— Week of June 1, 2009 —

We’re Going Paperless!

As we worked on this first cyber-issue, we could see some great advantages right away: more room for articles and news notes (so we won’t need to hack all your submissions down to the bare bone)! More room for fun stuff! Ability to add direct links to steer you to further information! Ability to add slideshows and eventually, we hope, video! And – look, no trees died for this!

New Editors Take Over (For a While…)  

This issue of Happenings is being guest-written and edited by Mary Platt, director of communications and media relations, and Dennis Arp, PR editor, until we can introduce you to our newly hired Happenings editor. So you’ll have to put up with us for a week or two. Buckle your seatbelts – this should be fun. And remember – Mary and Dennis are just volunteering, so we accept praise only. Save up all your complaints and send them to the new editor! (JUST kidding. Or are we…?)

Chapman University has received a $3 million gift to endow an innovative chair honoring the continuing work of Nobel laureate Vernon L. Smith, Ph.D., the Chapman professor of economics and law who is known worldwide as “the father of experimental economics.” The donors, Rebecca and William Dunn of Stuart, Fla., are longtime friends of Professor Smith and his wife, Candace.

The gift was announced during May 22 dedication ceremonies for the Vernon L. Smith Alcove in Honor of R.C. Hoiles in Chapman University’s Leatherby Libraries. The alcove displays Professor Smith’s Nobel Prize medal, which he generously donated to the university to be displayed in perpetuity, along with associated memorabilia and a personal book collection.

The Rebecca and William Dunn Chair will enable Chapman to bring a visiting scholar to campus on a three-year, rotating basis in the dynamic field of experimental economics. The strategy is to recruit either a mid-career scientist who has earned international attention but needs time to move research forward, or to provide an opportunity for an up-and-coming young scientist with great talent and promise to soar under the tutelage of Smith and his colleagues. “The vision for this gift is that the scientists holding this professorship will be the Nobel Prize winners of tomorrow,” said President Jim Doti.

Arrivederci, David Fite! 

The crowd of faculty, staff and administrators gathered at the send-off was very sad at his upcoming departure, but there were lots of lighthearted moments, too (we have come to realize that Ramon Sfeir, Ph.D., vice chancellor for academic administration, is one very funny dude! His hilarious riff on Dr. Fite’s renowned habit of taking “just one more moment” at meetings was priceless!). Marisol Arrendondo, Ph.D., director of institutional research, noted how much everyone will miss David’s wit, personality…and famous photographic memory. Richard Ruppel, Ph.D., professor of English, paid tribute by reading Dylan Thomas’ iconic poem of memory, “Fern Hill.” David’s assistant, Natalie Blalock, presented him with a care package, including Flaming Hot Cheetos…and a generous supply of red pens for editing (he’s an English professor, after all…).

“Even as I’m excited at the prospect of going to Redlands, I’m sad at having to leave Chapman and so many good friends and colleagues,” said David, thanking his well-wishers. “I want to thank you all for the great work we’ve done together.” The feeling is mutual – best of luck in your new position, David!

Commencement 2009: Thrills and Smiles

See all the excitement, color and pageantry of Chapman’s Commencement ceremonies in the slideshow below, or watch the video.

Commencement Speaker Interviewed by OC Register  

Paul Davies, Ph.D., famed science writer and professor and our distinguished speaker at the Undergraduate Commencement, sat down for this fascinating interview with the OC Register’s Gary Robbins:

• VIDEO: Physicist Talks God and Science at Chapman
• MORE: Davies Urges Grads to “Seize the Future”

Rebecca Campos Appointed New VP of HR  

Rebecca R. Campos has been appointed Chapman University’s vice president of human resources. This new position has been established to acknowledge the role that excellent human resource management will play in the university's future. “Becky comes to the university after years of highly successful leadership serving outstanding institutions, and she is highly respected among human resources professionals,” says Harold H. Hewitt, Jr., Chapman executive vice president and chief operating officer. Immediately prior to coming to the university, Campos served as director of human resources since 2003 at the Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, a 400-employee non profit art and educational institution. Previously, she was director of human resources at Occidental College from 1997 to 2003, having served in the same position at Whittier College from 1993 to 1997, and at the California Institute of Technology in a number of positions, including manager of compensation and employee records and senior personnel specialist, from 1979 to 1993. She will begin work at Chapman on July 1, 2009, overseeing the university’s Human Resources Department, which includes the divisions of employment services, benefits, student employment and equal opportunity.

The annual Faculty Honors Convocation was held on May 19, and featured the announcement of the winner of Chapman’s highest faculty honor, the Wang-Fradkin Professorship, which this year went to Catherine Clark, Ph.D., professor of chemistry. Kudos also to the four winners of the Valerie Scudder Awards, recognizing outstanding teaching, scholarship, advising and service:

• Daniel Bogart, professor of law
• Lynn Horton, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology
• Christopher Kim, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry
• Michael W. Martin, Ph.D., professor of philosophy
• See more 2009 Faculty Honors and Awards!

President Releases Summer Reading List 

Want some recommendations for great books and films to enjoy this summer? President Doti released his literary and cinematic picks to Chapman students as they headed home.

Representatives from the Los Angeles Philanthropic Foundation (LAPF) visited Chapman on May 15 to meet this year’s scholarship recipients. The foundation has awarded scholarships to Chapman students for nearly 30 years, and as a form of appreciation the department of Corporate and Foundation Relations in University Advancement hosts an annual luncheon in their honor. This year’s luncheon was held in the President’s Dining Room in the Argyros Forum. Eight students were awarded scholarships this year, five of whom were able to attend the luncheon during a busy finals week. President Doti stopped by to congratulate the students and thank the foundation members for their longtime support.

Forum for Public Comment on June 17  

A master of science degree in communication sciences and disorders is anticipated to be offered beginning in fall 2009 by the College of Educational Studies. The program is designed to prepare students to become speech-language pathologists, professionals who assess and treat communication disorders in children and adults who may have hearing loss, repaired cleft palate, speech sound errors, language problems, voice disorders, etc. The director is Dr. Judy Montgomery, a speech-language pathologist.

As part of the initial accreditation process and site visit by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), a forum for public comment will be held on Wednesday, June 17 at 5 p.m. in Reeves Hall room 3.

Interested parties are invited and encouraged to attend. The public is invited to share any information that pertains to the ASHA Accreditation Standards with the Site Visit Team. For more information contact Patricia Harriman, College of Educational Studies, x6076, pharrima@chapman.edu.

Don’t Forget – Staff Appreciation Brunch is Thursday! 

If you are a staff member and have not yet RSVPed for the brunch, get your reply in ASAP! The brunch is this Thursday, June 4 at 9 a.m. in the Attallah Piazza. Be there or be, well, brunch-less! And unable to win a great raffle prize (like summer sausage! There should always be summer sausage!).

Belay Receives Change the World Award 

In Memory of Bryce Turner: A Soccer Endowment  

Chapman University has created a special fund to honor and remember Bryce Turner, the student who collapsed and died earlier this spring after playing a pick-up soccer game with his buddies on Wilson Field. Turner, a sophomore business administration major from Prospect, Ky., was a member of the Chapman men’s soccer team and Pi Alpha Kappa fraternity, and much beloved by many on campus. The Bryce Turner Men’s Soccer Endowment will provide funds to support the Chapman team for many years to come. The goal is to raise a minimum of $25,000 to create this endowment. Gifts of any amount to support this fund are welcome in honor of Bryce. For more information, contact Jeanie Randazzo in University Advancement at x4507.

New Chapman Ambassadors Chosen 

Congratulations to the newest members of the Chapman Ambassadors program: Alex Castillo, Jonathan Chaffin, Roxy Civarello, Lindsay Clopp, Loren Diaz, Emily Esposito, Jonathan Johnson, Jeanette Pineda, Matthew Quan, Alyssa Rivera, Emily Sopo, Kristen Thies and Lexi Vanni. Look for these outstanding students in their distinctive red jackets at Chapman events starting this fall. For more information on the Chapman Ambassadors, please visit www.chapman.edu/ambassadors

President Profiled in National Business Magazine 

Check out this profile of President Doti in the latest issue of American Executive magazine: http://tinyurl.com/p2lncy

Cheese is Golden to COPA Staffer  

Congratulations to Heather Stoltzfus, secretary in the College of Performing Arts – the OC Register ran a great feature story in the food section about her avocation – artisan cheesemaking! – on May 20. Heather’s cheese won Best in Show at last year’s OC Fair. The story follows her as she demos the making of mozzarella for members of OC’s Slow Food movement – bring on the cheese: http://tinyurl.com/pv5avu

Send Us Your Wildest, Wackiest Hobbies! 

Heather’s cheese got us to thinking – summer is here and we need fun items for Happenings. So send us your fascinating, odd or wonderful hobbies or avocations – something no one would know about you if they didn’t ask, something that doesn’t relate to your “real world” job and would be totally unexpected. Not your run o’the mill knitting or stamp collecting, unless you knit hats for baby squirrels or have wallpapered your bedroom with stamps. (And none of that old “I’m climbing the Seven Summits” stuff that everyone’s doing…) Tell us something about yourself we didn’t know! (OK…within limits, of course!) E-mail pr@chapman.edu, and we’ll run a list of our Chapman community’s most intriguing, wildest hobbies in an upcoming issue. Got a photo? Even better!

Shari Young Kuchenbecker, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, attended and presented at the 21st Annual Meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, held May 23 in San Francisco. In a special presidential session on “Emotional Ups and Downs,” she presented two posters of research she carried out with her students Karen Ward, Danielle Cosme, Brandon Brown and Christina Pepino on “Empathy and sibling position” and “Empathy, open-mindedness, well-being, Prop. 8 voting behavior and political party affiliation.” Notably, students Ward and Cosme could not attend the conference because they were receiving their Chapman degrees at the same time! Pictured: Dr. Kuchenbecker with her former professor and mentor, Dr. Walter Mischel, president of APS. “He was my undergraduate psychology professor whose work guided my doctoral research and the studies I now do with our students at Chapman. His book, newly published when I was in his class, told us to seek understanding of the behavioral, cognitive and affective components in every question.”

Ad Club Wins Big – Now, On to D.C.!

On May 2, Chapman University's advertising team, Circle Advertising, a part of Chapman Ad Club, defeated teams from seven southern California and Nevada universities to win the District 15 championship in the American Advertising Federation's (AAF) National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC). Besting teams from USC, UCLA, UC Irvine, UNLV and Cal State Fullerton, among others, Chapman secured a berth in the NSAC national championships, to be held June 4-5 in Arlington, Va. Chapman's account directors Chris Helvajian, Amy Owenby, Kat Rogers, Jon Blomgren, and Chapman Ad Club president Andreas Robichaux (son of Elaine Robichaux, executive assistant to the executive vice president of University Advancement!), presented Chapman's "Illuminate" campaign to stop dangerous over-consumption of alcohol among college students to the four District 15 judges representing this year's NSAC client, The Century Council. Congratulations to all these great students and their faculty advisor, Cory O’Connor, assistant professor of advertising! And good luck in D.C.!

New EVP/COO Web Site 

Come visit the new Web site of the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (www.chapman.edu/EVPCOO), which includes the offices of Information Systems and Technology (IS&T), Campus Planning and Facilities Management, Budget Office, Conferences and Scheduling, Human Resources, Legal Affairs and Restaurant Services (Sodexo). Loaded with helpful information!!

First Musco Italian Lecture a Big Hit 

Our Little Scholars in Their Skivvies  

And for sheer summer entertainment value, check out the Chapman Undie Run argument that is still roiling on the OC Register website! There’s a slideshow, too!  Aren’t we proud?!

This Week on TV

DIALOGUE WITH DOTI AND DODGE

Tuesday, June 2 at 11:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 7 at 11 a.m. on KOCE-TV: "An Intimate Portrait of the Dalai Lama" with Pico Iyer

Tuesday, June 9 at 11:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 14 at 11 a.m. on KOCE-TV: "Speaking the Language of Toddlers" with Harvey Karp, M.D.

HEALTH MATTERS WITH DR. LARRY SANTORA

Wednesday, June 3, 8:30 a.m., on KOCE-TV
Brea City Fire Battalion Chief Adrian Montoya describes what to expect when paramedics arrive after calling 9-1-1. Audiologist Katy Sullivan, Au.D., discusses the latest technology in hearing aids. Show host Larry Santora, M.D., illuminates the ingredients in coffee creamer.

Sunday, June 7, 8:30 a.m., on OC Channel
Bill Murphy, M.D., and his wife, Jerrine Murphy, a registered nurse and board-certified behavioral analyst, share their story about raising twins with autism. Plastic surgeon Ivan Turpin, M.D. explains the facts and myths about breast implants. Host Larry Santora, M.D. discusses the Gardasil HPV vaccine.  

In Case You Missed These: 

 Chapman Student Getting Degree 30 Years Late

 Dueling Law School Deans Discuss Gitmo (PODCAST)

 Just Graduated from Dodge College and He’s Writing a Major Screenplay

Staff & Faculty Notes 

Harold W. Hewitt, Jr.,executive vice president and chief operating officer of Chapman University, has been elected a commissioner of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), the association that accredits Chapman University and one of the six regional associations that accredit all public and private schools, colleges and universities in the U.S. He will serve a three-year term beginning in July. Hewitt will also continue to serve WASC as co-chairman of the Substantive Change Committee, which oversees and approves all institutional substantive changes in degree programs, methods of delivery, and organizational changes.

Pete Weitzner,associate professor of film and media arts, delivered the keynote speech at the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce's 30th Annual Salute to Education on May 29 at the Fullerton Marriott. Weitzner is in his 11th year as chair of the broadcast journalism program at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts and is a 22-year veteran of television and broadcast journalism. He spoke about pursuing his own career path in TV and news –reluctantly at first – and the role education played in helping him achieve his goals, and continues to play in helping Weitzner's students achieve their goals in television and the media arts.

Eyal Amitai, Ph.D.,associate professor in the Department of Physics, Computational Science and Engineering, was invited to serve as a chairperson for the General Session on Precipitation at the 2009 American Geophysical Union Joint Assembly in Toronto (May 27-29). His talk was on “Rainfall Intensities of Extreme Precipitation Events.” Dr. Amitai was also recently invited to give a seminar on "Evaluation of very high-resolution precipitation estimates" at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) at the University of Maryland. He discussed the challenges we face in determining the accuracy of precipitation products. The accuracy at different time and space scales is valuable for a wide range of research areas and related applications with practical benefits for society. It is important for many hydrological applications, climate models, and for understanding global water cycle changes..

DEALS AND STEALS 

Geisha House deal
The ultra-hip Geisha House Japanese restaurant in Santa Ana is offering a special summer deal to Chapman faculty and staff: 15% off your food bill with your Chapman ID, valid Monday-Thursday for in-restaurant dining only. Good through the end of August. Yup, this is the place that bills itself as “a five-star sushi restaurant set in the atmosphere of a surreal high-class brothel” – so summon your inner Harajuku and grab this deal! (We hear the Mongolian lamb chops are to die for, btw…) Geisha House, 2773 N. Main St., Santa Ana (across from MainPlace mall); reservations 714-564-0350, www.dolcegroup.com/geisha

CLASSIFIED ADS  

PRESCHOOL: La Purisima Catholic School has openings in its full-day, state-licensed preschool program. Enroll now for next fall! Applicants should be 3 or 4 years old by September 1, and toilet trained. Before- and after-school daycare is also available. Please call for a tour: 714-633-5411, or visit http://www.lpcs.net.  Located at 11712 N. Hewes St., Orange, CA 92869

FOSTER KITTEN NEEDS HOME: McQueen is a black and white male who is looking for a home. Affectionate, great personality, well-cared for. Gets along well with kids and cats. Email Chris at baiocchi@chapman.edu for a photo or more info.

FOR SALE: King-size headboard. Sleek modern style with attached hanging night stands. 120” wide total. Good condition. $45 OBO. ALSO: Mid-century modern walnut veneer sideboard or cabinet (sectioned flatware drawer). 54”x15 ¼”x25”. Good condition. $30 OBO. Call x6618.

OLD TOWNE HOUSE: $1650 a month, 1-yr. lease; 2 b/1 ba, 1-car garage, fenced yard, pet negotiable, water and trash paid. Handicapped-accessible entry and bathroom. Leave e-mail, phone number at bjcmq@yahoo.com.

  Happenings, Chapman University's faculty and staff newsletter, is published by the
Office of Communications and Media Relations.

Send your Happenings news and feedback to pr@chapman.edu, or by campus mail to the PR Department.
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