Provost Communication, Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Hello everyone and happy Wednesday,

I am filled with gratitude for my time at the GI 2025 Symposium during the past few days connecting with students and colleagues and working toward continued improvement of our retention and graduation efforts for our students. Additional acknowledgment to the following leaders who are attending this symposium:

Carmen Bustos-Works, Associate Vice President of Academic Programs and Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies

Eduardo Cruz, Associated Students Legislative Vice President

Peggy Metzger, Executive Director, Enrollment and Management and Financial Aid

Rebecca Robertson, Director of Individualized Degree Plan

Stephanie Souter, Research Analyst

Michael Spagna, Interim President

Jim Woglom, Chair of the University Senate, Art Education Faculty

I look forward to engaging with you all on specific elements related to our campus in the coming weeks. 

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) welcomes three new members to the team 

• Associate Director: Michele Miyamoto joins the ODEI Leadership Team as its new Associate Director (An existent and redesigned permanent position). Michele comes to ODEI with over two decades of direct student support and has served Cal Poly Humboldt students, staff, and faculty in several professional and service capacities for over fourteen years. Michele’s commitment to institutional innovation and transformation is driven by a deep sense of equity and social justice.

• Black Student Success Equity Fellow: Dr. Kirby Moss, Associate Professor and Program Leader of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, joins ODEI as a Faculty Diversity and Equity Fellow whose work is dedicated to supporting the Black Student Success initiative at Humboldt. Funding for this position is provided by the CSU Black Student Success Initiative, facilitated by Enrollment Management and Student Success (EMSS).

• Campus Pride Index Equity Fellow: Elias Pence, EOP/SSS Advisor, and Chair of the Gender Diversity Task Force, joins ODEI as a Staff Diversity and Equity Fellow whose work is dedicated to the completion of the Campus Pride Index, a national benchmarking tool for colleges and universities to create safer, more LGBTQ-inclusive campus communities. Elias continues the work of prior ODEI Equity Fellow Professor Benjamin Graham (Psychology) in support of the LBGTQ+ campus community. 

A Little Bit of Fun and Campus Spirit

Thanks to the Staff Council for the Annual Lumberjack Weekend Door Decorating Contest. The staff votes are in and congratulations to the winners in the following categories: 

• Most Creative: Place-Based Learning Communities (PBLC)

• Cal Poly Humboldt Pride: Academic Affairs

• Spookiest: College of Extended Education & Global Engagement (CEEGE)

• Celebrating Autumn and Harvest: Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI)

• Most Sustainable: COMPASS/Indian Natural Resources, Science and Engineering Program (INRSEP)

• Honorable Mention: Dean of Students

Call for Nominations: Distinguished Faculty Awards

On behalf of the Cal Poly Humboldt University Senate, the Faculty Awards Committee is pleased to announce the solicitation of nominations for the following faculty awards:

• Excellence in Teaching Award – Lecturer

• Excellence in Teaching Award – Tenure-line faculty

• Outstanding Service Award

• Outstanding Professor Award

• Scholar of the Year

To nominate eligible faculty, submit a letter of nomination summarizing the nominee’s outstanding qualities along with the required supporting evidence provided by the nominee, as detailed here: https://www.humboldt.edu/academic-affairs/nomination-guidelines. Faculty may also nominate themselves. The letter of nomination and supporting evidence are to be sent electronically via email to senate@humboldt.edu by Friday, January 17, 2025. If you need assistance submitting your nomination, please contact the University Senate office (senate@humboldt.edu).

Nominees must meet the eligibility criteria specified for the award for which they are nominated as detailed here: https://www.humboldt.edu/academic-affairs/nomination-guidelines. Because putting together an effective nomination dossier places a certain burden on the nominee, please be sure to notify the nominee well in advance of the deadline. If possible, nominators should share the responsibility of gathering letters from students, colleagues, etc. in support of the nomination.

Based on the nomination letter and other supporting evidence, the Faculty Awards Committee will select the nominees whose contributions reflect superiority with regard to the criteria set forth by the University Senate. The Committee’s decisions will be forwarded to the University Senate for its consideration at the Senate meeting on March 11, 2025, and then forwarded to the President for conferral of awards. If you have questions, please contact the University Senate office (senate@humboldt.edu).

To read about our current Distinguished Faculty Award winners, take a look at this great story in Humboldt NOW.

Have a great rest of your week.

Jenn

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Jenn Capps, PhD 

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs 

Cal Poly Humboldt