Jerry Buss, Frank Mendicino to Receive UW Honorary Degrees

April 20, 2005 -- The University of Wyoming will confer its highest award, the honorary doctor of laws degree, upon Jerry Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, and well-known attorney Frank Mendicino. They will be recognized during commencement ceremonies May 7.

Criteria for the award are: notable contribution to the health, education or general welfare of Wyoming citizens; outstanding accomplishment by alumni, either on a state or national level; or accomplishment so outstanding that it has received recognition on a national or international level.

"Education gives you freedom," says Buss, who grew up in Kemmerer's coal mining region. He decided early on that life underground was not for him.

"I realized that most of the kids who grew up in the mining camps stayed in those towns and worked in the mines. I didn't see myself doing that; for one thing, I didn't like the idea of being a couple of miles underground with all that stuff over my head. So, freedom became the most important thing in my life, and education became my way out."

He worked to put himself through UW in only two and a half years, graduating in 1962 with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry. He went on to get a master's in chemistry at the University of Southern California and, at age 24, completed his Ph.D. in chemistry there. He taught at USC before switching to the lucrative real estate market.

"I've been working Saturdays since I was 16, so any success I've had is no surprise," he says.
Stubbornness and business acumen helped Buss become a major player in the tough competitive worlds of California real estate and professional sports. For two years, he flew to Las Vegas every three weeks to negotiate a deal which, in 1979, made him owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and their home, the Great Western Forum. He is a past owner of the National Hockey League Kings.

Dean Roddick, professor and head of the UW Department of Chemistry, says that while Buss is noted primarily for his entrepreneurship, he also has solid credentials in higher learning.
"At USC, he received his Ph.D. degree from Professor Sidney Benson, who developed the widely used Benson equivalents system for organic chemistry," Roddick says. "A database search revealed that Dr. Buss indeed was a joint author on four papers with Benson."

But Buss hasn't forgotten Wyoming. He has hosted UW alumni reunions in Los Angeles and, in 1992, he gave a leading gift to help establish the annual Sara Jane Rhoads and Rebecca Raulins Lecture Series in Organic Chemistry to honor his former UW chemistry professors. The series brings world class chemists to lecture at UW.

The son of Italian immigrants who owned and operated shoe stores in Laramie and Cheyenne, Mendicino grew up in Cheyenne. He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from UW (1962) and served as a captain in the U.S. Army for two years before obtaining his juris doctorate degree with honors from UW (1970).

A former UW student body president, Mendicino practiced law in Laramie and Cheyenne. After stints as the Albany County justice of the peace and a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, he was Wyoming's attorney general from 1975 78.

Now residing in Denver, Mendicino served as chairman of the UW Foundation board of directors for the 2002 03 fiscal year, when the Foundation achieved a record high of $30.1 million in private gifts.

"A true love for the University of Wyoming is apparent in Mendicino's nomination and support letters," says UW President Philip Dubois. "With outstanding career accomplishments, a solid public service record and ongoing devotion to UW, it is time to recognize Frank with this honor as he encompasses the true cowboy spirit. He is clearly the forward looking alumni leader who enhances our every step."

A member of the Foundation board since 1997, Mendicino also has been on the board of directors of UW's Cowboy Joe Club for 32 years. Since 1991 he has served on the College of Business Advisory Council.

In 2004, Mendicino received the UW President's Best Friend Award. Announcing the award, Dubois noted, "Frank is someone whose business judgment I have counted on in a variety of projects, including development of the University of Wyoming Plaza and our Strategic Plan for Intercollegiate Athletics."

A founding partner of Access Venture Partners of Denver, Mendicino has 30 years' experience investing on behalf of limited partners. In 1982, he co founded Woodside Fund, a Silicon Valley based, early stage, high technology venture capital fund. Today, Woodside Funds I, II and III have invested in more than 50 technology based companies.

Mendicino currently serves on the board of directors of five private companies and DMC Stratex Networks, Inc. (STXN NASDAQ), a public company. He previously served on the boards of more than 20 private companies.

Posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2005