CSU Bakersfield President's Monthly Campus Update
Horace Mitchell, Ph.D.
- December 21, 2010
- Vol. 5, No. 12
Campus Holiday Schedule
In observance of the winter holidays, the campus will be closed from noon, Thursday, December
23 through December 31. Faculty and staff return to campus on January 3.
CSUB Small Business Development Center Serves Regional Businesses
Advancing our mission of strong community engagement, the CSUB Small Business Development Center
already has provided more than 100 hours of business consulting to local small businesses since
opening in October. Serving the regions of Kern, Mono, and Inyo counties, CSUB SBDC's goal is
to provide 1,665 consulting hours in 2011. The center is one of 35 throughout the state and is
part of the UC Merced SBDC Regional Network of Central California which serves the 15 counties
of the Central Valley. Hosted by our University, the center is centrally located downtown in
University Square at 2000 K Street.
Funding for the SBDC comes equally through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and fundraising. A $50,000 gift from Wells Fargo, along with SBA funding, provided start-up capital. The SBDC offers workshops and consulting services in such areas as business plan writing, human resources, management performance, and financial analysis. Additional funding from the Small Business Jobs Act will allow the SBDC to expand its offerings to cover international trade, technology, and services to remote areas. John Pryor serves as the center's Interim Director. Please join me in congratulating John Emery, Dean of the School of Business & Public Administration, and Mark Evans, Associate Dean and Chair of the Department of Economics, for their work in bringing the CSUB Small Business Development Center to bear. For further information and to be added to the SBDC's monthly newsletter, send a request with your name, business name, and email address to sbdc@csub.edu.
$2.5 Million Grant Funds Graduate Student Services Center
A well-educated workforce drives the region's economy. CSUB's mission to increase overall educational
attainment in our region and to support economic development will be strengthened with the opening
of our Graduate Student Services Center (GSSC) in January 2011. The GSSC is funded by a five-year
$2.5 million Title V grant for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) from the US Department of
Education. The grant, Promoting Post-baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA),
is designed to increase the number of Hispanic graduate students and master's degree recipients
and to improve graduate students' educational experience at HSIs. Its programs and services will
benefit all graduate students at CSUB. The one-stop center, located in Dorothy Donahoe Hall C100/108,
streamlines the graduate admissions process, and integrates graduate admissions with university and
program admissions. The result is a coordinated graduate admissions process and decision.
In addition to admissions assistance, the center offers advising, graduate program support, workshops for graduate students and faculty, and community outreach. Dirk Baron, Professor of Geology, and Edna Molina, Associate Professor of Sociology, are center co-directors. Faculty fellows, one from each of our four schools, are: Penny Swenson, Professor of Advanced Educational Studies; Staci Loewy, Professor of Geology; Bob Carlisle, Professor of English and Coordinator of Graduate Programs; and Thomas Martinez, Professor of Public Policy & Administration. The grant also funds staff members Renee Rugnao, Graduate Admissions Coordinator; Leticia Olguin, Graduate Program Outreach Coordinator; and Stella Baeza, Graduate Studies Facilitator. I hope you will join me at the center's opening on January 20. For further information, please call x2793.
Center for Community Engagement and Career Exploration Receives Gold Medal
I am pleased to announce that the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) has
selected CSUB's Center for Community Engagement and Career Exploration (CCECE) as a gold medal honoree
in its Careers, Academic Support, Service-Learning, Community Service, and Related category of the NASPA
awards. CCECE received the honor for its program "Community Engagement, Applied Experience and Career
Education - A Community-Focused Initiative Aligned with the University Mission." The program will be
showcased on NASPA's Excellence Awards web resource center and will be included in the list of honorees
at its annual conference. We also will participate in a program session for gold medal honorees.
Congratulations to John Hultsman, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs, Jane Evarian, CCECE Director,
and Tanya Boone, Assistant Professor, Psychology, and CCECE Faculty Coordinator.
Alumni Association Names 2011 Alumni Hall of Fame Inductees
Four distinguished alumni will be inducted into the CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame on Saturday,
February 19 at the CSUB Alumni Association's annual black-tie gala. This is the association's
fifth class of inductees, selected for the distinction and honor they bring to their professions,
the community, and CSUB. The honorees for 2011 are:
- Christine Frazier - Christine received both her teaching credential and her Master's in
Education from CSUB in 1984 and 1985, respectively. With a distinguished career in education
as a teacher, principal, and school district superintendent that has spanned more than 30 years,
Christine was named Kern County Superintendent of Schools in June 2009.
- John Hefner - John also is a two-time alumnus of CSUB, earning a teaching credential in
1976 and a Master's in Education in 1983. John's honors over his 30 years in education include
recognition as West Kern ACSA's Middle School Principal of the Year, Administrator of the Year,
Constitutional Rights Teacher of the Year, Kern Political Education Center's Leader of the Year,
and the Beautiful Bakersfield Award for the World War II Memorial fundraising drive. He is a
long-time supporter of CSUB's Facility for Animal Care and Treatment (FACT). John retired from
the Fruitvale School District in 2007.
- Ben Stinson III - President of Stinson Stationers, Ben is a Bakersfield native who
graduated from CSUB in 1979 with a degree in Business Administration. Ben comes from a line
of business owners. His grandfather founded the Stinson Grocery Company in 1916. His father
established Stinson Stationers in 1947, and Ben became president of Stinson Stationers in 1981.
Ben is CSUB Foundation Board Member and serves on numerous boards in the community.
- Jon Van Boening - Pharmacist and CEO of Memorial Hospital, Jon is a Bakersfield native who received his Master's in Health Care Management in 1992. He went on to earn a Pharmacy Doctorate at University of the Pacific. Jon serves on the CSUB Foundation Board.
Alumnus of the Year Nominations
The Alumni Association is calling for nominations for Alumnus of the Year. The award recognizes a
CSUB alumnus who received a teaching credential, undergraduate or graduate degree from the
University and who has made significant contributions to his or her profession, society, and
CSUB. Nominations may be submitted by individuals, businesses and corporations, non-profit
agencies, schools, and community service organizations, and must be received by noon on January 7, 2011.
For nomination forms, please visit www.csub.edu/alumnom/. Completed nomination forms may be submitted
either online or via fax to (661) 654-3324. For additional information, please contact the Alumni
Association at (661) 654-3211.
Jeff Konya Named New Director of Athletics
After a four-month national search conducted by a search committee consisting of faculty, staff,
students, and community members, it was my pleasure on November 24, 2010 to appoint Jeff Konya as
our new Director of Athletics, effective January 8, 2011. Jeff comes to us from Northeastern State
University in Oklahoma where he served as Athletics Director. He brings to his new role a wealth of
excellent experiences across all major areas of athletics administration at several NCAA Division I
institutions. With his Princeton undergraduate degree, a law degree from the University of Iowa,
and several assignments as an adjunct faculty member, Jeff has the education, experience, and
intellect we sought in a new Athletics Director. Sharing our commitment to the "student" in
"student-athlete," he will continue our emphasis on achieving excellence in student-athlete academic
performance, retention, and graduation rates as well as achieving excellence in Division I competition.
Jeff will succeed Rudy Carvajal, our founding Director of Athletics, who retires at the end of this month after 38 years of outstanding service. I know you join me in thanking Rudy for his contributions to CSUB and in extending a warm CSUB welcome to Jeff. Thanks also to the members of the search committee for their diligence: John Hultsman, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs (chair); Jacqueline Mimms, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management; Jacquelyn Kegley, Faculty Athletics Representative, Professor and Department Chair, Philosophy & Religious Studies; Gloria Friedman, Senior Associate Athletics Director; Tim LaKose, Head Coach, Women's Basketball; Alan Collatz, Head Coach, Men's and Women's Track & Field; Michael Flachmann, Professor of English and Director, Hawk Honors Program; Debbie LaFebre, Athletics Department Ticket Manager; Mike McCarthy, Student Representative, the Student Athletics Advisory Committee; Kerinn Fields, Associated Students, Inc.; Greg Bynum, President of Greg Bynum & Associates, and member of the CSUB Foundation; Alan Wade, State Farm Insurance Agency Field Executive and President of the Roadrunner Club; and Rick Stevens, President of Stevens Transportation and member of the President's Community Advisory Council.
Campus-wide Recycling Initiative Begins January 2011
As part of my signing of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) letter,
the University committed to taking tangible actions in four specific areas to reduce our carbon footprint
and enhance environmental sustainability. We have made progress in three of those areas; namely, our
commitments to build all new campus construction to U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Silver standard or
equivalent; purchase Energy-Star certified appliances for energy efficiency; and purchase or produce at
least 15% of our electricity from renewable sources. To meet these commitments, we built our Science III
Building and Student Recreation Center to LEED Silver equivalent standards. We follow the CSU's Energy Star
appliance purchase policy. We constructed solar panel-covered parking in Lots E and I that will produce
one-third of the University's electricity. We also are taking steps toward alternate transportation to reduce
single occupant vehicle travel to and from campus.
Our fourth commitment is to waste minimization. The University is far behind the curve in this area. That will change next quarter. Beginning winter quarter, we will implement a campus-wide recycling program to reduce waste. The kick-off for our recycling program is "Recyclemania," a key ACUPCC initiative. Recyclemania is a student-led, eight-week national competition among colleges and universities across the country that takes place February 6 through April 2. A two-week trial run will begin on January 23. To prepare for the recycling campaign, ASi has been working with other CSU campuses, the President's Sustainability Committee, and various departments and units across campus. You might already have noticed the new blue and gold recycling/trash container sets located throughout campus provided by Safety & Risk Management. The bins are designed to encourage us to "think before we throw," and to consciously place our waste in either the recycle or trash bins.
Please join me in creating a culture of recycling on our campus. I encourage you to engage fully in the Recyclemania campaign and beyond. Stay tuned for much more information and visibility of our recycling and sustainability initiatives when we return to campus in January.
University Council
The first University Council meeting of 2011 will be held on January 21 at 2:00 p.m. in the Albertson
Room. All members of the campus community are welcome to attend.
First Lady Barbara Mitchell and I wish you a joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year. Take care.