Volume 13, Number 23 SePT. 26, 2011
Read the JouRnal online: www.calu.edu/news/the-journal

Conductor, Painter,
Symphony to Share Stage

P

The new CalU Fusion app, developed by Blackboard
Mobile, keeps the campus community in touch with Cal U
news and Vulcan sports information.

Customized
Cal Fusion
‘App’ Available

S

tudents, faculty, staff and alumni are starting the
fall semester by downloading a new mobile
application to their smart phones, iPods and
digital tablets.
The new Cal Fusion app is available free on Apple
iOS and Android devices.
It includes Cal U’s popular “people finder”
directory, a calendar of campus events and a course
listing with class schedules, classroom locations and email links to professors.
The app keeps the campus community in touch
with Cal U news and Vulcan sports information,
including team schedules and scores. It offers a realtime “shuttle tracker” for keeping tabs on the Vulcan
Flyer shuttle buses, plus emergency information, an
interactive campus map, YouTube videos and campus
photos.
The suite even includes the University’s robust
mobile website, m.calu.edu .
— Continued on page 2

Locating the App

To download the free Cal Fusion app,
powered by Blackboard, search for “California
University of Pennsylvania” in the iTunes
App Store or the Android Marketplace. The
CalUFusion app, developed by Songwhale
and introduced last year, also is available
through iTunes. The WCAL app can be found
in the iTunes Store and Android Marketplace.

icture this: For six
entertaining minutes, two
Cal U faculty members from
unrelated disciplines will
collaborate in front of an audience.
Dr. Yugo Ikach, associate
professor of music, and Todd
Pinkham, associate professor of art
and design, will perform their
crafts simultaneously on Oct. 8 at
Trinity High School Auditorium.
Ikach is the music director and
principal conductor of the
Washington Symphony Orchestra.
He will conduct “Picture This,” a
concert that blends music with art.
Before the program’s
intermission, Pinkham and local
artist Jeff Katrencik will paint
onstage while the orchestra
performs Borodin’s “In the Steppes
of Central Asia.”
“I’m always looking to do new,
fun things, and I’ve been looking at
music for this concert for about a
year,” said Ikach, who also directs
the University Choir.
“There are a lot of composers
who have been inspired by a
painting. Some even used the title
of a painting for their piece of
music — and that got me
thinking.”
Pinkham will be painting in
reaction to a 19th-centry piece
written for a Russian monarch. He
envisions having a very sparse
landscape in place when the music
begins, and said he may create a
caravan heading off into the
distance.
“I’ve got to adhere to a certain
tradition and discipline, but this is
an era of change where there are a
lot of things changing peoples’

Todd Pinkham (above) and local artist Jeff Katrencik will paint onstage while
the Washington Symphony Orchestra performs Borodin’s ‘In the Steppes of
Central Asia’ on Oct. 8 at Trinity High School.

perspectives,” he said.
“Performance art is a strong
thing, and Yugo gets it. I’m excited
and looking forward to this.”
Performance art dates to the
1960s, explained Pinkham, former
art director at Dargate Auction
Galleries in Pittsburgh. He said
he’s inspired by the late
performance artist Denny Dent

and concept artist Andrew Jones,
and he shows YouTube videos of
both to his students.
“I’ve always liked the quote that
art is basically a reflection of the
times it’s made in,” Pinkham said.
“Artists are using a lot of visual
components, and I have a lot of
influences that I see around me.

— Continued on page 3

Earth Scientists to Showcase
Research at GSA Meeting

T

hree faculty members in the
Department of Earth Science will
present research at the 2011
Geological Society of America’s (GSA)
123rd annual meeting and exposition.
Dr. Matthew Baird, Dr. Kyle Fredrick
and Dr. Thomas Kaitlin will represent Cal
U from Oct. 9-12 at the Minneapolis
Convention Center in Minnesota. About 6,000
scientists are expected to attend “Aechean to
Anthropocene: The Past is The Key to The Future.”
“This year’s theme captures the broad research and
education agenda of the GSA community as a whole,
as well as the application of our work to society,” said
Harvey Thorleifson, Minnesota’s state geologist and a
GSA committee chair.
Baird’s presentation is based on data about the

seasonal and chemical variability of acid
mine drainage in a passive wetland
treatment system. His research was done
at Lake Arthur in Moraine State Park.
Fredrick’s talk will explain how Cal U’s
geology program is creating opportunities
for student research by integrating the
activities of a local watershed association,
the Washington County Watershed Alliance.
Kaitlin will present research on the identification
of groundwater-stream interactions with implications
for bio-geochemical hotspots in Elton Creek, in
western New York.
Established in 1888, The Geological Society of
America provides access to elements that are essential
to the professional growth of earth scientists in
academia, government, business and industry.

Campus BRIEFS
Save the Date: PSO
Concert Oct. 18
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
will give its annual performance at
Cal U at 8 p.m. Oct. 18 in Steele Hall
Mainstage Theatre.
Tickets, at $10, are available now at
the Steele Hall Box Office. Box office
hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday
through Friday. To reach the box office,
call 724-938-5943.

FPDC Plans ‘Show
Me the Money’

Auditions for roles in ‘A Christmas Carol, The Musical,’ will be held Saturday in Steele Hall Mainstage Theatre.

‘Christmas Carol’ Auditions Set

C

alifornia University’s
Department of Theatre and
Dance, along with the Mon
Valley Dance Council, will audition
singers and dancers for roles in A
Christmas Carol, The Musical on
Saturday in Steele Hall Mainstage
Theatre.
Performers may audition for
singing and/or dancing roles in the
musical version of the holiday classic.

Participants should dress appropriately
and arrive 30 minutes before their
scheduled audition times.
Male and female performers of all
ages and ability levels are needed.
Auditions are scheduled by age as
follows:
• Ages 6-8: dance, 11 a.m.; singing,
11:55 p.m.
• Ages 9-12: singing, 11 a.m.;
dance, 11:55 p.m.

• Ages 13-18: dance, 12:50 p.m.;
singing, 1:35 p.m.
• Adults: singing, 12:50 p.m.;
dancing, 1:35 p.m.
Performance dates will be Dec. 811. Dr. Michael Slavin will direct the
musical, with choreography by Diane
Eperthener.
For more information, call Cal U’s
Department of Theatre and Dance at
724-938-4220.

Cal Fusion App Available Now
— Continued from page 1
The app was developed by Blackboard Mobile, a
division of education technology company Blackboard
Inc., with input from Cal U staff.
“Working with the teams from Cal U and Blackboard
Mobile Central has been a great experience,” said Amy
Jones, project coordinator and an executive staff assistant
in University Technology Services. “Everybody worked
hard to customize the suite of apps for Cal U.”
This roll-out is just the first phase of the project, Jones
added. The next phase will include a library app and
improved maps.
This customized app is just one facet of the campuswide Cal U Fusion initiative. It also includes a new
Teaching and Learning Center designed to help the
campus community optimize the use of emerging
technology inside and outside the classroom.
Dr. Joseph Zisk will lead the TLC, working for now
from his office in the Keystone Education Center. Already
he has coordinated an “app swap” so faculty members can
begin to discuss helpful smart phone and tablet
applications.
Recognizing that more than 70 percent of Cal U
students carry mobile digital devices, Cal U Fusion aims to
use this emerging technology to enhance teaching, learning
and campus life.
“Cal U Fusion is one of the most exciting studentcentered programs we have ever created,” said University
President Angelo Armenti, Jr.
“Mobile technology has the potential to change the way
we think about teaching and learning. We can use these
powerful tools to make information more accessible,
teaching more efficient, learning more engaging and
campus life more fun.”
The new app supplements the CalUFusion mobile
application, introduced last year, that helps users navigate
the campus, order food “to go” from the Sycamore Bistro
in Herron Hall, or use an iPhone to reach help quickly in
an emergency.
A separate app, developed by Cal U students, lets users

2

Faculty are encouraged to attend
“Show Me the Money: Maximizing
Your FPD Program Funding
Opportunities.” The program will be
held from 11a.m.-12:15 p.m. Tuesday in
Room 209, Keystone Hall.
Dr. Kurt Kearcher, coordinator of
the Faculty Professional Development
Center, and Patricia McClain, the FPD
Center program assistant, will explain
what FPD Program funding resources
are, how they work, and how faculty
members can maximize their
opportunities to secured funding from
these important sources.
Department chairs and department
representatives are particularly welcome
to attend, so they can assist other
faculty in their pursuit of funding.

‘Explorers’ Welcome
on Discovery Days
The University introduces itself to
prospective students and their families
when Cal U holds Discovery Days on
Saturday, Oct. 10 and Nov. 5.
On Discovery Days, high school
students who are beginning their college
search are invited to visit the campus
and learn about the University’s
academic offerings, housing, student
activities, athletic programs and more.
Students also may sit in on a class and
tour campus.
For more information, call Jenifer
Sigado at 724-938-1626 or e-mail
sigado@calu.edu .

Women’s Soccer
Ranked Fourth
The women’s soccer team recently
tied its highest-ever ranking by
appearing at No. 4 in the Sept. 15
National Soccer Coaches Association of
America (NSCAA) Top 25 poll.
Under fifth-year head coach Al
Avine, the Vulcans are also the topranked team in the Atlantic Region,
according to the NSCAA, after opening
the year with four impressive victories.
The Vulcans reached the NCAA
Division II Round of 16 last season
after playing in the PSAC finals for the
first time. Two years ago Cal advanced
to the national quarterfinals.

Dinzeo Wins at Buffalo

Cal U students Nate Frezzell (left) and Taylor Williams look
over the new Cal Fusion app.

hear music, entertainment and sporting events broadcast
on WCAL, the campus radio station.
Faculty also will have access to a robust attendance
application, a digital “flash card” app and text-based
polling for instant feedback in the classroom.

Sophomore Aaron Dinzeo won the
Buffalo Stampede Cross Country
Invitational on Sept. 17 and helped the
men's team open its fall season with a
strong third-place team finish.
An All-PSAC performer last year,
Dinzeo finished with a time of 25
minutes, 1.8 seconds and won the
8-kilometer race by over six seconds. It
was his second career win. Last season
he posted a top-20 overall finish at the
NCAA Atlantic Regional
Championships.

A Wealth of Health
The 24th annual Cal U Health Fair took place Sept. 14 in the Performance
Center. More than 1,800 people participated, and 56 vendors from the
healthcare industry presented information. Among the giveaways were 500
T-shirts, water bottles and pens. Above, chiropractic assistant Missy Lenhart,
of Porreca Chiropractic Center Inc., massages Cal U student Rachelle Diyanni,
a nursing major, at the health fair.

Conductor,
Painter,
Symphony
Share Stage
— Continued from page 1
I’m really trying to understand the world now
using these other tools.”
The concert will focus on music that
inspired, or was inspired by, art. The orchestra
also will perform Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an
Exhibition,” Debussy’s “Prelude to the
Afternoon of a Faun” and Purse’s “Sketches of
America.”
Paintings by local artists will be exhibited in
the lobby at Trinity, but
Ikach said he was looking
for something beyond the
obvious. He recalled
seeing online artists
creating artworks in front
of an audience while
recorded music played.
“I thought, ‘Why
don’t we get someone to
create right in front of
us?’ Ikach said.
Dr. Yugo Ikach
“The first person I
thought of was Todd Pinkham, because he’s an
artist who’s not afraid to try things. He was
game right from the start.”
Ikach said the orchestra will be rehearsing
independently, but Pinkham will join the
musicians for a rehearsal the day before the
concert.
“I love the cross-fertilization between
departments, and this is a more likely marriage
than had I gone to the Accounting
Department,” he joked.
“We can learn from each other. How Todd
and his department approach art may be a little
different than how the Music Department
approaches art.”
At all Washington Symphony Orchestra
concerts, Cal U students are admitted free of
charge with a valid CalCard.
Ikach regularly urges students from all
majors to attend live events.
“I think it’s going to be neat, and I’m
obviously excited about this,” he said. “It will
be something to see.”
The Washington Symphony Orchestra will
perform “Picture This” at 8 p.m. Oct. 8 in Trinity
High School Auditorium, 231 Park Ave. in
Washington, Pa. Ticket price is $20 for adults, $15
for senior citizens; Cal U students are admitted free
with a valid CalCard. For more information, call
Sandy Sabot at 724-223-9796.

Senior Wins National Honor
Society’s Award

S

enior Marie Turnbull is one of
35 students nationwide to win a
scholarship from Alpha Lambda
Delta, the freshman honor society at
Cal U.
The award is especially sweet
because Alpha Lambda Delta recently
gave its prestigious Order of the Torch
Award to the Cal U chapter, recognizing it as one of the best ALD chapters
in the nation. No more than five chapter receive the award each year.
Founded in 1924, ALD is a national honor society that recognizes academic excellence. Members must
maintain a grade-point average of 3.5
or higher and rank in the top 20 percent of their class.
Turnbull was awarded a $1,000
Jo Anne J. Trow Scholarship for the
current academic year. Selection is
based on academic records, participation in ALD activities, applicants’
statements, and campus and community involvement.
Turnbull, of Cumberland, Md., is
majoring in justice studies with a concentration in forensic science and
behavioral crime. A member of the
University Honors Program, she is a
peer mentor coordinator, past vice
president of ALD, secretary of Alpha
Phi Sigma, and a member of the
Forensic Science Club, the ballroom
and Latin dance clubs, and the Law

Marie Turnbull is one of 35
students nationwide to win an
Alpha Lambda Delta scholarship.

and Justice Society.
Turnbull has helped organize food
pantry events at the California
Ambulance Station, volunteered at
Center in the Woods and helped to
organize the Homecoming Parade.
She attended last year’s ALD
National Conference in Orlando, Fla.
“At the conference I was amazed
at the ideas and good works being
done by so many chapters,” Turnbull

said. “I felt like a small fish in a big
pond, but I’m proud of what our
chapter has accomplished.”
Turnbull expects to graduate in
May. She hopes to pursue a master’s
degree in school psychology and land
a job with the federal government.
Advisers for the ALD chapter at
Cal U are Michael Amrhein and Dr.
Karen Posa.
Karen Posa, director of UniversityWide Mentoring, serves as the administrative advisor to ALD. Dr. Michael
Amrhein is the faculty adviser.
“The National Alpha Lambda
Delta scholarships and fellowships are
awarded to only a small number of
students nationally,” said Posa. “We
are so pleased that Marie has been recognized at the national level for her
academic excellence and volunteer
work.”
Since its inception, ALD now has
chapters in 270 campuses throughout
the United States with more than
9000,000 members.
“This year’s applicant pool was
extremely strong,” said Dr. Susan
Huffman, president of National
Alpha Lambda Delta. “The selection
committees’ task of selecting 35
recipients from such a large group of
outstanding students was, as always,
a great challenge.”

TPS, IU1 Continue Collaboration

C

of Library of Congress primary sources
al U and Intermediate Unit 1
continues to grow as the TPS consortium
collaborated this summer to deliver
expands across the nation. It now includes 28
professional development to teachers
partners in 17 states. Cal U has been a member
through the Library of Congress Teaching with
of the consortium since 2003.
Primary Sources (TPS) Summer Institute.
The College of Education and Human
Now in its fifth year, the Summer Institute
Services offers this professional development to
prepares teachers to access the array of
recent graduates through the Cal U Alumni
primary resources available online from the
Workshop Series. Since its inception in 2008, the
Library of Congress and incorporate them into
series has trained 130 Cal U graduates, awarding
inquiry-based lesson plans for students at all
Dr. Michael J. Brna
them a total of 1,692 Act 48 hours.
grade levels and across all disciplines.
“This service meets a primary accreditation
Twenty-five teachers from 10 school
goal of serving students beyond graduation,” Brna said.
districts spent one week at IU1 headquarters reviewing
“The late U.S. Congressman John P. Murtha brought the
research and current thinking about best practices. They
TPS program to California University, and U.S.
also learned how teachers across the nation are using
Congressman Mark Critz continues to offer Congressional
primary source-based learning to raise student
support. We are most appreciative.”
achievement.
The next full alumni workshop series will be held this
TPS instructional specialist Linda Muller conducted
March and April.For more information, contact Berdar at
the training with assistance from Lynne Berdar.
Dr. Michael J. Brna, Cal U’s TPS director, said the use 724-938-6025 or e-mail berdar@calu.edu .

3

Basketball Star Led Team to Final Four
Editor’s Note: Cal U will hold its 17th annual Athletic
Hall of Fame Banquet Oct. 21 at the Performance Center in
the Natali Student Center. For reservations, contact Montean
Dean at 724-938-4418. Throughout the fall, The Journal will
profile each of the 2011 Hall of Fame inductees.

A

lways playing his best during post-season or
championship games, Candice Pickens was a
point guard for the Vulcan men’s basketball
team from 1992-1993 through 1995-1996.

He finished his collegiate career with 1,214 career points,
226 steals, 675 assists and a 71 percent shooting average
from the foul line (442-621).
During his four years as a player, the Vulcans compiled a
98-24 record and a 42-6 PSAC-West mark, with four NCAA
playoff appearances, four PSAC title game appearances,
three NCAA Regional title game appearances, two PSAC
championships and one NCAA II Final Four appearance, in
1996.
He is the first player from the 1996 team to be inducted
into the Hall of Fame.
“At first I was just floored when I found out,” Pickens
said about receiving the University’s highest athletic honor.
“There are so many emotions that run through your mind,
and this honor takes me back to Cal.
“I am so grateful and happy that people there appreciate
my talent and ability to play basketball.”
Playing under Hall of Fame coach Jim Boone, Pickens
shot nearly 55 percent from the floor as a freshman — and
an anticipated “rebuilding year” concluded with a third
straight PSAC-West title.
Pickens shot 61 percent from the floor and 72 percent
from the foul line the following year, and he helped the
Vulcans compile a 25-5 overall record. That team’s .833
winning percentage remains the second highest in school
history.
Memorably, Pickens grabbed the final rebound in Cal’s
78-76 PSAC championship game win at IUP.
As a junior, Pickens averaged 13.8 points, with 228
assists and 58 steals. He dished out a league-record 21 assists
in a home win over Slippery Rock and shared the Most
Valuable Player title for the 1995 NCAA II East Regional
contest, although Cal lost in the finals.
In 1995-1996, Pickens guided the Vulcans to the

Candice Pickens’ clutch play propelled the Vulcan men’s
basketball team to the NCAA Division II Final Four in 1996
and earned him induction into the Cal U Athletic Hall of
Fame next month.

program’s second NCAA II Final Four appearance and a 276 final overall record. He averaged 14 points and 4.5
rebounds per game, with 80 steals. His 249 assists still rank
third in school history for a single season.
Pickens scored 16 points with 16 assists in the 87-84
PSAC title home win over IUP. That marked Cal U’s fifth
consecutive appearance in the PSAC “State Game” and its
third conference crown over that span.
Pickens averaged 19.3 points, 9.3 assists and 7.0
rebounds in the three-game 1996 PSAC Tourney.
He earned MVP honors at the 1996 NCAA II East
Regional after guiding Cal from an early 14-point deficit to a

78-68 home win over IUP in the championship game.
Pickens finished that game with a brilliant 19-point, ninerebound and five-assist performance.
He fulfilled a promise he made to Boone at the end of
his junior season — that the Vulcans would not again be
denied an NCAA Regional title.
“All of us put in extra work that off-season, and to have
the opportunity to win the championship on our home court
was that much better,” Pickens recalled. “IUP was a nemesis
and an obstacle we had to hurdle. When we did it, that felt
great.”
Boone, who is now the head coach at West Virginia
Wesleyan University, said Pickens took over games on both
ends of the floor in the post-season.
“In my 25 years as a head coach, Candice is without a
doubt the most competitive player I’ve ever coached,” Boone
said. “There are guys who want to win, and there are guys
who have to win. Candice was a have-to-win guy and just an
outstanding representative of California’s basketball
program.”
The veteran coach remembered calling a timeout in the
regional title game with the Vulcans trailing 27-13.
“I vividly remember Candice looking each person in the
eye, saying we were going to do this,” Boone said. “I know
young guys often say things when they are upset, and it’s
wishful thinking, but Candice kept his promise and took us
to the Elite Eight.”
Of all the coaches who recruited him, Pickens said,
Boone was the only one who asked him about his major and
how he would fit in academically.
“All of the other coaches asked me how many points did
I want to average or how I would fit into their offense,”
Pickens said. “The first thing Coach Boone asked me was
what did I want to major in. Even now when I see or talk
with him on the phone, I see a father figure — and he still
intimidates me. He has always there for me.”
A two-time All-PSAC selection, Pickens missed just one
game in four years.
He still resides in his hometown, Detroit, where he
coaches AAU basketball and works as a supervisor for the
Detroit Behavioral Institute, which provides mental health
and addiction treatment services to children and adolescents.
The former head coach for boys basketball at Denby
High School in Detroit, Pickens has three young daughters,
Madison, Bailey and Jasmine.

Track Coach Inducted into Georgia Hall of Fame

H

ead track and field coach Roger
Kingdom was among the
inaugural class inducted last
month into the USA Track and Field
(USATF) Georgia Hall of Fame.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist,
this was his sixth induction into an
athletic hall of fame.
Kingdom was born in Vienna, Ga.,
about two hours south of Atlanta. As a
junior and senior at Vienna High School,
he captured state titles in three events: the
120-yard hurdles, the high jump and the
discus. He also was named the state’s
Outstanding Track and Field Athlete after
both his junior and senior seasons.
At the University of Pittsburgh,
Kingdom played football before
concentrating on track and field. He went
on to become one of the most prominent
track and field athletes in American
history, winning gold medals in the 110meter hurdles at the 1984 and 1988
Olympics.

Cal U veteran track and
field head coach Roger
Kingdom, a two-time
Olympic gold medalist,
was among the
inaugural class
inducted last month
into the USA Track
and Field Georgia Hall
of Fame.

The former world and American
record-holder in the 110-meter hurdles,
he was a five-time U.S. Outdoor Track
and Field champion.
Joining Kingdom for the induction in
Lilburn, Ga., were track and field
standouts Alice Marie Coachman, Al
Mead, Edwin Moses, Gwen Torrence,
Forrest Towns, Wyomia Tyus and Dr.

LeRoy Walker.
The USATF Georgia Hall of Fame
was established to recognize the
outstanding achievements of individuals
who were involved in the sport while
living in Georgia. The hall of fame is
open to athletes, coaches, officials,
administrators and contributors.
Cal U’s athletic director, Dr. Tom

Pucci, said both the women’s and men’s
track programs have improved
significantly since Kingdom became head
coach in 2005. He also directs the men’s
and women’s cross country programs.
In addition to his teams’ athletic
success, Pucci pointed out Kingdom’s
commitment to the community. The
Roger Kingdom Foundation offers a
number of scholarships and programs
that assist young people both
academically and athletically.
Kingdom’s teams also are civicminded. Last winter and spring the
coaching staff and team members
conducted a track and field program for
children ages 6-12 at the LeMoyne
Multicultural Center in Washington, Pa.
“His phenomenal athletic
accomplishments speak for themselves,
but Roger is also a Hall of Fame-caliber
person,” Pucci said. “He coaches our
student-athletes to be responsible citizens,
not just quality competitors.”

The California Journal is published weekly by California University of Pennsylvania, a member of The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
Dr. Angelo Armenti, Jr.
University President

Dr. Charles Mance
Vice President for University Technology Services

Craig Butzine
Vice President for Marketing and University Relations

Geraldine M. Jones
Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs

Ron Huiatt
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations

Christine Kindl
Editor

Dr. Lenora Angelone
Vice President for Student Affairs

Robert Thorn
Interim Vice President for Administration and Finance

Bruce Wald, Wendy Mackall, Jeff Bender
Writers

Office of Communications and Public Relations

4

250 University Avenue

California, PA 15419

724-938-4195

wald@calu.edu