May 12, 2025

Students can prepare for finals, get a snack or take a break during Wellness Weeks at the J. Paul Leonard Library, Monday, May 12 – Thursday, May 22. A supportive wellness room in the Library Events Room (Library 121) is stocked with free snacks and drinks, puzzles and games, creative activities, and information about campus resources. 

Students can also stay later at the Library. All four floors of the Main Library will be open 8 a.m. – midnight Monday, May 12 – Thursday, May 22. Other areas of the Library will also have extended hours. Please visit the Library website to learn more.

The Library is filled with people who can help. Ask a librarian 24/7 or visit the book checkout and pickup desk to talk with a peer mentor. 

The campus community is invited to enjoy restorative and anti-stress events during Wellness Weeks: 

• Wags for Wellness: Visit with therapy dogs certified by the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Tuesday, May 13, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., outside Library entrance. 
• Library Game Break, Finals Edition: Drop in and play for a while. Wednesday, May 14, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Library 121. 
• Story Time: Relax as Library workers read you a story. Tuesday, May 13, and Thursday, May 15, 12:30 p.m., near book checkout and pickup desk. 
• Press Your Stress popups: Make a custom pin with help from Library peer mentors in the lobby. Schedule to be announced. 

To ensure the safety of members of the campus community, Risk and Safety Services requests campus comment and feedback for the updated Animals on Campus University Executive Directive. This directive intends to provide updated information and guidance for animals on campus.  

Please submit comments and feedback via Qualtrics.  

For questions or clarification, please email Policies at policies@sfsu.edu. 

Photo by Juan Montes 

The Kenneth Fong Translational Research Grant Awards have been announced. A donation from Kenneth Fong (B.S., ’71; M.A., ’74), trustee emeritus of the CSU Board of Trustees, funds this award. It promotes and encourages basic and applied research through faculty collaborations between departments and disciplines with the goal of developing innovative and practical applications. A key focus of the award is to strengthen interdisciplinary team-based scientific research. 

Awardees: 

• Zheng-Hui He, professor of Biology; Joseph Ramahi, postdoctoral fellow in Biology); and Ray Esquerra, professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry: “Toward a Sustainable Feed Additive: Profiling and Enhancing Bromoform Production in Seaweed.” The goal of this project is to create a feed additive from seaweed that will reduce methane emissions from cattle. 
• Alyssa Kubota, assistant professor of Computer Engineering; John Kim, speech pathologist and joint doctoral candidate in Special Education at SFSU and UC Berkeley;  and Laura Epstein, professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences: “Take a look through my eyes: Integrating lived experiences with aided communication systems to enhance the learning of socio-emotional concepts for nonspeaking children.” This work aims to enhance state-of-the-art augmentative or alternative modes of communication systems by identifying and incorporating salient representations of abstract socio-emotional concepts drawn from cultural and lived experiences for nonspeaking children. 

Alumni Relations, in collaboration with the J. Paul Leonard Library staff, hosted the spring 2025 Campus Alumni Library Tour and Pizza Party on April 25, bringing together alumni who work at SFSU. 

Alumni enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of the J. Paul Leonard Library. Highlights included the library retrieval system, Special Collections, Sutro Library and MakerSpace. Attendees received SF State swag and prizes. 

“I really enjoyed the tour. It’s amazing what we learn about this campus,” Beverly Colindres said. “I had no idea about the bins, and my highlight of the tour was the Sutro Library.”   

Alumni Relations is grateful for everyone’s participation and enthusiasm. View the event photo album on Flickr. 

For more information on upcoming events and volunteer opportunities, please visit the alumni events page, check out the Alumni Relations events newsletter or email Marciana Flores at mfloresa@sfsu.edu. 

On April 27, Alumni Relations and the Nursing Alumni Association hosted a Nursing Alumni Brunch on the Administration building patio. Over 75 attendees connected over the breakfast brunch and mimosas. The event featured updates about the Sigma Association Honor Society, scholarships and the Alumni Association. A tour of the SFSU School of Nursing concluded the event. 

View the event photo album on Flickr.  

The SF State Academic Senate met on Tuesday, May 6, via Zoom.  

The Senate passed: 

• Resolution Calling for a Report on the Instruction of Reading and Writing 
• Resolution in Support of Student Parent Success at San Francisco State University 
• Resolution Calling for Mentorship Task Force in Support of Student Success 
• Resolution in Support of Gator Groceries at SF State 
• Resolution Commending President Mahoney for signing the American Association of Colleges and Universities Letter  
• Resolution Supporting Equitable Service for Lecturer Faculty 
• Revision to Retention, Tenure and Promotion Policy #S24-241 
• Revision to the Academic Freedom Policy #F13-267 
• Revision to Policy on Requirements for Graduate Students #S21-295 
• Revision to Course Syllabus Policy #S24-257 

The Senate heard in first reading: 

• Policy on Student College Advisory Committees 

The SF State Academic Senate will meet on Tuesday, May 13, 2 – 5 p.m., at Seven Hills Conference Center for its 16th meeting of the academic year.  

The plenary meeting transitions from 2024 – 2025 senate members to the new elected and ongoing members that will serve during the 2025 – 2026 academic year.   

Agenda:  

• 2024 – 2025 Senate, Final Plenary, 2 – 2:40 p.m. (time approximate) 
  • Recommendation from Executive Committee: Resolution Commendation in Honor and Recognition of Outgoing Members of the Academic Senate, consent item 
• Academic Senate certificates of recognition 
• Presentation of the Distinguished Faculty and Staff Awards Committee: “Awarding Recipients of Distinguished Faculty and Staff Awards” (time approximate 2:40 p.m.)  
• 2025 – 2026 Senate, Opening Plenary 2:50 – 3:45 p.m. (time approximate) 
  • Welcome from Senate chair 
  • Election of chair, vice chair, secretary, at-large positions and standing committee chairs 

Discover the Alexander Technique on Saturday, May 10, 3 – 6 p.m., in Library 121. Join the Institute for Holistic Health Studies to experience the healing benefits of Alexander Technique hands-on work. This is a space to learn more, connect with others and enjoy snacks along the way. 

Professor David Anderson, a certified Alexander Technique teacher, will share insights on how this work improves walking gait and overall ease of movement. 

The program is open to students, faculty, staff and friends of the SFSU community. 

The Research & Education on Gender and Sexuality Hub hosts “The Show Goes On: Research on Gender and Sexuality at SFSU,” a kickoff mini-symposium on Monday, May 12, 1 – 3 p.m., in HSS 204. Please join the for a panel of five-minute faculty presentations about their work on gender and sexuality. Light snacks and drinks will be provided. 

The hub envisions this event as the first in a biannual series. It aims to preserve, highlight and celebrate the University’s long history of faculty and student gender and sexuality research across campus and to build community across academic units. 

Please register via Qualtrics.

The campus community is invited to an end-of-semester Holistic Health Program celebration that will include student presentations Monday, May 12, at 2 p.m. in Burk Hall 1. The Institute for Holistic Health Studies and the Holistic Health Students Association present the event. 

Attendees, if able, are requested to bring a food or drink item to share with one other person.

The Creative Writing Department, in partnership with Crowded Fire Theater and the School of Theatre and Dance, present this year’s Greenhouse Festival of New Plays Monday, May 12 – Friday, May 16, at 7 p.m. in The Lab (Creative Arts 104). 

Throughout the semester, Crowded Fire has mentored playwrights on production processes, forging creative collaborations and producing new work. Crowded Fire is also the fiscal sponsor for fundraising. 

This year’s festival, themed “transformative stories for unsettling times,” features five new plays by Master of Fine Arts students that bend form and genre, following characters who confront the world — and themselves — in order to live life on their own terms.   

Schedule: 

• Monday, May 12: “Rabbit Teeth” by Clara Sperow. Directed by Quinn Gilchrist. 
• Tuesday, May 13: “Let the Night Come” by Dan Cloak. Directed by Mary Ann Rogers. 
• Wednesday, May 14: “Lessons From a Jellyfish” by Harriet Heydemann. Directed by Nikki Meñez. 
• Thursday, May 15: “The Transfer” by Grace Hoffman. Directed by Reed Flores. 
• Friday, May 16: “Alcatraz Gift Shop” by Fernando Mendoza. Directed by Hasti Jafari. 

The campus community is invited to “Food Gardening in America: What’s Going on Now” on Wednesday, May 14, at 1:30 p.m. in Library 286. This talk explores the roots and future of food gardening in America with Bay Area gardening expert Pam Peirce, author of “Golden Gate Gardening.” The event includes complimentary refreshments and seeds giveaway. 

Pierce will address what inspires Americans to grow their own food, the historic roots of diets and the contemporary American diet and how horticultural knowledge and cultural understanding help gardeners grow and shift toward a garden-sourced cuisine. 

Funds provided by SF State’s Institute for Civic and Community Engagement and the CSU Chancellor’s Office Call to Service Initiative support this work, in part. 

For more information, please email Zubaida Qamar at qz@sfsu.edu. 

The Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) department will hold its annual waste disposal event on Wednesday, May 14 – Thursday, May 15, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., on the Creative Arts Quad (next to the Humanities Building and Café Rosso). Proper disposal of electronic materials keeps hazardous and toxic components out of landfills and protects the environment. 

For questions, please email EHS at sfehs@sfsu.edu, call the department line at (415) 338-2565 or call or Dipak (DK) Janda at (415) 542-8046. 

The University Budget Committee invites the campus community to its last meeting of the spring semester on Thursday, May 15, 10 a.m. – noon, via Zoom. Meetings resume Aug. 28. 

Topics for the May 15 meeting include budget presentations from the College of Ethnic Studies and Graduate College of Education, an update on the 2025 – 2026 budget and more.  

Please RSVP via email to ubc@sfsu.edu. 

Committee members represent staff, faculty, students and administrators. They offer virtual office hours on Friday, May 16, for questions and feedback about budget-related matters. 

Please visit the committee page to access slideshows and minutes from past meetings or request the recording from a recent meeting. 

The campus community is invited to the SF State Master of Public Health Culminating Experience presentations on Thursday, May 15, 4:30 – 7:30 p.m., in HSS 204 and via Zoom. This event celebrates the students and their hard work tackling important and timely topics in public health with a critical focus on achieving health equity and social justice. Refreshments will be provided.  

Please RSVP via Qualtrics. 

A faculty writing retreat will be held Friday, May 30, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., at the Bay Conference Center on the Romberg Tiburon Campus. The retreat is designed to provide faculty with a focused and supportive environment where they can make significant progress on their writing projects while connecting and collaborating with colleagues. The Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development, in partnership with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and the Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning, hosts the event. 

Retreat activities include structured writing time, optional one-on-one consultations, goal setting for the summer, refreshments and lunch. 

Please RSVP via Qualtrics by Friday, May 23. Registration is required and is limited to 50 participants. 

For questions, please email Kate Hamel at hamelk@sfsu.edu. 

The Alumni Association invites the campus community to Major League Soccer and celebration at the California Clásico Showdown: San Jose Earthquakes vs. Los Angeles Galaxy, June 28, at 7:30 p.m. at Stanford Stadium. A fireworks show will follow the match.  

Please visit the ticketing page to reserve your your seats. 

For more information, please email Marciana Flores at mfloresa@sfsu.edu.