PVCC Puma Press: November 2004

Former PVCC President Gina Kranitz and former Athletic Director Cindy Shoenhair, both deceased, were honored in October by the dedications of two campus facilities.

On Oct. 13, the PVCC Soccer field was dedicated to Athletic Director Cindy Shoenhair. Shoenhair worked at PVCC for over 11 years until she succumbed cancer on Oct. 13, 2001.

In Shoenhair’s 11 years at PVCC, her achievements included expanding the athletic program from six to 11 teams. She was also instrumental in the design and construction of the track and field and soccer fields. In her tenure at PVCC she earned the MCCCD Employee of the Year and Innovator of the Year awards in 2001. The latter of the two awards honors her part in the creation of the First Year Experience program, to assist in the academic development of first-year students.

In the presence of students, faculty and administration, The ceremony included words from senior associate dean of learning, Mary Lou Mosley; faculty members Renee Cornell and Donna Rebadow, and Women’s Soccer Coach Amy Garelick.

Mosley started off the ceremony by describing Shoenhair as an “innovative” teacher that taught those around her to work together to better serve students.

Garelick continued the tribute by stating Shoenhair’s “pioneering” attitude taught the PVCC community that both athletics and academics belong on campus. “(Many felt) that athletics didn’t have a part here at PVCC, but Cindy had the forethought to see beyond that,” Garelick said.

Garelick pointed out that Shoenhair’s abilities to accomplish more than most people, to treat everyone “equally and fairly” and to fight for her beliefs contributed to many of her successes.

Cornell, who co-coordinated First Year Experience with Shoenhair, says she hadn’t even known Shoenhair until the two started the program in 2000. Cornell says, “Cindy was creative, innovative and optimistic.” She says Shoenhair’s commitment to helping students academically and in life was responsible for the program’s successfully passing its first year.

Rebadow says she is “lucky” to have known and shared time with Shoenhair and the Shoenhair Family. Rebadow, who accompanied the Shoenhair family when Cindy passed, says, “I love what we have done in (Cindy’s) name. Her hands are all over this place.”

Dan Shoenhair, who was married to and had four children with Shoenhair, says Cindy “loved” all of her students and student athletes. He says naming the soccer field after her is consistent with the obligation she felt to PVCC. “Its really a testament to her work ethic and her dedication to the students,” says Dan.

Kranitz Student Center

On Tuesday, Oct. 19, the student center, formerly the B-building, was officially dedicated to PVCC President, Dr. Gina Kranitz, who died October 2, 2003, following a long battle with cancer.

The dedication accompanies the building’s renaming this semester to the Kranitz Student Center.

Kranitz had a career with MCCCD that spanned over 34 years, beginning at GCC in 1969. Kranitz was appointed president of PVCC in 2001 after competing with applicants in a national search. She also has held positions in national educational associations and civic offices.

The ceremony included presentations from Governing Board President Linda Rosenthal, current PVCC President Dr. Mary Kay Kickels, Theatre Productions coordinator Alan Tongret; PVCC sophomore and SLC secretary, Elba Boe; assistant director of financial aid, Kevin Clarke and Fine Arts faculty, David Bradley.

Rosenthal spoke first, referring to Kranitz as a “special friend.” She says the dedication of the building is a fitting tribute because it’s a place Kranitz wanted the students to have. She says the building will provide PVCC with a sense of Kranitz’s legacy of “good works.”

Kickels, who never actually met Kranitz, gave an emotional speech, nonetheless. She said she knows Kranitz through pictures and the memories of others. She says she has heard that Kranitz was close to her students and knowledgeable about them on a personal level.

Kickels shed a tear when she said, “I know that these are tough shoes to fill, so I am I am very appreciative of walking in her footsteps in the (KSC) building and on the campus, knowing she has left me a legacy.”
Tongret, who chaired the committee to name the building after Kranitz, described Kranitz as a leader, colleague and friend. He compares Kranitz’s strength and leadership’s impact on the campus with the strength of the branches of an English ewe tree.

Boe, who also showed clear emotion during her speech, calls Kranitz a “passionate woman” with strong educational values. Boe says Kranitz united the campus toward the common goal of student success. She says Kranitz instilled her with an attitude of never giving up. Boe says Kranitz was strong and never showed her illness to those around herself.

Boe says, “She went through this (her illness), and she walked so strong and so tall.” She says Kranitz paid attention to and encouraged her students and asked specific questions about their lives to prove it.

Clarke recited a poem by IP staff member Art Coleman, written shortly after Kranitz’s death called “It’s Your Turn.”

Bradley unveiled a plaque that he created using Kranitz’s likeness. The plaque, which when it is completed, will be cast in bronze will be displayed in the KSC-building. He added that he was greatly affected by Kranitz and honored to participate with her family in creating the visual tribute.

Also at the ceremony, student Juan Gabriel Martinez was presented with the Gina Kranitz Scholarship.

To dedicate a landmark on campus is a lengthy process that requires a formal proposal, usually from a designated committee, and must be approved by the MCCCD board.