USD President's Report 1999

THE YEAR iN REViEW

Un iversity officials approved a "campu s card" id ea in Marc h . The p lan will m a ke th e USD ID ca rd a mu ltipurpose tool that will open residence h all doors and work in vendi n g machines or at on-campus stores . It will also be used for copying services, library privileges, Cash Plus accou nts and meal p lans . A sell out audi ence joined fi lmmaker Michael Uys for a special screen ing of his gripping documentary , "Riding th e Rai ls," March II in the University Center. Selected as best documentary by the Los Angeles Film Criti cs Association, the fi lm u ses archival footage , personal photographs and in terviews to chronicle the stories of the more than 4 million Amer icans who took to the railroads during th e Great Depression in search of food, work and a p lace to stay . California Gov. Gray D av is declared March 25 "Un iversity of San Diego Five Decades of Distinction Day." That night, the un iversity's corporate partners hip program, BusinessLink USD , staged a 50th Anniversary tribute at th e San Diego Hyatt Regency. April-June After a reading in the Manchester Executive Conference Center Apr il 13, author a nd poet Jane Hirshfield signed copies of her poetry collections. The event was sponsore d by the Friends of the USD Librar i es. Hirshfield has authored four poetry collections, and her wo rk h as been described as " radiant and passionate" by the New York Times Book Review. Noted civil rights lawyer Morris Dees was a guest speaker at the 10th annual Social Issues Conference April 15 in the University Center. A co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Dees spoke about "Challenging Injustice." Alternative rock band Reel Big Fish , a favorite with college students across the nation , h ea dlin ed a concert on West Point Field April I7. Sponso red by the Associated St ud ents , th e concert a lso featured bands Co ldfinger an d Bu rni ng Groove and was part of Co ll ege Visiting Day. Prospective students were invited to Alcala Park fo r campus tours and informational semin ars.

Five grad uates were h onored at th e A uthor E . Hugh es Caree r Ach ievement Awards May I at th e Sa n Di ego Hyatt Regency. T h e awards ce lebrate grad u ates who h ave take n th e spiritu al and aca d emic knowledge they gained at USD and transformed their own corn ers of the world. The honorees were: Kimberlee Jubala '90 (School of Ed u catio n) , a fifth grade special educat ion teach er at San Diego's Lafaye tte Elementary School ; D aniel Gross '97 (Hahn School of Nursing an d Health Science), CEO of Sharp Memorial , Cabrillo, M ary Birch and Mesa V ista h ospitals in San Diego; Lorenzo Fertitta '91 (School of Business Admin istration), director of Station Cas in os , Inc. , and CEO of Gordon Biersch Brewing Company ; Monie Captan '85, ' 87 (College of Arts and Scie n ces), the minister of foreign affa irs for th e Republic of Liberia; a nd Michae l Thorsnes ' 68 (School of Law) , a p artner in the San Di ego law firm of Thorsnes , Bartolotta, McGuire & Padilla .

January-March Alumni, parents, fri e nds and benefa c tors were honored J an . 9 at the Presid e nt 's Dinner , an annual black-tie affair staged this yea r in the Rosali e Hill Reading Room of Copley Library. Students donned Rena issance costumes, the Founders Chapel Choir performed the invocation and actors portraying founders Bishop Buddy and Mother Hill read original lett e rs exchanged between th e two in the 1940s. Distinguished guests Katherine and George Pardee were presente d Presid e ntial Honors . The hon o r , symbolized by a porcelain Boehm dove , is awarded at the president's discretion to acknowledge significant philanthropic involvement of the honorees. San Diego Mayor Susan Golding delivered her seventh State of the City Address from the Shiley Theatre stage Jan. 13 . Colding used a state-of-th e-art video display to demonstrate a satellite lin k with San Diego's Hong Kong d evelopment office. Gold ing chose Shiley Theatre to help m ark USD's 50th Ann iversary and congratul ated the university for "50 years of excellent education."

USD President Alice B. Hqyes and a representative ofthe /nstituto Tecno16gico y de £studios Superiores de Monterrry ~stem (ITESM) forge a dual-degree partnership between the two universities at a signing ceremo19.

An innovative partnership between USD and ln stituto Tecnol6gico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey System (ITESM) was formed in February. Through this program, one of the first of its kind in e ither the United States or Mexico , students will r eceive dual degrees - one from each school. The program's goal is to create the next generation of NAFTA executives wh o understand both countr ies ' langu ages, cu ltu res a nd business practices. More than 900 worshipers attended the sixth annual All-Faith Service Feb . 5 in The lmmaculata Church. The service featured prayers from various fa iths and a performance by practitioners of Odissi , a classical Indian dance form. Ve lv et G. Miller, exec uti ve director of Children's Futures New Jersey , a Robert Wood Johnson program, spoke Feb. IO about "Our Courage and Values - What Are We and What Can We Be? " in the Manchester A udi torium. Her talk was part of th e 11th annua l nursing lectureship , presented by the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science. As part of USD 's February celebration of Black History Month, noted author and poet Quincy Troupe gave a poetry reading Feb. II in the Hahn University Center. Troupe is a two-time winner of the World Poetry bout in Taos, N .M. , and winner of the 1990 American Book Award for his biography of jazz great Miles D avis.

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Emotions soared at commencement weekend, with more thon 1,400 undergraduates. graduate and law students receiving their degrees.

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Sid andJ enny Craig were joined by 400 well -wishers at a ground breaking cerem ony May 5 for the n ew 5,000 - seat Jenny Cra ig Pavilion . The sports arena an d recreation center is expected to open n ext fall an d wi ll house the Torero basketball an d volleyball teams. After wearing the same T-shirt for luck throughout th e week- long NCAA tennis ch ampionship tournament in F l o r ida , junior Zuzana Lesenarova capt ur ed th e wome n ' s singles ti tl e on M ay 28. The Czech native knocked off Stanford's Marissa Irvin 4-6, 6 - 3, 7-6 (7-3) to cl inch USD's first NCAA national sports championship.

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San Diego Mqyor Susan Golding delivers her annual State of the Ci!) address in Shilry Theatre.

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I n a special convocation a ddress J an . 28 in Shil ey Theatre, USD Preside nt Alice B . Hayes la u nched the university's year-long 50th Anniversary celebra ti on. Hayes discussed the university's future, and the three- generational King family (Ch arles '62, Maureen '64 and M ichalyn '94) shared their memories of the sch ool.

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