ALUMNI JOURNAL: Reflections on a 95-Year Legacy

Briggs: After being president of the Alumni Association (1997–1998), Dennis E. Parks ’07-Hon executive director of the Alumni Association, approached me with the question, “How would you like to be the editor of the ALUMNI JOURNAL?” The immediate answer was, “NO.” Dennis said, “Give it some thought, and give me an answer—tomorrow.” Having had some publishing experience in college, I agreed to give it a try, provided that he promised to help. My enjoyable relationship with the JOURNAL continued for five years, at which time our family moved to Idaho.

Yeo: Carrol S. Small ’34 (ALUMNI JOURNAL editor from 1975–1982, 1988–1990) was my professor in pathology. He called me one day, and he said, “I have done years with the ALUMNI JOURNAL. I have to leave.” I said, “Well, thank you for your time and a good JOURNAL that I enjoy looking at.” He interrupted, and he said, “You are going to take it over.” I was thinking, “Where on earth did you even get my name?” I finally said, “How long is the assignment?” He said, “Oh, two years.” I really respected Dr. Small and his work. I said, “Two years. Okay. I’ll make time for two years, and then I’m done.” Then being editor started to stimulate my creativity. And finally, it went to 22 years as editor.

WHAT CHANGES DID YOU ADD TO THE ALUMNI JOURNAL?

Briggs: One thing that I initiated was the department report. It gives the department chair a chance to brag a little bit, as well as provide an update on current events within that particular department. All of us graduates have some affection for the department we trained with. The report provides a good way of keeping track of what’s going on within your respective departments.

We also switched to an issue editor after my term. With just one person as the editor, it got to be kind of overwhelming. Instead, a cadre of folks who are acting editors on different issues helped spread that task around. It was also a way of inviting change to occur in the ALUMNI JOURNAL to get fresh ideas. I think people were much happier having only to worry about one issue at a time.

Yeo: What I wanted in the JOURNAL was to highlight a lot of very important people who never appeared in the JOURNAL before. I featured these outstanding alumni in the “They Walked These Halls” series. I chased the stories down to make sure we shared their stories. Like Melvin P. Judkins ’47, who revolutionized cardiovascular medicine by introducing the Judkins Technique, the world’s most widely used method for coronary arteriography. And David D. Coffin ’20, a pioneering Seventh-day Adventist medical missionary who served in Guangxi, China. He helped establish medical mission work in a region with no Adventist presence. We should keep our ears open for these interesting people.

WHAT IS THE LEGACY OF THE ALUMNI JOURNAL?

Briggs: The ALUMNI JOURNAL’S legacy is a record of the events that went on in the medical school and the hospital; it acts as a historical book of events. When I was in medical school, the clinical rotations for the junior year were at the Los Angeles County Hospital. During senior year, the rotations were at White Memorial Hospital. There was quite a controversy between those who wanted to move the clinical rotations to Loma Linda and those who wanted to stay in Los Angeles. The whole event was covered in several issues of the JOURNAL. (Editor’s note: Interestingly, at the time in the 1950s, the first stoplight from Los Angeles to Loma Linda on Highway 99 East, now I-10, was at Waterman Avenue!) Another important story was when the new hospital was being built. Dennis E. Park ’07-HON took videos and pictures, excellently documenting the whole building process, and that will provide a lot of answers to questions people might have about the background of the building and what’s special about the building. The legacy of the JOURNAL is well illustrated by the APC 2026 issue, which highlights events, students, graduates, alumni, and faculty from the past year. Memories are being made and recorded for future reference.

Yeo: The legacy of the ALUMNI JOURNAL is that it cannot be non-existent. It has to be alive. It has to be still going strong. We need to keep looking for the good stories.