News & Announcements
SF State Professor and Director of the Veteran Documentary Corps Daniel Bernardi has received a grant from the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program (VLP) to make 10 films honoring veterans interred in six national cemeteries. The Veterans Legacy Program commemorates the nation’s veterans and service members through the discovery and sharing of their stories. The VLP encourages students and teachers around the country at the university and K – 12 levels to immerse themselves in the rich historical resources found within U.S. Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration grant-funded cemeteries.
The VLP grant is for $487,674. With it, Bernardi plans to make the films with the help of three School of Cinema graduate students, numerous undergraduate interns and alumni filmmakers such as Andrés Gallegos, Hannah Anderson, Robert Barbarino and Joshua Cardenas.
“Not only do we get to make films about veterans, showing the diversity of that community, but we make them with students involved in all stages of production,” says Bernardi. “We also bring back accomplished alumni to take on directing, cinematography and editing roles, thereby giving our students that chance to learn from the best while seeing where they can end-up with hard work and creative thinking.”
An SF State athlete has been selected as one of the recipients of the September CalHOPE Courage Award. Sophomore pitcher Garrett Jensen received the award, which honors student-athletes at California colleges and universities for overcoming the stress, anxiety and mental trauma associated with personal hardships and adversity. It is presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), in association with the Associated Press and CalHOPE, a crisis counseling and support resource for communities impacted by public health emergencies, operated by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS).
The other September CalHOPE honoree is Stanford University basketball forward Cameron Brink. Jensen and Brink were presented with their awards at an on-field ceremony at Oracle Park before a San Francisco Giants baseball game (pictured).
During Garrett Jensen’s sophomore year at Heritage High School in Brentwood, he suffered partial paralysis when a meningioma tumor the size of a lemon was discovered in his spinal cord. Due to the paralysis, he was forced to relearn how to walk and perform other motor skills. Amazingly, he was able to return to baseball for his junior campaign. However, in the fall of his senior year, the day after receiving an offer to play at SF State, he learned he would need spinal fusion surgery to fix a curvature in his spine, which was a result of the tumor. Once again, through hard work, a positive mindset and his support system, he returned and pitched his senior season.
At SF State, Jensen pitched just one-third of an inning for the Gators in his redshirt freshman season. A Creative Writing major who hopes to one day work in the field of sports writing, Jensen was recognized in 2020, 2021 and 2022 with California Collegiate Athletic Association All-Academic Awards.
This week the University is celebrating the topping out of structural steel for the new Science & Engineering Innovation Center. The 125,000-square-foot project, located along 19th Avenue between Hensill Hall and the Health & Social Sciences building, will be the future home of multiple College of Science & Engineering departments and the College of Extended Learning. A ceremonial steel beam will be on display in front of the existing Science building on Friday, Sept. 30. Anyone who wishes to sign the beam before it is hoisted into place can come by between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
On behalf of the Elections Committee of the Staff Council Steering Committee, Human Resources would like to welcome the following newly elected councilors to the inaugural Staff Council and thank them for their service to the staff and the University.
- Janet Remolona (C99)
- David Apelt (Unit 7)
- Tony Robbins (Unit 7)
- Anarose Schelstrate (Unit 9-GTS)
- Chanda Jensen (Unit 9- GTS)
- Jeff O’Toole (Unit 9-GTS)
- Mirna Vasquez (Unit 9-GTS)
- Mary Menees (Unit 9-GTS)
- Roberto Santiago (Unit 9-GTS)
- Ashley Klein (Unit 9 – IT)
- Dylan Mooney (Unit 9 - IT
- Dominic Sciucchetti (Unit 9 - IT)
- Denzel Vaovasa (Unit 9 - IT)
- Samantha Ward (Unit 9 -RDS)
The newly elected councilors have been notified via email with next steps. As previously announced, the plenary meeting will be held in hybrid format from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 30. As a reminder, elected councilors must submit an Appropriate Administrator Authorization form before attending the plenary. Please email albiniak@sfsu.edu with any questions or concerns.
Tickets are still available for a Sept. 29 event featuring famed philosopher and activist Dr. Cornel West. West will come to campus for a discussion with members of the SF State community. The event will be held at the McKenna Theatre from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tickets are free but should be reserved in advance via Simpletix.
The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at New York City’s Union Theological Seminary, Dr. West is the author of 20 books, including “Race Matters,” “Democracy Matters” and his memoir “Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud.”
A Discover SF State Open House will be held on campus Saturday, Oct. 29. This university-wide event is geared towards encouraging prospective high school and community college students to apply for Fall 2023 admission, as well for the campus community to provide a sneak peek at all that we have to offer, including campus life, support services, admission requirements, financial aid, housing and more. Please consider serving as a University ambassador to assist colleagues in making this a great experience for our guests and a great success for SF State.
Register as an ambassador today! Lunch and an SF State T-shirt will be provided for all ambassadors. If you would like to serve as an ambassador, please discuss this opportunity with your supervisor.
The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) was created in the late 1960s to address economic and social barriers that prevent minorities and underrepresented students from attaining a college education. In 2003, both houses of the California State Legislature, with bipartisan support, passed Assembly Concurrent Resolution 124. It praised the accomplishments of the Educational Opportunity Program in the CSU, UC and community college systems and declared September to be EOP Month. Learn how EOP continues to help students at SF State today on the Educational Opportunity & Pathway Programs website.
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a global effort to help everyone stay safe and protected when using technology whenever and however you connect. The theme for 2022 is “See Yourself in Cyber.” Information Technology Services (ITS) at SF State is proud to be a champion and support this online safety and education initiative. During the month of October, there will be activities and awareness materials shared. Each week will focus on a different theme. You can find more information on upcoming events on the ITS website.
This year the Chancellor’s Office is sponsoring a cybersecurity poster contest. ITS will provide more details in a later CampusMemo, so stay tuned.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month is co-led by the National Cyber Security Alliance and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The Applied Housing Research Initiative (AHRI) is proud to announce the release of three working papers on the emergency housing policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the advancement of equity. AHRI will also host a Zoom webinar from noon to 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, October 5, to discuss the findings of these papers. The papers were written by a research team consisting of Professor in Urban Studies and Planning Ayse Pamuk, Professor in Public Administration Jennifer Shea, Professor in Public Health Laura Mamo, Professor in Geography and Environment XiaoHang Liu and AHRI research associate and MPA graduate student Temur Umarov.
Liu’s working paper examines the association between a city’s inclusionary housing program, its vulnerability to COVID-19 and its change in racial residential segregation. Shea and Mamo analyze the results of a survey distributed to local California governments to better understand the relationship among housing policy and three interrelated dimensions of equity goals and targets in areas of economics, race and public health. Pamuk and graduate student Umarov provide an overview of the emergency housing policies implemented in California and a preliminary analysis of their reasons for implementation, effectiveness and potential issues. Additionally, AHRI welcomes you to explore three interactive mapping platforms that Liu created to visualize COVID vulnerability, emergency housing policies and racial residential segregation throughout California.
If you are interested in reading these working papers and exploring the dashboards, please visit the AHRI website. Those who would like to attend the online webinar can register for the event via Zoom.
It is still possible for students to study abroad in spring 2023. There are a few programs still open until 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2. For a complete list of programs, check out the SF State Abroad website and database.
Per Academic Senate Policy F19-177, the Educational Policies Committee (EPC) is required to inform the campus community of the following discontinuance proposal two weeks before senate action. Any party interested in filing a response should send an email to claude@sfsu.edu. Discontinuance has been proposed for the minor in Russian and will be reviewed by EPC in October.
The voting period for the Academic Senate Fall 2022 special election will be open from Monday, Sept. 26, to 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30. Items on the faculty ballot include the University Sabbatical Committee (USC) and the Academic Integrity Review Committee. Please use the Qualtrics Fall 2022 Academic Senate special election ballot to cast your vote.
Any questions can be directed to the Office of the Academic Senate at senate@sfsu.edu.
The Academic Senate met Tuesday, Sept. 20, via Zoom. The senate:
- Adopted by general consent the Resolution Commending Eugene (Gene) R. Chelberg for His Distinguished Service to San Francisco State University.
- Passed a Resolution in Support of the University Mission Statement (2022).
- Heard in first reading Master of Science in Business Analytics, Master of Business Administration and Master of Arts in Classics.
The full agenda, meeting materials and minutes can be found on the senate website.
Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) is hosting a five-week Lecturer Faculty Teaching & Learning Community from Oct. 10 to Nov. 14. This learning community is designed to support new and early career lecturer faculty (one to two years) in their pedagogy, provide a space for connection with other more recent lecturer faculty and share resources to support student success.
In this community, participants will work through five modules that introduce the foundations of college teaching for lecturer faculty seeking more experience in evidence-based teaching. CEETL invites you to explore each topic by joining a synchronous session or engaging asynchronously at your own pace.
The schedule for synchronous sessions will be available after registration. Each topic has an asynchronous equivalent, so if you can’t make it to any of these sessions you will still be able to complete the program successfully. Lecturer faculty who complete the community requirements by Nov. 14 will receive a $300 stipend.
Register online by the Oct. 6 deadline.
Join Patelco at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, for a one-hour webinar on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, a notoriously difficult student loan forgiveness program available to certain employees of 501c3s and non-profit institutions. With new eligibility guidelines and approaching deadlines of Oct. 31, 2022, for the PSLF waiver and Dec. 31, 2022, repayment deadline, this discussion will share information needed to apply. All former PSLF applicants who were denied PSLF due to an unqualified federal loan are encouraged to attend. Register via Qualtrics.
Patelco is also hosting a webinar on the topic “Family Discussion Guide for Estate Planning” on the same day at 5:30 p.m. This webinar will cover communicating your wishes to family, identifying caretakers for loved ones, important documents, selecting decision makers, transferring assets and more. Register on the Patelco website.
Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning’s (CEETL) Fall 2022 Discussion Circles series continues with “Beyond Accommodations: Disability Inclusive Pedagogies & Lessons from the Pandemic” from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11, in CEETL’s classroom, LIB 242. This discussion will be hosted by Emily Beitiks, interim director of the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability. Register online to join this in-person discussion.
There’s also still time to register for this week’s Discussion Circle, “Balance: Preserving Yourself & Setting Boundaries,” at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, in LIB 242. Visit the CEETL website to learn more about the CEETL Discussion Circles series and register for future Discussion Circles.
The next campuswide Staff Forum is on Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 10 to 11 a.m. and welcomes University President Lynn Mahoney and AVP of Human Resources Ingrid Williams. Vice presidents of Administration & Finance, Academic Affairs and University Advancement will present information on their cabinet divisions. Don’t miss it! All campus staff, both represented and non-represented (who are not MPP/faculty), may attend. The forum will be offered virtually via Zoom. RSVP for the Zoom link via Qualtrics.
Spotlight
Amy Sueyoshi, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, is one of 27 scholars recently named to the Distinguished Lectureship Program of the Organization of American Historians (OAH).
Since 1981, OAH presidents have appointed eminent U.S. historians to the program. Participants share their scholarship by presenting virtual or in-person lectures at colleges, universities, K – 12 schools, museums, faith-based centers and historical societies.
Asian American Studies Professor Jonathan H.X. Lee received the Community Member Champion of the Year award from the Rainbow Community Center (RCC) of Contra Costa County. Presented on Sept. 24, the award honors Lee’s ongoing and significant contributions with elevating the work of RCC and fundraising on RCC’s behalf. Lee is known for efforts such as his signature “Dragfabulous” events, donations of time and fees with college essays and more.
Horace Montgomery, Associated Students senior director of productions, was recently named to the board of directors of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. An SF State graduate in Psychology, he has helped establish the Associated Students Farmers Market, Gator Groceries student food pantry and Rhythms Music Festival. Montgomery is soliciting sponsorships for the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s annual One Big Table dinner gala, to be held Saturday, Oct. 22.
KQED-FM News aired a story on Sept. 19 about the San Francisco State University Foundation’s announcement that it was make sweeping changes to its investment policy, deepening its commitment to socially responsible investing.
SF State Foundation President Jeff Jackanicz says that it will weigh both financial and diversity goals in investment decisions. If the foundation were to consider an affordable housing fund, for example, he explains considerations that could be made.
“We would be particularly interested in this opportunity if we knew, for example, that this particular fund ... is run by women or owned by women or people of color,” said Jackanicz, who also serves as vice president for University Advancement.
The San Francisco Chronicle interviewed Asian American Studies Professor Wei Ming Dariotis in a Sept. 18 article about a new survey analyzing quality-of-life issues for San Franciscans. In the Chronicle’s survey, residents who identify as multiracial were the most critical of city government, schools and the police department.
Dariotis, an expert on the history of multiracial people in the U.S., says the demographic was historically “rendered invisible.”
“Political leaders of San Francisco should direct our government agencies to specifically gather and analyze data about mixed-race people and particularly do a better job of understanding ... who we are and what we need,” she said. “In doing so, I hope it will function to make life a little easier for all of us in San Francisco.”
History Professor Marc Stein wrote an article on Sept. 13 for Perspectives of History, the news magazine of the American Historical Association, about debates over gay studies within the organization in the 1970s. Before concluding, Stein makes a call for additional research on the topic, a standard practice for essays by historians.
“In this case, I advocate for comparative historical analysis of the sexual and gender politics of academic, disciplinary and professional organizations,” wrote Stein, the Jamie and Phyllis Pasker Professor of History. “My suspicion is that historical organizations, if compared with associations of anthropologists, librarians, literary critics and sociologists, were laggards rather than leaders, but I would be pleased to learn that I am wrong.”
Miriam Smith, associate professor of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, published a paper in the spring edition of the American Intellectual Property Law Association Quarterly Journal. Her paper is titled “#BlackLivesMatter: A Hashtag, a Rallying Cry, a Social Movement, a Global Network but not a Trademark: An Analysis of Trademark Protection for the Well-Turned Phrase of a Social Movement (Slogans, Taglines, Mottoes and Hashtags).”
“Common slogans will not be granted trademark protection, unless they are created and registered with the trademark office before they become a ‘common slogan,’” Smith said. “They must also be associated with a product or service.”
On Sept. 17, The Theatre Times published a Q&A by Michael Schweikardt, assistant professor of Theatre and Dance. Schweikardt interviewed theatre designer Jason Jamerson, who is noted for his use of artificial intelligence.
Schweikardt writes that AI will be beneficial for his students.
“What excites me: As an instructor, I am particularly interested in helping students materialize their design ideas into scenery for performance,” he wrote. “The defining attribute of scenic designers is their ability to transform meaning into material environment, but this moment of transformation often seems mystical, and elusive. This AI technology might be used as a tool to make this moment of transformation less mysterious.”
Recreation, Parks and Tourism Professors Richard Harvey and Erik Peper participated in the 21st meeting of the Biofeedback Federation of Europe, held Sept. 19 – 24 in Montesilvano, Italy.
Peper gave the invited presentation, “The mind/body and body/mind connection techniques to enhance,” and presented his paper “Optimize health with breathing” (2022).
Harvey presented his paper “The art and science of wearable instrument” (2022).
They also both led a poster presentation with student Nicholas Heinz and alum Monica Almendras, “Benefits of Holistic Health stress management classes: Outcome comparison between in-person and online classes.”