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Sac State honors distinguished alumni

Sacramento State’s alumni will acknowledge the achievements of their comrades at the annual Distinguished Service Awards reception and dinner, 6 p.m., Thursday, April 30, at the Alumni Center.

This year’s DSA recipients are:

Karen Bakula (’80 BA and ’87 MA Communication Studies), founder and president of Karen Bakula & Company, the 15th largest public relations/marketing/advertising firm in the region. In 2008, she won the Sacramento Public Relations Association Lifetime Achievement Award. Bakula is a past president of the Sacramento Advertising Club, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Sacramento Area Inc. and the Sac State Alumni Association.

Charles Bell (’71 BA Police Science, ’73 MA Criminal Justice), became the first African-American in the nation to be appointed as a chief sergeant-at-arms for a legislative body when named to the post at the California Assembly in 1983. He is active in the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, where he is president of the Usher Board and works with the church’s Manhood Development Ministry. He is a lifetime member of the NAACP and the National Association for Blacks in Criminal Justice.

Alejandro Garcia (’69 MSW), is a professor in the School of Social Work at Syracuse University in New York. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and has been named a Social Work Pioneer by the National Association of Social Workers. The Alejandro Garcia Excellence in Social Work Scholarship was established in Sacramento State’s Division of Social Work.

Jan Nolta (’84 BS Science), is one of the nation’s leading stem cell researchers. She is the director of the U.C. Davis Stem Cell Program and scientific director of the Good Manufacturing Practices Facility at the U.C. Davis School of Medicine. Nolta’s current research is focused on developing new and better stem cell therapies for treating conditions such as liver disease, cardiac infarction and peripheral vascular disease.

The Alumni Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Larry Cook (’65 BA Business), vice president of Airco Mechanical Inc. He belongs to the Sacramento Builders Exchange and the Mechanical Contractors Association, among others. Cook was instrumental in the effort to raise private support for the Broad Fieldhouse. He was president of the Alumni Association Board in 2004-05, and has been a tireless advocate for the campus in the business community.

The Association’s Honorary Alumnus is George Crandell, a founding member and current board chair of The University Foundation at Sacramento State. During Crandell’s tenure, the Foundation has developed into a major philanthropic organization. Crandell came to Sacramento from Southern California in 1986 as the region’s first venture capitalist. He and his wife Linda are major donors to Troops to College, give generously to the campus and are founding members of the President’s Circle.

A limited number of tickets are still available for the event. Call Alumni Relations at 278-6295 for ticket information.