Latest Achievements

History major Stephanie Buck is the 2014 recipient of the $500 William R. Tanner History Scholarship. The scholarship was established in memory of William R. Tanner, professor of history at Humboldt State University from 1970 to 1999, founder of History Day and author of “A View from the Hill,” a history of Humboldt State University.

History major Sydney Hinton was selected by History Department faculty as the 2014 recipient of the Dr. John Hennessey Award, which honors a graduating history major who has demonstrated academic excellence in the study of history. The award was established in memory of Dr. John Hennessey, a professor of History and department chair at Humboldt State University who, after his retirement from the History Department, provided many years of service to the university.

History majors James Garrison and Echo Aloe were awarded first and second place, respectively, in the 2014 Charles R. Barnum History Contest, with their combined cash prizes totaling $1,750. The Barnum History Awards celebrate original historical research of Humboldt County. The awards were established in 1952 by a grant from Charles Barnum, a realtor and insurance broker in Eureka who was a member of the Humboldt State College Advisory Board from 1946 to his death in 1953.

History major Garrett Highland is the 2014 recipient of the $1,000 Johnston-Aronoff History Scholarship, which is awarded to a History major with an emphasis in the study of California and/or the western United States. The award was established by Guy Aronoff, a lecturer in the HSU History Department, and his wife, Judy Johnston, in memory of Guy’s father, David Aronoff, and Judy’s mother, Aldy Johnston.

Cheryl Bondi, former HSU Biology grad student (Advisor, Dr. Sharyn Marks, HSU Zoology) just won the Best Student Paper recently won an award for her thesis research in the 2013 volume of Copeia. The paper is titled "Differences in flow regime influence the seasonal migrations, body size, and body condition of Western Pond Turtles (Actinemys marmorata) that inhabit perennial and intermittent riverine sites in northern California." Copeia 2013:142-153.

Sam Sonntag recently signed a book contract with McGill-Queen’s University Press for a forthcoming volume entitled "State Traditions and Language Regimes" that she has co-edited with Linda Cardinal of the University of Ottawa. In addition to the co-editing, Sonntag and Cardinal co-authored the introductory chapter situating language policy studies in the discipline of political science. Sonntag also contributed a chapter entitled “State Tradition and Language Regime in the United States: Time for Change?” based on her experience serving as a member of the Group of Advisors for the U.S. Government’s National Security Education Program from 2006 to 2009.

Music professor Paul Cummings presented a clinic to the San Francisco State University Wind Ensemble April 3 on the SFSU campus. Responding to an invitation from the group's director, Dr. Martin Seggelski, Cummings gave a 90-minute clinic in which he illustrated concepts of phrasing, balance, and awareness of musical roles while he conducted Alfred Reed's composition "Second Suite for Band."

The Alliance to Save Energy's PowerSave Campus Program Wins CIWEA Employer of the Year Award. The Alliance to Save Energy initiative is recognized for its' exemplary internship program on April 4, 2014. PowerSave Campus is a student-driven energy efficiency education program that employs over 100 interns each year on 16 college campuses, including Humboldt State University. Students in the program collaborate with faculty, staff and administrators to work on campus projects ranging from energy audits and energy saving competitions to green career fairs and outreach events. In 2013 alone, the PowerSave Campus Program saved over 160,000,000 kWh's.

Michael S. Bruner, Laura K. Hahn and Nicole B. Sheldon had their essay, “The Petition Clause and Food Advocacy" published in First Amendment Studies, Vol. 8, Issue 1 (2014): 61-76. The essay explores California Proposition 37 (for labeling GM food), presents a model of "petition" and breaks new ground by expanding First Amendment studies beyond "freedom of speech."

Eric Rechhia ('14, Economics & Sustainable Development) joined several other CSU students to speakCSU Board of Trustees meeting March 26 in Long Beach, Calif.the California State University Board of Trustees will gather to discuss a proposed CSU-system-wide sustainability policy guaranteeing 20% 'real food' purchasing. Students from 10 CSU campuses have endorsed the policy and have already gathered 1,200 petition signatures in support. They plan to travel to Long Beach, CA to give testimony at the upcoming Board of Trustees meetings.

Drs. Steve Railsback (Mathematics) and Matt Johnson (Wildlife) collaborated on a paper recently accepted for publication in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." The paper presents a mathematical model on the controversial trade-off between allocating land for crop production versus conservation of biodiversity. Their model shows that, for coffee farmers, growing trees to attract birds not only benefits biodiversity, it also boosts net crop production because birds help control insect pests. The paper will be published next week.

David Ellerd and Peggy Kirkpatrick delivered a presentation on “Rural Partnerships: Special Education Teacher Preparation in Humboldt County.” This invited presentation was delivered to a special delegation of physicians and teachers from Siberia, Russia. The focus was to provide information about state and local requirements for Special Education teacher credentialing to educate children and young adults with disabilities. The event was sponsored by Humboldt County of Education (HCOE) on April 1, 2014.

Journalism professor emeritus Mark Larson’s photography exhibit, “60 and Older….Working Out” will be on display at HealthSport in Arcata throughout April. Portraits of people aged 60 and older exercising represent the first phase of a project Larson hopes to expand into an in-depth photo essay.

“As a Baby Boomer myself now at age 66, I’ve been inspired by and enjoyed interacting with many 60-and-older persons working out at HealthSPORT over the past 15 years,” Larson said. “Listening to their stories has led me to want to explore common issues and experiences related to aging.”

Larson taught a variety of classes, including photojournalism, at HSU from 1975-2013. He also served a stint as chair of the Department of Journalism & Mass Communication.

“I plan to photograph more persons at different times of the day doing different activities at a variety of venues,” he said. “I also plan to begin collecting stories from members of the “Silver Tsunami” about why they work out.”

Annie Bolick-Floss, Director for the Center for Service Learning & Academic Internships along with Dr. Eliane Ikeda, Executive Director of California Campus Compact will present a workshop on "How to Market and Support Your Programs," at the 15th Annual "Continuums of the Service" Conference April 2-4 in Honolulu, HI.

Vice President of University Advancement Craig C. Wruck will present a daylong lecture on the basics of planned giving at Harvard Law School. The April 30 lecture is sponsored by the Planned Giving Group of New England. More information is available at "http://www.pggne.org/index.php/menuprograms/planned-giving-fundamentals…":http://www.pggne.org/index.php/menuprograms/planned-giving-fundamentals….

Wruck is the 1999 recipient of the PGGNE's David M. Donaldson Distinguished Service Award.

Music Faculty Daniela Mineva recently performed solo piano recital at the University of North Texas on their concert series "Distinguished alumni from UNT." She also presented piano and contemporary music master classes and concerts at the University of Arlington, Texas and University of North Texas. As part of her Texas music tour, Dr. Mineva judged the International Concerto Piano Competition in Lewisville, TX.

Recently, she has also judged and conducted workshops at the Northern California CMEA Choral Festival in Arcata, CA.

Five HSU students have been selected to participate with students around the state in the California State University's 28th Annual Student Research Competition. The following students will represent HSU at CSU East Bay on May 2nd and 3rd.

James Bodnar, Microbiology, “Biochemical Characterization of the Folate Biosynthetic Pathway in a Rickettsial Endosymbiont of Ixodes pacificus”; faculty advisor – Jianmin Zhong, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences

Matt Brush and Shayne Holler, Environmental Science, “Salt Marsh Carbon Sequestration: a Baseline Study, City of Arcata, California”; faculty advisor – Kevin Fingerman, Assistant Professor, Environmental Science and Management

Jozlyn Jareunpoon, Kinesiology, “Acute Effects of Bikram Yoga on Ambulatory Blood Pressure”; faculty advisor, Tina Manos, Associate Professor, Kinesiology & Recreation

Holly Leopardi, Physics, “Tests of Gravity Below Fifty Microns”; faculty advisor – C.D. Hoyle, Associate Professor, Physics & Astronomy

The students will serve as exemplars of how student research is produced, supported, and promoted at HSU and compete based on their written summaries and oral presentations of their research.

David Ellerd delivered a presentation on “Rural Partnerships in Teacher Preparation: The Development of a Reading Clinic to add Consistency in Fieldwork Instructional Experiences.” This peer-reviewed presentation was delivered at the 33rd annual conference of the American Council on Rural Special Education, held in Tucson, Arizona, March 19-22, 2014. The focus of this national conference was on developing partnerships to meet individual needs across rural and urban cultural contexts.

Social Work Faculty Marissa O'Neill and Jamie Jensen will have their article "Comparison of Student Outcomes in a Campus and a Distributed Learning Class" published in the forthcoming edition of the Journal of Technology in Human Services. With the current expansion of online course offerings at HSU and elsewhere, studies like this are essential for documenting achievement of student learning outcomes in on campus and online environments.

Theatre, Film & Dance faculty member Rae Robison is the featured "Artist of the Month" in the inaugural Small Town Big Art Calendar available in retail outlets all over Humboldt. Alongside artists like Peggy Louden, Laurel Skye, and Duane Flatmo, Rae showcases her costume designs from last year's production of "Hater" directed by Michael Fields. Proceeds from the calendar sales benefit local arts organizations.

Three HSU Service Learning interns and staff provided four workshop sessions at the annual Northcoast Youth Summit, held at College of the Redwoods, March 15, 2014. The conference focused on inspiring youth and adults to become confident leaders. The HSU team provided workshops on: Having Fun and Getting it Done- meeting facilitation skills, Creative Community Leadership- leadership skill development, Let's Plan a Service Event- event planning and implementation, and Social Media- best practices in using social media. The conference was attended by over 350 teens and adults from Northern California.

The work of art professor Brandice Guerra is currently featured in “Wunderkammer,” an exhibit at the Science Museum Oklahoma. Guerra’s finely-detailed paintings of animals are displayed in curio cabinets among a collection of specimens preserved through taxidermy or other techniques.

Guerra, who teaches drawing and illustration, joined the HSU faculty in 2010. Her work has previously been featured at nearly 20 exhibits across the U.S., including a showing locally at First Street Gallery in Eureka. An online gallery of Guerra’s paintings can be found at http://www.brandiceguerra.com.

Through the efforts of Lumberjack Editor-in-Chief Diover Duario, all student newspapers published in the Cal State system are now part of a new wire service -- the California Student News Organization. In establishing this wire service, Duario created an online space where the student editors can upload stories they believe will be of interest to other Cal State students and each member of the organization is free to co-publish the articles in their respective newspapers. Members of the CSNO also hold meetings to exchange information and they hope to coordinate joint reporting projects.

Journalism freshman Madison Whaley is one of four semi-finalists in a statewide mental health journalism competition. The winners of the journalism category of The Generation Next competition will receive $4,000 and mentoring sessions with media professionals and mental health experts to complete a news segment for EICnetwork.tv, an Internet network. Generation NExt is a collaborative program established by county governments, mental health organizations and Entertainment Industries Council, Inc.

Connie Stewart, director of HSU's California Center for Rural Policy, has received a 2014 Innovations in Networking Award in Gigabit/Broadband Applications from CENIC, the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California. The annual award highlights innovations in ultra high-bandwidth networking, particularly those with the potential to revolutionize instruction and research or those that further the deployment of broadband in underserved areas.

Connie has represented numerous groups in support of high-speed broadband access in northwestern California. She has organized efforts to expand service to low income and rural unserved and underserved communities and has been successful in securing grant funding and working with county officials to build broadband connections. Her work through CCRP also includes a number of projects related to health services through access to broadband in rural areas. The CCRP was instrumental in the development of the Redwood Coast Connect project, a consortium of six member organizations the long-term goal of which was making affordable, ubiquitous broadband available to all of the rural communities in the Redwood Coast region.

The 2014 awards will be presented on Tuesday, March 11 at the CENIC annual conference, Above & Beyond, March 10-12, 2014, at Sonoma State University.

Communication Professors Dr. Laura Hahn and Dr. Michael Bruner published the lead article in Teaching Media Quarterly (Winter 2014). The article, "Film Food and Finances: Students Engaging in Food Insecurity," presents a pedagogical strategy situated at the nexus of food media and students’ personal engagement with food security, food insecurity and food landscapes in the U.S.

Psychology professor Tasha Howe was recently interviewed for a Parents Magazine article examining the milestones of being a new mom. In the article, Howe discusses common situations that new parents face such as making emergency doctors calls and documenting your baby's biggest moments. For the full article, visit http://www.parents.com/baby/new-parent/motherhood/new-mom-milestones/.

Tiffany Longcor and Kayla Trotter, senior Communication majors, helped to conduct a survey of visitors at The Morris Graves Museum of Art during ARTS ALIVE! on March 1, 2014. The research project, directed by Dr. Michael Bruner, explored the organization-community relationship and will provide potentially useful information to the Museum. This project is an example of the College's support of undergraduate research and commitment to the arts.

Banning Ramirez, Emma Hopson, and Marissa Mourer recently returned from Phoenix, Arizona where they presented a session entitled “Tech It to the Limit” at the Region II meeting of the Association for Orientation, Retention, and Transition in Higher Education (NODA). The session focused on their use of free, collaborative technologies within the HOP office in order to be more efficient, sustainable, and empowering to students.

Sing C. Chew, Professor of Sociology, was invited to give the keynote address at the Conference on Sustainability in Education: Pedagogical Themes and Practices in Asian Countries, at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, February 27-28, 2014.

He is also organizing a panel, "Global Resources, Trade and Crisis of the World System: Past and Present" for the Annual Conference of the Pacific Sociological Association in Portland Oregon, March 27-30, 2014. All of the 5 panelists worked with him, and graduated from the Sociology Department's masters program. They are now on faculty members at other universities or completing their doctorates.

Professor Paul Cummings presented an orchestra clinic along with Dr. Cyrus Ginwala of San Francisco State University at the recent 2014 California All-State Music Education Conference (CASMEC). The session, held in Fresno on Friday, February 21, was entitled "Orchestral Repertoire: Finding Music that Works for your Group." Cummings and Ginwala also worked with a chamber orchestra from Amador Valley High School during the session, using the group to demonstrate key aspects of repertoire selection.

Dr. Achilli recently published an article that introduced a novel application of pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) in seawater desalination. In the paper, PRO was evaluated in conjunction with reverse osmosis (RO), in a system called RO-PRO desalination, to reduce the energy requirement of seawater RO desalination. The minimum net specific energy consumption of the system was found to be approximately 40% lower than state-of-the-art seawater RO. Full article: "http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.01.013":http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.01.013.

Professor Howe and Dr. Howard S. Friedman from UC Riverside recently published an article in the journal Sexuality and Culture. The article is entitled, "Sex and Gender in the 1980s heavy metal scene: Groupies, musicians, and fans recall their experiences."

Music Faculty Dr. Cindy Moyer, Dr. Gilbert Cline, Dr. Daniela Mineva, Prof. Virginia Ryder and Prof. Karen Davy performed a chamber music concert on Saturday February 15, 2014 at the Morris Graves Museum of Art. The concert was part of the "HSU Music Department at Morris Graves Museum" concert series in collaboration with the Humboldt Arts Council.

Meiling Roddam ('14, M.S. Fisheries) has received a 2014 California Sea Grant State Fellowship. Roddam will work at the interface of scientific research and policy, and determine how to incorporate that science into the Delta Plan. Previously, Roddam worked for California Department of Fish and Wildlife as a Fisheries Technician in the Klamath River Basin and in the Smith River Watershed. Prior to that, Roddam was an AmeriCorps member with the Watershed Stewards Project, a special project of the California Conservation Corps. Roddam earned her undergraduate degree in marine biology at University of California, Santa Cruz, where she studied harmful algal blooms in the Monterey Bay.

Nine HSU mathematics students participated in the Consortium for Math and its Applications' (COMAP) annual international math modeling contest Feb. 10. The contest challenges teams of college students to clarify, analyze, and propose solutions to open-ended problems. The HSU students who participated were: Miriam Garai, Michael Malocha, Marika Leitner, Tyler Mobray, Andrew Harter, Molly Shea, Stephanie Corah, Eric Stuck and Paul Mullan. The students came from a variety of math backgrounds, including those who had just completed Calculus to upper division math and physics students. Contest results are available in April.

Ryan Gustafson, a recent graduate from the ERE program, received a Viterbi Graduate School PhD fellowship to pursue a PhD in Environmental Engineering with Prof. Amy Childress at the University of Southern California. He will be funded for four years to continue his research on membrane distillation that he started last year at HSU with Dr. Andrea Achilli.

Music professor Daniela Mineva was invited to perform at the Roosevelt University, Chicago, on February 1, 2014. The piano concert celebrated the legacy of the legendary American pianist and pedagogue Ursula Oppens.

Music professor Gil Cline was recently featured in "Trumpet Greats: a Biographical Dictionary," a biographical dictionary of about 2,000 famous trumpeters since 1600. Cline directs the Humboldt Bay Brass Band and teaches trumpet, horn and music history at HSU. In addition to Cline, notable names in the book included jazz musicians Louis Armstrong and Wynton Marsalis, cornet soloists Jean-Baptiste Arban and Herbert L. Clarke and baroque trumpeters Girolamo Fantini, Gottfried Reiche, and John Shore.

Dr. Howe presented two invited addresses at the International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment in San Diego. The talks, which occurred in two parts (theoretical and applied), were entitled, "Neurodevelopmental Versus Traditional Clinical Approaches to the Assessment and Treatment of Childhood Psychopathology."

Faculty member Genevieve Marchand was interviewed in French by Catherine Perrin from Medium Large on national radio station Radio-Canada on January 30. Marchand discussed her current work teaching outdoor adventure recreation, some of her experiences working in adventure therapy, survival skills and emergency rescues, as well as different risk management standards for outdoor leaders in the United States.

Music professor Paul Cummings presented a session at the annual conference of the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) in Fort Worth, Texas, on January 24, 2014. The presentation by Cummings, who conducts HSU's Humboldt Symphony and Symphonic Band, focused on recruitment and repertoire selection for college orchestras. Professor Cummings is currently serving as president of CODA's Western Division. More information on CODA and their recent conference may be found here: http://codaweb.org/

Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate, an alumni-run chocolate company based in Arcata, Calif., received a 2014 Good Food Award in the Chocolate category for its 72% Belize, Toledo chocolate bar Jan. 16 in San Francisco. Dick Taylor was founded by alums Dustin Taylor ('03) and Adam Dick ('00) and is sold all over the world. For more info, visit www.dicktaylorchocolate.com.

Communication professors Michael Bruner, Laura Hahn and student Nicole Sheldon authored "The Petition Cause and Food Advocacy." The essay will be published in the journal, "First Amendment Studies."

Philosophy professor J.W. Powell authored the Jan. 24 "Atlantic" article "The Tyranny of the College Major," looking at why colleges should require students to take more courses out of their discipline. Powell encourages higher education to re-examine and strengthen the Bachelor's Degree with General Education. For the article, click here: http://bit.ly/1hSrJec.

Economics professor Erick Eschker was featured in the Jan. 23 "Atlantic" article "How Colleges Are Preparing Students for a Country Where Pot Is Legal." Eschker is co-director of the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research, dedicated to generating high quality research relating to marijuana. For the full article: http://bit.ly/1eVtt3J.

Armeda Reitzel, Professor of Communication, has been chosen to participate in the National Communication Association's Student Learning Outcomes in Communication Project. The goals of the project are to productively support curriculum planning and improvement within the Communication discipline, and to help position Communication centrally in institutions’ general education curriculum development efforts. The project is funded by a grant that the National Communication Association received from the Lumina Foundation.

Mark Baker, faculty member in the Politics Department, had an article titled, “An Analysis of the Socio-Ecological Effects of Small-Scale Hydropower Development in Himachal Pradesh,” accepted for publication by the journal Economic and Political Weekly. Economic and Political Weekly is an interdisciplinary journal based in Mumbai that publishes analyses of current affairs and social science research. Baker’s research on the socio-ecological effects of small hydropower projects in Himachal Pradesh contributes to current debates about hydropower development in the Himalaya, which India’s Supreme Court had temporarily banned in the state of Uttarakhand due to environmental concerns.

Geography professor Sarah Jaquette Ray has been invited to give a talk on her book, The Ecological Other: Environmental Exclusion in American Culture (University of Arizona Press, 2013) at UC Berkeley on February 24. The event is sponsored by UC Berkeley's Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, the Disability Studies, Diversity and Democracy, and Diversity and Health Disparities Research Clusters, and the Department of Rhetoric.