Pacific in the Press | June 16, 2020

Quote of the Week “It was definitely nerve-wracking being one of the first classes to take the manikin-based exam, but the school did a great job of preparing us the week beforehand.” — Dugoni student Leah Life ’20, DentistryToday.com, June 11, 2020

Examples of how University of the Pacific was represented in the news media in recent days:

“Fall classes at University of the Pacific,” KCRA3 (NBC, Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto) and KQCA-TV (My58), June 13, 2020: President Designate Christopher Callahan was interviewed via Zoom for this story about the reopening plan for the fall semester. The story was broadcast several times in the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. hours on KCRA and its sister station, KQCA. The story also used graphics to list details of the plan. Other media outlets also covered the reopening plan:
“University of the Pacific has outlined plan to reopen,” KFBK-AM, June 14 and 15, 2020
“UOP outlines plan to reopen for fall semester,” KCRA3, June 13, 2020. The story was shared on KCRA3’s YouTube channel and Yahoo! Sports also linked to the KCRA story.
“Safety first as Pacific prepares to start new academic year,” The Record, June 12, 2020
“Pacific announces plans for fall semester,” Lodi News-Sentinel, June 12, 2020. (News-Sentinel subscribers can see the story at www.lodinews.com/.)

“Black entrepreneurs toured an upscale California neighborhood. False claims spread online,” The Sacramento Bee, June 10, 2020: McGeorge’s Brian Landsberg was interviewed for this story about social media rumors of protesters and looters converging on an upscale El Dorado Hills neighborhood. The gathering was actually a tour group of young black entrepreneurs. Landsberg, who was a federal civil rights attorney in the 1960s, said such reactions on social media and online platforms are too common. “If we had more housing integration, people wouldn’t be so suspicious of people of color,” he told the outlet. The story also appeared in The Fresno Bee.

“Online summer music camps,” KCRA3, June 12, 2020: The Conservatory of Music’s Steve Perdicaris was interviewed live via Skype about Pacific’s online music camps. The conservatory’s camps turned 75 years old this year and, while they cannot be carried out in a traditional fashion, Perdicaris and other conservatory faculty worked to provide the camp experience online.

“Dugoni Students Take Simulation-Based Dental Licensing Exams,” DentistryToday.com, June 11, 2020: This story featuring Dugoni’s move to simulation-based exams for licensure quoted Dugoni students and Dean Nader A. Nadershahi. “It was definitely nerve-wracking being one of the first classes to take the manikin-based exam, but the school did a great job of preparing us the week beforehand,” said Dugoni student Leah Life ’20. “I’m grateful we had the opportunity to take it so soon after the Dental Board of California approved the manikin-based exam. I think it was a great test of our abilities and have faith our class did great.” Student Letitia Edwards ’20 was also quoted: “Being the first class in the nation to take an entirely manikin-based licensure examination felt like history in the making. Organized dentistry has been advocating for years to remove the patient-based components of the licensing exams in lieu of a manikin-based portion, and we’ve finally done it! I hope that this will continue for years to come.” “I’m so proud of the entire family here at the University of the Pacific Dugoni School of Dentistry and all of our partners, especially the California Dental Association, who helped make this simulation-based licensure exam a reality,” Dean Nadershahi told the outlet. “This creative approach ensured that our graduating students could finish up their programs and pass this key milestone before moving to the next phase of their career, instead of having to wait many more months or longer to take the WREB exam.”

“Will there be fall sports at Pacific?,” The Record, June 8, 2020: Athletic Director Janet Lucas was interviewed for a Q&A story on whether there will be fall sports this year. There was a question about the relationship between sports and the general student body. Lucas replied: “I’m just a believer that we will not have fall sports unless our campus is completely open for our other students. It would be inconsistent with our values. We want to keep No. 1 our students safe and healthy, so decisions will be built around that concept. That’s my opinion at this point, relative to how we will proceed. One of the things when I talk about being proactive and reactive at the same time, is we have to work in concert with our campus and our community in our athletic program. So, there is a domino affect when decisions are made, both from the governmental level in this country, to the state of California, to our institution, our conference and our athletic programs. We have to incorporate how we are moving forward, so that we are working together in all of this.”

“Pacific names Chris Rodriguez as head coach,” CollegeBaseballDaily.com, June 8, 2020: The website republished Athletics’ announcement that “interim” had been dropped from the title for baseball head coach Chris Rodriguez.