WCOE Newsletter | December 2023 Edition

Dear Colleagues,

As the fall semester has ended and everyone is taking a break, I just want to express how blessed I am to work with you in this space where the things we do go a long way to make a meaningful impact in the lives of our students and their families.  As a college with large graduate programs, the work we do affects the structure and leadership of our K-12 schools, the community colleges, and the larger Inland Empire communities. 

As I reflect on this past year and what we have been able to accomplish together, the themes of purpose and intentionality stand out for me. Every one of the faculty and staff who work in this college has a sense of purpose to be here and to do the work that his college, this university, and this community demands.  Despite the challenges of this region, many of our faculty and staff members have spent 20 or more years in this space, making tangible contributions that are changing the communities around us.  Daily, I work alongside colleagues who love their work and the impact they are making on their students. These are individuals with a clear sense of purpose and commitment to this space and this population.

The theme of intentionality rings through some of the major engagements we have undertaken as a college in the past few years.  – Drs. Nena Torrez and Jordi Solsona-Puig, Co-Coordinators of Bilingual Authorization Credentials, organized the 1st Dual Immersion Symposium that brought together more than 100 pre-service and in-service teachers, administrators, and educational agents in the Inland Empire. The event was held on March 4th, 2023. Plans are already in place for the 2nd symposium on March 8-9th, 2024 (Symposium webpage: https://www.csusb.edu/coe/dual-immersion-symposium). The goal of this program is to increase access to equitable education to students whose first language is not English language as well as grant access to a second language to students who are English-only speakers. 

Each year, the Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Achievers’ Program at CSUSB receives money from the Verizon Foundation to provide free informal STEM learning opportunities to low-income, underrepresented middle school students. WCOE STEM Education Faculty members collaborate with local middle schools to provide two 3-week summer camps (75 students each camp), one Spring semester Open-House event, and one Fall semester Open-House event each year. This program provides hands-on, project-based STEM learning experiences that emphasize engineering design, 3D design and printing, electronics, robotics, programming, augmented reality, and virtual reality, infused with entrepreneurship.

The Project Impact minority male pipeline program is an intentional undertaking to increase teacher diversity in this region and to positively impact academic achievement for minority children. The Educational Leadership Summit, which brings together the educational leaders of this region is another intentional engagement with this community to provide leadership and help shape the future of education in this region. As we continue to engage our communities with purpose and intentionality, we will certainly continue to positively impact individual lives and communities in a transformational way.

Latino Advocacy Days (LEAD) can be regarded as the most popular of our college community engagement activities. Attracting thousands of “in-person” and tens of thousands of virtual participants, the theme for this year’s LEAD Summit was IYA BASTA! – Enough is Enough!   Featuring the Civil Rights Activist, Dolores Huerta, and the Latino movie star, Emilio Rivera, this year’s LEAD summit addressed the topics of Violence in the context of schools and community, and the role of Law enforcement.    

Before I conclude this message, let me congratulate our faculty and staff members who have accomplished in many ways in this past year:

• Dr. Golge Seferoglu, associate professor in the Teacher Education & Foundations department, was recognized as one of the top 30 CSUSB faculty members with the most outstanding scholarly and creative works on campus. She also received the college award for outstanding Research, Scholarly or Creative Contributions.
• Dr. Edwin Hernandez, associate professor in the Special Education, Rehabilitation & Counseling department, received the college award for Outstanding Instructionally Related Activities.
• Dr. Shannon Sparks, associate professor in the Special Education, Rehabilitation & Counseling department, received the college award for Outstanding Service to the College.
• Dr. Cherina Betters, lecturer in the Teacher Education & Foundations department, received the college award for Outstanding Lecturer.
• Dr. Jordi Solsona-Puig secured $500,000 from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, which is providing full tuition for up to 26 students on the bilingual path at CSUSB for the 2023-2025 years.
• Dr. Viktor Wang published; "Handbook of Research on Andragogical Leadership and Technology in a Modern World."
• Outstanding Staff of the Year: Jessica Watkins & Tamara Patterson. 

Faculty and staff, thank you so much for your unwavering commitment to the mission and vision of this college and California State University San Bernardino. 

Have a happy holiday with your families and loved ones.

Faculty News & Updates