California University

VOLUME 12, NUMBER 18 AUG. 30, 2010

Did you know?
• About 50,000 cubic yards of
rock and soil were removed
during excavation for the Vulcan
Garage. To widen East Alley
near the garage, workers
moved water, sewer and natural
gas lines; telephone poles were
removed and most electrical
lines were re-routed
underground.
• The garage is built from
70,000-pound slabs of concrete
that were precast in Virginia and
assembled on site. More than
1,800 cubic yards of concrete
were poured for the foundation,
and more than 900 cubic yards
were needed to finish the lower
level of the garage.

Coinciding with the start of the new academic year is the opening of the Vulcan Garage, a 661-space parking facility beside Manderino Library.

• Vulcan Garage has 661
spaces on five levels, including
spaces for campus visitors.
Automated gates will regulate
access at both the East Alley
and Sixth Street entrances.

Garage Will Ease Campus Parking Crunch

C

alifornia University’s rapid enrollment growth
brings more vehicles to campus each year.
Beginning this fall, many of them will be
parked in the Vulcan Garage.
The five-story parking facility beside Manderino
Library has room for 661 vehicles. With plenty of space
for campus visitors, the garage is open and ready for
returning students, faculty and staff as classes resume
today.
“Everything will be operational,” said Michael
Peplinski, Cal U’s director of physical plant. “We may

have a few loose ends to tie up, but we expect the
garage to be ready on schedule.”
The gated garage will be open to drivers who have
registered for spaces inside, as well as visitors and
members of the University community who choose to
pay by the hour.
Drivers can enter the garage from East Alley, where
the road has been widened and turning lanes added to
ease traffic congestion. A second entrance is located
near the intersection of Sixth and Park streets.
Accessible to people with disabilities, Vulcan

New
Police
Chief
Named
Robert F. Downey,
a 30-year law
enforcement
veteran, has been
hired as the new
director and chief
of University Police.
See story on page 3.

Cal U Again Named
‘Best in Northeast’

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or the sixth consecutive year, The
Princeton Review has named
California University of
Pennsylvania one of the best colleges
and universities in the northeastern
United States.
The education services company selected Cal U as one
— Continued on page 3

Garage includes two elevators. Motion sensors control
high-efficiency LED lighting throughout the structure,
and emergency phones are available at every level.
Ceiling height is 8 feet, 2 inches, the standard height
for multilevel garages.
Drivers who pay by the hour will find pay stations
conveniently located on the garage’s first, third and
fourth levels. Anyone who forgets to stop at the pay
station will be able to pay with a credit card when
exiting the garage.
— Continued on page 2

Convocation Center Reaches
New Heights

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“topping out” ceremony
marked the installation of
the last steel truss in the
Convocation Center, the 142,000square-foot academic and athletic
building now under construction
near Gallagher Hall.
In keeping with tradition,
ironworkers signed the 99-foot
truss — the last of 46 two-piece
units that will support the roof of
the six-story building.
An American flag, an
evergreen tree and a new broom
were raised with the steel, which
was hoisted 72 feet in the air by a
pair of 300-ton cranes. The
evergreen is an ancient symbol of
growth and longevity, and the
broom represents a “clean sweep”
as a new building takes shape.
The University added its own
twist to the custom. As spectators
watched from the River Lot,
Vulcan basketball and volleyball

President Angelo Armenti, Jr. signs the last truss before it is lifted into
place, adding his name beside those of ironworkers who have contributed
to the Convocation Center project.

jerseys were tied to the steel,
representing Cal U’s commitment
to a strong athletic program. A

cap and gown symbolized future
Commencement ceremonies, and
— Continued on page 4

More than 1,000 educators from 33 states and 14 countries
visited the Cal U campus for The Leader in Me Global
Education Summit. Above, Dr. Stephen R. Covey (left) reacts to
Jason Thomas, an A.B. Combs Elementary School student who
was hugging Sean Covey, after the two accepted their
‘Champion of Children’ awards.

Education Summit Explores ‘The Leader in Me’

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ore than 1,000 educators from 33 states and
14 countries visited the Cal U campus for
The Leader in Me Global Education
Summit. Sponsors of the event, held Aug. 4-5, were the
Franklin Covey Co., the University and AVI Fresh.
University President Angelo Armenti, Jr. welcomed
conference participants and introduced renowned
author Dr. Stephen R. Covey, who delivered the
keynote address.
In the past 13 years, Cal U has trained more than
3,000 students, faculty and staff in the principles
outlined in Covey’s best-seller, The 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People. Through Cal U’s Character Education
Institute, the training also is made available to local
corporations, generating revenue for scholarships.
“We are proud to host this landmark event and
continue developing our relationship with Franklin
Covey,” said President Armenti, who presented Covey
with an engraved timepiece.
This year’s conference focused on leadership and
was based on Covey’s book The Leader in Me, which
shows teachers how to incorporate the seven habits into
elementary and middle school classrooms, so every
child can learn to be a leader.
“The most strategic and fundamental leadership
problem is making the break from the control practices
of the Industrial Age into the whole-person paradigm
of the Knowledge Age,” Covey said. “It’s not about
control; it’s about unleashing the whole person so he
can work creatively toward compelling, inspiring and
worthwhile goals.”

Classrooms that use The Leader in Me see
improvements in student achievement and a decrease in
discipline problems, Covey said. Teachers and parents
also are more engaged.
Poised and confident, 10 students from the A.B.
Combs Leadership Magnet Elementary School in
Raleigh, N.C., appeared onstage during the opening
session to discuss the seven habits and answer questions
from the audience. They also presented Covey and his
son, Sean, with the school’s first “Champion of
Children” award.
“You can sense the courage and competence of
these kids, and I applaud all of them,” Covey said.
Principal Muriel Summers turned the once-failing
A.B. Combs Elementary into a thriving magnet school
when she focused on leadership and infused Covey
principles into every class. Educators delivered a
standing ovation after her talk, “Developing Leaders:
One Child at a Time.”
Other speakers included Sean Covey, David
Langford, Dean Collinwood, Salome Thomas-El and
Cal U alumnus Jerry Salandro ’70.
Cal U has taken Covey principles into college
classrooms and even the campus preschool. During the
summit’s break-out session on higher education, Dr.
Susan Jasko outlined how she uses the seven habits in
her Communication Studies classes, and Dr. Liz Gruber
discussed a course that teaches counselors to use Covey
principles in their work.
Drs. Denise Joseph and Barbara Bonfanti will be
teaching the seven habits to 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds in the

Learning and Language Center, the preschool program
in Morgan Hall. Last spring, the center’s preschoolers
developed their own personal mission statements, and
the project will begin in earnest this year.
“With our faculty becoming so involved, you will
see more and more Covey principles being integrated
here,” President Armenti said.
Frazier High School, in Perryopolis, was one of many
local schools that sent educators to the 2009 summit and
returned for the globally focused event this year.
“We use and share Covey’s principles in every way
that we run the school and conduct our business,” said
Frazier Superintendent Don Martin ’89, ’91. “Our
professional staff and teachers have embraced this. We
always come away with new ideas, and it’s refreshing to
come down to Cal and collaborate with people who are
adopting these same principles.”
Covey, who received an honorary doctorate from
Cal U in 1997, also was clearly happy to return.
“Dr. Armenti is one of the most creative presidents
I have ever known, and I am just blown away with
what’s he been able to accomplish on this campus by
working in his circle of influence, especially during
these difficult financial times,” he said.
“The friendliness, respect and opportunity are
evident. This place is amazing.”
To view slides from President Armenti’s presentations
“From Dreams to Reality: Achieving the End in Mind” and
“Where Character Meets Careers: The 7 Habits at Cal U”,
visit www.calu.edu. Click on “About Us,” then “Meet the
President.”

Garage Will Ease Campus Parking Crunch

— Continued from page 1

Until its permanent headquarters is completed, the Parking
and Transportation Office will be located on the garage’s first
level. The office also will be accessible from inside Manderino
Library.
Outside the garage, pedestrians will find that grading has
been adjusted and sidewalks have been installed. Landscaping
integrates the Vulcan Garage into the overall campus.

Other improvements
Near the garage, improvements on East Alley and Sixth
Street are part of the Loop Road project, which eventually
will direct traffic around the campus perimeter.
The first phase, to be completed this summer, included
filling a “dip” at the intersection of Sixth and Hickory streets
with more than 4 feet of soil. Raising the road surface
required adjusting curbs and storm drains on Sixth Street, as
well.
“The sudden change in elevation meant buses couldn’t
navigate the intersection,” Peplinski explained. “To bring
buses through, we needed to level and widen the roadway.”
The University has taken care to maintain parking areas

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behind the residence halls, and it will maintain a temporary
gravel lot with about 66 spaces at the end of Sixth Street. For
now, the Loop Road dead-ends near Gallagher Hall with an
expanded lot behind Gallagher that adds almost 30 spaces.
The next phase of construction will extend the Loop Road
behind the Convocation Center.
Eventually, traffic will circle a pedestrian-friendly main
campus.
In the meantime, a parking lot with 89 spaces is being
created beside Watkins Hall. Two trees — a small beech and a
flowering cherry — were relocated to suitable sites on campus.
Under the parking lot’s surface, a basin 12 feet deep will
collect runoff and allow rainwater to trickle into the river.The
new Beazell Street railroad crossing, near the Eberly Science
and Technology Center, is now open, providing access to the
River Lot. The other River Lot crossing is located near Hamer
Hall. (Note: As the Journal went to press, the permanent
closure of the Third Street crossing was imminent.)
Hundreds of laborers and skilled trades workers have
played a part in the construction projects, Peplinski said.
The result?
“When classes resume, there should be plenty of room for
parking.”

OSD Registration
Meetings Set

T

he Office for Students with
Disabilities (OSD) is available
to California University
Students. The OSD is located in
Azorsky Hall room 105.
The office can be reached at
724-938-5781 or OSDMAIL@calu.edu.
Information regarding OSD can also
be found on the website,
www.calu.edu; search for
“disability.” Office hours are 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m. weekdays.
Interested students are invited to
attend this week’s meetings. Large
group meetings will be held at 11
a.m. today and tomorrow, and 4 p.m.
Thursday in rooms 206-207 of the
Natali Student Center. Small group
meetings will be held by
appointment only.

Cal U
Names New
Police Chief

P

Vera Clemente admires her wedding photo inside the Manderino Gallery following her lecture last month at a capacity-filled Steele Hall.

Lecture Looks at Clemente’s Legacy

R

oberto Clemente died the way
he lived — helping others.

A humanitarian as well as a Hall
of Fame Major League Baseball
player, Clemente’s spirit and lifelong
ambition of helping those in need was
the focus of a special lecture held in
the Cal U campus last month.
The talk was held in conjunction
with the recently completed
Smithsonian Institution traveling
exhibition “Beyond Baseball: The Life
of Roberto Clemente.” Guest speakers
were Michelle Torres-Carmona of the
Smithsonian Institution Traveling
Exhibition Service (SITES) in
Washington, D.C. and Vera Clemente,
wife of the baseball legend.
The National League’s 1966 Most
Valuable Player and a four-time
batting champion, Clemente died in a
plane crash on Dec. 31, 1972, while en
route to deliver aid to earthquake
victims in Nicaragua.
Vera Clemente and her three sons
have continued his philanthropic
legacy and fulfilled his dream of
creating the Roberto Clemente Sports
City in his hometown of Carolina,
Puerto Rico.
“We revere human beings such as
Roberto Clemente and the Clemente
family, who in their daily lives reflect
our University’s core values of civility,
integrity and responsibility,” said Cal
U President Angelo Armenti, Jr.
“He and his family are a beacon of
hope for the youth in their country.”
Torres-Carmona, director of
Scheduling and Exhibitor Relations for
SITES, gave a brief history of the
exhibition, which debuted in 2007.
She summed up Clemente with one of

Luis Clemente thanked the audience for their personal stories about his father, saying,
‘They help enhance his legacy.’

asked questions and shared personal
anecdotes about encounters with
Clemente, a 12-time Gold Glove
award-winner and MVP of the 1971
World Series.
Virginia Ogurchak, of Liberty, Pa.,
presented Vera Clemente with a letter
and photos of two children her family
sponsors in Nicaragua. Mike
Napolitano ’68, a member of the
Council of Trustees, expressed the joy
that his family experienced when they
met Clemente at a gas station.
Luis Clemente, one of the
ballplayer’s three sons, said the family
never tires of hearing personal stories
from fans.
“We learn more and more about
my father in this way,” he said.
“Whatever we’re doing has been
inspired by people like you. You drive
us on to continue his legacy.”

his own remarks: “Any time you have
the opportunity to make things better
and you don’t, you are wasting your
time on Earth.”
“Roberto Clemente was a great
baseball player and so much more,”
she said. “He was a proud Puerto
Rican whose love for his family and
humanitarian acts are what’s
remembered most. He lived life to the
fullest.”
Vera Clemente shared moving
stories about meeting her husband and
traveling with him to Pittsburgh with
their young children.
“He was a very special person, and
all his life he was carrying out his own
orders to help others,” she said. “We
were like one person together, and I
knew I would never marry again. I still
miss him, but know his spirit lives.”
An emotional crowd in Steele Hall

Campus BRIEFS
Faculty Convocation
Cal U President Angelo Armenti, Jr. will host the
2010 Faculty Convocation on Tuesday, in the Morgan
Hall Auditorium during the University’s common hour,
beginning at 11 a.m.

Trustees Meeting
The Cal U Council of Trustees will hold its third
quarterly meeting of 2010 on Wednesday beginning at

7 p.m. in the President’s Conference Room, room 110
of Old Main.

Thank You
Deborah (Leasure) Bailey ’79, beloved wife of
Professor Mitchell Bailey Sr., would like to thank the
University community for their support, generosity
and acts of kindness during the recent loss of her
husband. Your thoughtfulness is sincerely
appreciated.

resident Angelo Armenti, Jr. is
pleased to announce that Robert F.
Downey, a 30-year law enforcement
veteran, has been hired as the new director
and chief of University Police.
Downey began his duties with Cal U’s
18-member police department on Aug. 16.
A former lieutenant/commander with
the Allegheny County Police, he had been
the director and chief of University Police at
Slippery Rock University since 2008.
Downey has a master’s degree in
criminal justice from the University of
Cincinnati and a bachelor’s degree in
criminal justice from LaRoche College. He
is a 1980 graduate of the Allegheny County
Police Training Academy, a graduate of the
FBI’s National Academy, and a founding
member of the Pennsylvania Law
Enforcement Athletic Association, the
governing body for the Pennsylvania Police
Olympics.
“I got excited about the position because
I saw that Cal U, under President Armenti’s
leadership, was willing to make a
commitment to make the police department
the best it can possibly be,” Downey said.
“When I visited the campus, I was very
impressed with all the growth that is going
on. The campus has undergone such a
transformation. It definitely is a centerpiece
for the region.”
Cal U’s police force offers round-theclock coverage of its 294-acre campus.

Cal U Takes
‘Best’ Honors
Again
— Continued from page 1
of the 218 institutions it profiles in its “Best
in the Northeast” section of its website
feature “2011 Best Colleges: Region By
Region,” posted at
www.PrincetonReview.com.
It also profiles the school in its book, The
Best Northeastern Colleges: 2011 Edition, now
available from Random House/Princeton
Review Books.
In a two-page profile on Cal U, The
Princeton Review notes the University’s
“state of the art” classrooms and “variety of
majors.”
The profile also says students at Cal U
enjoy a “very beautiful campus” with “many
new buildings and facilities.” There are
“tons and tons of clubs” and one student
said the suite-style residence halls “are the
best I’ve ever seen.”
Colleges designated as “best” were
chosen primarily for their excellent academic
programs, according to Robert Franek, The
Princeton Review’s vice president for
publishing. Schools were selected based on
data collected at hundreds of institutions,
visits to schools and the opinions of
independent and high-school based college
advisers who are invited to share them.
“We also took into account what
students attending the schools reported to us
about their campus experiences at them on
our student survey for this project,” Franek
said.
The 218 “Best Northeastern Colleges”
are located in Connecticut, Delaware,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and
the District of Columbia.

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Convocation Center Reaches New Heights
— Continued from page 1
a shirt and tie represented the business
community, which will use the new
building for executive conferences and
training.
“The Convocation Center will have
multiple uses, so we’re including a few
items that symbolize what it will mean
to our campus community and to our
neighbors throughout southwestern
Pennsylvania,” said Cal U President
Angelo Armenti, Jr., who also signed
the steel beam.
“This is a major milestone in the
construction of a building that will
become a landmark on our campus.”
The ceremony was held almost
exactly one year after ground was
broken for the building.
The largest indoor venue between
Pittsburgh and Morgantown, W.Va., the
$54 million Convocation Center is
scheduled for completion in fall 2011.
“This is an exciting day,” President
Armenti said. “Both literally and
figuratively, Cal U is reaching new
heights.”
The multi-purpose facility presents
Cal U with endless possibilities, said
Ron Huiatt, vice president for
University Development and Alumni
Relations.
“It’s going to be a great resource for
bringing donors and alumni to campus
and showcasing what we do,” he said.
“The Convocation Center really opens
up a whole new chapter for us in terms
of our outreach to the community. The
campus is already beautiful, but this
will serve as a magnet to bring people
here. What a great addition.”
A handful of alumni came to
witness the ceremony. The group
included Michael Napolitano ’68, a
member of Cal U’s Council of Trustees.
“Like many alumni, I find it exciting

Two ironworkers bolt together the last truss at the top of the Convocation Center roof on Aug. 3, 2010. A pair of 300-ton cranes lifted a single
198-foot steel truss into place.

to see how Dr. Armenti’s vision is
becoming a reality,” he said. “We
continue to be a front-runner in
everything we do here at Cal. This
Convocation Center is a meaningful
addition and something for us to enjoy
for so many years to come.”
Athletic coaches and administrators
are anticipating the opening of the
center and its 6,000-seat arena.
“It will be an honor, as well as
exciting, for our basketball and
volleyball teams to start playing there
next year,” said Dr. Karen Hjerpe,

associate athletic director and senior
women’s administrator. “Our coaches
and student-athletes realize the
tremendous support we receive from
President Armenti and the
administration. They plan on showing
their appreciation with continued
excellence on the court.”
The Convocation Center will enable
Cal U to host virtually any type of
event according to Juanita Timney,
director of Executive Conferencing.
“The addition of the Convocation
Center on campus is going to take our

conference offerings to the next level,”
she said. “We have a team of full-time,
experienced meeting planners to ensure
each group has a successful event.”
Also participating in the ceremony
were Cliff Rowe, CEO of PJ Dick, the
construction manager for the project;
Rich Neubauer of The Whiting-Turner
Contracting Co.; and Wayne Tarvin of
L. Robert Kimball and Associates,
architects.
A video of the “topping out” ceremony
is available on YouTube and at
www.calu.edu/news.

Provost Jones Among ‘Women of Excellence’

C

Geraldine Jones

al U Provost Geraldine Jones
was one of 50 Women of
Excellence honored this year by
the New Pittsburgh Courier, one of the
oldest and most prestigious black newspapers in the United States.
The third annual award was presented on July 14 to some of the Pittsburgh
area’s most successful and influential
African-American women.
Nominated by New Pittsburgh
Courier readers, the awardees were honored for their contributions to fields as
varied as education, health care,
finance, social services, media, law
enforcement, business and the arts.
“I am truly honored to be a part of
this event, and to be included in this

amazing group of women,” Jones said.
The awards were presented by Rod
Doss, editor and publisher of the
Courier, during a luncheon at the
Westin Convention Center Hotel in
Pittsburgh.
“One can not speak of the greatness
of our city without including the distinctive contributions of AfricanAmerican women,” Doss said. “These
women are living examples of how hard
work, integrity and determination lead
to success.”
Jones graduated from Cal U in 1971
and began her career in education as a
second-grade teacher. She served as program director for Upward Bound for 20
years, and in 2001 was named provost

and vice president for academic affairs.
A member of the Cal U Alumni
Association board of directors, Jones
has received numerous honors, including the Cal U Alumni Association’s
John R. Gregg Award for Loyalty and
Service, the Black Alumni Association’s
Outstanding Service Award, and the
Community Service Award given by the
Minority Students Association at Penn
State Fayette.
Jones is a lifelong member of Mt.
Zion AME Church of Brownsville,
where she has been the church pianist
since age 14.
She has been married to Jeffrey B.
Jones for 35 years; they have two adult
daughters and a granddaughter.

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. Lenora Angelone
Vice President for Student Affairs

Ron Huiatt
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations

Geraldine M. Jones
Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs

Angela J. Burrows
Vice President for University Relations

Robert Thorn
Interim Vice President for Administration and Finance

Dr. Joyce Hanley
Executive Vice President

Dr. Charles Mance
Vice President for Information Technology

Christine Kindl
Editor

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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