In this issue…
Current News
CBU’s women’s water polo team will participate in a new conference next year.
California Baptist University water polo joins new Golden Coast Conference
California Baptist University will be one of seven universities from the state of California to form a new collegiate women’s water polo conference that will begin competition in the spring of 2014.
The new conference, which will be called the Golden Coast Conference, will feature Azusa Pacific University, Fresno Pacific University, Loyola Marymount University, San Diego State University, Santa Clara University and University of the Pacific as well as CBU.
“CBU is thrilled to be a part of this new women’s water polo conference,” said Director of Athletics Dr. Micah Parker. “We appreciate the opportunity to compete with universities who are committed to the promotion of women’s water polo. This should be a challenging and exciting conference.”
The Golden Coast Conference will begin competition next season and will feature a conference schedule in which each team will play each other once. The final conference standings will then decide seeding for an annual conference championship, which will be held April 24-26, 2014.
The new league will apply for an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Championships this summer. In addition, the membership is currently searching for a commissioner and finalizing its league bylaws.
“The Golden Coast Conference is comprised of Division I and II teams that I have great deal of respect for,” said CBU Head Coach Jacob Medina. “The Lancer women’s water polo program is extremely blessed to be joining such a great group of programs to form this exciting new conference. It is great to finally become a member of an NCAA conference. Having the big end of the season conference tournament is something we have been missing in our program.”
CBU is on target to complete its transition to NCAA Division II this summer and be eligible for championship competition this upcoming 2013-14 season. Azusa Pacific and Fresno Pacific are also making the transition to NCAA Division II and are hoping to be eligible the following season. San Diego State and Pacific are moving from the Big West Conference while LMU and Santa Clara are moving from the Western Water Polo Association.
In the program’s 14-year existence, the Lancers have never been part of a women’s water polo conference but have consistently been ranked in the Top 25 of the CWPA National Coaches’ Poll. CBU has never had a losing season since its inaugural season in 2000, boasting a 305-192 (.614) overall record.
The Lancers also have a 40-30 combined record against their future conference mates.
International Service Project volunteers pray around the granite globe on CBU’s campus before their departure. The 30-ton Kugel is inscribed at its base with the Great Commission.
Volunteers return from ISP experiences motivated to continue the work
The first wave of California Baptist University volunteers participating in 2013 International Service Project (ISP) trips returned with broken hearts for work left unfinished and changed lives as they saw God move in people’s lives.
“I have had many emotional moments,” said an ISP Russia team member while working with children and youths in a transit center, “but I know the Lord is really breaking my heart for what breaks His.”
Kristi*, one of the team leaders for a second ISP team in Russia, said the heartbreak from working in the transit center was simply more motivation to work harder.
“It burdens our hearts to labor even harder in order to share and plant seeds of the Gospel,” she said. “So many of these children and teenagers come from unfathomable backgrounds.”
During the trip, team members asked for prayer for their work.
“We want them to be able to see and hear what love should look like,” the request said. “Please pray for boldness as we will speak against cultural norms, their own abusive relationships and how to change the way they express love to one another. We will follow with forgiveness and love that endures.”
Many of the children and teens had been abused physically, verbally and sexually, ISP team members learned. They began building relationships through crafts, games, outings and other activities. Their work began slowly. The children, who mistrusted them at first, accepted them more easily than teenagers.
“When we first arrived, we were met with outright animosity and some ridicule,” Kerri said. “On many occasions, our students were overwhelmed and even intimidated. Thus, they have become a team dedicated to the power of prayer. When all we could do was call out to the Lord for help, He chased away the darkness and oppression, and slowly began to melt hearts of stone.”
She expressed sadness at having to leave once relationships were built.
“Saying goodbye was not an easy thing,” she said. “The teens kept asking if we would be coming back, and it was heartbreaking to know the answer. We left gifts for the children and teens, and many of us compiled our personal things to leave as a memory with each of them. They taught us so much in a short amount of time. We leave Russia with our hearts broken, and our lives changed.”
Students with other teams learned to share their testimony and to encourage believers who befriended them.
“God has grown me so much on this team,” said Erin, who served on the ISP Spain team. “He has helped me to not be afraid to share my story with others and has used me to encourage fellow believers.”
Jennifer, another ISP Spain team member, learned that her testimony could impact lives.
“For the longest time, I have felt my testimony is not worthy since I have not had a hard life or any crazy or bad life-changing events occur to me,” she said. “But when I shared my testimony, people came up and shared that they had had similar experiences to mine, and it was wonderful to know that I was not alone.”
The ISP Southeast Asia team went to their field of service to build relationships through basketball—and found friendships built years before.
“As we were warming up it was so much fun to meet people many of us had heard about and even seen pictures of from previous teams,” Carson said. “One person who came to watch the game actually played against our first team several years ago and was able to get reconnected with our fieldworker. It’s been truly incredible to witness years of seed planting and watering in progress from so many previous CBU teams and, of course, tremendous time invested by our awesome fieldworker.”
Carson explained that the team learned God can still work through them, even when they lose.
“It has been a growing experience for many on our team to see how He works through us even when we are not winning,” he said. “For a team with as many competitive individuals as we have, there is a lot of desire to win, but it has been awesome to see how the focus is still shifted to what is most important, the Good News.”
The ISP Thailand team built relationships through mobile medical clinics, which allowed them to share the Gospel. For example, about 40 people came to receive medical care in one town the team visited, but those people also received information for their spiritual health.
“Fourteen people asked for more information, and this is incredible, given there are only three believers in the town,” said one of the team members. “The town was primarily older people, which displayed the urgency of sharing the gospel since many of them have gone 70-plus years without ever hearing the Father’s name before.”
Team leader Erin from the ‘ISP South Asia: Global Studies’ team said their experience over the three-week term of service had motivated them to continue their service when they got home.
“Mitch (one of the team members) expressed that he cannot wait to go home,” she said, “but his reasons were not those of complaint, frustration, homesickness, or a tiring of our surroundings and culture. Rather, he is excited to go home and share what the Lord has taught him through all of our experiences. What is profound in this is that everyone on the team is in full agreement.”
Rebecca, who led the ISP South Asia: Nursing team, expressed a similar sentiment:
“We hope to not become complacent when we return,” she said, “but to continue to bring glory to His name.”
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*Some team members preferred not to use their names, while others preferred using only their first names to protect the ministry still ongoing in their countries.
Zac Esquerra
CBU’s Esquerra named NCAA Division II National Player of the Year
Zach Esquerra’s dream season reached a new level Wednesday when the California Baptist University slugger was named the 2013 Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) NCAA Division II National Player of the Year.
Esquerra has also been named PacWest Conference Player of the Year, Rawlings/ABCA and National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association (NCBWA) West Region Player of the Year and National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Player of the Year.
In addition to being named Player of the Year today, Esquerra was also named to the Rawlings/ABCA and the NCBWA Division II All-American first team.
“What a fantastic finish to an outstanding season for Zach,” said CBU Head Coach Gary Adcock, a member of the ABCA. “This is a culmination of a lot of things but particularly his hard work and desire. He truly found a way to get it done with no excuses. When you think of all the great athletes playing Division II baseball and you had a chance to coach what was considered the best this year, it’s a very special feeling—one that as a coaching staff, program and university we are extremely proud of.”
Esquerra’s twin brother, Luke Esquerra, was named to the Rawlings/ABCA NCAA Division II All-American third team and received NCBWA All-American honorable mention. Jon Bengard was named to the NCBWA All-American third team. Blair Moore also received NCBWA received honorable mention.
Prior to the postseason (the honor is based on regular season only), Esquerra hit .382 with a PacWest-leading 17 home runs. In fact, Esquerra not only led the PacWest and West Region and was second in the nation in Division II, but he had the third highest home run total in all of college baseball. He also ranked in the top five in the PacWest in hits (3rd-65), runs (1st-51), doubles (3rd-15) and RBI (3rd-47).
Luke Esquerra hit .380 with 62 hits, 42 runs and eight home runs, ranking in the top six of the PacWest in each of those categories. Bengard went 11-1 with a 2.21 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 102 innings pitched.
CBU finished the season winning its second straight PacWest title in the most dramatic way imaginable with two walk-off wins in the final two games of the regular season at home. It was the Lancers’ fourth straight conference championship. The Lancers went on to win the NCCAA World Series for the second straight year.
Family Updates
Dr. Ellis speaking at the IABCU meeting.
Dr. Ronald L. Ellis, CBU president, spoke to participants at the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities on the topic Building a university committed to the Great Commission during their annual meeting June 2-4 on the CBU campus. More than 100 college presidents, provosts and others attended the three-day meeting. Click here to read the whole story.
Left to right: William Tarpai, Yoko Boucher and Jeff Cate. Not pictured: Theresa Hoag
Dr. Jeff Cate, professor of New Testament, was a recipient of the 2012-2013 Mayor’s Outstanding Service Award for his “outstanding leadership in the Riverside-Sendai sister city relationship.” Other recipients for the award were Yoko Boucher, William Tarpai, Jeff Cate and Theresa Hoag. The award was presented at the 2013 annual meeting of the Riverside International Relations Council meeting June 5 at CBU.
Walk to Wellness. Bring your co-workers and start creating the healthy habit of walking every Monday through Thursday from June 17 through August 8. Available time slots include: 6 a.m.-7:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. A personal trainer will be on the roof to track mileage and provide tips to improve your health with every step. Pedometers and an information sheet will be provided upon sign up at the Recreation Center.
Barry Parker
Barry Parker, librarian, introduced and read from his novel, Resolutions, at a book signing June 6 at Cellar Door Books in Riverside. In addition, his article ‘Works of the Law’ and the Jewish Settlement in Asia Minor, has been published in the Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism. It is currently available online http://www.jgrchj.net/volume9/?page=volume9
Dr. Mark Roberson
Dr. Mark Roberson, dean of the College of Architecture, Visual Arts and Design, was interviewed on the Explore Riverside Weekly Radio Show hosted by Greg Lee on June 8.
Dr. Matthew Y. Emerson
Dr. Matthew Y. Emerson, assistant professor of Christian studies in Online and Professional Studies, and Jason B. Hood wrote an article titled Summaries of Israel’s Story: Reviewing a Compositional Category, which was published recently in Currents in Biblical Research.
Dr. Trevor Gillum
Dr. Russell Baker
Dr. Chuck Sands
Dr. Chuck Sands attended the 60th annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Indianapolis, Ind. May 28-June 1. Also, Dr. Russell Baker and Dr. Trevor Gillum made presentations at the meeting. Baker’s poster was titled Sudden Death in Young Competitive Athletes: Analysis of Deaths in the United States, 2008-2011. Gillum’s poster was titled Sleep, Stress, and Sickness in Collegiate Cross Country Runners While in Season.
Pam Pryfogle
Pam Pryfogle, adjunct faculty member in early childhood studies for Online and Professional Studies, was selected as a consultant for the Middle Eastern Children’s Institute (MECI) and traveled to Amman, Jordan and the West Bank May 31-June 8. She worked closely with UNICEF and the MECI team to review and establish an early childhood program for Palestinian and underserved children. For more information about MECI visit http://www.mecinstitute.org/.
South Asia- ISP team
Thailand-Healthcare ISP team
Spain-Students ISP team
Three faculty members from the department of natural and mathematical sciences led International Service Project teams this summer. Dr. Thomas Ferko, professor of chemistry, is currently leading a community development team in East Asia where they are using their skills of water treatment to serve a community in need in hopes of building relationships with the local people they encounter. Dr. Bruce Prins, associate professor of biology, led a healthcare team to Thailand where they were able to utilize their experience in health care to minister to the local people while aiding needs. Dr. Lisa Hernandez, chair of the department of natural and mathematical sciences, led a team in Spain where they spent time engaging in relationships with local university students.
Dr. Franco Gandolfi
Dr. Franco Gandolfi, dean of the School of Business, had two chapters included in the book Strategic Management in the 21st Century, volumes 1 and 3, published by Praeger Publications. The chapter in volume 1 was titled Strategy and entrepreneurship: A discussion of strategic entrepreneurs and the chapter in volume 3 was Marshaling firm resources in order to be a successful competitor.
Dr. Chuck Sands
Dr. Chuck Sands presented An Update on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (otherwise known as Obamacare) to spouses of top college administrators participating in the annual meeting of the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities on CBU’s campus June 2-4.
Personnel Updates
| DATE | DEPARTMENT | POSITION | NAME | STATUS |
| 6/1/2013 | Tahquitz Pines | Camp Worker/On-Call | Kenneth Widney | New Hire |
| 6/3/2013 | Global Initiatives | Director of International Admissions | Bryant Kong | New Hire |
| 6/3/2013 | Accounting | Assistant Director of Accounting | Sandra Haupert | New Hire |
| 6/3/2013 | Student Accounts | Student Accounts Counselor | Rosaria Lawrie | New Hire |
| 5/16/2013 | Tahquitz Pines | Director of Guest Relations/Marketing | Michael Jewell | Change |
| 5/29/2013 | Department of Communication Arts | Assistant Professor | Cynthia Boes Formerly: Cervantes | Name Change |
| 6/1/2013 | Online and Professional Studies | Admissions Support Coordinator | Teresa Sheets | Change |
| 6/1/2013 | Financial Aid | Financial Aid Loan Counselor/Debt Management | Audrey Meekins | Change |
| 5/29/2013 | Athletics | Head Men/Women’s Golf Coach | Joseph Lane Pace | No Longer Employed |
| 5/31/2013 | Enrollment Services | Enrollment Services Computer Specialist | Ronald Fox | No Longer Employed |