Larry Dodge, namesake of Dodge College, dies

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Lawrence Dodge, whose $20 million donation helped build the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, died Dec. 1, according to a blog post written by University Spokesperson Mary Platt.

However, President Emeritus Jim Doti said that the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge’s numerous donations weren’t the only contributions that made the film school what it is today – Lawrence Dodge also helped plan the curriculum and chose faculty members.

"(The Dodges) did play a very important role, not only financially, through their philanthropic support, but the help they gave us in laying out a long-term plan for the college, how it would grow and what areas the film school would specialize in," Doti said.

Doti said that initially, Lawrence Dodge was mostly involved in the strategic planning aspect of the new Dodge College, but as the growth progressed, he expressed interest in backing the project financially, even when costs began to climb.

"It’s kind of ironic that he helped us with a plan – and it was a very ambitious one – and the more ambitious he made it, the price tag on the naming (of the school) would increase because we had to accomplish more things and we needed more capital to do it," Doti said.

Pete Weitzner, a broadcast journalism professor at Dodge College, said that Lawrence Dodge’s greatest contributions were far more than just monetary and that the way he encouraged students and faculty made him a beloved figure in the community. Weitzner recalled when Lawrence Dodge would occasionally visit his broadcast news courses and offer to take the class out to lunch.

"That was Larry’s greatest contribution," Weitzner said. "He was, in his way, elevating people, saying, ‘You can be like me, a self-made man.’"

Despite his numerous contributions in the Orange County area, Lawrence Dodge, originally a banker, had a private life that included some personal and financial difficulties, including accusations of violating federal banking regulations in 2009 and a custody battle for triplets carried by Kristina Dodge’s pregnancy surrogate, according to a 2013 article by the Orange County Register. Eight years after the $20 million donation to Chapman, the Dodges filed for bankruptcy protection.

Aside from the family’s struggles, those who knew Lawrence Dodge painted a picture of a man of many interests, well-versed in the world of film, as Doti said that Lawrence Dodge financed a film called "Dark Matter" about a fictional school shooting in Iowa.

"He was a real renaissance man. He had a lot of different interests," Doti said. "It was always fun to get together with them, and I just felt that whenever we did, I would always come out of those meetings feeling energized."