In this issue…
Current News
‘Who you are is always changing,’ says Tuskegee Airman
Buford A. Johnson, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, spoke to a CBU audience about the challenges of racial segregation in the military during World War II.
“What you are never changes,” said Buford A. Johnson, a retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant who served with the Tuskegee Airmen. “Who you are is always changing.”
Johnson spoke about his experiences with racial segregation, obstacles and accomplishments as a Tuskegee Airman to a California Baptist University audience of about 350 on Oct. 14. The African-American group of pilots flew combat missions from 1941 to 1949 during World War II.
“Once the Tuskegee experiment had begun, we weren’t happy with that,” he said. “African-American pilots trained diligently to be able to fly. They made the test really hard, but no one scored less than a 98. We wanted to be ready to go whenever we were asked to go.”
As an example, Johnson recalled Col. Charles Magee, a fellow Tuskegee Airman, who accomplished 1,600 flight hours and flew 409 combat missions in three wars.
“He was one of the ones told he wasn’t courageous enough or that flying was too complicated for him,” Johnson said, “but he flew more combat hours than anyone else.”
More than 900 pilots graduated from the Tuskegee program before President Harry Truman signed a bill to integrate the military. Six of them, including Johnson, were sent to mechanic school. Johnson became a crew chief to help maintain the aircraft.
“Most people had never seen a black mechanic,” he said. “First thing, they gave me an airplane that had been cannibalized for parts for other planes. It couldn’t fly, so they called it a hangar queen.”
Johnson ordered parts, fixed up the plane and painted it.
“After a month, I thought it was ready to go,” he said. “I got a test pilot to take it up, and it was in better shape than the ones they had been flying.”
Johnson said the legislation to desegregate the military only made sense to him.
“There was no need to have a black Air Force and a white Air Force,” he said. “Why couldn’t we just have a U.S. Air Force? You can’t tell a person’s character by the color of his skin.”
CBU demonstrations highlight Long Night of Arts & Innovation
Spectators at the Long Night of Arts & Innovation were fascinated by the CBU College of Engineering’s presentation of “The Amazing World of 3D Printing.” Photo by Willoughby Douglas
California Baptist University faculty and students demonstrated their work to Riverside residents who participated in the Long Night of Arts & Innovation last evening. CBU was represented at the event by the College of Engineering, the department of kinesiology, the School of Nursing and the College of Architecture, Visual Arts and Design.
“I’ve been to all the engineering booths,” said David Lynley, an 8th grader who attended with his grandmother. “I came last year and was really fascinated by the robots, so I’m glad they’re back this year. They’re really a highlight for me.”
The robot demonstration was only one of those offered. Other CBU presentations included high-speed imaging, apps for smart living, building with Legos, Leonard Da Vinci machines, hearing protection, 3D sensing, suspension of belief, concussion testing in athletic training, 3D printing, using muscle impulses to control technology and an art exhibit.
CBU was a sponsor of the event, which began in 2012. The Long Night of Arts & Innovation was inspired by a similar event in Riverside’s sister city of Erlangen, Germany.
First play of CBU theater season continues this week
“Songs for a New World” is an abstract musical connected by the theme of “the moment of decision.” Photo by Willoughby Douglas
California Baptist University’s theater program opened the 2013-2014 season last weekend with the abstract musical “Songs for a New World.” Performances will continue Oct. 17-19.
The play is considered an “abtract musical” because it features a series of songs all connected by a theme, the moment of decision. Performers do not literally play the same characters throughout the show, but each character they play is developed in the storyline.
“It’s about one moment,” said Jason Robert Brown, the show’s composer. “It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice, take a stand or turn around and go back.”
The play will be performed Thursday through Saturday with performances each evening at 7:30 p.m. and a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee. General admission tickets are $15, or $12 for senior citizens, the matinee performance, CBU students, faculty, staff and alumni. The CBU family can also take advantage of date night prices for $25, which includes two tickets, two soft drinks and two candy bars. Tickets for the four-play series are also available at $49 for the evening series and $39 for the matinee series.
For more information or to purchase tickets, stop by the Wallace Theatre box office or call them at 951.343.4319.
Family Updates
Support ISP/USP by donating blood on the CBU campus. For every person who donates, $20 will go to support the International Service Projects and United States Projects teams. Available dates include Nov. 21, Jan. 22-23 and March 27-28. Contact the Office of Mobilization for more information by e-mailing mob@calbaptist.edu.
California Baptist University’s ROTC program and Operation Gratitude will host Christmas for the Troops each Thursday and Friday from Oct. 17 to Nov. 15. Participants will write a Christmas card or donate items to a soldier. For more information, click here.
Dr. Lorna Kendrick
Dr. Lorna Kendrick, professor of nursing, was selected as a mentor for future Ph.D. students in nursing as part of the Doctoral Advancement in Nursing (DAN) project, in connection with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and American Association of Nursing’s New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program Partnership. DAN is designed to enhance the pipeline of future nurse leaders, faculty and researchers by using strategies to identify, encourage and support interested in pursuing doctoral degrees.
Dr. Linn Carothers
Dr. Linn Carothers, program director for math and physics, presented a lecture titled Shafted: Alice In Wonderland Says NO to Hollywood’s “Total Recall” of Math and Physics to science and math students at Notre Dame High School in Riverside and Vasquez High in Acton, Calif.
Dr. Daniel Prather
Dr. Daniel Prather, chair of the department of aviation science, taught a two-day Advanced Airport Safety and Operations Specialist (ASOS) school to airport professionals in Boise, Idaho Oct. 5-6. He also conducted a four-day course in Airport Operations on behalf of the American Association of Airport Executives in Orlando, Fla. September 10-13.
Joseph Sabol
Joseph Sabol, adjunct professor in natural and mathematical sciences, presented a lecture at the Inaugural Global STEMx Education Conference on the topic of Maker Camp: Engaging students with STEM activities on Sept. 20. The focus of the conference included science, technology, engineering and math.
Dr. Susan Studer
Dr. Susan Studer, professor of education, presented a paper titled Exploring Landscapes of Research: Questions, Methods, and New Territories for Further Understanding Old Queries at the annual meeting of the Organization of Educational Historians in Chicago on Oct. 5.
Dr. Joseph Pelletier
Dr. Joseph Pelletier, assistant professor of psychology, presented a lecture at the Virtues, Vices and Teaching conference at the Kuyers Institute of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. On Oct. 4. Pelletier’s presentation was titled Virtue Made Vice: The Seven Deadly Sins Committed by University Students.
Dr. Gayne Anacker
Dr. Gayne Anacker, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, made a presentation Sept. 18 titled Virtue Ethics and the Public Relations Practitioner to the California Inland Empire Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
Dr. Chuck Sands
Dr. Chuck Sands, dean of the College of Allied Health, participated in several events in the past few weeks, including
- the quarterly board meeting of the American Public Health Association on Oct. 8;
- the Riverside College Fair on Oct. 2, where he was accompanied by two Leadership Allied Health students, Halle Hall and Cassidy Peixoto;
- a presentation titled The Future of Health Care Professions to more than 350 AVID and Health Science Academy students at Banning High School on Sept. 26;
- the quarterly board meeting of Partners in Medicine on Sept. 24 and a presentation titled Expansion in Global Healthcare Engagement at the annual meeting of the Consortium of Education held in Birmingham, Ala. Sept. 20.
Dr. Melissa Wigginton
Dr. Laurie Black
Dr. Melissa Wigginton, assistant professor of health science, and Dr. Laurie Black, assistant professor of kinesiology, completed the National Institutes of Health’s Writing and Designing NIH Proposals workshop at UCLA on Sept. 24.
Dr. Barry Parker
Dr. Barry Parker, reference and serials librarian, spoke about his novel Resolutions as a member of a local authors panel at Cellar Door Books in Riverside on Sept. 21.
Dr. Virgo Handojo
Dr. Virgo Handojo, associate professor of psychology, chaired a conference session at the 5th Asian Congress of Health Psychology in Daejeon, Korea Aug. 22-24. He also presented a research paper titled Adult Attachment Style, Acculturative Stress and Satisfaction with Life.
Dr. Creed Jones
Dr. Creed Jones, professor of software engineering, received notice recently that a U.S. patent has been granted for his invention titled Computerized System and Method for Estimating Levels of Obesity in an Insured Population. This invention is a predictive model that can identify people who are likely to suffer from, or be at risk of, obesity, without the need for detailed medical records investigation. By looking at the pattern of care (number and types of medical appointments and prescriptions), the model can assign a “likelihood to struggle with obesity,” which can be used to identify people who may benefit from voluntary programs and high-touch care that would be prohibitively expensive to offer to an entire population. It uses data mining techniques and neural networks to assign this score. Jones was one of five inventors who worked on the project.
Dr. Mary Ann Pearson
Dr. Mary Ann Pearson, associate professor of communication and education in Online and Professional Studies, had an article titled Study of Journalism Students’ Perception of Their Education: Abstract published in the September edition of Connect Magazine, a publication of the International Mentoring Association.
Dr. Juliann Perdue
Dr. Juliann Perdue, associate professor of nursing, presented two papers at the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses 39th Annual Educational Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Oct. 2-5. The papers were titled Integrative Rehabilitation Model and Integration of Complementary and Alternative Therapies in an Acute Rehabilitation Hospital: A Readiness Assessment.
From left:
Dr. Lijing Ke, China Academy of Science; Dr. Valentina Mellini, Italian Research Centre on Food and Nutrition; Dr. Dongxiao Sun-Waterhouse, Senior Research Fellow, University of Aukland (Chair); Karen Burke, MD, professor at Mt. Sinai Medical Center; Dr. Meg Barth
Dr. Meg Barth, program director for nutrition and food sciences, served as co-chair and presented a lecture and two poster presentations in the antioxidant session of the World Congress on Food Science & Technology held Sept. 23-25 in Hangzhou, China.
Natania Bell Heyman
Dr. Nate Heyman, assistant professor of biology, and his wife, Tracey, welcomed their first baby, Natania Bell, on Sept. 19. She was born at 9:40 a.m. and weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces.
It’s not too late to sign up for the Lancer 5000 on Saturday, Nov. 16. The registration fees are $10 for students and $20 for faculty and staff. Participants can register the day of the race or bring them to the athletics office on the north side of the gym. Flyers are available in the game room or at the Recreation Center. Chick-Fil-A, Monster Energy and Jamba Juice will be present during the race.
Personnel Updates
| DATE | DEPARTMENT | POSITION | NAME | STATUS |
| 10/15/2013 | Athletics | Asst. Men’s and Women’s Swim Coach | Steve Friederang | New Hire |
| 10/16/2013 | Enrollment Services | Admissions Systems Analyst | Nicholas Brownell | Change |
| 10/16/2013 | Campus Store | Financial Coordinator | Morgan Cox | Change |
| 10/15/2013 | Public Safety | Public Safety Officer | Bradley Chaddick | No Longer Employed |
| 10/11/2013 | Residence Life | Receptionist | Sarah-Ann Chaddick | No Longer Employed |