May 8, 2008
CSU Homeland Security Summit

Over the last few months, a group of CSU faculty and administrators have been planning and developing a Homeland Security Summit in conjunction with the CSU Chancellors Office. This Summit will bring together members of the Homeland Security and Emergency/Disaster Management communities from all 23 campuses within our system. The Summit is a one-day event set for June 9th, 2008 at the CSU, Chancellor's Office in Long Beach. The HS Summit will also be simultaneously web casted for those unable to attend on-site.

The primary focus of the HS Summit includes enhancing Homeland Security/Emergency Management Education Programs and Research opportunities within the CSU System 

The 2008 Summit will feature:

• An analysis of current CSU Homeland Security and Emergency Management education programs, courses; and, meeting the faculty that teach them.

• Federal and state representatives discussing current and future professional and workforce needs, knowledge/skills, and employment requirements/opportunity.

• Strategic planning and discussion sessions for developing education and learning objectives in Homeland Security and Emergency Management as well as enhancing innovation in program and curriculum development. 

• The identification of common areas of teaching and research and develop mechanisms to build collaboration between campuses, disciplines, and faculty.

• Promote system-wide and multi-campus consortia to secure external funding to build traditional and innovative education programs and basic/applied research.

If you have any questions about the HS Summit or agenda, please contact Keith Clement at kclement@csufresno.edu or 559/278.1011.


April 11, 2008
California Institute for Climate Solutions

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved establishment of the California Institute for Climate Solutions (CICS) on April 10, 2008. The CICS was proposed by the University of California in late 2007, and other academic institutions such as CSU, CCC, Stanford, University of Southern California, and California Institute of Technology were asked to contribute their reviews and testimonials in support of this initiative.  The CSU provided both written testimony and oral testimony in support of the CICS in the late fall of 2007.

The full text of the CPUC’s decision and the associated attachments can be viewed at the following websites:

1. April 10 PUC Decision Establishing CICS (.pdf)

2. Attachments to April 10 Decision (Charter, COI Policy, Constitution of Governing Board, Summary of Party Comments) (.pdf)

CICS has been established at a funding level of $600 million over ten years ($60 million a year).  CSU will be part of this Institute, in its roles as a provider of applied research and a central state source of workforce in energy/environmental industries, and CSU will have a seat on the Governing Board for CICS.  CICS will (1) facilitate mission-oriented, applied and directed research that results in practical technological solutions and supports development of policies likely to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in CA’s electricity and natural gas sectors and otherwise mitigate the impacts of climate change in California; and, (2) will speed the transfer, deployment, and commercialization of technologies that have the highest potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the electric and natural gas sectors. The first steps in implementing CICS will be to convene the Governing Board.  This entity will conduct an externally-reviewed competition to select the site for the Institute’s hub.  This central organization will act as the major executive office for CICS, and the competition for the hub will be open on California non-profit organizations, including colleges and universities. 

March 21, 2008
Council on Ocean Affairs, Science and Technology (COAST) Meeting

On February 22, 2008 the CSU Chancellor’s Office hosted a formational meeting of the Council on Ocean Affairs, Science and Technology (COAST).The purpose of this meeting was to take the first steps toward developing a CSU-wide organization that can provide vision, leadership, and support for marine, estuarine and coastal education, policy and research within the CSU system. The ideas behind COAST have been circulating within the CSU for decades, and have recently come into focus due to a combination of factors, including burgeoning faculty interest, the successful CICORE and associated programs, and growing societal and governmental concerns about the health and vitality of California's coastal zone and shallow marine environments.

During the meeting, participants shared information concerning the research and education programs, facilities, and equipment holdings present on each CSU campus, and discussed how COAST can build on the strategic distribution of CSU facilities to promote interdisciplinary, multi-campus collaborations benefiting California's natural coastal and marine resources. The vision is for COAST to serve as a platform to communicate the scientific, technical and policy expertise of the CSU to the government, private industry and the public in matters relating to California's coastal zone and ocean. COAST will also create a CSU intellectual commons for the more than 200 marine biologists, geologists, oceanographers, and marine affairs specialists who undertake research and education programs in the CSU, and it will serve as a potential avenue for multi-campus teams to pursue external sponsored programs to carry out COAST's mission.

Since the meeting, and interim working group consisting of faculty and administrators from various CSU campuses has been formed.  The group is currently working on drafting a Strategic Plan outlining COAST's goals and specific steps to achieve them and proposals for various models of governance. 

If you are interested in learning more about formational meeting, downloads from the meeting (agenda, participant information, ppts), materials related to the development of COAST, and recent progress reports from ocean observing programs in which several CSU campuses participate can be accessed at the COAST Website.   

For more information contact Krista Kamer at kkamer@mlml.calstate.edu or kkamer@sfsu.edu. 

March 21, 2008
Grant Preparation Workshops

On February 1 and March 7, 2008 the CSU Chancellor’s Office hosted two very successful grant preparation workshops.  These workshops brought CSU mathematics, science and education faculty together to prepare for submittals to the National Science Foundation (NSF), US Department of Education, California Department of Education (CDE), and the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC).  The workshop attracted over 40 guests to the southern workshop and over 30 guests to the northern one. 

The agendas for both the February 1st and March 7th workshops were designed to focus on collaborative grant preparation allowing for campus teams to work with one another to either refine or develop existing proposals, prepare skeleton proposals,  and/or complete a proposal letter of intent.  Experts in proposal preparation were available for consultation to advise on team recruitment, intersegmental collaboration, resources for sustainability and project planning and evaluation. During the meeting program officers from the NSF, CDE and CPEC teleconferenced into the meeting to provide overviews of their programs, discuss the available solicitations, and identify what makes a good proposal and what pitfalls respondents should avoid. 

Overall, participants found the grant preparation workshops very informative and evaluations indicated both a strong endorsement of the workshop experience.  Several campuses have shown interest in hosting a workshop, with the next one tentatively set for Fall of 2008. 


March 11, 2008
Formation of a CSU Ocean Affairs Council

During the past few months, intensive discussions have been held among faculty engaged in marine-related research, concerning formation of a CSU-wide Council for Ocean Affairs, Science, and Technology (COAST).  This Council would create a system-wide faculty research affinity group, akin to the existing (ARI) Agricultural Research Initiative and CSUPERB (CSU Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology).  The COAST would create a strong system-wide presence and increase the visibility and recognition of CSU’s strengths in applied research and education in this important area.  Formation of the COAST would allow better sharing of facilities and equipment, enhanced ability to leverage existing coastal monitoring instrumentation investments (i.e., a continuation and support of the existing CICORE program), and possibly allow CSU multi-campus partnerships to compete more effectively for larger federal and state grants in the areas of ocean health, coastal monitoring and research, and environmental sustainability as it pertains to ocean environments.

Spearheaded by faculty leadership at CSU coastal campuses, including HSU, SFSU, SJSU/MLML, CSUMB, Cal Poly SLO, CSUSM, SDSU, several other “inland” campuses, and the southern California CSUs comprising the Ocean Studies Institute (OSI); an initial faculty-administrative planning group has been formed.   Through the coordination and advocacy of President Rollin Richmond of Humboldt State, representatives from this group gave a well-received presentation on the COAST concept to a gathering of interested Presidents in early October 2007.  A subset of CSU Science Deans also discussed and endorsed the OAC concept at their recent meeting.  Planning is underway for a February 22, 2008 system-wide meeting of faculty interested in participating in COAST.  The meeting will be held at the CSU Chancellor’s office.  The COAST faculty planning group is also working on draft documents to define the OAC and its goals, objectives, and operational principles.

February 1, 2008
Faculty Research Database:

One of the foremost needs CSU faculty, students, and administrators frequently cite is a master directory of faculty researchers across the CSU system, able to be sorted by campus or academic discipline.  This year, the Research Initiatives and Partnerships office will be supporting a pilot software development effort to create a faculty research profile searchable database. The software will be based on a system developed at San Francisco State University that is currently being used by faculty groups at SFSU, and will allow faculty to enter data into a web form, upload their data to a central data repository, and then be able to search/share information with other faculty researchers.  The pilot effort will likely involve several of the larger existing faculty research affinity groups such as the nascent COAST (see above), and CSUPERB.   The pilot software development is planned for spring-summer of 2008.

February 1, 2008
CSU response to UC proposal for Climate Change Institute Formation

In October of 2007, the University of California approached the CSU, CCC, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, and the University of Southern California, to ask for their review and potential support of a California Institute for Climate Solutions (CICS).  A proposal to create and operate a CICS had been submitted by the UC to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in the late summer of 2007.  The amount requested for CICS formation and operation was $600M over 10 years. 

The CSU review consisted of an email consultation in mid to late October with CSU Deans of Science, Engineering, and Agriculture, and with the three directors of system-wide programs of most potential relevance to CICS:  ARI, CSUPERB, and CICORE.  Input was received from more than 30 CSU respondents, and was coalesced into a response document by the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Initiatives and Partnerships (E. Ambos), reviewed by the Vice Chancellors and Chancellor, and subsequently submitted as public commentary to the CPUC web site.

The gist of the CSU response was support for creation of CICS, with understanding that CSU would play a strong role in the governance of CICS, and participate in the funding provided (through competitive grants) for applied research and education projects.  CSU was also a party to a letter signed by the heads of all seven higher education entities named above, endorsing the CICS formation.

In addition to responses to CICS formation provided by higher education entities; utilities, other governmental or quasi-governmental agencies, and non-governmental entities provided responses ranging from endorsement of CICS to strong opposition.  The complete roster of presenters and their responses may be found at: CPUC. A decision concerning the CICS proposal has not yet been finalized.

February 1, 2008
Results of Request for Information on CSU Water Resources and Policy Experts

During discussions in Executive Council in early October 2007, Chancellor Reed suggested that an environmental scan be undertaken to identify CSU faculty members with expertise in water-related issues and policies. The purpose of this scan was to follow through on a recommendation by the Agricultural Advisory Board that the California State University position itself to provide independent and well-informed applied research and policy analyses on water-related issues and policies for various agencies and stakeholder groups within the State of California. The first step in the environmental scan was to identify CSU faculty with regional or national stature and leadership in water-related issues and policies, either by virtue of their research/scholarship, teaching, and/or service, as measured by such attributes as courses taught, centers directed, student research mentorship, publications and presentations, grants and contracts; appointments to local, regional, state, or national organizations, etc. Faculty identified as noted experts in water-related issues and policies are under consideration for a special assignment position to provide leadership in developing CSU’s collective expertise in water-related issues and policies. The second step in the environmental scan was to identify all CSU faculty members with research and teaching assignments relating in some way to water-related issues and policies.

We have now received responses concerning the request for faculty expertise in water resources and policy from 18 out of 23 campuses. Eleven nominations of faculty (from 8 campuses) to lead a system-wide water resources and policy effort have been received, and more than 220 faculty identified with contact information and descriptions of their research expertise. This information seeking process has generated intense interest and response from many of the campuses.  We anticipate finalizing the system-wide leadership position in the near future, and also will make available the listings of faculty across the system.

February 1, 2008
Posting of Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity (RSCA) funds to university accounts

As of December 19, 2007, all 2007-2008 monies have now been allocated to the campuses.  These monies have been distributed in accordance with Academic Affairs Coded Memorandum 2007-27 (.pdf).

February 1, 2008
Appointment of Kim Tang to Staff Associate, Research Initiatives and Partnerships

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Kim Tang to the position of Staff Associate, Research Initiatives and Partnerships.  Kim brings to the position office management experience in a variety of settings.  She is currently a M.S. in Political Science student at California State University, Long Beach, and possesses a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy and Women’s Studies from California State University, Fullerton.