniversary. HNU alumna Rosaleen Kelly ’55 had mentioned that the Claremont Country Club was the site of an earlier CoHoNa Ball [1953] and through her we were able to secure the Club for last September’s ball. We are extremely grateful to Rosaleen and her husband, Jim, an HNU trustee, for sponsoring the Ball’s comeback event. Given the turnout and the enthusiasm the Alumnae Honor Ball generated, we will definitely be having it again during the 2009 Homecoming Weekend on the evening of October 9th, most likely at an alternate location.”

Co-chairing the event with Echaniz was Alumni Executive Board Vice President Michael Mosby ’88.

there! It was a great chance for the generations to mix and mingle and get to know each other. The venue was beautiful, the food delicious, the flowers on the table simply marvelous, and the mood totally festive.”

Megan Norwood ’02, speaking as a recent grad, says, “I think the CoHoNa Ball was a great tradition to bring back for Homecoming 2008! I enjoyed connecting with some of the older alums and hearing about their experiences at HNU. It reinforced my ties to the great HNU community. I look forward to attending future CoHoNa Balls.” Luckily she has only another five or so months to wait before the next one.

One of the unanticipated high points of the latest Ball was the coming together and sharing of experiences of alumni spanning many decades with recent graduates and current students. As attendees feasted on hors d’oeuvres, salads, grilled salmon and filet mignon “surf and turf” platters and mango/passion fruit mousses, old and new HNU veterans told their stories to each other, taking a break now and then to dance to a DJ’s playlist of sounds from several decades of pop, country, and rock-and-roll music.

Attendee Kathleen Gallagher Dunlap ’60 recalls, “It was really lovely, especially meeting some of the new graduates. They were so cute and so funny and so nice.” The mix of generations resonated with other attendees as well. Kathleen’s daughter, Anne DunlapKahren ’88, says, “It was a sparkling, spectacular event. Everyone was dressed to the nines, and there was a very good showing of recent grads.” Barbara Smith ’62 adds, “I had attended a CoHoNa Ball in the mid60s. This was just as delightful. The best part of the evening was seeing the young people

Sheila Gibson, Professor of Philosophy, and her husband, Phil (’73, MS, Math), dance the night away

HNU Trustee Steve Borg ’86 and Betsy Fabro-Borg ’86

Tiffany Ho ’08, Sr. Chris Patrinos ’81 (credential), and Michelle Girardot ’09

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Sr. Rosemarie Nassif, President; Rosaleen Kelly ’55, Ball honorary chairperson; and Julie Echaniz ’75, Ball co-chairperson

A CoHoNa Ball of a bygone era

Members of the Class of 1962, Eileen Brosnan Weston, Sue Thoreson, and Barbara Wisnewski Smith

Jon Bendz and Ron Weston enjoy the festivities

The style of dancing has changed from the ’50s and ’60s, but not how much all present enjoyed the event!

Teen Sweethearts Reunite After 47 Years One couple attending the Alumnae Honor Ball last September, JoAnn Delafranc ’53 and Dan Finnegan, had an especially touching story to share — one of young love, a gold medal, separation, lives lived, and a heartwarming reunion — a story that actually began at a CoHoNa Ball in 1953. Dan was one of several airmen from Parks Air Force Base east of Oakland who had been invited to a College of Holy Names dance at the college. There he met JoAnn, whom he dated for the next three years. As often happens in one’s twenties, the two drifted apart and married others, raising their families, living their lives, and losing contact with each other. When JoAnn, now divorced, attended her 50th HNU college reunion in 2003 she ran into some old college friends at smaller party JoAnn Delafranc and Dan Finnegan — then and now

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who had been in touch with Dan over the years. She had been wanting to return a commemorative high school baseball championship medal Dan had given her those many years ago, thinking he would enjoy having it again. A few months later she mailed it to him, along with a note and her contact information. After their reunion over lunch, they talked for nearly 10 hours at the end of which Dan proposed and JoAnn accepted.

A short time after JoAnn’s former husband died amid annulment proceedings, the two married in front of 225 guests, who included their combined families of 6 children and 13 grandchildren. The photo of them together at the 1953 CoHoNa Ball graced the cover of the Mass program. Says Dan, “We hope to travel and enjoy life together…stay healthy and enjoy many more happy years together.

God is good!”

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Office of Institutional Advancement 3500 Mountain Boulevard Oakland, CA 94619-1699 510-436-1240 www.hnu.edu

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Holy Names University

New Student Center Opens August 26th! brennan Hall is bound to become “heart and hub� of HNU campus with new student center offering a slew of student services.

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