Academic Administration

Provost and vice president for Academic Administration Ella S. Simmons, EdD, processes through La Sierra University Church at the University’s Sept. 25 convocation. Simmons gave the homily, "LSU Under Attack."

Admissions and Recruitment

La Sierra has experienced an increase of over 5% in the number of students in attendance. Our final count is approximately 1,550 students, up from 1,470 last year.

Advising

Iris Landa, Faye Swayze and Cheryl Bauman attended the 25th annual National Academic Advising Conference held at Ottawa, Canada from October 10 to 14. Iris Landa had attended the first NACADA Conference in Burlington Vermont 25 years ago and was so happy to see the incredible changes that have happened to NACADA during those years. Cheryl Bauman was honored at the awards session when she received the Outstanding Advisor Award. It was a grand celebration. We all congratulate Cheryl on her award. Wes Habley from ACT commented that they can always count on an outstanding nomination each year from La Sierra University.

Art

New Art and Design faculty member Terrill Thomas and his wife Noelle have just given birth to a daughter, Anusha Elle Thomas on October 13. Anusha is 6 lbs 7 ounces, 20". Mom and Dad are adjusting to sleepless nights and baby Anusha adjusting to this new world with lights, sound, space and love.

Health, Exercise Science, Athletics

Walt Hamerslough, PhD, professor of HESA, made a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Western College Physical Education Society recently held in Reno, Nevada. The paper, titled "Validity of Self-palpated Pulse Rate," reported on data obtained from LSU students.

Modern Languages

Esther Saguar, assistant professor of Spanish, has been pursuing doctoral studies at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid since 1998. She has now completed the classwork and has recently selected the topic for the dissertation: the blind balladeer in the medieval ballads of Spain. This summer she attended a conference on the Oral Ballad of Spain in Gomera, Canary Islands, at which internationally-recognized "romancero" scholars attended and/or read papers. She was able to witness various popular expressions of the ancient ballads which are well-preserved on this particular Spanish island, including certain folkloric dances. She was fortunate to meet a young man in his twenties who has taken it upon himself to memorize the repertory of ancient ballads sung by the elder folk of his town. Due to its isolation, the island of Gomera has become a veritable treasure trove of Spain's oral tradition, especially since these ancient forms have been perpetuated in the popular traditions of the island. Saguar was also able to record several elderly women who sang long, complete versions of well-known ballads known only in a fragmentary form. The discovery of these transmitters of the oral "romancero" tradition will provide her with invaluable primary material for years to come.

Psychology

The book Health Psychology was published by Allyn & Bacon on September 24, authored by M. Robin Dimatteo (UCR) and Leslie R. Martin, PhD, assistant professor, LSU. It's an introductory health psychology textbook for undergraduate students. If you want more book details, visit the website: http://www.ablongman.com.

From the back cover: " This book explains the timeless wisdom uncovered by psychology and other social sciences about the meaning of health, illness, and optimal health care. It provides a conceptual integration of the most important relevant research of the whole 20th century, as well as discussing the most important recent findings--but is not a complicated research compendium. Throughout, the biopsychosocial health psychology model is explicitly contrasted and compared to the traditional biomedical model... For anyone involved in health care."

School of Business and Management

Bob Krone, PhD, Distinguished Visiting Professor, chaired a panel on "Advanced Machine Intelligence for Space Missions," at the May 2001 NASA-sponsored meeting in Denver of the Aerospace Technology Working Group (ATWG).

Since last spring, Prudence Pollard, PhD, associate professor of management, has been leading a busy life presenting papers and taking in the "wild" side of life. In April, Pollard presented two workshops in Aguas de Lindoia, Brazil, for about 400 conference and union youth leaders from around the world. The workshops were on Leadership and Conflict Management, and Team Development. Pollard's major project this past year was serving as Chair of the Graduate Education Working Group on campus, which was charged with conducting a self-study of the 15 graduate programs on our campus, and preparing a report which will be reviewed by WASC (the Western Association of Schools and Colleges) in preparation for our site visit by that team in October. Continuing her world tour, Pollard took a little R & R, traveling to the southern coastal area of South Africa, where she spent some time at a game reserve in the Krueger National Park. She describes her main activity as a "photo safari," during which she was able to see and track the big five - lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhinoceros. Finally back home again, Pollard continues her research on "Years in Management and Managerial Self-Perception" and "Faculty Satisfaction in Higher Education." The latter will be presented as a paper at the annual conference of the American Evaluation Association.

School of Education

James Scott, EdD, credentials officer, just returned from the Oct. 9-12 annual CCAC/CCTC conference in Sacramento, California. The acronyms stand for "Credential Counselors and Analysts of California/California Commission on Teacher Credentialing." There were 800 in attendance from the UC and CSU universities, private colleges and universities, and county and local school districts. 

Valerie Halliwell Smith, director of the Learning Support and Testing Center, attended the 14th Annual Inland Empire Convention for AA/Al-Anon at the San Bernardino Hilton on the weekend of October 19-21. As publicity chairperson on its convention planning committee, she also attends monthly meetings throughout the year. Al-Anon is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and assisting families and friends of alcoholics and addicts. Numerous 12-step weekly meetings are held throughout the world. Membership is based on attraction, not promotion.

The Learning Support and Testing Center provides coordination of special accommodations for students with documented special needs. During Fall Quarter, 15 students are taking formal notes for 19 different classes. Another 11 students are averaging 94 hours/week putting 18 textbooks on tape for students with visual processing problems. Reading ahead of the course syllabi reading schedules is a Herculean effort. But does it really help? Listen to these words penned in a note to the director of Developmental Education from a LSU student: "Because of the services (texts-on-tape, formal note taker, extended time on tests) provided me, I'm no longer on academic probation. My GPA is well above 2.00, and I hope to continue to improve. The Learning Support & Testing Center has given me my self-esteem back and a positive attitude toward school. I no longer feel hopeless or dumb. It's just going to take me a longer time than the average student to comprehend." Students with documented disabilities are entitled to these accommodations at all educational institutions in the United States under the protection of the American Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Research shows that these accommodations help to "level the playing field" for those with educational processing problems.

La Sierra in the news

There’s a feature article on LSU at the Association of American Colleges & Universities' website for their October online newsletter: http://www.aacu-edu.org/aacu_news/index.htm

An article about alumnus Rocky Twyman, CAS'71, appeared in the Washington Post recently. To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28541-2001Oct8.html. It’s entitled "Firm Beliefs, Infinite Optimism Drive Rockville Man’s Outreach."

Congratulations to the School of Business and Management for the fine article on LSU’s SBM that appeared in the "Education Quarterly" section of the Oct. 15 Business Press (p. A-23).

Riverside Chamber of Commerce News featured the October 1 "La Sierra University and the New Economy in Riverside" conference held in our Alumni Center. Author Joel Kotkin was keynote speaker for the event, attended by Riverside Mayor Ronald Loveridge, Riverside business leaders, and top representatives of the four Riverside colleges and universities. La Sierra professors gave presentations, chaired panels, and hosted work groups.

Carolyn Hock, Joel Kotkin, Mayor Ron Loveridge, LSU president Lawrence T. Geraty, and Carlotta Mellon, principal players in the October 1 conference presented by the City’s Higher Education Business Council.

La Sierra blood donors wanted

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2:00-7:00 pm, La Sierra University Alumni Center, 11500 Pierce Street.

Nine tables will be set up inside the Alumni Center, and KSGN Radio and the Blood Bank will have no tricks, only treats, for those who donate blood to save lives.

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by Christy Robinson