September, 2008
President’s Message
News from the Academic Senate As we are all aware, the fall semester is off to a demanding start with the accreditation warning response just around the corner. I want to thank each and every one of you for your efforts in responding to the warning, and I ask for your continued support. more>> SoTL Column At College of San Mateo, extraordinary work by extraordinary teachers and scholars is quietly—too quietly—taking place. more>> Celebrating Faculty with Long-Term Service On Tuesday, September 30, from 12:30-2pm, the college will host Faculty Service Awards Ceremony honoring faculty with 10, 29, 30 and 40 years of service. more>> CSM Welcomes New Faculty: Jane Jackson, Colleen Kirby-Banas, Lee Ryan Miller more>> Boy Scouts Spruce Up CSM Par Course Over several summer weekends, the main18-station par course on campus was refurbished by a local Boy Scout Troop project under the supervision of its scoutmaster, Hans Ullrich, KCSM broadcast engineer. more>> Student Profile: Boryana Dineva, Stoyan Dinev Our staff has been actively engaged in assessing the learning needs and interests of the Coastside residents so that we can tailor our offerings to best serve the community. more>> Accomplishments and Accolades: Jude Pittman, Classified Staff, Mario Mihelcic, Michelle Brown more>> Alumni Stars: Assemblyman Warren Furutani, Don Hall more>> A Message from PR/Marketing With the San Mateo County Fair and Operation Welcome Mat behind us, and now in the midst of creating the Spring 2009 Schedule of Classes, PR & Marketing is forging ahead with the redesign of the college's web site. more>>
In last month's President's eNews I reminisced about my bicycle ride up Mt. Hamilton. In my letter I urged us to take our climb at CSM a "mile marker at a time". What I failed to mention is that it is important to celebrate the small victories along the way. One the major "mile markers" that we have just passed is our response to the accreditation recommendations required by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). Our October 15 Follow-Up Report is complete and the report was approved by our Board of Trustees on September 24. In addition, we are putting the finishing touches on our Educational Master Plan. We will send both the Follow-Up Report and the Educational Master Plan to the ACCJC by the October 15 deadline. It's important to remember that it is the college, not the faculty, administration, or the classified staff that is accredited. Thus, we are collectively responsible to ensure that the college is meeting accreditation standards. I am very proud of this institution. We have accomplished so much in a very short period of time. I think back to the joint memo that was sent by the leadership of our faculty, staff, students, and administration last spring. In that memo, we asked for your help. The response from the college has been overwhelming. I have been energized by the "can do" attitude and the collaboration that I have witnessed over the last several months. CSM will be visited by Dr. Marie Smith and Dr. Andreea Serban on Monday, November 3. The purpose of the visit is to review the college's progress against the recommendations that the college must address by October 2008. Dr. Smith was the team chair and Dr. Serban was a member of last year's visiting team. Dr. Smith is now a board member of the ACCJC and will represent the ACCJC during the visit. The ACCJC will take action on our Follow-Up Report in January 2009. I expect to receive notification of the outcome by the end of January. While I owe thanks to the entire college, I would like to thank the following groups who have contributed so much in this effort: the Accreditation Oversight Committee, the Educational Master Plan Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee, summer work group participants, the SLO and Assessment Committee, Assessment Workshop presenters, and last, but certainly not least, the staff of our newly formed Office of Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness. In addition, I want to thank the leadership of the Academic Senate, the AFT, the CSEA, and the Associated Students. You have been wonderful partners throughout this process. Finally, my most important thank you goes to the entire college. Each of you has made a positive contribution to our accreditation response. Mike News from the Academic Senate  As we are all aware, the fall semester is off to a demanding start with the accreditation warning response just around the corner. I want to thank each and every one of you for your efforts in responding to the warning, and I ask for your continued support. A few friendly reminders -- Please be sure to:
 SoTL ColumnAt College of San Mateo, extraordinary work by extraordinary teachers and scholars is quietly—too quietly—taking place. The SoTL Center, in its fall forums, offers the entire college the opportunity to hear about some of this work and join in refreshing, stimulating discussions of innovative but unheralded work at our institution and beyond. The entire fall schedule, previously sent through email, is reiterated below. Although the first two events will have occurred before this newsletter is released, future SoTL articles will report on the forums. FALL 2008 TALKING ABOUT TEACHING FORUMS Celebrating Faculty with Long-Term Service On Tuesday, September 30, from 12:30-2pm, the college will host Faculty Service Awards Ceremony honoring faculty with 10, 29, 30 and 40 years of service. This year's slate of honorees include 17 faculty completing 10 years; nine celebrating 20 years; four that have amassed 30 years; and one that has hit the milestone of 40 years. The event is will be held in the SoTL Center, Bldg. 12, 170. It is sponsored by the President's Office. Refreshments will be served; all faculty, staff and administrators are invited to attend.
CSM Welcomes New Faculty  Jane Jackson (left) is a CSM assistant professor of music, having begun her career at the college in 1999 as an adjunct instructor. Jane teaches all the academic music classes along with intermediate and advanced piano. She possesses two master's degrees from the University of Michigan--one from in music theory and the other in piano performance. Jane's other education includes a bachelor's degree from Pomona College and studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (Prep Division), UC Santa Cruz and Notre Dame de Namur. Prior to that she lived for 10 years in London, working as a touring musician for the Yamaha corporation and teaching at one of England's four pre-college conservatories of music: Wells Cathedral School of Music. Jane enjoys swimming, gardening and "hanging out" with her daughter.  Assistant Professor Colleen Kirby-Banas (right) is the director of CSM's Dental Assisting Program. She was hired permanently in that position last June after serving the two previous years as the acting director, as an adjunct instructor since 2000 and as a dental assistant in private practice before that. Her responsibilities as director include handling the budget, searching for grant monies and counseling students. She also teaches several classes. Colleen holds a certificate of achievement from CSM in dental assisting; an A.S. in dental assisting from CSM; a bachelor's degree in health and human service (with an emphasis in counseling) from Notre Dame de Namur University; and is two classes shy of a master's degree in health and human services from Capella University. Her professional licenses include certified dental assistant, registered dental assistant and registered dental assistant in extended functions. When asked what she does in her free time, Colleen responded: "Spare time? What is that? Just kidding! I love movies and to play with my 17-month- old daughter, Maddie."  Lee Ryan Miller (left) is an assistant professor in political science, teaching courses in American politics. In the future, he'd like to also teach courses in comparative politics and international relations. Lee obtained a Ph.D. and a master's degree in political science from UCLA and a bachelor's degree from Brandeis University in politics. He has also studied at Oxford University in London and Middlebury College in Vermont, where he learned French and German. He has lectured and taught at universities in California, Nevada and Japan since 1991. Lee enjoys spending time with his one-year old daughter and writing; he has authored two political science books, a memoir and is currently working on a mystery novel. Boy Scouts Spruce Up CSM Par Course Over several summer weekends, the main18-station par course on campus was refurbished by a local Boy Scout Troop project under the supervision of its scoutmaster, Hans Ullrich, KCSM broadcast engineer. The work focused on the remaining exercise stations and not replacement of those no longer in existence. The Scouts sanded and refinished all of the sign structures and support posts. In addition, they replaced many of the deteriorating boards, posts and hardware. Steven Arms, the troop project leader, did a fantastic job of devising the project plan, communicating it to the college administration and coordinating the work with the Facilities Department. The successful completion of this project will earn him scouting's highest rank, Eagle. According to Hans, only 5% of scouts earn this rank. The refurbished stations are now safer and aesthetically pleasing. Many thanks to Troop #44 of San Mateo! Student Profile: Boryana Dineva, Stoyan Dinev by Mike Habeeb, PR & Marketing  Boryana Dineva, 25, graduated from CSM last spring with a 4.0 grade point average and was one of the top honor awardees. Stoyan Dinev, 21, graduated with high honors from CSM with a 3.9 GPA. Boryana and Stoyan are sister and brother (right), scholarly, community service-minded and hard-working students who are now attending UC Berkeley, studying economics. Last summer, on behalf of CSM's Phi Theta Kappa chapter, Boryana and Stoyan traveled to their home country of Bulgaria on a mission to provide greatly needed food, clothes and supplies to an orphanage for mostly physically- and mentally-challenged children from all over the country. The orphanage, which cares for 70 children, is located in the small and impoverished town of Mezdra. "I know that PTK at CSM has done a lot of good but I have to tell you that this was by far the best thing we have ever done," Boryana said of the group's support of the children. "We all can be very proud of this project. It involved a relatively small amount of money but made such a big difference." A big difference-that's what Boryana and Stoyan have made here in the United States since arriving from Bulgaria three years ago. At that time, they only spoke basic English. Now they speak it well, adding to the languages they also speak. Boryana speaks six and he five languages, including German and Russian. At CSM, Boryana was a student senator. The siblings were co-presidents of CSM's PTK, the international honor society for two-year colleges. They co-founded the German club on campus. Both tutored other students at CSM and were involved in a number of community service events, volunteering to clean beaches, collecting food for the needy, gathering clothes for those who lost possessions in natural disasters, and working at leadership, career and volunteer fairs. Late last spring, Boryana and Stoyan were rewarded for their efforts when each received $8,000 scholarships from the San Mateo Rotary Club, while receiving other scholarships as well. Today, they are working on making their mark as students at UC Berkeley, which for some can be an overwhelming and daunting experience due to intense competition and rigorous study. The smart money would be on their succeeding. "Berkeley is trying to scare us at this point but we probably won't let that happen. Actually, not probably. We won't let it happen. Period, " Boryana said. You can bet on it.  Our staff has been actively engaged in assessing the learning needs and interests of the Coastside residents so that we can tailor our offerings to best serve the community. Last year we identified four student populations on the Coastside: transfer, degree-bound students; basics skills students; adult learners; and the tourists. For the transfer students we offer classes including history, philosophy, psychology and biology. Basic skills students attend our English as a second language classes, and we soon will offer this group reading, math, and computer literacy. The adult learners are divided into two audiences: those wanting to advance their careers, and those looking for life enrichment. We offer an accounting course for those seeking employment opportunities. For the students in search of enrichment we have guitar, voice, drawing, film, and many others. The Coastside curriculum has been built around the first three student populations for the fall 2008 and spring 2009 semesters. By this summer we will offer classes for tourists. This may include immersion programs in music, art, and/or foreign languages. We are also exploring study abroad programs to take locals to South Africa in summer 2009. Our current semester's enrollment at census is more than 390. We hope to increase this by 30-50% in spring 2009. Accomplishments and Accolades   Jude Pittman (right), associate professor of art, has a collection of her art on display at the Avenue 25 Gallery in San Mateo. Her show, "New Works: Paintings and Giclee Prints by Jude Pittman" is on display now through October 30. Avenue 25 Gallery is located at 32W 25thAvenue, San Mateo. Giclee printing creates images generated from high resolution digital scans and printed with special light-fast inks onto various surfaces. CSM staff and friends turned out to sing (or attempt to sing) at a karaoke fundraiser that netted $600 for a veterans scholarship. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised by the event goes to fund a scholarship honoring CSM students who have served or are currently serving in the military. The fundraiser was coordinated by the Classified Staff Planning Committee with assistance from the Veterans Club and held at the College Vista Clubhouse. Donations to support the scholarship are still being accepted. Please make checks payable to: ClaSP Vets Scholarship and send to Mario Mihelcic in the Admissions Office. Since taking on the role of becoming one of the two CSM Veteran Certifying Officials, Mario Mihelcic has been instrumental in leading the charge to establish a student veterans club and then securing refreshments from local businesses for veterans club meetings; streamlining CSM's procedures for determining veteran students' GI Bill benefit eligibility; advocating for priority registration for veteran students before this service became State law; and securing support from the Counseling Center for an assigned counselor to work with this group of students. Further, Mario took it upon himself to work with the Associated Students of CSM to establish an Emergency Loan Program for Veterans. Similarly, as a member of the Classified Staff Planning Association, he has been instrumental in planning a Karaoke Scholarship Fundraiser that will benefit CSM veterans. Finally, Mario has attended several veteran workshops held in Sacramento, Hayward and Moffat Field in Mountain View.  Michelle Brown (left), associate professor of broadcasting and electronic media, has recently been accepted by the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences Foundation as a delegate to the annual Faculty Seminar to be held November 11-15 in Los Angeles. She is one of only 20 educators selected to participate in the seminar which will include discussions, presentations, and interactions with major studios, production companies, networks and their top production and programming professionals. Participants will also have the opportunity to view behind-the-scenes television production. Alumni Stars  CSM alum Warren Furutani (right) was elected in a special election to the 55thAssembly District in February 2008, representing the communities of Wilmington, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Carson and parts of Long Beach and Lakewood. Assemblyman Furutani authored Assembly Joint Resolution 65 which gave formal recognition to the important contributions of Filipino and Filipino Americans to the history and cultural heritage of California, successfully passed in both houses of the Legislature with strong bipartisan support. Furutani has been involved in public services for 35 years. He served three-terms as a member of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) Board of Trustees and is the only person to have been elected and reelected to the LACCD board and to the Lost Angeles Unified School District Board. Furutani was the first Asian Pacific American ever elected to the high school district board. He attended CSM in the late 1960's and was an activist for equal rights, particularly in the area of education. Don Hall a CSM graduate and artist, was the subject of an article in the Turlock Journal, featuring an exhibit of his work currently on display in the Turlock City Gallery. Hall received his AA degree in fine art; he transferred to the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland before completing his BA at California State University, Stanislaus. He also obtained an MA. He has taught art for more than 20 years at Merced College, Delta College and currently Modesto Junior College. His most recent exhibition includes paintings and drawings, however, he works mainly in clay. His ceramics have been displayed at shows around the State. He creates ceramic sculptures and pottery in his studio and has recently begun writing articles for Pottery Making Illustrated magazine. He attended CSM in the 1960's. A Message from PR/Marketing With the San Mateo County Fair and Operation Welcome Mat behind us, and now in the midst of creating the Spring 2009 Schedule of Classes, PR & Marketing is forging ahead with the redesign of the college's web site. If you haven't already had a chance, please check out the new look, navigationally-enhanced home page, featuring a rotating slide show and A-Z search directory. The redesign is a constant work in progress and we're meeting with divisions, departments and programs to plan and implement the redesign of their new sites. Admissions & Records is an example of a department that has a new site. On it, you will note a special "dialogue" feature that allows viewers to enter into an online chat with A&R staff. Called "Meebo," it's live now! On another front, outreach season is in full swing with CSM scheduled to attend college fairs in September, including the San Mateo Union High School District College Night, Sequoia Union High School District College Fair at Cañada, and the North County College Fair at Serramonte Shopping Center. Also this month, our student ambassadors will begin working at high schools in our service area. Additionally, this semester we launched a paid internship program, giving two CSM students an opportunity to learn hands-on about public relations and marketing. At a breakfast mixer hosted by our department early next month, the campus community will have an opportunity to meet the our interns and ambassadors: Yesenia Aviles, Patrick Diaz, Jacqueline Guilbault, Miguel Palmer, Shamal Prasad, and Melissa Vizcarra. We look forward to seeing you there! CSM's Calendar of Events We have a number of events taking place on campus this fall, including astronomy, music, health and dance events. Check them out at events calendar. If you would like an event on our calendar listing, please provide the following information by email (habeeb@smccd.edu), phone (extension 6442) or in person (Building 9, Room 161):
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