USD Magazine, Spring 1998

letter campaigns and visited local conventions to meet the stars per– sonally. By contacting speakers directly, he avoided sizable fees charged by agencies. LiMandri and a staff of six students arranged for three to four speakers per semester. Visitors included Steve Allen, Sen. Sam Ervin, composer Aaron Copeland and Art Linkletter. A debate between William F. Buckley Jr. and San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto drew wide attention, but LiMandri's personal favorite was a visit from Rod Serling. He remembers sitting next to Serling as the audience watched an episode of "Night Gallery," listening intently when the actor-director pointed out nuances in the show. At the Homecoming Mass this fall, organizers fondly recalled LiMandri's legacy with the speaker's bureau and his role as 1976-77 Associated Students president. But his involvement as a USD alumnus is what earned him the 1997 Mother Rosalie Hill Award. "As a student leader

Chuck '77 and Barbara '87 LiMandri and !hair aldasl son, Jaay

(LiMandri) excelled," President Alice B. Hayes said during the award ceremony. "As an alumni volunteer and leader, he has remained fiercely loyal to USD for over two decades." LiMandri calls his work with the university - including mem– bership on the Sports Banquet and board of trustees Catholic

indergarten career day was a snap for Chuck LiMandri '77, who knotted his tie, grabbed his briefcase and ran out the door to join the other 5-year-olds on the playground. LiMandri always knew he wanted to be a lawyer. His morning ritual is similar today, but the playground is replaced by a modest Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., office where LiMandri and his staff of 13, including five attorneys, practice law. His determination to be a lawyer never swayed from those idealistic days of youth. LiMandri is somewhat awed by the thought that he first hung his shingle 11 years ago, just four years into his career. Post-graduate studies and a burgeoning career took LiMandri from Oxford, England, to Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, but the Georgetown University law school graduate never had a doubt he would return to his native city. LiMandri grew up in East San Diego County and attended St. Augustine High School. He planned to enroll at the University of Notre Dame for his undergraduate studies, but decided to stay in town when his grandfather became ill. LiMandri came to Alcala Park for his freshman year and was soon such a vital part of campus life that he couldn't imagine leaving. "I came to USD and got so involved that at the end of my freshman year they asked me to take over the speaker's bureau," LiMandri recalls. "I figured I'd give it a try and am glad I did. It changed my life." The speaker's bureau in the mid-70s is legendary. It brought some of the biggest names in politics and pop culture to the hilltop campus. With very little money to attract speakers, LiMandri waged

awareness committees - a team effort with his wife, Barbara, a 1987 USD graduate. They met as volunteers on the alumni association board of directors and were married in 1992. The couple's three children - Joey, 4, Marie 3, and Charles, 11 months - are also always close by. LiMandri says there's another team member: Saint Thomas More, a lawyer in Renaissance England who became the patron saint for attorneys. LiMandri admires him as much for his life as a servant to God as for his professional pursuits. "Saint Thomas More was very human in the fullest sense," LiMandri says. "He was very much involved in the affairs of the world, but without becoming corrupt." A beautiful painting of More hangs behind LiMandri's desk as a daily inspiration. The bronze sculpture of More displayed in the School of Law was commissioned and donated to USD by LiMandri - a simple gesture to remind future lawyers of what's important in life and law. Former USD professor Raymond Ryland once reminded LiMandri that to whom much is given, much is expected, he recalls, explaining his willingness to support USD. But it's more than that. "I've always believed in USD's mission and that a values– oriented education is extremely important," LiMandri says. "Turning out people who are not just knowledgeable, but wise, is a very noble goal. To the extent that I am part of serving that goal, my own life is better fulfilled."

- JILL WAGNER '91

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