San Francisco State UniversityWeb A-ZFind it Fast


Four SFSU alums tapped for University's Hall of Fame

#087

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS
Matt Itelson
SFSU Office of Public Affairs
(415) 338-1743
(415) 338-1665
pubcom@sfsu.edu

 

Press Release published by the Office of Public Affairs

 


Oscar winner Christopher Boyes, SF police Chief Heather Fong are among inductees

SAN FRANCISCO, May 24, 2004 -- Sound designer and Academy Award winner Christopher Boyes, San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong, children's musician Ella Jenkins and disc jockey Carter B. Smith will be inducted into the San Francisco State University Alumni Hall of Fame at a reception on Friday, May 28.

Christopher Boyes earned a bachelor's degree in cinema in 1985. He has worked on more than 40 major motion pictures during his nearly 20-year career. In February, he won a third Academy Award for his sound mixing work on "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King." In addition to his work on "The Lord of the Rings," he was nominated for two other Oscars this year. Boyes has also won Oscars in sound effects editing for "Titanic" and "Pearl Harbor." Boyes, 43, lives in Inverness, where he often works with Lucasfilm's Skywalker Sound.

San Francisco native Heather Fong, 47, is the first female police chief in the city's history and the first Asian American woman in the country to preside over a large urban department. In 1988, after 11 years on the force and five years investigating child abuse for the juvenile division, Fong entered the master's of social work program at SFSU. Her degree changed the way she looked at abuse and family interventions, enabling her to see not just the police work but the "healing part" as well. Named chief in April by Mayor Gavin Newsom after a national search, Fong hopes to bring a hands-on, community oriented approach to the position.

Known as the first lady of children's music, Chicago resident Ella Jenkins' career spans more than four decades. With her devotion to cross-cultural understanding and respect, and her signature call and response style, Jenkins -- who earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from SF State in 1951 -- is as much an educator as she is an entertainer. Her best known song, "You'll Sing a Song, And I'll Sing a Song," is the best-selling record in the history of record label Smithsonian Folkways. Jenkins, who turns 80 this year, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in February. Her 28th album, "Sharing Cultures," was released this year.

During his 50-year career, broadcaster Carter B. Smith has been on almost every radio and television station in the Bay Area. He started in broadcasting in 1954 at KBLF in Red Bluff, Calif. After earning his bachelor's degree in radio and television broadcasting at S.F. State in 1959, he went on to a career that included disc jockeying, news reporting and television hosting. He can now be heard from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays on oldies station KABL (960AM), where he plays the same music -- Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Bennett, and Dorsey -- that he played in the '50s. He lives in Tiburon with his wife, Barbara.

Chosen by the SFSU Alumni Association, the Hall of Fame recognizes alumni who have earned the respect of their peers through professional, cultural and civic achievements. Previous inductees include actor Danny Glover, "Frasier" co-creator and producer Peter Casey, former UCLA football coach Bob Toledo, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra conductor Kent Nagano, bebe founder Manny Mashouf, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, and San Francisco poet laureate devorah major. The photographs of all inductees hang on the Hall of Fame wall on the first floor of the J. Paul Leonard Library.

-###-


San Francisco State University Home     Search     Need Help?    

1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132  415/338-1111
Last modified April 20, 2007, by the Office of Public Affairs