FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 15, 2006

Joe Wills
530-898-4143

Chico to Offer Professional Science Master’s Degree in Environmental Sciences

California State University, Chico is one of 12 CSU campuses to offer the new Professional Science Master’s (PSM) degree and the only one to have a program in environmental sciences.

The new programs are being started thanks to an $891,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which was announced Tuesday, Dec. 12, at CSU headquarters in Long Beach.

The two-year PSM degree is an innovative approach to meeting the growing needs of industry by training students and working professionals in areas necessary to succeed: math, science, business, engineering and technology. PSM graduate students will take classes as well as do internship projects at private businesses or government agencies.

Jim Houpis, dean of the College of Natural Sciences, said CSU, Chico’s emphasis on environmental sciences is a natural fit. “It plays to the strengths of our campus and our region,” he said. He pointed to the number of agencies and companies in the North State that focus on resource management, adding that the PSM will help fill a growing need for skilled professionals in the area.

In addition, Houpis said CSU, Chico has strong academic programs in environmental sciences, plus the University operates three research and teaching reserves, including the 3,950-acre Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve.

Four of the planned areas of concentration for students in the CSU, Chico program will be natural resource management, policy, environmental biotechnology and industrial ecology. The interdisciplinary program will be based in the College of Natural Sciences with courses also offered by the College of Business and the College of Engineering, Computer Science and Construction Management.

Along with industry internships, students will have intensive laboratory time, technical writing training and MBA-level business courses to prepare them for work – and make them more employable – in the private or public sector, Houpis said.

Houpis said he expects students will be enrolling in the PSM program starting in fall 2007. Eventually, the program will serve about 20 students, he said.

The other CSU campuses to offer the PSM degree are CSU, Dominguez Hills; CSU, East Bay; CSU, Fullerton; Fresno State; CSU, Los Angeles; Cal Poly Pomona; San Diego State; San Francisco State; San Jose State; CSU, San Marcos and CSU, Stanislaus. Some of the areas of emphasis on other campuses are bioinformatics, biostatistics, biotechnology, clinical project management, computational science and ecological economics.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 12, 2006

Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Rick Ostrom
530-898-5335

Model United Nations Students Excel at American West Competition

Students participating in the Model United Nations (MUN) course at California State University, Chico won 10 awards (out of 50 total awards) at the American West Model United Nations Conference Nov. 18-21 in Las Vegas.

The regional conference, sponsored by the Pan-American Model United Nations, prepares students to participate in the National Model United Nations held each spring in New York. The national MUN is the world’s largest university-level simulation of the United Nations. It annually educates more than 3,400 students (40 percent from outside the United States) about the United Nations and contemporary international issues.

The MUN is organized like the United Nations, with committees, programs, a general assembly and a security council. Three Chico students competing in the World Food Program won awards. Aki Matsushima and Jeff Whitney won awards for their representation of Switzerland-Matsushima an Outstanding Delegate Award and Whitney the General Assembly Research Award. John Crosby won a Distinguished Delegate Award for representing Australia.

Four students won awards for their representation of China. Fumiko Motohashi teamed with Ian McFarren, Mick Ehrgott and Justin Palmerlee to win the Distinguished Delegation Award for their representation of China in four committees. Palmerlee also won a Distinguished Delegate Award for representing China in the General Assembly, and McFarren won the Outstanding Delegate Award plus the Research Award for representing China in the Security Council.

"The outstanding peer teaching of five veteran competitors is the main reason our students did so well," said Rick Ostrom, professor of Political Science 442, the course that prepares students to compete. "Robbie Taggart, Tanner Songer, Emily Cohen, Eliot Enriquez and Kristian Nieria really coached our rookies to success."

Ostrom was especially impressed by the performance of five students from Japan who made the team and competed at Las Vegas. "I’m amazed at the winning performances of Aki Matsushima and Fumiko Motohashi, who not only competed in a second language, but walked away with top awards!"

Ostrom also said that it is noteworthy that 12 of the 15 college graduates selected to run the 2006 American West Conference are Chico State alums. "I had a wonderful reunion with these former students," said Ostrom.

Fifteen first-year MUN program students from the political science class that prepares MUN participants will join seven MUN veterans to represent Venezuela at the national conference in March. CSU, Chico’s delegates have achieved a world-class reputation by winning a performance award 16 of the past 17 years and the coveted Outstanding Position Paper Award (for research papers submitted a month before the five-day competition) every year since this award was added seven years ago.

This year the Model U.N. program is funded by the Instructionally Related Activities Program, Dean of Behavioral and Social Sciences Bob Jackson, student fund-raising activities, Professor Ostrom and the student delegates themselves.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 11, 2006

Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Greg Liggett
Northern California
Natural History Museum
530-898-4121

Educational Programs Will Explore the Universe

The Northern California Natural History Museum (NCNHM) at California State University, Chico will present its Winter Museum Without Walls series beginning in January. The 13-week series is being presented in conjunction with the Kiwanis Chico Community Observatory (KCCO) and is titled “A Cosmic Hike: The Historyand Environment of Our Universe.”

The weekly programs will feature the Emmy Award-winning Public Broadcasting Service video series “Astronomy: Observations and Theories” and will be hosted by the series writer and producer, Kris Koenig, director of the KCCO.

Each week, Koenig will take participants on a visual journey across the cosmos to teach how we developed our current model of the universe. From the Big Bang to the formation of the solar system, from space weather to global warming, these programs will cover all major aspects of astronomy.

“We are thrilled to be teaming up with the KCCO to bring these stimulating programs to the public,” said Greg Liggett, executive director of the NCNHM. “This collaboration is a great partnership between two community groups, and is an example of the innovative programming we will continue to offer through the natural history museum.”

The programs will be offered every Thursday night, from Jan. 4 through March 29, 2007, 7­–9 p.m. at the Chico Area Recreation District building, 545 Vallombrosa Ave. in Chico.

Admission is $3 per adult for each program; students with an ID are admitted free. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Or tickets for the entire series can be purchased

for a discounted price of $25 through Jan. 4, 2007, at two Chico retailers—Expeditions, 228 Main Street, and Grace Jr., 331 W. 5th Street.

For more information about these events, check the NCNHM Web site.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 11, 2006

Joe Wills
530-898-4260

Sandra Flake Named Provost at California State University, Chico

Sandra Flake, provost of the University of West Florida, has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Chico.

CSU, Chico President Paul Zingg made the announcement to campus today, Dec. 11. Flake will start in her new position April 2. She replaces Scott McNall, who has been CSU, Chico provost since 1994.

“Dr. Flake has an outstanding record of leadership in academic affairs,” Zingg said. “She brings us fresh perspectives and deep experience through the issues she has addressed on her campus and through the national conversations in which she has been engaged. She fits our needs and aspirations extremely well. I am confident that she will adjust to her new university community quickly and that she will prove to be as able a listener as a leader.”

“I am very excited about joining California State University, Chico, and I am looking forward to working with President Zingg at this important time in the University’s rich history,” said Flake. “The campus community has been very welcoming to me, and my husband and I are eager to explore and learn more about the region.”

Zingg announced to the campus community earlier this year that McNall will stay on as a special assistant to the president in the area of sustainability and environmental stewardship. “Knowing Scott well, I expect a smooth transition for Sandra as well as for his own continuing service to the University in the areas of sustainability,” Zingg said today. “We are very fortunate to have a wonderful new leader arriving and a dedicated university citizen staying."

The provost and vice president for academic affairs at CSU, Chico is the leading academic officer of the University. When the president is away from campus, the provost is in charge of the University, acting on the president’s behalf.

Zingg thanked a 15-member campus committee for its work in facilitating the search process. "The University should be very pleased with the work of the consultative committee in this search,” he said. “They did a terrific job in identifying several worthy candidates[,] and Sandra rose to the top.”

Flake has been provost at University of West Florida since 2004. Prior to that, she served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado from 1997 to 2004. From 1994 to 1997, she was dean of the College of Liberal Studies at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.

Flake did her undergraduate work at the College of Saint Catherine in St. Paul, Minn., and earned a PhD in English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She was an assistant and associate professor of English at University of Minnesota from 1978 to 1988, before becoming professor of English at Wisconsin-LaCrosse.

Among her academic honors are receiving the Outstanding Contribution Award at the University of Minnesota in 1980 and 1986, and being inducted into the Golden Key, Sigma Tau Delta and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies. She has presented papers and published on topics including general education assessment, writing programs for non-native English speakers and opportunities for women in academia.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 7, 2006

Joe Wills
530-898-4143

CSU, Chico Receives National Community Service Classification

California State University, Chico has been selected among the first group of colleges and universities to receive the new Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

The announcement from the Stanford-based Carnegie Foundation came yesterday, Dec. 6. “Finding new and better ways to connect with their communities should be a high priority for higher education institutions today,” said Lee S. Shulman, president of the Carnegie Foundation.  “The campuses participating in this elective classification provide useful models of engagement around teaching and learning and around research agendas that benefit from collaborative relationships.” 

CSU, Chico was among 76 U.S. institutions to be chosen for their widespread involvement in the community through partnerships, community service and other activities, as well as for making community engagement an integral part of campus culture.

"We are very pleased that the Carnegie Foundation has recognized that Chico State’s commitment to community engagement is at the heart of our mission and values, and that, in fact, it is an orientation that guides our work every day,” said CSU, Chico President Paul Zingg. “We are pleased with this designation, and mindful of the expectation that we will continue to be characterized even more so by our commitment to community engagement and that we will help mentor and support other institutions which aspire to earn this recognition."

The Carnegie Foundation, chartered in 1906, is an independent higher education policy and research center. Since 1970, the Carnegie Foundation’s classification of colleges and universities has been widely used by entities such as U.S. News & World Report to differentiate higher education institutions.

The Community Engagement Classification is the first “elective” classification offered by the Carnegie Foundation. Colleges and universities were invited to document their qualifications through an application process that ended earlier this year. Campuses could apply under categories of Curricular Engagement, Outreach and Partnerships, or both. CSU, Chico applied for, and received, classification in the category of Outreach and Partnerships.

Deanna Berg, program manager of CSU, Chico’s Community Action Volunteers in Education (CAVE), said the application materials covered the “breadth and depth” of CSU, Chico’s many service projects. “It was a very comprehensive process, with every college and every section of campus contributing,” she said.

Other California schools receiving the Community Engagement Classification were CSU, Fresno, CSU, Monterey Bay, CSU, San Marcos, Pitzer College, Otis College of Art and Design, San Francisco State, Santa Clara University, UCLA, University of the Redlands, University of San Diego and University of San Francisco.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 6, 2006

Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Thomasin Saxe, Humanities and Fine Arts
530-898-4624

Ireland Excursion in July to Include Golf Tour With CSU, Chico President Zingg

Golfers and non-golfers alike are invited to  join a tour of Ireland next summer, July 21-31, with California State University, Chico President Paul Zingg.

The trip will include  four nights in Dublin, three in Killarney and two in Adare. There will be  golfing at Druid’s Glen Golf Club, Portmarnock Golf Club, The European Club,  Killarney Golf & Fishing Club—Killeen Course, Waterville Golf Links, Tralee Golf Course, Doonbeg Golf Course and the Old Course at Ballybunion.  

Zingg, an expert on the history and aesthetics of golf, is the  author of “A Good Round: A Journey Through the Landscapes and Memory of  Golf,” published in 1999, and “An Irish Journey: In Search of the Golf  Gods,” which will be released this spring.

"Ireland is an absolutely beautiful country with a population which warmly embraces  visitors from the United States. With more golf courses per capita than even  Scotland, and greater variety, it is a golfer’s paradise,” said Zingg. “The  golf reflects the larger Irish culture—a magnificent blend of mythology,  spirituality, history and spectacular natural beauty. Our trip will explore  that culture, and whether first-time travelers to Ireland or folks who have  been there many times, all will return with a sense of having experienced  something wonderful.”

There will be many activities for  non-golfers on the trip, including tours of Dublin led by a local guide to  such sites as St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity College. Entrance fees  will be covered for non-golfers to such places as Malahide Castle, Powerscourt Demesne, Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Castle.

Those interested in this special trip to Ireland should contact Thomasin Saxe, group coordinator, at 530-898-4642 or e-mail her at tsaxe@csuchico.edu.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 5, 2006

Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Joe Picard, Regional and Continuing Education
530-898-6105

Allan Schore to Present Recent Advances in Neuroscience at CSU, Chico Children in Trauma Conference

California State University, Chico Continuing Education, with Butte County Family Court Services, Superior Court of California, presents Children in Trauma 2007: Recent Advances in Neuroscience, Attachment Theory, and Traumatology: Implications for Psychotherapists and Related Professions. The two-day professional development conference will be held Jan. 12-13 at the Bell Memorial Union Auditorium on the CSU, Chico campus.

Children in Trauma 2007 will provide a forum for participants to explore the multifaceted issues surrounding children who experience trauma in their lives. The conference will feature author and educator Dr. Allan N. Schore, Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.

Internationally recognized for his 1994 book “Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self,” he has published extensively in the neuroscience, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, developmental psychology, pediatric, and trauma literatures. He is on the editorial staff or a reviewer of 18 journals, including the Journal of Neuroscience, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Attachment & Human Development, and the Journal of Analytical Psychology.

Dr. Schore’s experience as a clinician-scientist ranges from his psychotherapy practice over four decades to his current involvement in neuroimaging research on borderline personality disorder and on the neurobiology of attachment. He is a member of the Commission on Children at Risk, and is a co-author for the Report on Children and Civil Society, "Hardwired to Connect."

Psychologists, marriage and family therapists, social workers, educators, school and family counselors, attorneys, law enforcement professionals, mediators, child custody evaluators, behavioral health professionals, nurses, physicians, psychoanalysts, emergency responders, children’s advocates and concerned individuals are encouraged to take advantage of this continuing education opportunity.

Participants may earn 12 hours of BBSE (Provider PCE 799), BRN (Provider 00656), MCEP (Provider CAL123), MCLE and CME continuing education credit.

In addition to the featured speaker, exhibitors from public service agencies and other resource providers will be on hand to share a wide array of information and discuss their services. Exhibitor space is available.

Early registration fee (received before Jan. 5, 2007) for the two-day conference is $279 per person (includes continental breakfast, lunch and materials). Group rate discounts are also available.

To enroll or for more information, please call CSU, Chico Continuing Education, 530-898-6105, email rce@csuchico.edu, and visit the Web site.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 29, 2006

Joe Wills
530-898-4143

Class on Civic Engagement Culminates in Town Hall Meeting for Community

An English department pilot program focused on promoting civic engagement culminates Saturday, Dec. 2, in a town hall meeting for members of the California State University, Chico campus and Chico area communities.

Participants will include CSU, Chico President Paul Zingg, Dean of Undergraduate Studies Bill Loker, College of Humanities and Fine Arts Dean Sarah Blackstone and 120 freshmen enrolled in English 130, who will lead the town hall meeting process. The meeting is free and open to the public.

The meeting is from 9 a.m. until noon. Participants will first convene in Selvester's by the Creek, directly behind Kendall Hall on the CSU, Chico campus, before dispersing to locations on campus for discussion groups. The event will begin with opening remarks by Zingg, and conclude with closing remarks by Blackstone. A reception with a light lunch and beverages will follow the meeting.

The meeting will consist of two sessions, each of which will feature discussion groups on a wide variety of local, national and global topics, including "The Politics of Immigration," "Drug Use: Chico and Chico State," "The Media's Influence on College Students," "Steroids and Sports," "Genocide, Africa and the World's Response" and "Chico Community, Crime, and Campus Involvement."

Professor Thia Wolf, director of CSU, Chico's First-year Experience Program, said all six sections of the English 130 class for first-year students have been focused on reading, writing and researching civic engagement, with the town hall meeting-one of the oldest public arenas in American public life-as a culminating experience.

"We see the meeting as one means of fostering meaningful engagement among our students," Wolf said, "and we hope that some of the discussion sections will permit all participants to arrive at resolutions, calls for action, or other outcomes that will extend the importance of the discussion beyond the meeting place and time."

Wolf said English professor Jill Swiencicki, coordinator of the Composition Program, has identified key groups in the community with interests in the discussion topics, and invitations have been extended to those groups.

CSU, Chico's First-year Experience Program is designed, through a number of curricular and co-curricular efforts, to help first-year students succeed academically and socially, and make a smooth transition to University life.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 29, 2007

Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Kristin Cooper Carter
530-898-4037

Industry Patrons Cooperate to Support New Concrete Industry Management Program

The Concrete Industry Management Program (CIM) is up and running for its first semester at California State University, Chico. The program recently received a $50,000 check from the National Steering Committee for Concrete Industry Management. The steering committee has pledged an additional $50,000 for the spring semester. It is part of a $5 million pledge that the industry has made to the program, with half of that coming from local industry leaders and the other half from the national steering committee.

The CIM at CSU, Chico came about as the result of a partnership between industry and education. Leaders in the concrete industry recognized a dearth of managers trained in the business of the concrete industry-there were many people who knew concrete, but few who were trained on the business side. In a rare show of cooperative force, concrete industry executives came together to solve the problem through higher education.

"The concrete industry is a $150 billion industry," said Gene Martineau, president and CEO of US Concrete and chairman of the National Steering Committee for Concrete Industry Management. "We believe that the future for our industry depends on having good, talented, degreed individuals that have more than a basic knowledge of concrete."

Industry leaders got together to fund the first academic program at Middle Tennessee State in 1995. The program was very successful, according to Martineau, and met the growing demands of the industry. It provided students with an opportunity to enter a field that has an urgent need for professionals. With a proven successful program, industry leaders set out to replicate the program in three other parts of the country: in Arizona to serve the Southwest; in New Jersey to serve the Northeast; and in California, at CSU, Chico, to serve the Northwest.

CSU, Chico was chosen for several reasons, including that a graduate of Chico was a director on the steering committee. Martineau made several visits to campus on behalf of the national committee, visiting with Ken Derucher, dean of the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management, and key faculty. The committee decided that CSU, Chico would be a good fit and could provide a program to serve northern California and the Northwest.

"Certain elements are key to making a program successful," said Martineau, "and one is the uniqueness of industry coming together with academia. Our pledge to academia is that there is a solid financial approach. We are very excited about what Chico is doing and the interaction with their local patrons. We look for exciting things in the future."

The new program at CSU, Chico has 12 majors this semester, and there are 22 students in the first class, Concrete 101. "We are pleased with the student response," said Kristin Cooper Carter, director of the program, "and from what we hear from the students, they are very excited about this opportunity."

"The knowledge and expertise provided by those involved in the industry has shown me there is more to concrete than I previously realized," said Jeff Kelly, a CIM student who is currently enrolled in Professor Tanya Wattenburg Komas's Concrete 101. "The specialized training I am getting has also dispelled my fears of leaving college without a firm foundation from which to start a career."

The educational goals of the major include producing students who are adept at oral and written communication, proficient in basic math and science, knowledgeable about concrete technology and techniques, able to manage people and systems, and capable of promoting products or services related to the industry.

The CSU, Chico curriculum has been adapted to serve the climate, geography and needs of the West Coast and Northwest regions. Courses that have been developed include Sustainability and the Built Environment, Seismic Considerations in Concrete, and Concrete Fixtures and Surfaces.

For more information about the CIM program at CSU, Chico, contact Cooper Carter at KCooper-Carter@csuchico.edu or call her at 530-898-4316

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 15, 2006

Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Rick Vertolli,
Instructional Media Center and Computer Science
530-898-4421

CSU, Chico Students Win Top Four Animation Awards at CSU Media Arts Festival

Students from Rick Vertolli's advanced animation class, California State University, Chico, brought home the top four Best Animation awards from the CSU Media Arts Festival, held at CSU Channel Islands Nov. 3. There were 56 entries from the 23 CSU campuses.

The animation that won first place was titled "Working Stiffs" and was written by alum Mike Wellins and animated by students Kenny DiGiordano, Jerry Zigounakis, Luke Machado, Travis Lee and Peter Mazen.

The second-place animation was "Trash Landing," created by Rusty Robins, Chris Distefano, Eugene Chung, Tracy Hammer, Andrew Davis and Steve Liebenberg. Brendan Harry wrote the music.

The third-place winner, "Dungeon Seed," was created by Josiah Munsey, Dylan Smith, Matt Berglund and Kurt Feudale.

The fourth-place winner was "The Janitor: Bud," created by Andre Nguyen, Vince Yamamoto, David Cross and Chris Maggitti.

One of the judges of the competition, who works for Gold Circle as a producer, wants to create a feature film of the winning entry and is talking to the students who created it.

The Media Arts Festival has five categories: narrative, music video, interactive media, experimental and animation. Chico traditionally has done very well in the animation category. Including this year's wins, Chico has won in the category "Best Animation" an unprecedented nine times in the 15 years since the competition began. In past competitions, CSU, Chico students have won the "Best of Show" four times.

Vertolli said there are many stages involved in creating an animation, and quite often it takes over a year from inception to finished projects. Vertolli, an animation supervisor in the Instructional Media Center and instructor in the Applied Computer Graphics program, believes it all starts with a good story.

"Computer Animation is very complicated, and animators must acquire a variety of skills. They are designers, sculptors, camera and lighting operators, technicians and editors, but most important, they need a good idea and story to tell," said Vertolli.

Vertolli came to CSU, Chico 20 years ago from Kent State University with a fine arts degree to study computer graphics with Professor Grace Hertlein. "Very few people were creating computer graphics at this time. So we took the information from traditional animators and applied those principles to computer animation," said Vertolli.

With help from industrial advisors, Vertolli and others have developed a method for producing computer animation. It simplifies what is a very complicated process. "We've developed a production pipeline that makes file sharing among students easier, and it has really helped streamline the process," said Vertolli.

"First, we develop a 'treatment,' a summary of the main idea of the story," said Vertolli. "Then we draw storyboards that serve as blueprints for the action and dialogue. Next we build an animatic, an animated cartoon strip that combines vocals and still imagery. It is used to flesh out the timing of each shot. Then we design characters that have strong audience appeal. It is only at this point that we begin using computers to model our characters and get them to move and act out a scene."

Ken Derucher, dean of the College of Engineering, Computer Science and Construction Management, said, "Rick Vertolli's teaching style and ability bring out the best in students. We are proud of the students who did such a fine job on their projects, and we are proud to have Rick as a top-notch teacher and leader in the field."

The Applied Computer Graphics program is in its fourth year as an approved major. Faculty members include Vertolli, Clark Steinbeck, Frank Periea and John Pozzi.

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