In this issue…
Current News
CBU teams prepare during Intensive Training Weekend
Volunteers “check in” during the airport simulation as Intensive Training Weekend begins.
Suitcases, sleeping bags, passports and their owners covered the floor and tables in the Chick-fil-A and Wanda’s dining area on Jan. 30.
“It looks like this Chick-fil-A is at an airport,” a student passing by said.
Outside, recorded sounds of airplanes taking off filled the Great Commission Plaza. Adjacent to the Kugel, a make-shift terminal greeted about 400 students and team leaders to Intensive Training Weekend.
The three-day training is geared to prepare volunteers for their summer’s service projects, whether overseas or in the U.S. This year 42 teams will be serving in 18 countries.
The weekend is a tradition for the International and U.S. Service Project teams, and each year the Office of Mobilization (MOB) works to better equip and better prepare their volunteers, including some students who have never left the country or even flown before.
Friday began with the elaborate arrival simulation, where sights and sounds of the airport terminal, customs, health screening and security were created by the MOB staff and other volunteers.
After the simulation, the teams went to the opening sessions of prayer, worship and time with their teams. That evening, they set up beds for the weekend– sleeping bags on the floors of classrooms and lecture halls.
Saturday included training sessions and team bonding exercises. A disaster simulation ended the evening, where the teams used the disaster response training they had received earlier that day.
Jamie Jillson, sophomore psychology major, said she was thankful for that training.
“It makes you more aware,” Jillson said.
“All this training has prepared us for the right and wrong (ways to act),” said Valerie Spezzaferri, sophomore criminal justice major.
Sunday brought even more training, bonding time and team photos. Participants wore gray shirts with the theme for this year, “Resolve.”
Kristen White, director of the Office of Mobilization, said Intensive Training Weekend is only part of the training volunteers receive during the year. From the time they learn their assignments in December, students and leaders participate in a variety of workshops and exercises during the spring semester.
“CBU provides extensive ministry and cross-cultural training for students serving in the U.S. and overseas,” she said. “We are not just a ‘sending’ program; we are a discipleship program with a goal of investing in lives to develop followers of Christ.”
Riverside beautification program honors CBU Lancer Plaza
Lancer Plaza North offers space for university offices, student areas and a popular new dining facility.
Lancer Plaza North was honored with a beautification award Jan. 22 from the Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful (KRCB) program.
CBU received first place in the category of Exterior Reconstruction with Landscaping. Mayor Rusty Bailey and Cindy Roth, CEO of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, presented the KRCB awards during the annual State of the City address. Mark Howe, CBU vice president for finance and administration, accepted the award on behalf of the university.
Before CBU acquired the 11-acre property in 2006 and subsequently renamed it in honor of the university’s mascot, restaurants and retail stores occupied the shopping center that was known as Adams Plaza. Today, Lancer Plaza features space for university offices, student areas and El Monte Grill, one of the newest and most popular dining campus facilities.
The award is one of nine KRCB beautification awards presented each year, with some including second- and third-place honors.
According to the KRCB website, the awards are presented to “buildings and facilities within the City of Riverside that capture outstanding landscape, cleanliness and curb appeal.”
KRCB is a community program sponsored by the City of Riverside and the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce. Its mission is “to instill a sense of community pride by creating partnerships that work toward the beautification of the city.”
In 2014, CBU’s Recreation Center received the Mayor’s Award from KRCB.
Family Updates
Dr. Ronald L. Ellis
Dr. Ronald L. Ellis, president, served on a panel titled The Upside of Intercollegiate Athletics for Private Colleges and Universities at the Presidents Institute of the Council of Independent Colleges held in San Diego Jan. 4-7, 2015. The panel discussed how thoughtfully managed intercollegiate athletic programs can enhance enrollment, strengthen institutional image and support other educational purposes. Panelists compared NCAA Division II and Division III with NAIA rules and regulations pertaining to scholarships and discussed how to maximize recruiting efforts in each division. They emphasized the importance of building successful athletic programs and establishing measurable goals and outcomes as well as the importance of providing the institutional support necessary to build and sustain an athletic program that enhances the academic experience.
Dr. Elizabeth Morris
Dr. Riste Simnjanovski
Dr. Elizabeth Morris, associate professor of education for Online and Professional Studies, and Dr. Riste Simnjanovski, assistant dean for Online and Professional Studies, presented A Pilot Study: The Relationship Between Non-Cognitive Factors and Student Retention for Distance Education at The Clute Institute’s International Education Conference in Maui, Hawaii on Jan. 6, 2015. The paper earned Clute’s “Best Paper Award” for the session, the third such award for Simnjanovski and Morris at The Clute Institute’s International Education Conference.
Dr. Steve Strombeck
Dr. Steve Strombeck, interim dean of the School of Business, is co-author of an article titled Pricing management between partnering rivals: a coopetitive diffusion analysis, which was published in the December 2014 issue of the International Journal of Systems Science: Operations & Logistics.
Dr. Matthew Y. Emerson
Dr. Matthew Y. Emerson, assistant professor of Christian studies, presented a paper titled He Descended to the Dead: The Burial of Christ and the Eschatological Character of the Atonement at the Los Angeles Theology Conference at Biola University Jan. 15-16. Emerson was one of nine breakout speakers.
Dr. Jong-Wha Bai
Dr. Jong-Wha Bai, associate professor of civil engineering, co-authored an article titled Case Study: Scenario-Based Seismic Loss Estimation for Concrete Structures in Mid-America, which was published in the November issue of the journal, Earthquake Spectra.
Dr. Laura Veltman
Dr. Laura J. Veltman, associate professor of English, was invited to write a book review on Dawn Coleman’s Preaching and the Rise of the American Novel, which was published in the September issue of Nineteenth-Century Literature.
Shawn Wilhite
Shawn Wilhite, adjunct professor of Christian studies for Online and Professional Studies, welcomed a son, Caden Price Joseph Wilhite, on Dec. 31. In addition, Wilhite was author of Editorial: The Center for Ancient Christian Studies and Ancient Christian Studies and a review article of Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews, both published in the winter 2014 edition of Fides et Humiliates: The Journal of the Center for Ancient Christian Studies; a review of Union with Christ in the New Testament, published in the December 2014 issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society and an article titled Papias, published in Lexham Bible Dictionary.
Dr. Jan Kodat
Dr. Jan Kodat, professor of kinesiology, married Jaydee Edmisten on Oct. 12, 2014 in a small ceremony officiated by Dr. David Pearson, professor of kinesiology. In addition, she served as the team leader of an external review team who reviewed Loma Linda University’s post-professional physical therapy programs in December, 2014.
Dr. Jeffrey Barnes
Dr. Jeffrey Barnes, dean of academic services, conducted a workshop Jan. 21 at the Strategic Management Conference for the Corona Police Department. The workshop was titled The Wisdom of Walt: Leadership Lessons from the Happiest Place on Earth.
Dr. Bruce Stokes
Dr. Bruce Stokes, professor of anthropology and behavioral sciences, wrote an article titled Biblical Life Cycle, which was published in the newly released Messianic Jewish Family Bible, a family edition of the Tree of Life Version of the Bible. Stokes is a corporate advisor to the Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
Dr. Dennis Bideshi
Dr. Dennis K. Bideshi, professor of biology and clinical microbiologist, coauthored a paper titled Evolutionary relationships of iridoviruses and divergence of ascoviruses from invertebrate iridoviruses in the superfamily Megavirales, which was published in the January 2015 issue of the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. He also was an academic editor of a collection of work titled Antimicrobial Peptides: Current and Potential Applications in Biomedical Therapies that was published in the journal BioMed Research International in the January 2015 edition.
Dr. Mary Ann Pearson
More than 60 students and public relations professionals gathered in the Staples Room of the W.E. James building on Jan. 24 for the second annual YoPro Conference. The event was co-sponsored by CBU’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter and Public Relations Society of America-Inland Empire. Students from CBU and California State University (San Bernardino and Fullerton campuses) gathered to hear professional PR practitioners speak on generational communication, networking, interview skills and establishing a career in lifestyle public relations. Speakers included Dr. Mary Ann Pearson, associate professor of communication arts for Online and Professional Studies, and Robbie Silver of the Riverside Downtown Partnership, who is a CBU alumnus.
Brooke Marci Fletcher
Dr. Wayne Fletcher, assistant professor of health science, and his wife welcomed their first grandchild, Brooke Marci Fletcher, who was born in Castle Rock, Colo. on Jan. 12. She weighed 6 lbs. 10 ozs. and measured 20 inches long.
Mary Marshall won the first place individual trophy at the Grizzly Open Bible Quiz Tournament in Fresno on Jan. 10. Marshall, the daughter of Suzanne Marshall, adjunct professor of nursing, and Dr. Thomas Marshall, professor of civil engineering, is a member of the CBU Youth Bible Quiz team, which earned third place overall in the expert division at the tournament. Members of the team include Hannah and Leah Marshall, Mary’s sisters.Youth Bible Quiz is a program for youth from ages 12-18 that focuses on Bible memorization.
Personnel Updates
