May 27th, 2010
Don W. Kiassing, Interim President, SJSU
(May, 27, 2010) – Don W. Kassing, who retired as president of San Jose State University in 2008, has been appointed as interim president of the university following the departure of Jon Whitmore who was recently named as CEO of ACT, Inc., an international not-for-profit corporation.
Kassing served in various capacities at the campus since 1993, and was named president in 2005 after serving in an interim capacity for a year.
“We are very fortunate that Don and Amy Kassing have agreed to give up their retirement, and come back to San Jose from their home in Phoenix,” said CSU Board Trustee Herbert L. Carter. “Don served San Jose State in an outstanding manner, and the CSU Board of Trustees is extremely grateful and appreciative that he has agreed to serve as interim president.”
CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed said, “Don will be welcomed back to the campus and we know that it will be in the hands of a proven leader with a record of stability and familiarity with the campus, students and community.”
Kassing will assume the interim appointment on August 1, and will serve until a presidential search is completed sometime in 2011. His salary will be set at the CSU Board of Trustees meeting in July.
# # #
San Jose State — Silicon Valley’s largest institution of higher learning with 27,400 students and 3,190 employees — is part of the California State University system. SJSU’s 154-acre downtown campus anchors the nation’s 10th largest city.
Posted in Around Campus, Campus News, SJSU in the Media | Comments Off
May 26th, 2010
Attend a special wine tasting event in Mountain View on June 17
Wine 101
If you like wine but want to hone your wine tasting and appreciation skills, you won’t want to miss this class! Train your senses to recognize distinct aroma profiles (such as blackberry, pepper, vanilla, raspberry and more) via an extensive and fun component aroma exercise…you know, when someone sniffs a wine and says something like “Ah, yes, definite raspberry, with hints of vanilla…”.
In this class you will learn / experience:
● The basics of tasting wine – the five S’s
● How to talk the talk – learning wine vocabulary
● A comparison of aroma profiles, and how to recognize them with neutral wines “spiked” with common aroma profiles (blackberry, pepper, vanilla, raspberry, etc.)
● Component aroma exercise
● A short background on wine; history, process, breakdown of components
● and more
The class will be taught by certified wine sommelier Mike Masunaga (SJSU ‘76, Biology) with help from amateur wine makers Sam Grinels and Jack Kelly (both SJSU ’72, Business Finance, and part of the award-winning Chateau Garage amateur wine makers team).
The object is to have fun, meet new friends, and most importantly, learn more about wine.
When: Thursday, June 17, 2010, 6:30 to 9:00PM
Where: Mario’s Italian Restaurant
861 Leong Drive
Mountain View, CA 94043
www.mariositaliano.com | Google map
Cost: $40 SJSU Alumni Association Members; $45 Guests
Includes: Wine for your enjoyment (while you learn) and “heavy” hors’d oeuvres
Space is limited. To reserve your spot, go to: www.chateaugarage.com/wine101
Questions: Contact Sam Grinels at 408-777-8600 | Email: wine101@commcraft.com
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May 17th, 2010
The students and faculty of the AVIATION & Technology Department at San Jose State University, in conjunction with the Aero Club of Northern California, the Flying 20’s, and Alpha Eta Rho, invite all alumni, club members, and aviation enthusiasts to the gala ceremony and reunion commemorating 50 years of SJSU Aviation at the Coleman Avenue Campus, and honoring the dedication and vision of Chairman Emeritus, Thomas E. Leonard.View the .pdf postcard.
Join us and revisit with classmates, former faculty, and friends in this fairwell reunion and banquet! See the bright future for the Aviation & Technology Department, while saying goodbye to the past! (Can’t believe 50 years have gone by so fast, and we are saying so long to the old Coleman Avenue Campus.)
Open House: 3 to 6 p.m.
Cocktail Hour: 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Banquet and Celebration: 7:30 p.m.
Please feel free to forward this email to anyone interested or involved with SJSU Aviation, and have them contact us so we can update our records. Contact Glynn Falcon, Director of Aviation at 408-924-3203 or via email at aviation.spartans@gmail.com.
We look forward to seeing you May 29, 2010 here in San Jose, California, Department of Aviation, at 1120 Coleman Avenue (Mineta Internationall Airport).
We also are seeking copies of your photos, film, or videos of the aviation department, students, or their events over the past 75 years of its existence. Share them with us if you will.
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May 14th, 2010
image courtesy SJSU Athletics
For the third time in five years, two San Jose State University athletics programs will be honored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) with Public Recognition Awards for their latest multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) score.
The women’s gymnastics and the women’s tennis teams placed in the top 10 percent of compared to all NCAA Division I programs in their respective sports for the most recent four-year cycle covering the 2006 though 2009 academic years.
In each case, the San Jose State women’s gymnastics and women’s tennis teams had a perfect multi-year score of 1,000.
“We congratulate the student-athletes and their coaches who have earned these national awards for their programs and Spartan athletics. From day one, a San Jose State University student-athlete’s first priority is to perform academically and dedicate themselves to the goal and ultimate commitment to graduate from this university,” says director of athletics Tom Bowen.
Read more.
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May 11th, 2010
The work of junior and senior students at SJSU will be on display Monday, May 24
2010 Industrial Design Junior/Senior Show
Monday, May 24, 2010
San Jose City Hall Rotunda
6:00-9:30 p.m.
See the work of San Jose State’s internationally recognized, award winning industrial design program at the 2010 Industrial Design Junior/Senior show from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday, May 24, at the San Jose City Hall Rotunda. Projects on display will include Inside-Out, Baby Mobility, and Design for the Majority.
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April 19th, 2010
Noted author and visiting faculty member Tim Cahill (image courtesy Center for Literary Arts)
Tim Cahill, the Lurie Distinguished Visiting Writer this semester will have two events on April 28. Cahill is a travel writer, adventurer, Rolling Stone journalist and founding editor of Outside magazine. Or as the Wall Street Journal says: ”Long before the unbeaten track got fouled with the TV spoor of earnest Australians soul-kissing vipers, there were people like Tim Cahill who did adventure for real.” Professor Cahill is teaching two classes at San Jose State University for the spring 2010 semester, a graduate nonfiction writing workshop, and an undergrad class in travel literature. The author of seven books, including Pass the Butterworms, Pecked to Death by Ducks, Hold the Enlightenment and Lost In My Own Backyard, Cahill is a former Bay Area resident now making his home in Montana. More information is available from the Center for Literary Arts.
April 28
1 p.m.
A Conversation with Tim Cahill
Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, Rm 225-229
7 p.m.
Reading and Book Signing
Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, Rm 225-229
Posted in Events, Guest Lecture | 1 Comment »
April 19th, 2010
Celebrate SJSU’s Legacy of Poetry with readings and festivities on Thursday April 22 at Caret Plaza (outside of King Library, campus side). If you would like to volunteer to read a poem you wrote or to read a poem written by Poet Laureate, Henry Meade Bland, poet Edwin Markham or another great poet in the SJSU legacy, please contact Professor Annette Nellen. In honor of Earth Day, we will focus on the many nature poems in the legacy. Other activities include a special reading of Dr. Henry Meade Bland’s (SJSU faculty from 1899 – 1931) poem, The Tower Speaks.
Schedule:
11:45 a.m. - Opening remarks and poetry reading by AS President Megan Baker, Senate Vice Chair Beth Von Till and President Jon Whitmore. Legacy readings start at noon with Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Nils Peterson
1 p.m. – SJSU Readings from Today and the Legacy,
1 p.m. – about 4 pm – “Can Poetry Save the Earth?” sponsored by the Poet and Writers Coalition (SJSU Student Club),
More information on SJSU’s Legacy of Poetry,
Posted in Campus News, Events, Outstanding Faculty | Comments Off
April 18th, 2010
Mayor Chuck Reed to Speak on San Jose’s Green Vision During Sustainability Week at SJSU
In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed will give the keynote address for Sustainability Week at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in Engineering 189. The public is invited to engage Mayor Reed in conversation on newly-formed collaborations between the city and the university, as well as the progress the city is making on its award-winning Green Vision program. This event is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible. Earth Day originated with a proposal made by San Jose State alumnus and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson.
San Jose’s Green Vision encompasses such far-reaching goals as creating 25,000 clean-tech jobs, reducing the city’s per capita energy use by 50 percent, acquiring 100 percent of the city’s electricity from clean and renewable sources, diverting all waste away from landfills, and planting 100,000 new trees by 2022. San Jose State has begun collaborating with the city on developing a green workforce and supporting green building projects. These are just a few facets of SJSU efforts to further embrace sustainability throughout campus.
Sustainability Week, beginning Monday, April 19, is presented by the Environmental Resource Center in cooperation with the Office of the President’s Sustainability Initiative and Associated Students of SJSU. Campus sponsors include: the Career Center, Spartan Shops, Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering, Environmental Club, Nutrition Education Action Team, and the Environmental Studies Department. Other sponsors include the city of San Jose, Veggielution Community Farm, Whole Foods Market, Sacred Heart Community Service and California Rare Fruit Growers.
Sustainability Week events are all free and open to the public, including a presentation on recent sustainability efforts at SJSU (Monday), panels on green careers and corporate environmental and social responsibility (Tuesday), a special session with Rosemary Cambra, chairwoman of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe (Wednesday), and a memorial service for Frank Schiavo, renowned environmental activist and SJSU educator (Thursday).
San Jose State has embraced environmental activism, in a variety of forms, over the years. The school’s Environmental Studies Department, one of the oldest in the country, was founded in 1970 by internationally recognized renewable energy expert and architect Donald Aitken. That year, as part of a weeklong series of events called the Survival Faire, a group of SJSU students purchased a car and buried it on campus in a show of disdain for internal combustion engines and the pollution of the environment.
–SJSU Public Affairs
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April 16th, 2010
Beach Blanket Babylon invites San Jose State alumni to enjoy a special discount
Steve Silver had very fond memories of his time at San Jose State University. As a thank you, Producer Jo Schuman Silver and Beach Blanket Babylon would like to offer a special deal to San Jose State University Alumni Association members!
Purchase a regular priced ticket to any Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Sunday performance of Steve Silver’s Beach Blanket Babylon and receive $10 off! Offer valid through November 10, 2010
TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SPECIAL OFFER:
- Visit beachblanketbabylon.com and enter the code SJSU10 in the discount box at the bottom of the ‘Step 3’ page
- or -
- Call the Box Office at 415-421-4222 and mention ‘Stern Grove’
- or -
- Print out this newsletter and present it to the Beach Blanket Babylon Box Office (678 Green St.)
Steve Silver’s Beach Blanket Babylon is the world’s longest running musical revue. Packed with hilarious spoofs of pop culture & political characters, spectacular costumes, outrageously gigantic hats and one show-stopping number after another, the show continues to dazzle audiences at Club Fugazi in North Beach.
Beach Blanket Babylon performs Wednesdays & Thursdays at 8 p.m., Fridays at 6:30 p.m., Saturdays at 6:30 & 9:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 & 5 p.m.
CONDITIONS: Offer valid through November 10, 2010. Tickets subject to availability. Saturday performances are excluded. No refunds or exchanges.
All guests must be 21+ with valid I.D. except at Sunday performances
Posted in Alumni Association, Membership, Prominent Alumni | Comments Off
April 14th, 2010
Spartan Spring Fling
Benefitting the Spartan Foundation
Spartan Gym/Yosh Uchida Hall
Saturday, April 24, 2010
6:00pm
$50/person (net proceeds will fund student-athlete scholarships)
Price includes food, wine & beer, silent auction, Tommy Bahama Fashion Show featuring SJSU celebrities and benefitting the Spartan Foundation
For more information, contact 408-924-1692
Casual island attire…please no high heels!
Event Sponsors
Tommy Bahama Santana Row, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines,
Jason Stephens Winery and Black Diamond Brewing.
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