Cal Poly Update | June 2007 | Alumni in the News

Alumni in the News -- June 2007

Weird Al Yancovic Weird Al is White, Nerdy -- and Hot
When “Weird Al” Yankovic (B.S., Architecture, 1980) first hit the national airwaves in 1984 with “Eat It,” his parody of Michael Jackson’s song “Beat It,” the Internet was barely an idea in Al Gore’s mind, MTV still played music and song parodies were few, far between and one-hit wonders. But not only is Yankovic still lampooning hot music, his latest album, “Straight Outta Lynwood,” released in September on Volcano Records, is his highest-charting album ever, debuting at No. 10. It gave him his first ever Top 10 single, "White and Nerdy."
Read the AP wire story on Weird Al Yankovic in the SLO Tribune
Read the San Diego North County Times Story on Weird Al

Weird Al is playing at Cal Poly in October! Get the Details

Chuck Liddell Ultimate Fighting Champ Liddell Suffers Setback
Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell (B.S., Business Administration, 1995) had been an unstoppable force in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division, stopping seven consecutive opponents, mostly on the strength of his powerful right hand. In May, Liddell suffered a rare setback: a defeat at the hands of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in a championship bout at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
Read more about Liddell's Las Vegas title fight in the SLO Tribune
View the Tribune photo slideshow

Philosophy Alum Shaking Up Oakland with Cultural Revival District
Alumnus Marcel Diallo (B.A., Philosophy, 1995) wants to create a renaissance for a West Oakland neighborhood called "The Bottoms." Diallo and a handful of artists are trying to create a haven there for African-American culture -- before San Francisco Bay Area-style gentrification (and pricing) come to the area. Diallo is envisioning an enclave of all things African American -- black homeowners, black-owned cafes, galleries, boutiques and mom-and-pop shops. He’s even got a name for it -- the Village Bottoms Cultural District. Diallo has transformed the group black artists he hangs out with into a collective that is slowly moving into the neighborhood. They’re buying homes and starting businesses by pooling their resources and stretching financially. They also help each other with construction, painting -- an effort labeled "an urban barn raising of sorts" by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Listen to the NPR interview including Marcel Diallo
Read the San Francisco Chronicle story on Diallo's efforts
Read the Oakland Tribune story on Diallo and art galleries coming to the neighborhood

Alumnus Retires after Long Tenure as UC Vice President
W.R. "Reg" Gomes has retired after 11 years as vice president of the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. UC-ANR is a statewide research and public service organization responsible for activities in agricultural, natural resources, environmental sciences, family and consumer sciences, forestry, human and community development, and related areas. ANR is based on the Berkeley, Davis, and Riverside campuses of the University of California, and in more than 50 regional and county offices throughout the state. In addition to his bachelor's degree from Cal Poly (B.S., Dairy Science, 1960) Gomes holds a master's degree from Washington State University, and Ph.D. from Purdue University in Indiana.
Read the California Farmer story on Reg Gomes retirement | Read the Avenue Vine story

Alum Named to Sun Sports Entertainment Board
SUN Sports & Entertainment Inc., appointed Steve Miller (M.S., Physical Education, 1978) to the SUN Board of Directors. Miller retired from NIKE as Director of Global Sports Marketing relations in 2000, after nine years with the company. While at NIKE, Miller held several positions including Director of Athletics, Director of U.S. Sports Marketing, Director of Sports Marketing for the Aisa Pacific region, and Director of NCAA Sports Marketing.
Read more about Miller's appointment to the SUN board

Alumna Named Chief of Marketing for Shopzilla
Leading shopping search web site Shopzilla.com has appointed Rysa Pitner (B.S., Graphic Communications, 1990) as chief marketing officer. Pitner is charged with bringing a new consumer focus to Shopzilla. She has more than 15 years of experience in online and offline business development, marketing, design and publishing as well as U.S. and European management expertise.
Read the BusinessWire story on Pitner's appointment

President Nominates Alumnus as Nation's Chief Printer
President Bush has announced plans to name Robert Charles Tapella (B.S., Graphic Communications, 1991) to be the nation's Public Printer. Tapella, of Virginia, currently serves as Chief of Staff of the United States Government Printing Office. Prior to this, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the United States Government Printing Office. Earlier in his career, he ran Kelly Communications.
Read the news release on Tapella's nomination

Silas Lyons J-Alum Named Editor of Redding Newspaper
Silas Lyons (B.S., Journalism, 1994) has been named the editor of the Redding Record-Searchlight, part of the Scripps-Howard newspaper group. Lyons, formerly with the San Luis Obispo Tribune, joined the Record Searchlight as online services manager in April 2006. On May 31, the newspaper announced his promotion to editor and vice president of new media content.
Read the Record-Searchlight article

Alumnus Prepares Students
for Vet School as Pierce College Prof
Professor Leland "Lee" Shapiro (B.S., Dairy Science, 1976, M.S., Agriculture, 1978) is the director of the Pre-Veterinary Science Program at Pierce College. Students doing their undergrad work in the program have among the highest acceptance rate in California to university veterinary medicine progams.
Read the Pierce College Pulse newspaper article

Alum Named Navy Jet Fighter Pilot
Drew Huston (B.S., M.S, AeroEngineering, 2003) received his Naval Aviator Badge, pinned on his uniform by his proud mother, during a “winging ceremony” in early April in Kingsville, Texas. The Mt. Shasta native is now preparing for his first permanent duty as a United States Navy carrier pilot. While at Cal Poly, he took classes and obtained his private pilot's license, then applied to officer candidate school with the intention of becoming a pilot.
Read about Huston in the Mt. Shasta News article

Design Grad Guides 'Going Green' Process for Clients and Design Firm
Landscape Architecture grad Erik Justesen (B.S., Landscape Architecture, 1984) is now CEO for RRM Design in San Luis Obispo. Designing sustainable buildings is a growing part of RRM’s profile, and Justesen envisions greater business opportunities as green design becomes more mainstream. Now, RRM is encouraging its employees to be environmentally conscious in their own lives. It’s all part of “walking the walk,” says Justesen.Read the Q&A with Justesen in the SLO Tribune

Santa Clarita Newspaper Profiles Alum's Career, Service in Marine Corps
It was 1942 when Clem Cox joined the Marine Corps after a year at Cal Poly. He shipped out for the South Pacific, running communications operations in the Marshall Islands and Guam. He left the Marine Corps as a corporal and returned to Cal Poly to finish his degree. He graduated in 1949 with a B.S. in Poultry Science, and spent the following three decades teaching agriculture, first at Van Nuys High School and then in Sylmar.
Read the Santa Clarita Valley Signal story on Clem Cox

OCOB Alumna Puts MBA to Use Right Away -- With Wine
Sarah Taylor Maggelet (M.B.A., Orfalea College of Business, 2001) and Scott Maggelet wanted to combine their individual talents into a new business, they came up with a way to become a wine club service to wineries. Called Winestein, their business provides an outsourcing option for wineries that need to manage wine club services and maximize direct-to consumer sales while keeping costs under control. The Maggelets launched their business in July 2006, just after Sarah Maggelet earned her graduate degree. She is currently president of the SLO Women’s Network and vice president of the Friends of Prado Day Center board of directors.
Read the SLO Tribune story on Sarah Maggelet

Kinesiology Alumna Owns Newport Pilates Studio
After graduating from Cal Poly, Bristin Kreuter (B.S., Kinesiology, 2004) knew she wanted to do something that married her passion for dancing and exercise. So three years ago the 25-year-old became a certified Pilates instructor and started working at Escape Pilates in Newport Beach. Last year, Kreuter bought the business.
Read the Newport Daily Pilot story

Alumna is Principal at Nevada Elementary School
Michele Van Voorst (B.A., Recreation Administration, 1985) has taught for 18 years, starting with inner-city schools in San Diego and then moving on to large schools in Arizona. She was just selected as the principal at the 150-student Hugh Gallagher Elementary School in Virginia City, Nevada.
Read the Nevada Appeal story on Michele Van Voorst

Alum Heads Golf Course Turf Company's Hawaii, Northwest Region
Aquatrols has appointed John Westerdahl (B.S., 1986, Crop Science) as Territory Manager for the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii region.
Read the Golf Course Industry story

Passings
Third Generation Rancher, Alum Settlemeyer
Third-generation Carson Valley rancher Arnold Settelmeyer (B.S. Mechanized Agriculture, 1962), who was known for his integrity and contributions to the community of Carson in Nevada, died May 22 at his ranch. He was 67. A member of a local pioneering family, Settelmeyer graduated from Douglas County High School in 1958 and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., where he majored in agricultural engineering technology.
Read the obituary in the Nevada Appeal | Read service coverage in the Record-Courier

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