Recognized for saving lives

University Police officers Det. Jafra Millner and Cpl. Luis Rocha recently were recognized for their lifesaving efforts in department medal ceremonies. Millner led efforts to provide aid to a person experiencing a medical emergency while at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Her citation also noted how Millner reached out to the person’s family. Rocha was honored for his quick actions that helped prevent a suicide.

In addition to Millner and Rocha, UPD Chief Fernando Solorzano noted that the work of SRWC staff member Michael Freeman, as well as now-retired UPD officer Cpl. Ami Rzasa, played an important role in the rescue at the SRWC.

(Pod)casting about

 

Cal State Long Beach Provost Brian Jersky has created a podcast series called, “Podcast with the Provost.” In it, he chats with leaders across campus to discuss their ideas as well as uncover “talent on campus.” This podcast is designed to showcase “the impressive and passionate leaders that are educating the next generation of students.” Jersky’s first podcast conversation is with Cal State Long Beach President Jane Close Conoley. You can listen to it here.

Educators on both sides of the Pacific

Dr. Corinne Martinez,director of Collaborative for the Advancement of Linked Learning in the College of Education,delivered a keynote address this summer at the 1st International Exchange Seminar sponsored by the Japanese Society for the Study of Career Education and Waseda University in Japan. The seminar included faculty and students from several Universities in Japan, as well as in-service teachers and pre-service teachers from the Graduate School of Education at Waseda University. In reciprocation, Martinez hosted 10 teacher candidates from Waseda in September.

 

The teachers visited the STEM Magnet program at Nightingale Middle School in Los Angeles and the STEM Academy of Hollywood. The delegation of pre-service teachers met with students, and faculty and toured a Prototype lab/Maker Space where students design and build machines and robots.

The purpose of their visit was to gain knowledge and insight related to Linked Learning and secondary school innovation in California. The Waseda University delegation then toured the campus and visited Dr. Betina Hsieh’s class on the development of cross-content literacy practices. In addition, pre-service teachers attended Martinez’s graduate course on the history of education, participating in a teacher exchange with master’s candidates.

Scholarship winners

Ten students enrolled in the College of Health and Human Services were awarded scholarships totaling $50,000 courtesy of the SCAN Health Plan at the nonprofit’s Long Beach headquarters during a luncheon Sept. 17.

Each recipient was provided with a $5,000 scholarship that will cover a semester in their respective programs, and a service component aimed to encourage students to partake in programs working with and caring for older adults.

The scholarship was made possible through partnership among Center for Successful Aging within the College of Health and Human Services and SCAN, which included the majors that would be considered for the scholarship. The goal of the scholarships was to increase focus on older adult needs beyond traditional aging services fields.

The Power of a Growth Mindset

College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Associate Dean Kris Slowinski recently was featured on the California State University website titled, “Limitless Potential:The Power of a Growth Mindset in College. The article explains how “faculty across the CSU are incorporating the concept of growth mindset into their instruction and improving student success.”

Also mentioned in the piece is This Is My Story, which is “part of the CNSM Resilience Project.” It features testimonial videos from science and math undergraduates detailing their “challenges, successes and what they learned along the way.”

Speaking of success

The Beach moot court team put their “home field” advantage to work as two of members, Vaishalee Chaudhary and Marco Romero, won awards at the 2019 CSULB Fall Classic competition Sept. 28. Cal State Long Beach played host to College of Wooster (Ohio) and St. Thomas University (Canada) in its first competition of the year.

It also was a first-time experience for seven of the nine members of the team. Two other Beach moot court members, Aleece Hanson and Barry Klein, finished fourth. All four are new to college moot court competitions.

Digitizing art

When Cal State Long Beach’s Innovation Center opened last year, professors and students across a variety of disciplines discussed how the center’s scanners and 3D printers might be put to use.

Currently, School of Art faculty member Mariah Proctor is teaching a seminar in “Digital Art History,” which includes “studying the various ways in which technology can help in documenting, studying, preserving, and presenting works of art and architecture."

This semester, Proctor and her students are working with Mechanical Engineering Professor Christiane Beyer, who also serves as director of the Gerald M. Kline Innovation Space. One of Proctor’s students, Jacinda Earwood, works at the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum and initiated a project that includes scanning and 3D printing a copy of an important bowl in the museum’s collection. Beyer has taken the Innovation Center’s mobile scanning equipment to the museum so that the precious object doesn’t have to travel.

“Ultimately, students will create a version of the bowl that visitors can actually hold and touch,” Proctor said. “This is especially important for children and for people with sight limitations.”

Beach clean-up

The Beach was at the beach! Members of the LBSU Athletics Student-Advisory Committee, represented by various sports, participated in Coastal Cleanup Day at Long Beach’s Belmont Pier on Sept. 21.