News Feed

Dominican OT Graduation & Employment Outcomes Stand Strong

ggrubb — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 21:33:59 +0000

Dominican OT Graduation & Employment Outcomes Stand Strong ggrubb Tue, 10/13/2026 - 14:33 10/13/26

At a career fair this fall, employers and community partners from across the Bay Area came to campus to meet with Dominican University of California occupational therapy students to discuss job openings and fieldwork placements.

The event reflected the wide range of employment opportunities available to occupational therapists across healthcare, rehabilitation, and community-based services. As the region’s population ages, occupational therapists will play an increasingly important role in helping people recover from illness and injury, maintain independence and manage daily activities.

“We continue to see strong demand for occupational therapists, and we are proud of the important role Dominican plays in preparing healthcare professionals for our region,” says Dr. Gina Tucker-Roghi, associate professor, chair and program director of Dominican’s occupational therapy department.

“As the northernmost entry-level master's program in occupational therapy in California, Dominican is positioned to help meet workforce needs in the North Bay and Northern California, including rural communities and areas with limited access to healthcare services.”

Dominican offers both a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) and a Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD). The first cohort of OTD students had their degrees conferred in August. They will walk in the graduation ceremony in December and are currently preparing for their board exams.

In recent years, 90 percent of graduates from the MSOT program who reported their time to employment secured an occupational therapy position within two months of licensure. That figure rose to100 percent within four months. Among employed occupational therapists who responded to the Class of 2025 salary survey, the median annualized starting salary was $109,200.

Occupational therapists help people participate in everyday activities, maintain or regain independence, and navigate the physical, psychosocial, cognitive, and environmental challenges that can affect daily life. Dominican’s MSOT program combines graduate-level academic preparation with practical experience, professional identity development, and connections to employers across the region.

Alumni from the MSOT classes of 2021–2024 are working in healthcare organizations, rehabilitation facilities, pediatric therapy practices and school districts throughout California and across the country. Among graduates for whom employer locations were documented, 64% work in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, including 24% in Marin and the North Bay. Their employers include leading healthcare organizations such as Stanford Health Care, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health and Providence, as well as specialized rehabilitation providers and community-based practices.

“Our program also contributes to the healthcare workforce in underserved areas,” says Tucker-Roghi. “About 25% of Dominican’s occupational therapy graduates entered practice in medically underserved communities during a three-year reporting period.”

Dominican also does an exceptional job preparing academically, posting a 96 percent three-year graduation rate for the 139 members of the MSOT classes of 2023-2025. The program also recorded a 94% three-year average pass rate on the national certification exam administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, based on graduates who passed within one year of graduation.

Fieldwork is central to the MSOT program, which maintains relationships with more than 250 local, national and international fieldwork partners. These placements give students opportunities to apply classroom learning in professional settings and gain experience serving people across different ages, needs and stages of recovery.

“Partner settings include pediatric and school-based services, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, post-acute rehabilitation programs, and community-based organizations,” Tucker-Roghi says.

“The range of placements reflects the breadth of occupational therapy practice, which can include helping children develop everyday skills, supporting people recovering from illness or injury, and enabling older adults to maintain independence.”

News University NewsSchool of Health and Natural SciencesOccupational Therapy

Grant Supports Launch of Certified Wellness Coach Concentration

ggrubb — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 18:06:33 +0000

Grant Supports Launch of Certified Wellness Coach Concentration ggrubb Mon, 10/05/2026 - 11:06 10/05/26

A grant from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) will support the launch of a concentration in Dominican University’s Department of Psychology aimed at preparing more students to work as youth mental health professionals.

The $312,500 grant will help Dominican establish a Certified Wellness Coach (CWC) concentration, training at least 10 undergraduate students annually so they can qualify for a state-issued CWC certificate, administered by HCAI.

The funding is part of the statewide Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), which seeks to address workforce shortages in child wellness and youth mental health services.

Dominican is the first independent university in Northern California to receive HCAI funding to launch a concentration to prepare students to qualify for a CWC certificate.

While certified wellness coaches are not licensed therapists, they can provide non-clinical and pre-clinical behavioral health support to children and young adults up to age 25 in schools, community organizations and health clinics.

The CWC concentration will be available to students studying in Dominican’s undergraduate psychology program, says Dr. LeeAnn Bartolini, professor of psychology in Dominican’s Psychology Department.

Graduates with a CWC certificate from HCAI will be able to enter the workforce directly after earning an undergraduate degree, helping address critical staffing shortages by working alongside licensed mental health professionals in schools and other agencies that serve children and youth up to age 25.

“There is a youth mental health crisis,” Bartolini says. “Certified wellness coaches will supplement existing mental health staff and help expand service capacity. Our goal is to prepare students to support an overwhelmed workforce, particularly in California’s middle and high schools.”

Certified wellness coaches can provide wellness education, support mental health screenings, coordinate care, facilitate individual and group support, and connect youth with clinical or crisis services when needed.

“In a large high school, a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) may be responsible for hundreds of students,” Bartolini notes. “A certified wellness coach could address concerns that do not require diagnosis or treatment.”

These concerns may include friendship conflicts, communication challenges with parents, and other everyday life issues. Coaches can also lead group discussions focused on wellness and prevention.

Over the coming months, faculty and staff in Dominican’s Psychology Department are meeting with local middle and high schools to identify field placement opportunities, assess workforce needs, and explore future employment pathways.

The department already maintains numerous long-standing relationships with youth-serving organizations throughout Marin County and the North Bay.

“Approximately five years ago, Marin County made a strong commitment to developing school wellness programs,” Bartolini says.

She credits schools including San Rafael High School, Tamalpais High School, Archie Williams High School, and Novato High School for adopting more holistic approaches to student wellness and engaging students in wellness initiatives.

“Students today are much more open about discussing mental health concerns, including depression, ADHD, and treatment,” Bartolini notes. “There is less stigma than in previous generations.”

The grant will support curriculum development, course revisions, student recruitment and outreach efforts within Dominican’s Psychology Department.

The CWC concentration complements Dominican’s psychology curriculum, which emphasizes psychological science, field experience and independent research.

Currently, all psychology majors must complete 90 hours of fieldwork during their senior year, providing opportunities to learn from diverse communities while reflecting on their own perspectives.

Psychology majors pursuing the certificate will have to complete a minor in Clinical Counseling and a total of 300 fieldwork hours. Most students will begin the internship their junior year after completing foundational coursework, making the CWC pathway accessible to both continuing students and students transferring to Dominican from a community college.

“The psychology program embeds equity into its approach by intentionally combining academic training with community-engaged experiences,” Bartolini says. “Students are introduced to core psychological theories and research methods while examining how social identities, systemic inequities and cultural contexts shape mental health and well-being.”

The concentration’s focus on applied learning, including internships and fieldwork in community settings, prepares students to work with underserved or marginalized populations, Bartolini notes.

“These experiences would help future certified wellness coaches develop cultural humility, adaptability, and an understanding of barriers to care,” she says.

The concentration will also expand career opportunities for undergraduates interested in working with youth in clinical environments without pursuing graduate education.

In addition to middle and high schools, potential employment settings include county behavioral health departments, Child Protective Services, community mental health programs and other public health agencies.

The CWC certificate may also appeal to those who want to gain professional experience before enrolling in advanced degree programs. Students who have completed the concentration will be able to apply for CWC certification after meeting mandatory fieldwork hours.

“We are finding that more students are taking time between undergraduate and graduate education to gain work experience and save money for graduate school,” Bartolini says. “This program creates a win-win opportunity.”

Bartolini says Dominican could become a designated HCAI school by the end of spring 2027, with students entering the certification program soon afterward.

News School of Liberal Arts and EducationPsychology

Dominican Partnership Paves the Way to Medical, Pharmacy School

ggrubb — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 23:32:23 +0000

Dominican Partnership Paves the Way to Medical, Pharmacy School ggrubb Wed, 09/30/2026 - 16:32 09/30/26

A six-year-old partnership between Dominican University of California and Touro University California has already paved the way for six biology and chemistry students to further their education in either medical school or pharmacy school.

Scherina Chi ’21, Edlyra Kate Romano ’19, and Simon Chan ’18 went from studying science at Dominican to studying for a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree at Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Genna Roan ’22, Simi Lebetsamer ’24, and Sophia Hull ’24 are studying for a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree at Touro University California College of Pharmacy.

In addition, Rupprit Kaur ’25 has enrolled in Touro’s Master of Science in Medical Health Sciences (MSMHS).

The Dominican-to-Touro pipeline features a variety of options for Dominican undergraduate students interested in pursuing healthcare careers.

Dominican undergraduates and recent alumni can qualify for a guaranteed interview for potential admission to both the DO and the PharmD programs. Students interested in pursuing a Master of Science in Medical Health Sciences degree can qualify to receive guaranteed admission to the MSMHS program.

In addition, Dominican undergraduates can prepare for future careers in healthcare through the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) at Touro’s campus in Vallejo. Last year, five Dominican undergraduates participated in the program. Participants receive career guidance from Touro staff, along with mentorship opportunities with Touro faculty and alumni. Participants also gain hands-on experiences, including experiential and clinical skills training and collaborative public health projects, as well as shadowing opportunities in medical and pharmacy settings. Students in the program may also qualify to receive a stipend from Touro.

Learn More ABout the Pre-medicine Track

Learn More About the Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program

News University NewsSchool of Health and Natural SciencesNatural Sciences and MathematicsBiological SciencesChemistry and Biochemistry

Dominican Provides a Foundation for Leadership, Advocacy

ggrubb — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 23:22:34 +0000

Dominican Provides a Foundation for Leadership, Advocacy ggrubb Mon, 09/28/2026 - 16:22 09/28/26

Laurel Druke ’12 draws inspiration from a sentiment attributed to poet Maya Angelou: “Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.”

Standing up for others has long been part of Laurel’s identity.

“I believe some women have the courage to stand up for themselves, while others need someone to help them find their voice,” Laurel says. “When one person stands up for herself for the first time, she can give someone else the courage to do the same.”

Today, Laurel puts that conviction to work in both her professional and community life. As the Vice President of Finance at North Bay Children’s Center (NBCC), she manages a budget of $20 million for a nonprofit providing childcare and early education to more than 700 children across 14 locations from Novato to Healdsburg.

“For many lower-income families, NBCC provides childcare that makes it possible for parents to work. In total, the program serves about 1,600 parents and helps support the local economy.”
Her path to that work began with an education that combined her interests in politics, business and community impact — and with a college experience at Dominican University of California that helped her discover her voice as a leader.

Growing up, Laurel moved every three or four years, learning along the way how to navigate new situations and build relationships. Her first year of high school was at a public school in Palo Alto with about 2,000 students. The following year, Laurel moved to Cambria, where her graduating class had just 62 students.

She thrived in the smaller environment, where teachers knew her well. When it came time for college, she wanted a similar sense of community.

“I knew that I wanted to attend college in the Bay Area but that I did not want to move to a big school and become just another number in a crowded classroom.”

During her first campus tour at Dominican, Laurel met political science professor Dr. Gigi Gokcek, now associate VP for Academic Affairs and Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Education. Gokcek explained how Dominican’s intimate classes allowed faculty to know their students and understand their ambitions.

“I knew right away that I wanted to be part of a campus where people would know my name and understand my goals, and that is what happened at Dominican.”

Living out the Dominican Experience

At Dominican, Laurel quickly found opportunities to test herself as a leader. She joined Toastmasters and, within months, was selected as one of the youngest area governors to serve the area. Through Toastmasters, she met Giulia Welch, a faculty member in Dominican’s Barowsky School of Business, who became an important mentor and advisor throughout her time at Dominican and beyond.

Welch encouraged Laurel to work with international students through the Global Ambassadors program, which brought international students into local schools to share their cultures and experiences. Laurel was particularly drawn to helping international and transfer students and those for whom English was not their first language.

The instinct to notice people who needed support and help them find their footing would become a recurring theme in Laurel’s leadership and career.

She found the same support from Dominican’s faculty and staff. “Every time I turned around a Dominican staff member or professor was there for me, supporting me.”

Her political science professor and advisor, Alison Howard, supported Laurel’s goal of a double major in political science and business administration.

“I realized early in my freshman year how naturally the two subjects complemented each other,” Laurel says. “My advisors at Dominican made it possible for me to double major and still graduate in four years. They understood my interests and continually encouraged me to pursue opportunities.”

Those opportunities soon extended beyond campus. Laurel re-launched the Marin County Young Democrats, while interning with the Democratic Central Committee of Marin and, through Howard, was honored at the Marin Women’s Political Action Committee (MWPAC) annual Elected Women’s Luncheon.

Laurel was one of the youngest people in the room, but she quickly became fascinated by the women she met and what they had accomplished. The experience sharpened her interest in supporting women and strengthening her local community.

“I came to realize that while I might not be able to influence or change anything on a national or state level, I could do a lot of good in Marin to improve the lives of those around me,” she says.
“That mission of supporting women is why I joined the MWPAC — not only to fight for women’s causes, but also to get more women elected locally. I also recognize the need for more women-supporting men at the table who are going to stand up and pull out a chair for a woman.”

Honing in on Organizing Women

At MWPAC, Laurel found mentors who helped shape her approach to leadership, including Cathryn Hilliard of the Southern Marin Fire Protection District. As the first and only woman on the fire district board, Hilliard understood the importance of paving a path where women’s voices were heard. She commands a room. Hilliard soon became one of Laurel’s role models.

Hilliard encouraged Laurel and other younger women to help make MWPAC more welcoming to a new generation. Laurel helped bring younger members onto the board and create more opportunities for them to step into leadership.

When Laurel became vice president of the MWPAC board three years ago, she was determined to build on what previous generations had created. This continues now as she has stepped into the role of president.

“Leadership is not about coming in and tearing everything down in order to build it back up,” she says. “I would rather be invited in to honor what has been created and make it more welcoming.”
Her approach has helped transform the organization. Five years ago, MWPAC had about 25 members. Today, it has over 200. The organization has also doubled its investment in women’s elections this year.

Laurel has also pushed the organization to try new ways of bringing people together, including recently hosting a silent disco. Why a dance party at a political organization? For Laurel, the answer was simple: We need to have some fun! About 50 people attended the first event, held during a particularly stressful election season.

And the momentum continues. Recently, MWPAC had its highest ever turnout for its candidate endorsement nights, with more than 75 members in attendance for the first endorsement night and 63 members the second night.

The experience reinforced a lesson Laurel has carried into all her leadership roles: trying something new is often worth the risk.

“Leaders don’t have to get everything right. They are responsible for creating an environment where people feel welcome enough to contribute, experiment and find their own way forward,” she says. “There are many ways people can contribute — through money, time, connections, mentorship or simply by creating space for someone else. Leadership is not about having the loudest voice. It is about listening, building relationships, recognizing people who need support, and helping them take the next step.”

Putting Her Education to Work

Laurel’s Dominican education gave her a foundation she has carried into many different settings. Political science helped her understand government, policy, and economic development. Business gave her practical skills in economics, finance, operations, and accounting.

“I saw business as a really strong foundation,” Laurel says. “It’s so transferable. You can do almost anything with a business degree.”

The combination proved valuable as she built a career focused on making a difference close to home. After graduating from Dominican, Laurel spent five years with ELS, an English-language education program at Dominican, working with students from countries including Saudi Arabia, China, Brazil, and Spain.

The experience deepened her appreciation for the power of connection across cultures. It also brought her back to Dominican as an alumna, where she helped connect students on campus with these ESL students to build friendships and lasting memories for all.

Laurel later earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco. Welch again encouraged her to think broadly about how she could combine her interests in education, government, and economics.

That path led Laurel to a finance leadership role at nonprofits, including Beyond Differences, Saint Francis Foundation, and now the North Bay Children’s Center.

The Through Line

For Laurel, the through line is clear: use what she knows to help people and strengthen the community around her.

She credits Dominican with helping her develop one of the most important qualities of leadership: listening.

“Dominican is just in my backyard, and I can walk to campus from my house. It was the place where I deepened my identity and developed into the person I am today. I love everything Dominican stands for.”

Photo courtesy of Laurel Druke

Student Story University NewsAlumni NewsPolitical ScienceBusiness Administration Experience Personal GrowthExperience AccomplishmentExperience ConnectednessExperience Readiness

Dominican Experience Leads to Dartmouth College MHA

ggrubb — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 22:59:23 +0000

Dominican Experience Leads to Dartmouth College MHA ggrubb Wed, 09/23/2026 - 15:59 09/23/26

It’s been a whirlwind of a year for Azan Yousaf ’25.

He recently earned a Master of Health Administration (MHA) from Dartmouth College, building on the foundation in biology, chemistry, research, and social justice he developed as an undergraduate at Dominican.

After a quick trip back to Marin to visit family, Azan is ready for his next step: an executive director-in-training position with a health system in Washington.

The role brings Azan closer to his goal of building and leading health systems that are committed to equitable care.

“It’s a major step in my executive leadership career and aligns closely with my long-term goal of healthcare executive and CEO-level leadership,” he says.

At Dartmouth, Azan was the youngest person in his cohort and the only student to come directly from an undergraduate school. His peers included doctors, hospital executives, and other healthcare professionals. Both in the classroom and through site visits, Azan developed new expertise in healthcare finance, operations and strategy, learning to evaluate reimbursement models, and assess market dynamics.

He learned to think about healthcare at the system level while developing a better understanding of healthcare access disparities. His master’s capstone brought that perspective home to Marin. Focusing on MarinHealth, the nonprofit health system just a few miles south of his Novato hometown, Azan examined how the organization manages relationships with community organizations to improve health across the county.

Through SWOT and stakeholder analyses, Azan examined how MarinHealth coordinates its existing partnerships. His central finding: the health system may not need more community partnerships so much as a more consistent way to manage the ones it already has. A centralized approach could help clarify responsibilities, focus resources, measure progress, and ensure partnerships are responding to community needs.

The project reflects how Azan’s perspective has evolved.

At Dominican, he developed a strong scientific and clinical foundation while discovering a passion for the social and structural forces that shape healthcare. That interest was nurtured early through Dominican’s Service-Learning program, which showed Azan how systemic barriers affect real people.

A first-generation college student who attended San Marin High School, Azan knew little about the opportunities available at Dominican until a college advisor at Marin-based college-access nonprofit 10,000 Degrees suggested it might be a good fit.

It quickly proved to be. Azan arrived intending to study biology, but a first-year Service-Learning course inspired him to add a second major in social justice.

“I went into Service-Learning thinking I would just be volunteering my time, but I learned so much from the courses,” he says.

In Dominican’s Service-Learning program, community partners serve as co-educators, helping students understand the broader issues behind the work they are doing. For Azan, much of that learning took place at RotaCare, a nonprofit serving Marin residents who cannot afford primary care.

The experience exposed him to the inequities that persist even in a relatively affluent community like Marin. This helped shape his interest in becoming a healthcare advocate and leader.

“My work at RotaCare provided direct exposure to the structural and financial barriers embedded within the U.S. healthcare system, particularly for uninsured and undocumented populations,” he says.

“Witnessing the operational constraints of safety-net care sharpened my focus on designing sustainable, business-informed solutions that expand access while strengthening organizational performance.”

At Dartmouth, Azan studied health systems across the country. He saw how geography, resources, and local infrastructure can shape the way care is delivered. In some regions, for example, physician assistants and nurse practitioners play a much larger role because communities have less medical infrastructure than the Bay Area.

The experience challenged him to look beyond the clinical side of healthcare and consider how financing, insurance, policy, workforce, and organizational decisions intersect to affect patients.

“One of the biggest things I took away from graduate school is how complicated the U.S. healthcare system is,” he says. “I realize there are few simple, black-and-white solutions, and I’m particularly interested in the tension between expanding access to healthcare and maintaining the funding and incentives necessary to continue investing in innovation.”

His scientific foundation began at Dominican. As a biology student, Azan participated in the University’s research methodology course sequence, gaining hands-on experience in laboratory and field research. Working with a faculty mentor, he studied the impact of fire on the long-term health of amphibians in California’s forests, learning to collect microbial samples, conduct genetic analyses and identify bacteria using DNA sequencing.

He also participated in the year-long Kaiser Pre-Med Mentor Program, which pairs students with Kaiser Permanente physicians and gives them an inside look at the day-to-day work of a doctor.

Together, those experiences gave Azan more than preparation for graduate school. They helped him connect science with service, and evidence with action.

“Dominican gave me the space to grow as both a scientist and an advocate,” he says. “I came in figuring things out while working and supporting my family, and I’m leaving with a clear sense of purpose, deep community ties, and the confidence to lead in healthcare spaces that need change.”

Student Story School of Health and Natural SciencesAlumni NewsBiological SciencesService-LearningSocial Justice

Best in the West: U.S. News Ranks Dominican in Top Spot

ggrubb — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 19:41:57 +0000

Best in the West: U.S. News Ranks Dominican in Top Spot ggrubb Wed, 09/16/2026 - 12:41 09/22/26

Dominican University of California has earned its highest-ever “U.S. News & World Report” ranking, coming in at the number seven spot in the 2027 Regional Universities (West) category, a reflection of its outstanding student outcomes, including strong graduation and retention rates.

The 2027 edition of the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings evaluates more than 1,700 U.S. colleges and universities, using up to 17 factors to measure academic quality and graduate success.

In separate categories, U.S. News also ranked Dominican highly as a Top Private School (#4 in the West), a Best Value School (#9 in the West), and for its outstanding work empowering Social Mobility (#29 in the West).

Small class sizes, hands-on research and scholarship, personalized attention from professors who know students by name, extensive community engagement, and high starting salaries for graduates are hallmarks of a Dominican education.

Dominican’s number seven spot is a 24-point increase from 2026. This year’s rankings heavily emphasize student outcomes, academic resources and expert opinion.

Student outcomes, which tracks a school’s success in preparing students for life after college accounted for 52% of the total weight. These include graduation rates, first-year retention, and the school’s performance against a predicted graduation rate. Success for low-income students is measured by the Pell graduation rate. Post-graduation metrics assess the percentage of graduates whose earnings exceed a typical high school graduate and graduates’ earnings by major.

Peer assessment accounted for 20% of the total weight. This captures key aspects of a school’s quality, including innovative teaching and institutional health. Presidents, provosts, and deans rate institutions in their category with which they are familiar.

Other factors impacting the ranking are faculty resources, financial resources.

The western region includes universities in California, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Hawaii, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Alaska. Regional universities provide a full range of undergraduate, and master's, and some doctoral programs.

These U.S. News accolades follow strong rankings from both TIME magazine and Money.

Dominican is listed as one of the nation’s top institutions for student outcomes, learning environment, and attractiveness to students in the inaugural TIME magazine “America’s Best Colleges of 2026-2027” ranking.

The inaugural ranking of 500 qualifying U.S. colleges is based on a comprehensive analysis to identify top-performing colleges nationwide. The analysis is structured around three key pillars: student outcomes (75%), learning environment (15%), and attractiveness (10%). This puts a particular emphasis on what students gain from attending an institution relative to its cost.

Dominican also was recognized as one of Money’s Best Colleges in America 2026. Money's analysis showcases the country's top 735 colleges based on a number of factors, including graduation rates, cost of attendance, financial aid, and alumni salaries. Money uses “star ratings” to identify standout schools, with 5 stars being the highest. Dominican scored exceptionally high on most of Money’s metrics to receive 4.5 stars. Most colleges on the list landed in the 3.5 to 4-star category.

Elevating student success is at the heart of the Dominican Experience. The Dominican Experience ensures that all undergraduates have access to:

One-on-one attention and coaching from a network of mentors across campus.
Real-world experiences, including internships, service-learning, clinicals, or global learning programs.
Signature work projects, ranging from a capstone thesis developed with a faculty advisor, undergraduate research in the lab or the field, an art project, a choreographed dance, or publication in a journal.
Job readiness and interview skills through career coaching, resume and LinkedIn workshops, and interview preparation.

News University RankingsThe Dominican Experience

President Pitchford Begins Final Year Leading Dominican

ggrubb — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 22:53:35 +0000

President Pitchford Begins Final Year Leading Dominican ggrubb Mon, 09/14/2026 - 15:53 09/15/26

After 16 years of service to Dominican University of California, including six years as president, Dr. Nicola Pitchford will step down from the presidency in June 2027.

Throughout the 2026–2027 academic year, President Pitchford will continue working with campus stakeholders and Dominican’s board of trustees to advance the university’s transformative strategic vision to become a health and community wellbeing campus.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside President Pitchford and to witness firsthand her profound commitment to Dominican students,” says Darryl Page, chair of Dominican’s board of trustees.

“She was an original architect of Dominican’s distinctive approach to student support, and so much of the institution’s progress over the last decade and a half is thanks to her expert and compassionate leadership.”

Dominican will launch a search for the university’s next president in the coming months. The board of trustees will provide additional information about the search process and opportunities for members of the Dominican community to participate as plans take shape.

Guided by President Pitchford and her leadership team, Dominican has developed strong programs that align well with the new health and community wellbeing focus, including an undergraduate program in kinesiology and doctoral programs in art therapy and occupational therapy. The university continues to see strong demand for established programs that focus on health and wellbeing, including nursing, physician assistant studies, psychology, counseling psychology, and pre-med/biology.

“We are well positioned to continue to develop programs, partnerships, and initiatives to meet the evolving needs of our students and our community as a health and community wellbeing campus,” Page said. “President Pitchford has built us a strong foundation, positioning us to proceed with confidence and purpose towards a vibrant future.”

Throughout her tenure at Dominican, President Pitchford’s focus on student success has been grounded in a commitment to catalyzing social mobility.

As vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, President Pitchford co-chaired the design team that conceived the university’s signature student learning model, the Dominican Experience. This wraparound approach—integrating mentoring, hands-on research, scholarship or creative inquiry, community engagement, and career readiness into the curriculum—has contributed to strong completion rates and social mobility outcomes for an increasingly diverse student body.

Dominican’s four-year graduation rate consistently exceeds both the national and California State University system averages (by 11 points and 25 points, respectively).

A key focus of President Pitchford’s work has been expanding access and opportunity for students. She led the university’s successful effort to earn federal Minority Serving Institution (MSI) designation in 2022, the culmination of years of focused effort to close achievement gaps as the country’s college-bound population diversifies. The designation also made the university eligible for federal funding to support student enrollment, persistence, graduation, and post-graduation success.

In 2022 and 2023, Dominican secured two five-year, $3 million grants from the U.S. Department of Education’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) program to fund the undergraduate and graduate La Vida Dominican programs. The programs promoted student success through the Dominican Experience’s model of specialized outreach, mentorship, and resources.

Although HSI funding was eliminated by the Department of Education in 2025, halfway through the university’s grant period, the programs’ impact continues. From 2020 to 2025 Dominican reduced the achievement gap between Latino and non-Latino students to less than one percentage point at a time when the statewide gap was 12 percentage points.

Today, more than 70 percent of Dominican’s undergraduate students are students of color. Approximately one-quarter are the first in their families to attend college, and one-third are Pell Grant-eligible.

Dominican now ranks in the top five percent nationally for return on investment for low-income students. The U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard reports median earnings of $95,437 for Dominican alumni who received federal aid as students — significantly higher than the $60,377 midpoint for all U.S. colleges.

President Pitchford oversaw the development of The Center for the Dominican Experience (CDE) within the Archbishop Alemany Library building. Opened in August 2023 and funded through private donations, the $8 million CDE centralized key student services, including the Mary B. Marcy Student Success Center, Fletcher Jones Digital Portfolio Lab, the Susan and Dennis Gilardi Center for Community Engagement and Partnerships, and the Francoise O. Lepage Center for Global Innovation. Flexible study and gathering areas facilitate important academic and social connection making.

In recent years, President Pitchford has been instrumental in securing gifts to support the growth of Dominican’s work focused on educational equity and social mobility. A $1 million grant from the Fletcher Jones Foundation provides an annual cohort of eight incoming students with tuition assistance based on demonstrated financial need, along with funding for on-campus housing and summer study abroad programs.

President Pitchford graduated cum laude from Pomona College with a BA in English and creative writing. She began her academic career as a teaching assistant while pursuing her doctorate at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She earned both an MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin in English, with an emphasis on modern and contemporary U.S. and British literature.

Before joining Dominican, President Pitchford served as associate vice president for academic affairs and associate chief academic officer at Fordham University from 2009-2011. President Pitchford joined the faculty at Fordham in 1995 as an assistant professor of English and received tenure in 2001. She also served as director of graduate studies in the Department of English, co-director of the Literary Studies Program, and as chair of the Department of English.

One thread of Pitchford’s scholarship has been the history of the Booker Prize (once the Man Booker Prize). Her research has focused on the critical controversies that have attended various prize winners, as a lens through which to consider larger cultural debates surrounding contemporary British fiction. Widely published on such topics as the British novel, Black British writing, nature writing, the liberal arts, and global engagement of faculty, she is also author of “Tactical Readings: Feminist Postmodernism in the Novels of Kathy Acker and Angela Carter” (Bucknell University Press, 2002).

In 2018, President Pitchford attended the Rural Writing Institute in the United Kingdom’s Lake District and has continued to study the history of Marin County and Coast Miwok land, composing her own place-based narratives.

In 2022, President Pitchford received the inaugural Nature Chronicles Prize for her essay “A Parable of Arable Land.” The Nature Chronicles Prize is an international, English-language literary award that aims to find engaging essay-length works that share a commitment to truth-telling and respond to the time we are in and the world as it is. President Pitchford’s winning essay weaves together personal narrative and historical analysis, in threads including the story of her father’s life as a hydrological engineer who aided the development and spread of industrial-scale irrigation technologies in the late 20th century, to create a parable for the failure of the richer nations’ attitudes to water, militarism, and the exploitation of nature. The essay ranges across various landscapes, from England’s Lake District to the Libyan Sahara Desert, to the vast farms of California’s Central Valley.

President Pitchford chairs the executive board of LEAD California, a coalition of colleges and universities that champions civic and community engagement. She has served on the AICCU Restart Higher Education Task Force (2020), WSCUC accreditation teams (2020 and 2018), and the National Fulbright Screening Committee (2008).

News University News

Men’s, Women’s Players Combine Academics, Lifelong Love of Soccer

ggrubb — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 19:55:44 +0000

Men’s, Women’s Players Combine Academics, Lifelong Love of Soccer ggrubb Thu, 09/10/2026 - 12:55 09/10/26

Janae Schwan ’27 started kicking a soccer ball as soon as she could walk.

Her father, a longtime coach in Sonoma County, introduced her to the game at an early age, and Janae has been playing ever since. Awards and accolades quickly followed as her soccer career progressed.

“I cannot imagine what it would be like to not have soccer in my life,” says Janae, now a senior at Dominican.

Last season she helped lead the Penguins to a 9-2-9 overall record, a tie for third place in the PacWest regular-season standings and a runner-up finish in the PacWest Tournament.

Janae’s path to Dominican, however, came midway through her college career. After several years in the California State University system, Janae was looking for something different: a smaller university closer to home, where she could get more individual attention in the classroom while continuing to play at a high level.

She found both.

“I went from huge lecture halls at my state school to small classrooms where professors get to know you and really want to see you succeed,” she says. “And the team was immediately supportive. It was a great move and a great fit.”

Janae quickly settled into life as a Penguin. In her first season at Dominican, she played in all 20 games, scoring four goals and adding four assists. Her 23 shots on goal ranked third in program single-season history.

She also found the academic mentorship she had craved. As a kinesiology major interested in becoming a physical therapist, Janae appreciates Dominican’s small classes, where she typically knows her professors by name and can develop relationships with them. “I like having only 10 to 15 people in a class and being able to know my professors,” she says.

Kinesiology Program Director Megan Toma, Janae’s academic advisor, has been an important part of that experience, regularly sharing job opportunities, suggesting strong physical therapy graduate programs, and assisting Janae with the application process.

Janae’s transition to Dominican’s soccer team was also significant. Dominican was her third school — after her original transfer school suddenly eliminated athletics — and she was determined to make the most of her junior year. “Being at my third school was crazy, but I just wanted to make the most of it,” she says. “My team was really special and that made a huge difference.”

Last year, Janae and her teammates put together a 9-2-9 season, finished tied for third in the PacWest regular-season standings, and advanced to the PacWest Tournament championship game. The experience created a strong bond among the team. “We really leaned on each other and helped each other,” Janae says.

This year’s team has a different look. About a dozen seniors graduated, leaving a younger group of players to build on what the team accomplished last season. Janae sees that as an opportunity for the returning players to help guide their younger teammates and create another strong team culture.

Balancing soccer with academics can be challenging, particularly in a demanding kinesiology program. Janae has learned to plan her course load carefully during the season, and this semester she is taking physics. Still, she says Dominican’s supportive faculty make a difference. “The professors really want you to do well,” she says. “They want you to pass the class, do well and succeed.”

Janae’s academic work in the kinesiology program also helped confirm her plans to pursue physical therapy. An athletic training class last semester, which focused on injuries and injury prevention, was especially valuable because she could connect what she was learning in class to her teammates’ experiences with injuries.

She has also been building the hands-on experience she will need for PT school. Last fall, she completed an internship with a personal trainer and this summer completed a second internship at a physical therapy practice.

Janae plans to apply to physical therapy programs six months to a year in advance and may take a gap year after graduation to gain additional experience. For now, she is focused on making the most of her time at Dominican — both in the classroom and on the soccer field.

For fellow senior Anthony Stainer ’27 soccer has been a source of friendships and opportunities.

Like Janae, Anthony started playing soccer as a child before moving into competitive club soccer with Napa United 1839 and varsity competition at Vintage High School, where he also played baseball and basketball.

For Anthony, soccer was always going to be part of his college experience.

“Growing up playing soccer helped me build friendships, meet new people and travel,” he says. “Soccer also taught me the discipline that would get me into college in the first place.”

So, when a Dominican coach reached out to him at the beginning of his senior year at Vintage, Stainer was eager to learn more. He knew little about Dominican — or even Marin County. Before visiting campus, his experience with Marin had mostly consisted of passing through on the way to and from San Francisco.

His first visit changed that.

“I had no idea how beautiful it was here,” he recalls. “I still really enjoy walking around campus and taking it all in.”

The university and soccer program proved to be a good fit. Anthony enrolled as a business administration major with a concentration in finance and a minor in sports management, and he quickly became a key contributor on the field.

Beginning in 2024, Anthony took on a regular starting role, appearing in 17 matches with 13 starts. He scored two goals and added four assists. In his senior year, Anthony appeared in 16 matches, including nine starts. He played 705 minutes at midfielder and led the Penguins with 11 points, scoring four goals and adding three assists.

Now entering his senior year, Anthony feels equally at home at Dominican, on the soccer field and throughout Marin.

“It’s great,” he says. “Sometimes when we are wearing team shirts while off campus, people will come up and ask how our season is going.”

That connection extends beyond game days. Several Dominican players coach with Marin Football Club, whose teams use Dominican’s fields.

“It is great to see the Marin FC kids come to watch our games,” Anthony says.

That sense of community is one of the things he values most about Dominican.

“What really stands out to me is that at Dominican you have all the benefits of a small school — you build connections with professors — but you also get to know a lot of people,” he says. “You see everyone day-to-day, walking around campus and in class. It is easy to make friends.”

After spending his first three years living on campus, Anthony now shares an off-campus home with soccer teammates. For him, being a Penguin has become about more than playing college soccer; it has also meant becoming part of the community beyond campus.

This season, both Janae and Anthony will have another reason to be excited about playing at home: the return of Kennelly Field, newly resurfaced and ready for competition.

Anthony remembers the old field well.

“I won’t miss it,” he says with a laugh. “When you fell, it was rough on the skin. This new surface is so much better — it’s amazing.”

And the players aren't the only ones noticing the transformation.

“The logo is beautiful, and people are really noticing how great it looks on the field,” Anthony says.

Now, with a new surface beneath them and another season ahead, the Penguins are ready to make Kennelly Field their home-field advantage.

For Anthony, it is the perfect setting for what he hopes will be another successful season — and one more chapter in a soccer journey that began long before he ever set foot at Dominican.

Student Story Student StoryAthleticsSoccer

Dominican Ranked by TIME Magazine as Among the Top U.S. Universities

ggrubb — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 22:40:18 +0000

Dominican Ranked by TIME Magazine as Among the Top U.S. Universities ggrubb Tue, 09/01/2026 - 15:40 09/01/26

Dominican University of California has ranked as one of the nation’s top institutions for student outcomes, learning environment, and attractiveness to students in the inaugural TIME magazine “America’s Best Colleges of 2026-2027” ranking.

The new ranking was developed by TIME magazine in partnership with data research firm Statista to focus on the value students receive from their college education, including outcomes after graduation and the overall student experience.

The inaugural ranking of 500 U.S. colleges is based on a comprehensive analysis to identify top-performing colleges nationwide.

Eligible institutions must be financially solvent; holding active Title IV federal financial aid eligibility status; operating as either a public or private not-for-profit; and enrolling at least 750 full-time equivalent undergraduate students across the past four years.

The analysis is structured around three key pillars: student outcomes (75%), learning environment (15%), and attractiveness (10%). This puts a particular emphasis on what students gain from attending an institution relative to its cost.

Student outcomes include graduates’ earnings, graduation rates, and return on education. The return on education weights the earnings students achieve against the cost of obtaining their degree.

The learning environment pillar assesses the quality of the instructional setting and community that an institution provides for its undergraduate students. Attractiveness assesses the degree to which an institution is genuinely sought-after by prospective students.

The quantitative analysis underlying the ranking draws on authoritative federal data sources. Institutional characteristics, enrollment figures, admissions data, faculty information, graduation rates, and financial variables are sourced from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics. Graduate earnings data are drawn from the College Scorecard, published by the U.S. Department of Education. State-level earnings benchmarks used in the return on education calculations are derived from the American Community Survey (ACS), published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

News University News

Dominican Inspires Family Legacy

ggrubb — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 22:50:32 +0000

Dominican Inspires Family Legacy ggrubb Tue, 06/23/2026 - 15:50 08/17/26

For Kevin Sunga '15, Dominican is family.

Not only is his wife, Elizabeth “Nikki” Chan-Sunga, a Dominican alumna, but several cousins also attended the university between 2012 and 2021. “Dominican is a family legacy,” Kevin says, referring to relatives Susana “Stacey” Cummings, Francis Sunga, Yvonne Bamba, Joanne Bamba, and Mirabella Mercado-Sunga, Francis’ spouse.

Most of Kevin’s cousins studied nursing at Dominican and now work in prestigious health centers. Kevin and Nikki took a different path and today are leaders in the nonprofit sector in California’s Central Valley.

Kevin serves as deputy director of Little Manila Rising, a place-based social justice nonprofit in Stockton. There, he works at the intersection of community development, historic preservation, health equity, environmental justice, and youth empowerment to benefit residents of South Stockton who have been historically redlined. Nikki is executive director of Empowering Marginalized Asian Communities, which practices community-based transformative justice to heal and prevent violence while advancing holistic liberation.

Kevin credits the rigor of his Dominican education with providing a strong foundation for his future career.

“I've spearheaded a fair amount of advocacy work, navigating and negotiating with legislative offices, state agencies, and philanthropic circles,” he says.

“What I took from my classes and coursework has translated more than I expected. It's been especially useful in staying creative and strategic in sustaining our movement during this challenging moment.”

A growing interest in history and government led Kevin to Dominican with a goal of one day working in politics.

“It was my senior year in high school that I became interested in how history and the powers that be shape policy,” he recalls.

A classmate at St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School recommended Dominican’s political science program, and after speaking with his cousin Stacey, Kevin knew he would find a supportive and welcoming community.

Initially, Kevin envisioned a career in a congressional office. As he gained a deeper understanding of the political system, however, he realized he wanted to work closer to home, where he could have a more direct impact on his community through local and state-level decision-making.

One person who played a pivotal role in Kevin’s journey was political science professor Alison Howard, who encouraged him to apply for a postgraduate fellowship through the University of San Francisco’s Leo T. McCarthy Center.

Selected as a McCarthy Fellow, Kevin gained firsthand exposure to California’s policymaking process. His placement with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation introduced him to health policy in motion and sparked an interest that would shape the next stage of his career.

That interest led to a full-time position at UCSF Medical Center, where Kevin first worked as a clinic coordinator and later as a clinic supervisor, overseeing several oncology service units at Mt. Zion. Over the years, he took on a wide range of responsibilities, including helping facilitate expansion into UCSF’s Mission Bay and Redwood City campuses.

It was at UCSF that Kevin developed a passion for addressing inequities in healthcare.

“I became deeply engaged in patient advocacy — navigating insurance denials, coordinating care across regions, and ensuring patients had equitable access to care,” he says.

He also witnessed the barriers many patients faced.
“I worked with patients from the Central Valley whose only option was to drive to UCSF in San Francisco for treatment because there were no services available closer to home.”

The experience deepened his understanding of the disparities in healthcare access.
“UCSF is a great system,” he says, “but I realized it was a system that many marginalized communities had difficulty accessing.”

That passion for advocacy and community health ultimately led Kevin to Little Manila Rising, where, since 2021, he has worked on historic preservation, community development, health equity, and environmental justice initiatives.

His first role was co-developing the Equity in COVID and Health Outcomes program, which focused on COVID-19 response, vaccination outreach, and health education for marginalized communities in South Stockton. The initiative distributed 2,000 COVID-19 tests and supported more than 1,700 vaccinations.

Kevin later became director of grants and fiscal sustainability, fundraising $7 million for multiple initiatives before being named deputy director in June 2024, overseeing the organization’s environmental justice initiatives while leading grant strategy and fund development.

Kevin has contributed to several major milestones, including artifacts for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History exhibit “How Can You Forget Me?” He also helped secure financing for a $7 million renovation of the organization’s center, which will reopen next year as a Climate and Community Resiliency Center.

Today, Kevin continues to draw on lessons from his Dominican education as he helps shape programs focused on climate change, urban reforestation, community redevelopment, and anti-displacement strategies, allowing community wealth to flow without gentrifying communities.

He encourages current students to take full advantage of the opportunities available at Dominican.

“As I reflect on my own Dominican experience, I would advise students to embrace the rigor and take advantage of the low student-to-teacher ratio. This mirrors real life in terms of engagement and collaboration,” he says.

He also encourages students to remain open to unexpected opportunities.

“My journey was not linear,” he notes. “We all have hopes of where we want to land. For me, life has been so fun because I’ve moved in a nonlinear direction. I’ve embraced what has come in between.”

That journey into leadership has reinforced the importance of empathy. As he continues to grow in his career, Kevin remains inspired by a quote he often recites:
“Empathy is the most necessary trait for effective leadership, which requires one to perform all roles that lead up to that leadership position. To empathize, you have to live a day in their shoes. Take your time. Climb the ladder.”

Student Story University NewsSchool of Liberal Arts and EducationPolitical ScienceHistory and PoliticsSelect