President's Monthly Campus Update

Commencement
Our Spring 2006 commencement was a success. We congratulated and celebrated 1,198 graduates in our 36th commencement:
  SOE HSS NSM BPA
Total bachelor's degrees: 997  56 644 160 137
Total master's degrees:   201* 107  38   4  51
Total Spring graduates  1,198 163 682 164 188
*1 master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies        

We congratulate all of our graduates and express our sincerest appreciation to the members of the commencement planning committee, the workers, and the volunteers who make this celebration great each year.

Faculty, Staff, and Student Accolades
We salute our faculty, staff, and students for receiving the following awards:

Faculty Awards
The following honors were bestowed upon faculty who have distinguished themselves in areas of teaching, faculty leadership and service, or in research. I am proud to announce the following recipients of 2006/2007 faculty awards:
The Millie Ablin Outstanding Professor Award
Marc Thomas - Computer Science
Faculty Leadership and Service Award
Jess Deegan - Psychology
Faculty Research Award
Todd McBride - Biology
Wang Award Nominees
The Wang Family Excellence Award recognizes CSU faculty for their exemplary contributions and achievements in their academic disciplines. For 2006, CSUB proudly nominated:
Mohsen Attaran - Management/Marketing
Hossein Bidgoli - Management/Marketing
Tenure and Promotion Awards
The conferring of professional advancement always serves as a fitting climax for an academic year. It is with great pleasure that I announce the following tenure and promotion awards effective Fall Quarter, 2006:
Promotion to Professor
Alexander Dzyubenko - Physics/Geology
Vladimir Gasparyan - Physics/Geology
Todd McBride - Biology
Maureen Rush - Mathematics
Mahmoud Suleiman - Teacher Education
 
Tenure and Promotion to Professor
Kathleen Gilchrist - Nursing
 
Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor
Yong Choi - Management/Marketing
Michael Lutz - Mathematics
Charles MacQuarrie - English
Constance Orliski - History
Mary Slaughter - Communications
Paul Smith - Biology
John Stark - Management/Marketing
Jennifer VanGilder - Applied Economics
William Wagner - Sociology/Anthropology
 
Tenure
Norman Hutcherson - Senior Assistant Librarian
Retirees and Faculty Early Retirement Program Participants
We congratulate the following faculty who are beginning the next phase of their professional lives starting 2006/2007:
Retiree
Aaron Phillips - Finance/Accounting
 
FERP Faculty
Ted Kerzie - Art
Kenneth Nyberg - Sociology/Anthropology
James Patten - Finance/Accounting
Cherie Rector - Nursing
Sharon Roberts - Biology
Ed Sasaki - Psychology
Laird Taylor - Mathematics
Emeritus Status
The award of Emeritus status to a retiring or retired faculty member or administrator is considered an honor bestowed in recognition of meritorious contributions to the University over an extended period. I am pleased to announce the following Emeriti:
Lorna Clymer - English
Anita DuPratt - Theatre
Roberta Gerds - Nursing
Victor Lasseter - English
Richard Dale Moody - Advanced Education
Mary Lou Nevin - Teacher Education
Julia Robinson - Nursing
Leland Webb - Mathematics
Staff Forum Awards
Congratulations to the 2005/2006 outstanding staff award presented to these dedicated and deserving recipients:
Student Affairs
Erika Delamar, Health Educator
 
University Advancement
Sylvia Pino, Administrative Support Coordinator
 
Business and Administrative Services
Duane McQueen, Reproduction Process Assistant
 
Academic Affairs
Tina Giblin, Administrative Support Coordinator
Lori Harris, Administrative Support Coordinator
Sabine Westmoreland, Administrative Support Coordinator
 
President's Office
Alicia Escalante, Confidential Office Support

Staff Appreciation
Congratulations go to theatre technicians Ray Finnell and Frank Robinson who were recognized earlier this month by the Bakersfield Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) for their nomination as Safety Employee(s) of the month. The nomination was submitted by CSUB's Office of Safety and Risk Management for their creation of a "trap floor" which solved an ongoing fire safety concern in the Doré Theatre. Ray and Frank's initiative in addressing this safety need is another example of an organizational culture committed to excellence in all areas. Please join me in recognizing our co-workers for their significant contribution to the safety and well-being of the CSUB community.

Student Leadership Awards
Enhancing the quality of student life at CSUB is a core tenet of the University's vision. On May 31st, the Office of Student Activities and the Student Organizations and Clubs Council held their first annual Leadership Awards ceremony at which nineteen student clubs, organizations, and individuals were honored. I congratulate the following student leadership award recipients:

CSU Systemwide Initiatives
On Sunday, June 11th, I joined Chancellor Reed and seven other CSU presidents in a visit to ten African American churches in the Bay Area. The visit was part of CSU's "Super Sunday," a statewide campaign to increase the enrollment of underserved populations in universities. Our message emphasized early preparation for college admission and included the CSU's "How to Get to College" roadmap, printed in English and six other languages.

Sunday's event targeted African Americans in the Bay Area and utilized the African American church as the vehicle through which to disseminate our message. In February, we reached an audience of approximate 20,000 at eight African American churches in Southern California. In March, we gathered at CSU, Sacramento and met with representatives from Native American tribal communities to discuss issues, needs, recruitment and retention of Native Americans into the CSU. Additional outreach strategies are planned for the Latino and Asian communities.

Math and Computer Science Building
Construction is set to begin on the Math and Computer Science Building. Groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled for July 11th at 9:30am at the construction site, old Parking Lot E. The new building is a 54,000 square foot three-story design which will house fifteen laboratories, seven classrooms, and seventy faculty offices. The project was funded through 2004 state general obligation bonds. The scheduled date of completion is winter 2008.

University Advancement Receives Competitive Grant
The Division of University Advancement has received a capacity-building grant in the amount of $60,000 from the CSU Office of the Chancellor. The grant program is intended to add to and enhance campus development operations. All CSU campuses were eligible to submit proposals. Of the 18 grants awarded, only one received the maximum award of $60,000 -- CSU, Bakersfield. The funds will be used to recruit a major gifts officer and to support that program in its first year. We congratulate the Office of University Advancement.

Bertano Scholarship Endowment Fund Established
The University is the recipient of funds to establish a scholarship endowment fund in memory of John and Angelina Bertano. The funds came as a bequest to the University from the testamentary trust of Angelina Bertano. The Bertanos were long-term residents of Bakersfield who valued education and supported students who needed financial assistance to continue their education. It is estimated that when funding is complete the endowment will exceed $300,000. CSUB students for many generations will benefit from the generosity of the Bertanos.

New Dean of Extended University
Dr. Craig Kelsey joined us as Dean of the Extended University on June 1st. He most recently served as department chair in the College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University. Please join me as we welcome Dr. Kelsey to CSUB.

New Director of Food Services
Bob McMicken joins CSUB as the Director of Food Services. Bob comes to us from CSU Stanislaus. He looks forward to revamping the menus at our campus eateries and invites suggestions and comments through the Food Service "quick link" on the CSUB website. Bob replaces Leo Cromien, who retired in April.

New Director of Development for Athletics
We are pleased to announce the addition of Mrs. Christene Kimmel to the Athletics Department as director of development. Christene served as assistant director of development for stewardship and special events at Rice University in Houston, Texas. We welcome Christene and her family to CSUB and to Bakersfield.

Reclassification of CSUB Athletics to NCAA Division I
On June 1, 2006, we officially announced our intention to reclassify our athletics program to NCAA Division I. CSUB has a long and distinguished history of excellence in Division II. Division I represents the next level of excellence and is consistent with our vision to be excellent in all areas. We now advance into what the NCAA refers to as "first year reclassified status," which begins this fall.

Our Division I fundraising campaign has yielded $400,000 per month for the first nine months, totaling $3.6 million. We project that by the end of this year, if not earlier, we could have the full $6 million need to fund the first five years of Division I. In anticipation of our reclassification, we already have started a women's golf program by hiring a coach and allocating funds for scholarships for next year. We will start a baseball program as soon as the fundraising goal for baseball ($2.5 million of the $6 million) is achieved. If we reach that goal by early this summer, we could hire a coach as early as next year and field a baseball team in 2007-2008. Otherwise, the start of baseball will be delayed by one year. We continue to have favorable discussions with the City Manager and the new owner of the Bakersfield Blaze about building a joint-use baseball facility on the CSUB campus.

University Council & the President's Campus Forum
University Council will meet again in the fall. The next President's Campus Forum will take place in the fall, as well.

Enjoy your summer. I look forward to seeing you around campus or at an upcoming University or community event.