Latest Achievements

Lonny Grafman co-facilitated an un-conference experience on "infusing innovation and entrepreneurship into engineering education" at the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Open 2012 Conference in San Francisco, Calif., on March 22, 2012.

Campus photographer Kellie Jo Brown received a first-place award from the CSU Chancellor's Office for her submission in the Center for Community Engagement photo contest. Brown was honored for her action shot of business students volunteering at the Raven Project during HSU's annual Day of Caring.

Ninamarie Jeffrey, a junior political science major, has been selected for the prestigious Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals. The program, funded jointly by the U.S. Department of State and the German legislature (the Bundestag), provides full funding for a one year cultural exchange with the opportunity to work, study, and live in Germany. The CBYX fellowship program recruits 75 young adults from across the United States in business, engineering, technical, agricultural, and other fields. Ninamarie will spend six months at a German university, and will then be placed in a five month paid internship appropriate to her interests and field of study.

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) will present its Sport and Exercise Psychology Dissertation Award to Humboldt State University Lecturer Sheila Kelly.

A national honor, the Sport and Exercise Psychology Dissertation Award is given in recognition of student research that has the greatest potential for making a significant contribution to the knowledge base in sport psychology. It is presented for the outstanding doctoral dissertation completed during the previous year.

The Office of Development & Alumni Relations has been awarded a Silver award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in District VII (CASE VII).

The award recognizes the Humboldt Alumni Discovery Project, in which current students reach out to HSU alumni to talk about campus memories, life after college and what an HSU education means to them. In its first year, seven students with the Discovery Project conducted more than 350 interviews with alumni across California.

The CASE VII awards recognize excellence in alumni relations, fundraising, public/government relations, advancement services, specials events and communications within the district, annually.

Psychology Academic Research M.A. student Michael Le received the Western Psychological Association’s Maslach-Zimbardo Research Award in Social Psychology. Le’s research focuses on how a prominent theory relevant to prejudice (Integrated Threat Theory) differentially predicts evaluations of African Americans by White and Hispanic/Latino students. The award, which is funded by an endowment created by Dr. Christina Maslach (Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley) and Dr. Philip Zimbardo (Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Stanford), goes to the top student submission in Social Psychology. Le will receive his award this April at the annual Western Psychological Association conference.

James Floss directed The Language Archive for Redwood Curtain Theatre in Eureka, Calif. The show, which runs through Saturday, Mar. 10, has been a critical and financial success.

Heriberto Herrera, a first year graduate student in School Psychology (Psychology), received the Pearson Minority Scholarship from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). One of five named scholarships to be awarded to minority students nationally, Herrera was the only first year graduate student to receive an award this year, and one of a very few non-doctoral students to ever receive this award. He is the first HSU student to receive this award in the 24 years the scholarship has been in existence. Herrera received a $5,000 scholarship and reimbursement for his trip to Philadelphia to receive his award.

Steve Smith, dean of the College of Natural Resources and Sciences, has announced the appointment of Dr. Frederick (Rick) Zechman to be the college’s associate dean, effective July 1. Currently the interim associate dean at the College of Science and Mathematics at CSU Fresno, Zechman is a professor of biology. He earned his Ph.D. in botany at Louisiana State University and his M.S. at the University of New Hampshire. His primary areas of research are molecular phylogenetics, biogeography ecology and biodiversity of marine and freshwater organisms. Zechman will succeed professor of mathematics Dale Oliver, who will continue as interim associate dean until July 1.

Sociology instructor Daniel Davis had his Social Research Methods syllabus and instructors guide published in the American Sociological Association's (ASA) peer reviewed teaching resources library TRAILS (Teaching Resources And Innovations Library for Sociology). It is currently posted as a feature resource on their homepage: "trails.asanet.org":http://trails.asanet.org

Sara K. Henry, Director of Special Projects for the Vice President of Student Affairs Office, recently published an article in About Campus entitled "On Social Connection in University Life." The full article in PDF can be accessed through the "HSU Library":http://library.humboldt.edu.

Brandy Hurtado from the Department of Anthropology was awarded the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Fellowship. She will be working under the supervision of Jamie Roscoe, CRF Director, during the spring semester.

Adam Forbis, Robert Gustas, and Kyle Ports from the Department of Anthropology were individually awarded the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Fellowship. They will be working under the supervision of Professor Marisol Cortes-Rincon during the spring semester.

The David Westphall Veterans Foundation Board, Angel Fire, N.M., has named Kim Hall, director of Humboldt State’s Veterans Enrollment and Transition Services, the first recipient of its Spirit of Angel Fire Award for exemplary support of U.S. veterans. Hall will be recognized at an awards and benefit dinner March 10 in Albuquerque. The foundation takes its name from Marine platoon leader David Westphall, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Division, who was killed in action in a battle near Con Thien, South Vietnam, in May, 1968.

The Santa Clara Review, a biannual publication of poetry, writing, art, and music through Santa Clara University, will be featuring Humboldt State student Alison Morse in the 2012 February issue. Morse's piece "Strawberry Seed Holder" will be featured in the visual arts section. Additionally, Alison Morse’s copper “Strawberry Seed Holder” has been selected for inclusion in the Cu|29: Contemporary Work in Copper exhibition at Mesa Contemporary Arts, Apr. 6 through Aug. 12, 2012. This exhibition is being held in conjunction with the Society of North American Goldsmiths annual conference. She is currently a senior in the art department, with a focus in jewelry and small metals.

On Jan. 26, 2012, Professor Wood presented a worldwide American Chemical Society WebinarTM to 500 participants titled: Chemistry Stinks! And How Nature Uses These Noxious Chemicals. The webinar consisted of a 20 minute presentation of his research on skunks, giraffes, garter snakes, wolverines and weasels followed by 30 minutes of questions and answers from the audience. The program was moderated by Professor Darren Griffin, University of Kent, UK. In the future, this ACS Webinar will be available for viewing at http://acswebinars.org/.

For the second year in a row, Humboldt State’s Veterans Enrollment Services and Transition Office is listed in the Guide to America’s Top Military-Friendly Colleges and Universities by Military Advanced Education, the monthly magazine of career advice and educational opportunities for service people. The 2012 Guide recognizes HSU for policies and practices that meet the magazine’s new, more demanding criteria for inclusion. The V.E.T.S. office is located in Lower Library Room 58 and online at "humboldt.edu/veterans/community":http://www.humboldt.edu/veterans/community.html; the phone number is 707/826-6272.

The Center for Afghan Studies at the University of Nebraska has selected the textbook Investigative Reporting: From premise to publication, authored by Assoc. Prof. Marcy Burstiner, for translation into two Afghani languages as part of a program to teach modern journalism principles and practices at the University of Kabul and prepare Afghani students for media careers.

The book will be translated into Pashto and Dari as part of a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Embassy. Investigative Reporting: From premise to publication was published in 2009 by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers. For more information: "hh-pub.com":http://www.hh-pub.com/.

Students Ginger Fletcher-Santillan and Ana Kolpin recently received a mention on MAKE Magazine’s blog (http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2012/01/solar-heater-from-can-lids-and…) for their "parabolic solar cooker":http://www.appropedia.org/Parabolic_basket_and_tin_can_solar_cooker. The frame for the solar cooker was made by weaving together invasive blackberry canes. Recycled tin can lids provided the reflective surface. “I like to see the clever thinking that can result from radical design constraints,” says Sean Michael Ragan, the MAKE contributor in his "review of the project":http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2012/01/solar-heater-from-can-lids-and…. A clearinghouse for do-it-yourself projects and tips, MAKE is a quarterly publication, that is part magazine, part book, which celebrates the independent mindset.

Anthropology alumni, Ariel Gruenthal, was recently published in the Journal of Forensics Science for an article she co-wrote on the topic of forensics. The abstract can be viewed at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2011.01909.x/abstract.

Gruenthal, who graduated in 2008, was named Humboldt County's first female deputy Coroner in 2010.

Geology professor Sue Cashman and Kyle French (’11, Geology) have received a mention in the third edition of Structural Geology of Rocks and Regions, a collegiate, structural geology textbook. The text explores the on-the-ground research conducted by undergraduates in Cashman’s structural geology class, as they assess damage to Ferndale Cemetery caused by the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that struck off the North Coast in January, 2010. In his senior thesis, French took that research further by comparing the directions of the toppled grave-site monuments to the likely direction of the seismic waves that caused the damage.

Sheila Kelly has been recognized for her work in sports psychology by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). Kelly, a lecturer in the School of Kinesiology and Recreation, is the recipient of this year’s Sport and Exercise Psychology Dissertation award for her student research on sports psychology. The award is granted to a researcher who has the greatest potential for making a significant contribution to the knowledge of sport psychology. Kelly will be honored at the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance’s National Convention and Exposition in Boston, Mass. March 13-17.

Kim Hall, Director of Humboldt State’s Veterans and Enrollment Transition Services, has been elected to the 2012 Board of Directors of the National Association of Veterans Program Administrators (NAVPA). Hall will serve as a Veteran Service Organizations Liaison and Region VIII Representative. NAVPA President Dorothy Gillman said Hall’s service will include work on initiatives to help improve the GI Bill. Her service will help keep Humboldt State abreast of year-to-year changes at the U.S. Veterans Administration, Gillman added. As a board member, Hall will be in direct contact with major federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense and Education as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs. Founded in 1975, NAVPA collaborates with universities, colleges and trade schools nationwide to assist veterans with making full use of their GI Bill benefits, including access to higher education.

Jon Forrest Dohlin ('92, Biology), is currently working on a new shark exhibit at the New York Aquariam. Dohlin was named director of the aquarium in 2008. He pursued a master's degree in architecture at Parson School for Design. There, he focused on sustainable and green building. Dohlin was able to combine his love for both fields working as a designer for the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Read an "article":http://thelumberjack.org/news/alumnus-big-new-york-hsu-graduate-becomes… on Dohlin in HSU's student newspaper, "The Lumberjack":http://thelumberjack.org/home.

Professor Sing C. Chew was an invited panelist at the recent Annual Conference of the Social Science History Association held in Boston, Nov. 15-20, 2011. His talk was from his new book, The Southeast Asian Connection in the First Global Economy. He also chaired a panel on Macro Historical Dynamics: World History, World-System Analysis and Globalization.

KRFH.net, HSU's student-run radio station, recently picked up a $500 cash prize from RadioFlag.com for its outstanding performance during the first-ever College Radio Day, and was just extended an invitation to be a part of the College Radio Advisory Board, which aims to network stations that drive the RadioFlag platform and guide the resurrection of college radio in a time of budget cuts and economic hardship.

RadioFlag, an emerging social media platform that seeks to engage a new generation of internet radio listeners with a Twitter-like format, was a partner in the first-ever College Radio Day. The College Radio Day event sought to bring together over 300 college radio stations across the country, in part by utilizing the RadioFlag website and app.

Anthony Roman, founder of RadioFlag, says that "KRFH DJs consistently demonstrate the true essence of college radio with creative programming, listener engagement, unique promotions, and the courage to push the boundaries through innovation to reach new listeners, when challenged by shrinking budgets."

"I am proud that KRFH is heard on RadioFlag, and already considered one of RadioFlag's most popular stations," Roman adds.

For 16 years, Sheri Johnson, Director of Field Education, has co-hosted the KHUM Stop the Violence – Start the Healing radio education campaign occurring in the month of November.

Sheri helps identify guests for interviews, co-hosts the Friday “call in” radio panels and appears as the first guest to help launch the campaign.

Since 2009, Dr. Michael Yellow Bird, professor and global scholar, has been a guest, helping the listening audience understand how the brain works, how trauma affects the brain and how mindfulness can help survivors cope in powerful, healing ways.

All programs are recorded and posted on the KHUM "website":http://www.khum.com.

Professor Pamela Brown, Department of Social Work, and Colby Smart, College of Professional Studies, presented with colleagues from UC Berkeley, CSU Chico and CSU San Bernardino on the “Distributed Learning Program for Social Work Students” at the Fourth International Conference on Ubiquitous Learning held at UC Berkeley Nov. 11-12. The panel shared their experiences of designing and delivering technology-enhanced curriculum to serve county and Tribal staff working in remote regions. The forum explored new forms of learning using various computing and networking capacities with emphasis on critical intellectual human concern and the blurring of traditional institutional, spatial and temporal boundaries of education. www.ULConference.com

Scott T. Paynton, associate dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, recently published an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education regarding the college's recent fundraising effort. Read the full text at this link: http://chronicle.com/article/Fund-Raising-Tip-Funny-Brings/129890/

Leah Sloan, graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences, recently tied for first place for the Best Student Poster Award at the recent Western Society of Naturalists meeting held in Vancouver, Washington. The title of her poster was: "The Bane of Bullfrogs: Population Structure of Western Pond Turtles (Emys marmorata) in Lentic Habitats Along the Trinity River."

Noah Zerbe was elected co-chair of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars (ACAS), the progressive caucus of the African Studies Association. ACAS was founded in 1977 as an organization of scholars and students of Africa dedicated to formulating alternative scholarly analysis of U.S. government policy, mobilizing support in the United States on critical current issues related to Africa, and developing communication and action networks among scholars in the United States and Africa. For more information, see "concernedafricascholars.org":http://concernedafricascholars.org.

The Northern California Prescribed Fire Council met in Humboldt County on Nov. 16 and 17. The first day was spent as a field tour looking at prescribed fire use in Redwood National Park for maintaining vegetation structure of grassland and oak woodland ecosystems. The second day was held at River Lodge in Fortuna where Drs. Morgan Varner and Kenneth Fulgham attended. Varner is the Council Chairman and provided the Opening Remarks to about 70 attendees. The mission of the NorCal Prescribed Fire Council is to provide a venue for practitioners, state and federal agencies, academic institutions, tribes, coalitions and interested individuals to work collaboratively to promote, protect, conserve and expand the responsible use of prescribed fire in Northern California’s fire-adapted landscapes. More information can be found at: "norcalrxfirecouncil.org":http://www.norcalrxfirecouncil.org and at "prescribedfire.net":http://www.prescribedfire.net.

HSU Wildlife students Phil Chaon, Aaron Spidal, Sam Aguilar, Amy Trost and Brian Fagundas have won the 2011 National Wildlife Quizbowl at the Annual Meeting of The Wildlife Society. Teams from across the nation competed, and the competition was fierce with several "down to the wire" matches. Second place went to Virginia Tech, Purdue captured third, and the University of Montana came in fourth.

HSU is unique at this meeting of 1300 wildlife professionals because it has such a large number of undergraduates attending the meeting.

Dr. Walter Duffy, Dr. Sharon Kahara and Research Associate Rosemary Records co-edited a U.S. Geological Survey technical report titled "Conservation Effects Assessment Project—Wetlands Assessment in California’s Central Valley and Upper Klamath River Basin."

The report covers results of an empirical study of ecosystem services provided by restored wetlands under the Wetlands Reserve Program and was funded by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. Ecosystem services assessed included soil and vegetation nutrient content, soil loss reduction, floodwater storage as well as avian, amphibian, fish and pollinator use and habitat availability.

Humboldt State Professor of Rangeland Resources Kenneth Fulgham, chair of the Forestry & Wildland Resources Department, has been elected director of the board of directors of the Society for Range Management. Fulgham’s three-year term starts in February, 2012. The professional society supports conservation and sustainable management of rangelands, which comprise nearly half of all the lands on earth. Fulgham is also second vice-president of The Buckeye, a local advocacy organization for working landscape. Additional information about the Society for Range Management is posted at "rangelands.org":http://rangelands.org/.

HSU Geography senior Alicia Iverson won top honors at the recent North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) conference in Madison, Wisc. Iverson’s map-rich poster titled “Insecure at Last: a Political Memoir. A novel by Eve Ensler,” won the NACIS Student Poster Competition.

In another nod to the Geography Department’s Kosmos Lab, the Student Dynamic Map award went to a student from the University of Montana—who studies under HSU geography alumnus Kevin McManigal. Iverson won $500 for her efforts and a permanent spot on the NACIS web site, where she joins a growing list of HSU cartographers tutored by HSU faculty Dennis Fitzsimons, Mary Beth Cunha and Margaret Pearce (1998-2001).

This year’s NACIS meeting drew over 350 cartography and GIS specialists from higher education, government and the private sector. The HSU contingent included Fitzsimons and Cunha, along with students Iverson, Kelly Muth and Aaron Taveras.

Two research papers were recently published in Western Journal of Applied Forestry. One paper deals with utilization of small-diameter logs generated as a result of fuel reduction thinning treatments. This topic has been an issue for many rural towns in the US West. The title of this paper is “Financial Feasibility of a Log Sort Yard Handling Small-Diameter Logs: A Preliminary Study.” The other paper addresses a spreadsheet-based tool to estimate road construction costs. The software will be loaded onto the department web site. The title of this paper is “ACCEL: Spreadsheet-Based Cost Estimation for Forest Road Construction”.

An article titled “The Triangle in Photographic Composition,” and four of his photographs were published in the October issue of Redwood Snapshots, a publication of the Redwood Camera Club.

The article explores the field of Gestalt psychology for possible reasons why the triangular form enhances photographic composition. Gestalt psychology explains why people perceive visual components as organized patterns or wholes, instead of many different parts. The generation of triangular images where none exist is a major illustration of the Gestalt theory. This helps explain why photographs that contain triangular forms can have higher impact than those that don’t.

Assoc. Professor Marcy Burstiner has been appointed to the 15-member Steering Committee of the Student Press Law Center. Founded in 1974, the SPLC is the nation's only legal assistance agency devoted exclusively to educating high school and college journalists about the rights and responsibilities embodied in the First Amendment and supporting the student news media in their struggle to cover important issues free from censorship.

Communication major Elizabeth Lara-O’Rourke was an invited presenter at the Creative Time Summit held at New York University on September 23, 2011. The Creative Time Summit is a forum to “share projects that expand our understanding of participatory arts practice” and to share interest in “the political implications of socially engaged art.” Ms. Lara-O’Rourke represented the United Indian Health Services, where she works as a Health Promotion and Education Manager while she pursues her degree at HSU.

See her speech at
http://www.creativetime.org/programs/archive/2011/summit/summit_schedul… and click on United Indian Health Services

Dr. Morgan Varner was nominated for and accepted an Associate Editor position with the journal, Forest Science. Forest Science is the premiere journal of The Society of American Foresters.

HSU’s financial services team lead by Carol Terry, Lynne Sandstrom, Ben Hylton, Emily Kupec, Mike Burghart, Cindi Hori, Sandy Wieckowski, and Tawny Fleming received an award for “Achieving Excellence in Financial Reporting” from the California State Controller’s Office. The award is presented for submitting accurate and timely year-end financial reports to the State. Congratulations to all staff involved in earning this achievement.

Eugene Novotney published two articles in the September issue of Percussive Notes, the professional journal of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS). The first article, “Five Decades of New Music for Percussion: 1961-2011,” was written in tribute to the 50th anniversary of PAS. The second article is an interview with Stuart Smith, who is one of the most significant composers of our generation. Novotney is also the host of Focus Day at the PAS International Convention this November in Indianapolis, and will coordinate seven showcase concerts of new music performed by artists from Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Rosemary Sherriff published two articles with co-authors over the summer months in the journals Ecology and Ecological Applications. These articles focused on the effects of disturbance-climate interactions in forest ecosystems in context of restoration and climate change concerns: spruce beetle and climate interactions in Alaska (Ecology), and fire history and restoration in mixed conifer forests of Colorado (Ecological Applications).

Alexis Ollar was awarded the 2011-2012 Student Schloarship for applied research in the environmental sector, from the Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) Bay Area Chapter. The scholarship was awarded for thesis work in the Environment & Community Program and Geospatial Science Graduate Certificate. The thesis was GIS work in sustainable foodsheds, food security analysis and participatory mapping exercises in Humboldt County. You can find Ollar's bio and scholarship information at http://sfbayaep.org/students.htm.

Dr. Kenneth O. Fulgham, chair of HSU’s Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources, and Forestry and Wildland lecturer Gary Rynearson have been elected to key posts of the Buckeye Conservancy, a northern California group of family farm, ranch, and forest landowners and resource managers that promotes the ecological health and economic sustainability of natural resources and open space in family ownership. Fulgham, also professor of rangeland resources, is second vice president, and Rynearson is first vice president. The conservancy can be reached at www.buckeyeconservancy.org.

Rangeland Resources Science major Jasmine Westbrook won the $1,000 Paul Zinke Memorial Scholarship Award at this summer’s 30th Anniversary California Forest Soils Council meeting near Mt. Shasta. Westbrook is a double major in molecular and cellular biology and is minoring in chemistry. She was raised on a Napa Valley sheep ranch and has been working the past few summer for Six Rivers National Forest. She joins four past HSU Zinke Award winners: Barbara Witmore (’05), M.S. New Mexico State University, currently employed by the Bureau of Land Management; Rosemary Records (’06) now in a Ph.D. program at Colorado State University; Sarah Schuette (‘09), starting a Ph.D. program at Washington State University Spring 2012; and Allison Rofe, who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Rangeland Resources Science in 2012.

Professors Lori Dengler and Bud Burke are among the scientists featured in a new book about the Cascadia Subduction Zone published by HarperCollins in Canada and Counterpoint Press in the U.S. in April 2011. Cascadia’s Fault is a history and a cautionary tale of the West Coast’s most dangerous place—and the scientists who are solving its deadly mysteries.