Nearly 400 members of the CSU Dominguez Hills campus community came together
at a budget forum held at noon on Monday, March 3, in the Loker Student Union. Informational budget forums will take place at all 23 CSU campuses during the
month of March, with CSU Dominguez Hills kicking off the campaign. The forums
are being held to inform the public about the devastating effects that $386.1
million in state budget reductions will have on the CSU and to mobilize the
entire CSU community to advocate for the reinstatement of funding.
William A. Little, emeritus professor and chair of Africana studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills, died on March 1 of complications from a genetic lung disease. Little joined the campus in 1994 as chair of the Department of Africana Studies, a position that he held until 2006. During his tenure at CSU Dominguez Hills, Little made enduring contributions as coordinator of the Division of World Cultural Studies, coordinator of the Social and Behavioral Sciences program, and chair of the California State University system wide African American Studies Lower Division Pattern Project.
On a stop at California State University, Dominguez Hills on February 25 as part
of his “Listening Tour” of the CSUs, Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi brought
together a team of leading experts to discuss ideas for addressing the state’s higher education challenges. Garamendi’s day on campus included a morning visit
to Professor Kate Fawver’s History 101 class to talk about the budget crisis
the state is facing and the affect it could have on higher education and an
afternoon panel discussion in the Loker Student Union about workforce development.
Koichi Iwabuchi, professor of media and cultural studies at the School of
International Liberal Studies of Waseda University in Tokyo, will present “What’s So Cool About ‘Cool Japan’?” on Monday, March 10, at 1 p.m. in
LaCorte Hall, A-103 at California State University, Dominguez Hills. The event,
sponsored by the Asian Pacific Studies Program, focuses on the spread of
Japanese media culture to the Western world and its promotion of the country’s “soft power” of influence over culture and media as opposed to technology and politics.
Many students at California State University, Dominguez Hills find
that what they learn in the classroom often enhances their everyday experiences
on the job. Matt Chiller, deputy chief of staff and legislative director for
Congresswoman Laura Richardson (D-Calif.), is no exception. As an online M.B.A.
student at CSUDH, he has access to a virtual classroom where he can draw valuable
insights from his fellow students.
Hamoud Salhi, assistant professor of political science at California State University, Dominguez Hills, presented “Sunni and Shi’ia: What’s the Problem and Why it Matters” at The Center for Religious Inquiry in Los Angeles last month. In trying to demystify issues surrounding the Middle East, he says that his insider’s perspective from having lived in an Arab Muslim country benefits his students.
Although an online course may give the impression of receiving an impersonal education,
Michael White, assistant professor in the Negotiation, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding
Program at California State University, Dominguez Hills, would disagree. “I didn’t imagine you could develop a relationship online,” White explains, “but
what I found…is that individual personalities come out very quickly. Unique relationships seem to develop with each of the students and it turns out that it can be a very one-on-one experience.
Cal State Dominguez Hills connected with approximately 6,500 youth in its outreach effort
during the 2006-07 school year, it was announced by the National Consortium for Academics
and Sports (NCAS), a total that topped all Division II schools in the nation, more than
doubled the next closest D-II school, and nearly tripled the amount reached by the next CCAA institution.
