CLU program to honor alumnus, faculty

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Sept. 12, 2013) California Lutheran University will honor an alumnus and two educators from its Bachelor’s Degree for Professionals program at a celebration on Friday, Sept. 27.

Ron McDaniel will be honored as an outstanding alumnus, Paul Witman will be presented with the outstanding full-time faculty ally award and John Crenshaw will be recognized as the outstanding part-time faculty member at the event from 5 to 7 p.m. in Lundring Events Center.

The celebration will mark the beginning of a new chapter for the program, which was formerly known as the Adult Degree Evening Program. CLU plans to add a communication major at the Woodland Hills center next year as well as hire three professors who would become the program’s first full-time faculty members.

McDaniel, who graduated from the program in 1988, is the president and CEO of the Glendale-based California Credit Union. He has been honored with the California Credit Union League’s Distinguished Service Award. He is a member of CLU’s Board of Regents and chairman of the Credit Unions for Kids Advisory Board for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Witman joined the CLU faculty in 2006 and is an associate professor of information technology management and director of the School of Management’s undergraduate program in business, accounting and economics. Before coming to CLU, the Simi Valley resident held executive leadership positions and developed technology for the banking industry.

Crenshaw has been teaching classes including human resource management and behavioral science in management at CLU since 2006. The El Segundo resident has worked in management for 34 years and manages the Los Angeles office of law firm Bowman and Brooke LLP. He puts his skills as a former broadcast journalist to use in the classroom, presenting complex issues in simple terms and creative ways.

Founded in 1985, the Bachelor’s Degree for Professionals program is designed for working adults 25 and older. Most students have taken some college classes, but never finished their degrees. The program started on CLU’s main campus in Thousand Oaks with about 55 students. It has since expanded to centers in Oxnard and Woodland Hills and has more than 2,000 alumni.

Lundring Events Center is in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, which is located north of Olsen Road near Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus.

For more information or to RSVP for the free event, contact Jystiinn Christian-Summers at jystiinn@callutheran.edu or 805-493-3543.