In This Issue

Dilys J. Jones,
Director of Alumni Relations

The first quarter of 2008 has been very productive. I hope you are keeping up by reading FANmail, visiting the FAN Web page, and opening our e-mail messages. Most exciting is the first inter-school, multi-program Fielding Alumni Summit, conceived over three years ago, and organized and executed by our Alumni Council members. Over the past few months, we’ve elected a new alumni representative to the Fielding Community Council, three to the Alumni Council, and nominated a new member to the Board of Trustees. The Fielding Alumni Network (FAN) is taking shape, and by late summer you’ll begin to receive information on combined alumni/student, all-program gatherings in your area. We hope you’ll share your knowledge, experiences and ideas while socializing and networking with like-minded people. Do you plan to attend, or present, at a conference in the United States or internationally? Let us know! We’ll post it on the FAN events calendar and try to organize a Fielding Mingle & Meet at the conference. Please send alerts to this office via alumnirelations@fielding.edu, and be sure to check www.fielding.edu/alumni for more alumni information.


Dilys J. Jones
Director of Alumni Relations

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Fielding alumni will gather in Tucson, Arizona, on June 26–29, 2008, for the first cross-discipline collaboration of alumni from all three schools. What transpires will be drawn from the collective wisdom and social justice perspective of those in attendance (the conference is designed on “Open Space Technology,” which ensures dialogue and action learning amongst participants). Alumni seeking continuing education credit can participate in an APA- and BBSE-approved workshop that analyzes group action and interaction.

Imagine... the synergy created through this group’s passion, innovation and efforts to make a difference. The possibilities are limitless:

Perhaps we will create a collaborative writing project to influence how people think and what they know;

We may focus on supporting a developing nation with education and community projects;

Or choose to become an active voice for human rights;

Or determine to focus attention on needs of specific groups and communities in America.

Experience Tucson’s dramatic “monsoon season,” take advantage of local activities that include a guided hike or jeep tour through spectacular desert landscapes, and trips to renowned historical arts and cultural sites. Join other graduates from ELC, HOD, and PSY masters’ and doctoral programs for this timely event. To register or learn more, follow the link and encourage fellow graduates to meet you in Tucson.
www.fielding.edu/alumni/alumni_activities.asp

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Inspired by President Kuipers’ desire to build endowment funds as part of her legacy to Fielding, the Board of Trustees has named this new campaign in her honor. A strong endowment will help provide a stable and permanent financial foundation for the university and insure the continuance of Fielding’s record of academic excellence.

The President Judith L. Kuipers Endowment Campaign will continue through May 2009, with the goals of:
• Increasing the general Fielding endowment
• Building a general scholarship endowment
• Expanding all other university endowment funds.

Contributions to Fielding endowment funds will be invested for long term growth and will serve as a source of perpetual support, producing income for Fielding for generations to come.

You will soon be receiving more information about the campaign and the Fielding endowment. If you have questions in the meantime, please contact Anne Kratz, vice president for university advancement and development, for more information (akratz@fielding.edu, 805.898.2926).

Ted Takamura (HOD 97) capped his term as a member of the Alumni Council and as the alumni representative on the Fielding Board of Trustees by making the first planned gift to the President Judith L. Kuipers Endowment Campaign. Ted and his wife Raynette Yoshida have designated $100,000 from their retirement assets to come to Fielding in just ten years.

The pair has taken a thoughtful approach to how their gift will be directed. An HOD graduate, Ted took seriously President Kuipers’ goal to build a “university as one community.” So that “all areas benefit,” says Ted, $20,000 of the gift will go to the general Fielding endowment and the remainder will be divided into $20,000 increments for each of the three schools, to be used for faculty development, and another $20,000 for Fielding staff development. Ted and Raynette hope that the funds for faculty and staff development will continue to grow, beyond their own gift, and one day “becomes a grand thing,” perpetually contributing to Fielding’s drive for excellence.

Ted was a member of the first Alumni Council created in 1999, and has been a dedicated and active volunteer ever since; he served as a trustee for three years. As we thank him for his volunteer work on behalf of Fielding, we also extend our gratitude to him and Raynette for their wonderful foresight and extraordinary generosity on behalf of Fielding!

Shortly after graduating from the ELC program, Bryon began teaching at his alma mater, Lincoln University, the oldest historically black university in the country. There, Bryon is an adjunct professor in the Master of Human Services program, a graduate level program designed for mid-career human service professionals. He lives with his wife, Maria, and daughters Quortnee (18) and Chelsee (17) in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.

Bryon serves on Fielding’s Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Governance Work Group, and has been instrumental in strengthening communication links between the university and alumni communities. When asked what he would like to accomplish during his year as chair of the Fielding Alumni Council, Bryon responded, “I look forward to serving our alumni. My primary goal is to create opportunities that will foster relationships across the Fielding community, and also work at increasing the council’s visibility. I am excited about the prospect of attending events for all schools, where I can meet members of the Fielding family, and gather firsthand information on the current views of alumni, students, faculty, and administrators.”

Bryon C. Noon
(ELC 05)

HOD Summer Session, Kansas City, Missouri:
Gene D. Cohen, MD, PhD, the Creative Longevity and Wisdom project’s outstanding scholar presents “The Mature Mind: Creative Potential and Psychological Growth in the Second Half of Life.” (Thursday, July 31, 7:00 p.m.)

Alumni registration available by sending an email to alumnirelations@fielding.edu

PSY Summer Session, Kansas City, Missouri:
Jon Hubbard, PhD, will discuss “Integrating Research and Practice to Serve the Psychosocial Needs of Torture Survivors.” (Tuesday, July 29, at 7:30 p.m.)

Glen Aylward, PhD, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Southern Illinois University, Springfield, Illinois, presents “Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of High Risk Infants.” (Friday, August 1, at 5:30 p.m.)

PSY Faculty Panel: “Can Love Last? Relational Approach to the Fate of Intimacy” (Friday, August 1, at 7:30 p.m.)

Faculty member, Lynne Saba (PSY 95) will hold a short, “Tips for Taking the EPPP” workshop for alumni and new clinical graduates (Saturday, August 2, at 9:30 a.m.)

Fielding Library Services provides alumni access for many databases including Netlibrary, Wilson’s Education Full Text & OmniFile Full Text Select, as well as ProQuest’s ABI/Inform, Education Journals, Psychology Journals, and Research Library. A complete list of library databases available to alumni is at www.fielding.edu/library/databases/alumni.asp.

Library Services has been working to obtain alumni access to more library databases and journal packages (that we subscribe to) but must regretfully report, for now, that it doesn’t appear that we can get any more alumni access than what we already have. Vendors and publishers that supply us with journals and databases have all declined further alumni access. Alain Dussert, director of library services, will raise the issue with vendors and librarians again at the annual American Library Association this June and will let Fielding administration and alumni know of any positive outcomes.

The Office of Alumni Relations has been gathering information from alumni across all the different programs, and we’ve found that in addition to your desire to stay connected socially, career development has become a significant networking objective. Many of you have expressed a wish to identify and contact fellow alumni who are employed at companies or in an industry where you want to work.

In response to this trend, we are inviting alumni to consider developing workshops or panel discussions that build professional development skills. These may include “how to” sessions on job searches, interviewing techniques, resume preparation, networking tips, and career transitioning. If you are interested in copresenting with other alumni or faculty on these or similar topics, please download the application materials at www.fielding.edu/alumni/forms.asp and submit your completed proposal to alumnirelations@fielding.edu for consideration.

This is a great way to gain experience in presenting your work and to continue participating in the Fielding community. Especially for those of you who continued your research after graduating. Deadline for submission of abstracts is June 30, 2008. Follow the link for more information: www.fielding.edu/includes/alumni/PosterInvitation-Alumni.pdf.

Betty Downes (HOD 90) (left) shares a laugh with HOD Professor Emeritus Don Bushnell during 2008 HOD winter session.