California University

VOLUME 13, NUMBER 10 MARCH 28, 2011

‘Anti-sexist
Activist’ Set
to Speak
Women’s History Month
Comes to a Close

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More than 1,400 Presidential Scholars will be recognized Saturday at an Honors Convocation in Hamer Hall.

Convocation Honors Scholars

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Col. Patricia J.
McDaniel ’77, the
first African-American
woman to join the
Army ROTC program
at Cal U, will deliver
the honors address
Saturday afternoon in
Hamer Hall.

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alifornia University will recognize
more than 1,400 of its most
accomplished scholars at an Honors
Convocation 2 p.m. Saturday in Hamer Hall
Auditorium.
Col. Patricia J. McDaniel ’77, the first
African-American woman to join the Army
ROTC program at Cal U, will deliver the
honors address.
A native of Pittsburgh who now lives in
Austin, Texas, she is a retired colonel with
more than 31 years of active and reserve
service. In addition to her bachelor’s degree
from Cal U, she holds three master’s degrees
— in business administration, public
administration and strategic studies — and a
Juris Doctor degree.
McDaniel was commissioned in
December 1977 into the Women’s Army
Corps with “permanent detail” to the

Military Police Corps. Among her
assignments were platoon leader, company
commander and operations officer.
She was appointed as a judge advocate
and held positions including defense
counsel, senior defense counsel, legal liaison
officer and an executive officer in the Office
of the Judge Advocate General.
Before she retired, McDaniel was
mobilized for a year to serve as chief of the
U.S. Army Trial Defense Service, where she
supervised more than 300 judge advocates.
Today, she is a procurement attorney with
the Department of Veterans Affairs,
specializing in Information Technology
acquisitions.
Several of her decorations and badges
include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious
Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters,
— Continued on page 3

al U’s Women’s History Month
celebration concludes tomorrow with a
workshop and presentation by Dr.
Jackson Katz.
A self-described “anti-sexist male activist,”
Katz will make two presentations: a coaches’
workshop at 11 a.m. in rooms 206-207 of the
Natali Student Center, and a 7 p.m. talk on the
connection between sports and violence against
women in Morgan Hall’s
Learning Resource Center
Auditorium. His lecture
will include thoughts on
the Ben Roethlisberger
case.
Katz is co-founder of
the Mentors in Violence
Prevention (MVP)
program, a gender
Jackson Katz
violence prevention
initiative in professional and college athletics.
He is the director of the first worldwide
domestic and sexual violence prevention
program in the U.S. Marine Corps.
He has lectured on more than 1,000 college
and high school campuses in 46 states and has
conducted hundreds of professional trainings,
seminars and workshops in the North America,
Europe and Australia.
Katz is the creator and co-creator of
educational videos for college and high school
students, including Tough Guise: Violence, Media,
and the Crisis in Masculinity (2000), Wrestling With
Manhood (2002) and Spin the Bottle: Sex, Lies and
Alcohol (2004). He is the author of The Macho
Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How
All Men Can Help, and he blogs on culture and
politics on The Huffington Post.
This Women’s History event is free and open to
the public. Visitor parking is available in the new
Vulcan Garage, off Third Street near the campus
entrance. For more information about the speaker,
visit www.calu.edu .

Financial Aid Officer
‘Back Home’

al U’s new director of
financial aid wants current
students to have the same
favorable experience she enjoyed
during her college days.
Jill Fernandes ’99, ’01 returned to
her alma mater on Feb. 7 after
working for 10 years at Carnegie
Mellon University in Pittsburgh. For
the past three years she was the
director of student finance for
CMU’s Tepper School of Business.
“We want the Financial Aid
Office to be a place where students
are not afraid to come,” she said.
“We want to be open and

welcoming to our students and their
parents. We want to provide
opportunities, not hassles.
“We want to assist our students
and award scholarships in a timely
fashion.”
A former graduate counselor in
Cal U’s Admissions Office and an
orientation leader during her
student days, Fernandes said she
counts President Angelo Armenti,
Jr. among her mentors.
“When I was finishing my
graduate work, I very much wanted
to stick around. Dr. Armenti told
me to experience the world, which I

did. It was the best thing he could
have done for me.”
Fernandes, who holds a master’s
degree in math and computer
science, said the diverse roles she
filled at CMU have shaped her into
an effective financial aid director.
After a year in the Office for
Student Financial Services at the
Art Institute of Pittsburgh,
Fernandes worked in CMU’s Office
of Enrollment Services before
moving into finance.
“I worked my way up the ranks,
and it helped me build a strong
— Continued on page 3

Providing quality customer service and awarding
scholarships in a timely fashion are two of many
important goals of the Financial Aid Office under its new
director, Jill Fernandes ’99, ’01.

The
Climb
Ron Coulter, 21, an
accounting major,
scales the Herron
Hall climbing wall
during the time
trials competition
recently held by the
Department of
Recreational
Services. For more
information about
the climbing wall
and other activities
offered at Cal U,
visit www.calu.edu
and search for
‘Sports and
Recreation.’

Olympian Tells Women, ‘Find a Mentor’

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laying sports can lead to success, says two-time
Olympic medalist Jessica Mendoza, so female
athletes should find role models and look for
opportunities to achieve.
Mendoza, past president of the Women’s Sports
Federation (WSF) and an ESPN broadcaster, delivered
the keynote address at the sixth annual Audrey-Beth
Fitch Women’s Studies Conference.
This year’s theme was “Leveling the Playing Field:
Examining Gender, Social Justice and Sports.”
A lifelong athlete, Mendoza currently plays outfield
for the defending champion USSSA Florida Pride in
the only professional women’s softball league.
She called herself a “first-generation Title IX”
athlete, referring to the 1972 federal mandate that
requires comparable opportunities for boys and girls in
every educational program that receives federal funding.
Watching captain Dot Richardson lead the U.S.
softball team to a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics
made an impact, Mendoza said. She was just 14 years
old when she watched the game on television.
“Everything came together for me, and that was the
moment I began the rest of my life,” Mendoza recalled.
“She was a woman and a player, and I was a woman
and a player. I was not going to play Major League
Baseball, but I saw that if I worked hard, I could get to
the next level.”
Mendoza received a scholarship to Stanford
University, where she was the PAC-10 Conference
Player of the Year as a sophomore and helped The
Cardinal make its first National World Series
appearance the following year.
A proponent of Title IX, Mendoza said she remains
frustrated by the lack of playing opportunities for
women in urban areas and less prosperous
communities.
“We’re still foreigners in the world of athletics, and
I think it’s more a gender issue now than race,” she
said. “My goal is to reach these kids, but many need a
means to play.”
More than eight out of 210 of women in high-level

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corporate jobs played at least one sport in their youth,
Mendoza contends. She believes that exposing
youngsters to sports can help them attain success in
other areas, as well.
“Taking youngsters to see California University’s
softball or women’s basketball team and how good they

Non-credit Community Classes Begin in May

he Office of Lifelong Learning is
offering non-credit community
classes from May to August this

year.
The classes are designed to enhance
an individual’s personal and
professional skills. There are no grades
or exams. The classes also may be
suitable for teachers who need Act 48
hours.
These classes are being offered:
• Introduction to Social Media

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Two-time Olympic medalist Jessica Mendoza makes a
point during her keynote address at the sixth annual
Audrey-Beth Fitch Women’s Studies Conference on March
17 in the Performance Center.

are — that can motivate them,” she said, addressing an
audience that included the Cal U softball team.
“It doesn’t have to be people you see on television.
Sports is about being active, healthy and making the
most out of your life.”
Mendoza described her Olympic experiences, noting
that in the 2008 gold-medal game she wore a wristband
protesting the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur,
Sudan.
Today, she is an athletic ambassador for Team
Darfur, an international association of athletes that
aims to raise awareness about the conflict.
“The first time I went (to the Olympics), I was
caught up in everything and the games were all that
were on my mind,” Mendoza said. “The second time I
realized that the Olympics was a huge stage and a place
to help make the world better. We need to have a
message to give outside of our own personal interests.”
Returning to her discussion of role models,
Mendoza described her father, a first-generation
American who grew up in a tough Los Angeles
neighborhood. When he was in seventh grade, a coach
caught him breaking in to the junior high gymnasium.
Instead of punishing the boy, the coach made him join
the basketball team.
Mendoza’s father eventually landed a football
scholarship at Fresno State and became a coach.
“Who knows where my father’s life would have
headed without that kind of a role model?” she asked.
“You have to have confidence, be yourself and make the
right decisions for a successful life. Bring on the world!”
Drs. Marta McClintock-Comeaux and Patricia
Milford were this year’s co-chairs for the conference,
which is named for a former Cal U faculty member.
Student coordinators Amanda Smith, Rebecca Will and
Amber Preston helped to coordinate nearly 30
individual presentations made throughout the day.
“The research and expertise shared by our
presenters offered a platform for all of us to expand our
knowledge and to challenge our assumptions,”
McClintock-Comeaux said.

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Life Essential Training
Know Your Trees
Photoshop 101
Non-Robotic Applications of
Micro-Controllers
• Programmable Logic Controllers
Registration forms may be obtained
on campus in Room 202 of the Eberly
Science and Technology Center or by
calling 724-938-5840.
Payment must accompany the
completed registration form. Submit

completed forms and payment by mail,
in person, or by calling 724-938-5840
(with a MasterCard, VISA or Discover
card). Registrations are processed in the
order they are received until the
maximum class size is reached.
The mailing address is: California
University Office of Lifelong Learning,
250 University Avenue, Box 12,
California, PA 15419.
Once they are registered,
participants will receive a confirmation

letter that lists the class location. This
letter must be presented to the instructor
at the first class session.
Parking is available in the Vulcan
Garage, off Third Street near the
campus entrance.
For more information about lifelong
learning opportunities, visit the Cal U
website, www.calu.edu ; click on
“Information for … Prospective
Students” at the top of the homepage,
then look for “Lifelong Learning.”

Hockey Team Makes Final Four

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al U’s College Hockey East
(CHE) men’s hockey team
concluded the 2010-2011
season by advancing to the American
Collegiate Hockey Association’s
Division 3 national semifinals.
Under the direction of sixth-year
head coach Justin Berger, the
Vulcans finished the season with a
28-5 overall record and reached the
ACHA National Championship
Tournament for the fifth time in
seven years.
This was the team’s fifth
consecutive CHE championship and
its second straight ACHA Atlantic
Region crown. The Vulcans won two
of four games at the national
tournament in Holland, Mich.,
before their playoff run ended.
“I think the season was a success
by any measure,” said Berger, who
was an assistant coach in 2005 when
Cal U made its first appearance in
the national tournament.
“Winning your league five
straight times might even be more
difficult than winning one national
championship.”
At the national contest, Cal U
defeated McKendree (Ill.) 5-3, lost 43 in overtime to Davenport (Mich.),
and then advanced to the Final Four
with a come-from-behind 4-2 victory
over Florida Gulf Coast University.
The Vulcans lost a heartbreaking
semifinal game 2-1 in overtime,
falling to eventual national champion
College of the Canyons (Calif.).
“It’s frustrating not to finish first,

Jeremy Hill was one of seven seniors on the 2010-2011 Cal U College Hockey East team
that advanced to the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Division 3 national
semifinals. The team compiled a 28-5 overall record.

but to finish third out of more than
150 schools at this level is
something,” Berger said.
Graduate student Ryan Jones and
senior Nick Posa, the top Vulcan
scorers, were named to the alltournament team. Earlier this season
Jones, Posa and Berger were selected
to play and coach for the ACHA
Division 3 Select team, which
competed in Europe.
Cal U’s cumulative record over
the past two years is 57-6, and Berger

noted that seven seniors are ending
their college hockey careers.
“This season will see the most
graduates we’ve ever had, and I can’t
say enough about them and what this
group accomplished. They don’t
know what it’s like not to win the
league championship.”
The Vulcans joined both the CHE
and the CHA in 2002-2003. Cal U
won the ACHA national title in 2008
and reached the quarterfinals in
2010.

Financial Aid Officer ‘Back Home’

— Continued from page 1

financial aid foundation,” she
said.
Teamwork is essential, Fernandes
learned, and she is putting that lesson
to use in her new role. Already she is
working closely with the Admissions,
Bursar’s and Academic Affairs offices.
“At CMU we were basically a onestop shop where many offices
intermingled, and here we are all in
the same building,” she said. “We
simply must work together cohesively
to offer better customer service to our
students.”
Challenges for Fernandes include
the University’s recent transition to
the Banner suite of administrative
software solutions.
She is grateful for the support of
Robert Thorn, interim vice president
for Administration and Finance, who
led the Financial Aid Office until his

promotion last year. Fernandes has
known Thorn since she was a student,
and she calls him not only her
supervisor but also her “financial aid
mentor.”
Thorn is pleased to have
Fernandes back on campus.
“In addition to her extensive
financial aid and enrollment services
experience, Jill brings strong
analytical, problem solving and
customer service skills to the
position,” he said. “In meeting Jill,
one will quickly recognize her strong
leadership skills, her commitment to
excellence and her devoted passion
for her alma mater. “
Fernandes’ fondness for Cal U
goes beyond the workplace. She and
her husband, Brian ’99, met in
Student Government, where he was
president and she was a senator.
They both were active in Greek
life. Fernandes is a Theta Phi Alpha

sister, and her husband is a member
of Theta Xi. After graduation they
returned regularly to campus for
Homecoming and football games.
They share an interest in higher ed
administration, too. Brian Fernandes
is the director of student enrollment
services at Penn State Fayette, The
Eberly Campus.
Although the couple has a 3-yearold daughter, Kendal, they find time
for after-work activities. Fernandes
has joined the organizing committee
for the Red and Black Affair
Extraordinaire, an annual fundraiser
that supports student scholarships.
“With privatization becoming
more and more essential, I find it the
best time possible to be back here at
Cal U,” she said. “It was my time to
come back and make a difference in
the students’ lives at the school I care
most about.
“I feel that I’ve come home.”

Convocation Honors Top Scholars
— Continued from page 1
Army Commendation Medal with four Oak Leaf
Clusters, National Defense Service Medal with one Bronze
Service Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and
the Parachutist Badge.
McDaniel was the keynote speaker at last spring’s
inaugural Cal U Women’s History Month banquet. She
also was interviewed for the Cal U Women of
Accomplishment project, an initiative of the Women’s
Center and the Teaching with Primary Sources Center for
Oral History.
Cal U President Angelo Armenti, Jr. will preside over
the Convocation, and Provost Geraldine Jones will
introduce the platform party.

The University rewards academic excellence on the part
of master’s, bachelor’s and associate degree-seeking students
by honoring Presidential Scholars at this annual event. In
addition to meeting other requirements, Presidential
Scholars carry a grade-point average of 3.25 or above. Both
full- and part-time students are eligible for the award.
This year’s Honors Convocation will recognize 280
students from the College of Graduate Studies and
Research, 219 from the College of Liberal Arts, 629 from
the College of Education and Human Services, and 293
from the Eberly College of Science and Technology.
A reception for all attendees will be held in the
gymnasium immediately after the program.
For more information, contact Jodie Rooney at 724-938-1584
or rooney@calu.edu .

Campus BRIEFS
Pathologist Wecht
Visits Tuesday
Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, one of the
country’s leading forensic pathologists,
will visit the Cal U campus tomorrow
to discuss
pathology,
forensic science,
and the
collaborative Cal
U- Duquesne
University
Forensic Science
and Law
program.
Cyril Wecht
Students,
faculty, and staff who are interested in
any forensic science-related discipline
are welcome to attend.
Dr. Wecht will speak during the
University common hour in Eberly
Science and Technology Center, Room
110, beginning at 11 a.m.
Wecht served as Allegheny County
coroner from 1970 to 1980, and again
from 1996 to 2006. He is an adjunct
professor at the Duquesne University
School of Law, School of Pharmacy,
and School of Health Sciences.
In fall 2000, the Duquesne
University School of Law established
the Cyril H. Wecht Institute of
Forensic Science and Law. The Wecht
Institute offers graduate degree and
professional certificate programs in
forensic science to a diverse group of
students spanning the disciplines of
law, nursing, law enforcement,
pharmacy, the health sciences,
business, the environmental sciences
and psychology.
Along with Duquesne, the Wecht
Institute collaborates with many other
academic institutions.

Relay for Life at Cal U

Emmy Award-winning comedians
A Pair of Nuts! will kick off Cal U’s
Relay for Life event at 7 p.m. Friday.
The comedy duo of Yamil Piedra and
Johnny Trabanco will be performing in
the quad outside of Herron Hall.
Selected by Campus Activities
magazine as “Hot Comedy” for 2011,
the Nuts’ live stage show is a
multimedia production that combines
live sketches, short videos, music and
numerous costume changes.
A Pair of Nuts! has headlined at
some of the top comedy clubs in the
United States, as well as military bases
and colleges nationwide. They have
been invited to perform at the Los
Angeles Comedy Festival, the Los
Angeles Improv Comedy Festival and
the Miami Improv Festival, and they
headlined the preview night at
Comedy Central’s South Beach Comedy.
The American Cancer Society
Relay For Life is a life-changing event
that celebrates the lives of people who
have battled cancer, remembers loved
ones lost and fights back against the
disease.
At Relay, teams of people camp
out and take turns walking or running
around a track or path. Each team is
asked to have a representative on the
track at all times during the event.
Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are
overnight events up to 24 hours long.
For more information, visit the
Relay for Life page on the Cal U
website or contact event coordinator
Lindsay Hartwig at
lindsay.hartwig@cancer.org .

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Conte Sets Baseball Coaching Record

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ike Conte became Cal U’s
career leader in baseball
coaching victories when he
guided the Vulcans to a 13-9 win at
Lenoir-Rhyne (Hickory, NC) on Feb.
13.
The four-run victory gave Conte 396
career victories, surpassing the record of
2003 Cal U Hall of Fame inductee and
Emeritus Professor Chuck Gismondi,
who won 395 games from 1980-1996.
Cal U has had just three baseball
head coaches since 1960. The late
Mitch Bailey, also an emeritus
professor, won 282 games from 19601979, including the program’s first-ever
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
championship, in 1979.
Conte is in his 15th season as head
coach. He has guided the Vulcans to a
401-275-4 (.593) cumulative record as of
March 8 with six PSAC-West titles, two
PSAC Tournament Championships
(2004, 2010) and a pair of NCAA
Tournament appearances (2007, 2010).
He picked up his 400th career win when
the Vulcans swept a doubleheader from
West Liberty on March 7 in Savannah,
Ga.
He has received PSAC-West Coach
of the Year honors six times, including
last year, and was named the National

Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year in
2010.
This season Conte also became the
50th active NCAA Division II head
coach to reach the 400-win milestone.
He joined Slippery Rock’s Jeff Messer
and Mansfield’s Harry Hillson as the
only active head coaches in the PSAC
with 400 victories.
Conte served as an assistant coach
under Gismondi for two years and
earned his master’s degree from Cal U
before taking over the head coaching
duties in 1997.
He has coached 14 Vulcan players
who have gone on to play professional
baseball, including outfielder and 2010
PSAC Tournament MVP Sam
DiMatteo, who is currently in spring
training with Major League Baseball’s
Washington Nationals.
“Mike Conte has continued our
baseball program’s rich tradition and
has certainly made his own mark,” said
Cal U athletic director Dr. Tom Pucci.
“He is incredibly loyal, driven and every
year has the team in contention.”
A native of nearby Brownsville,
Conte was an all-conference outfielder
with Virginia Tech before playing
professionally in the Oakland Athletics’

Mike Conte became Cal U’s career leader in baseball coaching victories earlier this season
and is one of just 50 active NCAA Division II head baseball coaches to reach the 400-win
milestone.

system for five seasons.
“I am privileged to be the head
baseball coach here,” said Conte, whose
coaching staff consists of 11th-year
veteran Chris Brunson and third-year
assistant Chris Squeglia. “An honor
such as this is really the reflection of so

many others. I have been blessed to
have talented student-athletes and loyal
assistant coaches over the years. This
year’s team is working hard to add to
the rich tradition of the program. We
always strive to make California
University and the community proud.”

Alumnus Describes Work on NFL Sidelines

A

National Football League official
advised students to build their
careers using the same hard
work, passion and patience he used to
reach his profession’s highest level.
Alumnus Tony Steratore ’87 gave the
keynote address Feb. 24 at the second
annual Cal U Sport Management
Conference.
A football official for more than 30
years, Steratore recently completed his
11th year as a back judge in the NFL. He
spoke about his 20-year route to the NFL,
which began when he started officiating
at junior high school games in 1980.
“Had I never advanced beyond this
level, I would still be officiating those
games today and loving it,” said
Steratore, 51. “To be successful in any
career you must truly have a passion for
it, and the financial end will follow.
“The path to the NFL was not
glamorous,” he added, comparing it to
moving up through the ranks of the
military.
Steratore cited NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell as an example of
someone who found success not through
athletic ability but through sport
management.
“He started out in a low-level public
relations job with the New York Jets and
rose to the top position in the NFL.
Sports offer so many opportunities.”
Steratore comes from a family of

Mike McCarney (right), vice president of the Sports Management Club, talks with Tony
Steratore ’87, a National Football League official, before his presentation in Steele Hall’s
Mainstage Theatre.

officials. His father retired after 44 years
with the NFL, and his younger brother,
Gene ’87, is an NFL referee. In fact, the
two brothers worked on the same
officiating crew for three seasons.
Steratore said that working with his
brother was a bigger career highlight than
serving as back judge for the 2005 Super
Bowl.
The brothers also officiate at college
basketball games, and they own a
janitorial supply company.

Adjusting to the fast pace of
professional football was his greatest
challenge as he moved from officiating
for NFL Europe to the NFL in 2000,
Steratore said.
“The speed of the game is
unbelievable. It’s so fast, and you are
under so much scrutiny, that self-doubt
set in that first year. For the first time, I
wondered if I could really do the job at
this level.”
Apparently he can. Steratore

officiated his ninth playoff game last
season, when he worked the NFC
championship contest between the Green
Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears.
He said the most physical games he
ever worked were the 2006 AFC wild
card game between Pittsburgh and the
Cincinnati Bengals, and the Steelers’
2009 AFC championship with the
Baltimore Ravens.
“Sometimes I try to use my
psychology degree from Cal in dealing
with players and coaches, but I just tried
to survive those two games,” Steratore
said. “The Pittsburgh-Cincy game was so
tense. … If a Steelers-Ravens game went
three minutes without any officials, there
would be a street fight.”
Nevertheless, officials aren’t on the
payroll full time; they are paid per game,
with a starting fee of about $2,600.
Because player safety is always a
concern, penalties have been increased
for dangerous helmet-to-helmet hits.
Steratore said he called five helmet-tohelmet penalties in 2010 alone, compared
to seven during his first decade in the
league. But he scoffed at the idea of a
“conspiracy” to be especially strict with
the Steelers or any other team.
“When it’s game time, it’s just a dark
shirt and a white shirt out there,” he said,
stressing that officials can’t play favorites.
“One bad mistake can cost me a chance
at (officiating) another Super Bowl.”

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
Interim 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

250 University Avenue

California, PA 15419

724-938-4195

wald@calu.edu

The Journal is printed on paper made from trees harvested under the principles of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative ( www.SFIprogram.org ).

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