A presentation entitled, ‘The Future of Sustainable Agriculture’ will begin at 6:30 p.m. by keynote speaker Casey Houweling, President and Owner of Houweling Nurseries Ltd., the third largest greenhouse production operator in North America.  Casey Houweling has over 33 years of experience as a grower, having joined his father’s agricultural business in 1976 in Delta, British Columbia (Canada).  In 1985, Houweling Nurseries became the first large-scale commercial greenhouse vegetable producer in British Columbia, a facility that has grown from 6 to 50 acres. 

As demand for fresh greenhouse grown produce grew, Houweling Nurseries sought new ways to expand to meet market needs for consistent, year-round production.  In 1996, Houweling Nurseries addressed this opportunity by opening California’s first commercial scale greenhouse in Oxnard and is the world’s most advanced greenhouse growing environment employing proprietary, patented technology that has tremendous environmental benefits.  The Oxnard facility utilizes state-of-the-art technologies such as a closed structure which minimizes pest pressures and allows for full atmospheric control of the growing environment.  The facility has also installed solar energy and thermal collectors to provide sustainable/green energy and heat.  In addition, a water recirculation system was developed which recaptures/filters/re-circulates all water that is not used by the plants thereby eliminating runoff and reducing water draw by 66%.  This greenhouse is the first energy neutral greenhouse facility in the world. 

Casey Houweling was the 1991 recipient of the “Pacific Outstanding Young Farmer Award,” as well as the national “Motherwell Award”.  He has also served on the BC Hot House Inc. board of directors for 11 years, having been the organization’s Chairman from 1995 – 2000. 

Event sponsors include Ocean Law, Logix Development Corporation, Pacific Coast Business Times, and Herzog Wine Cellars. Both the reception and presentation will be held on the CI campus at the Aliso Hall Auditorium. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $35 for B&TP members and $50 for non-members.

Reservations are required for this event and can be made by contacting Mitchel Sloan, Director of University Affairs at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8916 or mitchel.sloan@csuci.edu. Parking is complimentary for those who have made reservations. There will be way-finding signage on campus directing attendees to parking and the event.

For media inquiries contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.

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CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.

The program will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the John Spoor Broome Library, Room 1360, on the CI campus.  The program, sponsored by the Chicana/o Studies program, in conjunction with the Center for Multicultural Engagement, is free and open to the public.

Gustavo Arellano is familiar to many readers for his Op/Ed pieces in the Los Angeles Times.  He is also a staff writer with Orange County’s alternative newspaper, the OC Weekly, and a frequent guest on Public Radio International’s Weekend America.   He writes a nationally syndicated column, “¡Ask a Mexican!”  Arellano is the recipient of many awards, including the Los Angeles Press Club’s 2007 President’s Award and an Impacto Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

The child of Mexican immigrants, Arellano grew up in Orange County.  He will discuss his latest book, “Orange County: A Personal History.”  Associate Professor of History, Dr. Frank Barajas, mentioned that Arellano’s talk ties in well with the Chicana/o Studies course, “Narratives of Southern California,” that deals with the many stories of acculturation in Southern California.  In Arellano’s case, his parents came from Mexico and the family experienced the need to adapt to a new country and lifestyle.

Barajas said that the lecture series has received overwhelming response from the community.  “The speakers have all provided insight regarding the Chicano experience and it has offered CI a meaningful way to connect directly with the community we serve.” 

Limited parking is available on campus. A daily permit is $6. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road parking lot in Camarillo with bus service to and from the campus. Riders should board the VISTA bus to the campus; the fare is $1 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org.

For further information about the lecture series contact Dr. Frank Barajas, Associate Professor of History at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8862 or frank.barajas@csuci.edu.

For media inquiries contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.

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CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.

Saunders was the founding member of the Advising Center at CI in 2000, bringing with her the experience of more than 20 years’ work in the educational field.

In March 2009, Saunders attended the Pacific Region 9 conference of her professional group, the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA).  During the conference Saunders presented, “The Student Advising Guide from Orientation and Beyond.” The presentation was chosen as the “Best of the Region” by her peers.  This award is presented by NACADA to one session at each of the ten regional conferences.

Saunders was awarded a stipend to attend the NACADA Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, at which time she was presented with the award before a large national audience of academic advisors and administrators. 

Saunders was also the recipient of the “Best of Region” award for a previous presentation at the 2006 regional NACADA conference and is the only presenter who has received the award twice during the last nine years. She has also been chosen as Conference Chair for the 2010 Pacific Region Conference.

Saunders stated, “Presenting at NACADA has provided me with a valuable opportunity to share advising tools and strategies implemented at CSU Channel Islands, and it’s rewarding to have advising professionals express their appreciation for providing them with new tools or innovative strategies that they can adapt to their own advising programs.” 

While at CI she has been committed to assisting students in achieving their academic and career goals and to providing accurate and timely academic resources, materials and information to the campus community. Saunders affirms that, “Through NACADA conference participation, we are able to bring back innovative ideas to our campuses to expand or improve our own advising programs, ultimately providing improved services to our students and the campus community.”

For media inquires contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.

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CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.

Aroeste, a well-known recording artist and performer of Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) music, focuses on creating contemporary musical interpretation of Sephardic music. This music comes from the Jews who were expelled from Spain in the 15^th century during the Inquisition.  Aroeste calls her music “Ladino Rock,” a combination of centuries old songs with rock, funk, jazz, and blues.

International Week is sponsored by the University’s IRA fund (Instructionally Related Activities), the Spanish Program, and the Center for International Affairs.  “Aroeste’s appearance on campus is student-originated and student funded,” said Associate Professor of Spanish and Director of the Center for International Affairs, Dr. Antonio Jimenez Jimenez.  “It was prompted by a student interested in Ladino music and an interest to bring the artist to the campus.”

Aroeste and her musicians will visit classes to talk with students on Nov. 16, before appearing in concert at 5 p.m.  She will be available for a question and answer period with the public and CDs of her music will also be offered for purchase.

Other activities on the CI campus during International Week include a screening of foreign films, a display of travel books at the Broome Library, a selection of international dishes at the campus’ Islands Café dining facility, and a poster gallery of University 392 courses. Jimenez explained that the University 392 courses are short-term, faculty-led international programs that enable students to participate in academic programs held in a variety of countries, including Mexico, France, Spain, Ireland, Germany, Japan, or South Africa. Students are entrusted to share their study abroad experiences with the campus community during International Week in the fall.  International Week is also held in the spring to celebrate students who have been accepted to participate in CSU’s year-long study abroad programs.

Limited parking is available on campus. A daily permit is $6. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road parking lot in Camarillo with bus service to and from the campus. Riders should board the VISTA Bus to the campus and the fare is $1 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org.

For media inquiries contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.

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CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSU Channel Islands Mission Statement: Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.

At the opening of the exhibit in Washington, Rush and other partners in the oral history project were recognized for their work and institutional commitment in preserving this part of America’s history.  Also attending were Mexico’s former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jorge Castañeda, Arizona’s U.S. House of Representative Raúl Grijalva, and Director of the National Museum of American History, Brent Glass.

CI collaborated with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History as a collection partner and is now part of a national consortium of higher education institutions including George Mason University, University of Texas at El Paso, and Brown University, dedicated to documenting and preserving this critical piece of history.

CI’s role in the project was to collect, document, exhibit, and locally share the history of the 1942-1964 Bracero Program, which brought approximately three million Mexican male guest workers into the United States to provide emergency farm labor.  The impact of the program significantly affected the business of farming, immigration patterns and organized labor, making it an important part of this nation’s history to understand and preserve.

“It was an honor for CI to be acknowledged by the Smithsonian and to be a part of this national project, which highlights the historical legacy of our local community. Great credit goes to Pilar Pacheco for her outstanding work in engaging the University with this project,” stated Rush.

CI’s participation in the 2008-2009 oral history project served as a service learning component for the Chicana/o Studies, History, Library and Spanish programs.  To date, two town hall meetings have been conducted to identify braceros, their descendants and family members, and those who had substantial personal interactions with braceros and/or the Bracero Program, willing to be interviewed.  As a collection partner, CI organized the town hall meetings, conducted and transcribed interviews, and collected both stories and local artifacts from the 1942 to 1964 time frame. Oral histories collected from participants will become part of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History museum’s Web site collection and will also be part of a local student-created bracero exhibit. The CI project will continue as long as the community wants to share their stories about this time period.

CI will have the honor of hosting the Smithsonian’s national traveling exhibit, “Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964,” in August, 2010.  The exhibit will feature bilingual labels, listening stations, and will celebrate the contributions of braceros and their families to U.S. and Mexican history.

For media inquiries contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.

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CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSU Channel Islands Mission Statement: Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.

Nominated in the Interactive media category are Charlotte Ferguson (www.charlotteferguson.net), a senior Art major from Ventura, for her interactive website Velouria Vodka (www.velouriavodka.com); and Katherine Thompson, a senior Art major from Ventura, for her interactive website www.kmtdesign.com. Nominated in the Television category are Luke Sommer (www.modernhumandesign.com), a senior Art major from Ojai, and Kellam Cunningham, a senior Art major from Camarillo, for their commercial Xtreme Dog Walking.

Distinguished CSU professors and industry leaders choose the student finalists and winners in the film, video, and interactive media competition, and all finalist works are screened during the Festival. Winning students will receive cash prizes as well as the Rosebud Award for the top entry in each of the categories.

“Our students are proving year after year that they are top competitors at the state, national and professional levels,” says Art Professor Liz King, who teaches interactive media and web design at CI. “The goal is to continue to create cutting edge, competitive work that will get our students noticed by employers and their professional peers around the world.”

Since its founding in 2002, CI has placed 25 finalists and won first prize six times.

This year’s festival’s screening of CSU student works and award ceremony will begin at 6 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 7 on the CSU Fullerton campus at the Ruby Gerontology Center.  More information on the festival is available at www.mediaartsfestival.org.

For media inquiries contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.      

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CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.

The town hall meeting, an initiative of the CSU’s Chancellors Office and the University’s Center for Community Engagement, will provide a forum for the University and community to engage in conversations about needs and assets as a result of the current economic crisis, raise awareness of the impacts of the crisis, strengthen partnerships between the University and the community, and provide a foundation of information for the CSU to seek external funders to support community engagement work throughout California.

CI’s Center for Community Engagement, in collaboration with the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics, the Political Science program, Student Government, and Ventura County Together – a community collaborative comprised of First 5 Ventura County, United Way of Ventura County, Ventura County Community Foundation, and the Community Commission for Ventura County will host the meeting.

Ventura County Together will begin the program by presenting information gathered in a recent survey of County needs.  Susan Englund, Vice President, Community Impact for United Way of Ventura County, stated that in their survey, food, housing and healthcare were the three most pressing needs.

Economics professor and Dean of Faculty, Dr. Ashish Vaidya, will present an assessment of the likely impact of the budget crisis on Ventura County and its future.  After the speakers, facilitated discussion groups composed of faculty, students, community members and non-profits, will have an opportunity to discuss problems and possible solutions.  The work at the town hall meeting will be aimed at producing an action agenda to be sent to the Chancellor. 

Pilar Pacheco, Assistant Director of the Center for Community Engagement, mentioned an example of University and community partnerships. Since there is currently an increase of homeless children in Ventura County due in large part to the mortgage/foreclosure crisis, sociology students at CI are partnering with ‘School On Wheels,’ a non-profit, volunteer program in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties that tutors homeless children.  Students are serving as tutors and some are also acting as volunteer coordinators for outreach programs.  This project was taken on as a service learning component of their coursework.

Through leveraging community and University resources, plus joint community research, CI will be able to serve better the community, strengthen community partnerships, and create awareness of the current problems and needs of the community as a whole.  Dr. Andrea Grove, Faculty Director of the Center for Community Engagement emphasized the effort to pull together community members, students, faculty, and staff to apply CI’s mission to today’s severe challenges.

For those wishing to attend the meeting, please contact Pilar Pacheco at 805-437-8851 or pilar.pacheco@csuci.edu.

For media inquiries, contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.

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CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.

The event was initiated by Dr. Philip Hampton, Professor of Chemistry at CSU Channel Islands.  Hampton, who is also the Director of the National Science Foundation’s Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) and the Director of HIS STEM Grant at Oxnard College, is eager to encourage students to investigate STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) majors or careers.

The Science Carnival coincides with National Chemistry Week.  Hampton credited the CI biology, chemistry and LSAMP clubs with the creation of the carnival. President Mary Grabiak and Vice President Ashley Bonneau of the chemistry club, the Free Radicals, were instrumental in spearheading the development of the event. Hampton and his students worked closely with Charmon Evans, Director of the University Preparatory School, so that all science content would relate to the science curriculum covered in grades K-8.

The Carnival will feature hands-on science activities, followed by a Science Magic Show that will have, according to Hampton, “…flames, color changes and things that go boom!  Students will be able to roast hotdogs with electricity, make slime, and make color change by exhaling breath.”

Philip Hampton stated that the Science Carnival’s goal “…is to create a festive atmosphere where elementary and middle school students can experience the wonder and joy of science.  The event is part of CSU Channel Islands' commitment to outstanding science, technology, engineering and mathematics education."

For further information about the Science Carnival contact Dr. Philip Hampton, Professor of Chemistry at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8869 or philip.hampton@csuci.edu.

For media inquiries contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.                                       

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CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.

The board, led by Chairman Bill Kearney, a 34-year resident of Ventura, has worked diligently to open new doors for fundraising that will benefit students and faculty.  New revenue for research and program development strengthens the University’s mission of providing innovative, multidisciplinary, service-oriented programs.  Kearney, a six-year board member, said that he had gotten involved with the board because he, “…, like so many other people in Ventura County, was absolutely thrilled to have a four-year public University in the county.”

The board, composed of both community leaders from different industries and faculty and administrative representatives, was organized to re-energize, restructure and expand fundraising efforts.  Bill Kearny emphasized that members of the board have many diverse backgrounds and abilities and that, “Mary brings skills to the group including tremendous negotiating skills.”

Entering her third year as a board member, Mary Kramer has opened countless doors for the board and helped begin a new auxiliary.  She believes strongly that, “Knowledge is one thing that no one can take away from you and what you learn is yours to keep.”

Kramer, owner of Thunderbird Travel in Camarillo and a Ventura County resident since 1973, is committed to the cause of education. “I was truly humbled to receive this award.  It seems strange to get an award for doing something that everyone ought to try to do, provide educational opportunities for all ages,” Kramer said. 

 “I come from a large family in Columbia, South America,” she mentioned.  “In my family education was a must – a top priority.  It gives you choices in life.” She noted that she had been so honored to work with such a talented team of people at CI.  “They have challenged me to realize my dream of providing education for others.”  She hopes to challenge others to work toward this same goal.

For media inquiries contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.

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CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.

The program, which is free and open to the public, will take place Tuesday, Oct. 13, from 3 to 5:00 p.m. in the John Spoor Broome Library Room 1360 on the CI campus. The series of programs is sponsored by the Chicana/o Studies program, in conjunction with the Center for Multicultural Engagement and is funded by the University’s IRA (Instructionally Related Activities).

Dr. Rosas’ research on women, the Bracero program and its legacy, from 1942 to today, demonstrates the ongoing impact the program has had on Chicano families.  A by-product of the program, which allowed Mexican nationals to take temporary agricultural work in the United States, was the separation of the families of migrant workers.  For a female migrant worker it meant the lengthy absence of a mother from her children, as she worked to send money back to her family.  This resulted in many children resenting the mother’s absence and feeling abandoned.

The separation of family members, some living and working in the United States and some living in their native countries; Mexico, Central or South America, has created serious emotional rifts within the families.  It is a story of people living and working in one place with their hearts and lives in another. 

Rosas sees these transnational, transborder issues as an increasingly widespread phenomenon.  The result of many years of separation between mother and child is that the emotional bond between the two is frequently severely damaged or destroyed.

Dr. Rosas, born in Guadalajara, Mexico, but raised in South Central Los Angeles, focused her academic studies on Chicana/o history, comparative immigration, ethnicity, gender and race. She is currently working on a book on the Mexican immigrant experience and has won many prestigious awards and prizes, the most recent being a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Dr. Jose Alamillo, Associate Professor of Chicana/o Studies at CI, said that the speaker series, “Crossing Borders, Linking Communities in Chicana/o Studies” seeks to showcase CI’s interdisciplinary research on transnational and transborder issues and create communication and connection among all communities.
Limited parking is available on campus. A daily permit is $6. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road parking lot in Camarillo with bus service to and from the campus. Riders should board the CSU-CI VISTA Bus and the fare is $1 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org.

For additional information about the Chicana/o Speaker Series, contact Dr. Jose Alamillo, Associate Professor of Chicana/o Studies at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-2586 or jose.alamillo@csuci.edu

For media inquiries contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.

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CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.