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Name |
Category |
Year Graduated |
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Robert B. Lowe |
Journalism |
1971 |
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Robert B. Lowe won a 1981
Pulitzer Prize with Arizona Daily Star colleague Clark Hallas for
their investigative report titled “Improper Use of University
Athletic Recruiting Funds.” The award, the nation’s highest honor in
print journalism, was given in the category of Local Investigative
Specialized Reporting. In the piece, the reporters for the Tucson,
Ariz.-based newspaper revealed improper use of recruiting funds
approved by a University of Arizona football coach. After having
records examined by the school’s athletic department, the
investigation – which included interviews, phone records,
airline-ticket and hotel receipts -confirmed that several
university-paid trips were made by non-prospective recruits, which
violated National Collegiate Athletic Association rules. |
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|
Sports |
1936 |
 The
social impact of
Jackie Robinson’s inclusion into Major League Baseball
in 1947 resonates as one of the civil rights movement’s most
significant triumphs. For Robinson, the first
African-American to have the opportunity to participate in
the major leagues for the Brooklyn Dodgers, it was all about
playing the game. But, he was hand-selected by President
Branch Rickey and the Dodger organization to cross the
precipitous color line. Robinson promised Rickey that he
would not fight back, other than with his bat and glove,
despite what teammates, competitors, fans, umpires, writers,
broadcasters and hotel managers might have said or how they
tried to bait him into reacting. Robinson agreed to take on
this historic civil rights challenge and was uniquely
qualified to succeed. When he crossed the white lines at the
ballpark, Robinson tried to relax and focus on the game, not
the constant cat calls.
In his debut season, he was named Rookie of the Year, an
award which today bears his name, and he became an immediate
drawing card. In his 10 seasons, Robinson was a six-time N.L.
All-Star, he was an integral part of six N.L.
Pennant-winning Dodger teams (1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955,
1956) and he won the N.L. batting title in 1949 with a .342
average. He also won the N.L. MVP Award in 1949. Robinson
was the first African-American player to be inducted into
the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. With Robinson in
attendance, the Dodgers retired his No. 42 uniform in
on-field ceremonies at Dodger Stadium on June 4, 1972. All
of Major League Baseball saluted him in 1997 (on the 50th
Anniversary of his breaking the color barrier) and
permanently retired his number from the game. |
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Matthew (Mack) Robinson |
Community Service |
1935 |
 Matthew
"Mack" Robinson was an American
athlete, setting a world record and winning a silver medal
in the Olympics. He was the older brother of Baseball Hall
of Fame member Jackie Robinson. Mack set national junior
college records in the 100 meter, 200 meter, and long jump
at Pasadena City College. He placed second in the Western
Regional Olympic Tryouts in 1936, earning himself a place on
the United States Olympic team. He went on to win the silver
medal in the men's 200 metres at the 1936 Summer Olympics in
Berlin, finishing just 0.4 seconds behind Jesse Owens.
Mack Robinson attended the University of Oregon, graduating
in 1941. At the University of Oregon he won numerous titles
in NCAA, AAU and Pacific Coast Conference track meets. He
has been honored as being one of the most distinguished
graduates
of the University of Oregon and is a member of the
University of Oregon Hall of Fame and the Oregon Sports Hall
of Fame.Later in
life, he was known for leading the fight against street
crime in his home town of Pasadena. In 1997, the Pasadena
Robinson Memorial, dedicated to both Matthew and Jackie, was
dedicated in 1997. That same year, the United States Postal
Service approved naming the new post office in Pasadena the
Matthew 'Mack' Robinson Post Office Building. |
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Performing Arts |
1963 |
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John Van de Kamp |
Government Service |
1952 |
|
 John Van de Kamp
served two terms as California's 28th Attorney General, from 1983 to
1991, after serving as an Asst. U.S. Attorney and Los Angeles County
District Attorney. He is perhaps best known for his handling of the
Hillside Strangler case, both as D.A. and Attorney General,
resulting in the 1983 convictions of Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo
Buono Jr., for the serial murders of 10 women and girls in the hills
of Eagle Rock, Glendale and Elysian Park, between October 1977 and
February 1978.
He was also a member
of the famous Van de Kamp family which operated bakeries and Lawry’s
Restaurants in southern California.
During his tenure as
the state's chief prosecutor, Van de Kamp's administration created
the Public Rights Division, giving new emphasis to environmental,
consumer protection, anti-trust and civil rights enforcement.
Reorganized, renamed and expanded the Bureau of Medical Fraud, and
created a separate Correctional Law Section within the Criminal Law
Division. He helped modernize DOJ's scientific and technological
resources, including development of the CAL-ID Program as well as
the beginning efforts at DNA forensic investigation. Sponsored the
Trial Court Delay Reduction Act and the California AIDS Drug Testing
Program. |
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