August 18, 2017

In this issue…

• Current News
• Family Updates
• Personnel Updates

Current News

CBU team wins physician assistants challenge bowl

Students from California Baptist University were faced with this question: A patient with polymyalgia rheumatica develops headaches, jaw tightness and unilateral vision changes. What test will confirm the diagnosis?

Most people would not know the answer, but a student in the College of Health Science physician assistant studies program should. That was the final question the team of CBU students answered to win the California Academy of Physician Assistants (CAPA) Student Medical Challenge Bowl. (The answer: Temporal artery biopsy.)

The CBU program, which just completed its first year, sent a team to the competition Aug. 12 during CAPA’s Summer Conference in San Diego. Four other programs competed in the bowl. In the final round, CBU faced the University of Southern California and Loma Linda University and came out on top.

“The students put us on the map, which is very exciting when you’re going up against these other well-established programs,” said Mary Ann Stahovich, assistant professor of physician assistant studies.

The team—Willie Rivera Landeros, Jillian McCoy and Robin Atkins—started practicing in May, often competing against classmates. McShirley Math, another student, organized the weekly practices, came up with questions and purchased buzzers to make the practices realistic.

The students did extra studying and learned the pressure of the buzzer—buzz too soon, they might not hear the whole question and what it was asking for; wait too long and another team might buzz and get the answer. Teams scored 10 points for each correct answer and lost 10 points for each incorrect one.

“The team worked really well together and we complemented each other,” Rivera Landeros said.

The CBU team received a check for $250.

“When we realized we won, we were in total disbelief,” Atkins said. “Going into the competition we did not expect to be very competitive, let alone win, considering we were up against some big schools with well-established programs. It’s kind of like a fairytale dream come true…first-year students in a new program at a small private school and we won!”

 

Nursing simulation program receives provisional accreditation

The College of Nursing at California Baptist University has received provisional accreditation through the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

The college’s Interprofessional Education Learning Resource Center is one of a handful of programs accredited in California and the only one in the Inland Empire. The Society for Simulation is the largest international accrediting body for healthcare simulation.

“CBU is all about being practice-ready,” said Sarah Pearce, assistant director of the Learning Resource Center. “If students can come here and learn the skill in simulation, it’s good for them when they actually go out into their clinical practice, because they feel less apprehension. They’ve already practiced it.”

The state-of-the-art simulation studio at the CBU College of Nursing can place students in a scenarios such a mental health ward or an apartment simulating community health. Simulation also happens in skills laboratories, where students learn to handle “emergencies,” and in interprofessional education simulations, where graduate students learn to work in teams with other health-care professionals.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing is looking at increasing simulation to 50 percent of students’ clinical time, said Dr. Dayna Herrera, associate professor of nursing and director of clinical simulation and learning resources.

“It prepares them for the real world,” Herrera said. “They can make errors safely.”

Students retain more in simulation compared to lecture or group projects, because it is applied practice, said Pearce.

“It improves overall patient outcomes,” Pearce said.

In two years, the program can apply for full accreditation. In the meantime, the program will work on upholding the society’s standards and collecting data, such as feedback from students and educators on the simulations, Herrera said.

One of the strengths the society noted on the accreditation form was “administrative support for innovation and development of new simulation programs throughout the School of Nursing and other disciplines on campus.”

“We’re excited about the accreditation,” Herrera said. “We’re also thankful for the support we get from the university.”

 

CBU wrestling coach hailed as hero after helping foil a robbery

California Baptist University assistant wrestling coach Derek Moore was in the right place at the right time when his instincts compelled him to do the “right thing” and help block a robbery attempt.

Moore was attending the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s annual convention in Daytona, Florida with the Lancers wrestling coaching staff Aug. 4-6. On the last day of the conference, Moore heard a cry for help.

Jill Thompson, a Florida vacationer, had her wallet seized from behind by a man who then made a mad-dash get away. Thompson followed in pursuit, all the while screaming that her wallet had been stolen.

Moore, along with two wrestling coaches from Bellarmine University (Kentucky), Brandon Sellers and Spencer Adams, were nearby in a hotel parking lot when they heard Thompson’s cries for help. The three men immediately responded to the situation.

Moore was the first to catch up and subdue the thief. The two other coaches soon arrived on the scene and helped hold the alleged thief. A fourth man assisted the coaches, pinning the suspect to the ground until police arrived.

“Derek’s response was immediate and very brave,” Thompson related in an email to CBU. “I could tell he truly cared about my well-being and safety and was concerned about me. To me, he was the hands and feet of Jesus and a real-life superhero.”

“Everything happened so quickly,” Moore said, recalling the incident. “In Jill’s voice, I could hear a genuine cry for help and I wanted to do what I could to help her. I believe my instinct to chase down the thief comes from a combination of my upbringing and faith, both encouraging me to what is right and help others.”

Police indicated that the suspected thief was on probation for assault and battery, Thompson said.

 

CBU offers new worship arts and ministry degree

The Shelby and Ferne Collinsworth School of Music at California Baptist University will offer a new bachelor of arts in worship arts and ministry starting this fall semester.

“One of the most exciting dimensions of the worship arts and ministry degree is its focus on training students to be successful pastoral and professional leaders in the church,” said Dr. Joseph Bolin, dean of the School of Music. “It isn’t enough for the modern worship leader to be a skillful musician or have a strong platform presence. The role requires skills as a leader, pastor, counselor, administrator, motivator, organizer, manager, theologian and communicator.”

Bolin, who transitioned to CBU last year after a 20-year career in church worship ministry, said the new worship arts and ministry degree at CBU is designed to develop worship leaders who will be successful in the eclectic culture of the modern church.

“As the church in the U.S. attempts to connect with existing and emerging subcultures through worship style, the musical skill set of the worship leader or pastor must be increasingly diverse,” Bolin explained. “Also, today’s worship leader is called upon to incorporate an expansive palette of technical studio production and even theatrical elements in each worship experience.”

To ensure the program would be on the cutting edge of worship, Bolin brought together a steering and development board comprising influential worship leaders and innovators from throughout the U.S. to help develop the degree. Included in the group are: CBU alumnus Travis Ryan, worship pastor and multi-Dove Award nominated songwriter; Don Koch, music producer who has won three Dove awards and produced 38 No. 1 hit songs in the contemporary Christian music scene; and Tommy Walker and Rick Muchow, both seasoned worship leaders with more than 25 years each of worship leading and songwriting experience.

The worship arts and ministry degree will challenge students with a wide-ranging curriculum that includes upper-division courses in private instruction for voice, piano and guitar in addition to lower-division courses such as music in global cultures and the technical integration of live worship.

“The objective is to prepare future worship leaders to be competent in a multitude of styles —from modern band-driven to choir and/or orchestra models, from hymnody and liturgy to multicultural music,” Bolin said. “We will train students to utilize these eclectic styles individually or in concert to create a coherent, unified and powerful worship experience.”

Bolin also indicated that the program will have a strong emphasis on personal development.

“The program will draw from a cross-section of disciplines to prepare students to be strong and wise leaders as they manage resources, projects and the people the Lord has placed in their sphere of influence,” Bolin said.

The worship arts and ministry degree will be the seventh bachelor’s degree option in the School of Music, which also offers a Master of Music degree.

For more information on the worship arts and ministry major click here.

 

CBU dominates national cheer competition

With an unprecedented five-consecutive National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) titles under their belts, the California Baptist University cheer team has earned a ticket to compete for its sixth-straight feat.

At the National Cheerleaders Association/USA Cheer Collegiate Camp last week, the Lancers won the competition with a combined score of 148, beating out the second place team by 24 points. CBU also won other events including Best All-Around Team, Game Day Runoff, Most Collegiate, Most Spirited, Rally Routine-All Girls, Game Day Routine-All Girls and the Top Gun Stunt. Twelve Lancers earned All-American status at the event.

 

Professor works to foster a spirit of service in her students

Jennifer Zamora has been serving others as long as she can remember. Wrapping Christmas gifts, holding car washes and doing beach cleanup with her church youth group brought a warm feeling to her life and helped her forget about a difficult personal life.

“[Helping] was a way to escape the negativity I was going through at the time,” said Zamora, assistant professor of physician assistant studies at California Baptist University. “Not focusing on my problems and helping other people felt good to me.”

The concept of experiencing joy through service has stayed with Zamora through her development into a professional. As an instructor at CBU, she sees service in the community as a way of putting her Christian faith into action.

“We want our students [at CBU] to serve the community and be the hands and feet of Jesus,” Zamora said. “I hope our students develop a passion to serve the underserved.”

Through the years, Zamora’s heart for service has led her to various servant roles.

While working on her Master of Physician Assistant Practice degree at the University of Southern California, she did volunteer work including organizing a bone marrow registration drive. She also worked in a clinic in Uganda for 2½ weeks. Later, she helped in Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010.

“I had that moment in Africa, [thinking] what can I do for my community that I don’t have to travel across the world to do?” Zamora said.

After discussing the ideas with other students, she started a free health clinic in 2008 at her home church in Corona, California. Initially, the care she provided with two other pre-med students was basic: they offered health education and checked blood pressure and blood sugar.

But Zamora wanted to meet more needs, so she developed a collaboration with Health to Hope Clinics, federally qualified health centers that serve homeless and vulnerable individuals and families in Riverside County. Health to Hope provided a mobile unit and now patients can also have blood work screened and get a physical exam from head to toe. When serious health issues are detected, patients are referred elsewhere. The clinic also helps patients to determine what insurance they qualify for and then assists them with the paperwork.

Up to 20 volunteers including students from CBU help at the monthly clinic. The volunteers see 10 to 30 patients on any given Saturday, but Zamora said it isn’t about the numbers.

“It’s sometimes that one or two individuals who really needed help that day,” Zamora said.

“I’m trying to teach that to my students —even though you’re stressed and busy, there is so much we can still do for our community,” she said. “We can go into a nearby community and affect a different culture and a different neighborhood.”

Community service is required in CBU’s physician assistant program. The free clinic organized by Zamora provides the students an opportunity to interact with patients, make clinical judgments and serve others.

“I feel if you get them passionate about practicing now, it’s easier to do when they’re a health care provider,” Zamora said.

 

Professor encourages students to “wrestle” with biblical texts

Dr. Dan Wilson regards the Bible as a book that is meant to be understood. But, he concedes, it contains texts that might require some mental “wrestling.”

“I really believe that you can understand the Bible,” said Wilson, professor of biblical studies at California Baptist University. “We typically don’t understand it because we stop reading and stop trying when we don’t instantly understand.”

Wilson said biblical interpretation requires wrestling with the biblical text.

“If we’re not ready to wrestle with the text—observe it, question it, swim in it, surround ourselves with it—we’re not ready to communicate the truth of the Bible,” Wilson said.

When it comes to understanding “troubling” portions of scripture, Wilson said some students have expressed concern about certain biblical texts.

“I get questions about things that seem bizarre to them, things that might even be disturbing to us today,” Wilson said. “It’s OK to be disturbed by what we read in the Bible but we need to pay attention to what God is doing and what God is saying to his people.”

Wilson, who served as founding dean of the CBU School of Christian Ministries, teaches several courses including Old and New Testament Survey and Biblical Interpretation. His dissertation at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary focused on the idea of “the Messianic Secret” in the gospels. Wilson examined connections between the concept in the gospels, primarily in the transfiguration narratives, and secrecy elements in the later Old Testament writings.

Wilson enjoys teaching the Bible to believers as well as those who do not identify as people of faith.

“I sense from a large percentage of my students an eagerness to study the Bible and to see if it has any relevance for their day-to-day life,” Wilson said.

Wilson also believes that understanding the Bible should affect the way we live.

“I want my students to see me putting into practice what’s in the Bible,” Wilson said. “I don’t want to be that person who knows but doesn’t practice it.”

After spending decades teaching the Bible, Wilson got a fresh perspective as he traveled to Israel the past several summers. As a member and former chair of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary board of trustees, Wilson participated in an excavation project sponsored by the seminary at the site of the ancient Canaanite city of Gezer, near the Mediterranean Sea and the Aijalon Valley.

“Being in Israel changed my perspective on the Bible,” Wilson said. “I had a muted perspective beforehand, but after walking alongside the Sea of Galilee, through the old city of Jerusalem, and among the olive trees at Gethsemane, I read the Bible in vivid color now. I hear the voices more clearly; I taste and smell and feel the biblical story in ways I never did before.”

Those experiences, he added, motivate him to bring the Bible to life for his students.

 

Associate dean studies link between architecture, evangelism

As an architect, Dr. Matthew Niermann aims to use his training and research to understand and refine the relationship between evangelism theories and church design.

Niermann is the new associate dean of the College of Architecture, Visual Art and Design at California Baptist University. He has studied evangelism theories that have affected church architecture in the U.S. since the 1970s.

One such theory, known as “architectural evangelism,” proposes that traditional church architecture is an evangelistic barrier because steeples, crosses and other elements of church architecture are unfamiliar and uncomfortable for the non-churchgoer. Architectural evangelism theory has led to a trend among American Protestant congregations to construct buildings featuring more secular exteriors.

Niermann, who has also serves as a consultant for several church committees, confirmed that many congregations make architecture decisions based on creating a campus environment that is welcoming and comfortable.

Niermann’s doctoral dissertation at the University of Michigan examined the theory of architectural evangelism and ultimately produced research results that challenge the norm.  He reviewed the judgment and perceptions of a cross-section of churched and unchurched individuals drawn from Riverside and Ann Arbor, Michigan.  In the study, people participated in a series of image-based activities during an in-person interview, which revealed the underlying structures of each person’s perceptions and decision-making processes.

One of Niermann’s key findings in his research was that “comfort” or “welcoming” environment was not a primary consideration for the unchurched. They instead based their understandings and judgments on what they found to be more beautiful, typically structures that looked more like a church and less like a secular building.

“We need to stop asking what the unchurched find comfortable and start asking what they find beautiful,” Niermann said. “Even their sense of comfort is driven by their sense of aesthetic quality.”

Additionally, architectural evangelism makes an argument for buildings that are simple and austere, so that churches will not be judged as hypocritical by spending more on a building than on serving others, Niermann said. However, his research found the opposite was true.

“The results actually show that if a church constructs a really plain, low-cost looking building, the unchurched perceive that the church cares more for itself than the community,” Niermann said. “Architecture is a public art. Therefore, if the building has a high aesthetic quality, it is perceived as a gift to the community at large and thus the church is perceived as caring about the community.”

The results ultimately make a case that aesthetic considerations are not superfluous, but fundamentally a mission and evangelism category, Niermann added.

From a church outreach standpoint, Niermann encourages congregations to engage the non-churchgoers to better understand their perspectives.

“We need to be cautious of deducing our own understanding of the unchurched without having spoken with them,” Niermann said.

 

Family Updates

Dr. Sanggon Nam, associate professor of public health, co-authored an article in Texas Public Health Journal (Volume 69, Issue 3). The title of the article was The Effects of Chronic Medical Conditions and Obesity on Self-Reported Disability in Older Mexican Americans. Nam also visited Handong Global University (HGU) in Pohang, South Korea, July 5-6. Nam graduated from HGU, a sister university with CBU. He met the HGU president, vice president and various deans and made a CBU Master of Public Health informational session to HGU undergraduate students.

 

 

Dr. Joel Bigley, assistant professor of management, was a session chair and a speaker at the 4th Academic International Conference on Business, Marketing and Management in Boston on July 17-19 as part of the Institute of Research, Learning, and Development. His presentation was titled Situational Environmental Scanning Frameworks to Optimize Strategic Enactment, which will be published in the conference proceedings.

 

 

 

Dr. Sean Sullivan, professor of kinesiology, published an article in Sport and Society (August 2017). It was titled Single, Separate or Unified? Exploring Christian Academicians’ Views of the Body, Sport and Religious Experience.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Mary Ann Pearson, professor of public relations, and C.L. Lopez, adjunct professor of public relations, both for Online and Professional Studies, were the keynote speakers at Western Municipal Water Districts Summer Teacher workshop in Riverside on Aug. 3. Pearson shared research on personal branding for educators, and Lopez spoke about online visual resources for educators.

 

 

 

Dr. Jessica Alzen, adjunct professor of English for Online and Professional Studies, gave two presentations at the American Association of Physics Teachers annual conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 25. The presentations were titled The Learning Assistant Model and DFW Rates in Introductory Physics Courses and Relationship between Learning Assistants and Persistence to Graduation.

 

 

 

Frank Mihelich, associate professor of theatre, was a panelist at the annual conference for the Association of Theatre in Higher Education in Las Vegas on Aug. 3. The title of the panel was Integrating Faith the in Classroom and Theatrical Productions.

 

 

 

Dr. Amanie Abdelmessih, professor of mechanical engineering, presented a peer-reviewed article at the 2017 ASME Summer Heat Transfer Conference, in Bellevue, Washington, on July 12. The article, titled Inexpensive Numerical Methods for Heat Transfer Computation, is included in the conference proceedings.

 

 

 

Dr. Candace Vickers, associate professor of communication disorders, was interviewed for a podcast on AphasiaAccess, an Alliance of Life Participation Providers. The podcast is called Best Business Practices in Aphasia Care.

 

 

 

Dr. Dennis Bideshi, professor of biology, and Dr. Hyun-Woo Park, professor of biology, co-authored an articled published in the Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. The article was titled Contributions of 5’-UTR and 3’-UTR cis elements to Cyt1Aa synthesis in Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis.

 

 

 

 

Janie Armentrout, administrative assistant to School of Education, was named employee of the month for August. The nomination form included the following statements: “Janie eagerly assists people and provides an extra touch of hospitality to the office and various SOE events.  She’s consistently kind, eagerly assists others, provides timely encouragement, and is genuinely gracious to all, 100% of the time.”

 

 

 

 

Dr. Anthony Chute, professor of church history, contributed a chapter to volume 9 of A Noble Company: Biographical Essays on Notable Particular-Regular Baptists in America (Particular Baptist Press). The title of the chapter is Joshua S. Callaway, 1789-1854.

 

 

 

Victoria Brodie, visiting professor of public relations, presented at the Fourth International Academic Conference of Exploring Leadership and Learning Theories: Perspectives on Leadership, Learning and Social Enterprise in Asia in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 26. The title of the presentation was One Belt, One Road: Exploring the Impact of Social Entrepreneurship in China towards 2030.

 

 

 

Robyn Glessner, adjunct professor of history and English, served as a scorer at the 2017 Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. History reading conference in Tampa, Florida, for two weeks this summer. She helped establish and prepare nationwide standards and samples for the assessment of the AP U.S. History exam.

 

 

 

Dr. Dirk Davis, associate vice president for academics, and Dr. Kathryn Norwood, dean of assessment and accreditation, both for Online and Professional Studies, completed a four-part blog series, Advancing Assessment at California Baptist University. The Taskstream blog is aimed at assessment leaders in higher education across the United States. Davis and Norwood also presented at the Taskstream-TK-20 Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas, June 13. The presentation was titled Painting Change with Automated Assessment.

 

 

Dr. Fred Pontius, professor of civil engineering, served as a moderator for the 2nd International Conference on Civil and Environmental Engineering held in Suzhou, China, on July 25-27. Pontius also gave a presentation titled Sustainable Infrastructure: Climate Change and Carbon Dioxide.

 

 

 

About 45 members of CBU Athletics made up four teams for the department’s annual softball game. The teams were Team Jessica Case, assistant women’s basketball coach; Team Hardy Asprilla, assistant head men’s basketball coach; Team Kevin Rosa, head men’s water polo coach; Team Brenden Higa, head women’s volleyball coach. They battled it out on the Front Lawn on Aug. 8.

 

 

 

Sam Ramos, residence director-Lancer Arms, and his wife, Emily, welcomed their daughter on July 1. Rose Liliana Ramos weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 19 inches. She joins brother Jude, 1½ years old.

 

 

 

 

Personnel Updates