News and Announcements
SFSU has announced that Iranian American businesswoman, community leader, philanthropist and alumna Neda Nobari (B.S., ’84) has funded an expansion of the Presidential Scholars Program (PSP) that will more than double its size. The program supports first-generation, low-income students with high GPAs from the San Francisco Bay Area by covering the costs for tuition, housing, books and more for four years.
“Neda’s longstanding support for and service to the University has transformed our campus in so many ways,” SFSU President Lynn Mahoney said. “We are deeply grateful for her continued support which will change the lives of many students, especially those who face financial obstacles on their journey to a better future.”
Graduating from SFSU with a Computer Science degree, Nobari has a profound passion for helping STEM students like she once was. Her gift will expand PSP by specifically supporting STEM students who will be named the Maryam Mirzakhani Scholars in recognition of mathematician and professor Maryam Mirzakhani. In 2014, she became the first woman and Iranian to win the Fields Medal, the most prestigious mathematics award.
"My hope is that these scholarships will prioritize students pursuing careers in STEM, fields close to my heart as one of the few women in my computer science cohort over 40 years ago,” Nobari said. “My goal is that these scholarships can further diversify STEM fields, benefitting students who most need the support to succeed.”
SFSU received a $5 million gift from Nobari in 2016 to establish the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies (CIDS) and an additional $2 million years later. Since its inception, the center has provided rich and unique opportunities to study and explore the experiences, cultures and impact of the global Iranian diaspora to support its mission as an innovative academic platform for connecting transnational next-generation Iranian diaspora scholars. After a careful assessment of the most important needs of the University and students, Nobari has decided to redirect these funds to PSP to provide direct scholarship support.
As a proud SFSU alumna and lifelong advocate for education, Nobari has a deep connection with the University and has served many roles on the SFSU Foundation Board since its inception.
“Having served as an inaugural director, chair of its investment committee and board chair during its strategic planning process, I have developed a clear understanding of the University’s priorities and the growing challenges our students face. By repurposing my endowment, I am putting our students first,” Nobari said. “SFSU is very dear to me. I spent some of my most transformative years there, and because of its impact on my life, I want to continue giving back to the University and, most importantly, to the students.”
In 2020, Nobari was named the SFSU Alumna of the Year and was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame. She also established in 2022 the Azar Hatefi Graduate Student Fellowship in Iranian Diaspora Studies, honoring her late mother’s legacy.
Additionally, Nobari was pivotal in founding the Student Sustainable Investment Fund to provide students hands-on experience in sustainable investing and funding scholarships for students participating in that program. This transformational investment in the Presidential Scholars Program is also the culmination of her long trajectory of consistently supporting student fellowships and scholarships at SFSU.
About the Presidential Scholars Program
PSP, supported by the Division of Student Life, promotes exceptional learning and adheres to the highest standards of academic quality in the spirit of inclusive excellence. Each year, scholarships are awarded based on academic merit to an entering freshman cohort. The program not only provides financial support but also fosters a sense of community among the scholars through various events and cohort-building activities.
Founded in 1995, the program currently serves about 20 students per year, with about four to five students in each class at any given time. With the additional funds from Nobari, the program will serve 30 additional students.
The program’s impact is often life-changing for students, including freshman Naseem Driadr whose dream is to become a doctor. With this program, Driadr was able to overcome financial barriers to attend SFSU.
Driadr and his brother are currently both in college on a pre-medicine track, putting a financial strain on Driadr’s father who is the sole provider for the family. PSP alleviated some of the financial stress of sending two people to college at the same time.
“This scholarship came at the right timing. I didn’t want to be a burden upon my family,” Driadr said. “If I didn’t get into the scholarship program, I would have probably chosen a community college. It would have been a very different route or I would have gone into a lot of debt for sure.”
PSP also helps Driadr stay focused on his dream. “This scholarship helps me take my mind away from those financial things and focus on my schooling and do great like I’m how I’m supposed to be doing.”
Learn more about the Presidential Scholars Program.
Photo by Cristina Azocar
Viruses have a bad reputation and for good reason. Despite their connection to disease, some viruses can be used for good. SF State Assistant Professor Archana Anand wants to address the knowledge gap about phages — viruses that infect bacteria — and their potential renewable energy applications, such as helping develop biofuels and mitigating methane emissions.
To achieve this goal, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Anand a $2.2 million grant for a new Phages Pathways program. By collaborating with national labs and other universities, the three-year program is poised to strengthen the pipeline for renewable energy microbiologists.
“The aim of this grant is to cultivate a new generation of microbiologists. But they will not be focused entirely on traditional microbiology but will focus on the intersection of microbial ecology and renewable energy,” said Anand. “I don’t think the academic needs have met the job needs in the renewable energy-microbiology ecology space.”
At the core of this program is SFSU’s partnership with Lawerence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) — two major DOE-funded institutions — and San Diego State University (SDSU), UC Davis and Skyline Community College. Together, they will update curricula in microbiology courses at the different universities, create new student research opportunities at each institution and provide students with cross-institutional mentorship for research, leadership and career development. Students will receive financial support for their participation.
“This program could be impactful for students’ careers going forward,” said Anand of this DOE grant and the importance of collaborating with the national labs. She notes that there’s been an increase in these labs collaborating with institutions like SFSU. “Hopefully, the students will be really into this program and will come back to find a job in a similar setting.”
A major part of Phages Pathways is to introduce more students into renewable energy and microbiology workforces. Each year, the Phages Pathways will recruit 20 undergraduate and graduate students from SFSU, SDSU, UC Davis and Skyline College. This annual cohort will include 10 SF State students (five third- and fourth-year undergraduates and five graduate students). Skyline students will participate in SFSU offerings. SFSU’s program will also complement Skyline’s SEA-PHAGES, a similar program restricted to first- and second-year undergrads. Anand explains that many of these students drop out of this workforce pipeline because they lack relevant training opportunities during their latter undergraduate years.
“If they drop that continued exposure to this topic, then students do not have an interest in this and they do not develop the necessary skillsets,” Anand explained. “What we’re saying is that the [Skyline] students can feed into SFSU’s program.”
During the school year, students will attend the updated microbiology courses at their home university and participate in research at SFSU, SDSU or UC Davis. They will also attend a three-day symposium at UC Davis with student presentations, workshops and keynote lectures.
In the summer, all participants will attend two multi-day research workshops created by SFSU and LBNL researchers. One weeklong bootcamp will teach students fundamental phage research techniques for phage discovery, such as phage isolation and characterization. The second workshop will teach students how to analyze and annotate phage genomics data. Each year, two students will be selected to attend an additional 10-week intensive research internship at SNL that focuses on wet lab and computational skills crucial for bioenergy applications. Throughout the year, the program will also offer various professional development activities that will be open to the Phage Pathways cohorts and students outside of the program.
“To drive these breakthrough discoveries and move science forward, we should enable undergraduate and graduate students at all universities — not just at R1 institutions — but for everyone to engage in high impact research,” Anand said. “You never know who the next Einstein is going to be.”
Two years ago while attending SFSU, Marcelo Potosí was reading an email from one of his instructors about an opportunity from the San Francisco Arts Commission and decided to apply. Now he is one of four artists featured in the commission’s Art on Market Poster Series devoted to the original peoples of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Potosí’s six posters, titled “The Future of the Ramaytush Ohlone,” are on display at 15 Muni bus shelters on Market Street between Seventh and Steuart streets through Friday, Feb. 28. Each poster centers a figure against a backdrop that depicts historical and cultural locations in San Francisco, enhanced with native plants and animals. The designs also include silhouettes inspired by historical paintings of the Ramaytush Ohlone, accompanied by text reflecting the Indigenous tribe’s cultural values and aspirations. The Ramaytush Ohlone tribe comprises the Native peoples of the San Francisco Peninsula.
“Marcelo Potosí’s artwork beautifully and masterfully intertwines the rich cultural history of the Ramaytush Ohlone with visionary ideals for the future,” said Ralph Remington, director of cultural affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission. “Through his striking poster designs, Potosí honors the deep-rooted legacy of the Ohlone peoples, while urging us to envision and reimagine a future grounded in respect for the land, its original stewards and the environment.”
Potosí says he finds the Ramaytush Ohlone have much in common with his own Indigenous roots. He is a Kichwa-Otavalo person from Ecuador.
“They are dedicated to giving back to the land and protecting it from pollution. This is also something we honor back in Ecuador,” said Potosí (B.A., ’24), who works as a freelance graphic designer. “By creating this poster series, I was trying to show the goals that the Ramaytush Ohlone have, and also just to let people know who the original peoples of this land were.”
At age 15 in 1991, Potosí and his late father, a merchant who visited the U.S. frequently, arrived in New York City. After six months living and working there, Potosí moved to San Francisco with a one-way cross-country ticket on Greyhound. He hasn’t moved from San Francisco since.
At the time he still was beginning to learn English, working his way through a wide range of customer service and office jobs. He earned an associate’s degree from City College of San Francisco in 2003 but didn’t enter SFSU until 2021.
He immersed himself in the University’s School of Art, gaining a great deal of valuable skills and knowledge in printmaking, drawing, exhibition design and art history. “Every class was amazing,” he said.
A class in Latin American art history was particularly inspirational.
“That class was also really valuable because we went over art from Mexico and South America, and it introduced me to artists that are from South America,” he said. “By looking at their art I felt very connected to my roots and made me explore more about what South American art means. It motivated me to explore more art produced by Indigenous people and their beliefs and their connection with the Earth.”
The SF State Human and Animal Protections (HAP) office is implementing new tools and processes this semester to improve Institutional Review Board (IRB) procedures.
Highlights:
- A new self-determination tool that principal investigators can use to determine if their project meets the federal definition of Human Subjects Research and subsequent category for review by the IRB.
- A revised Application for Determination of Exemption form to streamline the review process and enhance guidance for student researchers.
- A policy change on the requirement for annual renewals of minimal risk research. Studies approved through the expedited process will no longer require annual renewal. This process will be rolled out over 2025 and still requires principal-investigator engagement.
- A new requirement for active studies to be resubmitted that were approved before the implementation of the IRBManager system. These “historical studies” will undergo review and reapproval using IRBManager.
- A new requirement for faculty advisers on student protocols to be present in active discussions with the HAP office and the IRB.
These tools, processes and requirements went into effect on Feb. 7. For more details, please view the spring 2025 updates document via Box.
Please join the IRB for an information session and Q&A regarding these updates on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 10 a.m. Please register via Zoom.
The nomination period for the spring 2025 Staff Council elections will open on Monday, Feb. 17. The Staff Council encourages staff members to consider nominating themselves or a colleague. A nomination webpage will be available soon.
The nomination period concludes Friday, March 7. The voting period is Monday, March 17 – Friday, April 4.
Vacancies are in: unit 1, unit 2, unit 4, unit 5, unit 8, unit 9-GTS and unit 9-Tech service.
For questions, please email the Staff Council at askstaffcouncil@sfsu.edu.
The deadline for nominations for the 2025 Civic & Community Engagement Awards has been extended to Friday, Feb. 21. The awards honor students, faculty, staff and community partners who strengthen the connections between SF State and our communities.
Academic Technology (AT) and the Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) invite the campus community to enroll in this spring’s “Excellence in Online Pedagogies” professional development course. This course is updated to include brand-new modules on student engagement and the universal design for learning framework.
Whether revisiting familiar content or exploring these new additions, this course is an opportunity to refresh your knowledge and gain new insights into effective online teaching. The “Excellence in Online Pedagogies” course equips faculty with foundational and advanced approaches for designing and enhancing online synchronous and asynchronous courses. AT and CEETL encourage taking advantage of this professional development opportunity to revisit core principles while exploring innovative strategies for fostering inclusivity and engagement in online teaching.
The course will be available on Monday, Feb. 17. For more information and to enroll, visit the “Excellence in Online Pedagogies” page.
The Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) is delighted to announce the call for 2025 Teaching Awards, which will recognize faculty who have made a significant impact on their students’ learning and development. These awards are open to all faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in teaching and a commitment to student success.
Please submit an application by Tuesday, April 1. For details, please visit the Call for 2025 CEETL Teaching Awards page.
Registration for the Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL)’s course certificate series, “A New Hope in the Return of the JEDI PIE,” is now open. The course opened on Feb. 3 and will remain open rest of the year. “JEDI PIE” is an acronym for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Pedagogies for Inclusive Excellence.
Those who complete the course by Tuesday, April 15, will receive a $250 stipend.
Come and learn in the mountains! Registration is now open at the Sierra Nevada Field Campus, a mountain camp owned by SFSU for 76 years. Take a class or workshop in all things natural history and art. Courses at the Sierra Nevada Field Campus are open to the public. SFSU students and staff receive discounts on meals and lodging.
For a list of class offerings and to register, please visit the registration page.
As an SFSU employee, you can play a key role in helping students realize that studying abroad is possible! SF State Abroad offers exchange programs where students continue to pay the same tuition and access all financial aid. Encourage students to start exploring their options now.
By attending partner universities in countries where living costs are often lower than the Bay Area, studying abroad costs the same — or even less.
Studying abroad also helps stay on track for graduation. Students can make progress on their major, minor or general-education requirements and often are able to enroll into required classes more easily abroad, as classes aren’t impacted or waitlisted. With preapproved courses in popular departments like business, psychology, and kinesiology, it’s easier than ever to plan ahead.
The priority deadline is Saturday, Feb. 15, for programs in summer 2025, fall 2025 and the 2025 – 2026 academic year.
Students can learn more and get help by emailing studyabroad@sfsu.edu, advising in-person or via Zoom. The Study Abroad office is located in Building C of the Village at Centennial Square, next to U.S. Bank.
SFSU’s Tutoring and Academic Support Center (TASC) is open to support students for spring 2025. It provides services in Library 220 and via Zoom for the duration of the semester (through Friday, May 16). It is open Mondays – Thursdays, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Fridays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Extended online tutoring via Zoom is available Mondays – Thursdays, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
TASC supports learning in a variety of courses and majors while helping students develop their academic skills. The tutors are trained to assist students in completing specific assignments while helping them strengthen skills and make progress toward graduating. It offers both one-on-one and group tutoring.
Students can schedule a one-time appointment via Navigator for help on a specific project such as a paper, assignment or homework. Students who want consistent tutoring with the same tutor every week can request weekly sessions by completing the Qualtrics form. Students with a quick question can drop in to TASC in person or virtually.
For group tutoring, TASC offers workshops and study sessions. Its discipline-specific workshops focus on a course or subject area; academic skills workshops help students develop foundational academic success skills. Weekly study sessions are offered for certain courses.
The TASC team can arrange a visit to a class, program, department or group to talk about its services. Please request a visit via Qualtrics.
CampusMemo publishes weekly on Mondays throughout the semester. Please submit items by 5 p.m. on the Tuesday prior to the upcoming issue. Please submit items via Qualtrics.
For questions, please email the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications at marcomm@sfsu.edu.
The SF State Academic Senate met on Tuesday, Feb. 4, via Zoom (agenda with links to items).
The Senate:
- Presented an informational item: Institutional Review Committee Dollar Target memo
- Passed by general consent the following items:
- Bachelor of Arts in Race, Ethnicity and Health (BA-REH): reduction in units
- Master of Arts in Political Science (MA-PLSI): distance education authorization
- Graduate Certificate in Ethnic Studies (CT-ETHS): distance education authorization
- Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (BA-SOC): distance education authorization
- Certificate in Business Administration (CT-BA): distance education authorization and asynchronous
- Heard in first reading the following items:
- Bachelor of Science in Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management (BS-HTM): name change
- Bachelor in Music, concentration in Music Production (BM-MUSMP): degree type change
- International Relations Graduate Pathway Program (IRGPP-SELF): new certificate proposal
- Minor in Business Analytics: new minor proposal
- Master of Science in Accountancy (MS-ACCT): change designation, change core classes
- Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Studies, concentration in PK – 3 Integrated Teacher Education Program: concentrations
- Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Studies, concentration in Special Education Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP): concentrations
- Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Studies, concentration in Care and Education: concentrations
- Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Studies, concentration in Pre-K to Third Grade: concentrations
- Revision on Policy Program Sustainability, Continuance, and Discontinuance #F24-177
- Heard a presentation from Darlene Yee-Melichar, CSU faculty trustee: “CSU Update”
For questions or concerns about the items heard in first reading, please email Campus Curriculum Committee Chair Rick Harvey at rharvey@sfsu.edu.
The Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) organizes faculty writing meetups, opportunities for faculty to check in briefly about their writing and ample time to work quietly on individual writing projects.
The meetups are scheduled for every first and third Tuesday and every second and fourth Friday, 1 – 3 p.m. Tuesday sessions are hybrid; join virtually or in person in Library 242. Snacks are provided. Friday sessions are on Zoom.
To RSVP and for the Zoom link, please register via Qualtrics.
Staff are invited to the next Staff Forum on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 10 – 11 a.m., via Zoom. All SFSU staff, except Management Personnel Plan (MPP) employees and faculty, are encouraged to attend.
Hosted by Human Resources, this meeting includes presentations from University Police, Information Technology Services and Academic Technology with artificial-intelligence updates, Gator Give Day and immigration resources.
To opt into all meetings and for the Zoom link, please RSVP via Qualtrics.
An Academic Technology course offers a focused exploration of prompting and iteration strategies for generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like Microsoft Copilot.
Through collaborative, hands-on activities and interactive exercises, participants in “AI Literacy Essentials: Prompting for Practical Applications” will learn to write clear, effective prompts, apply refinement techniques such as prompt chaining, and assess AI-generated outputs for accuracy and relevance to achieve more reliable and useful results in a variety of academic and non-academic contexts.
This course is required to receive a digital badge for the AI Literacy Education Program.
Schedule:
- Wednesday, Feb. 12, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Please register via Zoom.
- Thursday, Feb. 13, 2 – 3:30 p.m. Please register via Zoom.
A coffee hour for faculty, administrators and staff will take place Thursday, Feb. 13, noon – 1 p.m., in the Library Teaching and Learning Commons (Library 286). Please quench your inner wanderlust and drop by for some light refreshments and a chat about all things international.
Representatives from the College of Liberal & Creative Arts will provide a small presentation about their international engagement efforts. The College of Professional & Global Education will provide refreshments.
This event occurs twice each semester and is sponsored by the All University Committee on International Programs (an Academic Senate committee).
Human Resources offers two virtual presentations to help you prepare for retiring within a year. Attend both workshops to maximize your post-retirement potential.
“Nearing Retirement with SavingsPlus: How to Transition your Savings with your 401(k) or 457(b)” takes place Friday, Feb. 14, 11 a.m. – noon. Please RSVP via Microsoft Teams. This webinar will complement a California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) presentation on Tuesday, March 11, 2:30 – 4 p.m., for employees enrolled in CalPERS, to help complete the CalPERS retirement application. Participants can bring their CalPERS retirement allowance estimate to the workshop. Human Resources Retirement Specialist Mary Saw will lead the presentation. Please RSVP via Qualtrics.
The Transfer Peer Mentor Program will host the Transfer Student Community Welcome event Tuesday, Feb. 18, noon – 4 p.m., on the fifth-floor patio of the Administration building. All transfer students are invited to this mix of icebreakers, crafting activities and socializing. Food, snacks and beverages will be provided.
The Faculty Assessment Fellows and Academic Planning invite the campus community to a panel discussion on sustainable assessment practices on Friday, Feb. 21, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., via Zoom. The three sessions present an opportunity to learn from peers about assessment design and purpose (11 – 11:30 a.m.), designing program learning outcomes for practical assessment (11:30 – noon) and using capstone courses to assess student learning (noon – 12:30 p.m.). Participants are welcome to join for the entire meeting or for individual sessions.
For more information, please email Jane DeWitt at dewitt@sfsu.edu.
The exhibition “Objects of Inquiry: The Office for the Study of the Ordinary” opens Saturday, Feb. 22, in the Fine Arts Gallery with a reception from 1 to 3 p.m. “Objects of Inquiry” documents a yearlong residency with Oakland-based artist Liz Hernández at SF State's School of Art, supported by the Harker Fund of the San Francisco Foundation.
During her residency, Hernández has served as the as lead researcher for the fictional Office for the Study of the Ordinary. The office focused on investigating the everyday and documenting hidden narratives through the creation of objects, images and writing, while fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration, vulnerability, curiosity and experimentation. The culminating exhibition features documentation of the physical office, processes, artifacts, collaborations, and printed material.
The exhibit closes Monday, April 5. Regular gallery hours are Tuesdays – Fridays, noon to 4 p.m. For more information visit the Fine Arts Gallery website or email fineartsgallery@sfsu.edu.
The Small Group Instructional Feedback (SGIF) is a formative, mid-course check-in process, organized by the Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL). SGIF gathers information from students about their learning experience to inform pedagogical decisions during the semester. Instructors will work with a small group of colleagues from different departments to receive and provide a SGIF session for each other.
SGIF sessions will run between weeks five and 10 of the semester. Participation is expected to take no more than six hours of faculty time. Eligible faculty will receive a stipend for $300. SGIF sessions are available for in-person or online synchronous courses only. Limited spots are available.
The Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL), Academic Technology and J. Paul Leonard Library present a workshop on Open Educational Resources (OER) on Tuesday, Feb. 25, noon – 1 p.m., in Library 242 and via Zoom.
Learn the basics of using OER to save students money and support teaching and learning. OER can encompass a variety of materials, including syllabi, lesson plans, learning modules, lab experiments, simulations, course videos, discussion prompts, assignments, assessments, library guides and course design templates. CSU faculty who adopt OER and other low- or no-cost course materials are eligible to apply for an Affordable Instructional Materials Initiative grant.
Risk and Safety Services’ lunch-and-learn presentations provide information about risk mitigation programs at SF State. Everyone is invited. A different topic is selected for each session.
The February session will be held Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 11:30 am in Library 286. The discussion includes special events and the planning requirements for student organizations, colleges and departments.
The Student Fee Advisory Committee will have its first meeting of the spring semester on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m. via Zoom. Members of the campus community who wish to present items or make requests to the committee should email their request and supporting documents to vpsaem@sfsu.edu by Monday, Feb. 17, in order to ensure placement on the agenda and to provide the committee adequate time to review requests.
Save the date for Friday, March 14, and Saturday, March 15, for the third annual Responsible Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference hosted by the Lam Family College of Business. This year’s theme is “Crafting Responsible Innovation: Insights from HR, Training, and Design.”
Join the Lam Family College of Business for this event in San Francisco where industry experts in responsible innovation, human resources and design, along with scholars from Europe and around the globe, who will share their insights.
For more information and to register, please visit the conference page.
SF State Spotlight
Ashley Larson, assistant professor of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, and Morgan Butler published a research article in the Western Journal of Communication examining how national broadcast news visually portrayed the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
The article, “Images of Violence: An Analysis of Visual Frames in U.S. Nightly National Broadcast News Coverage of Black Lives Matter Protests,” provides critical insights into how media represent social movements. Despite 95% of protests being peaceful, Larson’s and Butler’s study reveals that news coverage disproportionately emphasized violent imagery.
The research explores how media visuals can shape public perception, analyzing two weeks of broadcast news coverage following George Floyd’s murder. By examining the proportion and type of violent visual frames, Larson and Butler highlight how news media can potentially delegitimize social movements through image selection.
Vincent Mai (M.S., ’22) is the lead author of an article published in the Journal of Medical Entomology in December. Coauthors include Assistant Professor of Biology Robert A. Boria, Professor of Biology Andrea Swei and researchers from the California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control.
The study used molecular and niche modeling approaches to identify the potential vertebrate reservoir host of an emerging tick-borne pathogen in California, Pacific Coast tick fever, caused by the bacterium, Rickettsia rickettsii californica, and transmitted by the Pacific Coast tick (Dermacentor occidentalis).