By Andy Bays

Dina Ciraulo, professor of cinema production at City College since 2000 whose devotion to teaching and making films left a lasting impression on her students, died Feb. 7 after a long battle with cancer. She was 52.

Gifted in visual arts from a young age, Ciraulo strove to impart some of that passion on cinema students from all walks of life. “She had a a huge compassion for students, especially for helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds,” her colleague Professor Carolin Blair said.

Having a zen-like calmness at all times and an unquenchable thirst for nature and history, she once took a two-day trek through the Eagle Mountains in Southern California to see ancient petroglyphs. Ciraulo was an understanding professor who could, in a constructive way, occasionally be brutally honest with students.

“She was an inspiration to everyone,” Interim Cinema Department Chair Anna Geyer said. “In her dedication to helping students and in her filmmaking, she always went beyond the call of duty.”

Her dual love of cinema and the great outdoors led her to produce and direct the feature film “Opal” (2010) about the nature writer Opal Whiteley, whose alternating genius and insanity captured public imagination in the 1920s.

“Opal” premiered at the 2010 Mill Valley Film Festival and won the Nell Shipman Directing Award, a FilmHouse Residency from the San Francisco Film Society, and several more awards nationally.

“‘Opal’ was made against all odds, completely self-funded,” Ciraulo’s mother Janelle Melvin said. “She had an amazing ability to inspire people to get on board with her. It’s a period film and she produced all the costumes on her own dime. It’s low-budget but it looks high-end.”

“She was never wasteful, always responsible. She was a steward of the world,” Melvin recalled. “During the editing of ‘Opal,’ she didn’t have a kitchen table. It was a cutting table for her splicing.”

Born in San Jose 10 days after JFK was killed in late 1963, Ciraulo had an idyllic Bay Area childhood graced with sunny afternoons on the beach, which inspired her burgeoning practice of photography.

At Los Gatos High School, she participated in gymnastics and acrobatics and was one of the fastest contenders in the 50-yard dash. During those formative years, Melvin recalled, she tried to take up the guitar, but she was always more drawn to visual arts.

Ciraulo entered UC Berkeley as a Comparative Literature major and, soon after, moved to Paris, where her fluency in French and Italian allowed her to live and travel around Europe for a year.

She then attended the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program, where she was awarded the Van Lier Scholarship. The scholarship provided money for her to live in New York for a year, where she created an art installation for the Guggenheim Museum composed of glass blocks filled with beer.

Afterward, she returned to UC Berkeley with a newfound passion for film. “She was obsessed, consumed with film. She loved it as a medium,” Melvin said.

Ciraulo went on to receive an Masters of Fine Arts in Film Production from San Francisco State, and afterward made several short films that screened internationally, including the Telluride Film Festival, SXSW Film Festival, the Hamptons International Film Festival and the European Media Art Festival.

When gay marriage became legal in San Francisco, she married her longtime partner Terri Winston, and they lived together in a house composed entirely of found furnishings. “She only bought two pieces of furniture in her whole life,” Melvin said. “Everything in her house, including the paint, was found. It was a beautiful house.”

Ciraulo’s years as a professor at City College were marked by her “amazing ability to listen to others and focus on them,” Melvin said.

Aracelli Frias, a former student of Ciraulo, remembered her unorthodox teaching style.

“She was awesome. She had a unique way of teaching. One of her required texts was Stephen King’s ‘On Writing,’ which dealt more with an author’s path,” Frias said.

Ciraulo took a leave of absence several semesters ago to deal with her illness. In her final days, she returned to her childhood passions of nature and photography, capturing beautiful photographs of orchards, fields of flowers and old cabins.

A scholarship at City College has been created in her name.

“Film students from around the world have been writing in on Facebook to express their loss,” Blair said. “It’s remarkable to see how many lives she touched.”

She is survived by her father, Don J. Ciraulo of Saratoga, California, her mother, Janelle Melvin of San Jose, her sister Darlene Ciraulo of Warrensburg, Missouri, and her partner Terri Winston of San Francisco.
“Opal, sometimes you only get one chance,” says a character in Ciraulo’s film. In an echo of  Ciraulo’s own philosophy, the character goes on to say, “Take it, when it comes.”

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By Bethaney Lee

In June of 2016, City College mourned the loss of accomplished film professor Lise Swenson, whose passion for media education has left an immeasurable impression on her former students.  

“Lise Swenson was one of my film professors at City College and someone who had a real direct effect on media education and culture in the Bay Area,” Dianne Brennan wrote in her blog article “In Memoriam: Lise Swenson 1959-2016.”

Since the 1980’s Swenson had been a strong participant in the Bay Area’s media arts scene. Co-founding the nonprofit organization Artists’ Television Access (ATA) in 1984, Swenson used ATA to help cultivate media and art through exhibitions, screenings and workshops.

“As a person and artist, I think it’s fair to say that she enjoyed creating communities and extended that into the way she made films,” Brennan wrote in her blog.

Swenson’s art and films have been displayed globally, including her internationally screened “Mission Movie” in 2004 that fictionally portrayed the realities of living in San Francisco’s Mission District. The film won her two “Best of Festival” awards in addition to five others.

Later serving as producer and assistant director for Lynn Hershman Leeson’s film “Strange Culture,” Swenson’s media accomplishments only continued to grow.  

As the de Young Museum’s Filmmaker in Residence, Swenson produced the iPhone app “dYinterpretations” in March 2011, which allowed users to tour the museum through their phones.

“She was a force and inspiration to the students of CCSF and the larger media-making community,” cinema instructor Anna Geyer said.

In 1995 Swenson inspired students and the community alike by founding the long-running nonprofit program Teaching Intermedia Learning Tools that focused on mentoring youth in filmmaking for over 15 years.

“She was fun, engaging and always encouraging,” Brennan wrote. “I’m sad for our loss of Lise, but inspired.”

On Oct. 28 the cinema department will host a “Celebration of Life” ceremony in City College’s Multi-Use Building, Room 140 from 2 to 4 p.m. All are welcome.

Prior to the ceremony, students and faculty will assemble to march around Cloud Circle in remembrance of Lise Swenson at 1:30 p.m.

“I find myself still surprised that Lise isn’t in this world anymore,” Brennan said. “She’s one of those people who you just expect to see again. That said, I’m glad I knew her and I look forward to seeing the impact of her work fan out through her students and friends in the coming years.”

By Nigel Flores

Julia Bergman, who played an instrumental role in the building of the Rosenberg Library and several schools in Central Asia,has died at age 71 due to complications following knee surgery.

Bergman served as a City College librarian for 33 years, retiring in 2008.

“Her role in the building of the [Rosenberg] library was every role you could imagine,” music department chair Madeline Mueller said, “she went in everyday with a hard-hat.”

Mueller, a City College employee of over 50 years, says that Bergman played a pivotal role in gaining special funding for the library from former California governor George Deukmejian.

City College librarian Karen Saginor recalls that Bergman educated herself thoroughly on the project and eventually began to review blueprints and attend construction meetings.

Bergman addressed even the smallest details, such as the height of chairs and the angle of lighting.

“We have students from all parts of the world, and some people are taller and some people are shorter,” Saginor recalls Bergman saying, “we don’t want to end up with chairs that won’t work for all of our students.”

Besides the library, the preservation of the Diego Rivera mural was a passion of Bergman’s.

Will Maynez worked with Bergman for 20 years and says that the two were “welded at the hip”.

“Scholars would come from all over the place wanting to know about the mural and she would show them what she had,” Maynez said.

Bergman worked to give people access to the mural and make information about it more readily available.

Maynez and Bergman were awarded the Art Deco Society of California 2015 Michael Crowe Preservation award.
During the summer, when she was away from her obligations as a librarian and roles as a City College activist, Bergman traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan. She was able to help build schools through her work as Board chair of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), which is an organization that serves remote areas in the region.

“When girls are educated there will be change. With change comes hope and with hope, maybe peace,” Bergman wrote in her Tamalis High School biography.

During her work with CAI, Bergman worked closely with Greg Mortenson, who co-authored “Three Cups of Tea” and was a Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

“Always know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem,” Bergman wrote. “I live it, although it’s hard to do sometimes. So that’s how I live my life. And I’m happy.”

Joy Durighello, who traveled with Bergman to Pakistan, said, “I still find it hard to believe that Julia’s enthusiasm and boundless energy are now gone from our midst,  but I know she has left her legacy in many places and in many hearts. I feel immensely fortunate to have known her.”

A memorial celebration of her life is set for Saturday February 25th, 1 to 3, at the Pierre Coste faculty dining room.

By Barbara Muniz

Former City College Engineering Instructor Raymond Joseph Berard died on Aug. 10, 2017, at the age of 78.

After his retirement from City College, the prolific Democrat was an active member of the American Federation of Teachers Local 2121 (AFT 2121) for more than 30 years. He also served as a delegate on the San Francisco Labor Council for two decades.

“The ‘Organize, Resist’ print in this t-shirt that I’m wearing today is to honor Ray, who devoted long hours to help the Faculty Union,” said Timothy Killikelly, president of AFT 2121.

Killikelly met Berard in a union meeting and remembers the late president of the City College of San Francisco Academic Senate as a great supporter of teachers and as someone with a genuine interest in helping other faculty members fight for a common cause.

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan in 1939, Berard moved to San Francisco, where he joined the army and eventually graduated from San Francisco State University with a master’s degree in Vocational Education.

He is unanimously described by his colleagues as generous and a great adviser. City College Music Department Chair Madeline Mueller said, “Most people will remember Ray as a fun, good-spirited co-worker, which he really was. But he had a brilliant mind that made a big difference for the faculty.” Mueller also described Berard’s contribution to City College, “Back in the years, Ray helped me to implement changes in the constitution of the Academic Division. He was paramount in uniting credit and noncredit. Besides, his persuasive ability to ‘sell it’ to the Academic Senate helped the faculty.”

Berard was always present at the end of the year celebration at John Adams Campus and loved a good debate about politics.

Retired staff Gabriella Schultz spoke at Berard’s faculty eulogy ceremony at John Adam’s Auditorium, calling him “a loyal, loyal faculty member to John Adam’s College.”

In addition to his life at City College, Berard also spent much of his time appreciating San Francisco’s finer culture. Wearing a bow tie and a tuxedo, Berard had a permanent seat at the Opera House, a place he loved to go.

By David Mamaril Horowitz

dhorowitz@theguardsman.com

Martha Lucey Olchowy, whose marketing grew City College enrollment to its highest ever, passed away on Aug. 24, 2018. She was 76.

While serving as the college’s director of marketing and public information, Mrs. Lucey oversaw enrollment, which surpassed 100,000 students in 2007.

“She instilled a pride in working at City College,” former Communications Committee Chair Francine Podenski said. “One group of students named the college ‘our Harvard on the hill.’”

Born in Ukraine, Mrs. Lucey moved to Germany before immigrating to  New York City, where she met her future husband George Olchowy. They were married for more than 40 years.

Her shining moment, friends said, was when she adopted a 12-year-old girl, Alexandra, from Ukraine.

“She gave me everything,” Alexandra said. “She gave me family. She always made me feel like I had a friend. I had a mother.”

If there was one value her mother passed on to her, Alexandra said, it was to be independent.

Although she studied and danced ballet, Mrs. Lucey earned a Library Science degree to provide for herself. She was also a member of the Dance Library of Israel.

Her friend there, Renee Renouf Hall, said in a tribute that Mrs. Lucey had a smile which was always ready and a laugh that was full. Others described her personality as strong-willed and vivacious.

She started at City College in 1995 and  earned a reputation for being straightforward and standing by her beliefs, even when it meant challenging the chancellors.

“She wasn’t a yes-person at all,” former Chancellor Philip Day said. “She would always push you a little bit to justify or provide the rationale.”

One controversial decision she made occurred when the college needed an editor to publish City Currents, the defunct faculty newsletter. She hired Patricia Arack, an ESL teacher with a background in journalism.

“It was outside the norms of Human Resources, God forbid, but she was the type of person who intuited that I could do it and went for it,” Arack said. “‘To hell with procedure or process because I need somebody yesterday.’”

Mrs. Lucey communicated with the press, directed the publication of press releases, communicated with the chancellor and worked with local marketing resources to sell the college. Due to insufficient funding, Mrs. Lucey would work seven days a week to do the job of several people, Podenski said.

Since Chronicle advertising was unaffordable, Mrs. Lucey would find under-enrolled courses and advertise them in the neighborhood newspapers two weeks before classes began. She marketed on local television and utilized the Broadcast Media Electronic Arts department.

Podenski said Mrs. Lucey was at every San Francisco parade, and that she focused on marketing the faculty and students even more than she did the administration.

When Mrs. Lucey retired in 2010, Alexandra said that she took her stories with her.

“We went together to City College a lot of times because she was always trying to keep up with her friends, sometimes students,” said Alexandra, who went there herself for two years at her mother’s suggestion. “Her life was in City College.”

Mrs. Lucey leaves behind her husband George, her daughter Alexandra, her son-in-law Edward, her granddaughter Milana and family in Philadelphia.

By Lisa Martin

lisamartin.562@gmail.com

Laurent Broussal, a dedicated City College administrator of thirty years, passed away on Jan. 12, after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 93 years old.

Broussal, also known as “Larry” by his friends and family, was born on Aug. 9, 1925 to immigrant parents from France. He was raised in Butchertown, present-day Bayview, during a time when cowboys drove herds of cattle down Third St. He attended Polytechnic High School, which was in operation from 1884 until 1973.

The native San Franciscan grew up hunting and fishing with his father and developed a lifelong passion for the outdoors, which he would later share with his wife Randi Broussal and their four children.

“Going hunting for him was as much about seeing what he could find. He’d come home with beautiful rocks or dropped horns or skulls of animals that he’d find… He just liked being outside and tromping around.” Randi said.

Broussal was also a qualified scuba diver that loved to search for abalone. He once joked that he knew the California community college system did not offer “underwater basket weaving” classes because if they did, he would be the only one qualified to teach it. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, Broussal continued these hobbies well into his 80s.

During his freshman year at San Jose State University, Broussal obtained parental consent from his mother and enlisted in the Navy during World War II. He entered the V-12 officer training program, where he served for two years, then received his commission on a landing ship tank in the Pacific.

After the war, Broussal completed his bachelor of arts degree at San Jose State and went on to earn a master’s degree in special education at San Francisco State University. He pursued a PhD, but did not complete his dissertation.

According to his wife, Broussal was always interested in education and searched for a “helping profession.” He began teaching special education in 1953 and later transitioned into more administrative roles.

“He was interested in how education could help people, how administration could help teachers help students, how the whole way that the community college works is such a non-elitist organization,” Randi said.

In 1970, when California mandated that all K-14 school districts must switch to K-12, Broussal worked with Lou Batmale, the first Chancellor of the San Francisco Community College District and former President of City College, and Phoebe Bostwick, a former City College faculty member, to help create the framework for what would become the San Francisco Community College District.

One of the decisions that shaped the new identity of the college was to integrate both non-credit and credit divisions. This provided students enrolled in non-credit classes with a smoother transition into credit classes and guide them toward degrees, certifications and transfer opportunities. Only five school districts had this at the time and among them, San Francisco had the largest offerings of non-credit courses.

“When we, the S.F. Community College District, separated from the Unified School District, we were accused of including both City College and the Adult and Occupational Division in the newly created district in order to collect a financial windfall of several million dollars,” Broussal said in a 1982 presentation to fellow administrators.

He always advocated for the complementary inclusion of non-credit and credit divisions at City College despite criticism and the years that passed.

During his tenure at City College, Broussal became president of the non-credit division, then called the “community college centers,” and upon his retirement in 1984, he served as Dean of Admissions and Records for the credit division.

Jack Harrington, a former administrator in the Centers Division and a friend of 40 years, described Broussal as a supportive, compassionate and dedicated person who always worked hard to do what’s best for teachers. To Harrington, Broussal was a man filled with good ideas and who made time to speak with anyone that asked.

“He was a follow-through kind of guy, his integrity was there, and people followed him easily. They followed him as Larry,” Harrington said.

During retirement, Broussal spent more time with his family, traveling and enjoying the outdoors. He is survived by his wife of 34 years, four children, eight grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held on Feb. 9 at St. Cecilia Church.