Gala dinner will honor eight business, technology leaders
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Eight local individuals will be honored during the Business and Technology Partnership Leadership Dinner presented by California State University Channel Islands and Santa Barbara Bank & Trust in Oxnard on Thurs., April 24.

The partnership promotes the collaboration of CSUCI with technology and related servicebased companies. It also encourages technological excellence among its students, faculty and staff for the benefit of the region's economy.

The dinner event will recognize three people who contributed to the goals of the partnership and will honor five CSUCI students with $3,000 scholarships, said Cecilia Potts, spokesperson for the university.

"I can't tell you how much it means to me," said Jadonna Collier, a second-year B&TP scholarship recipient. "The university at Channel Islands has made a huge difference for me."

Collier, 35, decided to go into nursing as a second career, and she's maintained a 4.0 grade-point average from the start. "As a single mom, I needed to find a way to support myself, and nursing has many job opportunities," she said.

CSUCI is the first university in the area to offer a bachelor's degree in nursing, said Collier, who plans to graduate in 2010. The extended studies help nurses to improve patient care and provide better opportunities for job advancement, she said.

Other students who will receive a scholarship at the dinner event later this month include Pauline Kolic, a chemistry major; Jaimee Morrison, a math major; Elizabeth Thomas, a biology/ chemistry major; and Rene McMurray, a nursing major.

The three adult leaders who will be honored include Geoff Dougherty, professor of physics at CSUCI; Fred Kavli, local entrepreneur and philanthropist; and Ruby Oertle, owner of Capistrano's Restaurant and Catering and Matisse Restaurant and Catering.

Doughterty is the Faculty Leader of the Year. Oertle was named the 2008 Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics Business and Community Leader of the Year.

Kavli, who earned the 2008 Technologist of the Year Award, is a business leader and innovator who supports research and education for the benefit of the human condition, said Potts.

Kavli, an 80yearold Norwegianborn physicist, made his fortune developing sensors for various military and commercial industries involving automobiles and airplanes. He founded Kavlico Corporation in 1958, and it now is a large employer in Moorpark.

"The Kavli Foundation is the realization of a boyhood dream, which was to do something of value for mankind," Kavli told the Camarillo Acorn. "Growing up in Norway, I would hike or ski into the mountains and ponder the universe, the planet, nature and the wonders of man. Now, with the foundation, my goal is to support research in frontiers of science that I believe will provide the greatest opportunity for major scientific breakthroughs and have long range benefits for humanity."

Throughout his career, Kavli continued to invent new technology to fill unmet needs, according to his website. He holds patents for numerous technological breakthroughs, and he's most interested in the fields of astro-, nano- and neurosciences.

"These are the most exciting fields for the 21st century that will see the most progress in future years," said Kavli in an interview with actor Alan Alda last year.

Kavli funded several institutes as well as a foundation to sponsor and conduct scientific research and to give young scientists the opportunity to pursue their interests in ways that could lead to major discoveries.

Kavli also is a supporter of the arts. He donated $2.5 million to the Alliance for the Arts in Thousand Oaks, which named the Fred Kavli Theatre at the Civic Arts Plaza in his honor.