Letter from the President

Letter from the President As Pitzer celebrates an important our earliest beginnings. What we milestone this year-the marking found was an educational process of our 25th year-it is cause to that can provide students with an celebrate, too, that which reflects interdisciplinary perspective; most clearly the success and intercultural understanding and, character of any institution of significantly for a College founded higher education- the character of in the 1960s and committed to our graduates. For all of us who social awareness and action, a have been involved in the concern with the social conse education of our alums, and for quences and ethical implications those many Pitzer faculty and staff of knowledge and action. who maintain regular contact with It is, however, not in committee our alums, it is, indeed, a proud meetings, nor the curriculum, the reflection. classroom, nor even in our In recent years, we have worked students that the articulation and as a community to define and realization of these educational articulate Pitzer's educational goals is definitively seen. These objectives. What are the goals can be tested in the lives and educational values we strive to choices of our graduates. instill in our students, and thereby During the past 10 years, one of impart to our graduates? What my greatest pleasures has been emerged from that process meeting and corresponding with encompassed the best goals of Pitzer graduates. I am proud and liberal education-breadth of privileged to represent Pitzer knowledge; understanding in College. It is gratifying to see how depth; critical thinking, formal the lives and careers of our analysis, and effective expression. graduates reflect our educational Perhaps even more importantly, objectives. Some of the most we sought to define those enjoyable moments of my work educational goals that are are those times when I have an distinctive to a Pitzer education opportunity to talk about what and which reflect traditions from makes Pitzer College unique in the world of higher education and what Pitzer College has to offer to the world beyond Claremont. The answers to those queries are, of course, inextricably interwoven-in much the same way as the educational goals of the ' institution are woven into the values and lives of our grads. Pitzer has long attracted a special group of students: self-motivated, bright, eager to learn. They come to us full of promise and we are gratified when we see and hear that, to some measure, Pitzer helps them fulfill that promise so that they, in turn, impart those values to the larger world. This many proudly do. This special issue of "Participant" is dedicated to all of our graduates. As we celebrate our 25th year, we celebrate and honor them. Frank L. Ellsworth President and Professor of Political Studies 2&3 Inside Story Back from Bolivia At the Editor's Oesk In a telephone interview from her loft in Seattle's Pioneer Square, Curt Schaeffer '75 returned from In January, Nancy Martin '70 which she shares with a painter, Bolivia last year where he managed was appointed executive editor of Vandenbrink said when she's not the technical component of a The Journal of Nucleic kid making jewelry, she's doing health education project aimed at Researr;h, published by IRL Press. volunteer work for the National Martin, a biology major at Pitzer, reducing infant mortality rates in Abortion Rights Action League. isolated rural areas that have no has a doctorate in biology from "Even though I am making medical services. Bolivia's national Harvard University and is Preston jewelry that only rich people can infant mortality rate is high: out of Pope Joyes Professor of Biochem afford I feel I need to balance istry at the University of Louisville. every 1,000 infants that are born, that," she said. She has held the endowed chair 170 die before they are a year old, "After eight years of Republicans Schaeffer said, mostly as a result of position since 1987. and another four in store, I think dehydradration, acute respiratory She teaches biochemistry and it's really important for those of us infections, malnutrition, and molecular and cellular biology, who can to be out there on the other childhood diseases. and conducts research in the front line." Vandenbrink was a The project aimed to give mechanisms that contribute to sociology major at Pitzer, and said normal cell growth. Her research mothers the means to solve health she was impressed with the way problems in the hom~ without. is supported by the National the sociology professors got relying on health services that, III Institutes of Health and the involved in the community. most cases, weren't available to National Science Foundation. "One of the things I came away them, Schaeffer said. Martin's publication credits are from my Pitzer experience with Schaeffer lived in Bolivia from too long to list here, but just was a responsibility to be active to keeping it to the last two years, she 1983 1988, and now lives in socially and politically." New York City and works for has contributed articles to Nucleic Vandenbrink was featured in the kid Researr;h and Molecular and Cooperative American Relief May/June 1987 issue of Seattle's Everywhere (C.A.R.E.) U.S.A. as Cellular Biowgy in 1988 and 1989 Style magazine. regional manager of Latin and the Journal ofBiowgical American programs. In January Chemistry in 1988. We would like Suzanne Smith Embraces Art as a 1988, Journal ofRum I Health to list the titles of those articles, Healing Ritual published his "Bolivian Mothers but one would have to have a When a fellow artist was Clubs as Media: Building on biology degree to understand diagnosed with cancer, six artists, Community-Based Networks." them. Congratulations on your including Suzanne Smith '86, The article was about primary new appointment, Nancy! joined forces for "The Embracing health care intervention, Schaeffer A Social Conscience Circle: The Art of Well ness," a said. Journal ofRuml Health is major group exhibit and healing published by the National Rural Cathryn Vandenbrink '72 is an ritual to "honor the strength and Health Association. independent jewelry designer in fragility of human and creative Seattle, Wash., who balances spirit energies." The artists her jewelry-making with embraced "elements from the political work. sources of nature, mythology, religion and the archaic world in order to signifY the universal experience of healing," states the. exhibition catalogue. This past year has also kept Smith busy with solo exhibitions The creations of Cathryn Vandenbrink 72: a large sterling 14 karat gold necklace and bracelet. Early Outreach Coordinator Henrie Watkins at The Claremont Graduate Carmel also produced a video "I feel like we're finally moving School, where she did an outdoor program in the summer of 1988, somewhere on family needs," she installation; and at California State "Operation Salam," for the said, adding that employers University, Bakersfield, where she United Nations, showing the frequently refer to child care as a was a visiting artist and one of four human and environmental tragedy women's issue rather than a family national sculptors awarded a prize that has befullen Afghanistan. Issue. to execute an environmental Carmel and Girardet are about Sturtevant is the department sculpture, which she installed on to head overseas again on a two chair and an associate professor of the campus. year expedition along Africa's sociology at Southern Oregon seven-nation wildlife belt State College. Watkins Reaches Out (Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Designing Woman Henrie Watkins '88 has returned Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and to Pitzer to develop the Early Kenya) doing documentaries on Patti Podesta '78 can be found Outreach Program for the College. different subjects in each of the teaching a film and video class at The program is designed to countries they will be visiting. Art Center School of Design at encourage minority students to The documentary business is a Pasadena. strive for post-secondary education new venture for Carmel. He has She was the editor of a major and emphasizes giving personal spent most of his years since book on video art, The Resolution: attention to each student. "- graduating from Pitzer in the print A Critique of Video Art published A political studies major at side of journalism. Talk about in 1986 by the Los Angeles Pitzer, Watkins reports that public working your way up, Carmel Contemporary Exhibition. We policy interests him "because it started at the Christian Science should be able to see her work on affords me the opportunity to help Monimr as a copy boy in 1979 and television soon when a pilot called others in a creative way. And being was editor of the international "Kitty Hoy" is broadcast. Podesta an Afro-American, I am especially edition of the Monimr by the time was the art director ofthe pilot. interested in policy that can he left the newspaper in 1987. She's also directing a video about enhance the condition of Carmel said he hopes to visit Joan Burroughs, wife of writer minorities in our society." He Pitzer soon and give a talk about William Burroughs. credits his participation on the his experiences in Afghanistan. Rent Control Battles Faculty Executive Committee, We're looking forward to it! while a student, with exposing Rosemarie Ibanez '86 is him to the "crisis of minority Saving the Forest for the Trees currently involved in a legal battle participation in higher education, Vicky Sturtevant '72 has been between the City of Los Angeles both on the faculty and student working on a survey of people and a corporation that owns a level." Watkins believes his who live in Oregon's "urban large mobile home park in the city.

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