Dear A&S Community,

Thank you for all that you are doing to support one another during this time. We’re alone together, yet many of our faculty, staff and students are continuing to do so much in the community. I would like to remain connected with all of you through the weekly updates below.

Each of you remain in my thoughts; be well and stay healthy.

Sincerely,

Dean Vandana Kohli

Week of May 18, 2020

Somehow, we have reached the final week of examinations, and I hope this finds our community well as you wrap up an unprecedented semester. This week, I would like to highlight some of our Program Support Staff in A&S who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to support our academic programs and students' educational experience. These are just a few examples of our wonderful, hard-working and dedicated staff with more to come in the future.

Finally, I had the privilege to take part in this year’s virtual edition of “Arts Under the Stars” thanks to our Performing Arts faculty. I was absolutely pleased and impressed with the incredible efforts that our CI students, faculty and staff put into making “Arts Under the Stars” a virtual and inspiring success, with subject matter that hit close to home. Below are a few snapshots from the event, from some of the audience, to images of students both dancing and singing via Zoom. Again, I wish you all the best this week as we move forward in closing out the spring 2020 semester.

Carmen Krebs (English and Global Languages):

Carmen is going the extra mile to ensure that student publication The Island Fox gets mailed out. She has made arrangements to join Bobby in Mail Services for a day, to receive and repackage the publications into individual envelopes and mail them out to the happy recipients.

Amanda Sanchez (Chicana/o Studies, History & Political Science):

Working closely with the Chicana/o Studies faculty, Amanda has ensured that the 2020 major graduates will be recognized with yard signs for their homes identifying them as proud Chicana/o Studies graduates.

Hilda Ocampo (Art and Performing Arts):

Hilda never fails to go the extra mile for her programs to ensure that the faculty and students have all they need, and even in quarantine she has continued to ensure that classroom and studio refreshes will be ready for the time we are all back on campus. Hilda also shared a short video clip that she filmed for Professor Matjas, who is currently working on a celebratory video for all graduating Art seniors. She called it "the highlight of my work week".

Liege Ayub (Nursing Clinical Coordinator), Geri-Lyn Himebaugh (Nursing and Health Science) and Sarah Welch (Nursing and Health Science):

As staff working to support a robust and dynamic program such as Nursing, Geri-Lyn, Liege and Sarah have each worked tirelessly to make sure our 2020 Nursing graduates have their stoles and pins, all while handling the challenging logistics of many schedule changes. Liege also shared photos of her adjusted work style from home, trying to sort out her special "puzzle" of clinical placements.

Liege writes, "Working from home, our new normal. Takes time to get adapted to it."

Virtual “Arts Under the Stars” from Heather Castillo (Performing Arts):

“Arts Under the Stars” premiered on Youtube this weekend with an initial 127 viewers, and by Monday morning had 498 views. It is thrilling to see the students’ efforts have a positive impact on the CI and greater community. They each contributed in unique and special ways incorporating family into the process and inviting people into their homes, which became the backdrop for the content created. Most of the material was filmed and audio recorded on mobile devices, which would not have been possible 5 years ago. It demonstrates the resiliency of the human spirit and the possibilities of new technology.

Week of May 11, 2020

Greetings A&S Community,

As I shared in a previous email to faculty and staff, I take great pride in being able to showcase all of your accomplishments – especially during this strange time in which we continue to adapt and be creative in finding new solutions in an online environment. It has been extremely moving to see how resilient and collaborative our faculty, students and staff remain, and I’d like to share below some additional highlights we’ve received.

From Elizabeth Lavin-Hughes (Performing Arts):

“I co-teach with Ray McNamara and in PA 210, students (liberal studies majors, studying in the arts with Ray and myself, are working to develop skill sets in order to teach from steAm rather than a stem perspective) Currently the students are creating their final projects. (Typically these are collaborative practical final exams whereby the students teach each other, in role-playing situations during class an integrated dance and or music lesson plan). The students work in small groups building their lesson plans, using music and dance to deepen student engagement and learning around a chosen academic subject matter and age level, they teach their lessons to their peers, face to face with the benefit of all the classroom materials e.g. drums, posters, markers and art supplies, the dance space, video screen and bells and shakers that we provide.) Presently, the students are shifting this experience into an online format, using google sites and adobe spark video to teach their lesson designs, adding their lesson plans into their presentations so that I can check their attention to following the rubric that requires learning objectives, methodology, and assessment for their lesson. The work we are doing together is entirely new for all of us (especially for me) and when the presentations are done I would love to share some of them with others! I can attest that so far their presentations are exciting, captivating, creative, and definitely engaging.”

From Dr. Kimmy Kee-Rose’s Psychology 301 Course:

"I just wanted to share this photo, which was taken yesterday during my PSY 301: Psychological Research and Statistical Methods and Lab online lecture."

From Jasmine Delgado (Art):

"Getting more kits ready to mail out to students. Thankful for the support of my department funding supplies for students that needed to switch gears and had no supplies."

From Richard Wasniowski (Computer Science):

"I noticed that emphasis on online teaching is intimidating for some students, and I need improved ways to recognize and support students who may be struggling in class.

Currently, I am using the tools presented below. Nothing new, but I would like to share it anyway.

  • Participation. Canvas offers a way to track the students’ attendance and engagement and helps me identify which students are active. If inactivity is for more than three days, I use email to communicate, asking if she/he needs help. It is better to catch inactivity early when there is still time to offer support.
  • Communication via email and zoom. Communication is especially important when it comes to online teaching. Sometimes the student is asking a lot of questions and does not appear to understand the materials. In such a situation, I schedule a Zoom meeting with that student to go through issues together. On occasion, I ask the student for permission to record our sessions to review it again later.
  • Grades. I also analyze Canvas grade book for trends. If a student is scoring low after COVID, I will try to reach out to that student with some additional constructive feedback and guidance."

From Malia Roberson (Performing Arts):

"I thought I would share how I'm teaching music theory online here in Performing Arts, Music. While the social aspect of music training is extremely important, I believe this shift to distance learning has had some benefits. I have been thinking about how to teach music online for some time now before the pandemic, and so I was mentally prepared for this, but there was a significant learning curve in some of the technology. The main issues I hear from students are their ability to stay focused and they are missing the accountability of face-to-face meetings. Still, the learning continues and they are demonstrating that they are, indeed, learning and mastering very challenging musical concepts.

I'm sharing with you a link to my box.com where I have shared several videos that demonstrate how I'm teaching piano lessons, music theory, and aural skills. I have my students' consent and many were excited that I was planning to share their work with you. Overall, I am really proud of how my students are performing. This format has actually given me a more accurate sense of how my students are understanding the course material. They also get more well-rounded form of feedback from me because they can hear my voice talking through their work, rather than just receiving a marked-up written assignment.

The most challenging aspect of teaching music online is synchronous music-making. It is really impossible due to latency, so piano lessons are extremely challenging. I cannot hear the nuances of my students' playing, although I can get a general sense of their performance. I think my colleagues and all music instructors that teach music ensembles are having the most difficulty. But it is possible to do asynchronous music-making so to supplement the actual piano lessons, I have my students post performances in Discussion for a "masterclass" type of critique."

Continuing Focus on A&S Lab Technicians:

From Scott Duffer in Chemistry:

"As a designated employee, I have been coming onto campus to maintain the Chemistry Program’s Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectrometer. The NMR is an analytical instrument used in the instructional labs and faculty and student research for molecular structure determination. Maintenance requires the periodic filling of cryogens such as liquid nitrogen and liquid helium.

I have also been supporting faculty in their transition to alternative laboratory instructional methods. These activities have included assembling kits for students to continue hands-on laboratory experience at home. For example, students in Dr. Woo’s Chemistry course are constructing environmental monitoring devices that will measure air quality through the detection of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter. The students will be creating these devices by assembling circuit boards, sensors, LEDs, and developing the code for these systems to operate on. Another example is assisting Dr. Gillespie in developing kits for students to perform at home “friendly” enzyme assays for his Fermentation laboratory course."

From Marty Labasan in Chemistry:

"In the chemistry department, there are 12 Student Assistants who work in the prep lab mainly making solutions, gathering items for experiments, setting up for various lab courses, and maintaining lab spaces. When classes transitioned to a virtual platform, Scott and I brainstormed ideas on how the student assistants can work from home while furthering their knowledge and lab skills. Because most of the student assistants are seniors or graduating in the fall, we wanted to provide the students assistants with knowledge they can use after they graduate. We decided to provide a list of videos about the instruments that we have available in the lab such as the NMR, HPLC, GC, and GCMS. This list included videos about the concepts behind the instruments, instrument techniques, troubleshooting, and maintaining the instrument. The students are welcome to do more research on the instruments that they are interested in if they wish. We had a Zoom meeting to check-in with the Student Assistants and they said that the videos are very helpful and caters to their interests."

From Adan Sanchez in Physics:

"At the moment, our biggest problem is uncertainty – however, I imagine we’re not unique in that regard.

We don’t know what to expect from next semester or even the one after that. So as of now we are preparing to move all our labs online if we have to. Working together with faculty, we are working on putting together kits that students can take home and do the labs with. For some classes, we hope to make the kits affordable enough so that the student does not have not return it to us. Most of the planning has been online so I don’t have a lot of pictures to show yet.

However, as the majority of the faculty in our department falls under the 65 or older category, they are not allowed to be on campus. So I personally have been acting as a liaison for anything they might need. Once recent example would be mailing materials to students that need them. I believe some of the students might even be immunocompromised and thus, wanted to limit exposure as much as possible.

Included is a picture that one of the students sent me after receiving their package."

Week of May 4, 2020

Weekly Update – Focus on Arts & Sciences Lab Technicians

As the end of the semester rapidly approaches, I wanted to take the opportunity for this week’s update to highlight the work of our dedicated lab technicians in A&S. Please read below to learn about the creative solutions that the lab techs are using during virtual instruction. I thank them for their collective efforts and commitment to providing CI students with the best lab experience possible, even from home. Stay tuned for more highlights from our other lab techs and faculty next week!

Our lab technicians and Dr. Phil Hampton in a Zoom meeting with the Dean.

From Emily Gaston in ESRM:

"Our field methods class ESRM 370 were sent lab field kits with insect sticky traps and instructions on how to collect and identify insects in their home environment. Here are some images of the deployed sticky traps in their home environment. A large part of field methods is how to be adaptable in the field and use what you have. A key take away for students is to always prepare, and you are almost guaranteed to leave something at home when you are working in the field.

ESRM 371: In our Coastal Monitoring with Remotely Piloted Systems we have been using virtual machines (VM), so that every student has access to very specific software and high power processing machines. These projects can take up to 24 hours to finish processing and have massive datasets so VM are essential for this class. My role as the technician/lab support is to transfer and curate the large datasets through dropbox into the VM. Here is a student (Emily Orsborn) using her VM and the software Pix4D and ArcGIS Pro to model beach change over time. All you need is internet access to be successful for this class!"

From Cathy Hutchinson in Biology:

"During the outbreak as an designated employee I have been making sure that our liquid nitrogen dewar that contains frozen cell lines for our Biology and MS Biotechnology/Bioinformatics Programs is continually filled.

For some of our living specimens, I am working with Dr. Alarcon on keeping our sugar stock filled to feed our bees we maintain on campus. Lastly, I am working with Dr. Harris to build kits for our Cell Physiology course that we will be offering virtually this summer. We will be sending equipment to students at home so they can receive some hands on experience."

From Kimberly Gardner in Biology:

"Upon learning we were transitioning to virtual learning labs, like many of you, I was perplexed on where to start. I began to brainstorm on ways I could contribute to the virtual labs from the surroundings of my home and neighborhood; ways of working I had never used before. Through exploring the collaborating app Teams; I found I could set up different spaces for my lab sections and upload media that the professors could access for their use.

My process started with reading through the lab manual to see what the students needed to learn. I would search in my backyard and on walks around the neighborhood for different examples of these specimens. (Hoping no one would call the police about a suspicious character walking around looking at the flora and fauna.) Once I found something of interest, I would painstakingly try to get the best macro photo or video and upload them onto Teams into the corresponding file or sub-folder. At the end of the week the professor would then log on and pick the best media to put their lab together. If it was not something I could find I would then search for the subject online. My process would start over the following Monday."

Licen sample on wooden fence Marchantia Archegonia

 Lichen sample on wooden fence

Lichen on stick Poppy Pollen Moss Sporophyte Ginkgo Tree Strobili

From Michael Mahoney in Biology:

"We have found good quality model skeletons from the same manufacturers that make the many sorts of models we’ve been using in our labs for years, but they do cost around $200. On the other hand, they would be used back in our regular teaching labs once this is over and are high quality, made for years of use. If the budget doesn’t allow for this, we can get lower quality skeleton models, but they wouldn’t be useful long-term.

A second thing we were looking at is a way for the students to get some dissection experience and here the Biology vendors have numerous offerings, many new in response to the Covid-19 situation. One company has a complete sheep brain kit for under $20 that includes a non-toxic preserved sheep brain, tray, instructions, and safe dissection instruments. Brains are soft so plastic forceps, a Q-tip stick, and a plastic picnic knife are perfect.

So, I think the take home message is think carefully about newly purchased non-consumables you plan to issue to students and check your vendors for low cost kits. I would bet that there are many new items in their catalogs that were not there a month ago."

From Merry Cris (MC) Walcott in Biology:

"MC has worked on campus for various biological support for the university while the campus remains closed. MC helped Dr. Becerra prepare the last laboratory data for her medical microbiology lab section. This effort helped her faculty member prepare the last set of actual student microbiology samples before the transition to virtual learning. MC also gathered all the Bio-Safety Level -2 (BSL-2) microbiology waste to autoclave for proper hazardous material handling in efforts to leaving the microbiology laboratory without potential hazards in the microbiology laboratory space. MC passaged cells to sustain viability for the university’s microbiology bacterial stock and transferred perishable materials to preserve specimen & solution shelf life."

Week of April 27, 2020

This week, the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) launched its virtual programming website available for students at the link below.

'The Island'

I also wanted to take the opportunity to highlight what faculty have shared about the unique approaches they are taking in virtual classes, as well as the engagement of their students in this virtual environment. We continue to push forward near the end of the semester, and it is comforting to know that we remain together while apart.

Virtual African Drumming:

From Ray McNamara (Performing Arts Music)

"I wanted to share some of my classwork up to the semester transition ... Since we cannot play together anymore, we are watching the videos that were taken of our ensembles, and the students are reflecting by writing their observations and responding to some specific prompts that I have generated for them. I am also asking some of my colleagues to watch and provide feedback to the students."

Extending National and Global Access to Scholars:

From Robin Mitchell (History)

"Dr. Patrick De Oliveira is an award-winning Ph.D. from Princeton University, now doing his post-Doc there. His bio states that “His main field of research is the history of technology in nineteenth- and twentieth-century France and Western Europe.” Dr. De Oliveira has an active Twitter feed (@PLSOliveira) and has taken, during the Pandemic, to sharing primary sources and “lecturing” on the Paris Siege of 1870-71. Several of my students began following him, as our group final in History 318 (Age of Revolutions, 1648-1870) is an interactive role-playing game on the Paris Commune. Shout out to Dr. Amy Caldwell for having taught historical games in her own history classes. Since several of them also took or are taking Dr. Caldwell, my students were wondering if they could, in fact, create a game on their own (instead of relying upon Dr. Caldwell’s expertise).

During our weekly Zoom about the status of the game’s development, my students asked if Dr. De Oliveira might be willing to Zoom into our class so they could ask him questions about the Siege and the cast of historical characters that will inhabit the game. Many of them have had classes with me before, and I have tried to Skype in scholars from around the world. The students seem to love it (Dr. Matthew Sweet from Oxford/BBC was one of those scholars). Colleagues from far and wide have been incredibly generous with their time, and I thought it would give my students a sense of confidence to read their work and discuss it with them in real time. It is usually the highlight of the class.

This is what made me so happy about their request: my students ASKED if they could zoom with a Princeton post-doc about the Paris Commune and that said post-doc said yes!"

Fermentation in the Garage:

From Blake Gillespie (Chemistry)

This video was recorded using immersive video tools in my garage. It is the intro to a series of videos I'm producing that walk student through a pair of fermentation projects (wine making and corn-mash distillation), generating data along the way that students can plot and consider. The other videos will appear as a playlist linked to this introduction.”

Week of April 20, 2020

Please see the link below regarding an important Academic Senate Resolution that was passed and signed by the President regarding a Credit/No Credit option for CI students.

Credit/No Credit Grading Options (PDF, 121K)

Additionally, a faculty colleague recommended that we share a useful series of online webinars hosted by ACUE for faculty transitioning to virtual learning. The recorded webinars, along with associated discussion forums, have been posted on the link provided.

Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) Webinars for Faculty

I would also like to announce that we will be returning to virtual "Dean's Chai Chats" in the fall and I look forward to continuing this series of informal and fruitful conversations with A&S faculty.

Lastly, and as a way of continuing our spirit of optimism during these tough times, are some additional words of appreciation that the Dean's office received last week. Thank you and be well.

Words of Appreciation:

  • "I just wanted to reach out to thank you for your very supportive and reassuring video. My students also send their gratitude. They have a lot of responsibilities to cover as they step in for their parents to ensure their households are running smoothly. All this to say, that your message, as well as other support and kindness expressed by the CI community, goes a long way. So, again, thank you very much for your message."

  • "Thank you for the personal video. I really appreciate it."

Week of April 13, 2020

A Message from the Dean:

Hello A&S Community,

I hope this finds you and your loved ones in good health. As part of this week’s “Weekly Updates”, I wanted to reach out to share with you some notes about the upcoming virtual commencement, share some of the positive feedback and words of appreciation that the Dean’s office has recently received, and share a link to important information.

Virtual Commencement:

A virtual Commencement ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 23, 2020 to honor the graduating class of 2020. Please note that while this does not replace the in-person celebration that is still to be rescheduled, we hope that A&S students will attend to interact with their classmates and faculty virtually as a celebration of their success. Details on the virtual ceremony will be forthcoming.

Words of Appreciation:

I wanted to share this feedback with you as a way to spread light and positivity as we enter yet another week living in these uncertain and trying circumstances. I hope they provide you with some positivity and comfort.

  • “I found [the article] very insightful and humane. It encourages me and helps me to be able to reflect on my communication with my students now and hereafter…”

  • “I wanted to write to say thank you for taking the time to share this. These are truly unsettling times and I found this advice insightful in how to humanize this virtual world we are living in these days.”

  • “This was lovely... thanks!”

  • “Please help me express my thank you to Dean Kohli for sharing the article. I found it very insightful and humane. It encourages me and helps me to be able to reflect on my communication with my students now and hereafter.”

  • (from an A&S student) “The empathy, sincerity, and personal compassion expressed is one of the myriad of reasons why I am so infinitely proud to be a part of this campus. In times like these it is especially important to make sure our gratitude is said out loud. In case you haven't heard it yet today: thank you for your tireless support, validation, and encouragement of the campus community, and for your inspiring message. It truly was everything I needed to recenter and refocus from the global noise and uncertainty to my midterms and academic pursuits coming up this week”

  • “Beautiful. Thank you.”

  • “Thanks for those insightful words.”

  • "Please thank the Dean. It was a very thoughtful video and much appreciated."

Hertiage Emergency National Task Force (HENTF) COVID-19 Resource Hub:

The Heritage Emergency National Task Force (HENTF), a public-private partnership between FEMA and the Smithsonian Institution, has published a COVID-19 Resource Hub, a web portal to an array of resources that can help the cultural heritage and creative communities respond to and recover from the pandemic. Resources have been grouped under the following categories:

  • Federal and Global Guidance

  • Dashboards for Situational Awareness

  • Guidance on Funding Your Organization’s Recovery

  • Funder Support of the Heritage Community

  • Collections Care During a Pandemic

  • Resources for Museums

  • Resources for Archives

  • Resources for Libraries

  • Resources for Artists and Arts Organizations

  • Resources for Historic Properties, Sites, and Organizations

  • Resources for Indian Country

  • Resources for Emergency Managers

  • Resources for Extension Educators

  • Preparing for the Next Pandemic

Week of April 6, 2020

Please see the links below to read about the impact of Arts and Sciences on our service region and beyond. I’d also like to take this opportunity to update you on the status of faculty searches in A&S – I’ve added this to our COVID-19 page, because many of our searches have had to be postponed as a result of this pandemic.

Working Remotely CSUCI Pulls Together to Print 3-D Protective Face Shields

Nursing Students Assist VCPH During COVID-19 Crisis

ESRM Faculty Article in the LA Times

Faculty Search Updates: At the beginning of AY19-20, the school of Arts and Sciences was allocated a total of seventeen (17) tenure-track faculty lines. Several (four) of these searches were postponed until the next year: English, Art, Psychology and Sociology. Later, Political Science also decided to postpone their search. This left twelve (12) searches. Four of these resulted in new hires in Nursing, Communication, History and Global Languages; there was a failed search in Biology. There will be more information about these successful searches at our Fall meeting. Then, as a result of Covid-19 and the CSU Travel Ban, four programs decided to postpone their searches because they were unable to conduct on-campus interviews: Math, Chemistry (two lines), and Physics. The remaining three searches in Health Science (two lines) and Anthropology, had to be stopped due to Covid-19 and the CSU's hiring freeze.

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