March 6, 2023

How did Professor and Associate Chair of Biology Blake Riggs go from studying dolphins to becoming a cell biologist studying cell division (mitosis)? He’s not shy about sharing the story, and he makes sure to include his failures along with his successes. It’s important to include the missteps, he explains, to connect with students.

Riggs’ research lab studies how organelle movement and organization within cells influence cell function and activity. Specifically, his group asks how and why organelles are inherited by new cells and how these cellular components affect development of cell fate. Since joining SF State in 2010, Riggs has mentored over 81 students — something even he was shocked to realize when he saw the tally.

Currently the faculty adviser of the Black Excellence in STEM (BE-STEM) student group, Riggs believes anyone can be a scientist. He sat down with SF State News to share how he’s trying to shift the STEM field.

As a scientist, what are some of your proudest accomplishments?

My proudest moments have to do with the training of the next generation of scientists. I want those scientists to look like our society. We have a lack of Black and Brown scientists, and that comes from a funneling down of opportunities. Many of the students I’ve trained would not have had opportunities in science. I’m getting [students] to understand that they are needed in science, they have the ability to do science and they can be rock stars in science. …

A mentoring moment I had is when I would have lab meetings with my students. We would meet and go over research. [Students] present their stuff and I’m critical and we go back and forth. And then my lab had a joint lab meeting with a lab at UCSF. … [After, a student says,] “Oh man, Dr. Riggs. This is just like our lab at SF State because the meeting was just like our meetings.” And I’m like there’s no magic there. They don’t wave magic wands. It’s not Hogwarts. They do science, and we do science. There’s a lot they have that we may not have, but what we do have — and they don’t have — is you. They want you.

Read the full interview on SF State News.

Alumnus Conall Jones (B.A., ’05) was floored when he learned the short documentary film he produced with the production company Smartypants was nominated for an Oscar. “Stranger at the Gate” is his proudest accomplishment to date, but the film wasn’t getting critical recognition at first. It wasn’t accepted into the Sundance, Telluride or SXSW film festivals, he says. But Jones wasn’t looking for recognition — what he wanted was people to see the film because of its powerful message.

“Stranger at the Gate,” a 2022 film executive produced by Nobel laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai and released by The New Yorker, isn’t what it seems. It starts off like a true crime story, with hints about a terrorist plot and a possible suspect. “This was intentional so we would have the widest appeal as far of viewers. We wanted to draw people into the story,” Jones said. But the story is so much more than that. “It ends with positivity and love,” he added.

­­­The film is about former Marine Richard “Mac” McKinney, who returned home from service in Afghanistan to Muncie, Indiana. He suffered from PTSD and saw Muslims as targets, something he learned in combat. Fueled by fear and hatred, he began making plans to bomb the local mosque. When he went to the Islamic Center of Muncie to gather proof that they were dangerous people, he was welcomed with kindness. Not only did McKinney drop his terror plot, he ended up joining the community and converting to Islam.

“The message of the film is so great, especially with so much division and hatred out there,” Jones said. “This film is a lesson in expanding your horizons as far as people you interact with.”

Eventually, the film had a successful film festival run, winning major awards at Tribeca Film Festival, Indy Shorts and others, which qualified it for the Oscars, Jones says. And now he's promoting the film at theaters across the country in the lead-up to the Oscars.

Jones admits he was a mediocre student at SF State until he took an introductory course on documentary film with Professor Greta Snider during his sophomore year.

“My grades went from B’s and C’s to straight A’s my final year because I kept doing as many documentary-related classes as I could,” he said. “Academically, I got much stronger because I found my passion.”

Do you have students who are concerned about climate change? Are there projects related to climate change or climate justice that they have been hoping to work on? Please encourage them to apply for a Climate Action Fellowship and get paid to do the work they care about!

This new fellowship program is part of the Climate Justice Leaders Initiative at SF State. It will enable a diverse group of students to take action to address climate change from a wide variety of perspectives and support the development of community and leadership among these and other SF State students focused on climate change. Fellowships will support students engaged in creative activities or research related to climate change and students engaged in projects focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, including education and outreach. The fellowship is open to both undergraduate and graduate students in all fields of study. Students may propose on-campus or off-campus projects (e.g., community-based groups or other non-profits). Students with a broad range of backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to apply.

The annual award amount is $10,000; up to six fellowships will be awarded. The application deadline is Friday, March 31.To apply or learn more about the range of projects and activities that will be supported, please see the full description of the Climate Action Fellowship on the Physics website. Questions? Please contact climate.action.fellowship@sfsu.edu.

A recent College of Liberal & Creative Arts discussion exploring how A.I. is likely to affect universities is now available for viewing on YouTube. The event, “ChatGPT and Its Impact on Higher Education,” was held via Zoom Wednesday, Feb. 22. Moderated by Associate Professor of English Language and Literature Anastasia Smirnova, it featured faculty members from across campus.

Are you interested in teaching a Community Service-Learning (CSL) course but don’t know where to start? Do you have community-based teaching elements in your classroom but have yet to designate your course with a Community Engaged Learning attribute? Are you currently teaching a Community Engaged Learning (CEL) course and want to enhance your community-based teaching?

If this is you, the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE) encourages faculty like yourself to participate in the Community Engaged Learning Initiative by completing the Community Engaged Learning Tool (CELT) by Friday, March 31.

The CELT provides faculty with the opportunity to reflect on where they are and ways in which they can further improve and/or enhance their community-based teaching and strengthen their community partnership. Faculty who uses this tool will contribute to:

• quality transparent learning experiences for students
• effective relationships with community partners
• a better insight into CEL curriculum preparation and design

Whether faculty are currently teaching a CSL attributed course, are teaching a course that may already have CEL Essential Elements imbedded within but not attributed as CEL or are interested in proposing a new CEL course, CEETL highly encourages faculty using CELT. Faculty who complete the CELT Tool by Friday, March 31, will be entered into a raffle to receive a complementary lunch at the Vista Room for themself and one other person.

For more information on the CELT and NEW CEL Attribute, please visit the ICCE website.

SF State is hosting a site visit by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) on April 5 – 7, 2023, in connection with its accreditation. The team will schedule open meetings with students, staff and faculty to provide an opportunity for informal input from all members of the campus community about their experiences with the institution.

WSCUC understands that not everyone who may wish to participate can attend these meetings and has therefore established a confidential email account to give everyone the opportunity to communicate with the team. The email account is created by a WSCUC staff member, and only authorized WSCUC staff and team members have access to it. The emails are not viewed by any representative of the institution.

The email account is created for this visit only and will be closed once the WSCUC team leaves the campus. Only comments made before or during the visit will be considered as part of the review process.

Institutional reports, on-campus interviews, open sessions and email comments become part of the information collected and reviewed by the team. Please note that team members will not respond individually to comments provided through any of these venues, including the confidential email account. However, the input from comments, along with other forms of information, will be considered as the team undertakes its work and develops recommendations to the institution.

The team is not able to meet individually with members of the campus community, so please do not use the email account to request private appointments.

The email account will be active as of Wednesday, March 8. To write to the WSCUC team, please address your email to: sfsu@wscuc.org.

An SF State team has won an interdisciplinary collaborative research SEED grant offered by the CSU’s STEM-NET (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network). The team’s project aims to address physical frailty assessment through the integration of user-centered design, ethical considerations, and mobile and wearable sensor technologies. The project will involve a strong convergent research team comprising experts from computer engineering, kinesiology, medical sociology and health equity.

The team will develop a valid and practical solution for physical frailty assessment using the Xiào system. This application will be designed and developed using a co-creation approach, which involves engaging older adults in the design process to bring forward unique ideas and experiences that the research team may not have. Additionally, an unobtrusive wearable sensor will be used to collect kinematic data from older adults with different physical frailty levels. The team will develop and evaluate a new machine learning-based frailty assessment system.

The project’s approach will provide clinicians with objective data about frailty status, allowing them to make informed decisions to achieve the best outcome for their patients. The technico-medical approach will also reduce stigma and stereotyping of older adults, thus further isolating vulnerable individuals. The Xiào system mobile application is named after the Chinese word for filial piety, which reflects the project’s commitment to respect and value older adults’ contributions to society.

The final study abroad deadline for students to apply for next fall 2023/academic year 2023-24 is Wednesday, March 15. Encourage your students to apply! A list of programs still open can be found on the SF State Abroad website. 

Students pay the same tuition while studying abroad. The cost of living abroad is so much cheaper that most programs come out to be similar or cheaper than remaining at SF State. Students’ financial aid (except work study) goes with them. All credit from an SF State Abroad Program is resident SF State credit.

Interested students should check out the SF State Abroad page for more details and attend an information meeting.

The Academic Senate met on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at the Seven Hills Conference Center and via Zoom. The senate:

• Passed the following items:
  • Certificate in Paralegal Studies (Distance Education Authorization)
  • B.A. in Anthropology (Distance Education Authorization)
  • B.A. in Liberal Studies (Distance Education Authorization)
• Heard in first reading Revision to S01-87 Administrative Review Policy.
• Heard in first reading Credit for Prior Learning Policy.
• Heard in first reading Revision to Syllabus Policy #S15-257.
• Heard the following items in first reading:
  • B.A. in Psychology, Degree Completion
  • B.A. in Classics, Distance Education Authorization
  • M.A. in Classics, Distance Education Authorization
  • B.A. in Communications, Distance Education Authorization
  • M.A. in Communications, Distance Education Authorization
  • Certificate in Conflict Resolution, Distance Education Authorization
  • Minor in Criminal Justice Studies, reducing 20%
  • Minor in Recreation, Parks and Tourism, reducing 20%
  • B.S. to B.A. in Recreation, Parks and Tourism, reducing 20%
  • Minor in Queer and Trans Ethnic Studies, Name Change

The full agenda, meeting materials and minutes can be found on the senate website.

SF State is partnering with other CSU campuses to provide you with workshop offerings.

Partnering with campuses that have volunteered to participate in the CSU Cross-Campus Collaboration provides a unique opportunity to extend campus workshops beyond campus borders and offers a new way to share professional development across the CSU.

This month’s workshop offerings:

• Personal Branding: Building Your Professional Presence
• S.M.A.R.T. Goals
• The Five Elements of Wellbeing
• Ten Steps to Financial Success
• Preparing Emotionally to Transition to Retirement
• Critical and Strategic Problem Solving
• Onboarding and Offboarding Employees: Keys to Continuity
• Exposing Hidden Bias
• Avoiding Bias in Hiring
• How to Get Your Child to College

Go to SF State’s Human Resources CSU Cross-Campus Collaboration Workshops webpage to sign up for workshops.

Human Resources will host the next Staff Forum on Wednesday, March 15, from 10 to 11 a.m. via Zoom. All campus staff (who are not MPP or faculty) are encouraged to attend. Presentations include PERC (Promoting Equity & Relationships among Colleagues), an update on the University budget from CFO & VP Jeff Wilson, and preparation for WASC’s Reaffirmation of Institutional Accreditation. RSVP for the Zoom link via Qualtrics. 

The University Budget Committee (UBC) invites all campus members to attend their March meeting on Thursday, Mar. 16 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. via Zoom. Additionally, UBC members who are staff and faculty offer peer-hosted “Office Hours” on Fridays after the meetings; the next is on Friday, Mar. 17 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. via Zoom, to share thoughts about university finance topics or clarify anything heard at the budget meetings. All UBC meetings and Office Hours welcome persons with disabilities and may provide reasonable accommodations upon request. RSVP to ubc@sfsu.edu.

Family life is filled with positive and negative experiences, calm times and chaotic ones. Family routines help organize life, relieve stress and create special family time. You can learn more about developing family routines that help kids succeed at a free Zoom session this month. SF State Parents Club is hosting “Family Routines,” brought to you by Human Resources, in collaboration with LifeMatters, which is part of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that you receive with your SF State benefits. The 60-minute session will be held via Zoom from 11 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 16. Geared toward families with younger children, the presentation will also explore the impact of routines and family meetings.

RSVP via Qualtrics. Questions? Contact mfloresa@sfsu.edu.
 

They’re back! The SFSU Alcademics Faculty and Staff Wine Club invites you to join them for “A Self-Curated Tasting” of Heitz Cellar wines. Come taste with club members and celebrate their triumphal return. This tasting is an offering of a vertical selection of Napa Valley’s finest red blends and cabernet sauvignon. Plus there will be some white wines to “prepare the palate.”

The tasting is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March16, in the Vista Room, located on the fourth floor of Burk Hall. The Alcademics hope to see you there and want you to feel free to share their invitation with your colleagues.

SF State alumni employees are invited to a private tour of our campus greenhouse on Wednesday, March 22. You’ll learn all about the exotic plants housed on campus, upcoming plant sales and the Friends of the Greenhouse group. Light refreshments will be served. Those interested in attending can choose one of three scheduled tours (11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.). Questions can be emailed to Marciana Flores at mfloresa@sfsu.edu. RSVP by 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 15. Learn more or RSVP online.

Save the Dates for the Annual Responsible Innovation & Entrepreneurship (RI&E) Conference: Friday, April 21, and Saturday, April 22. The annual Responsible Innovation & Entrepreneurship Conference is hosted by the Lam Family College of Business (LFCoB) and is designed to engage the I&E research community in thoughtful discussions on the latest developments in this field through workshops to support research paper development and research ideation sessions. This conference is funded by the Lam-Larsen Fund for Global Innovation.
 

Professor Emeritus of History Joseph E. Illick passed away Thursday, Feb. 23. Illick was an active faculty member in the Department of History for almost 40 years.

Illick grew up in and near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which remained important to him throughout this career. He graduated from Liberty High School in Bethlehem in 1952. He received his B.S. in Engineering from Princeton University in 1956, then changed his career objectives and entered the history graduate program at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving his M.A. in 1958 and Ph.D. in 1963.

Illick came to SF State’s Department of History in 1963 as its specialist in colonial America. Bill Issel, who had recently transferred from UC Berkeley to SF State in order to study with John Shover (Berkeley then had no labor historians on the faculty) took Illick’s colonial history course, which he recalls as one of the most engaging classes he attended at Berkeley, University of Pittsburgh, and University of Pennsylvania.

Illick’s dissertation was published as “William Penn, the Politician” (Cornell University Press, 1965). He edited an anthology, “America & England, 1558-1766” (Appleton-Century) that appeared in 1970. His “Colonial Pennsylvania: A History” was published by Scribner in 1976. His articles on William Penn, colonial Pennsylvania and related topics appeared in the William and Mary Quarterly, Western Historical Quarterly, Pennsylvania History and other journals. 

He also taught SF State’s course on American biography, a course originally created to help prepare elementary and secondary teachers, but Illick expanded the course to allow students to explore the then emerging fields of psychohistory and the history of childhood. He attended classes at the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute and brought together his colonial American interests with psychohistory in his article “John Quincy Adams: The Maternal Influence” in the Journal of Psychohistory in 1976. He also and developed one of the first courses on the history of childhood and published on that topic in the History of Education Quarterly and History of Childhood. His book “At Liberty: The Story of a Community and a Generation, the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, High School Class of 1952” (1989) was inspired both by his interest in psychohistory and the history of childhood as well as his own high school reunion; that book reached a national readership beyond specialists in United States history. Illick continued to be called on as a specialist in colonial American history. The editors of one of the leading journals on Pennsylvania history asked him to write a state-of-the-field essay in the late 1990s: “Childhood in Three Cultures in Early America,” “Pennsylvania History” (1997).

Illick became emeritus in 2002, the same year that his “American Childhoods” appeared; that book was praised as “synthesizing an enormous amount of secondary source material ... a stunning achievement.” He then turned to another project on the history of American childhood that he had planned for many years. Believing that students in history classes should have a chance to write history from original sources just as professional historians did, he had assigned his students to write histories of their own families. He collected those histories for some 20 years, stored them in the SF State library. Now, in retirement, Illick was ready to turn them into what would have been a fascinating book. But when he went to the SF State Library to retrieve his documents, he found that they had been lost when the Library moved to its new building. Illick was bereft.

Still, he continued publishing. His essay “Going Back to High School” appeared in American Studies in 2004, and he contributed an essay to The Global History of Childhood Reader (2012). His last publication was a book review in the New England Quarterly in 2018.

In retirement, Illick pursued an interest in art, especially block printing. He combined this interest with history in a self-published book of his prints of all the president and his own poetry about them: “American Presidents in Portraits and Verse.” A few examples of his verse:

Thomas Jefferson, a liberal intellectual
Believed in freedom, political and sexual.

Woodrow Wilson, flexible and rigid,
Could be warm, could be frigid.
Raised on Presbyterian principle,
Sometimes thought himself invincible.

From the silver screen of Hollywood
Ronnie rode tall for the nation’s good.
The task was simple, his saying went:
“We must be rid of big government.”

In retirement, he also became a passionate member of the Dolphin Club and frequently swam in the Bay. He made many new connections in the process, and these relationships opened new vistas for him. Illick was coming out of the Bay from a swim when he fell and suffered a serious brain injury that led to his death.

His colleagues remember him as always friendly and supportive. He was a kind, convivial and warm individual who enjoyed hosting parties, engaging friends and traveling. He was a proud father and grandfather and will be missed for his warmth and wit, and the breadth and depth of his intellectual capacities.