News and Announcements
“When we dim the lights and the stars come on, you can just hear the gasps all through the room,” said Physics & Astronomy undergraduate Sergio Lopez of the public planetarium shows he presents in Spanish at SF State’s Charles F. Hagar Planetarium. “I think that’s my favorite part.”
Students like Lopez are carrying on and evolving the legacy started by Astronomy Professor Charles Hagar when he designed the planetarium (and observatory) in 1973.
The planetarium was recently awarded $1.5 million to refurbish the facility from the Heising-Simons Foundation. The Heising-Simons Foundation is a family foundation that works with its partners to advance sustainable solutions in climate and clean energy, enable groundbreaking research in science, enhance the education of our youngest learners, and support human rights for all people. The fortuitous timing of the award — which coincides with the planetarium’s 50th anniversary — didn’t go unnoticed by Planetarium and Observatory Director Adrienne Cool.
“It’s no small feat for this planetarium to have been able to do what it does for 50 years,” she said.
Physics & Astronomy students take classes there, but it also offers free shows to anyone, including the public.
“We’re proud of the fact that this planetarium has provided a training ground and a community for so many people, and that so many have gone on to become science educators in the Bay Area and beyond,” Cool said.
The renovations will introduce a modern star projector that will produce an accurate night sky of 9,500 stars, details of the Milky Way and more. (The current star projector has been there since Hagar’s days.) Complementing the star projector will be full-dome video that enables planetarium presenters to take visitors on virtual trips through the Solar System, Milky Way and beyond, and display images from the James Web Space Telescope and other observatories around the world. There will also be a new dome as well as new control and audio systems, lighting and seating.
“Even the absolute top-of-the-line video projection still doesn’t look as good as the stars made by the old-style [star projector], which is more of a pinhole camera. [It’s basically a] ball with zillions of holes. Those stars look more like realistic stars,” said Planetarium and Observatory Technician Jim Gibson about the decision to continue using a star projector. It’s an important distinction, he explained, because many local planetariums only use video.
Since 1973, the planetarium has served approximately 100,000 people. Currently, around 1,800 people visit annually — and while many are SF State Physics & Astronomy students, more than 1,000 are students, faculty and staff from outside of the department, K-12 school children or members of the community.
The planetarium/observatory alumni network — alums trained as students to use the facilities — numbers in the hundreds and includes staff members at the California Academy of Sciences and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific along with community college and high school teachers.
Over a decade ago, Gibson began offering planetarium workshops to teach students how to use the planetarium equipment and lead planetarium shows. Physics & Astronomy graduate student Shvetha Suvarna Chynoweth enrolled because she wanted to navigate the night sky herself. But the experience became personal when it helped her connect with her family in a new way.
Given different interests and generational gaps, she found it difficult to relay her enthusiasm for her graduate work to her family. The workshop helped her connect their love of astrology, which for her family has religious connections, to her scientific astronomical interests. “This class helped me figure out how I can start tying things together — the things that they are interested in versus what I am interested in — to bridge the gap. It might not be completely connected but it’s how you get them to relate to stuff they really respect,” she said.
This type of connection is the goal of the monthly bilingual Spanish-English Noche de Estrellas planetarium/observatory public events led by Lopez and other students. The graduate school-bound Lopez, a native Spanish speaker, says these events helped him practice talking about astronomy in Spanish and to non-expert audiences.
Cool emphasizes that public planetarium shows for school children are all free, as they were when Hagar began 50 years ago — and she has no intention of changing this. She and Gibson anticipate that the renovated facilities will lead to increased student participation, broader student training opportunities, and enhanced visitor experiences.
“As the audience, you are looking at the universe as yourself. Here’s me seeing the stars, the sun, the moon and the planets. It is highlighting your relationship to the cosmos,” Gibson said. Understanding how the universe began is a very abstract concept. “Whereas when you’re in the planetarium, that’s what you see. If you go out at night, boom: Here’s your exact direct connection to the universe.”
The planetarium and observatory welcome everyone to visit. Learn more about the planetarium and observatory, get schedules for public shows or make a reservation.
Photo by Juan Montes
SF State is celebrating the contributions of Black alumni, faculty, staff and students with a new Black Wall of Fame on view through Thursday, Feb. 29, at the Art Gallery on the terrace level of the Cesar Chavez Student Center. The Black Wall of Fame was created by Soul of SF State, a group that plans events and initiatives meant to uplift the University’s Black community. Soul of SF State co-founder Shanice Robinson-Blacknell (B.A., ’15; M.A., ’18; M.Ed., ’19, Ed.D, 23), a lecturer in the Equity, Leadership Studies, and Instructional Technologies and Africana Studies departments and a recent doctoral graduate in the Graduate College of Education, spoke with SF State News about how she hopes to make the Black Wall of Fame a Black History Month tradition.
Where did the idea for the Black Wall of Fame come from?
There are so many phenomenal people that have been on this campus for 20, 30 years, some even almost 40 years who have never been recognized. It was very important for me to make sure we kick off Black History Month not just with events, but with something that can be an event that happens each year.
Sometimes our heads get wrapped around the 1968 student strike, but there are phenomenal things that have happened after the strike. I just wanted to highlight that. We have so many phenomenal Black leaders on campus.
What’s the criteria for being included in the Black Wall of Fame?
If you’re an alum, current student, faculty or staff member and you’re leading great research, or if you’re producing great programming or providing resources to Black students on campus and BIPOC communities, those are the people I want to highlight.
I want to make it bigger each year because I want [inductees] to know that San Francisco State loves [them], and if [the University] didn’t say it while you were there, we’re going to say it every Black History Month.
We feature people like the Dancing Divas (SF State’s historically Black college or university-inspired majorette and hip-hop dance team), the Divine 9 (Black Greek letter organizations) and emeritus and emerita faculty.
I want [students] to feel empowered — of course faculty and staff, too, but mostly the students. Seeing the Dancing Divas, the Gospel Gator students come in and say, “Oh, my God! There’s my picture!” And seeing them get so excited that they Facetime their parents … that made me happy.
Tell me about one of the inductees and why they inspired you.
Dr. Doris Flowers is one of my heroes in education. I would love to be like her. She co-founded the Equity and Social Justice Master of Arts program (in the Graduate College of Education) and is also the chair of my dissertation. In 2019 she was the department chair of two departments Equity, Leadership Studies, and Instructional Technologies and Africana Studies and she just retired as associate dean of the Graduate College of Education. She’s been at SF State for 33 years.
When I was applying for graduate school, I reached out to her not even knowing who she was. I just told her, “I’m really interested in this master’s program and I don’t have a 3.0 GPA to get into the program. I technically have a 2.9.” She told me to still apply and submit a personal statement indicating why this program is a great fit for me and specifying why my GPA had fallen. Because of her, I was able to get in the program and I thrived.
I have become not just her mentee, but I’m also teaching in the same department as hers. It’s awesome to have a full-circle moment with people who inspired me and helped get me across the finish line. And then they see enough in me to create opportunities for me.
What do you hope this wall does for the SF State community?
I hope that this wall will empower Black students, faculty and staff, but also allow others like President Mahoney and Vice President Moore to see the Black community from our perspective. I want people every year to see the Black Wall of Fame, even if they’re not students.
If you know of someone you think should be added to the Black Wall of Fame, email Dr. Shanice Robinson-Blacknell.
Photo by Corinne Allen
A new study published in Biological Conservation provides insight that could help efforts to recover Yosemite toads and other species. The project was led by scientist Celeste Dodge (M.S., ’13) and her graduate research adviser, Biology Chair and Professor Vance Vredenburg. The work was part of Dodge’s thesis work. The SF State team members and their colleagues studied the historical and contemporary impact of the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) on these species.
“In this study, we uncovered evidence that surviving populations of Yosemite toads may suffer the impacts of the chytrid fungus and conservation planning efforts should consider this population stressor,” she explained.
For the analysis, they used 719 museum specimens collected between 1915 and 2005, and 1,679 samples from live animals in the wild collected 2004 – 2012. The findings revealed that the historical emergence of Bd aligned with declines in the population of Yosemite toads and that Bd is still widely present in the species range. Chance of infection is tied to life stage, elevation and precipitation, with the juvenile stage of life being most highly infected.
“Our study will help recovery efforts for the Yosemite toad by incorporating the past and present effects of fungal disease,” Vredenburg said.
Photo by Celeste Dodge
As part of an effort to reduce the campus’ structural budget deficit, SF State is offering a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP), intended to encourage employees to voluntarily separate with severance on Sunday, June 30. This is a one-time non-precedent setting program.
The VSIP will provide to eligible employees, not including faculty who elect to join the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP), an amount equivalent to 50% of the employee’s annual salary, up to a maximum cap of $75,000 (maximum cap to be prorated for employee’s appointed for less than full-time). Faculty who elect to join FERP will receive an amount up to a maximum cap of $30,000.
Employees participating in the program must be retirement eligible, with at least 10 years of service at SF State as of June 30, although employees are not required to retire to participate in the program.
The VSIP application period is Monday, April 1 – Tuesday, April 30. The application will be available via DocuSign, and any mailed applications must be postmarked by April 30. Please note that the University will be unable to consider applications received after April 30.
Applications will be approved with the highest years of service given priority consideration. Severance pay will be calculated using an employee’s monthly base salary (up to 1.00 FTE) at the time of the application deadline by 11:59 p.m. on April 30. The separation must occur on June 30, or later, depending on the agreement between the employee and Human Resources.
Employees, after receiving approval to participate in the VSIP and after signing the separation Agreement and Release, will receive 100% of the calculated severance amount on their last day of employment. Any employee who wishes to rescind the executed severance agreement must do so in writing to Ingrid Williams no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, June 14.
Employees interested in this program are encourages to thoroughly review all eligibility criteria in the Terms and Conditions on the Human Resources website and FAQs at prior to applying for the VSIP.
Please direct all questions to Ingrid C. Williams.
Nominations and applications are invited for interim associate dean of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development. The position offers a unique opportunity for senior faculty to gain valuable leadership experience in the central administration of the university.
For 2024 – 25, the priorities in the Office of Faculty Affairs will center on expanding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including leadership development and recruitment workshops. The associate dean will continue to assist the associate provost in all faculty-related processes and have significant responsibilities in the development and implementation of all new and continuing priorities and initiatives.
Faculty with department chair experience, and/or other campuswide leadership experience are especially encouraged to apply. Applications will be accepted until review begins on Monday, May 20. Interviews will be scheduled after May 20 and will continue until position is filled. Start date is negotiable but is anticipated between Monday, July 1, and Monday, Aug. 5.
The associate dean reports to the associate provost for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development.
The Seal of Excelencia Working Group has launched a listserv. Subscribers will receive the group’s newsletters and stay up to date on the work surrounding its Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) efforts. Learn about events, resources and ways to get involved as the group continues its efforts for SF State to earn the Seal of Excelencia.
Visit the content and subscribe via the listserv landing page.
To share events tailored to or impacting Latinx students, please email Luis De Paz Fernandez.
SF State librarians have created Canvas modules to help faculty incorporate information literacy competencies into their courses. These modules are in the SF State Canvas Commons and can be modified as needed to fit your needs.
The following modules are available for use and more modules will become available in the coming weeks. Go to Canvas Commons, click Filters, and under Shared With select “J. Paul Leonard Library at SF State”
- COMM 150 Research Tutorial
- Empirical Research
- Evaluating Sources with ACT UP
- Synthesizing Sources
- OneSearch Exercise
- Research Questions and Keywords
Most of these modules have been adapted from the Teaching Research Toolkit, a collection of resources and activities to help scaffold the research process throughout a course.
For questions and help, librarians are available to assist.
Modules are licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 DEED, which means that faculty members are welcome to adapt and modify as they see fit for a course (including changing the name, personalizing examples, editing point values, etc.).
This is a resource that will continue to grow and evolve, and the team welcomes feedback and requests. Please e-mail the Library Student Success and Engagement Team with questions about the Canvas modules or the toolkit.
Article 20.37 of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement for the CSU provides a limited pool of funds to be awarded to faculty engaged in exceptional levels of service that support the CSU’s priorities. Faculty members may nominate themselves or other eligible members for these Exceptional Assigned Time Awards in a letter no longer than two pages.
If nominating someone, please include a statement to the effect that the faculty member is not already receiving assigned time for the same general category of supported activity during the 2024 – 25 academic year. Academic Senate policy S18-271 is on the senate website and includes details on eligibility, supported activities, review criteria and process.
Award applications must include the coversheet, available on the senate website in MS Word or PDF formats. Awards for 2024 – 25 will be announced in May. All nominations must be received by the Academic Senate office no later than Monday, March 18, at 4 p.m.
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:
- support faculty members incorporating climate change/justice into their research, service and creative activities (RSCA) for the first time.
- deepen their inquiries into climate change/justice in a new way.
- facilitate connections among faculty engaged in climate RSCA across campus and in the community.
View 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.
SF State is conducting the National College Health Assessment, sponsored and distributed by the American College Health Association, in collaboration with Health Promotion & Wellness. The survey is the only large-scale health assessment that guides programming, resources and services of the student health fee.
It is administered every two to three years and covers a wide range of topics including mental health, sexual health, substance use, basic needs and sexual violence.
On Monday, Feb. 26, students who have been randomly selected to participate in the survey will receive an email invitation from Karen Boyce, director of Health Promotion & Wellness.
All students who complete a survey before the Friday, March 15, deadline will be automatically entered in a random opportunity drawing. Prizes include:
- One SF State semester tuition (worth $3,700)
- Three SF State tuition payments (worth $1,000 each)
- Two iPads (10.2 inch, 128 GB with wi-fi)
- 30 Amazon gift cards (worth $100 each)
For more information, visit the Health Promotion & Wellness website.
Friday, March 1, is the last day for faculty to submit short videos for the Center for Equity & Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CEETL) faculty appreciation event.
For more information, please visit the CEETL Call for Teaching Stories web page.
Students interested in studying abroad during the fall, academic year or summer 2024 terms should apply by the Sunday, March 3, deadline.
SF State Abroad has programs in 37 countries with options for every major and minor as well as lower and upper general-education courses and language learning programs. Students pay the same tuition and have access to their financial aid while earning SF State resident credit.
Encourage students to begin by attending an information meeting in person or virtually.
The SF State Academic Senate met on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at Seven Hills and via Zoom.
The senate:
- Passed the Resolution Supporting Academic Senate of the California State University Resolution on AB 928, and Campus Autonomy in General Education Requirements.
- Passed the following program changes:
- 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
- Heard in first reading Anti-Doxxing Resolution.
- Heard in first reading Revision to S14-236 Academic Program Review Policy.
- Heard in first reading Revision to F22-241 Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Policy.
- Postponed the following items for the next meeting on Tuesday, March 5:
- Recommendation from the Campus Curriculum Committee: Minor in Health Education name change
- Recommendation from the Academic Policies Committee: Revision to S23-257 Course Syllabus Policy
- Recommendation from the Faculty Affairs Committee: Revision to S20-145 Department Chairs and Equivalent Unit Directors Policy
- Recommendation from the Student Affairs Committee: Resolution in Appreciation of Exceptional Efforts by the Enrollment Management During the Rollout of the Revised FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
View the full agenda, meeting materials and minutes on the Academic Senate website.
The Institute for Holistic Health Studies welcomes faculty, staff and students to the Holistic Health Library and Community Center to drop in for tea, relaxation, study and opportunity to learn about holistic health and wellness through our library resources.
Open hours for spring 2024:
- Mondays and Wednesdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Tuesdays, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Thursdays, 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., and 3 – 5 p.m.
- Fridays, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Ongoing events:
- Tea and Meditation: Tuesdays, 3 – 4 p.m.
- Mindful Movement: Wednesdays, 11 a.m. – noon
Join the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement for an informational session with SF State’s 2023 Panetta congressional intern on Monday, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m. via Zoom. Student ambassador Ximena Nieves will discuss her Panetta experience and give advice for future nominees.
The Lam-Larsen Initiative for Emerging Technologies will host its second Meet-the-Expert talk on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at noon. It covers generative artificial intelligence and large language models with Prashant Jain, vice president of business transformation at Capgemini.
Jain is a technology leader with over two decades of experience spearheading digital transportation and enterprise information systems. He pioneered some of the earliest successful S/4HANA projects and global business transformation.
This event is open to the entire SF State community. It will be held online via Zoom (meeting ID: 826 9198 4206; passcode: 855711).
The Labor Archives and Research Center’s 38th Anniversary Annual Program will be held Thursday, Feb. 29, 5 – 7 p.m., at the Labor Archives and Research Center (Library 460). The program will mark the opening of the exhibition “Fields of Struggle: Agricultural Laborers in California, 1939 – 1966.” Drawn from the papers of Henry P. Anderson, the exhibit examines the tensions and solidarity between distinct groups of migrant agricultural laborers, with an emphasis on the Bracero Program and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). Mireya Loza, author of “Defiant Braceros: How Migrant Workers Fought for Racial, Sexual and Political Freedom,” will be the keynote speaker.
This event is free and open to the public.
Photo courtesy of the Labor Archives and Research Center
The Poetry Center welcomes Gillian Conoley, in town from Sonoma County, and Rodrigo Toscano, formerly of the Bay Area and now of New Orleans, for a reading on Wednesday, March 6, 7 – 8:30 p.m. It takes place Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore and Gallery in San Francisco’s Mission District.
The Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) and the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE) will host a “Pints and PIE” workshop on Thursday, March 7, 2 – 3:30 p.m., in Library 242. It is titled “Teaching with Community Service Learning: Why and How?”
This workshop explores the transformative potential of experiential learning, emphasizing its capacity to foster community beyond traditional classroom boundaries. It is recommended to faculty curious about community-engaged teaching and learning and faculty who want to jumpstart their service-learning post-pandemic.
The CSU Student Success Network hosts an LGBTQIA2S+ symposium for staff, students and faculty on Thursday, March 7, and Friday, March 8, in Sacramento. The registration deadline is Monday, Feb 26.
This symposium will be a space for cross-system conversations. Participants will share knowledge and practices related to advancing LGBTQIA2S+ student equity and well-being.
Visit the Student Success Network website for more information and to register.
The Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) will hold a workshop on “Academic Integrity in the Age of AI” on Thursday, March 14, 12:30 – 2 p.m., via Zoom. It will explore ways to navigate the challenges of academic integrity and artificial intelligence, including strategies for assignment redesign and syllabus policy creation.
SF State alumni are invited to the Vista Room on Tuesday, March 19, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., to learn to make Neapolitan pizza. Professor Sybil Yang will teach how to make the dough, sauce and technique for putting toppings on a pizza. Participants will also make their own personal pizza. A wine tasting and pairing lesson from special guest Aaron Smith of Üsëless Umläüt Wines will follow.
Tickets are $25 and registration is required. Space is limited.
The SF State Safe Zone Ally program is seeking staff, faculty and administrators to become safe zone allies for the campus LGBTQ+ community. The SF State Safe Zone Ally program’s mission is to foster a welcoming, inclusive and equitable campus environment by building a support network for people of all gender and sexual identities.
Safe Zone allies are active and visible volunteers who are open to talking to members of the LGBTQ+ community in a confidential and supportive environment. To become a Safe Zone ally, volunteers must complete a Safe Zone Ally training.
Safe Zone Ally virtual training is scheduled for Friday, April 5, and Friday, April 12, 1 – 4 p.m. (Participants must attend both days).
For further details about the training and to register and/or request accommodations, please RVSP via email to Rick Nizzardini. (Preregistration is required.)
SF State Spotlight
A new program will bring students from Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) campuses to study in downtown San Francisco. San Francisco Mayor London Breed held a press conference on Feb. 2 to announce the partnership.
Black 2 San Francisco, an initiative led by the Human Rights Commission, will begin to host HBCU programming this summer. Longterm, the goal of the initiative is to launch a satellite campus partnership with several HBCUs.
SF State will offer space for classrooms. University of San Francisco will provide student housing accommodations. University of California, San Francisco, will team with HBCUs to expand mental health mentoring, training and internships.
“I want to thank all of our private sector supporters, as well as USF, UCSF and SFSU for their partnership in this work and continued commitment to San Francisco’s future,” Breed said in a press release.
Human Rights Commission Executive Director Sheryl Davis (B.A., ’91) is also quoted in the press release.
“After many years of planning, and months of seeding and working to create meaningful partnerships, all the stakeholders are together to explore how we can connect San Francisco to the incredible talent that has historically been cultivated and supported by HBCUs,” Davis said. “Our local higher education partners have been actively involved and are central to this project.”
Photo by Bryan Roschetzky
Assistant Professor of Biology Mitzy Porras’ research focuses on understanding the dynamics between insect-microbe systems and global change factors. Porras and collaborators published findings in a new Scientific Reports paper that could help farmers manage the sustainable use of fruit tree crop protection products like fungicides. In the new study, scientists examined the impact of fungicides on pollinators crucial for fruit trees in the United States, specifically focusing on an introduced solitary bee species (O. cornifrons) vital for pollinating Rosaceae crops like apples and cherries.
This work specifically addresses the effects of fungicides on the health and microbial communities of solitary bees, emphasizing the importance of microbial diversity for larval immune function, disease resistance, development and overall bee fitness. Through a series of experiments, the scientists assessed the mortality rates caused by various fungicides and analyzed shifts in bacterial diversity due to fungicide-treated pollen provisions.
“Our findings highlight a notable reduction in microbial community diversity in O. cornifrons bees exposed to fungicides, underscoring the need for revised pesticide application guidelines that mitigate these impacts,” Porras said.
Global environmental change is predominantly induced by human activity that can lead to profound ecological and socio-economic ramifications. Key global change drivers include climate warming, light pollution, microplastic pollution, soil salinization, eutrophication, and the accumulation of fungicides. It’s well-documented that these changes can significantly alter pollinator communities and have many consequences such as affecting food productivity.
Jessica Wolin, lecturer in Public Health, and colleagues from the CSU Long Beach Center for Equitable Higher Education presented at the California Higher Education Basic Needs Alliance 2024 Summit in Sacramento on Feb. 22.
The team presented its RISE Framework, which is a new socio-ecological model for student basic needs. The team also presented about its three-year study of College Focused Rapid Rehousing that has been deployed as an existing community model to address homelessness on campus.
College of Science & Engineering (CoSE) Dean Carmen Domingo was the inaugural guest on the Science Wise Podcast on Feb. 19. She discussed her experiences as a developmental biologist and CoSE’s first woman dean.
During the discussion, Domingo shared stories of her early days as a science student, her career as a professor and dean, and how her lived experiences influence her work to create inclusive scientific environments.
Science Wise’s mission is to make the world of science more welcoming and open to the contributions of women, and to support student scientists navigating their own careers. The podcast aims to inspire listeners by having scientists with decades of experience share their highs and lows that shaped their paths. Hosts are Emilia Huerta Sanchez and Rori Rohlfs, a former SF State associate professor of Biology.
An article by Associate Professor of Linguistics Jenny Lederer is available by open access in the new book “Inclusion in Linguistics” (Oxford University Press), edited by Anne H. Charity Hudley, Christine Mallinson and Mary Bucholtz. Lederer’s article is titled “Texts, Tweets, Twitch, TikTok: Computer-Mediated Communication as an Inclusive Gateway to Linguistics.”
Using her course, English 122: “Language Evolution in the Digital Age,” as a case study, Lederer introduces a replicable introductory course design, which focuses on computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a means to inspire passion for language analysis. By elevating students’ own linguistic competencies and expertise, the traditional asymmetry between instructor and student inverts: The CMC student is a data source, a data analyst and a teacher, leading to student empowerment and comfort in the linguistics classroom.
Lederer will present her insights at the virtual portion of the CSU Symposium of Teaching and Learning, hosted by CSU San Bernardino on Friday, March 1.
The American Society for Cell Biology posted a Q&A with Biology Associate Professor Blake Riggs on Jan. 25. He discusses his lab, career and hobbies.
“Discovering pathways and mechanisms that are unknown and addressing questions regarding cell organization really drives the passion in my work,” he said. “Additionally, I am equally passionate about training the next generation of scientists and having those scientists reflect the diversity in our society.”
On Saturday, March 9, Librarian Emerita Darlene Tong is slated to speak at the closing weekend symposium for “Bonnie Ora Sherk: Life Frames Since 1970,” an exhibition at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture in San Francisco. Tong will participate in a panel discussion titled “Crossroads and Communities: Cultivating Artist-Led Space.”
Sherk earned her Master of Arts from SF State in 1970.