Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> The Alumni Hall of Fame is sponsored
by the SF State Alumni Association.
The Hall of Fame was created to honor those outstanding alumni
who are acknowledged contributors
in the wider community for professional, cultural,
and civic achievements, and who bring great credit
to their alma mater.
And whether they like it or not,
their photographs are prominently displayed on campus
in the busy first floor lobby of the administration building.
[applause] The-- yeah.
The accomplishments of those being honored tonight serve
as a reminder to our students and to all of us
that through a combination of skill, determination, hard work,
and sometimes with more than a bit of bravado and luck,
one can rise to the top of their profession
and perhaps achieve more
than they themselves had once ever dreamt possible.
We are here tonight to share our pride in who we are
and what we have become
by acknowledging these outstanding alumni
and their achievements.
Also, democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has asked
that each inductee receive a Certificate
of Special Congressional Recognition and so they will.
[ Applause ]
The new members we induct tonight are Bernard Bragg,
Lisa Cholodenko, Judith Marcus, and Al Martinez.
[ Applause ]
Each in their own way,
and through their achievements represent the best
of San Francisco State.
Deaf theatre artist Bernard Bragg is credited as one
of the first people
to popularize mime in the United States.
As the deaf son of deaf parents, Bernard spent his youth working
to communicate with others
and developed an interest in theatre.
He studied theatre at Gallaudet University in Washington,
D.C. and spent 15 years as a teacher at the California School
for the Deaf in Berkeley.
During that time he earned a masters in special education
at SF State and graduated in 1959.
After studying French-- studying
under French mime artist Marcel Marceau in Paris,
Barnard returned to the United States
and became a prominent mime artist performing
across the country and starring in his own television show
"The Quiet Man" on KQED.
He later co-founded the National Theatre
of the Deaf whose national
and international tours have helped change public perceptions
of people who are deaf.
Bernard's international influence as an artist, director
and playwright includes working with deaf theatre companies
in Russia, Germany, and Hong Kong, and lecturing
across the world as part of a tour
with the International Theatre Institute of the United States.
He is the recipient of a special Tony Award,
an honorary doctorate from the Gallaudet University
and a special lifetime achievement award
from the World Federation of the Deaf.
It is our great honor and pleasure to formally induct
and welcome Bernard Bragg, Department of Special Education
to the San Francisco State University Alumni Hall of Fame.
[ Applause ]
[ Silence ]
>> It's a little tough to see from here.
[ Pause ]
Thank you.
Thank you President Wong.
[ Pause ]
And I have to admit to being speechless this evening.
[laughter and applause] Maybe that's appropriate for a mime.
[ Pause ]
Looking at the captions that we have here this evening,
it's a wonderful benefit for those of you
who don't know sign language.
[laughter] You can also hear the interpreter speaking what I'm
signing to you.
So we have the triple threat this evening of captions,
sign language, and spoken English.
It's wonderful to have these options.
[applause] You can choose one or look at all three at once.
You know I feel like I want to just tear
up my prepared comments and give you a mime performance this
evening but unfortunately--
[ Cheering ]
Do you mean it?
[laughs] [applause] Well what about my prepared comments?
I, did I write them for nothing?
Sign language has come a very long way since our,
let's call it prehistoric times.
Can you imagine how prehistoric communication was?
Something like this.
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
You know I didn't plan to do that this evening.
[laughter] But sign language has come an awfully long way.
Sign language can convey Shakespeare.
Do you know the word-- let's see
if the interpreter knows the words.
I'll just do a few lines.
All the world's a stage, and all the men
and women merely players.
[ Pause ]
They have their exits and their entrances.
Each man plays his part.
You know I can't even go on.
I don't know if I remember all of it.
I better go back to my prepared remarks and play it safe here.
[ Applause ]
I am very honored to be here this evening.
And look, look at the papers flying.
I should've left them alone.
Oh and now what?
The world's falling apart here.
[laughter] Can--
[ Pause ]
I am very honored to be here with you this evening.
To be part of the San Francisco State University Hall
of Fame is truly a humbling experience.
I was a schoolteacher when I enrolled in San Francisco State
to pursue my educational career and to pursue my credentials.
I never expected where it would lead me.
That it would take me on the journey
that I have had all over this world.
[ Pause ]
I would never have expected the impact it would allow me to have
on the deaf community and the attitudes
that people have toward deaf people.
[ Pause ]
While I was studying at San Francisco State,
world renowned French mime artist Marcel Marceau performed
at the Geary Theater here in San Francisco just a few blocks away
from where we are right now.
I was able to meet him--
[ Pause ]
And once again I had no inkling
that that would be a turning point that would lead me
to studying under him and to then become an actor, director,
and playwright myself.
I'm having a hard time seeing up here.
Light's important to deaf people.
[ Laughter ]
You could just read it yourselves.
Or I could sign.
Or I could sign from the captions
but then they're waiting for me so that doesn't work.
[laughter] Hey as long
as I'm getting laughs I guess I'm doing a good job.
[ Laughter]
Oh good. Where was I?
[ Pause ]
I was talking toward attitudes toward deaf people
and how they've been slowly changing in the world and part
of that can be attributed to the establishment
of the National Theatre of the Deaf which I co-founded
with David Hayes [assumed spelling].
[ Applause ]
Thank you.
The National Theatre of the Deaf also led to the development
of other theatre companies.
The Deaf West Theatre which you may have heard
of mounted a very well received production of Big River
that was brought to Broadway not once, but twice.
And also received a special Tony Award which is not
on my comments, I'm going off script a bit here
and I think I've gone beyond my two or three minutes
that I was told to keep my comments to,
so let's get back on script if we can.
The various theatre companies that have grown
after the founding of the National Theatre
of the Deaf have played a very important role
in removing the stigma widely associated
with deafness and sign language.
[ Pause ]
The creative work of deaf artists
and actors has attracted the attention of the public as well
as of our government which has led to the development
of a better image of deaf people.
I think I'm almost done so bear with me.
In the past half century I've traveled and worked
across North America as well as abroad in Europe, the Far East,
and Australia as a lecturer, performer, advisor and director
as well as a goodwill ambassador.
What I learned studying education
at San Francisco State I applied to my work in the theatre.
There were several-- excuse me, faculty members
at San Francisco State who greatly influenced my life
and my career [pause] especially Dr. Priscilla Pittinger.
[applause] who was the, who was
in the special education department.
Some of you are applauding here.
You know who she was.
I thought I was the only one alive still
who knew who she was.
Dr. Pittinger was just outstanding.
She was also the advisor on my thesis which was entitled
"The Intellectual Achievements of Deaf People
in the United States."
So many deaf people in so many fields
of endeavor have then continued their work beyond what I studied
even then.
Many deaf theatre groups which I had visited
or worked with have blossomed--
[ Pause ]
Advancing the human rights of deaf people
in their respective countries.
[ Pause ]
And in closing, may San Francisco State University
continue to inspire others as it did me.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
Oh, I forgot my [inaudible].
[laughter] I couldn't leave without that.
[Inaudible] Oh that's yours, okay.
All right.
[ Pause ]
>> Lisa Cholodenko, her 2010 comedy drama
"The Kids are Alright" earned--
>> Yeah. [applause]
>> Yeah. That wonderful film earned four Oscar nominations
and won a Golden Globe for best motion picture.
[ Applause ]
Lisa, the writer-director graduated from SF State in 1987
with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Lisa earned an MFA from Columbia University's film school
and soon made her mark on the Indie film scene.
Lisa wrote and directed several acclaimed short films before
embarking on her debut feature "High Art", a relationship drama
which won the Sundance Film Festival's Waldo Salt
Screenwriting Award.
That was a nice little film too
with Ally Sheedy and Radha Mitchell.
She has also worked on [applause]-- yeah.
She has also worked
on television series including HBO's "Six Feet Under."
[ Applause ]
And is a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy
of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
It is now our great honor and pleasure to formally induct
and welcome Lisa Cholodenko.
Interdisciplinary studies,
San Francisco State University Alumni Hall of Fame.
[ Applause ]
>> [Inaudible] I'll hold it for you.
>> Okay. Where's my teleprompter?
[laughter] I guess there's no teleprompter.
Anyway, good evening and thank you for this wonderful honor.
I have to tell you that when they called me to tell me
that I was being inducted into the Hall of Fame,
I was of course flattered and I was a little bit amazed
because I've always felt like these kinds
of honors were reserved for people with a massive list
of accomplishments and cures and breakthroughs
and discoveries and, you know, people on the other side
of their career trajectories
and [laughter] you know retiring their number and kind
of winding down so to speak.
So just to be clear and for the record, I have to tell you
that I've only made four films and know deeply
that I'm still a freshman in my field.
So anyway, I'll tell you a little bit about me
and my experience with San Francisco State,
at San Francisco State.
At 18 I was a kid who wanted to get away
from the sweaty suburbs of los Angeles.
I wanted to get away as fast and I wanted to get away as far
as possible and I was ready to discover who I was
and what I'd become, what I would become.
And so I jumped at the opportunity to move
up to the bay area and start my education
at San Francisco State.
And my experiences at the university
and in the city absolutely shaped me
and gave me the foundation for all my future aspirations.
To be honest, I wasn't the best student in high school.
I was more of a Sturm und Drang kind of teenager.
So when I arrived at San Francisco State,
I had kind of a change of heart
and I realized how much I really wanted to turn that around
and change that and I wanted to reach my learning potential
and I genuinely wanted to learn.
I didn't get off to a good start.
I got off to kind of a bad start by getting a C
in a class I was taking with Angela Davis.
[ Laughter ]
But with my new resolve to be a better student I decided I was
going to step up and face this lousy mark head on.
I decided to go to Angela's office hour
and convince her to change my grade.
[laughter] So anticipating this meeting gave me extreme anxiety.
If any of you know Angela Davis,
Angela Davis is not somebody to take casually.
[laughter] Not only was she a communist, intellectual,
feminist, and former Black Panther--
[laughter] But at the time she also smoked a pipe.
[laughter] For me she was as fearsome as they get
and I absolutely unequivocally was intimidated by her.
But all that changed when I went to her office hour.
Angela D. turned out to be kind, generous, thoughtful,
and deeply invested in teaching young students like me.
In that one meeting she taught me how
to write a coherent term paper
from beginning to end and it's true.
In 30 minutes I learned more about writing than I had
in four years of high school English in a public school.
[laughs] A few years later I became Angela Davis' TA
which is kind of funny if you think about it.
Anyhow, my interest in film came soon after Angela.
That's when I met Tina, an eccentric girl studying film
in the film studies department at State.
Tina loved cinema verite, film noir, the [inaudible],
and she ran around San Francisco
with her movie camera making Fellini and Godard knockoffs.
[laughter] Though Tina marched to her own drummer,
her passion for film was infectious
and through her I developed a love of movies
and the vague notion that I could make movies myself.
So I went on to get a social science degree, but somewhere
in those undergraduate years I realized that I didn't have
to be practical in my choice of profession,
filmmaking is not a secure career choice.
In fact, it's a veritable crapshoot.
But at San Francisco State,
I learned that passion might get me further
than practical pursuits.
I also learned that film making and social science are kind
of related, or at least that's what I told my parents
when they [laughter] admonished me
that my career choice was insane.
In the end it all worked out because after I graduated
from State, I landed in the film program at Columbia University
and before I'd graduated I'd actually made my first
feature film.
So there you have a brief history
of how San Francisco State brought me
out of the stifling suburbs into the world of eclecticism
and diversity and delivered me into the world of film.
There were many other people and professors that were part
of my San Francisco State experience,
people who taught me well
and helped push me along life's path.
But as I thought back,
these were the encounters that stood out most.
All this was a long time ago but these experiences were seminal
for me and they remained monuments
to my emerging identity at a time when I was pliable
and impressionable and very hungry to learn.
So again thank you for this beautiful honor.
I'm proud to be part of the history
of San Francisco State University and I'm grateful
for the eclectic,
transformational education it provided me.
So thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> Thank you Lisa.
Congratulations and welcome to the Hall of Fame.
By the way, "The Kids are Alright" co-starred an SF State
Alum, Annette Bening.
[ Applause ]
I want to thank Lee Blitch for reminding me of that fact,
although he called her Annette Bining for some--
[laughter] some odd reason.
I don't know what that's all about.
You had to have been at a previous Hall of Fame induction.
Oh yeah. Where the very hip Mr. Blitch introduced me
as having interviewed, among many others, Bob Die-lan, yes.
[laughter] Ah well.
Hey, next up, bay area community leader Judith Marcus has been a
creative force in non-profit leadership
for the past 30 years.
She's served as president of the board
of the Community Services Agency, CSA,
Families in Transition, and Breast Cancer Connections.
And she has been an active leader
with the Peninsula Humane Society, Montalvo Arts Center
and Avenidas Senior Center.
Judith's innovative participation,
such as founding CSA's Hometown Heroes event
and helping launch the Humane Society's first Fur Ball
fundraiser has helped bring in new levels of funding
to grassroots organizations.
She currently serves on the SF State Foundation's board
of directors.
Judith graduated from the university
with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1962
and taught for seven years before starting a family.
Together with her husband, George Marcus, SF State class
of 1965, she has established the SF State International Center
for the Arts, supported scholarships,
and endowed the Robert A. Corrigan Chair
in American Studies.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is our great honor and pleasure
to formally induct and welcome Judith Marcus,
department of kinesiology and physical education
to the San Francisco State University Alumni Hall of Fame.
[ Applause ]
[ Pause ]
>> Wow, what a group to follow.
Put my glasses on.
Thank you for this wonderful honor.
As I look back to my days at San Francisco State as it used
to be called, I remembered how excited I was to be going there.
I was a typical commuting student who was going to school
and working at the same time.
It was an interesting time to be a student in the early 60's.
It was a time of change.
President Kennedy was promoting physical fitness for all
of our youth in the country from elementary to high school.
As a P.E. teacher, my skills were needed.
I was able to graduate in four years
and I began my teaching career
with an internship right after college.
SF State had prepared me
with all the tools I needed to be successful.
I would like to thank all of the faculty who made this possible.
After teaching for seven years I started a family
and began my work with non-profits in our community.
I learned so much from all
of the different organizations I was involved with.
I like to be hands on in the community as well
as serving on the board.
One of my fondest memories was with a group
in east Palo Alto called Families in Transition.
We worked with new Latino immigrant families.
We started a house cleaning co-op with the women.
Some learned to drive.
Some cleaned.
And others would take care of the children.
We spent time giving them the tools that would be necessary
to run a successful business.
After a few months, we had many clients.
Profits were divided equally every two weeks.
For most of the women, this was the first time they ever had
their own income.
It was very empowering.
We all know that when you give back,
it helps others to move forward.
At this time I would like to thank my family sitting
over here, and my friends for all your support
and supporting me and these organizations.
In conclusion, I would just like to say
that I never thought I would come back to this university
to receive such a wonderful recognition.
I am currently on the San Francisco State foundation board
and I hope to continue to make a difference for the university.
Go Gators!
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
[ Pause ]
>> Thank you so much Judy, and thanks to George too.
Great part of the university family.
This evening Al Martinez is not able to join us.
He had some health challenges this week but he reports
that he is doing well but under doctor's orders not to travel.
We wish Al the best and we will honor
and celebrate his accomplishments this evening.
In is six decades long career as a journalist and author,
Al Martinez earned a reputation for a writing style
that combines humor and poignancy
to highlight social justice issues.
As a long-time reporter and columnist
for the Los Angeles Times, Al shared in three Pulitzer Prizes
for coverage of the 1993 L.A. riots,
the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and a series
on the city's Latino community.
He got his start in journalism in 1947 when he enrolled
at SF State and wrote for the student newspaper.
Al's time at the university, or college back then, was cut short
when in 1950 he was drafted by the Marines
to serve in the Korean War.
After the war, Al returned to the bay area and wrote
for the Oakland Tribune.
As a kid in Oakland, I was one
of his many readers and admirers.
Al has published numerous books and written for television.
Last year his career was the focus
of a Huntington Library exhibition titled
"Al Martinez: Bard of L.A."
Al continues to write for the Los Angeles Daily News
and Topanga Messenger and leads the Topanga Writer's Workshop.
It is now our great honor and pleasure to formally induct
and welcome Al Martinez, social science and journalism,
to the San Francisco State University Hall of Fame.
>> [Applause] Yay.
Al wrote and sent along, Mr. President, these remarks.
How honored--
>> [Inaudible]
>> Do you want to read his remarks
and then take his award for him?
>> No, go ahead.
>> Oh, okay.
All right.
How honored-- Al wrote and sent these remarks:
"How honored I feel to be inducted
into the San Francisco State University Hall of Fame,
and how sad I am not to be here to accept that honor in person.
I had so looked forward
to visiting the 'new' campus I had never seen.
New anyhow in the late 40's and early 50's
when we were attending classes in a series
of metal Quonset huts and makeshift buildings
at the junction of Haight and Buchanan Streets.
But I was looking forward
to perhaps re-establishing friendships
that might have weathered the half century that has passed
since we worried about midterms and finals and the world
that would be waiting when we left the embrace of academia.
But heart problems have forbidden
that I join these festivities
where my career goals were refined under the tutelage
of working journalists, men and women who taught rules of honest
and accuracy, and the power of information in a free
and democratic society.
Making the trip from L.A. would just be hard
on my 84 year old body.
But I wanted you to know that I have worked hard as a reporter
on columnist over a long career
to honor the lessons my tutors offered and am grateful
for the opportunity tonight to be recognized for having done so.
Thank you San Francisco State University
for having made a lifetime for me.
Thank you for the tools and for the encouragement
that have made my dreams come true.
I accept your recognition of my work
with gratitude and humility.
Al Martinez.
[ Applause ]