Distinguished Alumni

Ray Griffin

College of Agriculture
BS Agriculture Business, Class of 1986

Current Position:
Founding Partner and General Manager, FoodSource

Ray Griffin is a founding partner of FoodSource, a fresh produce sourcing and supply chain management firm based in Monterey, California, with five locations across the country. Throughout his time working in California’s Salinas Valley, Griffin has been dedicated to the agricultural industry in a variety of roles and has supported many professional and community organizations. He has been integral in developing new markets within the fresh produce arena, such as the launch of pre-packaged fresh organic salads into Canada and building international trade for western vegetables. FoodSource has more than 165 employees, and Griffin’s focused leadership as the general manager continues to motivate his successful, growth-oriented team. In 2005, FoodSource was acquired by C.H. Robinson, a Fortune 300 company.

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Rear Admiral Robert L. Toney

College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
BA Social Sciences (Pre-Law), Class of 1957

Current Position:
Retired Rear Admiral, US Navy

Rear Admiral Robert L. Toney was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy in 1957. Admiral Toney’s naval career spanned 34 years. He commanded four organizations with the Navy and received numerous honors and decorations including the Defense Meritorious Medal, the Navy Meritorious Service Medal with Oakleaf Cluster, and the Vietnam Service Medal. He completed NATO Defense College in Rome, and the National and International Security Course at Harvard University. He holds honorary doctorates from National Defense University and Golden Gate University. Admiral Toney retired from the military in 1994 and moved from a life devoted to public service to a life devoted to community service. He has served on several boards including the CSU, Chico Advisory Board.

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Rand Hutchison

College of Business
BA Economics, Class of 1973
MBA Business Administration, Class of 1977

Current Position:
President Emeritus, Wanderful Media;
Lecturer, CSU, Chico

Spanning four decades, Rand Hutchison's professional career includes successful experience as founder, president, chief executive officer, board chair, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer in areas including web advertising, medical and health care technology, public accounting, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, banking, and the public sector. Hutchison currently serves as board director and advisor to several organizations, is an angel investor, and teaches an entrepreneurial class in Chico State’s College of Business. He also serves on the College of Business Dean’s Advisory Board and, received the college’s 2007 Outstanding Entrepreneur award, and a 2012 GLOBIE (Growth-Oriented Locally Owned Business by an Innovative Entrepreneur) award from Innovate North State.

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Lance Lew

College of Communication & Education
BA Speech Pathology and Audiology, Class of 1979

Current Position:
Director, Community Marketing, NBC Bay Area

As the community marketing director for NBC Bay Area, Lance Lew is responsible for all community outreach efforts, including development of promotional campaigns and event marketing. Lew has served on numerous boards, committees, and organizations serving the Bay Area, and he has received many awards, including Cine Awards for two documentaries he spearheaded while working for CBS5 in San Francisco. He received recognition for his leadership with a multi-year, 160-location food drive for Second Harvest. He co-founded the Growing Up Asian in America essay and art contest commemorating Asian Pacific American Heritage month. This program has distributed more than $250,000 in awards to more than 600 students in the past 18 years.

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Mark Fitzpatrick

College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management
BS Computer Science, Class of 1985

Current Position:
Co-Founder, CEO, and Managing Partner, FitzForm; Co-Founder and CEO, YOUnite, Inc.; and Co-Founder and CTO, BlueChipExec

Mark Fitzpatrick has a new venture called FitzForm that he believes might be the “beginning of the end” of the drudgery surrounding the filling out of paper forms. With more than 25 years experience in software design, architecture, systems implementation, and sales, Fitzpatrick currently lists three different organizations for his current employment. His company YOUnite holds patents on distributed patent sharing (Fitzpatrick says to think of it as a way to enable sharing of your Facebook profile without storing the data on Facebook servers), and BlueChipExec is a job site focused on the smartest and fastest way to find a job. In his spare time, Fitzpatrick teaches Catholic Confirmation classes, and he calls this his hardest job.

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Kelli Chipponeri

College of Humanities & Fine Arts
BA English, Class of 1998

Current Position:
Executive Editor, Chronicle Books

Kelli Chipponeri started her career as an assistant editor at Simon & Schuster. She then moved to a senior editor position at Penguin, where she edited series, chapter, and novelty books. She took a brief break to teach high school English in Sacramento, which taught her how teens think, read, and interact with fiction, nonfiction, art, music, and poetry. Chipponeri then moved to Philadelphia as the editorial director at Running Press Kids, where she edited two New York Times best-selling books. She is currently the executive editor in the Children's Group at Chronicle Books. She has also served as juror for the Women’s National Book Association Pannell Award.

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K. Darwin Murrell, PhD

College of Natural Sciences
BS Biology, Class of 1962

Current Position:
Honorary Professor, Danish Centre for Experimental Parasitology, University of Copenhagen

K. Darwin Murrell served as the deputy administrator of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the US Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific research arm, where his research focused on the protection of humans and animals from food-borne diseases. Murrell received the 1984 ARS Outstanding Scientist of the Year award, the 1988 American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists (AAVP) Distinguished Parasitologist Award, a 1996 Fulbright Award, and a 1997 Presidential Distinguished Federal Executive Rank Award. Murrell joined the University of Copenhagen in 2000, where his work focused on parasites transmitted from fish. He was named honorary professor upon his retirement in 2004. He has served as president of the American Society of Parasitologists, AAVP, and the International Trichinellosis Commission.

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Tim Colbie

Distinguished Alumni Service Award
BS Business Administration, Class of 1992

Current Position:
Owner and Operator, Great Escape Travel

Tim Colbie has served as vice-president and president of the Chico State Alumni Association, president of the Chico Chapter of the Chico State Alumni Association, and vice president for communication and advocacy for the CSU Alumni Council. Colbie currently serves as the chair of the CSU Alumni Council finance and development committee. He has served on the 2003-2004 Butte County Grand Jury and was selected as foreman for the 2004-2005 Jury. He served as a director from the north region for the California Grand Juror’s Association 2005-2008. He currently serves as vice president of North Valley Property Owner’s Association, is a past member of the Butte County Parole Board, is a board member for the Stansbury House in Chico, and is a member of the Chico Noon Rotary Club. And sometimes, Colbie finds time to travel.

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