Cal state honoring alumni with Hall of Fame

From staff reports

Cal State San Bernardino is launching its inaugural Alumni Hall of Fame Awards to recognize distinguished alumni.

A dinner to honor the award recipients will take place Feb. 16 at Santos Manuel Student Union North Ballrooms.

“Our alumni are leaders in their fields, from the arts to the sciences, to education and philanthropy and more,” CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales said in a news release. The celebration is an opportunity to honor our “outstanding alumni and community members who have made a difference in the future of our university, our region and far beyond.”

The honorees include:

• Distinguished Alumni Award: Ellen

Weisser, BA, English, 1968.

The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes an achievement of noteworthy value, a series of such achievements or a career or humanitarian effort of noteworthy accomplishment.

Weisser served as the honorary cochair of “Our Defining Moment: The Campaign for CSUSB,” which was launched in 2022, and has been an integral member of the CSUSB Philanthropic Foundation Board. Weisser was involved in the first theater program at CSUSB and established an endowment to support its mission. She and her husband, Stan, provided the seed donation for CSUSB’S Performing Arts Center and the building’s foyer is named in their honor.

• Emerging Leader Award: Alberto Jasso, Public Administration, 2015

This award honors an individual who has made a positive impact in their community, industry or profession and has received their degree within the past 10 years.

Jasso is a former Santos Manuel Student Union (SMSU) employee, he also served as the chair of the Board of Directors for SMSU. He is the director of strategic philanthropy for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. He leads San Manuel’s philanthropic efforts, donating millions of dollars to nonprofit organizations to support education, self-determination for all and community development, with a focus on the development of opportunities for Native nations and causes across the country.

• Coyote Spirit Award: William Stevenson, Business and Marketing, 1984.

This award honors an individual who has gone above and beyond to help advance the mission of CSUSB as a dedicated volunteer.stevenson has been involved with Cal State

San Bernardino for more than 40 years, first as a student and later as a volunteer who has consistently taken on leadership positions to further the mission of the university. Additionally, he has served as an adjunct professor of finance in the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration since 2014. He is the chairman of the CSUSB Philanthropic Foundation and previously served as chair of the Foundation’s Executive Committee and its Investment Committee.

■ Paw Prints Award

This award recognizes alumni who have shown exemplary accomplishments that reflect the spirit of their academic college.

Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration: Scott Keagy Smith, BA, Marketing, 1991.

College of Natural Sciences: Taewook Chun, BA, Biology, 1992.

College of Arts and Letters: Anthony Donatelli, BA, Communication Studies 2015.

James R. Watson and Judy Rodriguez Watson College of Education: Juan Carlos Luna, BA, Liberal Studies, 2002, MA, Bilingual Education,2004, MA, Educational Administration, 2006.

Social and Behavioral Sciences: Mary Jane Mccoy, BA, History, 1967.

For more information, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 909-537-3700 or send an email to alumni@csusb.edu.