Ketchum Puts Herbert Atop Its List; Can You Say Quatrefoil?

Marshall B. Ketchum University in Fullerton wasn’t listed among the recent and much-heralded U.S. News & World Report rankings of post-secondary educational institutions throughout the land. That hasn’t stopped the school from making a most sensible connection as it aims to build its reputation as a specialist in life sciences and home to the Southern California College of Optometry. Ketchum U. will honor Gavin Herbert, Sr.—founder of Allergan, progenitor of the vibrant cluster of eye-related drug and medical device makers in OC—at its annual Gala V Awards for charity and volunteer service to community on Sept. 29 (see Addendum item on page 20 for more on U.S. News rankings of OC schools) … The Ketchum gala will be at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, which should ring familiar with Herbert. He was a member of Nixon’s kitchen cabinet and owns the property in San Clemente once known as the former president’s Western White House … Herbert’s volunteer service with Nixon put him in touch with a young White House staffer named Larry Higby, who this week joins Tom McKernan to offer insights on New Majority’s focus for the upcoming election in our OC Leader Board on page 109 … The Diocese of Orange turned 40 on Sept. 18, and hosted members of the media for a recent sneak peek at progress on the refurbishment and interior redesign of Christ Cathedral. Diocesan officials didn’t shy away from pressure in pitching the $72 million makeover—among the scribes was Christopher Hawthorne, the L.A. Times’ gifted architecture critic, who’s no cheap-shot artist but can be eloquently unvarnished in his reviews … The Insider will beat Hawthorne to the punch on this: expect to hear a lot more about quatrefoils … Microsemi boss Jimmy Peterson knows about deals, and a check of public records indicates he might have gotten a good one on naming rights for what had been known as Crawford Field at UCI—a one-year pact for $100,000. It’s now called Microsemi Field and is fresh off a stint as home for the Los Angeles Rams training camp, which put the Microsemi name amid a nice bit of buzz (see related story, right) … What do professional celebrity Mario Lopez, skateboard legend Tony Hawk and singer Marie Osmond have in common? They’ve each entered videos in bids to win more than $50,000 for their chosen children’s charity in the first National Child Awareness Month (NCAM) Talent Challenge, established by Sandy Segerstrom Daniel’s Festival of the Children Foundation (see related item in Philanthropy column, page 16). Visit indi.com to see the videos … Kudos to Tony Moiso and crew at Rancho Mission Viejo, where the Esencia development got Master-Planned Community of the Year honors from the Building Industry Association of Southern California … Looks as though Google cares as much about housekeeping details as it does for the daily “Doodle” on its landing page. Get a gander at the doormat that greets employees and visitors in the lobby of its local offices on Jamboree: