USD Magazine, Spring 1999

It was a night for presidents, at least the USO kind, at President Alice B. Hayes' annual dinner Jan. 9 honoring top donors to the university. Joining Hayes for the 50th anniversary-themed event was the first president of the Associated Students, Kathleen (McGonigle) Murtha '54 (left), and cur– rent president Kristen Jones, decked out in traditional Spanish Renaissance attire to greet the 255 guests.

USO junior Angelique Breaux (right) had a little more than working out on her mind during the semester break. Breaux, 20, represented California in the 1999 Miss USA Pageant in Branson, Mo. , Feb. 5, finishing as the second runner up.

It's a banner year at Alcala Park, as the university celebrates its golden anniversary. Banners proclaiming the 50th celebration and motto "Tradition with Vision" were unfurled on the campus's Marian Way and nearby Linda Vista Road.

Odissi, one of the classical Indian dance forms, was performed as part of the Sixth Annual All Faith Service Feb. 5 in The lmmaculata Church. More than 900 wor– shipers attended the service, which featured prayers from various faiths and a perfor– mance by Manoranjan Pradhan (left), a lead– ing Odissi dancer, and the Patnaik Sisters, who danced with pop star Madonna at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.

San Diego Mayor Susan Golding helped boost USD's Golden Anniversary celebration by delivering her seventh annual State of the City Address Jan. 13 before a capacity crowd at Shiley Theatre. Golding congratulated university officials for "50 years of excellent education," and illustrated San Diego's commitment to high-tech by speaking via satel– lite to the city's Hong Kong development office.

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Inside the Beltway Students work alongside members of Congress and embassy officials as part of an intensive internship and academic program in Washington, D.C.

EDITDR Susan Herold (E-mail: Sherold@acusd.edu) CDNTRIBUTING EDITDRS Michael R. Haskins John Titchen Jill Wagner '91

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Special Educator Nearly 30 years teaching mentally handicapped students every– thing from reading to catching a bus earned Dennis Wick '65 USD's alumni humanitarian award. 7

ART DIRECTOR Visual Asylum PHOTOGRAPHERS Jim Coit Pablo Mason Rodney Nakamoto Gary Payne '86 ILLUSTRATORS Charles Glaubitz Joel Sotelo

Leveling the Playing Field USD athletes' spirit and perseverance will soon be rewarded with construction of the Jenny Craig Pavilion, which will bring the university's sports facilities up to par with its competitors.

ADVISORY BOARD Arian E. Collins '87 Laura Hale '92 Thomas Scharf '72 (M.A. '73) David Sullivan PRESIDENT Alice Bourke Hayes VICE PRESIDENT FDR UNIVERSITY RELATIONS John G- McNamara DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO USD Magazine is published quarterly by the University of San Diego for its alumni, parents and friends. Editorial offices: USD Magazine, Publications Office, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110-2492. Third-class postage paid at San Diego, CA 92110. USD phone number: (619) 260-4600; emergency security: (619) 260-2222; disaster: (619) 260-4534. Postmaster: Send address changes to: USD Magazine, Publications Office, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110-2492. RELATIONS Jack Cannon DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS John Trifiletti '78

:1.2 In Love with Shakespeare Master of fine arts students belly up to the Bard at San Diego's renowned Old Globe Theatre as part of an intensive, two-year graduate program that lets them flex their acting muscles.

:I.& A Piece of Work Unfulfilled by your career choice? Overwhelmed by that first job out of college? The USD Career Center offers advice and counseling to navigate bumpy job waters.

Departments

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ALUMNI GALLERY

ALCALA ALMANAC

Event Highlights Five Decades ... High Noon Hoops ... Alumni Online Community Debuts ... Gotcha: Alumni Reveal Favorite Pranks CALENDAR 33 Hughes Career Achievement Awards ... Jenny Craig Pavilion groundbreaking ... Commence– ment schedules

Lori Abbott '85 gives birth to twins in a p.istory-making way, page 25 ... Rod Phillips '70 teaches troubled kids on the high seas, page 28 ... David Pollick '71 went from col– lege dropout to college president, page 31

PARTING SHOT Walk on Water

Back Caver

t ALCALA , - , ,. •,.,. Ji-·,'t"t-~ ,"-',I. ll;i>'_., ·.$:',-~,m , --~ ,. I • -~ -. -II ."r:~ '"C,T'A1;-·,

Event Highlights Five Decades W hat do a network news anchor, the bishop of the San Diego diocese, an astronaut, in San Diego, and what if Mother Rosalie Hill hadn't said 'yes' to Bishop Buddy's invitation to start the College for Women here?" Crier asked

a Fortune 500 executive and a former "Brady Bunch" kid have in common? They all were on hand to wish USD happy birthday during a 50th anniver– sary tribute hosted by BusinessLink USD, the university's corporate affilia– tion program. Catherine Crier, who headlines Fox News' "The Crier Report," hosted the March 25 event at the San Diego Hyatt Regency, setting the tone for USD's aca– demic and social achievements by telling the 460 in attendance how the determi– nation of the individual can change the world. "What if a bishop hadn't had a dream of an institution of higher learning D I GD B efore returning to his social services job from a recent lunchbreak, Al Smith '89 iced his knee on a bench outside the USD Sports Center. After seeing the group of guys he just spent an hour playing pick-up bas– ketball with, it wasn't hard to under– stand why. "We aren't just messing around in there," says Smith of the 15 to 20 USD graduates, faculty, staff and community members who gather for lunch-hour games three times a week. "This is pret– ty good basketball." For nearly four decades, the open gym period during the day has been a USD tradition. Known as the "Noon– ballers," current Torero players drop by and basketball alumni make regular appearances. The crowd even includes some former pros, including two-time NBA All-Star Don Kojis.

alumni, corporate constituents, 50th anniversary sponsors and university trustees, administra– tors and staff. Between video tributes from well wishers like singer Gladys Knight and former Attorney General Edwin Meese, co-hosts took various stages to give their

USO President Alice B. Hayes, Barry Williams and Sally Ride. Left: Most Rev. Robert Brom, bishop of San Diego

perspective on each of the five decades since the university's founding in 1949, and USD's contribution to them. The Most Rev. Robert Brom, bishop of San Diego, recalled the university's humble beginnings on a dusty hilltop and efforts by its founders to build a Catholic NOON

university around an ethics-based curricu– lum. Astronaut Sally Ride, who made history by becoming the first woman in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983, urged those in attendance to do as she did: Never stop dreaming, never stop learning, never stop teaching. HOOP S The group is so well known and respected, in fact, that the games are regarded by those in the know as some of the best pick-up hocips in San Diego County. Dozens of Torero stars have tested their mettle against players like Kojis, a 59-year-old, 12-year NBA veter– an who made the All-Star team twice. Kojis is not a USD alumnus, but he serves as the ad-hoc dean of the group, which at times has included real USD deans and currently includes professors. Foreign languages professor Richard Stroik has been playing since he arrived at Alcala Park eight years ago. "They didn't let me shoot my first two years," says Stroik with a laugh, prompting one of his teammates to won– der aloud why they started letting him shoot at all. The "Noon-ballers" don't just run and gun. They set picks (hard picks),

Noon-ballers in action

"I started playing my first year of law school," says Dave Golia '84, "and just kept coming. At first, I needed it for the competition, but now I need it to keep in shape."

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Richard Farman, chairman of Sempra Energy, told of the impact USD graduates have had on technology and communica– tions. And Barry Williams, better known as Greg Brady from "The Brady Bunch," sang a Broadway show tune. California Gov. Gray Davis also lent a hand to the celebration, designating March 25, 1999, as "University of San Diego Five Decades of Distinction Day." The night was one of the first major anniversary events scheduled for the year, which includes an open house campus celebration for the community July 30 and 3 1, and a series of social and academic events capped by Homecoming Weekend and Founders Day, Nov. 12-14. For more information on 50th anniversary events, check out the anniversary Web site at http://alumni.acusd.edu/50th.

f ver wonder what happened to your former roommate, the one with the ear-splitting snore and odd penchant for cheese? Maybe you'd like to chat with other alumni who share your passion for wine collecting. Or perhaps you're looking for a job, and would like to put your resume in front of thousands of your former classmates. With the advent of USD's

But not just any Web surfer will have access to the information. Users of the alumni site will have to register and receive a password and user ID. Restrictions also are in place to prevent information from being downloaded, and none of the information will be released to the general public, Foley says. Services available in May include a free e-mail address that alumni can keep for life, message boards with

postings of campus and alumni activities, a yellow pages where alumni can post an

Online Community, finding a lost roomie, chatting with class– mates or finding a job is just a mouse-click away. In May, a Web

advertisement for their businesses, and a career services area where job openings or resumes can be posted and alumni can volunteer to mentor others in their career field. "I look for educa– tors in my line of work, and it would be fabulous if I could log in with my password, post my job openings and find alumni inter- ested in interviewing

site accessible only to USD alumni will go online, providing an array of secured ser– vices such as e-mail, chat rooms and mes– sage boards. And by January, alumni will be able to search for friends and classmates via an online directory, even if the only infor– mation available for the search is a name or graduation year. "This is a great opportunity for alumni to keep in touch with each other and with USD, especially since most people these days are computer literate," says Ann Mayo '90, '98, member of the alumni board of directors. Surveys were sent in March to USD's 34,000 alumni requesting professional and personal information for the univer– sity's print directory, which is published every five years. That same information will be included in the Online Community in January when the print directory is published, says Erin Foley, assistant director of alumni relations.

GET IN THE GAME Alwnni can now participate in

basketball, softball and other sports through the USD intramural leagues, u wall as take recreation classes lika yoga and karate, by purchasing a $40 Intramural/Recreation Alwnni Card. Call (111) 210-4533 to get your card and be part of the action. pass and move without the ball. They show up in suits and ties and nice cars, change quickly and run for about 90 min– utes. Then, it's back to work. After they finish tending to their injuries, that is. "The hours change sometimes and the faces, too," says Golia. "But without a doubt, it's a great workout and a great way to keep friendships going."

.IOU.

for a job," explains Mayo, a nursing researcher with Kaiser Permanente. Eventually, USD may offer distance learning to alumni via the Web site, or set up a professor in a chat room to answer questions or debate a topic. "There are so many uses," Foley says. "It would be a great place for us to let alumni in other cities know the president is in their town, or for alumni in Boston to set up a happy hour for others in their area."

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their key and never leave their door unlocked. I noticed his door ajar, so I took the opportunity to show him the value of his security plan. I locked myself in his room, glued my eye to the peep hole and watched the stunned look on his face when he realized he locked himself out. Seeing as I liked living on campus, I let Tri£ (current USD alumni director) back into his room without too much delay. - Frank Bugelli '84 U/ater, U/ater Everywt]ere One night we had a huge water fight (super-soaker water guns, water balloons, etc.) throughout the third and fourth floors of Maher Hall. But someone decided to get the last laugh on my roommates and I. When I opened the door to our room in the morning, someone had filled up a large trash can with water and leaned it up against our door. When I opened the door it fell into the room and dumped water EVERYWHERE! - Kevin Schultz '94 perfu/l\e, Toott}pa5te aQd Oreo5 We escalated from perfuming the guys' clothing to filling someone's clogs with toothpaste. We also learned that Oreoing was highly effective: Split the Oreo and you can write words without damaging paint. - Hilary (Schmit) Cejka '82, '89 U/a517't TtJi5 a PG {f\ovie? We were in the middle of watching "The Hunt for Red October" on movie night between Maher Hall and The lmmaculata when the door opened at the bottom of the west end of Maher Hall. Two girls appeared, carrying a naked guy with his wrists and feet bound. The girls giggled incessantly as they tip-toed from the door to behind the projection screen, and then again from the projection screen toward Camino/Founders halls. Everyone watching the movie got a good laugh from that. - Kevin Schultz '94

FAVORITE PRANKS I o help celebrate April Fool's Day, we asked for your best pranks (or those legendary ones you heard about) from your days at USD. And you told us plenty. Thanks to those alumni who sent us their favorite gags. And if you should suddenly find yourself a little damp when using the campus ATM machine, or discover crickets chirping in your home's ventilation shaft, blame them, not us. I'd li_~e }20 a17d a Towel My favorite prank (I can't take credit for the idea or execution) was when the guys on the fourth floor of Maher Hall strung fishing line across the parking lot and attached it to the Hahn University Center just above the ATM machine. They hooked water balloons to the line with paper clips, and when people used the ATM, they let the balloons slide down and break on the wall above the machine - dousing the unsuspecting victim. - Kevin Schultz '94 5o{l\eo17e5ee {f\y {f\ou5e? There was a rivalry between residents on the third floor of Maher Hall, where I was an RA, and the fourth floor. It began late one night when my residents threw a shaving cream bomb into the fourth floor bathroom (this was done by wedging a sharp object into the top of the can after shaking it like crazy). A few nights later, another shaving cream bomb was delivered to my residents' room. The rivalry built until the fourth floor residents purchased a mouse and let it loose in my residents' room. Luckily it was discovered soon enough ... dead under a pile of old, unwashed socks.

J ifTVT\iQy ([ic:~et5 The third and fourth floors in Maher eventually made peace and decided to wreak havoc on the ladies' freshman dorm. I heard about it second-hand and couldn't believe the ingenuity of these brave pranksters. They bought a thou– sand crickets and snuck them into the women's dorm, letting them go in a ven– tilation outlet. There were chirping crickets in the walls for days, all during finals. No one was ever caught in that excellent prank. - Garient Evans '98 Ot],5ay C: aQ You5ee... The best prank was on my roommate, Jane. Jim dumped Jane in the fountain and Jane borrowed some of Jim's dry clothes. The fire alarm sounded (gee, who pulled that?). Everyone filed out and there, right on the flagpole, was a sign reading, "This is Jane's bra!" There the soggy thing hung. All but one of us near– ly died laughing. - Hilary (Schmit) Cejka '82, '89 Tea<:tJi17~ Trif a ~55017 One Saturday morning in Fall 1980, John Trifiletti, resident director for DeSales Hall (now Maher Hall), didn't see me walk past as he did his laundry. Trif recently had a big security meeting instructing the freshmen to always carry

- Garient Evans '98

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INSIDE THE BELT Internships Bring Students to Nation's Capital T hink about how an actress must feel when she sets foot on a Broadway stage for the first time. Or the emotions a rookie ballplayer experiences when he

pendent study project that each student must omplete upon returning to San Diego. "From the Environmental Protection Agency to the Department of Commerce to the Braz· ian Embassy to the Smithsonian, the work opportunities ar almost limitless." One of the biggest draws is the chance to work with mem hers of Congress, and senior Ryan Gerena landed a lumb assignment this semester as a staff assistant for Rep. Charles Rangel of New York. "He's on the Ways and Means trade suficommittee, and my main area of interest is international trade," says Gerena, who earned a minority leaders fellowship that

initially steps out of the dugout and onto a major league field. Imagine those emotions, and you might understand how a political science major feels about landing a job in the world's most powerful city. "Just being in Washington, D.C., means that you are in a place where history is made every day," says senior Michelle Penate, who last fall became the first student to take advantage of USD's new affiliation with The Wash-

ington Center internship and academic seminar program. "To live, work and study there is the most exciting and valuable experience I could have." Penate spent the fall semester as an intern for the National Crime Prevention Council, just one of the hundreds of non– profit, government and corporate entities in Washington, D.C., that puts students to work each semester. As a program analyst, Penate assessed training needs, facilitated teleconferences with groups dedicated to fighting gang and domestic violence, and researched trends and practices.

pays for housing and an initial leadership seminar. "I'm combining work with a class in global markets." Students who can't be away from Alcala Park for a whole semester needn't miss out, however. Long before USD affil– iated with The Washington Center for semester-long internships, political science professor Mike Stoddard began taking groups to Washington, D.C., for intensive two-week seminars offered during the January and summer breaks. More than 250 students have traveled either to the capital or to the parties' political conven- tions in the past few years, learning about

iiFrom the EPA to the

Brazilian Embas~ to the Smithsonian, the work opportunities are almost limitless. "

-NoelleNorton, USDpolitical science professor

"I learned much more about federal government than I could have at a local internship," says the political science major, who worked about 35 hours a week and attended a class in nonprofit leadership to fulfill the program's academic requirements. "This was the only way to meet key people in Washington and make connections for the future." Precisely why USD chose to affiliate this year with The Washington Center, which professors say is the best program for students who want experience in the field. "We wanted a program that allowed the students to work as much as possible," says political science professor Noelle Norton, who coordinates the program for USD and supervises the inde-

campaigns, the media, inaugurations and the presidency. Stoddard plans four trips in the next year-and-a-half - one each to the party conventions, one to a Campaign 2000 seminar and one to the next presidential inauguration - while Norton says the semester-long program is certain to expand as word gets around among students. "The program puts it all together for the students. They work, take a class and write a paper that applies their knowledge to a larger topic," Norton says. "It's an intense experience, they're given a lot of responsibility, and the knowledge they gain is priceless."

MICHAEL R. HASKINS

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Wick knows how to take action, too. As a teacher in Los Angeles County, Wick embraced a 1984 mandate that special ed students be included on cam– puses with their peers. He initiated the first high school community-based pro– gram in Lancaster, Calif., and seven years later recognized the need to serve

special educator ACAREER SPENT

handicapped gradu– ates. Two years of lobbying the board of education paid off with the young adult program at Antelope Valley College. Wick's enthusi– asm for his work is not lost on his col– leagues (his peers voted him 1999 Los Angeles County Special Education Teacher of the Year), nor those who call him dad. Three of his

TEACHING, COACHING

HANDICAPPED STUDENTS

S everal of his 10 students are still learning to read, yet there are no colorful ABCs above the chalkboard or Dick and Jane readers in Dennis Wick's classroom. Instead, Wick's desk is piled with folders stuffed full of grocery store ads and menus from local restau– rants. The 19- to 22-yea~-old special education students don't need to read cute stories about kids and dogs. They want to learn how to make their own shopping lists, order a hamburger at Denny's and read a bus schedule. "We want them to be with people their own age," Wick says. "At the same time, we want them getting used to being out in the community on their own. We try to make them as independent as we possibly can." Wick, a 1965 USO alumnus, is just the man to teach those things. Gentle in demeanor and spirit, he pioneered the Community-based Instruction Program for mentally retarded young adults in Los Angeles County's Antelope Valley, and has headed the program for the last 15 years. Last semester, his fellow USO alumni honored Wick for his humanitar– ianism with the Bishop Charles Francis Buddy Award, presented annually at December's Alumni Mass. The award is given to an alumna or alumnus who per– sonifies the human values of honesty, integrity, loyalty and fidelity, the com-

Dannis Wick '65 and students

munity values of peace, justice and free– dom, and the spiritual values of faith, hope and love. Those values are evident each morn– ing at 8, when the door to Wick's class– room swings open. Students are greeted by their teacher, who shuns morning cof– fee for a mile walk around the Antelope Valley College campus. Some of the young adults leave immediately to work at nearby jobs. Others stay with Wick for a day of practical lessons. A teaching career that started 30 years ago with second- and third-graders took a turn toward special ed when an astute principal thought Wick would be a natural for the job. Not one to scoff at advice from his elders - Wick attended the seminary at USO, studied theology in Rome with the intent of joining the priesthood and took a year's sabbatical only to discover teaching, all on the advice of respected advisers - he accept– ed the challenge of working with mental– ly handicapped students. "The students are so positive," he says. "They truly give 110 percent. I am an enabler in the best connotation of that word. They're the ones to take the action."

five children teach special ed.

"I sent my dad a birthday card this year that said exactly what I feel," explains daughter Heather '94, '96. "The card said, 'People tell me I act like you. And I say, Thanks!' " Perhaps nowhere does Wick live the values noted in the Bishop Buddy Award better than on the playing fields with Special Olympics athletes. Twenty years ago he volunteered to be area director of the Antelope Valley Special Olympics. Today, he's still in the same post. "He never gets tired of it," says Heather, who started coaching Special Olympics when she was 16. "He always says, 'What can we do next year to make it better?' " A fan of the Olympics since he was a boy in Colton, Calif., Wick attended the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and marched with the United States delegation in the opening ceremonies of the recent Special Olympics World Games. His description of walking into the Yale University stadium sur– rounded by athletes and screaming fans could be words readily applied to his career. "It's the real thing," Wick says.

- }ILL WAGNER '91

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LEVELi NC THE PLAYING FIELD

B Y J OHN TITCHEN

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n his first visit to the University of San Diego campus in December 1996, Tom Lippold was mesmerized. Wide-eyed, the high school basketball star followed his guide across the manicured, flower-studded grounds, through the graceful arches of Serra Hall and into the bustling Hahn University Center. The 6-foot-6-inch "all-everything" at Orange County's Mater Dei High virtually had his pick of schools in the West Coast Conference. Loyola Marymount, Portland, Santa Clara, and Pepperdine had come calling. But Lippold says he fell in love with USD on that first campus tour. Until he saw the gym. "I couldn't believe it," Lippold says. "I had heard it was bad, but as I was looking at it, I thought, 'My high school gym is better than this.' " Opened 38 years ago, the gym - the USD Sports Center - seats just 1,500 on bleachers. The ceiling is too low for volleyball and it is unaccomodating for television cameras. Unventilated, small and cramped, its locker rooms are too small, too few and poorly plumbed. Lippold spent that day listening to basketball coach Brad Holland talk about the athletic department's unrealized plans for an on-campus arena. It is the same thing Holland has been telling recruits for a couple of years. And it's no coincidence the Sports Center is the last place Holland takes athletes he is wooing.

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Lippold took some time, weighing the campus environment, USD's strong track record and the chance he might be able to play in his first year in a Torero uniform. While he considered the gym, Lippold says he was impressed not only with USD's academics and its campus, but its ability to field championship teams with less than top-flight athletic facilities. "I thought about it for a long time, but in the end, it was the whole package and not just the promise of a new arena or anything like that," says Lippold, a redshirt freshman guard. Today, Holland no longer avoids the subject of the Sports Center with recruits. Rather, he happily walks them through the site plan for a 5,000-seat arena featuring a state-of-the-art fitness and weight center, sports medicine clinic, Torero Hall of Fame and meeting and reception rooms with views to the Pacific Ocean. The $17 .3 million project, funded in part by a $7 mil– lion lead gift from Sid and Jenny Craig, formally breaks ground May 5 and is expected to open by Fall 2000, in time for Lippold's junior year. Yet the Jenny Craig

"Going to the gym for games was not high on our list of things to do when I was in school," says William Scripps '83, who chairs the Jenny Craig Pavilion fund-raising committee. "The pavilion will immediately become a place to congregate and a focus of university life." FROM WORST TO FIRST For that very reason, President Alice B. Hayes pushed the arena to the top of the "to-build list" at USD shortly after arriving at Alcala Park in 1995. Talk of a new facility was nothing new. In 1979, USD athletics moved from smaller Division II to the more competitive Division I, and teams found themselves up against the likes of Stanford, UCLA and USC. By 1988, the need for an on-campus arena was formally addressed by the school's board of trustees and former President Author E. Hughes. "We were working to provide our students with the best possible classrooms, laboratories and academic needs, and it was time to think about completing that picture," says Hughes, who adds the university waited seven years to proceed with the arena plan because available funds were used on academic endeavors.

While construction of the new arena helps com– plete the picture, other USD athletic facilities also are targeted for improvement as part of a long-range master plan over the next 25 years. Torero Stadium, which has room for only 3,000 spectators and is too narrow for NCAA soccer playoff standards, will eventually

Pavilion means much more to USD than a recruiting tool for athletes. The arena will level the playing field in the wee, increasing USD's

profile nationally as the school positions itself to host events including wee and National Collegiate Athletics Association tournaments and student– sponsored concerts. Its completion also is expected to be the first step in imple– menting the remainder of

USD's $40 million master plan to improve other aging athletic facilities, including the university's football and soccer stadium, tennis courts and pool. Perhaps most important, the Jenny Craig Pavilion will complete the "college experience" at Alcala Park not only for student-athletes, who will be able to claim one of the premier facilities in the West, but also by strengthening school spirit and bringing athletics into students' social lives.

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REVAMPED TENNIS

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CONSTRUCTION

- EXISTING USD BUILDINGS PROPOSED NEW

STUDENT HOUSING

ATHLETES, TEAMS AMONC BEST Despite playing and performing in less than lavish facilities, USD still manages to recruit top prospects and produces some of the league's better athletes and teams. Consider: • Men's soccer and women's volleyball teams are among the conference's best. Both teams advanced to the NCAA tourna– ment's second round in 1998 and featured all-WCC performers. Soccer player Leighton O'Brien was drafted in February by Major League Soccer's New England Revolution. • The women's tennis team is one of the better programs in the nation and currently features the country's No. 1 player, junior Zuzana Lesenarova. • The men's and women's basketball teams are extremely competitive in a league that this year featured an NCAA Elite Eight contender in Gonzaga. Holland and women's coach Kathy Marpe land some of the best high school players in the West even though the facilities fall below other league schools.

be expanded and include a new sports administration building with coaches' offices in the east end zone. The pool, which is too shallow for 3-meter diving, will be replaced by a new, Olympic-size facility. And the tennis courts, where lack of restrooms require visitors, players and officials to trek to nearby buildings, will be rebuilt to include restrooms, locker rooms and a main court seating 1,000. "Our plan will take us to where we should be and give us room to go forward," says athletic director Tom Iannacone. "The other schools (in the conference) are not just sitting still. They're constantly making improvements as well."

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• Men's and women's cross country teams and the golf team also feature all-WCC athletes. Dozens of swimmers and divers have won individual titles, and the team took the Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference championship in 1996-97. And coaches and athletes predict programs will continue to strengthen with eventual improvements. "Every year, we're a top-20 team," says volleyball coach Sue Snyder, whose team will move from the gym to the new pavilion. "And there are other sports at USD that are in the same situation. We have a gorgeous campus and buildings but lack the athletic facilities. These facilities can help us build a sense of tradition." That sense of tradition was what enticed Dylan Ching, a star receiver on the Torero football team. Like many USD athletes, Ching was one of the best at his position in his home state and had scholarship offers from several Division I schools. Yet Ching turned down offers from his hometown school, the University of Hawaii, as well as Montana and St. Mary's, to attend USD without the benefit of an athletics scholarship. "I guess I made my first visit on a great day," says Ching with a laugh. "The sun was out, the weather was great, people were out and friendly and the campus was close to the beach. Compared to the other situations I was looking at, well, there was no comparison. I figured, football is football." Rudy Rodriguez, the No. 1 player and captain on the men's tennis team, starred at College of the Desert, a com– munity college near Palm Springs, before coming to USD. He says the choice was a natural. "I just felt at home here right away," says Rodriguez, a Guadalajara, Mexico, native. "And I think that's probably one of the most important things as an athlete when you're picking a school." Soccer player O'Brien, who plans on sign– ing with the Revolution after graduation in May, says athletes at USD foremost strive for balance in their lives. "I think there are a lot of other considerations when athletes think about coming to USD," says O'Brien. "There are a lot of things you take into account besides the playing field. There's the academic side of things, the setting and just how you feel about the place." ACADEMICS, TRADITIO·N ENTICE PLAYERS

• Under legendary coach John Cunningham, the baseball pro– gram produced several major league players and managers, including John Wathan, who managed the Kansas City Royals in the late 1980s. Current coach Rich Hill is guiding a talented squad that boasts several players who could be selected in the June amateur draft. • In 1990, the football team joined the Division I-AA Pioneer Football League and competes with four other schools that, like USD, do not offer scholarships. Despite the lack of such a recruiting staple, former Torero star and current head coach Kevin McGarry '79, '85 regularly produces a squad that boasts all-league stars.

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HOW THEY STACK UP With the opening of the 5,000-seat Jenny Craig Pavilion, USD will move to the front of the arena pack among the Division I West Coast Confer– ence's eight members. The facilities include: • Santa Clara's Toso Pavilion: Opened in 1975, seats 5,000. Home to the wee basketball tournament six times in the 1990s. • Portland's Chiles Center: Opened in 1984, seats 5,000. Annual home to Oregon's state high school wrestling and girls' basketball championships. • Conz:aga's Martin Centre (formerly the Kennedy Center): Refurbished in 1986, seats 5,000. Hosted the 1992 Olympic women's basketball team camp and high school basketball tournaments. • The University of San Francisco's War Memorial Cym: Opened in 1957, remodeled in 1997. Hosted NBA games. • Loyola Marymount's Cersten Pavlllon: Built in 1984, Seats 4,100. Hosted the 1984 Summer Olympic boxing events. (Construction is planned for an adjacent $21 million athletic complex for

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flragrtllll 993 1996-98); 'Tournament (9197-9,8)· si>< straight ~Ok- • S ( 1 ' 'f p!C S• champion wee First- eam s· 14 s par- win season ' . Western state ' "ting ground- 1\el:l'III f . B. . ularly Cali orn1a CC Pac 10 and ,g UC "lion" W ' Th• c:a111P•II . u walk West- . ·on· "When yo On lh• Craig~ S~orts Center)," sar into this gym lt e tion is one of sma - d "the percep 20 program Sny er, We're a top- time athletics- I f hosting some play- d quite capab e o_ don't have the an but we iust oH events, " facilities right no'-"·

WCC in terms of attracting recruits. None of the three say, though, that such a sudden transition will create a sense of pres– sure on coaches or athletes. "A new arena doesn't solve everything," says Holland. "What it does do is open doors that are not available to us right now." Marpe says the arena will give her basketball players the "total Division I college atmosphere" that they sought when signing a college commitment out of high school. The longtime coach says a new sports medicine and training room is perhaps one of the most attractive features of the new arena, but more important, is the atmosphere that will be created by having a state-of-the-art training room, locker rooms and team rooms on the same floor level as the arena. "When you run out on to the floor before a game, you want that sense of the school," says Marpe. "The intangibles, like a band playing and a home crowd, those kinds of things." Both athletes and coaches alike agree improved facilities will take an already successful athletics program to the next level - the national level. "Can you imagine what it would look like with ESPN in town for a WCC or NCAA tournament here?" muses Iannacone with a grin. "Opening shots of the campus, down to the bay, to the beach and the sunset. How good is that going to look?"

intramural and recreational needs). • Saint Mary's McKean Pavilion: Opened in 1978, seats 3,500.

• Pepperdlne's Firestone Fieldhouse: Opened in 1973 and remodeled to seat 3,100.

PAVILION COMPLETES EXPERIENCE

Though completion of the athletics master plan is years away, current athletes are excited about construction of the Jenny Craig Pavilion and the promise it holds. Coaches say the pavil– ion will help the university land wee championship tourna– ments and NCAA regionals. The new arena also can play host to concerts, political debates or other events. "It's amazing just thinking about what the Craig Pavilion will do right away," says Ching, a senior business major. The coaches of the three sports immediately affected - men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball - say the new arena will immediately take their teams to the top of the

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B rian Hutchison is nearly naked. Stripped down to a Speedo, posed on a revolving platform, he slowly spins. He sees every member of the hushed audience, and they see every inch of him. There are no props to shield him, no other actors sharing the stage to draw attention away from him. At age 28, the USD student is alone in the spotlight at one of the most respected theaters in the country. "Every actor will be asked to do something like this at some point," says Hutchison of his soliloquy from The American Dream, one of 21 vignettes from the plays of Edward Albee presented collectively as Albee's Men. "You have to be willing to do things as an actor that go against your nature, to be completely different than you would be in real life. You have to be comfortable enough with yourself and confident enough to just get into it and do it." OK, so maybe "Just Do It" is a slogan most closely associ– ated with Nike, but students in USD's master of fine arts in dramatic arts program - known informally as the USD/Old Globe Theatre MFA - put the folks in those sneaker commer– cials to shame. They learn about acting, of course, but mostly they act.

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"They learn to research the history and criticism of the pla

text and the meanings the actors have to convey. That's ha

Take Hutchison. A first-year student in the program, this spring he performed Albee's Men at the 225-seat, theatre-in– the-round Cassius Carter Center Stage, one of three venues - the Old Globe Theatre and the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre are the other two - that comprise San Diego's nation– ally recognized Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts. And he's not alone. At any given time, the 14 students in the MFA program are acting or understudying roles in classical and contemporary dramas for the dozen-and-a-half performances they will give, on campus and off, during their two years at USD. At some point in the program, they all go on stage at the Old Globe Theatre. Some are cast in supporting roles, those who understudy are ready to step in at a moment's notice if a featured actor can't go on. "Graduate school for actors is not about angst-ridden exer– cises in class," says Richard Seer, director of the program since 1993. "Many of our students are already talented actors. What we do is refine their skills and challenge them with more diffi– cult texts." The focus is on the most difficult texts of all, the plays of William Shakespeare. When the idea of forming a partnership between the Old Globe Theatre and a master's program at USD first arose, it was agreed that this professional training program would have classical theater as its centerpiece. The Old Globe benefits from the arrangement by having a ready supply of actors to understudy and perform its classical productions. The university enjoys the prominence of association with a 60-year– old acclaimed theater. And students hone their skills on the toughest material in the acting world. "With classical training, you learn to flex all your acting muscles," says Erika Rolfsrud '96, who since graduating has toured nationally with The Acting Company's production of Romeo and Juliet, understudied How I Learned to Drive off– Broadway, and is currently working on a new comedy-thriller at Farleigh Dickinson University's American Stage. "I feel

Erika RaUsrud '96

stronger than actors from other programs, because I paid greater attention to the texts and the history of classical the– ater." WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? Concentration on the works of Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw and Anton Chekov is only one aspect of a program with many unique features. Most master's programs take three years in semester chunks to complete, whereas this one is an inten– sive, year-round process for two years. USD's classes are signif– icantly smaller than programs at other universities, allowing for more one-on-one instruction. The seven students accepted each year - out of hundreds who audition - are on full scholar– ship, allowing them to study and rehearse constantly, sometimes

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acting and is an always-on-call mentor to students who need help, encouragement and pointers. "I try to teach them what acting is, the energy and commit– ment that is required," says Easton, who performs regularly at the Old Globe during the school year and around the country when the students are on break. "The transmission of the play depends entirely on the actors, not the director or the play– wright. I teach them that they have responsibilities to the play." Responsibility is one word with which the students become infinitely familiar. At the same time Easton coaches them through scenes and technique and the English professors grill them on history and literature, they take classes in voice, move– ment, singing and even yoga. After a full day of learning, they rehearse for upcoming productions - recent on-campus perfor– mances included Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale and Shaw's Getting Married, with David Mamet's The Water Engine com– ing up in late April. At home, they practice monologues and scenes for class, or memorize their understudy roles. There are no courses in the summer, but the students compensate by per– forming Shakespeare at the Globe's outdoor venue, the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. A grueling schedule? Absolutely. One that any of the stu– dents would trade? Absolutely not. "Your life gets pushed to the side and you simply submerge yourself for two years," says second-year student Caitlin Muelder, who also is preparing for her May thesis requirement, a IS-minute original solo performance. "But the work hasn't taken away from the marvel I feel about acting. When. you ana– lyze the work of Shakespeare, you get a fundamental under– standing that other actors may not have. You also wonder if you can ever study it enough to unravel all the secrets it contains." FINDI G THE CREAM ... Each year, Seer and voice and speech professor Claudia Hill– Sparks, who both split their duties between USD and the Old Globe, scour the country in search of the seven most promising acolytes for the program. They see hundreds of new prospects and, more often than not, some familiar faces who have audi– tioned for the program before. According to Seer, the philoso– phy of the program brings them back. "Despite the busy schedule, we're not a boot camp for actors," he says. "We have a reputation as a welcoming, com– passionate and nurturing place." That much was clear at auditions held this spring at the Old Globe. Unlike the mythical casting scenario in which the director sits in a darkened theatre and a single spotlight illumi– nates a cowering hopeful, Seer and Hill-Sparks sat informally in

six days a week for 10 hours a day. And when the MFA degree was born in 1987, it was decided that USD's English depart– ment would house the degree, a distinct departure from other programs. "The English professors give these actors the skills they need from the time they are cast in a play until the time they begin rehearsal," says English department chair Fred Robinson, who leads the first-year students through a reading course in modern drama. "They learn to research the history and criti– cism of the plays so they know the implications of the text and the meanings the actors have to convey. That's background they wouldn't get elsewhere." They wouldn't get Richard Easton elsewhere, either. A stage veteran who is mentioned in the same respectful tones as John Geilgud and Alec Guiness, the acclaimed thespian teaches

a small rehearsal room. After the potential students each presented a classical and modern monologue, they sat with the two pros for an informal chat. Most express relief, with phrases like "that wasn't so bad" or "thanks for making it easy" peppering the conversations.

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"Despite the busy schedule, we're not a boot camp

We have a reputation as a welcoming, compassionat

nurturing place."

It's why budding actors who have a shot at longstanding programs such as Harvard or Yale often make USO their first, or only, choice. "Students who want to be classical actors choose USO because other programs are less classically oriented," says Hill-Sparks, "Beyond that, I think they are very affected by the auditions. We take the time to find out about them and talk to them, and they know they'll find a supportive environment here."

... AND MAKING IT RISE It's not just a nice place to learn, though. It's a place to work, period. The four-minute audition for the program may seem tough, but it's probably the easiest part of the two years that fol– low. The first-year class often begins work at the Old Globe in the summer before its first academic semester, and the pace never slows. Since USO's master of fine arts is reserved for actors only - the university does not train directors or design– ers - these seven students are always the center of attention. It's an ideal situation for those ready to learn by doing. "I had one major goal when I got here, and that was to have a featured speaking role in an Old Globe production," says second-year student Leslie Kalarchian, whose wish came true last year when she played Phoebe in As You Like It on the Festival stage. "I've grown a lot in terms of technique and self– confidence and I've learned from some of the best actors, but the ability to audition, perform and understudy for shows is the most beneficial part." The experience has another payoff. When they graduate, the students have put in enough time to earn their place in the Actors' Equity Association, the national union for actors. Membership in that organization may validate them in the eyes of their peers, but chances are they'll never again get the kind of assistance from other actors that the program encourages. "As an understudy, you go to rehearsals, sit in and talk to the actors about how they approach their roles," says James Konicek, a first-year student from Wisconsin who hadn't heard about USO until a director suggested the university to him.

Brian Hutchison (left) and Richard Easton

"While the program helps us grow by placing us in the kinds of roles we need to practice, we're watching and learning from the people we admire." Konicek isn't alone in appreciating the opportunity to work alongside veteran actors in a collegial environment. Each stu– dent grabs as much as they can from the experience. They return the favor to the university with three on-campus produc– tions a year, performed in the program's theater space in Sacred Heart Hall. Scenery and costumes for the productions are designed by Old Globe artists, and guest directors from around the country are brought in to complement the permanent staff. The on-campus facilities are rudimentary and cramped, but Seer envisions a larger and more modern space that will allow the program to flourish in the future. "Right now we're competing against schools with major performance venues, so often we're limited in the scope of our productions," he says. "As the program gains recognition, we want to have the kind of performances on campus that will bring national attention to the university."

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"When I first started working on

Richard Easton gave you and it pulls you through." Some graduates have taken their Shakespearean training at USD completely to heart. Joanne Zipay '93 founded New York City's Judith Shakespeare Company, a theater troupe dedicated to providing greater opportunities for women in classical the– ater. Zipay, who founded the company in 1995 and directs the performances, requires actors to carefully study and research every word of each Shakespearean production before bringing it to the stage. The result, she says, is better understanding of the works for actors and audiences. "When I first started working on Shakespeare's plays, I didn't realize there were so many resources at hand to decipher them," says Zipay, who in May will direct a gender-reversed version of Julius Caesar. "You can't just take a shot in the dark with these plays. The social and historical context of the scenes and the characters drives the plot. When you know what's at stake, you can truly bring the play to life." Zipay's sense of classical theater is a mantra of sorts for her fellow actors as they thread their way through the MFA pro– gram. They find out about themselves and the work they want to do. They learn about acting from the best teachers, and then sort it out on stage. When it's done right, both the actors and the audience are left in awe. "Acting is about being able to communicate universal truths and about aspiring to make a difference," says Konicek. "When you're an actor, you're influential. People come to hear what you have to say. You provide a forum for discussion of issues and, who knows, maybe even some answers."

Shakespeare's plays, I didn't realize there

were so many resources at hand to deci–

pher them."

ALL THE WORLD'S STAGES National acclaim is also on Seer's mind when he sends the grad– uates into the world of professional acting. Every fall, USD joins with other universities in producing showcase perfor– mances in New York and Los Angeles, where the recent alumni perform for theatre, film and television agents. Some will land work in classical theater, but the professors and actors who teach in the program aren't snobs. They know that the point is to be able to act anywhere, a sentiment echoed by the students. "Who doesn't want to win an Oscar or make a tremendous film that wins awards?" asks Muelder, who understudied Broadway actress Carol Mayo Jenkins on Albee's Women, the counterpart to Albee's Men. "We all want to make a living by acting, and classical training is like playing the piano. If you can play the piano, other instruments come easily. If you learn clas– sical acting, other kinds fall into place. And if you do enough commercial work, you can do all the stage work you want." If success is measured by work, then the 12-year-old U SD/Old Globe program boasts enough alumni in theater, film and television to make the older, more established programs just a little bit nervous. Scott Ferrara, a 1997 graduate who current– ly is playing Octavius in Minneapolis' renowned Guthrie T heater's production of Julius Caesar, says the mentoring he received at USD gives him an edge that helps him land major stage roles. "The training seeps in, so when you graduate you can fall back on this wealth of knowledge," says Ferrara, who performed in the Old Globe's production of Romeo and Juliet last summer. "You go back to the Rolodex of information that actors like

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