Dean and Belinda Soiland Scholarship

Dean Soiland ’81 was fortunate to have good role models in his life. And he was a good observer. Those who are familiar with the CLU campus will immediately recognize the Soiland name because it graces so many buildings and appears so frequently in the University’s written history. The story of this scholarship adds one more notation to the list.

Dean’s first role model was his father, Marv, a Santa Rosa businessman. Fortunately for CLU, Marv was very committed to the University’s mission, supporting it in every way imaginable. Marv was a faithful churchman, and an exceptional husband and father. He was also a good steward who conveyed his values to his children. It was because of Marv’s belief in the quality of education available at CLC that he encouraged Dean to enroll as a freshman in 1977.

Dean became the first of five Soiland children to graduate from Cal Lutheran. He earned his bachelor of science degree in geology in 1981. After graduation, he put that knowledge to good use by going into the quarry business. In 1989 he and his wife Belinda (nicknamed “Bo”) took over the operations of the Mark West Quarry near Calistoga in Napa County. In 1997 their BoDean Co. expanded operations by purchasing the Blue Rock Quarry in Forestville. The BoDean Co.’s Mark West Quarry became the first quarry in the world to operate under photovoltaic solar power.

Dean’s good management of his company is in part attributable to another role model, Dr. Rudy Edmund, who was his most influential geology professor at CLC. As a Christian steward, Dr. Edmund’s major concern was caring for the earth and its many resources. He instilled that concern and purpose in the minds of his students, especially Dean Soiland and his closest friend Brad Wilson, also from the class of ’81.

As a successful businessman and fellow skier, Brad believed he too should give back to the college that had prepared him so well for life, a belief he shared with his buddy Dean. The two first established a scholarship in Dr. Edmund’s name, naming it the Care of the Earth Endowment in Honor of Rudolph W. Edmund. Both Brad and Dean eventually served on CLU’s Board of Regents.

Dean’s wife Bo was a “partner” in the truest sense. Their marriage, home and business were built on the bedrock of love and Christian faith. They were blessed with three children—Neil, Emily and Will. When they decided to create a scholarship in their names, it was very much a mutual effort and decision. Their overriding desire was to assist students who have a strong belief system and clear-cut academic goals.