UC in the Valley
 

March 17, 2000

CONTACT:  Ron Goble, Interim Communications Director, University of California, Merced, (209) 724-4400 or (559) 734-9046, ronald.goble@ucop.edu

UC Merced introduces foundation board of trustees

MERCED -- University of California, Merced Chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey has unveiled the university's 82-member Foundation Board of Trustees composed of some of the most prominent individuals in the San Joaquin Valley and beyond.

The founding UCM Board of Trustees will meet in an advisory capacity and offer counsel and direction to Chancellor Tomlinson-Keasey and her Vice Chancellors.

"Our Trustees are some of the most respected and highest profile corporate and professional leaders representing such vital valley interests as agriculture, oil, technology, medicine, law, education and science," said Tomlinson-Keasey. "We are overwhelmed that so many San Joaquin Valley and statewide leaders have chosen to join the UC Merced family. Their enlightened and insightful advice will be invaluable to me and help assure the success of the new campus."

Chancellor Tomlinson-Keasey explained: "Initially, we were contemplating a much smaller board of trustees. However, when we realized the interest of Central Valley leaders and the needs of the new campus, we thought we should start with a full complement of trustees. Thus, the UC Merced founding board will be the size and status of other UC campus boards."

The blue-ribbon board consists of several Silicon Valley executives from such companies as Lucent Technologies and Sun Microsystems. Several current and former members of the UC Board of Regents included in the UC Merced Board of Trustees are current UC Regent chairman, John Davies, former chairs Leo Kolligian, Meredith Khachigian and Roy Brophy, current Regent Odessa Johnson, former Regents Carol Chandler and Ralph Ochoa. In addition, UC President Richard C. Atkinson, and Emeritus Presidents David Gardner and Jack Peltason are members of the new board.

Tomlinson-Keasey noted that several board members were valley natives, but now reside elsewhere in California, such as former Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson, actor/producer Mike Connors and former U.S. Congressman Tony Coelho.

The majority of the UCM Trustees, approximately 50, are CEOs of their corporations or organizations. All are prominent, but many have national and international prominence such as Robert Gallo of E&J Gallo Winery in Modesto, developer Fritz Grupe of Stockton, John Harris of Harris Ranch in Coalinga, President Eugene Voiland of Aera Energy in Bakersfield, and William Lyons Sr., agriculture leader from the Modesto area.

The first meeting of the new board will be held March 22 at the County Bank in Merced. The board is representative in size and structure to other UC campus boards which have traditionally taken years to put in place, said Tomlinson-Keasey.

The roster of all members of the board, their titles, affiliations and locations are: 

  • Chuck Ahlem, Partner, Hilmar Cheese Company, Hilmar;

  • Richard C. Atkinson, President, University of California, Oakland;

  • Joseph Barkett, MD, Chairman of the Board, Sunset Corp., Acampa;

  • Dr. Kelly F. Blanton, Founder and Chairman, Epylon.com Corp., San Francisco;

  • Robert Bliss, Senior Vice President; NEC/BCS (West), Inc., Van Nuys; 

  • Calvin Bright, President and Chairman, Bright Development, Modesto; 

  • Roy Brophy, Former Chairman, UC Board of Regents, Fair Oaks; 

  • Jim Burke, chairman, Jim Burke Ford, Bakersfield; 

  • Bob Carpenter, President, Leap, Carpenter, Kemps, Merced; 

  • Carl Cavaiani, President, Santa Fe Nut Company, Ballico; 

  • Carol Chandler, California Women for Agriculture, Chandler Farms, Selma

  • Tony Coelho, Chairman, C/O Gore 2000, Washington, D.C.; 

  • H.A. "Gus" Collin, Chairman, Sunsweet Growers, Inc., Yuba City; 

  • J.F. Collins, President, J.F. Collins Co., Inc., Merced; 

  • Mike Connors, Actor/Producer, Encino; 

  • Roger Coover, President and Publisher, The Stockton Record, Stockton; 

  • Dean Cortopassi, President/CEO, Santomo, Inc., Stockton; 

  • Bert Crane Sr., President, Bert Crane Ranches, Merced; 

  • Jim Cunningham, owner, Cunningham Ranch, LeGrand; 

  • Frank Damrell Jr., Judge, United States District Court, Sacramento; 

  • John Davies, Attorney-at-Law, Allen Matkins, Leck, Gamble & Mallory, San Diego; 

  • Rayburn Dezember, Bank Board of Chairman, Bakersfield; 

  • Diana Dooley, Attorney at Law, Paden & Dooley, Visalia; 

  • James Duarte, President, Duarte Nursery, Inc., Hughson

  • Ben Duran, President, Merced College, Merced; 

  • John Evans, Chairman of the Board, Evans Communications, Turlock; 

  • Ted Falasco, President, Central Valley Concrete, Los Banos; 

  • Robert Foy, Chairman of the Board, California Water Service Company, Stockton; 

  • Robert Gallo, President, E&J Gallo Winery, Modesto; 

  • John Garamendi, Yucaipa Company, Washington, D.C.; 

  • David Gardner, President Emeritus, University of California, San Mateo; 

  • Lewis Geyser, President, Destination Villages, Santa Barbara; 

  • Price Giffen, President, Giffen Company, Fresno; 

  • Mark Grewal, Vice President and Director, Boswell Company, Corcoran; 

  • Fritz Grupe, Chairman/CEO, Grupe Company, Stockton

  • Ann Gutcher, Retired 1/28/00, Kern County Board of Trade, Bakersfield; 

  • John Harris, President, Harris Farms and Harris Inns, Coalinga; 

  • Joe Hartley, Director, Global Technology, Sun Microsystems, Palo Alto; 

  • Daryl Hatano, Vice President, Public Policy, Semiconductor Industry Association, San Jose; 

  • Tom Hawker, President/CEO, County Bank, Merced; 

  • Odessa Johnson, Modesto Junior College, Modesto; 

  • Rafer Johnson, Chairman, Special Olympics, Culver City; 

  • Art Kamangar, Kamangar Ranches, Merced; 

  • Edward Kashian, Chairman, Lance Kashian & Company, Fresno; 

  • George Kelley, founder, Stevinson Ranch, Stevinson; 

  • Meredith Khachigian, Former Chairman, UC Board of Regents, San Clemente; 

  • Dorothy Kolligian, Civic Leader, Fresno; 

  • Leo Kolligian, Former Chairman, UC Board of Regents, Fresno; 

  • Joe Levy, Chairman of the Board, Gottschalks, Inc., Fresno; 

  • Paul Lo, Attorney at Law, Allen Polgar, Proietti & Fagalde, Merced

  • Robert Luster, President/CEO, Luster Group, Inc., San Francisco; 

  • William Lyons, Sr., President, Lyons Investments and Mapes Ranch, Modesto; 

  • George Martin, Attorney at Law and Civic Leader, Borton, Pettini & Conron, Bakersfield; 

  • Harold Meek, President, Three Way Chevrolet, Bakersfield; 

  • Ginger Moorhouse, Publisher and Chairman of the Board, The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield;

  • Tapan Munroe, President, Munroe Consulting, Inc., Moraga; 

  • John Myers, Attorney at Law and Rancher, Beverly Hills; 

  • Kate Nyegaard, Civic Leader, Board of Directors George Lucas Foundation, Modesto; 

  • Marilyn Ohanian, Psychologist & Civic Leader, State of California, Fresno

  • Ralph Ochoa, President, Ochoa & Sillas, Sacramento; 

  • Richard Otter, Senior Vice President, Salomon Smith Barney, San Francisco;

  • Ashit Padwal, Director, Global Public Affairs, Lucent Technologies, Fremont; 

  • Jack Peltason, President Emeritus, University of California, The Donald L. Bren Foundation, Newport Beach; 

  • Samuel T. Reeves, President, Pinnacle Trading Inc., Fresno; 

  • Curtis A. Riggs, President, VIA Adventures, Merced; 

  • Kenneth Robbins, Attorney at Law, Mason, Robbins, Gnass & Browning, Merced; 

  • Guillermo Rodriguez Jr., Assistant to the President, PG&E, San Francisco; 

  • Fred Ruiz, Chairman of  the Board, Ruiz Foods, Dinuba

  • Thomas Smith, President, CALCOT, Bakersfield; 

  • Edward Spaulding, Director of Government and Public Affairs, The Chevron Companies, Bakersfield;

  • Jerry Stanners, President, Stanners Consulting, Bakersfield; 

  • Timothy Steele, Vice President, Siemens Information and Communications Networks, Inc., Santa Clara; 

  • Cleveland Stockton, Attorney at Law, Stockton & Sadler, Modesto; 

  • Gerald Tahajian, Attorney at Law, Gerald Lee Tahajian, Inc., Fresno; 

  • Ann Veneman, Attorney at Law, Sacramento; 

  • E.J. (Gene) Voiland, President/CEO, Aera Energy LLC, Bakersfield; 

  • Daniel Whitehurst, President, Farewell, Inc. Fresno; 

  • Carol Whiteside, President, Great Valley Center, Modesto; 

  • Roger Wood, Vice President, J.R. Wood, Inc., Atwater; 

  • O. James Woodward III, Attorney at Law and Civic Leader, Fresno; 

  • Stewart Woolf, President, Los Gatos Tomato, Inc., Huron;

  • Michael Zagaris, President, Zagaris Companies, Modesto.