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| Cal State L.A. to Present Los Angeles, California - May 13, 1999 -- On Tuesday, May 18, 1999, California State University, Los Angeles will recognize two outstanding students, award 15 scholarships, and pay its highest honor to nine alumni, including one Cal State L.A. faculty member, whose outstanding achievements have brought distinction to the University. The University's Alumni Association will present these prestigious awards during the 26th Alumni Awards Gala. A dinner reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex on the Cal State L.A. campus. Head deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County Stephen L. Cooley, '70, a Toluca Lake resident, will be honored this year as Cal State L.A.'s Outstanding Alumnus. Newhall resident Larry L. Adamson, '74, president and CEO of The Midnight Mission, will receive the Alumni Award of Merit. Long Beach resident Judith L. Papenhausen, '71, '72, chair of the Nursing Department at Cal State L.A., will be presented with the University's first Distinguished Faculty Alumna Award. In addition, the University's Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented to alumni of the University's six Schools: Des Moines, Iowa resident Stan Abbott, '65, newspaper editor and journalism educator (School of Arts and Letters); Darien, Connecticut resident A. Sami Siddiqui, '76, president, Citicorp Credit Services, Inc. (School of Business and Economics); Rancho Palos Verdes resident Pervaiz Lodhie, '71, founder and president, LEDtronics, Inc. (School of Engineering and Technology); Encino resident Bernard J. Luskin, '61, president and CEO, Global Learning Systems, (Charter School of Education); Los Feliz resident Manuel A. Mollinedo, '70, '73, '77, zoo director, Los Angeles Zoo (School of Health and Human Services); and Cambridge, Massachusetts resident Gerard J. Libaridian, '69, senior research fellow, EastWest Institute and senior consultant, IREX (School of Natural and Social Sciences). The outstanding students to be awarded during the evening include Diane Millett Lewis, '99, (Outstanding Graduate Student) and Louise Ghandhi, '99, (Outstanding Senior). In 1973, the CSULA Alumni Association inaugurated its first Outstanding Alumnus Award by honoring novelist Joseph Wambaugh, '60, '68. Other past award recipients include William Anton, '52, '54, former LAUSD superintendent; Michael D. Antonovich, '63, '67, Los Angeles County supervisor, Fifth District; and David R. Barclay, '61, retired vice president of Workforce Diversity, Hughes. For more information or reservations, call the CSULA Alumni Association, (323) 343-4980.
Stephen Cooley, head deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County In 1984, only ten years after joining the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Cooley was named a head deputy district attorney, the highest achievable civil service rank. In his current position as head deputy of the Welfare Fraud Division, Cooley's prosecution of major welfare fraud cases has brought widespread positive recognition to the District Attorney's office; in addition, training materials that he has developed have been disseminated to prosecutors and investigators statewide. Earlier, as head deputy of the San Fernando Branch, Cooley was instrumental in reducing the backlog of criminal cases in the North Valley Judicial District from the highest to one of the lowest, reducing "older criminal cases" by 78 percent. In 1994, Cooley was faced with the challenge of dealing with severe damage to the San Fernando Branch office and courthouse sustained in the Northridge earthquake. Through his resourcefulness and leadership, the branch staff were reorganized and relocated, and all prosecutorial functions continued to be fulfilled, resulting in no earthquake-related dismissals of a criminal case. Cooley is highly respected by law enforcement agencies, receiving commendations and recognition from numerous organizations, including the California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Los Angeles Police Department. In a review of California prosecutors, Cooley was listed by California Lawyer's Magazine as one of "California's most effective prosecutors." Outside work, Cooley has volunteered his time and leadership to raise funds for various law enforcement charities, including D.A.R.E., S.A.N.E., law enforcement Explorer Scout programs and several police memorial funds. He also served as an L.A.P.D. Reserve Officer from 1972-1978. Cooley and his wife, Jana, live in Toluca Lake, California and have two children, Shannon, 17, and Michael, 21. Larry L. Adamson, president and CEO of The Midnight Mission Following his graduation from Cal State L.A., Adamson joined the staff of the Automobile Club of Southern California. He served on the Auto Club staff for 24 years, becoming vice president of administrative services in 1994. Following in the footsteps of Auto Club president Thomas V. McKernan '81, 85, a past president of the CSULA Alumni Association himself, Adamson first became involved with the Association. In his last seven years, his contributions as a board member have helped to transform the Association into the exciting, growing, multifaceted organization of today. On the Association Board of Directors, Adamson served in executive capacities of vice president of membership and president-elect, and began serving as president in 1994, followed by a two-year term in the post of past president. Under Adamson's leadership and guidance, the Association has achieved many successes. Some of the most notable in which Adamson was active include instituting a committee system that increased volunteer participation by over 50 percent, hiring additional professional staff members, creating an Alumni Association publication, enlisting a professor to work with MBA students in developing a membership recruitment and retention plan and reinitiating the Alumni Scholarship program. While a member of the Association Board, Adamson also renewed the CSULA Alumni Association's involvement with the CSU Alumni Council, a statewide board of alumni directors and volunteers. In addition to serving as Cal State L.A.'s volunteer representative on this council, Adamson became involved in the executive committee. He is currently serving as the president-elect of this organization, and will become president in June of this year. In 1997-98, Adamson was selected to serve on the five-person search committee for a new CSU Alumni Trustee. Adamson also served Cal State L.A. as a member of the Foundation Board of Directors and a volunteer supporter of the campus' Annual Fund effort. In 1996, Adamson's service to his University and to the statewide alumni effort led to his selection as the prestigious CSU Alumni Volunteer of the Year. In May, 1998, Adamson left his position at the Automobile Club to become president and chief administrative officer of The Midnight Mission in Downtown Los Angeles, which provides services and programs for the homeless and less fortunate. He currently serves on the boards of the Midnight Mission, the Scottish Rite Child Language Disorders Clinic and on committees of the California Masonic Grand Lodge and formerly, was vice chairman of the Automobile Club of Southern California Credit Union. Adamson lives in Newhall, California with his wife, Lynn. They have two daughters, Diana, 18, and Melissa, 20. Judith L. Papenhausen, chair, Department of Nursing, Cal State L.A. Papenhausen entered Cal State L.A. with nine years of clinical experience as an O.R. staff nurse, charge nurse in the Medical-Surgical Unit, head nurse in the Coronary Care Unit and inservice instructor in Critical Care Nursing at Whittier, Palm Harbor and St. Joseph's Hospitals. Immediately following the awarding of her master's degree at Cal State L.A., Papenhausen was hired by the University as an assistant professor, attaining associate professor status in 1977 and professor status in 1982. Within the Nursing Department, Papenhausen has been chair since 1996, serving previously as acting chair, associate chair, departmental area liaison for Area II, medical/surgical nursing coordinator of the Huntington Memorial Medical Center Partnership Program and the departmental chair of Graduate Studies. She has developed or modified and taught 30 courses, and has been active in academic advisement either at the undergraduate or graduate level since joining the faculty at Cal State L.A. She has led her department to successful accreditation with the Board of Registered Nursing and is preparing for accreditation by the National League of Nursing. Recently, Papenhausen was selected as faculty representative to the CSULA Alumni Association Board of Directors. Papenhausen is the co-founding editor of Clinical Nurse Specialist: The Journal for Professional Nursing, a magazine with more than 3,000 subscriptions. She is currently president-elect to the California Association of Colleges of Nursing. She serves on the Education and Industry Interface Workgroup of the California Strategic Planning Committee for Nursing/Colleagues on Caring. She also serves as an advisory board member to the Departments of Nursing at Los Angeles Trade Technical Community College and Compton Community College, and is a member of several professional organizations. Papenhausen lives in Long Beach, California. Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Awards: While at the Anchorage Daily News, Abbott won several further awards from the Alaska Press Club for best news story, editorials, feature writing and sports page editing. He also served as president of the state's press association, worked as a correspondent for Newsweek and Sports Illustrated and was an accredited journalist at the Montreal and Lake Placid Olympic Games. For decades, Abbott has been a regular speaker at newspaper industry seminars and workshops, appearing before the national Investigative Reporters and Editors conference and the New England Press Association. He has published his work in journalism professional journals, including the Freedom of Information Center Reports and the Bulletin of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. From 1982-1989, and later from 1995-1997, Abbott taught at the University of Missouri as an instructor and then as an assistant professor in the School of Journalism, one of the nation's top journalism programs. From 1989-1992, Abbott was news service editor of the McClatchy Newspapers. From 1993-1995, he was a visiting associate professor of journalism at the National Taiwan University in Taipei. Additionally, Abbott edited the Investigative Reporters' and Editors' Journal and served as the city editor of the Colombia Missourian. Abbott is currently a freelance journalist working on a book project. He and his wife, Jeanne, live in Des Moines, Iowa. They have two grown children, Robson and Ambre. A. Sami Siddiqui, president, Citicorp Credit Services, Inc. In April 1998, Siddiqui led Citibank's purchase of AT&T Universal Card's portfolio which American Banker newspaper called a "bold stroke" at that point was the "highlight of Mr. Siddiqui's brief tenure in the North American card job." He has also managed the launch of three new credit cards, Driver's Advantage Charter Member, Driver's Edge Options and a new Sony co-branded card. Additionally, he has initiated a cross-sell of auto insurance with Travelers. Before joining Citibank, Siddiqui spent nine years at Providian Bancorp, where he was executive vice president in charge of that company's Unsecured Credit Group. There he oversaw the strategic development of the credit card product into a niche product line, resulting in one of the highest concentrations of Gold Cards in the industry. He also started a new fee-based service that became the most dramatic contributor to the company's profits. Prior to that position, Siddiqui had held a variety of senior positions with Providian, including senior vice president for marketing of card products and vice president of new product development. Earlier in his career, he held card and retail positions at Wells Fargo, and was with Citibank in the fraud and risk prevention areas for the Card Blanche division. Siddiqui has been an enthusiastic and generous financial supporter of Cal State L.A. through scholarship funding. "I had a great experience at Cal State L.A. and am grateful to be in a position to give back," he says. In the future, Siddiqui would like to establish an internship program for Cal State L.A. students with Citibank. In the community, Siddiqui participates in improving the New York educational system through organizations such as Pencil (Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in Learning). He has spearheaded efforts by which Citibank Cards supported Habitat for Humanity housing projects. Siddiqui also sits on the National Board of Junior Achievement, an organization whose goal is to educate and inspire young people to value free enterprise. Siddiqui resides in Darien, Connecticut, with his wife, Cindy, and two children-Imran, 16, and Kai, 13. Pervaiz Lodhie, founder and president, LEDtronics, Inc. Lodhie combined his background in electrical engineering and lighting with his desire to design and LEDs. His wife, Almas, headed the sales, production and shipping divisions. Through personal service and customized orders, LEDtronics products grew beyond elevator buttons and broadened LED applications to display lights and headlights. Annual revenues have risen by 20-25 percent almost every year since 1983, and LEDtronics' clientele currently include 70 percent of the Fortune 500 list. LEDtronics has a plant in Torrance and in Karachi, Pakistan, and has recently opened a sales office in France to support its ventures within France and the United Kingdom. Lodhie attributes the success of LEDtronics to its vigorous research and development, and says the company "has designed a new product every day for the past fifteen years." As a result of philosophies like this one, in 1992 Lodhie was honored by the United States Small Business Administration with the Administrator's Award for Excellence. Lodhie has recently agreed to serve as a member of the Cal State L.A. School of Engineering and Technology Advisory Board. He lives in Rancho Palos Verdes with his wife, Almas, and their children Kaval, 9, Shaan, 12 and Karan, 15. Bernard Luskin, president and CEO, Global Learning Systems Luskin has made important contributions to higher education as the first person in the nation to place computers in a community college. He served as president of Orange Coast College in Orange County, founding president of Coastline Community College in Fountain Valley and founding chancellor of Jones International. In the areas of instructional technology and distance learning, Luskin has been the executive producer of numerous telecourses. As president of Mind Extension University, Knowledge TV in Denver, Colorado, he produced programs and telecourses that broadcast from more than 30 universities and colleges. As president of Philips Interactive Media and Philips Media Education and Reference Publishing, he oversaw the development of at least 300 interactive educational CDs. He was principal in developing a partnership between Philips Interactive Media and Paramount Pictures to compress the first 50 MPEG movies on CD. While serving as the founding executive vice president for educational programming at KOCE-TV in Orange County, he was responsible for all telecourses, and received two Emmy Awards for educational programming. Luskin is the author of the best selling book, Data Processing for Decision-Making, one of the most widely used college texts on information systems, and as the director of Project Outreach, published the Project Outreach Report, a study to determine the statewide characteristics of outreach courses and programs. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the European Commission and Irish Government for his work in the development of Digital Media, is a UCLA Kellogg and University Fellow, and has been honored for Distinguished Leadership in Education by both UCLA and the University of Florida. Luskin served as the chair of the Programs and Policies Committee of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, to which he was appointed by Governor Wilson, and was a congressional appointee to the Science Education Committee of the National Science Foundation. He serves as chairman, director or board member for numerous organizations including the American Psychological Association, KLCS-TV, Center for the Partially Sighted, American Association of Community Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Collegiate Schools of Business, Transportation Foundation of Los Angeles and California School of Professional Psychology. At Cal State L.A., Luskin is working with faculty members to strengthen teacher preparation and faculty professional development programs in the areas of media psychology, instructional technology and software design and distance learning. He serves as an adviser to CSU Chancellor Charles Reed in the areas of distance learning and instructional technology. Luskin lives in Encino, California, with his wife, Toni, and has two children, Matteo and Ryan. Manuel A. Mollinedo, zoo director, Los Angeles Zoo In fact, Mollinedo's educational background started at Cal State L.A. with a B.S. in Recreation Administration, a second bachelor's degree, a B.A. this time, in Anthropology in 1972, followed by an M.S. in Recreation Administration in 1976, and finally, at USC, a Master of Public Administration degree in 1983. Mollinedo began a career dedicated to public service in Southern California with a position as area administrator in the Department of Parks and Recreation for Los Angeles County in 1970. In 1974, he became regional recreation director of the Youth Services Division for LAUSD. In 1979, Mollinedo moved in to the position of director of the Human Services Department and assistant to the city manager for the City of Alhambra. In 1983, he was tapped by the City of Long Beach for the job of superintendent of Parks and Recreation. In 1985, Mollinedo moved on to Chula Vista as the director of their Parks and Recreation Department. In 1990, he spent time briefly outside Southern California as the director of the Parks and Recreation Department in Austin, Texas. But in 1992, he returned to the City of Los Angeles as assistant general manager of the Department of Recreation and Parks. In 1995, when the City of Los Angeles feared the Zoo would lose accreditation due to mounting problems with food storage, sanitation, drainage, vermin infestation, substandard animal housing, declining attendance and poor staff morale-many called for a nationwide search for a new zoo director. It turned out that their man was just down the road. In the end, it was Mollinedo's outstanding leadership and knowledge of city politics that made the accreditation team remark one year after threatening withdrawal of accreditation that, "[the Zoo] was a different place. It was a happy place." Mollinedo has held various positions at Cal State L.A. He was a lecturer from 1977-1980, on the Underwater Control Board from 1977-1979, a Diving Safety Officer in 1979, and a SCUBA instructor from 1973-1979. He is a member of many professional associations of zoos and parks, and is active with Plaza de la Raza. Mollinedo lives in Los Feliz, California, with his wife, Marilyn. Gerard J. Libaridian, senior research fellow, EastWest Institute, and senior consultant, IREX While in Boston, Libaridian was called to the newly created Republic of Armenia to establish a research and analysis department and to support the work of the new democratic Parliament. He soon became the senior advisor to the president of the Armenian Republic, and was simultaneously appointed extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador and ambassador-at-large. In this role, he coordinated foreign and security policies, reviewed international treaties and agreements, was a coordinator and member of the Security Council, was coordinator of policy on oil pipeline issues, and served as presidential liaison with resident diplomatic corps and visiting diplomats and legislators. During this period he also served as a prominent negotiator for the Armenian state, most notably working with Azerbaijan on the disputed district of Nagorno Karabakh, negotiating a permanent cease fire that is still in force today. Libaridian has also has an active career in academia, and has lectured or offered courses at universities on both coasts. He has delivered some forty papers and major lectures to professional societies and thematic conferences on Soviet history and politics, and the Middle East and Armenia, and has important publications, including four books (with two more in progress) and ten articles in scholarly journals. He has served as editor of the respected Armenian Review, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Diaspora Studies of the Armenian Academy of Sciences in Yerevan, and is a member of other editorial boards and centers in Tel Aviv, Israel; Bochum, Germany; and Oxford, England. Libaridian and his wife, Nora N. Nercessian, '70, live in Boston, Massachusetts, near their daughter, who is attending Yale University. Louise Ghandhi Ghandhi quickly became involved in a number of campus activities, and in recognition of her outstanding academic performance, was inducted into several honor societies, including Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society, and the Cal State L.A. chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, the national honor society. She is a member of the editorial board for the 1998 issue of Perspective, the student journal of the Department of History, where she works with three other board members to collect, select, edit and prepare student research papers for publication. Ghandhi demonstrated impressive leadership qualities in preparing the Cal State L.A. team for participation in its first Model Arab League simulation in April 1998. She represented the University with an excellent performance and was awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. In her community, Ghandhi has been a volunteer for the Glendale Battered Women's Shelter, a volunteer and participant in the Parent Education program of Glendale City College, and served as vice president for 1996-1997 of the Glendale-Foothill Chapter of MOMS (mothers offering mothers support). Under her leadership, the newly created chapter grew from 10-90 members in 18 months. Ghandhi lives in Los Angeles, California with her son Sorab, 4. Diane Millett Lewis Outstanding Graduate Student Lewis is a former treasurer of the campus chapter of Psi Chi, the national honor society for psychology majors, and is a regular contributor to The Looking Glass, the department newsletter. She has been employed as a consultant at the University Writing Center, where she assists students with problems related to, and with preparation for, the Writing Proficiency Exam. In addition to tutoring, Lewis conducts staff training, incorporating a tutoring model directed towards improving students' writing skills through display of empathy, positive regard, attentive listening, caring and respect. Lewis is involved in her community through Union Station, a program in Pasadena which provides services to the homeless, and as a Family Court Certified Monitor, through which she provides pro bono monitoring for parents unable to pay for court-ordered supervision during visitations with their children. She has also assisted with field interviews and home evaluations in child custody cases. Lewis has served on the board of the Los Angeles County Women's Appointment Collaboration, which assists county supervisors by identifying qualified female candidates for appointments to agencies, boards and commissions. Lewis lives in Pasadena, California, with her husband, John, with whom she owns a real estate finance company. They have two grown children, Deadre and Adia.
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