Michael Durand '69

During my freshman and sophomore years, I was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. I loved most of the “brothers,” and had a great time but overall fraternity life was not for me.

For a few years I was on the Social Commission, responsible for bringing Friday afternoon entertainment to the campus. Somewhere in my dusty file cabinets I probably still have contracts we signed with Steve Martin (whom we paid @$100 a gig) and The Carpenters (who got considerably less).

I was in the Student Union planning committee for two years, though ironically, I never had the opportunity to visit the completed building.

Finally, I headed the Experimental College, a forum for students to teach their fellows and subjects outside the academic mainstream. Via the Experimental College we organized teach-ins that gave voice to the growing movement for social justice on a national level.

In the 60’s, Long Beach, reflective of its Orange County-Southern LA base, was a pretty conservative school. As I recall, there was no Hispanic students’ organization and certainly no LGBTQ groups. Even questioning the Viet Nam war made many uneasy.

Initially, as a member of a fraternity, I attended many Bermuda shorts and button-downed shirt events that in the mid-sixties defined the social life at Cal State. Parties on the beach, a spring formal in San Diego and 49er Days… you get the picture.

After my sophomore year however, my interests broadened to the larger world beyond Long Beach and how events elsewhere, such as the war and the civil rights movement, were making their mark on our student community. This meant less time on the beach, and more time trying to get the college to address these issues in more substantive ways.

My of my closest friends ran the film program at the school and together we strived to bring serious movies from not just the U.S., but Asia and Europe to the campus.

Long Beach State, in the mid-sixties, had no student union or cafeteria worth its salt. What it did have were broad swaths of lawns and open space where one could stretch out, catch a few rays or study for the exam that was upcoming in 32 minutes. My dermatologist says I probably got a bit too much sun between 1965 and 1969, but at the time, just lying out there seemed like a great idea.

While there were many outstanding professors in the 60’s, two that I remember most fondly are Professor Erb and Professor Leiter. Professor Erb brought international relations and security studies to life, while Professor Leiter’s dry wit and real-world insights made his government classes more than enjoyable. Both encouraged me to not settle for simplistic assumptions about politics and I hope that I’ve lived up to their mentoring.

As a member of student government, I interacted with many college administrators. I found them sincere, though perhaps overly protective of the way thing always were done. See “them versus us,” above.

College prepared me in two ways. My major was political science and courses in that department helped foster a life-long interest in politics and public decision making. Rather than giving way to emotional arguments, my classes helped me appreciate that politics works best when people come together to solve problems, not simply to shout at one another.

Equally important was that my work in student government helped me develop a talent for working in teams and let me appreciate the value of leading by persuasion. This was an incredible gift which has proved invaluable throughout my career.

Following graduation, I wasn’t sure what was next. However, I stumbled into a career as a fundraiser, working primarily for The Muscular Dystrophy Association as its Los Angeles director. After a few years, I moved to San Francisco, where I thought I would never leave—until MDA made me the “offer I couldn’t’ refuse” and moved me to New York as deputy head of public health information.

From MDA, I moved into the health care public relations arena (which actually was not such a major leap) and for more than 30 years I worked for Porter Novelli, eventually as head of its global health care practice and Ogilvy, where I was managing director of health care strategy and planning. I had the opportunity to work with world-class biotech and pharmaceutical companies, launching some medicines that really changed treatment paradigms and helping them better communicate with their publics. I was privileged to spend a fair amount of time overseas, seeing how health care and health communications is practiced in both Europe and Asia.

I pursed two graduate degrees—from UCLA and from Boston University.

One can’t do the same thing forever. Several years ago, I recalibrated and went into academia, teaching communications courses at Boston University and the Harvard University Extension School. For the past five years I’ve taught graduate communications courses at New York University.

After my 35-year career in public relations and marketing, I am trying to shake the 55-work hours a week addiction that is the curse of the professional services industry. I still have a few clients who inexplicably value my advice, but much of my waking hours are dedicated to teaching young people about public communications and the news media at NYU. I am privileged to be on the teaching staff of one of the great universities, a university dedicated to expanding its global footprint. Many of my student are from China and other countries (one recently from Kazakhstan, now that’s cool). Thanks to Professor Erb for giving me an appreciation of other cultures.

There’s a unique feeling of satisfaction when you see the light bulbs go off in students’ heads and you know that you’ve actually made a contribution to their budding careers.

My wife and I do a fair amount of travelling—visiting our sons in Humboldt County California and in Chicago (son #2 is studying improv theatre with Second City there. Check him out!). We also enjoy competitive rowing and bike riding, especially in Italy.

Thanks for the opportunity to reflect on the Long Beach State and how deep down it is still is with me.