1950s

1950s

1960s

  • Sharon Doubiago (’67, MA ’69) has published a new book, Love on the Streets, Selected and New Poems. Doubiago has published more than two dozen short story and poetry books.
  • Anastacio G. Medina (’62) was named Claremont’s local “Hero of the Year” in 2008 in recognition of his community activism.
  • Monte Perez (’69) was named the president of the Moreno Valley campus of the Riverside Community College District.
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1970s

  • Celia C. (Morales) Ayala (MA ’79) was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a member of the California Early Learning Quality Improvement System Advisory Committee.
  • Margaret Evans (MBA ’76) retired as the director of admissions and attendance after 12 years at Palisades High School and 32 years with the Los Angeles Unified School District.
  • David Faris (MBA ’70) has published his first book Understanding Baseball. Faris became a writer after several years of working in public accounting.
  • Portrait of Art Leahy.Art Leahy (’74) assumed the role as the new chief executive of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in April. He was previously working as the head of the Orange County Transportation Authority.
  • Portrait of Anthony Lojac.Anthony Lojac (’76) was warmly welcomed by more than 9,000 Japanese financial planners and investors as the only American attending the Japan Association of Financial Planners (JAFP) Fair 2008 in Tokyo.
  • Stephen E. Pickett (’75), the senior vice president and general counsel for Southern California Edison Company, was given the L.A. County Bar Association’s Diversity Award at the 2009 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award Dinner.
  • Gary Thomas (’78) was named as the superintendent for the San Bernardino County Board of Education. He formerly served as the San Bernardino’s deputy superintendent.
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1980s

  • Mary Radofsky Alvarado (’80) was recently elected by her peers to serve a second year as chair of the Rehabilitation Therapy Service at Atascadero State Hospital. Alvarado, a board certified music therapist has been employed by the State Department of Mental Health for nearly 24 years.
  • Portrait of Marquita Grenot-Scheyer.Marquita Grenot-Scheyer (’77, PhD ’90) has been appointed dean of the College of Education at California State University, Long Beach. Since arriving at the campus in 1988, she has held a number of leadership roles, including her most recent service as interim dean.
  • Daniel Kwong and wife.Daniel W. Kwong (’82), vice chairman of the board of trustees for the World Eminent Chinese Business Association in Beijing, is now serving as a fellow for the Hong Kong Institute of Directors.
  • Karen Ogawa (’88), the commerce assistant director of finance, has been named as the finance director of the City of Placentia.
  • Marvin L. Washington (’80), a 25-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, was promoted to the rank of captain and has assumed command of the Special Enforcement Bureau.

1990s

  • Christopher J. Greco (’93, MA ’95) accepted a full-time position as assistant professor at Benedictine College in Kansas. His teaching responsibilities include music theory (coordinator), composition, chamber music, and applied woodwinds. Greco’s doctoral paper was also commercially published in fall 2008.
  • Shant Koumriqian (’95) was appointed in December as the executive vice president and chief financial officer at Maguire Properties, one of the largest owner/operators of office space in downtown Los Angeles.
  • Sherry Ma (MS ’99), a school nurse at Buena Vista Continuation High School in Chino, was named the 2008 School Nurse of the Year in the Chino Valley Unified School District.

2000s

  • Hong Diep (’02), a music teacher and composer, had her latest piece “Kingdom of Memory” premier at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Youth Orchestra Program.
  • Portrait of Frederik Hamel.Frederik Hamel (MA ’06) played the leading role of Romeo in an authentic theater production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the MET Theatre. Before the MET, Hamel had acted in film, TV and theater. He also tap dances regularly at a wine bar in Glendale.
  • Group shot of John an award recipients.John Ibrahim (MBA ’08) received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award at the University’s 35th Annual Alumni Awards Gala. Ibrahim was one of 11 students and alumni honored at the event.
  • Carlos Morales Illingworth (’04), a former Associated Students Incorporated president, is campaigning for a seat on the Montebello School Board.
  • Portrait of Cliff Lyons.Cliff Lyons (’00) received his real estate license in 2005 and has been practicing real estate ever since with Exit Realty West in Victor Valley.
  • Alejandra Ramirez (’07), a graduate student, received a $25,000 J. Edgar Hoover Foundation Award in recognition of her work in evidence analysis.
  • Alvina Rosales (’08) has conducted award-winning research into the psychological aspects of HIV.
  • Tyffany Hayes Saucedo (’05) was promoted to account executive in the sales department at KABC-TV after a short length of time in the organization’s news department.

In Memoriam

  • Amelia Gutierrez Avila (’67, MA ’76) went into teaching in her 50s, winning the “Teacher of the Year” award from the State of California during her second year in the classroom. She went on to teach first- and second-graders for 23 years.
  • Irving Bush (’56, MA ’61) was a professional trumpeter, music professor, and personnel manager for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Bush had a broad range of musical interests, including jazz and classical. During his career, he transitioned from playing with top-name big bangs and studio orchestras to symphonies and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He also taught at USC and Cal State L.A.
  • Rodney G. Forneret (’66), a retired Los Angeles Superior Court judge, worked for more than 28 years as a judicial officer. Before being elevated to the Superior Court by unification in 2000, he was the presiding judge of the Inglewood Municipal Court.
  • Charles M. Haberman, an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering, Haberman spent 32 years as a dedicated and enthusiastic teacher of 25 different mechanical engineering courses.
  • Harry S. Hall, an emeritus professor of political science, taught courses in American politics, public policy and public administration during his 25-year stint at the University. Hall also served as both department chair and director of public administration programs before he retired.
  • Ke Ting Hsia, an emeritus professor of economics and statistics, was well-loved by the faculty and his students. In addition to teaching he served as the department chair, and oversaw the expansion of the Department of Economics and Statistics, which became the second largest department.
  • Ken Lamb (MS ’82), a prosecutor who brought 622 cases to trial during his 25-year career.
  • Patricia Lunsford Sabey (MA ’78) was vice president of marketing for Omni Bank and the owner-operator of her own State Farm Insurance Company.
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