October 10, 2014

In this issue…

• Current News
• Family Updates
• Personnel Updates

Current News

CBU dedicates School of Nursing Annex and Prayer Garden

Nearly 200 nursing students were among those who gathered Sept. 25 for the dedication of the Nursing Annex and the Robert and Phoebe Lambeth Prayer Garden at California Baptist University.

The annex nearly triples the space available for classrooms and laboratories for the nursing school that was established in 2005 and now numbers 597 students.

In remarks at the dedication, CBU President Ronald L. Ellis spoke about the growth of the School of Nursing and acknowledged the generosity of Robert and Phoebe Lambeth for their decades of financial support of CBU. The Lambeth’s attended the ceremony along with their son, Pike, and his family.

The Robert and Phoebe Lambeth Prayer Garden provides students a place for quiet reflection. Inscribed on a fountain in the garden are the words of Matthew 25:35-40, in which Jesus speaks about feeding the hungry and visiting the sick. Ellis noted the scripture fits well with the school because nurses serve those in need.

Dr. Geneva Oaks, dean of the School of Nursing, offered the prayer of dedication at the ceremony.

Phoebe Lambeth, who is also a CBU trustee, reflected on the dedication of the garden.

“It was lovely and touching,” she said. “I was so glad our family was there to see it and to see what it means to us.”

Following the dedication and ribbon cutting, attendees toured the prayer garden and the Nursing Annex classrooms, offices and state-of-the-art labs, as well as a simulation room designed to give nursing students realistic clinical scenarios.

 

CBU announces record fall enrollment of 7,957 students

Enrollment at California Baptist University for the fall 2014 semester is a record-high 7,957 students—an 11 percent increase above the fall 2013 enrollment figure, President Ronald L. Ellis announced Oct. 3.

“This is a day of celebration,” Ellis told the university’s Board of Trustees at their fall meeting. “That is a huge increase and we are very grateful for the way God has been blessing CBU.”

This year’s enrollment number represents an increase of 813 students over the fall 2013 total of 7,144. All enrollment segments, including undergraduate, graduate and Online and Professional Studies, are included in this year’s figures.

“This size of increase is extremely rare in institutions the size of CBU,” Ellis said. He noted that 2014 marks the fourth consecutive year of 600-plus enrollment growth compared to the previous year and a 94 percent increase in five years. Fall 2009 enrollment was 4,105.

“We’ve had an amazing five-year run,” Ellis declared.

The current student body is 8.8 times larger than the 808 students enrolled when Ellis began his tenure as president in 1994. During the 64-year history of the institution, enrollment has jumped by triple digits 14 times – all of those since fall 1995.

California Baptist University offers 158 undergraduate majors and concentrations and 41 master’s degree programs. Founded in 1950, CBU is a private comprehensive institution located in Riverside, Calif. and affiliated with the California Southern Baptist Convention. CBU is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities and the Consortium for Global Education.

 

CBU professor speaks on legal issues of drones

Most people may think of the military or the government when they hear the word drone. Or they may think of the small models that individuals own. They might not think of the legal issues that come with an Unmanned Aircraft System, otherwise known as a drone.

But Dr. Daniel Skubik, a professor of law, ethics and humanities at California Baptist University, does. He spoke Oct. 7 at the Riverside County Law Library in downtown Riverside as part of the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education programs for lawyers. He spoke on “Drones: Legalities, Practicalities, Myths and Facts.” Skubik is an attorney specializing in international law. He also conducted research on drones in the fall of 2012 while he was on sabbatical at Zirve University in Turkey.

Skubik discussed the technical complexities of the devices, since what counts as a drone ranges in size from ounces to tons. Costs range from $100 to tens of millions, and they are being used by governments, as well as corporations and hobbyists.

“Anyone can build a drone. It’s like building a model airplane,” he said. It’s the attachments, such as cameras or weapons that make them different.

Because of the variety of drones, there is a wide range of legal issues involved, from international and foreign affairs legalities to federal, state and local laws and regulations concerning their use, Skubik said. Possible legal issues domestically include trespass, nuisance and invasion of privacy. No commercial use of drones, such as by photographers, is allowed, though many do not know that, he said.

“The law is very rarely able to handle current technological issues. It’s usually behind,” Skubik said after the presentation. “I would like to see the law address these issues.”

 

Nutrition guide aims to give Lancers the fuel they need

It started with a question, which led to a product aimed at helping Lancer athletes be all that they can.

Four years ago Chris Bates was interviewing with California Baptist University for the position of head strength and conditioning coach. He remembers being asked what the Chris Bates era would be like.

“I thought that was a really cool question,” Bates said. “It did two things. It empowered me to really do my job, but then it also freed me up to really dream and think big.”

CBU did not have a strength and conditioning program when he was hired, so Bates built the program from the ground up. He did an assessment of what the program had and what was needed, everything from equipment to non-tangibles such as the mission of athletics. He changed the name of the program to Athletic Performance Development to be more encompassing and to include strength conditioning, speed agility and leadership development. Over time, the program received a new facility and equipment. The program also helps student athletes who get injured.

“I’m here primarily for the student athletes, to train our student athletes, to help them to get stronger, to help them perform better,” he said.

The latest component in helping athletes perform better is nutrition. This summer the Lancers Fuel, a nutrition guide, was put together and will be given to all student athletes.

“The most immediate need for Lancers Fuel was education,” Bates said. “Student athletes would constantly ask, ‘Hey, Coach Bates, what should I be eating?’”

That made him think the students needed more information. He researched and looked at what other schools were doing. Then he shared his vision and brainstormed with Dr. Micah Parker, director of athletics. Dr. Margaret Barth, program director of nutrition and food sciences in the CBU College of Allied Health, was brought on board. Kimberly Walters, a nutrition and food sciences senior, began doing research in June, looking at nutrition textbooks and other programs with university athletic nutrition manuals and assembling the information. It was customized for CBU student athletes.

“We wanted it to be very practical and hands-on,” Barth said. The guide includes information on portion sizes, when to eat, energy drinks, supplements, sleep and more. It also gives recommendations for students in specific sports.

“The sky’s the limit right now on how they use it,” Bates said. The athletic performance development staff will reference it. They will also encourage the coaches to use it with the teams.

Both Bates and Barth see the guide as just the beginning to teaching CBU athletes about nutrition.

“That’s just the first phase in the education,” Bates said. “I definitely think it’s a great platform just to continue to build our Lancers Fuel program and ultimately build our athletic performance development program,” Bates said.

 

Family Updates

A performance group from the Shelby Ferne Collinsworth School of Music took their music to China for about 12 days last summer. Eight students and Dr. Judd Bonner, dean of the Collinsworth School of Music, performed concerts at universities and high schools and led worship at a church service. Bonner also demonstrated conducting. The group was well received, often receiving standing ovations from audiences that averaged about 1,000 in number, Bonner said.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Mary Ann Pearson, associate professor of public relations for Online and Professional Studies, presented a session Sept. 17 on researching, planning, implementing and evaluating a public relations campaign at the 17th Nonprofit Conference at the Grove Church in Riverside. More than 100 attended the meeting, which is presented annually by Community Connect to expand the impact of the nonprofit sector through peer-to-peer learning, networking and collaboration.

 

 

 

Dr. Derek Updegraff, assistant professor of English, published two poems in the Saint Katherine Review, volume 4, number 3. The poems are titled My unbelief is a weeping in a field and A bird of one kind or another.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Julianna Browning, associate professor of accounting for Online & Professional Studies, recently edited an article titled Education for Sustainability in the Accounting Curriculum at a New Zealand University for the Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Ana Gamez, associate professor of forensic psychology, was awarded a Quality Service Award on Sept. 11 from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in recognition of her dedication to assisting police officers during emergency situations.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Dennis K. Bideshi, professor of biology and clinical microbiologist, co-authored six published peer-reviewed scientific articles over the past several months. He also was a co-author of work presented at the annual Society for Invertebrate Pathology meeting in Mainz, Germany. In addition, he has accepted current positions on the editorial boards of two recently established journals: Dataset Papers in Science and Advances in Biology.

 

 

 

Dr. Dawn Gilmore, assistant professor of music, welcomed guest musicians to her Music in Global Cultures class recently. Student Daniel Herrera and his family are active in the mariachi group Estrellas de Oro y Plata. They discussed mariachi music, its history in Central America, and they performed for the class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Joshua Knabb, assistant professor of psychology for Online and Professional Studies, wrote an article titled A Preliminary Investigation of the Relationship Between Religion and Marital Adjustment Among Christian Adults From a Conservative Denomination, which was published in a recent issue of Journal of Psychology and Christianity. He also co-authored an article with Dr. Joseph Pelletier, assistant professor of psychology, and Anna Grigorian-Routon, lecturer in psychology for Online and Professional Studies, titled Towards a Psychological Understanding of Servanthood: An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Orthodox Beliefs, Experiential Avoidance, and Self-Sacrificial Behaviors Among Christians at a Religiously-Affiliated University, published in the Journal of Psychology & Theology.

 

Dr. Thomas Ferko, professor of chemistry, and Dr. Bruce Prins, professor of biology, spoke Sept. 24 at the monthly natural and mathematical sciences department colloquium on their experiences leading ISP teams last summer. Prins led the South Asia: Healthcare team and Ferko led the East Asia: Applied Science team.

 

 

 

 

Robert Shields, online learning systems administrator for Online and Professional Studies, was honored Sept. 29 as Employee of the Month for October. His nomination form included the following statements: “Robert’s commitment and dedication to providing the highest level of service is exemplified through his actions. Robert has worked weekends and evenings and has traveled to remote sites in order to assist faculty. His soft-spoken and gentle disposition combined with a keen technical ability are key ingredients that help calm customers and build trust as he works with them to solve problems.”

 

 

 

Dr. Art Cleveland, vice president for university advancement, chaired a session on water pollution management and presented a paper at the International Congress on the Environment Sept. 21-23 in Qingdao, China. Cleveland is also professor of environmental science at CBU. His presentation was titled: Utilization of a Patented Microbial Continuous-Flow Augmentation System to Reduce Biological Oxygen Demand and Pollutants for Small Business and Municipalities.

 

 

 

Dr. Candace Vickers, associate professor of speech and language pathology, served as guest editor for the June edition of Perspectives on Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders, published online Oct. 3. She also wrote an article in the journal titled Communication Recovery Groups for Persons with Aphasia: A Replicable Program for Medical and University Settings.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Jacob Lanphere, assistant professor of environmental science, and his wife Jill welcomed a daughter on Sept. 23. Kate Madeleine was born at 7:57 p.m., weighing 8 lbs. 12 ozs., and measuring 20.5 inches long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isabella Garcia, daughter of Katrina Garcia, assistant director of academic advising in Online and Professional Studies, recently traveled with her softball team, the OC Batbusters, to play in the 10U class Amateur Softball Association National Tournament. The team placed 2^nd out of 44 teams.

 

 

 

 

Personnel Updates