VISION
N A T I O N A L U N I V E R S I T Y ’S A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E
A Message from
President Potter
I am pleased to present this special 40th Anniversary edition of Vision magazine.
To gain perspective of how long National University has been around, consider that Lance Armstrong, Kristi Yamaguchi,
Jeff Gordon, Winona Ryder, Mark Wahlberg, and Snoop Dogg were all born the year this institution was founded.
In 1971, the pocket calculator was just gaining popularity. The first Apple computer was still five years from being
introduced and Bill Gates was a high school sophomore. The Beatles had just broken up, the Vietnam War hadn’t yet
ended, and many U.S. college campuses were plagued with protests and demonstrations.
The beginning of a new decade brought the promise of revolutionary change. Technology was about to explode, new
companies were rising up that would transform the business world, and innovations in higher education were on the
verge of making it accessible to a broader and far more diverse slice of the population.
In the following pages, you will read about the birth and growth of a remarkable idea, and how National expanded
from the trunk of a car to become California’s second-largest private, nonprofit university. I invite you to review,
decade-by-decade, how your alma mater evolved with the times, navigated out in front of numerous trends, and
ultimately set the pace for higher education and lifelong learning in the 21st century.
As you read the first part of this magazine, you will appreciate that our history is a remarkable tale of vision and
success, encouraging review of the past 40 years and reflection upon the incredible changes that have occurred at
National and across multiple sectors throughout society.
After reading the second part of this magazine, you will appreciate the incredible opportunities in store for National
University and realize the tremendous potential that we face in various communities across the globe. Ideally, you will
gain a better sense of the University’s future role, the impact that technology will continue to play in education, and
why the world will likely welcome us in untold numbers with open arms.
Finally, you will learn why leadership and values have played such a critical role in National’s success, and how those
factors link us closely with some of the world’s most successful and celebrated companies and organizations. You
will meet several alumni who have the potential to leave a lasting impression, learn about our fastest-growing school,
celebrate the National University System’s 10th Anniversary, and discover the many lessons our students are learning
from the game of golf. Please enjoy.
Sincerely,
Patricia E. Potter
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 1
04
13
22
32
56
BOard of trustees
Ms. Jeanne Connelly, Chair
President, Connelly Consulting LLC
Contents
30The changing role of private universities
Looking beyond public institutions to meet the demand
for an educated workforce
32
04Donald Kennedy Honors National University’s
40th Anniversary
The president emeritus of Stanford University reflects on
National University’s impact on the educational landscape
08A Leader’s never-ending quest for excellence
A special presentation to Chancellor Jerry C. Lee
40th anniversary faces
An in-depth examination of Chancellor Lee and alumni
who embody the values of National University
34Forty years of leadership and values
Shared core values are the keys to success for National University
and six groundbreaking organizations
38
alumni who define national university
Inspirational stories of former students making the most
of their education, their careers, and their lives
56 Golf and Community: Chancellor Lee’s
Vision for the Newest System addition
The evolution of the Golf Academy and its positive impact
on the bigger game called life
58 The National University System Celebrates
its 10th Anniversary
Six System affiliates share a vision for integrated, flexible,
and accessible education
60 School of Health and Human Services
Meeting the high demand for an educated and advanced
healthcare workforce
Mr. Herbert Meistrich, Vice Chair
President & CEO, TaylorMade
Performance Labs
President & CEO, BumperMedic
Mr. Thomas Topuzes, Secretary
President and CEO, Thomas Topuzes
& Associates, LLC
Ms. Stacy Allison
Professional Speaker, Author
Mr. Felipe Becerra
Director of Operations/Client
Development
Creditor lustus et Remedium, LLP
Dr. Donald Kripke
Clinical Associate Professor
of Psychiatry
School of Medicine, University
of California San Diego
Dr. Jerry C. Lee (Ex Officio)
Chancellor, National
University System
President Emeritus,
National University
Ms. Jean Leonard
Educational Consultant, Retired,
JM Leonard & Associates
Mr. Michael R. McGill, P.E.
President, McGill, Martin, Self, Inc.
10Model educators leading the way for
National University
Recognizing the accomplishments of six exemplary professors
40 An Ultimate Example of Giving Back
A leader in professional nonprofit organizations
elevates therapy standards
Mr. John Bucher
President, John Bucher Real
Estate Company
Dr. E. Lee Rice
Chief Executive Officer and
Medical Director
Lifewellness Institute
12National University through the decades
Take a historic tour through the institution’s growth during
its first 40 years
42 Leadership That Transcends Careers
From Major General in the U.S. Army to a leader in
the energy and public affairs industries
22National University in the next 40 years
Forecasting the University’s next four decades
44 Setting the Benchmark for Principals
A top high school educator embodies a role model, mentor,
teacher, counselor, and coach
Mr. Richard Chisholm
Managing Director,
Education & Nonprofit Group
Wells Fargo Securities
Mr. Carlos Rodriguez
Public Affairs and
Communications Consultant
Rodriguez & Company
Mr. Gerald Czarnecki
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
The Deltennium Group, Inc.
Dr. Alexander R. Shikhman
CEO and Founder, Institute for
Specialized Medicine
Ms. Kate Grace
President, Kate Grace
Physical Therapy
Physical Therapist, Orthopedic
Physician Assistant
Mr. Jay Stone
Vice President, Van Scoyoc
Associates, Inc.
24Meeting the need for degrees
Providing the educated workforce that California’s economy requires
26Mapping the future of educational technology
High-tech innovations plays a major role in the success
of National University
28Building a global gateway to higher education
International student outreach shapes the potential for
National University’s worldwide expansion
46 Higher Education Advocate Inspires Employees
An engineering and technology graduate promotes lifelong
learning at Abbott Vascular and the community at large
48 A Healthy Dose of Public Service
An MBA graduate inspires working adults with her passion
for healthcare initiatives
50 Aspiring Journalist Builds Minority Platform
Scholarship recipient aims to build awareness for young
African-American women
52 Alumni Who Define National University
Thirty-four eclectic alumni profiles: industry innovators,
entrepreneurs, and pioneers
Ms. Ruthann Heinrich
President, Nuance Wines
Ms. Cheryl Kendrick
Community, National Volunteer
Ms. Judith Sweet
Senior Vice President for
Championships and Education
Services, Retired
National Collegiate Athletic
Association
Mr. W. H. Knight, Jr.
Visiting Professor of Law,
Seattle University
Professor and Dean Emeritus,
University of Washington
School of Law
Ms. Jacqueline Townsend
Konstanturos
Chief Executive Officer
Restorative Remedies
2
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 3
President emeritus
of stanford Honors
National University’s
40th Anniversary
Donald Kennedy, Ph.D.
President Emeritus of Stanford University.
Keynote speaker at national university’s
40th anniversary luncheon
Ladies and Gentlemen: Chancellor Lee, President
Potter, Members of the Board, my faculty colleagues
here, and my friend, Bob Freelen.
This is my second visit to National
University. The first was in
September of 2000—just more
than a decade ago. I talked then on
the special mission National was
undertaking: although we might
disagree that education is “wasted
on the young,” we would agree that
it should not be withheld from their
older and more experienced fellow
citizens by default! I argued against
that state of affairs, in praising
the efforts being made here. That
was then, when those efforts were
in what a biologist would call the
‘logarithmic phase’ of growth. But
this is now, when the success story
at National University is reaching a
kind of crescendo.
In the past, you have played a
significant role—not only in leading
other nonprofit, private institutions
along the same path, but also in
delivering a sound and successful
alternative to the several for-profit
alternatives out there. I will first
talk about the remarkable progress
4
National University has been made
in the following dimensions: first,
your standing among the other
leading institutions in California;
second, your record—outstanding,
particularly in comparison with
national averages—in recruiting
good students and helping them
economically; and third, in the
breadth and excitement of the new
initiatives that have been added
over the past decade.
overwhelming cascade. Blogs and
Internet sites have transformed
the communication of actions,
events, and circumstances from
“the journalism of verification to
the journalism of announcement.”
So how are learners, whether
grown-ups or traditional college
students, to make choices about
quality and reliability amidst this
welter of confident judgments by
self-declared experts? These new
times surely reconfigure what we
all need to do for our students—
whether one of them is a 20-year
old Stanford undergraduate, or a
32-year-old National University
student. They will need to sort
through an information universe of
variable content and often dubious
authority. Clear thinking and sound
habits of mind, will support the
“intellectual taste” needed to sort
the verifiable new knowledge
from the earnest advertisements
of opinion.
Before turning back to that, it’s
a good time to review some new
accomplishments by National
University I mentioned earlier—
gains that fulfilled so many of the
hopes I gained at my earlier visit.
By 2009, you had enrolled almost
as many graduate students as NYU
and Harvard, and more than Johns
Hopkins and most of the other Eastern
institutions you could name. Here I
cite only data from private, nonprofit
institutions. In the state of California,
National led both USC and Stanford
in graduate enrollment—and in total
numbers of students, it ranked 16th
nationally. It is surprising to me how
little attention has been paid in the
education media to these numbers.
Were we to search the New York
Times or on the Chronicle of Higher
Education for enrollment data for
private, not-for-profit universities,
we’d find references to Harvard,
Columbia and NYU. But National will
be absent. Of course, often Stanford
will be missing, too—and that used
to annoy me in my old job. But of
course, we understand that we share
the provincial consequence of being
out here on the wrong coast! When
my predecessor in the Stanford
presidency became the head of the
Rockefeller Foundation, The New York
Times headlined it on some interior
page: “Rockefeller Post to Head of
Coast School.” That really hurt.
Here is another metric. The education
of students at universities is partially
supported by tuition revenue it
(Continued on next page)
Now I will advance the tape to
note the dramatic events that have
made the future infinitely more
challenging and complex than the
environment in which we’ve all
been living. Times change, and the
world of events, ideas, and the
communication media that cover
them could not possibly differ
more from those prevailing when
I first visited here. We weren’t
yet an Internet and sociallynetworked society. Information,
once comprising targeted and
directed streams, has become an
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 5
You have played a significant role...
in delivering a sound and successful
alternative to the several for-profit
alternatives out there.
about just what is going on in
receives from them or their parents.
that sector. It is no surprise that
Universities set aside some tuition
Congressional investigations have
revenue, or gifts, to support able
been pushed by Representative
students with demonstrated
Harkin (D, IA) in order to secure
financial need, as National does.
more accountability for tax monies
Other help comes directly to
delivered to these institutions on
students from foundations or from
behalf of their students. There is
the government. But loans are
some reason for all of us, including
a significant part of all support
National and Stanford universities,
packages. These loans are made
to be troubled about this. Concerns
directly by the federal government,
of this kind have a way of leaking
or indirectly from third-party
out to damage more distantly
lenders who are federally regulated.
related institutions—thus this fuss
Statistics are regularly kept by
could broaden to include us, despite
the Department of Education, and
robust voluntary accreditation
occasionally reported in media
processes (like the one recently
outlets like the Washington Post and
concluded here) that apply to ALL
International Business Times. The
critical information here involves the nonprofits under the same standards.
proportion of students who, either
Having noted that progress, I now
during or after they have finished
return to an issue that particularly
their higher education, default on
their loans instead of repaying them. impressed me on my earlier visit.
Data completed in 2008 showed
A few of us in what I will call the
that over the preceding five years,
“youth sector” of higher education
National University’s default rate
have experienced interesting but
on student loans was less than
unexpected accidents when a
half the national average—a little
mature student returns to join a
over two percent compared to an
curriculum filled with his or her
annual national average of around
juniors. When I was in charge of the
five percent.
Human Biology program at Stanford,
a woman approached me—I would
In data recently reported by the
guess in her late thirties, though
Washington Post for the year 2010,
I would not have risked asking.
those national averages showed
She’d had a career as an operating
very slight increases for default
room nurse in Canada following a
rates in the public institutions and
two-year degree in nursing college.
reaching about six percent. The
She was curious, interesting, and
private nonprofits rose from about
determined. She gained admission,
3.7 to four percent. But on average
began the program, and in the threethe for-profit institutions default
quarter “core” of the program, she
rates rose from 11 to 11.6 percent. It
flew circles around everyone else, set
should be clear that this is a central
the curve—and afterward began a
element of the growing interest
PhD in Health Policy.
in Congress to ask hard questions
6
Well, those were the days of rare
exceptions; we were glad to have
them, but it required a national
awakening to see that university
experiences for grown-ups
represented a great opportunity
for them and for the nation. That
case is most often made in terms
of our society’s new needs for
what is often called “workforce
development”—how to fill
growing gaps in the increasingly
trade-conscious world by
supplying more engineers,
skilled mechanics, computer
scientists, managers, and even
chefs. There clearly is a role
here, and it deserves the national
attention it has gotten. Like
other new opportunities, this
one has attracted entrepreneurs,
and the best nonprofits, like
National University, have chosen
to operate in the way other
traditional universities have.
That has made them especially
attractive to a broad audience
of prospective students. They
bring us a kind of wisdom that
grows out of years of practice
and experiences. That suggests
some other dimensions National
University can add to the lives of
these students. We are, after all,
not a nation merely of gap-filling
specialists—and institutions of
this kind can also deliver another
and even more important societal
value: fulfilling the obligations
of thoughtful citizenship in this
modern, ever-changing society.
So the new challenges we face in
educating older, non-traditional
students are NOT limited to
those occupational or workforce
requirements sometimes lumped
under the category of “societal
needs.” In this age, a central need
is for citizens who can, for example,
test the value of a proposal or
a claim by recognizing and if
necessary discounting the special
interests of the proposer. That
ability belongs among the attributes
of what I earlier called “intellectual
taste”. I believe there are criteria
through which we can evaluate
how well we are doing in the task
of creating educated citizenship.
What kinds of questions should
be asked of those who announce
their authority on some subject?
If an opinion is said to have an
evidentiary basis, what is the nature
of the evidence? Who designed
the test, and was it observed by
others—or better yet, confirmed
by others? What other attempts at
verification have been done? If the
result or opinion is agreed to by a
majority of others in the community,
is that a kind of verification? I would
hope for some doubt there.
Such questions, ones that involve
testing for the validity of claims,
result from learned habits of mind,
and we can help people learn them.
But the actions we must take as
teachers entail undertaking real
issues, many of them controversial.
Sometimes teachers or their
institutions back away from that
kind of engagement, fearing that
assumptions about the social order
may be challenged, or that the
passion associated with positions
on a matter run so high that
discourse may be alienating.
In his critique of the case of the
conservative, Dewey pointed out
that “if we once start thinking, no
one can guarantee where we shall
come out, except that many objects,
ends, and institutions are doomed.
Every thinker puts some portion of
an apparently stable world in peril
and no one can wholly predict what
will emerge in its place.” That is a
caution we cannot accept because it
rules out the most difficult questions
and allows comfort to displace the
kind of hard thinking that builds
minds – and in the end promotes
self-confidence.
That end is important with respect
to all the sectors of human study:
economics, the organization of
social systems, human behavior,
and history. The great dilemmas
of societies have entailed
struggles over competing ideas:
communitarianism vs. individualism;
authoritarian vs. democratic
organization; and federalism vs.
regionalism. Confronting such
differences is one of the ways we
as individuals evolve the principles
that we’ll choose to guide our lives.
There isn’t an easy alternative.
Having said that, I want to take
science, a personal commitment
of mine for the past 50 years, to
make some additional points about
how we prepare students for the
task of enlightened citizenship. I
begin with an argument for the
proposition that a broadly spread
understanding of science and
technology is a public good, and
that we really can’t have too much
of it. First, we are a curious people,
equipped with a lively sense of
wonder. Knowledge about the
natural world is a mainstream
of our culture – absolutely on a
par with the arts and humanities,
though unaccountably often given
second place on the liberal arts
menu. Second, our democracy has
to decide, in any given year, on a
host of issues that have important
scientific and technological
content: what to do about climate
change, how to organize human
or robotic exploration of space,
how to develop a sustainable
national energy policy, how to
treat the health potential offered
by embryonic stem cells, and the
like. To vote intelligently, citizens
will increasingly require a level of
scientific literacy.
Think for a moment about the
political poster-children of
contemporary scientific and
technical controversy. Is global
warming a phenomenon with a
scientific explanation and a human
handprint, or is it an invention made
up by those who wish to restructure
our economy? You can hear
authoritative-sounding arguments
for either position, especially in this
blog and Internet era. It’s all out
there. But in order to decide, every
citizen will need a certain healthy
skepticism about claimed authority,
a willingness to examine credentials,
and some comfort about challenging
claims. I hope that part of our
shared mission is to prepare minds
able to work like that.
the lack of personal fulfillment in
many of these apparently successful
people, in these terms: “The traits
that do make a difference are
poorly understood and can’t be
taught in a classroom: the ability
to understand and inspire people;
to read situations and discern
the underlying patterns; to build
trusting relationship; to recognize
and correct one’s shortcomings; to
imagine alternate futures.”
Exploring and releasing these
missing elements is a way in which
we can build a sense of national
participation and fulfillment in adult
learners – who already have a headstart in the race toward wisdom. I
think Brooks may be wrong that
these qualities can’t be taught in a
classroom—perhaps not “taught”,
exactly, but acquired through
interactions among groups in a
classroom exercise or in an online
commons. This task can be a natural
part of what you do here. We are,
after all, in a new age—and for
this still young and promising
institution, it should be part of
the educational agenda.
I wish National University a happy
and rewarding 40th birthday—and,
as should be said at any such party,
MANY MORE!
Let me close by taking advantage
of a memorable article by David
Brooks, the op-ed writer for The
New York Times and a frequent
contributor to the PBS NewsHour. In
the January 17, 2011 publication of
The New Yorker, he explores the way
we, as “social animals,” achieve
status—and how that may or may
not be associated with fulfillment,
confidence, and composure. Good
parenting, good grades in school,
and promising professional growth
are starting materials for the status
portion. But Brooks also describes
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 7
A Leader’s Never-Ending
Quest for Excellence
Patricia E. Potter
At the National University 40th Anniversary
Luncheon, January 24, 2011
As we begin the celebration of our University’s 40th year, we would be remiss if
we did not recognize the shoulders that have carried us through to this anniversary.
Perhaps we do not need to be reminded again of our humble beginnings—but it is
incumbent upon our community to recognize not only the catalyst but the agent
responsible for the success we celebrate today.
It is not only our longevity we celebrate today, but rather the continuation
of our work. This anniversary is about our steadfast and ongoing quest for
excellence—a quest that will never end.
More than two centuries ago, Thomas Jefferson brought forth a vision of
universal education dependent upon the essential link between an educated
populace and effective governance. Today, Dr. Kennedy reminded us of the
importance of that equation. Jefferson believed that society should provide
an education “adapted to the years, to the capacity, and the condition of
every one.” He understood the importance, the accessibility, and availability
of education without regard to one’s “wealth, birth, or other accidental
conditions or circumstance.” These principles are familiar to everyone in
this audience.
8
Dr. Lee, would you please come to the podium?
The achievements of our University would not have been possible without
your wise guidance. From the beginning, you have refused to be idle. It is and
remains to be your constant and innovative leadership which has brought us
not only this far but this high. And so we commemorate our journey and the
shoulders upon which we have stood—yours. On behalf of the University
community, I am pleased to present to you this token of your leadership in
aligning our institutional values with those of Mr. Jefferson’s and his great
vision for educational opportunities and an educated citizenry.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 9
Model Educators Leading the
Way for National University
The number of full-time faculty at National University has grown dramatically over the past 40 years, along
with their prestige. The following six professors (one from each school/college) are representative of their
colleagues’ noteworthy success and outreach within their field. Their exemplary work has earned the respect
of their peers and the community.
Luis Acebal, Ph.D.
Michael Pickett, Ed.D.
Rae Adams, M.Ed.
Shekar Viswanathan, Ph.D.
Ann Kelly, M.S.N.
Joan Van Tassel, Ph.D.
World Traveler Awarded
Fulbright Grant Improving the Odds for
Native Americans
Inspiring the Best in Educators
Breaking Ground in
Security Technology
A Clinician Leads with
Compassion and Commitment
Decoding Digital Media
Luis Acebal, lead faculty for the Spanish
language program in the College of Letters and
Sciences’ Department of Arts and Humanities,
was awarded a Fulbright grant in 2010 to teach
literature and language at the Universidad
Nacional del Litorial in Santa Fe, Argentina.
Michael Pickett, lead faculty for the Bachelor of
Science in Hospitality and Casino Management
program in the School of Business and
Management’s Department of Leadership
and Human Resource Management, prepares
students for employment in the expanding field
of tribal government gaming enterprises.
Shekar Viswanathan is professor and chair of
the Applied Engineering Department for the
School of Engineering and Technology within
the School of Engineering and Technology and
also serves as lead faculty for the School’s
Engineering Management, Homeland Security,
and Safety Engineering programs. He has
applied his knowledge and experience toward
homeland security, materiel security, and safety
engineering as a researcher, an entrepreneur, and
an instructor.
Ann Kelly is lead faculty for psychosocial
nursing curricula in the School of Health and
Human Services’ Department of Nursing.
The Fulbright Program is a prestigious
international educational exchange program
sponsored by the U.S. State Department to
increase mutual understanding between the
people of the United States and the people of
other countries.
“We are thrilled at the announcement of Professor
Acebal’s grant,” said Professor Janet Baker,
chair of the Department of Arts and Humanites.
“It speaks to the academic depth of our
program’s faculty.”
Professor Acebal’s Fulbright Grant strengthens
his commitment to international education.
As a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco and
the Comoros Islands, he taught and developed
language and cultural programs. Since joining
National University, he has continued his travels
to other countries to learn more of their cultures
and values.
10
According to the National Indian Gaming
Commission, 419 Native American gaming
establishments in the United States generated
revenues of $26.5 billion in 2009. California tribes
account for a significant portion of those revenues,
and data cited by the National University Institute
for Policy Research indicates that San Diego
County has more tribal casinos than any other
U.S. county.
In 2009, Diverse Issues in Higher Education
magazine ranked National University first in
California for granting master’s degrees in
all disciplines combined to Native Americans.
Professor Pickett’s program has partnered
with Barona Casino and aims to expand
that leadership position to undergraduate
programs by appealing to California tribes,
which seek to promote their members into
casino management positions.
Rae Adams is program director and lead faculty
for the National Board Certified TeacherProfessional Teaching Development Center,
housed within the School of Education.
The Center has been selected by the National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards
to serve and inspire teachers regionally by
coaching support providers for National Board
Certified Teacher (NBCT) candidates by facilitating
candidate support across California, by identifying
scholarship opportunities and by offering NBCToriented curricula.
National Board Certification is a voluntary
process requiring a rigorous performance-based
assessment that can take from one to three years
to complete. Once achieved, it is considered a
mark of teaching excellence. Over the past five
years under Professor Adams, leadership, 20
percent of California’s new NBCTs have been
National University alumni, students, or enrollees
in NBCT courses. Statewide, National University
is one of only three universities that offer a
master’s degree incorporating NBCT coursework
into the program.
Professor Viswanathan is currently working on a
new sensor based upon Surface Acoustic Wave
(SAW) detector principles for the measurement
of organic elements (including explosives and
hazardous waste) in trace quantities of air
and water.
He has published articles regarding measurement
systems that utilize gas chromatography and
SAW sensors with special emphasis on the
detection of explosives, airborne contaminants,
contraband in cargo containers, and other issues
pertaining to homeland security. Additionally,
he has developed several air pollution
assessment and control technologies. His work in
this field has earned him presidential grants from
National University.
An award-winning nurse and faculty member
who has been engaged in clinical practice,
teaching and research for a combined 40 years,
Ms. Kelly has been named “Psychiatric Nurse
of the Year” twice by the San Diego Psychiatric
Nurses Society and is a two-time recipient
of the Veterans Administration Innovation
Award. She professes a “tremendous respect
for humanity,” gained in part from working
with the homeless for eight years in a
professional capacity.
At National University, Ms. Kelly has been a
2009 recipient of the Presidential Scholar Award
and the 2010 President’s Professorial Award.
A Board Certified American Nurses Credentialing
Center Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse
who is licensed in California and Nevada, she
has served as an invesigator in numerous
research projects, including a National
University study on student nurse stress.
Joan Van Tassel, chair of the School of Media and
Communication’s Department of Communication
Arts, is an award-winning author, journalist,
consultant, and researcher in broadcast, print,
and online media.
For the past decade, Professor Van Tassel has
studied, written, advised, and taught about issues
relating to digital communication and networking
technologies, including the topics of digital
media and digital rights management. She is the
recipient of a First Place Award from the San
Diego Press Club in the category of magazine
articles. Her most recent of the six books she
has authored or co-authored is titled Media
Management: Making, Marketing & Moving
Digital Content, published in April 2010.
She has produced video packages for ABC
News’ Nightline, 20/20, and Good Morning
America, as well as for many independent
production companies and local and networkaffiliated television stations, earning an Emmy
nomination in the process. She has also headed
her own consultancy firm, advising clients such
as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte & Touche,
and Accenture.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 11
National University
Through the Decades
As National University enters its fifth decade, it is a good time to reflect upon
the success and achievements of this institution over the past 40 years.
The success of our university has been shaped by many diverse factors. There are
many milestones to consider, all of which have occurred during times of incredible
growth and change. Certain things, however, remain the same. Our values and our
mission, for example, have held firm and played a key role in guiding National on
a strong, and steady course. The following is a decade-by-decade review of the
remarkable path we have followed, along with a timeline to remind us of where
we have been, what we believe in, and where we are going in the future.
12
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 13
The 1970s brought dramatic growth and change to colleges
and universities across the United States, driven largely by
the demands of baby boomers, minorities, and veterans to
gain greater access to higher education.
1970s
National
University
in the
Dr. David Chigos founds
National University
1970
1971
14
First commencement
ceremony
1972
California’s second-largest private,
nonprofit University.
There was, however, an overlooked
demographic which encompassed
all of those populations: the
working adult. In 1971, Dr. David
Chigos founded National University
to serve the needs of business
executives, military officers, law
enforcement officials, and others
with the desire to learn while they
earn. As an executive development
specialist for General Dynamics,
Dr. Chigos realized that few people
could afford to put their life on
hold for several years while they
pursued a degree, so he tailored a
flexible format that accommodated
the academically disenfranchised
nine-to-fivers.
National opened in San Diego on
November 22 with a single campus,
though The New York Times would
later report that Dr. Chigos started
the University “almost from the
trunk of his car.” There were
27 students that first year, and
few would have guessed that
National would eventually become
In 1972, the State of California
granted National University
authority to grant diplomas, and
it held its first commencement
ceremony with 143 graduates.
At the time, students were
required to have a minimum of five
years worth of work experience.
Meanwhile, there were many
traditional undergraduates who
dropped out of San Diego State
University to go to work full-time.
For those students, the necessity
of earning a living precluded the
completion of a college degree.
Fortunately, that would change.
Along with the surge in college and
university enrollments, there was
another emerging trend in the early
1970s that National University’s
leadership was in tune with: the
advent of personal computers and
the beginning of the technology
boom. The year National was
1974
1976
In 1975, the year the first consumer
computers were introduced,
National University purchased two
properties on Camino del Rio South
in Mission Valley. Two years later it
opened up facilities in Kearny Mesa
and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot
in San Diego. In 1977, with the
debut of the first Apple computer,
the number of alumni surpassed the
1,000 mark and National received
accreditation from the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges.
and library space, and an alumni
base of 3,500.
As the 1970s slipped into the
history books, word processing
software arrived on the scene, and
National University was utilizing an
innovative computer program that
produced paychecks and prepared
reports for regulatory bodies. The
classroom, the workplace, and the
world were experiencing dramatic
technological advances, and a
university degree was quickly
becoming the fastest, surest ticket
to advancement and success.
A year later, the University’s alumni
ranks doubled to more than 2,000
and it offered its first non-business
course. It also rolled out one of
higher education’s first online,
real-time University Management
Information Systems on an IBM
mainframe. In 1979, it acquired
the Cabrillo Pacific College of
Law. By the end of the decade,
U.S. enrollments in institutions of
higher education had surged from
8.58 million to just over 12 million.
National University boasted a 15acre campus with 110,000 square
feet of classroom, administrative,
National University
acquires the Cabrillo
Pacific College of Law
Number of alumni
surpasses 1,000
Purchase of Mission Valley properties
1973
founded was the same year the
microprocessor and the floppy disk
were introduced.
1977
1978
1979
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
1980
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 15
Between 1970 and 1980, California’s population increased
by almost 20 percent from just under 20 million to close to
23.7 million. The Golden State became the world’s eighthlargest economy, creating millions of jobs and fueling the
demand for a highly educated workforce.
Over the course of National
University’s first 10 years, San Diego
grew by 37 percent, the state’s
capitol shot up 30 percent, Fresno’s
population jumped 27 percent,
San Jose leaped 21 percent, and
Los Angeles took on 435,000
new residents.
1980s
National
University
in the
National University
Founds its School
of Education
1980
As cities grew bigger, they
required more schools; and more
schools meant more teachers.
National responded by founding
its School of Education in 1980,
producing its first class of five
credential completers one year
later. Within 10 years, the School
of Education would recommend
1982
1983
1984
In 1982, National opened an
academic center in Sacramento,
followed by Los Angeles and
Twentynine Palms in the next two
years. The year 1986 saw openings
in Fresno, Sherman Oaks, and the
Naval Amphibious Base in San
Diego; and 1987 was marked by
openings in San Jose.
In 1983, National introduced a
fleet of mobile information vehicles,
rolling publicity and admissions
outposts that travelled to various
sites and events to advertise the
growing opportunities for working
adults to advance in their careers
and increase their earning power.
The word was getting out, and
the number of alumni practically
National University
Celebrates its
15th anniversary
National University Introduces a fleet
of mobile information vehicles
1981
16
In response to California’s boom,
National University’s second
decade would bring an impressive
expansion into new locations and
new markets, extending its reach
across the state and broadening
access to higher education
geographically and by discipline.
more than 3,000 candidates to the
California Commission on Teacher
Credentialing, and National would
eventually become the state’s
leading source of credentialed
teachers.
1986
quadrupled between 1979 and
1984. Enrollments were up all
over the state.
In 1986, National University
celebrated its 15th anniversary with
a reunion gala. The mood was bright
and the institution was in sync with
the times. Computer technology was
continuing to expand. In 1984, Apple
introduced the Macintosh, the first
mouse-controlled computer to come
with a graphical user interface.
In 1985, Microsoft introduced
Windows and Word. The world of
education was on the verge of a
revolutionary transformation.
As the 1980s neared its close,
big changes were also in store
for National. The University
was no longer a small, easyto-manage start-up. Like many
maturing companies in California,
it had reached a new level of
sophistication. Growth and success
had brought with it a new series of
challenges, requiring a new tier of
administration and leadership.
In 1988, Dr. Chigos resigned. The
next year, the board of trustees
named Dr. Jerry C. Lee as National
University’s second President.
Dr. Lee brought a wealth of muchneeded experience, having served
as vice president for administration
and business, and ultimately as
President of Gallaudet University.
As the 1990s approached, he
would usher in a fresh vision and
remarkable new era of sustained
growth and accomplishment.
By the end of the decade, the
institution stood at a vital
crossroads. Multiple priorities,
a broadly extended series of
campuses, increasing financial
obligations, and accreditation
issues presented complex and
National University Opens
facilities in San Jose
1987
unprecedented challenges and
threatened to bring operations to a
screeching halt. National’s founding
president, Dr. Chigos, had built
something amazing from scratch and
enjoyed a tremendous 20-year run,
but the time had come to deliver the
reigns to more experienced hands.
1988
National University
Names Jerry C. Lee as
its Second President
1989
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
1990
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 17
1990s
National
University
in the
National University’s progress mirrored California’s
economy in the 1990s: It trimmed back early,
restructured, then flourished.
The end of the Cold War and the
advent of a nationwide recession
in 1990 resulted in reduced defense
spending and a consolidation
of military bases. The state lost
approximately 600,000 jobs through
1993, and many chose to return to
school to retool.
Nowhere was this more evident
than in San Diego, where the city’s
leading private employer, General
Dynamics, closed its Convair
division in Kearny Mesa. Within 10
years, National University would
build its flagship campus and central
library on that property. Base
closures and realignments also
occurred in Orange, San Bernardino,
and Sacramento counties, as well
as in the San Joaquin Valley and the
San Francisco Bay area, all of which
would rebound and become major
growth areas for enrollment in the
1990s and beyond.
For its own part, National University
underwent some closures and
realignment too, shedding its law
school, its flight school, and its
Costa Rica campus. It was all part
of President Lee’s plan to streamline
and reinvigorate growth.
National University
Reduces its debt by
55 percent
1990
1991
18
San Bernardino
and Stockton
Centers open
1992
National University
Alumni Surpass 50,000
1993
Consequently, by 1991, the
University reduced its debt by
55 percent while simultaneously
expanding full-time faculty.
Although still committed to
instructors that included seasoned
professionals working in their fields,
a new tiered faculty structure
emphasized the addition of advancedegreed faculty, a growing corps of
assistant, associate, and full-time
professors who were dedicated
to the University.
In response to President Lee’s
efforts, National was reaccredited
by the Western Association of
Schools and Colleges (WASC)
in 1992. Consequently the University
initiated a new wave of expansion,
opening new campuses in
San Bernardino, Stockton, and
Chula Vista.
By 1993, the number of National
University alumni surpassed
50,000. It was the same year
that the University launched its
distance education program, using
a teleconferencing system that
allowed teachers and students to
talk, hear, and see each other in
real time.
In 1994, the same year that the
California Commission on Teacher
Credentialing approved the
University’s Crosscultural, Language,
and Academic Development (CLAD)
and BCLAD (bilingual) certificate
programs, National University
alumnus Sandy McBrayer was
named the U.S. Teacher of the
Year. One year later, the number
of credential completers from the
School of Education passed the
10,000 mark.
From a technological standpoint,
the 1990s featured the debut of
the World Wide Web, along with
the first Web browser, Web server,
and Web pages. Two years later,
Librarian Jean Armour Polly coined
the phrase “surfing the Internet.”
Netscape Communications was
founded in 1994 and Java premiered
in a public demonstration. When
Windows 95 was released the
following year, it featured a
Web browser. In 1998, Netscape
announced plans to give its browser
away for free. AOL bought Netscape
the next year.
National University celebrated
its 25th anniversary in 1996 by
relocating its headquarters to
a newly-purchased property in
La Jolla. It also opened two new
locations in Orange County; one
in Costa Mesa, and one in Orange.
Breakthroughs in technology enabled
National University to offer online
classes for the first time that year.
One of the University’s first online
accomplishments came a year later
with worldwide expansion of the
Global MBA program, making its
curricula accessible to executives on
an international scale. In a unique
partnership with McDonald’s, the
fast food company’s employees were
provided with a pathway to earning
an MBA. The program was nicknamed
“Hamburger U.”
The final two years of the decade
brought a new location at San Diego’s
Fleet Anti-Sub Marine Warfare
Training Center, and grand openings
were celebrated with new centers in
La Mesa, Bakersfield, and Redding.
The San Diego Domestic Violence
Coalition recognized the University’s
commitment to empowering victims of
domestic violence with the Guardian
Angel Award. By the close of 1999,
National University had conferred
almost 81,000 bachelor’s degrees,
master’s degrees, and teaching
credential recommendations, more
than double the number at the
beginning of the decade. After 30
years of incredible advancement,
National was ready to emerge as a
statewide and national leader across
numerous fronts in higher education.
The best was yet to come.
National University reaches
milestone having conferred
almost 81,000 bachelor’s and
master’s degrees, and teaching
credential Recommendations
National University
Celebrates 25th Anniversary
1994
1996
1997
1998
1999
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
2000
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 19
National University welcomed the new millennium with the
grand opening of the Spectrum campus and library. These new
facilities bristled with the latest in educational technology,
boasting a quarter million miles of data and voice cabling that
connected close to 400 computers and dozens of classrooms to
the Internet, and provided global access to one of the largest
electronic book collections in higher education.
The events of September 11, 2001
shocked the world, elevated
awareness of national security,
and prompted the overseas
deployment of tens of thousands
of military personnel as the United
States entered into two wars.
Dr. Lee, now Chancellor of the
National University System,
responded with a message of hope
at the 2001 Annual Assembly.
National
University
in the
2000s
Spectrum Campus
and Library open
2000
20
establishment of the
National University System
2001
2002
National went on to distinguish
itself as a leader in military
education and created degree
programs, such as the Master of
Science in Homeland Security and
Safety Engineering that contributed
to a safer and more secure world.
Nearly 10 years later, National was
selected by G.I. Jobs magazine for
the second consecutive year as a
“Military Friendly School,” placing
it in the top 15 percent of all
schools nationwide.
Despite uncertain times, this
decade was a time of phenomenal
growth and expansion for National
University. While several colleges
and universities closed their doors
across the nation, National opened
new academic centers in Fresno,
Stockton, Rancho Bernardo, and
School of Health & Human
Services opens
2003
2004
2006
Carlsbad, as well as multiple
military sites and Henderson,
Nevada. During this time, it
maintained one of the lowest tuition
rates among private colleges and
universities, and even froze tuition
at one point to ensure that higher
education would remain affordable
to those who aspired to better
themselves.
When wildfires struck Southern
California in 2007, National
opened its facilities to displaced
and evacuated faculty and staff.
When budgetary crises threatened
thousands of public teacher layoffs
in 2003 and 2010, the University
responded as a responsible entity
within the community by offering
scholarships for alumni who
received pink slips.
Relevance also marked National
University’s impact in the 2000s.
Responding to trends such the
aging Baby Boomer population and
the development of digital media,
National University opened two
new schools in 2005, introducing
the School of Health and Human
Services and the School of Media
and Communication. In 2008, both
schools received a brand new
home with the completion of the
Technology and Health Sciences
Center in Kearny Mesa.
Between 2000 and 2010, as the
bubble burst in many markets and
Wall Street weathered dramatic
ups and downs, the University’s
endowment more than doubled,
with assets growing from $150
million to close to $350 million.
National currently ranks among
the top 200 largest college and
university endowments in the
nation, according to the National
Association of College and
University Business Officers.
During the past decade, at a time
when quality seemed to recede on
many fronts, National University
redoubled its commitment to be
a top-tier institution of higher
education. The California Council for
Excellence rewarded these efforts
by presenting National with two
Eureka Awards for Performance
Excellence. It was just the second
university-level recipient at the time.
In 2007, the University’s Student
Concierge Services, a pioneering
one-stop center for student service,
expanded to seven days a week.
The No Child Left Behind Act of
2001 brought public attention to the
quality of the nation’s public schools
and teachers. For 10 consecutive
years since 2000, National has
led California in the preparation
of credentialed teachers. National
University alumni were recognized
every year between 1999 and 2009
as a Los Angeles Teacher of the
Year, and every year between 2005
and 2009 as a San Diego Teacher
of the Year. Five alumni since 2000
National University
Launches Student
Concierge Service
2007
have been named California Teacher
of the Year.
Access to higher education
continued to be a focal point in the
2000s, as colleges and universities
struggled to raise the number of
graduates in traditionally underserved minority populations. Few
responded like National, which
this decade repeatedly ranked
among the state’s top colleges and
universities serving minorities. It
has been intermittently recognized
as first in California in granting
master’s degrees in all disciplines
combined to Hispanics, African
Americans, and Native Americans.
As a new decade dawns, concerns
grow about a shortage of college
graduates in California and the
increasing scarcity of a highlyeducated workforce to meet the
needs of a technology-driven
world. Over the past 10 years,
the number of graduates and
credential completers at National
has surpassed the 100,000 mark
and currently stands as a community
of more than 126,000.
As National University enters its
fifth decade of existence, its core
values of quality, access, relevance,
accelerated pace, affordability,
and community continue to shape
and guide this institution. With
a proud 40-year history and
the establishment of bold and
innovative new traditions in higher
education, National promises to
remain a pioneer and a leader in
the months and years to come.
National University
Golf Academy opens
2008
2009
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
2010
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 21
National University
In the Next 40 Years
National University’s 40th anniversary is a celebration of our history, yet it also
provides an opportunity to ponder our future. The following are four perspectives on
what the next 40 years may bring in regard to (1) the important role that institutions
of higher education will play; (2) the impact that technology will have; (3) the growing
global demand among international students for access to colleges and universities; and
(4) the importance of private universities. It is challenging to forecast four years into the
future, let alone four decades; yet as readers of the following articles will discover,
National University is in a unique and enviable position to make an enormous impact
and advance its leadership position in the years to come.
22
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 23
California faces a shortage of almost a
million college-educated workers within
the next 15 years.
Meeting The Need
for Degrees
staff to pursue educational goals
while simultaneously working 40 or
more hours per week.
An educated workforce is vital to California’s economy, and will become even more
so in coming years as technology expands in the workplace. National University is
an important partner in meeting these needs across the state, and its role is bound
to grow.
Anyone who doubts that the
requirements for employment are
rising should listen to National
University alumna Georgia Dutro.
As president of D&D Tool and
Supply, a premier industrial
distributor and custom tool
manufacturer with multiple
facilities in Southern California
and Mexico, she oversees an
increasingly complex system of
business procedures.
The company was founded by
Ms. Dutro’s grandmother, who
started out by visiting construction
sites to pick up handsaws and
blades for sharpening. Today, the
third-generation owner of the
family-run business manages the
region’s largest privately held
industrial supplier.
“Gone are the days when a
distributor would put up a
showroom and warehouse
expecting customers would come,”
says Ms. Dutro. “With the advent
of ‘just-in-time’ inventory for
manufacturers, ‘value-added supply’
for technical information, and
very sophisticated ‘pull’ inventory
systems, the supply industry
24
has had to morph into a very
sophisticated operation.”
Like many modern companies,
D&D requires professional
engineers for technical design
of precision products such as
aerospace tooling. Her employees
are responsible for a broad
spectrum of technical demands,
from the safe handling of hazardous
waste emissions to the mastery of
complex global pricing strategies
and human resource management
software.
Most challenging of all perhaps,
is Ms. Dutro’s need for highly
educated IT people who can
oversee just-in-time supply chain
management, handle the automated
vending of tools and equipment;
and utilize radio frequency tools
for tracking items on shop floors.
“All of these areas present promising
career opportunities for highly
educated personnel,” Ms. Dutro
adds, “and it can also present
daunting challenges as companies
seek to recruit and retain such
employees.”
As challenging as it is to fill such
positions with capable, welleducated workers, things are
predicted to grow more difficult in
the foreseeable future. California
faces a shortage of almost a
million college-educated workers
within the next 15 years, according
to the Public Policy Institute of
California (PPIC), which has issued
a report warning that if current
trends continue, only 35 percent
of working-age adults in California
will have a college degree in an
evolving business environment that
will require at least 41 percent of
workers to have reached that level
of education.
The state’s public institutions
currently produce just over 110,000
baccalaureates each year, and
private institutions account for
another 40,000. According to PPIC,
public and private colleges and
universities in California would
collectively need to increase the
production of baccalaureates by
almost 60,000 per year (about 40
percent above current levels) to meet
projected demands by 2025.
The PPIC report, entitled “Closing
the Gap,” does provide some
encouragement and offers several
solutions to mend the problem.
For example, it says the educationskills gap could be cut in half by
investing in strategies, such as
increasing transfer rates from
community colleges to four-year
institutions—an area where
National University shines.
Last year, National University and
the California Community Colleges
Chancellor’s Office announced a
joint agreement making it easier
for students at community colleges
to transfer to the state’s secondlargest private, nonprofit institution
of higher education. Statewide,
National is the number one choice
for community college students
transferring to a private school.
It has developed credit transfer
information for more than 110
California community colleges,
making it easier than ever to
transfer credits. With new courses
beginning each month, transfer
students don’t have to wait; they
can often enroll within 30 days of
becoming eligible.
As part of its joint agreement,
National University will waive
the standard $60 application fee
for community college transfer
students. Additionally, to encourage
those students, National provides
scholarships which pay for the
transfer student’s final two classes
in his or her degree program.
Another advantage that National
has in helping the state to raise the
education level of its workforce is
the access that it has traditionally
provided to working adults.
Statistics suggest that maintaining
an income while pursuing a degree
may play a factor in separating
part-time from full-time students.
According to the U.S. Department
of Education, 45 percent of 16to 24-year-old full-time college
students are employed and
work while attending school. By
comparison, almost 80 percent of
the same aged part-time college
students hold down a job while
taking classes.
“I have long emphasized the
importance of education to
employees and to a company’s
bottom line,” she says. Ms. Dutro
says that managers at D&D have
attended National University, and
she figures that most companies
will support and encourage higher
learning among employees in the
near future if they are to remain
competitive and profitable with an
increasingly educated international
workforce.
efforts to bridge the transfer gap
between California’s community
colleges and public and private
universities makes more sense for
regional companies such as D&D, as
well as for the state and the nation.
According to National University’s
latest strategic plan, new
educational policies and a shifting
economic climate bode well
for National University. As the
demand for an educated workforce
increases, the value of agile and
innovative educational institutions
such as National will only increase.
According to the PPIC, the United
States is no longer the leading
nation in college attendance and
college graduation rates. Indeed, it
is the only nation in the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and
Development in which the share of
adults with a postsecondary degree
is lower among 25- to 34-year-olds
than among 45- to 54-year-olds.
National University’s accessible
model of delivering higher education
to working adults, and its laudable
National University’s eveningbased classes and one-course-permonth format have traditionally
accommodated those with full-time
jobs and allowed them to pursue
undergraduate and graduate
degrees. Many business owners,
such as Ms. Dutro, encourage their
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 25
Mapping the Future of
Educational Technology
From its pioneering position in online learning to
its wired classrooms and impressive collection of
electronic books, technology has played a major role
in the success of National University and presented
a major source of pride for alumni.
The University’s latest
five-year plan includes
technology as one of five
strategic directions.
As National University celebrates its
40th anniversary, it is an ideal time
to look back upon our numerous
technological achievements. It is
also a good time to look forward
to explore the next generation of
technological breakthroughs that
will strengthen and expand the
University’s mission and goals.
A subsequent report by the
Consortium, entitled, “The Future of
Higher Education: How Technology
Will Shape Learning, ”forecasts
numerous benefits for colleges
and universities, but also warns
of substantial challenges that will
require significant deliberation
and preparation.
With the rapid pace of technological
change, it is difficult to forecast,
prognosticate, or speculate about
next year, let alone the next
several decades; but researchers
and educators are already asking
important questions about the
future and there has already
been considerable discussion
and planning on the topic by
University leadership.
In other words, few institutions can
count on waltzing into a wonderland
of technological wizardry without
the benefit of sound vision and
leadership. The swift and radical
transitions ahead will be fraught
with mind-numbing choices and
potentially budget-busting expenses
that will demand the best from
university governance.
There is no denying that technology
will continue to dramatically impact
higher education. A 2008 survey
by the New Media Consortium, a
collection of more than 250 colleges,
universities, and learning-focused
organizations dedicated to the
exploration and use of new media
and new technologies, revealed that
almost two-thirds of respondents
believe technological innovation
will have a major influence on
teaching methodologies over the
next five years.
26
Indeed, the U.S. Secretary of
Education’s Commission on
the Future of Higher Education
labeled its 2006 report “A Test
of Leadership.” However, while
recognizing the difficulties and
struggles involved, the Commission
recommended that America’s
colleges and universities have little
choice but to embrace innovation,
and urged them “to develop
new pedagogies, curricula, and
technologies to improve learning.”
To National University’s credit, it
has been keeping a close watch
on the horizon for the better part
of two decades now and has
approached technological change
with a balanced blend of caution
and open-mindedness. Under the
inspired leadership of National
University System Chancellor Jerry
C. Lee, National has implemented a
series of ambitious five-year plans
since 1990 that have provided a
steady and dependable roadmap for
technological growth and innovation.
The University’s latest five-year plan,
“National University 2015,” includes
technology as one of five strategic
directions and outlines 12 specific
goals that it will strive to achieve.
Among them, National resolves to
be a leader in using technology to
support student learning, faculty
engagement, and sustainability.
Additionally, the University aspires
to provide mobile and collaborative
technologies that will expand the
institution’s curricular reach and
will support student learning
anytime and anyplace; we aim to
provide leadership in developing
and using the next generation of
interactive, electronic teaching and
learning tools, and become a model
for all institutions in its innovative
uses of technology onsite and
online for global deployment of
educational content.
What will it take to be an innovative
leader and role model in the
implementation and usage of
educational technology? Cynthia
Sistek-Chandler, Ed.D., assistant
professor in the School of Media
and Communication and lead
faculty for the Master of Science
Educational and Instructional
Technology program, provides
some revealing insights.
Professor Chandler, who has
been teaching online for National
University for more than 10 years,
talks about a new generation of
education technology students that
are becoming very sophisticated,
even as usage of such technology
grows more and more routine.
“Technology is ubiquitous,
intersecting with almost every
aspect of daily life,” she adds.
As one who helps to prepare
graduate students for the rapidly
growing employment opportunities
linked to emerging information and
telecommunication technologies,
Professor Chandler combines
practical software training with the
theory and practice of instructional
technology. She envisions the
emergence of more intuitive and
user-friendly programs, along with
breakthroughs that will improve
intimacy in areas of online learning
and strengthen the traditional
teacher-student bonds of traditional
face-to-face learning.
What about the advent of
three-dimensional holograms,
microcomputers that will fit on an
earring or a tie clip, or miniature
plasma screens embedded within
a pair of eye glasses?
If such technologies advance the
ability to teach and learn, and
if their implementation makes
economic and pedagogical sense,
then Professor Chandler confirms
that faculty and administrators will
contribute the necessary input and
University leadership will conduct
the requisite planning to provide
optimal implementation.
“We’ve certainly proven our ability
as a cutting-edge institution of
higher learning to progress in
an orderly and sensible manner,”
she adds. “I am confident that
National University will leverage
its knowledge and experience to
maintain distinct advantages in
the future.”
As for predictions of specific
gadgetry and technological wizardry,
National’s knowledgeable faculty
member defers to the observations
of authors Ted McCain and Ian
Jukes. In their book, Windows on
the Future, Education in the Age
of Technology, they discourage an
exclusive focus on what is “hot”
today. The gadgets themselves
quickly become obsolete. Rather,
like a quarterback who surveys the
entire field, institutions, such as
National University, will keep new
technological developments with
the perspective of established
educational paradigms.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 27
National University International
Building a Global
Gateway to
Higher Education
As National University celebrates 40 years of remarkable
growth in California and the United States, global
trends in higher education and a new outreach toward
international students are strongly shaping its potential
for worldwide growth in the coming decades.
Needs for quality education exist
beyond the United States, and
we hope to deliver that education
internationally and become the
university of values for learners
everywhere in the world.
National University International
(NUI) was established in 2006 as a
National University System affiliate
to provide premier online education
opportunities to learners from every
continent. Initial offerings included
English and foreign language
programs in Arabic, Chinese, and
Farsi. NUI has gradually expanded
its mission to become a marketing
and distribution channel for
National University and the National
University System in rapidly
growing overseas markets.
“National University is known
for providing access to quality
education to learners through
innovative delivery modes and
formats,” says NUI Vice President
of Operations Jack Paduntin,
DBA. “Since its inception in 1971,
National University has provided
accessible, affordable, high-quality
28
degrees, credential preparation, and
certificates for close to 130,000
alumni. Needs for quality education
exist beyond the United States, and
we hope to deliver that education
internationally and become the
university of values for learners
everywhere in the world.”
The need for increased higher
education opportunities around the
world has been well-documented in
recent years. At the 2009 UNESCO
World Conference on Higher
Education, a report was issued
highlighting key drivers in the future
of higher education. The report,
“Trends in Global Higher Education:
Tracking an Academic Revolution,”
by Philip Altbach, Liz Reisberg, and
Laura Rumbley of the Center for
International Higher Education at
Boston College, summarized the
momentum of change and
the “massification” of higher
education in what they labeled
an “academic revolution.”
The report reveals that upward
mobility for a growing segment of
the world will be dependent upon
access to higher education, and
that many nations are currently
struggling to provide that access.
According to The Chronicle of Higher
Education, global enrollment at
universities and colleges currently
stands at 153 million, representing
a 53 percent increase over the past
nine years alone.
“We project that the demand for
higher education will continue
to grow both domestically and
internationally. Technology
advancement will transform ways
in which education is delivered
to learners,” says Dr. Paduntin.
“National University International
is poised to contribute significantly
to connect learners to knowledge
and education they need to live in a
highly completive, global society.
Altbach, Reisberg, and Rumbley
agree: these factors point to a
growing need for institutions
of higher education to better
serve international students
in the age of globalization and
internationalization. The authors of
“Trends in Global Higher Education”
define “Internationalization”
as “the variety of policies and
programs that universities and
governments implement to respond
to globalization. These typically
include sending students to study
abroad, setting up branch campuses
overseas, or engaging in some type
of inter-institutional partnership.”
NUI has already invoked these
central ideas.
“There is a desire by students all
over the world to obtain their
formal education from an American
university,” says Dr. Paduntin,
emphasizing that NUI creates an
easy transition for those students
coming to study on campus at either
the California or Nevada facilities,
or through online programs. “In
addition to handling international
recruitment and the application
process, National University
International oversees orientation,
housing, and student activities. Our
goal is to enhance the learning
experience of our international
students and add value to the
degree they seek,” he adds.
Data reveals that most of National
University’s international students
focus on degree programs in
business or technology. The majority
of them (about 75 percent) require
some English as a Second Language
(ESL) studies. NUI’s current
recruitment focus is centered largely
in China, India, and other Southeast
Asian countries. With China and
India together representing about
40 percent of the global population,
National’s potential for enrollment
growth in these countries is
extremely promising.
“Regarding educational institutions
in India, students have a variety of
options; however, the number of
placements available is extremely
limited. As a result, many consider
different options, including
studying overseas,” says Paras
Jaswal, who recruits for NUI. He
adds, “Indian students generally
approach us for various reasons:
attractive programs, cost-friendly
tuition structure, positive feedback
from currently enrolled students,
working in a developed country, and
Global enrollment at universities and
colleges has increased 53 percent over
the past nine years.
the great campus locations. We
look forward to making National
University International one of the
most preferred destinations in the
U.S. for students from India looking
to study overseas.”
In China, the status of a U.S.-based
education plays a vital role in
recruitment. Max Ben, NUI director
of China operations, explains, “The
United States has strong influences
in China on a cultural level. In
general, Chinese people perceive
that the education in the United
States is the best in the world.
They are well aware that most
leading scientists in China have
been educated in the U.S. over
the past 30 years.”
These perceptions give students
who study abroad an edge when
they look to work in their own
country’s job market. Mr. Ben
continues, “Chinese people
generally believe the current
business practices in the U.S.
will be the standards in China
in the future.”
The expansion of initiatives truly
draws from a diverse set of cultures
and geographic locales which
allow future business executives,
educators, and innovators to
work together now at the higher
education level. Over the next 40
years, NUI will likely look to further
National University’s ability to
provide academic offerings in areas
of high demand by opening branch
campus locations outside of the U.S.
As National University celebrates
40 years of excellence in higher
education for students in the
United States, look to the next 40
years to deliver that standard to an
international community, creating
a global network of alumni ready to
take on the challenges of the next
half-century.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 29
to discounted tuition; outsourcing
of remedial and online courses to
private institutions; an easing of
barriers to out-of-state providers;
greater regulatory oversight; and
the establishment of a statewide
planning board.
The changing role of
private universities
“...the state’s fiscal resources have
evaporated” and consequently,
all three of California’s public
postsecondary sectors are
overcapacity.
Private colleges and universities in California may play
a pivotal role in coming years as the state’s public
institutions of higher learning struggle to meet critical
demands for an educated workforce, according to a
report commissioned by the National University System
Institute for Policy Research (NUSIPR).
The report, entitled, “Making
it Happen: The Role of Private
Postsecondary Providers in
Increasing College Access
and Attainment in California
Higher Education,” offers nine
recommendations to meet the
30 percent increase in student
throughput that is estimated
over the next 10 years to
keep reasonable pace with
workforce demands.
By 2025, California will face an
estimated shortfall of one million
workers with skills learned in
college, according to the Public
Policy Institute of California. In
a previous era, such a prediction
might have led to an increase in
public colleges and universities, or
an expansion of existing campuses,
but as the report’s authors point
out, “the state’s fiscal resources
have evaporated” and consequently,
all three of California’s public
postsecondary sectors are
“overcapacity.”
30
According to William G. Tierney and
Guilbert C. Hentschke, California
Community Colleges, California
State University and University
of California each have smaller
budgets than three years ago, while
facing new challenges, such as
growing pension fund obligations,
impacted degree programs (in which
there are more applications than the
campus can enroll), and patterns of
increased postsecondary enrollment
during periods of economic downturn.
Adding to projected demand, the
California Postsecondary Education
Commission estimates that by
2019, more than 385,000 additional
individuals will be interested in
enrolling as undergraduates in a
public postsecondary institution.
Even with the anticipated growth
in college and university students,
Tierney and Hentschke emphasize
that the United States now lags
behind other industrialized countries
with regard to college participation
and graduation, and there are
political and economic pressures to
push enrollments even higher.
The problem is, increasing
enrollment through the state’s
public postsecondary institutions
simply isn’t possible at this point,
given current funding realities and
the deliberative process and pace
of government. For these reasons,
Tierney and Hentschke argue
that California needs to consider
alternative providers.
“By no means should private colleges
and universities be thought of as
a panacea to the state’s capacity
problems,” they add. “However,
private institutions can play a
role in relieving the current stress
on the system, and the state has
the potential to develop public
policies that encourage current and
potential private providers to take
on additional students without large
additional costs to the state.”
Private postsecondary institutions
enjoy a long and reputable
history in California. There are
76 private nonprofit institutions
such as National University that
are accredited by the Western
Association of Colleges and Schools
and offer “the full panoply of
postsecondary degrees.”
Additionally, there is the recent
emergence of for-profit institutions
of higher learning, which currently
comprises the fastest-growing
postsecondary sector in the nation.
These institutions now comprise
12 percent of the U.S. student
population and are expected to
continue their dramatic growth;
however, they “have come under a
great deal of scrutiny and criticism,”
according to the NUSIPR report.
Dr. Tierney is university professor
and Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of
Higher Education and director of
the Center for Higher Education
Policy Analysis at the University of
Southern California.
NUSIPR is an independent
institute that conducts research
and publishes articles, policy
briefs, and other materials about
regional issues, including education,
municipal government, economic
policy, housing, transportation,
infrastructure, and fire preparedness
to improve the quality of life enjoyed
by the region’s citizens. For more
information regarding NUSIPR or its
report, visit the Institute’s website
at www.nusinstitute.org.
Dr. Henschke is the Richard T.
Cooper and Mary Catherine Cooper
chair in Public School Administration
at the University of Southern
California’s Rossier School of
Education.
There are concerns in Congress
that the for-profit sector of higher
education is rife with unethical
practices, astronomical debt loads,
abysmal retention rates, and weak
job placement. Consequently, a
countervailing tension is that the
U.S. Department of Education’s
advocacy for states like California
to guarantee that licensure
requirements for institutions of
higher education provide consumer
protections and insure that minimum
standards are met.
Tierney and Hentschke advocate
nine solutions that will better
facilitate all the state’s
postsecondary institutions to
overcome current challenges and
work together to meet future
demands for a highly educated
workforce. Their ideas include
improved articulation agreements,
which would allow smoother
transfers between colleges and
universities; incentives for timely
graduation and public-private
partnerships, which would lead
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 31
40th Anniversary faces
As National University celebrates its 40th anniversary, it is proud to present
an in-depth examination of Chancellor Lee and some of the alumni who
embody the values of our institution and capture the spirit of achievement and
enlightenment that mark the past four decades of our history. The following
is an article matching the University’s leadership and values with six other
organizations that were founded in 1971; along with six comprehensive
profiles representing a remarkable alumnus from each of our five schools and
one college, and highlights of 34 additional alumni who have made an impact
in their chosen field or community.
Jerry C. Lee
Chancellor, National university system
32
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 33
Forty Years of
Leadership and Values
Six successful entities
share three things
in Common with
National University
What do Starbucks, FedEx, and Southwest Airlines have in common with
National University? What similar qualities do Charles Schwab, the World
Economic Forum, and Doctors Without Borders share with California’s secondlargest private, nonprofit institution of higher learning?
Like National University, they were all founded in 1971. Additionally, each of
them possesses key values that mirror our own and benefits from leaders who
have embodied many of the same admirable traits demonstrated by National
University System Chancellor Jerry C. Lee over the course of his remarkable
22-year tenure.
The following is a glimpse of these six ground-breaking companies and
organizations, along with a comparative look at their CEOs and the core
values that align them with National University and Chancellor Lee.
Starbucks | Charles Schwab Corporation | Southwest Airlines | FedEx Corporation | World Economic Forum | Doctors Without Borders
34
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 35
Quality: Howard Schultz,
Chairman and CEO of
Starbucks
Access: Charles R. Schwab,
Chairman of the Board,
Charles Schwab Corporation
Like Chancellor Lee, Starbucks
Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz
is a visionary who was able to
conceptualize the future of his
industry and create a model that
would ultimately raise the bar
and set new standards for
all competitors.
The Charles Schwab Corporation
was founded by Charles Schwab
as a traditional brick-and-mortar
brokerage house. Today his business
is one of the world’s most accessible
brokers, offering traditional walk-in
brokerage services while also
providing services via telephone,
wireless devices, and the Internet.
Impressed by the stellar ambience
and espresso of Italy’s coffee
bars, Schultz also took note of their
ubiquitous presence and social
significance. Consequently, he
created an incredibly successful
business based not just on
the quality of the product and
the service, but the quality of
the surroundings.
Chancellor Lee did the same for
National University, enhancing more
than the quality of the curricula
and the faculty. He realized that
comfortable, well-appointed
facilities complement a quality
education and excellent service;
they welcome students after a
long day at work, and create an
environment that is welcoming and
conducive to learning.
Employees appreciate a quality
environment too. Fortune magazine
has ranked Starbucks as one of the
“100 Best Companies to Work For.”
National University has been named
by The Chronicle of Higher Education
as a “Great College to Work For.”
As the first online discount broker
in the industry, Schwab enjoys a
reputation for making Wall Street
more accessible, much in the
same fashion that Chancellor Lee
has utilized technology and
fostered an institutional culture
that places higher education
within broader reach.
In large part, access increases when
products or services are affordable.
Schwab’s decision to roll back fee
hikes helped to facilitate significant
growth. Similarly, Chancellor Lee’s
attentiveness to cost management
and affordability have allowed the
University to maintain reasonable
per-course tuition rates and remain
highly competitive when comparing
costs among other private, nonprofit
colleges and universities. For
example, based upon to the College
Board’s Trends in College Pricing
report, National’s undergraduate
tuition is 59 percent lower than the
average private, four-year college.
Relevance: Gary Kelly,
Chairman and CEO of
Southwest Airlines
Making brokerage services
more accessible is a laudable
accomplishment, and certainly
factors into decisions such as the
San Francisco Chronicle naming
Charles R. Schwab “CEO of the
Year.” Likewise, making higher
education more accessible has
earned Chancellor Lee numerous
distinctions, such as being named
to the International Educator’s
Hall of Fame.
Gary Kelly is a leader who
understands that a product or
service has to make sense. It has
to address a basic need, and the
outcomes have to advance the
customer toward his or her desired
destination in the quickest, most
efficient and affordable manner
possible. These are the same
principles that Chancellor Lee
has underscored in 22 years of
leadership; and they describe
National University as well as
Southwest Airlines (Southwest).
Southwest’s customers are able to
get to the airport, get on a plane and
get to their destination faster, in a
more affordable manner, and always
in style and comfort with excellent
customer service. National’s
students are able to enroll in a
program, get to class, are and earn
a degree or credential faster in a
more affordable manner, always
with quality, rigor, and excellent
student service.
Southwest serves many of
the same communities and
regions that National serves.
Like National University staff
and faculty, Southwest employees
give back to communities through
volunteerism and are encouraged
to embrace local charitable
causes to make a positive
and lasting difference.
Southwest has been recognized
by G.I. Jobs magazine as one of
the nation’s Top Military Friendly
Employers. In addition, National
University has been recognized
by G.I. Jobs as one of the nation’s
“Military Friendly Schools.”
36
Accelerated Pace:
Frederick W. Smith,
Chairman and CEO of FedEx
Corporation
As a charter pilot early in his
career, Frederick Smith frequently
transported spare parts for
companies that couldn’t wait for the
passenger airlines to deliver timesensitive packages. His appreciation
for the value of time led FedEx to
become the world’s largest express
transportation company, providing
fast and reliable delivery to every
U.S. address and to more than 220
countries and territories.
As a university administrator early
in his career, Chancellor Lee noticed
that students didn’t want to wait
several months to enroll in classes.
Consequently, he led National
University to become California’s
second-largest private, nonprofit
university by providing fast and
reliable pathways to graduate
and undergraduate degrees and
credentials to every corner of the
state, the region, and increasingly
the globe.
Under Mr. Smith’s leadership,
FedEx ascribed to the Baldrige
Performance Excellence program
and was the first service company
to win the Malcolm Baldrige
National Quality Award.
Under Chancellor Lee’s leadership,
National University has also
ascribed to the Baldrige program,
and has twice earned the Eureka
Award for Performance Excellence
(also known as the “Baby Baldrige
Award”) from the California Council
for Excellence.
Affordability: Klaus
Schwab, CEO of the World
Economic Forum
Klaus Schwab founded the World
Economic Forum as a not-for-profit
foundation committed to improving
the state of the world. Under his
stewardship, it has grown into
a global partnership of business,
political, and intellectual leaders
that is addressing the world’s most
pressing issues.
Under Chancellor Lee’s stewardship,
the National University System
has grown into an impressive
network of affiliate institutions and
partnerships that are addressing
the most pressing issues of higher
education, vocational training, and
lifelong learning.
The World Economic Forum’s motto
is “entrepreneurship in the global
public interest,” and Mr. Schwab
believes that economic progress and
social development are inextricably
linked and reliant upon one
another. In other words, stability
and prosperity thrive when life’s
essential needs are affordable
and accessible.
The same is true with education;
when it is affordable and accessible,
it brings stability and prosperity to
communities. Chancellor Lee has
long recognized this notion, backed
by Mr. Schwab’s “stakeholder”
theory for businesses that envisions
enterprise within the context of
community, where success and
prosperity among a broad diversity
of constituencies are connected
directly or indirectly to neighboring
corporations, companies, and
organizations.
The Atlantic Council has honored
Mr. Schwab with its “Global
Citizen Award” in recognition of
his vision and ability to place a
better life within reach for more
people. Similarly, Chancellor Lee
has also been recognized for his
similar vision and skills, garnering
distinctions such as the “Sertoma
Man of the Year Award.”
Community: James
Orbinski, M.D., Past
President, Doctors
Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders was
founded on the premise that all
people have the right to medical
care regardless of race, religion,
creed, or political affiliation.
Under Dr. Orbinski’s leadership,
the organization has addressed
numerous global humanitarian
emergencies. He has advanced the
notion that access to healthcare
and essential health technologies
are critical to global health issues,
especially for large populations of
underserved citizens.
By de-emphasizing the borders that
often divide nations and people and
taking the stance that we are all
citizens of the world, Dr. Orbinski
has been able to unite countries
and bring them together as a global
community to address the most
basic needs and offer widespread
solutions to common challenges.
Strong leadership and a clear sense
of values have historically drawn
people and organizations closer
together and provided the purpose
and focus to deliver progress and
improvement. It is quite remarkable
for an entity to survive for 40 years;
it is more remarkable still to thrive
after four decades.
The purpose and direction provided
by Chancellor Lee’s leadership and
his emphasis on values have placed
National University on par with
some of the most admired and
successful companies and
organizations in the world, and
created a secure foundation for
future growth and impact.
National University was founded
on the premise that all people
have the right to an education.
Under Chancellor Lee’s leadership,
National has addressed numerous
concerns regarding higher learning
in the 21st century. He has
advanced the idea that access
to undergraduate and graduate
degrees and essential educational
technologies are critical to a broad
spectrum of global issues, especially
for communities that have been
traditionally underserved in higher
education.
By removing many of the traditional
barriers that have often blocked
entire communities from attending
colleges or universities, Chancellor
Lee has made National a consistent
leader in conferring degrees to
numerous minorities in a broad host
of disciplines, addressing numerous
societal needs and providing a
highly educated citizenry that
looks to expand on a global scale
in coming years.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 37
40
alumni who define
national university
38
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 39
Stephanie Thal
BA, Behavioral Science, 1989
College of letters and sciences
An Ultimate
Example of
Giving Back
Graduates who earn their Master of Arts in Counseling
Psychology from National University will likely be familiar
with the California Association of Marriage and Family
Therapists (CAMFT).
This professional organization,
comprised of more than
29,000 members, exists for the
advancement of marriage and family
therapy and the common business
interests of those practicing in the
field. It attracts therapists who
are dedicated to elevating the
standards of their practice, provides
opportunities for leadership, shapes
the future of the profession within
California, and helps to define the
community of marriage and family
therapists across the state.
It speaks highly of the College
of Letters and Sciences, and of
the Psychology Department in
particular, that alumni, such as
Ms. Thal, would rise up to the
highest levels of organizations,
such as CAMFT, and contribute
so richly to the betterment of
her peers and colleagues.
Ms. Thal is a past president and
former board member of CAMFT.
After a long, distinguished, and
successful career as a marriage
and family therapist, she remains
extremely active with the
association and currently serves on
its Ethics Committee, where she is
responsible for developing a code
of ethics for the profession and
reviewing ethics complaints.
40
As an alumna and adjunct faculty
member, she has contributed untold
hours as a volunteer and made many
sacrifices to improve her profession
in her spare time. In recognition
of those efforts, Ms. Thal was
honored as a Distinguished Clinical
Member by CAMFT at its annual
conference in 2009. What has she
gained from years of dedication
and involvement? For Ms. Thal, the
answer is simple.
“The thing that has given me the
biggest thrill as a volunteer in my
profession is helping my colleagues
better their own professional
lives,” she says. “There have been
many times over the years where I
have thought to myself, ‘this is so
fulfilling. I could quit now and be
quite content.’”
Ms. Thal’s involvement with CAMFT
has paid other dividends. She has
built up an impressive network
of professional contacts, having
met fellow practitioners from
all over California. Her volunteer
work is also inextricably linked to
her public service. A few years
ago, after she completed seven
years on the CAMFT Board, she
was appointed to the California
Mental Health Planning Council by
California Director of Mental Health
Stephen W. Mayberg. She serves
on the Council’s Human Resource
Committee, which addresses
workforce development issues in
the mental health industry.
“Concurrent with my being appointed,
Proposition 63 passed, putting much
needed funding into the mental
health system,” Ms. Thal explains.
“As a result, graduates of Marriage
and Family Therapists (MFT)
schools could have more career
opportunities in public mental health.
Curriculum will be changing so that
students will be better trained to
work in public settings.”
Proposition 63 (also known as the
Mental Health Services Act) was
approved by voters in November
2004. It provided increased funding
to the California Department of
Mental Health for personnel and
other resources to support county
mental health programs and monitor
progress toward statewide goals
for children, transition-age youth,
adults, older adults, and families.
The Act addresses a broad range
of prevention, early intervention,
and service needs along with
the necessary infrastructure,
technology, and training elements
to support this system.
Ms. Thal rigorously attends Board
of Behavioral Science Examiners
(BBS) meetings, since initially
becoming licensed, and in the wake
of Proposition 63, attended the BBS
trainings for educators. She has an
unparalleled understanding of laws and regulations, which in turn,
translates into the most current, upto-date knowledge and expertise in
her classrooms. Her students have
received cutting-edge information
that won’t be required to be taught
until 2012.
A current resident of Kern County,
Ms. Thal maintained a private
practice in Kernville, California
until recently. After teaching at
the Costa Mesa campus for many
years, she now teaches and is
lead faculty advisor for the MFT
program in Bakersfield. She says
that she follows students beyond
the classroom and mentors many
of them long after they graduate.
“The students are very aware that
my interest in them goes far beyond
the one or two classes they may
take from me,” Ms. Thal continues.
“My students, just like my colleagues
all over the state, know exactly
how dedicated I am to them and to
our profession. I hope that they will
follow in my footsteps, serving the
best interests of National University
and marriage and family therapists
everywhere.”
The thing that has given me the
biggest thrill as a volunteer in my
profession is helping my colleagues
better their own professional lives.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 41
Evan Gaddis
MBA, 1980
School of Business and Management
Leadership That
Transcends Careers
Alumnus Evan Gaddis utilized his education at National
University to chart a remarkable rise and an exemplary career
in the U.S. Army, and then to successfully transition from a
leader in the military into a leader in industry and public affairs.
Earning a master’s degree while he
was in the armed services, thenCaptain Gaddis advanced from a
captain responsible for recruiting in
San Diego to become a major general
serving as commander of all Army
recruiting, responsible for more than
12,000 employees and a budget of
$401 million.
After Gen. Gaddis retired from the
Army in 2001, he was appointed
as president of the Gas Supply
Manufacturers Association. In
2005, he was selected to serve as
president of the National Electrical
Manufacturers Association (NEMA)
following a nationwide search by its
Board of Governors.
NEMA is a trade association for the
electrical manufacturing industry.
Headquartered near Washington,
D.C. with offices in Mexico and
China, its membership is comprised
of approximately 450 companies
which manufacture products used
in the generation, transmission and
distribution, control, and end-use
of electricity. NEMA promotes
the competitiveness of the U.S.
electrical product industry through
the development of standards,
advocacy in federal and state
legislatures and executive agencies,
and the collection and analysis of
economic data.
42
“We’re working to produce more
efficient and safer products,”
says Gen. Gaddis. “We also do
a lot of lobbying and work with
governmental and regulatory
entities. One of our most important
projects right now is insuring the
more efficient flow of electricity.”
Gen. Gaddis made more than a few
trips to the nation’s capitol while
serving his country in the Army
and is no stranger to the halls of
Congress and the ins and outs of
the political process. His experience
as a Major General working with
committees and subcommittees
in Washington, D.C. has helped to
place his organization in a position
to make a major difference.
NEMA was named as the official
partner with the National Institute
of Standards and Technology by
Congress in the 2007 Energy Act for
the development of a Smart Grid.
Gen. Gaddis describes the Smart
Grid as “electricity with a brain.”
He says it is about combining
cutting-edge technology, energy
storage and distribution, and
energy-efficient appliances to
add intelligence to the nation’s
electric power infrastructure
and delivery systems.
The basic concept is to add
monitoring, analysis, control, and
communication capabilities to the
national electricity delivery system,
which in turn maximizes the output,
improves reliability, decreases
interruptions, lowers utility bills,
and reduces energy consumption.
“Working on the Smart Grid places
us in the sweet spot for what the
federal government is trying to
accomplish in regard to keeping a
clean environment and generating
jobs in emerging green industries,”
Gen. Gaddis adds.
Advancing the Smart Grid requires
leadership, vision, collaboration,
consensus-building, and strategic
planning. In Gen. Gaddis’ role, he
serves as a key liaison between two
partnering communities: his client
manufacturers and the legislative
body of the federal government.
Each community possesses a unique
culture and a process by which each
engages with other entities to promote
mutually beneficial outcomes.
The ability to facilitate cooperation
and planning between two large
groups to identify and foster areas
of collective interest and generate
the desired results are valuable and
irreplaceable traits in any institution
or organization, including National
University. Gen. Gaddis was able
to hone such skills during his years
as an Army general. He has been
able to successfully transition
those abilities into the civilian
world, demonstrating his talents as
a leader for NEMA amid some of
the most complex and demanding
cross currents of public interest,
shepherding his organization’s
agenda through what is often a
labyrinthine maze of bureaucracy,
while maintaining his vision and focus.
These were just the set of abilities
that National University was
seeking when it recruited a blue
ribbon panel of distinguished
reviewers to provide objective and
expert input regarding its latest fiveyear strategic plan. The University
invited Gen. Gaddis to join the panel,
which met in Washington, D.C. in
the fall of 2009, to set a sure and
steady course through uncertain
and rapidly shifting times.
“We were honored to have Gen.
Gaddis with us,” says National
University Interim President Patricia
Potter, who convened the panel to
review National’s strategic plan.
Other reviewers included Stephen
Trachtenberg, president emeritus of
The George Washington University;
Karabelle Pizzigati, member of
the board and immediate past
board president of the National
Association of State Boards of
Education; Winston Tabb, Sheridan
dean of Libraries and Museums at
The Johns Hopkins University; and
Bruce Joseph, chair of Copyright
Practice, at the firm of Wiley Rein LLP.
“It was a privilege to serve with
this distinguished group of people
on such a worthy and important
project,” says Gen. Gaddis. “I am
happy to contribute to the University
that meant so much to my success;
and one which has served so many
veterans and active duty military
personnel so well over the years.”
Thanks to Gen. Gaddis’ leadership
and abilities, his dedication and
involvement in National University,
and the future interests of his
country, the nation’s energy policy
and the University’s future success
stand to flourish in the months and
years to come.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 43
Kurt Madden
Preliminary Administrative Service Credential, 1989
School of education
Setting the
Benchmark
for Principals
Like numerous other alumni from the National University
School of Education, Kurt Madden has distinguished
himself as one of the top educators in his field.
He is the principal of Scripps Ranch
High School, the top-performing
comprehensive high school in the
San Diego Unified School District
in 2009.
America’s high schools are a
community within a community.
They are often the focal point of a
neighborhood, a point of civic pride,
a beacon for academic and athletic
achievement, and a springboard for
burgeoning youth as they plan and
prepare for a brighter tomorrow.
In recent years, high schools
have become some of the most
scrutinized institutions in society.
Principals such as Principal Madden
are held accountable to federal and
state standards, as mandated by
the U.S. government’s No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001, and California’s
Public Schools Accountability Act
of 1999. His school is assessed
annually by benchmarks, such as the
Academic Performance Index (API),
an annual report card for schools,
which measures performance and
progress based on the results of
statewide tests for students grades
two through twelve.
44
In the two academic years
preceding this one, the API score
at Scripps Ranch High rose by 46
points. In 2009, Principal Madden
sent more seniors to college than
any other high school in San Diego
County, producing 91 seniors with a
grade point average of 4.0 or higher.
As further testament to Principal
Madden’s administrative skills,
Scripps Ranch High School was
among 19 select San Diego County
high schools and middle schools
named as California Distinguished
Schools in 2009 (32 percent of
which were headed by principals
who are National University alumni).
It is also a National Blue Ribbon
School.
To be invited to apply for
Distinguished School honors,
schools must meet a variety
of eligibility criteria, including
designated federal and state
accountability measures based on
No Child Left Behind (NCLB),
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP),
and the API requirements. Scripps
Ranch High School has accelerated
in all three categories.
“I am very grateful that National
University gave me the possibility to
achieve my goal, which was to be a
leader in education,” says Principal
Madden, who considers himself
to be an accessible, hands-on
administrator who leads by example.
But administrative skills represent
just one of the many facets a
successful principal must possess.
The head of a high school must
also be a mentor, a role model, a
counselor, a teacher, and a coach.
“I make it a practice that we’re out
before school to meet the students,”
Principal Madden explains. “Our
administrative team makes over
500 class visits per month. Almost
70 percent of my day is spent out
on campus. You’ll rarely find me in
my office.”
Principal Madden also conducts
what he calls “power walks,”
blocking out one day per month on
his calendar to visit three or four
classes, observe his teachers at
work and learn firsthand what’s
working and what isn’t. “I’m out
there tasting it, smelling it,
touching it,” he adds. “It’s a
very powerful exercise.”
Success rarely comes overnight
for high school principals, and it
certainly didn’t for Madden. He
has spent 23 years at seven high
schools in three different districts,
working in diverse positions that
include athletics and counseling.
He worked at an inner city middle
school prior to coming to Scripps
Ranch. The cumulative lessons
learned from experience have
provided the National University
alumnus with a broad range of
perspectives and provided him
with an appreciation for the unique
culture and circumstances one finds
in different neighborhoods and at
various schools.
A leader who is appreciated for
his work ethic, Principal Madden
isn’t one to rest upon his laurels
or remain content with past
achievement. Although Scripps
Ranch was ranked number one
in the San Diego school district
for its test scores, he is quick to
point out that his high school was
only ranked number five in San
Diego County. And with four other
schools scoring higher, he and his
administrators made it a point to
visit those campuses this school
year to investigate best practices
and discover where there is room
for improvement.
Principal Madden’s goal is for
Scripps Ranch to be the first high
school in California to reach an API
score of 900, and he believes it is
“very attainable.” But beyond the
metrics and scores, he appreciates
that his students are more than
numbers, and their development
relies upon more than academic
performance. That is why he says
he will continue his power walks
and spend a majority of his days out
mingling with and getting to know
his students.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 45
Edwin Mahieu
MS, Software Engineering, 2003
School of Engineering and Technology
Higher Education
Advocate Inspires
Employees
In 2009, the National University School of Engineering and
Technology (SOET) provided alumnus Edwin Mahieu with a
Certificate of Appreciation for his dedication and support
“to the vision and mission of education.”
Mr. Mahieu, an engineering
manager at Abbott Vascular in
Temecula, California, has been
instrumental in developing offsite
graduate and undergraduate
programs at his workplace, which
have enhanced the careers of
several of his colleagues while also
benefitting Abbott. He is an awardwinning employee with 22 years
of service to his company and has
remained actively engaged with his
alma mater and his community.
“I am a big advocate of providing
opportunities to those who
want to learn and grow,” says
Mr. Mahieu, who volunteers and
donates to National University and
organizations such as Compadres
Bank and Kiva (two organizations
which help disadvantaged people
in Third World countries start
businesses that will allow them to
build a foundation that will grow
over generations) and United Way.
“Whether I’m promoting higher
education, micro-lending for startup businesses, or supporting
local charitable organizations,
it’s all rewarding.”
46
made it to college, Mr. Mahieu was
more inspired than most. He was
determined to elevate himself and
his family, both educationally and
financially. He knew; however, that
the long drive was not practical for
most people, and might dissuade
some of his colleagues from
following in his footsteps. Along
with the Learning & Development
department at his company, he
worked with SOET faculty to
establish programs onsite at the
company’s facilities in southwest
Riverside County.
Starting out at as a technician
at Abbott (then Advanced
“I was tremendously inspired by
Cardiovascular Systems),
Edwin, both as a student and as
Mr. Mahieu was someone who
an advocate of higher education
was quickly able “to grasp the big
to his fellow workers,” says John
picture.” His appreciation for how
Bugado, a professor emeritus at
different departments integrate and
National University and one of Mr.
operate together as a team took him
Mahieu’s most influential faculty
from the production line, engineering, members. “His passion, energy, and
and finally into a manager’s position. leadership were critical factors in
It also instilled in him a broader view developing off-site engineering and
of community.
management programs.” Those
programs have been in place for
“My experience at work and as a
almost two years now.
student led me to realize the value
of lifelong learning and education,”
In addition, earning a master’s
Mr. Mahieu explains. “I experienced
degree contributed to Mr. Mahieu’s
what these opportunities could do
advancement, and he says it has
for me and wanted to share those
helped a number of his colleagues
benefits with others around me.
achieve their career objectives
When you improve yourself, I think
within the organization.
there’s a natural inclination to help
Always returning to the bigger
others around you. It’s an incredible
ripple effect that has the potential to picture, the SOET graduate is
quick to point out that having
expand exponentially.”
As a working adult who commuted
120 miles from Temecula to Mission
Valley and back twice a week and
every other weekend, Mr. Mahieu
set an example of what was possible
for an ambitious employee. The son
of working class parents who never
highly educated engineers at
Abbott Vascular has the potential
to contribute to a better quality
of life for hundreds of thousands
of patients who benefit from the
company’s combination of cuttingedge medical device innovations
and world-class pharmaceuticals
designed to improve cardiac and
vascular care.
“We have more knowledgeable
engineers who have a better
understanding of the approach
behind the business,” he adds.
“This helps to advance Abbott as an
industry leader and one of the top
companies to work for.”
As residents of one of Southern
California’s wine-growing regions,
Mr. Mahieu and his family are
currently developing a winery
on their five-acre property in
Temecula as a hobby. He refers to
the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet
Franc, and Petite Verdot vines that
he has been planting as “the fruits
of our labors.”
Professor Bugado refers to
Mr. Mahieu as “the fruit of our
labors,” a loyal and dedicated
alumnus who has transformed his
life, contributed to his company,
and given back abundantly to his
community. “He is an exemplary
graduate and a role model for
many other graduates to follow,”
Prof. Bugado adds.
I am a big advocate of providing
opportunities to those who want
to learn and grow.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 47
Mary Evert
MBA, 1980
School of Health and Human Services
A Healthy Dose
of Public Service
Alumna Mary Evert has enjoyed a long and distinguished
career in healthcare, where education, opportunity, and
public service frequently go hand-in-hand.
An occupational therapist who
became a supervisor at Rancho
Los Amigos Hospital in Downey,
Ms. Evert’s budding leadership skills
were put to the test early in her
career as a founding team member
of the Sharp Rehabilitation Center
in San Diego.
With a husband in the Navy and
a newborn child, Ms. Evert went
back to school to earn her MBA,
selecting National University, one
of the first institutions of higher
education in the nation to recognize
and serve the needs of working
adults, homemakers, and other
non-traditional learners.
“My husband went to sea, and I
wasn’t willing to let someone else
raise my children, so of course
National appealed to me,” she
explains. “It allowed me to remain
a stay-at-home mom and study and
advance within my profession at the
same time.”
Ms. Evert earned her degree in 1980
and once again, moved up the ladder
in her profession. She was elected
president of the Occupational
Therapy Association of California
and ran the statewide organization
for two terms right after graduating
from National University.
48
“National was really a launching
point for my career,” she adds. ”That
MBA really made a difference.”
In 1981, Ms. Evert was elected as
chairman of the board of directors
for the Palomar Pomerado Hospital
District, the largest hospital district
in California. The rapid growth and
dramatic technological advances
of the era placed unprecedented
financial demands upon healthcare
institutions. In response, Ms. Evert
helped establish the Palomar
Pomerado Health Foundation. Her
fellow board members signed a $78
million bond to fund the region’s
medical needs well into the future.
In 1985, Ms. Evert’s husband
was transferred to Annapolis,
Maryland—far from San Diego,
but close to Washington, D.C. It
was a potentially disruptive move
for a healthcare administrator in
her prime with a firmly established
family and strong community ties.
“Don’t worry,” a well-connected
contact told Ms. Evert. “Just tell me
where you end up, and I’ll get you in
to see the vice president.”
written communications coming
out of the entire federal public
health service, working directly with
institutions such as the Center for
Disease Control, the National Center
for Health, and the Food and Drug
Administration.
Later, Ms. Evert served for two
years as director of the Office of
Community Services for the family
support administration within the
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. She also worked
as a consultant in the Department
of Agriculture in the first Bush
administration, before assuming
another national leadership position
as president of the Board of the
American Occupational Therapy
Association (AOTA).
As AOTA leader, Ms. Evert promoted
her organization and her profession.
She participated in the healthcare
reform debate during the Clinton
years, lobbying hard to make sure
that occupational therapy would be
available to people all over the
United States.
Ultimately, Ms. Evert was elected
U.S. Representative to the World
Federation of Occupational
Therapy and was offered faculty
positions teaching health policy
and management. She joined
Washington University School of
Medicine as an adjunct assistant
professor and continued on as a
consultant in the nation’s capital
before she and her husband moved
back to San Diego in 1997.
She reunited with Palomar
Pomerado Health Foundation,
joining its board, and started a
practice in strategic planning
and change management—“the
business side that I had learned
at National [University],” says
Ms. Evert. She never gave up
her practice as an occupational
therapist and is former Governor
Schwarzenegger’s appointee to
California Board of Occupational
Therapy, where she serves as chair.
It would be understandable for
Ms. Evert to decline any new
commitments at this point in her
life and career, but when Michael
Lacourse, dean of the National
University School of Health and
Human Services, asked her to chair
his new advisory board, she says
he could have knocked her over
with a feather.
“I’ve always been proud of my
affiliation with National University,”
Ms. Evert proclaims. “I was actually
flattered that someone from
National would contact me. When
I heard Michael’s vision and learned
about what he wanted to do, well,
that’s just a song I like to sing. I
always like to be in on the ground
swell when someone is doing
something innovative in healthcare.”
Within five months of relocating,
Ms. Evert was appointed deputy
assistant secretary of health for the
Reagan administration. She headed
all public affairs and oversaw all
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 49
Tonnette Lyles
BA, Digital Journalism, 2011
School of media and communication
Aspiring Journalist
Builds Minority
Platform
Eight years ago, National University System Chancellor
Jerry C. Lee made an unprecedented commitment to the
San Diego Association of Black Journalists (SDABJ) by
sponsoring an annual scholarship worth up to $50,000.
Since then, the SDABJ Scholarship
has provided numerous promising
students with a four-year tuition
reimbursement to National
University’s School of Media and
Communication. One such recipient,
Tonnette Lyles, has discovered the
profound impact that an individual
African-American woman can make
when combining the hope of higher
education and power of the media
with the value of community.
When she was growing up in
Oakland, California, Ms. Lyles
recalls that the media was an
important and influential force in
family and local affairs. “My mom
would clip newspaper articles and
put them on the refrigerator or place
them in my room,” she explains.
Ms. Lyles’s mother earned her
master’s degree, and her father was
a career soldier in the Army. Both
parents emphasized the importance
of an informed and enlightened
citizenry, and the value of having
and sharing a voice in community,
national, and international affairs.
“Of course a parent always aspires
for her child to go to college,” she
50
adds. “In my family, that was
considered the pathway to making
one’s dreams come true. My mother
modeled the focus, dedication, and
commitment required to succeed
academically. Now, thanks to
National University, I’m doing the
same for my daughter.”
Ms. Lyles, the 2007 SDABJ
Scholarship recipient, is close to
completing a convergent journalism
program, which combines blogging
and web-based media with
traditional media. The program
prepares graduates for a variety of
positions, including opportunities
in print and broadcast journalism
as well as online assignments with
print and cable organizations.
She is involved with community
affairs through her church and her
daughter’s school, and says she
likes to work with youth. Her ideal
target audience would be AfricanAmerican teenagers, primarily young
females who need someone to talk
to, admire, and emulate.
and younger who may be struggling
or need guidance,” she says. “That’s
where my heart is. I would love
to write a blog that shows young
women how to write a resume
or apply for a scholarship. Often,
people just don’t know how to do
these things.”
Having grown up in military housing,
Ms. Lyles’s childhood environment
was “pretty much middle class.”
She recalls that many of her friends
and schoolmates, however, were
exposed to the streets, raised in
single parent homes, or faced other
disadvantages from an early age.
“I saw my fair share of teenage
pregnancies, high school dropouts,
and drug use, and it motivated me to
help,” she says. “I saw people who
didn’t have the same opportunities
I did. They didn’t have someone to
guide or encourage them, but many
of them did have a desire to improve
themselves.”
The future journalist grows
passionate as she discusses the
wayward peers that populated her
youth and now inhabit nearly every
large city in America. “They had
dreams and desires, but perhaps not
the proper motivation or guidance,”
she figures. “A few bad influences
might have eclipsed the more
positive influences in their lives.”
Citing her studies, Ms. Lyles
emphasizes “a strong need” within
urban America for an informative,
encouraging, and uplifting voice.
She also expresses a growing
confidence in her own ability
to communicate.
“I think that if I write a letter it can
make a difference. As a journalist,
I can have a large and powerful
voice,” she says, referring to
other journalists as “muckrakers,
and exposers of light and truth
who uncovered hidden facts and
illuminated a pathway for others
to follow.”
“As a journalist, hopefully I can stir
up some action. To me, I haven’t
seen enough (media) focus on the
African-American community. There
still isn’t a sufficient understanding
of the black experience in America
among the mainstream press. I meet
a lot of people who don’t know a
lot about the African-American
community here in San Diego.”
Ms. Lyles doesn’t believe her voice
necessarily needs to be limited
to an African-American-centric
newspaper. She acknowledges that
they play an important role and
that she reads them and respects
them, but she aspires to have the
African-American perspective heard
and appreciated in the mainstream
media as well.
“This country has worked hard to
integrate racially over the past
50 years. Consequently, AfricanAmericans are more dispersed
among a greater variety of
communities and neighborhoods.
Still, it is important for us to
preserve our cultural identity and
contribute our unique perspective
when engaging in a broader
dialogue. National University is
giving me a powerful opportunity
to do just that.”
“I’m interested in working with all
women, but I have a special place
in my heart for black women my age
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 51
Alumni Who Define
National University
Allison Andrews
Maria Carr
Irma Becerra
(BS, Organizational Leadership,
2010) is co-founder of the Ross
Family Foundation, which supports
charitable organizations in San
Francisco, San Diego, and Orange
County. She is a former Red Cross
Volunteer of the Year award
recipient who served as president
of her high school chapter.
(MS. Special Education, 2001) is
director of Special Education for
California Virtual Academies, the
largest virtual charter school in
California, supervising a staff
of over 50 employees. Ms. Carr,
who is also an author, has been
published in Converge Magazine,
T.H.E. Journal (Technology Horizons
in Education), and The Educational
Therapist.
(BS, Criminal Justice Administration,
2008) retired recently from the Los
Angeles Sheriff’s Department at the
rank of captain, following a 27-year
career in law enforcement. She is a
former recipient of the Los Angeles
County Board of Supervisors’
Woman of the Year Award and the
Latino Peace Officers Association’s
Latina of the Year Award. Ms.
Becerra, who is currently pursuing a
doctoral degree from the University
of Southern California, plans to
apply to the State Parole Board.
Julie Jerden
(MS in Organizational Leadership,
2010) of Houston, Texas is an
award-winning web designer who
has written two Department of
Homeland Security grants resulting
in more than $135,000 in funding.
James Lee Miller
(BA, Psychology, 2009) of San
Diego is president of the Cal-Diego
Paralyzed Veterans Association.
A disabled veteran himself, Mr.
Miller has been active for several
years with the disabled veterans’
community.
Sara Elizabeth Morris
(BSN, 2010) of Escondido, California
received a scholarship from the
George B. Boland Nurses Training
Trust Fund and earned the Hospice
Patient Care Trainee Award and
the National University Academic
Achievement Award while she was
a nursing student.
52
Shelly Melton
Nora Roque
(Master of Human Resource
Management, 2010) earned the
Newport-Mesa Unified School
District’s Employee Super Star
Award while studying for her degree.
The former human resources
coordinator for the Beverly Hills
Unified School District is a member
of the Association of California
School Administrators.
Monique Santos
(BBA, 2010) joined Scripps
Memorial Hospital in La Jolla,
California last May as director of
Medical Staff Services. She is
former president of the Hawaii
Association of Medical Staff
Professionals.
Victoria Vasquez
Ikerd-Schreiter
(Master of Public Administration,
2000) graduated from California
Western School of Law in 2007
and went on to become a district
representative for State Senator
Denise Ducheny. She is currently
working to create a United Nations
chartered non-governmental
organization to improve knowledge
about and services for children with
autism in underserved countries
across the globe.
Michael McCoy
(MBA, 1992) is a 21-year veteran of
the Coast Guard who was formerly
recognized by the National Defense
Intelligence Association as the
Coast Guard’s top intelligence
practitioner. He has also received
the Professional Excellence Award
from his employer, Booz Allen
Hamilton, a private consulting firm,
that contracts with the federal
government and other clients
on defense and homeland
security matters.
(BA, Interdisciplinary Studies, 2008)
has been involved in the Fresno
area’s charter school community
for the past twelve years with
responsibilities ranging from
independent study facilitator to
co-founder/assistant director and
eventually executive director of
Valley Preparatory Academy Charter
School. After the Fresno Unified
School District renewed Valley
Prep’s charter petition in 2007, the
school operated as a site-based and
independent study hybrid program.
Today, it serves about 240 students
onsite, along with 20 independent
study students offsite.
Marzena Mulawka
Angela Gottschall
Christopher Hampson
(M.Ed./Credential, 2003) is a former
theatre arts teacher for the Los
Angeles Unified School District
who is close to completing her
Administrative Services credential.
She is a former recipient of the
Los Angeles Music Center’s
BRAVO Award for Outstanding Arts
Specialist and was selected as a
fellow by Los Angeles County Office
of Education’s Instructional Media
program through the American
Film Institute.
(BS, Computer Science, 1990)
is a principal engineer at Intel,
the world’s largest producer of
semiconductor chips, where he
has been working for 17 years. He
currently chairs a worldwide joint
engineering team that focuses on
array testing.
Patrick Kelly
(MBA, 2007) is an entrepreneur
who has started three and sold
two companies. His latest company,
IntraStage, is a leading provider
of enterprise software solutions
for companies who design and
manufacture electronic products. It
just raised Series A-1 financing. His
previous company, Cal-Bay Systems,
tripled revenues under Mr. Kelly’s
leadership.
(MFS, 2009) interned for the San
Diego Police Department Biology
Division and also worked for the San
Diego County Medical Examiner’s
Office in Investigations, where she
ended up identifying more than 50
unidentified persons while working
in death investigation. She was
recently offered a position with the
FBI and also accepted a research
internship with the New York City
office of the chief medical examiner
and was offered a position on a
national mass disaster team that
deploys forensic experts around
the nation when mass casualty
incidents occur.
Yulian Navarro
Cordero
(Master’s, Psychological Counseling,
2008) was the first in her family
to attend college, overcoming
rheumatoid arthritis to earn her
degree. She is currently a steering
committee member at the Latino
Networking Consortium, an
advocacy group for mental health
in Hispanic communities. She also
serves as a professor in psychology
for University of Phoenix and
works as a marriage and family
therapist intern for Southwestern
Community College.
John Pak
(MBA, 2006) came to the United
States from Korea in 2001 and
initially worked in a factory in Los
Angeles. Within a year, he became
the plant manager. While attending
National University, he worked as
a realtor, and when he graduated,
he was hired by Swiss bank UBS
as a financial advisor. Today, he is
a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch,
serves as president of the Korean
American Coalition in San Diego,
and has been named as one
of the city’s most influential
young Asian Americans.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 53
Craig Kuennen
Viktor Ólason
(BBA, 1998) leads a $70 million
Smart Grid project for Glendale
Water & Power (GWP), one of
100 such projects funded by a U.S.
Department of Energy grant. He
was instrumental in securing the
funding for the Los Angeles-based
public utility. Additionally, he is
responsible for the development and
implementation of all GWP energy
efficiency, low-income, renewable
energy, green building, green power
and water conservation programs.
(BBA, 1991) was recently named
CEO of TAL, a telecommunications
company based in Iceland. Mr.
Ólason, who has held several
senior management positions
with companies in Iceland over
the past 20 years, was previously
CEO of KreditKort, a leading issuer
of MasterCard in Iceland. He has
also been recognized by American
Express for successfully introducing
its products and services to the
Icelandic markets.
James Galluzzo
(MBA, 2007) was recently promoted
from major to lieutenant colonel
in the U.S. Army. He is currently
deployed to Iraq as the senior
human resource officer for the
3rd Sustainment Brigade, which is
currently responsible for all of the
Army’s logistics operations in the
northern half of that nation. He
obtained his degree while serving
as the Military Entrance Processing
Station Commander at Fort Lee,
Virginia.
Jessica Zarate
(MBA, 2007) has patented and
brought to market a new product for
lifting bloody impression evidence.
The product, Zar-Pro Fluorescent
Blood Lifting Strips, is based
upon research conducted with a
research grant awarded to her by
the Midwest Forensics Resource
Center to work in a collaboration
with the Michigan State Police and
Madonna University. Her research
manuscript was recently accepted
for publication in the International
Association for Identification’s
Journal of Forensic Identification.
Harry Tetteh
(MS Educational and Instructional
Technology, 2008) was the first
student from Ghana to participate
in ThinkQuest, an international
competition, sponsored by the
Oracle Education Foundation, that
inspires the creation of innovative
and educational websites to
share with the world. He and his
team won the platinum medal in
ThinkQuest Africa’s science and
math category. Mr. Tetteh currently
works for Oracle African Operations
as a technology presales consultant.
54
Nick DeCorso
(MBA, 1986) was an attorney in
private practice when he enrolled
at National University with the
ambition to become in-house
counsel to a business. A few
months after graduating, he was
hired by Equitable Life Leasing, a
commercial equipment leasing
company, to manage their litigation.
A few years later, General Electric
Capital Corporation (GE Capital)
acquired Equitable Life Leasing and
Mr. DeCorso has served as a lawyer
with GE Capital since. Today,
he is general counsel of GE Capital’s
Global Electronics Services business.
William W.
Cochran, Ed.D.
(Master of Educational
Administration, 1986) is vice
president of Academic Affairs
at Shasta College, a community
college in Redding, California. His
administrative career includes
service at a large comprehensive
high school in the San Joaquin
Valley. At the community college
level, he has held positions as
dean of Instruction for Vocational
Education, and dean of Instruction
for Liberal Arts. He was recently
considered as a finalist for president
of the College of Marin.
Lori Freiermuth
(MS, Education, 2001) was
appointed by former California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
to the California Academic Content
Standards Commission in June
2010. Ms. Freiermuth is employed
as a math teacher with the
Sweetwater Union High School
District. She is a National Board
Certified Teacher.
Melody S. Thornton
CPA (BBA in Accounting, 1983) was
elected president of the San Diego
Chapter of the California Society
of Certified Public Accountants
(CalCPA) for 2010 - 11. CalCPA is the
nation’s largest state accounting
organization and the largest CPA
association in California. Ms.
Thornton, a resident of Carlsbad,
California, is a tax partner with J.H.
Cohn LLP, San Diego.
Steve Salvatori
(MBA, 2003) is founder and CEO
of Spokane Entrepreneurial Center
in Spokane, Washington, whose
mission is to help small businesses
by providing low cost rent with
no deposit or lease requirements
and a productive environment that
helps business grow while keeping
overhead to a minimum. He recently
launched a radio show, “The
Spokane Entrepreneur Show,” on
KSBN 1230 AM.
Francisco Borbolla
(MBA, 1981) worked as
superintendent of a canning plant in
Ensenada, Mexico while pursuing
his MBA with National University.
Subsequently, he became general
manager of a distribution firm in
Yucatan, leading it through seven
years of growth until becoming
regional sales manager for a
canning company in Guadalajara
and growing it into an industry
leader. He recently earned his Ph.D.,
and has been teaching graduatelevel business courses at several
universities in Mexico.
Gloria Pualani
Ismail Tohumcu
(MBA, 1989) was recognized in 2010
by her employer, Northrop Grumman,
for outstanding contributions to
engineering and community service
at the 2010 Black Engineer of the
Year Awards in Baltimore, Maryland.
As director of socio-economic
business programs and government
relations for Northrop Grumman,
she received the Supplier Diversity
Award for advocating business
development opportunities for
minority-owned firms.
(MBA, 1997) is deputy
undersecretary for the defence
Industries of Turkey (SSM).
He has also served as an advisor
to the prime minister of Turkey,
and has experience as a department
head for fund management and
a project manager for the SSM’s
aviation department.
Vince Reardon
(MA, Strategic Communications,
2009) has written a book, Legacy:
Passing on Cherished Values
in a Values-Starved World (LP
Publishers; 2010). His book profiles
25 individuals, including mountain
climber and National University
Board Member Stacy Allison, who
have made a diverse and lasting
impression upon the modern world.
Michelle Tabb
Debbie Diersch
(MBA, 2008) was named CEO/
President of Chrysalis Software
after earning her MBA from
National University. The 25-year
veteran in the telecommunications
and contact center industries
was also appointed to the board
of directors for the Watsonville
Wetlands Watch near Monterey Bay.
Chrysalis is a company in Carmel,
California that help businesses
improve customer relationships
with call center products and
professional services.
(BS, Paralegal Studies, 2007) is
21-year veteran of the United States
Attorney’s Office who worked
her way up from receptionist to
paralegal specialist. She currently
serves as a board member of the
Los Angeles Paralegal Association,
and as a member of National
University’s Paralegal Department
Advisory Board.
Jami Parsons
(MS, Educational Counseling, 1995)
was selected by the American
School Counselor Association as
one of eight nationwide finalists
for its Counselor of the Year award.
Ms. Parsons, who works at El Morro
and Top of the World elementary
schools in the Laguna Beach Unified
School District, was subsequently
invited to Washington D.C. to meet
with members of Congress about
educational policy and practices to
better support students.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 55
Golf & Community:
Chancellor Lee’s
Vision For the
Newest System
Addition
Strolling the greens, amid fresh air
and a scenic backdrop provides an
unparalleled opportunity for civil
and civic engagement.
To fully appreciate the value of the National University
Golf Academy, National University System’s newest
addition, one must consider three things: (1) the virtues
of golf; (2) the vision of the National University System
Chancellor, Jerry C. Lee; and (3) National University’s
commitment to community.
The Golf of Academy, which
opened in August 2009, is
already making an impact that
transcends the classroom and
the links. Lessons learned at its
Carlsbad campus, its online swing
laboratory or its more than 50
affiliated golf courses apply to that
bigger game called life.
Golf is often thought of as an
individual’s game, but its social
qualities provide enormous
collective benefits. It has at
times been perceived as an elitist
pursuit; however, the sport’s
handicapping system creates one
of the most egalitarian and level
playing fields in all of sports. It is
an amazingly inclusive pastime,
in which people of all ages and
athletic ability have succeeded.
As an educational leader,
Chancellor Lee appreciates
golf and believes the sport is
an amazing teacher, instilling
patience, humility, courtesy,
and integrity in its players, and
56
promoting dedication, concentration,
and analysis while at the same time,
almost paradoxically lulling the
player into a sense of relaxation
and reflection.
“Out on the links, one can measure
the true character of a potential
business partner or discuss in detail
the various aspects of a pending
business deal,” Chancellor Lee says.
“Strolling the greens, amid fresh air
and a scenic backdrop provides an
unparalleled opportunity for civil
and civic engagement.”
These are all elements that
Chancellor Lee, himself an avid
golfer, recognized as powerful
and potent factors which are well
aligned with, and complementary to
the mission and goals of National
University. As has been customary
throughout his tenure at National
University, the Chancellor brought
his vision of a golf academy to
fruition through exemplary
research and planning and hired
the ideal person to advance the
new institution.
Chancellor Lee discovered his future
Golf Academy dean several years
ago, when he first read Inner Game:
Breaking Golf’s Unbreakable Barriers,
by Dr. Mac Powell. Dr. Powell is a
professor of psychology at National
University and a PGA professional.
He also holds a master’s degree in
clinical psychology and a Ph.D. in
sociology, and has designed a sports
psychology curriculum for a golf
academy in St. Louis, Missouri.
As Dr. Powell recalls, he was invited
to Chancellor Lee’s office to meet
and discuss projects that could
expand the reach of the National
University System. The two of them
enjoyed an intriguing conversation
and remained in contact until two
years ago, when Chancellor Lee
asked Dr. Powell if he would be
interested in spearheading an
innovative golf education program
that would combine academics with
golf at the high school, associate’s,
and bachelor’s levels.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity for Dr. Powell and a bold
step forward for National University.
There are an estimated 28 million
golfers nationwide, according to
the National Golf Foundation, and
around 4.6 million of those golfers
play the game at least 25 times per
year. The game has a ubiquitous
presence in cities and counties
across the nation.
There are close to 12,000 public
golf courses in the United States,
which is about twice the amount
of all U.S. registered hospitals, and
it can be argued that golfing plays
a significant role in advancing the
health and vitality of the community.
In fact, a study by the National
University System Institute for
Policy Research indicates that golf
in San Diego County had a total
direct and indirect economic value
of $3.7 billion and was responsible
for 26,900 jobs in 2008.
“It’s a phenomenon that transcends
borders,” says Dr. Powell who spent
last year traveling the globe and
visiting various countries that are
interested in developing their golf
economies. “Golf is becoming a big
deal around the world. It was just
recognized as an Olympic event, and
golf courses represent a major and
growing source of public pride on an
international scale,” he adds. “I tip
my hat to Chancellor Lee. He saw
this coming years ago and was two
or three steps ahead of the crowd in
his thinking.”
Since there are no recognized
professional golf associations in
Asia, a group of professionals is
trying to form such an organization.
The group is consulting with Dr.
Powell and the Academy, free
of charge, to be the driver of
that initiative.
In partnership with the Golf
Academy, National University
Virtual High School offers an
introductory golf-focused curriculum
to its students and provides golf
school coursework for high school
students who wish to pursue credit
toward graduation.
Golf is also a charitable and
character-shaping game. As
Dr. Powell points out, it raises a
lot of money for worthy causes.
Character, civic responsibility, and
etiquette are all key elements
to the sport and comprise core
components of the curriculum at
the Golf Academy.
If there is one drawback for
Chancellor Lee and Dr. Powell, it is
that their efforts to build something
special have reduced their time on
the links.
“A good golf teacher instills respect,
responsibility, and humility; those
are great values to have,” says
Dr. Powell. Our staff and faculty
think that’s critical for success,
whether you teach, play, or observe,
and those kinds of values are
exactly what National University
embraces.”
“Golfing is something we both
love that we haven’t been able to
enjoy as much as we would like,”
Dr. Powell admits. “In the end;
however, I believe the Academy
is an incredible testament to the
Chancellor. Few people I know are
more passionate than he is about
education, golf, and the community,
and I believe it shows in every
aspect of this institution.”
The Golf Academy recently qualified
for a grant to teach disadvantaged
youth and currently partners with
The First Tee and Pro Kids Golf, two
highly respected programs, which
introduce golf to a diverse array of
deserving youth.
Since the Golf Academy opened last
summer, its stature and reputation
have advanced impressively. It
currently offers two certificates and
an Associate of Arts degree with a
Concentration in Professional Golf
Management and a Bachelor of
Arts degree in Sport Psychology.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 57
The National University
System Celebrates its
10 th Anniversary
In 2001, the National
University Board of
Trustees approved the
formation of the National
University System,
envisioning a community
of allied institutions that
would share National
University’s core values
of meeting the emerging
challenges and demands of
the 21st century learner.
Under the leadership and direction
of Chancellor Jerry C. Lee, the
National University System
visualized a growing need for
cohesive networks of educational
and supporting institutions that
were more integrated, more
flexible, and more accessible than
those of the past. Together, these
institutions would aim to serve
a broad spectrum of learners,
including high school students,
college students, corporate
employees, business owners, and
professionals. They would address
numerous emerging circumstances,
including the pursuit of dual credit
or advanced placement courses,
preparations for mid-life career
changes, the accruing of continuing
education credits, or the ability to
return to school or the workforce
after an extended absence.
Under the new System, National
University found strength in
numbers, becoming one of several
independent, but affiliated
institutions. The number of
affiliates has steadily grown over
the past decade, marked by the
acquisition of institutions, such
as WestMed College and John
F. Kennedy University, as well as
the establishment of new entities
such as National University Virtual
High School and Spectrum Pacific
Learning Company LLP. Whether
addressing the global demand
for higher education, as has been
the case with National University
International, or creating a tuitionfree charter public school with
the establishment of the National
58
with the belief that new challenges
require new ways of thinking and
out-of-the-box solutions to one
of the most vital services society
can provide.
University Academy, each System
affiliate provides unique educational
opportunities to a specific audience
of learners.
Through the formation of centers
and institutes, such as the Center
for Integrative Health, the Center
for Performance Psychology, and
the National University Institute
for Policy Research, the National
University System is meeting a
diverse and growing mandate
for educational institutions
that offer greater flexibility and
responsiveness than traditional
colleges and universities of the past.
Over the past 10 years, as System
affiliates have embraced an allied,
integrated approach to lifelong
learning, they have concurrently
broadened access to exemplary
educational opportunities for a
widening population of students
and organizations.
Today’s six System affiliates share
a common purpose and vision, and
have pooled resources to strengthen
and complement one another in
several ways. The System has
proven to be practical and efficient
when it comes to managing tuition
costs while offering multiple entry
points into an integrated, multi-tiered
alliance of educational institutions.
The System’s modus operandi
has been referred to as a 21st
century approach to fulfilling the
Jeffersonian vision for educational
opportunities. It was conceived
by Chancellor Lee and System
leadership as an inclusive and
democratic approach to learning
Ten years is a small amount of time
in the context of implementing
large-scale change and radically
reshaping the educational
landscape to conform with the
swift flow of modern technology
and innovation. Nevertheless, as
the National University System
celebrates its first decade of
existence, it has demonstrated a
remarkable ability to manifest its
mission and bring Chancellor Lee’s
vision to fruition. Collectively, the
affiliates have gained an impressive
measure of momentum and proven
more than able to successfully
address numerous challenges.
As it expands over the next 10 years,
the National University System will
continue to embrace an increasingly
diverse set of educational
organizations, serving the needs
of a varied clientele as an allencompassing institution dedicated
to access and quality. The System
will also continue to pursue support
from corporations, foundations, and
governmental entities, as well as
global partnerships with public and
private educators.
What does all this mean for
National University students and
alumni? It will place the education
and success that you enjoyed
within reach of thousands of
additional individuals; it will connect
secondary and vocational education
in more seamless and convenient
ways with higher education and
lifelong learning; and it will deepen
the roots of your alma mater
and provide a powerful, reliable
foundation for future growth and
respectability.
40 TH ANNIVERSARY
|
NATIONAL UNIVERSIT Y 59
School of
Health and
Human Services
Education Provides the Cure
for an Industry in Need
The National University School of Health and Human
Services (SHHS) was founded in 2005 to address a
shortage of health practitioner shortages and meet
increasing demands for an educated workforce
within the healthcare industry.
Continuous medical advances,
rapidly evolving healthcare
technology, and the dramatic
number of aging baby boomers
have contributed to a need for
more healthcare and health science
professionals, and opportunities for
students in clinical health sciences,
healthcare administration, nursing,
public health, and other related
fields are projected to grow over the
next several years. SHHS makes
such programs available to a diverse
pool of qualified and dedicated
individuals, and has become
National University’s fastestgrowing school by offering a variety
of undergraduate and graduate
degrees through the following
three departments:
The Department of Nursing offers
multiple levels of nursing courses
and nursing degrees, including an
Associate of Science in Nursing,
a Bachelor of Science in Nursing,
or a Licensed Vocational Nurseto-Bachelor of Science degree
program. In California, the Bachelor
of Science in Nursing offered by
National University is accredited
by the Commission on Collegiate
Nursing Education and approved by
the California Board of Registered
Nursing. In Nevada, the Associate
of Science in Nursing offered at
National University’s Henderson
campus is approved by the Nevada
State Board of Nursing.
The Department of Community
Health provides students
the opportunity to use an
interdisciplinary approach to
explore current and future health
issues facing public and private
entities. The department features
60
60
undergraduate and graduate programs
in healthcare administration and
public health. The Healthcare
Administration program prepares
professionals to assume managerial
roles in the many and diverse
agencies meeting the health needs
of the community. The Public Health
program is oriented toward prevention
and involves organized community
efforts to protect, maintain, and
promote community well-being.
The Department of Health Sciences
prepares graduate and undergraduate
students for professional careers
to meet the changing demands of
today’s clinical healthcare industry.
The department offers a Bachelor of
Science in Allied Health designed to
articulate with health professional
programs at community colleges to
provide graduates the opportunity to
advance in the allied health profession
and meet societal and healthcare
delivery needs, especially in the
areas of prevention, integrative
health, and medical research.
SHHS complements the National
University System Center for
Integrative Health and is partnering
with its System affiliate to
increase knowledge of health
and wellness through several
innovative initiatives. For more
information regarding SHHS,
visit the Web at www.nu.edu.
Editor-in-Chief
Bob E. Freelen
Editor
Hoyt Smith
Creative Director
Mike Burgos
Art Directors
Carlos Lopez
John Fretz
Photographer
Mark Dastrup
Printing Manager
Pam Beck
Copy Editors
Ken David
Mary Catania
Writers
Heather Bensen
Barbara Howington
Hoyt Smith
VISION
N A T I O N A L U N I V E R S I T Y ’S
ALUMNI MAGAZINE
w w w.nu.edu
© 2011 National University