Selected press coverage on CSUDH events, people and issues during June, July and August 2000
USA Today [July 28] reported that several Major League Soccer stadiums are on drawing boards across the nation, and that the one planned for CSUDH apparently leads the way. "Several MLS teams are examining the possibility of building soccer-specific stadiums, with the Los Angeles Galaxy at the forefront," the story said. "The club has preliminary plans for a 30,000-seat stadium on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills, in suburban Los Angeles. Other teams…hope to follow suit…."
Los Angeles Times, The Daily Breeze, and The Riverside Press-Enterprise [July 27] reported that the athletic complex originally designed to feature a professional soccer stadium at the university has been expanded to include a tennis stadium, track, velodrome, and jogging track with exercise stations, plus physical fitness rooms, lockers, and administrative offices. While Tim Leiwecke, president of the Los Angeles Galaxy, which is owned by the Anschutz Corporation that is the developer, said he has a "tentative agreement" with the university to proceed, President James E. Lyons, Sr., termed the design a "conceptual framework." Lyons told the media, "In our discussions…about their construction of an athletic complex at our university, we have reached a conceptual framework that allows us to move forward. This conceptual framework, which includes a soccer stadium and tennis stadium, a jogging course with exercise stations, and a new velodrome, is responsive to our community, and bolsters our financial foundation as a place of higher learning. Of course, before this concept becomes reality, many more things must happen. There must be an environmental impact report. There must be a financial plan. There must be a presentation before the Carson City Council. There must be a contract. And, there must be final approval by the California State University Board of Trustees."
Los Angeles Times [July 13] published a letter to the editor that hailed the contributions of faculty emeritus Norman Neuerberg, professor of art, who died in 1997. The letter said that an earlier article in the newspaper on the San Juan Capistrano basilica had not mentioned that Neuerberg had designed the structure. "He was a professor at Cal State Dominguez Hills and was an expert on both ancient Roman villas and California architects of the Spanish colonial period," the letter explained. "He designed the Malibu Getty Museum, working closely with patron Getty. He also designed the new church in San Juan Capistrano to evoke the Spanish mission of 200 years earlier."
Los Angeles Times [July 9] quoted Lynn Luciano, social historian, about the importance of the running mates that George W. Bush and Al Gore select. The story said that vice presidential candidates are no different than their running mates — they all package themselves in ways to help their standing among voters. "Because personality and body image are so closely linked, social historian Lynn Luciano of Cal State Dominguez Hills said the ongoing effort to repackage the vice president speaks volumes. Luciano is especially troubled by superficial gestures such as dressing the vice president in earth tones and hiring an advisor to tell him to act like an 'alpha male.'"
The Daily Breeze [July 3], Los Angeles Times [June 28], and Associated Press [June 27] said that CSUDH is one of eight campuses in the statewide CSU system that will be training teachers to use technology in the classroom under a federal grant. "Cal State Dominguez Hills will receive $604,000 to train teachers in all grade levels about the Internet," the Times story said. AP explained that the teachers receiving the training from CSUDH range from the K-12 grade levels and are in both the South Bay and South Los Angeles regions. "The training will include using the Internet, applying Web-assisted courses, using computers to analyze tests, and understanding Power Point software."
Sentinel [June 29] reported that the university received a grant from the state Department of Education to help increase the number of students who qualify for college by preparing them more fully and improving their performance on admission tests. The four-year $1.3 million grant is designed to bolster the University's regional partnerships with the Los Angeles Unified School District, El Camino College, and Los Angeles Harbor College, who assist up to 300 students at Carson, Gardena, and Locke high schools, the story said. "A lot of these students wouldn't otherwise have the opportunities to go on to college," said William R. Blischke, executive director, Southwest Los Angeles Preschool Through College Collaborative, which is based at the University. "This money will help provide the tools we need to help prepare them for college."
Los Angeles Times [June 28] reported that a set of triplets are participating in a remediation program to improve their skills and performance in mathematics and English to get ready for their first year in college. One professor helping such students, the newspaper said, is Frank Rust of CSUDH. He is coordinator of the CSU Readiness program. "Students have to realize that to go to college they have to put in extra work," said Rust, a statistics professor at Cal State Dominguez Hills. "They're not just going to be able to go through the motions in high school and get in. The ones who understand that are the ones who are here."
Community Forum [June 27] on Media One television in Carson taped an interview with President James E. Lyons, Sr., about the soccer/tennis stadium project planned for the campus by the Anschutz Corporation. Lyons told the interviewers that the university was considering the project because it would help provide national recognition for the university and would help serve as an important source of funding to bolster the CSUDH education program.
Gardena Valley News [June 22] reported that "California State University, Dominguez Hills, has received a grant from the state department of education to help increase the number of students who qualify for college by preparing them more fully and improving their performance on admission tests." The story quoted William Blischke, director, special projects and programs, who serves as executive director, Southwest Los Angeles Preschool Through College Collaborative that received the grant. He explained the importance of the grant: "There was a time when it was possible to scrape by without a college education. That isn't true anymore. So this funding and our work means more young people get a shot at the education they must obtain to build a solid future."
Santa Maria Times [June 27] reported that alumna Kathleen Sullivan, administrator of home care services for Marian Medical Center, has been selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Executive Fellow. The program offers three-year fellowships for nurses in executive roles in health services and public positions. They are designed to help nurses gain the experiences, insights and skills necessary to achieve leadership positions while remaining with their current employer. Sullivan has a graduate degree in nursing from CSUDH, and more than 17 years of comprehensive home care service experience, including home health care, infusion, hospice, home medical equipment, and private duty nursing.
Long Beach Press-Telegram [June 21] noted five students in the CSUDH recreation and leisure studies program received honors in their course of study. The importance of quality leisure time cannot be overestimated, program coordinator Mary Lou Cappel told the newspaper. "We live in a competitive, fast-paced, high pressure world where people rarely take time for themselves, let alone their families and communities. One of the things we have come to recognize is that recreation and taking time to enjoy life and each other is not just fun, it is necessary. That is a value we are glad to impart to our students."
California Crusader News [June 15] noted that the School of Education was offering scholarships to applicants for an early childhood special education credential in a program designed to bring teachers together with children who are disabled or at risk. The program is run by Doris Okada, director, Infant Toddler Center, in conjunction with Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and is funded by a grant awarded by the federal Department of Education.
Los Angeles Times [June 9] humor columnist Steve Harvey enjoyed the quip by Donn Silvis, professor, communications, who read the instructions on a parking receipt given out at Dodger Stadium. One section on the receipt read: "Mark the area in which you park." Then, farther down, the receipt read: "Ticket must be placed on dashboard." Said Silvis: "The only explanation I can figure is the Dodgers want the car to know where it is parked. You're on your own finding your way back to your car."
Rafu Shimpo [June 9] published the names of Japanese American graduates at CSUDH in a special section of its newspaper devoted to Commencement. Dating back to the summer of 1999, the list of 66 names included graduates' fields of study and who received honors.
Los Angeles Times [June 7] reported that CSUDH will be among those campuses to receive extra students as part of a new policy adopted by the Office of the Chancellor, which is bracing for enrollment increases. "Under the new rules, students hoping to attend crowded campuses will be steered toward those with more space Ð Long Beach applicants to Cal State Dominguez Hills, for exampleÉ. 'It's going to be real tricky,' Charles B. Reed, chancellor of the 22-campus system saidÉ."
Associated Press Newswire [June 2], Long Beach Press-Telegram [June 8], and City News Service [June 24] reported that CSUDH is among the nation's leaders in number of bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanics. The story said that the university ranks 30th among the top 75 conferring bachelor's degrees on Hispanic students, and ranks 44th in awarding master's degrees. In specific fields of study, the article said that CSUDH ranks fifth in bachelor's degrees in Liberal Arts and Science, and ninth in bachelor's degrees in Foreign Language. The ranking is according to Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, a national magazine based in Washington, D.C.
Education Design Showcase [June] featured the University's Extended Education building. In its "Annual Awards 2000" issue, a publication of College Planning and Management and School Planning and Management magazines. The article praised the structure for its "design that incorporates environmentally responsive solutions for natural and artificial lighting, air distribution systems and easily-maintained and durable building materials. The project was independently funded through Extended Education program activities."
