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SSU Group Attends CSU Symposium on Teaching, Learning

Pictured left to right: Janet Hardcastle (Education), Esra Yecan (Visiting Scholar, CTPD), Brett Christie (CTPD) and Emiliano Ayala (Education). Not pictured: Hee-Won Kang (Education)

Emiliano Ayala, Hee-Won Kang, Brett Christie, Esra Yecan and Janet Hardcastle attended the CSU Symposium on Teaching and Learning at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo on Sat., May 2. Ayala gave a poster presentation sharing data related to "Universal Design for Learning in the Sciences: Effective Teaching Strategies for all Students," Kang presented "Performance-Based Assessment in Teacher Education" and Christie presented "Teaching and Technology Horizons: Key Trends and Critical Challenges."

Steve Estes Awarded Fulbright, Teaching U.S. History at University of Erfurt, Germany

Steve Estes, history, has been awarded a Fulbright Senior Lecturing Fellowship in Germany from April to July 2010. Estes is teaching two classes on American history at the University of Erfurt. Erfurt is in the state of Thuringia, a state that was in East Germany before reunification.

Estes is teaching an undergraduate class on the history of the American South, which he hopes will encourage students to think about the ways past political and cultural divisions affect contemporary politics both in the U.S. and Germany. He is also offering a class for MA students on the American civil rights movement that will connect the story of America's struggle with discrimination to international debates about human rights.

Jeffrey Reeder Named 2009 Bike Commuter of the Year

The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition has named Jeffrey Reeder, Chair of the Modern Languages and Literature Department, the 2009 Bike Commuter of the Year. During the ten years he has lived in Sonoma County, Reeder has commuted to work every day from his home in Santa Rosa to SSU. Rain, cold, heat, and even hail haven't kept him from the 20-mile round trip.

Reeder says that compared to bike commuting in the stifling heat as he did when living in Texas or in the humidity and rain of southern Japan, Sonoma County is an ideal place to ride. Not only is cycling good exercise, good for the environment, and enjoyable, he finds that commuting to work clears his head and gives him the opportunity for some focused thinking.

Reeder is honored to be named Bike Commuter of the Year; still, he would rather see the day when bike commuting were such a common and natural action that an award would seem odd (imagine an award for "Car Commuter of the Year"). To this end, he encourages and helps his students and colleagues become bike commuters also.

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