February 12, 2024

During Black History Month, the Veteran Documentary Corps (VDC), in partnership with El Dorado Films, invites the campus community to free screenings of four films. All of the films are about the Montford Point Marines, who were the first African Americans to serve in the U.S. Marines.

• Through Monday, Feb. 12: “The Singer”
• Through Wednesday, Feb. 14: “The Architect”
• Thursday, Feb. 15 – Wednesday, Feb. 22: “The Jock”
• Thursday, Feb. 22 – Thursday, Feb. 29: “You Don't Know Jack!”

To support the work of VDC, please subscribe for free to El Dorado Films on YouTube.

Photo courtesy of Veteran Documentary Corps 

Soul of SF State held the inaugural Black Wall of Fame on Feb. 5 in the Art Gallery, located on the terrace level of the Cesar Chavez Student Center.

This event celebrates the legends of SF State, honoring the outstanding contributions of esteemed alumni, faculty, staff and students. As the Soul of SF State and the Art Gallery commemorate their achievements, the campus community is invited to be a part of this special occasion during Black History Month. The exhibition is free and on display through Thursday, Feb. 29.

Health Promotion and Wellness is excited to announce the new Wellness Vending Machine program. Open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, the Open24 vending machine is located outdoors between the Library and the Administration building and now offers low-cost wellness supplies for students. For only 25 cents per item, people can now get Narcan, Fentanyl testing strips, condoms, pregnancy tests and menstrual supplies.

Staff and faulty can purchase allergy over-the-counter medicines at a reduced price at the Student Health Services (SHS) Pharmacy. Ask an SHS pharmacist for a recommendation. Check out the listing of over-the-counter products.

Fees will be added to your Bursar’s account. Payment options include either online or at the Bursar's Office. Prices and products are subject to change. When available, generic equivalent products are used.

The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy will honor the memory of SF State Professor Emerita of Recreation, Parks and Tourism Nina Roberts. The Dr. Nina S. Roberts Academic Internship Program offers 13 paid internships this summer. Students can also receive academic credit for the 10-week internships (Wednesday, May 29 – Friday, Aug. 2).

Internship areas:

• Business administration and operations
• Historic preservation and site management
• Outreach, media and visitor programs
• Wildlife and habitats

Applications are due Friday, March 1. For questions, please email Erik Rosegard.  

The Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) and Academic Senate will celebrate faculty and staff colleagues who have recently published books (2023 – 2024) at a book reading and coffee tasting event on Tuesday, March 19, 4 – 5:30 p.m. in Library 121.

Please email CEETL to display your book and participate in this book reading event.

Kaveri Coffee, a woman-owned third-generation coffee roaster and small business, will provide a coffee tasting at the event.

Are you interested in working on climate change/justice in your research, scholarship or creative activities? Through the Climate Justice Leaders Initiative, SF State’s Climate HQ aims to strengthen climate justice teaching, research and outreach at SF State. Climate HQ supports efforts to mitigate climate change and to address climate impacts through interdisciplinary mini-grants that bring researchers from different fields together to address climate justice goals.

These one-time mini-grants will seed and support interdisciplinary research, scholarship and creative activities. Three to six grants between $5,000 and $12,000 each will be awarded (award period is June 2024 – May 2025). Applications are sought from teams comprised of at least two people who specialize in different disciplines, including at least one lecturer or tenured/tenure-track faculty.

The mini grants goals are to:

1. support faculty members incorporating climate change/justice into their research, service and creative activities (RSCA) for the first time.
2. deepen their inquiries into climate change/justice in a new way.
3. facilitate connections among faculty engaged in climate RSCA across campus and in the community.

See the full call for applications and complete the application by 5 p.m. Friday, March 22.

For questions, please contact Climate HQ Faculty Mini Grants coordinator Carolina Prado.

The SF State Academic Senate met on Feb. 6, at Seven Hills and via Zoom.

The senate:

• Passed:
  • The Resolution Affirming Shared Governance, Curricular Integrity and Budget Transparency.
  • Revision to S02-217 Academic Program Assessment.
  • Revision to S99-206 Policy on the Academic Program Assessment Committee.

• Heard in first reading:
  • B.Mus. Concentration in Composition
  • B.Mus. Concentration in Vocal Performance
  • B.Mus. Concentration in Music Education
  • B.Mus. Concentration in Jazz/Ethnomusicology
  • B.Mus. Concentration in Instrumental Performance
  • B.A. in Music Production
  • B.A. in Biology
  • Graduate Certificate in Teaching (GCT) English to Speakers of Other Languages

• Postponed the following items for next meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 20:
  • Recommendation from the Executive Committee: Supporting Academic Senate of the California State University Resolution on AB 928, and Campus Autonomy in General Education Requirements
  • Recommendation from the Student Affairs Committee: Anti-Doxxing Resolution
  • Recommendation from the Academic Policies Committee: Revision to S14-236 Academic Program Review Policy
  • Recommendation from the Faculty Affairs Committee: Revision to F22-214 Retention, Tenure and Promotion Policy

View the full agenda, meeting materials and minutes on the Academic Senate website.  

Whether they are starting their first semester or have already completed a few, students are invited to join an exciting mix of icebreakers, games and crafting activities on Tuesday, Feb. 13, noon – 4 p.m., at the University Club, Cesar Chavez Student Center. 

Complimentary food and refreshments will be served, including a do-it-yourself mocktail bar and crafting supplies to create Valentine’s Day cards.  

This event is hosted by the Office of Student Engagement and Transitions, Access+Relevance+Community (ARC) AANAPISI Initiative and the Transfer Peer Mentor Program.

On Tuesday, Feb. 13, and Tuesday, March 12, 1 – 2 p.m., the Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) invites faculty to a Zoom discussion with Senior Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management Katie Lynch and Financial Aid Director Denise Peña on “Financial Aid: Get to Know the Basics.”  

Discussions include questions from faculty about clarifications around aid timelines, amounts, sources, scholarships, tuition increases and financial aid impact, service changes and improvements, and financial literacy initiatives. 

RSVP via Qualtrics for the Feb. 13 event. 

Celebrate this Valentine’s Day by registering to vote on Wednesday, Feb. 14, noon – 3 p.m., on the Quad! The Gator Votes initiative facilitates campuswide efforts to mobilize the SF State community to register and turn out to vote. The event features games, crafts and snacks as well as information about registering to vote in time for the primary elections on Tuesday, March 5. 

This event is hosted by the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE) and Associated Students. Please email ICCE for further questions.

SF State’s campus partnership with Patelco-at-work offers informative webinars specializing in financial wellness to help improve money smarts.  

This month:  

• “Building Generational Wealth”: Wednesday, Feb. 14, 5:30 p.m. 
• “A New Year, A New Financial Wellness Offering for Your Employees”: Thursday, Feb. 15, 11 a.m. 
• “Five Things Every Woman Should Know About Investing”: Wednesday, Feb. 28, noon  
• “Five Things Every Woman Should Know About Investing”: Wednesday, Feb. 28, 5:30 p.m. 

Please visit the Human Resources website for more events and trainings.  

Previous webinars are available to watch on YouTube: “Budgeting Like a Boss” and “Paying Down Debt Strategies – Easy and Practical Basics.”

Celebrate the new semester with the All-University Committee on International Programs. Faculty, staff and administrators are invited to an international coffee hour on Thursday, Feb. 15, noon – 1:30 p.m., in the Division of International Education (Office of International Programs). The division is in Centennial Village building C between the Student Services and Humanities buildings, next to U.S. Bank. 

Please RVSP via Qualtrics.

On Thursday, Feb. 15, the SF State men’s and women’s basketball teams host the Purple Out Game versus Cal State San Bernardino. The first 500 fans receive free T-shirts. 

For more information and tickets, please visit the SF State Gators website.

The Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) holds its third WE Wednesdays event on Feb. 21, noon – 1 p.m., in Library 121.

Please drop in to connect with colleagues on gardening. Bring seeds to exchange or pick up seeds to prepare for the next growing season. No RSVP required. 

The Nicholas J. Certo Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic offers augmentative and alternative communications (AAC) services for children and adults. The AAC Child Clinic: Storytellers’ Club is back in session this semester.  

The clinic serves school-age children ages 6 – 12 years who are non-verbal and may benefit from an AAC system or communication device. The clinic will help work on communication, language and literacy skills via group and individual therapy sessions. It is run by a licensed speech-language pathologist and is free and open to the University and greater San Francisco community. 

The clinic will be held on Wednesdays, Feb. 21 – May 15, 4 – 5:30 p.m. (closed for spring break), in the Nicholas J. Certo Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic (Burk Hall 114).  

Sign up by calling 415-338-1001 or emailing the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Department or Storytellers’ Clinic coordinator John Kim. Visit the Augmentative and Alternative Communications Studies website to learn more about AAC studies and clinical services. 

The University Budget Committee (UBC) invites the campus community to its next meeting on Thursday, Feb. 22, 10 a.m. – noon, via Zoom.  

Agenda: 

• Voluntary separation incentive program 
• 2024 – 2025 campus budget update 
• Designated balances/reserves  
• Update on the Academic Affairs Multiyear Budget Realignment Advisory Committee 

Members of the UBC are staff, faculty, students and administrators. UBC members offer peer-hosted “office hours” via Zoom on Fridays after UBC meetings to share feedback and answer questions about budget-related matters.  

Please RSVP for the meeting or the office hours at least one week in advance by emailing the UBC. 

Experts from the League of Women Voters, San Francisco, will hold an event Monday, Feb. 26, 3:30 – 4:45 p.m., in Library 121. It will provide detailed information and insights on the upcoming presidential primary taking place Tuesday, March 5. 

On March 5 (Super Tuesday), seven San Francisco propositions and one statewide proposition are on the ballot. It includes decisions on algebra curriculum in San Francisco public schools, police staffing levels, drug tests for those on public assistance and housing bonds. 

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan nonprofit educating citizens on elections and government.

The campus community is invited to a grassroots film and workshop on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 3:30 – 5 p.m. in Knuth Hall, Creative Arts Building. It includes a screening of the film “Can’t Stop Change: Queer Climate Stories from the Florida Frontline,” which shares stories of queer and trans resistance, resilience and brilliance in the face of rising seas, stronger storms and escalating state violence. 

A Q&A with Natalia Villarán Quiñones, one of the filmmakers, follows the screening. Deseree Fontenot from the Queer EcoJustice Project and Movement Generation will lead a fun, interactive workshop that explores ecological diversity, resilience and complexity from a queer ecological framework. 

This event is a collaboration between the Dismantling Anti-Blackness Conference hosted by the Queer and Trans Resource Center and Haus Blaque, Climate HQ and the Race and Resistance Studies Department.

The campus community is invited to the Seven Hills Conference Center on Thursday, Feb. 29, for a day of events focused on faculty research and scholarship. Lunch will be provided. 

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., things will kick off with the Provost’s Arts and Lecture Symposium focused on health equity. It features lectures by:  

• Antwi Akom, professor of Africana Studies  
• Teresa Gray, associate professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences 
• Martha Kenney, chair and associate professor of Women and Gender Studies 
• Leticia Márquez-Magaña, professor of Biology 
• Sepideh Modrek, associate professor of Economics 
• Emma Sanchez-Vaznaugh, professor of Public Health 

From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., the Scholars Strategy Network will conduct a free workshop discussing how research is used in policymaking and what informs policymakers’ day-to-day decision-making. It will provide faculty with an introduction to effective strategies to ensure that their findings and perspectives inform policy. 

The day will conclude 4 – 6 p.m. with a conversation and reception with Diana Greene Foster, Ph.D., a 2023 MacArthur fellow and demographer and professor at University of California, San Francisco. Foster led the United States Turnaway Study, a nationwide longitudinal prospective study of the health and well-being of women who seek abortion, including both women who do and do not receive the abortion. Greene Foster will discuss her path to becoming a publicly engaged scholar, as well as her current work leading a study of the health, legal and economic consequences of the end of Roe in the United States and a Turnaway Study in Nepal. Refreshments will be served. 

Please register via Qualtrics by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21. 

The Association of Computer Machinery at SF State will co-host the 2024 SF State Hacks Hackathon from Friday, April 5, to Sunday, April 7.  

This hackathon is the largest in San Francisco. It’s beginner friendly and open to all college students over 18 years old. It’s a great chance for students to learn new technologies, network with industry professionals (technology companies will host workshops and tabling events during the hackathon), and apply what they learned by creating a project. 

Visit the SF Hacks website for more information and to register. 

John Holman, a retired SF State staff member, passed away on Jan. 10 at the age of 86. Holman worked for over 44 years at SF State, starting in 1968 as part of the custodial staff and working his way up to logistics manager.  

He played a vital role in many key campus projects that helped to make the campus beautiful and add to its unique character. Among these were the Garden of Remembrance between the Fine Arts building and Burk Hall, as well as the construction of the ceremonial Japanese Tea Room in the Humanities building.  

After many years of dedicated and skillful work, Holman retired in 2012. He continued to live near the University and was a beloved neighbor of many staff and faculty. He left a legacy of how to be in community with one another. He was generous with his friends. It was not uncommon for him to drop by with a gift, a bag of fruit or just to say hello. His presence was always filled with warmth, sincerity and kindness.  

Marilyn P. Verhey, professor emerita of Nursing and former dean of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development, passed away Feb. 2 after a brief illness. She was 78.  

Verhey earned an M.S. in Library Science from University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction and Administration from Boston College. She also had experience in clinical work as associate administrator for Nursing Education at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. 

Verhey joined SF State’s School of Nursing in 1991 and was appointed as dean of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development in 2002. Upon her retirement in 2008, the Academic Senate passed a resolution commending her service to the University. After retirement, she continued to consult for the College of Health & Social Sciences and the President’s Office. 

In addition to being widely published in journals and books, Verhey served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, the board of directors for Hospice by the Bay, the Vestry of St. Brendan the Navigator Episcopal Church and the board of the Island Nursing Home. She volunteered at the Deer Isle library and historical society.  

Verhey was preceded in death by Lynn, her husband of 49 years, in 2017. Verhey is survived by her son, Paul James Verhey; his wife, Lisa; and grandson, Amida, of Hidden Valley Lake, California. 

In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to St. Brendan the Navigator Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 305, Deer Isle, ME 04627, or the Healthy Island Project, P.O. Box 55, Stonington, ME 04681.