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School Overseers

Alexander: “I’m a military brat, so the school’s 52-year history with the military was something that aligned for me”

Chapman University tapped some familiar faces to help oversee its adult education school, Brandman University.

Irvine’s Brandman, which offers degrees, certificates and credentials in business, healthcare, education and other areas, found a number of its regents from the ranks of Chapman’s own advisers, including the university’s board of trustees, president’s cabinet and board of governors.

“All of the members of the board have some connection to Chapman and a history with the university,” said David Janes, chairman of Brandman’s board of regents.

The regents were selected by Brandman Chancellor Gary Brahm and Jim Doti, Chapman’s president.

Picking the board was part of a larger strategy to make Brandman stand on its own.

The school is part of what Chapman calls the Chapman University System, which includes the liberal arts university in Orange and Brandman, which focuses on working people looking to further their education.

“Gary talked to me and asked if I might be interested in being a regent for the university as they were restructuring Brandman as a wholly owned but separate nonprofit subsidiary,” said Marilyn Alexander, a member of the board of regents. “It was designed to enable the university to grow and peruse a new direction.”

All of the Brandman regents serve or have served on Chapman boards in the past.

The regents are made up of professionals from a wide range of industries with an interest in education.

Most have worked with Chapman through the years on fundraising, donations or aiding in the form of advisory support.

“We have a very diverse board of business professionals who take the matter of adult education quite seriously,” Janes said.

Brandman serves more than 10,000 working students—many of them military. It offers classes online and at 25 campuses throughout California and Washington.

The college initially started in 1958 to help educate servicemen, and a number of its campuses still are on military bases.

The military influence isn’t lost on the board leadership with Janes, a retired Navy rear admiral.

Janes had no connection to Brandman’s former incarnation, Chapman University College, while in the military. But he said he knew of the school.

He leads the board on a number of issues and is the chief executive of Irvine-based private investment firm Janes Capital Partners.

Janes also serves as the chairman of the Department of Defense Advisory Board for Employer Relations.

He’s held numerous leadership positions on various boards, serving as the chairman of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, the board of counselors for Chapman’s Argyros School of Business and Economics and the Orange County Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Janes replaced Jerry Cwiertnia in March.

Cwiertnia joined Brandman as chairman in 2007 and led the school through its separation from Chapman University College.

Under Cwiertnia, the university launched a number of degree programs including undergraduate business and master’s of business degrees in January.

Janes has continued by helping to launch an additional nursing program.

“We have augmented our nursing curriculum to help alleviate the nurse shortage around California and the West Coast,” he said.

Former Disneyland executives and real estate developers make up a chunk of the board.

“We have some consummate professionals on the board who are eager to provide their individual views on the challenges facing the university,” Janes said.

The board has two former Walt Disney Co. alums who have long histories with Chapman.

Ed Grier, the former president of Disneyland Resort, joined the board in June.

Grier oversaw operation, management and growth of two theme parks, three hotels and Downtown Disney shopping center for three years before being replaced by George Kalogridis, the former chief operating officer for Disneyland Resort Paris, last October.

Grier now is dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business.

Board member Alexander served as the chief financial officer for Disneyland before launching her consulting firm, Alexander & Friedman LLC.

She initially got involved with Chapman while working for Disney, which encouraged executives to participate in the community.

“I was very interested in adult education as I was a non-traditional student for many years,” Alexander said.

She also has an affinity for the school’s military background.

“I’m a military brat, so the school’s 52-year history with the military was something that aligned for me,” she said. “I was hon-ored when I was asked to join the board of regents.”

In addition to Alexander’s role on the board at Brandman, she also serves as a member of the board of governors and on the finance committee of the board of trustees for Chapman.

Brandman takes its name from former real estate magnate Saul Brandman, whose wife Joyce Brandman joined the board after a $10 million donation to the school.

She oversees the Brandman Foundation initially started by her husband, who supported a variety of charitable causes.

Other members of the Brandman University board include:

• James Roszak, former president of the life insurance division of San Francisco-based Transamerica Corp.

• Barry Goldfarb, chief executive of Los Angeles-based real estate company Barry Goldfarb and Co.

• Don Henley, chief executive of Santa Ana-based Henley Properties Inc.

• William Hood, former chief executive of Hunt-Wesson Foods Inc. during its days in Fullerton.

• Charles Martin, chief executive of Newport Beach-based hedge fund operator Mont Pelerin Capital LLC.

• Joann Leatherby, daughter of philanthropist and businessman Ralph Leatherby.

• Vera Martinez, former president of Fullerton College and former vice chancellor of the North Orange County Community College District.

• Real estate investor Ron Soderling

• Ralph Stern, chief executive of Anaheim-based healthcare finance company CareCredit.

• S. Paul Musco of Santa Ana’s Gemini Industries Inc.

Chapman’s Doti serves as ex officio on the board.

“We are still seeking to expand the board,” Janes said. “I’m eager to have a cross-section of people who are interested in providing adult education.”

The board meets roughly every two months to discuss a variety of topics.

“The board operates exactly like a corporate board,” Alexander said.

The school is wrestling with fallout from scrutiny of for-profit universities, which saw meteoric growth during early phase of the downturn and now face federal scrutiny over the job prospects and debt of graduates.

While not a for-profit school, Brandman competes with several for-profit operators, including Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc., Phoenix-based Apollo Group Inc., Indiana’s ITT Educational Services Inc. and Career Education Corp. of Illinois.

“We have a number of challenges that the board is very adept in working through,” Janes said.

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