Provost Message - February 1, 2017

Message from the Provost

I hope some of you were able to attend the College of Liberal Arts “Reclaiming Democracy” teach-in yesterday which attracted more than 100 campus community members. The next teach-in, focusing on “Fascism: Past and Present,” will take place Wednesday, February 22. President Conoley and I are delighted to support this by providing pizzas to attendees and a celebratory lunch at the end of the series to the faculty presenting the teach-ins.

Call for Proposals: 2017-18 ORSP Research Grants

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) is accepting proposals for internal grants to help faculty prepare proposals for major external funding. ORSP encourages multidisciplinary research collaborations and partnerships. Funds are to be used in 2017-2018.

Faculty can choose to apply for one of the following types of research grants:

  • Discipline Specific Research (One Principal Investigator (PI)

  • Multidisciplinary Research (Multiple PIs).

A total of $100,000 has been allocated for this grant. This grant program is open to CSULB tenured or tenure-track faculty members. Applications are due Monday, March 6 at 5 p.m. Awardees of the grant will be announced by April 3. Learn more.

Applications Accepted for Summer Student Research Assistantships

Applications are being accepted for the Student Research Assistant Program, which is designed to encourage student participation in a broad range of scholarly and academic activities. 

The program, which is open to eligible undergraduates and graduates from all disciplines and academic areas of study, provides financial support during the 2017 summer intersession months to undertake full-time research and scholarly activities in collaboration with a CSULB faculty (or principal investigator) research mentor.

A total of $200,000 has been allocated for this assistantship. Applications must be submitted by the faculty mentor. A faculty mentor may only nominate up to two students. If two students are nominated, the Faculty mentor must rank the two students. Applications and supporting materials are due Monday, March 6. Learn more.

What’s New in Academic Technology Services

The new semester has brought a few changes to Academic Technology Services (ATS), including two new staff members.

This spring ATS is developing a more comprehensive process of assessing its services; identifying and creating programs that are most needed for faculty and students, and establishing a comprehensive plan for classroom technology. Look for announcements about a series of focus groups that ATS will be implementing with the Faculty Center for Professional Development to better identify campus needs related to instructional technology.

In addition, with the retirement of a few staff members (congratulations to Walter Gajewski and Jill Horn), ATS has hired new employees. Please join me in welcoming the new staff and congratulating those in new positions at ATS:

Dennis LuPresto, Coordinator Technology Support Services

Dennis LuPresto joined the Academic Technology Services team on November 1, overseeing the daily operations of Classroom Support Services, Desktop Support Services, and the Horn Center. Dennis has more than 15 years’ experience in the private higher education sector, and brings extensive budgeting, planning, and team building experience to the position.

Before coming to CSULB Dennis worked for Education Management Corporation where he implemented standardized procedures and policies for 52 campuses across the United States and Canada. Prior to that he was the Campus Technology Manager for the Art Institute of California – Orange County, and held a seat on the executive committee team.

A lifelong learner, Dennis began his educational career in 2000 at Fullerton College as an electrical engineering student. In 2015 he earned a Master of Business Administration, Information Systems degree.

Jonathon Blake Huer, Director of Instructional Technology Support Services

Jonathon Blake Huer has joined ATS as Director of Instructional Technology Support Services (ITSS).  Jonathon is overseeing the ITSS unit as well as the application development and web development teams formerly residing under Technology Support Services.

Jonathon is widely recognized for his diverse work at the intersection of education, media, and technology. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator, an Adobe Education Leader, and was twice recognized as a Campus Technology Innovator.

Prior to arriving at The Beach, Jonathon was director of Emerging Technologies at Ball State University. His unit created the first mobile apps, large multi touch installations, and makerspaces on campus in addition to producing video for distance education, providing design services to faculty, supporting technology for externally funded projects, and managing hybrid interdisciplinary software courses for students. The Ball State Achievements app, which he recently collaborated on, earned coverage in The Chronicle of Higher Education and the New York Times for increasing retention of first-time freshman Pell Grant recipients by 9 percent. Jonathan has also served as a consultant and designer to numerous startups, ed tech companies, and the California State University Chancellor’s office. 

Liem Nguyen, Coordinator Learning Technology Systems and Implementation

Liem Nguyen has moved into a new leadership position overseeing the Learning Technology Systems program. 

Liem began his career at CSULB 20 years ago in Academic Computing Services (ACS) where his team supported more than 200 computers in the Horn Center and six computer classrooms on the third floor of LA5.

Liem has had a significant impact on improving services within Academic Technology Services, from classroom support to back end support of the learning management system. In his new role, Liem will continue to play an instrumental role in supporting the learning management system while also overseeing the system administration needs of Academic Affairs.

Liem is a U.S. Navy veteran and has a B.S. in Business Administration and a M.A. in Education Technology and Media Leadership from CSULB.  

Upcoming Evacuation Drill

On Wednesday, February 15 CSULB will conduct its annual campuswide evacuation drill from approximately 10:30 –10:45 a.m. This drill will utilize the audible alarms and the visible strobes and flashing lights in each building on campus. Once you safely evacuate your building, please do not re-enter until the drill concludes at 10:45 a.m. and all alarms and strobe lights have been turned off.

A test of the BeachALERT Emergency Notification System (ENS) will also be conducted at this time. Please take a moment to ensure that your contact information is up to date by logging into your MyCSULB account. For more information regarding evacuation procedures or other emergency protocols, view our campus emergency guides.

You can download a campus map showing the designated evacuation rally points. These locations were carefully selected with assistance from the Long Beach Fire Department as being the safest location for each building or area on campus. These rally points will be utilized for the evacuation drill.

Please direct any questions or concerns to the campus Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator at Allyson.Joy@csulb.edu.