University News - Channel Magazine

CI launches nationwide search for provost

CSU Channel Islands is searching for a new provost and has secured the Washington, D.C.-based executive search firm Academic Search Inc. to field candidates from across the country for the appointed position, which will begin in summer 2017.

As Chair of the Academic Senate, Professor of Math Cynthia Wyels, also serves as Chair of the Provost Search Committee. Wyels said the committee is searching for someone with vision and dedication for the newest campus in the CSU system.

“We need somebody here who wants to help lead a young and ambitious institution that has accomplished a lot and is poised for yet more,” Wyels said. “Someone who wants to make a difference in the lives of our students and our region, and have our campus serve as a national model.”
Read the full story at: go.csuci.edu/provostsearch

Student wins prestigious Edison Foundation scholarship

Emotion took over when CI Computer Science graduate student Dhruv Pandya learned he had been named an Edison Scholar through the California State University Foundation. “I was sitting at my desk and I started to cry,” said Pandya, 26. “I cried for about 10 minutes.”

The $4,000 that comes with the Edison Scholar program lifted a lot of the economic burden Pandya has as an international student far from home. Part of the reason Pandya enrolled in CI was because of its affordability. But, because he is on his own carrying a full academic load while working to make enough for school and living expenses, it has been a strain.

“I have a responsibility to look after my own education,” Pandya said. Pandya’s parents are happy to do whatever it takes to pay for their eldest son’s education, but the CI graduate student would rather his parents spend their money on the school Pandya’s father has run for 30 years back in his native city of Vadodara in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Pandya’s father, a retired civil servant, teaches pre-school through 10th grade for low-income students.
Read the full story at: go.csuci.edu/pandya

Professor named chief editor of International Journal

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has named CI Professor of Political Science Andrea Grove as the chief editor of the International Journal of Social Business.
The International Journal of Social Business is a new journal aimed at those who want to know more about the field of social business and how they can get involved and/or invest.

“Dr. Grove’s understanding of both the social business concept and its potential power to address the threat posed by wealth concentration makes her an ideal editor for this new international publication,” said Yunus, who developed the concept of social business.

Social business is a self-sustaining business with a philanthropic cause. Profits from a social business might, for example, empower those in poverty to become entrepreneurs themselves, build a community center or bring clean water to a village.
Read the full story at: go.csuci.edu/ijsb

Nursing student receives prestigious CSU Trustees’ Award

CI senior Nursing student Natalie Titcomb has been awarded a CSU Trustees’ Award. Titcomb is one of 24 CSU students to be awarded a scholarship of $6,000 to $12,000 in recognition of their superior academic performance, personal accomplishments, community service and financial need.

The scholars include one student from each of CSU’s 23 campuses, along with the top-scoring scholar in the entire CSU system. “The accomplishments of these determined, bright and compassionate students are remarkable,” said CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White.

“These scholarships will help them go on to accomplish even greater things on their campuses, their communities and California’s future.”
Read the full story at: go.csuci.edu/titcomb

Sierra Hall wins ‘Best Project’ award from Engineering News-Record

Less than a year after its grand opening, Sierra Hall on the campus of CI has won the “Best Project” award from the Engineering News-Record, widely considered the primary trade journal of the construction industry.

Sierra Hall won in the Higher Education/ Research category from the Engineering News-Record/ California, which covers California and Hawaii.

“I’m proud that a major project that is instrumental to the campus’ future success has been acknowledged for its innovation and excellence,” said CI Campus Architect John H. Gormley, Assistant Vice President for Facilities Services.

There were 90 entries spread across 18 categories in ENR/California’s Best Project 2016 competition.
Read the full story at: go.csuci.edu/sh-enr

Mortar Board chapter wins national award

The Four Pillars chapter of Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society at CI has earned national recognition for a third year in a row.

“This demonstrates how committed each group has been each year in pursuing all the requirements,” said Four Pillars Mortar Board president Lynn Utley, a senior Biology major/ Chemistry minor. Utley accepted the award at the 2016 Mortar Board National Conference in Indianapolis.

With 228 chartered chapters across the nation, CI’s Four Pillars chapter was one of 34 Silver Torch winners. The Silver Torch is awarded to chapters that make significant accomplishments in the areas of scholarship, leadership and that provide meaningful service to their institution.
Read the full story at: go.csuci.edu/fpmb