Provost Communication, Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Good morning and happy Wednesday. I hope that you all are having a great week. The sun is out, the leaves are turning and it just feels like fall outside. 

Indigenous People’s Week (IPW)

Cal Poly Humboldt’s Indigenous People’s Week is well underway with a number of wonderful events happening over the past few days continuing through October 18, 2024. This year marks the 31st annual celebration of IPW, which challenges the idea that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America and offers an alternative celebration that features a week of activities focused on the strength and resilience of Indigenous peoples. This year’s IPW features a wide variety of events, including film screenings, workshops, and exhibition tours. 

This year’s celebration also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Indian Natural Resources, Science & Engineering Program (INRSEP) which offers support to first-generation, low-income, and historically underrepresented students in STEM disciplines by integrating Indigenous peoples’ Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with mainstream practices. 

Founded in 1974 as the Native American Career Education in Natural Resources program, the program later expanded to serve those in all science and engineering fields. Today it’s known as INRSEP+Diversity in STEM, reflecting its expanding support for all underrepresented students. For a full list of events, please visit the ITEPP website. 

Honorary Degree: Call for Nominations: Deadline November 12, 2024

As chair of the campus nominating committee for the awarding of honorary degrees, I invite your nominations for honorary degrees to be conferred either at the Spring 2025 Commencement Ceremonies or at another appropriate time. Nominations are due to the committee by Tuesday, November 12, 2024. 

CSU campuses have awarded honorary degrees to distinguished individuals who have demonstrated excellence in areas that benefit CSU campuses; the state, nation, and/or world; and/or humanity. Recipients serve as examples to be recognized and honored for their exemplary contributions. See the list of Honorary Degrees Presented by Cal Poly Humboldt. 

More information about the selection of recipients of honorary degrees may be found in The California State University Board of Trustees Policy for Awarding Honorary Degrees and the Cal Poly Humboldt Policy related to honorary degrees. Please note that the process is confidential, and nominators may not contact a prospective nominee to discuss a possible nomination. 

Nominations need to include: the full name of the nominee, two nomination letters, a brief summary of reasons the degree is deserved, a curriculum vitae or comparable biographical information, and a brief description of the relationship, if any, the nominee has with Cal Poly Humboldt.

Please email nominations and supporting documents to the Provost’s Office using the following email address: OAAVP@humboldt.edu. Thank you and please let me know if you have any questions.

Disability Awareness Day

Please come and join us for our annual Disability Awareness Day on Thursday, October 17, 2024. We'll have exciting speakers, over 15 organizations tabling, and refreshments. The event is from noon to 2:00 pm in the Scholar's Lab on the 3rd floor of the library.

International ShakeOut Day: Tomorrow October 17, 2024!

This year's International ShakeOut Day is on Thursday, October 17, 2024, at 10:17 am when millions of people worldwide will participate in earthquake drills at work, school, or home. More information about ShakeOut Day can be found by accessing this link on earthquake safety. We certainly live in earthquake country so preparing for the inevitable is very important. The Great ShakeOut is conducted on the third Thursday of October every year and always seems to fall during our Provost-Council of Chairs meetings so we will definitely practice tomorrow! More information is available at: https://rctwg.humboldt.edu/great-shakeout. 

Have a great day.

Jenn

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Jenn Capps, PhD 

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs 

Cal Poly Humboldt