CSU Bakersfield President's Monthly Campus Update
- March 29, 2011
- Vol. 6, No. 3
On the Hill in Washington, D.C.
All twenty-three CSU campuses were represented in Washington, D.C. on March 2 for California State
University's annual "Hill Day." I was joined by Vice President for University
Advancement, Beverly Byl, who serves as our federal government relations lead. During the course of
the day, CSU emissaries visited all members of the California congressional delegation, including
our own Kevin McCarthy. Our discussions focused on CSU priorities to preserve Pell Grant funding and
support for teacher preparation. The day included a reception for local CSU D.C.-area alumni, our
legislators, and their staffs. The following evening included a reception for CSUB alumni living in
the D.C. area. We were pleased to have 19 CSUB alumni attend the event. The range of
accomplishments of those alumni was remarkable.
Kern Economic Summit
Ten years ago, the first Kern County Economic Summit was scheduled to be held in the CSUB
Multipurpose Room with an expected audience of just over 100 attendees. That first event was moved
to the Doré Theatre when registrations more than doubled. Ten years later, the summit boasts
capacity crowds at larger conference venues in the city. At the summit held last week, Dr. Abbas
Grammy, professor of economics, along with other economists and speakers, underscored the importance
of education to affect a meaningful economic recovery for the region. Presenters emphasized that we
must attract more management level technology, manufacturing, and service jobs. Developing managers
locally rather than importing talent was seen as key to stabilizing the workforce. For more
regional economic news, please review the Kern Economic Journal website at www.csub.edu/kej.
Giving to CSUB
Please join me in thanking Linda and David Fiddler for their generous gift to CSUB's geology
department. The $100,000 Claude Fiddler Endowment was named in memory of their father, Claude
Fiddler, a longtime geologist and petroleum engineer who served 32 years with Chevron, many of which
were spent in Kern County. The endowment will be used solely to fund field research, an invaluable
component of the Geology Department's curriculum.
CSUB Faculty Abroad
Communications professor Elizabeth Jackson is putting to use her newly acquired postgraduate degree
in Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, and Peace-building from CSU Northridge, and postgraduate work
at the University of Bologna, Rimini, Italy. During her current sabbatical, Dr. Jackson is a
visiting scholar at Chancellor College at the University of Malawi in Zomba, Malawi, Africa, and
serves as faculty advisor to the student-led Peace and Management Conflict Society. Dr. Jackson's
two-day workshop was overflowing with attendees there to learn non-violent conflict resolution in
the aftermath of the arrest of students attempting a peaceful demonstration. The students were
marching in support of a faculty strike which arose in protest of the interrogation of a colleague
who spoke out about Malawi's fuel crisis. We applaud Dr. Jackson's efforts and wish her a safe
return.
Remembering Goerge Ketterl
I invite you to visit the Todd Madigan Gallery April 7 - May 7 for an exhibit of the final works of
our friend and colleague, George Ketterl. A founding CSUB faculty member, George passed away in
November. "The Last Paintings" will be available for viewing Tuesdays through Thursdays 1-
6 p.m. and Saturdays 1-5 p.m. For more information, please contact Joyce Kohl at 654-2238.
CSUB Student Receives Distinguished Fellowship Award
The National Network for Social Work Managers (NNSWM) has awarded the Mark Moses Distinguished
Fellowship Award to CSUB graduate student Rochelle Ramirez. Now in her final year of the graduate
program in social work, Rochelle is being recognized for her exemplary work in the collaborative
pilot project between CSUB and the Kern County Department of Public Health pairing nurses with
social workers to serve the elderly. Rochelle will receive the award on April 28 in Baltimore,
Maryland at the NNSWM annual conference at which she also will co-present a paper. Congratulations,
Rochelle.
Student-Athletes Doing Well in Division I
Our student-athletes are excelling both academically and on their fields of play. As reported by Dr.
Jacquelyn Kegley, Department Chair and Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies, and our
Faculty Athletics Representative, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America awarded our
women's soccer team a team academic award for the 2009-10 academic year. With a 3.21 team grade
point average, our Roadrunners are the only CSU Division I team to have earned the honor with the
highest grade point average of any CSU athletics team in any division. With a 3.18 gpa, our women's
swim team earned the College Swimming Coaches Association Scholar All-America Team honors in their
first year of eligibility. Two of our student-athletes, Nick Shannon of men's baseball, and Adrianna
Celis, of women's track and field, have been nominated for the prestigious Byers Postgraduate
Scholarship with 3.7 and 3.9 gpas, respectively.
On the field, our teams are just as impressive. In their first year of Division I postseason eligibility our men's soccer team won a trio of top awards on the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) soccer teams. Recognized were player of the year, Jesus Sanchez; newcomer of the year, Gyasi Zardes; and coach of the year, Simon Tobin.
Our men's swim team finished third in the College Swimming.com CSCAA Mid-major Division I poll behind Navy and Princeton. They completed the 2011 season as Mountain Pacific Sports Federation champions, their first D-I conference title win.
Our women's basketball team traveled to the University of Alabama at Birmingham for the Women's Basketball Invitational finals after winning at home against Chicago State in overtime last week. While they lost by a score of 68-60 in the championship game, they had a remarkable season including their first Division I post-season play.
Our nationally-ranked men's baseball team continued their 6-game winning streak with a win against Ohio State last Thursday in the first night game of the season. They followed that with another win on Friday before Ohio State salvaged a win on Saturday. The baseball team is now 18-5 on the season. Congratulations to all our student-athletes and coaches.
Student Research Scholars
The research of undergraduate and graduate students as well as 2010 alumni will be showcased at the
CSUB Student Research Poster Competition on April 8 in Dorothy Donahoe Hall. Applications will be
accepted through April 1. To apply, please visit the Grants, Research, and Sponsored Programs office
in Dorothy Donahoe Hall D108 or download the application at
http://www.csub.edu/grasp/Student%20Researchers.shtml.
For further information, please contact Sharon Haynes at 654-2231.
CSUB Testing Center
This spring, students needing to take the GRE, LSAT, and other graduate admissions exams no longer
will have to travel out-of-area for testing. I am pleased to announce the March 31st opening of the
CSUB Testing Center located in the Modular West, adjacent to the University Police Department. The
Testing Center will be an invaluable resource for the campus and community, providing a range of
testing and assessment services. The center stands poised to become the largest testing site in the
Southern San Joaquin Valley, providing testing and assessment for high school, undergraduate, and
graduate students. For information on the specific tests offered, testing schedule, and registration
procedures, please visit www.csub.edu/testing or contact Lou Montano,
Director of Testing, at 654-3373.
University Council
University Council is held on the third Friday of each month. The next meeting will be held on April
15, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. in the Albertson Room. All members of the campus community are welcome to
attend.
I look forward to seeing you around campus or at an upcoming University or community event. Take care.