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.
Recent Entries in Achievements
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.
Biology Professor Nick Geist's Western Pond Turtle conservation project is the subject of a segment on Eye on the Bay on KPIX (5) on June 15 at 7 p.m. The segment is part of a program concerning the pond turtle project as part of their coverage of the Oakland zoo's conservation programs. Geist and his students have been working with the Oakland and San Francisco zoos for several years to provide a "head start" program for the turtles who are endangered. Above is Geist with EOTB host Liam Mayclem.
The Sonoma State STAR, SSU's award-winning student run newspaper since 1979, has received more national attention recently. The newspaper has won the "Most Outstanding University Newspaper for 2012-2013" and the "First Place with Special Merit" awards from the American Scholastic Journalism Association.
"These are the highest honors given by the American Scholastic Journalism Association," said Chip McAuley, long-time STAR adviser who is leaving Sonoma State at the end of the academic year. "I'm very proud of the students. They do a tremendous amount of work every week - and each one of them, past and present, deserves to share in these awards."
SSU English professor and poet Gillian Conoley has been included in W.W. Norton's Postmodern American Poetry Anthology (2nd edition) that also includes the works of renowned poets Allen Ginsberg, Robert Creeley, Denise Levertov, Amira Baraka, Charles Olson, and Barbara Guest.
"I'm very honored to be included in the anthology." Conoley said. "It was a lovely surprise."
Three of her poems were chosen: "Native," "This Land Is My Land," and "[My name is the girl with one glass eye said bitterly]".
Edited by Paul Hoover, poet and professor of creative writing at San Francisco State University, the anthology features 114 poets, 557 poems, and 15 poetics essays, and includes important recent movements such as Newlipo, conceptual poetry, and Flarf.
All Entries in Achievements
- Sep 13 2013 John Michael Vincent Coralde: Dreams of Helping His Native Land
- Aug 22 2013 Brantley Bryant Receives SR Chamber's Excellence in Education Award
- May 3 2013 Men's Lacrosse Team Appears Headed for Nationals
- May 2 2013 Wasp on Media Panel
- May 2 2013 Sullins Discusses Moral Arguments for Robotic Weapons Arms Control
- May 2 2013 Ajay Gehlawat Explores Multiple Controversies of "Slumdog" Phenomeon
- May 2 2013 Matt Benney Honored for Educational Equity Contributions
- May 2 2013 Robert Girling Recognized for Business Simulation Expertise
- May 2 2013 McCuan Serves on Election Reform Panel with Congressmen Also on HUFFPO LIVE! Discussing Gun Control Through the Ballot Box
- May 2 2013 An Eye on the Pond Turtle Headstart Project
- May 2 2013 STAR Wins Two National Journalism Awards
- May 1 2013 Gillian Conoley Joins Renowned Poets in Norton's Postmodern American Poetry Anthology
- Apr 26 2013 Jazz Studies Student Publishes 40-Something Love Story
- Mar 28 2013 K-9 Units, White-collar Crimes, and National Drug Policies Explored by CCJS Faculty, Students at WSC Conference
- Mar 26 2013 Rehearsals, Master Classes Pay off as Dance Students, Faculty Present Original Works at ACDFA Gala
- Mar 26 2013 SSU's Model United Nations Delegates Garner Four Awards at National Conference
- Mar 22 2013 Wide-ranging Look at SSU Faculty Research On Display at March 27 Expo
- Mar 21 2013 Adrian Praetzellis Appointed to State Historical Resources Commission
- Mar 21 2013 English Professor Gillian Conoley Judge of Omnidawn Poetry Chapbook Contest
- Mar 21 2013 History Professor Stephen Bittner Researching History of Russian Winemaking Through Two Fellowships
- Mar 7 2013 Dr. Carlos Ayala Named Dean of the SSU School of Education
- Mar 5 2013 Another Seawolf Takes the Miss Sonoma County Crown
- Feb 22 2013 Roxana Leiva Exposes Salvadoran Immigrant Experiences with Exhibition 'Mourning and Scars: 20 Years After the War'
- Feb 22 2013 Assistant Professor Megan Taylor Named 2013 STaR Fellow
- Dec 5 2012 Promises Kept. SSU Alum Makes Veterans Day Donation to American Vets.
- Dec 5 2012 Brantley Bryant's New Essay Tells Why the Middle Ages Still Resonate Today
- Dec 5 2012 Comcast Interviews NewsMakers at SSU
- Dec 4 2012 Media Spotlight, Semester at Sea for SSU Professors
- Nov 19 2012 McNair Scholars - One Step at a Time Toward Grad School
- Nov 14 2012 Math Professor Jean Bee Chan Recognized for Meritorious Service
- Nov 14 2012 Cushman Honored with International Journal Editorship
- Oct 31 2012 Sonoma State Student Wins San Francisco Wine Tasting Competition
- Oct 12 2012 SSU Jazz Alums Get Five Stars in Downbeat Review
- Sep 12 2012 Without a Wetsuit - Math Professor Sam Brannen Versus the Icy Waters
















