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CampusMemo

Volume 51, Number 35   June 14, 2004           

CampusMemo Home    Announcements    Events    News

Announcements
CampusMemo in July
and August

The next edition of CampusMemo will be published Monday, July 12. The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Tuesday of the week preceding publication. Submit items to pubnews@sfsu.edu.

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

Faculty fellowships available
The Research Infrastructure to Minority Institutions (RIMI) initiative invites faculty members to apply for fellowships to do research on health disparities. The goal of the fellowships is to help faculty successfully seek external funding for health disparities research and evaluation projects.

Three fellowships will be awarded each year for the next four years. Program benefits include one semester [usually spring] of half-time reimbursed release from teaching and limited summer salary support; private office and computing equipment at Pacific Plaza; participation in grant-writing seminars and workshops; and more.

Applications are due Monday, August 2.

The program is funded by a grant from the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities.

For details, see: http://rimi2.sfsu.edu. Or call ext. 8-2978.

See a Giants game
with UWA

The University Women's Association (UWA) has reserved tickets for 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) 21-7432.

Cruise the Caribbean
The University Women's Association (UWA) invites the campus community to sign up for its annual fund-raising cruise. This year's cruise 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.

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.


Events
This Week
Saturday
Bosnia in words
and music

The Poetry Center invites the campus community to an evening of Bosnian music, poetry and fiction at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Unitarian Center, 1187 Franklin St. (at Geary) in San Francisco. The event features poet Semezdin Mehmedinovic' (author of the acclaimed work "Sarajevo Blues"), essayist and fiction writer Aleksandar Hemon, poet-translator Ammiel Alcalay and vocal group Charming Hostess.

Admission is $10 for the general public and $5 for students and seniors.

For details, contact the Poetry Center at ext. 8-2227 or poetry@sfsu.edu.

SF State News home

News
Commencement wrap
"Change the world" was the common theme expressed by the speakers at SFSU's 103rd Commencement held Saturday, May 29. Students were urged to leverage their skills and knowledge to make a positive difference in an international climate of struggling economies, corruption and war.

More than 20,000 people turned out to celebrate the accomplishments of the University's 7,500 graduates -- half of whom were in attendance. Included in the sea of purple-robed students was actor Delroy Lindo who earned a bachelor's degree in cinema after taking classes via correspondence under a pseudonym.

Former faculty member and keynote speaker Vartan Gregorian told the graduates: "I hope your education will help you to develop a distinct attitude about life, an attitude that persistently seeks meaning and perspective, especially in places where none seem to exist. It's an attitude that exudes adaptability in a perplexing world. It's an attitude of courage and steadfastness in a world of overwhelming human need and suffering."

For the full story, including a link to the Commencement transcript, see: www.sfsu.edu/~news/2004/spring/82.htm.

For more coverage of Commencement, see the SF State News headlines archive: www.sfsu.edu/~news/archive.htm.


New feature on SF State News: student profiles
Wish you could get to know our students better? Check out the new SF State News feature -- "A few minutes with…" -- which highlights accomplished, unique SFSU students in a Q&A format. Ruby Lopez, the reigning Miss Latina USA, and Jason Bell, a former San Quentin inmate and student advocate, have been featured so far.

Read about Ruby Lopez: www.sfsu.edu/~news/2004/spring/73.htm.
And Jason Bell:www.sfsu.edu/~news/2004/summer/89.htm.



STAR of the Month

June STAR of the Month: Michael Fong
Photo of Michael FongWhen Michael Fong, June STAR of the Month, applied for the job of Biology Department operations manager three years ago, he knew it would feel like coming back home. After all, he knew the department and campus from his time here as a student in biochemistry. What he didn't know, however, was that "home" would become such a hectic place due to the Hensill Hall renovation.

As operations manager, Fong manages the department's budget, oversees its facilities, and is in charge of all purchasing, making sure that vendors deliver the right product at the right price -- no small task for a department like Biology that has to constantly update, replace and acquire new equipment. He also is in charge of making sure that the department's moves to and from Hensill Hall go smoothly.

Although, he claims that there is "never a dull moment," he enjoys the fast pace.

"Every day is a new challenge," said Michael. "It's not repetitive. I enjoy having to face and deal with new problems."

He says his greatest challenge is to anticipate problems before they emerge. For example, every time he orders a new piece of equipment he has to anticipate how it will impact the department's limited space as well as what other pieces of equipment are needed to make it work.

"His efforts in responding to emergencies such as power outages and floods in Hensill Hall have prevented the loss of irreplaceable research samples and other materials," said John Hafernik, chair of biology. "In this regard, Michael's advanced scientific background is invaluable. He understands the needs of individual research laboratories and can step in to take action when either a PI [principal investigator] or lab technician is not available to respond to situations in a particular lab."

"His actions during the February storm [which flooded Hensill Hall] went well beyond the call of duty and prevented major losses in time and materials to faculty and staff teaching and research efforts."

After graduating from SFSU in 1992 with a bachelor of science in biochemistry, Fong worked for NASA for three years on projects related to the space station "Freedom." He then worked at the University of San Francisco as a lab coordinator.

A resident of San Francisco's Sunset District, Fong graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School. He enjoys watching and playing the "three major sports" -- baseball, basketball and football.

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

 

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

CampusMemo is published weekly during the school year by the Office of Public Affairs. This publication is available in alternative formats upon request. Contact Public Affairs at the number listed below. Submissions are welcome. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Tuesday the week preceding publication. Items may be sent via e-mail: pubnews@sfsu.edu, faxed to ext. 8-1498, or sent through campus mail to: CampusMemo, Office of Public Affairs, Lakeview Center 110. Please direct any questions to the e-mail address above, or call ext. 8-1665.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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