Volume 7 Issue 7
In this Issue:
Front Page
Event Listings
Connections
Contact Information
Front Page
Report Excerpts |
Librarian Robert Fikes' research report includes the most complete compilation of SDSU alumni war casualties to date. The following is an excerpt featuring the most recent entries from current conflicts involving the U.S. military:
Oscar A. Jimenez
 Marine Corps Reserve 1st Lt. Oscar A. Jimenez ('99), age 34, grew up in the San Diego inner-city community of Logan Heights wanting to become a Marine. He attended La Jolla High School and was a criminal justice major at SDSU. A logistics officer, in 1991 he participated in Operation Desert Storm and was in his second tour of duty in Iraq when, on April 11, 2004, the seven-vehicle convoy he commanded was ambushed near Fallouja and he was shot twice. A beloved husband and father of three children and revered as a selfless, caring leader, there was an outpouring of condolences as news of his death spread. To honor his memory, SDSU's chapter of Gamma Zeta Alpha, a Latino-interest fraternity, established the Oscar A. Jimenez Scholarship for graduating under-represented minority high school seniors.
Andrew D. LaMont
 Capt. Andrew David LaMont ('94), a 31-year-old single man, the youngest of nine children and whose father and grandfather were career soldiers, was a Marine helicopter pilot who had previously flown troops and material in operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan. Shortly after takeoff on May 19, 2003, his CH-46 Sea-Knight helicopter crashed into a canal near Karbala, Iraq killing all aboard. Upon hearing this, the city of Eureka, California, where Andrew completed high school and where his father was a city councilman, lowered the American flag to half-staff.
Justin L. O'Donohoe
 Army Specialist Justin L. O'Donohoe ('00) grew up in a Navy family in Mira Mesa. A natural linguist who spoke Japanese and Russian and some Pushtun, he also enjoyed numerous and varied activities like strategy games, music, piano, and martial arts. Upon earning his bachelor's degree in political science, he worked as a computer technician for the San Diego Unified School District. Though he tested high enough to qualify for officer's Candidate School, he chose to be an enlisted soldier, demonstrated he was an expert marksman in boot camp, and was eager to test his mettle in combat. On May 5, 2006, the 27-year-old scout and Humvee gunner in the 71st Cavalry Regiment was killed in the crash of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during a combat-related mission near Abad, Afghanistan in Kunar Province. He is buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. His parents saved the voice message he recently left on their answering machine in which he said, “Hi, this is Justin. I guess I caught you at a bad time. I'm doing OK. I love you.”
Thomas E. Retzer
 Navy Petty Officer First Class Thomas E. Retzer, a 30-year-old married man with two children, was a graduate of Serra High School and a mathematics major when he left SDSU to do what his father said was really “the only thing he wanted to do:” become a Navy SEAL. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed fishing, camping, rock climbing, and scuba diving. His SEAL Team 3 was based in San Diego at North Island Naval Air Station, but Tom relocated to Virginia with the Naval Special Warfare Command Group 2 a few years before he shipped out to Afghanistan, where he served as an interior communications electrician. A convoy he traveled in was attacked near Gardez. Tom was mortally wounded and died in a field hospital on June 25, 2003. |
Honored and Remembered
A Search for Aztecs Lost to War
Robert Fikes in room 1101D |
Not much larger than a standard office cubicle, room 1101D is tucked off to the side of the reference section just steps from the sunlit atrium of the SDSU Library. At first glance it looks like the workspace of a lone researcher poring through pages of Internet postings and bound volumes of decades-old records. But the cramped compartment's unremarkable appearance belies what it truly is: a treasure trove.
This is where the work of Robert Fikes is compiled. Both historian and librarian by education, Fikes is a diligent researcher who has been with the university since 1977. Soft-spoken and unassuming, the Birmingham, Alabama native is concluding a project of profound significance to San Diego State and its alumni.
For the past year, he has been on sabbatical researching and documenting the stories of Aztecs lost in wars. From World War II through Operation Iraqi Freedom, Fikes has endeavored to track each one. The result is a report he expects to complete next month.
It started 15 years ago when another librarian working in the archives thought Fikes might want to take a look at some letters written during the Second World War by former students to a popular professor on campus, Lauren Post. “There were boxes of them,” Fikes remembers. “It turned out there were thousands of letters.”
“I couldn't stop myself.”
He didn't get around to reading them until several years later. “But when I took a look at those letters,” Fikes says, “I was very much affected by them because, basically, I realized that some of these people didn't return from the war.”
SDSU War Memorial obelisk |
Fikes thought he might study the letters and write about San Diego State students' contributions in wartime. He also figured he might use the War Memorial on campus, which includes the names of some of those students, as part of a general history project. “So I walked up to the monument, started looking at the names and copying a few of them down,” he recalls. Subsequent investigation of the names brought Fikes to a revelation.
“As you're researching and you find what these people did,” he explains, “especially when they were students here, especially when you come across a photo of them, all of a sudden your conception of these individuals on the monument changes. After I did the first 30 I was hooked. I couldn't stop myself. I had to know who each person was on that monument.”
There are 217 names on the monument representing service members from World War II through Vietnam. None have been added since its dedication in 1996. That's one of the reasons Fikes' work is so important. His report also includes the names of Aztecs killed in more recent military campaigns, including the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I think it's extremely accurate,” says Jim Erkenbeck of Fikes' report. Erkenbeck is chairman of the SDSU Alumni Association's War Memorial Committee. He says the committee, which is planning a special ceremony scheduled for October 28 during Homecoming, is also working on updating the memorial. One proposal calls for the current obelisk to be expanded with satellite plaques bearing additional names.
Fikes' research could play a vital role. His extensive report details the lives of Aztecs in the military who were lost in a variety of ways besides battle, including training accidents, plane crashes, and other military-related incidents. It will be up to the War Memorial Committee to determine the rules of inclusion for the expanded memorial. “We've got a loose set of criteria, but we're going to firm it up over the next few meetings,” says Erkenbeck.
Right now Fikes' report lists four SDSU alumni lost to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Although an effort is underway to find others by matching campus records with Department of Defense data, the possibility of incomplete lists exists. Committee members urge anyone with information about Aztecs killed in recent military conflicts to contact the Alumni Association. “We'll follow up on it and work it out,” promises Erkenbeck.
“I feel it's up to me.”
Fikes' work revealed a few discrepancies in the existing memorial, “which aren't that unusual,” for such tributes, he says. Besides some inconsistencies in the spellings of names, he found two alumni listed as dead who are still living and two others with no record of military service. He also says some names on older memorial plaques near Hardy Tower were never transferred to the obelisk monument while others were. “I don't know why,” he shrugs, “but things like that happen.”
For much of his painstaking research, Fikes relied on the letters the former students wrote to Professor Post. “As they wrote him, he put together this newsletter and sent it out and throughout the war it became a monthly newsletter, the only one of its kind in the United States,” says Fikes. He estimates there were 3500 people from San Diego State who served in World War II, providing plenty of material for Post's newsletters, which were sometimes 20 pages in small print.
“Their letters would start something like, ‘Hi, Doc!' He was referred to as Doc. ‘Have you seen my girl, Jane, on campus lately,'” Fikes recounts. “They weren't very specific often, but you could tell they were going through a lot of turmoil.”
“You realize there's a lot behind those letters that's between the lines,” he reflects, speaking with a reverence demanded by the somber subject of his studies. “And in some cases I found out as I did the research these were the very last letters they ever wrote to anybody. One case I found where a guy was killed the very next day after he had written.”
Librarian and author Robert Fikes |
Have so many stories of promise unfulfilled and young lives abruptly ended taken their emotional toll on the researcher? “Not at all,” Fikes insists. “It could be depressing, I guess, if I allowed it, but there are so many stories of human victories over adversity and survival – people just fighting on – and heroism. It doesn't depress me at all. I find it very rewarding to try to, in a sense, bring these people back to life by identifying who they are and saying what they did in their short lives.”
“I feel it's up to me to sort of publicize their accomplishments and what they did,” Fikes explains. “The joy of saying what good happened in their lives and what was fulfilling in their lives and telling people about this more than compensates for having this sort of depressed knowledge of how they died or when they died or how young they died.”
Fikes says he hopes his work will prompt others, especially students who daily trace the same steps as those of their predecessors listed on the War Memorial, to view SDSU's monument as a living document. “Each individual has an interesting life, I strongly believe that, regardless of how short it is,” he concludes. “There's a story to be told for each one of them and as long as we remember them they're still alive.”
For information on the annual War Memorial wreath laying ceremony or other Homecoming activities, please visit www.sdsualumni.org/homecoming.htm. |
"Aztecs Ask" is Your Chance to Chat
Faculty Author Kicks Off New On-Line Alumni Forum
“Any time I can quote academic research and People Magazine on the same page is a rip-roaring good time,” laughs author and SDSU associate psychology professor Jean Twenge, Ph.D. That's how she describes what she does in her book, “Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled – and More Miserable Than Ever Before.”
Twenge's book is the result of years of research she describes as looking into “differences between generations - differences in personality, in attitudes and behavior. The essence of the book is that American culture has shifted toward a focus on the self and toward individualism over the last 30 years.”
Already in its second printing, “Generation Me” has caught the interest of the national media. Professor Twenge has been quoted everywhere from The Washington Post and The New York Times to USA Today. She says her most memorable experience in promoting her book was an interview on NBC's “Today” show. “Flying to New York to do that,” she says, “being in that studio, meeting Katie Couric was great.”
Now readers and SDSU alumni around the world have a chance to interview Professor Twenge about her research, her book, or almost any question suitable to pose in a one hour on-line chat set for Thursday, July 20 at noon PST. That's when Twenge becomes the inaugural guest of “Aztecs Ask,” a quarterly Alumni Association forum featuring individuals and issues of interest related to San Diego State University.
The idea is to give alumni, no matter where they may be, an opportunity to connect with the campus. To participate, all you have to do is visit the Alumni Association Web site at www.sdsualumni.org and look under “Hot Topics.” Times, topics and guests will always be announced in this newsletter prior to the next Aztecs Ask event and on the Alumni Association Web site. Future guests may include faculty, administrators, students, alumni, and staff of SDSU.
Twenge's experience promoting her book on television and radio makes her the perfect candidate for the inaugural Aztecs Ask chat. She says dealing with callers live on the air taught her that “you might really just have to answer a question that you never heard before.” Often, explains the professor, questions will be off topic. “They're just calling and talking about what they want to know, so you really have to think on your feet, which can be very challenging sometimes.”
Author and SDSU associate psychology professor Jean Twenge, Ph.D., chats on-line with alumni July 20 at noon PST. |
Her book's title, “Generation Me,” refers to today's young people born in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. It examines both the positive and negative aspects of their “focus on the self.” Taught to aim high and pursue their wildest dreams, many are stymied by the reality checks of economics and competition. Twenge, who considers herself part of the vanguard of the generation, analyzes and explains their view of the world and the likely impact they'll leave on society.
“One thing that's been nice,” Twenge says, “although I think the title, 'Generation Me,' really does capture the generation, I was afraid a lot of young people would think it was too negative and would think it was insulting and wouldn't like it, but a lot of my undergraduates actually like the title and they say, 'Yeah, that really does apply to us.'”
While younger people seem willing to own her characterization of their generation, Twenge says older readers express differing opinions. “Some older people really like it and then others are more skeptical,” she observes. “That's actually varied a little bit more than what the young people think.”
Could that be another indication of a generational difference? On Thursday, July 20, Jean Twenge will be ready to discuss it.
Join the "Aztecs Ask" chat at http://chat.sdsualumni.org. You may need to download a Java applet prior to entering the chat room. |
In the Swing
Alum Helps SDSUAA Expand Benefits
Stadium Golf Center and Batting Cages |
In his days at SDSU, Barry Mahlberg ('82) played on two Aztec golf teams that competed in the NCAA tournament. He was an honorable mention All-American who graduated to play professional golf for several years. To this day he remains connected to the sport and wants to share his love for the game with other SDSU alumni.
That's why Mahlberg has worked out a deal with the Alumni Association for use by its members of a free basket of golf balls or four batting cage tokens at his Stadium Golf Center & Batting Cages near Qualcomm Stadium. “We do a lot with the golf team,” explains Mahlberg, whose property serves as a practice site for Aztec golfers, “and so it seemed a natural to provide an opportunity for alumni to come down to the facility and give them a little bit of a discount.”
“Barry is a great guy,” says Alumni Association Associate Director Tammy Blackburn. “His generosity is one of the reasons this organization is able to offer members a growing list of wonderful benefits.”
For much of the past year, Blackburn has led an effort to expand member benefits, including giveaways, special events, and discounts. Her work has paid off in the recent additions of such perks as a free 1-year subscription for members to San Diego Magazine, member discounts for the VAVi Sport & Social Club, free sunglasses from Sunglass Cabana, and now the Stadium Golf offer. Those are just the latest.
“We want to make sure the list gets longer,” says Blackburn. “Our alumni base is huge and we want alums to know there are all kinds of privileges associated with being a member of the SDSU Alumni Association.”
“We're also designing a new membership card,” explains Blackburn, “so wherever you go you can easily take advantage of available benefits while displaying your Aztec pride at the same time.” She hopes the more the membership cards are seen around town, the more other business owners will want to follow Mahlberg's lead in offering deals to SDSU alumni.
Barry Mahlberg |
For Mahlberg, whose facility along I-15 is almost within a four-iron of campus, the offer was a no-brainer. “Proximity-wise, we're pretty close to San Diego State,” he says. “I also own a par three golf course, Sun Valley Golf Course, which is just up the road in La Mesa. Between the two facilities (SDSU) is right smack in the middle.”
But proximity is just a bonus for Mahlberg. A major motivation is tying the game he loves to the institution where he realized so much success in his sport. “Golf is such a social, unifying type sport that it makes sense to incorporate that with people who were involved with the school I went to,” he observes. “It's just a natural to put the two together. It's just a nice perk.”
For a list of Alumni Association membership benefits, go to http://advancement.sdsu.edu/alumni/benefits.html. |
A Change of Leadership
New President Sets Goals for SDSU Alumni Association
Erica Opstad with Chuck Luby |
“As a chemistry major you could probably best characterize me as a geek.” That's how Chuck Luby ('59, '64) describes himself as a San Diego State student more than four decades ago. In fact, his self-effacing style and affable demeanor are part of the reason why Luby is now the president of the SDSU Alumni Association.
Luby officially assumed his new position July 1 after he was symbolically handed the president's gavel by immediate past president Erica Opstad ('93) at the Alumni Association's June 22 Board of Directors meeting.
“He is very dedicated, very passionate about the university,” says Opstad of Luby. “The dedication, I think, really stems from his love of the campus and the fact that it is incorporated into almost his entire life.”
That incorporation began in the 1950s when Luby came to campus after graduating from Helix High. He remembers himself as “the kind of guy who runs around with a slide rule in one hand - remember those? – and a chemistry text book in the other.” Dedicated to his studies, “I spent quite a bit of time just holed up in the chemistry lab,” Luby recalls.
Now a business development manager at a San Diego high tech firm, Luby is moving into his seventh year on the Alumni Association's Board of Directors. Both he and his wife, Robin ('61), who is also active in alumni endeavors, are lifetime members of the Alumni Association.
“If you could create the perfect models for alumni involvement,” says Alumni Association Executive Director Jim Herrick, “you would use Chuck and Robin Luby as the molds.”
New SDSUAA president Chuck Luby, accepts gavel from immediate past president Erica Opstad (center) as Alumni Association Executive Director Jim Herrick (right) looks on |
For his part, Luby sees tremendous potential in the organization he now leads. “I think the Alumni Association is in excellent condition right now,” he says, “but we have even more exciting opportunities in the coming year and beyond. We're putting a major emphasis on looking at how we can make the Alumni Association even more responsive to our members' needs and indeed make ourselves even more useful to the alumni community at large.”
What are Luby's ideas for making the organization more responsive to members' needs? “Things like providing a forum for listening to the voice of the Aztecs, if you will,” he says, also describing his desire “to enhance careerism to make it a lot easier for lifetime learning.”
Is there anything to stand in his way?
“The toughest challenge, I think, is dwindling resources at the university,” says Opstad. “They always impact the Alumni Association.” But despite the fact that funding sometimes gets tight, Opstad is proud that she's turning over to Luby an organization that is fiscally sound and with more than 9,000 members, still expanding. “We're growing up as an alumni association,” she says. “We're going to the next level and I'm going to leave him with that.”
Beyond the Alumni Association, in his year as president Luby hopes to work toward a vision he has for his alma mater. “One of the things I would like to do is enhance our sense of tradition,” he says, glancing out the window toward a parking structure near the Alumni Association. “San Diego State will never be mistaken for a Stanford or an Ivy League school, but maybe, just maybe we can get a few twigs of ivy on the walls to enhance the pride of our members and get recognition for SDSU that it deserves commensurate with its stature.”
Join the Alumni Association online at www.sdsualumni.org/members.htm.
|
Event Listings
| Wednesday, July 19 |
Sports at Lunch with Coach Chuck Long
Location: San Diego Hall of Champions
Time: 11:30 a.m.
For information: Contact San Diego Hall of Champions at (619) 234-2544 or www.sdhoc.com
. |
| Thursday, July 20 |
20/30s Alumni Fourth Anniversary Happy Hour
Location: El Torito, La Jolla
Time: 5:30 p.m.
For information: Visit the 20/30s Alumni Web site
Contact: Jen Ranallo at jranallo@mail.sdsu.edu
. |
| Friday, July 21 |
Aztec Summer Caravan
Location: Sierra Gold Tavern - 6515 South Jones Road, Las Vegas, NV
Time: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
For information: Contact Danni Barrall at (619) 594-5256 or dbarrall@mail.sdsu.edu
. |
| Saturday, July 22 |
KCR Radio Alumni Chapter Social Event
Location: Private residence in Burbank
Time: 7 p.m.
For information: Visit the KCR Radio Alumni Chapter Web page
Contact: Gayle Lynn Falkenthal at alumni@kcralumni.org
. |
| Friday, July 28 |
SailFest
Location: Bali Hai Restaurant
Time: 1 p.m.
For information: Visit the SailFest Web page
Contact: Jen Ranallo at jranallo@mail.sdsu.edu
. |
| Saturday, August 5 |
Dallas/Fort Worth Aztecs Summer Barbecue
Location:
2530 Highview Terrace, Fort Worth
Time: 4 p.m.
For information: Visit the DFW Aztecs Web page
Contact: Shawn Shook Kornegay at dfwaztecs@yahoo.com
. |
| Saturday, August 12 |
OAASis BBQ 2006
Location:
La Casa Minjares
For inormation: Visit the OAASis Web page
Contact: Marietta Minjares at
marietta.minjares@cox.net
. |
| Thursday, August 17 |
Professional Development Extravaganza
Location: Dave & Busters, Mission Valley
Time: 5 p.m.
For information: Visit the Business Alumni Network Web page
Contact: Valerie Harrison at Valerie@teamharrison.com
. |
| Thursday, August 17 |
20/30s Young Alumni Mixer
Location: House of Blues
Time: 5:30 p.m.
For information: Visit the 20/30s Alumni Web site
Contact: Jen Ranallo at jranallo@mail.sdsu.edu
. |
| Sunday, August 20 |
Day at the Races
Location: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
Time: 11 a.m.
For information: Visit the 20/30s Alumni Web site
Contact: Jen Ranallo at jranallo@mail.sdsu.edu
. |
| Sunday, August 20 |
CFD Alumni Chapter Wine Tasting
Location: Orfila Vineyard & Winery
Time: 2 p.m.
For information: Visit the CFD Alumni Chapter Web page
Contact: Ali Rock at
alielaine130@hotmail.com
. |
For a complete listing of Alumni Association events, visit our event calendar. For SDSU events, visit the SDSU Event Resource Center.
Connections
San Diego Film Festival Deal
Special Alumni Benefit From SDSU Elderhostel
San Diego State University Elderhostel is teaming up with the Alumni Association to offer a special benefit. Alumni Association members or their family and friends will receive a $45 gift card good for imprinted clothing and gifts at the Aztec Store in Fashion Valley Mall when they register for the new Elderhostel San Diego Film Festival program.
Held in the Gaslamp Quarter - San Diego's premier entertainment district - the San Diego Film Festival is a perfect destination for a great escape. The competitive, five-day festival showcases more than 75 American and international feature, documentary and short films, providing intimate gatherings with filmmakers and celebrities along with high-powered industry workshops. This year's festival is September 27 – October 1.
Elderhostel is a not-for-profit organization offering affordable educational experiences for seniors age 55 and older. Alumni Association members who are ineligible for this program may still register on behalf of a friend or family member who would enjoy the experience and who meets the age requirement.
Elderhostel participants will be eligible for special festival activities not available to other attendees, including a private welcome reception, special question-and-answer sessions with festival film directors, and lectures presented by a former vice-president of 20th Century Fox Studios and his staff. For more information, visit the SDSU Elderhostel Film Festival Web site. Costs range from $500 for local residents to $881 for visitors requiring hotel accommodations.
To register for the program and receive your gift card, contact SDSU Elderhostel Director Dennis Roth at dennis.roth@sdsu.edu or (800) 231-9575. Once your registration has been verified, the gift card will be sent to you. See you at the movies!
To learn more about SDSU Elderhostel and the San Diego Film Festival offer, visit www.elderhostel.org and type in program number 14095RJ.
|
SailFest 2006!
Summer Fun On San Diego Bay
It's not too late to reserve your place for the Alumni Association's SailFest 2006, scheduled for Friday, July 28. The annual day of fun on San Diego Bay includes sailing, dinner and a raffle designed as a fundraiser to benefit the SDSU Alumni Association Scholarship Fund. The event takes place at the Bali Hai on Shelter Island. Although the day on the water is a highlight of the event, those who wish to attend only the evening portion of the festivities may register separately for dinner by the bay. Space is limited, so make your reservation by visiting http://advancement.sdsu.edu/alumni/sailfest.html or by calling (619) 594-ALUM (2586).
|
20/30s Celebrates 4th Anniversary
La Jolla Event Marks Occasion
20/30s Young Alumni Board at Explore SDSU |
Has it really been four years? The 20/30s Young Alumni are celebrating their 4th anniversary at the very spot where it all began: El Torito, La Jolla! Mingling with the crowd, reuniting with old friends, networking and enjoying happy-hour specials will be the order of the evening. This year, former board members have been invited to attend the “first annual reunion of former board members,” so that current members may honor those who kicked off this group in 2002. All alumni and friends are welcome; 20/30-somethings or not. We won't check your ID at the door. Bring a friend, meet up with old buddies, or find some new ones. Whether you are a newcomer or a regular, we look forward to seeing you at El Torito on Thursday, July 20, 2006, 5:30 – 8:30pm.
Other opportunities for you to bump into fellow alumni include a 20/30s Mixer at the House of Blues on Thursday, August 17 and the annual Day at the Races on Sunday, August 20 at Del Mar. For details, please visit www.sdsualumni.org/2030s. |
20/30s Young Alumni Donate More Than $25,000 to Alumni Center
Goal Surpassed In 18 Months
Congratulations to 20/30s Young Alumni, both locally and out of the area. They have reached their goal of contributing $25,000 to the future Alumni Center! Campaigning from January 2005 through June 2006, they set their sights on a hefty goal and have surpassed it. From $20 to $2,500, these alumni, although young in their fields, are doing their part by donating what they can to give back to their university. Individuals or groups making contributions of $1,000 up to $5,000 will have a tile or paver with a name or other text of their choice displayed in the outdoor pavilion of the new Alumni Center. Alumni in their 20s or 30s are showing the rest of the SDSU alumni community what they are made of, and something tells us that this is only the beginning!
Special thanks to Mike Minjares (‘89, '95), University Development, for his motivation and assistance in making this goal a reality. The bar continues to rise. If you are interested in supporting the Recent Grad/Young Alumni campaign, please contact Mike at mike.minjares@sdsu.edu or (619) 594-4010. For more information, visit http://alumnicenter.sdsu.edu/.
|
Coach Long to Speak at Hall of Champions
Sign Up For Tickets Now
San Diego State football coach Chuck Long, preparing for his first season with the Aztecs, will speak at Sports at Lunch at noon on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park.
Tickets are $30 for Hall of Champions members and $40 for non-members. For reservations, sign up online at www.sdhoc.com or call the Hall of Champions at (619) 234-2544.
WHO: Aztec fans
WHAT: Sports at Lunch with Coach Chuck Long
WHEN: Wednesday, July 19, 2006, 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: San Diego Hall of Champions, 2131 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park.
TICKETS: $30 for Hall Members, $40 for non-members.
RESERVATIONS: Register on-line at www.sdhoc.com or call (619) 234-2544
|
Support Aztecs Football On The Road
Tailgates Planned for Wisconsin, San Jose State
Make plans now to join the Aztecs football team on the road this fall when they take on the Wisconsin Badgers and the San Jose State Spartans. Tailgate events cosponsored by the SDSU Alumni Association and the Aztec Athletic Foundation are planned for the games at Madison and San Jose. Alumni from throughout the Midwest and in the San Francisco Bay area are especially encouraged to attend. Details for both events are as follows:
Aztecs vs. Wisconsin Badgers Saturday, September 16th, Madison, WI
Tailgate starts at 12:30 p.m.
Cost is
$40 for Aztec Athletic Foundation or Alumni Association members and
$50 for non-members and guests. Game tickets are $35. Kick-off is at 2:30 p.m.
Aztecs vs. San Jose State Spartans Saturday, September 30th, San Jose, CA
Tailgate starts at 12:30 p.m. Cost is
$35 for Aztec Athletic Foundation or Alumni Association members and
$45 for non-members and guests. Game tickets are $20. Kick-off at 3 p.m.
Purchase tickets now by calling the SDSU Ticket Office at (619) 283-SDSU. For more information, contact the Alumni Association at (619) 594-2586 or the Aztec Athletic Foundation at (619) 594-6444.
Register for either tailgate online at http://advancement.sdsu.edu/alumni/ontheroad.htm. |
Coach Fisher to Meet Alumni in Las Vegas
Sign Up For Aztec Summer Caravan Event
The Aztec Athletic Foundation and the SDSU Alumni Association bring to Las Vegas the Aztec Summer Caravan, Friday, July 21. All alumni and Aztec fans are invited to an informal meet and greet event with men's head basketball coach Steve Fisher at the Sierra Gold Tavern. Be sure to RSVP today.
Who: SDSU Alumni, fans and friends in the Las Vegas area.
What: Meet and Greet Social with men's head basketball coach Steve Fisher
Where: Sierra Gold Tavern, 6515 South Jones Road, Las Vegas, (702) 221-4120
When: Friday, July 21, 2006 at 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
How: RSVP to Danni Barrall, (619) 594-5256 or dbarrall@mail.sdsu.edu
|
20/30s Alumni Day at the Races
Buy your ticket today!
Enjoy a day of racing on Sunday, August 20 at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club with 20/30s Alumni. Gates open at 11:00 a.m. and first post is at 2 p.m. For $20 you will receive admission to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, a seat in the reserved area in the Pacific Pavilion, and a barbeque lunch. A Del Mar signature beach blanket is free with your paid admission.
To register, visit http://advancement.sdsu.edu/alumni/2030s/events.html or call the SDSU Alumni Association at (619) 594-ALUM (2586). |
MBA Consulting Program Seeks Applicants
Students and Alumni Businesses Benefit
SDSU's College of Business Administration is now accepting applications for its MBA student consulting projects for the Fall 2006 semester. The School's MBA Consulting Program, now in its 10th year, provides companies with high quality consulting services at a very economical rate. Previous projects have included: writing a business plan, preparing a feasibility study, doing marketing research, writing a marketing plan, preparing a production plan, doing financial analysis, etc. Due to the outstanding results these student consulting teams deliver, many companies renew their participation each year. SDSU MBAs have successfully worked with a wide range of clients including General Atomics, QUALCOMM, San Diego Zoo, Marine Corps Exchange at Miramar, Sea World, SAIC, NASSCO, Cubic Corporation, and San Diego Telecom Council.
We encourage you and your company to consider commissioning an SDSU MBA consulting project. Our students benefit greatly from this experience and your participation, as SDSU alumni and recognized leaders in the business community, will validate our efforts and bring a greater level of recognition to this program. Please feel free to contact Chris Graham at (619) 594-2899 or cgraham@mail.sdsu.edu with any questions regarding this outstanding program.
To read a recent article in CFO.com featuring SDSU MBA consulting, please visit http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/5132538/c_3666324.
|
Chapter News
Lights! Chapter! Action!
TV & Film One of 2 New Alumni Groups
Two years ago Andrea Bossenmeyer ('04) was a graduating film major hoping to work her way into the motion picture industry. She remembers she and some other students were disappointed to discover no formal network of alumni with jobs in the industry to whom they could turn for advice and support.
She knew such groups existed in other places. “Like USC and UCLA and some of the bigger film schools have a network where you can call someone and say, 'Hey I'm an alumna from the same school as you and I'm looking for a job or an internship,' and that was all set up and in place,” Bossenmeyer recalls.
So she set out to compile a list of contacts and developed a network of her own. It was something the Canyon Lake native kept up with after moving to Los Angeles and back to San Diego. Now her persistence has paid off with official recognition of the new Television and Film Alumni Chapter.
Last month, it was one of two new alumni chapters formally approved by the Alumni Association's board of directors. The other is the new DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) Aztecs. The new groups bring to 25 the total number of officially-recognized SDSU Alumni Association Chapters.
Bossenmeyer will serve as her chapter's first co-president, along with John Clinton ('90). Other officers include co-vice presidents Jessica Ponte ('04) and Rob Cahl ('04), secretary Mike Flynn ('04), treasurer Nino Lopez ('03), and Andres Rascon ('04).
Bossenmeyer says the first order of business for the new chapter will be “getting a Web site up and running for people to access.” Then, she says, she'll work on broadening the chapter network to help students and alumni find television and film industry internships and jobs.
For more information on the Television and Film Alumni chapter, visit their Web page at http://chapters.sdsu.edu/tv. For the Dallas/Fort Worth Aztecs, visit their Web page at http://chapters.sdsu.edu/dfw. |
New Ideas
Chapter Leaders Gather For Workshop
What's the best way to expand your Alumni Association chapter? How do you identify and cultivate the best leaders for your organization? These are just a couple of the questions discussed at a chapter leadership conference and appreciation luncheon sponsored last month by the SDSU Alumni Association.
Business Alumni Network Chapter member Jerry Dunaway ('98) speaks to alumni at June 30 conference.
|
Almost two-dozen chapter members gathered at San Diego's Handlery Hotel for the June 30 half-day event organized by Alumni Association Chapter Coordinator Diane Barragan and attended by Alumni Association staff.
“We wanted to let our chapter leaders know how much we appreciate what they do all year and also to give them some practical tips on how to strengthen their chapters,” Barragan said. Topics included chapter Web site improvement, working with volunteers, and getting messages out to members. A “State of the Alumni Association” address was also delivered by SDSU Alumni Association Executive Director Jim Herrick.
In attendance was Beatriz Trujillo, a recent SDSU graduate from Guatemala. As the incoming vice president of marketing and communications for the Business Alumni Network, she was pleased and a little surprised to learn the extent to which the Alumni Association's networking efforts are Internet-based. “That was something that was a very good thing for me,” she admitted, “because I didn't think you had all the contacts already and the possibilities to do everything on-line.”
A few days later Barragan presented much of the same information in a teleconference to chapter leaders from across the country who were unable to attend the San Diego gathering. “We do everything we can to support our chapters wherever they may be,” said Barragan. “After all, there are SDSU alumni everywhere and it's our mission to help them stay connected.”
Get involved with an Alumni Chapter at http://chapters.sdsu.edu/. |
Graduate School of Public Health Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary
Event Planned For April 2007
During 2006-07 the GSPH is delighted to celebrate twenty-five years since the first class of M.P.H. graduates received their diplomas in 1982. The school will be offering a number of opportunities for alumni, faculty emeriti and other friends to help celebrate this anniversary.
Save the date for the symposium and celebratory dinner, scheduled for April 13-14, 2007. Dates for special lectures and other events will be announced as they are confirmed. Please watch for anniversary-related details at http://publichealth.sdsu.edu/. Also, alumni, faculty and friends are encouraged to join the school list-serve by visiting http://publichealth.sdsu.edu/listserve-alumni.php.
Alumni and friends of the school are encouraged to show their support for the school by joining in the activities and being a part of the school's philanthropic campaign. To do so, you can contact chhsdev@mail.sdsu.edu or (619) 594-8700. Or, if you are called by one of our SDSU Fund student callers, tell them you would like to allocate your gift to the GSPH.
As the school commemorates its anniversary, it celebrates its past while looking toward the future. One upcoming point of excellence is the A.S. Benenson Distinguished Lecture tentatively planned for spring 2007; this event will be made possible in part by the generosity of the family of Abram (Bud) Benenson, a world-renowned epidemiologist and one of the school's founding faculty members.
|
Contact Information
Mailing Address:
San Diego State University Alumni Association
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-1690
|
|
