Staff News — June 8, 2012
Engineer picked for Facilities Management post
Kelly Schmader has been selected as the new assistant vice chancellor for Facilities Management to succeed Gail Cowling, who is retiring at the end of this month. An engineer, Schmader served as chief facilities executive for LAUSD, where he was responsible for leading more than 6,000 facilities professionals in maintaining the LAUSD physical plant and in completing the district's $20 billion school construction program.
Prior to his three years in LAUSD, he served for 27 years as a Navy civil engineer officer managing diverse facilities around the world. While in the Navy, he was deployed to the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina and put in charge of facility maintenance, utilities and building services.
Administrative Vice Chancellor Jack Powazek, who announced Schmader's appointment on Wednesday (June 6), thanked Cowling for her decades of service and her outstanding leadership and commitment to UCLA. "Her exemplary service in that department includes significant efforts towards energy cost reduction and alignment of key campus services in support of the University's mission relating to sustainable practices and programs," Powazek said in the announcement.
John Speraw named new head coach, UCLA men’s volleyball
John Speraw, who guided UC Irvine to the 2012 NCAA men’s volleyball championship, has been named UCLA’s head coach. Speraw served 10 seasons as UC Irvine’s coach and transformed the program into a national power. Under his direction, the Anteaters won three NCAA titles in the last six years and advanced to the NCAA Championship four times, as well as winning two MPSF regular season titles and a pair of MPSF Tournament championships.
Speraw, 40, assumes the duties of his collegiate mentor, Al Scates, who is retiring after 50 years as the Bruins’ head coach. "I’m confident that John Speraw is the right man to lead UCLA men’s volleyball into the next era," said Scates. "He has proven himself to be an outstanding coach, both collegiately and internationally. UCLA is privileged to have him."
Speraw has also been successful on the international level, serving as an assistant coach with the United States men’s indoor volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In May, the U.S. qualified for the 2012 Games in London, and Speraw will serve as assistant coach once again.
"It is a great honor to be asked to lead one of the greatest programs in NCAA sports history," said Speraw. "Al Scates is a great friend and mentor. I hope to continue his legacy of producing great championship teams."
For more information, see this
UCLA Athletics story.
Ken Norris, UCLA Athletics video innovator, wins Pioneer Award
UCLA Athletics Video Operations Director Ken Norris will be honored with the inaugural Pioneer Award at the College Sports Video Summit in Atlanta on June 7. Norris, who has been at UCLA since 1989, is considered one of the most innovative and respected minds in his profession, having been named National Video Coordinator of the Year by his peers in the Collegiate Sports Video Association (CSVS).
Norris and his staff are responsible for recording the practices and games of the UCLA football team. They work with the coaching staff and provide them with specialized footage or "cut-ups" of the team and opponents for coaching, scouting and game-planning purposes. Norris oversaw the development and implementation of the I2 Internet Exchange Program, which enables Pacific-12 Conference football programs to exchange coaching films via the Internet, bypassing the use of videotape. Norris and his staff are also responsible for filming instructional and highlight footage for almost every UCLA athletic program. They create many of the teams' year-end highlight films.
"Ken Norris was the obvious choice to be the recipient of the inaugural SVG College Sports Video Summit Pioneer Award," said CSVS Chairman Tom Buffolano. "He is widely acclaimed as an innovator and thought leader in the development of technology, platforms and production workflow for video, not only for UCLA and the Pac-12, but for all of college sports."
Norris began his sports career working for the NFL's Los Angeles Rams at the age of 13, splicing and editing 16mm film.
