The first M.B.A. program for Wine Business in the nation is being launched at Sonoma State University in the heart of wine country.
The development of the M.B.A. program coincides with unprecedented growth and increasingly global competition within the wine industry and was stimulated by the wine advisory board that guides the program.
"Our partners in the wine industry have been very clear about the need to recruit and retain individuals with a strong knowledge of both professional management and unique wine industry practices," says Mack Schwing, the program's director.
Unlike existing M.B.A. programs in the North Bay, Sonoma State University's Wine Business M.B.A. is designed with two objectives in mind - to provide students with financial and analytical skills required of wine business management and to educate with specific focus on the wine industry through specialized classes and related case studies.
"The M.B.A. fills a critical void for people working in the industry and continues Sonoma State University's leadership position in providing global wine business education" said Caroline Coleman Bailey, founder of Premier Growth Communications and president of the Wine Business Program's Executive Advisory Board.
The M.B.A. in Wine Business consists of required foundation courses and elective courses that provide students with the skills necessary to become effective leaders in wine business management.
"Sustainability in the Wine and Hospitality Industry" is among the elective courses offered and reflects the program's commitment to educating students on key dynamics within the industry today.
All classes will be taught by faculty from the School of Business & Economics, an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accredited institution.
The M.B.A. in Wine Business was developed with input from its Executive Advisory Board and is 100% industry funded. "This is a student and industry-driven initiative and really highlights the kind of community support we have," added James Robertson, Dean of the School of Business and Economics.
Students interested in fall 2007 classes are encouraged to apply no later than July 13 by contacting Linda Nowak, (linda.nowak@sonoma.edu), M.B.A. coordinator for the School of Business and Economics, (707) 664-3954. Enrollments will also be accepted for Spring Semester, 2008.
Detailed information about the program including guidelines for admission can be found at
http://www.sonoma.edu/busadmin/mba/program_winemba.shtml.
Created through a public private partnership between the university and the wine industry, Sonoma State's Wine Business Program offers the opportunity to earn a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Wine Business Strategies and an M.B.A. with a concentration in Wine Business.
The program also offers professional development classes that highlight current trends, new developments and specific practices for people interested in transitioning to, or currently working in, the industry.
More than 250 wine companies have donated to the Wine Business Program Endowment Fund. The proceeds from these donations along with operational support donations are the primary source of funding for the program.
The Executive Advisory Board for the Wine Business Program currently includes industry executives representing Diageo Chateau & Estates Wines, F. Korbel & Bros., Gallo Family Vineyards, Girard Winery, J. Lohr Winery, Wells Fargo, the Wine Institute and the Woodward-Graff Wine Foundation.
For further information, contact Deborah Halbert, Wine Business Program, School of Business and Economics, (707) 664-2260.
A veteran academic fundraiser with broad experience in major gifts, planned giving and capital and endowment campaigns joins Sonoma State University in July as the new Vice President of Development.
Patricia A. McNeill has been the Senior Director of Development at San Jose State University since 2005 and served as a director of development and a planned giving officer since 2002. For the past two years, she was the chief development strategist for SJSU during which time gifts to the SJSU grew from a steady $9-$10 million annually to more than $50 million this year.
She built the program from a staff of three to twelve with every academic unit having its own development officer. McNeill also initiated and developed a plan for SJSU's first comprehensive capital campaign with a $150 million working goal.
"My goal for Sonoma State University is to build a development program that will support strong, vibrant academic programs, enhance student support and bring an even higher level of excellence to every area of the University," says McNeill.
SSU president Ruben Arminana says "Patricia McNeill is a seasoned development professional with great experience and she will hit the ground running in securing additional investments for the betterment of our students and programs."
McNeill worked at California State University, Dominguez Hills from 1999-2002 as a Director of Development for the College of Arts and Sciences where she launched the first College Fund for Student Excellence and one for Faculty Excellence.
From 1983 to 1995, she served in various fundraising capacities with J.C. Geever, Inc. of New York City where she helped a variety of non-profit clients build successful fundraising programs. She co-authored with Geever the first two editions of "The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing." She has also led professional seminars on the grant writing process.
"The office of development is a service arm of the University as a whole. Its sole purpose is to support the multifaceted mission of educating the next generation of leaders of this community, state and nation," she says.
McNeill has a B.A. in Art History from Mills College in Oakland, California, an M.A. in Art Education from Columbia University Teacher's College, New York and an M.A.T. in Museum Education from George Washington University, in Washington DC.
Daniel J. Lanahan, founder of the leading North Bay law firm Lanahan & Reilley, will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the California State University system at Commencement 2007 on Saturday in Rohnert Park.
Lanahan is the co-founder and Chairman of Lanahan & Reilley, LLP, a 25-attorney law firm headquartered in Santa Rosa that has represented hundreds of corporations including start-ups in various business transactions and litigations.
Lanahan acted as National Coordinating Counsel in nationwide litigation involving the food supplement L-Tryptophan. His negotiations resulted in over a $3 billion dollar settlement from a Japanese company to the litigants in the suits, which included major U.S. nutraceutical and over-the counter drug manufacturers.
The great majority of his work during the past 25 years has involved the trial of civil cases representing both plaintiffs and defendants, most often in complex litigations, class actions and "mass tort" litigation.
He is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), as well as numerous other professional associations. His contributions to the
community and Sonoma State University include his being a chair of the North Bay Council, the public broadcasting system station KRCB radio and television,
and the Board of Trustees of Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Presently, he serves on the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Foundation Board. He is a member of the Sonoma State University Academic Foundation, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and the university’s School of Business and Economics’ Advisory Board.
A member of the Green Music Center Advisory Board, he is currently co- chair of the Green Music Center Finale Campaign. Lanahan instructs a class, Notable
Trials, at Sonoma State University, Empire Law School and San Francisco Law School. He is the author of "Justice for All: Legendary Trials of the 20th Century" and also serves as vice president of the Board of Trustees of San Francisco Law School.
Agilent Technologies has donated half-a-million dollars worth of test and measurement equipment to Sonoma State University's engineering sciences department as part of its continued partnership with the campus.
The partnership with the university is intended to help engineering students succeed and provide the technology leadership needed for Sonoma County, California and the U.S. to compete successfully in the global economy, said Kenn Wildnauer, technology strategy manager at Agilent and a member of the Engineering Science Advisory Board.
"This donation underscores Agilent's commitment to support Sonoma State's Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science program," he said.
The equipment donation will help the University in a number of ways, according to Jagan Agrawal, chairman of the department .
"All the items will be extremely useful to us," said Agrawal. "They complement what we have in our labs and fill a lot of gaps. Agilent's donation has expanded our instructional and research capabilities significantly and will be particularly helpful in developing labs for the Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science program."
The equipment includes approximately 150 new and used items -- from oscilloscopes, signal generators, network analyzers, power meters and power sensors to synthesizers and wave meters.
This is Agilent's third major equipment donation to the University's engineering program, including $1 million in 2002 and $150,000 in 2005. The Agilent Technologies Foundation has also donated $80,000 in scholarship funds over the past two years.
Seven Agilent engineers currently serve as adjunct instructors in the department of engineering science and six engineers are mentoring recipients of Agilent scholarships.
Additionally, Agilent has provided funding for the monthly BSES lecture series on cutting-edge developments in technology and industry, which resumes in the fall of 2007.
Three special celebrations honoring the graduation of La Raza, African-American, and Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgendered students will take place on the Sonoma State University campus on Friday, May 25.
These special ceremonies are organized by students themselves to laud their college efforts and achievements. Graduates in these ceremonies also take part in the university-wide Commencement 2007 ceremony on Saturday, May 26.
LA RAZA CELEBRATION
Each year graduating Sonoma State University students with Native American, Latino or Chicano heritage gather for the annual La Raza graduation celebration.
This year's 30th annual La Raza ceremony is at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 25 in Evert B. Person Theatre. The ceremony includes cultural music, bilingual keynote speakers, and a unique opportunity for the graduates to thank the individuals who have assisted them in obtaining their degree.
A reception follows and provides personal time for graduates, family, faculty, and friends to celebrate with traditional food and music.
Many of the graduates participating in the La Raza ceremony are first generation college graduates, and this special celebration allows them to personally thank those who have gone out of their way to work with the students and help them achieve the goal of a college degree.
The event is co-sponsored by Raza/Native American Council and Chicano and Latino Studies. The bilingual ceremony is conducted in Spanish and English and is open to the public.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN CELEBRATION
The 15th annual African-American Celebration by Black Scholars United takes place at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 25 in the Cooperage. The celebration is an opportunity for the University to acknowledge the achievements of African-American students and the students to thank their families, friends, faculty and mentors. SSU president Ruben Arminana will greet the graduates and the program will feature a student speaker and guest speaker. A reception follows the celebration.
FIRST ANNUAL RAINBOW CELEBRATION
Rainbow Graduation is a time for the queer, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit, intersex, questioning, same-gender-loving people and their friends, family, and allies of Sonoma State University to come together to celebrate the accomplishments of the last year.
The ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 24 from 7-9 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Sonoma Student Union. Please RSVP to Julie Greathouse, Coordinator for Student Academic Services at julie.greathouse@sonoma.edu.
For more information on Commencement 2007, contact Susan Kashack, Commencement Coordinator, (707) 664-2122 or kashack@sonoma.edu.
A new 700-bed student housing project at Sonoma State University to be known as Tuscany Village has been approved by the California State University Board of Trustees.
The $58.8 million project is being constructed to accommodate the increasing popularity of the campus as the number of freshman applications continue to
rise each academic year. The project will be financed through the CSU Systemwide Revenue Bond program.
Currently, SSU houses 2,400 freshmen on campus and is one of the most residential campuses in the CSU system. The campus received more than 11,000 freshman applications for the 2007-08 academic year and is admitting approximately 1,700 of them. The University admitted 1,500 freshman in 2006-07. Total enrollment for that year was 8,100.
Upper-class students are increasingly making requests to move back on campus due to the attractiveness of the present student housing and its proximity to classes and student life activities.
Tuscany will be located in the southwest quadrant of the campus, adjacent to the existing Beaujolais student housing. It will consist of 114 four-bedroom units in 16 two-story townhouse style buildings, one community building, and a multi-purpose building. The 12-acre site will also include 202 new parking spaces.
Each unit will have four bathrooms, a kitchen, and living and dining areas. There will be 14 single occupancy studios in one-story units including bath, kitchen, sleeping, living and dining areas and two-bedroom units with private baths.
Each townhouse-style unit is oriented around a common central courtyard, designed to accommodate multiple outdoor activities.
The project will be designed and built to the requirements of a (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) LEED silver rating and sustainable design measures will include daylight, radiant floor heating, maximum insulation and double glazed windows, with low-emission coating.
In addition, the project will use reclaimed water for irrigation and fire water. The project architect is TWM Architects and Planners. Building contractor is Wright Contracting, Inc.
Construction will begin in May, 2008 and is expected to be open for student occupancy by July, 2009.
For further information, contact Susan Kashack, Assoc. Vice President of Communications and Marketing, (707) 664-2122.
ABOVE, architectural rendering of Tuscany Village Student Housing.
Former Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia speaks about his experiences in the current Iraq war at noon on Wednesday, May 16 in Darwin 103 at Sonoma State University. The event is free and open to the general public.
Mejia was a former Staff Sergeant of the Florida National Guard and is one of the first Iraq combat veterans to refuse to return to Iraq. Mejia served almost nine months in prison for his stand against the war.
Mejia is the author of his self-titled book "Road from ar Ramadi; The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia," which will be on sale at the event.
"Those who called me a coward, without knowing it, are right. I was a coward not for leaving the war, but for having been a part of it in the first place. Refusing and resisting this war was my moral duty, a moral duty that called me to take a principled action. I failed to fulfill my moral duty as a human being and instead I chose to fulfill my duty as a soldier," said Mejia.
The event is sponsored by Project Censored and theSonoma County Peace and Justice Center. For more information, contact Margaret Howe, (707) 360-8452.
Bryant and Diane Hichwa will present a free public lecture and slide show on Monday, May 14 at 4:10 p.m. in Darwin 103 on the Sonoma State University campus. "Rwanda and Kenya — the Great Migration and Gorillas, too" includes slides of wildlife the couple made on their African trip in the summer of 2005.
Bryant Hichwa is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Sonoma State University and a 2005 recipient of the campus teaching award; Diane Hichwa volunteers with several environmental organizations in Sonoma County. Both have been active in several local conservation organizations.
In the summer, Diane and Bryant Hichwa toured seven national parks and
reserves in East Africa. The trip started with a sobering visit to the
Genocide Memorial in Kigali, Rwanda, followed by an exhilarating hike to observe two families of mountain gorillas in the misty Virunga Mountains.
In Kenya, the route was planned to visit varying habitats of plains, mountains and rainforest in order to see everything from antelope to zebras, bee eaters to ostriches - plus the Great Migration of zebras and wildebeests crossing the Mara River as they move from the Serengeti into the Mara Triangle of Kenya.
Sonoma State University professor Lorna Catford and students from the Collaborative Autism Training and Support Program will be assisting at a historic May 17 town hall meeting from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Petaluma Community Center, 320 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma that gives the public an opportunity to provide input on public policy on autism.
Catford, director of the program, plus several key agencies supporting people with autism, urge everyone with an interest in autism support to attend.
At this meeting, families, service providers, public officials, and others concerned about autism are expected to turn out in large numbers to participate and give their input on services for children and adults with autism.
The event's organizers are expecting a large turnout from families, including Latino families, as free child care and interpreter service are provided by the Sonoma State University students and others.
With representatives from California's Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism, they will discuss recent recommendations by the Commission on three state policy areas related to autism: the early diagnosis and prompt treatment of autism; the education of students with autism; and the planning and transition of children with autism from California's school system into adulthood.
Autism presents a health crisis to the state and nation of epidemic proportions, says Catford. "It is now more prevalent than childhood cancer, diabetes, and Down Syndrome combined."
School districts in the state report an overwhelming increase in the number of students with autism in just the past four years. Especially impacted are the kindergarten and elementary level classrooms, which have seen, in some cases, a doubling of the rates in recent years.
The following agencies, in partnership with the Blue Ribbon Commission, are enthusiastic sponsors of the May 17 town hall meeting on autism: Area 4 Developmental Disabilities Board, Autism Collaborative Team (ACT), Collaborative Autism Training & Support (CATS) Program, Matrix Parents Network, Napa Valley Unified School District, North Bay Regional Center, ParentsCAN, Sonoma State University, Sonoma County Offices of Education, and Solano County SELPA.
There is no charge to attend, but please RSVP to (707) 648-4073 or ab4@scdd.ca.gov.
Petaluma High School's "The Downtown Project," coordinated by metals manufacturing teacher Dan Sunia, is this year's recipient of the Jack London Award for Educational Innovation. The award is given annually to an outstanding, innovative K-12 public school program.
In August 2003, the City of Petaluma's Redevelopment Agency came to the Petaluma City School District and requested that the Petaluma High School shop class make steel benches, bicycle and traffic bollards, and recycle/trash receptacles. The project was part of the Petaluma Streetwise Master Strategic Plan.
Petaluma High School shop instructor Dan Sunia stepped up to the challenge, and over the past four years has expanded the P.H.S. shop curriculum. Sunia began gathering a group of professionals, including an architect, structural engineer, welding professionals, design experts, iron shop owners, and a Santa Rosa Junior College instructor to develop the project.
In October 2003, the Petaluma City Schools Board of Education approved the bid proposal for street furnishings to be built by Sunia's Metals Manufacturing classes. Sunia followed strict national furnishing standards.
Once the Petaluma Community Development Commission approved the bid proposal in December 2003, Phase One of the project began. The first phase encompassed students using the AutoCAD software to build a digital prototype.
During the process film students documented their progress, and studio art students completed a chicken and egg design for various filials and bollards that were part of the designs. After several months of intense projection and prototype revision, the final product was approved and delivered to the city of Petaluma for installation and implementation in fall 2004.
After his first year of service to Petaluma High School, Sunia created a second shop class, Advanced Metals Manufacturing. Currently, The Downtown Project is in its third phase of production and has delivered eighty-five street benches, fifty-two bike and traffic bollards, and twenty-six recycle/trash receptacles.
Proceeds of the street furnishings have been reinvested into the Industrial Technology program, allowing for an additional two teaching sections of Metals and Construction Technology. Through Sunia's efforts, and hours of dedication, the Petaluma High School will receive an updated shop, which will conform to the latest industry regulations.
Sunia is currently applying for a $10,000 grant to purchase precision machine tools, and has been awarded $5,000 for a National Institute for Metalworking Skills course. Sunia will be teaching a NIMS Level 1 class.
Three other outstanding programs were also selected as finalists for this year's award:
After School Sports Program
Windsor Middle School
Windsor Unified School District
Coordinator: Loren Barker, Phil Callero
Program Goal: Opening the door for hundreds of students to get involved and reap all the benefits of participating on team sports by offering after school sports to every Windsor Middle School student.
La Escuelita
McDowell Elementary School
Petaluma City School District
Coordinator: Delia Tamayo
Program Goal: Case Grande students assist McDowell second language learners with their homework and at the same time are providing them with a positive role model.
3rd Grade Math Fair
Rincon Valley District
Rincon Valley Unified School District
Coordinator: Merritt Booster and Carol Newman
Program Goal: To provide interesting and creative ways of both developing the skills of highly able fifth and sixth graders and provide alternative ways to educate third graders in mathematics.
The Jack London Award for Educational Innovation is sponsored by the Sonoma State University School of Education, Sonoma State University Office of the President, Sonoma County Office of Education, California Faculty Association and Sonoma County Educators Council CTA/NEA.
For further information contact Mary Gendernalik-Cooper, Dean of the School of Education, (707) 664-2132.
ABOVE is Dan Sunia with Greta Viguie, superintendent of the Petaluma School District (left) and Mary Gendernalik-Cooper, Dean of the SSU School of Education.
Sonoma State University Associated Students Productions and the Student Union present Dr Henry Shreibman as he discusses the shared heritage of three of the most popular religious groups in the United States: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The lecture is part of the 'What Can I Do?' lecture series and takes place on Wednesday, May 9 at 8 p.m. in the Sonoma Student Union Multi-Purpose Room. Admission is free to the general public.
The influential and compelling lecture series continues with Rabbi Henry Shreibman as he helps to find the common ground between Islam, Judaism and Christianity, often seen as opponents in their views of God. Shreibman will take the audience back over 2500 years of religious history showing the customs and traditions that unite the three Abrahamic religions and where they have diverged.
This lecture will concentrate on historical fact, not on the contemporary interpretations and political circumstances surrounding the relationship between these groups. This lecture is open to all levels of experience and requires no intimate knowledge of religious history. Audience members should come with an open mind, and an eagerness to learn and participate.
Rabbi Shreibman received his M.A. in Hebrew letters and title of rabbi from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and his Ph.D. in comparative Semitic literature and religion from Columbia University. He earned a master of philosophy and a master of arts from Columbia, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College and Hebrew University. Shreibman is an adjunct faculty member at Dominican University and UC Davis.
For further information contact Dan Kelly, Public Relations Coordinator, Associated Student Productions, (707) 664-2015.
From fork bombs to worms to viruses called Cookie Monster, computer science students at Sonoma State University are exploring the world of "malicious software" this semester thanks to a new course.
By cautiously confining a single computer network on campus to a small mobile cart with four computers running on different operating systems, professor George Ledin is teaching students about the dark world of computer viruses.
In a course about "malware," students are learning the intricacies of how computer viruses are constructed in much the same way biology students learn about the intricacies of bacterial organisms and other life forms that cause disease.
Ledin hopes to create a new career path for CS students who can join the ranks of computer security professionals to protect from the perils of cyber attacks.
In the brightly lit CS lab in Darwin 25, one of Ledin's students, Dan Fogle, shows how a not-so-cuddly Cookie Monster works, persisting in its demands for a cookie (an imaginary digital biscuit,) and, if denied the treat, activating hidden commands that cause the machine to be crippled.
Although the concepts are not new, students, such as Fogle, have been able to write the malware themselves and lead the class to a better understanding of how some viruses can alter and destroy the machine's operating system registry.
The viruses written by the students work undetected by all antivirus software, and they crash not only all previous operating systems, such as Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, but also the newest one, Vista.
That same day another student, Lincoln Peters,demonstrates the workings of his "fork bomb," an utterly simple but extremely annoying and potentially deadly code segment that fills up the computer screen with a never ending proliferation of windows.
The goal is for students to use their knowledge of the "dark side" of programming to build future computer systems that are better equipped to guard against and even combat these malicious programs.
Learning about viruses and malware is like learning a martial art. One has to learn how to attack in order to develop an effective defense, says John Sullins, a philosophy professor who is working with Ledin on the ethics of the course.
"Ledin's class provides students with an uncommon opportunity to learn, not only how to react and defend against malicious computer programs, but also how they are used and the logic behind their construction."
"Ledin is like a sensei in a virtual dojo, he not only instructs his students in the nuts and bolts of the creation of malicious software, but he also guides their understanding of when one should, and shouldn't, use the skills they are learning in his class."
Sullins says this gives the students an increased ability to protect themselves, their friends and family, and their employers from the harm that malicious software can do.
The malware course is based on the ethical arguments presented by Ledin in his widely disseminated editorial, published in the January 2005 issue of the Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery, the worldwide society of computer scientists and computing specialists.
It is essential, Ledin argues, that computer scientists know malware as intimately as life scientists know biological viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other disease-causing micro-organisms.
"We cannot afford to wait for the computer equivalent of 9/11 to learn what the bad guys were doing. Not teaching viruses and worms is a prescription for disaster," he says.
Recent photographic portraits by Ilka Hartmann of North Bay residents who survived the Holocaust or escaped from it will be exhibited at Sonoma State
University from May 1-28 in the Gallery of the Center for Culture, Gender and Sexuality in the Sonoma Student Union.
A reception will be held on Thursday, May 3, from 4-6 p.m. in the gallery to celebrate the survivors. The video entitled "Honoring the Survivors- 18 years of the Holocaust Lecture Series at Sonoma State University" by Hartmann
and Joel Braverman will be screened. A model of the Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Grove planned by the University will be on display.
The event is co- sponsored by The Alliance for the Study of the Holocaust, the Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide and the Center for Culture, Gender and Sexuality at Sonoma State University.
Ilka Hartmann, a native of Germany, is a photographer who has concentrated on human rights since she began photographing 30 years ago. For a list of her topics and publications, visit ilkahartmann.com.
She taught Holocaust Studies at Sonoma State University for 14 years and Photography as an Art Form at the renowned Graduate School of Art (Hochschule der Kuenste ) in Berlin.
ABOVE, Ruth Arndt Gumpel in 2006 with a picture of herself and her family, taken in Berlin at the end of 1945. Photo by Ilka Hartmann 2007
