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La Belle to leave

After almost six years at SFSU, Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs Thomas La Belle has resigned to take up the post of executive director of international and area studies at the University of California, Berkeley, effective May 1.

President Robert Corrigan has named Associate Vice President for Academic Resources John Gemello to serve as interim vice president for academic affairs. He will assume that post May 1 and continue until a permanent vice president is named, which will be no later than July 1, 2003.

In announcing the changes, President Corrigan described Provost La Belle as "among the very best of the chief academic officers with whom I have worked. He has been a strong leader who helped to foster high academic programs at the University." The president cited Academic Affairs' "good progress in many areas" during La Belle's tenure, including community college partnerships, tenure-track position restoration, establishment of an office to lead our assessment efforts, reduction of the number of course "bottlenecks" for students, and meeting new remediation demands.

Gemello brings "a strong package of personal and professional strengths to the interim post," Corrigan said. "He has deep faculty roots, having joined SFSU as a lecturer in economics in 1975, moving to a tenure-track post in 1978, and achieving full professor status in 1986. He has had both departmental and University-wide leadership experience, serving as Economics Department chair from 1986-90, and in his present post (which he is the first to hold) since 1990. In a year that is likely to bring us the toughest budget issues we have faced since the early '90s, his fiscal expertise and detailed knowledge of the academic program will give us invaluable guidance. He will join the CUSP II commission immediately."

The search for a new vice president for academic affairs will begin at once, the president announced. He has named Senate Chair Pamela Vaughn to chair the search committee and will be consulting broadly on the makeup of the rest of the committee. An outside search firm will assist in "ensuring that we identify the fullest and highest-quality pool for this critical post," Corrigan said.

He expressed his confidence that "With the multiple strengths of the Academic Affairs leadership team, we can anticipate a productive year ahead, with continued progress on the many academic affairs initiatives and projects we have under way."

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Port chief to head up Foundation

Karen Clopton, chief of operations for the Port of San Francisco, will join the San Francisco State University Foundation Inc. on April 1 to take charge of its day-to-day operations on a full-time basis. She will also handle the Foundation's in-house legal needs.

At the Port of San Francisco, Clopton supervised the Port's business operations and operation divisions, including accounting, human resources and finance. She graduated cum laude from Vassar College with a bachelor's degree in political science and Hispanic studies. She holds a law degree from Antioch University and is an expert in employment law and traditional labor relations.

Clopton will be taking over duties that Larry Ware has been attending to while also working as University controller and associate vice president for fiscal affairs.

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A new www.sfsu.edu

SFSU has launched a redesigned Web site, featuring numerous improvements to help visitors find information more quickly and easily. Among the new site's highlights, all available on the home page:
• Campus News: The latest headline news and events.
• Quick Links: Popular University Web sites linked directly from the home page.
• Audience Pages: Information of interest to specific groups.
• Topics Pages: Campus resources and services, plus a description of what they do.
• Web A-Z: An alphabetical listing of SFSU departments, programs, services and facilities.
• Find it Fast: Search and directory services for finding people, programs, Web sites, e-mail addresses, phone numbers and office addresses.
• Need Help?: How to get answers to SFSU's most frequently asked questions.
• Site Map: An abbreviated listing of what's on our home page and related pages.

Since SFSU's first appearance on the World Wide Web in 1994, visits to www.sfsu.edu have swelled to the tens of thousands a day, with visitors from here on campus and around the world. The latest revision is the eighth in the Web site's history.

The Web redesign is a collaborative effort of the Office of Publications and the Division of Information Technology, in consultation with the IT Web Committee, Office of Public Affairs, and other members of the campus community.

Visitors to the Web site also lent a hand in the project by filling out a survey form that was posted on the previous site. Responses were used to help shape the site's new look.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to submit comments and criticisms of the new site by filling out a feedback form at: www.sfsu.edu/webteam/feedback.htm

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Founders' Day: Party like it's 1899

Come celebrate SFSU's 103rd birthday from noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, on the Main Lawn. Faculty, staff and students are invited to enjoy cake, Caribbean music and fun.

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Did you know ...

• In 1953, SF State begins its move to the new Lake Merced campus.
• In 1957, SF State College track star Johnny Mathis is discovered by a record producer, an event that will change the 19-year-old's life -- and pop music -- forever.

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Dean Morrison review begins

The Academic Administrative Review is under way for Keith Morrison, dean of the College of Creative Arts.

The Administrative Review Committee (ARC) is soliciting input from members of the campus community. Questionnaires will soon be distributed.

If you do not receive an administrative review questionnaire and would like to participate in the process, pick up a questionnaire from the Office of the Provost, ADM 455, e-mail Stephanie Schwartz at sschwrtz@sfsu.edu, or print a copy from the Academic Affairs Web site: www.sfsu.edu/~academic/aprq.htm You may also direct individual written responses to ARC Committee Chair Roy Conboy c/o the Office of the Provost , ADM 455.

The committee will not use any anonymous responses. However, the ARC will preserve the confidentiality of those who submit evaluations within the limits of the law.

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Márquez-Magaña receives mentor award

During a formal ceremony at the February 2002 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, biology Professor Leticia Márquez-Magaña received the esteemed organization's Mentor of the Year Award. The award honors individuals who demonstrate extraordinary leadership to increase the participation of under-represented groups in science and engineering.

Márquez-Magaña's interest in reaching out to minority students in the sciences was shaped by her undergraduate experience at Stanford, where she felt disconnected from the community of science learners. During graduate study at UC Berkeley and a subsequent postdoctoral appointment at Stanford, she helped welcome others into the sciences by establishing minority science support groups and a summer internship program for under-represented students.

Since arriving at SFSU in 1994, she has continued her efforts, mentoring a new generation of ethnically diverse scientists. She consistently garners major federal research and education grants targeting underserved students. In 2000, she graced the cover of the Society for the Advancement of Chicano and Native American Scientists "Mentoring to Change the Face of Science" conference program.

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MESA wins national award

An SFSU program aimed at increasing the number of under-represented students pursuing math and engineering degrees was one of five national programs to receive the prestigious "Innovations in American Government" award.

The California Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program, which operates at 13 CSU campuses, was nominated by California Gov. Gray Davis and beat 1,200 other public programs.

SFSU is home to two MESA programs. The MESA Schools Program supports pre-college students and the MESA Engineering Program supports college students majoring in engineering or computer science.

The award, a project of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the Ford Foundation and the Council for Excellence in Government, comes with a $100,000 grant.

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A message from Senate Chair Pamela Vaughn

Faculty -- have you voted yet on the Constitution change? It is sad to imagine that for a second time this academic year we will fail to find a quorum of faculty who are willing to vote. You, the faculty, are citizens of this University Ñ and citizenship, as we know, brings not just rights, but responsibilities.

We are preparing for our annual "voting season" on campus, so think of your vote (yes OR no) on the Constitution as a warm-up for the next big set of elections. Please VOTE!

If you did not receive a ballot, call the Senate office at ext. 8-1264 or come by and cast your ballot in ADM 551. No waiting. We need your vote. Thank you.

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This Week

Peace Corps Week

SFSU celebrates Peace Corps Week with a series of events. The first is a panel featuring returned SFSU Peace Corps volunteers at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Jack Adams Hall of the Cesar Chavez Student Center.

A reception for returned Peace Corps volunteers and other interested faculty and staff will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday in ADM 460.

For details and the full schedule of events, contact the Office of International Programs at ext. 8-1293 or peacecor@sfsu.edu

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Senate agenda

The Academic Senate will meet from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday at Seven Hills Conference Center.

Agenda items include: a report from the coordinators of the Office of Academic Honors and Scholarships; a report from Sheldon Axler and Gail Whitaker; a proposed resolution on the hiring of graduate teaching associates; a proposed resolution of first-term foreign language courses for general education; and a proposed resolution on Chancellor Charles B. Reed.

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Academic skills workshop

Faculty and staff are asked to invite students to attend an academic skills workshop titled "Getting Started Writing Papers" from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in BUS 202. Karen Wiederholt, English, will lead the workshop.

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California poets

Myung Mi Kim, Creative Writing, and Geoffrey G. O'Brien will read from their new works at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Poetry Center, HUM 512. Kim's collection "Common" and O'Brien's "The Guns and Flags Project" were recently published by the University of California Press.

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U.N. film festival

As part of SFSU's celebration of Women's History Month and International Women's Day, the United Nations Film Festival will present three films from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Wednesday in HUM 133.

The three films are: "Soldiers in the Army of God" by M. Levin, D. Pinkerson and D.Voll of the United States; "Where Women are Banned" by Tassia Kobylinska of Afghanistan; and "Who's Counting, Marilyn Waring about Sex, Lies, and Global Economics" by Terre Nash of Canada and New Zealand.

Tickets will be sold at the door and are $6 for students and $9 for the general public. A reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the College of Humanities lobby. Proceeds benefit the United Nations Association.

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Careers in education

The College of Education and the Career Center will hold an Education Career Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday in the Cesar Chavez Student Center. Teaching credential students as well as students who are graduating and interested in a teaching career are encouraged to attend. More than 40 Bay Area school districts will participate. For details and a full schedule, click on the "Events Calendar" link at: www.sfsu.edu/~career

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To send events: call EXT 8-1665 or send e-mail to pubnews@sfsu.edu

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Last modified March 4, 2002, by the Office of Public Affairs