Volume 54, Number 22   February 19, 2007         

CSU strategic plan: last week to respond on iLearn
The CSU Board of Trustees is developing a new long-range strategic plan called Access to Excellence. More information can be found at: www.calstate.edu/acadaff/system_strategic_planning/

As a first step in developing the strategic plan, the Access to Excellence Task Force has requested information about long-range plans and priorities from all CSU campuses. The Academic Senate's Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC) is formulating the SF State response and seeks input from the campus through three channels.

1. FAC has posted preliminary proposals on an iLearn site open to all members of the campus. The site includes a forum for entering comments. To view the iLearn site, go to http://iLearn.sfsu.edu and enter your SF State ID and PAC. The Access to Excellence materials are on the iLearn front page. Please respond by Monday, Feb. 26, so FAC can incorporate a broad spectrum of campus opinions into the report.

2. To help clarify campus priorities, the Academic Senate will hold a town hall meeting from 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, in Seven Hills Conference Center. Representatives from the Board of Trustees and CSU Chancellor's Office will attend as will members of the community and political and community leaders. The discussion will allow all present to have direct input to the trustees on long-range planning. A reception follows the discussion.

3. Faculty, staff and students may also e-mail Jim Kohn, chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee, with comments about Access to Excellence: jimkohn@sfsu.edu

The Academic Policies Committee invites faculty and staff to complete a brief survey to help the committee understand if there is widespread support for an academic calendar policy and employee preferences on the start date of the fall semester and placement of spring break.

Survey results will be used to develop a proposal for consideration by the Senate. The survey runs until Friday, Feb. 23, and can be found by clicking on the Academic Calendar Survey link at: www.sfsu.edu/~senate

For details, call the Academic Senate office at ext. 8-1264.

All tenure-track and tenured faculty can apply in spring 2007 for either fall 2007 or spring 2008 awards or for summer stipends to be awarded in July 2007 or June 2008. Probationary faculty are particularly encouraged to submit a proposal.

Application forms, ranking sheets and detailed directions can be downloaded from the Faculty Affairs Web site: www.sfsu.edu/~acaffrs

In addition, the Center for Teaching and Faculty Development is offering one more workshop for faculty to review guidelines and application procedures for the awards. The workshop will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, in room 587 of the Humanities building. Drop-in consultation hours will also be available in room 435 of the Library from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27; from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28; and from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 1. Faculty are welcome for individual or small-group consultations.

The first event of the festival is the screening of a 90-minute compilation from Ken Burns' new documentary, "The War," at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 1, at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., San Francisco. The screening will be followed by Thomas Sanchez in conversation with Ken Burns. The event is presented in partnership with KQED. Tickets are $15 for the general public and $12 for students and KQED members.

Tickets are available only in advance and can be purchased at: www.cityboxoffice.com

The festival also includes several free screenings of documentary films. A full schedule is available at: www.docfilm.sfsu.edu/

Casarez-Levison joined SF State in 1993 as a lecturer in the Secondary Education Department. In 2004, she became a tenure-track faculty member. She taught courses in Advanced Seminar in Curriculum and Social Issues, Adolescent Development, Urban Education, Reading in Secondary Schools, Educational Research, and Cultural Diversity.

"She will be fondly remembered for her total commitment to her students' education. She spent her career working on behalf of people both on this campus and in the community who needed assistance," said Jacob Perea, dean of education.

Casarez-Levison also served as the president and senior research associate of Casarez and Associates, an educational psychological consulting firm.

Casarez-Levison earned a doctorate from Stanford University, a master's degree from Claremont Graduate University and a bachelor's degree from Pitzer College. Before joining SF State, Casarez-Levison taught at several universities, including Stanford University, Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, San Diego State University and San Jose State University, and in several California K-12 school districts. She was fluent in Spanish and French.

Casarez-Levison is survived by her parents, three sisters and one brother.

Robert "Bud" Shearer has been a firefighter, a military helicopter door gunner and an SF State student during the tumultuous '60s. As SF State's director of environmental health and occupational safety since 1994, he continues to utilize a lifetime of experience to plan and implement safety standards, and respond to the unexpected.

In addition to serving on the campus-wide emergency operations team and the CSU-wide preparedness and disaster response, safety and security committees, Shearer consults on safety and disaster preparedness internationally, largely in Asia.

Read more about Shearer:

Pre-Doctoral Program
Faculty and staff who know students who hope to earn a doctoral degree are asked to let them know about the California Pre-Doctoral Program. Applications for the program are available at: www.calstate.edu/predoc

The California Pre-Doctoral Program supports the doctoral aspirations of CSU students, particularly those who have had educational and economic disadvantages and aims to increase the diversity of the pool from which the CSU draws its faculty.

Applicants selected as Pre-Doctoral Scholars receive monetary and mentoring support to engage in activities that will help them prepare for enrollment in a doctoral program. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 27. Completed applications should be turned in to room 573 of the Humanities building.

For details, contact Beverly Voloshin at: voloshin@sfsu.edu

R.S.V.P. this week: Civic engagement workshop
Faculty are invited to a workshop on civic engagement from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, at Suite 750, Pacific Plaza, 2001 Junipero Serra Blvd., Daly City. Rick Battistoni, professor of political science at Providence College and the author of numerous articles and books on community service learning, will speak.

Registration is $15 and must be completed by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23. To register, complete the form at: www.sfsu.edu/~icce/events/civic

Fundraising 101
The Office of University Development invites faculty to a workshop on principles of raising major gifts from individuals from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, or 2:30 to 4 p.m. Thursday, March 15, in room 587 of the Humanities building.

The workshop will also cover how to work with Development staff, identify potential donors, obtain approval for prospects and more.

R.S.V.P. to: mmcginty@sfsu.edu

1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132 415/338-1111
Last modified April 29, 2007, by the Office of Public Affairs & Publications