NewsBytes
October 4, 2004
Fall 2004 Volume 7
Sonoma State University
A Weekly E-Newsletter for SSU Faculty and Staff

KRCB Links "Making the Connection" With
SSU Professors Starting Oct. 7

KRCB Television, in partnership with SSU, presents the first of four live interactive election specials involving SSU faculty at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 7. Host Jonathan Blease, will introduce expert guests and answer questions from viewers via phone and email. The show's topic is voter registration - how it has changed since the last election with the role of swing states, online organizations and voting machines.

Guest panelists include political science professor David McCuan and Patricia Kim-Rajal, professor of Latino and Chicano studies. McCuan is MTC's poltical analyst and he will join other SSU faculty in the next three weeks on subsequent progams. For a compete list of who is involved so far, visit www.krcb.org. Faculty and staff are encouraged to participate on Thursday by calling in questions or comments at 585-8522 ext. 307, or e-mail mtclive@krcb.org.

The programs will be streamed live and archived on the KRCB Web site and, in the future, simulcast live on radio.

To particpate in this public affairs program in the future, contact David McCuan, 4-3309.

Cooperage is Site of Live Broadcast, Town Hall for Second Presidential Debate, Oct. 8

Political analyst Larry Bensky of KPFA (94.1 FM) will host a live transmission from the Cooperage of the second presidential debate between President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry on Friday, Oct. 8.

The debate, scheduled at Washington University in St. Louis, will be shown from 6-7:30 p.m. on large television screens. Approximately 500 people will be able to watch and participate at the SSU site, say organizers. Admission is $5-10 sliding scale at the door. Early check-in is advised beginning at 5 p.m.

The broadcast is part of the seventh annual Labor and Social Action Conference to be held on Oct. 8 and 9 at SSU.

This second debate is a town hall meeting with questions posed by an equal number of "soft" supporters of each candidate chosen by the Gallup Organization. Moderator is ABC's Charles Gibson.

After the debate, comments from a panel of local activists will be broadcast from 7:30-8 p.m. live on KPFA to 22 cities throughout the Pacifica Radio Network. A Town Hall for local audience remarks will follow from 8-9 p.m.

Bensky is a political analyst and election correspondent for Pacifica Radio Network who has covered national and international events from Iran-Contra to the Democratic
and Republican conventions of 2004. He currently hosts "Sunday Salon" on KPFA Radio.

Sponsors of the event include the School of Social Science, the Sonoma Student Union InterCultural Center and the North Bay Central Labor Council, and Project Censored, among others. The campus community is invited to attend. For further information call (707) 545-7349 or e-mail mfromer@seiulocal707.org.

Distinguished Alumni Range from Engineer to Zoologist to Medical Educator

In recognition of their outstanding professional achievements and personal contributions to their community, three alumni have been selected to receive Sonoma State University Alumni Association’s 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award.

SSU and the Alumni Association honor these outstanding graduates, whose occupations range from medical educator to zoologist to semiconductor engineer, during Distinguished Alumni Day, October 14.

Highlights of the day include a luncheon with President Ruben Armiñana, a 2:15 p.m. dedication to these alumni at SSU’s Alumni Grove and Brick Path, and visits to classrooms and campus centers. The day will culminate with the Distinguished Alumni awards dinner.

The awards dinner includes a 5:30 p.m. reception and a 6:30 p.m. dinner at the Doubletree Hotel in Rohnert Park. The cost for the event is $50 for Alumni Association members, SSU faculty and staff and $55 for non-members. Tables of eight can be reserved for $1,000. Dress is business attire. Those who wish to attend should RSVP by Oct. 10 at
4-2426.

Visit the Alumni Association Web site for details about this year’s Distinguished Alumni - Jim Ford, Douglas Gaffin and Martin Klein. The Distinguished Alumni Awards was established in 1987 to recognize outstanding graduates and former students and is the highest honor bestowed on SSU alumni by the Alumni Association.

Project Censored Celebrates Book Release

Project Censored celebrates the release of Censored 2005 at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 at King Middle School, 1781 Rose Street in Berkeley. The event highlights this year's censored news and honors the investigative reporters who brought them forward. Catherine Austin Fitts, founder and president of Solari and whistleblowing former Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, keynotes the event.

The evening includes awards and a reception with authors, journalists, publishers, and Project Censored judges as well as video art performance, live music, booksigning, light hors d'oeuvres, and a no-host wine bar. The event will be televised by Link TV and is co-sponsored by Media Alliance, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and KPFA's Flashpoints. Admission is $15/sliding scale at the door. For further information, and a complete list of the under-reported stories of the past year, contact Project Censored at 4-2500 or www.projectcensored.org.

Encourage Students to Check Out National Depression Screening Days, Oct. 6, 7

The Counseling Center urges faculty and staff to let students know that they can meet with a counselor during National Depression Screening Days on Wednesday, Oct. 6 and Thursday, Oct. 7 to learn about depression and gain support for themselves and others they are concerned about.

Michael Pinkston of the Counseling Center says interested students can schedule appointments with a counselor on those dates by contacting the front desk at the Student Health Center, 4-2921.

These appointments will be held at the Student Health Center with counselors from Counseling and Psychological Services.

Grant Mentoring Workshops on Funding,
Rights of Human Subjects Coming Soon


The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will begin a series of grant mentoring workshops soon to help strengthen SSU's educational mission by providing faculty with practical advice on how to pursue their research interests.

Particular emphasis will be placed on meeting the needs of second through fourth year tenure-track faculty members. The 2004-2005 program will feature three stand-alone workshops in Schulz 1121 including:

Internal Funding, Oct. 20, from noon to 1 p.m. - Dr. Elizabeth Burch, Chair of the Faculty Subcommittee on Sponsored Programs, and ORSP presents an overview of internal funding opportunities including RSCAP Mini-Grants, RSCAP Summer Fellowships and Faculty Travel Awards.

External Funding and Proposal Development, Nov. 5, 1 - 3 p.m. - ORSP will present a primer on the key aspects of external grant proposal development. Topics covered will include funding search tools and techniques, RFP analysis, proposal writing, budget development, work plan development and SSU policy requirements. This session will be repeated on March 18, 2005 from 1 - 3 p.m.

Protection of the Rights of Human Subjects, Feb. 4, 2005, noon - 1 p.m.- Dr. Duane Dove, Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Human Subjects, will present a session on the use of human subjects in research and the role of the institutional review board.

E-mail Cindy Menghini, cindy.menghini@sonoma.edu, or phone 4-2448, to reserve space at one or more workshops.

Return Items Immediately to Lost and Found

The official campus Lost and Found is located at Customer Services and in order to be effective, departments need to forward "found" items there as soon as they receive them, says Gloria Ogg, Senior Director for University Business Services. Some departments have been holding items for weeks or months instead of bringing them immediately to Lost and Found. Ogg says the rightful owners typically inquire at Customer Services soon after losing their items.

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NewsBytes Archives

Jean Wasp, Editor, 4-2057

Save the Date


DENISE CHAVEZ, noon-1 p.m., Oct. 13, Warren Auditorium - Celebrated Latina author, playwright, actress, and teacher Denise Chávez presents selected readings from her library of works.

BARRIER AWARENESS DAY, noon-1 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 27, Stevenson Quad - An opportunity for the campus community to understand the challenges traversing the campus with a disability. Special workshop at 10 a.m. in Schulz 1121. To enroll, call Terilynn Bench, 4-2227, or terilynn.bench@sonoma.edu.

DEAD MAN WALKING: THE JOURNEY CONTINUES, A Discussion with Sister Helen Prejean, 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 29, Cooperage - Students Free/$10 SSU faculty and staff/$15 general admission. The Sonoma Student Union InterCultural Center hosts a discussion with anti-death penalty and social justice advocate, Sister Helen Prejean. Prejean is the author of Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the U.S.

This Week

2004 BENEFIT FAIR, 10 a.m. -2 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 5, Schulz 1121 - Health and life insurance representatives will be on hand to answer questions from employees about making changes or enrolling in various plans. See complete list of Health Plan changes. Susan Zito, Payroll and Benefits, 4-2178.

SOCIAL SCIENCE BROWN BAG SERIES, noon, Oct. 5, Stevenson 2011 - Margaret Purser (Anthropology) discusses her recent project: GPSing the LPS: Heritage Management, Hi-Tech Mapping and Community Outreach in Levuka, Fiji.

JIM GARRISON, 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 5, Cooperage - The author of "America as an Empire: Global Leader or Rogue Power?" and co-founder of the State of the World Forum with Mikhail Gorbachev, discusses his involvement with Soviet-American relations. $5 general admission. Free to SSU students.

FACE OF OCCUPATION, 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 6, Student Union Multi-Purpose Room - Jewish-American peace activist Penny Rosenwasser of the Middle Eastern Children's Alliance presents a slideshow and open forum representing the "urgent issues of peace in the Middle East." 4-2382. Sponsored by Associated Students, ASP, and the Sonoma Student Union.

"HIJACKING CATASTROPHE," noon-1 p.m., Thursday, Oct 7, Stevenson 3046 - The short version of the film about how the events of Sept. 11, 2001 were used to justify curtailment of democracy will be shown. Discussion follows. Mary Gomes, 4-2173.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?, Oct. 1-Oct. 29. Reception for the artist, 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 6, ICC Gallery - Exhibit of political fabric art of Virginia R. Harris, challenges the stereotypes of quilt making and subject matter. ICC, 4-2710.

It Matters! Series

IS MEDIA ONLY THE MESSENGER? HOW THE MEDIA IMPACTS ELECTIONS, Noon, Wednesday, Oct. 6, Schulz 3001 - Panel discussion moderated by Jonah Raskin, Communication Studies, with guests Patricia Kim-Rajal, Chicano and Latino Studies and Marco Calavita, Communication Studies. Karen Brodsky, 4-4240.

For webcasts of many current and past lectures visit streaming.sonoma.edu


Applause Awards

thumbs up graphic

Vicki Irey, Paul Lang, Steven Nank (Facilities), Mike Kiraly, Kent Hayden and Paul Cotter (Library)

The Physics and Astronomy Department had equipment arrive a week earlier than scheduled. The field service engineer showed up to install the system and deliver a day of training. Due to the efforts of Vicki in Facilities, Paul the locksmith and Steven in Receiving, we got the delivery and moved it to the new location. Thanks to Mike Kiraly, Kent Hayden and Paul Cotter from library administration and the library IT service, we were set up with computers to support the instruments right now! The spectroscopy experiment was on-line and running in one day. It is a great feeling to be part of a team of professionals who can perform many complicated services, at a moments notice, on any given day.

Steve Anderson,
Equipment Technician,
Physics & Astronomy Dept.


Kathleen Hardy, Desktop Yoga, and Human Resources directors, managers

I call this the "Namaste Award" and I give it to Kathleen Hardy and to the enlightened directors / managers in HR who saw the benefit of having Kathleen's wonderful Desktop Yoga included in the Employee Wellness Program allowing it to be offered gratis to SSU staff and faculty. Under Kathleen's inspiring instruction and gentle, calming manner many of us are reaping the untold benefits of including yoga in our "life path" in our SSU employment.

Gregg Sheehan, Sponsored Programs Accountant


It is easy to nominate a deserving employee for an Applause Award. Fill out the online form. Have questions? Phone Terilynn Bench,
4-2227.