50th Anniversary Historical Profiles

A retired associate justice of the California Supreme Court, Edward Panelli has left a legacy throughout the state and across the globe.

While on the bench, he authored three of the leading cases dealing with insurance coverage, all of which are still cited today, and he’s worked with legal exchange programs in countries as diverse as Egypt, Bolivia and Tunisia. Yet one of most tangible examples of the impact he’s had is just about a mile from his house in Saratoga – West Valley College.

As one of the seven founding members of the community college district board, Judge Panelli had a direct hand in creating the college, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The founding board not only hired the district’s initial leadership, but also eventually acquired the land where the college currently sits and began constructing its first permanent buildings.

“Having a college in your community permits you to get a collegiate education near home at a cost that is substantially less than if you’re going to a four-year institution,” said Judge Panelli, who was elected to the college district board while an attorney in private practice. “I had always been interested in public higher education, which is why I was interested in running for the board.”

Judge Panelli served on the board until 1972, when he resigned after being tapped by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan to serve on Santa Clara County’s superior court. Judge Panelli rose quickly in the judicial system, becoming an associate justice on the First District Court of Appeals in 1983 and presiding justice of the Sixth Appellate District Court of Appeal in 1984. In 1985, then-Gov. George Deukmejian appointed Panelli an associate justice of the California Supreme Court.

Judge Panelli left the Supreme Court in 1994 to work for Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service (JAMS) as a private judge, a position he continues to hold today. He regularly handles high-profile, complex cases, including business disputes, insurance coverage matters, class actions and employment matters.

Judge Panelli credits all his success to his Italian immigrant parents. His parents, who spoke no English and lacked a formal education, encouraged him throughout all his endeavors and taught him to work hard and take responsibility for his actions.

“Whatever I’ve accomplished is a result of what they instilled in me,” Judge Panelli said.

Among Judge Panelli’s early successes was a scholarship to attend Santa Clara University, where he earned his undergraduate degree and then a law degree. Without that scholarship, Panelli said, attending Santa Clara would not have been possible. Community colleges, he said, provide that same opportunity and access to higher education.

“For a lot of people, it’s a way to enable them to go to a four-year school,” Judge Panelli said. “We (the founding board members) wanted to make sure that we provided a quality college education, and we always recognized there was also a need for vocational training to be integrated onto campus. I think the seven of us had a lot of foresight about what we thought West Valley College would become. We were dedicated to making it a first-rate community college that would support the high school districts that made up the college district so that there was an opportunity for students to go beyond high school.”

Still, Judge Panelli said, West Valley College has become an even greater institution than originally envisioned.

“Every now and then, I will park down on the campus and take a stroll around, just kind of a walk, and I’ll tell my wife, ‘I really wouldn’t have imagined it would be what it is,’” Judge Panelli said. “There is a sense of satisfaction. I do have that feeling that there will be something there after I’ve gone.”

When Randy Fujishin was teaching at West Valley College, there was a joke around campus that more students from his classes got married each year than the entire college put together. Fujishin, who retired two years ago, says there’s definitely some truth to it.

“My classes provided students with the chance to share deeply and care deeply about one another,” Fujishin said, who taught communication studies. “Two to three couples from my 10 communication classes per year would eventually marry and I would receive wedding invitations from them. For years I would attend the weddings, but eventually it came to a point where I would just send a gift or card and wish them well.”

The number of marriages Fujishin helped create is just one example of the impact he had at the college. During his nearly 38 years as a faculty member, Fujishin touched thousands of students’ lives, teaching them the art of communication in all its forms, from interpersonal to public speaking.

Students would come early to his classes and stay afterwards, chatting with other students and also with Fujishin. Tears were shed and hugs shared between students who might never interact outside class. With half of each class time interactive, students learned skills and techniques they could use right away in their day-to-day lives. Along the way, they also made great friends in class. Above all, Fujishin said, “They knew I loved them.”

Less than 1 percent of students in Fujishin’s classes would drop the class, he said. His classes became so popular, in fact, that during his stints as department chair, Fujishin would often assign himself the worst time slots to make sure the classes filled. “This was a calling,” he said. “The students were just a delight.”

Fujishin’s love of West Valley extended beyond the classroom and encompassed everything about the college. His colleagues, Fujishin said, were fabulous. “I loved working with people who placed a higher priority on people rather than product,” he said. “I loved being around teachers. They’re people who like to read, like to travel, who have varied interests. I loved their hearts, how altruistic they were. They weren’t teaching for fame or power. They’re not as focused on productivity in terms of widgets or making sales or going through the ranks.”

And because his father was a gardener, Fujishin also understood the college couldn’t run smoothly without the behind-the-scenes employees; he’d sometimes stop by to have lunch with the maintenance crew and others working in the back room. Other times at lunch, Fujishin brought a beach chair and sat down near the creek – just 50 yards from the cafeteria, but “it felt like being in the middle of Montana,” he said.

“It’s a magical college,” Fujishin said. “You’re placed in Saratoga at the foot of the Santa Cruz mountains, away from the hustle and bustle. The energy is different. It’s like a state park.”

Simply walking from class to class, “there’s a soothing of the soul that takes place, not just for students but faculty as well,” Fujishin said. For one-on-one meetings, Fujishin often suggested walking through campus while talking, taking a moment to look up at the mountains nearby. “The environment there played a big role in the culture of the campus,” he said.

These days, Fujishin spends his time consulting with churches and pastors, speaking at conferences, writing books and riding motorcycles. Still, he is deeply connected to his time at West Valley College, mentoring dozens of former students who have gone on to teaching careers for themselves. He also meets with about 10 local pastors – all former students – either weekly or monthly.

“It was a glorious career,” Fujishin said. “Every day was a preview to heaven.”

As West Valley College celebrates 50 years, longtime Saratoga resident Michael E. Fox Sr. points to his own age – 78 – as one example of his connection to the college.

“We sort of grew up together,” said Fox, who regularly trained for marathons with a running group that ran through the beautiful tree-lined campus. “I really watched it emerge and took a real interest in it.”

Fox has done much more than watch West Valley College take shape. He has also helped guide the college as one of the early chairs of the West Valley-Mission Advancement Foundation board, raising much-needed funds for a wide variety of facilities, programs and projects, including refurbishing the college’s theater. With friends across the political spectrum, Fox often would tap into his network and know-how to help move projects forward.

Fox still serves on the foundation board, offering advice based on a lifetime of community involvement. “It keeps me going,” said Fox, for whom the college’s M.E. Fox Technology Center is named. “I just keep something going every single day.”

In addition to his WVC work, Fox also is involved with the Defenders Lodge, a free lodge for veterans and their caregivers at the Palo Alto VA Healthcare System, as well as with Habitat for Humanity.

In fact, Fox has served on numerous boards in the community, including a chairmanship of the Eastfield Ming Quong. He also founded and chaired the Santa Clara County Valley Medical Center Foundation with an initial gift. Fox also chaired the Board of Regents at Santa Clara University, the San Jose Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

Born in Chicago, Fox completed his education in the Midwest, at both Notre Dame University and the Siebel Institute of Technology, where he obtained a postgraduate degree in brewing science and technology. In 1959, he married Mary Ellen Croke and they moved to San Francisco, where they began their family of six children. In 1965, the Foxes founded M.E. Fox and Company, Inc., a small beverage distribution firm in Santa Clara County. They had 10 employees and annual sales of approximately $1 million. Today, the company numbers 150 employees and has annual revenues of approximately $70 million.

Throughout his time growing the company, Fox served on various educational boards in addition to the WVC foundation. That commitment to education continues today, not only in his formal role as a board member, but also informally as a supporter and champion of West Valley College.

Ask Fox about WVC and he will quickly describe what an incredible benefit the college is to the community, pointing out that it makes learning accessible to everyone. From those right out of high school to those returning to college later to those interested in taking just a class or two, the college provides a lower-cost educational alternative to a wide range of students. The academic quality is stellar: “The faculty are excellent. They are a group of people who are really dedicated to teaching.”

Additionally, the college provides a wealth of arts-related resources to the community, including its arts program, drama program and beautiful theater.

While the details of what the next 50 years holds in store remain to be seen, one thing is clear, Fox said – community colleges as a whole will lead the way in adapting to the challenges of the future and providing lifelong learning opportunities. “West Valley College is at the forefront of community colleges and well-positioned for the future.”

For Napoleon Mendes daCosta, West Valley College not only provided a solid education, but also the opportunity to build a career and flourish as a union leader.

DaCosta, who retired in December 2013, first began his connection to WVC in 1964 when he began as a student at the college’s original location in Campbell. When West Valley moved to its current location, Mendes daCosta was among the first students to attend classes there. A psychology major, he also was one of the young college’s first student body presidents.

But Mendes daCosta’s education was cut short when he enlisted in the Army and then made a career out of the military until 1980. After leaving the Army, he eventually returned to California and decided to once again study at West Valley College.

“I was living in San Antonio before I actually came back to West Valley, but I visited my parents back here and I did come and visit the campus,” Mendes daCosta said. “I was really impressed with it. I thought, ‘I’m going to start here again.’ It was like a renewal, a starting-over.”

Not long after starting his studies again, Mendes daCosta was working at the college in the college district’s warehouse. While his actual duties and assignments shifted over the years, Mendes daCosta focused primarily on working as a warehouse clerk, checking purchase orders, carrying mail to various departments and delivering packages.

His dedication to the college, however, extended beyond his job duties. He also volunteered many hours with the classified staff union, initially SEIU as it was phased out and then with the West Valley-Mission Classified Employees Association. In fact, because of Mendes daCosta’s commitment to his fellow union employees he put off retiring for several years, first serving two years as president of WVMCEA and getting the new union solidly in place. For him, it was a way of ensuring WVC is the best place possible to work and a way to give back to other employees.

That’s because it was the people at West Valley College, Mendes daCosta said, that kept him at the college for so long. He wasn’t interested in big money or anything like that; he simply enjoyed working with other staff at WVC. “There was a lot of caring between people,” he said.

“I think I was there for a reason,” Mendes daCosta said. “Coming back to West Valley, there must have been a reason.” Having the opportunity to help with the union, he said, was one of the big reasons.

That certainly wasn’t on Mendes daCosta’s mind when he first enrolled at West Valley College. In fact, his connection to the college started simply because his family was committed to education – his father had been a teacher in Indonesia – but there was no money to send him to a four-year university. His mother suggested he try a community college. It’s a refrain that still rings true today.

“The cost of education is becoming increasingly higher,” Mendes daCosta said. “Community colleges are important, they’re places where the teachers can spend a little more time in teaching students what’s expected. Community colleges really help people to set themselves up, to prepare themselves for something bigger.”

West Valley College did precisely that for Mendes daCosta, as a student, employee and champion union leader. “I’m grateful that was I very well blessed with a good life,” he said.

Bill Cilker’s roots run deep in the Valley of the Heart’s Delight.

He and his late wife, Lee, have had an impact throughout the South Bay for decades, growing prunes, apricots and more in their orchards, developing some of their agricultural lands and serving key roles in establishing such organizations as Second Harvest Food Bank. Today, their impact can be seen in the strength of Cilker Orchards, founded in 1965 as a family agricultural company and now the owner and manager of commercial, multifamily and agricultural properties.

And at West Valley College, Bill Cilker played a key role in the college’s growth through his service as one of the early trustees of the college district board. In addition, a recent donation will go toward WHAT.

The Cilkers’ commitment to the local community began decades ago.

Born into a family with deep farming roots, Bill Cilker grew up picking prunes and cutting apricots. He paid his way through Stanford University, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in mechanical engineering before heading to Detroit. There he was part of the Chrysler Institute, designing equipment for World War II while also earning an advanced engineering degree.

When he returned to California, Cilker married Lee, whom he’d met at Stanford, and the two had the opportunity to purchase an orchard on Blossom Hill Road in Los Gatos. The young couple settled on the property, making it their first home as they raised four children and managed the orchard. They continued to buy agricultural properties in the area and, eventually, in the Central Valley.

Throughout, Cilker worked at FMC Corporation. When the project he was working on was cancelled, Cilker decided to focus on the orchards fulltime. “One day I was wearing a suit, the next day I was in jeans driving a tractor,” he said.

As Cilker Orchards grew, the company sold some of its orchards, including one that was developed into the original Kaiser Santa Clara. Samaritan Medical Center also was built on family property.

Throughout, Cilker was active in the community, including serving on the founding board of the Second Harvest Food Bank. When his children were in elementary school, Cilker was involved with the PTA and later served as a trustee for the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District during the time the college district was formed. He soon was elected to that board, helping shape West Valley College in its early years.

His dedication to West Valley College didn’t end there. By starting a scholarship program at the college in conjunction with other local farmers, Cilker helped begin what would eventually become the West Valley College Foundation.

For Cilker, the involvement with WVC was a reflection of the emphasis on education he’d grown up with. West Valley College, he said, provides a wide range of students with a cost-effective way of obtaining a quality education. He recalled the opportunity he and his wife had to get to know WVC students. As part of that, the Cilkers met a very bright woman who’d had a family and then decided to go back to college by attending West Valley College.

“It was so interesting to see her in her 30s and younger students. My wife was really touched by that,” Cilker said. “West Valley College provides opportunities for all types of students. We were happy to be able to help out.”