糖心vlog

Donald V. DeRosa鈥檚 virtual return to the university he loves and helped revitalize started with recognition of his transformative work and ended with conservatory students celebrating his upcoming 80th birthday in a stirring musical tribute.

In-between, there was a trademark DeRosa moment, when he took on a persona that colleagues, students and friends recognize鈥攖hat of a university president ready for a challenge.

Speaking to an online audience of more than 200 on Feb. 3 as part of the Leading Voices series sponsored by the Pacific Alumni Association, the former 糖心vlog president (1995鈥�2009) was asked: 鈥淗ow can we get to a billion-dollar endowment and how can we become a Top 10 university?鈥�

DeRosa paused. But not for long.

鈥淎 billion-dollar endowment won鈥檛 be enough. It is difficult to attract students from a wide range of backgrounds, so you need a large endowment, much of it focused on scholarships,鈥� DeRosa said. 鈥淲hen I arrived at Pacific, the endowment was $65 million. The other day in my meeting with the Powell Scholars, I learned the endowment is $528 million. And it is going to grow because of the wise investments the university makes. But it has to also grow through the gifts and generosity of individuals who care deeply about Pacific.

鈥淏ecoming a Top 10 university will not be dependent on the resources we have in our endowment. Every unit of the university needs a program of true distinction that develops the whole person as it works toward educating the best and brightest, as we have in the past. That鈥檚 how we become a Top 10.鈥�

DeRosa was interviewed by Pacific President Christopher Callahan, who called him one of the university鈥檚 鈥渢hree iconic, transformational leaders,鈥� joining Tully C. Knoles (who moved the university from San Jose to Stockton) and Robert E. Burns (who grew the university from a small, liberal arts college to a comprehensive university).

The question of national rankings was in DeRosa鈥檚 wheelhouse. He was driven to have Pacific make the Top 100 of the U.S. News and World Reports rankings.

鈥淲e all know that there are problems with the ranking systems, but they also have a fair amount of validity and are read by parents and their children,鈥� DeRosa said. 鈥淰ice President for Business and Finance Patrick Cavanaugh figured out that we were around 125. So, we looked at the variables and dimensions used by U.S. News and determined what things had merit and what things we could change. We actively worked on those goals and got us up to 95 or 96. I was very proud.

鈥淭hey had another ranking for best value. We were in the Top 30 for five or six of my years at Pacific. And that was a measure of affordability. We were accessible to students.鈥�

DeRosa spoke in-depth on a number of other topics:

Building his team at Pacific

鈥淭he team I put together at the outset and in the years that followed I think was tremendously helpful. A lot of people said, 鈥楧on, you鈥檝e done a great job.鈥� But I have to give credit to the people I worked with. I hired Phil Gilbertson as provost as one of my first hires. There were so many who were so vital to our success at the university.鈥�

Gilbertson, who now lives in Portland, Oregon, said, 鈥淚 always said I had the best job in the world with Don as my partner. Every leader talks about building a team, but not many back those words up the way Don did. His collaborative and patient process in discussing issues involved everyone and led, I believe, to rational and sound decisions. They were not always easy, but the issues were discussed thoroughly.鈥�

Added Judy Chambers, vice president for student life at the time of DeRosa鈥檚 hiring, 鈥淗e included you and valued your input. We truly were a team.鈥�

Making tough decisions

Within his first year at Pacific, DeRosa had to tackle鈥攍iterally鈥攁 huge issue: should Pacific keep its Division I football team? The regents voted to end the program.

鈥淲hen you make tough decisions sometimes, as painful as they are, they pull people together,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he football decision that we made in 1995, I don鈥檛 count that as an accomplishment. It was painful, it was sad, and even to this day there are people who are sad that there is no football program. But it was the right decision and that has been proven over time.鈥�

Philanthropy and the Powell family

DeRosa helped shepherd a transformative鈥攖hat word is used frequently when discussing him鈥攃apital campaign that brought the university $330 million.

For philanthropy, one date remains etched in his mind: April 21, 2007.

鈥淚 was in Carmel for an event and I received a call from Jeannette Powell. She told me that Bob was going to call me for a meeting and 鈥榳hatever you do, take that meeting.鈥� I drove home, changed my clothes and then went to Bob鈥檚 office. He was there with his accountant. He told me, 鈥楧on, I just want you to know Jeannette and I have made our decision and we are going to give $100 million to 糖心vlog.鈥� It took my breath away.鈥�

Later, back in Stockton, DeRosa called Gilbertson into his office to reveal the news.

鈥淗e stunned me at that moment,鈥� Gilbertson said. 鈥淚t was hard to believe. But it goes to the depth of Don鈥檚 relationship with the Powells. When Bob Powell was battling some illness, Don went to bat for him and got him in to see the right doctors at Stanford. And he did it because he cared about Bob as a person.鈥�

Said DeRosa: 鈥淭hat day, April 21, 2007, changed the lives of students at Pacific in perpetuity.鈥�

Lasting memories

• A campus fire and Dave Brubeck: 鈥淲e had a fire on campus in 1995, with Callison Dining Hall and one of the abutting residence halls. We were very tired from dealing with the fire all night. The very next night, I found myself on the stage at Faye Spanos Concert Hall introducing an icon and perhaps our most distinguished alumnus鈥擠ave Brubeck. I had an opportunity to talk to this great man, who then came back every year to play for us.鈥�
• Sept. 11, 2001: 鈥淭hat was a horrible day for everyone. We gathered with cabinet and made the decision to bring students together in the Faye Spanos Concert Hall. Residence directors then met with students. On one occasion, I saw a group of Muslim students talking to one another. They were trying to decide whether to have their meeting that night. I encouraged them to hold the meeting and said I would attend. As I spoke, I saw students who I knew who were members of the Hillel Jewish Student Club. They told me 鈥渨e came to support our fellow students.鈥� That told me so much about Pacific.鈥�
• Interviewing Walter Cronkite: 鈥淭he date was Nov. 6, 2006. Walter Cronkite was a speaker in the David and Lorraine Gerber Lecture Series. I interviewed him on stage at the Faye Spanos Concert Hall. He had just had his 90th birthday. It was a great experience.鈥� 

Donald and Karen DeRosa now live in Greensboro, North Carolina. Donald was diagnosed with Parkinson鈥檚 disease five years ago, but says he has coped with it well.

鈥淭hank you for everything you have done for this university and thank you for today,鈥� Callahan said at the conclusion of the Leading Voices event. 鈥淭oday has been magical.鈥�

If you missed the event with Donald DeRosa you can watch it .

 

Below are comments from post-event interviews with Pacific community members.

Judy Chambers, former vice-president for student life

鈥淒onald inherited me when he arrived, and that鈥檚 not always easy. He came here at a time when many university presidents did not see the value of student life and the academic program working together. He was just the opposite. He gave strong support to students and had high expectations. When it came time for me to retire, he urged me to stay in a part-time role. I was an administrative assistant in development for another 10 years. Don had a wonderful way of making you feel respected and wanted.鈥�

Dianne Philibosian 鈥�68, former regent

鈥淒on, thank you for the magical experience of serving as the chair of the board during your presidency. I could not have imagined a more perfect working relationship.鈥�

Christian Cardona, current student 鈥�19 鈥�21

鈥淭hank you for sharing your memories and insight about all of the past monumental history of Pacific, as well as the everlasting tradition of focus on student life, empathy and student awareness. Very inspirational.鈥�

Phil Gilbertson, former provost

Gilbertson wrote (2016)

鈥淭he chapters I wrote about Don were easy because everything was fresh in my mind. But they also were difficult because you do not want to be biased in a historical account. Don actually was very helpful in my writing of the history of Pacific, including the early years. He has a razor-sharp memory and loves history.鈥�

Jim Dugoni 鈥�86, senior director of development, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry

鈥淚 was in Athletics at the time and we were on the plane on our way to Boise for an NCAA Tournament game (2005). At the time Don was trying to get people to use 鈥楶acific鈥� instead of UOP because he thought Pacific was a more regal name. He told me, 鈥淛im, you do the loudest chants in our section (at Spanos Center) by yelling 鈥楿.O.P.鈥� Could you try to use Pa-ci-fic? 鈥� I remember trying it out right away and I couldn鈥檛 get it to catch on in the first half of our game with Pitt, so I resorted to belting out U.O.P. in the second half.鈥�

Footnote: Pacific beat Pitt 79-71 in the NCAA first-round game.