Athletic Hall of Fame 4

This Is Your GCC Table of Contents Message from the Superintendent/President 3 Athletic Hall of Fame 4 Forty Years of Field Tripping 6 Baja California Field Studies Program Designed for Customer Service 1 0 New Lab/College Services Building Mission Statement Glendale Community College serves a diverse population of students by providing the opportunities and support to achieve their educational and career goals. We are committed to student learning and success through transfer preparation, certifi cates, associate degrees, career development, technical training, continuing education, and basic skills instruction. Dedicated to the importance of higher education in an evolving urban environment, faculty and staff engage students in rigorous and innovative learning experiences that enhance and sustain the cultural, intellectual, and economic vitality of the community. As part of its mission, Glendale Community College is committed to student success by promoting: ■ communication, critical thinking, information competency, quantitative reasoning, global awareness, personal responsibility, and application of knowledge; ■ coherence among disciplines and promotion of openness to the diversity of the human experience; ■ student services, learning support, and state of the art technology that enable students to reach their educational goals in an effi cient and timely manner ◄ On the cover: Dr. David Viar and members of the Board of Trustees applaud student commencement speaker Sindura Subanemy Kandasamy, a 2013–14 GCC Woman of Distinction. First Year Refl ections Message from the Superintendent/President Graduation for our Glendale Community College class of 2014 was the culmination of my fi rst year serving as GCC President. As I shook the graduates’ hands, I was reminded what a difference our college makes in the lives of our students and the community. As the evening came to a close, I thought back on my fi rst year and could confi rm that the statewide reputation that Glendale Community College is an outstanding educational institution is well-deserved. That reputation also was reconfi rmed with release of the statewide community college accountability data. Although this data is only one way to measure GCC success, it provides valuable insight. In the recent Statewide Student Success Accountability Scorecard, GCC ranked fi rst among the 14 community colleges in the greater Los Angeles Region on seven measures and in the top ten percent in the state on six measures. GCC faculty and staff, however, do not rest on this reputation of excellence. They use that reputation as a challenge to do even better. GCC is in the forefront of identifying new approaches to assure our students succeed in achieving their informed educational goals. Our GCC is a place of creativity, focus, and success. Whether an immigrant needing to learn English or an Dr. David Viar, honors student being prepared for transfer to an outstanding Superintendent/President university, whether a science student engaged in major original research or a person seeking technical skills for a well-paying career, whether a student competing in national debate competition against university students or a student athlete winning in state competition, one can fi nd a program that meets your needs and helps transform your life. “GCC is in the forefront of We are Your GCC. identifying new approaches to assure our students succeed in achieving their informed educational goals. Our GCC is a place of creativity, focus, and success.” 3 A Growing Tradition Athletic Hall of Fame In its fi rst 12 years of existence, the Glendale College Athletic Hall Haney, a 2006 inductee for outstanding athletic achievement in golf. of Fame has inducted fi ve Olympians, a World Junior Champion, His initiative helped re-establish the golf program at GCC, and he a Baseball Hall of Famer, two Major League Baseball players, one has devoted countless hours to the Glendale College Foundation— NBA player, an NFL head coach, three NFL players, four NCAA serving as a board member, Board President and Hall of Fame Champions, fi ve State Champions and six All-Americans. And we’re Committee member. just getting started. “We started to see how the hall of fame could be very benefi cial to Thanks largely to the efforts of J. Walter Smith—the former GCC the college itself,” said Mike. “In the past few years, our fi nancial Dean of Students and track coach—the Athletic Hall of Fame was focus has evolved from just trying to break even on the event to inaugurated in 2002 with an induction banquet and permanent making it a fund raising tool.” exhibit in the student center that bears his name. “It was conceived as a way to honor the great athletic tradition we have at Glendale Last year, the Foundation took on the task of raising funds for the College,” said Alex Leon, Sports Information Director at GCC, “but athletic department’s training facilities. Housed in the lower level the event has grown beyond the capacity of the room. We’ve had to of the 1930s era gym, the training offi ce, equipment storage and put people on waiting lists to attend, and that just goes against what maintenance rooms have been in desperate need of an upgrade we’re trying to accomplish.” for quite some time. “We were able to raise almost $20,000 with last year’s hall of fame—mostly by offering sponsorship packages,” By all accounts, the Athletic Hall of Fame was an immediate success. explained Alex. “We did a pledge request at the event and we received It served to reunite a lot of former teammates and coaches and the support from Lexus of Glendale’s car wash program with a 100% inductees and their families were sincerely moved to be so honored. turnover to the college for every $15 car wash ticket sold.” It was a But as it turns out, the type of people who leave their mark as signifi cant achievement, and the training staff has already benefi ted student athletes are also the type who want to contribute to the next with the purchase of a much-needed electric equipment cart. generation. After reconnecting with the college through the Athletic Hall of Fame, several inductees have dedicated signifi cant amounts of Given the success of last year’s event, but limited by the size of the their personal time and resources back to the college, helping to enrich room in the student center, it was proposed to move this year’s event the experience of our current and future athletes. to the gymnasium and make it bigger and better. “Expanding the event is a bit of a leap of faith for us,” said Alex. “We didn’t have a One such example is NFL head coach Andy Reid. In 2005, when broken system—it has run very well and we’ve been a model for other the athletic fi eld was being refurbished, his family stepped in with a schools—but now we’re all in. We’ll still hold the reception in the major donation that paid for the new scoreboard. Then there’s Mike student center with the beautiful mural and all the inductees’ plaques, 4 but we’ll have the banquet in the gym so we’ll the University of Hawaii-Chaminade and the be able to accommodate hundreds of people.” South African National Team.” The Hall of Fame Committee concluded GCC’s powerhouse track and fi eld program that the best way to fi ll the larger room is to will also be represented by the 1974 Cross have an exceptional inductee class. “We think Country team on the 40th anniversary of their that John Cicuto—our longtime football state championship season, and rounding out coach and current Athletic Director—will the class, longtime GCC supporter Harry attract a lot of former athletes who will turn Hull will be honored for his many years of out to honor him and help us reach our goal,” meritorious service to the college. said Alex. “It just amazes me,” said Jim Sartoris, Hall In addition to John Cicuto, this year’s of Fame Committee Chairman. “Just when inductee class includes Hudson Houck, the I think we can’t do any better in terms of an former NFL offensive line coach of nearly inductee class, we come up with a tremendous three decades. “He coached for about fi ve group like this. It’s a great representation of teams including the Dallas Cowboys and our strong athletic tradition.” Miami Dolphins,” said Alex. “He’s coached This year’s goal is to raise $100,000 for the NFL Hall of Famers and three Super Bowl athletic program. “We want to create an Champion teams. He played football at Athletic Success Fund, similar to the Student GCC in 1960.” Success Fund that was launched during the One of Coach Cicuto’s all-time favorite college’s 85th anniversary,” said Alex. “We’re defensive backs is also in this year’s class. Mark reaching out to businesses and individuals McMillian was an All-American at GCC in who understand the value of a great athletic 1987 and played for eight years in the NFL. program, and we’re hoping they’ll want to But the class isn’t all about football. “This help us grow this tradition.” year we’re inducting our fi rst softball player,” said Alex. “Kelly Korras was an all-conference www.glendale.edu/hallofFame pitcher at GCC in 2008 and later pitched for Glendale College Athletic Hall of Fame inductees. 5 Forty Years of Field Tripping Carolina Shepard, Director of the Museo de Naturaleza y Cultura in Bahía, serves as a guest educator on a visit to the prehistoric rock paintings of Montevideo. 6 Baja California Field Studies Program n designating the coastal islands of Bahía de los Ángeles as a World IHeritage Site, the United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) referred to the area’s reputation as a natural laboratory for the investigation of speciation.

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