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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
Department of Political Science
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
361 Lincoln Hall, MC-452
702 South Wright Street
Urbana, IL 61801-3696
August 23. 2007
Dr. Judy Walters
President. Diablo Valley College
321 Golf Club Road
Pleasant Hill. CA 94523
Dear Dr. Walters:
Twenty years ago this semester I started my college studies at DVC, and after two years of general education coursework went on to pursue my bachelor's degree at UC Berkeley. From there I did my doctoral work in political science at Northwestern, and am now a tenured faculty member at the University of Illinois.
I was reminded of what a fine start I received to my college education when I ran into another professor at a recent conference. His name is Tamir Sheafer, and is on the faculty at Hebrew University in Israel with the departments of political science and communication. What a surprise to discover that he started his college education at DVC a few years after I did. Like me, his two years at DVC provided the foundation for an undergraduate degree at Berkeley and then for subsequent graduate studies.
DVC is a unique learning institution, one that with careful instruction and small classes gives late-bloomers like me and Tamir Sheafer a chance to shine academically. Such a chance would never been earned with a four-year institution based on our high school performance alone (1 was a C student in high school). And who knows where your students will end up? I still have textbooks on my office shelves from classes I took at DVC, and with great fondness I remember some of the best college instructors 1 have ever learned under, in classes as diverse as German, algebra, international relations and criminology.
With warm regards,
Scott L. Althaus
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
Associate Professor, Department of Speech Communication