UCSC gets $3.3 million Gear Up grant to work with MPUSD students

The UC Santa Cruz’s Educational Partnership Center has been awarded a GEAR UP federal grant to serve students in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District.

The GEAR UP program is designed to help prepare middle and high school students for college through academic and financial aid advising, tutoring, college field trips and other college-going activities.  It also includes professional development for teachers as they implement the Common Core State Standards to prepare students for college and career.

The grant will fund UCSC’s outreach to local underserved students and amounts to approximately $468,000 annually and close to $3.3 million dollars across seven years.

The U.S. Department of Education funded 10 state and 31 partnership grant applications, 7 of which were in California.

UCSC's Educational Partnership Center currently oversees two other GEAR UP grants: one in South Monterey County and the other in the Pajaro Valley region. The EPC coordinates new and longstanding student academic preparation efforts of the University of California, Santa Cruz with the goal of increasing access and opportunity to postsecondary education for students across the Monterey Bay and Silicon Valley/San Jose regions.

Other recipients of GEAR UP grants in California include, YPI Charter Schools, Humboldt State University, Los Angeles Unified School District, CSU Monterey Bay, and Cal State San Bernardino.

Salinas resident Jesus Ochoa Perez wins CSU Trustees' Award

Cal State Monterey Bay sophomore Jesus Ochoa Perez has been chosen for a CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement. He and the other award winners were honored on Sept. 9 at the CSU board meeting in Long Beach.

The award is among the highest student distinctions in the CSU and is accompanied by a scholarship. Awardees must demonstrate superior academic performance, personal accomplishments, community service and financial need. Many of the honorees have prevailed in the face of disability, language and cultural barriers, intense personal loss or homelessness.

“The compelling life stories of these extraordinary student scholars are a testament to the transformative power of public higher education,” said CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White. “Through the generous support of our donors, many of whom are first-time contributors to the Trustees’ Award program, we are able to help these scholars create a bright and successful future.”

Jesus lived with his parents and three siblings in one room during part of his childhood, leaving him no quiet place to study. His parents, farmworkers from Mexico, were determined that their children would not face the financial hardships and the physical ills of working in the fields.

This semester, Jesus is starting his second year at CSUMB, where he is a math major with a 4.0 grade-point average. A service learning requirement led him to an elementary school where he tutored first-graders in math – and discovered his passion for teaching. He volunteered far more than the number of hours required and continues to tutor elementary school students. He also found time to be a volunteer youth soccer coach.

Jesus is determined to be a success story from his East Salinas neighborhood by earning a teaching credential and returning to his high school to teach math.

Almost 450,000 students attend the 23 campuses of the CSU system. Only one student from each campus is honored with the Trustees’ Award. The program began three decades ago with scholarships endowed by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Since then, the generosity of current and emeritus CSU trustees and other supporters of the university has allowed the program to expand.

CSU Trustees’ Scholars are nominated by their campus presidents. For more information about the program, click here.

Science work paying off at CSUMB

Three members of this year’s graduating class at Cal State Monterey Bay and an alumna have won prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.

Michael Diaz of Upland, Liz Lopez of Sacramento, Emily Roncase of Ridgecrest and Stacy Mauzey of Salinas, were awarded the fellowships, which provide $90,000 to support three years of graduate education.

Diaz, mentored by Aparna Sreenivasan, researched potentially toxic cynaobacteria from local freshwater environments. He also investigated stomach bacteria pathogensis at UC Santa Cruz. A biology major, he will begin work on his Ph.D. in the cellular and molecular biosciences program at UC Irvine in the fall.

Mentored James Lindholm, Lopez worked on a project to monitor Marine Protected Areas along the Southern California coast and also conducted research at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center. She is considering graduate programs at the University of San Diego, Western Washington University and Oregon State.

Roncase, a biology major, worked with Henrik Kibak and Aparna Sreenivasan to investigate cyanotoxin levels in a freshwater lake in Watsonville. She also worked at the University of Illinois at Chicago, researching antibotic resistance at the molecular level. She is considering offers from a number of doctoral programs, including Scripps Research Institute and Brown University.

Stacy Mauzey, an alumna of Hartnell College and CSUMB, is now a graduate student in plant pathology at Washington State University. While at CSUMB, she worked with Carolee Bull in the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service facility in Salinas.

The NSF graduate research fellowships went to 2,000 students – from more than 13,000 applicants – across the country; 595 of them were awarded to undergraduates. CSUMB was the largest recipient of undergraduate awards in the California State University’s 23-campus system.

“Nine CSUMB undergraduates and one alumna have received NSF fellowships in the last four years,” said Bill Head, director of the university’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center. “This is a clear indication of the world-class education students receive at CSUMB and a reminder of how well public institutions serve the students of California.”

submitted by Joan Weiner, CSUMB

Parent University -- and Cash for College - Saturday in Greenfield

The Greenfield Union School District is hosting its first Parent University from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, February 9 at Vista Verde Middle School in Greenfield.

Also on Saturday, there will be a "Cash for College" Resource Fair in nearby Greenfield High School.

Parent University is an event designed to help parents become aware of the steps students need to take to get into college. The staff and school counselors are working together to provide the community with information to help understand the value of a college education, to help our students get into college and pay for college.

The day-long event will discuss:
* What are the A.G./High School Requirements
* What's the California Dream act
* How to develop organization Skills/Time management goals
* Financial Aid
* The Power of Parents
* Navigating the School System (in Triqui)

The following colleges and universities will be present; Hartnell College, Central Coast College, Heald College, CSU Monterey Bay, and CSU Fresno; a variety of school counselors will also be on hand.

At the Cash for College Resource Fair, participants will have the opportunity to learn about financial aid resources for college and speak with college and university representatives.
The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Greenfield High School, 225 El Camino Real, Greenfield.

Free assistance will be provided to students wishing to apply for Cal Grants.

The event will also include fun activities for the entire family.

Participating will be the University of California Berkeley, UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced, Cal State Fresno, Cal State Monterey Bay, COSMOS Program UC Santa Cruz, University of San Francisco, University of Phoenix, Golden Gate University, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cabrillo College, Menlo College, Mills College, Central Coast College, Heald College, CA Strawberry Commission Scholarship Fund, First Tee of Monterey County
For more information contact Priscilla Barba via email at Priscilla.Barba@asm.ca.gov or 831.759.8676.

CSUMB to begin offering online graduate degrees

California State University, Monterey Bay will be among the first CSU campuses to offer degrees through the new Cal State Online, an initiative intended to expand access to fully online bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Two programs will be offered initially

• Master of Science in Instructional Science and Technology (MIST)
The MIST program is a 36-unit program intended for classroom teachers, corporate trainers and e-learning developers who want to learn how to enhance learning with advanced technology. The interdisciplinary program integrates information technology, instructional design and learning sciences and is designed for those working in the areas of teaching, instructional design and training. Classes start on May 6. Two courses will be offered during each eight-week session over the 16 months of study.
Find more information here

• Master of Science in Management and Information Technology (MSMIT)
The MSMIT program prepares leaders and managers in technology-focused business units, corporations, organizations and entrepreneurial ventures. The interdisciplinary program integrates information technology with business management. It is designed to cultivate the next generation of leaders in technology management such as chief technology officers and high-tech entrepreneurs. Classes start Sept. 2. One course will be offered during each eight-week session over the 20 months of study.

Find more information here
Applications are now being accepted for both programs. Students can apply to these and a variety of other bachelor’s and master’s program at www.calstateonline.net.

First, Governor Brown; now first dog, Sutter Brown

comes tour Monterey County in support of Prop. 30.

Democratic party stalwarts are getting all cutsey about First Dog Sutter Brown and its tour of California, as it puts "paw to pavement" in support of Prop. 30. The measure in next week's ballot would raise sales taxes for everyone and income taxes for wealthy Californians in order to avoid cuts to education.

Sutter will be in town All Hallows Eve, first in Salinas and later in Monterey. Like its owner, Sutter B has been touring the state to bark for Prop. 30.

The dog's first appearance is scheduled  at 4:30 p.m. at Teamster's Hall, 931 E. Market, Salinas.

At 6:30 p.m. he'll appear at the Monterey Center, 60 Bonifiacio Plaza, Monterey.

I supposed desperate times call for desperate measures. Bring fresh cement for a pawtograph.

And if you want to friend the First Dog, here's its Facebook page.

p.d. Sutter has more than 6,000 likes, way ahead of Bo Obama. America's First Dog has fewer than 2,000. 

Students at the CSU system plan to protest proposed fee increases

Trustees at the Cal State University system are scheduled to consider several fee increases that would take place even if Prop. 30 passes on Nov. 6.

The fees are: The "graduation incentive fee" which would charge seniors who've earned 150 semester or 225 quarter units and additional fee per unit. This $372 fee would encourage "super seniors" to graduate fast.

The "repeate fee" of $100 per semester unit. In addition, students choosing to repeat courses will not be permitted to enroll in more than 15 units in the term.

Third-tier Tuition Fee. Currently, students with six units or less are charged at one rate, and students who take more than six units are charged a second rate. This recommendation proposes adding a third tier in which students enrolled in 17 or more units would be charged for each unit taken above 16 units at a rate of $200 per semester unit. According to the CSU staff report, adding a “third tier” to the CSU resident student tuition fee structure would "improve the fair distribution of needed classes to each undergraduate student. The third-tier would also dissuade students from signing up for extra course loads (and then often dropping courses later in the term) and avail additional course sections and 'seats' to be available for all students and give every undergraduate a better opportunity to carry a full course load."

Students at San Jose State are scheduled to demonstrate on Nov. 8, and at CSUMB on Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. in front of the library. The CSUMB rally will take place a day before Trustees are set to meet in Long Beach to consider the proposed fee hikes. 

Gov. Brown's coming to Salinas to rally for Prop. 30

Monterey County Democrats are all abuzz about a rally to be held Thursday at Hartnell College, when Gov. Jerry Brown's scheduled to make an appearance and rally for Proposition 30.

Brown has been campaigning all over the state for the tax measure, aimed at balancing the budget and keep funds for schools, colleges and universities at the same level they were last year. If the measure doesn't pass, Brown will cut $6 billion to education.

Opponents to the measure feel the governor is holding education hostage, and have launched a strong campaign to defeat the additional taxes.

Jose Hernandez of Salinas, Hearst Scholar

To say that José Hernández is having a fabulous year is an understatement. First, he gets selected to go to Harvard and represent Salinas for the launch of Lady Gaga's Born This Way foundation.

Now he gets selected as one of the 23 scholars in the California State University system.

Way to go, José!

"I'm really excited and really happy for being a nominee for this scholarship," José told me in a message.

José, a junior at Cal State Monterey Bay, works as a youth assistant at the Salinas Public Library and is getting a degree in health and human services. And is riding on cloud 9!


For more on the announcement, click here.

It's a new year at CSUMB

students are moving in today, and some even had the opportunity to shake hands with their new president, Eduardo Ochoa.

Faculty and staff also heard his ideas during his state of the university address, delivered Thursday.

We've had the chance to talk to Dr. Ochoa, both at the editorial board and in an interview with yours truly, so I'm glad the faculty has had that same opportunity.

For those of you who've missed it, here's a transcript of his speech. Enjoy!

Dianne Harrison gets a 20 percent salary increase

True, the salary increase that was approved for her new position as president of CSU Northdrige was only of 10 percent -- to be paid for with private money.

So as president of CSU Northridge, Dianne Harrison will make $324,500, 10 percent more than her predecessor, who earned $295,000.

But when you take into consideration that Harrison was earning $270,315 at Cal State Monterey Bay, it's really a 20 percent salary increase she's getting.

Harrison and two other CSU incoming presidents are slated to earn 10 percent more than their predecessors, something that's not sitting well with many, even though the money will come from private sources.

When I interviewed Harrison before she left, she said the salary presidents earn has to be competitive -- not just in California, but nationwide. And when compared with other presidents in other states -- such as Gordon Gee at Ohio State-- $325,000 doesn't seem that extravagant.

Harrison also told me her salary should not be considered an increase from her current job, but from the position she was taking on. After all, the size of the student population at CSUN is almost four times that of CSUMB. There's got to be a lot more meetings at that university.

Plus, she said all this talk about salaries -- a miniscule portion of the budget -- is just distracting.

I'll give her that last point. When you consider the total expenditures of the university system, complaining about presidential salaries doesn't seem worth the effort.

But we can't ignore how wrong it feels to see these people keep making more and more money, when the rest of us have to endure furloughs and pay cuts. When students have to keep paying more and more, when financial aid is being cut and classes eliminated. Financially it may not mean much but symbolically it says a lot, and that's what infuriates people.

CSU trustees to vote on pay for Dianne Harrison, Eduardo Ochoa

California State University trustees will discuss what to do if Gov. Brown's tax measure fails in November -- raise tuition, cut employees compensation.

They'll also vote on how much to pay newly appointed campus presidents. Dianne Harrison, who was appointed to lead CSU Northridge, would receive the same annual salary of her predecessor ($295,000) but receive an annual supplement provided by the university's private foundation of $29,500.

Incoming interim president Eduardo Ochoa would receive the same annual salary Harrison was receiving, $270,315.

A very real crisis in education

At the national conference of the Education Writers Association, a panelist warned all of us reporters to stop the "narrative of whining" and try to write more creatively about budget cuts.

Which, of course, is very hard to do, given the magnitude of the cuts and their very real results.

Two reports I just had time to pay attention to speak to this issue in frightening detail. The first one, "Free Fall: Educational Opportunities in 2011" by the UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education and Access. The report is based on interviews to 277 high school principals, and narrates the realities many already know well: budgets for professional development have been cut, programs like music and art. Attention to students has declined, so has progress toward graduation and college.

And once you go to the next level, to college, things get harder: a report by The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto de Derechos Civiles at UCLA called "Squeezed from all sides" documents the difficulties students are having once they get into college: many have parents who have lost jobs so now they have to help their families financially. They can't pay rent, so they couch surf. Many have faced foreclosures. The financial situation is squeezing them not just by increased tuition, but by decreased financial opportunities. It's a terrible situation all the way.

Yesterday, thousands of students demonstrated at the CSUs against further cuts. Sometimes, when you're faced with so much difficult situations, it's hard not to whine.