February 12, 2013

In this issue…

• Current News
• Family Updates
• Personnel Updates

Current News

College of Engineering hosts MATHCOUNTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MATHCOUNTS, a competitive mathematics program held at California Baptist University on Feb. 9, attracted 159 middle school students from 23 area schools.

Jonathan Shi of Riverside, a student at Frank Augustus Middle School, won the final individual countdown round, while Earhart Middle School’s Zherui Xuan earned the highest scores in the written round. In addition, teams from four area schools will move on to the state competition: Frank Augustus Middle School and Earhart Middle School, both of Riverside; Cope Middle School of Redlands; and Vail Ranch Middle School, Temecula.

“MATHCOUNTS is a national competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement,” explained Dr. Ziliang Zhou, chapter competition coordinator and chair of CBU’s mechanical engineering program. “Participants advance through school, chapter and state competitions until the final students are selected from 57 states and territories to advance to the national competition held each May.”

CBU’s College of Engineering (COE) has hosted the Riverside/San Bernardino chapter competition since 2009. COE students volunteer their time during the event to serve as competition graders and proctors. Top performers receive a $10,000 scholarship ($2,500 per year) if they enroll in the CBU engineering program as a full-time student in the future.

The competition included four rounds: the spirit round consisted of 30 problems that could only be completed by the most capable students within the time limit; the target round featured multi-step problems to engage students in mathematical reasoning and problem-solving processes; the team round included 10 problems that team members worked together to solve; and the countdown round was a fast-paced, oral competition for individuals with the highest scores from the spirit and target rounds. Calculators were only permitted in the target and team rounds.

The Southern California state competition will be held March 9 at the University of California Irvine. The 2013 Raytheon national competition will take place in Washington, D.C. May 9-12.

 

CBU cheerleading coach named Coach of the Year

California Baptist University’s Tami Fleming, head cheerleading coach, has been named California State College Cheer Coach of the Year by Cheerpros, the host of the California State Cheer Championships.

“I want it to help grow the program,” Fleming said. “I don’t necessarily want it to be glory for me and my hard work. I just want it to be like ‘Hey, CBU now has the coach of the year working for them. It is just another reason for students to come to this school and join this program.’”

Fleming was nominated for the award in November and then sent in three letters of recommendation and her resume. She was awarded the title Jan. 27.

Before Fleming came to CBU, the cheerleading team’s highest ranking at the National Cheerleading Association Collegiate Nationals was 10th. After guiding the squad for one year, Fleming helped the women earn the 5th ranking. Last year the team brought home the 2nd place title at the championship.

While initially embarrassed by the recognition, Fleming welcomes the award as an opportunity to promote CBU’s cheer program.

“It is another way to get the name of CBU out into the community and cheer world more and let people know that we are serious about our program,” Fleming said.

Fleming has spent three years of her 16-year career as a coach at CBU. Prior to working at the university, she owned an all-star cheerleading gym. She sold the gym after accepting the position as CBU’s head cheerleading coach.

“God totally knew what he was doing, because (CBU) has been a great fit for me,” Fleming said. “God is such a huge part of our program. He is so real here.”

 

Ellen recognizes CBU student as Volunteer of the Year

Ellen DeGeneres recently recognized CBU student Reneisha Wilkes as Volunteer of the Year on the nationally-broadcast Ellen Show. DeGeneres presented Wilkes with a $10,000 check from Shutterfly and a certificate.

“The amount of public service that you do is so impressive to me … so beautiful,” DeGeneres said on the Nov. 19 program as she presented the award.

Wilkes is a senior communication major in the Online and Professional Studies Division. After graduation, she plans to continue her education at CBU in the master of public relations program. She previously appeared on the show in 2010 and received a volunteer of the month certificate, $10,000 and a new car.

Wilkes began a non-profit organization called Someone Helped Me at the age of 14, offering free transportation to senior citizens and veterans.

“I love helping people,” Wilkes said in an e-mail describing her experience on The Ellen Show. “The ride share program was implemented when I started to receive so many letters from around the U.S. from veterans having a hard time finding rides. We help as many veterans as we possibly can get rides to their doctor appointments and to the grocery store.”

The first $10,000 check went to help pay tuition, to her church and to buy Christmas toys for children. The second check went to a local charity and to help with her wedding in March.

Wilkes says that anyone can assist those around them.

“I would just tell young people and (everyone) in general to help others any time and in any way you can,” she advised. “You don’t have to help people with money or material goods. You can help them by doing a good deed for them or saying a kind word. Help someone else, and you in turn will be blessed!”

 

Family Updates

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America honored both Ryan Jorden, CBU men’s soccer coach, and Kristen St. Clair, CBU women’s soccer coach, as national coaches of the year at the 2013 NSCCA Convention in Indianapolis. In addition, members of both soccer teams received recognition during the meeting. On the men’s side, Carlos Figueroa was named the NCCAA Division I Player of the Year. and Figueroa, Joey Pacheco, Cole Schmit and Alex Anderson were named to the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCCAA Division I All-America First Team. From the women’s team, Bernadette Witz won the NCCAA Division I Player of the Year, and Witz, Daelyn Paul and Kelly Jenks were named All-America First Team. Melissa Laxamana and Kimberly Allard were named All-America Second Team.

 

The MATHCOUNTS Chapter competition at CBU is making an impact on girls’ decisions in choosing engineering as a college major and profession. Eight of the top 16 students who got into the final countdown round in last Saturday’s MATHCOUNTS competition were girls. Among the top scorers was Angela Xu, a 7th grader at Miller Middle School and the daughter of Dr. Grace Ni, associate professor of electrical & computer engineering. Angela is qualified to compete at next month’s MATHCOUNTS State Competition at UC-Irvine. She was also the top performing student in Inland Region at last November’s AMC8 math contest (American Mathematics Competition for middle school). As a 7th grader, Angela will be back for next year’s MATHCOUNTS Chapter competition at CBU.

 

Deborah Carter, RN, MSN was recently invited to participate in a national task force focusing on the concept of undergraduates earning academic nursing credit for clinical time overseas and creating sustainable partnerships and community practices. The invitation is a result of her dissertation research on global nursing service learning and communication between nursing/non-nursing in the field overseas.

 

 

 

 

Susan Nelson, RN, MSN has been appointed to the Institute of Minority Health’s preconception health committee. IMH is a division of the National Health Institute. Nelson will be attending a meeting in March in Washington D.C.  She has been involved with preconception health on a state level for the past year as a result of her research and is one of the faculty advisors for the Preconception Peer Educator Club on campus at CBU.  The club has recently partnered with March of Dimes and Girls Inc. to plan and present a prototype presentation for mothers and daughters of life planning in Costa Mesa.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Matthew Emerson, assistant professor of Christian Studies in Online & Professional Studies, recently published Arbitrary Allegory, Typical Typology, or Intertextual Interpretation? Paul’s Use of the Pentateuch in Galatians 4:21–31  in the Biblical Theology Bulletin 43.1 (2013): 14-22.

 

 

 

 

Natural & mathematical science majors attended the department’s research seminar on Saturday, Feb. 9. The speaker for the event was Dr. Brian A. Federici, Distinguished Professor of Entomology from UC Riverside, who spoke about his research and opportunities available at his university. Several student speakers from CBU also discussed research projects and summer internships.

 

 

 

Dr. Meg Barth, professor of health sciences, presented a one-day seminar on technical marketing and healthy product innovation for a delegation from former Soviet block countries on Feb. 1 in Chicago. Some of the countries represented included Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Georgia. The program was part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Special American Business Internship Training program.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Linn Carothers, professor of mathematics, presented a paper titled Out of the Salt Shaker: Using the Salinon to Teach Calculus Modeling at the 38th Annual AMATYC (American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges) Conference in Jacksonville, Fla.  

 

 

 

 

Dr. Natalie C. Winter, associate professor of business, and her husband, Aldee, welcomed their daughter Aleida Bri Winter on Dec. 19, 2012. She weighed 7 lbs, 9 oz and was 20 inches in length.

 

 

 

 

CBU’s senior ROTC students pose for a group picture. From left, back row: Cadets Marcellino Valdez, Neil Bodwell, Jonathan Cook. Steven Hainzer and Tegh Singh. Front row: Vanessa Cerda, Lorelyn Lucas, Kyle Feldman, Maxx Mamula and Megan King

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aaron Christopher, assistant dean of graduate business programs, and CBU senior accounting majors David Carpio and Vanessa Eastland attended the annual CPA Day at the Capital event Jan. 23 in Sacramento, sponsored by the California Society of CPAs (CalCPA). They networked with CPAs and leaders of the profession from around the state and met with legislators to discuss issues relevant to the profession.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Trevor Gillum, assistant professor of kinesiology, recently published Salivary Antimicrobial Protein Response to Prolonged Running in Biology of Sport, 2013:30(1)3-8.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Barry Parker, reference & serials librarian, wrote a novel titled Resolutions, which was recently published by RoseDog Books (Dorrance Publishing).

 

 

 

 

 

Giuseppe Pitruzello, executive chef for Provider Contract Food Services, was a contestant on The Price Is Right. The segment will be aired on March 14.

 

Heidi Zameni, adjunct in English for Online and Professional Studies presented a paper titled The Secularization of Academia at Claremont Graduate University’s 4th Annual Research Conference.

 

CBU’s Shelby and Ferne Collinsworth School of Music has announced its spring calendar. View the dates for concerts, performances and tours by clicking here.

 

Personnel Updates

DATE	DEPARTMENT	POSITION	NAME	STATUS
2/9/2013	Tahquitz Pines	On-Call Camp Worker	Connie Benson	New Hire
2/9/2013	Tahquitz Pines	On-Call Camp Worker	Katherine Kent	New Hire
2/1/2013	Facilities and Planning Services	Administrative Manager	Brenda Flores	Change
2/1/2013	Enrollment Services	Graduate Admissions Counselor/Recruiter	David Stewart	No Longer Employed
2/12/2013	Registrar	Data Technician for Course & Records Maintanance	Kenya Johnson	No Longer Employed