Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee, a nationally recognized expert on the real estate industry and President/CEO of CEL & Associates, Inc. joined the Board of Directors in November.

Lee, a 1970 alumnus of SDSU, has served as an Advisor and provided a variety of consulting services to over 750 real estate firms. He is the editor of Strategic Advantage, a popular, national newsletter for real estate Executives and has authored two books. A frequent speaker at national and international real estate conferences, his insights and forecasts frequently appear in trade publications. “My education at SDSU gave me the knowledge and foundation to seek and achieve my goals and pursue my dreams,” Lee said. “The College of Business has a solid reputation locally and nationally and I am excited to be a part of its winning team.”

Stephen Cushman

Stephen Cushman joined the board in December to help create linkages for students between the classroom and the workplace. “It is important for members of the business community to serve on this Board to help our young people understand the balance between their education theory and the reality of working within our business community,” he said. As a fourth generation San Diegan, Cushman has continued his family’s tradition of service to the community. He has served on more than fifty boards and commissions, Currently, he is a Commissioner for the San Diego Unified Port District and is Secretary of the Board of Directors of Sharp Healthcare, serves on the Board of Hubbs Seaworld Research Institute, is incoming President of the Holiday Bowl and serves on the board of California Motor Car Dealers, among others. As president of Cush Automotive Group, Cushman is a recognized leader in the automotive sales industry.

Brent Wilkes Honored with Monty

The Montys are a time-honored tradition at San Diego State University. The award is a symbol of achievement and success presented to distinguished alumni from each of SDSU's seven academic colleges, Imperial Valley Campus and the Library. The Montys honors those who have made significant contributions to San Diego State University, the San Diego community or California, nationally or internationally.

This year’s recipient of the Monty for the College of Business Administration is Board Member Brent Wilkes. Currently president of Wilkes Corporation, he earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from SDSU in 1977 and attended its Graduate School of Business. Based in San Diego, Wilkes Corporation provides leadership, knowledge and personnel for technology and defense-related corporations. The Wilkes Corporation is the parent company to several other California corporations including ADCS, Inc., Group W Advisors, Inc., Group W Media Productions, Inc., Group W Events, Inc., Paradigm Knowledge Management, Inc., Group W Holdings, Inc., and Group W Transportation, Inc.

This year’s Montys will be held on Saturday, March 5, 2005 at The Omni San Diego Hotel. For ticket information, call (619) 594-ALUM (2586) or email aluminfo@mail.sdsu.edu.