Dean's Circle
Richard P. Rodriguez, MD
Dean's Circle Chair
'70 Bachelor's in Biological Sciences
Board-Certified in Internal Medicine, MD Stanford University, '76
Chief Medical Officer of Carson Tahoe Health (retired)
Richard Lay
Dean's Circle Vice Chair
'89, Physics
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Mary Mogge
Dean's Circle Immediate Past Chair
Emeritus Physics Professor and former Department Chair
Cal Poly Pomona
Betty Demus
'91, Microbiology
Point of Care Coordinator, Adventist Health, Tehachapi Valley
US Army (retired)
Niedre Heckman
'88, Chemistry
Director, Regulatory Affairs, CMC
Devices and Combination Products, Takeda
Renee Jordan
'91, Physics
Senior Relationship Manager, Corporate IT
KLA-Tencor Corporation
Stacy Pritt
'93, Biology
Associate Vice President of Research Support
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Robert Sterling
'79, Earth sciences
Senior Vice President
Confluence Resources
Advisory boards are a great benefit to colleges. The College of Science Dean's Circle is an integral part of the philanthropic efforts that support the college. They also provide an industry perspective, allowing educators to anticipate trends, understand the needs of industry, and better prepare students to enter the workforce.
“Our Dean’s Circle provides a valuable link to the community that benefits both students and the companies that hire them. This is our first advisory group and we’re lucky to have such a variety of expertise to support our mission,” said Dean Baski.
The Dean’s Circle was formed in 2020 during the pandemic. One of the challenges for the College of Science is that the college has seven departments representing seven very different disciplines. The Dean’s Circle started with six members and now has eight. In addition to the members shown here, other original members included Mohammad Virani, President of the Ernest Prete Jr. Foundation, and a supporter of STEM education through the Prete Fellowships, and Jeffrey Eppink (’79, earth sciences) President and founder of Enegis, LLC .
Dean’s Circle members support the college of science with an annual financial commitment and also assist in acquiring funding for science programs and students.
The group hosted career panels for students in fall 2021 and spring 2022, providing valuable information and advice.
College of Science Student Success remains the board’s primary focus in academic year 2024-25.
In addition to supporting Career Day preparation activities for CoS students, they are also actively exploring the micro internship opportunities that might exist with their respective employers. The Dean’s Circle Board has, again this year, achieved 100% participation in providing a gift of financial support for scholarships and/or programs, and they have also helped create the newly-named “Dean’s Circle Scholarship”, a $10,000 named fund that will award one $2,500 scholarship each year going forward.