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| Left to right: Alumni Association Executive Directory Jerry Kerr, Ignation Award winners John Padilla and Robert McCullough, and University President Paul Locatelli, S.J. |
This March, the Alumni Association gave its highest honor to three individuals who have lived the ideals of excellence, judgment, worldliness, and service. Established in 1981, the Ignatian Award recognizes those alumni who have been a credit to the University for outstanding achievement in service and humanity.
Born and raised in San Jose, John Padilla '77, J.D. '80, is dedicated to serving his community. In 1980 he established a law practice that handles criminal defense, family law, and juvenile dependency·including many cases handled on a pro bono basis. He has won many awards and earned recognition for his work in juvenile and family law.
Padilla has also worked to give others opportunities. In 1983, he started employing Spanish-speaking SCU students who were interested in law school. Beyond providing them with a job, he has helped many of these students with loans and scholarships, always acting as a mentor and promoting the benefits of higher education.
| "Denice is a wise and humble woman. She shares her talents with those in desperate need." |
| -Tennant Wright, S.J. |
Padilla has been married for 18 years and has passed his values and opportunities to his 13-year-old son, Jonathan, who is an award-winning scholar at his school and gives back to his community by volunteering with the local Democratic Party.
Service to his community is also clearly a priority for Robert McCullough '52. He has not only supported his local area of San Francisco but has given back to the SCU community by previously serving as chairman of the Board of Regents, president of the national SCU Alumni Association, and as an SCU founder.
Much of McCullough's charitable work is connected to Catholic education, including support of St. Ignatius College Preparatory and Sacred Heart High School, in addition to SCU. This work also includes being an active board member of Hanna Boys Center, a 50-year-old residential facility run by the San Francisco Archdiocese that aims to help at-risk boys realize their potential.
Denice (Williams) Klein Douwel '68 exemplifies service to the global community. After working with the poor in Appalachia and the Peace Corps in Ghana, she made the commitment to remain in Ghana. In the isolated and underdeveloped village of Bolgatanga, Klein Douwel works to improve the living conditions of women, the malnourished, the crippled, and the diseased. She also assists her husband, John, in a reforestation project to save the village from the advance of the Sahara Desert. In their spare time, the couple raises animals such as donkeys, pigs, and chickens, as well as healthy fruits and vegetables.
Klein Douwel's dedication to her work in Africa prevented her from attending the Ignatian Award Luncheon. Tennant Wright, S.J., has stayed in touch with her and says, "Denice is a wise and humble woman. She shares her talents with those in desperate need. Quietly, without publicity, [she and John] care for the little ones of the land and the Earth upon which they live."
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