School of Business Commencement 2010

It was great to meet several of the School of Business graduates at the reception prior to the Commencement program. They hail from many satellite campuses around the southland and do not make it to my campus very often. What a HOT DAY!!! Thurber and Talulah were troopers - helping me to pose for pictures and greet the grads. Best wishes to all the graduates and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

2010 College of Arts and Sciences Commencement

Bulldogs for Life!

Baccalaureate 2010

Thurber enjoyed his first Baccalaureate procession this evening and he was surprised by how many people he recognized; students, athletes, professors, friends, and family. I would be remiss not to extend a special congratulations to Cat for all the help she gave us in caring for Talulah's litter. But Thurber did that while she was standing in line; wriggling, snorting, and slobbering as soon as he saw her. And while Thurber didn't get inside the Chapel, he was able to sneak a listen to the excellent chorus. Congratulations Class of 2010!

101st School of Education Commencement

I decided to attend the start of this year's commencement activities. It was a cool evening, so I grabbed Thurber (he's got to learn his future job!) and we headed out to see the School of Education grads. Lo and behold, we saw some old friends and I got an update about my son Jack. (He's become a couch-potato, or at least he thinks he owns his couch.) We saw many of the GTA's from athletics and we posed for many pictures. Congratulations to all Graduates and best wishes! I send you off with a slobbery kiss.

Golden Bone Awards

Thurber and I attended the inaugural "Golden Bone Awards" ceremony at Farquhar Field on Monday night. It was presented by the SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) to honor several athletes and teams for spectacular plays/accomplishments and SCIAC/NCAA DIII victories. It was great seeing all the sports represented together. I enjoyed schmoozing with the students and coaches while they were watching the slide shows and listening to the live band. However, Thurbs enjoyed eating all the popcorn dropped on the field. I guess Coach Soboti and Coach Perez thank him for keeping the field clean! Congratulations to all the athletes and coaches - this was one of the best seasons ever!!! I'll miss all the graduating seniors, too. Best wishes in your new endeavors and accomplishments!!!

Book Fair to Support Foster Youth

Thurber and I made an early morning appearance on Saturday at Barnes & Noble in the Citrus Plaza Shopping Center. The University of Redlands in collaboration with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Foster Youth Services were holding a fundraising book fair all day to support the Partnership Project for Academic Success of Youth in Foster Care. We met Terri Griffin who was signing her book "Three's Company"which is a story about foster care and adoption. Throughout the day, patrons could browse for books listening to music from UR students, enter a raffle for prizes, and get their faces painted. We posed for some pictures and met some nice kids. Next stop - Golden Bone awards, then commencement activities.

BMTV Rapping for Redlands!

Bulldog Music TV! Mamalulah, T-Ber, and myself were invited to participate in a music video shoot to promote our great university. If anyone saw some rapping on Pepper's Lawn, the Quad, or the Plaza, that was Emily and gang, singing and dancing about choosing Redlands as their next stop in their academic careers. What a fun shoot! And I thought I had the summer off! You never know what pops up on my schedule. This truly is a great home with a talented student body. I can't wait to greet those students who may choose to become a Bulldog as a result of all the fabulous things that happen here in Redlands.

Bulldog Bench 2010

The Redlands Country Club was the site of the 21st Annual Bulldog Bench Golf Tournament. This is our biggest athletic program fundraiser of the year. And the weather cooperated nicely. When I first got there, Jeff directed me toward the dining hall, not for the food, but to be able to say hello to one of our hosts, Dave Stockton and his family. Dave is a US Senior Open Champion and he came out to see me to say hello with his two sons. Then I moseyed over to the sign in table for awhile, then back to the practice green for the Stockton's clinic on chipping and putting, and then we took group pictures. I had to leave before the final results were in, but it's my guess that our student athletes will win in the future. For those interested, Friday is my 7th birthday.

Senior Day at the Yard

Seniors Brett, Jack, Will, Zack, Jefre, Michael, and Matt said goodbye to the Yard this afternoon. Thurber and I got to be on the field at the start as we celebrated their combined contribution to Bulldog Baseball. Thanks guys! We hung around for the first four innings but it was getting hot so we had to leave and find shade. The score was close when we left, but I guess Chapman broke it open later on. We have two more games tomorrow at Chapman to make up for our loss. I realized after I went home that this was my last home game appearance for the 2009-2010 athletic season. How sad, but what a fun year. I plan on cutting back my schedule next year while Talulah and Thurber take on more mascot duties. Thurber was great today. I think he has promise.