Week of October 6, 2008

Community Leader Ruebén Martinez Named Presidential Fellow

Ruebén Martinez, one of Orange County’s most respected cultural leaders, has been named Chapman University’s newest Presidential Fellow. Martinez, the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (familiarly referred to as a “genius grant”) in 2004, is well known as the owner of Santa Ana’s Librería Martinez Books and Art Gallery, as a speaker at hundreds of events at schools, nonprofits and conferences throughout the world, and as a champion of literacy, especially in the Latino community.

As a Presidential Fellow at Chapman, Martinez will have an office on campus and will report directly to President Jim Doti, receiving direction from Don Cardinal, Ph.D., dean of the College of Educational Studies. His work will focus on bringing first-generation students into Chapman’s science and math programs, improving the community’s math and science literacy, and as a community ambassador to facilitate the success of the program. Martinez will officially begin his work at Chapman in January 2009.

“We are delighted and honored to welcome Ruebén Martinez as our newest Presidential Fellow,” said President Doti. “His work in recruiting first-generation students to enroll here, especially in the crucial areas of mathematics and science, will be vitally important to Chapman, as our new Schmid College of Science grows and expands, and to the community, as these students graduate and take their place as the scientists, technicians and medical personnel of tomorrow.”

Chancellor Daniele Struppa, who along with Dean Cardinal was instrumental in bringing Martinez to the university, said, “Rueben Martinez is proof that intellectual curiosity and a love of reading can completely transform a life, and his contagious enthusiasm in spreading the word about reading to young people is an inspiration to us all. He demonstrates every day that one person can be a dynamic catalyst for change.”

Welcome aboard, Ruebén Martinez!

Argyros School Establishes Economics Department 

Faculty members in the Argyros School of Business and Economics have approved the formation of an Economics Department, bringing greater recognition and visibility to economics as a discipline. The department will also take advantage of a unique opportunity to further integrate economics throughout the programs and research in the school as well as promote interdisciplinary programs and research across the school and the university.

Dr. Donald Booth, holder of the Larry Parlett Professorship in Economics, will serve as the first coordinator of the Economics Department. He will work in cooperation with the Dean and the faculty to advance economics education and research in a collaborative environment.     

Also in this week's issue of Happenings ...

• Student Films Going Hollywood
• Staff and Faculty Notes
• Events Around Campus
• Physical Therapy's 80th Anniversary Celebration
• The week on Health Matters With Dr. Larry Santora:
  The show will explore the latest advancements in understanding Alzheimer’s disease, one-day testing and diagnosis of breast cancer and the healthy benefits of olive oil.
• This week on Dialogue With Doti and Dodge:
  “Leading a California City into the Future” with Carolyn Cavecche, mayor of Orange.

 The Faculty and Staff Newsletter Chapman Happenings is published by the
Office of Public Relations.

Send news to Jamie Wood at pr@chapman.edu, or by campus mail to the PR department.
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