Stories

A dozen years of lectures and student-faculty research support the health sciences on campus.

By Riley O’Connell ‘19

In its twelfth year since being founded and endowed in 2008 by Gerald and Sally DeNardo, the DeNardo Lectureship welcomed Dr. Karl Deisseroth last spring for his “Illuminating the Brain” address. Just one of many areas on campus in which the DeNardos’ legacy has shone, the Lectureship reflects SCU’s “institutional commitment to the pursuit of informed ethical discourse across the University” through public and student lectures, prominent and esteemed scientists and health professionals, as well as interactive campus events.

In his lecture, Deisseroth, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator currently teaching as the D.H. Chen Professor of Bioengineering and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, discussed the nature of memory and understanding fear “at a cellular level,” by highlighting three major techniques: optogenetics, clarity, and in vivo brain imaging, all of which put Deisseroth and his lab at the “cutting edge of neuroscience,” according to Dr. Christelle Sabatier (Biology).

“[Deisseroth] recruits scientists and students with backgrounds in many different disciplines, from psychology to engineering and computer science,” said Sabatier, recalling the Q&A she held with him following his talk. “He emphasized that everyone is constantly learning new things while also teaching their strengths to others around them. I appreciated hearing this perspective since many of my students in both biology and neuroscience were sitting in the audience, and I think it is important for them to hear these realities about what it takes to be successful.”

As part of the Lectureship Deisseroth visited with three classes—Behavioral Psychology, Neurobiology, and Neuroethics—to speak with students on success, the future of optogenetics, mental health, and M.D.-Ph.D. training. Sabatier called the opportunity “an important reminder that so many of us are fascinated by our minds and seek to understand them better.” Deisseroth’s lectureship “particularly resonated” with not only her own students but the entire campus.

Sally, Jocelyn, and Gerry DeNardo

As a tribute to their dedication to the University and the SCU community, the DeNardos were honored with the Founder’s Award the following evening, at the annual Lectureship dinner, in recognition of their 50 years of philanthropy and leadership on behalf of the University.

“There are three themes that are important to us at Santa Clara, especially in the sciences,” said Interim Provost Lisa Kloppenberg in addressing the DeNardo legacy at SCU. “These themes are collaboration, ethics, and the kind of integrative thinking that leads to creativity and innovation.”

In the spirit of these themes, the DeNardos served as inaugural members of the College of Arts and Sciences Leadership Board; established a Cristo Rey-Sacramento Endowed Scholarship Fund in 2011, the first recipient of which graduated from SCU this spring; and fund faculty and student research grants through the College of Arts and Sciences, the Leavey School of Business, the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, and the President’s Office.

Speaking of the DeNardos, and the students and faculty they have supported over the years, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Debbie Tahmassebi said, “[Gerry and Sally] are role models for current and prospective students, and for prospective donors.” Tahmassebi further thanked them for being “a resource for Santa Clara students who believe in something bigger than themselves—the greater good.”

On behalf of University President Michael Engh, S.J., Provost Kloppenberg then conferred upon Gerry DeNardo a Bachelor of Science degree. A recognized member of the Santa Clara University Class of 1954, the distinction is bittersweet as DeNardo never actually graduated from SCU. He left Santa Clara at the end of his junior year to begin the University of California Medical School program, completing his final undergraduate year at UC Berkeley, and continuing on to UCSF for medical school. 

Calling it her “great privilege,” Kloppenberg assured DeNardo that he, with his illustrious academic career akin to those of the students he has helped through the DeNardo initiatives on campus, was “indeed...deserving of a Santa Clara University degree.”