LV Life

Cadarette, Rutledge move on

Alumni Relations Director Kim Rutledge (left) and Development Director Ellen Cadarette will be leaving the University after two and five years of service, respectively. Rutledge will be heading for Sonoma State University, while Cadarette will be joining the staff at the UC Irvine Medical Center. / photo by Amy Borer
Alumni Relations Director Kim Rutledge (left) and Development Director Ellen Cadarette will be leaving the University after two and five years of service, respectively. Rutledge will be heading for Sonoma State University, while Cadarette will be joining the staff at the UC Irvine Medical Center. / photo by Amy Borer

by Nicole Ramos
Editorial Director

It’s no secret that a vast number of University of La Verne students go on to greatness after leaving this campus. What most people don’t realize, however, is that ULV’s administrators often do the very same thing.

Ellen Cadarette, director of development, and Kim Rutledge, director of alumni relations will both depart from the University Relations office today after a combined total of seven years of service to La Verne. Both will move on to increased challenges at the university level.

Cadarette will begin a position as director of development at the University of California at Irvine Medical Center next week.

“I am very excited because the Medical Center was recognized as a National Cancer Institute Cancer Center this year, making it one of only five in the nation,” she explained. “This job will involve more research and deal more with major donors (individuals rather than corporations) than what I’ve done at La Verne, so there will be some new challenges.”

Perhaps more than that, however, the position also allows Cadarette a personal opportunity. “I was interested in this position because I will be doing a great deal of work with cancer. My mother and aunt both had cancer, and my daughter recently had a melanoma removed, so I look forward to being able to work on this issue.”

Nevertheless, Cadarette does have regrets about leaving ULV. A 1972 graduate, Cadarette has had strong ties to the University ever since, and returned five years ago as director of development.

“I plan to remain involved in alumni activities, but I’m going to miss working here,” she commented. What will she miss most? “The people—there’s no question about it.”

Although Kim Rutledge has only been with the University for two years, the bond she feels with ULV is also strong.

“Of course I will miss the people,” she states. “The alumni were great to work with, and they made me feel very comfortable. They definitely made my job a lot easier, and I think that they are an important asset to the La Verne community.”

In taking a position at Sonoma State University in northern California, an institution just 34 years old, Rutledge knows what she will miss above all else. “The history of the university is incredible. You just don’t find that kind of heritage everywhere, and I’ll really miss having that,” related Rutledge, whose experience also includes a position as assistant director of alumni relations at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Her position as director of alumni relations and special events will afford her the opportunity to test her abilities. “Sonoma State had no database at all until five years ago, so their program is still in its infancy. I’ll have the opportunity to develop a program. It’s a little frightening, but that’s part of the excitement.”

One of Rutledge’s goals for her new position is the creation of a Student Alumni Association chapter at Sonoma State. She began a chapter on ULV’s campus last year, and it has become one of her proudest accomplishments. “I think the group is something that is truly beneficial to the University and the students, and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow,” she said.

A search is currently underway by the University Relations Office to replace both Rutledge and Cadarette; applications will be reviewed beginning in October.

Nicole Ramos, Editorial Director
Nicole Ramos
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Amy Borer, Features Editor
Amy Borer
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