Alumni Director Paul Richardson with SJSU graduates in the Circle City, Wednesday night

Our stops in Atlanta, Tuscaloosa, St. Louis and Indianapolis have all been great. Keep your eye out for more photos coming to our Flickr gallery soon.

We’d also like to thank Liberty Mutual and Avis for their help in making this week of outreach across the country. We’re always looking for ways to help out our alumni. So we’ve arranged for Liberty Mutual to provide our alumni with a special discounted rate on Auto Insurance and Home Insurance. Visit Liberty Mutual.

And watch for details coming soon on new ways to save with Avis, our newest partner!

We’re excited to see Spartans across the country over the next few weeks. Even if you can’t attend one of the events, but live between some of these cities, we’d love to hear from you.

E-mail Paul Richardson or Brian Bates and tell us where you’re at!

Thursday, September 2 – ATLANTA

Alumni reception – free and open to all Spartans!

SJSU alumni director Paul Richardson will be in attendance

RSVP or learn more

Saturday, September 4 – TUSCALOOSA

Pregame party prior to the SJSU vs. Alabama football game; free and open to alumni, friends, donors, player families!

SJSU President Don W Kassing will be in attendance

as well as our athletic director, Tom Bowen; alumni director Paul Richardson

RSVP or learn more

Tuesday, September 7 – ST. LOUIS

Alumni reception – free and open to all Spartans!

SJSU alumni director Paul Richardson will be in attendance

RSVP or learn more

Wednesday, September 8 – INDIANAPOLIS

Alumni reception – free and open to all Spartans!

SJSU alumni director Paul Richardson will be in attendance

RSVP or learn more

Thursday, September 9 – CHICAGO

Alumni reception – free and open to all Spartans!

SJSU President Don W Kassing will be in attendance

as well as our athletic director, Tom Bowen; alumni director Paul Richardson

RSVP or learn more

Saturday, September 11 – MADISON

Pregame party prior to the SJSU vs. Wisconsin football game; free and open to alumni, friends, donors, player families!

SJSU President Don W Kassing will be in attendance

as well as our athletic director, Tom Bowen; alumni director Paul Richardson

RSVP or learn more

These events are proudly supported by Liberty Mutual. Learn how you can save on home and auto insurance as a SJSU grad through the Group Savings Plus® program.

As a reminder, all events are FREE and open to all alumni. Donations are welcome at the event.

Networking mixers are a great way to expand your personal and professional network of fellow San Jose State grads. The Alumni Association hosts appetizers with a no-host bar available. Bring your business cards and come prepared to connect in a fun atmosphere.

Keep an eye out in San Francisco and on the Peninsula for details coming soon about mixers this fall. This is in addition to our monthly mixer in San Jose!

RSVP on our Facebook page.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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,