STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATIONS AND
INTENTIONS
2010-11 FACULTY SENATE OFFICERS
Anthony Sheppard
Nominee for Chair
I have a multi-disciplinary focus in both academics and life, with a B.Sc.
in Special Honours Mathematics from the University of Sheffield, England, a M.Ed. in Leisure Studies from Penn
State, and a PhD. in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management with a Minor in
Marketing from Clemson. I co-direct the Sacramento Film & Music Festival, a
10 day international juried event in its 11th season, serve on the Mayor’s Arts
Initiative Committee, photograph a weekly cabaret series, and write a weekly
film column and occasional restaurant reviews for Capitol Weekly.
I have served as a graduate coordinator, college level academic council chair, department chair, department senator, GE/GRPC committee member, UARTP committee member, executive committee at-large member, and as faculty senate chair for one term, as well as on numerous other committees at campus, college and department levels dealing with hiring, scholarships, awards, and the RTP process.
Chris Taylor
Nominee for Vice Chair
I hope to serve a second year as vice-chair of the Senate. I feel that two years is about right for an office like this. I spent the first half of the year getting up to speed and can be more useful in the role with that experience behind me. Some of the activities I've been engaged in as vice-chair are continuing into the next academic year, and some continuity will be helpful, especially in representing faculty interests in discussions with the administration. That said, I won't seek a third year in this office because a more widespread engagement by faculty in helping to run the university is extremely important.
Kristin Van Gaasbeck
Nominee for Chair of the Academic Policies Committee
I am honored that my colleagues on the Academic Policies Committee (APC) have voted for me to serve as Chair next year.
I believe that their confidence in me is well founded and that I am well qualified for this position. I have been an active and hardworking member of the APC for the past two years, as well as an effective member and chair of many other committees and working groups both on and off campus. As part of my work on the APC, I have served as a member of the Advising Implementation Task Force and more recently as a member of the Enrollment Management Committee. In addition, I was a member of the Faculty Senate and served on the Executive Committee 2007-2008 and I have served as an advisor in the Academic Advising Center.
I joined the faculty in 2002 and am currently an Associate Professor of the Department of Economics. I received my B.A. from Smith College (1997) and my Ph.D. from U.C. Davis (2002).
I hope that the Faculty Senate will respect the democratic wishes of the Academic Policies Committee, and I look forward to having the opportunity of working with all of you next year as the APC representative on the Faculty Senate and Executive Committee.
David Lang
Nominee for Chair of the Curriculum Policies Committee
I am, again, honored to be nominated
by the Curriculum Policies Committee (CPC) to continue to serve as its
Chairperson for the 2010-2011 Academic Year. I have greatly enjoyed my work with CPC since
2003 and as its Chair for the past two and a half years. I look forward to continuing to lead this
Committee and I am excited to have the opportunity to work with all of you next
year as the CPC representative on the Faculty Senate.
Jana Noel
Nominee for Chair of the Faculty Policies Committee
I am honored to have been unanimously nominated by my
colleagues on the Faculty Policies Committee to serve as Chair of the
Committee. I have been a faculty member for 19 years, the last 10 years here at
Much of my work at Sacramento State has revolved around chairing/coordinating/ facilitating groups of faculty in a number of different arenas. This work has involved navigating groups through different layers and levels of expectations and processes. As the Sacramento State Community Engagement Faculty Scholar, I facilitate a number of interdisciplinary faculty groups and meetings, including a cohort of faculty members from 14 different departments. In this position, as well as in my previous role as Coordinator of the Urban Teacher Education Center, I have coordinated several committees across different types of institutions, including university, community organizations, schools and school districts, and governmental agencies. I am most comfortable and confident in facilitating groups across disparate fields, departments, and institutions.
I look forward to the opportunity to serve as FPC Chair next year and to serve as the FPC representative to the Faculty Senate.
Janet Hecsh
Nominee for Chair of the General Education Policies/Graduation Requirements
Committee
I have been a member of the General
Education and Graduate Requirements Committee for the past 6 years and consider
that service to be of the utmost importance both to my colleagues in all the
colleges and to the students we serve--and will serve into the 21st century.
It has been an honor to chair the
committee during the past year and I am appreciative of the support from
committee members, the guidance and counsel of the Senate Executive Committee
and the faculty and staff working on behalf of both the Faculty Senate and the
General Education/Graduation Requirements.
I am proud of the committees work in
facilitating the Senate's adoption of the Baccalaureate Learning Goals for the
21st Century, with the LEAP Outcomes---General Education Learning Outcomes---as
four of the five outcomes. Together with
David Lang, of the CPC and Beth Strasser of the GE Course Review Subcommittee,
I have worked to bring faculty together to discuss the dimensions of teaching
and learning that underpin and support the learning in the major and I have
worked with the CTL and the Community Engagement Center and the Office of
Academic Assessment to engage stakeholders in the curriculum and co-curriculum
in professional development and dialogue regarding General Education.
I look forward to executing the duties
of committee chair by continuing to practice the principles of collaboration,
consensus building, and full participation at the level of the Executive
Committee of the Senate and the committee that I facilitate.
Christine Miller
Nominee for Chair of the Graduate Studies Policies Committee
It has been my great honor to be
elected to serve as Chair of the Graduate Studies Policies Committee since its
inaugural semester in Spring 2008, and I am further gratified that my
colleagues on the Committee have nominated me to continue in that role for the
next academic year. I am dedicated to
ensuring and improving the quality of graduate education at CSUS. A listing of my service in this area is
illustrative:
Over the course of my twenty-three
years in the Department of Communication Studies, I have served on dozens of
master’s thesis and project committees, and chaired a significant number of
them as well. I have also served on our
Department’s Graduate Committee on and off for several years, and I have been
Graduate Coordinator at various times during those years. At the departmental level I have also served
for several years as Course Coordinator for our General Education offering in
critical thinking, which entailed among other things the selection,
supervision, and evaluation of Teaching Associates.
At the University level, I have
demonstrated the leadership required to chair a Senate committee. Many years ago, I chaired the Senate’s
Committee on Diversity and Equity, and I have served for about a half dozen
years total on the Senate Executive Committee at various times, including one
year as Vice Chair of the Senate. I was
also a member of the Graduate Policies and Procedures Committee as well as the
Research and Creative Activities Committee years ago before the Senate was
re-organized. In addition, I have served
on the Faculty Policies Committee, and on other Senate and University
committees (e.g., standing committees, ad hoc committees, search committees)
too numerous to mention.
Finally, at the systemwide
level, I currently represent CSUS at the Statewide Academic Senate. Attendant with those duties, I serve on the
Academic Preparation and Education Programs committee, which has jurisdiction
over such programs as joint doctorates.
I am also the Statewide Senate’s representative to the Chancellor’s
Doctoral Incentive Program (CDIP) Policy Committee, the CDIP Selection
Committee, and the CDIP Working Group.
This CDIP service is particularly enriching to me because it involves
helping students from underrepresented groups, and thereby promotes diversity
among the ranks of CSU faculty since CDIP awardees receive loan forgiveness if
they are able to join us upon completion of their doctorates.
In sum, my departmental, university,
and systemwide experiences illustrate my commitment
to graduate education, and I strive to cultivate that commitment by serving as
Chair of GSPC.