At 70, Sonoma State University graduate biology student Nicole Karres doesn't need another career. But in 1996 her natural curiosity got the best of her, and after careers in the medical corps in the Army and as a graphic designer at a fortune 500 company, she started what would be a 20-year journey to both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in a field of study that was brand new to her.

Particularly grateful are the jarred fish, amphibian and reptile specimens she has taken to cleaning and re-preserving for future researchers like herself.

Twelve hearty souls from the SSU geology department took a six-day field trip in early September to the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia and Alberta to explore the world-renown Burgess Shale, a UNESCO world heritage site widely lauded as the most important fossil locality in the world.

This field trip ran in conjunction with the upper level Geology elective course, GEL321: Burgess Shale Paleontology, a class taught since 2003 by paleontologist Matt James.

The fossils of Burgess Shale were discovered in 1909 during construction of the Trans-Canadian Railway. These 505-million-year-old fossils, remnants of creatures that once lived in a shallow sea, are the best record of the period of time after the appearance of modern hard-shelled multicellular animals and have proved pivotal to the study of paleontology. They are located in the majestic Canadian Rockies on the eastern border of British Columbia, surrounded by stunningly beautiful mountains shaped by numerous glaciers--in short, a geologist's heaven!

Class selection and academic resources are changing for first and second year students at Sonoma State University with the introduction of the voluntary Sophomore Year Experience Program (SYE).

This program, designed to help freshman transition to their sophomore year and prepare for the remainder of their college careers, began last year as a pilot program and is now expanding further among the university this year.

Student research, scholarship and creative activity capitalize on the strength of the faculty and add currency to students' educational experience, says Provost Andrew Rogerson. Aiming to strengthen the major opportunities that undergraduate students at SSU have for compelling research, Rogerson funded 29 grants for faculty-student teams this semester.

Kristal Raheem is very passionate about promoting social justice and serving her community.

After witnessing her friends and peers drop out of school, she wanted to create an organization that would help students stay at SSU and earn a degree.

Emerita Professor Myrna Goodman, Sociology, has spent 17 years as a Holocaust and genocide scholar including serving as Director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide at SSU.

The issues confronting educators today are essentially the same as they were when she first began teaching about the Holocaust and genocide in 1997.

Looking for an exciting way to explore Sonoma County history? Then the University Library's Special Collections is the place to start. With thousands of unique primary materials, there are treasures on every aspect of North Bay history. With many items available online, you can start exploring from home.

The best place to start is with the collection materials from Sonoma County's famed historian Gaye LeBaron. The Gaye LeBaron Collection includes a truly eclectic range of items from letters to clippings to photographs, and more, organized into over 800 topics, many of which can be viewed online.

Kinesiology professor Lauren Morimoto has been named Director of Diversity and Inclusive Excellence at SSU. She applied for the position to reframe conversations about diversity - rather than something SSU "has" to do, as something SSU wants to do. Diversity promotes academic excellence and positive learning experiences for students in- and out- of underrepresented groups, she says.

Mo Phillips says she wakes up every day grateful she works at SSU.

Since 2000, Phillips has served as SSU's Associate Director of Student Development, prior to her current position she was a Residential Life Coordinator of Zinfandel Village from 1997 until taking her most current position.

As an Associate Director of Student Development she is responsible for supervising the Residential Life Coordinators who manage the continuing-student villages, which include Beaujolais, Tuscany, and Sauvignon East.

If 300 Northern California math teachers were supported by the North Bay Mathematics Project (NBMP) in summer 2013, how many K-12 students have benefitted from the Project's work over the past 10 years?

Tucked away in the back of the Facilities Department is the campus lock shop and the man who holds the keys to the kingdom that is Sonoma State--Mark Utarid.

Judging by the decorated workspace it is easy to see that Mark is definitely a fan of both cars and basketball. Cards of former players are neatly adhered to his desk and images of speeding cars fill the majority of empty wall space.

Although Mark has made this space his own, work is also done around the clock. Mark is in and out, sometimes making 10 to 15 service calls a day as a locksmith for Sonoma State's Facilities/Lock Shop Department. At times he has made up to 50 service calls in a single day.

A young man who is using his struggles with poverty in his native country to help his people, has been selected one of the 23 recipients of the California State University Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement. He is a graduate of Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa, CA.

Newly elected Associated Students President, Mac Hart, has big plans for Sonoma State University. Now entering his senior year at SSU, he was elected in Spring 2013. His running mate, Anthony Gallino, was elected as Executive Vice President.

Hart plans to improve upon the accountability of the Associated Students. He is dismayed by the disconnect between student representatives and the student body that elected them in the first place. Moving forward, he is also hoping to improve communication between student run organizations, as several overlap at with shared visions or goals.

Dr. Patrick Jackson has been with the Criminology & Criminal Justice Studies Program for more than 23 years. He is founding editor of an online scholarly journal, the Western Criminology Review, and teaches criminology, research methods, juvenile justice, and the senior capstone course. He has written a book, articles and chapters on wide-ranging topics and reports based on federal and state grants.

His latest publication is a dramaturgical analysis of how people manage their identities in a dog park. His current research uses photo elicitation interview techniques to understand the role of animals and animal-assisted therapy in the developing lives of foster youth.

"Studying literature is good for you," says Dr. Brantley Bryant of the English department. "Encountering literary texts helps develop sympathy, imagination, and critical thinking skills suited to a changing world. Playing around with books is fun, but it can also generate truly new solutions for the pressing problems of our society."

In his teaching, Bryant aims to help students hone their skills as perceptive interpreters and to connect them to the rich resources contained within the diverse traditions of literature in English.

Bryant joined the SSU faculty as an assistant professor in the fall of 2007 after completing his Ph. D. in English at Columbia University, specializing in medieval British literature. Bryant's doctoral dissertation focused on the connections of politics and poetry in fourteenth-century England, expressing his interest in the political and social power of literature.

When the candidates for Associated Student Government gathered in The Commons on results night, Mac Hart was exhausted and ready for the election process to be over.

"I was pleased by how many of our supporters turned out to hear the results. When the results were read I smiled incredibly wide, high-fived Anthony and hugged Sachi Silva, who was our spectacular campaign manager," he said. "With so many of our supporters at the results night, it felt really good to have won because it showed how effective their efforts were."

For many Sonoma State students, faculty, and staff parking is something that crosses their minds when driving to campus to attend class or go to work. For Missy Brunetta, parking is work.

Jamila Dozier spent her K-12 education attending Catholic school in San Francisco, and when she began as a freshman at Sonoma State University she admits it was "a tough transition." From uniforms and classes on religion to the atmosphere of SSU, Dozier was able to find a common link between these two environments in the form of community service.

"I enjoyed living in other cultures during my travels, and was treated like a queen," says Martha Peterson (BA English '85, MA English '87). Peterson says she has used the knowledge gleaned from Sonoma State in many ways over the past 30 years.

Dr. Armand Gilinsky joined the Sonoma State faculty in 1994. Before receiving his doctorate in business with an emphasis in policy from Brunel University of London, he received an MBA in finance from Golden Gate University and degrees in educational administration and policy analysis as well as English from Stanford University.

Dr. Ben Ford came to SSU in 1998 and holds several degrees in mathematics including his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon.

Marylu Mattson, one of the first professors to teach in the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at Sonoma State University, passed away on December 30, 2012. Admired by colleagues and students alike for her combination of rigor and creativity in teaching, she was also a dedicated researcher in the humanities and sciences.

A lifetime love of California history led her to explore many corners of the state and culminated in a comprehensive historical narrative: Shaman's Dream: The Modoc War came out in print a few weeks before her death. She also co-authored an acclaimed textbook on writing, Help Yourself: A Guide to Writing and Rewriting, which went through several editions and was used by teachers throughout the country.

Marylu Catherine Mattson was born on September 12, 1933, in Los Angeles, California, daughter of Fred and Lucille Mattson and younger sister to Fred junior. She attended St. Agnes grammar school in the central area of Los Angeles, then following the war the family moved to San Fernando where her father had a grove of ornamental eucalyptus that also included resident geese, goat, cow, dogs, and her cherished horse.

Childhood friends remember her playing the ukelele with the same zest that she prepared for debates, at which she shone. Lu attributed her intellectual awakening to an elderly woman in the neighborhood who shared with her a rich and varied library and collection of classical music, the origin of her lifelong love of literature and opera.

She graduated in 1951 from the high school at Mission San Fernando, and that fall entered Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles. Her classmates remember her wit and passion, and "creativity in subverting draconian dormitory regulations." In 1955 she graduated with B.S. in microbiology and chemistry; the avant-garde yearbook she produced that year anticipated lifelong experiments in the arts.

After a year spent touring Europe, she returned to Mount St. Mary's and completed requirements for the B.A. in English, then went on to UCLA, earning an M.A. in English in 1964. A summer spent in art classes in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, initiated a lifelong avocation in visual arts, especially sculpture and printmaking.

In 1965 Lu entered the Ph.D. program at the University of Southern California. From graduation through her years of postgraduate study in the humanities she continued scientific work, primarily in the UCLA Hematology Research Laboratory.

Co-workers note that she mastered the arcane language of enzyme biochemistry and developed into a highly sophisticated experimentalist, making a valued contribution to a seminal study in pyruvate kinase deficiency.

In 1967-68 she returned to Europe, first participating in an archeological excavation, then traveling via an Italian scooter through England and the continent, and eventually plunging into the intensive research in London libraries, archives and public records offices that culminated in her frequently-cited Ph.D. dissertation, "Censorship and the Victorian Drama" (1969), still one of the most comprehensive studies of the subject.

From 1968-1970 she was a lecturer in English at California State University Los Angeles, where she initiated an innovative student-to-student tutoring program.
In 1970 Marylu Mattson joined the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at Sonoma State University as one of the original faculty members hired to create the new School's interdisciplinary curriculum.

She was valued as colleague and administrator, at different times serving in the Academic Senate and the Vice President's Council, as Campus Coordinator of Computer Assisted Instruction, as elected Chair of the Division of Cluster Schools, and as Provost of the Hutchins School.

Students and peers alike recognized her excellence in teaching: besides teaching expository and creative writing she helped design team-taught undergraduate courses as well as upper division seminars in her areas of special interest including "Censorship in the Arts," "Masterpieces of the Humanities" and "The Irrational in the Western Tradition."

A skilled seminar leader, Professor Mattson modeled intellectual curiosity and openness to new ideas with strong critical sensibility and an absolute commitment to high standards.

A former student spoke for many in saying she was "blessed to be among the fortunate lives she touched and enriched," and a colleague commented on Lu as "a wonderful colleague, and a person of great depth and kindness."

Retirement in 1992 brought more opportunities for research, travel and exploration in the arts. In 1998 she relocated to a vacation cabin in South Lake Tahoe, and in 2001 moved to Santa Fe and then to Glorieta, New Mexico; the southwest sojourn included many trips to San Miguel where she continued study in graphic arts and was welcomed into an intellectual expatriate community.

In 2009 she returned to her beloved Russian River valley and resumed research on the Modoc War. Shaman's Dream: The Modoc War began in the 1970s as a film project and eventually engaged her in far-flung and obscure archives and libraries throughout the west and in Washington, D.C.

Framed as "creative non-fiction," it is the most comprehensive and well-documented study available of the last "Indian war." She also continued work in the arts, proudly showing friends a new press she was using to produce graphic designs, and she integrated professional and artistic interests by promoting a collaboration between the Mendocino Art Center and the Sonoma State art department.

Those who knew her--friends, colleagues, students from many places and diverse backgrounds--share admiration for her intellectual integrity, her personal loyalty, and above all her generosity and courage and her great joy in life. Faced with risky and complicated surgery for cancer, her question was, "Which procedure will leave me still able to ski?"

After suffering a massive stroke, she fought to regain her verbal skills by writing a novel. She loved to gamble, at the blackjack table and at the track; when she won a scratch-off prize she used the money to treat friends to a day at Santa Anita-- where she won the daily double; when she lost, she threw back her head and laughed at the unpredictability of everything.

She plunged wholeheartedly into all her projects, she was constant in support of her friends and colleagues and their endeavors, and from their first appearance in California she was a dedicated fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Marylu is survived by her life partner of 35 years, Linda Day, and was a wonderful second mother to Linda's children Erica Sargent, Andrea Sargent Harbin, and Scott Sargent . She will also be missed by her grandchildren Clara and Amelia Schaeffer, Rowan and Duncan Harbin, Owen and Tavis Sargent.

Intrigued by the environment at a young age, Sonoma State Director of Field Stations & Nature Preserves Claudia Luke always knew that her place was outdoors. "When I was in 5th grade, I went home and I asked my mom what do you call somebody who studies animals," Luke reminisced. "So at a very young age, I knew I wanted to learn about the natural world."

Coming from a family of educators, Mark Fabionar finds the subject of cultural diversity to be "an interesting and compelling way to serve communities and serve universities," he says.

Bringing with her a passion for community service, Genevieve Sullivan finds her new role as the Community Service Coordinator of Join Us Making Progress (JUMP) to be a perfect fit.

The Sonoma Film Institute announced today its spring 2015 slate of screenings. This semester celebrates international cinema with a slate of women directors, the latest in American Independent cinema and the Orson Welles Centenary.

The season kicks off with the North Bay premiere of the Australian film "Charlie's Country." David Gulpilil ("Walkabout," "The Last Wave") won a Best Actor prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival as an aging Aboriginal who abandons his remote community in order to live a traditional lifestyle.

SFI Celebrates Women's History Month in March with the Sonoma County premieres of Ana Lily Amirpour's stylish and spellbinding Persian take on the vampire, "A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night"; Doris Dorrie's stirring music documentary on female mariachi bands singing their hearts out in Mexico City's Garabaldi Plaza, "Que Caramba es la Vida"; and Talya Lavie's hilarious portrait of everyday life for a unit of young, female soldiers in a remote Israeli desert outpost, "Zero Motivation."

The Sonoma State history department is holding a lecture about the "Christmas truce" and the beginning of World War I. The discussion is led by SSU graduate student Kevin Braafladt, historian for the U.S. Army Reserve Division and curator of the Sergeant Richard Penry Memorial Museum.

The 1914 Christmas truce was a series of unofficial ceasefires that took place across the Western Front during World War One. In many areas the truce started as an opportunity to bury the dead who had fallen in the "no man's land" between the trenches, but instead soldiers held joint burial ceremonies and independently ventured out to mingle and exchange food and souvenirs. In one of the truce's most enduring moments, troops from both sides played games of football with one another.

The lecture is in Stevenson 3072 on Tuesday, Dec. 2, noon to 1 p.m. Pizza will be served.

Families everywhere are invited to celebrate the holiday season in song on Sunday, Nov. 23, when the Sonoma State University Symphonic Chorus and Chamber Singers present the first annual Family Concert By Candlelight.

The 2 p.m. concert will be over well before bedtime, and the battery-powered "candles" can't burn little fingers. So bring the kids over to Weill Hall and make this a part of your holiday tradition.

Conductor Jenny Bent has again partnered with the Redwood Empire Food Bank to accept donations of food at the door. Cash donations are always welcome too. For information, call 707-664-3925.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" is a play written by Oscar Wilde that follows the British upper class and their relationships and struggles with social conformity. The play features two eligible bachelors who are in the midst of courting two young women, both of whom are determined to marry a man named Ernest. The play, directed by Judy Navas, runs from Oct. 30 to Nov. 9 in Evert B. Person Theatre at Sonoma State University.

The University Art Gallery at Sonoma State University is pleased to announce In the Valley of the Sun, a multimedia installation by collaborative artists Kevin Cooley and Phillip Andrew Lewis, which opens with a reception on Thursday, Oct. 30 from 4-6 p.m., and will be on view through Sunday, Dec. 7. The artists will discuss their work during a noon lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

The interplay between examination of materiality and poetic references to theory forms Kevin Cooley and Phillip Andrew Lewis' creative practice, driving their work into unexpected territory. Their works consistently act as a meditation on process as well as a response to a particular time or place.

For their new, site-specific installation In the Valley of the Sun, the artists conducted research into the origins of the word Sonoma, and the title of their work is an obvious reference to the meaning of Sonoma as "the Valley of the Moon."

Trio Navarro celebrates its twenty-third season as Chamber Artists-in-Residence at Sonoma State with three Sunday concerts in Schroeder Hall on Oct. 26, Jan. 25 and March 29. All performances begin at 2 p.m.

The first two programs will be devoted to piano trios by Bruch, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Haydn, Dvorak and Arensky, while the season closer features piano quintets (two violins, viola, cello and piano) by Shostakovich and Taneyev.

The Sonoma State University Department of Music at the Green Music Center will host legendary jazz saxophonist Lee Konitz in two appearances with the Jeff Denson Trio at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15. at the Jazz Forum and in concert at 7:30 p.m. Both events take place in Weill Hall. The forum is free of charge and the evening concert is $8.

After more than a decade as a co-leader of the internationally acclaimed trio Minsarah, bassist Jeff Denson is forging into new territory with his trio that features Joshua White on piano and Jon Arkin on drums. Denson has performed with Lee Konitz since 2007 and has been a member of Lee Konitz New Quartet, the only permanent group that the eminent saxophonist has ever led.

The multi-talented William Kanengiser, winner of the Concert Artist Guild International Competition, presents a classical guitar recital at highlighting music from Spain and North America. The concert, presented by the SSU Department of Music, takes place on Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Schroeder Hall.

Kanengiser is active as a soloist, chamber musician, founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and teacher at USC Thornton School of Music. In addition to his many recordings on the DG, Delos, Sony, and Telarc labels, Kanengiser is known for ghost-playing actor Ralph Macchio in the 1986 film Crossroads.

Ken Sonkin directs the dark and edgy coming-of-age story "The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek" in a production offered by the SSU Department of Theatre Arts and Dance from Oct. 16 to Oct. 25 in Studio 76, Ives Hall.

Set in a small rural town during the Great Depression, the play is the story of two teenagers seeking adventure and escape by racing trains.

Physically and psychologically trapped in a town blanketed with despair, poverty and isolation cause several characters to unravel as a tragic, gender twisting mystery unfolds. Playwright Naomi Wallace provides an unsentimental and uncensored portrait of the lives and struggles of the working class, frustrated by their inability to change their circumstances.

The Feminist Lecture Series addresses the timely topic of "Gender and Health" on Thursdays at noon in Stevenson 1002. The series is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the Women's and Gender Studies Department, it features presentations by local and regional activists, organizers, practitioners, and experts working on issues of gender, social justice, and health.

Hosted by Women's and Gender Studies Professor Dr. Lena McQuade, featured speakers address a range of pressing topics from the health of migrant children to sex education to breastfeeding among Native Americans to human trafficking in Sonoma County.

Music Department in Search of Director of Orchestral Studies
Jazz Forum turns five!
Weill Hall Artists in Residence Features Frederica von Stade in 2015

Sonoma State University's Department of Music at the Green Music Center (GMC) welcomes one and all to its fall season of more than 30 performances at value prices in GMC's flagship Weill Hall and newly opened Schroeder Recital Hall.

Tickets for all seats are priced at $8 and include parking. Special events, including the Carnegie Hall-trained ensemble Trio Ariadne and the USAF Band of the Golden West, are completely free of charge.

Tickets are required for admission to all concerts, whether charged or not, and available online, by phone, or in person. For information call the university box office at 707-664-4246 or email tickets@sonoma.edu.

The Milky Way, the Blue Snowball, Globular Clusters and galaxies that are light-years away from Earth are just some of the heavenly objects on view at the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy's Public Viewing Nights throughout the fall semester.

Located on the Southeast side of campus, the Sonoma State Observatory is home to telescopes staffed by student volunteers that the public can use during the viewing nights to observe the solar system and see unique perspectives of the sky above.

Staff and faculty members will also give presentations at the viewing, with an emphasis on the night's specific astronomy-related theme. Staff are also available for the questions following the presentation.

The University Art Gallery at Sonoma State University unveils The Third Dimension: Four Sculptors with a reception on Thursday, Sept. 4 from 4-6 p.m. The exhibit will be on view through Sunday, Oct. 12 and features the work Shawn HibmaCronin, Walter Robinson, Chris Thorson, and Ann Weber.

"Like contemporary art in general, recent sculpture defies easy categorization," says exhibit curator and art professor Michael Schwager. "There is no longer a dominant aesthetic as there was in the 1950s with Abstract Expressionism, the 1960s with Pop, and the 1960s and 70s with Minimalism."

Details of the Schroeder Hall Grand Opening Weekend at Sonoma State University's Green Music Center have been announced, including ticket information for the free community weekend on Saturday, Aug. 23 and Sunday, Aug. 24. The weekend of free events includes more than 100 artists in ten concerts.

Admission is free to the weekend concerts, but advance tickets are required. Tickets are available to the public beginning Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 10 a.m. and can be reserved in person at the SSU Box Office, online at gmc.sonoma.edu, or over the phone at 866.955.6040. A limited quantity of tickets will be held for walk-up sales on-site for the free community weekend on August 23-24.

Shot at Burning Man 2012, this documentary helps defy the stereotypes of Burning Man, by following the unlikely adventure of two 60-year-old parents for their first burn.

The Sonoma Film Institute announces its fall slate of screenings, ranging from lively documentaries to international features and rarely shown classic cinema.

The season kicks off with the Winner of the Audience Award at the Sonoma International Film Festival, Taking My Parents to Burning Man (8/22, 24), in which first time filmmaker, 22-year-old Bryant 'Spry Bry' Boesen, follows his family's journey to the annual festival in the Nevada desert.

The University Art Gallery presents BFA Exhibition 2014, which opens with a reception for the artists on Thursday, April 17 from 4-6 p.m, and will be on view through Saturday, May 10.

BFA Exhibition 2014 features the work of 11 students in the Art Department who are graduating this spring with their Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), an advanced degree requiring an additional year of focused study in their chosen medium.

The School of Social Sciences Brown Bag Lecture Series welcomes Kathleen Noonan, History, as she presents her work "Gasoline and Unrest: Bayonne Refinery Strikes," on April 15, noon to 1 p.m., in Stevenson 2011. All are invited.

This study looks at the connection between two deadly strikes in Bayonne, NJ and the construction of the nation's first garden-style apartment complex as housing for the employees of Standard Oil. The strikes drew national attention, drawing in prominent labor organizers from the IWW and professional strikebreakers.

Three days of back-to-back concerts at the Green Music Center features Sonoma State University's largest performing ensembles under the direction of program leaders Doug Leibinger, Andy Collinsworth and Jenny Bent.

The performances on April 24, 25 and 26 take place in Joan and Sanford I. Weill Hall. Tickets are $15 including parking, with discounts for seniors and students. Admission is free to SSU students with ID.

Winemaking is a passion for many that has been studied and perfected for hundreds of years. Professor Phil Crews will explain the 21st century approach to the process during his lecture at 7 p.m. on April 17 in Weill Hall at the Green Music Center.

The presentation entitled The Chemistry and Science of Wines and Wine Making is free and open to the public. Tickets are required by visiting http://tinyurl.com/kbcovqw.

Crews, a professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California Santa Cruz, will explain the scientific aspects of winemaking and how consulting companies have helped winemakers create award-winning vintages.

What do cello superstar Yo-Yo Ma and nineteenth-century Russian composer Anton Arensky have in common? Answer: the Davidov Stradivarius, named for cellist Karl Davidov (1838-1889).

Described by Tchaikovsky as the "czar of cellists," Davidov was head of the St. Petersburg Conservatory when Arensky was a student there.

Davidov's priceless 1712 cello lives on through the artistry of Yo-Yo Ma, to whom it is currently on loan.

Hear Arensky's lush and lyrical Piano Trio in D Minor, dedicated to Davidov's memory, in a concert by Sonoma State University resident chamber artists, Trio Navarro, on April 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Green Music Center's Joan and Sanford I Weill Hall.

April is the month to celebrate one of our community's heritages, Asian-Pacific American.Throughout April the campus explores the different aspects of this heritage in many ways.

Tuesday, April 1, Opening Nooner for Asian Heritage Month, 12-1 p.m. Darwin Quad.
Sonoma County Taiko will be opening the nooner. Then the Filipino American Association of Sonoma State University (FAASSU) showcases excerpts of the cultural dances they have been practicing all semester to advertise their PCN (Pacific/Pilipino Cultural Night) April 24 and 26. Co-sponsored by ASP and FAASSU.

Composed while Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) was imprisoned by the Nazis in Stalag VIII, A Quartet for the End of Time premiered in January 1941 under the most trying of circumstances: freezing temperatures, inferior instruments, and the wretched conditions of life in a POW camp.

SSU's Trio Ariadne brings the work to the Evert B. Person stage at 7 p.m. on April 16 in a free concert. Guest violinist Joe Edelberg joins them. A discussion of the work is included. Though admission is free, tickets are required and can be reserved online at http://www.tickets.edu/tix or by phoning 707.664.4246.

"I think this work is a hugely important work of the 20th century that threw open the possibilities of music in the later part of the century, "says cellist Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir, a member of the Trio Ariadne.

"It is a hugely personal, yet universal piece of music that has captured the imagination of not only the first audience of hundreds of prisoners of war and the Nazi guards, but well beyond those horrifying circumstances. It is a message of hope in the face of suffering, a true testament to the human spirit."

Trio Ariadne are the 2013-14 Weill Hall Artists-in-Residence. In addition to Thorsteinsdottir, they also include Elizabeth Joy Roe, piano, and Carol McGonnell clarinet. Guest violinist Joe Edelberg is the concertmaster of the Santa Rosa Symphony.

Works by mixed-media conceptual artists and sculptors are on display at the University Library Art Gallery's newest exhibit Divergent Acts: Current Work by Sonoma State University Sculpture Alumni from April 1-July 12.

The artists in this show present a wide range and approach to sculpture making and all studied sculpture at SSU with Professor Jann Nunn.

Nunn says she has put together a group who "foster an experimental approach to art making and promote artistic authenticity."

"I wouldn't be a Master Sommelier today if I hadn't attended Sonoma State," said Cauble. "The connections I made changed the trajectory of my life."

Ian Cauble, Sonoma State alumnus and Master Sommelier, is returning to SSU for a special viewing of "Somm," a film documenting his journey to becoming the 197th Master Sommelier in history. The event is open to the public and takes place on March 28 at 6 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.

The showing will begin with a food and wine pairing selected by Cauble and Eric Lee, Sonoma State's executive chef and Food Network star. Cauble will answer questions from the audience after the film.

SSU's first Trumpet Supergroup includes (left to right) Mark Inouye, Dave Scott, Mike Olmos, Erik Jekabson, Mario Guarner.

An all-brass recital at Sonoma State University will showcase four of the Bay Area's leading trumpet players mixing jazz and classical styles with a healthy dose of virtuosity, improvisation and rhythm. Tickets are on sale now for the fourth annual Wind Power - a showcase for wind studio faculty - at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 30 at the Green Music Center's Weill Hall.

The Trumpet Supergroup, founded by SSU studio trumpet instructor Dave Scott, will play original adaptations of works as diverse as Haydn's Lark Quartet, Bernice Petkere's Close Your Eyes and charts by TSG members Dave Scott and Doug Morton. Performers include low brass instructor Anthony Collins, trombone, and guest tuba player, Scott Choate, performing chamber works for brass.

A remarkable spectacle about the French Resistance and Deportation during World War II that retells the story of the women imprisoned in Auschwitz is coming to Sonoma State University on Wednesday, April 2 at 8 p.m. in Warren Auditorium, Ives Hall.

The French theatrical troupe Prospero Miranda will stage Je reviens de la vérité / I Return from the Truth in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Auschwitz survivor and author Charlotte Delbo.

The University Art Gallery at Sonoma State University announces the exhibition West Coast Ink: Printmaking from San Diego to Seattle, which opens with a reception on Thursday, March 13, from 4-6 p.m., and remains on view through Sunday, April 13.

West Coast Ink displays a wide range of contemporary printmaking techniques and approaches, including etching, lithography, linocut, monotype, silkscreen, woodcut, digital and even tapestry by a range of artists from up and down the West Coast, as well as one artist from Hawaii.

Trio Ariadne's three-concert spring series continues on March 12 when members of the New York-based Argento Chamber Ensemble share their passion for new music in a featured performance of Brian Ferneyhough's La Chute d'Icare. Trio Ariadne clarinetist Carol McGonnell will perform the demanding solo part. The British-born Ferneyhough has been called the father of the "New Complexity "style of composition.

The Argento Chamber Ensemble's core of nine dedicated members regularly expands to perform and record chamber orchestra works utilizing up to 30 musicians. Championing cutting-edge contemporary composers and framing classical repertoire in new contexts, the Argento Chamber Ensemble has established a reputation for delivering unforgettable performances.

Cindy Stearns, Sociology, presents her new research on "Breastfeeding Professionals and the Bodywork of Breastfeeding Mothers" at a lunch time seminar on March 11 from noon to 1 p.m. in Stevenson 2011.

Breast milk is now the "gold standard" for infant feeding in the U.S. and breastfeeding is an expected maternal practice. Yet, as a learned behavior, mothers often need help in establishing breastfeeding with a newborn baby and in responding to breastfeeding challenges, says Stearns.

She is one of six women in the nation selected for their devotion to the advancement of women in aerospace and for their significant contributions to the field.

Cominsky was nominated by Dr. Hashima Hasan of the NASA headquarters and was chosen for her "excellent leadership and sustained dedication to aerospace education and for her tenacious advocacy for girls and young women in aerospace."

Cominsky will be honored along with other award recipients in Arlington, VA at the Ritz Carton Pentagon City Hotel at a reception dinner and ceremony on Oct. 29.

The Psychology department at SSU has earned two community recognition awards for its Collaborative Autism Training Support Program (CATS) which works with local families whose children are diagnosed with autism.

On Oct. 27, CATS will receive one of fifteen merit awards given by the City of Santa Rosa at a 7 p.m. ceremony in the city council chambers.

This summer, the United Cerebral Palsy Association and the Cypress School of Autism and Behavioral Services presented their own honors to the program because of the efforts of countless SSU students and some faculty members dedicated to assisting these children and their families.

The CATS program, developed in 2005 by psychology professor Lorna Catford, blends the academics and classroom work that psychology students complete at SSU with the hands-on training and service-learning experience those students need in future career settings.

Criminal Justice professor Barbara Bloom was honored with the Meda Chesney Lind Award by the Western Criminology Society this year for her leadership in the field of gender-responsive criminal justice approaches.

Her colleague Barbara Owen was a co-recipient of the award. The award recognizes "significant contributions to scholarship or activism on the intersection of women and crime."

SSU Junior Jesús Guzmán has received the ACLU of Sonoma County's 2014 Mario Savio Student Activist Award at ceremonies recently. Guzmán is an accomplished student and a dedicated social justice activist. He is currently serving as the lead organizer and program manager for the Graton Day Labor Center.

Born in Mexico, he arrived in the United States as a one-year-old and grew up on a small dairy farm in Sonoma County, as the son of a domestic worker and dairyman.

Over the last few years, he founded the DREAM Alliance of Sonoma County and has been organizing with other immigrant youth to increase access to financial aid, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and fighting to end deportations.

Kristal Raheem, senior in Sociology, won first place at the recent CSU Student Research Competition in the Behavioral and Social Sciences Undergraduate category. The award was given for the presentation of her senior project: The Experience: An Analysis of the Retention and Graduation Rate of Black Students at Sonoma State University.

Working with her Sociology program mentor, Assistant Professor Sheila Katz, Raheem assessed the retention and graduation rates of Black students and conducted interviews with a group of black alumni and current students. Raheem is also a McNair NoGAP scholar.

She competed against other outstanding undergraduate students from the other 22 campuses of the CSU at the 28th annual event at CSU East Bay, May 2-3.

Steve Estes, professor of history, has been awarded a German Teaching Fellowship for the summer of 2014 by the Organization of American Historians. He will be teaching a course on the American Civil Rights Movement at the Universität Tübingen in June and July. The fellowship is funded by the Fritz-Thyssen Foundation. While in Germany, Estes will also be lecturing at the University of Frankfurt and the University of Erfurt.

Robert Train (Modern Languages & Literatures) has recently been awarded a 2014-15 Mayers Fellowship at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA.

This highly competitive and prestigious grant award will allow Train to conduct research on his book project entitled Inventing Spanish in Multilingual California, 1769-1849: Global and local practices of language and education using the Huntington's rare books and archival documents.

CANDEL CSU Ed.D. Directors from northern California include (left to right) Dr. Carlos Nevarez, Ed.D. Director Sacramento State; Dr. Viki Montera, Ed.D. Co-Director, SSU Dr. Jose Lopez, Ed. D. Director, CalState East Bay; Dr. Katherine McKenzie, Ed.D. Director, CSU Stanislaus, Dr. Robert Gabriner, Ed.D. Director, San Francisco State.

Faculty, students, and alumni of the Sonoma State and UC Davis joint Capital Area North Doctorate in Educational Leadership (CANDEL) program participated in and presented research at the first annual Northern California Educational Leadership Research Symposium this semester.

The symposium was sponsored by a consortium of five California State University Educational Leadership Doctoral Programs in Northern California: CSU Sacramento, CSU Stanislaus, CSU East Bay, Sonoma State University / UC Davis and San Francisco State University.

SSU's Model UN cohort brought back another round of awards from the National Model United Nations simulation held in New York City. This year they served as the Cuban delegation.

Sonoma State University Model United Nations class has received three awards at the recently concluded National Model United Nations simulation held in New York City, says advisor Professor Cynthia Boaz

"We can all be very proud of our SSU student delegation," said Boaz, who heads the UN class for SSU. "These students have worked together since September to create a real-life diplomatic delegation that was officially recognized for their abilities, preparedness and dedication."

SSU students were this year selected to represent Cuba, which brought extra diplomatic challenges given the nature of world geopolitics. The delegation met with the Cuban Permanent Mission to the UN in preparation for their presentations, and spoke with Cuban representatives about policies and current issues.

The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) has inducted Sonoma State University professor Thomas Jacobson, J.D., AICP, of Rohnert Park into the elite membership of AICP's College of Fellows at a black-tie ceremony recently. The event was held in conjunction with the American Planning Association's (APA) 2014 National Planning Conference in Atlanta.

"The AICP College of Fellows recognizes planners who have made exceptional contributions to their communities and to the planning profession," said AICP President Lee Brown, F AICP. "They represent the vanguard of the profession, demonstrating outstanding achievements and excellence whether through professional practice, planning research, teaching and mentoring, or community service and leadership," he added.

Professor Michael E. Smith of the Geology department is currently working with $86,000 with funding until 2016 from the National Science Foundation to pursue a research project exploring "Paleogeographic record of contractional to extensional tectonics in the Cordilleran hinterland, Nevada."

The project seeks to investigate the sedimentary record of the processes that formed and destroyed an Andes-like mountainous plateau and system of high altitude lakes in the location of present day Nevada.

The projects results will improve the understanding of the formation and destruction of high elevation regions worldwide, and give geologists and paleoclimate scientists more accurate input data to constrain their models for mountain formation and climate change in the past.

Paul Draper, Theatre Arts & Dance, has been named the first Director of Sustainability at SSU after the successful implementation of Water Works (www.sonoma.edu/waterworks) across the campus last year.

He will also chair the Sustainability Executive Committee, which was formed by Academic Senate action and approved by President Ruben Armiñana last spring. This position is a two-year assignment.

Last Friday night, Sonoma State wine business student Cooper Niswonger placed first in the final round of a wine competition in San Francisco and won a fully paid trip to Beaune, France.

Two teams of Sonoma State University students recently won the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Challenge, earning them $1,000 each. The first place team's presentation will be submitted for the next stage of the Challenge, where, if selected, they will be awarded $10,000 and be one of five teams to compete in Washington, D.C.

A select group of Sonoma State University students recently honed their leadership skills at a special invitation-only conference in San Diego for math-based majors. The event was sponsored by the California Utilities Diversity Council.

The 10th annual Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Student Leadership Conference held last weekend offered extensive professional and leadership development through direct interaction with industry mentors and speakers.

The hand-picked MESA students, all science, engineering, or math majors, represented over 30 universities and community colleges from across the state, including Sonoma State University

Professor Robert Girling of the School of Business & Economics continues to tell the inside story of twenty inspiring companies that prioritize people and the planet in the revised edition of his book, The Good Company.. Compassionate companies can both change the world and make a profit. TOMS Shoes. Clif Bar. Eileen Fisher. Google. Give Something Back. Such names are synonymous with successful companies that are simultaneously making the planet a safer, healthier place, he says.

Professor of Theatre and Film, and Program Coordinator for Film Studies, Ajay Gehlawat, is intimately familiar with cinema and, in particular, with Indian cinema. He has written the book, Reframing Bollywood: Theories of Popular Hindi Cinema, and edited The "Slumdog" Phenomenon: A Critical Anthology, a collection of essays relating to the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. In addition, he will also be teaching a course on Bollywood in Spring 2014.

Robert Switky, a lecturer in the political science department, has recently published Wealth of an Empire: The Treasure Shipments that Saved Britain and the World which tells the dramatic true story of a top-secret mission that changed the course of World War II.

Professor Michael Ezra of the American Multicultural Studies Department has completed his third book project, a collection of essays published by Routledge called The Economic Civil Rights Movement: African Americans and the Struggle for Economic Power. More information can be found at http://tinyurl.com/n5ndbdc.

A young man who is using his struggles with poverty in his native country to help his people, has been selected one of the 23 recipients of the California State University Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement. He is a graduate of Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa, CA.

Whether it's having students act out the consultation of the oracle at Delphi in a mythology class, creating a chessboard out of random items to discuss Ferdinand de Saussure's idea's about linguistic structure in a theory class, or having students propose plans for new scholarly publications, Brantley Bryant tries to let no class go by without some memorable moment.

Bryant, an associate professor of English, recently received an Excellence in Education Award from the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce at an Aug. 14 ceremony honoring exemplary educators.

The SSU Men's Lacrosse team wrapped up their regular season on April 14 finishing with an 11-3 record overall and a perfect 6-0 in the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL). Led by six seniors the team has qualified for WCLL Championship tournament as the #1 seed this weekend.

The six seniors are Casimir Morawski, midfield, Ryan Heidrich midfield, Josh Lucero, midfield, Matt Gillan attack Kyle Riddle attack and Brian Ponzi short stick defense. Having ended the 2012 season with a 2 overtime loss to Cal in the WCLL semifinal game, this group was determined to focus on winning their league championship while ultimately aiming for the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) National Championship.

Jean Wasp, News and Public Information Coordinator, recently gave a presentation to the Association for Fundraising Professionals in Santa Rosa as part of a media panel. Wasp discussed the university's strategy for developing news on its web site and home page. She described how she nurtures relationships with the media and creates story ideas for ongoing coverage of SSU.

Philosophy Professor John P. Sullins will be presenting an invited paper on the moral arguments for robotic weapons arms control as well as speaking on a panel on ethics and autonomous weapons at CyCon, June 4-7, 2013 in Tallinn, Estonia. This conference is sponsored by NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Center of Excellence and IEEE.

His paper will focus on the ethical criticisms of the overuse of telerobotic and semi-autonomous weapons systems which have been enthusiastically embraced by politicians and militaries around the world. The paper suggests certain considerations motivated by the philosophy of technology that might be worthy of addition to future robotic arms control treaties.

Hutchins Professor Ajay Gehlawat spent his time as a doctoral student at the City University of New York Graduate Center studying film and theatre. Beyond simply watching movies, Gehlawat became fascinated by representations of race, class, gender and sexuality in cinema. During this time one subject in particular stood out to him: Bollywood.

His body of research encompasses representations of Bollywood in cinema. Continuing with this theme, Gehlawat has recently published The "Slumdog" Phenomenon, a critical anthology responding to the 2008 feature film, Slumdog Millionaire.

Matthew Benney, Associate Vice President for Academic Support, was recently presented with the Friends of WESTOP award at the Western Association of Educational Opportunity Personnel annual conference in Honolulu, HI recently. The award is given each year to an individual, corporation or organization that "has made significant contributions to the field of educational equity through personal, financial, moral, political or ideological means going above and beyond the call of duty". Former winners have been congressional reps and senators. Benney's nomination was made by Emalyn Lapus from the Japanese Community Youth Council in San Francisco.

Business Professor Robert Girling has been committed to teaching his business students through real-world experience. One way he has been able to accomplish this is through the continued use of a computer program called CAPSIM, an online computer based simulation that challenges students to run a $100 million company. His success in the classroom earned him recognition this past January by Management Solutions Inc. (MSI) as Featured Professor of the Month.

After nearly twenty years using this computer-based simulation, both Girling and his students are still finding that CAPSIM is a powerful learning tool for business acumen.

Political Science Professor David McCuan recently participated in a public forum on election reform with Congressmen Jared Huffman and John B. Larson at Dominican University. McCuan joined the congressmen as the lone academic representative. "This was a pretty prestigious invite by Congressman Huffman," McCuan said.

The invitation was extended by Huffman and his office and marked the first constituent meeting/ town hall of his congressional career.

McCuan sat on a panel alongside Larson who earlier this year was named Chairman of the Task Force Election Reform by Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco. The Task Force was created to develop a legislative agenda for reforms to take big money out of politics and address flaws in the electoral system.