California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) has been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.
The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual honor roll award, recognized more than 700 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice. On campuses across the country, thousands of students joined their faculty to develop innovative programs and projects to meet local needs using the skills gained in their classrooms.
Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors, including the scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.
“Service learning rests on the notion that the university is not the only place of enlightenment for students,” noted Juan M. Benitez, director of CSULB’s Center for Community Engagement. “It is important for CSULB to keep emphasizing its commitment to community engagement efforts in new and innovative ways in our effort to continue offering students ‘highly valued degrees.’ Additionally, service learning is a critical strategy for student engagement, and we know that the more students are engaged, the more successful they will be in their university experience and beyond.”
At CSULB, there were 2,572 students who engaged in community service during the 2008-09 academic year, according to a report compiled by the university’s Center for Community Engagement. In all, these students volunteered 81,398 hours to various academic service- learning and community assistance efforts, including 2,287 students who engaged in at least 20 hours of community service per semester.
Among the programs these students volunteer for were:
The Long Beach BLAST Mentoring Initiative, where students provide direct one-on-one and small group academic mentoring to youth from disadvantaged circumstances through the K-8 and High School Academic Mentoring Programs of the Long Beach BLAST (Better learning After School Today). Student volunteers help their mentees develop life skills related to academic success and improved socialization while helping them discover future college goals (324 student volunteers, 9,500 service hours);
The Villages at Cabrillo Oasis Community Center, where students, faculty and staff work primarily with families, providing mentoring and tutoring (in- and out-of-school) to homeless children, run two summer day camps (a Young Artists Camp and a Young Scientists Camp) and support combined programming for parents such as a four-week, Monday-Thursday Life Skills class that addresses personal finances, personal growth, job hunting and parenting. (35 student volunteers, 875 service hours).
The CSULB Community Scholars Program is a leadership development and organization capacity building effort for community-based organizations. Primarily for leaders and emerging leaders of Latino voluntary associations in Southern California, the program is designed to help sustain these organizations’ efforts to improve social and economic conditions in the United States and their countries of origin. Participants fulfill a 30-hour requirement for each of three components – “Leadership and Small Group Dynamics,” “Community Projects,” and Policy and Systems Change” – in order to receive a certificate of completion from the university’s College of Continuing and Professional Education. (56 student volunteers, 2,200 service hours).
“The Community Scholars Program has become one of our most successful community engagement initiatives, reflecting a best practices approach to service learning and community-based participatory research,” Benitez pointed out. “We have worked with more than 300 emerging community leaders representing more than 50 community organizations. At the same time, more than 50 CSULB Chicano and Latino studies students have been trained and served as co-facilitators in the program. The impact of our work has benefitted implementation of community projects here in the United States and binationally with the populations that we have served.”
College students make a significant contribution to the volunteer sector; in 2009, 3.16 million students performed more than 300 million hours of service, according to the Volunteering in America study released by the corporation. Each year, the corporation invests more than $150 million in fostering a culture of service on college campuses through grants awarded by its programs; the education awards that AmeriCorps members receive at the conclusion of their term of service to pay for college; and through support of training, research, recognition, and other initiatives to spur college service.
“Congratulations to Cal State Long Beach and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities,” said Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “Our nation’s students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face. They have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge into practice to help renew America through service.”
The corporation oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the U. S. Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.
-- Rick Gloady
Monday, March 15, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Cal State Long Beach Dean Honored as ‘Distinguished Dean of Engineering’ By Los Angeles Council of Engineers and Scientists
Forouzan Golshani, dean of the College of Engineering (COE) at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB), was recently honored with the prestigious “Distinguished Dean of Engineering” award from the Los Angeles Council of Engineers and Scientists (LACES) during National Engineers Week (E-Week) 2010.
National Engineers Week and the National Engineers Week Foundation work to nurture the future work force of innovative engineers through education outreach initiatives to expand the pool of skilled, creative engineering talent.
Golshani received the award Feb. 18 during LACES’ E-Week business mixer at the LAX Flight Path Museum. The event’s theme was “Engineering, Making a World of Difference,” and its focus this year was “Introducing a Girl to Engineering,” which reflects the work done through CSULB’s renowned Women Engineers @ the Beach conferences and programs.
“This was an unexpected award and its news came as a complete surprise,” said Golshani, who has overseen the COE’s 12 engineering programs, five departments and more than 3,500 students since 2007. “With over a dozen other engineering deans in close vicinity, many with a vast portfolio of accomplishments, I was pleased that our efforts in expanding the engineering pipeline received this recognition.”
Hallmarks of Golshani’s tenure at CSULB have been to expand the academic advising and first-year student experience, which had resulted in a 40 percent increase in graduating classes, from 500 in 2007 to more than 700 in 2009. He has been credited with the overhaul of technology infrastructure for research and teaching within the COE and for enhancing support for faculty and student research, scholarship and creative activity.
Golshani and his staff at the College of Engineering also spearheaded Women Engineers @ the Beach, a biannual conference at CSULB designed to attract young girls to engineering. Last year, the conference (now in its 10th year) was awarded the prestigious “Kimberly-Clark Outreach Event Award” by the National Society of Women Engineers (SWE).
At the conference, students are involved in hands-on activities in a variety of workshops designed to teach them about engineering technology and related disciplines, such as human behavior-based product design, mechanical/robotics design, structural engineering and several others.
“For this nation to continue its innovative edge, it is incumbent upon education leaders at all levels to emphasize to America’s youth, particularly young women and persons in underrepresented groups, that studying science and engineering can prepare them as leaders,” said Golshani.
Before CSULB, Golshani served as the NCR Distinguished Professor and the chairman of the Computer Science and Engineering Department at Wright University in Ohio. He held the positions of center director and professor at Arizona State University, as well as research fellow at Imperial College in London.
Golshani has registered 10 inventions and is the author and co-author of more than 200 articles. He has served on the editorial board of IEEE Multimedia journal since 1994 and was its editor in chief for two terms. He has founded several successful company start ups, including the Corporate Enhancement Group, Roz Software Systems, Inc. and RFID Integrated Solutions, Inc.
His senior management and technical consulting experience includes working for such companies as Motorola, Intel, Honeywell, McDonnell Douglas Helicopter, Bull Worldwide Systems and Sperry. He is also a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Golshani received a bachelor’s of science degree from Arya Mehr University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, and a Ph.D from the University of Warwick in England.
-- Paul Browning
National Engineers Week and the National Engineers Week Foundation work to nurture the future work force of innovative engineers through education outreach initiatives to expand the pool of skilled, creative engineering talent.
Golshani received the award Feb. 18 during LACES’ E-Week business mixer at the LAX Flight Path Museum. The event’s theme was “Engineering, Making a World of Difference,” and its focus this year was “Introducing a Girl to Engineering,” which reflects the work done through CSULB’s renowned Women Engineers @ the Beach conferences and programs.
“This was an unexpected award and its news came as a complete surprise,” said Golshani, who has overseen the COE’s 12 engineering programs, five departments and more than 3,500 students since 2007. “With over a dozen other engineering deans in close vicinity, many with a vast portfolio of accomplishments, I was pleased that our efforts in expanding the engineering pipeline received this recognition.”
Hallmarks of Golshani’s tenure at CSULB have been to expand the academic advising and first-year student experience, which had resulted in a 40 percent increase in graduating classes, from 500 in 2007 to more than 700 in 2009. He has been credited with the overhaul of technology infrastructure for research and teaching within the COE and for enhancing support for faculty and student research, scholarship and creative activity.
Golshani and his staff at the College of Engineering also spearheaded Women Engineers @ the Beach, a biannual conference at CSULB designed to attract young girls to engineering. Last year, the conference (now in its 10th year) was awarded the prestigious “Kimberly-Clark Outreach Event Award” by the National Society of Women Engineers (SWE).
At the conference, students are involved in hands-on activities in a variety of workshops designed to teach them about engineering technology and related disciplines, such as human behavior-based product design, mechanical/robotics design, structural engineering and several others.
“For this nation to continue its innovative edge, it is incumbent upon education leaders at all levels to emphasize to America’s youth, particularly young women and persons in underrepresented groups, that studying science and engineering can prepare them as leaders,” said Golshani.
Before CSULB, Golshani served as the NCR Distinguished Professor and the chairman of the Computer Science and Engineering Department at Wright University in Ohio. He held the positions of center director and professor at Arizona State University, as well as research fellow at Imperial College in London.
Golshani has registered 10 inventions and is the author and co-author of more than 200 articles. He has served on the editorial board of IEEE Multimedia journal since 1994 and was its editor in chief for two terms. He has founded several successful company start ups, including the Corporate Enhancement Group, Roz Software Systems, Inc. and RFID Integrated Solutions, Inc.
His senior management and technical consulting experience includes working for such companies as Motorola, Intel, Honeywell, McDonnell Douglas Helicopter, Bull Worldwide Systems and Sperry. He is also a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Golshani received a bachelor’s of science degree from Arya Mehr University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, and a Ph.D from the University of Warwick in England.
-- Paul Browning
New Training Program for Marine Terminal Operations Being Offered at California State University, Long Beach
A new training program designed for front-line managers and others interested in marine terminal operations is being offered through the Center for International Trade and Transportation (CITT) at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) beginning Wednesday, March 10.
The Marine Terminal Operations Professional (MTOP) program will focus on preparing its students with a wide range of essential skills. The MTOP program is being run through CSULB’s College of Continuing and Professional Education (CCPE).
“Marine terminals operate at every port in the world. Few experienced people apply for the jobs,” said Carolyn Martin, assistant vice president for Customer Service and Public Relations at International Transportation Services (ITS) in the Port of Long Beach. Martin also serves on the MTOP Advisory Board and is an instructor. “A program such as the MTOP will address a huge need for professional training in a highly competitive work environment.”
The MTOP program will be taught partly by industry experts in the field and by professionals who specialize in interpersonal skills. The course is targeted at working adults with interest in the industry either as an entry-level manager or as a consultant or contractor with business at the ports.
The program is structured in independent modules allowing customized training in all aspects of terminal operations. Module topics include general knowledge of the industry, specific skills in container terminals, break bulk, roll-on/roll-off and cruise terminals. There will be site visits at container and cruise terminals and on an ocean carrier.
Currently, new front-line managers learn on the job, according to Angeli Logan, CITT’s director of Trade and Transportation Programs at CCPE.
“Our MTOP students have to learn and be familiar with a variety of skills, from managing the gate and yard, to vessel operations, maintenance and repair, and customer service,” said Logan. “They must also know and understand labor contracts, labor relations and conflict resolutions, just to name a few items taught.”
While on-the-job training is vital, it has its limitations and can be very expensive for an organization.
“We believe that CITT can assist in creating a pool of skilled individuals for marine terminal operators (MTOs) to recruit from, but also we have expertise in preparing employees with essential ‘soft skills’ that will make a difference at the docks and the bottom line,” added Logan. “The objective is to reduce turnover by preparing front-line managers with multiple skills who are invaluable for a productive and effective work environment.”
The curriculum will also address the role of government agencies that impact the jobs on the dock, including Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and the Coast Guard. Learning will extend beyond the classroom and students will go on field trips to various types of terminals.
CITT believes that the key to a successful program is to work in partnership with the industry. To this end, an MTOP Advisory Board has been established which includes industry leaders and port officials.
To learn more about this new program visit www.ccpe.csulb.edu/citt/mtop or contact Logan by phone at 562/985-2872 or e-mail at alogan@ccpe.csulb.edu.
-- Shayne Schroeder
The Marine Terminal Operations Professional (MTOP) program will focus on preparing its students with a wide range of essential skills. The MTOP program is being run through CSULB’s College of Continuing and Professional Education (CCPE).
“Marine terminals operate at every port in the world. Few experienced people apply for the jobs,” said Carolyn Martin, assistant vice president for Customer Service and Public Relations at International Transportation Services (ITS) in the Port of Long Beach. Martin also serves on the MTOP Advisory Board and is an instructor. “A program such as the MTOP will address a huge need for professional training in a highly competitive work environment.”
The MTOP program will be taught partly by industry experts in the field and by professionals who specialize in interpersonal skills. The course is targeted at working adults with interest in the industry either as an entry-level manager or as a consultant or contractor with business at the ports.
The program is structured in independent modules allowing customized training in all aspects of terminal operations. Module topics include general knowledge of the industry, specific skills in container terminals, break bulk, roll-on/roll-off and cruise terminals. There will be site visits at container and cruise terminals and on an ocean carrier.
Currently, new front-line managers learn on the job, according to Angeli Logan, CITT’s director of Trade and Transportation Programs at CCPE.
“Our MTOP students have to learn and be familiar with a variety of skills, from managing the gate and yard, to vessel operations, maintenance and repair, and customer service,” said Logan. “They must also know and understand labor contracts, labor relations and conflict resolutions, just to name a few items taught.”
While on-the-job training is vital, it has its limitations and can be very expensive for an organization.
“We believe that CITT can assist in creating a pool of skilled individuals for marine terminal operators (MTOs) to recruit from, but also we have expertise in preparing employees with essential ‘soft skills’ that will make a difference at the docks and the bottom line,” added Logan. “The objective is to reduce turnover by preparing front-line managers with multiple skills who are invaluable for a productive and effective work environment.”
The curriculum will also address the role of government agencies that impact the jobs on the dock, including Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and the Coast Guard. Learning will extend beyond the classroom and students will go on field trips to various types of terminals.
CITT believes that the key to a successful program is to work in partnership with the industry. To this end, an MTOP Advisory Board has been established which includes industry leaders and port officials.
To learn more about this new program visit www.ccpe.csulb.edu/citt/mtop or contact Logan by phone at 562/985-2872 or e-mail at alogan@ccpe.csulb.edu.
-- Shayne Schroeder
Pow Wow at California State University, Long Beach to Celebrate 40th Anniversary With March 13-14 Event
California State University, Long Beach’s (CSULB) annual Pow Wow, an American Indian social celebration, returns to the campus’ Central Quad on Saturday and Sunday, March 13-14. Admission is free, and parking is $4.
The 40th annual event, which will feature American Indian dancing, arts, crafts and food, begins at 11 a.m. each day and runs until 10 p.m. on Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday.
“We are celebrating 41 years of American Indian studies, the oldest American Indian studies program west of the Mississippi, and the 40th annual Pow Wow,” said Craig Stone, professor of art and American Indian studies at CSULB and faculty advisor to the campus’ American Indian Student Council and Pow Wow. “We are looking forward to the next 40 years and beyond.”
In addition to contests and inter-tribal dancing, there will be gourd dancing with dancer registration closing at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 13. All dancers and drums are invited.
Members of the head staff and their affiliations are:
• Master of Ceremony: John Dawson (San Carlos Apache)
• Arena Director: Victor Chavez (Diné)
• Head Man Dancer: Les Peters (Yakama)
• Head Lady Dancer: Laurie Whitecloud (Otoe-Missouria/Diegueño)
• Head Southern Singer: TBA
• Host Northern Drum: Horse Thief (Southern California)
• Host Gourd: Golden State Gourd Society
• Spoonkeeper: Michael Cruz (Chumash)
Native foods such as mutton and beef stew, Navajo tacos, fry bread and Indian burgers will be on sale at the event, and American Indian vendors will be selling both traditional and contemporary American Indian art.
The largest spring event of its kind in Southern California, the Pow Wow at CSULB is focused on displaying the university’s strong American Indian presence.
The event is presented by CSULB’s American Indian Studies Program, American Indian Student Council, American Indian Student Services, Student Life and Development, the Division of Student Services, and Associated Students Inc.
For additional information about the 40th Annual Pow Wow celebration at Cal State Long Beach, call 562/985-8528, e-mail powwow@csulb.edu or visit the Web site at www.csulb.edu/powwow. A campus map and directions can be found at www.csulb.edu/maps.
-- Shayne Schroeder
The 40th annual event, which will feature American Indian dancing, arts, crafts and food, begins at 11 a.m. each day and runs until 10 p.m. on Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday.
“We are celebrating 41 years of American Indian studies, the oldest American Indian studies program west of the Mississippi, and the 40th annual Pow Wow,” said Craig Stone, professor of art and American Indian studies at CSULB and faculty advisor to the campus’ American Indian Student Council and Pow Wow. “We are looking forward to the next 40 years and beyond.”
In addition to contests and inter-tribal dancing, there will be gourd dancing with dancer registration closing at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 13. All dancers and drums are invited.
Members of the head staff and their affiliations are:
• Master of Ceremony: John Dawson (San Carlos Apache)
• Arena Director: Victor Chavez (Diné)
• Head Man Dancer: Les Peters (Yakama)
• Head Lady Dancer: Laurie Whitecloud (Otoe-Missouria/Diegueño)
• Head Southern Singer: TBA
• Host Northern Drum: Horse Thief (Southern California)
• Host Gourd: Golden State Gourd Society
• Spoonkeeper: Michael Cruz (Chumash)
Native foods such as mutton and beef stew, Navajo tacos, fry bread and Indian burgers will be on sale at the event, and American Indian vendors will be selling both traditional and contemporary American Indian art.
The largest spring event of its kind in Southern California, the Pow Wow at CSULB is focused on displaying the university’s strong American Indian presence.
The event is presented by CSULB’s American Indian Studies Program, American Indian Student Council, American Indian Student Services, Student Life and Development, the Division of Student Services, and Associated Students Inc.
For additional information about the 40th Annual Pow Wow celebration at Cal State Long Beach, call 562/985-8528, e-mail powwow@csulb.edu or visit the Web site at www.csulb.edu/powwow. A campus map and directions can be found at www.csulb.edu/maps.
-- Shayne Schroeder
Monday, March 1, 2010
University Art Museum at Cal State Long Beach Receives $57,000 Grant from The Getty Foundation
The University Art Museum (UAM) at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) has been awarded a $57,000 grant from The Getty Foundation in Los Angeles to participate in the foundation's 2011 initiative “Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980.”
In all, the Getty Foundation awarded $3.1 million in grants to 26 arts institutions across Southern California as part of the unprecedented initiative. In the fall of 2011, concurrent exhibitions are expected to attract national and international attention and visitors.
The UAM will mount an exhibit titled “Peace Press Graphics 1967-1987: Art in the Pursuit of Social Change,” a survey of the press’ work and their connections to artist collectives of the time.
Founded in 1967 by a unique group of L.A. activist-artists who created an “alternate everything” printing and publishing business, the Peace Press (1967-1987) emerged from the tangle of progressive political and alternative groups that flourished during the decades between 1960 and 1990. The poster archive exemplifies an important element of visual and cultural history: art that reflects the desire and intention to create social and political change, as well as artists who attempt to affect change through both their work and their actions.
The exhibition, co-curated by Ilee Kaplan and Carol Wells, will feature 50 to 75 posters from the press’ archive alongside works on paper whose subject matter addresses issues such as feminist causes, workers’ rights, civil liberties, anti-nuclear protests, environmental concerns and anti-war demonstrations by artists who worked with the press.
In addition, a historical timeline, poetry and spoken word performances, film clips interspersed in the galleries, and a separate film screening series will accompany the artworks — to offer audiences a unique opportunity to understand the art of political protest within its larger cultural milieu.
“Peace Press Graphics 1967–1987: Art in the Pursuit of Social Change” will open Sept. 6, 2011.
-- Sarah G. Vinci
In all, the Getty Foundation awarded $3.1 million in grants to 26 arts institutions across Southern California as part of the unprecedented initiative. In the fall of 2011, concurrent exhibitions are expected to attract national and international attention and visitors.
The UAM will mount an exhibit titled “Peace Press Graphics 1967-1987: Art in the Pursuit of Social Change,” a survey of the press’ work and their connections to artist collectives of the time.
Founded in 1967 by a unique group of L.A. activist-artists who created an “alternate everything” printing and publishing business, the Peace Press (1967-1987) emerged from the tangle of progressive political and alternative groups that flourished during the decades between 1960 and 1990. The poster archive exemplifies an important element of visual and cultural history: art that reflects the desire and intention to create social and political change, as well as artists who attempt to affect change through both their work and their actions.
The exhibition, co-curated by Ilee Kaplan and Carol Wells, will feature 50 to 75 posters from the press’ archive alongside works on paper whose subject matter addresses issues such as feminist causes, workers’ rights, civil liberties, anti-nuclear protests, environmental concerns and anti-war demonstrations by artists who worked with the press.
In addition, a historical timeline, poetry and spoken word performances, film clips interspersed in the galleries, and a separate film screening series will accompany the artworks — to offer audiences a unique opportunity to understand the art of political protest within its larger cultural milieu.
“Peace Press Graphics 1967–1987: Art in the Pursuit of Social Change” will open Sept. 6, 2011.
-- Sarah G. Vinci
Long Beach State Women's Basketball Player Earns 2nd-Team Academic All-America Honors
Long Beach State (LBSU) senior guard Lauren Sims has been named to the 2009-10 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Women’s Basketball Second Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
To be eligible for CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic honors, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum 3.30 GPA, be a significant contributor to the team and must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing.
Sims is the 49ers’ second-leading scorer, averaging 11.7 points per game. She is also tops on the team in 3-pointers made (60) and 3-point field goal percentage (39.5 percent). Sims has posted 16 double-figure scoring games, including a career-high 25 points at Miami where she tied a school single-season record with seven threes.
Sims has etched her name in the LBSU record books, ranking second among the 49ers’ career leaders in 3-point field goals made (158) and 3-point field goals attempted (423). She is also fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (37.4 percent).
In addition to her success on the court, Sims has excelled in the classroom, maintaining a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average as a biology-physiology major with a minor in chemistry. She was LBSU’s 2009-10 Rhodes Scholar candidate and was also a nominee for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Recently, she was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society and Phi Kappa Phi Society at LBSU.
Earlier this year, Sims earned first-team CoSIDA Academic All District VIII honors after garnering second-team recognition in each of the last two years. She is also a two-time Academic All-Big West selection.
Sims joins Shannon Smith (1988) and Dana Wilkerson (1990) as the 49ers’ only CoSIDA Women’s Basketball Academic All-Americans. Both Smith and Wilkerson earned third-team honors.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
-- Todd Miles
To be eligible for CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic honors, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum 3.30 GPA, be a significant contributor to the team and must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing.
Sims is the 49ers’ second-leading scorer, averaging 11.7 points per game. She is also tops on the team in 3-pointers made (60) and 3-point field goal percentage (39.5 percent). Sims has posted 16 double-figure scoring games, including a career-high 25 points at Miami where she tied a school single-season record with seven threes.
Sims has etched her name in the LBSU record books, ranking second among the 49ers’ career leaders in 3-point field goals made (158) and 3-point field goals attempted (423). She is also fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (37.4 percent).
In addition to her success on the court, Sims has excelled in the classroom, maintaining a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average as a biology-physiology major with a minor in chemistry. She was LBSU’s 2009-10 Rhodes Scholar candidate and was also a nominee for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Recently, she was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society and Phi Kappa Phi Society at LBSU.
Earlier this year, Sims earned first-team CoSIDA Academic All District VIII honors after garnering second-team recognition in each of the last two years. She is also a two-time Academic All-Big West selection.
Sims joins Shannon Smith (1988) and Dana Wilkerson (1990) as the 49ers’ only CoSIDA Women’s Basketball Academic All-Americans. Both Smith and Wilkerson earned third-team honors.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
-- Todd Miles
45th Annual Comparative Literature, Classics Conference Set for March 4-6 at California State University, Long Beach
“Visual Culture and Global Practices” is the theme for the 45th annual Comparative World Literature and Classics conference that will take place March 4-6 at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).
This year’s plenary speaker is the University of Chicago’s W.J.T. Mitchell, who will address the conference on “World Pictures: Globalization and Visual Culture” on Friday, March 5, at 11 a.m. Admission is free.
“W.J.T. Mitchell is a renowned scholar on visual culture and the author of such landmark books as ‘What Do Pictures Want?: The Lives and Loves of Images’ in 2006 and ‘Picture Theory: Essays on Verbal and Visual Representation in 1995,’” said Nhora Serrano, CSULB ssistant professor of comparative literature and organizer of the conference. “It is important for any conference to have a plenary speaker who is a scholar and works in the field. I think his participation is a big reason why the conference has drawn such a strong response from potential speakers who are coming from everywhere from Canada to Brazil.”
Visual culture means more than a literary perspective, Serrano believes. “Presentations will deal with everything from movies (New York University’s Hilary Ashton on ‘The Other Vocabulary of Zombies and Psychos: Genette’s Paratext in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’ `Grindhouse') to postcards (Southwestern University’s Kimberly Smith speaks on ‘Constructing Thebes: Text and Image in Franz Marc’s Postcards for Else Lasker-Schuler’). Visual culture covers all that.”
The contemporary situation in humanities and social sciences is often characterized by the so-called “visual turn,” or the increasing emphasis of theory on the power and scope of the visual in everyday life, science, literature, media and the arts, Serrano explained. Visual culture as well as the formation of the field of visual studies stems from this renewed focus upon pictorality, the power of the image and its expression through various linguistic, visual and media forms.
“Visual Culture and Global Practices” seeks to examine literature (across time periods and languages), images, visual objects and mechanisms, and events from diverse cultures, across national boundaries, and within global contexts, Serrano said.
CSULB participants include student Scott Kulek, who will appear as part of the March 4 panel on “19th Century Images and Interrogations” and present on “Negotiating Images in Henry James and Oscar Wilde.” Also on the first day will be Pravina Cooper of the Comparative Literature Department in a panel on “Consumer Culture,” speaking on the topic “TV’s `Mad Men’ and Why We Love Them.”
On the conference’s second day, Friday, March 5, the opening panel on “Pedagogy and Visual Culture” will include presentations by Boak Ferris of the CSULB English Department on “50 Images of Prometheus Crucified” and Linda Alkana of the History Department on “Visual Culture and Safety: From Comic Books to Visual Consent Forms.”
Also due on March 5 is a panel on “Italian Visualities” including a presentation by Enrico Vettore, an assistant professor of Italian, on “The Search for the Essential Image: The Paradoxical Case of Roberto Rossellini.” A panel on “Popular Sightings” will feature Linguistics Professor Alexandra Jaffe on “Image and Text, Material and Virtual: Textual Trajectories, Stance, Genre and Medium in the Post-Secret ‘Virtual Community.’” A third panel on “German Aesthetics” will feature CSULB student Megan Hoetger on “Re-Presentations: The Filmic Image in the Postwar Vienna.”
On the conference’s third day, March 6, a panel on “Empire and Ethnography: Cultural Representations” will feature Emily Berquist, an assistant professor of history, on the topic “The Science of Empire: Envisioning a Bishop’s Utopia in Colonial Peru.”
Serrano applauds the Comparative World Literature and Classics Department for its continued commitment to the conference despite current economic woes.
“The 45th year of a conference says a lot about how supportive and encouraging a place this department can be. It speaks to how the department bands together. It speaks to the department’s dedication to a long-standing tradition and to each other,” she said. “Even in times of crisis, conferences like these prove the university is still thinking and educating. We haven’t lost our passion for our fields.”
Serrano encourages the university to take a look at the conference. “Potential audiences ought to check out the conference's Web page to see what interests them,” she said. “The big draw this year is WJT Mitchell, who is charming, intelligent and approachable. He is truly a unique scholar.”
For more information on this year’s conference, check the Web site at http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/cla/departments/complit-classics/conference/
-- Rick Manly
This year’s plenary speaker is the University of Chicago’s W.J.T. Mitchell, who will address the conference on “World Pictures: Globalization and Visual Culture” on Friday, March 5, at 11 a.m. Admission is free.
“W.J.T. Mitchell is a renowned scholar on visual culture and the author of such landmark books as ‘What Do Pictures Want?: The Lives and Loves of Images’ in 2006 and ‘Picture Theory: Essays on Verbal and Visual Representation in 1995,’” said Nhora Serrano, CSULB ssistant professor of comparative literature and organizer of the conference. “It is important for any conference to have a plenary speaker who is a scholar and works in the field. I think his participation is a big reason why the conference has drawn such a strong response from potential speakers who are coming from everywhere from Canada to Brazil.”
Visual culture means more than a literary perspective, Serrano believes. “Presentations will deal with everything from movies (New York University’s Hilary Ashton on ‘The Other Vocabulary of Zombies and Psychos: Genette’s Paratext in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’ `Grindhouse') to postcards (Southwestern University’s Kimberly Smith speaks on ‘Constructing Thebes: Text and Image in Franz Marc’s Postcards for Else Lasker-Schuler’). Visual culture covers all that.”
The contemporary situation in humanities and social sciences is often characterized by the so-called “visual turn,” or the increasing emphasis of theory on the power and scope of the visual in everyday life, science, literature, media and the arts, Serrano explained. Visual culture as well as the formation of the field of visual studies stems from this renewed focus upon pictorality, the power of the image and its expression through various linguistic, visual and media forms.
“Visual Culture and Global Practices” seeks to examine literature (across time periods and languages), images, visual objects and mechanisms, and events from diverse cultures, across national boundaries, and within global contexts, Serrano said.
CSULB participants include student Scott Kulek, who will appear as part of the March 4 panel on “19th Century Images and Interrogations” and present on “Negotiating Images in Henry James and Oscar Wilde.” Also on the first day will be Pravina Cooper of the Comparative Literature Department in a panel on “Consumer Culture,” speaking on the topic “TV’s `Mad Men’ and Why We Love Them.”
On the conference’s second day, Friday, March 5, the opening panel on “Pedagogy and Visual Culture” will include presentations by Boak Ferris of the CSULB English Department on “50 Images of Prometheus Crucified” and Linda Alkana of the History Department on “Visual Culture and Safety: From Comic Books to Visual Consent Forms.”
Also due on March 5 is a panel on “Italian Visualities” including a presentation by Enrico Vettore, an assistant professor of Italian, on “The Search for the Essential Image: The Paradoxical Case of Roberto Rossellini.” A panel on “Popular Sightings” will feature Linguistics Professor Alexandra Jaffe on “Image and Text, Material and Virtual: Textual Trajectories, Stance, Genre and Medium in the Post-Secret ‘Virtual Community.’” A third panel on “German Aesthetics” will feature CSULB student Megan Hoetger on “Re-Presentations: The Filmic Image in the Postwar Vienna.”
On the conference’s third day, March 6, a panel on “Empire and Ethnography: Cultural Representations” will feature Emily Berquist, an assistant professor of history, on the topic “The Science of Empire: Envisioning a Bishop’s Utopia in Colonial Peru.”
Serrano applauds the Comparative World Literature and Classics Department for its continued commitment to the conference despite current economic woes.
“The 45th year of a conference says a lot about how supportive and encouraging a place this department can be. It speaks to how the department bands together. It speaks to the department’s dedication to a long-standing tradition and to each other,” she said. “Even in times of crisis, conferences like these prove the university is still thinking and educating. We haven’t lost our passion for our fields.”
Serrano encourages the university to take a look at the conference. “Potential audiences ought to check out the conference's Web page to see what interests them,” she said. “The big draw this year is WJT Mitchell, who is charming, intelligent and approachable. He is truly a unique scholar.”
For more information on this year’s conference, check the Web site at http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/cla/departments/complit-classics/conference/
-- Rick Manly
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