Re-imagining the Book 24 Seventy years ago James Hagerty championed the Great Books program at Saint Mary’s. Now pundits question the practical value of a liberal arts education. We confront the topic in this issue.

12 CommentaRy Zuckerberg, Dell and Jobs dropped out and cashed in. Artist Barry Blitt comments.

16 RoundtaBleAlbert Einstein, Mark Cuban, a pope and others debate the value of a liberal arts education.

winteR 2013 12 Saint maRy’S magazine

SSCene

November 3At Saint Mary’s Sesquicentennial Gala on Treasure Island, with this spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city skyline, I had a strong sense that the College was making a significant shift and a statement regarding who we are and how we cel-ebrate it. I have always loved the intimacy of the Saint Mary’s community, but we are truly bigger and better than we often give ourselves credit for. This was a kind of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” moment for me. I felt extremely proud of my asso-ciation with Saint Mary’s at that moment.

ChRiS CaRteR’97, ma ’02

Chris Carter is the director of alumni and volunteer

engagement at SMC and has played a major

leadership role in planning sesquicentennial events.

Drew altizer

winteR 2013 32 Saint maRy’S magazine

CContentS

StaffPuBliSheRmichael Beseda ’79

eXeCutiVe editoRJ. elizabeth Smith

editoRJo Shroyer

aSSiStant editoRteresa Castle

CReatiVe diReCtoRPentagram

aRt diReCtoRKaren Kemp

PoetRy editoRBrenda Hillman

ContRiButoRSConnor BuestadChris Carter ’97, ma ’02 Ben enosronald isettieliot Jackson ’13Sara laFassettDan murphy ’13ginny Priorliset Puentes ’15michelle Smith

the Saint mary’s College of California experience inspires learning that lasts a lifetime. the Col-lege’s rigorous education engages intellect and spirit while awakening the desire to transform society. we are all learners here— together, working to understand and shape the world. For more informa-tion, see stmarys-ca.edu.

Saint mary’s magazine is published three times a year. Please send com-ments to magazine@stmarys-ca.eduor call (925) 631-4278. Please submit name and address changes to info4smc@stmarys-ca.edu or write Saint mary’s College, P.O. Box 4300, moraga, Ca 94575-4300.

featuReS

18 More Than a Game

24 Great Books To Great Works

28 Farewell

The famed football coach who defined sports as more than a game

How three Gaels shaped the Catholic Action Movement

As Brother Ronald Gallagher prepares to leave office in June, he shares some thoughts with us on his time as president

on the CoVeRSaint Mary's James Hagerty promoted a revolutionary idea: that college students shouldn’t be taught what to think but, rather, how to think, through the study of the Great Books.

COver PHOtO By DenniS marSiCO (altereD)

dePaRtmentS

4 natuRaleliot Jackson ’13 on the delicate balance for steelhead trout at Point reyes

6 aRCadeCarnaval · Bay area Service Day for Schools · events · Conversations worth Having · wake Up! · Future tense · gospel · energy Drinks a Buzz Kill? · By leaps and Bounds · Hybrids for a new world · going Digital · Pygmies and gorillas · the real mcCoy · all in the Family

7 SeminaRDon Quixote comes alive for liset Puentes ’15

9 inteRViewProfessor ed tywoniak's sabbatical in the outback

12 CommentaRyBarry Blitt comments on the debate about the value of higher education

16 RoundtaBleUp for discussion: why bother with college?

32 quadamong Brothers · Sesquicentennial gala · a love Story · a gael of a Brew · Performing Justice · remembering · Personal Branding for Dummies

33 ReColleCtionSmoments in time—first person memories of war

34 Poem

37 in memoRiam

38 glimPSeS

44 ViewPointObituaries are not postscripts. People are not afterthoughts. P.S., Don't Forget the amendt

uPdate

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Let us know what you think of the new Saint Mary's Magazine at magazine@stmarys-ca.edu

A new LookSince Saint Mary’s magazine launched in the fall of 2005, we have received very positive and encouraging feedback from you, our readers. But we have also heard that you wanted more:• More of the great conversations that

define the Saint Mary’s ethos• More from the provocative and diverse

voices of Gaels: faculty, students, staff, alumni and friends

• A richer depiction of the vibrant intel-lectual life of the campus

• A strengthened focus on the traditions and values that are so important to this community

So, we set out to re-imagine the maga-zine to better capture that intellectual

vibe and to create a place where com-munity voices can express themselves and important conversations can happen. And we looked for ways to better illuminate the beauty and distinct personality of this college and the community it fosters. We hope you like what you see. As always, we welcome your feedback, your ideas and your participation in the new Saint Mary’s magazine. Let us know what you think at magazine@stmarys-ca.edu

miChael BeSeda '79Publisher

Saint John Baptist de La Salle stars on the cover of the revamped Saint Mary's magazine. The College worked with the

international design consultancy Pentagram Design to completely re-imagine our book.

RE-IMAGINING THE BOOK 24 Seventy years ago James Hagerty championed the Great Books program at Saint Mary’s. Now pundits question the practical value of a liberal arts education. We confront the topic in this issue.

12 COMMENTARY Zuckerberg, Dell and Jobs dropped out and cashed in. Artist Barry Blitt comments.

16 ROUNDTABLEAlbert Einstein, Mark Cuban, a pope and others debate the value of a liberal arts education.

winteR 2013 54 Saint maRy’S magazine

n

I did research this summer on riparian zones at Point Reyes with Saint Mary’s biology Professor Michael Marchetti and the Carlson Lab at UC Berkeley. A riparian zone is an interface between land and water and can be dry part of the year and wet at other times. At Point Reyes there’s a section of riparian stream where steelhead trout are threatened. The long-term objective of the study is to give park rangers and the state Department of Fish & Wildlife the information they need to care for the threatened fish species in the area. To find out what’s going on with the trout, we graphed the food web in the sys-tem—who’s eating whom—using carbon and isotope dating. The food we eat has a nitrogen and carbon signature. When you metabolize food, you internalize or excrete nitrogen isotopes and carbon. So, I collected tissue samples—invertebrate samples on

shore and in the streams and fin clip sam-ples from the trout—so we could use these nitrogen and carbon signatures to graph the food map of the system. It’s a really cool, easy way to get information that will be important in helping the steelhead trout. We’re also trying to understand the role and importance of these fragmented systems. Even though there’s a huge die-out during the dry season, and it isn’t necessarily beautiful to look at, it has a functional role in the ecosystem. If the water table drops too much, there will be no pools during the dry season. And you have to have them during the dry season—a fragile point in the life cycle of the trout—for anything to survive. This information is meaningful to regulating water control and irrigation upstream to make sure there is water available for liv-ing systems downstream.

eliot jaCkSon’13

When environmental studies student Eliot Jackson ’13 was

little, if her parents couldn’t find her, they would listen

for running water or go find the dirt where she likely was

playing—always trying to figure out how things work.

natuRal

A Delicate Balance

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winteR 2013 76 Saint maRy’S magazine

free ourselves from the ordinary? Do we carelessly wander through life seeking dis-tractions from the realities of mundane life? There are no answers, because at the end of the discussion Don Quixote is whoever we believe him to be :• An immigrant student who makes

countless calls to Congress hoping for the opportunity to earn a degree, despite opposition from a population tainted by fear of change.

• A soldier who returns home scarred by the injustices of war, trying to belong in a culture he questions if he can belong to anymore.

• Or parents who have lost their jobs but remain hopeful as they face an uncer-tain future, putting on a smile for their children.

The stories of our past create the nar-ratives of the future and we find that the best place to find answers lies outside the roundtable as they unfold in our indi-vidual journeys.

“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.” —Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote Don Quixote wasn’t the only one who goes mad from reading; the look in the eyes of seminar students reflects long nights in the company of the Great Books. In the end, however, we do not remem-ber the number of pages we have read but the experience of gathering knowledge through the most basic form of learning—from each another. We gather around a table in Dante Hall running our eyes and fingers over highlighted words, trying to understand Cervantes’ rationale for writ-ing Don Quixote. I find solace in listening to my classmate’s perspectives. The words become familiar in the foreign land of classic literature. The chapters become lessons; the ideas come alive in each of our lives. Is Don Quixote a hero or a fool? What worlds can we create in our minds if we

don quiXotemiguel de Cervantes

Saint Mary’s sophomores read Don Quixote and other works by writers, politicians, philosophers, playwrights

and scientists of the Renaissance, 17th and 18th centuries.

SeminaR

Chasing windmills

liSet PuenteS ’15

Puentes is a communications major whose plans include

graduate school and working as a multi-media journalist.

The exuberant sights and sounds of “Carnaval” in New Orleans, Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Trinidad-Tobago, Italy, Spain and Switzer-land are on display at the Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art in a lively multimedia exhibition running from Feb. 2 to April 14. The show, which includes costumes, musical instruments and videos of the celebrations, is brought to SMC by NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

About 750 people are expected to participate in the Day of Service. Want to be one of them? Sign up at yearofthegael.com.

aRCade

On March 16 hundreds of volunteers will flood into some two dozen Bay Area schools to paint, clean, do repairs, landscape and org-anize classrooms and libraries. This Day of Service is a partnership between Saint Mary’s College and KTVU TV in Oakland. SMC stu-dents, faculty, staff and alumni will participate in the event, which is part of Saint Mary’s year-long sesquicentennial celebration. Day of Service is organized by the Catho-lic Institute for Lasallian Social Action, the Alumni Office and College Communications to provide the help schools need while also drawing attention to the benefits of service, an important part of the Saint Mary’s mission. “We wanted to do something in keeping with Saint Mary’s mission and core values, and a Day of Service was a perfect embodi-ment of those values,” said Elizabeth Smith, SMC assistant vice president for college communications.

join the gReat Bay aRea SeRViCe day foR SChoolS

Eye on the CarnavalMuseum hosts wildly colorful art from the big party

Carnaval is the spectacular party before Lent and 40 days of penance. Every-thing shifts, and hidden

behind masks and elaborate costumes, the poor and

powerless become kings and queens for a day.

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winteR 2013 98 Saint maRy’S magazine

a inteRView

ed tywoniakProfessor of Communication

Tywoniak, who was recently named editor of ETC, the journal of the Institute of

General Semantics, is writing a book about his research on

Aboriginal culture.

Why the Australian outback for your sabbatical?i went to the outback of the outback—the Balgo Hills, a remote aboriginal community where the Christian Brothers (called the De la Salle Broth-ers in australia) have had a school for more than 25 years. recent Dna evidence shows that the australian aboriginals’ is the world’s longest con-tinuous culture, spanning some 45,000 years. i wanted to learn their stories, their cosmological narratives, and how they view time.

How different is their view of time from ours? For them, the only thing is the present—begin-ning and ending with the youngest child and the oldest member of the family, because they can tell you how things are. the rest—the future and the past—is called dreamtime.

How did that resonate with the Europeans who colonized Australia?europeans didn’t understand who the aboriginal people were. then they tried to make them in their own image—superimposing a western no-tion of time management onto a culture that has a much different view. and, in an attempt to assimilate future gen-erations, they took away the children and tried to superimpose a european Christian narrative onto their culture. i saw the former mission, built by german Palatine priests and nuns, where the sto-len children were brought and where the mothers camped outside, wailing and crying for their chil-dren, smashing their own skulls with stones.

What became of the Aboriginals’ narrative?if the very rigid Palatine sisters had asked aborigi-nals to share their own stories, they would have discovered, wow, that’s our story, too. that’s what blew me away. the stories are the same as ours. take away particular people, like moses or Jesus, and you see that they are the same narratives. i think that’s why it became easy for the aboriginals to combine their ancient customs and Christianity. i found incredible works of art by aboriginal artists —a cross made of boomerangs, the Stations of the Cross made from their symbols—the Kooka-burra, the kangaroo, boomerangs, didgeridoos.

How have the Brothers tried to repair the damage?they didn’t try to convert anybody to anything. that’s not what they were there for. they came to teach. what’s the lasallian mandate? meet the students where they are. the Brothers began translating the aboriginal oral language into eng-lish. For 25 years they’ve phonetically transcribed Kukatja into english characters, making illustrated books of aboriginal cosmology stories that are used to educate teachers in aboriginal culture and language while teaching the children english.

The De La Salle Brothers have a unique presence in Australia.an important part of my project was getting to know the De la Salle Brothers, who are synonymous with education, social justice and the social safety net for youth there. in every respect the Brothers paved my way into the aboriginal community in Balgo. i had to be invited in by the village elder. By the time i got to what is really a very foreign place, i felt strangely at home. the Brothers made that possible.

Jesus Falls Down

Jesus Is Raised UpJesus Dies for Us

Ed Tywoniak’s Symbols at the

edge of time

aBOriginal SymBOlS

There are great conversations, and then there are “The Great(est) Conversation(s).” That’s the title given to a series of mind-expanding events taking place on campus throughout this sesquicentennial year. The name pays tribute to the Seminar Program, which is sometimes known as “The Great Conversation.” The series brings local, national and international thought leaders to Saint Mary’s to discuss some of the most important issues of the day. Among the conversations the College has hosted are:

the futuRe of CatholiC higheR eduCation, a panel that brought together the presidents of four Bay Area Catholic higher educa-tion institutions and Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of both the Vatican’s Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, to discuss the special contributions that Catholic higher education can make to the world.

gloBal eConomiC foRum: CoRPoRate SoCial ReSPonSiBility in a gloBal ConteXt, a symposium at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Panelists addressed the question: What does business need to do to provide responsible leadership while re-igniting economic growth to better the lot of humanity?

the gReat inteRfaith ConVeRSation, a Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu panel on interfaith issues in the 21st century.

miChael Sandel on the liBeRal aRtS and the Common good: juStiCe and CitizenShiP, a discussion led by Harvard professor Michael Sandel, author of Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? and What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets.

maRCh4 A Passion for Service: Generation X and Y Out Front. Panel discussion of young leaders. Soda Center. 6-8 p.m.

6 Saint Mary’s Sesquicentennial TV Special. CBS-5 eye on the Bay celebrates Saint mary's 150th anniversary. tune in to KPix-tv at 7 p.m. to watch the half-hour docu-mentary. For more air times, see yearofthegael/tvspecial.

9 Wo/men’s Conference: Take Action, Reshape Your World. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. in the Soda Center. Participate in workshops around three themes: Change Begins with you (leading from within), it takes a village (effective Com-munity action), and Being an engaged ally. stmarys-ca.edu/womens-conference-take-action-reshape-your-world.

9 The Way of the Cross: Catholic Liturgical Arts Con-ference. medieval history expert Brother Charles Hilken discusses the history of the cross, followed by a lenten devotion of the Stations of the Cross. Open to the public. 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Hagerty lounge and Chapel. RSVP at stmarys-ca.edu/the-way-of-the-cross-catholic-liturgical-arts-conference.

16 The Great Bay Area Service Day for Schools SmC students, faculty, staff and alumni join forces with Bay area volunteers to provide services at about two dozen schools. Bay area, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., yearofthegael.com/dayofservice.

16 MFA Scholarship Fund Benefit. the language of Food: a Conversation with Samin nosrat and Cindy Pawl-cyn, moderated by alev Croutier. 5-8 p.m., Dolby Chadwick gallery, 210 Post Street, Suite 205, San Francisco. learn more at stmarys-ca.edu/mfabenefit.

19 The Meaning of Vatican II: 50 Years Later. Panel dis-cussion with Bishop remi de roo of victoria, B.C.; Bishop John Cummins of Oakland; and moderator massimo Faggioli, a vatican Council historian on the legacy of the historic Second vatican Council. 7-9 p.m., Soda Center.

aPRil9 Justice: What is it? How do we get there from here? Panel discussion with KQeD host michael Krasny. 7 p.m., Soda Center.

23 Brothers and Partners on the Cutting Edge: Lasal-lian Education in the 21st Century. a distinguished panel of Brothers and partners will discuss how they respond to the times to serve the educational needs of youth and adults in the world today. 6-7:30 p.m., Soda Center.

24 Convocation address by Brother Alvaro Rodriquez Echeverria, superior general of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. 12:40-2:10 p.m., Chapel.

25 Beholding the Poor: An Interdisciplinary Con-versation on the Historical Perceptions of Poverty. Symposium featuring Saint mary’s faculty from the Schools of liberal arts, education, Science, and economics and Business administration, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Soda Center.

may13 Gael Golf Classic, at Blackhawk Country Club. For more information: stmarys-ca.edu/gaelgolfclassic

25 150th Undergraduate Commencement

26 Graduate Commencement

july 19-21 Save the Date: Reunion Weekend

Conversations coming up include:

THE MEAnInG OF VATICAn II:

50 YEARS LATERMarch 19

LASALLIAn EDUCATIOn In THE 21ST CEnTURY

April 23-24

BEHOLDInG THE POORApril 25

For a full listing of the Great(est) Conversation(s), see yearofthegael.com/events.html

Wake Up! The electrifying rock musical Spring Awakening, based on a trail-blazing play by German expressionist Frank Wedekind, certainly woke up audiences at Saint Mary’s last fall. Director Reid Davis, choreographer Jia Wu and a talented cast of SMC students offered a frank but hauntingly sweet portrayal of the is-sues facing teenagers as they discover their true selves. Recently the Kennedy Center College Theatre Festival recognized the performance as a top theatre production and the College was in-vited to enter Spring Awakening in the District IV competition for national awards in February.

eVentS Conversations Worth Having

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winteR 2013 1110 Saint maRy’S magazine

Shyam kamathAssociate dean of graduate business and global programs, School of Economics and Business Administration

Shyam Kamath has devoted his professional career to alleviating poverty around the world, raising the dignity of the poor and promoting social justice, so it is only fitting that he has been recognized as the 2012 Distinguished lasallian educator for the Christian Brothers’ San Francisco District,

which covers the entire west Coast. the award recognizes educators who exemplify the ideals of Saint John Baptist de la Salle. it was presented in november at the Huether Conference in washington, D.C., which focused on “Faith in action: global engagement through lasallian education.” Kamath’s work has certainly exemplified that mission. a native of india, he came to Saint mary’s in 2005 and has been a strong advocate for re-orienting graduate business programs toward lasallian views that encourage a global vision and nurture ethical consider-ations in business. the trans-global executive mBa program, which he created, has been a pioneer in action-oriented service learning, and through it he has built dozens of international projects in which Saint mary’s gradu-ate students partner with charities and not-for-profit groups by bringing business theory and practices to the aid of the world’s neediest people. “Shyam Kamath is very passionate about our school’s mission of think globally. lead responsibly,” said SeBa Dean zhan li. “His leadership in starting the trans-global Program is a good example of that pas-sion. His passion is contagious!”

SuSan BonillaChair of the state assembly’s budget subcommittee on education finance

as looming budget cuts continue to threaten education, private colleges and universities need all the advocates they can get, so it was an honor for Saint mary’s to host a ceremony acknowledging the efforts of assemblymember Susan Bonilla, chair of the state assembly’s budget subcommittee on education finance.

Bonilla was named as the first recipient of the “Policy maker of the year” award from the association of independent California Colleges and Universities (aiCCU) for her bold defense of Cal grants in the face of threatened state budget cuts. She led the charge against budget cutbacks proposed by governor Jerry Brown that would have slashed an estimated $302 million from the Cal grant program, reducing the average grant from $9,708 to $5,472. Bonilla’s tough stand held Cal grant cuts to 17 percent instead of the 44 percent Brown proposed. aiCCU President Kristen Soares called Bonilla “a hero” to California education. the “Policy maker of the year” award will be given annually to the person who has worked to assure that the contributions of California’s nonprofit private colleges and universities are appreciated as part of the solution to challenges facing the state. Bonilla, a former teacher and former mayor of Concord, was a Cal grant recipient herself in college, and she said that experience feeds her passion for defending education. “education is the door that opens up the world and transforms lives,” she said. “if we want economic recovery and responsible citizens, we know education is the answer and the pathway.”

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Yusuf Nessary struggled to keep up with his classmates in his south central Los Angeles grade school. He and his family had come to the United States from Afghanistan in 1980 to escape the war with the Soviet Union. He spoke very little English. To make matters worse, his teachers thought he “looked Mexican” and placed him with Spanish-speaking students. So, he was labeled a slow learner, which shook his confidence. “I was always the other kid,” he recalls. “I felt like I shouldn’t be there.” So how did this Saint Mary’s senior find himself giving a speech about literacy recently to a roomful of donors at a glitter-ing fundraiser? It all began when his family left their gang-infested LA neigh-borhood for Houston, Texas, where the 11-year-old was able to attend a school with better resources. His older sister, Zohra, helped him when he got stuck in school, but it was a heart-to-heart talk with an uncle, a respiratory specialist in LA, that finally lit a spark in him. Suddenly he had a dream—to become a doctor. After two years in college in Houston and his family’s move to the Bay Area, Yusuf transferred to Saint Mary’s. “I Googled ‘top pre-med schools’ and Saint Mary’s popped up,” he said with a smile. He had found a place where he could thrive. “Saint Mary’s has been a second family,” he said. “When you find a sense of purpose, it

brings so much more meaning to your life.” While pursuing pre-med, Nessary also found another passion— helping children avoid the problems that had held him back for so long. The catalyst was the Catholic Institute for Lasallian Social Action (CILSA) and a program it administers called Jumpstart, an Americorps project that sends college students into preschools in low-income neighborhoods to help children learn reading, writ-ing and other skills they need to succeed in life. “At first, Jumpstart was very intimidating…until I went into the classroom,” he recalled. “When I saw the kids’ faces and how happy they were that we were there, I knew it was right for me. It was as if I was seeing myself.” So when CILSA asked him to write about his experiences for a Jumpstart regional essay contest, he was glad to oblige. Little did he imagine that his essay would take first place among those submitted by volunteers from a host of Bay Area colleges that included Stanford, UC Berkeley and San Francisco State. And that’s how Yusuf Nessary came to be at a podium in a Hillsborough mansion, addressing more than 350 donors at the “Scribbles to Novels” fundraiser. He told them about his childhood and how his struggles undermined his confidence. And he told them about his special bond with a little boy named Taevion at Manzanita Head Start in East Oakland who struggled to read and write but made great progress after two years in Jumpstart. Finally, he explained how he wanted children to know that “anything is possible with hard work and dedication”—some-thing he’d learned from his father. The “Scribbles to Novels” event would raise more than a half million dollars for area Jumpstart programs. A recording of the speech made its way to YouTube, and the first thing Nessary did was send the link to his father, who had returned to Afghanistan to serve as a logistical advisor for the U.S. military. He also donated the $250 scholarship he received to a scholarship fund for students who want to study the fine arts. Nessary's Jumpstart experience also changed his plans for the future. Now he hopes to pursue a master’s degree in public health and raise awareness of health issues in low-income communities like East Oakland or in countries like Afghanistan. Jumpstart had given him “‘overwhelming joy and pleasure,’” Yusuf said. “And it also made me realize that we all are responsible for the future.” — Teresa Castle

Helping kids get a “Jumpstart” in life

Future Tense

Read Yusuf Nessary’s winning Jumpstart essay at stmarys-ca.edu/nessary

Yusuf Nessary reads goodnight moon in

Spanish to Makhi Paige, who just likes the way

it sounds.

The FDA now has received reports on 13 deaths over four years with a

possible connection to the high-caffeine energy drink

5-Hour Energy. Since 2009 the beverage has

been named in nearly 100 injury filings, which do

not claim direct product responsibility for harm.

goSPel We couldn’t help but sing, clap, stand and move along when Oakland’s St. Columba Gospel Choir performed in the Saint Mary’s Chapel in January. They were part of a stirring event — Soulful & Sacred, Celebrating the Black Catholic Experience—that also honored the 150th anniversary of the Emanci-pation Proclamation, Saint Mary’s sesquicentennial and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.

eneRgy dRinkS a Buzz kill?Have you ever tossed back an energy drink like Monster or 5-Hour Energy before your first meeting of the day or in the midst of that late-afternoon slump? If you have, you might want to talk to SMC Biology Profes-sor Vidya Chandrasekaran, who made waves recently with a study in Prevention magazine, entitled “The Bizarre Reason To Skip the Energy Drink,” that pointed to potentially hazardous effects of these types of beverages. After the study was published, KCBS news radio interviewed her about the FDA probe into Monster that was launched after five deaths were attributed to consumption of the highly caffeinated beverage. Chandrasekaran and several of her current and former summer research students —Wayne Doyle ’11, Eric Shide ’13 and Slesha Thapa ’14—found that energy drinks can slow the healing rate of animal cells. Based on the early research, she said, concern about the amount of caffeine and other stimulants, like ginseng and guarana, in these beverages appears to be well founded, and more re-search is needed to discover the true effects of these supercharged concoctions.

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anew digital digS Steve Jobs said it in 2010 when he introduced the iPad: “Technology alone is not enough. … It’s technology married with liberal arts, mar-ried with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing.” That’s the aim of the new Keck Media Lab that opened in Sichel Hall in November. Funded by a $250,000 grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, the lab is the first phase of a larger remodel planned for Sichel that will eventually offer a fully integrated Digital Learning Center. The lab will be a hub for the development of new courses across campus, providing technology training for faculty; support for student and alumni projects; a resource for the Saint Mary’s radio station, KSMC, and the College’s TV station, Gael Vision; and a training ground for technical courses in computer networking and mobile applica-tion development. The Keck grant will also fund a new cross-disciplinary minor in Digital Culture housed within the School of Liberal Arts, with classes in communication, art, math, com-puter science and anthropology. The aim is to discover the best ways to integrate digi-tal teaching and learning into the new core curriculum. Communication Professor Ed Tywoniak, who helped to secure the grant, said the new minor will “combine the best of our liberal arts heritage within a framework of the contemporary digital age.”

The demand for accounting professionals is growing and a new state law taking effect in 2014 will require additional credit hours to qualify for the CPA exam. To meet these needs, the School of Economics and Business Administration is launching a Master of Science in Accounting program in July 2013. The 15-month hybrid program combines on-campus classes on alternate Saturdays with live web-based sessions on two weeknight evenings. Students are able to work full-time while earning their degree. The first students in another hybrid program—the new M.A. in Leadership with a concentration in social justice—started classes last June. They’ll learn theories of leadership, justice and change, with a focus on creating more just relationships, organizations and structures. “The program has been attractive to people who work in the nonprofit sector or public interest organizations and who are committed to learning personally and academically how to contribute to a more just world,” said Jennifer Pigza, the program’s academic director.

College launches new grad studies programs

By leaPS and BoundS The physically demanding career of a professional dancer often gets in the way of earning a college degree and preparing for a life after dance. LEAP (Liberal Arts Education for Arts Professionals) has changed all that. The internationally recognized SMC bachelor’s degree program, designed specifically for current and former professional dancers, helps these artists achieve their academic dreams. With branches in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, LEAP has now taken the program to Las Vegas.

Hybrids for a New World

M.S. In ACCOUnTInG15-month

accelerated program

Meets 150-hour require-ment for CA CPA licensure

Evening and Saturday classes

Live web-based conferencing evenings

M.A. In LEADERSHIP, SOCIAL JUSTICE

COnCEnTRATIOnWeb-based program

Ten in-person weekend meetings

Annual 2-day Social Justice Institute

11-course sequence

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CommentaRy

winteR 2013 1514 Saint maRy’S magazine

It isn’t often that a graduate business class needs to weigh the needs of pygmies and gorillas, but that’s what a Saint Mary’s class called “Doing Business in Africa” led by Professor Linda Herken-hoff did recently as part of a study of sustainable economics. The unusual research, which was carried out in a remote Bwindi village in southern Uganda, was all part of the course-work for a recent cohort in Saint Mary’s Trans-Global Executive MBA (T-GEMBA) curriculum. Herkenhoff, T-GEMBA program director, became interested in the pygmies, known as Batwa, when she learned that they had been expelled from their jungle home in 1989 as part of a plan to create a protected habitat for endangered mountain gorillas. Since then, the gorilla population has rebounded from 620 in 1989 to 786 in 2011. “It seemed that we were protecting the gorillas, but the pygmies weren’t doing so well,” said Herkenhoff, who has a par-ticular interest in sustainability studies and recently received an HSBA Sustainability Leadership Fellowship in Oxford, England. Although it has been 24 years since the Batwa were forced out of their forest home, they have failed to create a sustainable local economy—perhaps not surprising for a people who never had a monetary system and whose language has no future tense.

Lessons for the business world

Pygmies and Gorillas

the Real mCCoyPaul McCoy had his sights set on a possible NBA career until one fateful day during his sophomore year at Southern Methodist University when he went up hard for a lay-up, and excruciating pain shot through his right knee. He’d torn his ACL. The past three years—with multiple surgeries and endless hours in train-ing rooms and rehabilitation facilities in a dogged attempt to heal— stand in stark contrast to his high school career as a three-sport athlete in Oregon. Blessed with an explosive quickness and breathtak-ing body control, McCoy helped his team win the Oregon State Basketball Champi-onship during his senior year. Then, at a shade under six feet tall, McCoy quickly established himself as the big man at SMU, the first freshman in school his-tory to lead his team in scoring. The game

just seemed to come easy to him. But after transferring to SMC as a junior, he rein-jured his knee on the second day of pre-season practice and sat out the season. Now, McCoy is finally back. As SMC cruised past San Diego on Jan. 24, the Gael Force roared for Coach Randy Bennett to put him in, and he made his first two-pointer as a Gael. “I can only control how much effort I put into it,” he said. “It’s more on Coach Bennett, having faith and trust in whatever role he gives me. I’ll do anything to stay on the court.” —Connor Buestad

Basketball comes naturally for Jackie Nared, a junior on the Gaels women’s basketball team who’s burning up the boards this year. Nared was raised around the game. Her father, Greg, played point guard at the University of Maryland in the late 1980s be-fore spending several years as a high school and collegiate coach. “My dad was never too pushy. That allowed it to be more fun than pressure,” Nared said. The road to becoming a Gael wasn’t a straight one for Nared, a smooth-shooting guard who is as comfortable posting up inside or attacking the glass as she is stepping out to shoot the three-pointer. She played her high school career in Portland, Ore., commit-ted to her dad’s alma mater and spent her first collegiate season at the University of Maryland in College Park. But eventually, being so far away from home began to wear a bit. That’s where Saint Mary’s came in. It only took one look to persuade her to transfer, she said. “It was really quiet, a beauti-ful campus. It was an easy choice.” Her career in Moraga began in earnest with the 2011-12 season, when she averaged 13 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. But this season, she has really caught fire. In the first 20 games, Nared averaged 18.4 points and 9.1 rebounds, leading the conference in scoring and ranking second in rebounding. Once the school year ends, Nared will train for one more season with the Gaels. And, if she ever needs a workout partner, she won’t have to look too hard. “Even when I went home for winter break, my dad and I went and got some shots up,” Nared said. “Just like old times.” —Ben Enos /Saint Mary's Athletics

a

Like something out of an In-diana Jones movie, the class's journey to their research site passed through the Bwindi

Impenetrable Forest, home to endangered mountain goril-las, on the way to the Batwa village in southern Uganda.

With a solid core of out-standing players like Jackie Nared (right), Kate Gaze and Danielle Mauldin, the women's basketball team is posting a strong season.

An ACL injury happens when the anterior cruciate ligament

inside the knee joint tears, which most often happens when an athlete stops or

changes direction suddenly. They often feel or hear a

painful pop, may face surgery and will need rehabilitation to get back on their feet.

All in the FamilySMC standout follows in father’s footsteps

Last March, four students from the class of 22 set out for Uganda to see how they could use their business acumen to help the Batwa. When they reached the Bwindi area, they interviewed the pygmies and aid groups to gather information for a hand-ful of projects, with the goal of helping the Batwa become more self-sufficient. They investigated opportunities for microfi-nance loans to spur economic growth and studied the needs of the local hospital to learn how it could become less dependent on outside aid. They also explored opportunities for eco-tourism, which is negligible in the region, and for exporting local crafts for profit. Then they brought their data home and shared it with the rest of the class, who crafted recommendations and returned to Africa in October to present their business models, which will be car-ried out by the Batwa. Although the aim of the class was to learn about real-world strategies to create a more sustainable economy, Herkenhoff said there was an interesting side benefit —the class members also learned from the pygmies about how to work in collectives and how to look at the natural world in a different way. Western notions of sustainability are not a panacea, Herkenhoff said. “Everything we talk about in terms of sustainability, they were doing in the forest,” she said. “Their whole culture is about being in harmony with nature.” —Teresa Castle

all togetheR Young Haitians check out their image on an iPhone belonging to a Saint Mary's student who was in Haiti for a Jan Term class devoted to helping earthquake victims. Read more: smchaiti.blogspot.com

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PoPe john Paul iiex Corde ecclesiae

Every Catholic University feels responsible to contribute concretely to the progress of the society within which it works:

for example it will be capable of searching for ways to make university education accessible to all those who are able to

benefit from it, especially the poor or members of minority groups who customarily have been deprived of it.

maRk CuBanamerican businessman, investor, philanthropist and owner of the

nBa’s Dallas mavericks

As an employer I want the best prepared and qualified employ-ees. I could [sic] care less if the source of their education was

accredited by a bunch of old men and women who think they know what is best for the world. I want people who can do the

job. I want the best and brightest. Not a piece of paper.

alBeRt einSteinIt is not so very important for a person to learn facts. For that he does not really need a college. He can learn them from books. The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.

RRoundtaBle

dan muRPhy’13, Saint mary’s sociology/communication majorCollege has been one of the most exciting times for me. With a mix of learning useful skills for the future and making lifelong friends, so many opportunities have come my way at Saint Mary’s. I would have surely regretted missing out on these memories if college had not been in my plans. If someone wants to figure out a little bit about themselves and a lot about others, I feel they should head to college at some point. These are years you can’t get back, so you have to make the most of them.

CaRole SwainSaint mary’s vice president for missionFor young adults whose curiosity is stimulated by study, the academic and co-curricular opportunities of college are limitless.  Leaving the security of home for college, students encounter diverse worldviews, cultural experiences and challenges to their core values. A college community offers them opportunities to cross boundaries, make informed choices, discipline their minds and become individuals with dignity who embrace collective responsibilities for the common good.

dale j. StePhenSFounder of UnCollege, the social movement

empowering students to create their own education

Yes, the college world likes to point out that if you go to college you’ll earn more. But in our society, smart, motivated people tend to go

to university. What if those same smart, motivated people went out and forged their own path? What if they weren’t forced to raise their hand to go to the bathroom and take standardized tests, and could go

out and engage their passions?

Bethani a. doBkin Saint mary’s provost and vice president for academic affairsWe know that a college degree more than doubles an under-graduate student’s potential lifetime earnings, and graduate degrees bring both higher salaries and career advancement.  But the journey of a Saint Mary’s education is about much more than letters behind your name or checking off tasks that have been completed. You’ll learn how to engage in respectful dialogue, express yourself eloquently and articulate connections among ideas. You’ll learn how to live in community, with skills of leadership, collaboration and bridging difference. You’ll learn how to harness the power of the word, and as you do so, you’ll discover yourself and your place in the world. You’ll end up not just with a job, but with a life guided by a purpose.

the Value of a College degRee today whenever the economy is down, the question arises: why bother with college? During the worst recession in decades, reports said the cost of a degree had increased 1,120 percent in 35 years; job prospects for col-lege grads had fallen to the lowest level in more than 10 years; public funding for higher education has declined, and stu-dent loan debt hit $1 trillion. meanwhile, famous college dropouts like mark zuckerberg and Bill gates have become billionaires. People began to ask, “is college really worth it?” that’s our question for roundtable.

Is College Really worth it?

the toPiCRoBeRt Bulman

Saint mary’s professor of sociologyGoing to college is many things. On the one hand, it provides you

with the resources to develop skills that will enhance your con-tributions to society: critical thinking, effective communication,

collaboration with others, creative problem solving, cross-cultural understanding, and the ability to work well under pressure. On the other hand, it gives you the credential, the symbolic seal of

approval that opens doors to the world of employment and promo-tion. Just as importantly, however, college is a gift of time—a

precious opportunity to grow spiritually, to mature personally, to play socially, and to ponder for the sake of pondering.

len Penzoengineer and personal finance blogger

The time spent in college earning a degree can often be put to better use gaining experience. True, certain professions, like medicine and en-gineering, require college degrees. But there are plenty of jobs out there

where it makes more sense to skip college and immediately embark on a career, because on-the-job experience is more valuable than a post-high

school education. And while those who decide to skip college won't have a college degree after four years, they will have accrued four years of

valuable experience. Even better—with the average cost of tuition, room and board for a four-year college approximately $20,000 annually—

they’ll be $180,000 ahead in the ledger book, assuming they earned a modest average salary of $25,000 annually over that same period.

jP muSgRoVe ’07, president-elect, alumni association Board of DirectorsCollege provides a unique intersection between critical thinking and transformative learning. In a world where unprecedented challenges exist, primitive thinking becomes insufficient. Albert Einstein once stated, “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Solving the world’s problems requires cutting-edge leadership and education. Colleges—Saint Mary’s College, in particular—stand on the leading edge of preparing today’s thinkers for the needs of tomorrow. Each one of us possesses unique gifts that carry life-changing potential. There is no better place to refine great potential than at a college.

winteR 2013 1918 Saint maRy’S magazine

The famed football coach who defined sports as more than a game

By miChelle Smith / PhotoS fRom SmC liBRaRy aRChiVeS

When slip madigan’s train pulled out of the station, heading for New York City back in 1936, it carried his Saint Mary’s College football team, alumni, local busi-nessmen, supporters and eventually even a few celebrities to the Galloping Gaels’ game against Fordham at the Polo Grounds. Could he have known where that 18-car train might also lead? Did he realize that someday it might lead to Dick Vitale, March Madness or maybe even Beyoncé performing at half-time of the Super Bowl?

SoaRingA Saint Mary’s football player goes airborne as Madigan looks on in this1930s publicity photo.

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The famed Saint Mary’s football coach understood, well before many in his time, that sports is entertainment. Two teams taking the field in competition is more than a game. It is a show. And Edward “Slip” Madigan was absolutely a showman. Madigan learned at the knee of his own coach, the legendary Knute Rockne, at Notre Dame. And then he just took it to another level. Headed to New York? Invite Babe Ruth to a party at the Waldorf. Want to make sure people will remember your team? Dress them in red silk jerseys and shiny green pants. Want to get in good with the media? Buy them drinks and bring gifts up to the guys in the print shop, the people who determine where stories about your team will be placed. As Saint Mary’s College celebrates its 150th anniversary, part of this College’s legacy is Madigan’s unmistakable contri-

bution to a modern sports culture that says a game is never merely a game. If it were, the Gaels wouldn’t be playing men’s basketball games at midnight to fit into a 24-hour ESPN marathon. The West Coast Conference would not be playing its postseason tournament in Las Vegas, a city that doesn’t have a WCC school within 250 miles. If it were, large universities wouldn’t be changing conferences like a game of big-money musical chairs, erasing rivalries and exploding travel budgets. If it were, “Dickie V” Vitale wouldn’t be a household name. Because, while the former coach knows a lot about basketball, that’s not why he’s famous. He’s become part of college basketball culture on the ba-sis of a bigger-than-the-game personality. Madigan? He also had a bigger-than-the-game personality. Slip Madigan was hired at Saint Mary’s

in 1921. The College, in 1920, had 71 stu-dents. Saint Mary’s officials were looking to increase enrollment and improve the financial health of the College. Athletics was an increasingly viable way to do that. Richard O. Davies, a sports historian and professor at University of Nevada, said many universities across the country were discovering the financial merits of sports programs, particularly football. “College football players were becoming heroic figures,” Davies said. “The adminis-trators at many universities were looking at students, who were selling tickets to these games and thinking ‘We ought to be doing that’. Colleges began hiring profes-sional coaches and college sports began to turn into a real business; suddenly it was tied to the free enterprise system. It was a powerful way to gain valuable publicity and exposure for your institution.” Some of the most storied stadiums in college sports were built in this period, including Cal’s Memorial Stadium, Ohio State’s Ohio Stadium and the Big House in Michigan. Tiny Saint Mary’s, Davies said, found itself “riding the wave.” Saint Mary’s kinesiology professor and sports historian Deane Lamont said SMC President Brother Gregory Mallon made the College’s intentions clear. “He was quoted as saying, ‘A college or university that does not appear on the sports pages of the newspaper is out of the running. The boy coming to college selects his school largely because of its ath-letic prowess. We pedagogues might like to think otherwise, but we are deceiving ourselves’,” Lamont said. “The very next year, guess who arrives.” Madigan was audacious and bold, and a great coach, turning Saint Mary’s foot-ball into a powerhouse program. He gave the College a national identity with the team’s play on the field. It started with Madigan’s insistence on bringing the Gaels to the East Coast, said Randy Andrada, who wrote the book, They Did It Every Time: The Saga of the Saint Mary’s Gaels. “There was no one who had ever taken a team coast-to-coast to play,” Andrada said. “He fully recognized the importance of New York. And the College saw it as a way to increase its exposure.” Madigan knew the names of all of the lo-cal sports reporters, knew what liquor and

SliP and BaBeMadigan was revered by his young SMC footballers (top photo) and also won the respect of celebrities. Ever on the lookout for publicity, he threw a party before a game against Fordham and invited all the top sportswriters, New York Mayor Jimmy Walk-er and even legendary slugger Babe Ruth (shown with Madigan in the bottom photo).

Colleges began hiring professional coaches and college sports began to turn into a real business...It was a powerful way to gain valuable publicity and exposure for your institution.

winteR 2013 2322 Saint maRy’S magazine

wine they liked to drink, what cigarettes they liked to smoke. He brought Christ-mas gifts into the printing room at the San Francisco Chronicle. “He knew he didn’t want to forget any-one,” Andrada said. “He always said it was as important to remember the name of the cub reporter as much as the editor. He also understood marketing and that it was well worth it to be quotable.” Madigan wrote newspaper columns, hosted radio shows. He was on billboards and served as a pitch-man for a local gro-cery store chain. He also wrote articles for national magazines. “All of the Catholic colleges wanted to be like Notre Dame. Saint Mary’s, along with Fordham, came the closest because of Madigan’s approach,” Andrada said. “The barnstorming road trips were adopted by many schools.” Madigan also fueled the Gaels’ national reputation by orchestrating elaborate pranks, notably “stealing” the Fordham mascot Rameses IV after defeating the Rams. Saint Mary’s issued a press release that the ram in Fordham’s possession was actually a ringer they’d brought in to cover the embarrass-ment of losing Rameses IV. In actual fact, the ram Madigan displayed upon returning to San Francisco had been borrowed from a Sacramento area ranch as the train brought the team back home to a ticker tape parade. Andrada contends the Saint Mary’s campus was built in Moraga in 1928 on the back of the football program’s success and the revenue it provided. “That’s just a fact,” Andrada said. But the program that was the College’s boon also became its bane, just a few years after that trip to Fordham. “The program became a financial burden in the late ’30s,” Andrada said. “It was a very complicated situation.” Madigan was making a large salary and taking a percentage of the football gate at a time when the College was struggling mightily with financial challenges from the Depression—diminished enrollment, near bankruptcy and threatened foreclosure. Brother Albert, the president of Saint Mary’s in 1936, was quoted in a 1967 Sports Illustrated story saying, “I paid Mr. Madigan because I recognized a just debt and I recognized that he had brought cer-tain assets to St. Mary’s.” Andrada said people were “shocked” by the amount of money Madigan was

On march 11, 1940, Saint mary’s College issued the following press release:

J. Philip Murphy, chairman of the Board of Ath-letic Control. . . announced today that the board had decided not to renew Mr. Edward P. (“Slip”) Madigan’s contract, which will expire on March 31, 1941. Murphy stated that Norman P. (“Red”) Strader would handle the football squad in this year’s Spring training but added that Madigan’s salary rights under the contract would be respected even though Mr. Madigan will have no jurisdiction over the balance of the 1940 Spring training or the 1940 regular season.

in short, after 19 years as head coach of the galloping gaels, the legendary Slip madigan had been “unceremoniously bounced” a year before his contract was scheduled to expire. although rumors had been circulating con-cerning madigan’s declining health and a possible move to another college or even to the pros, the revelation of his firing came as a terrific shock to football fans across the nation. the dazed student body president of the College told a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle: “St. mary’s without madigan would be like St. mary’s without the chapel.” after being informed of his release, madigan made a statement to reporters that seemed gracious compared to the curt notice of his termination. “it is my earnest desire,” he said, “because of my long association and love for St. mary’s College, that this sudden and sensational announcement will have no detrimental effect upon St. mary’s, a fine institution whose rise to prominence has been my life’s ideal.” nonetheless, he went on to claim that he was fired because of the personal animosity of andrew F. Burke, a key member of the athletic Control Board. the headline in the Oakland tribune said it all: “i was Fired Because of Feud: madigan.” what all of this seemed to show, at least to the uninformed general public, is that Saint mary’s had acted badly in the matter of the coach’s firing, and madigan, nobly. this was not really the case. Shortly after the announcement of madigan’s firing, murphy emphatically denied that the coach had been dismissed because of a vendetta. Other members of the athletic Control Board have backed him up. murphy went on to reveal that Saint mary’s had offered the coach a paid leave of absence expiring in a year and gave him a week to gracefully an-nounce his own retirement. However, madigan refused to go along. “the board [therefore] had

no alternative but to release the story,” murphy told the press. “it is a matter of regret that mr. madigan’s attitude has made necessary this added statement.” given the high costs of madigan’s buyout totaling $14,000 (or $221,487 in today’s value), the reasons for his firing must have been weighty. However, Brother albert rahill, the president at the time, resolutely refused over the years to say anything significant about the matter, although he did insist that madigan was an honorable man who had not engaged in any financial chicanery. However, believing that “it doesn’t cost any more to go first class,” madigan did spend money much too freely, and toward the end of his career he seemed more concerned with his business enterprises than with his coaching responsibilities. not many months before madigan was fired, Don glendon wrote an article for Collier’s magazine, entitled “the Pied Piper of Pigskin,” in which he suggested that madigan “never overlooks a silver dollar unless it is nailed to the floor and for this emergency he always carries a chisel and a hammer.” after the annual game with Fordham in 1936, almost all of the profits, amounting to $36,420, were turned over to ma-digan for back salary rather than to the College’s creditors. the poorest school in the country now had one of its most highly paid coaches. Perhaps the main reason madigan was let go is that football had gotten out of hand in the late '30's and was having a deleterious effect on the College’s academic life, its moral atmosphere, and even its Catholic character. most of the athletes were non-Catholics, a few were brutish, and several were not “fit” for college, Brother Jo-sephus mangan told archbishop mitty in 1941. in 1939, madigan’s star halfback mike Klotovich was dismissed from school, and at the end of the semester 14 other football players were barred from athletic competition because of poor grades. it seems likely that the athletic Control Board had come to agree with Brother Josephus’ conclusion that “the tail (that is, athletics) . . . wags the dog (that is, the college)—scholastically, morally and spiritually.” not long after being named madigan’s suc-cessor, “red” Strader addressed the alumni association. His refreshing talk was both straight-forward and simple: "it's the college, not the man; it's the team, not the individual." a new era had surely begun. and it was prob-ably overdue. nonetheless, the madigan era was a fabled time in the school’s history, never to be forgotten for its glamour and glitz.

a faBled eRa endS: the fiRing of SliP madigan

By Ronald iSetti bringing in. “And there were people on the campus who were interested in a more European tradition of culture and education and refinement, and they questioned how Madigan’s barnstorming tour fit into that notion of education,” Andrada said. “No question, there were tensions.” The College’s adminstrators felt ambiva-lence about Madigan’s emphasis on athletics. “Saint Mary’s initially wanted and needed Slip and what he could do for en-rollment,” Lamont said. “But that came at a cost. Lots of folks on campus felt that things had gotten out of hand. That there was too much of a focus on athletics.” Madigan was ultimately dismissed by the College in 1940 with a record of 199-58-13, three years after Saint Mary’s filed for bankruptcy in the Great Depression. But his legacy of showmanship has lived on in sports of every ilk ever since. “Ours is the only university system in the world that has assumed the role of entertaining the public through athletics,” Davies said. In fact, the tug-o-war between academics and athletics persists across colleges today, particularly as universities and conferences gain increasing leverage through billion-dollar television contracts and media deals. “College sports are entertainment,” An-drada said. “Is the effort worth it, worth the revenue and advertising that comes to the university? Many of the questions we are dealing with today are the same ques-tions they were asking in the late ’20s and the ’30s.” Modern college athletics—and to a greater degree professional sports—are about exposure and entertainment. Teams play at times day and night dictated by television networks. Music blares during the run of play. Children play in inflatable jumpy-houses that sit beyond the outfield fence. Celebrities sit courtside. Luxury boxes host dignitaries and luminaries. All in the name of a game. “For major sports teams, they are now selling an entire experience,” Davies said. What Madigan did 80 years ago looks quaint, but prescient. “There is ambivalence,” Lamont said. “We know what the big-time programs are like, we know what happens at these schools. At Saint Mary’s, we are very seri-ous about our academics. “On one hand, we are very proud of our

student-athletes and the success they’ve had. And I believe our faculty feels like they are true student-athletes. But we are wary of it—wary is the right word—of becoming like it is at many other places.” Creating strong student-athletes takes a concerted effort on the part of faculty and staff, said Saint Mary’s Athletic Director Mark Orr, who is proud of the Gaels’ legacy of producing outstanding student-athletes. “It is a commitment. We have done a lot in terms of student services, a lot of education on time management and balancing. We put in resources, with tutoring and study halls. But it starts with having the right young men and women in your program.” Orr cited the school’s 92 percent gradu-ation rate for student-athletes, which

ranks third in the state of California and second in the West Coast Conference. “It’s part of the fabric of our institu-tion,” Orr said. “It’s different here than at some of the major football schools. Student-athletes are students first.” Saint Mary’s football legacy ended in 2007 when the program played its final season, discontinued in the name of ath-letics resource re-allocation. But the Gaels’ athletic success lives on, particularly in men’s basketball. Saint Mary’s, behind nationally respected coach Randy Bennett and a pipeline of talented student-athletes from Australia, have reached the NCAA Tournament three times since 2008. “One of our most visible athletes, Aus-tralian Matthew Dellavedova, on the men’s basketball team, is one of five Division I players to be named an Academic All-American. He truly embodies what you look for in a student-athlete,” Orr said. A trip to the Sweet 16 in 2010 raised the College's national profile to its high-est level since the days when Madigan’s team ruled campus culture—and changed American sports forever. Michelle Smith has been a Bay Area sportswriter for 23 years and spent 10 years at the San Fran-cisco Chronicle. She is currently a contributor for espnW.com.

attention gRaBBeRSIn a famous publicity stunt, Madigan (top, left) claimed to have stolen the Fordham mascot, a ram named Rameses IV, after Saint Mary’s defeated the Fordham Rams. He also moved SMC’s home games to the 60,000-seat Kezar Stadium (bottom photo) in Golden Gate Park to grab more attention for the team.

It’s different here than at some of the major football schools. Student-athletes are students first.

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By teReSa CaStle / illuStRation By owen Smith

Great Books to

Great Works

How three Gaels shaped the Catholic Action Movement

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a professor emeritus of history at San Francisco State University. Catholic Action was “a faith-based cultural and political reform movement” inspired by the Catholic Social Teaching of Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius XI, Issel wrote in his book about the move-ment, For Both Cross and Flag. It called for Catholics to live out their faith by standing up for key principles, such as human dignity, the common good, charity and the just distribution of wealth. It was a message well-suited to the times. Nearly a quarter of all Americans lost their jobs in the Great Depression, and all across the country workers were striking for better wages and conditions. Overseas, Europe was being torn apart by Hitler in Germany and the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in Italy. Just as worrisome for the Catholic Church, the influence of com-munism was spreading worldwide. With so much at stake, Hagerty joined forces with Andriano, an Italian-born attorney, and by the fall of 1937, after meeting with every parish in San Francisco, they presented a “Plan for Catholic Action” to Archbishop John J. Mitty of San Francisco, who gave it his full support. In a letter to Mitty, Andriano summed up the vision of Catho-lic Action: “What the world needs today are men of faith, action and courage.” And so, on the feast of the Epiphany in January 1938, Andriano and Hagerty assembled about 200 men at St. Mary’s Cathedral to inaugurate the Catholic Men of San Francisco. Mitty appointed Andriano and Hagerty as president and executive secretary, and the band of crusaders began their mission to “vitalize” the faith.

Battle foR the ameRiCan SoulThe Catholic Action cadre “saw themselves engaged in a struggle against secularism, materialism, fascism and communism,” Issel explained. “The activists combined zeal to revitalize their per-sonal faith with a determination to be politically influential.” From 1938 until the winter of 1941–42, Andriano and Hagerty expanded the organization to 160 of San Francisco’s 174 par-ishes, and membership in Catholic Action Circles grew to 1,500 men and 300 women. Much of their work was devoted to increasing participation in the rituals of the church and campaigning against what were seen as society’s evils, Issel said, but it also “forthrightly an-nounced that Catholic faith-based principles deserved a leading place in the making of public policy.” It might have been even more influential but for the grow-ing demands of the war in Europe and a smear campaign that branded Andriano a Fascist sympathizer and led to his brief exile from “all coastal areas in the United States.” He was later exoner-ated and returned to San Francisco, resuming his activism and even earning a commendation from Pope Pius XII for his war relief work. In 1961, just before his death, Saint Mary’s honored him as Alumnus of the Year. Despite occasional setbacks, Issel said, “The struggle between Catholic Action activists and the Communist Party profoundly influenced the debate over how to define the public interest in San Francisco from the early 1930s through the 1950s.”

CatholiC aCtion and woRkeRS’ RightS One of the most vociferous debates at the time was the battle over workers’ rights. Into this arena stepped John L. “Jack” Hen-

ning, whom Issel describes as a young member of the Catholic Action cadre and a “protégé” of Hagerty. He may have been drawn to Catholic Action because it offered an alternative to both unrestricted capitalism and to commu-nism, which was making significant inroads in the American labor movement. Unlike Hagerty, Henning looked every bit the fighter, from his square jaw to his broad shoulders, and he lived up to that reputation, immersing himself from an early age in the cause of workers’ rights. In 1938—fresh out of Saint Mary’s—he helped to found the San Francisco branch of the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists (ACTU). A year later, in a stirring speech at Saint Mary’s entitled “The Catholic College Graduate and Labor,” he urged his audience to join groups like the ACTU and the Catholic Worker Movement “to foster and spread… sound trade unionism built on Christian principles.” It was the first of many speeches in his 58-year career as a hard-charging labor advocate. In the words of Bay Area labor writer Dick Meister, Henning became “a powerful crusader on behalf of those who do the work of the world and against the wealthy and privileged who exploit them.” In 1962, President John F. Kennedy drafted him as Under-secretary of Labor, and he later served 13 consecutive terms as executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, from 1970 to 1996. At Saint Mary’s, the John F. Hen-ning Institute, a center for the study of Catholic social thought and action, is named in his honor. He credited his Saint Mary’s education, and particularly the great orator Brother Z. Leo, for much of his success. “The ability to learn public speaking from Brother Leo enabled my father to get all those distinguished jobs,” said his son, Dan Henning. An-drada added: “He understood the Great Books. He understood that philosophy and ethics had to be lived in the day-to-day, rough-and-tumble world we all deal with.” After his death in 2009, Senator Edward Kennedy extolled him, saying “He’ll always be remembered as one of the true gi-ants of the American labor movement.”

fighting foR the gReat BookS As for Hagerty, he threw himself into educational reform with the same vigor he had brought to the Catholic Action move-ment, converting the entire Saint Mary’s curriculum into a Great Books model during the first years of U.S. involvement in World War II, fighting for its preservation in the curriculum for decades, and finally initiating the Integrated Liberal Arts Curriculum, the predecessor of the Integral Program, before his death in 1957 at the age of 58. The next spring, the SMC honor society sponsored a fitting forum in his memory, moderated by Mortimer Adler, on “What Makes a Great Teacher.” It has been more than 70 years since Hagerty, Andriano and Henning joined forces in their Catholic Action crusade, but at Saint Mary’s—and beyond—they are remembered as exemplars of liberal arts education and “men of faith, action and courage.”

Do you have any recollections or stories about James Hagerty, Jack Henning or Sylvester Andriano? Share them with us at magazine@stmarys-ca.edu.

Jack Henning ’38

He became a powerful

crusader on behalf of those

who do the work of the world and against the

wealthy and privileged who exploit them.

James Hagerty ’19

He was a modern-day Socrates. He would ask a question, but

he would never answer it. He forced us to think things

through.

Sylvester Andriano ’11

In a letter to Archbishop

Mitty, Andriano

summed up the vision of

Catholic Action: “What the

world needs today are men of faith, action and courage.”

Critics of liberal arts education often question what courses like literature, art or the Great Books have to do with the prob-lems of the real world. Clearly, they never met James Hagerty, a man who combined an ardent love of the Great Books with a yearning for social change. Or Sylvester Andriano, who championed his faith like a warrior. Or Jack Henning, who waded into the world with oratorical skills and values he learned at Saint Mary’s and left behind a legacy of reforms. For a little while in the 1930s and ’40s, the paths of these three Gaels intersected, and they joined forces in a campaign that energized thousands of San Francisco Catholics to speak out on some of the most pressing social issues of the day.

a modeRn-day SoCRateSAt Saint Mary’s, the name Hagerty is legendary—so much so that the main social gathering spot on campus, Hagerty Lounge, is named for him. So it’s always a surprise when you see a picture of him. Randy Andrada ’73, once described Hagerty as “a tweedy, owl-eyed man steeped in the classics.” But beneath this meek, scholarly facade beat the heart of a trailblazer. Even in the 1930s, Hagerty, who taught philosophy at the Col-lege for nearly 40 years, had acquired a cultlike following among many undergraduates, mainly for his embrace of the revolution-ary idea that in college, students should be taught not what to think but how to think, principally through the study of the most important books of the Western world. “He was a modern-day Socrates,” said Brother Dominic Ruegg ’41, who studied under Hagerty and later taught Greek, Latin and Seminar at Saint Mary’s. “He never answered any questions. He would ask a question, but he would never answer it. He forced us to think things through.” For Brother Dominic and many others, it was a transformative experience. From his base in rural Moraga, Hagerty also created a commu-nity of thinkers that reached across the nation, weaving together a far-flung social network long before social networking became the craze. As co-editor of the influential Moraga Quarterly, he became fast friends with social activists and renowned think-ers of the day and invited them to campus. Among them were Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, and Mortimer Adler, who brought the Great Books crusade to the masses with his best-seller How to Read a Book: The Art of Getting a Liberal Education. “He was extraordinarily friendly, warm-hearted, social and approachable,” said Brother Dominic. Hagerty would later go on to initiate the Great Books program, the predecessor of Collegiate Seminar, but in the 1930s he con-tented himself with organizing forums at which students and colleagues would wrestle with the world of ideas, arguing about the natural rights of man, the nature of truth and virtue, and the value of personal gain vs. the greater good. Soon, however, he would have an opportunity to put his philosophical beliefs into action.

fRom SCholaRShiP to SeRViCeIn 1935, in the midst of the Great Depression, Hagerty heard the call of public service. That spring, Sylvester Andriano, a 1911 Saint Mary’s graduate and attorney, delivered the commencement ad-dress and “urged his audience to make Catholic Action an integral part of their private and public lives,” according to William Issel,

B nov. 22, 1915d June 4, 2009

Founded the San Francisco branch of the association

of Catholic trade Unionists (aCtU)

B Jan. 31, 1899d Sept. 11, 1957

initiated Saint mary's great Books program

Presented a "Plan for Catholic action" and served

as executive secretary

B Dec. 31, 1889d Oct. 9, 1963

Presented a "Plan for Catholic action" and served

as president

Meet the Gaels

Warriors for the

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winteR 2013 2928 Saint maRy’S magazine

what do you think will be the hallmark of your presidency? Recognition for the College. If there’s some-thing I set out to do eight years ago, it was to make sure we’re more visible for our own strengths and for the quality of education, and that has happened. We’re recognized as an institution that really understands the role of community service and our impact on society. And we’re known for being a great liberal arts institution with very com-mitted students, faculty and staff.

what are the most significant changes you’ve seen at Saint mary’s in the eight years since you became president? There’s a greater mission consciousness. More faculty and staff are intentionally participating in our mission, and I think that mission consciousness has really motivated people. The students as well are eager participants in mission activities, both curricular and extracurricular. Another significant change is the imple-mentation of the Core Curriculum because it requires that we think about educational

outcomes, not about what course to take. There has been improvement in the Semi-nar program, where we’re also looking at outcomes. And there has also been improve-ment in services that help students and faculty to be successful—human resources, advising and institutional research, which helps us track success. Athletic success is another thing that wasn’t necessarily anticipated in so many sports. The academic success of our stu-dent—athletes remains very high. They have made Saint Mary’s visible and recog-nizable for all the right reasons.

the College seems to have weathered the financial storm of the past few years very well. how was this possible? Four years ago we really had to look at staff reductions and reductions in budgets. What we didn’t foresee was the number of students who would choose to come here. Our enrollment has gone to the highest it ever has been for undergraduates. That’s an effect of the financial crisis on the state and on the West Coast. We didn’t cause

As Brother Ronald Gallagher prepares to leave office in June, he shares some thoughts with us on his time as president

BRotheR Ronald gallagheRBefore he became president, Brother Ronald taught in the English Department at SMC and served as vice chancellor of Bethlehem University and president of the In-ternational Association of Lasallian Universities.

FAREWELL

PhotogRaPh By StePhan BaBuljak

winteR 2013 3130 Saint maRy’S magazine

that effect, but we were prepared for it when it happened. We thought clearly about how we maintain quality education and keep it affordable. So we’ve increased our financial aid and we’ve looked for other income sources.

with cutbacks in state assistance for educa-tion, can Saint mary’s continue to serve the needs of students of limited financial means?Serving needy students will always be a challenge. We have to increase the giv-ing by corporations, by foundations, by individuals to really help finance the education. And we have to continue to be efficient and economical in our approach to administering the College. The next challenge will be to try to keep it afford-able to students so they don’t leave here with a huge amount of debt and still re-ceive a quality educational experience.

Private colleges are seeing an increase in applications as state colleges wrestle with funding cutbacks. what impact has this had on Saint mary’s? Because of cutbacks, the big universities in the Cal State system and the UC system have to really limit what they can offer. It’s taking longer for students to get out of those schools and it’s harder to get in. So I think people are looking for a set of val-ues for the money they’re going to spend. And this is a great value opportunity for us because students who come here are going to get a great education on time, they’re going to get the classes they need, and they’re going to come into a Lasallian community that pays attention to them.

the College and the Presidential Search Committee have indicated that it’s possible Saint mary’s may have a lay person rather than a Brother as the next president. why is this option being considered at this time? It’s not the first time we have considered it. We changed the bylaws maybe 10 years ago to recognize the fact that there are a di-minishing number of Brothers. We are not getting the vocations the way we did 30 years ago or 50 years ago. This change has already taken place in Lasallian secondary schools and it has happened in many Lasal-lian universities. Just in the United States already there are two lay presidents out of six. We certainly would like to have a qualified Brother, but if we don’t find one, we need a qualified Catholic lay person.

what are the most difficult challenges you’ve faced?We have gone through a time of pretty difficult uncertainty about the economy and the future, and I came in at a mo-ment in the College when we had had a major setback in advancement and there was very low morale. That was certainly a challenge, but I think that people here have stepped up to it marvelously and some of that is getting the right people in the right places.

what personal qualities or experiences have helped you get through the chal-lenges you’ve faced?Personally, I think my experience in the Middle East (as the leader of Bethlehem University) and internationally with the Brothers has assisted us. It helped me to understand that you should be ready for the unexpected. One of the sayings that popped up about four or five years ago was “What’s the new normal?” We can’t expect things to be normal any more. I also learned a lot of diplomacy on that job, dealing with 20 different countries and different aid groups. I was meeting the pope, I was meeting high officials in Europe and the States, so that provided me diplomatic experience that I think has helped me in making sure that Saint Mary’s is visible and a player nationally and internationally.

were there any other personal qualities that you developed there?Yes. Deep prayer. I couldn’t do that job without that. It’s the same here—even more necessary, I think. You need to keep things in perspective. That requires per-sonal humility and deep spirituality. The experience also fostered some growth in terms of caring for a communi-ty. It was a humbling experience because people so depended on you for their livelihood and the students depended on you for access to a stable future. We were invited to leave a lot of times when it got dangerous. They’d say, “We’ll escort you out.” And we’d say, “We’re not leaving. We are here for these people.”

as part of the Core Curriculum revision, the College is adopting a more global per-spective. why is this important? First of all, we have a very diverse stu-dent population, and they represent

many nationalities and cultural experi-ences compared to college students 25 years ago. They themselves are helping to bring a global perspective into the Col-lege. And the modern economy, modern communication, the media have brought us closer to things that happen all around the globe on an instant basis, and I think we have to prepare our students to live in a global society.

how do you see the graduate programs fitting into the Saint mary’s experience as a whole? I think the leadership in both the School of Education and the School of Busi-ness has really taken seriously what our mission should be in terms of affecting the common good and getting involved globally. The School of Education has re-ally renewed its efforts to make sure it can serve some of the inner-city needs in education, and certainly the School of Economics and Business Adminis-tration has looked broadly out toward the Pacific Rim. Programs like LEAP and the MFA programs are also terrific. Across the board, the quality of programs, whether undergraduate or graduate, is very, very high.

what are your fondest memories?Getting connected with so many alumni around the world has been an exciting experience for me. Their enthusiasm for Saint Mary’s, I think, has grown. Seeing the quality of community we’ve become is really a pleasure, too. I enjoy walking across campus and stopping to chat with students, faculty and staff. Also seeing the success of so many pro-grams, like the School of Science Summer Research programs; how the performing arts have really expanded in quality; some of the great successes in our athletic pro-grams, and the way they really generate more people who are interested in the College. And especially, seeing how many people come here and want to participate and embrace the mission. It’s one of the more positive signs of a healthy place that understands itself. And the Gaelebration experience was absolutely terrific. So many people par-ticipated and stayed all day. It showed how much people appreciate what goes on here, how much the students like it. And the wider community got a chance

to get a peek at what quality experiences —teachers, students and staff—we have.

what’s next for you?I haven’t had much time to plan it out. I’ll be doing a sabbatical. I’ll continue to work in development at Saint Mary’s. And I’ll be teaching; I miss that kind of contact, working with the students. I’m also look-ing forward to broadening my perspective out into the international scene again. I’ve already taken a position on the board of the international Catholic universities. That’s a way to connect the Lasallian experience into a global group.

what are the major challenges awaiting the next president? On one side, the affordability question. Another challenge will be how we keep up with technology and learning. Also, how do you preserve the momentum in student success, recruitment, getting people to embrace the mission? And if it’s a lay person, it’s going to be how do you understand Lasallian at the College and in higher education? It will also be a challenge to maintain the viability of a residential college, especially given the push toward online education. The challenge will be to maintain the qual-ity of personal experience, as opposed to a virtual experience, that people have here. Assisting the students in their spiri-tual and faith development is also very important. We have to look for people who are interested in it and schooled in the Catholic intellectual tradition. The Catholic sense in higher education is a search for truth and at the same time an understanding of faith. That whole rela-tionship of faith and reason is important to keep in mind.

how do we ensure that Saint mary’s con-tinues to deliver a quality education?I think we have tremendous momentum. We still have challenges, but we’ve got great momentum in the public interest in the College, the private interest, our visibility and the quality of our programs. The most important thing is respecting the individual student—the student is the center of this whole thing. In De La Salle’s theology, that’s where we find God. God comes to us through our students. That’s a radical vision. That’s what has to motivate us. And all things will follow.

Since he assumed the presidency of Saint mary’s College in January 2005, Brother ronald gallagher has strengthened the College academically, en-hanced its reputation and prepared it well for the next chapter in its history. On a personal level, he has also brought a gentle humor to the job and has been renowned for being available to students, faculty and parents. “Brother ron is one of those rare individuals who looks for and finds the good in everyone. He is one of the most non-judgmental, fair-minded and caring people i’ve encountered,” said Professor Frances Sweeney, a former vice provost of academic affairs. “this goes beyond the lasallian aspiration to meet students where they are and help each of them maximize their own potential. His is a true hospitality of spirit and heart, with a large dose of irish wit and effervescence thrown in for good measure.” when he was named president, Brother ron brought with him many years of experience on the local and international stage. a 1969 graduate of Saint mary’s, he began teaching in the english Department in 1984. He served as vice chancellor of Bethlehem University from 1993 to 1997, secretary general of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in rome from 1997 to 2001, and president of the international association of lasallian Universities from 2007 to 2009. Father Stephen Privett, president of the University of San Francisco, said that when he first met Brother ron he was “surprised that such an accom-plished leader was so modest and unassuming. after all, he ran the University of Bethlehem, which has to be the toughest assignment in all of Catholic higher education.” He lauded the president not only for his “irish wit, wisdom and charm” but also for bringing “a global perspective, well-tested faith and solid values” to everything he does. at Saint mary’s, the list of Brother ron’s accomplishments is long. He has provided strong leadership in institutional and academic planning, from the Building on Strengths Strategic Plan to the academic Blueprint and the new Core Curriculum, which focuses on specific learning goals. Perhaps as a result, the College has reached record levels of student engagement. During those years, the College has grown in both size and quality. traditional undergraduate enrollment is at an all-time high, and SmC now boasts the most academically qualified and diverse undergraduate student body in its history. graduate programs in business, leadership, kinesiology and fine arts have expanded. the College has won national accreditation for its integral program, greatly increased the number of scholarships available to students, won national recognition in performing arts, and expanded support for stu-dent research. Brother ron also oversaw the construction of the Kalmanovitz School of education and Filippi academic Hall, the louis guisto baseball field, and renovations of campus facilities, including Oliver Hall. the Joseph alioto athletics and recreation Center, scheduled to open in 2014, will provide a vibrant new center for student life on campus. in athletics, which have always been dear to Brother ron’s heart, Saint mary’s has risen to national prominence. men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, men’s soccer and women’s tennis have all competed in nCaa tournaments, and the rugby team has competed in quarterfinals. in the past three years alone, gaels have won five wCC championships. Donor relations have also been strengthened, setting the stage for a comprehensive campaign and new fundraising records, and the alumni Office has organized some of the most successful events in SmC history—from record-breaking reunions to gaelebration. with all these advances, recognition of Saint mary’s strengths has grown by leaps and bounds. Forbes magazine ranked it fifth in the nation for col-leges that enhance the potential of graduates’ financial success. its culture of service earned it a place on the President’s Higher education Community Service Honor roll. and its unique educational approach was lauded in the prestigious book Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges.

BRotheR RonaldFrom the top: The English professor with his students in 1988; at his inaugura-tion in 2005; at a campus BBQ in 2011.

a legaCy of gRowth in miSSion and ReCognition

winteR 2013 3332 Saint maRy’S magazine

By ginny PRioR

diCk walton ’62 it was an ugly day over the gulf of tonkin — a threatening sky, poor visibility and extreme turbulence. navy pilot Dick walton was flying with his

reconnaissance crew off the coast of Hanoi, the only plane in the sky. “we’re getting beat to hell. we would like to return to base,” he radioed in. “negative,” said the voice at the other end. “admiral wants you to stay up.” then walton drew on a lesson he’d learned in his ethics class—he was responsible for the safety of his men. “there comes a time, it doesn’t matter who is telling you what. the guy flying is in charge. we landed the plane.”

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Long associated with the Brothers of the San Francisco District, Father Patrick Leo LaBelle, O.P., was presented with a Letter of Affiliation on November 17 at a ceremony in the Saint Mary’s Chapel. The honor was bestowed in recognition of his close and enduring connection with the work of the Brothers, his persis-tent collaboration in their educational mission, and his personal life inspired by Lasallian spirituality. A 1961 graduate of Saint Mary’s College, after his ordination Father LaBelle served for many years as the school’s chaplain, dean of student life and faculty member. He also spent 13 years as Catholic campus minister at Stanford University. As a junior at SMC, LaBelle and his friends organized the 1959 prank in which 23 students jammed themselves into a phone booth, setting the world record and landing on the cover of Life magazine. As an Affiliate (AFSC), he shares in the spiritual benefits and apostolic activities of all who serve in the Lasallian mission.

Read Brother Mel Anderson’s speech honoring “Father Pat”: delasalle.org/remarks-affiliation-of-Fr-Labelle.shtml

See more photos of Father LaBelle’s ceremony: stmarys-ca.edu/labelle

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gaRth flint ’63 author tom wolfe likened the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea to a skillet —60 feet above the roiling waves and pitch-ing like a “big wallowing monster.” 

garth Flint and his F-4B pilot, John Dowd, catapulted into the sky from this steel, gray behemoth the day they were shot down by “Charlie”—aka the viet Cong. their story, “Joust-ing with Sam and Charlie,” is chronicled in wolfe’s book Mauve Gloves & Madmen, Clutter and Vine. “we landed in the water amongst all these islands and we didn’t know where we were—or where the enemy was. we were rescued within an hour, and back in the air the next day. we lost 22 aviators during that cruise. they were all shot down. Some were killed, the rest became POws. we were the only two that returned home with the carrier.”

C.j. “kit” Ruona ’63 “i remember leaving campus after graduation and taking one last look at moraga from my ’51 Chevy. in that rear-view mirror was the moraga Barn, Freddie’s

Pizza, Saga food…the rheem Bowling alley. in the windshield was a different world for each of us— we simply could not see it.” ruona flew 100 B-52 combat missions over vietnam, with one notable close call. “Once we lost a couple of engines on takeoff with a full load of bombs. the pilot saved us by jettisoning fuel and climbing high enough to drop the ordnance before flying the crippled bomber back to base. it’s amazing how young we were. you mature very quickly in those circumstances.”

Russ Harrison MBA ’79, right, with two other Marine

Corps lieutenants in front of his tank after it had hit

a land mine. Harrison, who was wounded twice in Viet-nam, is the chair of SMC’s

Board of Trustees.

Gaels—in CountryFather Patrick LaBelle ’61 honored as Christian Brothers Affiliate

Among Brothers

Father Patrick LaBelle has served Saint Mary’s in many

ways; as a professor, as campus minister, dean of student life and a trusted

advisor and mentor.

Saint Mary’s College celebrated its sesqui-centennial on November 3 with about 600 of its closest friends and supporters at a glittering gala on Treasure Island unlike any-thing in the College’s history.  The party, themed “Jewel of the Bay,” generated a total of $641,000, with the proceeds benefiting student scholarships, and highlighted the College’s roots in San Francisco, Oakland and Moraga and its on-going place in Bay Area life. “We’re excited to have this event on Trea-sure Island, in full view of the first home of Saint Mary’s College, San Francisco,” said Brother Ronald Gallagher, the College’s president. “Behind me is a skyline that’s not quite the skyline the first Brothers saw when they came in 1868. It has grown more re-splendent, and Saint Mary’s has become more resplendent than its beginning in 1863.” The evening began with a cocktail party in historic Building One, a striking semi-circular Art Deco building constructed for the 1939 Golden Gate International Ex-position with spectacular views of the San Francisco skyline. The SMC Chamber Singers and the SMC Dance Company entertained the guests, who danced to the Dick Bright Orchestra and enjoyed a sumptuous dinner peppered with speeches, stories and generosity.

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Read profiles of Gaels who served in Vietnam: yearofthegael.com/vietnamvets

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qPeRfoRming juStiCe“I was Saint Mary’s even before I went to Saint Mary’s,” said AnnaMaria Cardinalli ’97, the daughter of two alums. The singer and guitarist came to SMC to study per-forming arts but also took away “a very strong sense of Catholic social justice,” she said. “I remember taking a liberation theology class at Saint Mary’s. I got in such fights with the professor over it because we held different perspectives, but it was a really great learning experience. And it was some of that thinking that led me to do a lot of the work that is happening now.” Cardinalli went on to earn a Ph.D. in theology at the University of Notre Dame and later joined the Human Terrain Sys-tem (HTS), a military intelligence team of academics who travel with military units to help them learn more about the locals. She was sent to Afghanistan. Even in the Afghan desert, music was part of her life. She went out into the desert to practice, going out as far as the Porta-Potties to avoid bothering others. “There’s no way to separate who I am as a singer, a guitarist and a performing art-ist from any of the other work I do. I think singing and art are an essential link to our common humanity.” Now back in the U.S., she is preparing to publish a book about her experience in Af-ghanistan, with the profits benefitting two charities close to her heart: the Jam for Vets Project, helping veterans with post-traumatic stress heal through music; and the Polaris Project, fighting human traf-ficking, one of the problems she studied in Afghanistan. In addition to her academic and social jus-tice work, Cardinalli continues her music ca-reer, including an upcoming performance as La Zia Principessa, the lead in Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica) by Giacomo Puccini. “Getting to do really exciting things in the world is basically founded on some of my experiences at Saint Mary’s,” she said. “How wonderful is that to be able to say? That Saint Mary’s is that influential in the life of one student like me, and I can only imagine in the lives of how many other people.” —Sara LaFassett

Gus Guardado ’01, a video production teacher at Heritage High School in Brentwood, Calif., wrote, directed and produced a feature-length film—Love, Concord —that debuted in Concord, Calif., in December and had its world debut at the Latino Film Festival in New York City. The coming-of-age love story, based on Guardado's own romantic experiences in high school, starred Saint Mary’s graduates Angelina Leone ’07 and Jorge Diaz ’06. The production crew included SMC Professor Virginia McCarthy ’81, MA ’85 and Gael alums Jimmy Freeman ’08, co-producer and co-editor; Alex Stillings ’08, production assistant; Bryan Navarro ’10, second assistant camera; Devon Perez ’10, grip; and Grace Bosque ’11, key production assistant.

a gael of a BRew Brendan Moylan ’83 wears his colors close to his heart. In hon-or of Saint Mary’s 150th anniversary, he has created Moylan’s Brewery & Restau-rant’s Gaelebration Ale. Moylan’s, located in Novato, Calif., was founded in 1995. The Gaelebration brew, an American pale ale, can be found in 35 states, 2 U.S. territories and 7 foreign countries.

Gaels produce a coming-of-age movie

A Love Story

Director Gus Guardado and fellow Gael Jorge

Diaz, the star of the film love, Concord.

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BRenda hillmanOlivia Filippi Chair in Poetry at Saint mary’s and director of the mFa Program.

This poem was first pub-lished on Poets.org by the Academy of American Poets, which awarded her a 2012 Academy of American Poets Fellowship.

The Hour Until We See You

When we part, even for an hour,you become the standing on the avenue baffled one, under neon, holding that huge red book about the capital—; what will you be in the next hour, —bundled to walk through creamy coins from streetlampson sidewalks to your car, past candles reflected in windows, whilemineral sirens fade in the don’t-return, —driving home past pre-spring plum blossom riotmoments of your thought…

Those trees rush to rust leaves, each a time-hinge with great energy— they can’t bear inexactitude.News of revolts in the squares—there— & here, the envious have gone to cafés to speak in order to leave things out— Love, literature is in flames, it was meant to be specific—; you have driven past these roomsten thousand times to make your report;make your report; never forget how you felt—

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High School, he played football at Saint Mary’s and served as student body presi-dent. He went on to study law at Catholic University of America, where he was editor-in-chief of the Law Review. He practiced law for more than 45 years, serving as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of California. He served for more than 20 years on the Saint Mary’s College’s Board of Regents. Bertain was among four generations of the Bertain family who attended Saint Mary’s. His father, George J. Bertain ’23, provided the seedlings for Brother “White” Leo to plant red-wood trees that would eventually encircle the Redwood Grove Amphi-theatre. Bertain was one of five brothers to attend Saint Mary’s. Richard ’51, Tomas ’59, Leonard ’66 and William ’69 all became Gaels. Joe’s son, Joseph F. Jr., graduated in 1981. Nieces include Alisa Bertain ’86, Yvonne Daggett Murphy ’86 and Kathleen Canty Brown ’88. His cous-in, Timothy Canty ’62, and nephew, Matthew Daggett ’91, attended Saint Mary’s. The fourth generation of Ber-tain Gaels includes Richard’s grandsons: Lucas Nemeth ’14 and Jonathan Bertain ’07.

“What distinguished Joe was his amaz-ing ability to serve as an ambassador for Saint Mary’s,” said Brother President Ronald Gallagher. “He and his late wife, Bernardine, greeted friends and alumni at countless Gael activities.” One of his most notable ambassadorial roles, Brother Ron noted, was welcoming executives at the College’s annual Executive Symposium, whose speakers included Ronald Reagan, Condoleezza Rice, Michael Eisner, Dick Cheney, Charles Schwab and many others. And over the years, he recommended the College to countless prospective students.

Distinguishedambassador

alumniMaurice A. Alberti ’51Daniel E. Andreotti ’66, parent of Alycia McAlister ’96Toni Isola L. Bayer ’85G. J. Bertain, Jr. ’51, parentof Joseph Bertain ’81William G. Cagney ’33Astra Gabriel MBA ’79Michael C. Huisking ’60R. V. Johnson ’50Kathleen M. King ’80John A. Klein ’43Robert P. Langston ’92Peter L. Linato ’73David A. McKay MBA ’90Nanette M. Schneider ’78Richard J. Siggins ’49Christine J. Spring ’86 MA ’96Danny G. Wong ’83

fRiendS and familySamuel J. AgronowBeatrice M. CortesDavid M. GallegosAustin E. GivensJacqueline HayesEdward LucasMary A. MaenderCharles E. MorrishWilliam E. MulhernWarren E. Rupf

Longtime Saint Mary’s College supporter G. Joseph Bertain died on November 16, 2012. Bertain was born in Scotia, Calif., on March 9, 1929, the oldest of ten children. A 1947 graduate of Christian Brothers

PeRSonal BRanding foR dummieSHow important is creating a personal brand in today’s competitive job market? Just ask Susan Chritton M.Ed. ’92, an executive coach and certified master per-sonal brand strategist. “Your personal brand is the legacy you leave and, more than anything, how people remember you,” said Chritton, the author of

Personal Branding for Dummies. “Personal branding really is reconnecting with that awesome part of who you are.” Of course, branding isn’t really for dum-mies—it’s for all of us. At Saint Mary’s an-nual “Dine With Alums” mentoring event, students and alumni alike learned from Chritton about how to establish a strong personal brand. They also heard about an opportunity to join the new Gael Mentors Network, a col-laboration with EdgeOnCollege that will allow students to connect online with pro-fessional and experienced SMC alumni to get a head start in preparing for their careers. Chritton said that when people really take a deep look at themselves, their personal brand and image begins to take shape. “Think about what makes you different, what are your dif-ferentiators from other people.” She likes to refer jokingly to these dif-ferentiators as your “Freak Factor.” Proudly proclaiming her “Freak Factor” to be her red Vespa scooter, Chritton said we all have something that makes us stand out, and we need to use this quality to our advantage. She left her audience with these parting words of wisdom: “If you build your brand on your strengths, you will be extraordinary.” —Dan Murphy ’13

The veterans memorial plaque honors fallen Gaels who served their country.

RememberingTwo names added to veterans memorial plaque

On a cold November evening, more than 60 members of the Saint Mary’s family gathered to add two new names of fallen Gaels to the 39 listed on the Saint Mary’s veterans memorial plaque. At the ceremony, Alumni Association President David Johnson ’84 introduced John Hanson, brother of Stephen Paul Hanson ’61, who was killed in Vietnam and was listed as missing in action for decades. DNA tests recently confirmed that he died in that war. “We remember his memory. It never goes away,” John Hanson said in an emotional voice. “He is with us today, if only in spirit.”Alisa Martin ’02, representing the family of Timothy P. Martin ’04, who was killed in Iraq, urged those assembled to remember her brother not only as a son, a brother and scholar, but as a hero. Father Tom McElligott then blessed the plaque, sprinkling holy water over the names engraved on it, and Russell Harrison MBA ’79, chairman of the Board of Trustees read the names of all known fallen Gaels from World War I, World War II, Vietnam and Iraq. A number of local and regional dignitaries attended, including State Assembly member Joan Buchanan, who described the two new veterans homes approved for Redding and Fresno. Also present were SMC senior and veteran Shomari Carter, and Iraq War veterans Tom Dale ’12 and Vinnie Townsend ’12. —Tim Farley, Director of Community and Government Relations

To learn more about Dine With Alums or the Gael Mentors Network, contact the Career Center:careers@stmarys-ca.edu or (925) 631-4600

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20093 Felisa (Arguello) Whalley and her husband James have lived in gyeongju, South Korea, for the past three years. Both Felisa and James are english teachers. when not teaching, they are traveling the world, visiting such places as thailand, South africa and the Philippines. their big-gest adventure began in June when they welcomed their first son, Jackson James.

Clark atlanta Uni-versity appointed Henry W. Taylor ML as vice president for institutional advance-ment and university relations. Henry has also held positions in fundraising at the KiPP Foundation, Stanford and Princeton univer-sities, and Claremont mcKenna College.

20084 Jennifer Mamola was recently accepted to serve in the Peace Corps as an education volunteer and left for Uganda in november. Her father, John Ma-mola ’79, and mother are extremely proud of Jennifer fulfilling her dream to be a Peace Corps volunteer.

5 Don Mortensen EE, a lodi realtor, substitute teacher for the lodi Unified School District, and special events secu-rity guard for admiral Security Services in tracy, recently had the thrill of his lifetime. He held the giants world Series trophy for 25 minutes before handing it over to giants manager Bruce Brophy at the podium. all Don could think of during those moments was, “if i drop this thing, i might as well leave the country.”

Read more at www.lodinews.com/sports/article_7d7b1198-30b4-5198-a895-3a3d-daa97e03.html

20121 Andrew Sauer, Jose Flores and Stephen O’Malley graduated in 2012 and started American Newzine, a national and interna-tional news site which covers everything from politics and sports to business and entertainment and is based in walnut Creek, Calif.

Find out more at www.AmericanNewzine.com

20112 Andrea (Garcia) and Joseph Arnold ’10 MBA ’12 met in their hometown high school, but it wasn’t until they both went to SmC that their re-lationship blossomed. they got engaged april 29 in Cabo San lucas, mexico, and married in las vegas on august 15.

Michelle (Souza)Freed and Lance met while studying abroad in ireland in 2006. they were engaged in October 2010 in San Francisco and married on June 30 at SmC. numerous gaels in attendance included bridesmaids Amanda Powell ’08, Marissa (Barnes) Smith ’08, Bronwyn Russell, best man Chris Claus ’05, and groomsman Jason McKenna. lance works in real estate develop-ment, and michelle is a scientist at roche molecular. they live in San ramon with their bulldog molly.

2007 Sheridan (Arredondo) Kautzmann mar-ried Erik Kautzmann on Sept. 15 in Santa Barbara. gael mem-bers of the wedding party were Eghosa Obaiza ’07 ECR ’09 and best man Michael Lineweaver ’03. Over 15 gael basketball player alums were in attendance. Sheridan teaches physical educa-tion at mt. eden High School in Hayward, Calif., and the couple resides in Oakland.

Degree KeyECR Education CredentialEdD Doctor of EducationEE Extended EducationEMBA Executive MBAHON HonoraryMBA Graduate BusinessMC CounselingME Graduate EducationMFA Fine ArtsML LeadershipMLS Liberal StudiesMS ScienceN NursingP Paralegal Certificate

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2006On Sept. 8, Bethany Fin-eran was en-gaged to eric miller while visiting with family on the Oregon coast. the couple is planning an april wedding in maryland, where they both reside. eric is a youth pastor at a local church, and Bethany works as membership development and services manager at the greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce.

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6 Mikaila (Coats) and Adam Riedel ’06 have been married for nearly four years and just purchased their first home in Pleasanton, Calif. Both have recently taken new jobs. mikaila is a marketing specialist at alterg, inc. (makers of the anti-gravity treadmill), and adam is a claims profes-sional in the auto Claims Department of travelers insurance. Both are happy to be back in the east Bay with all their friends and SmC alums.

20067 Megan Brinkmeyer received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Califor-nia, Davis, on nov. 9. Her dissertation work focused on the mU-tyH gene, which has been linked to a famil-ial form of colorectal cancer. megan applied for, and was awarded, a national institutes of Health (niH) t32 training grant for a postdoctoral position in the microbiology Department at UC Davis. Her postdoc-toral research will focus on the tumor

suppressor protein BrCa2, and she will be working under the guidance of nationally recognized wolf-Dietrich Heyer, the leader of the molecular Oncology Program at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. megan plans to spend a few more years in training before starting her career in the field of cancer research. On nov. 10, Mia Lee married reynaldo gilbert at their home in Pittsburg, Calif., surrounded by friends and family.

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20039 Jennifer (Machado) and Ben MS ’05 Sanders welcomed their second daugh-ter Sophia marie into the world on aug. 19. Older sister isabella is excited to have a baby sister to play with. Jennifer and Ben are blessed to have two healthy beautiful daughters.

200210 Rita (Cole-Pen-newell) Owens and Destah Owens wel-comed a new addition to their family this sum-mer. CatalÃya elizabeth Owens was born on July 23. She is blessed to have two godmoth-ers, Michelle Batista ’02 and Cherise Adkins ’03. the Owens family currently resides in the east Bay.

2000 11 Kristina Hermann just completed her first quarter as a Ph.D. student in the social welfare program at UCla and plans to research the im-pact of transnational migration on latino families and children. as the first in her fam-ily to graduate from college and pursue an advanced degree, she feels fortunate to have been given this educational opportu-nity. Besides working as a graduate student researcher on campus, she is enjoying the vi-

brant art scene in los angeles, where she volunteers at SParC, a mural arts center in venice, Calif.

12 Ayne Sheldon EMBA married her Cu-ban love, yoanky lopez, in august and started Farmhouse gallery Bed and Breakfast out of her home in the town of lansing in new york state’s Finger lakes district.

See photos at www.facebook.com/ FarmhouseGallery

199913 Michael David and Christine “Joy” Fer-nando David celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary on Dec. 20. mike and Joy were married at the Saint mary’s chapel in 1997. mike works as a corpo-rate attorney, and they live in ladera ranch in Orange County, Calif., with their two boys, Paolo and matteo.

14 Brett Varga, who played basketball for SmC, married Kristen Burkhart in Sarasota, Fla., on Oct. 8, 2011.

nika (Sill) and Jacob Morse of Los Banos, Calif., were married Oct. 20 at Saint Francis Church in Bakersfield, Calif., among family, friends and lots of gaels. in attendance were Hunter Sill ’05 (brother of the bride), Bridget (Selberg) Castello, Molly Wagner, Piper Hare, Stefani (Carver) Finch, Kate (Harden) Rooney ’06, Alison Harney, Andre ’04 and Jordann (Bass) Coleman ’04, Katie Baptista ’05 and Heath Villarreal ’05.

Chris Vogt became engaged to emily Cov-ington in September. they will be married in July at St. edwards Catholic Church in Dana Point, Calif.

20048 Fabiola (Gonzalez) and her husband, navy Officer alfredo Jaure-gui, married on nov. 12, 2011, after he completed a yearlong deployment in iraq. they were accompa-nied in their wedding party by six fellow SmC alums, includ-ing Faby’s brothers Martin Gonzalez ’09, Cristian Gonzalez ’10 and Jhovany Gonzalez ’11. Faby completed her masters in leadership in may and continues to pros-per in the employee benefits industry.

199615 Vincent and Elizabeth Fortanasce welcomed their new baby girl, ava Sophia Fortanasce, on may 9 during a lighten-ing storm in Phoenix, ariz. She weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces. ava was born with long golden hair, her deep blue eyes wide open, looking around the room. She cried for five minutes, then heard her father’s voice, grabbed on to his hand, stopped crying and looked right into his eyes. it was a moment he will cherish forever. at four months old, she learned to smile her goofy toothless grin, to laugh and giggle, hold her bottle all by herself and has perfect health. they are planning a trip to new york soon to introduce her to the rest of the family. go gaels!

Jenni (Metzger) Housh was recently promoted to the position of edito-rial program coordina-tor at John wiley and Sons. She has worked for the book publisher since 2008.

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Vince Hurley and his wife, Jacqui, welcomed their second child, teagan marie, on June 27. Big sister Delaney has been very helpful taking care of her. they all enjoy living in washington, D.C.

1995Scott Leykam was named the director of athletics at the Uni-versity of Portland and started working there on July 1. Scott and wife Amy (Brandt) ’96 have three children—austin, tyler and allison.

1994Tami Reller EMBA retains her roles as CFO and CmO at microsoft and will assume responsibil-ity for the business of windows. reller joined windows in 2007 from the micro-soft Dynamics division, where she held a number of leadership positions. She began her career in technol-ogy at great Plains Software in 1984 while still in college, and was the company’s CFO when microsoft acquired the firm in 2001. reller has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from minnesota State Uni-versity at moorhead. in her expanded role she will assume the lead in driving business and marketing strategy for windows devices, including Surface and

partner devices, in addition to her current marketing and finance responsibilities.

1992Teresa Bonham MFA ’03 is a tenured professor of english at Oxnard College. Her book SPI: The Case of the Dark Shadow about a group of quirky preteens who study ghost hunting under a Chumash shaman, was released by Schiffer Publishing in august. the book can be found at some local book-stores and at most online bookstores.

Read more about it at http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/oct/19/oxnard-college-professor-publishes-mystery-book/ #ixzz2DLueMFLW

Guy Carl, a CPa part-ner at Brotemarkle, Davis & Co., llP in St. Helena, Calif., has been an outdoor columnist for the napa valley register since 2007. He recently had an article published in the may 2012 issue of the California Society of CPas’ California CPA Magazine. 

Read the online version at calcpa.org/Con-tent/26721.aspx

2002Kendi (Botts) Merlo ECR ’02, ’07 and her husband, gary, wel-comed their second child on Sept. 18. amelia rae merlo was also welcomed by her adoring brother and superhero max garrison (age 3). molly’s godparents are Alison (Wallace) Hutchens ’97 ME ’07, ECR ’04, ’06 and her husband Dan Hutchens.

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198517 Jen (Brazil) Parman and former roommates and friends from the class of 1985 gather once every summer to keep in touch.

1984Eduardo Cordero ’84 has been mar-ried for 26 years, has a daughter, ashley, in grad school and lives in monrovia, east of Pasa-dena. He was appointed to be a los angeles County deputy proba-tion officer 1 - juvenile counselor in 1989 and promoted in 1993 to DPO ii, a position which included performing street/school level special assignments in los angeles. in 1997, eduardo was selected for the first “mS13” street level transitional gang task force. in 2000, he participated in a hemispheric transi-tional gang conference in el Salvador and was promoted to supervi-sor in 2003. He went to the Pasadena field office in 2006 and is currently assigned to a pilot project for the la County Chief execu-tive Office called the Countywide gang and violence reduction initiative. eduardo has been part of a team that reduced gang, hate and racial violence in four demonstration sites and accomplished this through communi-ty organizing, targeting high-risk juveniles and

their families, and as-sisting with economic development. He is also the l.a. represen-tative for the inter-national latino gang investigators associa-tion, does training on the Central american gangs “mS13 & 18th St” and is a volun-teer instructor for his department. eduardo has also done classes and workshops in San Jose, merced, Chico, Concord, las vegas, new mexico, Colorado, Seattle and Kansas. 198318 Dinner With Mel was a special event. On a beautiful Satur-day afternoon gael alumnae gathered on the moraga campus for a spring dinner with Brother Mel An-derson ’51, president of Saint mary’s Col-lege of California from 1969 to 1997. Orga-nized by Chris Major ’83 and Matt Carroll, Sodexo, the guest list featured gael grads from the early 1980s to the late 1990s. a group of passion-ate gael grads, en-compassing a diverse group of sociopolitical attitudes and gen-erational perspectives, enjoyed a historical afternoon with mel. the guest list included former basketball star Frank Knight ’99 and his wife, Dr. allyson Knight, real estate guru Rick Rodriguez

16 Jennifer (Schneider) MBA ’98 married ryan Boyd on march 31 at a livermore winery and welcomed a son, griffin wesley, on nov. 4. the family resides in San ramon. Jennifer has worked at UPS for 20 years. Her current posi-tion is strategic alliances manager within the Customer technology marketing group.

1991Julianne Chisholm was granted tenure in the Culture & Com-munication Depart-ment at the California maritime academy in vallejo, where she has taught writing and critical thinking since 2004. She currently lives in napa with her husband, Jeff Bernard, and their 4-year-old twins lucy and Sophie. 

1989Tim Oswald was se-lected to be in a Colo-rado rockies baseball team “Pie in the Face” commercial this year. He played a doctor. tim has no thoughts of switching careers from being a CPa, but he did a nice job with his one line!

See the commercial at http://goo.gl/1NTY3

EE ’06 and his partner lauren roth, Anne (Leary) Herrera ’84, and John ’82 and Jeanne (Toomey) DeMatteo ’83. Brother Mel’s memoirs, Years of Yearning, were avail-able for purchase, but the beauty of “Dining with Brother mel anderson” is shar-ing in the spirit of a Catholic, lasallian and liberal arts education so beneficial in our lives today.

thank you class of 1983: Jodie Russi, Michael Scully, Joe Petraglia, Michael Crockett, Mark Murray, Christopher Major, Mark Rishwain and Sean Mullen

Louis A. Lotorto, Jr., a professional actor, appeared in the farce Noises Off at the norris Center for the Performing arts in Palos verdes, Calif., from September 21 through October 7. 

197919 Clare Pool-Purpura was recently recognized by Barron’s as one of “america’s top 100 women Financial advisors” in her current role as managing direc-tor and international financial advisor with merrill lynch venture

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Services group in San Francisco. Clare and her husband, andrew, have a daughter Jes-sona, who is a sopho-more at Sacred Heart Prep in atherton.  

196620 in late november, Rod Arita and wife rita, Steve Buccola and wife amy, and Hugh Ming Lee and Karen Hammerlof got to-gether at a Santa Bar-bara vacation home to celebrate various retirements, some achieved, some to come shortly. while there, they connected one evening with two more ’66 alums and their wives from near-by Ojai, Jack McCle-nahan and wife Jane, and Larry Shields and wife linda. Shown is a photo of the group, whose cumulative age far surpasses the College’s noteworthy 150. go gaels!

1962Fred Story and wife linda have moved from lafayette to vista in northern San Diego County to be near two of their children and four of their grandchildren. Fred has joined a vista Kiwanis club and linda

participates in girl-friends Care. they are new members of San luis rey mission Parish in Oceanside. the San Diego climate is very kind to older bones.

1961Jack Dold recently retired after 40 years in the group travel business. Dold recently published his third book, Boris, a histori-cal novel centered on world war ii about an old colleague-friend, Boris Kastel. Previously he had published two other books, Crosshairs, a novel about domes-tic terrorism, and You Don’t Stop Living, a journal account of his wife mary’s successful battle with fourth-stage cancer.

1976Peter Dailey, in his role as mari-time director at the Port of San Francisco, has been actively involved in the city’s hosting of the 34th america’s Cup in 2013. He lives in moraga with his nurs-ing program graduate wife, Jodie ’80, and attends as many gael bas-ketball games as possible.

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g To see additional Glimpses photos, visit stmarys-ca.edu/glimpses

44 Saint maRy’S magazine

Obituaries are embellishments. They are not to be read carelessly. After college I worked on the obit desk for a wire ser-vice. I wrote Gerald Ford’s six months before he died. This is the privilege of public figures. As for the rest of us … we hope there’s a strong pen in the family. Obituaries are existential. The when and where and what trump the how and why. “Old age” is an insufficient cause of death. For example: “Perry Steven Amendt died from renal failure on November 6th, 2012, in Palm Desert, CA. He was 59.” Obituaries are ineffable. Occasionally I would be permitted to insert radical things, like the color of the deceased’s eyes. I was trained to synthesize life in several column inches. I avoided adjectives, descrip-tors. Any survivors were strangers to me.

emBelliShment. Perry was my father. ‘Dad’ was too casual for him. I did not mention this in the obit. He lived in a homeless shelter in Indio, Calif., working in the commissary for his keep. Tequila and menthol cigarettes hastened his decline. He defied life in this way, off the grid, inaccessible. His solution to not keeping up his relationships—he was estranged from his siblings and friends —was to have none. Except with me. The Saturday before the Tuesday he died—Election Day—I got a call that his kidneys were failing. I hustled down. He was, as the ICU nurses had suggested over the phone, “not in good shape.” It occurred to me I would have profited from a few episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. I was handed several DNR authorizations. Do Not Resuscitate. Life support isn’t one thing or one plug; it’s a dozen procedures and interventions. And all I had were intu-itions, conjectures. The nurses X’d places for me to initial. I wanted to talk to Perry first. His legs were swollen. He fussed with his catheter. Fear registered in his eyes—the color of jaundiced lime. I said hello and he asked me to please kill him and could he have some cold water. I told him I couldn’t

and dabbed his lips with a sponge, until he was hydrated enough to cry. Once he fell asleep, I signed the forms. A nurse handed me the carbons. Then she gave me a hug.

eXiStential. The hard, unmentionable, latchkey years. He had no business par-enting, but thank God he did. I edited this part out of the obit. Hours after he was moved into hos-pice, Perry slipped into a morphine coma. Someone had mercifully muted the TV, Let’s Make a Deal. His morphine drip sounded like an iron lung. He was wrapped in his bedclothes like a papoose. I held him by the forearm. I tried to will him to stop breathing. I believe he was too embarrassed to expire in front of me. His last audible words were: “I feel safe with you.” Then again, he could have been speaking to his mother, or my grandfa-ther. I was told, toward the end, to accept unseen people in the room as real.

ineffaBle. At his passing, I notified Perry’s old best friend, who said it was “a bummer.” The obit would not permit this. I found in his effects a story from a creative writing course—he was 17 then—named "In Peril of Death" (“Bill Gunther,” it began, “was not an easy man to scare.”) and a college essay he titled "My Dad" (“Not at all flashy or extremely original, but still fine,” his teacher had written. “A-.”) When the pastor at the homeless shelter telephoned with his condolences and with every faith that Perry had, at the millisec-ond after his death, touched the face of Jesus, and was in heaven and no longer in pain, I was too touched by the gesture to say that Perry first had a layover in Phoe-nix, where his vitals were being parted out for medical research. Perry Steven. P.S. Obituaries are for scrapbooks. Obituaries are legacies. Chil-dren, also, are legacies. He’s gone and my life has shrunk a little. A lot. I know what obituaries are not. They’re not postscripts. People are not afterthoughts.

P.S., Don’t Forget the AmendtVViewPoint

zaChaRy amendtmFa '14

Amendt is from San Ber-nardino, Calif. His stories have been anthologized by Dzanc Books and Under-ground Voices Press.

Perry Steven Amendt—pictured here with his sons Travis, left, and Zachary, right—

was a San Bernardino native who received a degree in philosophy from California State University, San Bernadino. He died in Palm Desert on November 6, 2012, from renal

failure. He was 59.

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