"In terms of power and influence, you can forget the church, forget
politics. There is no more powerful institution in society than business -
I believe it is now more important than ever before for business to assume
a moral leadership. The business of business should not be about money,
it should be about responsibility. It should be about public good, not
private greed." --- Anita Roddick, " Business as Unusual"
ROHNERT PARK - The outspoken and controversial "Body Shop" founder
Anita Roddick will discuss her enlightening and intriguing ideas on
socially-responsible business methods with KSRO talk show host Pat Thurston
at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 20.
The conversation is a benefit for Sonoma State University's media
program, Project Censored, and will be held at the Sebastopol Veteran's
Memorial Building, 282 South High St., Sebastopol.
The British entrepreneur founded The Body Shop in 1976 as a hair, body
and skin care line that delivered straight-forward information to its
customers.
It is now an international phenomenon as famous for its ethics as its
success - from fair trade, environmental awareness, animal protection and
respect for human rights to social campaigning.
"Business as Unusual" is an autobiographical-management work that
charts the progress of Roddick and her company through the last decade
and shares her vision of how businesses can successfully evolve with a
socially-responsible attitude.
A reviewer for Publishers Weekly wrote that "Roddick fervently believes
that companies should be more than simply profitable: they 'must
actively do good' in the environment and for labor,
serving as 'incubators of the human spirit.'"
Tickets are $10 advance, $15 at the door. One ticket is free with the
purchase of Roddick's new book "Business as Unusual" from any
Copperfield's bookstore. Call (707) 823-8991 ext. 15 for ticket information.
ROHNERT PARK - How the study of the early stages of Sudden
Oak Death in Sonoma County can help researchers tackle the critical problem throughout California will be one of the topics of an important symposium on Monday, January 15.
Sonoma State University biology professor Nathan Rank and Fairfield Osborn Preserve Manager Julia Clothier are organizing a meeting between CSU faculty and students, members of the UC task force researching Sudden Oak Death Syndrome, local interested biologists and preserve managers.
The free all-day meeting is scheduled from 8:15 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel, 1 DoubleTree Drive, in Rohnert Park.
Discussions will focus on the biology of the disease, the ecology of oaks and oak woodlands, best use of biotechnical approaches and other methods for studying the pathogen, and avenues for collaborative research between CSU faculty and members of the Sudden Oak Death task force.
Northern Californians have witnessed a dramatic die-off of oak trees in coastal woodlands surrounding the Bay Area in recent years. Entire stands of oaks have succumbed in some areas. Tan oaks and coast live oaks have suffered the highest levels of mortality, but some black oaks have been affected, said Rank. There is no known cure for the disease.
Information about the meeting and on Sudden Oak Death at Fairfield Osborn Preserve can be found at the web site www.sonoma.edu/org/preserve or by calling (707) 795-5069.
FACT SHEET
Sudden Oak Death Symposium
Monday, January 15,
Double Tree Hotel, Rohnert Park
Participants will include
* Members of the task force studying Sudden Oak Death
* CSU faculty and students from a number of campuses
* Local experts in the ecology of oak woodlands
* Managers/directors of other preserves in Sonoma and Marin counties
Speakers will present information about the following topics:
* Results of preliminary surveys of Sudden Oak Death at Fairfield Osborn Preserve. Nathan Rank, Department of Biology, Sonoma State University
* Biology of the Sudden Oak Death pathogen. Dave Rizzo, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California Davis
* Current information on the genetics and control of the sudden oak death pathogen (Matteo Garbelotto, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, UC Berkeley)
* Biology of the pathogen infecting Port Orford Cedar in Northern California and Southern Oregon (Erik Jules, Department of Biology, Humboldt State University)
* Uses of geographic information systems to study vegetation patterns and changes in California habitats (Ross Meentemeyer, Department of Geography, Sonoma State University)
* Mapping and Monitoring SOD in California. (Maggi Kelly, Assistant
Cooperative Extension Specialist and Co-director, Center for Assessment and
Monitoring of Forest and Environmental Resources, UC Berkeley)
The meeting is sponsored by the California State University Program in Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB) and by Sonoma State University.
Individuals interested in attending this meeting should contact Preserve Manager Julia Clothier (707) 795-5069, or fairfield.osborn@sonoma.edu.
ROHNERT PARK - Xandex, a Petaluma hi-tech company, recently donated $75,000 to Sonoma State University's Masters in Computer and Engineering Science Program.
The money was used to help establish a new laboratory to teach about computers that interface with instruments and various sensors/transducers. The laboratory will help users program a PC to take data either from a detector/transducer (light, temperature, pressure, voltage, current) or from a test instrument.
Xandex is a Petaluma-based semiconductor test instrument manufacturer and is a national leader in manufacturing inkers used in marking semiconductor chips.
"The idea was to put together a laboratory that would help us make the faculty more familiar with the technology," said Dr. Saeid Rahimi, dean of the School of Natural Sciences, who commented on the value of the donation.
Rahimi said that there will be workshops to teach the professors how to use the equipment to log in and analyze data and to program instruments. The information will then be brought into the classroom to teach students how to use the equipment.
Xandex CEO Kamran Shamsavari, who facilitated the donation, is a member of the North Bay Technology Roundtable and has been very active in the educational activities of the group.
"Mr. Shamsavari is quite concerned about the hi-tech educational needs of the North Bay and is willing to do something about it," Rahimi said.
Xandex's donation is one of many that have been made over the past few years from local hi-tech companies to subsidize this new Masters program at Sonoma State University.
For further information contact:
Dr. Saied Rahimi, Dean of the School of Natural Sciences, (707) 664-2169
saeid.rahimi@sonoma.edu
Kamran Shamsavari, Xandex CEO, (707) 763-7799
PHOTO CAPTION:
Xandex CEO Kamran Shamsavari (center) presents a check to SSU President Ruben Arminana (left) and Dr. Saeid Rahimi, Dean of the School of Natural Sciences at Sonoma State University.
ROHNERT PARK - The Inter-Cultural Center at Sonoma State University is
exhibiting a collection of works by Middle Eastern artists, and other
artists inspired by the Middle East, in observance of Ramadan, a Muslim
holiday.
The exhibit, presented by the university's Middle Eastern Club, is on
display from Jan. 2-26. It includes artwork by Maha Bassari, Marg
Starbucks and Susan St. Thomas. Their works are inspired by dreams, myths
and spiritual traditions of the world. Many of the pieces are paintings and
drawings, but there is also three-dimensional art.
The gallery is located on the first floor of the student union on the SSU
campus, 1801 E Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park. Hours of operation are 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
For more information e-mail A. Darius Spearman, Inter-Cultural Center
Coordinator at spearman@sonoma.edu or call (707) 664-2537.
Henry and Madelyne Trione have committed $500,000 to the Wine Business Program at Sonoma State University:
The Wine Business Program is offered through the School of Business and offers students an emphasis on the business strategies associated with the wine industry such as marketing and finance. The program was praised by then-Governor Pete Wilson as an effective partnership between the University and the local wine industry, meeting the needs of both.
"We don't realize the importance of the north coast wine industry to the rest of the world. The Wine Business Program at Sonoma State is enviable and industry leaders around the world would be happy to have an academic program such as this," said Trione.
Henry Trione. and his wife Madelyne, prominent civic and business leaders in California and long-time supporters of education and the arts, have been involved with the University for more than 20 years, and continue to be avid cheerleaders for its programs.
As former owner of Geyser Peak Winery, Henry Trione is a highly respected advocate for the California wine industry and was instrumental in the establishment of the Wine Business Education Program at Sonoma State University in 1996.
"The Trione gift will help the Wine Business Program to achieve our vision: to provide world-class, cutting-edge business solutions for students and winery professionals," said Ahmad Hosseini, dean of the School of Business and Economics.
Trione's association with Sonoma State University began in the early 1970's. He served on the President's Advisory Board for more than 20 years. During that period he initiated the university's first fund raising effort, the President's Associates. He also founded the SSU Development Council and was honorary chair of the first Annual Drive.
"Henry and Madelyne are well-known for their generous support of Sonoma State University and other programs in the community," said Ruben Arminana, SSU President. "We are delighted that they recognize the value to the region of the Wine Business Program."
MEDIA TOUR
11 a.m., Friday, Dec. 15
Fairfield Osborn Preserve,
6543 Lichau Road, Penngrove, CA.
Biological research on oak trees at the Preserve suffering
from Sudden Oak Death will be explained. Students with
global positioning satellite units will show how tree locations
are determined. Biology professor Nathan Rank of Sonoma
State University, UC Davis researcher Jenny Davidson, and
Julia Clothier, Preserve Manager, will answer questions
from journalists interested in how the disease can be
recognized, the possible impact on the community's
oaks, and potentials for curbing the problem.
ROHNERT PARK - Biology professors from Sonoma State
University are tracking evidence of Sudden Oak Death
Syndrome in trees at the 210-acre Fairfield Osborn
Preserve and now say "the disease has probably
already progressed to an alarming degree within
the Preserve's boundaries."
The deadly fungus has now been reported in Sonoma
County in Jack London State Park, Kings Ridge, Austin
Creek State Recreation Area, Sugarloaf State Park, along
Bodega Highway, and Cazadero, according to
the UC Davis web site at http://camfer.cnr.berkeley.edu/oaks/.
The Preserve, located east of the campus in Penngrove,
is an educational resource for the community at large and an
educational and research facility for the University.
Thousands of school children visit the Preserve every year
on guided tours, and members of the public participate in
organized weekend hikes and field workshops in the fall
and spring.
"We don't know yet whether oaks on Sonoma Mountain
will suffer a massive die-off," said Preserve Director Nathan
Rank, a biology professor. "But the disease may be spreading
more slowly at the Preserve than other locales it has surfaced in,"
Rank added. "It may be that temperature is the reason,"
Rank said.
"The Preserve has a warmer microclimate than most of
Marin County where the fungal disease has effectively decimated
the oak population in many areas." There is no known cure
for the disease.
Northern Californians have witnessed a dramatic die-off of oak
trees in coastal woodlands surrounding the Bay Area in recent
years. Entire stands of oaks have succumbed in some areas.
Tan oaks and coast live oaks have suffered the highest levels
of mortality, but some black oaks have been affected, said Rank.
SSU students visit the Preserve to learn about its ecology,
natural history, archaeology, geology, and geography as
part of their coursework. Scientists at SSU and the surrounding
area also use the preserve as a natural laboratory for
studying ecological processes.
Rank is coordinating a symposium on January 15 at the
Double Tree Hotel in Rohnert Park with researchers from other
California State University campuses, University of California faculty,
students, land managers, and others. They hope to combine
research efforts and develop a strategy to understand how the
disease is spread.
"The presence of the disease at a nature preserve where
biologists are already actively researching oak ecology presents
an opportunity for study, and we hope, for control," said Rank
who is spearheading the effort with his colleagues
Dr. Hall Cushman and Julia Clothier, Preserve Manager.
During the summer, scientists at UC Davis, led by
Dr. David Rizzo, identified the disease-causing agent as a
fungus that is closely related to another fungus that kills
Port Orford Cedar in southern Oregon. It is more distantly
related to the fungus that caused Potato Blight and
caused massive starvation in Ireland in the mid-19th century.
Over the past year, Clothier had noticed the leaf canopies
on several coast live oak trees near the Preserve's Education
Center were turning brown. This fall, Rizzo and his co-workers
isolated the fungus from several Preserve coast live oak trees
that showed symptoms of Sudden Oak Death.
These findings prompted SSU faculty members to
organize a survey of the Preserve with Clothier, Preserve
volunteers, several graduate students and undergraduate
volunteers.
SSU students used the Department of Biology's state-of-the-art
Global Positioning System units to determine exact locations of
diseased trees in the oak survey. These locations will be later
used for geographic modeling of disease occurrence and spread.
Rank reported that more than sixty trees possessed active or
recently dried bleeding spots, which are characteristic of early
stages of the disease. Twenty trees showed evidence of crown
death, and damage from bark beetles associated with late
stages of the disease was noted on a number of trees.
Afflicted trees can be found throughout the Preserve, but
Rank said most trees still show no signs of being affected
by the disease, and there is as yet "little evidence of
widespread crown death or wholesale tree death in
Preserve oaks."
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DIRECTIONS: The Fairfield Osborn Preserve is located at
6543 Lichau Road in Penngrove in Sonoma County.
Phone (707) 795-5069.
Contacts:
Nathan Rank, (707) 664-3053, rank@sonoma.edu;
Julia Clothier, (707) 795-5069, fairfield.osborn@sonoma.edu
Snoopy will be on hand for the dedication ceremony of the new Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center at Sonoma State University. The festivities take place on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at noon on the University campus.
A ribbon cutting ceremony follows words of support from Jean Schulz, alumna, who along with Charles Schulz, Peanuts creator, donated $5 million to the operation of the center. Charles Schulz passed away earlier this year.
The public is invited to attend this event for the state-of-the-art Information Center which combines traditional library services with technologies required for educating students in the 21st century. For example, tables with Internet connections are placed throughout the library, ensuring students can "hook-up" and work online almost anywhere in the building.
A three story Automated Retrieval System logs and has the capacity to store almost a half million volumes that can be called forth via the computerized catalog system (named Snoopy). A student can be on his computer in his residence hall room, log onto the University Library website, locate a book through the Snoopy system and call it for its retrieval. The student can then grab a jacket, his backpack, walk through the library and pick up his book on his way to class.
Also on Oct. 10, the University Library Art Gallery's opens with the inaugural exhibit "Peanuts Goes to College: The Work of Charles M. Schulz." The exhibit presents a selection of original cartoon strips in which Schulz takes an affectionate and sometimes pointed look at libraries and the institution of higher education. The exhibit curated by Michael Schwager and Ruth Begell, the executive director of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, runs through December 15, 2000.
The SSU Center for Performing Arts presents the play "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown" from October 6-14, as a tribute to the cartoonist and his characters.
Information on tickets is available by calling (707) 664-2353 or by visiting www.sonoma.edu/depts/performingarts/cpa/cpa.html.
The dedication of the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center comes just one week after the 50th anniversary of the day the late artist's cartoon strip, Peanuts, first appeared (Oct. 2, 1950).
Editor's note: Hard copy and electronic versions of the Schulz Information Center photo are available by calling (707) 664-2122.
ROHNERT PARK, CA - David Wayne Peri, 62, a former chairman of the Anthropology Department at Sonoma State University and a faculty member since 1969, died on Friday, Dec. 1.
Peri, in the course of his career at SSU, had served as Anthropology Department Chair, Coordinator of the American Studies Program, and Chair of the Division of American Ethnic Studies.
An insightful and dedicated teacher, Peri delighted in introducing students to his craft in the way that he had been introduced - through an attentive and highly personal mentorship. "David's teaching also drew from his Native American heritage," said anthropology department chair Margaret Purser. "Like Old Man Coyote, David was a gifted racconteur who taught through the magic of tales."
Peri started with his apprentice under Alfred Kroeber, the most prominent anthropologist of his time and himself a student of Franz Boas who founded the discipline of anthropology in the United States.
Peri was a Bodega Miwok, and a member of the Olamentko Tribe. He devoted his career to documenting the heritage of California Native American culture, and to the enhancement of educational opportunities for his community.
Peri's ethnographic fieldwork focused on California Native American groups, including the Pomo, Yurok, Miwok, Yokuts, Cahuila, Nisenan, Maidu, Patwin, Tolowa, Wappo, and Washo peoples. He also worked in Nevada with Paiute and Mono communities, and as far afield as the Pacific Northwest and American Great Plains and Southwest.
One of the pioneers in the visual anthropology of California Native Americans, Peri leaves a legacy of many award-winning ethnographic and educational films. He was honored with a Cowboy Hall of Fame award for his work on the movie, Beautiful Tree.
Ever active in California Native American affairs, he served as President and Chairman of the Board for Sonoma County's Ya-Ka-Ama Indian Education and Development, Inc., and as a frequent consultant to school boards, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations developing Native American educational programs and K-12 curricula.
Peri was a member of the Coastal Commission, involved in Warm Springs Dam Cultural Research and the inventory of Sun House/Grace Hudson Museum. He received an environmental preservation award and certificate of merit in 1981 from the US Army Corps of Engineers for his contributions to the Botanical Mitigations Project for Warm Springs Dam.
He is survived by his mother, Freda Peri, his sister, Carolyn McNulty and nephews, Adam and Blake McNulty. He was preceeded in death by his daughter, the late Mia Theresa Peri and his father, the late Albert Peri.
Plans for a campus memorial service are pending. Donations in his name may be made to Ya Ka Ama, 6215 Eastside Road, Forestville 95436.
