February 13, 2015

In this issue…

• Current News
• Family Updates
• Personnel Updates

Current News

CBU professor selected for Oxford project

Dr. Erin Smith, assistant professor of psychology, has been selected as one of 25 participants for the Bridging the Two Cultures of Science and the Humanities project during the next two summers in Oxford, England.

The announcement came from Scholarship & Christianity in Oxford (SCIO), the United Kingdom Centre of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The organization is a research and educational institute in Oxford, producing and supporting scholarship in a recognized center of international educational and scholarly excellence.

Funded by the Templeton Religion Trust, the program fosters in participants the interdisciplinary skills and understanding central to the study of religion.

In addition to attending the summer seminars with lectures from eminent scholars in the field, Smith will work on her own original research project, Promoting and Preventing the Dialogue: Psychological Influences on Discussion in Science and Religion. She will also establish a science and religion student club at CBU. Grant funds are provided to assist with the research and the student organization.

A final conference with presidents from participating institutions will be held in the summer of 2016.

According to the SCIO, the selection committee looked for early-to-mid-career faculty with proven interdisciplinary, leadership and communication skills and a strong research record who were fully supported by their sending institutions.

The project is “a timely and important initiative that will greatly strengthen teaching and research in science and religion, and enhance the intellectual experience of the faculty and their students,” said Allister McGrath, academic director of Bridging the Two Cultures, Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion and director of the Ian Ramsey Centre at the University of Oxford.

More information is available on SCIO’s website: http://www.scio-uk.org/bridging-two-cultures/.

 

“The Hiding Place” run begins Feb. 20

California Baptist University will present “The Hiding Place” Friday, Feb. 20, through Saturday, Feb. 28.

The play tells the story of Corrie ten Boom and her family, who lived under the shadow of World War II Nazism. The ten Boom family lead lives of service, providing a hiding place for people fleeing the Nazis. The story takes the audience from a cozy clock shop in Haarlem, Holland, to the nightmare of the Ravensbruck concentration camp and back to hope again.

Frank Mihelich, director of the production and assistant professor of theatre, remembers reading the book in high school and staying up all night to read it.

“It’s just a compelling story,” he said. “We want to start inclusive conversations about faith, so we want to tell stories that are either dead-on about the gospel or just about humanity.”

Kiana Miskel, a junior theatre major, plays Corrie ten Boom.

“I think the biggest challenge that I have faced with playing this role is the fear of failing to give justice to such an incredible human being and tell her story the way that it needs to be told,” she said. “Being able to hear what these people went through at one of the darkest times in our history and were still able to put their faith and trust in Christ through it all has been so inspiring.”

She said the issues the play presents aren’t difficult to handle, but they are emotionally draining.

“I think it is worth it to really tap into what these people went through at that time,” she said. “It is an important story to be told, and I am proud to be a part of this beautiful production.

Corrie’s faith also touched Mihelich.

“The thing that struck me the most, even when I read the book when I was a kid, was that she had that slogan, and it appears in the play – ‘there is no pit so deep that Jesus is not deeper yet,’” he said. “Light shines the brightest in darkness.”

“I think often about my first-world problems – my latte isn’t hot,” he added.

Performances begin Friday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. and continue Saturday, Feb. 21, with a 2 p.m. matinee and a 7:30 p.m. show. The play will resume Thursday, Feb. 26, through Saturday, Feb. 28, with performances each evening at 7:30 p.m. and a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee. General admission tickets are $15, with discounts offered for matinees, senior citizens and CBU students, faculty, staff and alumni.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Wallace Theatre box office at 951-343-4319.

 

Student athlete wins national writing contest

A California Baptist University senior recently won the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Writing Contest in the college student division.

Jake Zalesky, a public relations major and sports information intern, won with a soccer article he wrote for cbulancers.com. Sammi Sheppard, director of sports information, entered him in the contest without his knowledge, so he was even more surprised he won.

“I was shocked. I never thought that something I’d write would win anything, let alone something that’s soccer-related,” he said. Zalesky also is a member of the soccer team.

“That was really exciting, the fact that I wrote an article for my team, and it won an award,” he said. “That was great. That was a huge blessing.”

It also made it a challenge writing the stories.

“As a writer, you have to get rid of all biases,” he said. “You have to stand neutral with things that you’re writing about. It was tough at first, but now it’s a lot easier for me.”

For Zalesky, the biggest reward is seeing his articles online or in print and having the opportunity to write.

“Just seeing it actually there with my name on it is really rewarding,” he said. “It’s giving me a lot of experience. Just being able to write for the school is a huge reward for me.”

Sheppard wanted to give him practical experience after he expressed an interest in sports information.

“I’m very happy for Jake,” Sheppard said. “It’s always encouraging to get some positive feedback, especially when you’re still learning. He’s been a great help this year and has the makings of a great sports information director if he wants to be.”

To read Zalesky’s winning story, click here.

 

Dean of medical school speaks on health and diseases

California Baptist University’s College of Allied Health hosted speaker Dr. G. Richard Olds on Feb. 10 for its Distinguished Lecture Series. Olds, the founding dean of University of California, Riverside’s School of Medicine, spoke to an audience of CBU students on the topic “Revenge of the Rainforest.”

Olds is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He has worked as the head of Brown University’s International Health Institute and is an expert in tropical rainforest diseases.

The lecture covered infectious diseases hidden within rainforests and the role that health professionals play in combating them.

“I think health professionals need more background in public health,” Olds said. “All health professionals need a better understanding of what is a cost-effective way to care for patients.”

Olds referred to recent outbreaks of Ebola.

“No one appreciated the potential health risk until it got into a densely populated environment where the transition from person to person could proceed faster than the virus could kill off infectious hosts,” he said.

Olds believes the current Ebola epidemic could not be stopped even if there was a cure tomorrow.

“We have to identify the cases, quarantine them and treat them without letting our own health care professionals get sick themselves,” he said. “That is exactly how the Ebola epidemic will be controlled.”

He concluded his talk by saying the priorities for health spending needed to change.

“We put too much money in this country into curing people after they get sick,” Olds said. “We should put far more resources into public health. The patient would actually prefer not to get sick in the first place. I would prefer to stay healthy.”

 

College of Engineering hosts MATHCOUNTS for area schools

MATHCOUNTS, a competitive mathematics program, attracted more than 150 middle school students to the California Baptist University campus Feb. 7.

MATHCOUNTS is an organization dedicated to promoting engineering and mathematics at the middle school level. The students came from 26 middle schools in the Riverside/San Bernardino region.

The Gordon and Jill Bourns College of Engineering has hosted the competition since 2009. About 25 engineering students served as judges during this year’s event.

The top ranked individuals were Alair Zhao of Oxford Preparatory Academy in Chino, Richard Hu of Beattie Middle School in Highland and Samuel Xu of Frank Augustus Miller Middle School in Riverside.

In the team competition, the top four teams advanced to the state competition: Riverside’s Amelia Earhart Middle School, Beattie Middle School, Frank Augustus Miller Middle School, and the No. 1 team, Riverside STEM Academy.

“We appreciate CBU allowing us to be here. It is very generous of them to provide this,” said Rosalee Hrubic, coach of the Riverside STEM Academy team.

CBU’s College of Engineering awards $10,000 scholarships ($2,500 per year) to the top performers if they enroll in the CBU engineering program as a full-time student in the future.

The competition consisted of four rounds: the sprint round has 30 problems that students have 40 minutes to complete; the target round featured eight questions, distributed a pair at a time and students have six minutes to compete each pair; 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 sprint and target rounds.

“I feel so proud. This is my first year in MATHCOUNTS, and I am going to state. I hope that I can get to nationals,” said Major Yang of Riverside STEM Academy, a top 16 finalist.

In addition to judging, the CBU volunteers also performed a robotics showcase in which participants were able to interact with a human-like robot and a 3-D printer display.

The state competition will be held at the University of California, Irvine on March 14.

 

Lancer 5000 run will benefit CBU cross country/track

California Baptist University will host the 5^th annual Lancer 5000 sponsored by Lexus of Riverside on Feb. 14.

The 5K run/walk will start on Palm Drive, the original entrance of California Baptist University and, after two loops through the campus, finish down Palm Drive. Participants will finish the last quarter mile running along the front lawn and Fortuna Fountain with cheering spectators and music as they cross the finish line. The event helps raise funds for the CBU cross country and track program. The event will also include great food, vendors, such as Lexus of Riverside, Chick-fil-A Hidden Valley, United States Karate Organization and UFC Gym Corona, and a post-race raffle for all of the race participants.

Children may also join the fun in the 1K Kiddie Run. All those in the Kiddie Run will receive a medal. The top three men and women in each age group also will receive a medal, and the top three men and women overall will receive additional prizes. Past runs have attracted 200 to 300 participants.

To register, go to www.active.com/riverside-ca/running/races/lancer-5000-sponsored-by-lexus-of-riverside-2015

 

CBU Career Center prepares students for the job interview

The California Baptist University Career Center offers students the opportunity to prepare for the job search by offering mock interviews conducted by experienced professionals.

“It is important. You come to school for four years, and an interview is usually 45 minutes to an hour,” said Mike Bishop, senior director at the Career Center. He said the goal of the Career Center is to focus on making those 45 to 60 minutes really count.

“You’re never going to stop interviewing, so the fact that we have the resource to have as many as we want is totally invaluable,” said Taylor Engbrecht, a senior marketing student.

As senior marketing student Trent Ward put it, “The most beneficial part of the process was being able to experience the real-life nerves and pressures of a live interview.”

Participants are expected to dress professionally and bring a copy of their resume to the interview. The participant informs the interviewer of the type of job they are preparing for, then the interviewer acts as if he or she is interviewing the participant for that job.

“I heard it was intense, so I prepared,” Engbrecht said.

The interview lasts about 25 minutes followed by another 25 minutes of critique. The interviewer gives tips on how to improve the participant’s performance. Assistance in building a resume is also available.

“Overall the feedback was an incredible tool, and it was a great eye-opener for what interviewing will be like in the professional world,” Engbrecht said.

“It is definitely an invaluable experience for anyone bold enough to take on the challenge,” Ward said.

“This is an opportunity to come talk to those with life experience and who want to help students with practical experience,” Bishop said.

The Career Center conducted about 160 mock interviews, mostly with seniors, during the fall semester. Bishop estimated that the Career Center will complete about 315 interviews over the course of the academic year. An interview can be scheduled by contacting the Career Center.

“After every interview our students assess the process, and we have not heard any negative feedback yet,” Bishop said. “The students are voicing that this is helpful, and we will continue to get their feedback so that we can continue to raise the bar.”

 

CBU students fly aircraft from Texas to California

Two California Baptist University students gained a real-life experience last month by piloting two recently purchased aircraft from east Texas to California.

The students, accompanied by two flight instructors from the department of aviation science, flew the twin-engine 1979 Beechcraft Duchesses from Gilmer, Texas, to the Riverside Municipal Airport. The trip took more than 11 hours over a period of two days.

The students, junior Jennifer Endeman and sophomore Howard Dang, both aviation flight majors, did the preflight check, the flight plan and the flying. The instructors, Shannon Cardin and Jared Tapsfield, ensured the students did those things correctly. Cardin said he rarely touched the controls unless his student needed to get water.

The group stopped at several airports along the way, including an overnight stop in El Paso, Texas.

“This trip not only gave me an opportunity to build more flight hours but also helped me gain more confidence as a private pilot,” Dang said. “I got to land and takeoff at many different types of airports, both towered and non-towered airports. This also gave me a chance to see how each airport operates different than the others.”

Both the flight instructors said it was great experience for the students

“I think the most that both of the students gained was to be ready for anything,” Tapsfield said. “If something were to go wrong, even though nothing did, they needed to know where the closest airport was and how to get there as quickly as possible. It’s something students don’t always think about when flying around Southern California, because there are airports everywhere. In the middle of Texas and New Mexico, things are very different. Planning is key and a backup plan is always needed as well.”

Dang also said the trip gave him a good look at the industry.

“This long trip gave me a better exposure to see what today’s aviation industry is really like,” he said. “The majority of airline flights today would take long hours to get from one destination to the next, thus this trip gave me a feel for what it is like to be in the airline industry.”

The department of aviation science now has 10 aircraft: five Cessna 172s, two Cessna 150s and three Beechcraft Duchesses.

“The twin-engine aircraft always bring a new element into a program. They’re larger aircraft, they’re more complex aircraft, said Dr. Daniel Prather, chair of the department of aviation science. “It always takes a program up to a next level, away from just Cessnas and single-engine Cessnas. But not only that, it allows us to handle a significant number of students working on their multi-engine rating.”

 

Family Updates

Dr. Ronald L. Ellis, CBU president, was keynote speaker Feb. 12 at the monthly Good Morning Riverside program sponsored by the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce. More than 200 representatives from area businesses heard Ellis present an update on CBU’s programs and economic impact on the Greater Riverside region.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final home game for CBU men’s basketball will be televised on Feb. 28 by Fox Sports West/Prime Ticket. The Lancers will play Notre Dame de Namur at 7 p.m.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Andrew Herrity, professor of entrepreneurship and business, made a presentation titled Marketing the Forum to the Riverside Technology CEOs Forum on Feb. 3.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Robert F. Kirk, adjunct professor of aviation science, is author of the book Choices: Responsible Decisions for a Godly Life, which was recently published by Author House. The book is Kirk’s third.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Daniel Prather, professor of aviation science, taught a one-day course titled Developing Strategic Mission, Vision, and Goals in Business Aviation at the National Business Aviation Association Scheduler’s and Dispatcher’s Conference, which met at the San Jose Convention Center Feb. 2-6.

 

 

 

 

Kelli Welzel, director of new student programs, reports that one of CBU’s new students chose to begin a relationship with Christ last week. The student began asking questions during New Student Orientation and made the decision to follow Christ during a one-on-one with her FOCUS leader after class. “We are encouraged to know there are many similar stories happening all around campus,” she said. “This is just a reminder of why we are so blessed to work here, and the impact each staff member, faculty member and student has for Christ!”

 

Dr. Monica O’Rourke, associate professor of kinesiology for Online and Professional Studies, partnered with Team Faith Racing Ministry and Fellowship of Christian Athletes Motocross Division at the National Arenacross Racing Series in Nashville, Tenn. on Jan. 31. The ministry team provided racing chaplaincy services to professional motocross athletes, including rider devotionals and prayer.

 

 

 

 

Waylon Baumgardner, CBU website manager, has completed requirements for the master of science in information technology degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Bonjun Koo, professor of environmental science, has been named editor and a member of the editorial board for the journal International Chemistry Review, effective December 2014. His responsibilities will include selecting reviewers, reviewing manuscripts and occasionally giving advice on manuscripts in his field.

 

 

 

Denise Payne, senior credential analyst, attended a two-day training session Feb. 5 and 6 to become a member of the Board of Institutional Review (BIR). Hosted by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the training provides a comprehensive overview of California’s accreditation system and prepares individuals to assist in all system components. BIR members are involved in initial institutional approval, initial program approval, program assessment and accreditation site visits. Service in the BIR includes document reading and serving on accreditation site visit teams. Payne received a certificate for providing dedicated service toward high quality education for California students.

 

 

Dr. Wayne Fletcher, assistant professor of health science; Dr. Nathanael Heyman, assistant professor of biology; and Dr. Hyun-Woo Park, professor of biology, attended the annual Loma Linda University Pre-Professional Advisors Workshop on Jan. 13. They had lunch with three CBU alumni at Loma Linda:  Chris LaPoint (’12), a third year student in the doctorate of pharmacy program; Alexandra Taylor (’13), a second year student in the doctorate of pharmacy; and Rebecca Marsile (’08, not pictured), a second year student in the master of public health program.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Charles Sands, dean of the College of Allied Health, presented Living SMART: Five Essential Skills To Change Your Health Habits Forever as part of the employee wellness program of the San Bernardino County Heart Health Initiative. The presentation was in Victorville, Calif.

 

 

 

Personnel Updates