The James L. and Lynne Pierson Doti Hall was officially dedicated Friday, Feb. 22, following the president's annual State of the University address.
The James L. and Lynne Pierson Doti Hall was officially dedicated Friday, Feb. 22, following the president's annual State of the University address.

President’s State of the University address celebrates golden future, new Doti Hall

Chapman University has made stunning enhancements to its campus, attracted an increasingly high caliber of students and is looking forward to a future that includes new programs from film to scientific research, thanks to a generous and bold community that shares its passion for education, President Jim Doti said in his annual State of the University Address on Friday, Feb. 22.

Doti cited all the university’s donors, students, faculty and friends as sharing in the work that has brought the university to where it is today. In a fond closing reflection, he said they were all helping to educate students who would be part of “California’s Gold.”

“You’re all part of this puzzle, interlocking individuals who are devoted, caring students. Entrepreneurial, tenacious, spirited people, all devoted to a noble cause, a noble mission, and that is educating this generation and future generations of Chapman students, who I can assure you are all fine, wonderful examples of California’s Gold,” Doti said.

Immediate evidence of that commitment to progress was celebrated directly after the speech when the Memorial Hall audience moved out to the Bert C. Williams Mall for the official dedication and ribbon cutting of the James L. and Lynne P. Doti Hall — the final piece in the university’s long-planned completion of the historic core campus.

The hall, built to reflect its historic counterparts built from 1913 to 1921, was also a metaphor, said Doy Henley, chair of the university’s Board of Trustees.

“That’s what universities do. They fill in what wasn’t there before,” Henley said.

In his talk, President Doti outlined some of the other initiatives the university has begun and is planning, including its new School of Pharmacy, the Musco Center for the Arts, a new visual arts center adjacent to Dodge College of Film and Media Arts and a new state-of-the-art science center on the main campus.

As part of his address, Doti also announced that the university has received a $10 million bequest commitment from Christine Cross of Orange. The bequest will establish an endowed fund for needs-based scholarships at the university, creating the “Christine and Lon Cross Scholars,” named for Cross and her husband.

A podcast of the complete address is available at the State of the University website.

 

Dawn Bonker

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