Provost Message - October 26, 2016

Message from the Provost

By now, I am sure you have read the sad news from President Conoley that our former Provost, Dave Dowell, died yesterday. We are all in shock to hear of this tragic news, and our hearts and thoughts are with his family. It is impossible to quantify what a great loss this is to the CSU and to Long Beach in particular. I know you will join me in sending sincere condolences to his family and that we will be a source of comfort and support to one another during this difficult time.

Budget Outlook for 2017-18

On behalf of Mary Stephens and myself, I would like to thank everyone who attended the Budget “Road Shows” last week. We hope you found it informative. If you were unable to attend either presentation, the PowerPoint can be found on the Budget Central website. You’ll find the CSULB Budget Status and Outlook 2017-18 under Links & Downloads on the left side of the page. If you would like to have us speak to your organization, please contact the provost’s office at extension 5-4129 or provost@csulb.edu.

As we mentioned during the two presentations, the next nine months will be very important. The CSU is heavily underfunded by the State. It is critical that we work together as a campus to help Californians understand that the State should invest in the CSU.

There are only three options for the CSU to resolve the budget shortfall. We can increase tuition fees or reduce expenditures, neither of which is desirable. A third option is to obtain an increase in State funding. The CSU needs an additional $169 million to manage the current obligations. This estimate also includes $75 million needed to support Graduation Initiative 2025.

It is important that we all work together – unions, students, faculty, staff and administrators –  to make sure that people know the CSU is the most efficient, least expensive university system in the nation.

Engaging with Faculty, Staff and Students

Last week I was able to attend a number of campus events with faculty, students and staff, including several meetings, celebrations and lectures that offered opportunities to hear more about the achievements and concerns of those across campus.

CLA Town Hall Meeting

I appreciated the opportunity to attend a town hall meeting with faculty and staff from the College of Liberal Arts. Issues of academic careers, the four-year graduation initiative, resource allocation and the role of research, scholarly and creative activity (RSCA) in CLA were discussed, among other things. CLA Faculty Council Chair Misty Jaffe, who moderated the town hall along with Dean David Wallace, shared that “the forum was well attended by faculty from across the College who appreciated the opportunity to ask questions.”

The town hall was followed by a reception in the Chartroom where the faculty and I had the chance to interact on a more informal basis. I would like to thank the College for this opportunity.  I am happy to attend similar meetings if invited.

Legacy Lecture and Faculty Retirement Celebration 

It was nice to spend last Wednesday afternoon celebrating the accomplishments of retiring faculty and listening to the Legacy Lecture delivered by Kristine Forney from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music during the Legacy Lecture and Faculty Retirement Celebration. Widely recognized for her scholarship, Dr. Forney highlighted the importance of research in the arts and the success of several alumni during her presentation. We are very fortunate to have benefitted from the outstanding achievements of Dr. Forney and all of our retiring faculty. My thanks go to them for their past and continuing commitment to CSULB.

President’s Associates Dinner

At the President’s Associates Dinner, I was tremendously impressed by the outstanding students who received the President’s Scholarship. Naomie Ranatunge, a fourth year Biology student specializing in molecular cell biology and physiology and minoring in Chemistry and Spanish, spoke. Jazz Studies majors John Michael O’Brien and Erik Larsen performed two jazz standards, “It Can Happen to You” and “Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise.” In addition, President Conoley thanked the President Associate members for their ongoing support of the President’s Scholarships. I would like to thank everyone who organized the event and has supported the President’s Scholarship program.

COE’s Distinguished Lecture Series

The College of Engineering’s Distinguished Lecture Series on Renewable Energy Solutions was very well attended by students, industry and community leaders. We learned a lot about the electric utility needs of California and how managing the demands for electricity will depend on our ability to store it in the future. Thanks to the College for providing an interesting and informative evening.

Several Administrative Searches Underway

Searches have begun for the following administrative positions. Please review the relevant job descriptions below and also share with others who might be qualified for and interested in these positions.

CSULB Global Faculty Incentive Grants Program

In conjunction with the Office of International Education and Global Engagement, I am pleased to announce the call for applications for a CSULB global faculty incentive grants program. 

The “Professors Around the World” (PAW) program supports faculty travel related to:

  • Developing study or work abroad opportunities for students,
  • International research projects with clear student impacts or potential for growing institutional linkages, and
  • Building relationships with overseas partner institutions

Strong preference will be given to projects that are sustainable as opposed to one-off activities.

Applications will be reviewed by the selection committee on November 15 for travel in the 2016-17 fiscal year. The application process and additional information can be found online. Submissions should be sent to Teri Jablonski, Teri.Jablonski@csulb.edu.

Seeking Faculty for Semester Programs in Florence and London

The Center for International Education is currently accepting applications from faculty who have an interest in teaching in the new CSULB Florence Semester Program during fall 2017 or the CSULB London Semester Program during spring 2018.

Both programs are in partnership with CSU Fullerton. Each campus sends one faculty member to teach two home-campus GE courses. Students are recruited from both campuses and may enroll in any combination of classes from either faculty member.

Faculty members teaching in this program are expected to relate their instruction, to the greatest degree possible, to the location.

The deadline to apply is Monday, December 5.  Interviews will be conducted in mid-December or early-February. More details about the program and an application form are available online.

New Faculty in the College of the Arts

Today, we continue with the second in an occasional series welcoming new faculty from each college. The 11 new tenure track faculty in the College of the Arts, two of whom are CSULB alumni, bring impressive credentials and unique experience to campus.  

Stephen Boyer (Design) is an artist, designer, inventor, entrepreneur and educator with more than 25 years of experience developing technology and creating content for a wide variety of interactive media including video games, electronic toys, musical instruments and fine art installations. He has worked at top media entertainment companies and has been on the faculty of the leading art, design and technology programs in the U.S. Boyer earned his Master of Architecture degree at The Southern California Institute of Architecture.

Anthony Byrnes (Theatre Arts) is a director, producer, educator, critic and arts administrator. He has served as the founding Artistic Director of Burning Wheel & the Umbrella Company.  He is also a weekly columnist and theatre critic on KCRW, currently hosting Opening The Curtain on KCRW’s radio talk show. He has served as Director of Cultural Relations for the University of Southern California, and Associate Producer of New Play Development for Center Theatre Group. He earned his MFA from CalArts.

Assistant Professor Vonjaires Dominguez (Design) is a LEED, Accredited Professional who has been practicing interior design since 2006. He has worked for firms such as Beckson Design Associates and LPA, Inc. He has worked on a variety of projects, ranging from civic, corporate, healthcare, education, construction documentation and detailing. Dominguez is a CSULB alumnus, having earned his BFA in Interior Design at The Beach. He earned his master's degree in architecture from Cal Poly Pomona.

A professor in the School of Art, Daniel Dove comes to CSULB from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Texas in Austin and a master of fine arts degree in painting from Yale University. His paintings, which have been shown in galleries and museums across the United States and reviewed in many publications, typically depict complex structures such as playscapes, reconstructed plane fuselages, and junk piles, all of which are conglomerations of distinct parts.

Theatre Arts Department Chair Jeff Janisheski is a teacher, arts manager, director and writer. Over the past 20 years he has taught and directed in Australia, England, Japan, Korea, Russia, Vietnam and the U.S. He comes to CSULB from Australia’s leading drama school, the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), where he was Head of Acting. Janisheski holds an MFA in Directing from Columbia University and studied in Japan for over three years with butoh’s co-creator Kazuo Ohno.

Musicologist Elizabeth Ann Lindau (Bob Cole Conservatory of Music) writes about popular music’s engagement with avant-gardism since the 1960s. She regularly presents at conferences, including Feminist Theory and Music and annual meetings of the American Musicological Society, the International Association for the Study of Popular Music-U.S. (IASPM-US), the Modernist Studies Association, and the Society for American Music (SAM). Dr. Lindau earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in Critical and Comparative Studies in Music from the University of Virginia, and bachelor’s degrees in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Adam Moore is an Assistant Professor of Screenwriting in the Department of Film and Electronic Arts. For more than 10 years he has been a screenwriter, video game writer, comic book writer, television show creator, and professional educator. Along with his writing partner, Kevin Abrams (Alpine Labs), Moore has co-developed film and television projects for Dark Horse Entertainment, Spyglass Entertainment, Red Wagon Entertainment, State Street Pictures and more; as well as video game projects for Ubisoft, Digital Embryo, Codemasters UK, and IBM / Walt Disney World EPCOT Center. He earned his MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute Conservatory and his BFA in Dramatic Writing and Cinema Studies from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

Dr. Joshua Palkki joined the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music as assistant professor of Vocal/Choral Music Education. He leads the University Choir, teaches courses in music education (including choral repertoire and pedagogy), interfaces with the College of Education, and mentors graduate students in music education. Dr. Palkki earned a Ph.D. in Music Education (Choral Conducting cognate) from Michigan State University in 2016. He earned his master’s degree in Choral Conducting at Northern Arizona University and his bachelor’s degree in Vocal/General Music Education at Ball State University.

Rick Reese (Art) received both his BFA and MFA degrees from CSULB. He has worked as an illustrator for a diverse group of clients in the comic book, toy design and action sports industries and has shown in various galleries throughout the country. As an artist who enjoys working across traditional categories, Reese is most comfortable working in the spaces between disciplines, combining drawing, collage, painting, and printmaking in his work. Before coming to Cal State Long Beach, Rick was a professor of drawing and prints at Saddleback Community College.

Dr. Tamara T. Thies is an assistant professor of Music Education in the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music (BCCM). In addition to teaching courses in music education and supervising student teachers, she also serves as the Technology Representative for the California Music Education Association and supervises BCCM’s student chapter of the National Association for Music Education. Thies earned a Ph.D. in Music Education from The University of Iowa, Bachelor of Music Education and master of arts degrees from the University of Northern Iowa, and a conducting diploma with honors from the Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary.

Dr. Brooke Winder is an assistant professor in the Dance Department. Her research interests are in biomechanical analysis of dance and athletic movement patterns such as jumping and landing and their relationship with lower extremity injury, including tendon pathology. She is focused on developing research that will assist with the development of training and rehabilitation programs in jumps and leaps to optimize performance and prevent injury. Dr. Winder has a doctor of Physical Therapy from USC and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Chapman University.