School News

Last Updated on Monday, 30 January 2017 22:54

New Members Join Board As Annual Award Winners Are Recognized

The Foundation for California University has elected a slate of officers for 2017 and presented its annual awards to four individuals.

(l-r): University President Geraldine M. Jones; Dr. Bruce Barnhart ’83, ’89, ’01, University provost/vice president for Academic Affairs, recipient of the Dixonians Award; Dr. Chester Chichin ’63 and his wife, Yvonne Chichin, recipients of The Society of 1852 Award; Charles Keller ´92, son of Leonard Keller ’61, who received the Job Johnson Award posthumously; and William R. Flinn ’68; president of the Foundation for California University.

Elected to one-year terms, which began at the start of this month, are William R. Flinn, of Eighty Four, president; Dr. Harry E. Serene, of Pittsburgh, vice president; Dr. Donald J. Thompson, of California, PA, secretary; and Paul L. Kania, of Smock, treasurer.

Six new members, all Cal U alumni, have joined the board: Alan K. James, of Presto; Zeb R. Jansante, of Bethel Park; Kania; Robert E. Lippencott, of Naperville, IL; John Lorenzi, of South Park; and Deborah E. Takach, of Canonsburg.

The Foundation for California University is an affiliated yet independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that solicits and receives funds to hold, administer, invest and disburse in support of the mission and goals of Cal U and its students.

In addition, the foundation presents annual awards to California University alumni and members of the Cal U community who have made a significant impact on the university. The 2016 honorees and their awards are:
• The late Len Keller, of Levittown, recipient of the Job Johnson Award. Named for one of the school’s founders, the award recognizes alumni who have received recognition outside the university for excellence, innovation, community service or other notable achievements. Keller was a retired sales consultant with Triumph Learning, the largest publisher of test preparation materials for state-mandated tests for grades K-12, and a philanthropist who supported a number of scholarships for Cal U students.
• Bruce Barnhart, of Brownsville, who received the Dixonians Award. Named for another school founder who served on its Board of trustees for 46 years, the award recognizes individuals who unselfishly serve the university. Barnhart joined the Cal U faculty in 1984, directed the certified athletic training program from 1992-2008 and was the school’s first athletic trainer for football. Today he is Cal U’s provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.
• Chester and Yvonne Chichin, of New Castle, recipients of the Society of 1852 Award. The award is named for the year of the school’s founding honors philanthropy. The Chichins are longtime educators who have endowed a scholarship for Cal U students who are pursuing a degree in education, grades pre-kindergarten through 12. Dr. Chichin is a retired psychologist who worked for many years with gifted students in Pittsburgh Public Schools. Yvonne Chichin taught elementary students for 35 years and now teaches part-time in the Early Childhood Department at Youngstown State University.