Tag: CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)

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.”

CSUCI announces first positive COVID-19 case

by Community Contributor • May 18, 2020 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) announced today that an employee had tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). The employee was physically on the campus within the last 14 days and has been in self-isolation at their residence.

CSUCI receives national recognition for its commitment to first-generation students

by Community Contributor • May 11, 2020 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)’s commitment to students who have not grown up with higher education as a default in their families has earned the campus a national First-gen Forward designation from The Center for First-generation Student Success.

CSUCI Psychology major who found her calling among rows of flowers wins national fellowship

by Community Contributor • May 11, 2020 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Psychology and Business double major Juliane Martinez, 20, found her calling among the flowers and people thriving at the Growing Works Nursery in Camarillo.

Her experience at Growing Works led her to delve into the field of “positive psychology,” a study of human flourishing, and that research in turn led to Martinez being named a 2020-2021 Newman Civic Fellow.

CSUCI selected to participate in nationwide program to enhance virtual and in-person learning

by Community Contributor • May 6, 2020 • Comments Off

Sixty faculty members at CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) will be selected to participate in a national professional development program backed by the National Association of System Heads (NASH), the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), and a $2.4 million grant from the Charles Koch Foundation (CKF).

CSUCI’s dual-language program for early childhood educators gets a $700,000 boost

by Community Contributor • February 13, 2020 • Comments Off

CAMARILLO — A statewide dual-language learning project launched by CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Associate Professor of Early Childhood Studies Carola Oliva-Olson, Ph.D., received an additional $700,000 in funding. The $700,000 is supplemental funding from the California Department of Education, in…

Jan. 29 — CSUCI hosts Pulitzer Prize finalist Tommy Orange for campus reading celebration

by Community Contributor • January 1, 2020 • Comments Off

CAMARILLO — Pulitzer Prize finalist Tommy Orange will visit CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) on Wed., Jan. 29 for CSUCI’s annual Campus Reading Celebration. Orange will be discussing his New York Times bestseller “There There,” from 6 to 8 p.m. in the…

Through Dec. 20 — CSUCI Choir performs first virtual winter concert

by Community Contributor • January 1, 2020 • Comments Off

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)’s first-ever virtual winter concert will celebrate women composers, whose work goes largely unrecognized by larger American orchestras.

“I’m promoting women composers because I’ve always used music specifically to speak to social justice issues such as underrepresented racial or LGBTQ groups,” said CSUCI Chorus Artistic Director KuanFen Liu, who holds a doctorate in musical arts.

Beginning on Friday Dec. 11 at 7 p.m., guests can visit the Channel Islands Choral Association at www.cicachoir.org and listen to “Celebrate Women Composers in Choral Music.” The winter concert will be available online through Dec. 20.

CSUCI launches Peace Corps Prep Program

by Community Contributor • October 1, 2019 • Comments Off

CAMARILLO — For many, joining the Peace Corps conjures up romantic notions of traveling the world and helping to improve the lives of those less fortunate. But being admitted into the highly-regarded institution is actually an extremely rigorous process, with…

Fall 2020 CSUCI applications open thru Nov. 30

by Community Contributor • October 1, 2019 • Comments Off

CAMARILLO — If you are a high school senior or upper division transfer student who would like to enter CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) beginning in fall of 2020, you have from Oct. 1 until Nov. 30 to submit your application. CSUCI…

May 3-4 — CSUCI “Arts Under the Stars” features astrophysicist Fiorella Terenzi and a galaxy of original student performances

by Amigos805.com • April 1, 2019 • Comments Off

CAMARILLO —An Italian-born astrophysicist/musician known for taking radio waves from faraway galaxies and turning them into music will play a central role in CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)’s 8th annual “Arts Under the Stars.” The public is invited to the show,…

Dec. 3 — CSUCI Winter Concert traces African American history through song

by Community Contributor • November 1, 2018 • Comments Off

“Precious Lord, take my hand Lead me on, let me stand…”— from “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” by Rev. Thomas A Dorsey CAMARILLO — Slavery and discrimination silenced the voices of African Americans in America for decades, but traditional spirituals are…

Oct. 18 — New York Times Bestselling author Roxane Gay to speak at CSUCI Reading Celebration

by Community Contributor • September 1, 2018 • Comments Off

CAMARILLO — “The story of my body is not a story of triumph,” wrote New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay in her memoir, “Hunger.” “This is not a weight loss memoir. There will be no picture of a thin…

Area high school students learn engineering basics at CSUCI Summer Bridge program

by Community Contributor • July 18, 2018 • Comments Off

CAMARILLO — Twenty-eight students from five Ventura County high schools are learning to program robots and other engineering basics during CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)’s four-week Mechatronics Engineering Summer Bridge Program. The students will wrap up the program from 11 a.m. to 12…

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