Magazine for Alumni and Friends - Pitzer CollegeFALL 2003 Magazine for Alumni and Friends Pitzer College PARTICIPANT “Starting with issues concerning human treatment of the natural

FALL 2003

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“Starting with issues concerning human treatment of the natural environment, we arriveat principles that shed light on the total human condition.” John R. Rodman 1933-2003

PresidentLaura Skandera Trombley

EditorSusan C. Andrews

Managing Editor/DesignerJay Collier

Editorial AssistantPenny King

Contributing WritersJay CollierDeborah Haar ClarkPatricia BarnesMelonie GallowayPenny KingCassandra MeagherJose CalderonJamie Brown ’99James Lippincott ’95Jim StricksAri Sherman ’85Steve GlassPaul Faulstich ’79Kelly HowellAmy Kerkhoff

PrinterDual Graphics

Printed on recycledpaper with

soy-based ink.

Cover photos by Joe ClementsJohn Rodman quote from “Four Forms of EcologicalConsciousness Reconsidered,” inHistorical Roots of Deep Ecology

A member of the ClaremontColleges, Pitzer College is a privateliberal arts and sciencesinstitution, committed to values ofinterdisciplinary perspective,intercultural understanding andsocial responsibility. TheParticipant is published by theOffice of Public Relations andwelcomes comments from itsreaders. Address letters toParticipant Editor, Avery 105,Pitzer College, 1050 N. Mills Ave.,Claremont, CA 91711-6101, orsubmit them via e-mail [email protected]. The Participantis published online in PDF formatat www.pitzer.edu

President’s Column / 2

Pitzer in the News / 3

Pomona Day Labor Center / 6

Faculty and Staff Find Recipefor Success / 9

Full CircleProfessor Paul Faulstich’s Fulbrightresearch marked his return to the peoplewith whom he began his career / 10

Advantage: PitzerMelinda Herrold-Menzies joins Pitzeras new professor of environmentalstudies / 14

Pitzer College FALL 2003 / Vol. 37, No. 1

PARTICIPANT

TRUSTEES

HIRSCHEL B. ABELSONPresident, Stralem &Company, Inc.

JILL BASKIN ’77Chicago, IL

MARC D. BROIDY ’95Vice President Smith Barney

WILLIAM G. BRUNGERVice President, RevenueManagement, ContinentalAirlines

NANCY ROSE BUSHNELL ’69Laguna Beach, CA

LESLIE DASHEW ’70President, Human Side ofEnterprise

SUSAN G. DOLGENAccess & Answers

SARA LOVE DOWNEYChicago, IL

MARY BETH GARBER ’68President, Southern CaliforniaBroadcasters Association

PETER S. GOLDIrmas, Gold and Company

JONATHAN P. GRAHAM ’82Partner, Williams andConnolly

JAMES HASS ’75President, Capital Advisors, Ltd.

PAUL C. HUDSONPresident & CEO, BroadwayFederal Bank

DEBORAH BACH KALLICK ’78Executive Director, Govt.and Industry Relations,Cedars-Sinai Health System

ROBIN M. KRAMER ’75Senior Fellow, CaliforniaCommunity Foundation

TERRY F. LENZNERChairman, InvestigativeGroup International, Inc.

MAUREEN D. LYNCH ’77Vice President, MorganStanley & Company, Inc.

THOMAS H. MOORE ’82Vice President, MorganStanley Dean Witter

JAMES ORLIKOFF ’76President, Orlikoff andAssociates, Inc.

ARNOLD PALMERSenior Vice President,Sutro & Company

ELLA PENNINGTON ’81Vice President for Operations,Crystal Stairs, Inc.

RUSSELL M. PITZERProfessor, Dept. of Chemistry,Ohio State University

SUSAN S. PRITZKERChair of the Board

MARGOT LEVIN SCHIFFChicago, IL

JOEL H. SCHWARTZGeneral Partner/LLC, 95 S.F.L.P.

WILLIAM D. SHEINBERG ’83Partner in The Bubble Factory

LISA SPECHTAttorney/Partner, Manatt,Phelps & Phillips

EUGENE P. STEINExecutive Vice President,Capital Guardian Trust Co.

PETER STRANGERLos Angeles, CA

JOHN N. TIERNEYPresident & CEO, TheDOCSI Corporation

LAURA SKANDERATROMBLEYPresident, Pitzer College

JOAN G. WILNERBeverly Hills, CA

LIFE TRUSTEES

ROBERT H. ATWELLFormer President, PitzerCollege

CONSTANCE AUSTINLos Angeles, CA

ELI BROADLos Angeles, CA

FRANK L. ELLSWORTHFormer President, PitzerCollege; President,Endowments Capital Researchand Management Co.

HARVEY J. FIELDSBeverly Hills, CA

PATRICIA G. HECKERSt. Louis, MO

BRUCE E. KARATZChairman & CEO, KB Home

MARILYN CHAPIN MASSEYFormer President, PitzerCollege

MURRAY PEPPERPresident, Home SilkProperties, Inc.

EDITH L. PINESS, Ph.D.Mill Valley, CA

RICHARD J. RIORDANFormer Los Angeles Mayor

DEBORAH DEUTSCH SMITH ’68Professor, KennedyScholar, John F. KennedyCtr. for Research onHuman Development,Vanderbilt University

PITZER BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2003-04

JENNIFER BALE-KUSHNER ’87Chair, Strategic Planning

JEANMARIE HAMILTONBOONE ’87Chair, Educational Programs

PARKER DOUGLAS ’88Co-Chair, Career Development

RUETT FOSTER ’81Chair, Community ServicePrograms

ANDREW GOODMAN ’81(Immediate Past President)

CESAR GOMEZ ’94Co-Chair, Career Development

GAYLA HAMIK-BECKLEY ’02Co-Chair, Student AlumniRelations

ELLA PENNINGTON ’81President

DIANE REYES ’91Co-Chair, Alumni Admissions

AMANDA SHER ’02Co-Chair, Student AlumniRelations

JONATHAN STOKES ’98Chair, Graduates of Last Decade

JEANETTE WOO CHITJIAN ’83Chair Alumni Fund

ALUMNI BOARD

Encouraging WordsBea Hollfelder award rewards creativewriters / 18

The Nuts and Bolts ofConservation / 22

Remembering Lost Alumni / 25

Natural AdvocateProfile of Michael Harris ’91 / 26

Alumni Notes / 31

In My Own Words / 38

Sagehens Sports / 40

30 � Pitzer College Participant

In the world of arboreta and botanicgardens, Pitzer’s Arboretum is truly oneof a kind. John Rodman provided a

unique vision and the inspiration to us allover the years as he enlisted the devotionof Pitzer’s many constituencies in shapingthe Arboretum. Today the College seeks tocontinue his legacy by assuring carefuladministration and dedicated stewardshipof this shared treasure. In the past year,Arboretum Manager Joe Clements and hisstaff have accomplished much good work,aided by staff, students, Food Serviceworkers, and dedicated volunteers andfriends. What follows are just a few oftheir accomplishments.

The Grove House Garden and SouthClassroom areas were thinned out andreplanted. The Farm Project Gardenreceived a new watering system and newseedbeds. The Ellsworth Garden wasgroomed and filled out with plantings ofsucculents and drought-tolerant shrubs andtrees. The Medicinal Garden adjacent toScott Courtyard received a fir bark mulchlayer and well-defined, crushed granitepaths. The lovely contours of theIntercultural Garden are now crisp withwell-nourished plantings. Finally, in all ofthese gardens, aging irrigation systemshave been much improved.

One new garden came into being thispast spring — the David Bloom Garden ofRemembrance, located on the site of theArboretum’s Sage Garden that marks thenorthwest entrance to campus borderingHarvey Mudd. The intent of this gardenwas twofold: to remember Pitzer’s DavidBloom ‘85, who died while on assignmentfor NBC to the war in Iraq, and to create aplace of natural beauty where family and

friends may remember alumni, students,faculty, staff, and special friends. Thegarden provides a reflective place to healand find renewal in natural surroundings.

A future project looming large in theimagination involves the drought-tolerantlandscaping that will define garden spacesin our residence halls, to be constructed aspart of the campus Master Plan. Ouroverarching goal is to eventually defineand unify the entire campus landscaping interms of an Arboretum environment.

But there is much immediate work stillto be done. In addition to maintenance andupgrading of irrigation systems, pressingprojects include acquisition of new plantmaterials and the documentation, labeling,and mapping of the existing collections.The College established the John R.Rodman Arboretum Endowment Fund inJohn’s memory to assure the long-term

maintenance and development of thecollections as an educational resource, andhas begun to explore grant opportunitiesfor assessment and development of thecollections as an educational resource forstudents and the general public. The fundsfor these ambitious projects have come infrom many sources. Most important is thesupport that continues to come fromPitzer’s friends and alumni.

John once characterized the Arboretumas a search for “patterns of stewardship andrestoration that take us beyond ‘socialresponsibility’ to ‘ecologicalresponsibility.’” The Arboretum’s sixteenunique yet interrelated garden areas are inkeeping with the mission of the Collegeitself. Gifts in support of the Arboretumhelp sustain this vital part of the Pitzerexperience.

�Cassandra Meagher

Photos by Marc Campos

Assorted flora from the Community Garden and the David Bloom garden in the Pitzer Arboretum

Securing the Future of the Arboretum

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Students in “Mixing It Up/Ceramicsand Mixed Media,” a class taught byprofessors David Furman and

Kathryn Miller, put their talents to usebeautifying the courtyard area outside the artclassrooms in the basement of theMcConnell building this past academic year.

Under the supervision of Furman andMiller, students collaborated on the design ofseating areas and tables for the two spaces.Bricks from a defunct kiln were recycledalong with cement slabs. Students glazed andfired ceramic tiles and then smashed them tomake mosaics for the surfaces of the tablesand benches. The project required longhours. The students worked diligently,cheerfully learning to mix cement and laybricks.

“As a result of this whole process, theygot a taste of what public art entails, and therewards of seeing their project being used bystudents, faculty and staff,” Miller said.

The students involved in the projectincluded: Nataly Buenrostro, Christina Cass,Ryan Costley, Noah Crowe, Fiona Dunbar,Tai Johnson, Michael Korte, Debbie Miles,John Odbert and Daniela Suarez. Specialthanks to Dean of Faculty Alan Jones forfunding the project.

Art can have many functions, as studentsdiscovered in Kathryn Miller’s class“Sculptural Objects/Functional Art.” Little

did they know that one of those functionswould be to support their weight in the GoldStudent Center pool.

Students spent the semester buildingfunctional objects such as tables, seats, lightingobjects and containers that also were pieces ofart. Throughout the semester Miller and theclass often talked about reusing materialsbefore they were recycled or sent to thelandfill with Miller stressing the importance offinding novel uses for such items.

“My own recent experience working withthe National Park Service in the Puente HillsWilderness Park adjacent to the Puente Hillslandfill has made me especially aware of ourneed to create less waste for landfills and Itry to incorporate this concept into myclasses,” Miller said.

“The Puente Hills landfill near Whittieraccepts waste from the Los Angeles Basin

and is the largest in the country. Last year, thelandfill received 33 ½ million tons of trash.Five out of eight canyons have been filledand have significantly altered the watershedof the region. The last three canyons areunder negotiation to be used as part of thelandfill. If that does not go through, the trashwill be transported out to the desert by trainto a new remote landfill site. We are all partof this problem, hence the importance ofaddressing these issues,” Miller said.

For a final project that they had just twodays to complete, students were told to enterthe waste stream and collect objects to use fora flotation device that would hold their weightand not sink. Finding materials proved to beextremely easy and cost-free. None of thestudents had tested their creations so therewere a few surprises such as capsizing,sinking and the loss of loose parts.

rt in actionA in action

Students in Kathryn Miller’s

class test the watercraft they

built with recycled materials.

Pitzer College Participant Fall 2003 � 5

Students relax in

the renovated

courtyard outside

classrooms at the

McConnell Center.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in hisBiographia Literaria (chapter 14,1817), called drama “that willing

suspension of disbelief for the moment,which constitutes poetic faith.” Thesuspension of disbelief is an interlude whenwe drop our guard, willingly flowing withthe action taking place on the stage or thepage before us. For a little while we areable to join in the fun, tragic or comic,where the unreal and untrue is artfullycontrived to beguile and entertain. Fictioncan be described as a form of play with theimagination, a time-out from the paramountreality of life. As an English professor,fiction, and in particular, drama, has alwaysbeen a close friend of mine, an intimate.

In our post-modernist times, theboundaries of art and life can beconfounding, and, at times, difficult todistinguish. These hot August days ofCalifornia summer have brought us aninteresting turn in the history of statepolitics, and possibly a new brand ofdrama. Between the time I write thisParticipant column and it sees print there isa distinct possibility that a new governor ofCalifornia will be elected having accrued atiny plurality of the recall/election votescosting budget-plagued citizens of the statean additional $75 million at minimum. Thenews media’s reaction to this chain ofcurious events appears to be rationalizingthe potential benefits of such an outcome.This play with the election process makesme uneasy, and glancing through themorning’s papers at other local and nationalnews only serves to deepen my concernsabout fiction and reality. I read thatshortness of stature (subjectively perceived)has been redefined as a correctable medicalcondition, that organized religion and thefederal government are reinventing thedebate over the normalcy of non-heterosexual orientations and what logicallimits should be placed on gay rights, andthat intelligent professional women arecrippling themselves with the latest shoefashions (I tuck my feet under the chair as Iwrite this for no particular reason, thankyou). In the coming months, in what otherways will we be challenged to suspenddisbelief? Leaving aside the whole realm ofgeopolitical theatrics, how much more canthe boundary blur? I imagine the answerwill be entertaining, and disconcerting.

Just more than a year ago, my family

moved into Harvard House and I began mywork as President of Pitzer College. This isa good place to be in uncertain times. DailyI find that my interaction with brilliant anddiverse faculty, students and staff keeps myfeet on the ground. Reality in the worldbeyond the Pitzer College campus may beadrift, but the critical atmosphere of theliberal arts college campus provides avantage point, based in intellectualtraditions, that gives us a grip. There is aglaring irony at this historical moment thatreverses the trite observation that the “real”and the academic worlds are hopelesslydivided. The perspective of a Pitzer Collegeeducation, which brings a questioning thatis based on ethics, logic, an appreciation ofhistory, principled and creative thought, andsocial activism, is a tradition that has neverbeen more needed or more real than at thepresent time.

Part of our ability to play our role in this

period of history stems from our youth, andthat is something that we can also turn onits head, something of which we can beproud. Last year emeritus faculty memberCarl Hertel sent me a letter expressing histhoughts about the College. Carl wrote thatexperimental colleges of the 1960s likePitzer were meteor-like. That is, it was theirnature to burst brilliantly across theacademic skies and then disappear forever.Yet Pitzer remained long after others hadvanished. After 40 years it is clear that weare more a comet and less a meteor. Wereappear over and over again as light anddirection are needed. In an era of photo opsand sound bytes, when some technologicalinnovations have a shelf life of six monthsbefore they go stale and are replaced, whenenormous corporations burst into being andthen explode leaving employees andstockholders penniless, 40 years is a longtime.

The world outside has changed and sohas Pitzer College. Our earliest graduatesare approaching retirement. Thegenerational wave that followed them aresenior members of their organizations. Asfor faculty, this past year saw theretirements of Susan Seymour, AnnStromberg, and Jackie Levering-Sullivan.In the spring, the respected and belovedBarbara Beechler passed away, and thissummer we bid an emotional final farewellto John Rodman. This issue of theParticipant, with its emphasis on theenvironment, is dedicated to John. He wasa driving force in the environmentalmovement. John founded ourEnvironmental Studies Program and pouredhis considerable energy into creatinggardens to emphasize regionally compatiblespecies. All of these members of thecommunity personify the Pitzer scholar, aperson who is grounded in concerns for theworld we live in, who is influential withinthe academy, and someone who leaves apractical legacy. Pitzer College’s facultyembodies Gloria Anzaldua’s observation: “Ichange myself, I change the world.”

Last year we proclaimed that as acollege we had come of age. That is true.Our academic success is remarkable, andthis year we celebrate a national record ofgraduating six Fulbright Fellowshiprecipients in one year. We will continue to

Bridging the Gap Between Fiction and Reality

President’s Column

Laura Skandera Trombley

“The perspective of a Pitzer

College education, which brings

a questioning that is based on

ethics, logic, an appreciation of

history, principled and creative

thought, and social activism, is a

tradition that has never been

more needed or more real than

at the present time.”

See Trombley, Page 3


Pitzer College News fromLocal and National Media

“The Facts of Life for an Administrator and a Mother”Chronicle of Higher EducationSept. 5, 2003

Pitzer College President Laura Skandera Trombley sums upher story in the Chronicle as a “teachable moment” foradministrators to “create work environments for real people inthe real world.” Trombley employs a moment of epiphany shehad while attending an academic council meeting in 1996 tohighlight the obstacles faced by mothers as they grapple withbiology and the demands of the workplace.

Trombley then goes on to analyze the pressures womenexperience as they face “the collision of male and femaleprofessional work environments.” Such pressures, she argues,rear their heads either on the job or as female professionals tryto move on to other jobs.

She used her experience to guarantee an easier path forworkers at Coe College, where she was named as Dean in 1997.Pitzer, she writes, has been recognized by the AmericanAssociation of University Women for its primary-caretakerleave program, and should serve as a national model.

“Reliving Their Pain for Others”Los Angeles TimesAug. 30, 2003

Ruett and Rhonda Foster, 1981 and 1982 Pitzer Collegegraduates respectively, were featured on the front page of theLos Angeles Times for their efforts to alter the lives of inmatesat juvenile prisons by sharing the story of the killing of their 7-year-old son four years ago by gang members. The Fostersbring news clippings, photos, video clips and their poignantrecollections of the short life of their son, Evan, to monthlyvisits to the prisons as part of the California Youth Authority’sImpact of Crime on Victims Program. The Fosters have beenpart of the program for four years. Honored recently asTreasures of Los Angeles and featured in other publicationssuch as Los Angeles Magazine, the Fosters have used theirpersonal tragedy to reach out to others in an effort to end thecycle of violence that brings many of the young offenders backto prison and to put a human face on the victims of crime.

The Times’ story chronicled one of the Fosters’ visits to FredC. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility in Whittier, Calif. Thereporter, Sandy Banks, noted that many of the young men are

receptive to the Fosters’ message, while others refuse toacknowledge the human toll of living outside of the law. Forthe couple, reliving the death of their son in front of prisonersis a necessary part of their mission to cultivate empathy andhelp the wards develop a sense of personal accountability. TheFosters remind them that it was a senseless act of blind rage(the killers indiscriminately sprayed bullets into the car inwhich Evan and Rhonda were sitting) that led to the death oftheir son.

“Make Time for Your Friends – They’re Worth It”Calgary HeraldAug. 14, 2003

Pitzer College Professor of Sociology Peter Nardi wasfeatured in a story on friendship and its importance to universalwell-being.

“Friends are often referred to as ‘families of choice,’” Nardisaid. “Sometimes they provide services, support and identity,things that may not necessarily come from a family of origin.Friends are an essential component of one’s network.”

In the story, Nardi distinguished between the different kindsof friendship that exist.

“There’s the casual friend, who you don’t tell about youralcoholic parents. There’s the close friend, with whom you cantalk about problems you’re having with a spouse. Then there’sthe best friend, the person you call immediately,” he said.

“Pomona-Pitzer Names New Tennis Coach”Claremont-Upland VoiceAug. 22, 2003

The Sagehens named Ben Belletto as their men's tenniscoach, replacing Ryan Witt. It is Belletto's first head coachingjob in the collegiate ranks and only his second overall. He willalso serve as the program's sports information director.

“Everyone we've talked to believes that we're catching him atthe right time,” Pomona-Pitzer Athletic Director CharlesKatsiaficas said. “This is his first opportunity and he's ready andwe're lucky to get him before somebody else did.”

Belletto played collegiately at Santa Barbara City Collegeand Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz before graduating from St.Mary's College in Moraga. He also was assistant director forNike Tennis Camps at UC Santa Cruz for two years.

In the News

Fall 2003 � 3

build on what we have alreadyaccomplished: This and all our future yearswill be years of accomplishment. Our goalwill be to raise the College to the next levelof achievement and recognition. We will dothat by continuing our tradition ofpreparing students who are committed topositive goals of creating social change,

integrating our students with differentcultures, and by becoming even morepublicly well known. We will do so as ourfaculty continue to make their mark withintheir disciplines and, I am confident, intheir tradition of speaking out as expertsand citizens on social issues. There hasnever been a time when our identity as aninstitution has been more needed to bridgethe gap between fantasy and reality, andthere has never been a time when we have

been more ready and respected as aninstitution. As concerned as I am about thewilling drift of the popular mind and socialevents toward a fictionalization of reality, Iam proud to be a part of an institution thatrefuses to suspend disbelief when it comesto issues vital to the welfare of our fellowbeings. Let us rededicate ourselves to ourtradition of full participation in maintainingreason and relevancy during theseinteresting times.

TrombleyContinued from Page 2

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Pitzer’s Excellence Leads Way for Others

The Pomona Day Labor Center isserving as a model of success.Morristown One Community, a

service-oriented group in New Jersey, beganseeking solutions to community labor issuesin June. The group turned to the Pomonacenter as an example and a potential methodto control mistreatment of workers andprovide a secure hiring process.

The Pomona center is attracting attentioncloser to home as well.

Fifty students from Occidental College,Los Angeles, participated in presentationsand discussion groups July 19 at thePomona Economic Opportunity Day LaborCenter. Pitzer College students, PitzerProfessor Jose Calderon, and local daylaborers led the event.

Student participants increased theirown awareness and understanding of theprevalent issues involving immigrationand labor in the diverse communities ofSouthern California as part of theMulticultural Summer Institute (MSI) atOccidental College.

Regina Freer, Associate Professor ofPolitics at Occidental College, wanted herstudents to see a “practical real-life side”as they studied a unit on immigration. Atthe Center, students were able to talk withthe laborers about the life and struggles ofa day laborer, “exposing them to anexperimental education,” Freer said.

For four weeks in the summer, MSIrequires its students, mostly incomingfreshmen, to participate in an intensive

In 1997, the city of Pomona passed anordinance to fine day laborers $1,000 and sixmonths in jail for seeking employment onstreet corners. At the time, a group of mystudents happened to be doing research onimmigrant workers in the city. One of thesestudents, Fabian Nunez, had just recentlybeen elected to the State Assembly. Together,

we packed city hall to protest the ordinanceand, eventually, received $50,000 to start thePomona Day Labor Center. Students in my“Rural and Urban Social Movements” and“Restructuring Communities” classes and Ihave been partnering with this community-based organization ever since.

While, as a result of our efforts, all daylaborers in Pomona now congregate near theday labor center, some continued to gather ona corner about 300 feet away. The workers atthis corner, and the employers who pickedthem up, undercut the efforts of the center bynot having any restrictions as to what aworker could be paid. In meeting after

meeting with the workers, we came up withvarious alternatives to the problem.Eventually, through dialogue andexperimentation, the workers decided toinvite Norma Torres, a supportivecouncilperson, and me to meet with theworkers on the corner. The workers at thecenter also agreed to be part of the dialogue.After discussing the virtues of workingtogether and the benefits of the center, wewere able to get 75 percent of the workers togo to the center.

In a meeting involving 85 workers, acommittee was organized to distribute

Communication Key to Success of Pomona Day Labor Center

See Center, Page 7

See Calderon, Page 8

The following article, written by Jose

Calderon, Associate Professor of Sociology

and Chicano Studies at Pitzer College,

originally appeared in the Spring 2003

issue of Peer Review, which is a quarterly

publication of the Association of American

Colleges and Universities.

As the Pomona DayLabor Center

prospers, Occidentaland other colleges

can use its success tocontinue their

research and to affectsocial change in our

diverse society.

Pitzer student David Pihl, center in blue shirt, day laborers and Occidental

College students take part in the daylong event. Below, Pitzer Professor

Jose Calderon, right, translates for a laborer.


Ever notice the beautiful flowerarrangements in Scott Hall?Neva Barker purchases the

flowers every Sunday at the Farmer’sMarket in Claremont.

Barker says that she purchases andarranges the flowers but several peoplehave contributed to the “flower fund,”including Carol Brandt, Kate Rogers,Jennifer Onstott, Linda Morand, AnnStromberg, Lissa Peterson, ShirleyHawkins and the staff in the Registrar’sOffice.

The flowers are usually displayed ontop of cloths that are well coordinatedwith the flower arrangements. “Thecoordination of the displays was startedwith some paper that was given to meby Ann Stromberg, who organized thesale of this paper to raise money forartisans in Nepal,” Barker said.

Barker first placed flowers in thelobby when she had received a bunchof gladiolas as a “Welcome Back” aftershe had been out for surgery. Since theflowers took up too much space inBarker’s office she placed them in theScott Lobby.

“When the flowers died, I missedthe color and decided the lobbydeserved the attention so I startedoccasionally going to the Farmer’s

Market to buy flowers, a peacefulprotest against gray, I guess you couldcall it,” Barker said. “Flowers are atreat that just happen to be easy toshare with everyone…I call it‘practicing senseless acts of beauty’ ason the bumper sticker that was populara few years ago: ‘Practice random actsof kindness and senseless acts ofbeauty.’ ”

Thank you Neva and others for youracts of kindness and beauty!

� Penny King

academic program as well as a co-curricular program. “I try to make surethat all my students get some exposureto the community while they learn inthe classroom,” Freer said, “so thatthey can see how community-basededucation operates.”

Community-based learningflourishes at the Pomona Day LaborCenter. For the past five and a halfyears, students and scholars fromPitzer College have volunteered incapacities such as teaching English orcomputer classes while furthering theirown academic enrichment. RosiePoitra-Chalmers, a student at ScrippsCollege, won the Donald A. StraussFoundation Grant last year for herpublic service project titled “BreakingDown Boundaries with Language.”

“The project will build upon thefoundation already set at the PomonaDay Labor Center, and strive to buildconnections with other day labor andimmigration organizations in theSouthern California region,” Poitra-Chalmers states.

Pomona Day Labor Centerexperiences success because of supportfrom Pitzer College’s Center forCalifornia Cultural and Social Issuesand involvement from the community,such as periodic free health screeningsat the Center provided by WesternUniversity of Health Sciences andsupport from the City of Pomona.

Calderon, a member of the Board ofDirectors for the Pomona Day LaborCenter, states, “In bringing studentsand faculty together with community-based organizations, all of thesepartnerships use the strengths ofdiversity, critical pedagogy,participatory action research, andservice learning to work on commonissues and to create social change,” inhis article, “Partnership in Teachingand Learning: Combining the Practiceof Critical Pedagogy with CivicEngagement and Diversity” (see page6).

As the Pomona Day Labor Centerprospers, Occidental and other collegescan use its success to continue theirresearch and to affect social change inour diverse society.� Melonie Galloway, Public Relations intern

CENTERContinued from Page 6

An Act of Kindnessand Beauty

Photo by Penny King

Neva Barker displays some of the

flowers that grace the lobby of Scott

Hall on a daily basis.

Four Pitzer Grads Named MFP FellowsFour Pitzer College graduates won

fellowships from the American SociologicalAssociation’s Minority Fellowship Programthis year, a number that is at the top amongcolleges and universities in the U.S.

Jesse Diaz, Jose Mata, RobertoMontenegro and Marlon Daniels receivedthe fellowships to continue their graduatestudies in sociology.

The Minority Fellowship Program aimsto increase the number of faculty andresearchers of color in the discipline ofsociology generally, and, for those Fellowsfunded by the National Institute of Mental

Health, to develop specialized competencein the sociology of mental health,according to the ASA Web site.

Since 1974, the Program has supported385 Fellows.

In addition to funding, the MinorityFellowship program provides mentoringand support to ensure the success offellowship recipients.

The American Sociological Association,founded in 1905, is a non-profitmembership association dedicated toadvancing sociology as a scientificdiscipline and profession.

Fall 2003 � 7

leaflets about the services available at thecenter. Along with three students working assummer interns with Pitzer’s Center forCalifornia Cultural and Social Issues and acommunity fellow, we met with the daylaborers, practiced action research in theprocess of dialogue, and assessed that therewas a need for community supporters whowere not day laborers also to distribute theleaflets. Together, we organized volunteersfrom the day labor board, the city council, thecollege, and other community organizations tobe there on a daily basis to distribute leaflets toemployers and to support the workers in theirefforts.

In addition, on the first day of our action,two other summer interns began teachingEnglish as a Second Language (ESL) classesand developing an immigration rights andhealth project at the center. As serviceproviders, as researchers, and as participants,students have been a part of all of theseactions. I cannot think of a better example withwhich to begin a discussion of civicengagement and partnering.

NOT JUST SERVICE LEARNINGThe Pomona Day Labor Center, which got

started through the efforts of students, is not anisolated example at Pitzer College. It reflectsthe ethos of many programs that have emergedand taken off in the last few years. This ethosis rooted in the advancement of interculturaland interdisciplinary understanding as well asin the ideal of democracy translated as socialresponsibility. It is rooted in the idea that,through campus-community partnering, ourstudents and faculty will engage in acts ofcollaboration that go beyond the charity orproject paradigms. Keith Morton (cite)characterizes this as going beyond the charitymodel, with control of services with theprovider, to a model of social change thatbuilds partnerships of equality between all theparticipants, that gets at the root causes ofproblems, and that focuses directly orindirectly on politically empowering thepowerless. Further, this ethos is rooted in theconcept of “community-based partnering,”according to which research and action arecarried out not merely for the benefit ofacademia but for the benefit of thecommunity-based organization and itsmembers in both the short- and the long-term.It joins the idea of service learning—some ofwhich we might label as charity or project

models, such as the students teaching ESL andtaking day laborers for physical and dentalcheck-ups—with the long-term goal ofreciprocity. That is, service learning is part of alarger program meant eventually to empowerthe participants, to develop their leadership,and to develop the foundations that will allowthem to function as active participants in thelarger world of policy making.

This kind of community-based partneringis a cornerstone of the Center for CaliforniaCultural and Social Issues (CCCSI). Createdin 1999, CCCSI supports research andeducation that contribute to the understandingof critical community issues and enhance theresources of community organizations. As partof its mission to be a genuine partner in

communities rather than to dispense so-called“expert” solutions to pre-defined needs, thecenter supports numerous innovativecommunity-based projects by offering researchawards and technical training to faculty andstudents at Pitzer College. In its three years ofoperation, CCCSI has given over 100 awardsto students, faculty, and members of thecommunity. These have included community-based summer projects and internships,academic-year course enhancement and senioryear projects, and urban and communityfellowships. As part of campus-communitypartnering, the center has developed a smallnumber of core partnerships with community-based organizations that last no fewer than four

years. These partnerships include a Pitzerfaculty member, who serves as the linkbetween the students, the campus community,and the community based organization, and anindividual—usually a community fellow—who is the designated link to the community-based organization. The goal of thisrelationship is to empower and build thecapacity of both campus and communityparticipants.

Again, this is not just about servicelearning. A number of my students, forexample, have written their theses on daylaborers. By connecting her work in the daylabor center and her work with a United FarmWorker Alternative Spring Break, one studentwrote a thesis comparing the organizingstrategies of day laborers and farm workers. Iam currently publishing an article on daylaborers that I co-wrote with two graduateswho had served as CCCSI interns. In return,we have used this research to write grants thathave helped to fund the day labor center andits projects. Within this framework, one of oursociology professors has developed a capstonecourse in which seniors spend their lastsemester working in groups and writing grantsfor community-based organizations.

The CCCSI is linked to an external studiesprogram, which is based on participatorylearning, on understanding different culturalperspectives, and on cooperative projects withlocal community-based organizations in Nepal,China, Venezuela, Turkey, Italy, andZimbabwe. Some of the students from thisprogram return to use their new-foundlanguages through external-internal programs.The community-based Spanish program, forexample, develops partnerships betweenstudents and their Spanish-speaking hostfamilies and the Pitzer in Ontario program,which is situated a few miles from our college.Here, students immerse themselves in a multi-ethnic community that is undergoing dramaticdemographic transformations. Throughclasses, fieldwork, internships, field trips, andparticipatory action research, students learnfirsthand the processes of everyday life insuburban communities like Ontario and theeffects of globalization and technologicaldevelopment on them. Through partnershipswith local community-based organizations,students learn the principles of asset-baseddevelopment and gain an awareness ofsustainable development practices.

AN EQUAL RELATIONSHIPIn bringing students and faculty together

CALDERONContinued from Page 6


The Pomona Day Labor Center,

which got started through the

efforts of students, is not an

isolated example at Pitzer College.

It reflects the ethos of many

programs that have emerged and

taken off in the last few years. This

ethos is rooted in the

advancement of intercultural and

interdisciplinary understanding as

well as in the ideal of democracy

translated as social responsibility.

It is rooted in the idea that,

through campus-community

partnering, our students and

faculty will engage in acts of

collaboration that go beyond the

charity or project paradigms.

Jose Calderon


with community-based organizations, all ofthese partnerships use the strengths ofdiversity, critical pedagogy, participatory actionresearch, and service learning to work oncommon issues and to create social change.These collaborative efforts are examples ofcommunity-based models that require facultyand students to immerse themselves alongsidecommunity participants to collectively developtheories and strategies and to achieve common

outcomes.An essential component of this style of

learning and research is its commitment topromoting an equal relationship between theinterests of the academics and the communityparticipants. Traditionally, academics have hada tendency to “parachute” into a community orworkplace for their own research interestswithout developing the kind of long-termrelationship and collaboration that it takes tocreate concrete change. In working to movebeyond the traditional models of gatheringresearch from outside for their own interests,

participating students and faculty collaborate inwhat Kenneth Reardon (cite) has described as“intentionally promoting social learningprocesses that can develop the organizational,analytical, and communication skills of localleaders and their community-basedorganizations.” As part of this commitment,we have found that it is essential for facultymembers to make a long-term commitment tothe sites and communities where they haveplaced their students. Although students canonly make a commitment for a semester or


Faculty, Staff Find

Recipe for Success

“And thewinner oftwo round-

trip tickets to anywherein the continental UnitedStates is…ProfessorSteve Glass!”

Each year as the end of thePitzer College AnnualCampaign approaches, thePitzer community takes part inthe Faculty & Staff Campaign.This year, Pitzer saw record-breaking success when 85% offaculty and staff contributed$59,090 to the College. At theconclusion of this campaign inJune, the campus gatherstogether to enjoy food andconversation while crossingtheir fingers to see who thelucky winners will be in theannual raffle drawing. Thanks tolocal businesses and members ofthe Pitzer community, all of theprizes are donated for this event.The raffle is a way ofrecognizing those who, inaddition to showing theirsupport of Pitzer through theirhard work everyday, are alsogenerous enough to make afinancial contribution.

During the Wrap-up Raffleof the 2003 Faculty & Staff

Campaign, founding ProfessorSteve Glass was the luckywinner of two round-trip ticketsto anywhere in the continentalUnited States. Professor Glassand his wife, Sandy, used thisopportunity to head east toBaltimore to attend a cookingcourse on “The Bounty of theChesapeake Bay Region” atBaltimore International College.While spending a couple of daysin Washington DC, they visitedthe Elizabeth exhibit at theFolger Library and had dinnerwith Pitzer alumnus SethLeibsohn ’91 and his wife,Elaine. Although they have beenthe e-mail equivalent of whatused to be called pen pals forseveral years, Professor Glassnever actually had Leibsohn as astudent and they had not seeneach other since Leibsohn leftPitzer in 1991.

When asked to describe whyhe chooses to give back toPitzer, Professor Glassresponded that he feels that it isnecessary and that after being apart of Pitzer for so many yearshe sees his support as aninvestment in the College.

Many thanks to all those whoshowed their support in makingthe 2003 Faculty & StaffCampaign such a huge success!

We also offer a special note ofgratitude to the members of theFaculty & Staff CampaignCommittee: Neva Barker(External Studies), JoseCalderon (Faculty P’99 &P’03), Lynda Casey

(Duplicating Services), GaryClark (Admissions), MarkCrawbuck (Facilities), AlexLeyva (Food Service), PeterNardi (Faculty), and DavidPerez (Student Affairs).

� Kelly Howell

BALTIMORE

CRAB CAKES

Recipe makes about 15 crab

cakes

INGREDIENTS3 lbs. crabmeat, lump or

backfin (may use canned if

fresh is not available)

3 cups white bread crumbs or

panko

1 ½ cups mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Worcestershire

sauce

2 teaspoons Tabasco or other

hot sauce

3 tablespoons yellow mustard

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 ½ tablespoons Old Bay

seasoning

3 tablespoons chopped

parsley

Vegetable oil for frying cakes

METHODIn a small bowl mix

mayonnaise, Worcestershire

sauce, Tabasco, mustard

and eggs. In a larger bowl

gently pick crabmeat. Add

Old Bay seasoning, parsley

and bread crumbs. Pour

mayonnaise mixture over

crab mixture and gently

toss to mix, being careful

not to break up crab pieces.

Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Form mixture into 4-oz. crab

cakes. They can be covered

and refrigerated for several

hours if needed. Shallow fry

the crab cakes in about 1 ½

inches of oil heated to 350

degrees. Brown on both

sides and remove to a

baking sheet. About 15

minutes before serving,

place in 375-degree oven to

heat through.

Serve with tartar sauce.

Professor Steve Glass whips

up a dish at the cooking

school in Baltimore.


Fall 2003 � 9


Full CirclePaul Faulstich, professor of

environmental studies at Pitzer,recently returned to the College

after completing a FulbrightFellowship research project amongthe Warlpiri, a group of Aboriginalpeople in Australia.

Faulstich grew up in Alhambra, about25 miles west of Claremont, and was astudent at Pitzer from 1975 to 1979,majoring in environmental studies andart. He earned his Ph.D. in culturalanthropology from the East-West Centerand the University of Hawaii and hisM.A. in anthropology and symbolicarchaeology from Stanford.

He came back to Pitzer as a visitingprofessor in 1991. He returned again in1993 and has been with the College’sEnvironmental Studies program sincethat time.

“Pitzer was my college of choicebecause of its solid academics, itsattention to the individual student, and itsflexibility of curriculum. When I was astudent here, I remember looking up tomy professors and thinking that I couldn’timagine a better career. I still feel thisway,” Faulstich said.

The first two courses Faulstich taughtin 1991 were “The Desert as a Place,”which he inherited from Professors CarlHertel and Paul Shepard, and “Victims ofProgress,” which over the years hasdeveloped into his current course“Progress and Oppression: Ecology,Human Rights and Development.”

“We continue to honor our heritage,”Faulstich said about the changes inEnvironmental Studies at Pitzer since hestarted teaching. “John Rodman wasinstrumental in establishing theenvironmental studies program at Pitzer.This innovative program was one of thefirst in the world, and continues to beunique in its emphasis on a broadlydefined human ecology. Paul Shepard andCarl Hertel joined with John in creatingthe vision for our program. They forged a

program that is unique in its concern withrelationships between humans and themore-than-human world.”

“Our curriculum includes communityservice courses, outreach programs,extracurricular activities, and our ‘hands-on’ emphasis,” Faulstich said. “Somerecent and exciting developments in ourprogram include the evolution of theEcology Center, expansion of the JohnRodman Arboretum, development of newcourses, increased intercollegiate links,the Leadership in EnvironmentalEducation Partnership (LEEP), and thehiring of Melinda Herrold-Menzies. In1998 the Environmental Studies FieldGroup completed a comprehensiveredesign of our curriculum, and newconcentration requirements are now ineffect. Recent programmaticdevelopments mark a renewed emphasison activism, academic rigor, socialresponsibility, and communityinvolvement.”

“With the hiring of Melinda, we areincreasing our emphasis on naturalhistory, while maintaining our socialscience perspective. Natural history

integrates keen observation of nature withan acknowledgement (indeed, anaffirmation) that humans are sentientbeings. Hence, it mixes the scientificperspective with elegant, heart-felt andintelligent responses to science. Wesearched for two years to find the rightperson to fill our new position, and withMelinda, we’ll be able to create strongerlinks with the Joint Science Department.This will allow us to incorporate moresuccessfully the scientific dimensionwhile strengthening our focus on humanecology.”

“The kind of natural history we areexpanding within our curriculum involvesthe integrated study of the relationshipsamong and between the biophysical andcultural components of naturalenvironments,” Faulstich said. “Emphasisis placed on developing an understandingof ecological and geological principlesevident in natural ecosystems and howthese interface with human socialsystems.”

“Environmental Studies has operatedas an interdisciplinary program, providingenvironmental education for Pitzer

Professor Paul Faulstich’sFulbright research markedhis return to the people withwhom he began his career.

Karina Faulstich

Paul Faulstich carries a piece of wood to be used for making a boomerang

while on his Fulbright trip in Australia.

Fall 2003 � 11

students for more than 25 years. The stateof the world suggests that environmentalstudies programs will be just as important25 years from now, and this is reflected inthe fact that student interest in ourprogram is dramatically increasing,”Faulstich said.

The field of environmental studies haschanged in many ways since itsincorporation into the Pitzer Collegecurriculum. From the addition ofbehavioral science to the field andchallenges to the dominant rationalisticparadigm, to the increased use ofmathematical modeling involving the useof computers, the field has increasinglymoved toward applied ecology, which isconcerned with the management ofnatural resources, agricultural production,and environmental pollution.

“In many ways, the foresight ofProfessors Rodman, Hertel and Shepardanticipated directions of the field. Theywere engaging our students in humanecology — in understanding how humansfit within ecosystems — long before itwas in vogue,” Faulstich said.

Pitzer College’s proactive position inall of its field groups is evident inEnvironmental Studies. So too is thenature of Pitzer’s interdisciplinaryprograms.

“One of our goals at Pitzer is todevelop balanced, whole persons. Thisrequires a balanced, whole curriculum aswell as a balanced, whole campusconducive to ecological learning. TheArboretum is a good example of how weintegrate our physical and intellectualenvironments,” Faulstich said.

“Not only is the Pitzer Arboretum goodfor the soul; it is good for the mind.Experience of nature, we believe, is bothan essential part of understanding theenvironment, and conducive to goodthinking. The Arboretum providesopportunities for involvement withNature; an involvement that isincreasingly rare. The way educationoccurs is nearly as important as itscontent, and learning is most successfulwhen it is participatory, hands-on, andapplicable. At Pitzer, education occurs aspart of a dialogue with a series of places:

our campus, our local community, and –often — an international community. TheArboretum provides a local, on-the-ground, ecological component to a Pitzereducation. It instills respect, inducespassion, encourages pride in our school,and teaches about the interconnectionsbetween things. It demonstrates that aPitzer education involves not just acomprehension of ideas, but a life livedaccordingly,” Faulstich said.

Pitzer will play a strong role in thefuture of environmental studies, Faulstichsaid. “Pitzer’s strength in environmentalstudies lies in a broad ‘human ecology,’which teaches that diversity,interdependence, and whole systems arefundamental to ourselves and to the healthof the planet. More and more colleges arewilling to sell off — or marginalize, orignore — natural areas in their possessionfor what some regard as more practicalpurposes. But we educate by what we doas well as by what we say. Hence, that wehave about a third of our campus devotedto the Arboretum says something about

Twilight in the

Outback

section of the

Pitzer College

Arboretum

See Faulstich, Page 12

Ma

rc C

am

po

s


our commitments, as does our fight toprotect the Bernard Biological FieldStation.”

“The challenge is to expand ourunderstanding of how human existencederives sustenance and spirit from itsconnection with the diversity of naturallandscapes. The Environmental StudiesField Group is trying hard to do this,” hesaid.

“In our program, we seek, especially,to develop a new generation ofnaturalists. A naturalist is one who has theeyes of a scientist and the vision of apoet; one who confronts evocative ideas,and is respectful of both facts andmysteries. That we chose to focus ourrequest on ‘natural history’ reflects ourinterest in the more-than-human world.”

Faulstich said that Pitzer has numerousalumni working to make the world abetter place. From activists out in thetrenches and lawyers in the courtrooms,to teachers in the classrooms, Pitzer hasenvironmentally oriented alumni workingfor the United Nations, directing NGOs,being journalists, creating art, andrestoring ecosystems.

While the field of environmentalstudies has taken on a global complexionover the years, Faulstich argues thatglobalization of environmental problemsmakes it difficult to address many localconcerns and learn from indigenous andsubjugated peoples.

“In assessing globalization andstrategizing a future forenvironmentalism, we should notconfuse political realities with culturaland ecological realities. The ways inwhich globalization interfaces withindigenous peoples are cause for bothalarm and hope. Critical alarm arisesfrom the legacy of devastation thatglobalization has thus far left on nativecultures and ecosystems. Hope lies in therealization that indigenous peoplesaround the world are reasserting theircultures, and that many have maintained[and in some cases increased] biologicaldiversity in their homelands,” Faulstichsaid.

“By deconstructing old ways of doing

environmentalism while simultaneouslyreconstructing new ways, we can beginto develop a new vision of sustainabilityfor an interconnected world. Ecologyreminds us that it is through variety,intermingling, persistence, andsuccession that we achieve cultural andenvironmental integrity. Any successfulglobal environmentalism will necessarilydraw upon basic concepts from thescience of ecology — complexity,diversity, and symbiosis — to achieveequity and wholeness.”

When asked who has inspired him inhis field, Faulstich said, “Quite simply, Igained my greatest and most enduring

inspiration as a student from my Pitzerprofessors. Also, the Aboriginal peopleswith whom I work have inspired megreatly. And I can’t neglect to mentionthe inspiration I get from nature itself.”

Upon graduating from PitzerFaulstich was awarded a Thomas J.Watson Fellowship to spend a year inAustralia conducting independentresearch with Aboriginals, he said. “Iwent to the Central Desert because I wascaptivated by the native art beingproduced there, and I enrolled in aWarlpiri language course. One of myinstructors, a woman named Nungarrayi,befriended me and invited me to hercommunity. Because of my relationshipwith her, I was given a Warlpiri nameand initiated into the tribe.”

Faulstich’s research involved

exploring the ecology of expressiveculture.

“How myth, ritual, art, and the likeencode relationships with nature. Ilooked at religious responses tolandscape, Dreaming stories, and graphicsymbolism; all in the attempt to betterunderstand Aboriginal perceptions oftheir environment,” he said.

Faulstich’s recent Fulbright trip was acontinuation of his ongoing research.

“My Fulbright project entailed twocomponents; lecturing on ethnoecology,and conducting research on the relatedtopic of the natural history of place-making. My work was organized aroundexplorations of the ecologicaldimensions of human ideologies,especially cultural values of landscapeand place. I surveyed, documented, andrevealed ways in which ecologicalknowledge is culturally constructed,symbolically encoded, and strategicallyutilized by Warlpiri Aborigines of theAustralian central desert,” he said.

“Place-making is universal, yet itsessential roles and culturalimplementations are not adequatelyunderstood. What we widely do know isthat place-making is a way ofconstructing cultural histories andidentities, of fashioning versions of‘what happened here’ and ‘where wecame from.’ But at a deeper level, I amnot so much interested in whatlandscape means, as I am in howlandscape means. Hence, I delved intowhy and how people come to understandplaces as having distinct personalities,and I explored how physical landscapesare embedded in cultural knowledge.Interestingly, this is remarkable similarin scope to my first research trip,”Faulstich said.

Reflecting on his arrival among theWarlpiri, Faulstich said, “My arrival inNyirripi, my research community, wasbittersweet, with news of the deaths of acouple of the senior men with whom Ihave worked over the past 23 years.Only one of the ‘old men’ that I haveworked closely with — a man namedJungarrayi — is still around, and it washeartening to see how pleased he was tosee me again. The deaths of my seniorWarlpiri consultants, combined with theinevitable culture change, made this

FAULSTICHContinued from Page 11

A member of the Warlpiri community

works on a boomerang.

Fall 2003 � 13

stint of field research particularlychallenging. As it turned out, I spentmost of my time with Jungarrayi, butalso spent time forging relationshipswith the next generation of elders; menmore my age.”

Faulstich said Nyirripi is a muchlarger community now than when hefirst visited. It now has a fluctuatingpopulation of about 150, but when hefirst visited there were only about threefamilies living in the area.

“In 1980 there were no permanentstructures, only ‘humpies,’ which aremakeshift dwellings. Now there arecinderblock houses, a dirt airstrip, astore, a petrol pump, and otheramenities. It is easy to lament thesechanges, but in some ways thecommunity is more vibrant now,”Faulstich said.

“I like to believe that my work doesadvance understandings of human-natureinteractions,” he said. “Anthropologists,for example, have long struggled totemporally place the Aboriginalconception of the Dreaming [Jukurrpa inWarlpiri]. They have discussed‘Dreamtime’ as a time-out-of-time; anera when past, present, and future foldtogether. But from my experience, whatmatters most to Aboriginals — at leastto Warlpiri — is where Dreaming eventsoccur, not when, and what they revealabout Aboriginal socio-political life. Inthis way, culture is spatially anchoredand places are indispensable resourcesfor cultural identity. It’s notbreakthrough research; we just needmore of it.”

Faulstich said he thinks his projectwill have broad benefits to Pitzer’sinternational resources and programs.

“My research has resulted inethnographic information and theoreticalexplication of some culturalunderstandings of ecological principles.Results of my project are beingdisseminated at academic symposia andresearch journals, as well as localcommunity forums. More significant isthat dissemination is occurring in theclassroom, as I share the fruits of myresearch with students. Additionally, aWeb site that I am constructing focusingon “Worldview and Natural History”[under the aegis of an

International/Intercultural Learningthrough Technology grant from theMellon Foundation] will host much ofthe analyzed material from my project,”he said.

“Through the Fulbright ScholarProgram, I’m exploring ways oftranslating my experience into long-terminstitutional impact. Examples includedevelopment of joint curriculum,

summer seminars for students, faculty,and administrators, and student andfaculty exchanges. I’m still hoping toone day be able to take a group ofstudents with me to Australia,” Faulstichsaid.

Place-making is not confined to theWarlpiri or other Aboriginal people,Faulstich said.

“There are certainly examples ofplace-making here, but the context andmotivation differ significantly from theAboriginal example. One case in point

that springs to mind is student activismaround preserving the field station. Theyare engaged in a process of coming toknow the place they inhabit. Defendingwildness as they are enables us to renewan ancient covenant with the land.”

“The Claremont Unified SchoolDistrict is also engaging their students indeveloping a sense of place,” Faulstichsaid. “In conjunction with Pitzer and the

Leadership inEnvironmentalEducationPartnership, they aresending students tothe field station tostudy our nativeecosystem,” he said.

Though Faulstichwas dismayed tolearn of the death ofseveral of theWarlpiri with whomhe had worked in thepast, there weremoments thattranscended suchloss.

“The single bestmoment was being inthe field with my twodaughters, laying inour sleeping bags,marveling at theMilky Way andlistening to dingoeshowling. My childrenwere remarkable inthe field, alwaysready for a hike, aclimb, or anadventure [evengiving me advice onfield

methodologies!],” he said.“My Fulbright experience has been

among the richest and most valued ofmy professional life,” he added.“Perhaps the most exciting outcome, forme, has been the incubation of myriadideas. The opportunity to engage with adiversity of students, scholars, andAboriginals was tremendous, and I knowthat the fruits of these encounters willenrich my teaching and research for therest of my career.”

� Jay Collier

Arboretum.

A sculpture

mimics

nature in

the Desert Garden

section of

the Pitzer

Herrold-Menzies brings a wealth ofexperiences from her studies abroad andher teaching duties at UC Berkeley. She isteaching Introduction to EnvironmentalStudies and a first-year seminar titled “TheSearch for Environmental Justice” this fall.She earned her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley inEnvironmental Science, Policy andManagement; her M.A. at Yale Universityin International Relations; and her B.A. atWebster College in Literature/Languageand Mathematics.

The Participant asked Herrold-Menziesto reflect on her profession and what herhiring means for her and Pitzer.

Question: What made you decide to gointo environmental studies?

Answer: A number of different thingsinfluenced my decision. Growing up inSouth Florida, in a family of birders, Ispent a lot of time in the Everglades birdwatching with my family. My family and Ialso spent many moonlit nights on thebeach watching loggerhead turtles lay theireggs during the spring or watching thebaby turtles emerge from the sand duringthe summer. So, I grew up in a family ofnaturalists but I never considered studying

an environmental field until after I hadfinished college. (I studied literature andmathematics as an undergrad.) It was as aPeace Corps volunteer in the CentralAfrican Republic when I worked in anational park that I realized I wanted todevote my career to working on resolvingconflicts over natural resources. I then dida Masters in International Relations with afocus on Conservation and Development,studied Mandarin Chinese and Russian,and subsequently received a fellowship tostudy in China for two years. During thisperiod in China, I traveled to naturereserves during the summer and wintervacations and became fascinated byproblems related to protecting endangeredspecies of cranes. What was so fascinatingfor me as a birder interested in bothinternational relations and the environmentwas the number of crane species that breedin the Russian Far East and northeasternChina, migrate through China and theKorean peninsula, and winter in southernChina and Japan. The survival of thesespecies depends upon cooperation betweenRussia, China, the Koreas, and Japan. Ifound this incredibly intriguing. This led tomy doing a Ph.D. in an environmentalstudies department called “Environmental

Science, Policy and Management.”

Q: What does Pitzer College have to offeryour professional development?

Teaching in a nearly ideal situation.Pitzer has both the advantages of a smallliberal arts college and those of a largeruniversity. As a small college withwonderfully small classes, students have achance to participate and be part of acommunity. This is a much betterenvironment for learning than one inwhich large lecture halls with hundreds ofstudents are the norm, where students havelittle or no contact with their professors. Atthe same time, Pitzer has amazingresources for a small liberal artsinstitution. Through its affiliation with theother Claremont Colleges, Pitzer studentshave access to a great library, extensivescience programs through the joint scienceprograms, and a rich variety of classes inthe different colleges. As a professor, Ialso have access to these vast resources.For continued research and collaborationwith colleagues, being part of the largerClaremont community offers me manyopportunities — more than I would haveat most other small liberal arts colleges. So

Fa

cu

lty

Pro

file

Advantage:

Melinda Herrold-Menzies interviews a farmer in Caohai Nature Reserve

in Guizhou, China, about conflicts over hunting and fishing in the reserve.Melinda Herrold-Menzies startswork at Pitzer this

fall as the replacement forProfessor John Rodman, whoformally retired from hisposition in environmentalstudies and political studiesin the spring of 2000.Professor Rodman died June16, 2003, of complicationsfrom Alzheimer’s disease.The search for hisreplacement took two years.


I have the opportunities for professionaldevelopment that I would have at a largeruniversity but also have small classes inwhich I can actually get to know mystudents and improve my teaching skills.

Q: What do you have to offer Pitzer?

I have extensive international experience— in China, Russia, and Central Africa —which complements Pitzer’s commitment tocross-cultural education. I have aninterdisciplinary education that combinesnatural science and social scienceperspectives in addressing environmentalissues.

Q: What are you most looking forward toabout the upcoming school year?

I am excited about teaching small classes

at an excellent liberal arts college andhaving the opportunity to get to know thestudents at Pitzer.

Q: What makes you a good fit for theEnvironmental Studies program at Pitzer?

I have a very strong background ininterdisciplinary studies – something that isfundamental to Pitzer’s approach toeducation. I completed my Ph.D. at theUniversity of California, Berkeley in aninterdisciplinary department — thedepartment of Environmental Science,Policy and Management — where studentscomplete coursework in the natural andsocial sciences. I have taken and taughtcourses that have combined material fromthe natural sciences, social sciences andhumanities. This is an approach toeducation that Pitzer is known for. I alsohave extensive international research andteaching experience that fits well withPitzer’s mission to help students understandand appreciate other cultures, particularly asexemplified in the External Studiesprogram.

Q: What has changed in the field ofEnvironmental Studies in the last 10 years?

The field of environmental studies hasbecome recognized academically as a field— this is no small achievement! It hasbecome more accepted that interdisciplinaryapproaches to environmental problemsolving are essential, but we are still verymuch in the process of figuring out how thisinterdisciplinary work can be done.

Q: What impact do you expect to make inPitzer’s Environmental Studies program,especially as it relates to your specialtywithin your field?

My education in an interdisciplinarydepartment has afforded me tremendousexperience in dealing with the difficulties ofdoing interdisciplinary work. I think thatacademics and practitioners from differentdisciplines agree that we must worktogether, but actually getting people to worktogether is an extraordinary challenge.

Q: How have your academic experiences ledyou to a career in Environmental Studies?

It is probably less my academicexperiences and more mypersonal/professional experiences that haveled me to a career in environment studies. Iwas a Peace Corps volunteer for three yearsin the Central African Republic (1988-1991).While my first two years were spent as amath and biology teacher, my third year wasspent doing conservation education in anational park created for lowland gorillas,forest elephants and chimpanzees. It was thisfirsthand experience confronting the

sometimes-violent conflicts between localfarmers trying to make a living and parkmanagers trying to protect endangeredspecies, that galvanized my interest in acareer in Environmental Studies. It was myacademic experiences that helped me todiscover in which subfield of environmentalstudies I would best fit. It was throughtaking a variety of courses in internationalrelations, ecology, environmental policy,geography, sociology, and political sciencethat helped me understand the breadth of thefield and helped me figure out where Iwould have the most to offer.

Q: What is the importance of aninterdisciplinary approach to environmentalstudies?

Interdisciplinary approaches are essentialto resolving complex environmentalproblems, which are inherentlyinterdisciplinary in their complexity.Environmental problems are not simplytechnical issues that can be resolved by“science.” Environmental problems havecultural, social, and political aspects inaddition to their biological, chemical, andphysical components. For example, indiscussions about preserving biodiversity,issues related to gene pools, wildlifecorridors, and island biogeography are justas critical as poverty, corruption, unequalland distribution, cultural values, andspiritual beliefs. Focusing on a single aspectof a problem will not resolve the problem.

Q: What is the biggest challenge confrontingenvironmental studies students as theygraduate and head out into the world?

The biggest challenge will be for studentsto both maintain their activism and continueto try to understand the variety of differentviewpoints on a particular topic.Environmental topics are often verycontentious and frequently lead to deadlock.Finding opportunities for mutualunderstanding and compromise betweenseemingly opposed groups is an enormouschallenge.

Q: How do you expect to help them meetthis challenge?

By teaching them to think critically andcompassionately; encouraging them to acton their beliefs while trying to understandwhere those who hold differing viewpointsare coming from.

Melinda Herrold-Menzies

Pitzer

Fall 2003 � 15

“John was Dean of Faculty when Iarrived at Pitzer and he and I weregreat colleagues and great friends.Indeed, we shared an apartmenttogether for a year. John was awonderful faculty member, a greatfriend, and someone I will always miss.”

� Bob Atwell, Pitzer president1970-1978

Pitzer College Statement of Environmental Policyand Principles: Pitzer strives to incorporatesocially and environmentally sound practicesinto the operations of the college and theeducation of our students. Pitzer exists within

John R. Rodman

1933-2003

Photos by Marc Campos


“Besides accomplishing so much in his‘professional’ life in political andenvironmental studies, and besidesfounding an arboretum, John reallyconnected in a deep way with a lot ofpeople. In my own case, I came torealize that he was a singularlyimportant personality in the lives of asurprising large group. He had a realgift for sharing himself, for really caringabout others, and offering genuineacceptance. What an extraordinaryhuman being.”

� Richard Chute ’84, AlumniAssociation Board member

“How very sad that Pitzer has lost thisgentle, wise man. When I returned to thecampus after a number of years ‘away,’the Arboretum was the most salientsignal to me of the significantbeautification of the College’s campus.The many, many birds attracted by thediverse plant life and the complex scentsgiven off by the flowers and foliagedelight me each time I walk aroundcampus. His efforts have enriched PitzerCollege.”

� Ella Pennington ’81, AlumniAssociation president

inter-reliant communities that are affected bypersonal and institutional choices, and thecollege is mindful of the consequences of ourpractices. A Pitzer education should involve notjust a mastery of ideas, but a life lived

accordingly. We are thus committed to principlesof sustainability, and dedicated to promotingawareness and knowledge of the impacts of ouractions on human and natural communities.

� Adopted at College Council, Nov. 1, 2001

“John was Pitzer’s Pied Piper; currentstudents, alums, and friends wouldfollow him with great devotion. Heremembered students from long ago,and always created a special time toguide folks through the garden, even ifone surprised him with a visit. Many aformer student getting off the I-10freeway for a quick swing by campus anda leg-stretch would find John in thegarden and themselves with a grandtour. He is so much a part of Pitzer’shistory and its evolution. His legacy isthe entire garden — one of the definingcharacteristics of the College. He’s beensorely missed for years.”

� Deb Smith ’68, Trustee Emerita

Fall 2003 � 17

For additional reflections on the loss

of John Rodman, visit

www.pitzer.edu/memorial/


Shock. Pleasant surprise. Gratitude.This seems to be the trajectory of

responses experienced by students whoreceive the Bea Matas Hollfelder CreativeWriting Scholarship, a special recognition atPitzer College for excellence in creativewriting.

Every year since 1995, one student whoseoverall work in creative writing showsparticular imagination is selected to receivethe Hollfelder award. Most recipients arecompletely unaware of its existence until theday they win it. But this ignorance does notdetract from the honor.

“Winning this award … gave me a feelingthat I had been right to put my writing aboveall other interests and studies; that the pursuitmost integral to my personal developmentwas also strong link to the world around me,”says Fiona Spring, who won the Hollfelderaward in 1999 and now has published a bookof poetry. “This was a priceless reassurancebecause the academic life can be soisolating.”

Rosemary Stafford, the 2003 winner,remembers how much she enjoyed beingcompletely surprised by the award, which shelearned of while studying in Ireland.

“I’d just lost the first ever writing contestI’d entered, which was a creative short fictioncontest in Ireland,” says Stafford. “I laterrealized that an entry entirely focused on a girlwith a fetish for irregularities in teeth probablywasn’t the most respectable subject matter foran Irish contest, seeing as the Irish (bless themfor all else) don’t so much have a noticeableappreciation for orthodontic care. So it wasnice to receive the award at that point in time.”

The alumna who established the award,Bea Matas Hollfelder, is a 1987 graduate whocame to Pitzer in her 40s to major in Englishand creative writing. A published poet,Hollfelder was compelled to set up thescholarship out of an appreciation for bothwriting and education instilled in her by herparents. Hollfelder’s mother and father bothenjoyed writing poetry. And while neither ofher parents went very far in school, Hollfelderwas raised with the idea that education isimportant. She became the first person in herfamily to obtain a bachelor’s degree.

“I am a real lover of the creative side and Ihave a very, very strong belief in education,”

Hollfelder said. “As an alum of Pitzer, I amglad I can do something to help.”

Each year, three of Hollfelder’s formerprofessors – Jill Benton, Barry Sanders andAl Wachtel – get together to select thewinning student. Award recipients get $1,000,which can be spent in any way they choose.

“Bea was a marvel,” Benton recalls. “Sheworked hard and she was really very talentedas well.”

Hollfelder’s legacy at Pitzer continues to

encourage other young writers who aresimilarly inspired to share their passion forwriting – whether by writing themselves orencouraging others.

“I will begin my new career as a high-school English teacher in September,” says1996 winner Quinn Burson. “I still possess aninescapable preoccupation with the craft ofwriting and I hope to curry enthusiasm in myyoung English students.”

�Deborah Haar Clark

“50 Bucks to the First Person

Who Can Swallow It Whole”

The Frankel brothers tied for first place,

And instead of opting for a cool 25 smacks each,

Or even, perhaps, compromising individual glory,

choosing to

Put the full 50 toward the pine carved slingshot

with real horsehair

tassels

That Mickey Flemming had constructed himself

in woodshop and fine arts

And was now selling to the highest bidder

To pay for his grandmother’s dentures,

The Frankel brothers instead decided

To have a tie breaking match with broccoli heads

One-upping the miniature brussel sprouts used

in the first round.

Joey Frankel swallowed his first, with the aid of

four glasses of water,

cheers

And plenty of backslaps from the other boys.

Upon choosing an aptly similar sized portion of

broccoli for the second

Frankel,

Michael Frankel’s girlfriend Sheila bestowed a

kiss upon it, and then

him, for luck.

The air hushed – and every soul there heard that

play by play in silent,

mental unison-

He contemplates… he lifts the vegetable to his

mouth…

He turns his head to the sky… opens his airways

as much as they damn well

allow-

Gurgles back, chokes, and falls dead on the floor

of the clubhouse.

That last part took 5 minutes of sputtering. But

it still seemed

Like a part of the game somehow.

The Frankel mother, Eleanor Frankel, now

attends a Sunday morning support

group

From the safety of her own home via the

Internet.

The group is composed of 35 parents, siblings,

and friends who gather

To mourn the death of loved ones lost by

choking during contests or

games.Eleanor often signs herself off with a selectionFrom her ‘prayer a day keeps the devil away’ tearoff desk calendar.Sometimes, she writes her own, telling each ofthe 35 thatCourage is born from the disciple’s decision tobe humble.And sometimes Sheila signs on, and typesnothing, staring insteadAt the writing on the screen, and pretending thatMichael is still there,with her.

New games of death defiance evolve out there inthe clubhouse.But none involve the orifice of the mouth, greenvegetables, or Joey Frankel.A red corduroy loveseat with faded patches onthe sides rests whereMichael fell and lay, turning shades of purple.And one Friday evening Mickey Flemming andJoey FrankelGo out there to the cemetery where Michael isburiedDig a hole one foot wide and three feet deepabove MichaelAnd bury that slingshot with two brussel sproutsand one head ofbroccoli.Then Joey sits for a while and thinks about hisbrotherAnd decides that he never wants to win anythingever again for the rest of his life.

Rosemary Stafford

Encouraging

WORDS

Jennifer Armstrong knew she wanted tobe a teacher when she was growing upin Las Cruces, New Mexico. Later, as

a student at New Mexico State working ina laboratory, she fell in love with biologyand decided to become a scientist. Themarriage of those two passions will haveample room to grow as a member of theJoint Science Department.

“Following graduation, I attendedgraduate school in San Diego and carriedout my postdoctoral research in SantaCruz. I am the only scientist in my family.I have an aunt who is a philosophyprofessor teaching environmental ethics atHumboldt State,” Armstrong said.

“Since I was a little kid I was sure Iwanted to teach. I used to think about howI would outline my courses as a professor,”she said.

She tried the private sector on atemporary basis and though it was funwork, she said she knew she wanted tostay in academia.

“During my post-doctoral studies Iwanted an academic position. When itcame time to look for positions, I appliedvery selectively. The Joint ScienceDepartment held an attraction because ofthe quality of students and small class sizesof Pitzer and the other Colleges,” she said.“Besides, the Monterey Bay area isbeautiful, but my husband and I wanted toreturn to sunny Southern California.”

Armstrong said the department andPitzer also hold another attraction.

“I love both teaching and research sothe Joint Science Department of theClaremont Colleges seems the perfect fit,”she said. “If you go to a research

institution, you do mainly research.Though there’s teaching, it is not stressed.There’s an opportunity here to use myresearch as a teaching tool. That’s the bestway to do science.”

“I really like that in the departmenteveryone works together so it leads to a lotof interdisciplinary interaction. Anotherasset is that Pitzer students also focus on

humanities and social sciences. Suchinteraction can really help me open up as ascientist. I look forward to seeing how Idevelop as teacher and a scientist,”Armstrong said.

Armstrong said she is looking forwardto her first year. She will be teachingseveral biology courses and laboratories, aswell as directing students’ Senior Theses.

“My specific field of research is generegulation. I am interested in how genesare turned on and off at the appropriatetimes in development,” Armstrong said.“Diseases [including cancer] can resultwhen our genes are not regulated properly.I find this field utterly fascinating, and amparticularly fond of my model organism,the fruit fly. The Joint Science Departmentwill allow me to continue research with thehelp of student research assistants, whichis of great benefit during the course oftheir education.”

And what does she hope to teach thesestudents? “I aim to convey to students thatwe really don’t know what ourexperiments will tell us, but that whateverthe answer may be it will contribute to thebody of knowledge about the world andourselves.”

“I look forward to meeting the Pitzerstudents who join me in my classes andmy research laboratory, and will do mybest to provide them with positiveexperiences that they can carry with themfor years to come,” Armstrong added.

Most of all, Armstrong stressed that shehopes to be an inspiring role model for allstudents. “I want them to know science canbe a good thing,” she said.

� Jay Collier

Jennifer Armstrong

“My specific field of research is

gene regulation. I am interested

in how genes are turned on and

off at the appropriate times in

development. Diseases [including

cancer] can result when our

genes are not regulated

properly.”

Joint Science Appointment Fulfills Lifelong Ambition

until graduation, faculty participants are in abetter position to sustain campus-communitypartnerships.

As these long-term campus-communitypartnerships are developed, students andfaculty can become a political force in theircommunities. They no longer have to beplaced in the role of travelers passing by.Instead, they can see themselves asparticipants with a stake in the decisions beingmade.

ConclusionThe participatory style of learning and

research takes into consideration the meaningof community—which, as a whole, is madeup of many competing interests. Those whoare corporate growers, developers, andpolluters call themselves part of the“community,” although their profit-makinginterests often place them in conflict with“quality of life” initiatives in the community.The “communities” to which I refer aregeographical, political, and spiritual placesthat are very diverse. They have differentlevels of stratification, power relations,

backgrounds, and ideologies. Thesecommunities are facing inequality or they aretrying to improve their quality of life. Hence,the research and learning described abovefocuses on the sources of inequalities and onwhat can be done about them. While thedominant understanding of inequality tendsto blame the “individual” for his or her“inadequacies,” other theories andexplanations focus on the historical andsystemic foundations of inequality. Thepractices I have described stand with thelatter. They challenge students and faculty to



Fall 2003 � 19

Joining the Joint Science Department asan organic chemistry professor was ahomecoming of sorts for Scott

Williams. Though he grew up in the PacificNorthwest, Williams completed hisbachelor’s degree at Harvey Mudd College.

“I knew I wanted to be at a place with areally strong science background, but I alsowas very much a liberal arts type so Iwanted to be somewhere I would be able totake courses outside of the sciences. TheClaremont Colleges really appealed to mebecause I knew I could take courses offcampus in music or history or whatever,”Williams said.

Williams’ search for a teaching positionbrought him back to the collegeneighborhood that laid the foundation forhis career.

“Searching nationally I wanted to be at areally good undergraduate institution and Iwanted to be at a liberal arts college,”Williams said. “It was a combination offinding a place that I knew had goodstudents and a town that I knew I wouldn’tmind living in.”

Joining the Joint Science Departmentposed a unique challenge for Williams.

“You have to be a good fit at Scripps,Claremont McKenna and Pitzer. It’s noteasy. You have to be somebody who canteach to people who have chosen theseschools for all of these differentphilosophies and mean something to all ofthese students and that’s quite a challenge.”

Williams said he has known he wantedto teach since he graduated from highschool about 12 years ago.

“There’s never really been any doubt inmy mind that I wanted to be at a liberal artscollege or a small 4-year comprehensiveschool.”

Williams’ expertise will fill a need in the

Joint Science Department, he said.“The work I did for my grad degree and

what I will do here focuses primarily on oneof the Holy Grails of chemistry and that istaking the most unreactive molecules andmaking them useful,” Williams said. “Thatmeans taking things like methane and tryingto convert them into another more usablespecies like methanol. Methane is currentlybored out of holes in the deserts of Saudi

Arabia and since it’s a gas and would haveto be pressurized and cooled to ship, theyjust set it on fire or pump it back into theground. It would be a lot better if you couldconvert it into something that would beuseful. There’s a lot of interest in doingthese sorts of things, but traditionally thesehave been impossible problems. Goodpeople have done everything but theimpossible, now we’re left with the hardstuff.”

Williams said the best thing about hisappointment is the student body.

“The students at these colleges areoutstanding and there aren’t a lot of schoolsof this caliber around. The really fine liberalarts schools are not a dime a dozen. Thesecolleges are real gems, especially on theWest Coast where the concentration is notnearly as high.”

And just what impact does Williamsexpect to make at the Joint SciencesDepartment? “Hopefully not a crater. Iwould like to see a lot of students whoaren’t necessarily going to be scientistsdevelop a bit more comfort with scienceand an understanding of it because we’reliving in a world that’s becomingincreasingly permeated with technology.We’re constantly being bombarded withthings that we have to process and makejudgments on and hopefully these arestudents who are going to go out and voteand participate in society. Hopefully theywill get better tools to judge science andtechnology and how it impacts us,”Williams said.

“One thing I’ve always enjoyed abouthaving a good understanding of science isthat you never lose that child’s sense ofwonder with it all and I think a lot of peoplejust take it for granted.”

� Jay Collier

Scott Williams

“The work I did for my grad

degree and what I will do here

focuses primarily on one of the

Holy Grails of chemistry and that

is taking the most unreactive

molecules and making them

useful. That means taking things

like methane and trying to

convert them into another more

usable species like methanol.”

Mudder Finds a Home with His Former Neighbors

find common grounds of collaboration withcommunity institutions, unions,organizations, and neighborhood leaders toinvoke social consciousness and long-termstructural change.

This type of civic engagement takes usbeyond the traditional top-down models of“community service” to the level at which

students and faculty join communityparticipants in using research, teaching, andlearning to create more democratic structuresand to bring about fundamental socialchange. At the same time, this participatorystyle provides a meaningful and practicalmeans for building bridges between students,faculty, and community participants fromdiverse backgrounds. Finally, it bringstogether the practice of diversity, criticalpedagogy, participatory action research,

student-centered learning, and interculturaland interdisciplinary learning to create adynamic paradigm of community-basedcollaboration and social change.

ReferencesKeith Morton. The irony of service: Charity,project, and social change in service learning.

Kenneth Reardon. Participatory actionresearch as service learning.



Pitzer College prides itself on teachingsocial responsibility along withvarious academic disciplines, but the

true test of a school’s commitment to itsvalues often comes outside the classroom.About five years ago, the college was facedwith a dilemma: what to do about itsantiquated heating, cooling and lightingsystems.

Director of Facilities Jim Gates said thatwhen the campus was built in the 1960s,little thought was given to energyconservation. The old units were wastingboth energy and money, and simply didn’tmeet the needs of the campus. Complaintswere common, he said.

So, with strong support from the collegeadministration, Pitzer undertook anambitious $5.5 million project to createenergy- and cost-efficient systems. It is nowa model for other schools.

Saving money was not the project’s only

goal, Gates said, so planners took intoaccount other factors such as reducinghazardous waste, using resources wisely,and creating a safer campus and workenvironment.

“We want to be good stewards,” Gatessaid, “and we started out that way.”

This philosophy is right in keeping withPitzer’s interdisciplinary approach toteaching environmental studies, whichincorporates social sciences, humanities andphysical sciences.

Paul Faulstich, an associate professor inenvironmental studies who is familiar withthe project, said Gates began taking energy-conservation measures before it was invogue to do so. “As a director of facilities,Jim Gates is a real treasure,” Faulstich said.

It was only after California plunged intoa power crisis a couple of years ago thatsome people began to see the wisdom ofinvesting in ways to cut energy use, but

Pitzer was already leading the way.The first phase of Pitzer’s project

focused on replacing basic mechanicalsystems that heated and cooled thebuildings. The campus used a series ofboilers and steam converters to heat thebuildings and to supply hot water to them,and the South Coast Air QualityManagement District mandated that theboilers either be retrofitted or replaced.

The decision to replace them was aneasy one, said Daniel Hearon, Pitzermanager of maintenance services. The oldboilers were inefficient because of the steamconversion process, and they also allowed agreat deal of heat to escape into the boilerroom. Because the boilers also provided hotwater, they had to run 365 days a year, evenwhen there was no need to heat buildings.

Although retrofitting would have costabout 40% of the price to replace theequipment, improved air quality, future

The boiler room in Holden Hall reflects the many changes made in the interest of safety and efficiency. Plumbing and

other items are color-coded as well as readily accessible for maintenance and repairs.

The Nuts and Bolts of ConservationThe Nuts and Bolts of Conservation


Fall 2003 � 23

energy and cost savings and betterperformance more than made up thedifference, Hearon said.

The new flex-tube boilers are efficientand well insulated, allowing far less heat toescape. Separate water heaters wereinstalled so the boilers do not have to runyear-round. Better yet, the boilers can beturned on or off at will – even several timesa day – depending on the need for heat.Traditional boilers must stay on days oreven weeks at a time, Hearon said.

Swapping out the old “chillers” for 40%more-efficient cooling units provide a similarstory. “There’s just been quantum jumps inthe efficiencies of equipment,” Gates said.

Even taking campus growth into accountin the past three to four years, Pitzer hasreduced gas usage by 43% and electricityusage by at least 25% for a combinedsaving in excess of $500,000, he said.

As the project moved into Phase II,Gates and Hearon replaced motors and airmovers used for circulation. The newmotors run at variable speeds and use lesselectricity to power pumps and fans.

Perhaps most importantly, Hearon andhis staff installed a computerized energymanagement system that regulates all thefunctions for maximum efficiency. Thesystem can be programmed toautomatically turn components on and off,and a series of sensors feed the computerinformation that triggers changes. Thesystem also rotates functions to maintainlowest usage during peak daytime hours orshift functions to nighttime, when powerrates are about 50% lower. From his office,Hearon can monitor the entire system andmake adjustments as needed.

The last phase of the project is about50% completed and involves changingindoor and outdoor lighting and airconditioning ducts and equipment in rooms.“Classrooms are a priority,” Gates said, sothey were completed first.

Bearing in mind their various obligations,Gates and Hearon made hundreds ofdecisions that show up in the fine details.“It’s the right thing to do,” Gates said. “Ittakes a little more time and effort, but it’sworth it. The payback comes over time.”

Lights illustrate the point. “We sat down and decided what light

bulbs would best meet the college’s needs,”Hearon said. “This didn’t just happen. A lotof thought went into it.”

Their selections included environment-friendly low-mercury bulbs to reducehazardous waste. And they limited the typesof bulbs used on campus to reduce storagerequirements.

Occupancy sensors were installed toautomatically turn lights off if there is nomovement in the room for 15 minutes. Lightswitches, which were lowered to make themmore accessible to wheelchair users, allowfor three lighting levels. More lighting wasadded to make the campus safer, but with noadditional powerconsumption. Toreduce the risk ofserious injury,lights werelowered wherepossible soworkers would nothave to use tallladders or cranesto replace bulbs orwork on thefixtures. The lightson the remaininghigh poles won’tneed to bechanged for about18 years, Hearonsaid.

The choicesthey make aren’talways thecheapest in theshort run, but willprove out, theysaid.

“Costs are alittle more in theinitial phase, butyou save over andover,” Gates said.

“If you’recreative, you can get these projects to beworthwhile,” Hearon said.

Creativity is noticeable everywhere. Inthe boiler rooms, pipes are color-coded byfunction. Because the water heaters mayserve as drinking water sources duringemergencies, copper tubing was fitted withspigots and measured specifically toaccommodate 5-gallon buckets underneath.Where some of the old boiler stacks wereremoved, skylights were placed over theholes – thus preventing the need for re-roofing while adding natural lighting.

The same kind of thinking went into“maintainability,” which Gates said is oftenoverlooked. The boiler rooms are keptsqueaky clean so problems such as oil spillscan be spotted immediately. Individualcomponents of the boilers can be servicedwithout the need to shut down the entireunit. Equipment is easy to access and plentyof space was allowed for workers tomaneuver. The water is being treated toprevent deposits, which reduces maintenanceand keeps the equipment working longer.

Hearon, who was a contractor beforejoining Pitzer five years ago, said his goalwas to make the systems “idiot proof.”

“I’ve worked in the business so long I’veseen everything that can go wrong,” he said.

The project has attracted the attention ofother schools. Gates, who serves on thesteering committee of the Education forSustainability Western Network, said he hasshared Pitzer’s experience with others in thegroup. Pitzer has more representatives onthe steering committee than any otherschool, with Gates joined by Faulstich andMarie Sandy, director of the Pitzer inOntario program.

Since 2001, this network of Westerncolleges and universities has beenencouraging greater collaboration amongcampuses to promote education aboutsustainability and put it into action. Onegoal is to involve all segments of collegecommunities in the effort.

Gates said he has worked closely withDirector of Facilities David Salazar atClaremont Graduate University, and he andHearon have met with a number of peoplefrom the other campuses over the pastcouple of years.

But interest in Pitzer’s project has spreadfarther afield. Facilities managers from otherschools, businesses, even churches havevisited the campus “to see how it’s doneright,” Hearon said. Southern California GasCo. has referred several of its customers tohim, most recently a cheese maker, he said.

Gates said the project has been sosuccessful in part because of the support itreceived from the Board of Trustees, formerPitzer President Marilyn Chapin Massey,current President Laura Skandera Trombleyand Treasurer Vicke Selk.

Gates also credits Hearon, who is astickler for details. “He’s very talented andtakes a lot of pride in this,” Gates said.

�Patricia Barnes

Jim Gates

Director

of Facilities

Dan Hearon

Manager of

Maintenance

Services

Grant Program Opens Door to Adventures in China

Would you like to travel in China?Do you have a special interest orhobby that you would like to

explore in mainland China? If you candevelop an idea for a project that reflects astrong connection with China, you shouldconsider applying for the Avery ChinaAdventure Program to win a grant for travelfrom 3 weeks up to one year, and up to$25,000 in funding.

This unique grant program is open toeveryone at Pitzer – staff, faculty, andstudents may apply. Pitzer alums can alsoapply up to seven years from the date ofgraduation (classes of ’96 through ’03). TheChina Adventure Program, which is offered

every two years,is sponsored bythe R. StantonAveryFoundation.There are nineeligibleinstitutions:Pitzer CollegeClaremontMcKenna,

Harvey Mudd College, Pomona College,Scripps College, CGU, California Institute ofTechnology, Occidental College, andCalifornia Institute of the Arts.

This grant program gives people theopportunity to stretch beyond theexpectations of everyday life. Many Pitzerfaculty, students, and staff have won theseawards, and many of them are availablenow to help you with proposaldevelopment. You need to develop aconcept and a brief (2-page) proposal andrough budget. If you’re selected as a finalist,you’ll develop a full proposal that is due inFebruary. By summer of next year youcould find yourself in China!

Find out more about it by visitingwww.averychina.org.

CHINA ADVENTURERS 2002-03

Nigel Boyle, associate professor ofpolitical studies, joined the Chinese in theirhomes, dorms, bars, and public squares inorder to watch all 64 soccer games to beplayed in the World Cup. He traveled toBeijing, Dalian and Shenyang, cities that hostthe three most successful and popularprofessional soccer clubs in China.

Jessie Franzetti ’01, using volleyball asa vehicle, met Chinese women who haveexperienced the benefits of participation infemale athletics. She played with Chineseteams and met the Women’s NationalTeam and the famous Lang Ping, China’s“Iron Hammer,” who was the star player ofthe Olympic Gold Cup Women’s

Volleyball team in 1984.Cassandra Meagher, of the Advancement

Office, visited Chinese parks and gardens,and met some of the people who renovateclassical gardens and who design Chinesegardens internationally.

Paul Stewart, PACE instructor in Englishlanguage, pursued his interest in the guqin,the seven-string Chinese musical instrumentof great antiquity, by meeting performers,teachers, students, enthusiasts, craftspeople,and non-specialist Chinese people.

Nick Stanlea ’01 met Chinese surfers andbodyboarded off the Chinese coast, startingin Bohe in Guangdong Province, followed byChinese coast communities on Hainan Islandand in Shitang.

Preliminary proposals are due at Pitzer byNov. 24.

For information: Cassandra Meagher [email protected]

Photos by Cassandra Meagher

Paul Stewart, PACE instructor in English language, plays the guqin at the Grove House

during a presentation he gave on his China Adventure.


The Class of 2003 broke all documentedrecords by raising a grand total of $6,050for the senior class gift with 63% of thegraduating seniors making a contribution.With the help of a couple of last-minutegifts, the class was able to surpass thechallenge made by Zander Sprague ‘91,chair of the Bay Area Alumni Chapter andowner of Zander Sprague and Company.Zander challenged the class to reach 60%

participation and contributed an additional$500 to the senior gift fund when the classmet that participation goal.

Dean of Students Jim Marchant issued achallenge to seniors in May that he wouldcontribute $10 for every senior whocontributed to the fund beyond the 73 whoalready had done so. Marchant’s pledge lefthim $500 lighter in the wallet.

The money raised this year will support

the Pitzer Book Scholarship Fund to helpcurrent students with demonstrated financialneed pay for textbooks in the 2003-04academic year. The fund will provide atleast 14 scholarships, seven each semester,in the form of Huntley Bookstore giftcertificates.

The senior gift planning committeemembers were Eliza Lagerquist ‘03,Maggie Lu ‘03, and Urmi Sheth ‘03.

Class of 2003 Breaks Record with Senior Class Gift of $6,050

Fall 2003 � 25

Pitzer College mourned the loss ofdistinguished alumnus DavidBloom ’85 at a memorial service

during this year’s alumni weekend. OnSunday, May 4, more than 50 alumni,faculty, staff, and friends of the collegegathered to celebrate David’s buoyantspirit and dedicate a new Garden ofRemembrance on the campus in hisname. The College has also establishedtwo commemorative funds: the DavidBloom ’85 Memorial Scholarship, whichwill provide assistance to Pitzer studentswho embody David’s passion forcommunications and debate, and theArboretum Fund, which will support theDavid Bloom Garden of Remembranceitself. Through these legacy funds,David’s enthusiasm will continue toinspire this community.

Several of David’s special friends andmentors shared fond memories of him asan enthusiastic student, articulatedebater, and intensely professionalnetwork news journalist. A special PitzerRoll of Remembrance of communitymembers who have passed on was read.Steve Glass, Professor of Classics,shared these poignant remarks at thememorial service:

Reflections on Pitzer’s

Roll of Remembrance

When I was sent the list of those membersof the Pitzer Community who have left usover time, like Mallory’s Lancelot, I “weptnot greatly, but I sighed.”

Ever since some Sumerian, millennia past,pressed the wedge-shaped end of a reedinto a piece of soft clay, the transitorynature of human existence has been acontinuing object of resigned reflection.

In the western world, not surprisingly,Homer was the first to sing of it:

“As is the generation of leaves, so is thatof humanity.The wind scatters the leaves on theground, but the live timberburgeons with leaves again in the season

of spring returning. So one generation of men will grow whileanother dies” (R. Lattimore, Trans.)

And yet, this list … this roll … seems tome to be dismayingly large, and, whilemore numerically-apt acquaintances havepointed out to me that the figures areabout right for an institution at forty, I’mnot much solaced thereby.

These were, after all, our colleagues, ourfriends, our students, but, still more, theywere part of a near table-fellowship ofhost and hosted, a symposium of mindsand wines and learning and laughter thatat length engendered those permanentguest-friend bonds of which the ancientsspoke with such reverence. So it is thatthe involuntary severing of those bonds isa difficult thing to absorb with equanimity,Homer’s own equanimity notwithstanding.

In particular it will not have escaped youthat students compose most of this roll,and that is not as it should be. Ourstudents are our children, after all, and,while one hopes they will come to leadtheir teachers in life, it is not meant thatthey should precede them in death, astrong flame extinguished in full

brightness, as Cicero puts it.

This past year, alas, more such flameswere extinguished:

David Bloom, class of ’85Linda Gerber, class of ’69Jamie Johnson, class of ’00Barbara Beechler, long-time professor ofmathematics at PitzerMel (Emilio J.) Stanley, one of Pitzer’sfounding faculty members

This David Bloom Garden ofRemembrance is still in its inchoatestages, but the College intends that thereshall be a permanent monument here sothat we may always mark and rememberboth the good times and the good people.

The Greek lyric poet Pindar observedthat:

“We are things of a day. What are we?What are we not? Theshadow of a dream are we, no more. Butwhen the brightness comes, and Godgives it,There is a shining of light on us and ourlife is sweet.” (R. Lattimore, Trans.)

I hope that life was sweet for our friendsand children who have left us;Surely, our lives were sweeter for theirfellowship.

Delivered by Steve Glass at PitzerCollege, May 4, 2003

The David Bloom Garden ofRemembrance has been created toprovide a memorial for those of thePitzer community who are no longerhere. Your help would be appreciated inensuring that the Roll of Remembranceis complete. The updated list may befound at: http://www.pitzer.edu/memorial/remembrance.asp. To make agift toward the Arboretum orscholarship fund or to share the nameof a member of the Pitzer communitywho has passed on but is not yet on thelist, please contact the Office ofAdvancement at (909) 621-8130 oremail [email protected].

David Bloom ’85

‘Strong Flames Extinguished in Full Brightness’

Alu

mn

us

Pro

file

The fight for the environment began as anisolated passion for Michael Harris ’91


Natural

Michael Harris’ first course inenvironmental studies came as ayoung boy on a small isolated

island in British Columbia. His passion forecology and the natural world grew as hespent six months on Thetis Island while hisparents were training as missionaries. Thatearly exposure propelled him down a paththat led to Pitzer College where he has beenboth a student and a legal advocate for thenatural world. Harris’ education at Pitzerplayed a key role in shaping his work.

Harris ’91 currently serves as SeniorDeputy Legal Counsel for the Air QualityManagement District enforcing air and landenvironmental standards. His work involvescreating rules governing emissions bybusinesses in Southern California.

“We are a government agency soalthough we’re trying to reach the goal ofclean air we’re being asked to do sowithout impacting businesses. We achievethat balance by taking rules to an electedboard to gauge whether the rules are tiltedtoo far one way or the other,” Harris said.“We try to reap the maximumenvironmental benefit by demonstratingthat the impact of a rule is worth thereduction of harmful emissions.”

Harris was the lead attorney on the rulesdevelopment team that recently created thenation’s first ban on perchloroethylene, adry cleaning solvent that is a suspectedcarcinogen. He also is part of ongoingefforts to issue stringent new permits forarea refinery operations to further regulateemissions.

“The Environmental Studies program atPitzer gave me a knowledge about thehistory of environmental issues and theenvironmental movement and it continuesto help me put things into perspective. Ihave a very good sense of predicting whatwill happen in the environmental arenabased on my studies at Pitzer,” Harris said.“And there is the name recognition ofhaving earned my degree at a local, well-known program. I must say that I wouldnot have been as dedicated to my work if I

had not attended Pitzer. The Collegeinstilled in me the values ofenvironmentalism that I will carry with methroughout my life and career.”

Pitzer’s unique Environmental Studiesprogram mirrors its other programs inapproaching the field through manydisciplines. “The most important aspect ofthe program is its flexibility,” Harris said.“It gives you a sense of activism,information and dedication.”

While at Pitzer, Harris studied with PaulShephard, who died in 1996, and John

Rodman, who died this summer. Shephardhas emerged as an important figure inenvironmentalism and efforts are underwayto republish many of his writings. YaleUniversity has acquired Shephard’sarchives. Rodman is remembered asinstrumental to the creation of the PitzerArboretum and for his dedication as ateacher, mentor and advisor.

“There was more of a philosophicalapproach to the study of the environment inShephard and Rodman’s classes,” Harrissaid. “In their classes we learned about JohnMuir and the other early preservationists. Icould see in words the feelings I had aboutnature. The program explored issues in

ways I had never imagined and forgedconnections I had not seen. The classes tookphilosophy, history and activism and putthem together in a unique way.”

Harris’s work with his professorsoutside the classroom proved just asvaluable as what he was taught in class.

“John Rodman was pivotal as myadvisor. He gave you a lot of rope but notenough to hang yourself. I wanted to stay inthe area because I had grown up in SanBernardino and he was very supportive ofmy projects involving local interests. Johnwas an amazing source of firsthandexperience. It was a lot different than justhaving an instructor,” Harris said. “Johnhad what were called Tamarisk bashes twoor three times each spring at the NatureConservancy Preserve in the CoachellaValley. We would rip up the Tamarisk,which is an invasive species that hogs upall the water, in order to save the DesertPup Fish. When you get rid of the Tamariskthe desert ecology returns.”

Harris has carried the sense ofcommunity he forged at Pitzer with himinto his career as an advocate for theenvironment. It’s just as important to be anadvocate for Pitzer, he said.

“Coming back and contributing againbrings back a sense of community that isreally fulfilling. Pitzer is a young schoolwithout a huge population of alumni socoming back makes a real difference.”

Harris’ advocacy has taken on manyforms at Pitzer, from serving on the AlumniAssociation Board of Directors tofrequently visiting campus to speak withstudents. He even served as the College’slegal counsel during the fight to save theBernard Biological Field Station,negotiating a settlement that preserved mostof the Field Station for the next 75 years.

“We lost eight or 10 acres but saved therest. Not everyone was happy with thesettlement, but before, they could havedone anything they wanted at any time,”Harris said.

� Jay Collier

ADVOCATE

In January 2001 Pitzer College receivedan $850,000 3 ½-year grant from TheJames Irvine Foundation to support a

Campus Diversity Initiative that sought toexpand concepts of diversity and betterprepare students to participate in a changingand diverse global society. Beginning withthis issue, the Participant will provideregular updates to the campus communityabout the significant strides that have beenmade toward accomplishing the objectivesset forth in the proposal. Below, we reviewthe goals and results to date of the diversityassessment effort, and the activities of thenew Center for Asian Pacific American

Students (CAPAS).

ASSESSMENT

One of the goals of the Irvine grant is toconduct a baseline study, establishbenchmarks and indicators, and implement aseries of evaluation processes to assess theimpact of this initiative on the attitudes andunderstandings of students, faculty, and staffwith respect to diversity. We are primarilyconcerned with assessing whether we havebeen able to achieve a common set ofconcepts and language that can become anintegral part of the campus culture and guideour social and academic practices. The

central transformative focus of the IrvineCampus Diversity Initiative is to achieve acommunity that concurs about a range ofmeanings of diversity and uses thesecollective concepts to structure the academicand professional experiences of all membersof the community. We envision thiscommunity of shared understandings as theoutcome of a dynamic, ongoing process inwhich all members engage in thetransformation of the College throughparticipatory discussions, collaborativedevelopment of indicators and assessments,and mutual decisions about the meanings and

Update:

See Diversity, Page 28

Fall 2003 � 27

Irvine Campus Diversity Initiative

Founded in 2001, the Center for AsianPacific American Students (CAPAS)provides support to students to enrich theirsocial, intellectual, and personal lives. Withfunding from the Irvine Foundation,Stephanie Velasco became the inauguralCAPAS Coordinator in 2002. As the solestaff member at the center, she views herposition as a “uniquely versatile experienceof simultaneously working as director,program coordinator, counselor,administrative assistant and (as her studentsaffectionately note) a mom every day.”

Velasco earned two B.A. degrees inAsian American Studies and Social Scienceat U.C. Irvine and an M.Ed. in HigherEducation Administration at HarvardGraduate School of Education. Velascopresently sits on the Board of Directors forthe UCI Kababayan Alumni Associationand is an occasional public speaker. Shealso served as the Vice President ofDiversity for the Student GovernmentAssociation at Harvard’s Education schooland has traveled as a missionary to Japan,China, & Trinidad.

Under Velasco’s leadership, CAPAS hasbeen able to develop and extend itsservices to students in a variety of areasincluding academic support, communityoutreach, social and cultural activities, andinterethnic programs. This past year, 26work study & volunteer workers have keptthe CAPAS offices open until midnightevery day of the week ensuring theavailability of services such as an expandedAsian American resource library, threecomputer stations, one-to-one counseling,tutoring, workshops on stress relief andtime management, and information about

scholarships, internships, and jobopportunities. CAPAS has also provided avariety of intellectual, social, and culturalprograms including a Native Hawaiianpanel presentation, a Family Weekend openhouse, “Gimme a Break” Coffee Timefeaturing dim sum, study breaks, theChinese Lantern Festival trip toChinatown, and APA Heritage Monthactivities. Along with the other ethnicstudies programs at the ClaremontColleges, CAPAS facilitated the “AsianAmerican Identity” workshop for the Asian

From left, James Miura ’03, Son Ngo ’03, Debra Yang ’81, Brooke Yoshino, Elizabeth

Tsay ’03, Todd Sakamoto ’03, Urmi Sheth ’03, Timi Singa ’03 and Alan Siu ’03, take

part in the Asian Pacific American Alumni and Senior Recognition dinner sponsored

by CAPAS, the Pitzer Alumni Association and the Asian American Sponsor Program.

‘To Sow,

To Water,

& Grow’

See CAPAS, Page 28

practices of diversity. With this in mind, Peter Nardi, Professor

of Sociology and Director of InstitutionalResearch, has begun to monitor students’attitudes toward issues of diversity andsurvey faculty and staff who participate in thevarious Irvine diversity seminars.

In the first year of the grant a set of itemsfor all first-year students was added to theannual national survey of first-year collegestudents. The national survey of graduatingseniors was similarly augmented. Two localsurveys developed at Pitzer—one for first-year students toward the end of their firstsemester, and another for sophomorescompleted during their spring semester—alsomeasure issues of diversity, along with itemsassessing satisfaction with various social andacademic experiences at Pitzer. Finally, analumni survey has been written to includespecific items about diversity. The resultsfrom all these surveys will be evaluated overtime to monitor changes in attitudes andbehaviors related to diversity at Pitzer.

Information about entering students,admissions data, and other longitudinal dataon attrition, retention, and grade-pointaverages is regularly collected by theDirector of Institutional Research with theassistance of the Admissions Office andRegistrar’s Office. Reports breaking downthese data by race/ethnicity and gender arebeing prepared for the 2003-04 academicyear for discussion among various campuscommittees.

Here are some preliminary findings as

examples of the kind of research andassessment we are conducting and will usefor campus-wide conversations aboutdiversity and its meanings:

Among 148 graduating seniors in 2002,an overwhelming majority (93%) said theywere “generally” or “very” satisfied withtheir Pitzer experiences. The responses,however, ranged from 81% of theAsian/Pacific Islander students to 100% ofthe Latino(a) students. On the other hand,87% of the Asian/Pacific Islander studentswere generally or very satisfied with theracial/ethnic diversity on campus, comparedto only 33% of the African American seniors.Further research over the next few years willtell us whether these figures hold up or areone-time anomalies. These results alsoprovide the basis for more research aboutwhat aspects of their experiences contributeto students’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

Breaking down findings into variousracial and ethnic subcategories is essential.For example, we are learning that Latino(a)stend to have the highest retention rates fromyear to year, and eventually the highestgraduation rates. The first step is to uncoversuch findings; the next step is to understandwhy and if the trends persist for eachentering class. During the second year of theIrvine grant, various College committees willbegin to evaluate these results and suggestpolicies to promote what works best and toeliminate the problems.

With data collected from the first-yearstudent surveys and later the senior surveys,we will be able to monitor change over time.For example, close to half of first-yearstudents support affirmative action in college

admissions. Whether these numbers changeduring their years at Pitzer will be measured.In addition, questions about involvement inthe Claremont Colleges’ ethnic studiescenters’ activities, attitudes toward includingissues of social class and sexual orientation inthe concept of diversity, and taking part inpolitical actions related to social equality arejust some of the issues we are assessingduring students’ years on campus.

For faculty participating in the diversityprograms and seminars, we want to knowhow their learning about diversity issuesimpacts their understanding of the concept ofdiversity, changes the way they teach, andinfluences the design of their courses.Preliminary surveys asked faculty and staff tostate how they define diversity and what itmeans on a college campus that is fairlydiverse already. Responses show that formany, diversity is limited to racial/ethnicconcepts, while others hold a more inclusivedefinition that embraces gender, social class,sexual orientation, and religious identities. Asparticipants complete the seminars, follow-upsurveys will measure any changes.

The key to an assessment plan is settingup baseline information for comparison withfindings measured later over time. Change isa slow process in many institutions, soevaluation must involve a longitudinaldesign. It is also informative as the change isoccurring and the results need to bedisseminated to relevant constituencies forreflection and action. As we enter the secondyear of the grant, we begin the discussionand planning phases and make use of thecumulative survey findings.

DIVERSITYContinued from Page 27


American Mentor Program. In addition,Stephanie increased the visibility andrepresentation of Asian Pacific Americanstudents by publishing the Voices from theMargin newsletter, developing a newwebsite, writing articles for a number ofother college-wide publications, raising fundsto support CAPAS programs, and sitting on avariety of Pitzer committees.

One of the highlights of the year occurredon April 26. This was the first annual AsianPacific American (APA) Alumni & SeniorRecognition Dinner sponsored by CAPAS,the Pitzer College Alumni Association, andthe Asian American Sponsor Program(AASP). That evening, Pitzer’s Founders

Room waspleasantlyovercrowdedwith students,faculty,administrators,family, andfriends to extenda warm welcomeback to ouralumni includingthe evening’s guestspeaker, the honorable US Attorney for the Central District of California, Debra W. Yang‘81.

Yang joined many of us for a celebrationhonoring, for the very first time, 17 of the 24APA graduating seniors. In the words ofgraduating senior James Miura, a New

Resource studentin Media Studies,“I grew up notbeing the typical‘model minority.’I struggledthrough years ofcollege and sixdifferent majors.In high school, IrememberChicano/ Latinoshaving somethingto wear on graduation and even AfricanAmerican students. Finally we havesomething for us.”

On arrival, guests were warmly greetedby the music of a capella group Shower

CAPASContinued from Page 27

See CAPAS, Page 29

Debra W. Yang ’81 Stephanie Velasco,

CAPAS Coordinator

Fall 2003 � 29

Personalized

Assistance

Prior to the start of the academic

year, First-year and returning

students were notified of the new

“Human Google” service. The service

emphasizes the availability of live

persons on the other end of the

phone line to assist students with

their quests for information. The

service has proved to be quite

popular.

Quality and enjoyed a full program emceedby Pitzer Admission staff member BrookeYoshino. CAPAS coordinator StephanieVelasco provided a brief introduction for theHonorable Debra Yang, whose remarkablejourney was an inspiration to all. RochelleBrown, Pitzer alumna and currentlycoordinator of Academic Support in theOffice of Student Affairs, shared how she was“inspired to get involved politically and at thefederal level.” The evening ended with thesenior recognition ceremony that includedremarks by Son Ngo, the elected seniorspeaker for the class of 2003.

During the ceremony, each seniorreceived a handmade CAPAS stole designedby students and crafted by Pitzer staffmember Kathy Kile as a gift honoring eachperson’s achievements. The stole, worn ongraduation day, represents part of the CAPASvision: “To Sow, To Water, & Grow.” Alumniin the audience were the “seeds” plantedyears ago; Kent Lee ‘02, for example,commented that he was “especially proud tosee so many Asian American graduatesrecognized for their academic andextracurricular achievements.”

The night was a night of firsts: Pitzer’sinitial celebration of APA Heritage month,CAPAS’ first annual dinner for APA alumniand seniors, and Debra Yang, the first AsianAmerican woman in the nation to becomeUS Attorney. Our utmost hopes are that thesepivotal moments translate into continualcelebrations that are enjoyed for years tocome.

CAPASContinued from Page 28

NIGEL BOYLE, JACK SULLIVAN andTOM ILGEN, professors of politicalstudies, contributed articles to ReconfiguredSovereignty: Multi-Layered Governance inthe Global Age, which will be published inDecember by Ashgate Publishing. Ilgenalso served as editor of the volume.

DAVID FURMAN (Art) has artworkfeatured in the 2nd World CeramicBiennale 2003 in Icheon, Korea. Hisexhibited erotic teapot, “The Gardener,”won a special award given by the WorldCeramic Exposition Foundation. His workalso has been included in an exhibitiontitled “Subject: Object” at OK Harrisgallery in New York City, which ran May31 through July 15. Another of his pieces,“The Lascivious Libertine II,” is featured inthe book, SEXPOTS: Eroticism inCeramics, published by Rutgers UniversityPress.

DANIEL SEGAL (Anthropology andHistory) has been awarded the Jean PitzerChair in Anthropology. The chair,established in 1998 by members of thefounding family of Pitzer College, isawarded to a senior faculty person whoinspires in students and colleagues aninterest in the field of anthropology. Segaljoined the Pitzer faculty in 1986.

NTONGELA MASILELA (English andWorld Literature), along with IsabelBalseiro, has edited To Change Reels: Film

and Film Culturein South Africa, acomprehensivesurvey of SouthAfrican film. Thebook waspublished byWayne StateUniversity Press,which says thecollection offersan unprecedentedlook at a film industry that has excluded itscountry’s black majority, in bothrepresentation and production.

CARMEN FOUGHT (Linguistics) servedas an academic consultant for a PBSdocumentary called Do You SpeakAmerican? There is a trailer for the film atwww.pitv.com/current.html.

JUDITH GRABINER (Mathematics)published “Remembering BarbaraBeechler,” who was Professor Emerita ofMathematics at Pitzer and died March 18,2003. The article appeared in theSeptember edition of the newsletter of theSouthern California-Nevada section of theMathematical Association of America.Grabiner also published an obituary ofI. Bernard Cohen (1914-2003),who was the thesis director for many of thefirst generation of professionally-trainedAmerican historians of mathematics,including Grabiner at Harvard. The articleappeared in the August/September editionof Focus: The Newsletter of theMathematical Association of America.

Faculty Notes

Ari Sherman delivered the

following eulogy at the June

27 memorial service for

Professor John Rodman, who died

June 16, 2003, of complications

from Alzheimer’s disease.“Good afternoon, it’s good to be among

so many familiar faces, and to spend this timetogether, cherishing the memories, embracingthe feelings and appreciating John as he liveson here today, here in this earth, on thisalluvial plain, here in all of us, here beforewhat I think of as his mountains, here on thiscampus that first brought so many of ustogether, in this garden that we have nurturedand that nurtures us, that John worked sohard to give to us and to himself and to allwho in finding it become part of, to the birdsand insects and pollen that pass in and out ofit, and hopefully will for a long time to come.

I want to make clear that my friendshipwith John was about far more than a garden.

As many of you know, it began when Iwas his student. From the start it was animportant relationship for me, challenging,reassuring and rich. It included both a verypersonal, private aspect and a great capacityto encompass many wonderful mutual friendsand loved ones from both of our lives. It wasan active and sometimes activist relationship.It was an intellectual relationship. It was avery adventurous relationship, not only interms of slopes climbed and streambedscrossed, but also because if I had always hadmy own weakness for tilting at windmills, inJohn I found a veritable Don Quixote. Wehabitually and compulsively took on theimpossible, in the form of bulldozers, boards,committees, boulders, weeds, thorns, highlysuspect dirt roads, stubborn Colemans, evenmore stubborn budgets, arduous drives andridiculous workloads…all with surprisinglylittle forethought, especially for two peoplewho shared a penchant for over-think. I thinkJohn took great joy and personal satisfactionin the camaraderie of these crazy battles.Throughout it all, the teacher-studentrelationship never ended, but it did evolveprofoundly, becoming a rock that sustainedme greatly through periods of illness andisolation and emotional crisis. Andthroughout it all John’s doggeddetermination, wry humor, quiet love, andabiding awe for our planet never seemed to

fade. As recently as a few months ago I couldlook in his eyes and still see those qualities.

It was a very humorous relationship.There were dropped rocks and stuck vans,missed turn-offs, and chapters so tedious theycould only become funny-please don’t askabout the boring palm beetle, as I mightactually answer. There were moments of truepoetic justice as in when a bulldozerdestroying the famous strip also damaged alight pole of the evil empire, or when a pieceof cholla cactus brandishing dozens of barbedspikes embedded itself in the shin of ‘he whoshunned the warning to wear long pants,’ a

mistake that led my fellow student to find Dr.Rodman as his surgeon, the procedureconsisting of one ruthless and wrenching jerkof a hair comb, and trust me, John didnothing to try and hide his amusement. Icannot think of John without rememberingtimes like these and others when the glasseshad to come off and the eyes had to be wipedas his thin shoulders shook with his uniquelaughter.

A long time ago a girlfriend of mine likedto compare John to a long-legged wadingbird, such birds having been featured assomething like series regulars in one of hisclasses. His posture and to some extent hisaura of aloofness did indeed suggest a heronor crane. But ultimately it is my strongsuspicion that John was in fact a coyote, a

profound but subtle trickster who took greatpleasure, really profound satisfaction, in theability of himself and others to generatesurprise and on occasion actually upset theestablished order. I know of no other way toexplain how he managed to turn a reveredand accomplished Professorship into a careerthat gave him even greater satisfaction–italways brings to mine Bert Meyers line fromSignature, “And my obsession’s a line I can’trevise, to be a gardener in paradise’. It is purecoyote to replace parking lots with chickencoops and cactus stands, it is pure coyote tomaintain a reputation as being strict and sternand thorny when he was in fact if anything asoftie, often silly and, in his preference inflora at least, leaned less toward Opuntia withall its thorns, and much more toward openand inviting blossoms like those ofPenstemon and Datura.

I will also always remember thephysicality of these adventures, after all itwas a friendship that involved a great amountof digging, along with lifting and pulling andtamping down and packing and unpackingand all the dust and blisters and back achesuch wonders can bring. And above it was allit was a friendship that entailed a lot ofwalking. Walking and talking.

I do not know anyone else’s boot crunchso familiarly as I do John’s. Whether overscree or desert pavement or among drybrush or through wetland muck or over icysnow crust, that boot crunch always soundedout pretty much in the same rhythm. Steady,decisive, rarely either very fast orparticularly tentative. We walked and wetalked up and down Mt. Baldy, all overBolsa Chica, clear up to and aroundHumboldt county, from the Veniceboardwalk to Joshua Tree and North againto the UC Davis Arboretum, and back andforth across this campus with shovels andpapers and notebooks and cameras andhoses…you get the picture. And along theway, trust me, no stone was left unturned.Topics included…well everything. No oneand nothing was spared, I’ll leave it at.

We ate a lot, laughed a lot, argued onoccasion. We repeatedly and eagerly soughtout what I think we shared as spiritual highs,brief encounters with wildlife, spotting andseeing and knowing Curlews and Godwhitsand Bighorn and Elk and Jack Rabbits andNight herons and cochineal beetles and

Ari Sherman ’85

and his son, Adam


In My Own WORDS

John Rodman at work in the Arboretum

dozens more…Oh and by the way, did Imention that there was much more diggingin this friendship than is at all ordinary?Quite a bit of dust and blisters and lowerback strain as well.

I want to wrap up by saying I amgrateful. For these memories. For twentyplus years. For the arboretum. And forPitzer making of the arboretum, finally,what it needs and deserves to be. And I amgrateful for the people John has brought intomy life who I continue to cherish, Gwenand their children and grandchildren,neighbors, hiking partners, and otherfriends. And I am grateful for the love Johnand his family have shared with me, and myloved ones, especially the very special placethey have made for my son Adam. Therelationship between John and Gwen andAdam brought me special joy, not only didit give Adam something of grandparents onMt. Baldy, but it also revealed even furtherin John his sweetest and in many waystruest light, and I find it notable that thiswas a light that continued to shine even asother facets of his personality receded. I amdeeply grateful for John. I am confident heis here now and will continue to be, as he ison the mountain.

I want to close by reading a couplepoems to John…both written by fellowcoyote Gary Snyder:

FOR THE CHILDREN

The rising hills, the slopes,

of statistics

lie before us.

the steep climb

of everything, going up,

up, as we all

go down.

In the next century

or the one beyond that,

they say,

are valleys, pastures,

we can meet there in peace

if we make it.

To climb these coming crests

one word to you, to

you and your children:

stay together

learn the flowers

go light

FOR ALL

Ah to be alive

on a mid-September morn

fording a stream

barefoot, pants rolled up,

holding boots, pack on,

sunshine, ice in the shallows,

northern rockies.

Rustle and shimmer of icy creek

waters

stones turn underfoot, small and

hard as toes

cold nose dripping

singing inside

creek music, heart music,

smell of sun on gravel.

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE

I pledge allegiance to the soil

of Turtle Island,

and to the beings who thereon dwell

one ecosystem

in diversity

under the sun

With joyful interpenetration for all.

Fall 2003 � 39


FootballResult/ Score/

Date Opponent Place Time

9/6 U. of LaVerne Win 26-23

9/13 at Whittier Win 38-20

9/20 Trinity Home 1

9/27 Rhodes Away 1:30

10/4 Occidental Home 1

10/11 U. of Chicago Away 1:30

10/18 Cal Lutheran Home 7

11/1 U. of Redlands Away 1

11/8 CMS Away 1

Men’s SoccerResult/ Score/


9/1 C.S. Hayward Win 3-1

9/6 at Chapman Win 4-1

9/13 St. Thomas Win 3-1

9/14 at Colorado Coll. Win 1-0

9/17 Christ. Heritage Home 4

9/20 Cal Lutheran Home 11 a.m.

9/24 CMS Away 4

9/27 La Verne Home 11 a.m.

10/1 Occidental Home 4

10/4 Redlands Away 11 a.m.

10/8 Cal Tech Home 4

10/11 Whittier Away 11 a.m.

10/15 Cal Lutheran 4

10/18 CMS Home 11 a.m.

10/22 La Verne Away 4

10/25 Occidental Away 11 a.m.

10/29 Redlands Home 4

11/1 Cal Tech Away 11 a.m.

11/5 Whittier Home 2:30

Men’s Water PoloResults


9/7 UCSD Tourney 1 win, 3 losses

9/13 Inland Empire

Tournament

9/14 Inland Empire 2 wins, 2 losses

Tournament

9/27 UCSC Slugfest Away TBA

9/28 UCSC Slugfest Away TBA

10/10 Convergence Away TBA

Tournament

10/11 Convergence Away TBA

Tournament

10/18 Cal Lutheran Home 11 a.m.

10/22 Occidental Away 7

10/25 La Verne Home TBA

10/29 Whittier Home 7

11/1 Cal Tech Away 11 a.m.

11/5 CMS Away 7

11/7 Redlands Home 4

11/14 SCIAC Tourney Whittier TBA



11/22 WWPA Tourney Redlands TBA

11/23 WWPA Tourney Redlands TBA

Women’s SoccerResult/ Score/


9/1 Webster Tie 2-2

9/3 at Chapman Loss 4-3

9/12 at Master’s Loss 3-0

9/17 Christ. Heritage Home 3

9/20 Cal Lutheran Away 11 a.m.

9/24 CMS Away 7

9/27 La Verne Away 11 a.m.

10/1 Occidental Away 4

10/4 Redlands Home 11 a.m.

10/8 C.S. Hayward Home 1:30

10/11 Whittier Home 11 a.m.

10/15 Cal Lutheran Away 4

10/18 CMS Home 1

10/22 La Verne Home 4

10/25 Occidental Home 11 a.m.

10/29 Redlands Away 2:30

11/1 Bye

11/2 UCSC Away Noon

11/5 Whittier Away 2:30

Women’s & Men’s Cross Country

Date Meet Place

9/7 Alumni Meet Home

9/13 Whittier Invitational Whittier

9/20 UCR Invitational UCR

9/27 Stanford Invitational Palo Alto

10/4 Biola Invitational La Mirada

10/11 Bye

10/25 Bye

11/1 SCIAC Championships Prado Park

11/8 Bye

11/15 NCAA III Oregon

West Regional

11/22 NCAA III Nationals Hanover College

Women’s Volleyball


9/5-6 Whittier Whittier TBA

Tournament

9/12 Colorado Home 2

9/13 Macalester Home 1:30

9/13 Linfield Home 4

9/18 La Sierra Away 7:30

9/19 La Verne Away 7:30

9/23 Redlands Away 7:30

9/27 Alliant Home 2

International

9/27 Chapman Home 7

9/30 CMS Home 7:30

10/3 Cal Tech Away 7:30

10/4 Occidental Home 7:30

10/7 Cal Lutheran Home 7:30

10/10 Chapman Away 7

10/14 Life Pacific Home 4

10/14 La Sierra Home 7:30

10/17 Whittier Away 7:30

10/21 Redlands Home 7:30

10/24 La Verne Home 7:30

10/25 CMS Away 7:30

10/28 Cal Tech Home 7:30

10/31 Occidental Away 7:30

11/4 Cal Lutheran Away 7:30

11/6 Whittier Home 7:30

11/14 NCAA TBA TBA

Regionals

Sagehens

Fall Sports

The Sagehens line up on their way to a win

against University of La Verne on Sept. 6.

Scores compiled as of 9/13. For a

complete listing of scores and game

times for Fall sports: www.physical

-education.pomona.edu/schedules

results/schedulesresults.shtml

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Claremont, CA 91711-6101

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Documents

Magazine for Alumni and Friends - Pitzer CollegeFALL 2003 Magazine for Alumni and Friends Pitzer College PARTICIPANT “Starting with issues concerning human treatment of the natural