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CSUDH News

The primary source of news and information about California State University, Dominguez Hills, its students, faculty, and staff.

Campus News

Art Alumni Plant Seeds of Creativity in Bonita Street Elementary’s Garden

August 26, 2011 By admin

When students at Bonita Street Elementary School in Carson return to classes this fall, they will not only notice new growth in the school’s vegetable garden, but also an artistic embellishment to the garden’s tool shed. A mural of butterflies and bees in a sunlit setting now adorns the shed thanks to California State University, Dominguez Hills Department of Art alumni.

Volunteers from CSU Dominguez Hills worked this summer to beautify the vegetable garden’s surroundings at Bonita Street Elementary School in Carson. L-R: Jose Pina (Class of ’09, B.A., studio art), volunteer artist; Yvette Flores (Class of ’09, teaching credential), volunteer artist; Jim Keville, assistant professor of art; Eunice Gearhart (Class of ’09, B.A., studio art), volunteer artist; Teri Ito Abbott, director, Center for Teaching Careers; and Reginald Fagan, former instructor, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Seated: Carla Harper, kindergarten teacher, Bonita Street School and commissioner of beautification, City of Carson

Teri Ito Abbott, director of the university’s Center for Teaching Careers, often sends liberal arts students to Bonita Street as volunteer teacher aides. When one of the teachers asked her if she could organize Dominguez Hills students to paint murals at the school, she approached assistant professor of art Jim Keville, who called upon former students who had formed an alumni group called Arty Essence. One of the founding members, Eunice Gearhart (Class of ’09, B.A., studio art), coordinated the garden’s mural, which began in March and was completed this summer.

Having participated as a student in a mural project for the Watts Health Center in 2008, she said it was “very exciting” to take part in the Bonita Street project at a time when she was getting her own painting career off the ground. She is looking forward to providing students at Bonita Street with of the opportunity to create their own murals on their campus

“There are some good artists in this school, I’ve seen their art, and it’s beautiful,” Gearhart says. “They can fill in the charcoal outlines and take pride in what they do. As a result of that, they’ll be able to have more interest in art and sharing.”

Jose Pina (Class of ’09, B.A., studio art) grew up in Carson and has worked for the city in parks and recreation since his days as an undergraduate at CSU Dominguez Hills. He currently remains involved in Carson’s art education and projects, and has recently established an open studio drawing class for adults at the Carson Community Center. When his former professor asked if he would help, Pina jumped at another chance to help beautify his neighborhood.

“Even though I didn’t go to school here, I drive by [Bonita Street Elementary] a lot,” he says. “It sounded like a great opportunity to give visuals to kids and improve their everyday quality of life, instead of [them] seeing big empty walls that are probably going to be vandalized.”

Yvette Flores (Class of ’09, teaching credential), is the only alum involved in the project who did not major in art. As a substitute teacher for Downey Unified School District, she sees first-hand how the lack of art in schools has impacted today’s elementary students.

“What happens because there’s no art? Some of them can’t think on their own, they always ask, ‘What am I supposed to do?,’” says Flores. “They don’t have [exposure to] that creativity like we used to. I try to incorporate some art projects in [my teaching]. And the kids get excited.”

Flores says that the ability to enjoy or create art should be made accessible to all students and not limited to just learning about famous artists or going to high-profile museums, which for some students, may be out of reach. She says that she encourages her colleagues to “get [students] involved in more art projects… Maybe bring in local artists so they can talk about what they do and how they do it.”

Abbott commends recently retired principal Eva Ybarra, who provided the artists with the paint and materials, for her cooperation and enthusiasm She says that Bonita Street Elementary has had a longstanding tradition of murals that have been created on the campus by students and community members since the 1970s. A teacher and administrator in the Los Angeles Unified School District for nearly 35 years, Abbott says that the collaboration between Bonita Street and CSU Dominguez Hills has helped to continue providing a nurturing learning environment.

“Children’s academic and social successes are positively affected when their learning environment is conducive to learning,” she says. “It’s peaceful, beautiful, calm, inviting, and has order–it’s a place where children want to be, [and] feel safe and comfortable to learn.”

Fall Convocation Recounts Year of Successes Despite Fiscal Obstacles

August 26, 2011 By admin

While opening her fifth year as president of California State University, Dominguez Hills on Aug. 22 at the Fall Convocation, Dr. Mildred García commended faculty and staff on overcoming challenges to the state budget with success in enrollment, retention, and graduation of students. In addition, she recalled the 18-month celebration of the university’s 50th Anniversary and presented new directives and opportunities that support building community, enrollment management, and fiscal stability.

President Mildred García celebrated the past academic year’s points of pride and looked forward to the 2011-12 academic year with great hope despite a diminished state budget.

“It is so rewarding to look back and see how much we accomplished last year and to recognize the success of our students, faculty, and staff,” García told the assembled campus community following a video of the year’s highlights and events. “You have my thanks on behalf of our students and everyone we have touched for the important role you play to make it all happen. In spite of all that has occurred in our state and nation, we have been able to weather yet another storm and have a multitude of successes on our campus. Thus, our points of pride continue to be extremely strong as we move forward into this new academic year.”

García shared data gleaned from marketing research that revealed a positive image and reputation off-campus and the need for more positive internal marketing. She cited new programs such as the newly established Staff Awards of Excellence, whose inaugural ceremony will take place in September at the annual Staff Service Awards. She also encouraged faculty and staff to submit or update entries to the University Library’s Campuswide Directory of Awards, Scholarly Work, Creative Activities, and Civic Engagement and to participate in University Advancement’s “I Have Dreams” banner campaign, whose proceeds after expenses go toward the university’s general scholarship fund. In addition, she announced key events of the fall semester, including Univision’s signature education event, “Feria Es El Momento, Edúcate,” which will be hosted at CSU Dominguez Hills for the third year in a row on Oct. 22. Last year, the Spanish-language event brought 27,000 visitors to campus.

“We are seen as an institution that values academic excellence, and that everyone that works here – faculty, staff, and administrators – are committed to the students we serve,” said García. “They see that everyone that works at Dominguez Hills is an educator, regardless of where [they] work.”

García covered the areas of admitting, retaining, and graduating students as top priorities within enrollment management and highlighted several notable increases in the university’s data, including a one percent increase in the retention of first-time, full-time freshmen. She gave special recognition to success in remedial math programs, noting that in fall 2010, 83 percent of students needing developmental math completed that requirement, as opposed to 59 percent in fall 2007, thanking Verizon, the Gilbert Foundation, and Citibank for their support of $300,000 over the last three years to the Summer Bridge Program.

Additional successes include an increase of 600 more students who graduated with their bachelor’s degree and 92 more students who achieved a master’s degree in the last academic year. García also announced that current enrollment as of Aug. 19 is 12,861, which accounts for 9,492 FTEs.

García said that the preparedness of first-time freshmen has also increased, with an average GPA of 3.06; the average GPA for transfer students is 2.8. The number of special admits has also decreased, with this fall’s number of 133, a sharp contrast to the 600 provisional admissions in 2008. The university’s remediation has been reduced by 18 percent this fall over the last two academic years, with only 748 first-time freshmen needing developmental work. In addition, community college partnerships with institutions throughout the South Bay, Long Beach, and the Los Angeles region have yielded 100 more transfers over the 1,000 goal for this fall.

“As I enter my fifth year as president, I do remember how individuals would tell me it was impossible for us to meet our enrollment targets,” said García. “And yet, we have been reaching and exceeding our targets since academic year 2008-09. We have proven our naysayers completely wrong ….We are educating a diverse student body for success and leadership in our communities, thus moving up to our definition of becoming that model urban university.”

Finally, García addressed the issue of fiscal stability for CSU Dominguez Hills by commending the campus community for its commitment to finding alternative funding in the face of state shortfalls.

“The public is not supporting higher education, the solution of our nation,” García noted. “If this continues, not only will be not be able to reach President Obama’s goal of doubling [college] graduates by 2020, we will not be educating the students of our communities. Yet, because we do work collaboratively and civilly, we meet and exceed enrollment targets. We retain students. We’ve raised funds through grants and contracts. We’ve truly been weathering what seems to be an everlasting storm. Today, we are still standing and providing the academic excellence our students need.”

García recalled the $2.8 million structural deficit that existed upon her arrival at CSU Dominguez Hills in 2007. She commended the efforts of administration in cutting $9,832,165 from the operating budget and the work of faculty and staff in bringing in grants and contracts, totaling $15,136,748 in the last year, with an increase of about three percent over last year. She also noted that the current state-based budget is 16.4 percent below the budget for the 2008-09 academic year – nearly the size of the 2001 budget, while serving more students.

“Everyone here has contributed and thankfully, we are lowering the structural deficit,” said García. “However, we are not out of the woods this year yet. If state revenue forecasts are not met, the CSU could face another $100,000,000 mid-year reduction, resulting in an additional $2.6 million [cut] for Dominguez Hills.”

García presented the university’s immediate goals as outlined in the Strategic Plan, including access to diverse instruction modalities to increase student access, flexibility, graduation, and learning for success; a rich environment of student learning and success through collaborative co-curricular programs; development and enhancement of an infrastructure to support campuswide fundraising and grant efforts; establishing a culture of customer service; and hiring and retaining a diverse faculty in disciplines that support the priorities of the strategic plan.

García announced two opportunities that will facilitate the need for faculty in key areas with the news that CSU Dominguez Hills is in a position to recruit ten new faculty members as well as the announcement of a major gift from the Annenberg Foundation of a $1 million endowed professorship for a STEM  (science, technology, engineering and math) faculty member. Recruitment for these positions will begin in the coming academic year.

“The research is clear that for our country to continue to be sustainable and prominent, we need more students in STEM,” said García. “And with the changing demographics, it must include more underrepresented students.”

García recapped the achievements of the last three years as well as the first half of the 2011-12 academic year and said that, “In the middle of this continuous economic crisis, we are seeing so much light.”

“We have a strong faculty and staff, our enrollment is solid, we are working diligently on student learning, retention and graduation,” she said. “We have received funding for our first endowed professorship, we will be recruiting new faculty, we have become true partners in the South Bay community, and we are excited and hopeful for the future or our university.”

For highlights of the 2010-11 academic year, click here.

“Wrapped in Pride” Exhibition of African Kente Cloth to Show in University Art Gallery Sept. 7-Oct. 18

August 26, 2011 By admin

The brightly colored, geometrically patterned cloth called kente–made by the Asante (uh SAHN tee) people of Ghana and the Ewe (AY vay) people of Ghana and Togo–is the best known of all African textiles. In African American communities across the nation, kente is much more than mere cloth: it is a symbol of African pride and a powerful cultural icon.

A man's cloth of the Asante peoples, Ghana, c. 1960. Photo: E. G. Schempf
A man’s cloth of the Asante peoples, Ghana, c. 1960. Photo: E. G. Schempf

“Wrapped in Pride: Ghanaian Kente and African American Identity,” an exhibition at the California State University, Dominguez Hills University Art Gallery from September 7 to October 18, explores the art of making kente, its symbolism in the cultures of Africa, and its expression of identity in African American communities. Also on display in the University Library will be two concurrent and related exhibitions, “African American Quilters of Los Angeles: A Tradition of Pride” and “African Identities in Textiles and Art.”

 

A woman's cloth of the Ewe peoples, Ghana, c. 1940. Photo: E. G. Schempf
A woman’s cloth of the Ewe peoples, Ghana, c. 1940. Photo: E. G. Schempf

The “Wrapped in Pride” exhibit has being made possible through NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is brought to you by Mid-America Arts Alliance. This version of “Wrapped in Pride: Ghanaian Kente and African American Identity” was developed by the University of California, Los Angeles Fowler Museum of Cultural History based on an earlier exhibition co-organized with the Newark Museum in Newark, New Jersey.

Kente has its origins in the former Gold Coast of West Africa as festive dress for special occasions. It was traditionally worn by men as a kind of toga and by women as upper and lower wraps. Over the past 40 years, as kente’s popularity blossomed, the cloth has been used in hats, ties, bags, shoes, jewelry, and many other accessories worn on both sides of the Atlantic.

This 1976 photograph is of the Asante Paramount Chief of Ejisu, Nana Diko Pim III wearing a rare Asasia Oyokoman Adweneasa cloth from Ejisu, Ghana; courtesy Doran H. Ross
This 1976 photograph is of the Asante Paramount Chief of Ejisu, Nana Diko Pim III wearing a rare Asasia Oyokoman Adweneasa cloth from Ejisu, Ghana; courtesy Doran H. Ross

Visitors to “Wrapped in Pride” will begin by exploring kente weaving traditions and seeing extraordinary examples of historic and contemporary kente–including some specifically set out for visitors to touch–and numerous objects incorporating its patterns. The exhibition also considers how kente of the Asante and Ewe cultures came to be used throughout Africa as garments and ceremonial cloth.

Photographs and videos depicting the use of kente in contexts ranging from religious to commercial tell how this traditional art form was transmitted across the ocean, and how it changed as it was embraced around the world as an expression of African cultural identity and pride, worn by the likes of W.E.B. DuBois, Muhammad Ali, Spike Lee, and Nelson Mandela, among others. A final section looks at the prominence of kente during the months of December, January and February, when the confluence of Christmas, Kwanzaa, Martin Luther Kind Jr. Day, and African American History Month prompts its wearing and/or display in a variety of forms, and in church and/or graduation, when it symbolizes heritage, faith, and accomplishment.

The “African American Quilters of Los Angeles: A Tradition of Pride” exhibition in the University Library was organized by quilt curator and African American Quilters of Los Angeles (AAQLA) vice president Estelle Hamilton in conjunction with the University Art Gallery, and will feature 30 brilliantly colored and unique quilts by local quilters relating in theme and design to the kente cloth textiles. AAQLA is celebrating 25 years in 2011. Its members have exhibited their quilts at the City of Carson Civic Center, the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, and California Polytechnic State University, Pomona.

The quilters whose works will be represented are Ree Adams, Anne Bastiste, Olga Chachere, Linda Country, Linda Gardner, Ernestine Hadley, Estelle Hamilton, Lou Holland Jones, Debra Knox, Sharon Mathews, Judith Nash, Emma Quinn, Elvis Smith, Toni Terrell-Randolph, and Audrey Williams.

The exhibition, “African Identities in Textiles and Art,” also in the Library, will showcase objects and textiles collected by the Gamon family during the 1960s and 1970s in West Africa. The exhibit includes an impressive array of textiles, tools, masks and sculptures. Among the objects in the exhibit are Dan masks, Bamana mud cloth, unadorned country cloth, and Dogon statuary. African games, musical instruments, and tools from the collection will offer viewers insight into everyday objects in West Africa.

In conjunction with the three exhibitions there will be a series of special programs in the University Art Gallery:

Wednesday, Sept., 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m.– Opening Celebration with African Dance and Music, featuring the Kente Cloth Ceremony at 6 p.m. led by Peter Abilogu, professor of dance at El Camino College.

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 6 p.m. – African Textiles: The Art of Cultural Identities, a conversation with Dr. Kirstin Ellsworth and Dr. Patricia Gamon, adjunct professors of art history at CSU Dominguez Hills.

Tuesday, Oct. 4, 6 p.m. – African Weaving and African Art History, film and discussion led by Dr. Kirstin Ellsworth, adjunct professor of art history, CSU Dominguez Hills

Tuesday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m. – Kente Cloth in Context and Continuity of the African Diaspora, a discussion with Dr. Munashe Furusa, associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and professor of African studies, and Dr. Salim Faraji, professor of Africana studies, CSU Dominguez Hills.

Open on Monday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the University Art Gallery is located in Room A-107 on the first floor of LaCorte Hall on the campus of CSU Dominguez Hills.

University Library hours are Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission to all gallery and library events is free. Parking in campus lots costs $4 with passes available for purchase at kiosks located in each lot.

CSU Dominguez Hills is located at 1000 E. Victoria St, Carson, near the junction of the 110, 91 and 405 freeways.

For more information on the exhibitions, contact University Art Gallery director Kathy Zimmerer at kzimmerer@csudh.edu or visit http://cah.csudh.edu/art_gallery.

$1 Million Gift from Annenberg Foundation Will Fund First Endowed Professorship

August 22, 2011 By admin

Annenberg Foundation logo

California State University, Dominguez Hills President Mildred García announced today a $1 million gift from the Annenberg Foundation to establish the university’s first endowed professorship.

The Wallis Annenberg Endowed Professorship for Innovation in STEM Education position will lead the university’s many programs focused on growing the number of teachers in the fields, and oversee the creation of the Center for Innovation in STEM Education (CISE), which will serve as an incubator for new STEM initiatives in the region.

“One of the goals in our Strategic Plan 2010-2015 is to help more under-represented students acquire the skills and knowledge in the highly in-demand areas of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM),” García said. “This gift from the Annenberg Foundation greatly enhances CSU Dominguez Hills’s ability to meet that goal.”

 

STEM learning is viewed by many in government and business as essential if the U.S. is to lead in the 21st century global economy. Yet studies show that U.S. students–most notably under-represented students–lag well behind other nations in science and math. A lack of highly qualified STEM teachers nationwide is considered part of the problem. In California alone, openings for math and science teachers are far greater than the pool of qualified candidates, leaving teachers with limited STEM knowledge to teach in those classes, often in urban schools where achievement is the lowest.

 

CSU Dominguez Hills is already playing a significant role in addressing this shortage in California–and given its status as one of the most diverse universities in the West, is also impacting the number of under-represented students going into math and science. Since 2003, the university has prepared over 800 individuals for a secondary teaching credential in math and science, more than any other campus in the CSU system, which is the state’s largest producer of math and science teachers.

Through the synergy of a number of STEM-focused teacher preparatory grants awarded to the university over the past decade, the university has been able to create a STEM education pathway that gives recipients strong foundations in math and science and pedagogy, and exposure in the classroom early on. As students move through the program, they serve as mentors for the newer candidates, and once fully credentialed and teaching for three years, they have the opportunity to return as part of a Master Teacher Fellowship. The grants partner directly with K-12 school districts throughout Los Angeles to place graduates in high-need urban schools.

The new Wallis Annenberg Endowed Professorship position would work to integrate the best practices of these grant programs into the entire STEM teacher education curriculum on campus and expand on the number of highly qualified and diverse STEM teachers coming out of CSU Dominguez Hills. Additionally, this endowed professorship would lead the Center for Innovation in STEM Education and develop continuing education programs, workshops, and conferences that bring together national and regional educators in STEM, further establishing the university as a regional leader and resource for innovation in STEM education.

“We are excited to support this important initiative and the vision of President García in positioning CSU Dominguez Hills as a regional leader in STEM education,” said Leonard Aube, executive director for the Annenberg Foundation. “We look forward to working together in the years ahead to support and grow the next generation of STEM leaders.”

CSU Dominguez Hills President Opens 2011-12 Academic Year with Convocation

August 17, 2011 By admin

CSUDH President Mildred Garcia
CSUDH President Mildred Garcia

California State University, Dominguez Hills President Mildred García opens the 2011-2012 academic year – her fifth as president – on Monday, August 22, with the annual Fall Convocation, a tradition among universities in which the president welcomes faculty back to campus and highlights the previous year’s accomplishments and plans for the coming year. Classes start at CSU Dominguez Hills on August 27.

The event will take place from 9 to 10:30 a.m. in the University Theatre and will be broadcast live on the university’s distance learning web site, http://dhtv.csudh.edu.

Then at 3 p.m. during the Fall Convocation reception in the Loker Student Union ballroom, Carson-based Russian-American painter Alexey Steele will unveil the fourth and final painting commemorating CSU Dominguez Hills’s 50th anniversary, which concluded this past May. The painting is part of Steele’s ongoing “My Neighbors Series.” Signed poster will be sold.

“Learners of Dominguez: Howard, Jenika, Auburn, Chris, Ronald” features the likenesses of five CSU Dominguez Hills students, from its oldest at 80, Howard Christiansen, to its youngest at 17, Auburn Hightower, and Jenika Miller, Chris Barnette and Ronald Farol.

Alexey Steele
Alexey Steele

Steele painted the 15-inch by 60-inch “Learners” in a series of intense live sessions with the students, whose emotional openness and engagement made them, in his words, “his co-authors.” None of the painting was touched up after the sittings, resulting in what Steele says is a “live painting from first stroke to last.” Through the realism of such collective participation, Steele said he wanted the painting to capture the soul of the students, and as a result, the university.

“It’s about the character and about real people. It’s about the person and truthfulness of representation. It’s about that internal uniqueness that each person carries and about the expressiveness it conveys,” Steele said. “It gives that personal look at Dominguez Hills today that I hope will inspire the viewer many years from now.”

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