Another great academic year at Chapman University has come and gone. The past year brought many exciting changes and successes to the Chapman community, including new facilities, new programs and many accolades.

Here’s just a sampling of some of the announcements and major happenings during the 2014-2015 academic year. University Advancement plays an important role in most, if not all, of Chapman’s major accomplishments. The development team raises the funds to make these advances possible; the PR team spreads the news and generates interest; the creative services and web and interactive marketing teams guide the University on sharing Chapman’s successes through advertising, websites, promotional material and more; Panther Productions documents and promotes happenings and achievements through outstanding video and digital content for external audiences; the institutional events and special events teams create incredible experiences for the Chapman Family and guests to our campus at events throughout the year; and of course, the advancement operations and information systems team makes sure we can pay for all of it (among many, many other invaluable tasks).

Congratulations to everyone for your hard work and for making this another great year at Chapman University!

June 2014

Char Williams, director of institutional events, and her team organized the third consecutive TEDxChapmanU in June. The event drew a full house (and then some) to the Chapman Auditorium in Memorial Hall. Save the date: TEDxChapman 2015 is slated for Thursday, August 20, 2015.

Learn more about TED and TEDx events from our in-house expert, Char »
Check out a recap of the event on Happenings »

August 2014

In early August, the Chapman campus gained 360 additional parking spots with the addition of the West Campus Structure. In addition to the parking structure, the new construction included an adjacent sand volleyball court, a half basketball court and a pocket park with benches. Read more »

Our fearless leader Sheryl Bourgeois, Ph.D., executive vice president of university advancement, received the prestigious John Grenzebach Award for Outstanding Research in Philanthropy for Educational Advancement, in the Doctoral Dissertation category, from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Her award-winning dissertation explored the value of having alumni serve on institutional governing boards. Sheryl earned her Ph.D. in education from Claremont Graduate University in 2013. Read more »

September 2014

Chapman maintained its spot in the Top 10 universities in the western United States, according to the national rankings released by U.S. News & World Report in September, taking the #7 spot. Chapman was also ranked #1 in its category among “Up and Coming Universities,” which recognizes universities that are “making the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty and student life.” Read more »

October 2014

The Digital Media Arts Center opened in October. This new facility was designed for collaboration and creativity and features state-of-the-art animation labs equipped with desks and computers that let students move between hand-drawn and digital animation while remaining in the same seat. It also boasts a screening theater featuring a 4k stereoscopic projection system and sofa-style seating with plug-in jacks for interactive multi-player gaming. Read more »

A new era for the health sciences at Chapman University was ushered in with the opening of the Harry and Diane Rinker Health Sciences Campus in Irvine, which celebrated its ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 15. The 7.5-acre Rinker campus is now home to the new School of Pharmacy, the physical therapy doctoral program and the graduate programs of the new Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences. Read more »

Andi Doddridge, event and program manager, and the strategic engagement and development team spread their Panther pride to our community of students, alumni, families, staff, faculty and friends of the University at The Chapman Family Homecoming Celebration in October. The weekend was packed with events like Dialogue with the Deans, faculty master classes, Chapman Family Lunch and Lawn Games, the 5th annual Chili Cook-Off and Tailgate and the Big Band Bubbly Brunch. Check out photos from the weekend »

Save the date for October 2 – 4 for the 2015 Chapman Family Homecoming Celebration!

November 2014

The 33rd annual American Celebration was one for the record books, thanks to the creative genius and diligent work of the external relations and special events teams and the Office of the Associate Vice President for Development. The spectacular event raised a record-breaking $2.26 million for scholarships! Read more »

December 2014

The special events team always has their hands full during the fall semester. In addition to American Celebration, the team hosted 1,500 business leaders from across Southern California at the 37th annual Economic Forecast on December 3. Read more »

The very next day, the team welcomed members of the Chapman Family and the local community to campus for Winterfest. The event featured live performances of seasonal music by Chapman student ensembles, a reading of The Night Before Christmas by Professor Michael Nehring, free cocoa, a visit from Santa, fireworks, “California snow” and the traditional lighting of Doy’s Holiday Tree.

Panther Productions also got into the holiday spirit last year by working with KCET to broadcast the 50th annual Wassail across the nation and producing the 2014 Chapman University Holiday Special. Read more »

February 2015

President Doti shared some of Chapman’s major accomplishments over the past year at the State of the University Address in February. Check out a review of his presentation on Happenings »

April 2015

We welcomed the newest member of Chapman’s pride of panther statues at Spring Sizzle this year, Betty the Panther, in honor of the late philanthropist and longtime Chapman supporter Betty Hutton Williams. Read more »

Gone are the days of endlessly waiting for a sea of people to cross the street at the intersection of Palm and Glassell. The new traffic signal and diagonal crosswalk got up and running on April 28. Read more »

May 2015

The institutional events team hosted another smooth and successful weekend of Commencement ceremonies, awarding diplomas to 2,393 students and welcoming friends and families to campus to celebrate the events.

Many thanks and kudos to Dawn Bonker, public relations writer, and the PR team for keeping us in the know about all things Chapman through the award-winning Happenings blog. We can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store!