News and Announcements
To say this summer’s SFSU class “LS 430: Future of the Forests” was wild may be an understatement. Though Associate Professor of Liberal Studies Logan Hennessy usually teaches the course during the fall or spring semesters, occasionally over the summer he’ll offer a short-term study abroad version that includes a trip to Ecuador. According to his students, this year’s highlight was coming across a footlong dead lizard stuck in the mud while hiking in the Amazon rainforest … and discovering that the lizard was actually a living caiman (a small native crocodile).
Six SFSU students embarked on this once-in-a-lifetime Ecuador adventure from June 17 to July 8. The jam-packed trip included a stay at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station — located at the edge of Amazonian Ecuador in the most biodiverse forest in the world — as well as a stay at an organic farm in the cloud forest of the Intag River Valley, exploration of the Indigenous cities Otavalo and Cotacachi and sightseeing in Ecuador’s capital of Quito.
“It just changes the way you see the world around you, being in an environment so abundant and full of nature and creatures and community,” said SFSU third-year Isaac Mclaughlan. “People care so much about each other and the world around them.”
At its core, Hennessy’s annual classroom course introduces students to some of the complexities of forest ecology and conservation challenges. “This often means we engage with difficult industrial threats or activities like mining and oil. We also engage Indigenous rights and climate justice components as well,” Hennessy added. “With the field class, students got to see and experience these things firsthand.”
An immersive experience
A significant part of the trip was spent at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. There were lectures, but most of the learning happened on the go. Students trekked through relatively pristine Amazon terrain, swam in the Tiputini River and spotted all sorts of mammals, plants, amphibians and birds.
Mclaughlan spotted a pink river dolphin during their boat ride to the station, while Linguistics senior Zoe Gutierrez was awestruck by bioluminescent fungi during a night hike.
“Honestly, this was probably the best part for me — being able to see so many different animals you’ll never see again unless you go back to the Amazon, which is kind of a rare opportunity,” Gutierrez said.
Although the trip was filled with nature-based magic, it was balanced with the harsh realities such as oil production destroying large sections of the rainforest and impacting indigenous communities and biodiversity. Hennessy acknowledges that it can be difficult to witness this firsthand, but he hopes students find inspiration in the local movements.
“Any course on forest ecology and conservation in the tropics would be incomplete without considering the role of Indigenous stewardship as a critical solution strategy,” Hennessy emphasized. “In many ways, Ecuador’s Indigenous communities are leading the global debates over development, conservation, Indigenous rights and climate justice.”
Gutierrez recalls meeting women like Marcia Ramirez, a leader of Defensa y Conservation Ecologica de Intag (DCOIN), an organization for the defense and ecological conservation of the Intag River Valley.
“She was saying the women are really at the forefront of this movement. They are the ones with their kids fighting for their future. It was really cool hearing that perspective,” Gutierrez recounted.
The lasting impact
Mclaughlan also found the people he met just as memorable as the places he visited. Two standouts for him were Roberto and his wife Norma, who run an organic farm. Their generosity, environmental stewardship and deep connection to their community left a lasting impression.
Now Mclaughlan, a double major in Environmental Science and Child and Adolescent Development, is incorporating what he learned into his academic work. He explains that connection to culture is a major milestone in development. For a child development research class, he’s exploring how outside forces — such as colonialism and globalization — have influenced Indigenous communities’ view of their culture, identity and traditional knowledge.
“Child development technically doesn’t have anything to do with the Ecuador class,” he said, “but it’s already shaping the direction I’m taking.”
The trip also shifted how students see their own roles in the world.
“I really started to consider my own impacts on issues like these,” said Gutierrez. The experience — her first time going abroad — sparked a desire to keep traveling and learning. “It’s important to give yourself a new perspective and open your mind to learning new things in a way that might not be comfortable or is completely new to you.”
How you can join the conversation
Though this trip was life changing, students don’t have to travel to Ecuador to understand these important topics and get involved. SFSU and the Bay Area are rich in culture, resources and expertise to help students navigate these topics, Hennessy explains. Talk to people on and off campus, express your interests and curiosity and don’t be afraid to cold call someone, he adds.
“My word of advice is to just get involved anywhere you can. There are lots of opportunities to get involved on campus,” explained Hennessy, noting that a good place to start is Climate HQ, SFSU’s hub for all things climate change. He is part of the steering committee for SFSU’s Certificate in Climate Change, Causes, Impacts and Solutions. There are nearly 50 courses in different majors and colleges that have a climate angle — and fulfill major or general education requirements — that students can take as a standalone course or as part of the certificate.
“It’s a frequent occurrence that students already have two or three courses in the certificate and they didn’t even know it!” he said.
Learn more about the School of Liberal Studies. Students interested in climate issues should visit Climate HQ to learn more about the certificate and other relevant courses and activities.
Photo by Logan Hennessey
SFSU’s annual Gatorfest is back, bringing three months of activities to welcome students to campus. Running through Halloween, the celebration features dances, recreational sports, game nights, art making, live comedy improv and more — all designed to help students build connections and feel part of the University community.
“I definitely recommend going to Gatorfest,” said Christian Flower, a student who works for Campus Recreation. “I think it’s great for students to take full advantage of all opportunities and resources and events that happen on campus. It’s a good way to not only network, but to put your face out there, make new friends and get involved on campus.”
“All of this is here for you,” said student Sam Aranibar, also from Campus Recreation. “Just have fun and I hope to see you there!”
Visit the SFSU Student Activities website for the full Gatorfest schedule and more information.
Photo by Juan Montes
SF State Abroad would like you to encourage your students to stop by the Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., on the Quad next to Malcolm X Plaza.
At the fair, students can:
- Visit country tables showcasing destinations where SFSU students can study abroad.
- Meet international students from those countries.
- Hear directly from SFSU students who have studied abroad.
Why study abroad with SF State Abroad?
- Lower cost of living in many countries
- Access to financial aid while abroad
- Pay the same SFSU tuition
- Earn SFSU resident credit
The application deadline for spring 2026 is Monday, Sept. 15. The application period for summer, fall and the 2026 – 2027 academic year is open through Sunday, Feb. 15.
Please visit SF State Abroad for more information. For questions, please email studyabroad@sfsu.edu or stop by the SF State Abroad table at the fair.
SFSU is redesigning its website to deliver a modern, accessible and student-focused experience that reflects our refreshed brand. The new site will streamline workflows, make it easier for students and families to find what they need, and strengthen enrollment by showcasing the best of SFSU. Our shared website will launch in summer 2026.
To keep the project on track, the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications (SMC) needs your support. Staff members are in contact with colleagues across campus regarding their assigned web pages. Departments should complete their updates and submit them to SMC by Friday, Oct. 31. Meeting this deadline will make sure your content is included on the new website.
Learn more and find resources on the website redesign project page.
Per Academic Senate Policy No. S25-177, the Educational Policies Committee must inform the campus community of the following discontinuance proposal two weeks before Senate action.
Discontinuance has been proposed for the Bachelor of Science in Physics: Concentration in Physics for Teaching, and it will be reviewed this semester.
To request more information or file a response, please email Claude Bartholomew at claude@sfsu.edu.
The SFSU Academic Senate will meet Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2 – 5 p.m., at Seven Hills Conference Center for its first meeting of the academic year.
- The Executive Committee presents the informational items:
- Institutional Review Committee final report
- Non-substantive changes to the Faculty Constitution
- Recommendation from the Campus Curriculum Committee in first reading:
- Minor in European Studies: Reducing units by six
- Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies, concentration in Natural Resource Management and Conversation: Name change
- Bachelor of Music, concentration in Instrumental Performance: Name change
- Academic Senate will hear formal presentations from:
- Vice Chair Arezoo Islami: “Robert’s Rules” (to occur before new business)
- Anoshua Chaudhuri, senior director of the Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning: “Update on CEETL” (approximately 3 p.m.)
- Roberto Santiago, associate director of the Disability Programs and Resource Center: “Update on DPRC” (approximately 3:15 p.m.)
The SFSU Fine Arts Gallery presents “Beads and Belonging,” an exhibition exploring the ways beadwork and beads are common means of expression across cultures. It is open Tuesdays – Fridays, noon – 4 p.m., through Thursday, Sept. 4.
Guest curated by Kristina Singleton (M.A., Museum Studies, ’25), this exhibition features works by Demetri Broxton, Taraneh Hemami, Chelsea Kaiah, John Paul Morabito, Gabrielle Severson, Charlene Tan and Nico Williams. The exhibition also includes an ancient Egyptian beaded work on loan from SFSU’s Global Museum. “Beads and Belonging” is supported by a grant from the Zellerbach Family Foundation.
Patterns, connections and narratives come to life bead by bead. Through means of trade, adornment and cultural signifiers, beads are global visual and physical communicators. From beaded artifacts to contemporary beadwork, the broader complexities of colonial influence forge a narrative that is revealed and subsequently addressed by contemporary artists. Despite the legacies of colonialism tied to the histories of beads, the act of beading allows for connections to ancestors, those who came before, while also making meaning of the present.
The artists in this exhibition actively respond to the historical narratives while making meaning of current challenges. Beadwork becomes a form of reclamation of identity and an act of resistance through the preservation of personal and cultural narratives. Using beads of all kinds to tell these stories, the exhibition explores beadwork as a means of expression across cultures.
To visit by appointment, please email fineartsgallery@sfsu.edu.
Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Gallery
Faculty writing meetups presented by the Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) provide 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 1 – 3 p.m. every first and third Tuesday and every second and fourth Friday. Tuesday sessions are hybrid. Join virtually or come in person to Library 242. Snacks will be provided. Friday sessions are on Zoom.
To RSVP and for the Zoom link, please sign up for faculty writing meetups via Qualtrics.
The Digital Media Studio/MakerSpace hosts an open house event on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2 – 6 p.m., in Library 260. It is open to all SFSU students, faculty and staff. Learn about 3D printing, virtual reality, podcasting, audio mixing, Internet of Things/microcontrollers/robotics and video/audio equipment checkout. The open house will also feature special presentations of student projects with edge computing, artificial intelligence, Apple Vision Pro and more.
Join the Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) at SFSU’s Fine Arts Gallery on Wednesday, Sept. 3, noon – 1 p.m., in Fine Arts 238. Explore cultural connections, narratives and identities through art. Guest curated by SFSU alum Kristina Singleton, the exhibition “Beads and Belonging” explores the ways beadwork and beads are common means of expression across cultures.
The meeting will be at the CEETL Faculty Studio (Library 240), and then participants will walk to the gallery as a group.
Learn Excel Tips, MS OneNote and more this fall by attending live/virtual professional and personal development offerings from peers across the CSU with the CSU Cross-Campus Collaboration. Find a variety of skills you can learn. Courses open each month and fill up quickly. Save the CSYou website and check back each month as courses open to reserve your spot.
Interested in teaching a class? Please email ganner@sfsu.edu to inquire.
Join the Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) Faculty Book Circle. CEETL invites you to be part of a supportive community of colleagues to read and reflect together on “Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain” by Zaretta Hammond. It will be held via Zoom noon – 1 p.m. Mondays this month beginning Sept. 8.
This book circle will be a space to share insights, spark dialogue, and deepen teaching practices. Anoshua Chaudhuri, Genievive Del Mundo, Kira Donnell and Eileene Tejada will facilitate.
A limited number of hard-copy books will be provided to participants on a first-come, first-served basis. An e-book is also available through our J. Paul Leonard Library.
Please register for the “JEDI Book Circle” via Qualtrics. Pick up your book from Library 240 by Thursday, Sept. 4.
The University Police Department is excited to host its in-person Citizens’ Academy this semester. A 12-week program begins Wednesday, Sept. 10, and will be held every Wednesday, 4 – 7 p.m., through Dec. 3. The application deadline is Friday, Sept. 5.
Please visit the Citizens’ Academy page for more information and to apply.
The Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) Brown bags are informal, come-as-you-are gatherings. You can pop in with a question or stay for the conversation. The CEETL faculty director/Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum director will provide slides with tips and resources, but in general, the content of the brown bags will be driven by you: What’s working in your classrooms? What are you struggling with? How can faculty and staff work together to improve our teaching and support each other?
These brown bags will take place noon – 1 p.m. on alternating Tuesdays (in person) and Fridays (on Zoom) throughout the semester.
September schedule:
- Friday, Sept. 12, via Zoom
- Tuesday, Sept. 16, in Library 242
- Friday, Sept. 26, via Zoom
- Tuesday, Sept. 30, in Library 242
For Zoom links, please visit the CEETL GWAR Brown Bags event page.
Join the CSU’s Got Talent series on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 10 a.m. for a virtual live webcast to explore inclusive time management strategies tailored to diverse cognitive approaches, flexible tools and workflows to boost team productivity. Learn actionable insights to manage time more effectively, while creating a supportive, dynamic work environment where cognitive differences can thrive. Presenter Mike Gillerman is a neuroinclusive facilitator, ADHD coach and speaker.
Please RSVP for “Embracing Every Mind: Effective Time Management for Neurodiverse Teams” via Zoom.
The Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development will present a workshop on Leave with Pay application on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2 – 3 p.m., via Zoom. Faculty preparing applications for a Leave with Pay including sabbaticals (one semester full pay and one-year half-pay) and Difference in Pay leaves are invited.
Representatives from the University Sabbatical Committee and the Office Faculty Affairs and Professional Development will lead the workshop.
Please RSVP via Qualtrics to receive a Zoom link before the workshop. The session will be recorded and made available for those unable to attend.
The Student Fee Advisory Committee will have its first meeting of the academic year on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. via Zoom. The committee will review any requested changes to student fees from the SFSU community. Please email any questions or requests to vpsa@sfsu.edu by Monday, Sept. 8.
Climate HQ welcomes you back to campus. To celebrate the new semester, the program will host the Climate HQ Student Breakfast on Thursday, Sept. 25, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m., in Library 121.
At this event, students will get a chance to:
- Meet other students interested in climate action and sustainability.
- Learn more about the Climate Certificate and how it can support studies and career goals.
- Hear about Climate HQ’s projects and upcoming events.
- Connect with Climate HQ’s on and off-campus partner organizations such as SFSU's Sierra Nevada Alliance of Gators.
- Enjoy breakfast burritos from Bi-Rite catering.
Former SFSU Journalism lecturer faculty, alumnus and Golden Gater editor Lynn Ludlow died on July 28 at age 91. A mentor to generations of students and a bedrock presence through four decades in San Francisco newsrooms, Ludlow served as editor of the Golden Gater in spring 1953. He later worked as a lecturer, publication advisor and writing coach for SFSU Journalism students from 1967 to 1987.
A memorial celebration for Ludlow was held at the Polish Club of San Francisco Saturday, Aug. 23.
Ludlow is survived by his wife Margo Freistadt and five children.
Please visit the Journalism Department website to read the obituary.
SFSU Spotlight
Graham Carpenter, assistant professor of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, is the director of “The Athletics: An Ode to Oakland.” It will premiere Thursday, Sept. 18, at the 2025 Oakland International Film Festival at the Grand Lake Theater.
When the Oakland A’s announced their departure, it wasn’t just the end of a baseball era — it was the final blow in a trilogy of loss for a city that’s now seen all three of its major sports teams walk away. Rather than focus on the field, “An Ode to Oakland” shifts attention to those rarely seen on the highlight reel: stadium workers, vendors and longtime fans whose lives were quietly shaped by the rhythm of home games.
With a background in sports broadcasting and research interests in media and community, Carpenter captures the silence that follows a team's departure: jobs lost, communities fractured and identities displaced.
“An Ode to Oakland” challenges audiences to consider the wider social impact of sports franchise relocations. It’s a film about labor, belonging and the invisible infrastructure that makes professional sports possible.
Professor of Kinesiology Jimmy Bagley and Omar El-Kurd (M.S., ’24) co-authored a new article in the European Journal of Applied Physiology with collaborators from across the country. The study examined blood pressure and arterial stiffness in athletes running the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run (WSER), one of the world’s most challenging ultramarathons.
Results show that most runners maintained healthier vascular function than expected for their age, providing new insights into how lifelong endurance training may influence cardiovascular health.
This is the second publication from Bagley’s group on their 2023 WSER data collection, following their work in the Journal of Applied Physiology on short-term cardiovascular responses. The team is continuing to analyze these datasets to better understand how ultramarathon running influences health and the aging process.
Maxine Chernoff, professor emerita of Creative Writing, and David Watts will read from their poetry on Thursday, Sept. 4, at the Mill Valley Public Library. Chernoff, a modernist roots poet and Mill Valley resident, will read from her most recent books, “Light and Clay” and “Under the Music.”
Professor of Counseling Tiffany O’Shaughnessy was elected to fellow status in the American Psychological Association in August. When announcing the decision by the APA Board of Directors and Council of Representatives, APA noted, “Fellow status is awarded, in part, on the basis of evaluated evidence of outstanding contribution in the field of psychology. You can take deep personal and professional satisfaction from this special recognition by your peers. The field of psychology is certainly enhanced by your diligent work and commitment, and the public is better served.”
School of Liberal Studies Associate Professor Nick Sousanis was a keynote speaker at the 12th International Conference on Illustration and Animation (CONFIA), held June 26 – 27 in Vila do Conde, Portugal. The conference brought together about 200 participants, including academics, researchers, professionals and students from around the world.
Sousanis also recently completed an innovative project: an illustrated course syllabus for the Liberal Studies senior seminar he’s teaching this fall. Sousanis has been drawing his syllabi for years, but this time he took it up a notch, creating a mini-comic that includes his statement on the use of AI.