News

60s

Barbara Cutts ’62

November 2023

Gail Tominaga ’67

September 2023

Sara Burr ’68, M.A. ’73, Ph.D. ’77

November 2023

70s

Anneliese Scherf-Bliss ’72, M.A. ’74, Ph.D. ’77

August 2023

80s

Jan Opdyke, M.A. ’81

December 2023

Alan Scrivner ’84

November 2023

Hugo Guerrero ’85

December 2023

00s

Josefina Notsinneh ’03

October 2023

20s

Gabriela Buelna ’22

October 2023

Julie Cline

(1980-2023)

A co-founder and former editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books, Cline was a lecturer in the University Writing Program. She graduated magna cum laude from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in American literature and culture and received an MFA in creative writing from UCR in 2011. Cline was a recipient of the L.M. & Marcia McQuern Endowed Graduate Award in Non-fiction Writing in the 2009-10 academic year. In her writing career, Cline contributed prolifically with reviews in the Los Angeles Review of Books. She joined UCR as a lecturer in 2017, bringing a wealth of knowledge and passion for writing into the classroom. She often invited writers, directors, and others from the creative community to engage with her students. Cline died Nov. 12. She is survived by her parents, Jim and Judi, and sister, Jennifer.

Joshua Fenton

(1975-2023)

A continuing lecturer in the University Writing Program, Fenton helped UCR students who struggled with expressing themselves develop their voices. Fenton received a bachelor’s degree at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and master’s at the University of Toledo in Ohio. In 2000, he moved to Riverside and began working towards a doctorate while beginning his instructional career as a teaching assistant. Fenton became a lecturer in the University Writing Program in 2005, teaching developmental writing classes. He also served as the analytical writing placement exam coordinator for the program, and in 2018, joined the systemwide analytical writing placement exam team as an a systemwide assistant chief reader. Fenton died Dec. 4. He is survived by his wife, Devon; his mother; two brothers; and 11 sisters.

Richard Dean “Dick” Goeden

(1935-2023)

A professor emeritus of entomology, Goeden was a leader in researching biological control of weeds, and his work continues to impact viable management approaches today. After graduating high school, Goeden served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He then enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, receiving a bachelor’s degree, master’s, and doctorate. In 1965, Goeden joined UCR in the Department of Biological Control, beginning a decades-long career until his retirement in 2002. Combining his interest in plants and insects, Goeden became an expert in the field of biological control of weeds, using insect herbivores to control plants that damage natural and agricultural systems. He specialized in surveys of insects associated with weeds, with his research taking him to every continent except Antarctica. In the mid-1970s, Goeden began researching fruit flies, later helping California develop control methods during a major infestation of Mediterranean fruit flies that threatened agricultural crops. A genus of fruit flies, Goedenia, was named after him. In 2000, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Entomological Society of America. Goeden died Aug. 17. He was predeceased by his wife, Joan, with whom he had three children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Robert Rosenthal

(1933-2024)

Rosenthal, a father of meta-analysis and named one of the 20th century’s top 100 psychologists, taught at UCR for 25 years. He received a doctorate from UCLA, working first as a clinical psychologist before moving into social psychology. He began teaching at Harvard University in 1962, later becoming chair of the psychology department. After retiring from Harvard in 1999, Rosenthal joined UCR. He was named a University Professor in 2008 by the University of California system, a distinction shared by only 40 professors in UC’s history. Rosenthal gained worldwide notoriety in 1968 with the publication of his book “Pygmalion in the Classroom,” which concluded that K-12 classroom outcomes are predetermined by teacher expectations. “The Pygmalion Effect,” also called “The Rosenthal Effect,” became part of the popular lexicon. He co-founded modern meta-analysis, which transformed scientific research by combining studies to compound probability. He also introduced psychological principles including experimenter bias and interpersonal expectations. In 2002, Rosenthal was No. 84 on a list of “The 100 Most Eminent Psychologists of the 20th Century” by the Review of General Psychology. Rosenthal retired from his full-time UCR professorship in spring 2018 but continued teaching part-time through fall quarter 2023. Rosenthal died Jan. 5. He was predeceased by his wife, MaryLu. He is survived by three children and six grandchildren.

Ofelia Valdez-Yeager

(1947-2024)

A community leader who fiercely advocated for education and the arts, Valdez-Yeager was part of UCR’s first group of Equal Opportunity Students in 1965. She received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish in 1969, and an elementary teaching credential in 1971, both from UCR, and was an active member of the UCR Alumni Association board. Valdez-Yeager became the first Latina to serve on the Riverside Unified School District board after she was elected in 1992. As a community volunteer, she was instrumental in establishing Riverside Art Museum’s Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture. She also co-founded and previously served as president of the Latino Network, a philanthropic organization addressing community issues impacting the Latino community, as well as led the successful effort to construct the Cesar E. Chávez Memorial on the Downtown Mall. During her career, she worked as a teacher, counseling assistant, administrative assistant to the Riverside mayor, and administrative liaison for the Riverside school district superintendent. She and her husband, Ley Yeager, met as UCR students while working as Upward Bound tutor counselors. Valdez-Yeager died Jan. 7. She is survived by her husband, three daughters, one son, and seven grandchildren.

Dwight Yates

(1942-2023)

A widely published writer, Yates was a lecturer emeritus of creative writing. He grew up in Montana and traveled widely in his youth, teaching in Tanzania with the Peace Corps. Yates received a bachelor’s degree at Portland State University and master’s at University of Montana, both in English. He joined UCR as a lecturer in 1981. His first collection of short stories, “Haywire Hearts and Slide Trombones,” won the Serena McDonald Kennedy Fiction Award from Snake Nation Press in 2005, while his second collection of short fiction, “Bring Everybody,” won the inaugural Juniper Prize for Fiction from the University of Massachusetts Press. Yates was twice awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, first in 1993 and again in 2007. He was honored by UCR’s College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences with the establishment of the Dwight Yates Endowed Creative Writing Award Fund in 2017, of which he contributed more than $10,000. Yates died Nov. 12. He is survived by his wife, Nancy, and two daughters.

Return to UCR Magazine: Winter 2024