from Dateline (September 11, 2003)

New Boards Named to Guide Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary

A 12-member advisory board and a 10-member faculty advisory council have been named for the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, a 12-acre nature preserve in Modjeska Canyon operated by Cal State Fullerton.

The board, which includes several community members, will provide guidance on facility policy and operations, while the faculty council will deal with matters concerning the use of the sanctuary for academic research and educational purposes, according to Kolf Jayaweera, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, which oversees the facility.

Charles W. Buck, member of the Sierra Club and former associate vice president for student affairs, will chair the advisory board.

He will be joined by Cathy Glasgow, Oak Canyon Nature Center recreation supervisor; Bob Hunt, president of Sensor Development Inc.; Ginny Mc-Vickar, Riley Wilderness Park senior ranger; and Kris Ohlenkamp, member of the Audubon Society; as well as Bill Dickerson, executive director of CSUF Foundation; Greg Dyment, director of the Fullerton Arboretum; John Foster, chair and professor of geological sciences; Anne Houtman, associate professor of biological science; Eugene Jones, chair and professor of biological science; Richard Lodyga, director of the university’s
science education program; and Sue Parman, chair and professor of anthropology.

In addition to Houtman and Jones, members of the faculty council are Gaylen Carlson, professor of geological sciences; Cora Granata, assistant professor of history; William Hoese, assistant professor of biological science; Steven James, assistant professor of anthropology; W. Richard Laton, assistant professor of geological sciences; Stewart Long, chair and professor of economics; Darren Sandquist, assistant professor of biological science and Allan Schoenherr of Fullerton College.

Ex officio members of each panel are Jayaweera, Karon Cornell, director of the sanctuary, and Birkin Newell, onsite manager. Cornell and Newell were appointed this summer.

Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, which has been operated by Cal State Fullerton for more than 30 years, reopened Sept. 1 with tours for community and campus members. Late last month, the sanctuary opened its doors on two special evenings when hundreds of visitors – using university telescopes – were able to view the planet Mars as it passed the closest to Earth in the last 60,000 years.

At the sanctuary, “attendance is high, donations are solid, purchases are being made in the gift shop, and so many people are impressed and happy about the facility being open and in good shape,” noted Newell.

“New people are coming out that did not know about the place, and visitors love the new revisions and security rails.”