Pacific in the Press | Feb. 25, 2020

Quote of the Week

“This is a win-win-win-win. Meaning, it’s a win for the institution. It’s a win for the community. It’s a win for the students. And it’s a win for the state of California.”

— Edie Sparks, KCRA3, Feb. 24, 2020

Examples of how University of the Pacific was represented in the news media in recent days:

“Project Community: Service helps student debt,” KCRA3, Feb. 24, 2020: Pacific’s Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Edie Sparks and student Aatikah Jaweed were interviewed about the Civic Action Fellowship, which will provide undergraduate students a stipend and course credit in exchange for 36 hours per week of community service during a semester.

“Why Have Humans Always Loved… Beans?,” Literacy Hub, Feb. 20, 2020: History’s Ken Albala and his book “Beans: A History” were mentioned in this story. The story includes Albala’s thoughts on the soybean, “the most widely grown bean on the planet, the darling of the food industries and genetically one of the most extensively modified of all plants.” And on beans in general, “Though all great agricultural societies have their own staple starch ... beans are perhaps the one food common and indispensable to all.”

“Weston Ranch High holds its first Math Cup for fifth-graders,” The Record, Feb. 22, 2020: Benerd College’s annual Math Steeplechase was the blueprint for the first Weston Ranch High School Math Cup over the weekend. Pacific’s Math Steeplechase “attracts hundreds of fifth-grade students for a half-day event that includes a math competition, physics experiments, a campus scavenger hunt and athletic activities,” the story noted that this will be the 15th year of Pacific’s Math Steeplechase.

“Indian American Attorney Rani Singh Vying for San Francisco, Calif., Superior Court Seat,” IndiaWest.com, Feb. 20, 2020: McGeorge alumna Kulvindar “Rani” Singh is running for a seat on a Superior Court bench in San Francisco. She has been endorsed by the judge she would be replacing and the San Francisco Chronicle, which wrote, “Kulvindar ‘Rani’ Singh was the most impressive of the six San Francisco judicial candidates interviewed by our editorial board for this election. She has appeared in more than 100 trials in her two decades in the district attorney’s office.”

“Honoring Stockton’s changemakers: African-American women making a difference,” The Record, Feb. 24, 2020: Alumna Gwendolyn Dailey was the keynote speaker and one of the honorees at the seventh annual Stockton Women’s Collaborative Black History Month Program and Luncheon honoring African-American women making a difference in the community. Shani Richards, Pacific’s Learning and Development assistant director, was another honoree.

“Arithmetic,” Mel’s M&Ms (Myths and Memories) blog, Feb. 20, 2020: Retired educator and alumnus Mel Kieschnick posted positively about his experience at University of the Pacific. He doesn’t name the professor, but the professor’s dedication to his students comes through. Kieschnick wrote, “I was spared learning much about math throughout my education. I took one course in algebra. I have no idea how I made it through high school and college without ever taking geometry, trig, or calculus. When I got to graduate school at the University of Pacific I was fortunate to have an outstanding professor of statistics. He was a genius at making complex math concepts understandable. He even had me do correlation coefficient numbers relating to exams I gave to my students in elementary school. And then he served on my thesis exam committee and I looked good because of all that he had taught me.”

“Who’s the top coach of the year candidate in every conference?,” HighVelocitySportsNews.com, Feb. 21, 2020: Men’s basketball head coach Damon Stoudamire is the “top competition” for Gonzaga’s Mark Few to be named coach of the year for the WCC. A portion of the story reads, “The former NBA rookie of the year has quietly compiled one of America’s most remarkable turnarounds. After finishing 4-12 in WCC play last season, Stoudamire’s squad is now 8-5 and a candidate to earn an invitation to a postseason tournament.” The story was also posted on ESPN.com.