News & Announcements
Inspiring alumni stories take center stage in the Fall/Winter 2022 SF State Magazine, now available online.
The issue’s cover subject, Michael J. Payton (B.A., ’15), reveals how a video he posted to YouTube landed him his dream job: directing the recent Black Entertainment Television documentary “The Murder Inc Story.” Biomedical scientist Chinomnso Okorie (B.S., ’17; M.S., ’19) discusses how she’s using community-engaged research to track and fight health disparities in the Bayview. Señor Sisig co-founder Evan Kidera (B.A., ’04; MBA, ’14) delves into the backstory behind his growing Filipino food empire. And Juan Acosta (B.A., ’19) traces his journey from teenager campaigning for a local pride proclamation to nationally recognized activist walking the halls of the White House.
The issue also includes a photo tour of cool campus art and a Q&A with new University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Amy Sueyoshi. As always, the Class Notes section is loaded with alumni updates. And there’s a first for the magazine: an SF State-themed crossword puzzle and contest. Get all the details on the SF State Magazine website.
The magazine site also features an online exclusive: Behind the Scenes, a candid look at the creation of the new issue. Getting just the right shot for a magazine’s cover is rarely easy, but when you’ve got a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer on the job you can be confident that stunning pictures are on the way.
Have any SF State Magazine feedback or suggestions for future stories? Send an email to sfsumag@sfsu.edu.
The campus community is invited to “On Strike! Remembering the Student Strike of 1968,” a special look back at University history to be held 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, in the Coppola Theatre. 1968 SF State student strikers Sharon Jones, Penny Nakatsu, Peter Shapiro and Rev. Arnold Townsend have been invited to discuss their experiences. Cinema alum Saul Rouda will also be in attendance and will share his legendary 16 mm film of the events.
Unable to attend in person? Register to view a livestream of the event via Zoom.
This event is sponsored by the CSU Entertainment Alliance, the Marcus Endowed Chair in Social Justice Filmmaking, the Cinema Archive Project and the College of Ethnic Studies Race, Empowerment and Justice Project.
Photo by Terry Schmitt.
President Mahoney and the University Cabinet invite all staff and faculty to an End of Year Celebration recognizing your hard work in 2022.
When: 3 to 5 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 15
Where: Jack Adams Hall in the Cesar Chavez Student Center
RSVP via Qualtrics if you plan on attending.
Those coming to the celebration can bring donations to the University’s holiday toy drive. This year, toys collected will be donated to Oceanview, Merced, Ingleside (OMI) and Lakeview Holiday Toy Giveaway and Celebration, an annual event that brings in the joy of the holidays with food and activities for the entire family and provides youth in our surrounding community with holiday gifts. No gift is too small or too big. However, the Office of the President is requesting that toys donated are new, unwrapped and appropriate for children between the ages of 0 (infant) and 17 years old. Suggested donations: baby toys and supplies, dolls/action figures, stuffed animals, books, sports items, board games and puzzles, arts and crafts supplies, gift cards (for teens), or learning and sensory toys. For questions or concerns regarding the SF State toy drive, please contact icce@sfsu.edu or president@sfsu.edu.
The Monday, Dec. 12, issue of CampusMemo will be the last of 2022. The newsletter will be on hiatus during the winter break, resuming weekly publication Tuesday, Jan. 17. Got information that needs to be shared with the campus community before then? Submit an item now!
Academic Affairs is conducting a search for the College of Liberal and Creative Arts dean. The position is to be filled by July 2023.
In March 2019 the Academic Senate revised search committee policy S19-180. A list of search committee members is below. A detailed committee roster including committee chair, complete position descriptions and application procedures will be available on the Academic Affairs website.
The search committee will be working with two senior consultants from Academic Search, Cynthia Patterson and Maria Thompson. The committee plans to have the profile available by the end of December. Once the profile is posted, to apply go to the Academic Search website.
Search committee members include:
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Sarita Cannon, Professor, English Language & Literature
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Robert Collins, Associate Professor, American Indian Studies
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Victor De La Rosa, Professor/Chair, Art
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Trevor Getz, Professor, History
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Erin Gibb, Building Operations Coordinator, LCA
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Cynthia Grutzik, Dean, Graduate College of Education
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Luke Andrew Heslip, Graduate Student, Creative Writing
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Mari Hulick, Associate Professor/Chair, School of Design
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David Pena-Guzman, Associate Professor, Humanities and Comparative World Literature
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Rae Shaw, Assistant Professor, Cinema
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Lena Zhang, Professor/Chair, BECA
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Anandadhara Zulkarnine, Undergraduate Student, Cinema
On Jan. 10, 2023, Information Technology Services (ITS) will update the SF State Global Login and Password Reset services. All IT services will remain operational without any service disruption. For more information, please visit ITS’ informational website.
Bring someone joy this holiday season by donating a toy for youth and families living in SF State’s Oceanview, Merced, Ingleside and Lakeview neighborhoods. No gift is too small or too big! Donated toys just need to be new, unwrapped and appropriate for youth between the ages of 0 (infant) and 17 years old.
Donations can be dropped off at the office of the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE) in HSS 206 now through Dec. 15, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Faculty and staff can also drop off toy donations at President Mahoney’s End of Year Celebration on Thursday, Dec. 15.
Visit the ICCE website for more information on the toy drive and suggested donations. For questions or concerns, please contact icce@sfsu.edu or president@sfsu.edu.
The Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) department has proposed a name change to the Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management Department. The reasoning for the proposed name change is that events comprise a major sector of the hospitality industry and a significant number of HTM students are attracted to working in the events business. In addition, HTM students have been very involved in producing events, including the major fundraiser for the department, “The Taste of the Bay”; a major career fair for six NorCal CSU campuses; and the annual department graduation celebration.
Please send any feedback to Professor and Department Chair Colin Johnson at cj7@sfsu.edu or hmp@sfsu.edu.
FitPlus, the health and wellness program for faculty and staff, is hosting a series of events this month. “Decrease Holiday Stress,” to be held Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in GYM 147, is a collaboration with the SHFT Movement chiropractic clinic. Treat yourself and set up a time for a 20- to 25-minute chiropractic and massage session for $100. Please contact mconcepcion@mail.sfsu.edu to reserve a time for you!
A FitPlus Holiday Social will be held in GYM 148 starting at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14. Come work out, play games and enjoy treats with the FitPlus fam!
FitPlus is also working with the Daly City Partnership for a holiday food drive the first two weeks of December. You can drop off cans of food for families in Daly City, Colma and Broadmoor. Send a message to kjohanson@mail.sfsu.edu for more information.
Before you get snowed under by finals papers, please note: The SFSU Retirement Association is pleased to announce the resumption of its Travel Grants program, starting in the spring of 2023. The association will provide 10 grants of $1,000 each for travel related to employment at the University.
Please note: There will be five grants allotted to deserving faculty members and five grants allotted to deserving staff members. Travel grants are designed to support such activities as travel to conferences and conventions, special meetings related to University issues and other relevant professional projects.
Watch for an announcement in CampusMemo in February 2023 describing these awards and the application period. The announcement will include a website address for the application. Good luck!
As we head into the final weeks of Fall 2022, Academic Affairs is already planning for the University’s Spring 2023 end-of-year celebrations in Cox Stadium. Academic Affairs will reserve Cox Stadium from May 20 – May 27. The University was able to have one to two events per day in Fall 2021. The plan is to utilize this great outdoor space to host graduation celebrations with attendees of 1,000 or more. Academic Affairs found that renting chairs and a stage are the costliest items in using an outdoor venue. The solution to that is to reserve it for a time period and have groups who reserve the space split the costs. If you would like to use Cox Stadium during this time period, please send an email to academic@sfsu.edu with the following:
- Host
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Name of event
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Dates and times (Please share at least three dates and times so there is room to plan. For example, for a split day you can either host an event in the morning from 8 a.m. to noon or in the afternoon from noon to 5 p.m.)
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Number of graduates (approximate)
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Number of guests (approximate)
The request period is from Dec. 6 – Jan. 6. Academic Affairs will notify you of your reserved date and time by Jan. 28. For questions, please email Mona Sagapolutele at monas@sfsu.edu.
Please note: There will be no events on May 26 due to University Commencement.
Health Promotion & Wellness (HPW) is recruiting for its Ambassador Program (student volunteer program) for spring 2023. Ambassadors will meet new people, gain new skills and build their resume. HPW will have in-person health and wellness volunteer activities, but will also keep some virtual components of its program.
HPW will host an info session on Tuesday, Dec. 6, from 11 to 11:30 a.m. for students interested in learning more about the program. Students can register for the info session and apply to the program on the HPW website. HPW requests that you share this info with students and staff/faculty you work with.
The Academic Senate will meet Tuesday, Dec. 6, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. virtually via Zoom for its seventh meeting of the academic year. Visitors who wish to attend please contact the senate office at senate@sfsu.edu for a Zoom link. The agenda includes:
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Recommendation from the Executive Committee: Resolution on Faculty Trustee, in first reading.
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Recommendation from the Executive Committee: Resolution in Memorial to Dr. Margaret Leahy, as a consent item.
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Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee: International Relations (Distance Education Authorization), in first reading.
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Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee: M.S. in Quantitative Economics (Distance Education Authorization), in first reading.
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Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee: M.A. in Special Education (Distance Education Authorization), in first reading.
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Recommendation from the Academic Policies Committee: Online Education Policy, in first reading.
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Recommendation from the Faculty Affairs Committee: Tenure Density Policy, in first reading.
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Recommendation from the Executive Committee: Changes in bylaws to rename Curriculum Review and Approval Committee to Campus Curriculum Committee, and to increase membership in the Student Affairs Committee to include Dean of Division of Undergraduate Education and Academic Planning or designee (ex officio).
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A formal presentation by AVP for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development Carleen Mandolfo: “State of the Faculty”
The full agenda, meeting materials and minutes can be found on the senate website.
The School of Music presents eight free public performances this week in Knuth Hall (except where noted).
- Monday, Dec. 5, 1 – 2 p.m.: Students of Professor Victoria Neve
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Tuesday, Dec. 6, 7:30 – 9 p.m.: SFSU Wind Ensemble
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Wednesday, Dec. 7, 7 – 8:30 p.m., CA 146: Jazz Combo Concert
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Wednesday, Dec. 7, 7:30 – 9 p.m.: Opera Workshop, “Tutti Fluty,” featuring scenes and arias from “The Magic Flute”
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Thursday, Dec. 8, 7:30 – 9 p.m.: Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble Fall Concert
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Friday, Dec. 9, 7:30 – 9 p.m.: Fall Chorus Concert
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Saturday, Dec. 10, 7:30 – 9 p.m.: David Samuel, viola
The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures invites you to meet renowned Spanish scholar Javier Moscoso who will discuss his book “Arc of Feeling: The History of the Swing” Tuesday, Dec. 6, from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. in HUM 587. A reception will follow.
In his book, Moscoso investigates the pleasure of oscillation and explores the surprising history of the swing through its meanings and metaphors, noting echoes and coincidences in remote times and places: from the witch’s broom to aerial yoga and from the gallows to sexual mores. Taking in cultural history, science, art, anthropology and philosophy, he explores the presence and role of this artifact in the West, such as in the works of Watteau, Fragonard and Goya, as well as in other Eastern traditions, including those of India, Korea, Thailand and China. Linked since ancient times with sex and death, used by gods and madmen, as well as an erotic and therapeutic instrument, the swing is revealed to be an essential but forgotten object in the history of human experience.
Moscoso is a research professor of history and philosophy of science at the Institute of History of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). He has been the curator of different exhibitions: on monsters and imaginary beings at the Spanish National Library in Madrid in the year 2000; on the history of pain at the Science Museum in London (2004); and on the cultural history of human skin at the Wellcome Collection Gallery in London in 2011.
The All University Committee on International Programs (AUCIP) invites all international and internationally minded faculty and staff to a fun, casual, drop-in coffee hour noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, in the Library Teaching and Learning Commons (formerly Faculty Commons), LIB 286. Please come by for a hot beverage and a chat with your fellow faculty and staff. Refreshments will be provided by the Division of International Education/Office of International Programs.
The Academic Technology Advisory Committee will be hosting “‘Preparing for the Shift’: Student Perceptions of Canvas and the Impact of Learning Management Systems on the University Experience,” a webinar that will offer the voices of students and the impacts of this change. The webinar will be held at noon on Wednesday, Dec. 7, via Zoom. RSVP online.
The Learning Management System (LMS) plays a central role in instruction for both instructors and students at SF State. Over the last 15 years, LMS usage had steadily increased, culminating in remote instruction during COVID where learning technologies became the de facto classroom for instructors and students.
As the campus now transitions to Canvas, how are our students approaching this change? The technology, its ease of use and how it is utilized by instructors are all crucial to the student experience. Please join to hear SF State student perceptions of Canvas and the impact that Learning Management Systems have on their overall University experience.
Faculty and staff are invited to help recognize SF State students who will be studying abroad starting in spring 2023. The Office of International Programs is holding a Study Abroad Ceremony on Friday, Dec. 9, in the Student Life Event Center (Annex) from 3 to 5 p.m. (Doors open at 2:30 p.m.) This is the final sendoff for students who will be participating in the California State University International Program or an SF State Exchange Program starting in the spring. Please come celebrate and honor our students.
Spotlight
American Indian Studies Professor Emerita Elizabeth “Betty” Parent was recognized by San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors with words and certificates of honor in celebration of Native American Heritage Month on Nov. 15.
Parent was the first Native American on the editorial board of the Harvard Educational Review, the first Alaska Native woman to earn a Ph.D., the first Alaska Native woman to obtain tenure as a full professor and the first professor in American Indian Studies at SF State. When she became the first full professor in American Indian Studies at SF State, Parent established a precedent of excellence in teaching, research and community service that continues to this day through her mentorship of American Indian Studies majors and minors.
College of Science & Engineering Dean Carmen Domingo participated in a panel discussion at the San Francisco Business Times STEAM Education Summit, held Nov. 17 at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The event brought together educators and industry leaders to discuss strategies for supporting STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) with a strong lens on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Domingo discussed SF State’s partnership with public schools to provide training to teachers in computer science, the Climate Justice Leaders Initiative and the Science & Engineering Innovation Center.
Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade, professor of Latino/Latina Studies and Race and Resistance Studies, has a rare vision for an educator: “He sees his role, first and foremost, as promoting ‘wellness’ of body, emotions, mind and spirit,” according to a Nov. 27 TruthOut feature.
His latest book, “Equality or Equity: Toward a Model of Community-Responsive Education” (Harvard Education Press), is a bold challenge to an educational system that he says was built to be unequal and segregated.
“If we educate students to be well, to guarantee that when they leave home for school, they will return mentally healthy, they will be able to come up with cures for many of the social ills we’re facing,” Duncan-Andrade said.
Journalism Assistant Professor Josh Davis won re-election in November to the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) board of directors. The NPPA is the leading professional organization for photo and video journalists in the United States.
In his first term on the board, which began in 2020, Davis focused on engaging student journalists with mentorship programs and community events on social media and other virtual platforms. One such event, at the start of the pandemic, was a “student town hall” to provide safety tips and emotional support for students and educators. Additionally, Davis chaired the education committee and helped to found a new diversity, equity and inclusion committee. In this new term, Davis plans to continue outreach at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to create opportunities for visual journalists from underrepresented communities.
“It’s an exciting role because not only does it help to inform my teaching, but it also gives our journalism students direct access to an organization that is ready and willing to support them at the start of their careers,” Davis said.
A new study evaluates the utility of the Black Activism Orientation Scale (BCAOS) as an assessment tool of diverse college students. BCAOS was designed to measure social and political engagements supporting Black communities and oppose anti-Black racism. The research team, including Associate Professor of Psychology Melissa Hagan, recently published its findings in the American Journal of Community Psychology.
The study included 624 young adults from 10 U.S. colleges. Data statistically supported BCAOS’ ability to measure racial justice activism. The findings also suggest that white college students and men are less oriented towards racial justice activism than women and students of color.
Recreation, Parks and Tourism Professor Erik Peper was wellness expert Dr. Russell Jaffe’s special guest for a Nov. 1 interview on YouTube. Titled “Captured by the Screen,” the episode features Peper talking about biofeedback techniques for combating stress caused by poor ergonomics and excessive screen time.
He explained connections between the human mind and body.
“When you have a problem and you feel the pain, it’s in your body — no disagreement,” Peper said. “However, it may be that, unknowingly, you are getting upset. You get stressed and in the process of stress, you tighten your muscles or your heart rate goes up. You’re not yet aware of that, and then that is the trigger to start leading to potential pathology, and something can become very serious.”
Frustrated that Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) doesn’t serve your neighborhood? Many commuters feel the same way, so KQED-FM’s “Bay Curious” provided an explainer on Nov. 21. The rise of the automobile and the freeway system is to blame, and Geography and Environment Professor Jason Henderson says public transportation is a key investment to fight climate change.
“In Northern California, we’re a region that should be tied together by a train system that rivals or exceeds the freeway system we have,” he said. “I think we could spend the next generation building that. And yes, it would cost hundreds of billions of dollars, but that’s what we’ve got to spend to address the climate issue.”