Winston Russell Hewitt (1922- 2006) may have been the founding chair of the modern languages department at CSU Dominguez Hills, where he taught French literature from 1966 to 1982, but art was his true passion; he ultimately retired from teaching in order to devote his life to painting. After his death in 2006, executors of the Winston Russell Hewitt Foundation chose to honor his passion for art and love of CSU Dominguez Hills with the creation of the Winston Hewitt Art Scholarship. This semester, six students became the first recipients of the $200,000 scholarship, one of the largest established at the university, and on Nov. 10, they were recognized at an opening reception for ... Read More
Archive
Latinas Juntas: First Generation College Students Examine Common Experiences, Common Goals
On Nov. 5, the annual Latinas Juntas, a mentoring event for Latina students presented by the university's Career Center took place in the Ballroom of the Loker Student Union. Chicana author Reyna Grande, serving as the keynote speaker, inspired and motivated the participants to succeed at a higher level than they thought possible. Dr. Monica Rosas-Baines, a psychologist in Student Health & Psychological Services created Latinas Juntas eight years ago with Dr. Denna Sanchez, a psychologist in the Career Center. She also teaches Grande's debut novel, “Across a Hundred Mountains,” in a class titled “Las Chicanas,” which examines the cultural, social, and political issues that ... Read More
Peter Desberg: New Book Strictly for Laughs
When professor of graduate education Peter Desberg interviewed comedy writers from the golden age of television to the present for his new book, “Show Me the Funny: At the Writers' Table with Hollywood's Top Comedy Writers,” he and co-author Jeffrey Davis, a professor of screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University, had the opportunity to ask the age-old question, “What's so funny?” The answers surprised them. As a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in treating stage fright, Desberg has worked with numerous stand-up comics. He says that many of the writers he and Davis interviewed had experience as comedians and that they learned what was funny as a survival ... Read More
Gerardo Yepez: Principal of Torrance Elementary Works Toward Collaboration
Although the afternoon dismissal bell has rung at Torrance Elementary School, principal Gerardo Yepez (Class of '93, liberal studies; '96, teaching credential) isn't finished working. He can be seen at the school's entrance, greeting parents and saying goodbye to students for the day. Yepez, a Los Angeles native, taught for many years in the Lennox and San Mateo-Foster City school districts before becoming an administrator. During his eight years as principal at Torrance Elementary, the school has consistently earned high marks on real estate sites such as redfin.com and trulia.com for its high level of service to the community, a population that Yepez regards as his ... Read More
Tammy Tumbling: SCE’s Director of Philanthropy Plants Seeds For Green Education
As the new director of philanthropy and community involvement at Southern California Edison (SCE), Tammy Tumbling (Class of '90, B.S., business administration; '94, MPA) is responsible for overseeing the company's philanthropic interests and strategizing funding programs and priorities. Among these is Edison's commitment to educating a “green” workforce through its $1,000,000 Green Jobs Education Initiative, which was conceived and launched by Tumbling earlier this year. The initiative provides 10 community colleges throughout the state with funding to support training programs in areas such as green building, renewable energy, energy efficiency, water and waste management, biofuels ... Read More
Teatro Dominguez: Local Second Graders Learn From Multicultural Theatre
There are few better ways to start the day than to watch kids having fun, unless you're an actor from California State University, Dominguez Hills who gets to perform for an auditorium full of second-graders. Theatre major Eduardo Frias got to do just that recently. On Nov. 9, he and 18 fellow Teatro Dominguez members wrapped up a five-week tour performing “The Storytellers” for Carson area second-graders. In the folktale play, Frias portrayed a young boy who learns patience. “Telling folktales to children uses their experiences and what they are exposed to, so they can relate to the story,” said Frias. “Using talking animals, insects, birds… it's a way to get children's attention. ... Read More
School of Nursing Cuts Ribbon on Clinical Skills Lab
On Nov. 8, the School of Nursing (SON) at California State University, Dominguez Hills cut the ribbon on a dedicated clinical skills lab, the first such facility on the university campus in the program's 29-year history. Construction began in 2008 to convert four classroom spaces on the lower level of the Social and Behavioral Sciences building into a 4,000-square-foot skills lab. The project was made possible with $1.6 million allocated through the CSU Chancellor's Office system wide nursing facilities improvement fund. “This lab will make all the difference in the world, because it will give our students enhanced tools to practice competently and safely in the clinical area,” said ... Read More
Anthropology Students Help Present Cambodian Culture in Long Beach
For the second year, students in Susan Needham's ethnographic field methods class will assist Cambodian artisans in presenting the 2nd Cambodian Arts & Culture Exhibition in the Long Beach community of Cambodia Town, Inc. which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 20 at MacArthur Park in Long Beach. Along with discovering a new culture, the students have found connections to their own experiences through learning how seemingly obscure traditions are preserved and nurtured for the generations to come. Lillian Justice has been working with Dosokhum Roth, a former Buddhist monk, to present the art of yoan, sacred drawings that serve as protective talismans and prayers to be ... Read More
Dance Students Perform Faculty and Guest Choreography in “Dancers without Borders”
More than 60 dance students will perform a variety of dance styles in original choreography by faculty members of the California State University, Dominguez Hills Department of Theatre Arts and Dance–and two guest artists– during the “Dancers Without Borders” concert on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 19 and 20, at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre. Dance program coordinator and assistant professor of dance Doris Ressl and dance lecturer Michelle Funderburk will present two new modern works with water themes. “River Currents” by Funderburk is a fast-paced athletic dance, while Ressl's “Border Crossing” deals with the breaking down of borders in the spirit of peace and acceptance. Dance ... Read More
Gayle Elliott: Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Brings Ethnic Literature to Life
When Gayle Elliott, lecturer of interdisciplinary studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills, shows a film to her students, she doesn't just screen it, she invites one of the film's stars to speak to her class. A Martinez starred in the 1989 “Pow Wow Highway,” the story of the struggles of Native Americans living on a modern-day reservation. The Emmy-winning actor is a regular visitor to Elliott's classes when she shows “Pow Wow Highway,” and addressed students from her “Power of Myth” and Native American and Chicana/o literature classes again last month about his journey as the film's protagonist and as an actor. Elliott says that while an instructor can help students ... Read More
