Tag: CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)

CSUCI will take Oxnard area teachers to Santa Cruz Island to share environmental science research techniques

by Community Contributor • November 24, 2021 • Comments Off

Oxnard area elementary, middle, and high school teachers and CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) faculty, staff, and students will sail to Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Islands National Park, Dec. 4 and 11 for day-long trips in which CSUCI researchers will share science research techniques that the teachers can take back to their students.?

“Obviously we’d love to bring all the students to the islands,” said Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Resource Management (ESRM) Dan Reineman, Ph.D., “But this way it’s a multiplier:, we can bring the teachers to the islands and then the teachers can bring the islands to the students.”

CSUCI ranks 15th in the nation for social mobility

by Community Contributor • November 22, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) has ranked 15th out of the 1,549 four-year institutions listed in the just-released 2021 Social Mobility Index (SMI).

That’s up five rungs from the 2020 SMI, when CSUCI held the rank of No. 20 in the nation —still in the top 20 U.S. colleges and universities according to how effectively they enroll students from low-income backgrounds and enable them to graduate into well-paying jobs.

The eighth annual 2021 SMI was released while COVID-19 continues to disproportionately impact low-income students, forcing many to abandon, delay, or alter their pursuit of a college degree and the potential that degree provides for social mobility.

CSUCI Interim President Richard Yao, Ph.D. is well aware of the additional pressure placed on all students by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those historically underserved in higher education, so the SMI ratings came as welcome news.

CSUCI Biology faculty who studied reptiles in the Amazon shares research methods with students

by Community Contributor • November 17, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Class of 2021 Biology alumnus Alisa Lopez said one of the best parts about the upper division independent research course she took from Assistant Professor of Biology Rudolf von May, Ph.D., was the fact that he had actually traveled to the Peruvian Amazon for weeks at a time to do research.

“Personally, I find it really admirable and important because he has actually gone out and done field research, which is what I want to do,” Lopez said

New CSUCI teacher residency program provides stipends, tuition and classroom experience

by Community Contributor • November 17, 2021 • Comments Off

Teaching credential candidate Julieta Silva turned the page on “The Pigeon Has to Go to School” by Mo Willem, then turned the book around so the children seated at the library table could see the pictures of the reluctant pigeon.

“What if there is math, or numbers?” Silva read from the book designed to help children with common school anxiety. “Why does the alphabet have so many letters?”

Silva, who plans to earn her teaching credential in spring of 2022, is student teaching at Washington Elementary School in Santa Barbara under a new teacher residency program for teaching credential candidates at CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI). Like the other 40 students in the program, she has her tuition paid for and is receiving a $10,000 a year stipend.

CSUCI part of a grant to increase social science research opportunities for minority-serving institutions

by Community Contributor • November 12, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) social scientists will soon take part in a multi-campus grant writing program aimed at increasing social science research opportunities for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI)s.

The program is funded by a new National Science Foundation (NSF) “Build and Broaden 2.0” grant, which was awarded to researchers from three campuses working together: CSUCI, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and University of California, Irvine (UCI). The grant totals $796,858 with $260,740 awarded directly to CSUCI.

The grant will expand access to external funding opportunities in social sciences for the CSU and UC campuses, with a focus on HSIs.

New development within CSUCI’s University Glen residential community moves ahead

by Community Contributor • October 14, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Site Authority has signed a long-term ground lease with global real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson to develop a 32-acre site within the campus’s University Glen residential community.

The development, located directly north of the existing University Glen neighborhood, will include 310 market-rate apartments, 109 for-sale homes, 170 income-restricted apartments for seniors, as well as community-serving amenities.

Two CSUCI students who won a Lisagor Fellowship Award believe research skills will serve them throughout their lives

by Community Contributor • October 8, 2021 • Comments Off

Whether a student decides to conduct research in psychology, biology, computer science or another field, that student will always benefit from learning the research process itself.

That’s according to Professor Emeritus of Nutrition and Food Science Terri Lisagor, Ed.D., who—along with her husband Mark Lisagor, D.D.S.—created a fellowship for undergraduate researchers in the CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) program.

… “Having the opportunity to create my own research questions and take the reins of my own hypotheses was both stressful and invigorating,” said Psychology major Kaylena Mann, who conducted research into psychological testing. “I learned a lot about my own capabilities as a researcher, as well as how exciting this experience can be.”

“The whole eight weeks of SURF and the project challenged me as a student and my abilities as a Computer Science major,” said Desiree Caldera, who conducted research into cybersecurity. “It was rewarding and I can definitely say I cried when I found out I won the fellowship. It meant a lot to be recognized as a woman of color in computer science.”

U.S. Department of Education grants CSUCI almost $5 million to diversify and support STEM students

by Community Contributor • October 6, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is launching a new initiative aimed at promoting diversity and enhancing success for students wishing to pursue a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) degree, thanks to an almost $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

The competitive $4,999,990 grant, open to the nation’s 569 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI)s, funds Project AYUDAS (Articulating Your Undergraduate Degree & Academic Success in STEM) over a five-year period.

“This is CSUCI’s third U.S. Department of Education STEM grant and continues to work to serve our Latina/o students well by providing the resources necessary for their success,” said Professor of Mathematics Cynthia Wyels, Ph.D., who was part of the team that pursued the grant. “We were eligible to apply for this funding because we are an HSI, but what we can provide with these resources will benefit all of our STEM students.”

An honorary plaque on CSUCI campus honors civil rights activist Dolores Huerta

by Community Contributor • September 17, 2021 • Comments Off

In 1962, civil rights leaders Dolores Huerta and César Chavez founded what would later become the United Farm Workers. They worked side-by-side for farmworkers’ rights, but she wasn’t afraid to go head-to-head with Chavez if she disagreed with him.

“As much as she was César’s right hand, she could also be the greatest thorn in his side,” said one passage from the Dolores Huerta Foundation webpage, doloreshuerta.org. “The two were infamous for their blow out arguments, an element that was a natural part of their working relationship.”

… Students returning to the CSUCI campus for the first time in more than a year saw a new addition along the sidewalk in front of the John Spoor Broome Library: a plaque under a tree along the walkway that reads:

“Honoring Dolores Huerta, whose fearless activism has contributed to a more just society rooted in the values of equity, social justice and inclusivity.”

…CSUCI leaders will hold an event to honor the placement of the plaque on campus on Thursday Oct. 21 from 3-5 p.m. at the Central Mall.

CSUCI Students finish on top in global Business Strategy Game

by Community Contributor • August 23, 2021 • Comments Off

A team of four CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Business students tied for first place in the international Business Strategy Game (BSG), beating out more than 600 teams from 56 colleges from across the globe.

The BSG is an online competition pitting teams of college students against each other in running imaginary footwear companies. Each team is responsible for making decisions regarding production, shipping and inventory, corporate social responsibility, pricing and marketing, finance, worker compensation, and other aspects of management.

CSUCI first-year and new transfer students to receive free loan of iPad Air bundle

by Community Contributor • August 11, 2021 • Comments Off

First-year and new transfer students enrolled in CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) for the Fall 2021 semester will receive the free loan of a brand new iPad Air, Apple Pencil and Apple Smart Keyboard Folio—theirs to use for the duration of their enrollment years.

All new students who register to participate in the initiative will get the bundle, which is part of the largest device distribution program ever conducted by the CSU system. The CSU Chancellor’s Office is launching the pilot program at eight campuses, which together have a total of about 35,000 first-year and new transfer students.

CSUCI Mathematics faculty member Selenne Bañuelos, Ph.D. to co-direct a national mathematics research institute

by Community Contributor • June 30, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Associate Professor of Mathematics Selenne Bañuelos, Ph.D., will join the Institute for Pure and Applied Math (IPAM) as an associate director “which is a HUGE deal,” said Associate Professor of Mathematics Cynthia Flores, Ph.D., a friend and colleague.

Beginning in August, Bañuelos will spend a two- or three-year sabbatical at the institute, which is one of only seven in the nation funded by the National Science Foundation. Bañuelos will work with math researchers from all over the world at IPAM, which is housed at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

CSUCI students create dozens of do-it-yourself science experiments for Rio del Sol Elementary School students

by Community Contributor • June 23, 2021 • Comments Off

Behind plexiglass guards and in Zoom rooms, Rio del Sol Elementary School fourth graders trained their eyes on their individual plastic cups filled with various yeast mixtures. Finally, thick, soupy bubbles began to rise above the rims of some cups.

“It has bubbles!”

“It’s rising to the top, it’s about to overflow!”

“I have bubbles, too!”

“Can I take mine home?”

The yeast fermentation experiment was a hit.

“The hands-on aspect of actually doing or making something really makes the experience more memorable,” said Rio del Sol teacher Jo Anna Mendoza said. “They get the joy of having fun with science and learning along the way.”

The activity resulted from one of 75 do-it-yourself science experiment videos created by CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) students from various majors for more than 550 Rio del Sol STEAM Academy students in grades K through 8.

CSUCI Professor of Physics and self-described “gypsy” will travel to Indonesia on a Fulbright scholarship

by Community Contributor • June 14, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Professor of Applied Physics Geoff Dougherty, Ph.D., will teach in Indonesia during the 2021/2022 academic year on a Fulbright Senior Scholarship. It’s another chapter in a career that has taken Dougherty around the world.

“I’ve been a bit of a gypsy since I turned 18,” Dougherty said. “I was born in Northern Ireland, I went to England and did a Ph.D., a post-doc in Switzerland, then went to teach in Malaysia.”

Dougherty will spend six months in Indonesia teaching at two universities: Diponegoro University, a public university in Semerang in Central Java; and Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java.

CSUCI Associate VP for Student Affairs earns regional award

by Community Contributor • June 14, 2021 • Comments Off

Rarely does a student affairs administrator face a series of crises quite like two fires and mass shooting that occurred in late 2018. But that’s one of the moments that tested Cindy Derrico, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Student Affairs & Dean of Students at CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI).

“We had to safely evacuate the students off campus and quickly. Cindy was able to prepare them for that moment and as I sat with her in the Emergency Operations Center, I witnessed her grace under pressure while making the impossible happen,” said Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Toni DeBoni. “She had this elegant way of gliding through a difficult experience demonstrating confidence, compassion and optimism.”

CSUCI Associate Professor of History awarded Harvard Radcliffe Institute fellowship—and two others

by Community Contributor • May 10, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Associate Professor of History Robin Mitchell, Ph.D., is headed east in the Fall after receiving a year-long fellowship from Harvard Radcliffe Institute in Cambridge, Mass.

“It is humbling and really wonderful,” Mitchell said. “Most of the time we apply for these fellowships that don’t come through. So, we’re encouraged to apply for multiple fellowships.”

CSUCI’s Study Abroad program rated 9th in the nation by Open Doors

by Community Contributor • April 30, 2021 • Comments Off

Open Doors 2020 Study Abroad report has ranked CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Study Abroad as 9th in the nation for the 2019-2020 academic year. The 2020 Open Doors report is released by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education (IIE).

The pandemic cut the programs short at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year, but the Study Abroad staff is ready to go when it’s safe for students to travel again.

E-books and online class material curated by library staff saves CSUCI students $237,759

by Community Contributor • April 27, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) was already in the process of saving money on textbooks for students with its openCI initiative when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, sending the program into hyperdrive.

Recent calculations showed that the John Spoor Broome Library staff’s work to provide faculty and students with online learning materials and e-books saved CSUCI students $237,759 over the last academic year—and counting.

“The number is a moving target as the semester moves along, but we’re estimating that the final savings for the 2020-21 school year is about $245,513,” said Library Services Specialist Elizabeth “Bitten” Skartvedt.

CSUCI contributes to global research showing surfers and environmentalists could join forces to protect ecosystems

by Community Contributor • April 19, 2021 • Comments Off

About 76% of the ocean areas rich in biodiversity also contain great places to surf—which presents the opportunity for the conservation community to mobilize a global tribe of surfers who want to protect these areas as much as they do.

That’s the bottom line of a study conducted in part by CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Resource Management (ESRM) Dan Reineman, Ph.D. with the Save the Waves Coalition and Conservation International. The two organizations merged to form the Surf Conservation Partnership.

Arbor Day Foundation again names CSUCI a Tree Campus

by Community Contributor • April 8, 2021 • Comments Off

During a year like no other, the Arbor Day Foundation recognized CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) with a 2020?Tree Campus Higher Education® designation. The Tree Campus Higher Education program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for involving staff and students in conservation goals.

“Tree Campuses?and their students set examples for not only their student bodies but for the surrounding communities by showcasing how trees create a healthier environment,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Because of CSUCI’s participation, air will be purer, water cleaner and students and faculty will be surrounded by the shade and beauty trees provide.”

Economic impact study shows each dollar invested in CSUCI provides a sevenfold return

by Community Contributor • April 6, 2021 • Comments Off

For every dollar invested in CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI), the state’s economy receives a return on investment of nearly seven dollars for every dollar invested in CSUCI by California.

A new economic impact study analyzing data from all 23 of the CSU campuses for 2018-2019 indicated that, overall, the CSU system generated $26.9 billion in industry throughout the state; $10.3 billion in labor income; $1.6 billion in state and local tax revenue; and the creation of 209,400 jobs.

CSUCI’s Virtual Science Carnival will bring more than 50 hands-on science activities to kids and families

by Community Contributor • April 5, 2021 • Comments Off

Chemistry major Sahira Lorenzo Aguilar is very excited about the soap monster activity.

“We put Ivory soap in a microwave and it expands,” said Aguilar, who helped coordinate the Virtual Science Carnival, “It vibrates and looks like a little cloud. That’s the kind of magic we want students to see.”

The magic of CSU Channel Islands’ (CSUCI) annual Science Carnival will be virtual this year, which will allow teachers, parents and kids from pre-school age on up to the eighth grade to bring hands-on science activities into their own homes and classrooms.

CSUCI Early Childhood Studies students center virtual lessons on a family-friendly topic: food

by Community Contributor • March 26, 2021 • Comments Off

Magda is turning seven years old and wants to learn to make tortillas.

That’s the story told in “Magda’s Tortillas,” one of five bilingual children’s books that are the main course of a virtual learning program that is giving 34 CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Early Childhood Studies (ECS) students the chance to get the field teaching experience they need to graduate this May.

Usually, ECS students teach in classrooms during their senior year, but the COVID-19 pandemic made that impossible. So, during fall semester, Assistant Professor Annie White, Ed.D. and ECS Lecturer Lauren Chase worked with CSUCI’s Center for Community Engagement (CCE) to come up with a creative way for seniors to get teaching experience in the field.

CSUCI webinars on March 9, 30 will detail plans for higher education in a post-pandemic world

by Community Contributor • March 8, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Interim President Richard Yao, Ph.D. will be first speaker in a series of webinars designed to familiarize the public with CSUCI’s plans for a post-pandemic campus. Yao will present his “Vision of the Next Chapter” from 9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 9.

“We want people to see how the University is taking on its mission and preparing for a world that will never be the same,” said Vice President for University Advancement Nichole Ipach. “The purpose of the webinar series is to share with the community all of the incredible undertakings happening at Cal State Channel Islands as we work to reimagine higher education for a new generation in a post-pandemic world.”

CSUCI Nursing students volunteer at vaccination clinics in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties

by Community Contributor • March 4, 2021 • Comments Off

For CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Nursing student Rebecca Warden, helping vaccinate people during a global pandemic gives her exactly the kind of rewarding experience she was hoping for when she becomes a nurse.

“It feels huge — it does! It doesn’t seem like it in the moment and then you take a look back and it’s like, we’re doing so much for everyone,” Warden said. “I’m excited. Everyone’s excited.”

Warden is among about 250 CSUCI nursing students and faculty members who are helping out in Ventura, Santa Barbara and soon, Los Angeles County in any way they can during the massive COVID-19 vaccination rollout.

CSUCI’s Ekhobot, ‘Learning Online 101’ and Student Affairs Division win national recognition

by Community Contributor • March 2, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) has earned national recognition for innovative programs in the Division of Academic Affairs’ Teaching & Learning Innovations area, as well as the Division of Student Affairs.

CSUCI is one of 10 universities across the nation to garner one of the inaugural Virtual Innovation Awards: Excellence in Delivering Virtual Student Services, a newly created award program funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and presented Feb. 23 through the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. It carries a prize of $15,000.

CSUCI’s growing virtual micro-internship program continues into the spring semester

by Community Contributor • January 26, 2021 • Comments Off

A virtual micro-internship program launched at CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) during the first months of the pandemic has proved to be so successful, it is continuing through the spring semester with even more participants.

The micro-internships, which are hands-on learning projects with pay, are offered through the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics’ (MVS) Entrepreneurship & Small Business Institute (ESBI) with Associate Professor of Marketing Ekin Pehlivan, Ph.D. and Assistant Professor of Management Cynthia Sherman, Ph.D., Director of the ESBI.

CSUCI student research suggests students who take ethnic studies tend to stay in school and graduate

by Community Contributor • January 15, 2021 • Comments Off

Beginning in Spring of 2021, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) will require undergraduate students to take at least one 3-unit ethnic studies class. The CSU Chancellor’s Office made the determination that all 23 campuses will require ethnic studies for lower division undergraduates following the passage of AB 1460 in the state legislature.

A study conducted by three students and two faculty members in 2019 suggests this requirement may help students stay in school and graduate, regardless of their ethnicity.

“I think it’s cool that our little math project that we worked on one summer may make such a difference,” said 2020 Mathematics alumnus Avery Brunk, who is now working on her master’s degree in statistics at CSU Fullerton. “It seems to say ‘You should take more ethnic studies!’”

CSUCI gets grant to establish residency program for Education majors planning to become math and science teachers

by Community Contributor • January 14, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) teacher candidates planning to teach middle or high school math or science can apply for a new $8,000 residency grant funded through the CSU-wide Math and Science Teacher Initiative (MSTI).

Assistant Professor of Education Kara Naidoo, Ph.D. wrote the grant, which is called the Math and Science Teacher Initiative (MSTI) STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Challenge. The MSTI is an effort by the CSU Chancellor’s Office to increase the number of credentialed and highly-qualified mathematics and science teachers in middle and high schools.

Feb. 8 — CSUCI students’ journey through the Arctic captured in “Frozen Obsession” documentary

by Community Contributor • January 1, 2021 • Comments Off

The public is invited to join four CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) students as they relive the 18-day, 2,000-mile research journey they took through the breathtaking Canadian Arctic archipelago during the summer of 2019.

Viewers who RSVP online can experience the expedition through “Frozen Obsession,” a documentary about the journey that will air live on YouTube Monday, Feb. 8 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 26 — Black history, culture, literature and scholarship celebrated with two Broome Library lecture series

by Community Contributor • January 1, 2021 • Comments Off

It’s 1936 and young Opal Pruitt is growing up in Parsons, Georgia where the tension is thick with the Depression, the summer and the Ku Klux Klan.

This is the premise behind “When Stars Rain Down” by award-winning author Angela Jackson-Brown, a rising star in the African American literary community, and a guest speaker Feb. 26 for CSU Channel Islands’ (CSUCI) Broome Library Monthly Recognition Lecture Series.

Each month, the John Spoor Broome Library will welcome a speaker that celebrates a theme from the California Department of Education’s calendar. Jackson-Brown’s presentation honors February as Black History Month. March is National Women’s History Month and April is Poetry Month and Autism Awareness Month, and so on.

April 7 — CSUCI Campus Reading Celebration book examines racism hidden in search engines

by Community Contributor • January 1, 2021 • Comments Off

If you run “Black girls” through a search engine, what sorts of results do you get? Are they sexualized? Derogatory? Do search engines on the internet really provide a level playing field for all?

The author of the 2021 CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Campus Reading Celebration selection argues that they do not.

“Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism,” by Safiya Umoja Noble, Ph.D., explains how a combination of private interests in promoting certain sites, along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of internet search engines, leads to a biased set of search algorithms that discriminate against people of color — specifically women of color, and promote white privilege.

Through Nov. 13 — Chumash legend, a nurse’s diary, Clark Gable and a haunted cow are part of student-written play, ‘Camarillo Tales’

by Community Contributor • January 1, 2021 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) students will perform a series of vignettes about the history of the campus with “Camarillo Tales: Echoes in the Hills,” through Nov. 13.

“It’s a collection of original short plays written and performed by the students,” said Performing Arts/Theater Lecturer Laura Covault. “It’s a story of Cal State Channel Islands inspired by the history and lore of the land—the Chumash, the hospital, the people and the campus.

CSUCI Health Science faculty member explores midwifery’s place 21st Century Mexico

by Community Contributor • December 29, 2020 • Comments Off

Having immersed herself in the world of midwifery in Mexico for years, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Health Science Lydia Dixon, Ph.D., believes the ancient practice has an important role to play in Mexico’s 21st Century healthcare system.

“The role and acceptance of midwives globally has ebbed and flowed over time,” Dixon said. “Many people ask ‘Why do we still have midwives? They are so antiquated.’ Because they are completely relevant and very much a part of today’s conversation.”

Microscope co-designed by CSUCI Physics lecturer is used onboard the International Space Station

by Community Contributor • December 29, 2020 • Comments Off

A compact microscope co-designed by CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Physics Lecturer Brian Rasnow, Ph.D., is circling the globe aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

When the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 7, it carried three Lumascopes in the so-called Dragon cargo capsule. The microscopes were part of a system installed in the space station where they are being used to research the effect of microgravity on human cells.

CSUCI Computer Science instructor’s thesis used in MIT research into satellite positioning

by Community Contributor • December 23, 2020 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Computer Science Lecturer Ryan McIntyre wrote his master’s thesis, he hoped his mathematical analyses could be used to enhance DNA processing.

No one was more surprised than he was to learn that graduate students in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had discovered his published thesis, “Bounding the size of minimal clique covers,” in the 2018 Journal of Discrete Algorithms.

Not a journal everybody reads, but the MIT group was impressed enough with McIntyre’s findings that they decided to apply them in their own research into problems with satellites.

CSU Channel Islands Business faculty member receives national award for case study

by Community Contributor • December 22, 2020 • Comments Off

Anybody who would like a motorized toy car modified for kids with disabilities can learn to build one through a project started by a University of Delaware (UD) Professor of Physical Therapy Cole Galloway, PhD. His social enterprise is called “GoBabyGo!”

“As a researcher, I’m fascinated with this,” said CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Management Maria Ballesteros-Sola, who holds a doctorate in business administration. “It’s not a business, it’s not a nonprofit. Go Baby Go’s founder is growing a social movement with no internal structure and it’s working.”

Science, math, student health and beavers will all benefit from four different CSUCI grants

by Community Contributor • December 21, 2020 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) has received four grants that will benefit university science and math students; primary and secondary school physical education classes across the state, and perhaps provide important research for California when the state makes wildfire policy.

The virtual learning environment prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic is creating some hurdles for all students, but may be especially challenging for students taking critical math courses necessary for them to major in one of the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

CSUCI Health Science faculty member research shows impacts of elder mistreatment go beyond physical safety

by Community Contributor • December 15, 2020 • Comments Off

Looking out for the welfare of older adults is hard enough during a pandemic, to say nothing of the holiday season with its increased risk of loneliness and isolation.

According to research conducted by CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Health Science Ronald Berkowsky, Ph.D., investigating the impacts of elder mistreatment should go beyond assessing physical safety and mental health. Berkowsky’s research suggests that elder advocates should consider how well older Americans are doing in terms of human potential issues such as self-worth, sense of purpose, autonomy, and positive relationships.

CSUCI alumnus attracts national attention with longevity study on Black versus white population

by Community Contributor • December 8, 2020 • Comments Off

Black men in Washington D.C. tend to die 17 years sooner than white men according to a nationally-recognized study conducted by 2015 CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Sociology graduate Max Roberts, who is now pursuing a Ph.D. at Utah State University (USU).

Overall, the gap in life expectancy between Black and white Americans has been shrinking in the U.S., but Roberts pointed out that those statistics conceal ongoing disparities, with the most alarming results coming out of Washington D.C., where, in 2016, the longevity gap between Black and white men was more than 400% greater than the national gap, with white men living over 17 more years than Black men.

Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green teams up with CSUCI to help students graduate on time

by Community Contributor • November 30, 2020 • Comments Off

The Trade Desk (TTD) Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Jeff Green believes the same data science used at TTD can also be used to address disparities in education. So, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) and TTD have teamed up to support students to stay in school and on track.

Based in Ventura, TTD is a billion-dollar global digital advertising company that uses data to help ad digital buyers best target their marketing efforts—to get the best value for their money, so to speak.

CSUCI now offers master’s in Nursing

by Community Contributor • November 25, 2020 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) welcomed its inaugural class to the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree in the fall of 2020. Within the program, students can choose between two different concentrations: Nurse Educator and Family Nurse Practitioner. Nurses who already have a master’s degree in nursing may choose to complete post-master’s certificates in Family Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Educator.

CSUCI is the only university in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties to offer an MSN program or a Post-Master’s Certificate program.

Early childhood education center feasibility study available on CSUCI website

by Community Contributor • November 23, 2020 • Comments Off

A feasibility study examining the possibility of bringing an early childhood education center to the campus of CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is now available on the University’s website.

The study was a collaboration between several community partners including CSUCI, State Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), the Ventura County Community Foundation, and Reiter Affiliated Companies. Irwin was responsible for convening the stakeholders and obtaining $5 million in state funding to pursue the study.

CSUCI installs cost-saving solar array on campus

by Community Contributor • November 23, 2020 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is set to begin installing a solar array that will provide approximately 68% of the University’s electrical energy needs on an annual basis.

“CSUCI has been working diligently toward having a solar array that will provide clean, renewable energy for the campus and greatly reduce costs for electricity,” said Tom Hunt, CSUCI’s Interim Assistant Vice President for Facilities Services.

CSUCI virtual performance captures the spirit of all eight Channel Islands

by Community Contributor • November 5, 2020 • Comments Off

Santa Barbara Island is teeming with land birds and cattle that once roamed the Santa Rosa Island during the 1800s. San Nicolas Island was home to a lone woman for decades and one man known as “The King of San Miguel Island” isolated himself and his family on the remote island for years.

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) students will illustrate the dramatic human and natural history of each of the eight of the Channel Islands with a multi-media performance of music, theater, dance, poetry and even shadow puppets premiering on YouTube at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13.

CSUCI exceeds enrollment targets despite COVID-19 pandemic

by Community Contributor • November 2, 2020 • Comments Off

Despite economic and practical hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) exceeded Fall 2020 enrollment targets.

Total enrollment for fall 2020 was 6,194 full-time equivalent students, which is about 1% above the 6,135 full-time equivalent student projection the state uses to calculate funding for CSUCI.

Grants to CSUCI faculty pair up math and medicine; weather and statistics; and chemistry and technology

by Community Contributor • October 29, 2020 • Comments Off

With research companies racing to develop an effective vaccine to fight COVID-19 and firefighters combatting fires across California, mathematics has never been more important to our everyday lives.

Mathematical models can help predict weather patterns, fire danger, droughts, and mudslides. Math is also used to calculate what dosage of vaccine or treatment will be most effective for each individual.

CSUCI names a new provost — Mitch Avila

by Community Contributor • October 27, 2020 • Comments Off

After a nationwide search and a rigorous selection process, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) President Erika D. Beck, Ph.D. has named Mitch Avila, Ph.D. as the University’s new provost.

With an academic career that spans nearly three decades, Avila is currently the Dean of the College of Arts & Humanities at California State University Dominguez Hills.

Two National Science Foundation grants will strengthen diversity in CSUCI STEM faculty

by Community Contributor • October 19, 2020 • Comments Off

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) two grants that will support the University’s commitment to diversity in their expanding Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) faculty.

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) President Erika D. Beck, Ph.D. is the lead on a $299,695 grant from the NSF to lessen the systemic factors that create inequities in the academic profession for STEM faculty. The funds are from the NSF ADVANCE Catalyst program, which is designed to support an institutional self-assessment.

In other words, the grant is aimed at studying the hiring and retention process and challenging inequities that create barriers for a diverse STEM faculty.

CSUCI professor’s research into prehistoric sea spider holds clues about life’s origins

by Community Contributor • October 19, 2020 • Comments Off

Dinosaurs were not yet roaming the earth when an invertebrate known as the sea spider was beginning to evolve in the oceans 500 million years ago.

“They’re still evolving today and they’ve diversified in amazing ways,” said CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Associate Professor of Biology Geoff Dilly, Ph.D. “You can find them in tropic coral reefs or polar waters in the North or South Pole. They are found in every ocean in the deep sea. Some are three feet across and some are fingernail-sized off the Channel Islands.”

University Preparation Charter School and farmworker families get tutors through CSUCI’s new STEM Corps

by Community Contributor • October 2, 2020 • Comments Off

When CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) alumnus Danna Hernandez immigrated to Oxnard from Mexico with her family when she was six, her parents couldn’t afford tutors to help her as she struggled with elementary school.

“I had no tutors or any help at home,” Hernandez said. “I was learning English as a second language and it was already a challenge just to overcome that. It gave me a motive to want to help others.”

Hernandez, 25, is now able to realize her desire to tutor children as part of the newly-formed Center for Community Engagement (CCE) STEM Corps. The Corps was launched this fall thanks to a CSUCI Strategic Initiative Grant of $43,000.

CSUCI health, diversity and island exploration get support from three different grants

by Community Contributor • September 29, 2020 • Comments Off

Biomedical research should reflect the nation’s diversity both for equity and for more effective medical practices. The COVID pandemic is an example of how different populations are affected differently according to genetics, culture, socioeconomic pressures and availability of healthcare, to name a few factors.

“We need to make sure biomedical research meets the well-being of all citizens,” said CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Program Chair and Professor of Health Sciences Sonsoles de Lacalle, M.D., Ph.D. “We have different genetics, different mindsets, different cultures and we need to incorporate all of these variables. We know the same old, same old doesn’t work.”

CSU Trustee Scholar credits ‘the village’ at CSUCI for his success

by Community Contributor • September 23, 2020 • Comments Off

Biology and Global Studies major Patricio Ruano was raised in a large Latino family in the Silverlake region of Los Angeles. As the youngest in the family, he always got a variety of viewpoints under one roof.

“One aunt would tell me one thing, a sibling would tell me another,” Ruano, 21, said. “I learned it takes a village to raise a child and the same is true for education. It takes a campus village to raise a successful student.”

CSUCI mathematics alumni excel with “big data” work at NSWC Port Hueneme Division

by Community Contributor • September 14, 2020 • Comments Off

Six CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Mathematics alumni are doing exceptional work with so-called “big data” out at Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) in Port Hueneme.

So much so, that Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) Acquisition Support Manager Robert Howard would welcome any other CSUCI students interested in a career with the U.S. Navy.

“I love working with CSUCI,” Howard said. “Most of the students have roots here and are looking for a long-term career with the Navy. I love the fact that most of them are local.”

Trace the history of civil rights, explore ancient Pompeii and laugh with the Marx Brothers with CSUCI’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

by Community Contributor • September 10, 2020 • Comments Off

When he was a child growing up in New York, actor/comedian Nicholas Santa Maria loved to listen to his parents laugh about the antics of Charlie Chaplin or the Marx Brothers.

“I realized they seem to enjoy themselves most of all when their friends and contemporaries would come over and they would talk about old movies,” Santa Maria said. “I always felt more comfortable in that old movie world.”

Prominent Black actors to participate in an online read-a-thon produced by CSUCI Performing Arts faculty every Friday

by Community Contributor • August 31, 2020 • Comments Off

African American actors Phylicia Rashad, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Roy Wood Jr., are among 34 renowned Black actors from stage and screen who will join in an online weekly reading marathon of W.E.B. Du Bois’ “Black Reconstruction In America” beginning on Friday, Aug. 28. “The ReadIn Series” is produced by CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Performing Arts/Dance Lecturer MiRi Park with assistance from Associate Professor of Performing Arts/Dance Heather Castillo.

“African American history is American history and I think a lot of people don’t realize that,” Park said. “A lot of it has been written out of our textbooks and relegated to something that is ‘other.’”

CARES Summer Grant Program helps more than 500 CSUCI students stay on track

by Community Contributor • August 10, 2020 • Comments Off

A total of 539 students were able to stay on track with their studies, thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Summer Grant program at CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI).

Transfer Student Success Activity Director Veronica Montoya, who headed the grant program, was thrilled to see so many lives impacted by the$586,350 worth of funding that went toward the students’ education. Montoya said the value was not only in the class and what that student will eventually contribute to society, but also the psychological boost of staying on track, even after the global crisis had disrupted their lives.

CSUCI spring semester 2021 enrollment begins Aug. 1

by Community Contributor • July 28, 2020 • Comments Off

For the first time, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is accepting first-time freshmen and both lower division and upper division transfer student applications for its Spring 2021 semester.

Applications for spring 2021 will be accepted beginning August 1 and continuing through August 31.

CSUCI typically opens spring enrollment only for upper division transfer students, but the COVID-19 pandemic has changed circumstances for many students and CSUCI is seeking how to best meet those needs.

CSUCI rallies behind 2020 graduates with Adopt-A-Grad campaign and virtual career fair

by Community Contributor • July 2, 2020 • Comments Off

When Class of 2020 students enrolled at CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) as freshman, the Thomas Fire burned through two counties at the end of their first semester, followed by the Woolsey Fire, the Hill Fire and the Borderline shooting in 2018.

And when they went to graduate, a pandemic sent them home, sank the economy and turned their commencement victory lap into a virtual event. Now, they are trying to start their professional careers in a struggling economy.

CSUCI launches CARES Summer Grant Program to help students stay on track during the pandemic

by Community Contributor • June 30, 2020 • Comments Off

The COVID-19 pandemic radically changed life and learning circumstances for the entire CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) campus, but it also meant an expanded role for the University as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).

To that end, University leaders recently launched the “CARES Summer Grant Program,” which will provide funds for tuition for eligible students interested in taking summer classes. The funds come from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was enacted by the U.S. Department of Education to aid institutions of higher learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CSUCI again receives national recognition for sustainability practices

by Community Contributor • June 24, 2020 • Comments Off

An organization that recognizes excellence in sustainability practices has given CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) one of its highest ratings.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) commended CSUCI for earning a gold rating in AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).

“STARS was developed by the campus sustainability community to provide high standards for recognizing campus sustainability efforts,” said AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. “CSUCI has demonstrated a substantial commitment to sustainability by achieving a STARS gold rating and is to be congratulated for their efforts.”

CSUCI inducts 16 members from Nursing Class of 2020 into Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society

by Community Contributor • June 22, 2020 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) will enter the fall semester with membership in the prestigious Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society, which was founded in 1922 at what is now the Indiana University School of Nursing.

Adding CSUCI’s most accomplished nursing students to the 90-country, 135,000-member strong group of professional nurses has been a goal for Professor Emeritus of Nursing Karen Jensen, R.N., Ph.D., ever since the very first students graduated from CSUCI’s Nursing program in 2010.

CSUCI Extended University welcomes new director for its online Business degree program

by Community Contributor • June 17, 2020 • Comments Off

Students pursing an online bachelor’s degree in Business from CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) have a new academic director at the helm, Assistant Professor of Management Maria Ballesteros-Sola.

Ballesteros-Sola, who holds a masters and a doctorate of business administration, is taking the lead for a year while the current director, Assistant Director of Marketing Ekin Pehlivan, Ph.D., is on sabbatical.

CSUCI dance faculty asked to share virtual dance instruction techniques as part of prestigious UC Riverside lecture series on May 29

by Community Contributor • May 27, 2020 • Comments Off

The list of dance scholars asked to speak as part of the Christena Lindborg Schlundt Lecture Series in Dance Studies reads like a Who’s Who in American Dance Research.

Now taking the lecture stage (virtually) on May 29 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. are CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Performing Arts/Dance Heather Castillo and Dance Lecturer MiRi Park.

“We were shocked and honored,” Castillo said. “Once a year they invite a guest lecturer, and this year, MiRi and I will be discussing our virtual experiences with dance education.”

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