USD Magazine Summer 2013

[ c a m a r a d e r i e ] Unity + Community Black alumni come together T

cent to a historic 90 percent. She helped replenish and expand the faculty base with 175 new tenured and tenure-track fac- ulty members. She also helped enhance the first-year and second- year experience programs for stu- dents and established the Interna- tional Center, the Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture, the Center for Inclu- sion and Diversity, the One Stop Center for Student Services, the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Council on the Advance- ment of Catholic Social Thought. Sullivan also made the word “Changemaker” part of USD’s vocabulary. In 2011, Ashoka, an organization dedicated to support- ing social entrepreneurs, designat- ed USD as a Changemaker campus. “The world has changed and our students will need these Changemaker skills,” Sullivan says. “With our Catholic foundation, we teach empathy and care for the planet. With our liberal arts foun- dation, we teach students to understand the complexity of the world, to recognize connections and to see how they all fit togeth- er. With the Changemaker focus, we foster students who are pre- pared to create sustainable solu- tions to the world’s problems. I can’t think of a richer education.” PatriciaMarquez, director of the Changemaker Hub, says Sullivan is the embodiment of a Changemaker. “Julie knows that individually and together we can think, learn and act in ways that transform communities everywhere. That’s what Changemakers do.” Life on campus has come full circle. Just as selecting a founding dean for the School of Peace Studies was one of her first tasks, hiring a found- ing dean for USD’s new Shiley- Marcos School of Engineering will be among her last. “I’ve always believed in pushing myself and continuing to learn and grow.” she says. “I’m ready for this next exciting chapter at St. Thomas.”

he common thread woven throughout the second annual Black Alumni Brunch was community. “It was a great success,” says School of Leadership and Education Sciences PhD candidate Jessica Williams, who established the event in 2012. “Among our 84 guests were faculty, students, alumni and administrators, all partaking in great networking and fellowship.” Held in March, the event includ- ed not just good company and good food, but recognition for good works. During the brunch, the Black Students Graduate Coun- cil, the Black Law Student Associa- tion, the Black Student Union and the Black Student Retention and Recognition Committee honored R. Donna and Allen Baytop with an award for their many years of com- mitment to the success of black students at USD. The Baytops have a long tradi- tion of involvement with the uni- versity. Dr. Donna Baytop, the cor- porate medical director for Solar Turbines, Inc., was a member of USD’s Board of Trustees from 1989 to 2012. Her husband, Allen, has served as USD’s director of special

gifts and scholarship develop- ment since 2001. The award presented to the Bay- tops read, “In recognition of your continued support of the success of the black student.” Williams echoes that sentiment: “Allen has been a great supporter of the Black Graduate Student Association since its inception. He’s attended our events, offered critical feedback, and has been a terrific resource.” By all accounts, the couple has gone above and beyond for stu- dents over the years. College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Dean Pau- line Berryman Powell recalls one incident in particular with great clarity:“I introduced an engineering transfer student to Allen, as the student had exhausted his financial aid options via loans and grants and was considering leaving the university,” Powell recalls. “Allen knew a donor who was interested in giving toward a schol- arship that would assist engineer- ing majors; miraculously, when he connected the donor and the stu- dent …well, the rest is history. Recently, the student visited the campus and toldme,‘If it wasn’t for Mr. Baytop and the donor, I would not be a USD alum today.’”

Luis Garcia

into an advisory board, leading to a position for an associate pro- vost, culminating in USD’s Center for Inclusion and Diversity, which was established in 2010. “We’ve made sustainable prog- ress in terms of increasing the enrollment of minority students but what’s more important is the culture. When I walk around campus today, not only are there more students of color and more international students, there’s a greater difference in the climate and the people and the perspec- tives they bring. It really enhanc- es our learning environment.” Sullivan helped raise USD’s academic profile — average freshman GPAs increased from 3.7 to 3.9; SAT scores increased from 1176 to 1216; and the freshman-to-sophomore reten- tion rate increased from 85 per-

Luis Garcia

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SUMMER 2013