J. Handel Evans Conference Room
Dedication of the J. Handel Evans Conference Room in the John Spoor Broome Library was held February 11 with President Emeritus Evans, his family, and friends. President Richard R. Rush recognized and thanked President Emeritus Evans for his leadership, dedication, and commitment to CSU Channel Islands as Planning President from 1996-2001.
CI Achieves Hispanic Serving Institution Status
As the only four-year, public institution of higher education in Ventura County, CI has received the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) status from the U.S. Department of Education because the University has met the diversity threshold of having at least a 25 percent Hispanic student population. CI’s current Hispanic student population represents 25.58 percent of the total student enrollment.
CI’s President Richard R. Rush stated, “To be designated an Hispanic Serving Institution affirms CI’s commitment to providing meaningful access to college opportunity and a promise to facilitate graduation as a springboard to success. We are honored to be acknowledged as a full partner with the Latino/Hispanic communities.”
The new designation also allows CI to compete for U.S. Department of Education Title V funding as well as other financial support available with the HSI status. This additional support will increase CI’s institutional capacity to serve a growing Hispanic and economically diverse student body, create more access for those wishing to get a college education, and improve services and academic excellence for every student on campus.
For additional information about CI’s designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution, visit: http://www.csuci.edu/hsi/index.htm.
Southern California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education Held at CI
By Dennis Muraoka, Interim Associate Provost
On April 17, CI hosted the 2010 Southern California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education. This event is organized by a consortium of public and private southern California colleges and universities and provides student attendees with a day of workshops that span the graduate school experience. These workshops offer guidance on many topics including how to select a graduate program, how to finance graduate education, and demystifying entrance exams. The students also benefit from an extraordinary graduate school fair featuring over 250 recruiters from graduate programs across the United States.
The CI forum was an enormous success with over 1,200 students in attendance from many southern California colleges and universities. About the event President Rush said, “CI embraces diversity in all of its dimensions, and the campus community was honored to host the forum for a second time since our opening in 2002. This was truly a superb event, and attendees learned a great deal about how to further their formal education beyond the baccalaureate level.”
Many CI faculty and staff made presentations at the forum beginning with Virgil Adams (Psychology) who delivered the keynote address. Other CI participants included Provost Dawn Newman, Jacque Kilpatrick (English), Manuel Correia, (Education), Paul Rivera (Economics) Jaye Smith (Management), Amanda Quintero (Research and Sponsored Programs), and Interim Associate Provost Dennis Muraoka.
Eighth Commencement Ceremony Celebration
The University celebrated its eighth commencement ceremony on May 15 with nearly 10,000 parents, families, and friends who cheered on more than 800 students who participated in the ceremony by receiving their bachelor’s, master’s or teaching credentials.
Keynote remarks were provided by CSU Trustee A. Robert Linscheid, President Richard R. Rush, and graduating senior Lauren Pollack. Retiring faculty members Joan Karp and Dennis Muraoka carried the Light of Learning and recognized graduating President’s Scholars, respectively. Pilar Pacheco, Assistant Director for the Center for Community Engagement, as an honored staff member rang the naval bell to signal the beginning of Commencement and Camille Chandler, a graduating senior, led the singing of the University’s alma mater to conclude the ceremony.
Innovative Interdisciplinary Courses at CI
By Dennis Muraoka, Interim Associate Provost
Wouldn’t it be great to visit the Channel Islands National Park, the Getty Museum, the Reagan Library, or the Santa Barbara Zoo to learn about these wonderful institutions from professionals employed at these institutions? CI students are doing just that!
An important pillar of the CI mission is to promote learning across disciplines, and to this end the CI faculty has created an innovative set of courses that examine familiar social institutions from multiple perspectives. The first of these courses, “The Museum,” was proposed by Art Professor Irina Costache. This course is offered jointly by the art, business, and education programs, and has been delivered in partnership with many of the region’s foremost museums including the Getty, the Getty Villa, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
The success of this course led to the development of similar courses that focus on other institutions including “The Zoo” (offered with the Santa Barbara and Los Angeles zoos), “The National Park” (offered with the Channel Islands National Park), and “The Library” (offered with private and public libraries from Camarillo to Los Angeles). All four of these courses were offered simultaneously for the first time during the spring 2010 semester.