ASU News - Alumni

ASU places 7th at College Bowl national tourney

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:03:07 -0600

Arizona State University’s academic team competed fearlessly this weekend in the College Bowl National Championship Tournament winning nine out of 15 rounds and finishing seventh in overall standings. The ASU team, from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, had a slow start with early jitters but rallied in round three and dominated play by earning consecutive bonus points.

Team captain Carlos Ross was named one of the tournament’s eight All-Stars, with a 46.79 average in points per game. He came in fifth among 65 players. The top two players tied with an average 77.86 points per game.

“We’re making a really strong showing to the best teams in the tournament. Even if we lost to them, they have been close matches,“ says Brian Gleim, the team’s coach and a graduate student in astrophysics in ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration who has competed in past College Bowls.

In addition to Ross, a senior majoring in Japanese, playing for ASU were Erin Hutchinson, a senior majoring in history and global studies; Kenneth Lan, a freshman majoring in biology; and Eli Bliss, a graduate student who received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics this past December. Mike Rockwell, a senior majoring in political science and economics and the team’s alternate, also competed in three of the rounds.

“This being our first time back since the 1998-1999 season, we’re doing really well,” says Ross.

In the closest match of the day against the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ross sang “If I can turn back time” to answer a bonus question referring to Cher's hit song written by Diane Warren. That performance also earned Ross one of the “freeze frame awards” given at the end of the tournament to mark memorable moments.

Ross also slipped in with the correct answer at the buzzer to a zoology question beating the University of Wisconsin-Madison 270 to 265.

“Thank god it was a zoology question for Carlos,” says Hutchinson.

One of the most memorable moments came from team member Bliss during the round against Georgetown College. Bliss raised his hands in celebration and answered a bonus question with “Riemann Hypothesis.” The hypothesis was first formulated by Bernhard Riemann, and is one of the most famous and important unsolved problems in mathematics.

“I’ve been waiting for a question about the Riemann Hypothesis,” Bliss said. Hutchinson and Ross slapped him five in congratulations.

“That was our best match,” says Ross. ASU won 430 to 75 against Georgetown College.

The ASU team played the University of New Mexico in a tough match losing 240 to 370. The University of New Mexico was ASU’s only loss in the regional tournament in February, when ASU took top honors. UNM was selected for the national tournament as the only wild card team and went on to finish second in the national match-up against the University of Rochester.

“The University of New Mexico was a great team again,” according to Ross. It’s captain, Jason Zuffranieri, played for ASU in the College Bowl 10 years ago as an undergraduate student, majoring in chemical engineering and math. Zuffranieri, a graduate student at UNM majoring in statistics, also tied for the top spot among the tournament’s eight All-Stars.

“ASU was so good; the regional competition was a beating,” says Zuffranieri. “I think it’s great that ASU is here and competing again, they are a strong team this year. ASU, I think, is envied by other schools here for its support for intercollegiate academics.”

“As ASU continues to compete in the regional and national tournaments, we will get stronger. But we have plenty of room for improvement,” says Gleim.

“I think the quality level for the ASU team will increase every year,” says Hutchinson. “It’s been fun, I was happy to be part of the team.

“I first found out about this when I was studying abroad and saw it on the ASU home page. I thought ‘I can do this,’ so I tried out when I got back. I had no idea that we would go to nationals,” she says.

The College Bowl National Championship Tournament was held April 25-27 at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. Fifteen winning regional teams competed in a full round robin style tournament on April 26, followed by a four-team double elimination on April 27. Florida State University forfeited prior to the start of competition.

Other schools in the tournament were last year’s national champion University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Washington University-St. Louis, Ball State University, Providence College, Western Oregon University, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Seton Hall University, Pomona College, Rice University, Ohio State University and University of Rochester.

The University of Rochester went into the final round with a 14-1 record and won the national championship title. UNM finished second, with the University of Minnesota taking third and Ohio State University fourth.

The last time ASU played in the National Championship Tournament in 1998-1999, it finished sixth, with a 9-5 win-loss record. This year, competition began with the ASU Academic Bowl, a fierce competition among 16 of ASU’s college and schools, held on the Tempe campus. The final rounds were broadcast on Eight/KAET TV. Information about the ASU tournament is at www.asu.edu/academicbowl.

More information about the College Bowl, including scores and stats from this weekend’s play, is at www.collegebowl.com.

Erica Velasco, erica.velasco@asu.edu
480-965-1156
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Open house boosts Sun Devil Destinations

emassey — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:46:26 -0700

Road trips – or trips of any kind, really – are meant to be shared. It’s always nice to have a traveling companion – or a cadre of friends – to share the mountaintop triumphs, the hours spent soaking up culture in trendy bistros or outdoor markets, or the days spent on a boat cruise into a picturesque river valley.

The ASU Alumni Association is expanding its group travel program, Sun Devil Destinations, and invites its members, ASU employees and the public to a free open house for the program. The open house will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., March 5, at Old Main on the Tempe campus.

According to Jennifer Holsman, executive director of operations at the Alumni Association, Sun Devil Destinations has been growing rapidly since it was unveiled last year. About a dozen trips have been conducted by the association, with nearly 100 intrepid Sun Devils traveling to Paris, Italy, the Panama Canal and Peru.

Holsman says the association will be expanding the number of family-friendly vacation options it offers, as well as adding trips of interest to young alumni and recent graduates. This year, Sun Devil Destinations will take travelers to China, India, Paris, Spain, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and the Tuscany region of Italy, as well as to Aspen, Colorado and New York.

Participation in the program is limited to members of the Alumni Association, although each member can bring one guest per trip. Holsman says the program was a frequently requested benefit, and that alumni had given her many ideas for destinations, itineraries and trip themes.

Holsman says the association welcomes university staff to join alumni on the trips, and she encourages faculty and staff with appropriate expertise to contact her regarding collaboration with Sun Devil Destinations as a trip lecturer or guide.

“Faculty-facilitated trips are extremely popular at other schools,” she says. “Scholars with a research expertise in a specific geographic or cultural area are encouraged to get in touch with us.”

At the March 5 event, trip vendors such as Orion Worldwide Tours, AHI, Travel Unlimited, Global Adventure, GoNext, International Ventures, Discovery Treks, Avalon Waterways and many others will be on hand to share information about their tours and answer questions about trips planned for this year and 2009.

Light refreshments will be served at this open house, which is free. Giveaways and door prizes also will be presented to some lucky attendees.

To R.S.V.P. for the program, visit the Alumni Association home page www.asu.edu/alumni and click on “Travel Preview.”
For information on the open house or the Sun Devil Destinations program, contact Jenny Holsman at (480) 965-5275 or jholsman@asu.edu.

Law school alum to discuss best-selling book

jbmagrud — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:40:26 -0700

Gordon Campbell would be the first to tip the dealer for the cards life has dealt him.

The self-effacing Campbell, who attributes much of his good fortune to luck, has an impressive list of people with whom he’s crossed paths over the years. They include Willard H. Pedrick, the founding dean of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, legendary Phoenix attorneys John P. Frank and John J. Flynn, prominent book editor Carolyn Marino, and Mona, Campbell’s 95-year-old mother.

But Campbell, a 1972 alumnus of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, would never have written a New York Times best-selling novel that’s been highly praised by big-time crime novelists James Patterson and Tony Hillerman, if not for Mrs. Petrie.

Campbell met Mrs. Petrie nearly 50 years ago when he wandered into the Mesa Public Library and noticed a book with a dashing matador on the dust jacket. Mrs. Petrie, a librarian, helped Campbell, then a sophomore at Mesa High, obtain a library card and check out the book “The Death of Manolete” by Barnaby Conrad.

“I can still recite, or nearly so, the first sentence of that book, `On the 28th of August in 1947, in a small town in Spain called Linares, a multi-millionaire and a bull killed each other and plunged an entire nation into a deep mourning’,” says Campbell from his law office in Salt Lake City. “When you’re a 15-year-old kid, that makes a big impression.”

When he returned the book the following week, Mrs. Petrie had another novel picked out for him, “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway. Campbell devoured it, too, in a week and brought it back to Mrs. Petrie.

“I wanted to talk about how simply putting black ink on white paper could transport a boy from Mesa, Arizona, to Paris and make him feel like he was in the same café with these world-weary characters,” he says. “And at that moment, I went a little screwy.”

It was a good screwy, though, in that it lit a fire under the tall, plain-spoken man to someday put his own ink to paper. Campbell’s first book, a legal thriller set in Arizona and titled, “Missing Witness,” was published this fall by William Morrow, an imprint on HarperCollins, and another one is on the way.

Campbell will be in Phoenix in early February to address several audiences about his law-school days and literary success, including a program that will be held at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

“Inside the Lawyers Practice,” hosted by Professor Michael Berch, will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Feb. 6, in the Great Hall in Armstrong Hall. The event, patterned after Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton, is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a book signing.

“Missing Witness,” a book with “unforgettable characters, twisty plot and strong sense of place,” according to Hillerman, isn’t a Campbell autobiography, its author insists. But there are parallels between the characters, especially young lawyer/narrator Doug McKenzie, and his courtroom experiences, and Campbell’s own.

Campbell first became interested in law as a senior at Mesa High, where he took a commercial law course. Once out of high school, Campbell attended ASU for two years, then transferred to Brigham Young University, and after graduating, served in the U.S. Navy for about three years.

He was accepted at and planned to enroll in Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley, but on a trip to Phoenix, he dropped by ASU’s brand new law school, to which he’d applied, but not heard back from. After a three-hour meeting with Dean Pedrick, Campbell’s mind was changed.

“The school was so desperate for people who had high scores on the LSAT because it was so new, and Pedrick knew how to beat you into committing to the school,” says Campbell.

Pedrick dangled the carrot of experienced faculty and brilliant young professors, Berch and Jonathan Rose, and guaranteed Campbell a post on the Law Review, which he edited during his last year of law school.

“It was the best decision I ever made in my life,” he says. “Hell, I would have never written this novel. And everything Pedrick said was true.”

Campbell took courses in procedure and trial practice from Berch, who noticed something special in him and urged him to become a trial lawyer. Campbell carried that confidence booster into many trials over the years.

“I’d get real scared because people would come up and tell me how bad they were going to beat me. I remembered what Berch told me, and that kind of saw me through the scary times,” says Campbell.

Pedrick brought in a star-studded line-up of lawyers to speak to the new law students, including Earl Carroll, now a U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Arizona, lawyer/writer Louis Nizer, and John Frank who, with John Flynn, took the Miranda case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

One night, while gathered around a table at the Blue Goat, a Scottsdale bar, Campbell’s peers began telling stories about Flynn, a hot-shot lawyer whom every trial attorney was clamoring to see in action. Shortly after, Campbell noticed a length of paper hanging from a bulletin board to the floor in the law school. Flynn had advertised a student research position, and more than 100 students had signed up in hopes of being interviewed.

“I knew I’d never get the job,” he recalls. “But I wanted to meet him, and I thought if I had any hair, I’d drive my Austin Healy down to Phoenix to his office and tell him I could do the job, that he didn’t need to interview anybody. I got the job.”

After working for several months with Flynn, Campbell finished law school and graduated in 1972. He spent a year clerking for a judge in San Francisco, then was brought back to Phoenix by Frank to join his firm, Lewis & Roca. During Campbell’s three years there, he honed his lawyering skills by working with Frank and Flynn, who had an office downstairs and access to the Lewis & Roca library.

“John P. Frank and John J. Flynn were potent enough to give me something to write about,” Campbell said.

The first draft of his book, begun in 1979, was more than disappointing, Campbell says, and the second version, as told by an innocent, idealistic young attorney, wasn’t finished for nearly 15 years. Campbell sent his 800-page manuscript unsolicited to Doubleday, which told him to cut 300 pages and get an agent.

Eventually, Betsy Burton, owner of The King’s English bookstore in Salt Lake City where Campbell often shopped, sent the manuscript to Carolyn Marino at William Morrow in New York City. The book deal was made in 2006, “Missing Witness” arrived in bookstores in September and just weeks later, it made the best seller hardcover fiction list at The New York Times.

“In my wildest dreams, I didn’t think anyone would ever read it,” said Campbell, who recently completed an East Coast book tour. Now, Campbell is being pressed by his publisher to finish a second book.

At 65, Campbell, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, still enjoys practicing law and serves as of counsel to the firm of Parsons Behle & Latimer in Salt Lake City. He has no plans to quit his day job.

“This book is just the frosting on the cake.”

Association keeps university connections thriving

msjps — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Even before she retired from ASU, Linda Van Scoy joined the ASU Retirees Association.

“I joined for a couple of reasons,” says Van Scoy, who was director of the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost and special assistant to the provost. “Since I have been here ‘since dirt,’ I knew a lot of the people on the ASURA board, and it was a way to keep tabs on folks, especially through the newsletter. Also, I knew I would be a member eventually, so I could get a feel for what they do. They are a great group!”

ASURA was formed in 1991 after many meetings, much discussion and research, a few lunches – and a lot of coffee.

In “A Decade of Success: An Illustrated History of the Arizona State University Retirees Association,” ASU historian Dean Smith writes that the idea of an association for retirees first surfaced in the 1940s, when George C. Yates, then director of special services at Arizona State College, suggested forming such a group.

From time to time, over the next nearly four decades, other ASU employees talked about forming a retirees association.

In the early 1980s, Dick Murra, director of personnel, authorized a survey to determine whether there was a need for a retirees organization, but the idea was put on the back burner.

A faculty retirees group already existed, but it mainly was a social group.

In late 1989, Brent Brown, then vice president for University Relations, decided the time had come to organize a retirees group, and put Bob Ellis, the recently retired general manager of KAET-TV, in charge of the project.

After much research and many meetings, the first letters were mailed on March 1, 1991, to all retirees whose addresses were available, notifying them of the proposed organization and asking them to join.

“Of course, we had no idea how many would back up their interest with their money – dues were $10 – so we were happy that 212 people had sent in their checks,” says George Morrell, retired purchasing director. “It was a good omen, I thought. In the letter, we explained that the Arizona Legislature was in a budget crunch, and they were eyeing the state retirement fund as a source for more income. That would be disastrous for retirees if such a precedent were set, so we urged everyone to unite in an effort to protect our benefits.”

That letter set the tone for what would be one of ASURA’s main functions: to serve as a watchdog for retirees, lobbying for their best interests with the Legislature.

Today, ASURA has 969 members, and its goal is at least 1,100 members (actually, Elmer Gooding, past president, noted that ASURA’s goal is to have “everyone who retires from ASU as a member”).

The organization offers a wide range of activities for its members. There is a yearly golf tournament, a Retirees Day with a variety of speakers, an “adopt-a-family” project, an annual scholarship presentation, the “Living History” video project that is documenting ASU’s past, Homecoming activities and more.

ASURA still keeps watch on Legislative issues, health insurance changes and the health of the state retirement fund.

“I think we’re doing an awful lot of good,” Gooding says.

While ASURA’s focus on legislative and insurance issues is important, so is its role as a continuation of the ASU community.

Val Peterson, retired director of Facilities Management who now serves on the ASURA board of directors, says he joined because of the organization’s “watchdog” role, but also as a way of maintaining his connection with ASU.

“I like the associations I have made with folks in that organization,” he says. “Some are individuals I knew and had interaction with while employed, and others are new and interesting friends. It is a happy and diverse group of people.”

Doug Johnson, the current president and a retired professor of accountancy, urges all current and past ASU employees to be a part of ASURA.

“Come join old friends in learning, enjoying favorite activities, and serving the ASU community,” Johnson says. “As members of ASURA, we can pool our talents and develop our skills for the benefit of all.”

Membership dues are $10 for retirees, and $5 for ASU employees who wish to join as associate members.

For more information, contact ASURA at (480) 965-7668. The office is located in the Community Service Building, 200 E. Curry Road, Tempe.

ASU grads break employment record

lccampb — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:27:35 -0700

As the MBA marketplace expands, the value of a master’s of business administration degree has never been better, particularly in the southwestern United States.

For graduates of ASU’s W. P. Carey MBA Full-Time Program, this is proven by the employment figures for the May graduating class. At 90 days post-graduation, 97.4 percent of graduates had accepted a job offer.

The 2007 graduating class also broke the record for starting base salary of full-time program graduates. This year’s class reports a mean base salary of $86,001 and a mean signing bonus of $15,334. The class posted an increase of about 20 percent in total compensation over the 2006 class.

The MBA marketplace in the Southwest is growing and prosperous, says Guy Groff, director of the Graduate Career Management Center at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Among the 2007 graduates, 46.6 percent accepted jobs in the Southwest, including the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Texas, while 26 percent accepted jobs in the western states of California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon.

Among companies recruiting from the pool of W. P. Carey MBA graduates are IBM, Honeywell, CISCO and Oracle.

“Our W. P. Carey MBA students get hired very quickly, and at increasingly higher and higher salaries,” says Gerry Keim, associate dean of the program. “This is the ultimate test of our MBA program.”

The Graduate Career Management Center (CMC) is an important component of the W. P. Carey MBA Full-Time and Working Professional programs. The center provides students and alumni with personalized career development services to make informed, strategic career choices, and to provide a foundation for lifelong career management.

“One thing that differentiates the W. P. Carey MBA Program from other top business schools is the Graduate Career Management Center,” says Josh Fotheringham, senior manager of strategy and planning at Avaya Inc., and a 2005 W. P. Carey MBA graduate.

Fotheringham travels regularly to ASU to recruit MBA students for Avaya’s leadership rotational program.

Most critical to Fotheringham’s MBA career was “how the CMC helped to refine my skills in interviewing, resume-creation and executive presentations,” he says. “The CMC produces strong theories on the best way to approach an interview and how to anticipate specific questions.

The structure and guidance provided by the center helps students to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, to be able to be selected for high-end, top-salary jobs.”

Through seminars, Webinars, personal growth panels and guest speakers, the center offers customized career guidance and networking opportunities. A team of career development specialists works with students during their MBA experience and post-graduation to assist in the interviewing and job selection process. The center also features online resources that are available 24 hours per day, seven days a week.

Erin Concors, erin.concors@asu.edu
(480) 965-9271
W. P. Carey School of Business

Alumni continue legacy of public leadership

dpalka — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:57:00 -0600

Three top Phoenix-area leaders have been chosen to represent the Arizona State University College of Public Programs from its base of more than 10,000 graduates in social work, public administration, tourism, recreation management and nonprofit management worldwide.

George Flores, Anne C. Ronan and Renẻ E. Vera will be inducted into the College’s Alumni Hall of Fame at a luncheon on Thursday, October 25, at the Wyndham Phoenix.

The honorees were selected for their distinguished professional achievements and for the ways that their lives reflect the quality of the education they received at ASU. All are highly-regarded in their professions; are lifelong learners; are actively engaged in their communities; and support higher education in various ways.

George Flores, MPA’77, was selected as the honoree for the School of Public Affairs due to his 35-year career at the City of Phoenix. He retired in 2005 as deputy city manager after serving in various management roles and after one year of retirement has returned to public service. He is currently community development manager for the City of El Mirage. Flores is widely known as one of the region’s most effective public managers. During his 11 years as founding director of development services he grew the organization to more than 300 staff members with a budget of nearly $25 million, overseeing annual construction projects valued at nearly $2 billion.

As deputy city manager he directed the offices of arts and culture; engineering and architectural services; equal opportunity; and the minority/women and small business enterprise program among others. Flores served as president of the Arizona City/County Management Association and has provided leadership on eight national committees of the International City/County Management Association. He earned the City Manager’s Excellence Award three times for his management innovations. His extensive record of community service includes board involvement in the ASU Parents Association.

The School of Social Work is honoring Anne C. Ronan, BSW’73, who serves as staff attorney for the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest. After graduating with an undergraduate degree in social welfare (the current equivalent of a bachelor of social work), and juris doctorate from Arizona State University, Ronan served as a medical social worker and in community legal services, distinguishing herself as an attorney in health law and as a mental health reform advocate.

Her practice has focused mainly on the poor and uninsured, providing assistance to individuals and families eligible for health care through various State and Federal programs. Ronan also represents children and adults with disabilities needing medical and mental health services and has served as attorney on several high-profile cases on these issues.

She is active in her professional community and has held volunteer leadership roles in organizations such as Bethany Birth Center, Justice Institute, and the National Institute of Tribal Advocates. Ronan has been a volunteer partner linking ASU’s Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholar’s Program to a research project funded by the Wallace Foundation of Arizona, to advocate for foster youth.

Renẻ Vera, BS Recreation ’90 is the 2007 Alumni Hall of Fame inductee for the School of Community Resources & Development. He is deputy director of the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department and has a distinguished 20-year career in park, recreation and natural resource management with the City Phoenix. Vera is known for his leadership, strategic relationship building skills, and creative and productive management on behalf of the community.

His efforts in support of adaptive recreation and youth development and several City of Phoenix initiatives such as the “Trail Mix” park ranger program have “left a lasting mark on the community,” according to one nominator. He was also responsible for the operational launches of the Maryvale Community Center, the Rio Salado Habitat, West Phoenix Revitalization Program, Judith Tunnell Accessible Trail and the North Mountain Visitor Center.

His volunteer service to the profession has been exceptional over the past 13 years, including leading both the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association, the regional council of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), and professional projects in support of ethnic minorities. In 2001 he earned NRPA’s Young Professional Fellowship. Vera continues his relationship with the ASU School of Community Resources and Development by coaching and mentoring students.

Prior inductees into the College of Public Programs Alumni Hall of Fame include: Alan V. Brunacini, retired City of Phoenix fire chief; Ramon A. Elias, president and CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of the East Valley; The Honorable Harry E. Mitchell, U.S. Congressman; Royetta Marconi-Dooley, U.S.A.F. retired colonel and medical group commander; Ronald E. Pies, director of community services, City of Tempe; The Honorable Peter D. Rios, Arizona State Senate; and Luz Sarmina, president and CEO, Valle del Sol, Inc.All proceeds from the luncheon support scholarships and fellowships in the ASU College of Public Programs.

Reservations for the luncheon can be made at (602) 496-1122 or copphalloffame@asu.edu.

See http://copp.asu.edu/halloffame for details.

Latina leaders relive graduation memories

ckussala — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 11:20:36 -0600

For five Latina leaders, this year’s Homecoming is more than just a fun celebration. It’s an occasion to celebrate a lifetime of friendship and the recognition that a journey has come full circle – not just for them, but for their sons as well.

Latina community leaders Irma S. Dominguez, Hilda C. Hipolito-Celaya, Anita Luera, Lily Molina and Sandy Zapien-Ferrero will join ASU’s

Homecoming festivities the week of Oct. 21-27 to celebrate their 30th graduation anniversary.

For Luera, who earned her bachelor’s in broadcast journalism, the experience is simply exhilarating. A seasoned TV reporter of 27 years,

Luera now works as director of high school programs at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She travels around Arizona recruiting future journalism students. Her son, Armando Favela Luera, is studying aerospace engineering at ASU’s Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.

“It makes me feel young again,” Luera says. “When you’re in college, you’re just starting to experience a world outside of home. It’s exciting to relive those moments, and to know that your children are experiencing the same. However, you also tend to ask, ‘Where did time go?’ It flew by.”

While all five ladies agree that time just seems to have passed by, they also believe that they have achieved many of the goals they planned for themselves when younger.

“My biggest dream was to inspire young people to continue their education through college,” says Ferrero, who earned her bachelor’s in elementary education. “Just out of school I chose to work in a Title I district to be a model for all students, especially Latinas. I accomplished my goals. Many of my students finished their college degrees.”

Ferrero recently retired after 30 years at the Isaac School District working as a teacher, principal, district program director and associate superintendent. Her son, Paul R. Ferrero, graduated from ASU this spring in multicultural elementary education. Following his mother’s streak, he is teaching seventh-grade math at Isaac Middle School – a partner in the ASU ALPHA Program.

For all of these women, getting a college education was not just an issue of academic goals, but family success.

“My biggest aspiration was to graduate and make my parents proud,” Celaya says. “Neither had schooling past the third grade. Seeing my parents struggle financially but managing to raise a family of 10 children in a loving and warm family environment, I knew I wanted to do more to make them proud.”

However, Celaya also credits the ASU environment as a catalyst for her academic successes and motivation for community service.

“My mentor was Dr. Christina Marin, head of Chicano Studies and Hayden Library,” Celaya says. “She was our Latina mentor. She helped so many of us realize that we could make it through college. She was always available to listen to our concerns and insecurities, and always encouraged us.”

Celaya majored in social work and has worked for nearly 30 years as a state employee. She manages eight counselors as a vocational rehabilitation supervisor with the State of Arizona. However, she’s planning to retire soon. Her son, Eddie Celaya III, is a Sun Devil who expects to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in urban planning.

As a nursing major, Dominguez also felt a deep sense of service to her community. However, of her years at ASU, she remembers most the great camaraderie everyone shared.

“In the ’70s at ASU, very few minority students chose nursing as a career,” she says. “I felt alone. I didn’t have any mentors that I can recall. But I did have my friends from the ‘Chicano Bush.’ ”

The “Chicano Bush” was a knee-high planter in front of the old Hayden Library. While there were Latino student organizations at the time, most Latinos would “hang-out by the bush.”

“I think that is why those of us who hung out at the bush bonded so well,” Dominguez says. “We needed to not feel so alone and lost on campus. The majority of us are still friends today.”

Dominguez is planning to retire next spring after 29 years of working as a nurse for the Maricopa Integrated Health System. She plans to work part-time doing something different, but probably still involving nursing. Her son, Carlos Dominguez, is studying at Mesa Community College and is considering a transfer to ASU.

As for revisiting the past after 30 years Dominguez says, “As simplistic as it sounds, all I wanted was to help people. If given the choice, I would do it all over again.”

Special reunion activities (tours, lunches, class mixers) are planned for the reunion classes of 1957, 1967, 1977, 1987 and 1997, but everyone is invited back to take part in Homecoming Oct. 27. Visitors can come for the parade, Block Party and football game against California, in addition to many other activities planned by the different colleges. Visitors also can drop by the ASU Alumni Association tents during the Block Party to say hello. There will be little treats for children, a live band and Waldo’s BBQ, where ASU fans can buy lunch to eat in the alumni area and hang out with other Sun Devils.

For more details, visit the Web site www.asu.edu/alumni/homecoming/index.html.

Chakris Kussalanant, Chakris.Kussalanant@asu.edu
(480) 727-9181
Media Relations, Office of Public Affairs

ASU grad takes spirit to the sky

msjps — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 11:32:19 -0600

Every Friday, 2nd Lt. James Hartney, a member of the Air Force’s 87th FTS Ragin’ Red Bulls, gets a little “devilish.”

And he’s proud of it, too.

Hartney, who graduated from ASU in 2006 with a degree in mathematics, attaches a small patch to the left sleeve pocket of his flight suit – and proclaims to all the world that he is a loyal Sun Devil.

The 1-inch-by-2-inch embroidered patch, created by ASU graphic designer Steve Swain, features the ASU sunburst logo on a white background – and a three-quarter view of Sparky’s face, too.

Hartney, who is stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, got the idea for a Sparky patch when he observed other airmen wearing university patches on their sleeves.

“Texas A&M seems to have quite a few people that wear them regularly,” Hartney says. “I figured I should design one for ASU, and maybe make it a regular thing.”

The tiny strips, which are attached with Velcro, are called “morale patches,” Harney says, “because servicemen and women typically wear them on Fridays as a way to boost morale.”

“The patches that I requested be made are specifically for career fields that wear flight suits,” he says. “They fit on the left sleeve pen pocket.”

Hartney inquired about having an ASU morale patch made by a company in San Antonio, but the company wouldn’t make any university patches without written consent to use the logo.

“I looked for legal permission via the Internet, and Ms. Terri Shafer offered to have the patch designed and created,” he says. “The credit belongs to Ms. Shafer and her staff, who made the idea a reality. My hat is off to them!”

The 87th Flying Training Squadron, Hartney’s home base until he graduates in September, is responsible for training student pilots handpicked to fly combat aircraft for the Air Force.

Hartney has been sporting his ASU patch for about two months, and says his friends have noticed it and commented on it.

“I tell them how gracious ASU was to make them for me,” he says. “They are usually impressed that the school went out of its way to do something like that. It makes me proud to be from ASU!”

ASU graduates serving on active duty in the armed forces can request a patch by calling Bobbie Lee in Public Affairs at (480) 727-0770.

Homecoming Awards to celebrate school spirit

emassey — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 10:32:32 -0600

The ASU Alumni Association is seeking nominations for its Homecoming Awards, to be presented during halftime at the Homecoming game against the University of California, Berkeley, on Oct. 27.

Nominations are sought for the Alumni Service Award and the Alumni Appreciation Award.

The Alumni Service Award is given to a graduate of ASU, and recognizes exemplary service to ASU, to the Alumni Association and/or to the community. Awardees in the past have included Terry Goddard and Rusty and Rosie Lyon.

The Alumni Appreciation Award is presented to a non-alumnus/non-alumna of ASU, and rewards extraordinary contributions to the university, to the Alumni Association and/or to the community. Past recipients of this award include Eddie Basha and Rudy Campbell.

Nominations are due by 5 p.m., Friday, Aug. 17. For nomination forms, please visit the ASU Alumni Association web site at www.asu.edu/alumni/forms/07alumniserviceaward.shtml and www.asu.edu/alumni/forms/07alumniappreciationaward.shtml.

For information, please call Nancy Southern at (480) 965-5041.

Alumni Association rewards great plate

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 12:05:58 -0600

The ASU Alumni Association has announced Travis Breedlove of Chandler the winner of the association’s “What’s on Your Plate?” contest. Breedlove, whose plate reads “GIVML,” will receive $200 in free gasoline.
The contest, which asked online voters to determine the most original or creative personalized ASU college license plate, was developed to increase awareness of Arizona’s college license plate program, which funds the Medallion Scholarship program.
Breedlove, a 2002 graduate of ASU with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies, was one of more than 40 contestants; the association’s board of directors selected five finalists, and visitors to the association’s Web site were directed to an online survey to vote for a winner.