The San Diego Bowl Game Association’s board of directors has elected Rudy Castruita president of the 2007 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl and San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.  He succeeds Doug Sawyer, who becomes chairman of the board.

“It is a sincere honor for me to serve as president of the San Diego Bowl Game Association,” Castruita said.  “I am humbled by the faith the board of directors has put in me to lead this important community-wide effort.”

The mission of the two bowl games is to create tourism, exposure, economic benefit and civic pride for San Diego and its citizens by producing the nation’s most exciting bowl games and festivals of events. 

The 2006 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl featured a 45-10 California Golden Bears victory over the Texas A&M Aggies in front of 62,395 fans at Qualcomm Stadium and a national television audience via ESPN.  The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl saw the TCU Horned Frogs top the Northern Illinois Huskies 37-7 in front of 29,709 fans.  The Poinsettia Bowl was also played at Qualcomm Stadium and was televised on ESPN2.

Mr. Castruita has been a dynamic force in the field of education for over 39 years.  Last year he retired after serving as the Superintendent of the San Diego County School system for 12 years.  Prior to that, Castruita was the Superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District.

Dr. Castruita serves on several national boards including Scholarship America, the prestigious Educational Research & Development Institute, and the Board of Harvard’s Urban Superintendent Program. Recently, Dr. Castruita was nominated by the President of the United States, and appointed by the United States Secretary of Education to serve on the President’s Advisory for Department of Defense Schools for military based schools overseas. 

Castruita is known for his public speaking engagements that have taken him to Cornell, Columbia, and Harvard Universities, University of California, Berkley, and his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he currently serves as a professor in the Rossier School of Education.  Additionally, Dr. Castruita was recently asked to be the National Blue Ribbon Schools trainer and evaluator, and was named one of 12 “Tech Savvy Superintendents” in the nation by E-School News.

 Dr. Castruita resides in Mission Hills with his wife, Jean.  Together they have two children, Chad and Natalie.

Other 2007 elected officers include: Larry Baber, President-Elect; Irene Oberbauer, Secretary; and Chuck Wasker, Treasurer.