Faculty retiring with emeritus status

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – May 1, 2018) Seven California Lutheran University faculty members with a combined total of more than 200 years of service are retiring with emeritus status. 

The Board of Regents awarded the honor to associate professor of English Penny Cefola, political science professor Herb Gooch, history professor Paul Hanson, graduate psychology associate professor Mindy Puopolo, biology professor Dennis Revie, geology professor Linda Ritterbush and philosophy professor Nathan Tierney.

Ritterbush has taught at Cal Lutheran for 37 years and received the university’s first President’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 1995. The Thousand Oaks resident took students on countless field trips, helped create the SEEd (Sustainable Edible Education) Project Garden and developed the environmental science major.

The first of the retirees to join the faculty, Hanson, arrived in 1978. He received the 1997 President’s Award for Teaching Excellence and is a two-time Fulbright Scholar to India. The well-traveled Moorpark resident served as co-director of the international studies major and coordinated the global studies program.

Cefola joined the faculty in 1987. A Thailand native who earned graduate degrees from Georgetown University, she is an expert in applied linguistics and language acquisition. The Simi Valley resident has encouraged minority and international students to strive for academic excellence, and she founded the Asian club.  

Revie arrived in 1988. Expanding undergraduate opportunities to work on long-term research projects, the Thousand Oaks resident helped increasing numbers of graduates enter biotechnology careers and competitive M.D. and Ph.D. programs. He developed courses in virology, recombinant DNA techniques and bioinformatics. 

On the faculty since 1988, Gooch directed the Masters in Public Policy and Administration program and served as assistant provost for graduate studies. The Newbury Park resident is a frequent media source and served on several boards including that of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Asymmetric Warfare.

Tierney, who arrived in 1990 and just received the 2018 President’s Award for Teaching Excellence, has chaired the philosophy and art departments and directed the Harold Stoner Clark Lecture Series. The former Newbury Park resident led Leadership Conejo workshops, served as president of the California Association for the Philosophy of Education and wrote “Imagination and Ethical Ideals.”

On the faculty since 2004, Puopolo helped launch the doctoral program in clinical psychology. The Oak Park resident also helped start the university’s Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Program to provide survivors with tools to break the cycle of violence and has conducted research on peace psychology and attachment theory.