CSUN to Salute a Dedicated Trio, University Supporters and Alumni Chapter Champions

  • Sally Magaram, Daniel Blake and Phil Mundy will receive top honors at the 2016 Volunteer Service Awards on Nov. 18. Photos by Lee Choo

It has been a celebratory fall already for California State University, Northridge’s David Nazarian College of Business and Economics and the Marilyn Magaram Center for Food Science, Nutrition and Dietetics, with both recognizing significant anniversaries with gala events.

Now, three people with strong ties to those CSUN institutions will be honored for their dedication and service to the university.

Nazarian College alumnus Philip Mundy ’71 (Business Administration), professor emeritus of economics Daniel Blake and longtime CSUN devotee Sally Magaram will be honored at the 15th annual CSUN Volunteer Service Awards luncheon on Friday, Nov. 18, at the Hilton Woodland Hills. University and CSUN Alumni Association chapter volunteers and supporters also will receive honors for their devotion and work.

Mundy will be awarded the Dorothea “Granny” Heitz Award for Outstanding Volunteer Leadership. He also was honored as one of the Nazarian College’s Fabulous 50 Alumni at its 50th anniversary gala on Sept. 22. Mundy is in his third three-year term on the CSUN Foundation Board and is the chair of the development committee.

The Dorothea “Granny” Heitz Award is the pinnacle Volunteer Service Award and recognizes significant and sustained leadership by a CSUN alumnus. The award is named in honor of Heitz, whose enthusiasm and loyalty to the university spanned decades.

“I just like people and being able to do things for people,” Mundy said of his service to CSUN. “I guess I’m a doer. I just like to get things done.”

He’s also a successful entrepreneur who started the businesses Mundy Medical Marketing Inc. (specializing in the manufacturing and distribution of medical and surgical products) and Parcus Medical LLC (a sports medicine implant and instrument manufacturer).

Magaram is receiving the CSUN For Life Award, which is given to non-alumni friends of CSUN who, over time, have grown close to the university and proudly claim CSUN as their adopted alma mater. Through their passionate and consistent contributions of time, donations, talent and attendance at campus events, CSUN For Life Award winners have carried the CSUN message and embodied CSUN’s unique spirit. The award honors those whose service consistently reflects the university’s mission and its highest values.

Sally Magaram’s husband, Phil, was a driving force in the creation and development of the Marilyn Magaram Center, which opened in 1991 and was named for his late wife. Sally supported her husband in all his efforts to build a foundation for and increase the visibility of the Magaram Center. She also co-chaired the opening of the Valley Performing Arts Center, working tirelessly to help make VPAC’s Opening Gala on Jan. 29, 2011, a success. Sally and Phil are Community Founding Donors of VPAC.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Sally said of the CSUN For Life Award. “It couldn’t come from a better place to be honored, because I feel such a strong connection to the university.”

Blake is this year’s winner of the Dean Ed Peckham Award, which goes to an emeritus/emerita or retired member of the faculty or staff who is loyal to and supportive of the university. Recipients of the award have maintained close ties to the university and continue to contribute to the university’s mission in many ways. The award is named in honor of Peckham, who served as Dean of Students and vice president for Student Affairs from 1968-1991. Following his retirement, he continued to serve the university in various posts for three more decades.

For nearly 40 years, Blake was an influential figure on CSUN’s campus. He was the co-director for the Center of Economic Research and Education from 1976-82. He organized CSUN’s Minority Business Program and was its director from 1984-87. Blake was also the director for the on-campus San Fernando Valley Economic Resource Center in 2001, and elevated the university’s standing in the local business community by leading the efforts to publish the San Fernando Valley Economic Report and the CSUN Economic Forecast for the San Fernando Valley. Blake retired from CSUN in 2009, but has remained active. He has served on the board of directors for the Valley Economic Alliance and CHIME Institute — two nonprofit organizations that CSUN has championed for the purposes of creating economic and educational growth in the Valley. Blake is also the treasurer for CSUN’s Association of Retired Faculty.

“I am very proud to be in Ed Peckham’s company,” Blake said. “Ed Peckham was very dedicated to Cal State Northridge and served in all sorts of capacities. He was an inspiration.”

The University and Alumni Chapter Volunteer Service Award recipients are:

University Awards

Dena Dahilig (The Arts Council for CSUN)

Lou Marino (Athletics)

Balaji Iyer (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Martin Lebowitz (College of Health and Human Development)

Enrique and Prosy de la Cruz (College of Humanities)

Michael Bershad (College of Science and Mathematics)

Heather Briggs (David Nazarian College of Business and Economics)

Marilee Wheaton (Delmar T. Oviatt Library)

Tom White (Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication)

Don Larson (Student Affairs)

Anthony Sherrill ’05, M.A. ’07 (University Student Union)

Susan Brown (Valley Performing Arts Center)

Alumni Chapter Awards

Bruce Bibicoff ’80 (Accounting & Information Systems)

Aida Shorvoghlian ’07 (Alumni & Friends of Armenian Studies)

Michael Attar ’95 (Attorney Networking Group)

Sharon Washington ’93 (Black Alumni Association)

Shane Clark ’12 (Business Honors Chapter)

Kathy Escobar ’14 (Child & Adolescent Development)

Sarah Cathcart M.S. ’06 (Communication Disorders & Sciences)

Salvina Restivo ’95, M.S. ’00, M.P.A. ’13 (Environmental & Occupational Health)

Kitty Dill ’72, M.A. ’80 (Journalism Alumni Association)

Lori Selna ’01, M.A. ’03 (National Center on Deafness)

Stefanie DuBois ’73 (Nursing Alumni Chapter)

Anita Slechta ’79, M.S. ’86 (Radiologic Sciences Alumni Chapter)

 

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