California University

Volume 21, Number 10 JULY 29, 2019
KEEP UP WITH CAL U NEWS ONLINE: calu.edu/news

Two New
Options
for
Business
Students

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A sellout crowd came to the Convocation Center for the first Bow Ties & Pearls Ball in support of scholarships and alumni recognition projects.

Alumni, Friends Show Support
at Bow Ties & Pearls Ball

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al U’s first Bow Ties & Pearls Ball on June 29 was a
sellout, with 300 guests filling a Convocation Center
transformed into an elegant ballroom by Conference
Services staff.
Emcees Andrew Stockey, of WTAE-TV, and
Melanie Taylor, of STAR 100.7 radio, introduced the evening’s
honorees as guests enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by AVI,
Cal U’s dining services provider.
President Jones welcomed former student-athletes
Helena Van Eysendeyk (tennis), Nate Forse (football),
Kristin Heslop (softball) and Dr. Les Bakos (baseball) to the
Cal U Athletic Hall of Fame.
She also presented the Lillian M. Bassi Core Values Award
to distinguished graduate Bill Booker.
The fundraiser brought in about $100,000 from generous
sponsors, donors and guests. Proceeds from the event support
scholarships for Cal U students and alumni recognition
projects on campus.
President Jones introduced one of those efforts —
a donor-funded project called Champions Way.
“It will bring together, in one space, artworks honoring our
national championship teams and information about members
of our Athletic Hall of Fame,” she said.
“I envision Champions Way as an enduring point of pride

Tennis standout Helena Van Eysendeyk receives her Hall of Fame
award from Athletic Director Karen Hjerpe (left) and President
Geraldine M. Jones.

not just for our Athletics Department, but for our entire
Cal U community.”
The second annual Bow Ties & Pearls Ball is scheduled for
May 2, 2020.

Cal U Ready for Welcome Weekend

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al U has a full weekend of
events planned as the University
welcomes the Class of 2023 for
the start of the fall semester Aug. 26.
On the main campus, Move-In Day
for first-year students will be Aug. 23.
New students whose last names begin
with letters A-M are scheduled to arrive
between 9 a.m. and noon. Others will
move in between noon and 3 p.m.
Volunteers will be on hand at the
main-campus residence halls to greet
incoming students and their families,

and to help carry their belongings to
their rooms.
Move-In-Day activities include a
picnic-style lunch for all first-year and
transfer students and their families
from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 23 in the
Convocation Center.
Registration for the 6:30 p.m.
New Student Convocation and Candle
Lighting Ceremony, also on Aug. 23, is
from 5:15-6:15 p.m. in the Convocation
Center lobby. The Cal U First Night
Celebration, with an outdoor movie and

ice cream social, will begin at 8:30 p.m.
on the campus Quad and the President’s
lawn outside of Old Main.
Returning students will move in to
main-campus housing from noon-4 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 25.
Meal plans for on-campus dining
will begin Aug. 25 with the 10:30 a.m.
brunch in the Gold Rush.
At Vulcan Village, on Cal U’s
upper campus, new and returning
students will
— Continued on page 2

al U is getting down to business
with two new academic
programs: an undergraduate
concentration in corporate
communication and a master’s degree
in accounting.
Corporate communication is a
specialized option within Cal U’s
interdisciplinary studies in business and
commerce major. It blends business
and communication studies to position
students for careers as communication
professionals in corporate settings,
government agencies or nonprofit
organizations.
Students master basic principles
in accounting, economics, finance,
management, marketing and other
business disciplines, then build skills in
oral communication, business writing,
public relations, digital media and more.
“Businesses and other organizations
need professionals who are skilled in
communicating using a wide range of
platforms and media, and who are well
versed in business disciplines,” says
Dr. Paul Hettler, chair of the
Department of Business and
Economics.
“This concentration prepares
students for these opportunities, and for
the challenges of a digital media age in
which technological change transforms
work and life at the speed of light.”
The four-year, on-campus program
begins this fall. It leads to a Bachelor
of Science in Business Administration
(B.S.B.A.) degree.
The Master of Accountancy
(M.Acc.) degree program builds
accounting knowledge and skills
for individuals seeking higher-level
positions as auditors or accountants. It
prepares students to sit for the rigorous,
four-part exam required to become a
certified public accountant, or CPA.
Program coordinator
Dr. Joshua Chicarelli says it provides
“the skills needed to thrive in the
accounting profession, whether it be
in public, private or governmental
practice.”
Students gain hands-on experience
with the profession’s most current
and relevant tools. Required courses
help them obtain the 150 credit-hours
required to become a CPA, and students
may qualify for deep discounts on CPA
exam-prep materials through Cal U’s
partnerships with selected vendors.
The 30-credit M.Acc. degree can
be completed in four semesters of fulltime study, or on a part-time schedule.
Students may enroll now; online classes
begin in Summer 2020.

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JULY 29, 2019

Mechatronics Internship Builds Skills

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he summer before his first class at Cal U,
Stephen Gerba landed a job with Ductmate
industries Inc., a Charleroi, Pa.-based maker of
heating, ventilation and air conditioning components.
The senior mechatronics engineering technology
major has been an intern with the company for four
years, earning greater responsibilities along the way.
Workforce development is an important strategy
for Ductmate.
“We take responsibility and effort and time,” said
engineering manager Dana Smith. “We try to keep a
nice pipeline. We’d like it if the interns came back to
work for us, but regardless, workforce development
is the right thing to do for the community. It fuels
the economy.”
Under Smith’s direction, Gerba’s role with the
company has grown.
“Last year, I took the training wheels off and had
Steve design a machine for us, with some guidance,”
Smith said. “He spent the summer behind the computer
to do the design work. This year, as the capstone to his
internship, we’re finishing the fabrication up.”
Gerba has helped Ductmate to incorporate advanced
manufacturing into its processes.
“Your machine is only as smart as its sensors, and
that’s where we come in, to troubleshoot and repair and
then do maintenance,” Gerba said.
“A lot of our machines are ‘dumb’ — you turn
them on and they make stuff,” Smith explained. “For
advanced manufacturers, machines are complicated
and automated using sensors.
“Senior engineers never thought of that 20 years
ago. We want to evolve into advanced manufacturing
areas, so we need workers with that aptitude and skill.
Steve has that.”

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Senior Stephen Gerba works on a machine that he helped to build at Ductmate Industries Inc.

Gerba said the internship experience has been
invaluable.
“I have applied so many things I learned at school
at Ductmate,” he said, “and I have applied things like
OSHA standards and safety codes that I learned at work
to my classes.

“I highly recommend an internship. I’ve gotten
to work with production workers, the machinists, the
chemical engineers. Being out in the real world, you get
to see all sides and learn to work as a team.
It’s a huge resume-builder. A degree and an
internship — that’s a great combination to have.”

Summer Academy Enriches
Upward Bound Students

al U hosted 65 students from
nine area school districts for the
TRIO Upward Bound Summer
Academy, a five-week residential
experience that helps prepare them for
postsecondary education.
Students took classes in robotics,
Italian, geometry and trigonometry,
calculus, physics, chemistry, computer
science, communications and algebra.
Sessions also helped students with career
planning, scholarship and financial
searches and more.
Upward Bound is a nationwide,
federally funded TRIO program that has
been offered at Cal U since the 19661967 academic year. It targets students
from families where neither parent has
a college degree, or where household
income falls within federal guidelines.  
Dr. Pamela Twiss, from Cal U’s
Social Work Department, taught
“Changing Faces of Northern
Appalachia” during the Summer
Academy.
“We often don’t embrace our
Appalachian heritage,” Twiss said.
“When I ask students in this area where
they’re from they’ll say, ‘You’ve never
heard of it,’ or ‘It’s not important.’ It’s
fundamentally wrong for young people
to feel that way about where they’re
from.”
The class explored the region’s
contributions to the industrial revolution,
immigration and recent newcomers to
region due to Marcellus shale drilling.
Students were encouraged to explore
their families’ roots in the region for a
final class project.
“I don’t want them to overlook their
legacies,” Twiss said. “I want them to
know that Cal U is a place that values
them, and their families, and their

Yu Hang Pan (left), Shallyn Oakes and Trevor Nicholson react to their robot moving for the
first time during the TRIO Upward Bound Summer Academy at Cal U.

contributions to the region, the nation
and the world."
In Vulcan Hall, Cal U art professor
Laura DeFazio took students for a walk
on the creative side with “Movin’ and
Groovin’ with Animals of PA.”
“This is a college-level introduction
to gesture and movement,” DeFazio
said. “I want students to think about
what things actually do when they move
to give them an advanced understanding
of how line, form and movement come
to life in animals. I have them literally
pose like an animal to feel where that
movement comes from.”
Jared Rastoka, who teaches physics
and physical science at Carmichaels
Area Senior High School, helped his
“Lego Robotics” class get their creations
up and running.

The class taught technology and
engineering concepts as students
build robots using bricks, motors and
sensors and bring them to life with a
programmer application.
“I liked the creativity,” said
Connellsville Area High School
sophomore Trevor Nicholson. “I’m
interested in business as a career, but
you can’t go wrong learning more about
computers.”
Another Summer Academy
highlight was the first STEAM Lecture
Series, with speakers John Siciliano,
an actor and paralympian who shared
his inspirational story, and Antoine
Patton, executive director of the Photo
Patch Foundation, which facilitates
communication between children and
their incarcerated parents.

Ready for
Welcome
Weekend
— Continued from page 1
arrive between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
on Aug. 23-24, and from noon-4 p.m.
on Aug. 25.
Move-in Day is part of Welcome
Weekend, a three-day experience from
Aug. 23-25 that helps new students
meet their classmates and discover the
programs and services offered at Cal U.
In addition to the activities planned
on campus, students may attend
the California Borough Recreation
Authority’s seventh annual RiverFest,
which takes place from 1-9 p.m.
Aug. 24-25.
One of many highlights will be
a performance by The Vics — an
alternative rock band of former Cal U
Commercial Music Technology students
Ben Auer, Dominic Bell, Bobby Dugan,
and Henri Seabright — at 7 p.m. on the
Wood Street stage followed by fireworks
on the Cal U campus.
For a complete schedule of Welcome
Weekend events visit calu.edu/welcome.

Cal U Night at
PNC Park

T

he fourth annual Cal U Night
at PNC Park will take place on
Friday, Sept. 6. The Pittsburgh
Pirates will host the St. Louis Cardinals.
Tickets are $16 and are on sale now by
visiting the Events and Reunions section
of calu.edu/alumni.
Tickets include a baseball cap and a
pregame event. An Alumni Association
tailgate party is planned in Red Lot 6.

JULY 29, 2019

Page 3

Cal U
Ranked
No. 1 for
Online
Education

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alifornia University has been
named the No. 1 online college in
Pennsylvania by OnlineColleges.
com, an educational resource for students
seeking accredited online degree programs.
The 2019-2020 ranking is based
on the latest data from IPEDS, the
National Center for Education Statistics’
Postsecondary Education Data System.
On its website, OnlineColleges.com
says it “ranked more than 2,500
accredited colleges and universities on a
variety of factors, including affordability,
student services and the availability of
online programs.”
Cal U received a score of 98.18 out of
100, based on criteria such as:
• Number of online programs offered.
• Average in-state tuition and fees for
undergraduates.
• Availability of tuition payment plans.
• Services such as career counseling,
placement services and credit for life
experiences.
• Percentage of students participating
in online learning.
• Total electronic library collections,
including digital books, databases
and media.
• Graduation and retention rates.
• Credit offerings, including dual
degrees, Advanced Placement and military.
• Percent of undergraduates awarded
financial aid.
• Average amount of federal, state,
local, institutional or other grant aid
awarded to undergraduates.
OnlineColleges.com offers an
interactive tool that prospective students
can use to explore their options for
online education. Fifty public and private
institutions are included in its complete
list of college rankings in Pennsylvania.
To learn more about convenient,
affordable online education at Cal U,
visit calu.edu/online, or explore Cal U’s
online and on-campus programs at
calu.edu/academics.

Landowner and farmer Roberto Jiminez shows Cal U students Hannah Derry and Taylor Krucher the queen leaf cutter ant that he unearthed
while working on his sustainable coffee farm in Costa Rica.

Students Travel to Costa Rica

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welve students traveled to
Costa Rica for two weeks to learn
more about sustainability and
conservation from a country considered
to be a model for the practices.
The Topics in Field Biology:
Sustainable Agriculture and
Conservation course was taught by
Drs. Carol Bocetti and Sarah Meiss,
from the Department of Biological and
Environmental Sciences.
Costa Rica is committed to
sustainability — the practice of using
resources today in a manner that ensures
future generations will have access to
those resources.
“We take students to that country
because it provides a model for
sustainable living,” Bocetti said of the
trip, which is scheduled every other year
and took place May 20-June 3 in 2019.
“We chose agriculture and
conservation, because that is one

example of integrated sustainability.
Costa Rica has decided that this
intersection is their future. Ecotourism
is a big deal to them, and if they would
no longer have a rain forest to share with
the world, that’s a problem.”
The class visited four different
ecosystems — a dry forest, cloud forest
and high and low rain forests. They also
talked with those who are engaged in
sustainable farming practices.
“I wanted to see what it was like in
another country and how they were able
to decrease their carbon footprint,” said
Julianna Leiendecker, a fisheries and
wildlife biology major.
“Some of the trip is about
appreciating the incredible diversity,”
Meiss said. “Students get a chance to see
what we talk about in class, like sloths
and red-eyed tree frogs. It’s an immersive
experience. We are literally in the jungle;
we wake up to howler monkeys.”

Students also get lessons in
economics.
“You vote with every dollar you
spend,” Meiss said. “You can be an
informed consumer and ask questions
about how items are produced. From the
producer’s side, you have to be able to
make a living to stay in business. It’s not
a sustainable practice if it’s good for the
environment but bad for business.”
“Our students also consider the
realities and challenges of applying
the Costa Rican model to the United
States,” Bocetti said.
To complete the class, students must
write a paper about a concept they found
interesting or intriguing on the trip.
“One student did a paper on green
composting, taking a look at whether
we could do this on a bigger scale in the
United States,” Bocetti said.
“It was rewarding for us to see our
students so excited and engaged.”

Two New Awards Recognize Outstanding Staff

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taff members play a critical role in
University operations and campus
life. They address student needs,
support faculty, interact with parents and
community members, and keep Cal U’s
facilities, technology and services running
smoothly.
Two prestigious new awards will
recognize Cal U staff members for
outstanding job performance and
customer service.
The Vulcan President’s Circle Award
and the Vulcan Exceptional Service
Award will be presented each spring and
fall to staff members who truly make a
difference for Cal U.
“These awards arose from
discussions of our campus-wide
customer service initiative and are
based on survey feedback from staff
members,” says Eric Guiser, director
of Human Resources.
“Every day, staff members provide

services that are essential to our mission.
And through their interactions with
students, families, community members
and colleagues, they set the tone for our
University.
“These awards demonstrate Cal U’s
commitment to excellence in everything
we do.”
All students, faculty and staff are
invited to nominate an exceptional staff
member or manager to receive one of
these awards:
•The Vulcan President’s Circle
Award for outstanding job performance.
The recipient will have demonstrated one
or more of these traits:
• Collaboration and cooperation.
• Passion for and commitment to
the University.
• Innovation that improves the quality
of services or provides cost savings.
The Vulcan Exceptional Service
Award for superior customer service to

students, parents, fellow employees and/
or community members. The recipient
will have shown exceptional:
• Responsiveness to customer needs.
• Willingness to remove barriers and
improve customer satisfaction.
• Perseverance in identifying solutions
to reach a positive outcome.
• Caring and support for customers
and/or colleagues.
• Friendliness, patience,
approachability and understanding.

How to make a nomination
Links to nomination forms and a
complete overview of each award’s
criteria can be found under “Staff
Awards” on the Faculty/Staff and
Current Students resource pages at
calu.edu. With the exception of Cabinet
members, all staff and managers are
eligible to receive the awards.
Guiser and a committee representing

management and various non-faculty
bargaining units will use a rubric to
identify award recipients anonymously.
One President’s Circle and one
Exceptional Service award will be
presented each fall and spring semester,
for a total of four awards per
academic year.
Award recipients will be announced
at faculty/staff convocations. In addition
to a plaque and specially branded apparel,
each honoree may select three items
from a menu of options such as a
designated parking space for a semester,
a three-month pass to Herron Recreation
and Fitness Center, event tickets
and more.
As University President
Geraldine Jones noted in her spring
convocation address, “This recognition
of staff members is long overdue. I am
pleased that we will be honoring our staff,
just as we do our distinguished faculty.”

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JULY 29, 2019

STEM Training Stimulates Teachers, Students

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earning is not remembering.
Teaching is not telling.
Under that guiding principle,
students from nearby districts and
teachers from the area and across
the country gathered at
California University June 17-29 for
the Summer STEM Teacher Training
Institute and Student Workshop,
presented by the National Center for the
Advancement of Education (nCASE).
nCASE works to increase U.S.
competitiveness in the global economy
by promoting innovative STEM
education and helping teachers integrate
technology into their classrooms.
Training is supported by the U.S.
Department of Defense (DoD) and
incorporates Defense Department
scientists, engineers and other STEM
professionals as it immerses teachers and
students in inquiry- and design-based
learning activities.
“We use teams because that’s the
21st-century workforce model,” said
Nancy Priselac, nCASE director for
programs and training. “Problems are
solved more quickly and at a higher level
with teams.”
“The DoD funds STEM education
training because it hires a large
percentage of scientists and engineers
and needs to have a deep pool of
potential applicants,” she said.
During the first week of the summer
institute, teachers developed curriculum
and learned teaching techniques in two
modules: “Math with Robot I” and
“Smart Sensors.”
Students arrived for week two. In the
math module, they integrated robotics
and worked in teams to perform handson activities to program, collect and
analyze data, and compare and contrast
attributes of different wheels and gears.

Dr. Scott Rhodes (left), a geometry teacher at Trinity Area High School, and Phillip Matsick,
a math and algebra teacher at Brownsville Area Middle School, work with a robotic vehicle.

In the sensors module, teams
investigated the behavior of pressure and
heat-sensitive films and their roles in
coin-counters and other sensing devices
like interactive touch screens.
“Time is spent discovering,” said
Dr. Anthony Pyzdrowski, a math
professor at Cal U and an nCASE master
teacher. “Activities and experiments are
designed to understand the ‘whys.’ We’re
teaching math, but we’re doing it by
incorporating science, engineering
and design.”
Geometry teacher Scott Rhodes was
excited to integrate techniques into his
classes at Trinity Area High School.
“Students don’t need you to give
them the answers,” he said. “Our role is
more to guide them in the right direction
and let them get it on their own.”

Alexis Sherman, a California Area
High School sophomore, enjoyed the
team problem-solving approach.
“It was frustrating at first, but when
we got to the chemistry behind it, it all
clicked for me,” she said of the smart
sensors module. “This is more hands-on,
and each team had different ways
of solving a problem. Teams are
definitely way easier, and I wouldn’t
have been able to stick with this if not
for my teammates.”
Science and English teacher
Kristi Hayes attended from Gage Middle
School in Los Angeles, Calif., which has
a focus on STEM education.
“I enjoyed the format where first
you learn, and then you apply,” she said.
“It reinforced the goal of teaching kids
how to learn. We want to teach them

how to learn, investigate and explore.”
Those from Cal U involved in
the Summer STEM Institute were
Pyzdrowski, Dr. Ghassan Salim, from
Applied Engineering and Technology;
Dr. Diane Fine, from Childhood
Education; Dr. Kevin Koury, dean of
the College of Education and Human
Services; Dr. Len Colelli, associate
provost and associate vice president for
Academic Affairs; and Robert Prah and
Jesse Maund from Military and
Veterans Affairs.
Students Phillip Langley, who earned
his bachelor’s degree in biology and his
master’s degree in exercise physiology
and is pursuing a master’s degree in
conflict resolution, and Karlee Reeves,
who majored in secondary education
and is pursuing her master’s degree in
special education with a concentration
in applied behavior analysis, helped to
manage the event.
The plan is to hold the nCASE
Summer STEM Institute at Cal U for
five years, with teachers and students
invited back for expanded modules.
“This is learning by doing, and we
want to spread that approach,” Colelli
said. “There is an enrollment piece
to it, because teachers are a driver of
enrollment, and having Cal U be even
better known for STEM education
will attract more students. We’d like to
increase faculty involvement as well,
because the inquiry-based models are
useful in their classrooms, as well.”
PTC was the corporate sponsor
for the event. Aaron Tuomi, customer
success senior director, and staff
provided two presentations for teachers
during the second week showcasing
its emerging technologies. Tuomi also
talked about the variety of future careers
within PTC available to their students.

Nine Graduate from Police Academy

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ine cadets graduated from
Cal U’s full-time IUP Police
Academy on July 12.
Gene Vittone, the Washington
County district attorney, was guest
speaker at the ceremony, which was held
in Kara Alumni House. This is the fourth
class to graduate at Cal U.
“What attracted you to this
program?” Vittone asked the group of
cadets — Benjamin Baldwin,
Kaley Barota, Jordan Dollard,
John Frederick, Colton Gray,
Aaron McClelland, Matthew Rouse,
Phillip Saracco and Kyle Stawowczyk.
“A desire to serve others, make the
community better, and help out the best I
can,” replied class president Stawowczyk.
“You wouldn’t be here if you
didn’t have a desire to help others,”
Vittone said.
“You’ll be expected to react to a
situation where most people would
rather run for the hills. The best officers
honor their oaths to serve and protect

every day and act accordingly.”
Each of the cadets completed
more than 950 hours of training to
earn Act 120 Municipal Police Officer
certification, which is required for
employment as a police officer
in Pennsylvania.
In addition to their Act 120
certification, police academy graduates
are awarded 15 college credits at Cal U.
Those who enter the academy without
a degree can apply those credits to
the B.S. in Criminal Justice or the
associate degree in applied policing and
technology. Both the bachelor’s and
associate degree programs are available
on campus or online.
Dr. Christopher Wydra, coordinator
and instructor for the police academy at
Cal U, praised the graduates.
“This was an excellent class,” said
Wydra, who is an assistant professor
of criminal justice at Cal U. “It takes
special courage and love for the
community to serve as a police officer.

Members of the fourth class to graduate from Cal U’s IUP Police Academy, from left: Phillip
Saracco, Jordan Dollard, Kaley Barota, John Frederick, Aaron McClelland, Colton Gray,
Matthew Rouse, Benjamin Baldwin and Kyle Stawowczyk.

These cadets demonstrated a high level
of professionalism and commitment to
community service with an emphasis on
civil rights.”
Graduate John Frederick is enrolled
in Cal U’s criminal justice program,
with 25 credits left to graduate.
“Earning a degree is important
to me because it’s possible I may
want to pursue a career in federal

law enforcement, and many of those
positions require a bachelor’s degree,”
Frederick said.
“It’s a really good program,”
Stawowczyk said. “Each of the
instructors brought something
different to the table, and we learned
a lot from each of them. This has
definitely better prepared me for a
career in law enforcement.”

The California Journal is published by California University of Pennsylvania, a member of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.
Geraldine M. Jones
University President
Dr. Bruce Barnhart
Provost and Senior Vice President
for Academic Affairs

Dr. Nancy Pinardi
Vice President for Student Affairs
Christine Kindl
Vice President for Communications
and Marketing

Office of Communications and Public Relations

Robert Thorn
Vice President for Administration and Finance
Anthony Mauro
Vice President for University
Development and Alumni Relations

250 University Avenue

California, PA 15419

T. David Garcia
Vice President for Enrollment
Management

724-938-4195

Wendy Mackall
Editor
Bruce Wald
Writer

wald@calu.edu­­­­­­­­­