Tag: CSUCI

CSUCI ranks in top 15% of Money Magazine’s ‘Best Colleges in America’

“I am extremely proud to see all of the CSU’s 23 universities on Money Magazine’s ‘Best Colleges in America’ ranking,” said CSU Chancellor Mildred García. “While I am very pleased, I am also unsurprised, because the ranking’s criteria reflect the mission and core values of the CSU: authentic access, student success, social mobility, affordability, and preparing diverse students for a lifetime of prosperity, fulfillment and service.”

CSUCI Partners with Excelencia in Education to Champion Evidence-based Programs for Latino Student Success

CAMARILLO — California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) has chosen to become a leadership partner with Excelencia in Education, the nation’s premier authority on efforts to accelerate Latino student success in higher education, to release a compilation of evidence-based programs that are at the forefront of improving higher educational achievement for Latino, and other, students.  

Titled “Advancing What Works to Intentionally Serve Latino Students: Opportunities for Action – 2024,” the compilation focuses on cultural responsiveness and asset-based approaches to support Latino and post-traditional students in five key areas: 

Engagement to Prepare Students and Families for College 
First-Year Experiences Building Strong Foundations for Success 
Bilingualism Enhancing Academic and Career Connections 
Experiences and Partnerships Building Career Pathways 
Gender-Based Learning Communities to Support Success 

Feb. 25 — CSUCI President to speak at Super Sunday event in Oxnard

CAMARILLO — CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) President Richard Yao will speak at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center as part of the 19th annual CSU Super Sunday on Feb. 25.

The CSU’s annual Super Sunday event is an opportunity for California State University (CSU) system leaders, campus presidents, administrators, and students to visit predominantly African American churches throughout the state to share personal stories and important college-related information to advance access, opportunity and success for Black and African American students. Since its launch in 2005, more than a million people have participated in this signature awareness event for CSU’s African American communities.

CSUCI’s 2023 Distinguished Alumnus ‘Gabby’ Vignonegoes from ‘wild child’ to executive director of nonprofit

CAMARILLO — Nicknamed “Gabby” when she and her friends hung out on the streets of Santa Barbara, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) 2023 Distinguished Alumni “Gabby” Vignone believes her formal name, “Gabrielle,” now suits her better.

“I think I’ve gotten to that ‘change’ point in life,” said Vignone, who graduated in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in English. “I think we don’t know who we are for a while as we go through different changes and experiences that bring us to where we are now.”

Vignone will share the story of her evolution with the 350 guests expected to attend CSUCI’s 21st Annual President’s Dinner on Saturday, Oct. 28.

For Vignone, those experiences have included giving birth at 15, having her best friend killed by a train, falling in love with a man, raising four children with him, and having him die in prison.

CSUCI hosts the 2023 Regional STEM Transfer Mixer for community college students Oct. 18

CAMARILLO — Community college students from across the region – Santa Barbara City College, Ventura College, Oxnard College, and Moorpark College – are invited to CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)’s 2023 Regional STEM Transfer Mixer on Wednesday, Oct. 18 beginning at 9 a.m. as part of the National Transfer Student Week, happening on Oct. 16 through 20.

According to CSUCI STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) Outreach Coordinator Tatiana Juarez, the mixer is to cultivate community college students’ interest in obtaining a four-year degree in a STEM field.

“The objective is to have local community college students come to CSUCI and get to know the campus and explore two specific STEM majors—Mechatronics Engineering and Computer Science,” Juarez said. “I think it’s extremely effective for students to immerse themselves in the setting where they will be investing a lot of their time. To see exactly what these majors have to offer, and to learn how CSUCI supports STEM students.”

CSUCI research suggests human response to climate change could affect the surfing industry

There’s no question that climate change is affecting conditions for millions of surfers around the world, but a recent study co-authored by CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Resource Management (ESRM) Dan Reineman suggests that our actions in response to climate change might have an even more profound and immediate effect than climate change itself.

“Climate change is going to affect surf breaks, but those effects will be metered out slowly over the coming decades—many surfers may not notice them,” Reineman said. “By contrast, if coastal communities react to those potential climate change impacts by radically altering their coastlines—installing a seawall, for example—it could have an immediate and potentially existential effect on the quality of a wave.”

Nov. 30 — “Los Braceros De Buena Vista” mariachi musical coming to CSU Channel Islands

CAMARILLO — A mariachi-style musical about the Mexican guest worker bracero program of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s will be staged at CSU Channel Islands’ Malibu Hall on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.

“Los Braceros Buena Vista” follows a young man who travels from Mexico to the United States in the 1950s, at the height of the bracero program, which was established by executive order in 1942 and lasted until 1964. The federal program allowed seasonal laborers from Mexico to come to the U.S. to work in agriculture or with the railroads.

Animo Theatre Company Director Miguel Orozco had been directing “El Bracero” by Rosalinda Verde through his nonprofit community theater, and was inspired to write and direct his own version of the show centered on the Buena Vista Bracero camp in Oxnard. It was the largest in the nation, and at its peak, housed about 5,000 workers. Orozco’s aim was to reflect the braceros’ journey, including the struggles they faced.

Through June 20 — CSUCI Chorus celebrates Black composers with “Into the Light” spring concert

Some say it was an inscription on the wall of a cellar in Cologne, Germany, where a number of Jews hid themselves for the entire duration of World War II.

Other accounts say it was scratched on a wall next to the body of a prisoner who had escaped the Warsaw ghetto. Its origins are unclear, but the message was powerful enough to inspire the song, “I Believe.” 

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining; 
I believe in love even when feeling it not; 
I believe in God even when he is silent. 

A choral arrangement of “I Believe” by composer Mark Miller will be among the selections in the CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) virtual Spring 2021 Choral Program celebrating Black composers like Miller, entitled “Into the Light.” 

CSUCI Chicana/o Studies faculty member wins award for virtual lesson plans that include spinning vinyl and Penny Dreadfuls

The year is 1938. The Third Reich is rising along with radio evangelism and The City of Angels is constructing the freeways that will transform it into a metropolis. When a grisly murder shocks the city, the first Chicana/o in the Los Angeles Police Department, Tiago Vega, and his partner, Lewis Michener, investigate while being pulled into the deep traditions of Mexican American folklore.

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Chicana/o Studies Nicholas Centino, Ph.D. was recently honored for his use of the compelling, atmospheric “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” series on Showtime and several other creative teaching twists—innovation that continued when CSUCI’s classes went virtual with the COVID pandemic.

CSUCI awarded Bee Campus USA designation for the second time in a row

While most of the campus operates in cyberspace, the roughly 24 colonies at CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)’s bee yard are thriving, thanks in part to two 2019 graduates who suit up and show up to care for the bees.

CSUCI’s pollinator-friendly campus, bee education, outreach and student involvement along with a number of other factors have earned CSUCI a Bee Campus USA designation for a second year in a row. CSUCI is one of 103 Bee Campus USAs across the nation.

CSUCI announces first positive COVID-19 case

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 Chemistry and Nursing students get more opportunity for hands-on experience with two separate grants

Selected Nursing students and two outstanding CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Chemistry students will benefit from grants awarded to Associate Professor of Chemistry Ahmed Awad, Ph.D. and Assistant Professor of Nursing Charlene Niemi, R.N., Ph.D.

CSUCI to honor Class of 2020 with virtual celebration

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) will salute the Class of 2020 with a livestream celebration beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 23.

The celebration is being held on the same day the students were to graduate and President Erika D. Beck, Ph.D. stressed that this will not replace the in-person graduation, which had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 crisis.

CSUCI study seeks surfer input on beach closures

State and local efforts to stem the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic have left many American coast dwellers without beach access and surfers landlocked.

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Resource Management Dan Reineman, Ph.D., is investigating the social ramifications of beach and ocean access restrictions across the state of California and the nation by launching a nationwide survey aimed at the surfing community.

Reineman is asking surfers across the nation to participate in a survey: www.coastography.org/SADsurvey and share it with their surfing friends.

CSUCI to reopen Nov. 1, other Ventura County school districts to remain closed due to new Maria fire

VENTURA COUNTY — Based on the current weather forecast, air quality and progress being made on the Simi Valley Easy Fire, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) will reopen on Friday, Nov. 1. Classes scheduled for Friday will continue as planned and all…

CSUCI, Ventura County schools, cancel cancels classes due to extreme wind and unpredictable air quality

CAMARILLO — CSUCI will continue to be closed on Thursday, Oct. 31 with classes and activities canceled due to the extreme winds and unpredictable air quality as a result of the Easy Fire occurring in Simi Valley. The campus is monitoring…

Nov. 15 — CSUCI to highlight area industry with ‘Channel Your Network’ speaker series

CAMARILLO — Since its beginning, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) has been intrinsically linked with area industry and the economic vitality of the region. The most recent CSUCI Economic Impact Report for the 2016-17 fiscal year shows that overall, CSUCI generated $517.2…

Sept. 17 — CSUCI Talks at the (Camarillo Public) Library: Mixtec – The Language of the Rain

CAMARILLO — Monday, September 17 at 6:30pm in the Community Room at the Camarillo Public Library. Mixtec is an indigenous language predominantly from Oaxaca, Mexico, yet the language has a strong presence in Ventura County and throughout California. This presentation will reifly…

Through May 12 — ‘Burned, But Not Forgotten’ exhibit at Studio Channel Islands

CAMARILLO — Studio Channel Islands will present a new pop-up exhibit, “Burned, But Not Forgotten,” through May 12 at the Blackboard Gallery, 2222 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo. The exhibit shares photographs and video as seen through the lenses of two students from California…

Nov. 4 — Bilingual report: CSU Channel Islands to present 9th annual Science Carnival in Oxnard

OXNARD — CSU Channel Islands will present its 9th annual Science Carnival from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4 at Rio Vista Middle School, 3050 Thames River Drive, Oxnard. The Science Carnival is FREE to the public! Kids in kindergarten through…

A Day in the Life of a Social Media Manager – CSU Channel Islands Multimedia Coordinator shares knowledge at October PRSA Gold Coast Chapter Meeting on Oct. 26

CHANNEL ISLANDS — Social media is changing the way we all manage our lives – between what we share with others and when; but, it’s a whole new game when you’re coordinating information for a large company or institution. Tom…