When Cheryl Doering arrived at UC Santa Cruz in the mid-1960s, the campus was still in its infancy—just a few buildings nestled among the redwoods, and no official art major to speak of.
A member of one of the university’s early graduating classes in 1970, Cheryl was among the first students who helped shape UCSC’s creative spirit from the ground up. More than 50 years later, the artist is honoring one of the figures who made her and many other alumni’s journeys possible: John Dizikes, the beloved provost of Cowell College.
Cheryl’s newly completed portrait of Dizikes will be unveiled during Alumni Reunion Weekend on April 26—a tribute not only to her mentor, but to the formative years of a campus that continues to inspire.
“It was an absolute gift to be at UCSC in its early days,” Doering said. “I felt very privileged and fortunate with the number of small classes, the brilliance and enthusiasm of a gifted faculty, and the interdisciplinary emphasis at the university.”
For nearly three months, she immersed herself in the process, accompanied always by the operas that both she and Dizikes loved. “I had a lot of fun,” she said. “I listened to opera the entire time I was working on it.”
To shape the portrait’s composition, Cheryl drew inspiration from the painter John Singer Sargent, a favorite of Dizikes and an artist whose work she also deeply admires. She allowed those two influences—Sargent’s painterly style and the emotional sweep of opera—to guide her creative decisions. One of the more personal choices, she noted, was deciding which version of Dizikes to portray. With a long and distinguished teaching career to consider, Cheryl chose to depict him in midlife—somewhere in his 40’s or 50’s—capturing a time when his influence on the UCSC community was both deeply rooted and still actively unfolding.
“I hope this portrait brings to life something of John's intelligence and generosity to those who knew and loved him,” Doering said. “I hope that it's engaging enough to pique the curiosity and interest of current and future students, to make them imagine what a great teacher he would be. And I would hope, most of all, that the portrait has some depth and staying power to honor the remarkable man that he was.”
Join us for Alumni Reunion Weekend April 25-27, 2025
Attend John Dizike’s portrait unveiling:
Honoring Cowell’s Founding Faculty
Where: Mary Holmes Fireside Lounge
When: April 26, 2025 at 2 p.m.
