President's Monthly Campus Update


State Budget
A campus-wide budget summit has been scheduled for Thursday, April 3, 2008 in the Icardo Center from 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. The purpose of the meeting is for administration, faculty, staff and students to come together in the "Alliance for the CSU" to develop strategies to press the Governor and Legislature to fully fund the CSU budget. Similar budget summits are occurring at all CSU campuses. The Governor's proposed 2008-09 budget for the CSU has a shortfall of $386.1 million. A cut of that magnitude would mean:

Each year, the CSU produces 90,000 skilled graduates who fill positions in businesses and industries critical to a robust economy. We are the engine that drives the state's economy. Economic impact studies show that for every $1 of investment in the CSU, the state receives a return of $4.41, almost four-and-one-half times its investment. The CSU has a $7.46 billion annual direct impact on the state's economy. CSUB's annual impact on our region's economy is $239 million. The CSU is an investment to be augmented, not an expense to be cut. Full funding of the CSU is part of the solution to the state's budget crisis. That's why we say: "The fight for the CSU budget is a fight for California's future."

The President's Cabinet, the chair of the Academic Senate, the ASi President, and the presidents, representatives, and stewards from the faculty and staff unions join me in hosting the budget summit. The meeting will be broadcast in live streaming video from the university's home page at www.csub.edu. For further information regarding the summit, please contact Dr. Jacqueline Hughes, chapter president of the California Faculty Association at 654-6807 or Evelyn Coyle, Executive Assistant to the President at 654-2241. You may obtain further information about the Alliance for the CSU by visiting www.allianceforthecsu.org.

Runner Reader Donation
The First-Year Experience's Runner Reader program is the beneficiary of a $10,000 donation from the Table Mountain Rancheria Tribal Council. The funds will be used to help bring to campus in fall 2009 a well-known Native American author as the Runner Reader author for the 2009-2010 school year. Two additional authors will be brought to campus during the 2008-2009 school year, as well. The authors will help encourage more high schools to join the Runner Reader program. Special acknowledgement goes to Elsa Florez who has done considerable fund raising on behalf of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society. Congratulations go to Emerson Case and the English Department on their donation.

Faculty, Staff, and Student Accolades
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Wei Li, Department of Computer Science, for co-authoring the article "AUV-Based Chemical Plume Tracing" published in Sea Technology, Volume 48, No. 7, 2007. The article explores detecting and tracking Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV). It was posted on the REDORBIT Web as breaking news last year. The first author, Shuo Pang, was a Ph.D. candidate at UCR. The second author, Dr. Jay A. Farrell, is a professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at UCR. Dr. Li developed the Chemical Plume Tracing Strategies for field tests. This work has applications such as detection of chemical leaks, locating unexplored ordinances, and finding biological interesting phenomenon such as thermal vents.

Congratulations also are in order for Dr. Rob Negrini, Department of Geology, on his selection by the Pacific Section American Association of Petroleum Geologists (PSAAPG) to receive The Distinguished Educator Award. The award is given to persons in recognition of their distinguished and outstanding contributions to geological education. Such contributions involve the teaching and counseling of students at the university level. The award will be presented at the keynote luncheon on Monday, March 31 at noon at the Holiday Inn Select at the Convention Center.

Dr. Joe Fielder, Department of Mathematics, has received the California Mathematics Council (CMC) Edward Begle Memorial Award for 2007. This award is conferred on an educator or educators who have provided sustained support of CMC activities, have offered continual encouragement, and have been involved actively in California mathematics. Congratulations, Joe.

Professor of Philosophy Jacquelyn Kegley gave an invited paper entitled "Loyalty: Highest Good and Reconciling Process" at the national meetings of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy at Michigan State University. In addition, Dr. Kegley was elected Vice President/President Elect of the Society. When she assumes the presidency in 2010, she will be the first woman to serve in that capacity. Professor Kegley also will be giving an invited paper on "Racial Issues in Context" at the Central Division meetings of the American Philosophical Association in Chicago, April 19th.

Dr. Sophia Adjaye, Department Chair and Associate Professor of English, and Dr. Jinping Sun, Assistant Professor in Public Policy and Administration, received International Women's Day (IWD) Awards at the annual banquet on March 6, 2008. Sophia received the award in Education and Jinping in Law/Government. IWD honors "foreign-born" women in Kern County who have made significant contributions to the community. International Women's Day is celebrated throughout the world each year in March. We join IWD in celebrating the contributions of Sophia and Jinping.

CSUB Community Service
Each year, our faculty, staff, and students donate time and money to serve the Bakersfield and surrounding communities. The month of April will find us so engaged. On Saturday, April 5th, at Yokuts Park, members of our campus will participate in the Walk MS 2008 fundraiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Please join First Lady Barbara Mitchell and me on the CSUB Roadrunner Walk Team. Thanks go to the Human Resources Department for organizing the CSUB team. Please contact Human Resources at 654-2266 for further information.

On Wednesday, April 9, 2008 from 10:00am-5:00pm, the Houchin Blood Bank will hold its annual spring blood drive in Runner Park. All members of the campus community who are able, are encouraged to join me and consider making a blood donation. Donors must be at least 17 years of age, weigh at least 110 pounds and feel healthy, with no cold or flu symptoms. Persons who are taking medication might be able to donate blood. The spring 2008 blood drive is sponsored by Houchin Community Blood Bank and the CSUB Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). For further information, please call 654-3865.

Celebrate CSUB!
Our second annual open house is less than 30 days away. Event listings will be posted on the website in the coming week. In addition to the popular events which are returning from last year, several faculty seminars will be presented, including:

Sex, Lies, and Shakespeare - Michael Flachmann
Cancer, Cosmetics, and the Common Cold - What is the Connection? - Roy LaFever
Selling Leisure: Cultural Change and the Evolution of Advertising - John Hultsman
Making the Hard Calls: Ethics in Everyday Life - Christopher Meyers
Reasons Why Organizations (and Families) are so Dysfunctional - John Tarjan
The Ways of the Samurai: Lessons for Today's Life and Tomorrow's Leaders - Ed Sasaki
Environmental Health & Safety: from Midway Island to the Sultanate of Oman - Dave Beadle
The Literature of California - Marit MacArthur

I hope you will bring your families and community acquaintances to enjoy these faculty presentations. For more information regarding these and other offerings at Celebrate CSUB, please contact Evelyn Coyle at 654-2241.

University Council
The next University Council meeting is scheduled for April 18, 2008 from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. in the Albertson Room.

I look forward to seeing you at the MS Walk, the Houchin Blood Drive, Celebrate CSUB!, or at another University or community event.