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CampusMemo

Volume 52, Number 1   July 12, 2004           

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Announcements
Next CampusMemo: Aug. 23
CampusMemo will return to its weekly publication schedule Monday, Aug. 23. The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17.

Submit items to pubnews@sfsu.edu.

Townhomes
available for rent

Housing and Residential Services is offering townhomes for rent adjacent to the campus on Vidal Drive, near Font Boulevard. The 1,5000-square-feet units feature three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, spacious living and dining rooms and semi-private patios. Units are available to faculty, staff members and their families as early as Sunday, Aug. 1. The monthly rent for the first-year lease is $1,850.

To schedule a tour of a townhome or for more information including rental applications, contact Philippe Cumia at pcumia@sfsu.edu or ext. 8-1866.

Photos and floor plans are available online at: www.sfsu.edu/~housing/vidalapts.htm.

Nonresident Alien
Taxation workshop

Internal Audit will conduct six workshops on Nonresident Alien Taxation during August and September. Sessions will be held from 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Aug. 3 and 18 and Sept. 15 in the NEC room on the fifth floor of the Administration building.

The workshop will provide an overview of Nonresident Alien Taxation issues, including what they are, why departments have to comply, risks for non-compliance, federal and state tax withholding rates, and revised procedures and forms that all departments must use when making payments to nonresident aliens.

To register, contact Irene Donner at ext.8-2763 or idonner@sfsu.edu.

Fall textbook orders
The fall semester is quickly approaching, and the Bookstore's textbook department has received only 55 percent of its orders. A reminder to faculty that orders received by the end of July have the best chance of being on the shelves in time for the start of the semester. Submit textbook orders online at: http://facultytext.sfsubookstore.com.

Can't remember if you've placed an order or want to check the status of your order? Click on the online class schedule at www.sfsu.edu/online/clssch.htm and then select the department or course of your choice. Click on the book icon. The books that have been requested for the course will be listed.

For details, contact the textbook department at ext. 8-7377 or textbook@sfsu.edu.

See a Giants game
with UWA

There are still tickets left for the the University Women's Association (UWA) outing to see the Sept. 25 San Francisco Giants game against the L.A. Dodgers. The game begins at 1:05 p.m.

Tickets cost $25 per person for UWA members and their guests and $30 per person for non-members. All tickets are in section 331. Only 30 are available. The deadline to apply for tickets is Friday, July 30, but tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

To make reservations, send a check payable to "UWA" by the July 30 deadline to Lin (Bushart) Ivory, 145 Sequoia Drive, San Anselmo, CA, 94960. Tickets and directions will be mailed to the address on your check prior to the game unless otherwise instructed.

For details, contact Ivory at linivory@comcast.net or (415) 721-7432.

Set sail with UWA
The University Women's Association (UWA) invites the campus community to sign up for its annual fund-raising cruise. This year's trip sets sail from Puerto Rico Jan. 3, 2005, for an 11-night cruise of the Caribbean including stops at 10 islands.

The UWA cruise generates money for scholarships. Fees begin at $1,539 per person, which includes round-trip air from San Francisco and all taxes and port fees. Deposits are due as soon as possible and final payment is due Sept. 30.

For a flier about the cruise, contact Lin (Bushart) Ivory at linivory@comcast.net. For details and to reserve a spot, contact Tom Fell Sr. of Fell Travel at (800) 321-3355.

SF State News home

News
New Mexico State veteran named associate VP for research
Photo of Kenneth PaapFollowing a national search, Kenneth Paap, an administrator and psychology professor with a 29-year tenure at New Mexico State University, has been named associate vice president for research and sponsored programs.

Paap was associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Arts and Sciences Research Center at New Mexico State since 2001. The center, one of several college-based research offices at the campus, garnered about $35 million in external support in the 2003-04 fiscal year out of a university-wide total of about $90 million. A resident of Las Cruces, N.M., he begins his new job Aug. 1.

Recent grants Paap has helped secure include a $3.7-million ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award from the National Science Foundation and $5 million award from the Army Research Laboratory. The ADVANCE award, funded for five years, helps enhance the status of women in the academic areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Army grant, also funded for five years, involves five universities and five private companies exploring new ways to use technology to facilitate decision making.

"Dr. Paap is an accomplished scholar, teacher, fund-raiser and administrator," said John Gemello, SFSU provost and vice president for academic affairs. "His skills, experience and character are ideal for leading the further progression of sponsored programs that support curriculum development, community service learning and research at San Francisco State."

At SFSU, Paap will be charged with facilitating, broadening and expanding faculty research activities in support of the University's mission to provide students with an outstanding educational experience.

SFSU has nearly quadrupled its research and sponsored programs revenue during the past 10 years, attracting about $50 million in outside funding in 2002-03. The University has received major research grants from such sources as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Education.

Paap said he was initially attracted to the job by its location in one of the world’s most popular, cosmopolitan cities and, later, by the University’s increased emphasis on faculty research.

"SFSU clearly has been successful recently in increasing external funding, and I hope to build on that upward trajectory," Paap said. "I plan to help faculty obtain funding in areas where it is often difficult by locating new funding sources and putting together successful proposals. I am eager to support interdisciplinary programs that can lead to major grant proposals."

Paap, 57, replaces Paul Fonteyn, who is now provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at University of Massachusetts, Boston. Bruce Macher, professor of chemistry, served in the position on an interim basis for about two years before Paap was hired.

In 1975, Paap joined New Mexico State as an assistant visiting professor and the following year was hired on a tenure track in the Psychology Department. He served as department chair from 1995 to 2001 and has been the principal investigator for the University's Computing Research Lab since 1985. A fellow of the American Psychological Association, Paap has written and presented extensively on the relationships between culture and cognition, human-computer interface design and the psychology of reading.

Paap grew up in Milwaukee and earned his bachelor's, master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from University of Wisconsin, Madison.

His wife, Marina Abalakina, is also joining SFSU this fall, as an assistant professor in the Psychology Department. They look forward to moving to San Francisco with their sons Alexander, 11, and Michael, 10.


Business dean moves on to Redlands
Photo of Jerry PlattJerry Platt, dean of the College of Business for the past three years, has been appointed dean of the School of Business at University of Redlands in Southern California. He joined SFSU in 1976 as a finance professor.

A search will be held to replace Platt. William Pertulla, professor of marketing, has been appointed acting dean.

Platt said he is excited about his new deanship, overseeing a relatively young business school at a small private institution. He also looks forward to augmenting Redlands' emphasis on use of geographic information systems, one of his longtime research interests.

"Going back to my years as a professor, I had an interest in data realization, data mining and data analysis," he said. "I can take that expertise and leverage that into something special."

As dean at SFSU, Platt set goals of encouraging faculty to take a proactive role in shaping the College of Business' future, diversifying its financial base to include more self-supported programs, and working to improve communication and participation among faculty. While he has made headway in getting faculty to plan for the college's future, he said, much of the implementation will be left up to his successor.

President Robert A. Corrigan praised Platt for his 28-year tenure at SFSU.

"Jerry Platt's leadership of the College of Business will have enduring impacts on the University, including his success in offering MBA programs to working professionals in downtown San Francisco," President Robert A. Corrigan said. "We are grateful for his innovative vision and excellence as a teacher, scholar and leader."

Platt noted that his three years as dean equal the average tenure for deans at institutions accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and that he believes he has provided his "maximum impact" on the college.

"One lesson I learned in sports is that it's better to leave early than too late,” said Platt, who played running back at Michigan State University in his undergraduate days. He went on to earn an MBA from Wayne State University, a master's degree and Ph.D. in public administration from Ohio State, and a post-doctorate master's degree in statistics from Stanford.

The timing of Platt's career move also works well for his family. His wife Cathy Platt, an information systems and business analysis professor at SFSU since 1980, earned a faculty position in Redlands' Marketing Department.

Their children are both aspiring hockey players who hit key career milestones recently. Jason, 23, graduated from Providence College and signed a contract with the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League. He will compete for a roster spot this fall. Their other son Bryce just graduated from middle school and will enter the Banff Hockey Academy in Alberta, Canada.

Reflecting on his time at SFSU -- which also included stints as associate dean of the College of Business and chair of the Finance Department -- Platt said he particularly enjoyed teaching. Platt, who grew up in Detroit, is like many SFSU students in that he was the first in his family and community to attend college.

"The reason I came here and stayed here is that many of my students remind me of myself," he said. "It's a challenge to effectively deliver education in a classroom with such variability, when students come from so many different backgrounds and have such busy lives. … When it worked, it was so rewarding."



STAR of the Month

July STAR of the Month: Paul Alires
Photo of Paul AliresPaul Alires' official job title may be senior benefits analyst, but "matchmaker" might be a more suitable designation. As the Human Resources staff person who works with faculty and staff on their retirement plans and benefits, he works to link up the plans and needs of University employees with the best options available to them. Alires is the July STAR of the Month.

Planning for retirement is not an easy thing for most people. It's not something they necessarily want to think about. And the options and requirements and regulations can be very confusing. Alires understands all this and approaches his job with patience and calm.

"It's easy to get lost in all the information," he said. "Many times people will come in and not know what they are really asking. I try to help them ask the right questions. I try to make it simple and clear so that people can make good decisions."

Alires conducts workshops, does individual counseling and processes applications. He works closely with state agencies (such as CalPERS) to make sure his information is up-to-date and correct. He also works with employees who have long-term disability issues -- situations that can be quite complex and sensitive.

"Paul's depth and breadth of knowledge of retirement and disability programs, his sense of humor and commitment to ensuring employees have the information they need to make informed decisions are the cornerstones of his reputation," said Marcia Allsopp, manager of benefits and professional development.

After graduating from University of Utah in social work and serving in Vietnam, Alires moved to San Francisco to look for work. He then applied graduate school, was accepted at University of Michigan, and took a temporary job working at the J. Paul Leonard Library to save for school. The one-year appointment turned into three years, and then Alires gained the attention of an assistant personnel director who was impressed with his sales techniques (Alires sold cleaning products during his work breaks and after hours to help supplement his income) and invited him to apply for a job in the personnel department.

More than 30 years later, Alires is still with Human Resources. And he still loves it.

"It is a great place," he said. "It's been a good career for me."

A resident of the Glen Park area of San Francisco, Alires is an avid collector of music. He is fond of classical and jazz, but his real passion is the pop music of the 1960s, the era he grew up in.

Nominate a staff STAR: www.sfsu.edu/~news/star/starform.htm

 

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CampusMemo provides news, information and on-campus events listings to the faculty and staff of SFSU.

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Last modified July 12, 2004, by the Office of Public Affairs