For Cal State Fullerton linguistics major Erin Avilés, the new Dippel Cochran Brave Space inside the Diversity Initiatives and Resource Centers is more than a safe space for students.
“While a safe space prioritizes comfort and safety, the Brave Space is an environment that encourages discomfort through dialogue, education and critical thinking to foster a more interconnected community between students from all walks of life,” said Avilés, a student staff member at the Losquadro Keller LGBTQ Resource Center, one of eight identity-based resource centers.
“It’s also representative of all students — current and former — who aspire to represent themselves, their identities and their communities.”
Avilés was among students, staff, faculty, university leaders and supporters who celebrated the unveiling of the Dippel Cochran Brave Space, which is open to all students. The space is a lasting legacy of Gene H. Dippel, associate vice president emeritus of information and telecommunication services, and his partner, Ray L. Cochran, a 1977 business administration-accounting alum.
The late couple, who were together for 38 years, made a $2.9 million planned gift to the university to benefit the Losquadro Keller LGBTQ Resource Center and foster identity, belonging and inclusion for students.
Nat Betancourt Arellano, senior coordinator of the Losquadro Keller LGBTQ Resource Center, called Dippel and Cochran’s gift transformational. Their gift will support student scholarships, travel grants to conferences, hosting conferences, and student research on topics such as queer histories and health disparities.
“Their gift gives students not simply a place, but a home. A brave space. A site of becoming,” Betancourt Arellano said. “May this Brave Space live up to its name. May it be a site of courage, scholarship, joy and transformation.”
Amir Dabirian, provost and vice president for academic affairs, called the inclusive space a testament to Dippel’s belief that “a great university serves and uplifts all of its community members.”
Dabirian, who previously served as vice president for information technology and chief information officer, was hired by Dippel more than 40 years ago and remained friends with him and Cochran over the decades.
“Gene Dippel’s tenure spanned the entire arc of modern computing,” Dabirian said.
“His leadership transformed CSUF from a campus with a single, centralized mainframe into a fully connected institution ready to embrace the digital future.”
Dippel began his career teaching data processing at Texas A&M University and then became manager of corporate systems at Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. He co-authored the 1969 college textbook “Information Systems: The Evaluation and Analysis of Data.”
In 1970, Dippel joined the university as the campus’s first manager of automatic data processing. Over his 28-year CSUF career, Dippel rose through the IT ranks, helping build the university’s technological backbone.
Dippel was named acting chief information and technology officer in 1996 and retired two years later.
“Gene’s legacy lives in every connected classroom, every networked office, and every student he served,” Dabirian said.