Another aspect of the name changeaffects its status in the college anduniversity hierarchy. The formerdepartment housed academic pro-grams leading to the practice and/oradditional study in three separateprofessions: audiology, speech-lan-guage pathology, and educators ofthe deaf. Thus, they function morelike three separate divisions. Thenew hierarchy complements theinternal structure that was already inplace.

Being known as a school brings recognition thatwill not only enhance the programs reputation, butalso allow the school to be even more competitiveas it seeks out local, state, and federal funding.The college welcomes the new title and is excitedabout the opportunities that await.

The proverbial saying “A rose by any other name, isstill a rose,” holds true for the Department of Com-municative Disorders. Although the curriculum, pro-grams and degrees have not changed, thedepartment received an official name change. Nowknown as the School of Speech, Language & HearingSciences, this new school is making positive steps toexpand its role in the College of Health and HumanServices.

Marilyn Newhoff, Director of the school, explainsthat the old name was inappropriate since much ofthe scholarship, research and teaching deals withnormal dimensions of communication processes(respiration, phonation, microanatomy and neuro-science, basic anatomy, language and cognitivedevelopment etc.). She goes on to explain that deaf-ness, as with the use of ASL, is not a disorder, butquite simply a communication via a language that isnot spoken.

SDSU

College of Healthand Human Services

Spring 2003

Speech, Language, &Hearing Sciences

Gerontology

Nursing

Public Health

Social Work

San Diego State University

“A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME, IS STILL A ROSE”

This Spring, The School of Nursing turns 50, cele-brating a half-century of training students for acareer in the Nursing profession. Since its inceptionin 1953, the School of Nursing has worked to meetthe needs of the University and surrounding com-munities. With almost 100 students entering theschool each semester, it has become one of the mostsuccessful programs on campus.

When the School of Nursing was first established,there were only three schools of nursing in San DiegoCounty. All were hospital-based diploma programsoffered at Paradise Valley Hospital, Mercy Hospital,and the County Hospital. Starting in 1947, a citizenscommittee recommended the establishment of anursing program at San Diego State College. The pro-posal addressed the need for educated nurses andexplained the lack of baccalaureate level programssouth of Los Angeles and only a few programs in Cal-ifornia. After much ado, the proposal was acceptedby the University (then San Diego State College) andthe first class of 25 students was admitted.

As the first students entered the new college, the cur-riculum was very similar to the hospital diploma cur-riculum. The main difference was a broad study of

SCHOOL OF NURSING TURNS 50!

Continued on page 6

general education and human relations. Most of thenursing courses and the clinical rotations weretaught at the county hospital. The curriculum wastaught year-round, leaving summers available forstudents to complete the clinical portion of the pro-

School of Nursing Grad Class 1960

MESSAGE FROM THE DEANAs we enter a new year, 9/11 continues to domi-nate our lives in ways we never expected. We aremuch more vigilant and wary in our day-to-dayencounters. At the same time, we are also muchmore aware of the continuing importance of thehealth and humanservices pro-fessionals asfirst respon-ders in a localor nationalemergency. Infact, it is antic-ipated thatm i l i t a r yreserve person-nel in ourschools andd e p a r t m e n t smay be called toduty by virtue oftheir expertise andvalue to homelanddefense efforts. Ata time when we areexperiencing shortages in the health and human serv-ices workforce, it is important to ensure thatwe can enroll the best and thebrightest into our professions.Alumni and friends are necessaryand indispensable to our ability toaccomplish that task. You are ourfirst line responders for recruit-ment to our programs. Every day,by your example, you demon-strate what our programs offer toour community and you are ourambassadors in directing poten-tial students to our advisors, pro-gram representatives, andcampus recruitment and careerevents. You have our gratitude foryour continued support in thisway and we hope that you willkeep us apprised of the ways iswhich we can assist you in theseefforts. You are our lifeblood and we value your con-tributions to our college and to your professions.Please accept our best wishes for this new year.

DIRECTORY

DEAN’S OFFICE

619-594-6151

Dolores A. WozniakDean

Olita HarrisAssociate Dean

Selma ReedAssistant Dean for

Student Affairs

DepartmentChairs/Directors

CENTER ON AGING

Olita Harris,Acting

619-594-6765

PUBLIC HEALTH

Kenneth Bart619-594-1254

NURSING

Patricia Wahl619-594-6384

SOCIAL WORK

Anita Harbert619-594-6865

SPEECH, LANGUAGE &HEARING SCIENCES

Marilyn Newhoff619-594-7746

2

As the Dean’s Advisory Board continues to makeprogress on many projects, we want to continue tohighlight a member in each newsletter in order foryou to get to know the members better. Hank Cun-ningham has been a member of the Dean’s AdvisoryBoard for a year and a half. In addition to sitting on

the board, Hank is also the chair of the Consen-sus Organizing Sub-Committee. His work atSDSU reaches beyond the College of Health andHuman Services. He also serves on the advi-sory board and as adjunct faculty for the Com-munity Economic Development certificationprogram.

In addition to volunteering his time and talentat SDSU, Hank serves the City of San Diego asthe Director of Community and EconomicDevelopment and Assistant Executive Directorof its Redevelopment Agency. During his 25-year career, he has worked for a national con-sulting firm specializing in strategic planningand cost/revenue analysis, as well as three

major southern California municipalities where hedirected large-scale economic development pro-grams. Hank was appointed to the InternationalEconomic Development Council (IEDC) Board in

September 2001. In January 2001, he was awardedCEcD. certification by that 4,000

member, Washington D.C.based professional organiza-tion. In June 2001, he wasappointed to the Board ofDirectors of the CaliforniaAssociation for Local Eco-nomic Development andmore recently to the Califor-nia Redevelopment Associa-tion Board of Directors,having previously served onboth the CALED and CRAbodies. He also serves on theSan Diego Model SchoolDevelopment Agency Board ofDirectors, the City of SanDiego Public Facilities Financ-ing Authority, is Treasurer ofthe CDC Small Business

Finance Corporation, and sits on the Mayor’s SmartGrowth Implementation Committee.

Hank is a talented leader who assisted the programin moving forward. The College thanks Hank for thecommitment and direction he has provided the Con-sensus Organizing Project.

ADVISORY BOARD PROFILE:HANK CUNNINGHAM

Hank Cunningham,

Chair of the Consensus Organizing Sub-Committee

Dolores A. Wozniak,

Dean

There is a common saying among non-profit organ-izations that a successful volunteer must have andbe willing to share two of the following three things,time, treasure and talent. In the College of Healthand Human Services, few alumni prove this state-ment more than Marlene Ruiz. Due to her long anddevoted service to San Diego State University and hercontinuing efforts to improve the profession of nurs-ing and healthcare, Marlene was nominated for theDistinguished Alumni Award.

Marlene earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursingin 1975 from San Diego State University’s School ofNursing. Since graduation, she has had a wonderfulcareer and has dedicated her life to the nursing pro-fession. She is known for her ability to identify prob-lems and solve them efficiently and with great care,often by creating partnerships to address a communityneed. Numerous educational and service-oriented pro-grams to promote nursing and patient care exist due toher efforts. Always interested in moving on to the nextproject, Marlene does not relish in success and is notinterested in being in the limelight.

Her efforts arenot only focusedon the largerarea of nursing,but also on theSchool of Nurs-ing and theuniversity as awhole. It isthrough hercommitment toSDSU that webenefit fromMarlene’s time,talent and treas-ure. Each year,Marlene works tire-lessly to arrangeclinical placementsfor nursing students at Kaiser Permanente. She wasalso instrumental in setting up the San Diego NursingService Education Consortium for nursing studenteducation. This consortium takes in requests fornursing students for clinical placement in all hospi-tals and facilitates coordinating these arrangementswith local hospitals and schools of nursing. In addi-tion to working with current students, Marlenespearheaded the reorganization of the School ofNursing’s Alumni Chapter. In addition to all of herwork in the school, she also supports other Univer-sity programs. Not only is she a football seasonticket holder, she is also often seen at various otherevents throughout campus.

DevelopmentOffice:

Thom Sloan

Director of Development

619-594-1084

Brian Behan

Development Assistant

619-594-8700

Address:College of Health and

Human Services

5500 Campanile Drive

San Diego, California92182-4124

Email:chhsdev@mail.sdsu.edu

Web:www-rohan.sdsu.edu/

dept/chhs

3

Diane R. Williams,

School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences

Marlene Ruiz,

Alumni Monty Awardee

the elderly. Her research and scholarship has beendirected toward the practical application of researchfindings and conclusions to actual interventions andpractice by audiology practitioners.

She is an exemplary teacher who is sought out bystudents at all levels. She generously shares her vastknowledge and serves as mentor to all the audiologystudents to encourage their development of inquiryas habits of mind. She has also transmitted herknowledge to students by chairing and advising onnumerous masters’ theses projects. In addition, shehelped design, equip and set up the CommunicationsClinic in the Alvarado complex. This clinic servesover 1500 clients per year from all parts of thecounty, state and nation. Many of the clients arefrom underrepresented groups and would not havereceived this help without the clinic. She has beenthe guiding force in this facility and her vision hasbeen key to its success. She has restructured theadministrative leadership, developed clinic operatingmanuals, including infectious disease guidelines.

Dr. Williams is the kind of person every student, fac-ulty, and client comes to respect and admire. Aboveall else, she is a superb clinician who has helpedthousands of hearing-impaired individuals and theirfamilies. She consistently receives letters of praisefrom clients she has served in the CommunicationsClinic. As one letter stated, “Diane has the ability towalk in the shoes of a person with a problem andunderstand. Her only promise was, ‘We’ll do ourbest.’” Another letter stated, “What appellation doesone use who restores full hearing to another? Goddess Diane.”

For over 27 years, Diane Williams has been a highlyrespected and well-known faculty member in theDepartment of Communicative Disorders, now theSchool of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, inthe field of Audiology. She has been a leader in theprofessional community and her research and teach-ing have helped change community practices forhard of hearing clients, which include children and

MONTY AWARD RECIPIENT:DIANE R. WILLIAMS

ALUMNI MONTY AWARDEE: MARLENE RUIZ

Continued on page 11

1ST KATHY KOPELS CELEBRATION

SCHOLARSHIP AWARDEDOn Wednesday, October 16, Trisha Fish and AnneKopels interviewed a number of applicants to be thefirst recipient of the Kathleen Kopels CelebrationScholarship. The scholarship was established inmemory of Kathy’s dedication to the field of SocialWork. Trisha, Kathy’s partner, and Anne, her daugh-ter, interviewed many qualified applicants to find theone that they thought best represented Kathy’s val-ues and hard work.

Kathy received her BA in history, but it wasn’t untilshe became a Masters prepared Social Worker (shereceived her Masters from SDSU in 1984) that sheknew her true mission in life. Kathy helped thousandsof women fighting addiction, depression and abuse.She started one of the first women-only treatment cen-ters in San Diego, and later went on to private practicewhere her compassion and desire to help othersassisted many in piecing their lives back together.

Kathy had a great love for life, and wanted to make animpact in assisting people grow and change. Shebelieved strongly in life long-learning, patient advo-cacy, and the importance of assisting those who didnot think they could, or would, be helped. ThoughKathy fought her breast cancer in the same way sheapproached life, with great compassion and strength,the disease won and Kathy can no longer practice herpassion.

Trisha and Anne feel that this year’s recipient is exactlythe kind of person who Kathy had in mind when sheestablished the scholarship. In her application, Ajdashared a bit of her past. In it she writes, “I rememberwaking up one morning and looking into the mirror andnot recognizing the emaciated body staring back at me.I was pale, I was skeletal, I was strung out. I was eight-een years old and I had become the worst me imagina-ble. I did whatever drugs were put in front of me and Iallowed myself to be constantly manipulated andabused by the people I surrounded myself with. I did-n’t care where I would wake up in the morning and Ididn’t care about living. I was so low and so down thatI felt I only deserved the crumbs in my life. I was notpretty enough, not smart enough, my hair was notstraight enough, my acne repulsed me, I just couldn’tstand being me…I wanted so desperately to live some-one else’s life. I just wanted to wake up in the morn-ing and feel like there was a reason to live. A fewmonths before I turned nineteen, I became pregnantand my reason was now growing inside my belly.”

Once she found out she was pregnant, she left herabuser, stopped doing drugs and got her life back ontrack. With a bachelor’s degree from UCSD, Ajda isnow an MSW student at SDSU who wrote that, “Ihave fallen madly in love with social work…”Clearly Ajda shares Kathy’s passion for life, over-came adversity and wants to help others do thesame. While Kathy is no longer alive to pass on hervalues, she will help others receive the training inperpetuity through this endowed scholarship.

4

Kathy Kopels

Since 1995 the Jamie Geller Memorial Scholarshiphas been awarded to a second-year Master’s inSocial Work student who has an emphasis on work-ing with children and their families. For the pastseven years, the Gellers have come to campus tointerview the applicants and award the scholarshipto the student who best represents the work thattheir daughter started.

Jamie Brenner Geller was a social worker who spe-cialized in working with abused children. Shemajored in biology at the University of Colorado, butalways knew that she would eventually work to helpothers. She enrolled at SDSU and received a Master’sdegree in Social Work. Jamie embraced the valuesand skills required for a career in Social Work, andwas devoted to helping the children with whom sheworked. According to a co-worker, “Jamie wasalways an example of kindness and thoughtfulness.She had a heart of immense proportions.” Jamie’scareer was cut short by an untimely death in 1993.It was at this point that Dr. and Mrs. Jack Geller andtheir family established a scholarship in memory ofJamie.

Jack and Suzanne have been active participants inawarding the scholarship as it is a way to honorJamie’s memory and continue the work to whichshe dedicated her life. They love the letters they getfrom the recipients and have mentioned the idea ofhaving a reunion for all of the winners. Throughtheir efforts and generosity the account grew toinclude enough money to endow the scholarship. Itwill now be awarded in perpetuity.

JAMIE GELLER MEMORIAL

SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWED

a future in patient care that she began working the3-11 p.m. shift at the Carmel Convalescent Hospitala few nights each week, all the while receiving stel-lar grades in high school.

After graduating from high school in only threeyears, Kathy began her formal nursing training,eventually earning her B.S.N. degree from the Inter-Collegiate Nursing Education program in Spokane,Wash. And for a time, Kathy rejoiced in working inthe neo-natal intensive care unit of the Sacred HeartHospital with her closest friend, Jeanne CooperSteele.

It is not surprising that for the Rahe family, the cre-ation of the Kathy Rahe Memorial Scholarship inSDSU’s School of Nursing is bittersweet. “The peopleof California invested 14 years in Kathy’s education,and they didn’t receive the return on their investmentthey had every right to expect. The contributions shecould have made over her lifetime, both personally

and professionally, are not to be. Andher parents invested years into rais-ing, nurturing and loving her. Theyalso didn’t receive the return oninvestment they had every right toexpect: the joy of seeing her progressin her career, the fulfillment ofwatching her raise the family shealways wanted and her companion-ship in their later years. While theselosses cannot be recouped, there issome solace in making somethingpositive come from our family’stragedy,” summarized Terri.

The Kathy Rahe Memorial Scholar-ship, which has yet to find its first

recipient, was created to help studentsin need receive a top-notch nursing

education. According to George and Patricia Rahe, thefamily wanted to make something positive out of theirloss. “What’s more, the relationship to nursing is anal-ogous,” said Terri. “In nursing, our goal is often tomake something good, like healing and rehabilitation,come out of something bad, such as an illness orinjury. We’re pleased that SDSU’s esteemed School ofNursing is helping in our efforts. And Kathy would bethe first to tell aspiring nurses, ‘Don’t miss this oppor-tunity.’”

For more information regarding how students canapply for the Kathy Rahe Memorial Scholarship, or tomake a donation to the fund, please contact ThomSloan, Director of Development for the College ofHealth and Human Services, at (619) 594-1048 ortsloan@mail.sdsu.edu or visit the Kathy RaheMemorial Scholarship Fund Web site ath t tp ://www-rohan.sdsu .edu/dept/chhs/kathyrahe/index.html.

It’s a family’s worst nightmare—a horrifying storythat mirrors recent news headlines. On Nov. 4, 1981,in Spokane, Wash., 24-year-old Kathy Rahe, abeloved daughter, sister, wife, friend and nurse,attended the statistics class she was taking in prepa-ration for entering a master’s degree program innursing, after which she was never seen again.

When the search for Kathy concluded, her parents,George and Patricia Rahe, her sisters, Terri andDiane, and brother, Paul, held onto the hope thatKathy would come walking through the door oneday. Now, nearly 21 years later, they continue togrieve over her loss. However, the Rahes were com-mitted to finding some triumph in their family’stragedy. They decided that a fitting memorial toKathy’s life would be to create a nursing scholarshipin her name.

Last month, the Rahe family, some of whom nowlive in San Diego, gifted $20,000 to San Diego StateUniversity’s School of Nursing tobegin funding the Kathy RaheMemorial Scholarship Endowment.According to the Rahes, “SDSU’senthusiasm in promoting high-quality nursing education is anideal match for Kathy’s passionfor the field.” The contributionincluded recent donations fromKathy’s friends, family andextended family as well as thoseinitially made 21 years before toaid in the search for Kathy.

From all accounts, Kathy was awonderfully warm, inquisitive anddedicated young woman. She hadan outrageous sense of humor cou-pled with an upbeat and gregariouspersonality, making her someone who both attractedfriends easily and whose essence “lit up a room.”According to her family, Kathy also had unlimitedenergy, which she used to apply her intellect in avery passionate and determined way.

“Kathy’s M.O. was to go above and beyond the callof duty in all situations—in both her personal andprofessional lives,” said her sister, Terri, who is alsoa nurse. In addition, Kathy firmly believed in givingback to the community. “She truly enjoyed helpingpeople. That’s one of the reasons she became anurse,” Terri said.

Kathy’s interest in nursing began during her child-hood in Monterey, California. At the age of 10 shestated that she wanted to be a nurse. No one in thefamily knew exactly where her interest in the fieldcame from, but given her determined personality,they knew she could not be dissuaded. In highschool, Kathy began taking courses to prepare for hernursing education. Moreover, she took the initiativeto become a Certified Nursing Assistant, a “nurse’saide” position that offered an entry-level academicbase and skills training. Kathy was so committed to 5

THE KATHY RAHE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP: CREATING TRIUMPH FROM TRAGEDY

Kathy Rahe

SCHOOL OF NURSING TURNS 50! CONTINUEDgram. The new program was approved by the BRNand was fully accredited by the State Board ofExaminers only one year after it began.

To handle the influx of 25 students per semester, theschool hired two new faculty members. The firstclass was entirely female and lived at the Nurse’sResidence of the County Hospital. The course workproved to be challenging as only 12 students gradu-ated in the spring of 1957. Tuition for the first class

was a mere $6.50 a semester!

The School of Nursingbegan to mold itself inthe more traditional bac-calaureate program as itsettled into its new role.In 1955, Summerclasses were deletedfrom the curriculum,placing the students onthe same semesterschedule as the rest ofthe college. By 1960, theschool had expanded itsclinical opportunities byforming partnershipswith Sharp Memorial

Hospital, Children’s Hospi-tal, The Public Health

Department, and the VNA. In 1961, the School of Nurs-ing, a year shy of its 10th anniversary, received fullaccreditation for the NLN.

A year later in 1962, contracting with Balboa Hospital,the School of Nursing became the first baccalaureateprogram to conduct clinical experiences in a militaryhospital. By the school’s tenth birthday, it had 12 full-time faculty members and 175 nursing students. Itquickly became an integral part of the College of Pro-fessional studies and resided in the new Life SciencesBuilding.

Throughout the ensuing years, the curriculum contin-ued to be remodeled. Concepts rather than diseaseswere emphasized. More stress was placed on concep-tual and critical thinking. Conceptual models wereused as a foundation for curriculum planning anddevelopment. The use of a variety of clinical agenciesincreased to allow students a broader picture of clin-ical practice.

During this time, the student body also became morediverse. Older students became a common sight.Men were admitted to the program as well. As thepopulation of the region grew, the student body alsoexpanded to represent different ethnic groups. Asthe number of students desiring admission in theprogram grew, the school was forced into declaringa moratorium on admissions in the 70’s followedby designation as an impacted program. This con-tinues presently and allows the School to imposeadditional admission criteria in order to select thebest qualified students for each entering class.

6

In 1978, the School of Nursing became a unit in theCollege of Human Services, later renamed the Collegeof Health and Human Services in 1983. During thistime, the faculty not only grew in numbers, but alsoin quality. By the mid 80’s, doctoral preparation wasrequired for those faculty seeking tenured positions.Faculty is now also active in research, both individu-ally and in collaboration with clinical personnel.

From its beginning as a BSN program, the School ofNursing has expanded a great deal. The School ofNursing Credential Program began in 1980 to preparenurses for the challenges of providing primaryhealthcare to children of all ages. The program wasadvanced to a master’s degree specialization in 1992.

In 1982, the School instituted a master’s degree innursing, the only publicly funded graduate nursingprogram in San Diego County. Master’s degrees areoffered in Critical Care, Community Health, andNursing Systems Administration.

In 1988, in response to community needs, an RN toBSN option was created to assist registered nurses fromassociate degree and diploma programs to advancetheir education and receive a bachelor’s degree.

The Institute for Nursing Research was founded in1990. It provides an arena for research collaborationbetween the nursing community and academia. Theemphasis is on clinical nursing and healthcare sys-tems research in order to advance nursing knowledge.

The School of Nursing also has a master’s level fam-ily nurse practitioner program. This program, estab-lished in 1994, was followed with a Joint-DoctoralProgram in 1995. The Joint-Doctoral program is oper-ated in with the assistance of University of CaliforniaSan Diego. This has enabled the School to provide amore comprehensive nursing education program.

The most recent development in the school is theSDSU Nurses Now Partnership. This program allowedenrollment to increase from 50 to 90. For more infor-mation on SDSU Nurses Now please see the article onpage 7.

Throughout its 50 year history, the School of Nursingat San Diego State University has maintained its pur-suit of excellence in nursing education. The futureholds even greater promise. It is fitting that we cele-brate our past for in it lies the seeds for our future.The School of Nursing is the largest supplier ofnurses for San Diego and Imperial Counties. Thesegraduates chart the standards of nursing care for ourcommunity and you can find them at every healthcare facility in the region.

To help commemorate the 50th year anniversary, theSchool is hosting a 50’s themed dinner party at theDoubletree Hotel in San Diego, on March 28, 2003.There are many great activities planned for theevening including dancing, a slide presentation, andsilent auction. If you are interested in attending thiswonderful event please contact the School of Nurs-ing at 619-594-5357 for more information.

Students performing reflex check-up cir. 1980

School. Each partner set up their displays, mostpassing out informative brochures and goodies.

Students from all levelsin the School ofNursing had theopportunity totalk with each ofthe recruiters.They learnedabout availablepositions, bene-fits, and otheritems to assistthem in choos-ing a great placeto work. The stu-dents weren’t theonly ones listen-ing. It seems thatrecruiters are theones that learn themost, gaininginsight to what stu-dents are looking

for when they enter the workforce.

Over the past couple of years, we have seen the jobfairs become a more integral part of development forthe School of Nursing. Starting with just six partnersduring the conception of SDSU Nurses Now, it hasgrown to 10 and has expanded its role in increasingenrollment in the School of Nursing. The job fairs lendanother exciting element to our program and are onlypossible because the leadership and wisdom of ourSDSU Nurses Now partners. The College of Health andHuman Services would like to thank the recruitersfrom each hospital for their overwhelming support.We look forward to another great job fair in theSpring.

SDSU NURSES NOWSDSU Nurses Now, once a three-year partnershipbetween SDSU School of Nursing and local hospi-tals, has seen a rebirth as Partnerhospitals are renewing theirpledges. The SDSU NursesNow program, establishedin May 2000, was origi-nally started with a short-term goal to helpalleviate the nursingshortage in San Diego byincreasing enrollment inthe School of Nursing.As unpredictable as themarket is, the shortagecontinues, but so will thegraduation of many moreb a c h e l o r - p r e p a r e dnurses.

As the final pledge pay-ments arrived, so did wordthat they would be contin-ued for at least anotherthree years. This news comes onthe heels of the first graduating class that wasdirectly affected by the program. The SDSU NursesNow Partnership allowed the School of Nursing tonearly double its capacity by adding the necessarystaff and infrastructure to handle the students. InMay, the School of Nursing will graduate more stu-dents than they have in the past several years, send-ing more qualified nurses into the San Diegoworkforce.

The new pledges will now ensure that the programcan continue to expand enrollment through the year2005. This will equate to nearly 300 more nursinggraduates over the next three years. When the SDSUNurses Now Partnership started, nursing vacanciesin San Diego and Imperial Counties exceeded 700openings. Through continued support of thepartners, in conjunction with the School ofNursing, San Diego State University will beworking hard to fill the nursing shortage formany years to come.

GOT NURSES?Back due to popular demand, was our SDSUNurses Now Job Fair. Usually held during theSpring semester, it was unanimously decidedto become a bi-annual event, thus producingour first Fall Semester Job Fair. Each fair hasbecome more successful than the last, andthis one proved to be no exception. We werehappy to have all partner Hospitals present,showcasing what each organization has tooffer.

The Fair was again held in the Hepner HallQuad allowing maximum exposure to the

GOT NURSES? CONTINUED

7

Throughout the past 40 years, the School of SocialWork at San Diego State University has evolvedwith the times. As we approach the 40th anniver-sary, we thought it would be interesting to look atthe history through a timeline.

1940’s-1950’s SDSU offers undergraduate socialwork courses through the SociologyDepartment

1963 Dr. Ernest Witte begins to establish threeschools of Social Work; San Diego, Sacramentoand Fresno

1964 Dr. Witte assumes full time responsibility asfirst Dean of the SDSU School of Social Work.September 22, the school has its formal dedica-tion and the master’s program begins

1966 First MSW class graduates 45 students. MSW pro-gram receives accreditation

1966-1972 Social Work students, alumni and facultywork with community leaders to developseveral community based organizations;The Community Crisis Center; The Bridge(later to become San Diego Youth andCommunity Services); the Inbetween (laterto become the Ocean Beach CommunityServices); A Teaching Center for NursingHome Workers; A Drug Control and Pre-vention Program for the City of Escondido(later to become the Escondido YouthEncounter or EYE); Help Center; Dare;Welfare Rights Organization; and the Com-munity Congress develops as a coalition ofcommunity-based organizations in SanDiego.

1978 School of Social Work is merged into the Collegeof Health and Human Services

1981 The Council of International Programs begins

1985 Joint MSW/MPH program established

1989 Center on Substance established

1993 First alumni reunion

1994 Title IVE Child Welfare Training Program estab-lished

1995 School of Social Work program initiated

1996 Joint MSW/JD program established

1997 Five County Academy for Child Welfare Training set up

1998 Professional Development Workshops instituted

2002 MSW students complete coursework in Thai-land

2003 40th anniversary of the School of SocialWork

The School of Social Work is planning a 40thanniversary celebration – watch your mail formore information.

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

TURNS 40

8

For over 35 years, the School of Social Work has notonly been committed to excellence in all aspects ofprofessional social work education and training butalso has a long history of involvement with thecommunity. Students, faculty and alumni have beeninstrumental in the creation and development of cru-cial community services. Faculty are involved innumerous community projects through advisoryboards, grant projects and research. It is difficult tofind a social problem that the faculty is not address-ing through one of their many projects. A five countychild welfare training academy, a business develop-ment program for at risk youth and a county sup-ported rehabilitation service for drunk drivers are afew of the many projects in which faculty and stu-dents participate.

MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR

ANITA HARBERT

Anita Harbert

Director, School of Social Work

It is the goal of the faculty to provide students withthe knowledge and skills necessary to begin careersas professional social workers. We have an excellentfaculty who strive to make your educational experi-ence a good one. Our academic program is rigorous,exhilarating and absorbing. Students will have manyopportunities to examine, probe and challenge theirideas and capabilities. Some students will have tomake numerous adjustments in their schedules inorder to attend classes and to fulfill their require-ments for the field practicum. I urge students tointeract with and make use of the faculty and advi-sors as they progress through the School's programs.

These times are challenging for the Social Work pro-fession. With Welfare Reform and Managed Care weare poised at the forefront of change as our healthcare and welfare systems evolve. The School and itsalumni will be an important force for change in thedevelopment and modifications of those systems.The School takes very seriously its responsibility foreducating new social workers who will ultimatelyinitiate, provide direction for, and implement thechanges that will be necessary in their communities.We look forward to engaging those challenges andinvolving students in working toward the develop-ment of solutions to society's needs.

Dr. Anita HarbertDirector

It’s Coming.March 2003.w w w.sdsumonth.com

A. The same one that outsmarted UNLV to win the conference tournament championship in men’s basketball last March.

the mile-markers and race clock. These two elementsare crucial to runners to help them gauge their ownpace and plan strategy over the 26-mile race. So a sim-ple solution was implemented. Marla would have acyclist ride behind her to vocalize the times and giveher feedback about the course.

To ensure that Marla was not receiving an unfairadvantage with the cyclist, the rules of what assistancecould be given were established. The first rule was thatthe cyclist was only permitted to ride behind herbecause of the potential of the bike acting as a wind-shield and providing a draft effect. Also, the cyclistcould only read cumulative times and not split-timesbecause split-times are usually used to measure pace.The cyclist was also allowed to warn Marla ofapproaching turns, hazards, and water stations. Marlacommented after the race that she had a difficult timegrabbing fluids from the water stations and race-goers along the streets. She kept missing the cupsand didn’t get water until mile 8. As the race contin-ued, she was better able to locate the cups, but real-ized that was something she needs to practice beforeher next race. The most important element that thecyclist assisted with was how the other runnerswere grouped in front of her. By letting Marla knowif the pack was dispersing or staying close together,Marla was able to slow her pace when needed toconserve energy.

RUNYAN IN THE BIG APPLEMarla Runyan is no stranger to our newsletters. Asa student, teacher and alumna, she has inspired usmany times over – and this time is no exception. OnNovember 3, 2002, Marla completed her firstmarathon in New York City. She beat out hundredsof runners and placed fifth among the women witha time of 2:27:10 (less than 2 minutes off the lead).What makes this feat even more impressive is thatMarla is legally blind.

Marla had been training for this day for a long time,running competitively throughout the year. In mid-September, she completed the Philadelphia half-marathon with a time of 1:11:19, giving her secondplace. It didn’t seem that she would have any troublecompleting the longest race of her career. Her onlyapparent hurdle was the difficulties she had reading

10

Runyan in the pack (number 10) in the

N.Y.C. Marathon

The New York Marathon was just another excitingchapter in Marla Runyan’s career. She became thefirst legally blind athlete when she competed in the2000 Summer Games in Sydney. She has also won aNational Championship in the 5000 meter.

When Marla was a young child, she was diagnosedwith Stargardt’s disease, a macular degeneration thatleft gray splotches in her vision. Wearing correctivelenses, her vision is still only 20/400. Marla contin-ues to be an inspiration to all of us and we are proudto call her an alumna of the College. We congratulateher on an excellent finish in New York! To read moreabout her amazing life story and accomplishments,visit her website at http://www.marlarunyan.com .

SDSU MONTH TO HONOR IMPACT

OF ALUMNI, STUDENTS, FACULTYThe Celebration includes events and promotionsthroughout March 2003.

San Diego State University plans to paint the countyred - and black - in March 2003 with a monthlongcelebration to highlight the accomplishments of itsalumni, students and faculty, as well as their enor-mous impact on the San Diego region.

“San Diego State University has a relationship withthe community that’s unparalleled by any other insti-tution in the region. We hope SDSU Month helpsbring this full picture to light,” SDSU PresidentStephen L. Weber said.

SDSU Month will feature a series of special events oncampus and around San Diego, as well as promo-tions at entertainment, cultural and business venuesaround the county.

“Our graduates include famous athletes and astro-nauts, and thousands of the region’s teachers,nurses, engineers, and business and civic leaders,”Weber said. “Our faculty pursue innovation in areasfrom education to biotechnology to the arts, andtheir projects share the common theme of enhancinglives in the community. San Diego can justly takepride in the works of SDSU’s past, present and futurescholars and students.”

Many cities in the region, the county of San Diego,along with the U.S. Congress, have issued proclama-tions declaring March 2003 to be SDSU Month.March is significant to SDSU because the San DiegoNormal School, which later evolved into SDSU, wasfounded on March 13, 1897.

Cornerstone events of SDSU Month will include the31st annual Montys Awards Gala to honor alumni,the 14th Annual Venture Challenge business plancompetition sponsored by SDSU’s EntrepreneurialManagement Center, an Athletics Day, Arts(un)Plugged, a series of performances and show-cases integrating SDSU’s arts and science disciplines,

Marlene is an active member of Sigma Theta TauInternational, the nursing honors society. Sheorganized joint professional programs with theorganization and the School of Nursing, whichbenefits the school tremendously. Her efforts locallyhave raised the stature of the chapter to nationaland international prominence. Through the society,she arranged for nurses from Russia and China tostudy nursing in the United States. She organized theprogram and arranged for room, board, funds fortravel and personal expenses.

Through the course of her professional career, Mar-lene is most proud of her work in psychiatry. Thisstarted while at SDSU asshe reported thatshe worked with agreat group. “Thestudent interac-tion was fantastic.We applied all welearned and sup-ported eachother throughthe process.” Shealso reports thather success ispartially due tothe support ofher husband.Marlene has beenmarried for 32years and hasbeen fortunatethat her husbandsupported herthrough her “crazyantics.” She is proud of her chil-dren and says that her grandchildren are her newdelight.

When asked about her future, Marlene says thatwould like to accomplish more of the same. She

enjoys the role that she created for herself atKaiser Permanente, in the community and inthe professional organizations. San Diego StateUniversity and the School of Nursing are look-ing forward to working with Marlene formany years to come and to continuing to bethe recipient of her time, treasure and talent.

SDSU MONTH TO HONOR IMPACTOF ALUMNI, STUDENTS, FACULTYCONTINUED

11

and solo concerts by world-renown classical guitaristRicardo Iznaola. SDSU Month will also feature otheractivities throughout March such as lectures, culturalevents and more, including the 50th anniversaryparty for the School of Nursing.

Students, faculty, alumni and the entire San Diegocommunity will also have the opportunity to receivean SDSU Month card, which will entitle them to dis-counts and other benefits at businesses and destina-tions around the county during SDSU Month.

“There’s so much substance to the relationshipbetween SDSU and San Diego that you can’t reflect itwith an honorary day, or even a week,” said RonRoberts, chairman of the San Diego County Board ofSupervisors and a SDSU alumnus. “There’s morethan a century of history, and one out of every sevenpeople in the county who holds a college degreeattended SDSU. When you add that the county alsohas tens of thousands of current students and theirparents, current and former employees, donors,sports fans and others who share some close affilia-tion with this university, you have a strong threadrunning through the county’s population that ties theschool and the region together and makes theminseparable.”

Sponsors of SDSU Month include U.S. Bank, SempraEnergy, Nextel, the SDSU Alumni Association, AztecShops, Associated Students and the SDSU Founda-tion.

Media Partners include The San Diego Union-Tri-bune, NBC 7/39, KPBS, San Diego Magazine, CoxCommunications, Clear Channel Communications,Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., the T Sector, and Uni-vision. Information about SDSU Month is availableonline at www.sdsumonth.com.

For more information on SDSU Month or how to getan SDSU Month card once they are available, visitwww.sdsumonth.com, e-mail info@sdsumonth.comor call (619) 594-7085.

San Diego StateUniversity is theoldest and largesthigher educationinstitution in theSan Diego region.Founded in 1897,SDSU has grownto offer bachelor’sdegrees in 78areas, master’sdegrees in 62 areasand doctorates in14. SDSU’s morethan 33,000 students participate in academic curric-ula distinguished by direct contact with faculty andan increasing international emphasis that preparesthem for a global future. For more information log onto www.sdsu.edu.

ALUMNI MONTY AWARDEE: MARLENE RUIZ CONTINUED

C L A S S N O T E SCOLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Karen Knappe Charland, B.S.N. ’83, works for theInternal Medical Association as a Nurse Practi-tioner. She obtained her Masters of Nursing fromUCSF in 1988 and her Nurse Practitioner Certificatefrom the University of Colorado in 1998. She isnationally certified and was recently publishedregarding wound care.

Lisa (Davis) Gittleman, B.S.N. ’88, M.S.N. ’00, iscurrently a Nurse Practitioner for the San DiegoCounty Tuberculosis Program. Since graduating fromSDSU, she has worked as a staff nurse in pediatrics,maternal health, and in public health and clinicsupervision. She received her Family Nurse Practi-tioner certificate from UCSD, concurrently with herM.S.N. in 2000. Since her dual graduation, she hasbeen working as a Nurse Practitioner in the San DiegoCommunity. Her fondest SDSU memories are findingsunny, grassy spots on campus to get in last-minutestudying and the wonderful camaraderie among ournursing class. Lisa also married her husband the weekafter graduating from SDSU in 1988 and has “one ter-rific daughter,” Amanda, age 12.

Sarah Ann Baum Lopez, B.S. Nursing ’83, is workingas a Clinical Nurse III in NICU at the University of Cal-ifornia Los Angeles. She has worked in NICU for over19 years and says that she has seen a lot of changes.One of the changes was prompted by her when shestarted a lactation program in 2001. Sarah is certified inNeonatology. She teaches breastfeeding and skin carefor neonates as a Lactation Educator. Her careerachievements include spending six months in Indiawith Missionaries of Charity in 1987. In 1998, shetaught neonatology nursing in Lithuania.

Nancy (Gonzalez) Ludwick, B.S.N. ’90, has beenworking at Scripps Memorial Hospital since her gradu-ation from San Diego State University. She has workedin the SICU/MICU/CCU for the past 11 years. She ishappily married with two lovely children. Her mostmemorable SDSU moment was when she declared innursing school that she would never work in the ICU,and now it been 11 years and she loves it!

Karen O’Connell, B.S.N. ’83, is working with theHeart Surgery Team at Hoag Hospital. She meets withthe patients in pre-op and prepares them and theirfamily for heart surgery. Karen follows each patientthrough their entire stay and sees them again in thefollow-up clinic. Karen’s achievements includeCCRN, Sigma Theta Tau, Masters in Nursing (UCLA),and CNS Certification.

Kimberly Willis Field, B.S.N. ’71, holds the positionof Nurse Consultant Advisor – TB Program Managerat the Department of Health in Olympia, Washing-ton. Kim is now the President Elect to the NationalTuberculosis Controllers Association. Some of herother achievements include being a ClinicalInstructor for the University of Washington Schoolof Nursing (2002-2003), Affiliate Clinical FacultyPacific Lutheran School of Nursing (2001-2004),Washington State Public Health Association Exec-

12

utive Board Secretary (2001-2003), and the AmericanLung Association of Washington Board of Directors(2001-2003). Kim has also published several articles.

Ken Apel, B.A ‘81, M.A. ‘83, Communicative Disor-ders, moved to Wichita, Kansas in August of 2001 tobecome the Chair of the Department of Communica-tive Disorders and Sciences. Ken also recently co-authored the book Beyond Baby Talk: From Soundsto Sentences, A Parents Guide to Language Develop-ment (Prima Publishers, 2001). He was named a Fel-low of the American Speech-Language-HearingAssociation in 2001. He is married to Lynda (Perrin)B.A. ’80, and has two wonderful children, Nick (19)and Genevieve (16).

Marilynne J. Brown, B.A. Health Sciences and Edu-cation ’83, is a retired RN. She continues to work atGrossmont Hospital as a Certified Emergency Nurseand Mobile Intensive Care Nurse. Previously sheworked as an instructor at Health Occupations untilJuly 1990. Marilynne feels that her greatest achieve-ment was to have made a difference as an MICNmember of an emergency care team. She has a won-derful husband and four great children, who she isproud of because they are living successful and pro-ductive lives.

Jalaine Cook, B.S. ’80, recently relocated to SanDiego after residing in Indianapolis for 13 years. Sheis working as a clinical/technical service specialistfor Biosite. The memory that most stands out in hermind was taking class pictures in their white uni-forms with coffee filters on their heads for caps! Shehas a 14-year-old daughter who is looking forward toattending High School in San Diego.

Julie B. De Graw, B.S. Health Science ’99, is work-ing for the County of San Diego as an EnvironmentalHealth Specialist II. She is registered with the State ofCalifornia Department of Health Services as a regis-tered environmental health specialist. Her jobincludes working as a heath inspector enforcing pub-lic health laws and educating the community aboutthese laws in Oceanside, California. She says that herfavorite SDSU memory is pursuing her passion forenvironmental health, and meeting other studentsand professors that continue to inspire her to make adifference.

Teri (Henderson) Thompson, B.S. Health Science’78, M.S.W. ’85, Currently working as Program Coor-dinator, Northern California region with a statewidebirth defects screening program for pregnant womenthrough DHS/Genetic Disease Branch. Previouslyshe worked as a social worker, and for 14 years inboth San Diego and Sacramento in healthcare. Herfavorite SDSU memories include soaking up thebeautiful San Diego sun, surrounded by the splendidSpanish-style campus. She also like meeting newpeople and enjoyed the new experiences of a youngperson pursuing an education. She has a loving mar-riage of 16 years and is raising her “enchanted andwell-rounded” son, now 12 years old.

happily retired, Michael is affiliatedwith Antique Tours, which pro-vides vineyard tours and weddingtransportation in a classic 1947Packard Convertible limousine.(www.antiquetours.net)

Patricia Calvert Seaborg, M.S.W. ’78, is a second-year doctoral student at USC.

Traci Cornelius, M.S.W. ’93, is a Social Work CaseManager for the Riverside County Office on Aging.She finds it rewarding to work professionally with herpeers from graduate school. She has been married toMichael for 13 years and has two kids.

Adria Emberson, M.S.W. ’83, is a supervisor of theHuntington Senior Care Network and focused most ofher career on assisting older adults during a transitionin their health status. She was licensed in 1986 andhas worked the continuum of care: Acute Hospital,Home Health, Hospice, Care Management, Adult DayHealthcare, Nursing Home consultation, and GeriatricAssessment. Adria also operates a private non-profitgeriatric care management program for HuntingtonHospital with a terrific team of professionals. Adriawas married in 2001.

Che A. Lesuer, M.S.W. ’94, has been employed at theHealth and Human Services Agency – Children’s Ser-vices Bureau, for the County of San Diego since 1994.Che also does per diem work for Sharp Healthcare as atherapist for chronic mentally ill adults. She obtainedher LCSW in May of 1999. Her fondest SDSU memoryis the special friends she met during grad school, espe-cially her dear friend Jaime Nunez.

Janet Abbey Sisson, M.S.W. ’82, has been working forHospice of the Foothills since 2001 as a medical socialworker. She focuses on working with the terminally ill,addressing emotion and spiritual needs. She is a proudwife and mother of two teenage daughters. She leftSan Diego 13 years ago and happily resides in GrassValley, California.

Ellen Graham-Pottorff, M.S.W. ’82, resides inOntario, California and is the Director of Social Ser-vices for Sun Pius Home Health. She has served in avariety of settings including inpatient psychology, fos-ter care, hospice and home health since graduation.Her current position is providing psychotherapy andcasework services and supervising all social servicesat Sun Pius/Ontario. Her other achievements includeher LCSW.

Coleen (Johnson) Stivers, M.S.W. ’83, recentlywent into private practice with her husband. She isthoroughly enjoying being her own boss and iskeeping herself extremely busy. Coleen says hermajor achievement is living sanely in Montana!

13

Jerry L. Rappaport, M.A. Economics ’89, M.S.Occupational Health ’92, is employed by AIG, andrecently started working in New York City as a Tech-nical Service Manager. Working in the CommercialRisk Group, he supports the New York/New EnglandRegion, supporting loss control services

Mark Dickenson, M.D., M.P.H. ’88, works in pri-mary care at a federally financed community healthcenter in northern New Mexico. He supervises theschool-based teen clinic and is involved in manyquality improvement projects.

Patricia M. Kissel, M.P.H. ’84, was trained by theStanford Patient Education Center to be a volunteerhealth educator for their “Living a Healthy Life withChronic Condition,” an outreach program to thecommunity. Each class is taught through the seniorcenters in the Santa Clara, with the assistance of theSanta Clara County Wellness Office. If additionally,she is an official Kaiser Permanente “Health Educa-tor.”

Allison Winn Hemingway, M.P.H. ’93, went back toschool and graduated from Emory University with aMaster of Medical Science degree. She currentlyworks as a Physician’s assistant in the reproductiveendocrinology for the Emory Clinic. She’s been mar-ried for 10 years to Steve, and has a 19-month-olddaughter named Anna, and is due in February withanother girl.

Patricia A. Wood, M.P.H. ’83, Patricia works as adata analyst for San Diego State University Founda-tion.

Jennifer L. Clements (Formerly Eliott/Morris),B.A. Social Work, ’83, is an elementary schoolteacher with Washoe County School District, Reno,Nevada. She has been working in education since1983 in the areas of high school guidance, specialeducation, and elementary education. Her achieve-ments include a master’s degree in Special Educa-tion. Jennifer is also a key trainer for GuidedLanguage Acquisition Design.

Kirin A. Amiling, M.S.W. ’02, is currently agrantwriter for Paradise Valley Hospital Foundationin the South Bay. She has fond memories of havingintense debates with her classmates about currentsocial issues. Her favorite professors include Eichler,Degennaro, Packard, Min and Jones.

Michael B. Beeson, M.S.W. ’71, retired in December2001, after 17 years of service as a licensing inspec-tor for the California Department of Social Services.Michael was a Russian language graduate of theDefense Language Institute in Monterey (1959),earned a B.A. in Sociology (1969) from Cal State SanBernardino and went on to complete his M.S.W. fromSDSU in 1971. Michael has resided in Yountville,located in the Napa Valley, since 1973. He was a psy-chiatric social worker at the Napa State Hospital forseveral years – serving as a field instructor for Sacra-mento State College. He was named lead socialworker for the Adolescent Treatment Program. Now

CLASS NOTES CONTINUED

After counseling convicts, assistant dean is happyto work with students.

Working with students is a dream come true forSelma Reed, the assistant dean of student affairs inthe College of Health and Human Services. After fiveand a half years working with prison inmates, sheappreciates the uplifting environment of higher edu-cation.

Reed has been in her current position a little over twoyears, but in that short time, she has amassed a slewof awards that line her office. “I’m most proud of theAztec Achievement Award from the Associated Stu-dents because it comes directly from the entire stu-dent body,” she said.

This is not Reed’s first time at SDSU. She grew up inColorado and graduated from the University of Col-orado at Boulder with a bachelor’s degree in biologyand psychology. She came to San Diego to attend theCalifornia School of Professional Psychology (nowAlliant) where she earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychol-ogy in 1989.

After receiving her license, she came to SDSU to workas the research services coordinator for the humansubjects committee for three years. While in this posi-tion, she obtained an MBA from SDSU.

“The Executive MBA program is geared toward work-ing professionals,” she said. “I had physicians, bankersand others from a wide variety of careers who were myclassmates. It was quite interesting, and it’s a great pro-gram to augment management skills.”

After completing her MBA, Reed took on a job that hada big impact on her life.She went to work forthe Federal Bureau ofPrisons, which fallsunder the Departmentof Justice, working atthe MetropolitanDetention Center inLos Angeles as thedirector of psychol-ogy training.

“Fifty percent of myjob involved super-vising and developingour interns, but theother 50 percentinvolved direct contactwith inmates,” shesaid. “Working in a prison is an experience like noother. It was a high-risk facility, so once there, Irarely left the building. Needless to say, the stresslevel is incredibly high in that environment.” Reedexplained that this particular prison was for indi-viduals arrested for federal crimes, which range allover the board.

Several celebrity inmates were housed at the facil-ity, including Whitewater figure Susan McDougal,

SELMA REED BRINGS UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE TO SDSU

14

COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

ADVISORY

BOARD

The College of Healthand Human Services

Advisory Boardmembers are listedbelow. This boardassists the Dean

with program andfundraising

development.We thank them for

their continuedservice to the

College.

Paul Downey, ‘81President and CEO

Senior Community Centersof San Diego

CHHS Advisory Board Chair

Hank CunninghamDirector, Economic

Development andCommunity Services

Assistant ExecutiveDirector, Redevelopment

AgencyChair, Consensus

OrganizingSubcommittee

Dan Gross, ‘88Chief Executive Officer

Sharp Memorial HospitalChair, SDSU Nurses Now

Sub-Committee

Elizabeth Bustos, ‘83President

Hispanic Chamber ofCommerce

Steve EscobozaChief Executive Officer

Health Association of SanDiego and Imperial

Counties

Hollywood madam Heidi Fliess, the notorious com-puter hacker Kevin Mitnick and racist killer BufordFurrow.

Several incidents affected her in various ways. One inparticular, which she characterizes as life altering,was when she was part of a crisis support team. Aninmate at the penitentiary in Lompoc murdered anofficer. Reed and a colleague were called in the mid-dle of the night and required to be at that prison, athree-hour drive away, by 7 a.m.

“What first struck me was being greeted by officerswith shotguns. We arrived just as they were cleaningup and photographing the scene, which was quitegrizzly,” she said. “It was a complete lock down sit-uation, and remained so the eight days we werethere.”

“Debriefing each person helped us piece the inmate‚sactions together, and it was chilling. Then workingwith the murdered officer’s widow and childrenbrought the incident home. I immediately called myhusband.” Reed is married to SDSU associate profes-sor Richard Reed in the School of Nursing.

Eventually, the stress of working in a prison startedto catch up with her. “The last six months there Ibegan to burn out,” she said. “I knew it was time fora change.” Although she and her husband lived inPasadena at the time, Richard commuted to his job atSDSU. They decided that a move to San Diego wouldbe better for both of them.

When the assistant dean position opened, Reedknew it was right for her. “What I love most aboutthis job is the students,” she said without hesitation.

“They are great. It’s such a positive atmos-phere. I consider myself an educator, notjust an administrator. When problems arise,I help students handle them and to live inthe real world. After dealing with the prob-lems of inmates, I figure I can handle any-thing!”

Reed also has high esteem for her col-leagues. “My dean and associate dean havebeen incredibly supportive of my work.They have afforded me the independenceto grow as a professional and direct myenergies to what’s in the best interest of ourstudents.

“My fellow assistant deans are so talented andwere very welcoming‚” she said. “I’m stilllearning, and they have been a tremendous

source of inspiration to me.”

Reed learned the importance of balance from herdays in the prison system. Delving into interests out-side of work helps her keep perspective. “I’m anexercise nut,” she said. “I start almost every day withcardio and weight lifting.” The Reeds, who live in theheart of downtown San Diego, also enjoy movies,dining with friends, traveling and reading.

Selma Reed,

Assistant Dean of Student Affairs

However, there is a way to avoid these substantialtax penalties while also making a difference in the

lives of others: it is often better to transfer cash, stockor land to children and give an IRA or pension plan

to charity. You can optimize your investment bybequesting a portion, or all, of the funds in a qualifiedretirement plan/IRA to San Diego State University. Notonly will you enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that youare helping ensure continued academic excellence atSDSU, but you will play a role in building an innova-tive University that remains responsive to studentsneeds in this millennium.

For more information about how you can take advan-tage of this mutually beneficial opportunity to enjoy atax savings while your deferred gift leaves a lastinglegacy at SDSU, please contact Patricia Moulton, aSDSU planned giving representative, at 619/594-7090or pmoulton@mail.sdsu.edu.

San Diego State University has undergone transfor-mational changes over the last century. While explor-ing our mission to educate, explore and serve, we’vebecome an institution known for our ground-break-ing research, distinguished faculty, hands-on gradu-ates and commitment to serving our community.

SDSU’s Office of Planned Giving is pleased to assistalumni with their financial planning, offering freeadvice about how you can leverage your tax savingsand the return on your investments. At the sametime, you can also provide a vital source of fundingfor your alma mater.

The realityThe graph represents the 90-90-90 Rule

A majority of people avoid taking distributions fromtheir IRAs or pension plans before the required ageof 70 due to the significant tax ramifications they’dincur in doing so. And, once they reach this age,many choose to take the minimum distributionallowed in order remain in their current tax bracket.Consequently, 90% of the individuals who reach 90years of age have left 90% of their retirement plansuntouched. Given a number of factors, such as taxadvantages and the rollover of pension plans, retire-ment plans have become the largest asset in mostfamilies’ portfolios, surpassing the value of the fam-ily home.

Optimize your investmentThe drawback of investing substantial sums in aretirement plan, and then failing to cash it out, is thatretirement plans are not meant to be inheritanceplans. In fact, when they are left to heirs through anestate, they are subject to multiple layers of taxa-tion—so much so that they can reduce the benefitsreceived by remaining family members to as little as25 cents on the dollar.

15

Robert Ito, ‘74Chief Executive OfficerOccupational Training

Services, Inc.

Napoleon Jones,’62, ‘67

U.S. District JudgeU.S. District Court

Jewel Kelley, ’78, ‘80Philanthropist andCommunity Volunteer

Ed Martinez, ’68, ‘72CEO, San Ysidro

Health Center

Erica Opstad, ‘93Vice President, Community

Development ManagerU.S. Bank

Deven Parlikar, ‘91Executive Director

Indian Health Council, Inc.

David RobertsCorporate Vice President

Science ApplicationsInternationalCorporation

Rene SantiagoDeputy Director and

General Manager/CentralRegion, Health & Human

Services Agency,County of San Diego

Barry WeinbaumChief Executive Officer

Alvarado Hospital MedicalCenter

Greg ZinserPresident and CEO

Vista Hill Foundation

ADVISORY

BOARD

PLANNED GIVING

Illustration I: IRA TO CHILDREN

IRA$1,000,000

Children$300,000

• Federal Estate Tax• State Inheritance Tax• Federal Income Tax • State Income Tax

Illustration II: BEQUEST OF IRA TO SDSU

SDSU

IRA

• Bypass Income Tax• Bypass Estate Tax• Part or All of IRA• Beneficiary

Designation

2002 Rules IRA Balance

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Penalty

Voluntary

Mandatory

Age of IRA Owner

VISION:

The College of

Health and

Human

Services

shapes the

future, meets

the challenge,

and makes a

difference in

the health and

social well-

being of the

community.

WITH ALUMNI

San Diego State UniversityCollege of Health andHuman Services5500 Campanile DriveSan Diego, CA 92182-4124

Address Service Requested

CHHS CLASS NOTES (PLEASE PRINT)

NAME: CLASS YEAR:

DEGREE MAJOR: HOME TELEPHONE NUMBER:

SSN: CURRENT POSITION:

DATE OF BIRTH: BUSINESS TELEPHONE NUMBER:

E-MAIL ADDRESS:

BUSINESS ADDRESS:

FAVORITE MEMORY OF SDSU:

CAREER NEWS AND PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS:

SEND TO: CHHS CLASS NOTES, DEVELOPMENT OFFICE. COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN DIEGO, CA 92182-4124

OR E-MAIL THIS INFORMATION TO chhsdev@mail.sdsu.edu

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. Postage

paidSan Diego, CAPermit No. 265