Graduates Take Final Walk May 21
Norman Brinker and Ron Fowler to Receive Degrees at Commencement Ceremonies
College of Business Administration students will walk across the stage on Saturday, May 21 from 8-10 a.m. in Cox Arena and transform into graduates of San Diego State University. “Nearly 1,500 students are eligible to participate in the ceremony and it is anticipated that approximately 975 will attend with their families,” said Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Pat Dintrone who has directed the ceremonies for the last 14 years.
On Friday night, May 20, an Honors Reception is being held at the Hilton Mission Valley from 6-7 p.m. for those graduating with honors, as well as the two top teams from the Capstone MBA projects. Just prior to the general reception, the College’s honors society, Beta Gamma Sigma, will initiate new members.
San Diego State University will confer three honorary doctorates, two of which have strong ties to the CBA. The first, a CBA alum, is renowned restaurateur Norman Brinker. The second is entrepreneur and philanthropist Ron Fowler, who has been a strong supporter of the Entrepreneurial Management Center.
“This year’s recipients build on SDSU’s rich tradition of honoring extraordinary individuals, which started more than 40 years ago when the university awarded its first honorary doctorate to President John F. Kennedy,” said SDSU President Stephen L. Weber. “The three people we honor this year have made great contributions to business, literary scholarship and civic service.” The third recipient is literary icon Andreas Brown.
Norman Brinker
Brinker founded Brinker International, a restaurant conglomerate that includes Chili’s Grill and Bar, On the Border and Romano’s Macaroni Grill. The company has more than 1,300 restaurants in 49 states and 22 countries, with annual revenues of $3 billion.
Brinker’s rise from busboy to internationally renowned restaurateur began when he was a business student at SDSU, where he also served as student body president. He supported himself through college by selling cutlery door to door.
After graduating in 1957, he worked at an entry-level position at Jack in the Box and quickly rose through the ranks to become known as the “father of casual dining.” He founded Steak & Ale in 1965 and later sold the 300-restaurant chain to Pillsbury, the second-largest restaurant organization in the world. Soon after he was named head of Pillsbury’s restaurant group, which includes Burger King, Bennigan’s, Poppin Fresh and several others.
Harvard Business School named Brinker its Statesman of the Year, and he was selected in a 1997 Cornell University survey of 150 CEOs as their most admired mentor and role model. Cornell University also named Brinker the most successful restaurant executive.
Ron L. Fowler
Fowler is chairman and CEO of Liquid Investments Inc., parent company of a number of operating entities including Mesa Distributing Co., Mesa Beverage Co., Colorado Beverage Distributing and Pierco Sales. Under Fowler’s leadership, the business grew from a $7 million enterprise to an operation with estimated annual sales of more than $260 million.
Fowler began his successful career at Theodore Hamm Brewing Co. in Minnesota. He quickly ascended through the ranks and was recruited to the West Coast. Fowler has had successful careers at Lucky Breweries in San Francisco, Olympia Brewing Co. in Washington, and H.A. Lavezzi Co. in San Diego. Over the course of two decades, Fowler expanded his beverage distribution empire throughout Northern California and Colorado.
Fowler is a also a civic leader and generous philanthropist. At San Diego State, he provided curriculum input and financial support to help shape SDSU’s top-ranked business program in entrepreneurship. He has actively supported academic programs as well as Aztec athletics. He is a founding member and chairman of The Campanile Foundation, SDSU’s philanthropic foundation.
A sports enthusiast, Fowler served as vice president and executive committee member of the Greater San Diego Sports Association; chairman of the San Diego Hall of Champions; founding chairman and president of the San Diego International Sports Council; chairman of the Padres Task Force for a new ballpark; and chairman of the 2003 Super Bowl Task Force and Host Committee. Fowler is a former owner of the San Diego Sockers professional soccer team.
Fowler earned his undergraduate degree from the College of St. Thomas and his MBA from the University of Minnesota, St. Paul.
Honorary Degrees Previously Conferred by SDSU
In all, SDSU has awarded 20 honorary degrees since 1963. They are, in chronological order:
1963 John F. Kennedy, Doctor of Laws
1966 Glenn T. Seaborg, Doctor of Laws
1968 Edwin O. Reischauer, Doctor of Laws
1996 Bernard Lipinsky, Doctor of Humane Letters
1996 Alvena Storm, Doctor of Humane Letters
1997 D. Bruce Johnstone, Doctor of Humane Letters
1997 Shimon Peres, Doctor of Laws
1998 Arthur Barron, Doctor of Humane Letters
1998 Arthur G. Linkletter, Doctor of Humane Letters
1998 Vahac Mardirosian, Doctor of Humane Letters
1999 Shirley Chisholm, Doctor of Humane Letters
1999 James D. Sinegal, Doctor of Humane Letters
2002 Miguel León-Portilla, Doctor of Letters
2002 George Walker Smith, Doctor of Humane Letters
2002 Dwight E. Stanford, Doctor of Laws
2002 Claire Van Vliet, Doctor of Fine Arts
2003 Sol Price, Doctor of Humane Letters
2003 John Baldessari, Doctor of Fine Arts
2003 Charles F. Bolden, Doctor of Science
2004 Kathleen Kennedy, Doctor of Fine Arts
|
