CGU introduces new student publication, the Pedant

This past fall semester saw the debut of CGU’s new student newsletter, the Pedant. Published twice a semester, the Pedant provides information that helps students get the most out of their CGU experience. This includes information on classes, professors, and activities, as well as tips on improving your c.v., conducting research, or alleviating tuition costs.

Copies are made available throughout campus, but can also be accessed online at www.cgu.edu/communications.

SBOS’ groundbreaking positive psych conference now available online

Positive psychology emerged at the beginning of the new millennium as a movement within psychology aimed at enhancing human strengths and optimal human functioning. On January 24, 2009, Claremont Graduate University hosted a day-long event to celebrate the emerging positive social and human sciences, and to push their boundaries. Leaders and leading scholars from across the positive-science landscape gathered in Claremont for the conference, “Applying the Science of Positive Psychology to Improve Society,” with a sold-out crowd in the packed Garrison Theater on campus.

The group of over 630 participants, hailing from Australia, China, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, and eight American states, included university presidents, deans, and professors; researchers, clinical psychologists, and private consultants in applied psychology; the heads of major foundations; graduate and undergraduate students; and many enthusiasts from the private sector.

Claremont Graduate University has made the conference available to those who were unable to attend. Videos can be accessed online at www.cgu.edu/positivepsych.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wins Clifton Strengths Prize for his work in positive psychology

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, professor at CGU’s School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences (and codirector of its Quality of Life Center), is the 2009 recipient of the Clifton Strengths Prize for his outstanding work in advancing the science and practice of strengths-based psychology.

It is his pioneering work in explaining the mental and emotional tug-of-war that boredom and anxiety play in a situation that led him to introduce “flow theory” to contemporary psychology some 20 years ago. Importantly, flow theory was grounded in a presumption of studying what was right with people, not what was wrong, an idea which ran counter-current to the predominant psychological theories of the day. Since its introduction, Csikszentmihalyi has fervently worked to refine his initial theories so they could be propelled outside of the lab and into organizations and even classrooms thus allowing many to flourish in situations where once they might have been stifled.

“The Clifton Strengths Prize has been an honor at so many levels – personally, it is of course awesome for many reasons – but I think it will also benefit the whole set of ideas that positive psychology stands for, by raising its visibility at the national level,” Csikszentmihalyi said.

The biannual prize includes a cash award of $250,000. Csikszentmihalyi will be presented with the award this October at the Gallup's World Conference.

Rajiv Dutta named Distinguished Executive-in-Residence at Drucker School and Drucker Institute

The Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, along with the Drucker Institute, have announced that Rajiv Dutta, who recently stepped down as president of eBay Marketplaces, will serve as their first Distinguished Drucker Executive-in-Residence.

Dutta, who earned his MBA from the Drucker School in 1982, will use his time at the Drucker School and Drucker Institute to interact with students and faculty, as well as to engage in a series of public conversations – to be held in Claremont with other leading executives – that explore critical management issues of the twenty-first century. Among them: How does a company reach beyond its traditional boundaries to tap the best ideas of people on the outside? How do you take a mobile, diverse, knowledge-driven workforce and align its thinking around a common purpose?

Before running eBay Marketplaces, Dutta served as president of PayPal, president of Skype, and eBay’s chief financial officer.

“Rajiv represents the best of business leadership: a strong set of values linked to an innovative approach to technology and customer service, and a proven track record of financial performance,” said Ira Jackson, dean of the Drucker School.

Dutta’s appointment follows those of two Distinguished Drucker Scholars-in-Residence, who spent time at CGU in 2007 and 2008: Professor Jiro Nonaka, of University of California, Berkeley and Hitotsubashi University, and British author and social philosopher Charles Handy.

In Memoriam:
   Enid Hart Douglass

Friends, relatives, and former colleagues of Enid Hart Douglass (MA, Government, 1959) attended a celebration of her life, held at Balch Auditorium on January 8. Douglass passed away in October at the age of 81.

The celebration was presided over by family member Morgan Yates. Speakers included friends Judy Wright, Art Hansen, and CGU Professor Robert Dawidoff.
Douglass was largely responsible for developing the Oral History Program at CGU, and led it for more than three decades. Her husband, the late Malcolm Douglass, was a professor at CGU from 1954-1994.

She was born on October 23, 1926 in Los Angeles, and was the first CGU alum to become mayor of Claremont. She was on the Board of Directors of Claremont Heritage (and was a cofounder); she also sat on the founding board of the Claremont Community Foundation.

“Claremont wouldn't be Claremont without its strong women, and Enid was one of its strongest,” said Wright.

Dawidoff became a colleague of Douglass' when he joined the Claremont Graduate School faculty in 1974. “She was modest, considerate, and encouraging. She had integrity, and was great at disagreeing agreeably,” he said.

   Larry Peterman

Larry Peterman (MA, Goverment, 1968; PhD, Government, 1970) passed away in July. While at CGU, Peterman was a classmate with current CGU Clinical Professor Michael Uhlmann and board member Alfred Balitzer, both of whom became good friends. After graduating, he went on to become a popular professor of political science at the University of California, Davis, and also taught classes at Claremont McKenna College. “Larry was a person of good cheer and a big heart, keen intellect, broad interests that transcended disciplines, and plain spoken – he never minced words and was always forthright,” said Balitzer.

Winners chosen, celebrated for the 2008 Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation

KickStart International, a San Francisco-based organization that fights poverty in Africa by creating and selling simple tools that help poor entrepreneurs increase their income, was awarded the Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation and $35,000 in prize money. Among its innovations is the MoneyMaker irrigation pump, which allows small-scale growers to produce high-value crops year-round and make the transition from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture.

This year’s runner-up (that received $7,500) is Hidden Harvest, based in Coachella, California. The program employs low-income farm workers to “rescue” produce that is left behind in fields and orchards after harvest. This fresh and nutritious food is, in turn, delivered free of charge to more than 60 local agencies that serve the poor and hungry. The third-place winner (that received $5,000) is the Bethesda, Maryland-based Calvert Foundation. Its Community Investment Notes raise capital from individual and institutional investors and lend it to nonprofits and social entrepreneurs working around the world to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development.

“Peter Drucker was among the first to articulate that innovation – change that creates a new dimension of performance – is essential for all organizations to thrive,” said Rick Wartzman, director of the Drucker Institute. “This includes businesses, of course, but it’s also true for nonprofits. This year’s crop of winners illustrates precisely what Peter was talking about.”

The Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation has been given annually since 1991 to recognize existing programs that have made a real difference in the lives of the people they serve. Cash prizes are designed to celebrate, inspire, and further the work of innovative social-sector organizations based in the United States.

CGU technology researchers extend learning to local classrooms

Claremont Graduate University researchers received a $15,000 grant from the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), a Boulder, Colorado-based organization that provides startup funds to develop and implement projects for recruiting and retaining women in computing and information technology.

Funding for the NCWIT Seed Fund Award is provided by Microsoft Research.

The principal investigator for the project is Gondy Leroy, assistant professor at CGU’s School of Information Systems and Technology (SISAT). Brian Hilton, adjunct professor at SISAT, and June Hilton, assistant principal at Claremont High School (CHS), are co-PIs.

The project, titled “An Interdisciplinary Approach to Increase Interest in Information Technology Through an Environmental Project,” targets a low enrollment rate of female high school students (17 percent) in information technology courses by aligning IT courses with a booming interest in environmental science.
Students at El Roble Intermediate School will work alongside CHS students and mentors from SISAT to conduct an Urban Ecosystem Analysis (UEA) of their schools. Specifically, they will analyze the environmental and economic benefits of trees within these specified areas. Primary to this analysis will be the use of geographic information systems (GIS) software.

SISAT is uniquely positioned to provide training in this area as it is home to an ESRI Development Center, a research and education center designed to enhance the use and development of GIS software applications. ESRI, located in Redlands, California, is the world leader in GIS software development. This project will not only provide students with GIS software training, but a practical understanding of the environmental issues so many of these students haven taken an interest in.

“We hope to show the young students that computing is exciting and relevant to their own interests,” Leroy said. “Showing this link is especially important for young women who would otherwise often not even consider majoring in computer or information science.

CGU announces 2009 Tufts poetry winners

Matthea Harvey has been selected as the 2009 winner of the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Award, one of the largest monetary prizes in the nation for a mid-career poet, for her book Modern Life. The Kate Tufts Discovery Award is presented annually for a first book by a poet of genuine promise. Matthew Dickman has been selected as the 2009 winner of the $10,000 award for his book All-American Poem.

The Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. on April 23 in the Coburn School’s Thayer Hall in Los Angeles. The ceremony will feature a poetry reading followed by a book signing. The event is free and open to the public. For information, call 909- 621-8974 or visit www.cgu.edu/tufts.

Harvey is the author of three books of poetry: Modern Life, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and a New York Times Notable Book of 2008; Sad Little Breathing Machine, and Pity the Bathtub Its Forced Embrace of the Human Form. Her first children’s book, The Little General and the Giant Snowflake is forthcoming from Tin House Books. She is a contributing editor to jubilat, BOMB, and Meatpaper. She teaches poetry at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Dickman is the author of two chapbooks: Amigos and Something About a Black Scarf. He is a recipient of a 2008 American Academy of Arts and Sciences Poetry Prize. His work has been published in Tin House magazine, the Boston Review, the American Poetry Review, and the New Yorker among others. Dickman currently resides in his hometown of Portland, Oregon.

The panel of final judges for the 2009 Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards were Linda Gregerson, Alison Joseph, Paul Muldoon, Robert Pinsky, and Charles Harper Webb.

The Kingsley Tufts Poetry Awards were established in 1992 by Kate Tufts to honor her late husband, poet and writer Kingsley Tufts. The Kate Tufts Discovery Award was established in 1993, and is presented annually for a first book by a poet of genuine promise.

CGU scholars cofound a new Global Women’s Research Institute in Egypt

The Global Women’s Research Institute (GWRI) officially launched at the inaugural Global Women’s Research Conference in January at the Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt. The conference was a collaborative effort between the Library of Alexandria and Claremont Graduate University, which brought together government leaders, heads of NGOs, university researchers, and international organizations focusing on critical issues for women’s advancement, particularly taking into account regional needs. Sponsors included Yale University, the American Embassy in Egypt, and a Blaisdell Challenge Grant. Ambassador Sallama Shaker, visiting professor at CGU, was instrumental in bringing the partners together.

GWRI will be dedicated to activist participation in research directed towards social, political, and economic changes that improve the status of women. The ultimate goal of GWRI is to influence policy makers and policy centers such as the World Bank, the United Nations, and influential think tanks on women’s issues. Governments and development agencies must address women’s issues according to their national, religious, and cultural contexts in order to be effective. Consequently, the work of GWRI will be carried on by a network of regional centers in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe directed toward improving the status of women within those regions.

GWRI at Claremont will be supported by the collaboration of three centers of study and research: Scripps College’s Intercollegiate Women’s Studies, Applied Women’s Studies at CGU (run by Associate Professor Linda Perkins), and the Women’s Studies in Religion program at CGU (run by Dean Karen Torjesen).

The first step was a two-year reading group on transnational feminism that included graduate students, undergraduate students, and faculty from the colleges as well as CGU. A faculty advisory group has also been formed, adding their expertise on gender analysis in their fields to oversee the development of GWRI, including CGU Professors Jean Lipman-Blumen and Jean Schroedel. The faculty advisory group will oversee the development of the infrastructure for GWRI at the Claremont Colleges.

The Drucker School celebrates 100 years of Drucker

The Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, along with the Drucker Institute, have announced a commemoration and celebration of the life of the late Peter F. Drucker. The Drucker Centennial will be crowned by a week of special events at Claremont Graduate University in November 2009 and supplemented by other activities from fall 2008-2010.

The centennial marks the 100th birthday of Drucker, the father of modern management; author of 39 books on organizational behavior, innovation, economy, and society; and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Drucker Centennial Events

Among the activities planned for the centennial are: a one-day summit with corporate leaders on “The Drucker CEO of the 21st Century”; a Drucker Centennial Public Lecture Series to be held in conjunction with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles; a series of onstage conversations between Rajiv Dutta and senior executives on “Managing in the 21st Century”; a centennial marketing symposium that will showcase Drucker’s pioneering contributions to the field; and the production of a new text, “The Drucker Difference,” by the Drucker School faculty.

Also planned is the launch of a major community-service project in the Inland Empire by CGU students; the premier of the Drucker Institute documentary Closing the Responsibility Gap; a doubling of the worldwide number of Drucker Societies – all-volunteer groups that use Drucker’s teachings to bring about positive change in their communities; and a major conference devoted to Drucker’s concept of “management as a liberal art.”

The school also plans to bring in distinguished scholars and practitioners as DRucker Centennial Fellows-in-Residence; host a forum featuring two decades of past winners of the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation; hold a special Japanese art exhibition to underscore how Drucker drew on all the humanities to inform his thinking; and commission an original piece of orchestral music in Drucker’s honor.

Drucker Centennial Chairs

Reflecting the importance of the anniversary, the Chairs for the Drucker Centennial are an eminent group of leaders, thinkers, and management luminaries. They include:

John Bachman, senior partner at Edward Jones, chairman of the Drucker School Board of Visitors, and CGU trustee

Warren Bennis, university professor and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California

Bub Buford, author, social entrepreneur, and chairman of the Drucker Institute

John Byrne, executive editor of BusinessWeek

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and Built to Last

Doris Drucker, author and inventor

Rajiv Dutta (MBA, 1982), former president of eBay Marketplaces

David Gergen, director of Harvard University’s Center for Public Leadership, CNN commentator, and former White House advisor

Charles Handy, author of The Age of Unreason and The Elephant and the Flea, and cofounder of the London Business School

Frances Hesselbein, chairman of the Leader to Leader Institute, former CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Masatoshi Ito, founder and honorary chairman of the Ito-Yokado Group

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration at Harvard University

Alan Khazei, CEO of Be The Change Inc. and cofound of City Year

Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Change for America

A.G. Lafley, chairman and CEO of Proctor & Gamble Co.

Minglo Shao, chairman of Bright China Holding Ltd.

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church

For more information on the Drucker Centennial visit the centennial website at www.drucker100.com.