Monterey Bay: The Magazine of CSU Monterey Bay Fall/Winter 2013, Vol. VI, No. II | Page 16

Universit y Briefs + Facult y Highlight s

University briefs
Presidential investiture
set for Nov. 15
The investiture of Dr.
Eduardo M. Ochoa as president
of Cal State Monterey Bay will be
held at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15,
in the World Theater on campus.
The event will also be videostreamed to other campus sites.
A reception will follow at the
University Center.
CSU Chancellor Timothy
White will attend the investiture,
along with members of the
Cal State Board of Trustees
and a number of Dr. Ochoa’s
presidential colleagues from
around the CSU. Former
Secretary of Defense Leon
Panetta will give a keynote
address.

On Saturday, Nov. 16, the
university will hold a community
Day of Service in conjunction
with the investiture and in
keeping with the campus’s
emphasis on service learning
and community outreach.
Dr. Ochoa becomes the third
permanent president in the
university’s history, following
Dr. Peter Smith (1995-2005) and
Dr. Dianne Harrison (2006-2012).
Dr. Diane Cordero de Noriega
served as interim president
between Smith and Harrison.
At its May 2013 meeting, the
California State University Board
of Trustees appointed Dr. Ochoa
as permanent president of Cal
State Monterey Bay. He had
served in that position on an
interim basis since July 2012.

Blanco named interim
provost
Dr. Julio Blanco, dean of
the School of Natural Sciences,
Mathematics and Engineering
and professor of physics at
CSU Bakersfield, is now interim
provost and vice president for
academic affairs at Cal State
Monterey Bay.
At CSU Bakersfield, Dr.
Blanco increased the number of
students in science, technology
and math majors; lessened the
gender gap in those majors,
and increased external support
through grants and contracts.
He moved to CSU Bakersfield
from CSU Northridge, where he
began his academic career as a
teaching assistant in 1974 and
advanced through the ranks to

full professor in 1997. He served
as department chair from 2001
to 2006.
Dr. Blanco earned his
doctorate in physics from Penn
State University and his master’s
and bachelor’s degrees in
physics from CSU Northridge.
He succeeds Dr. Kathryn CruzUribe, who is now chancellor of
Indiana University East.

Faculty spotlight

Dr. Marylou Shockley, a
professor in the College of
Business at CSU Monterey Bay,
has been elected chair of the
Grower-Shipper Association
Foundation board. She will
serve a one-year term.
The foundation is the
nonprofit arm of the GrowerShipper Association of
Central California.
Its programs include
AgKnowledge, an executive

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fa ll / w in ter 2 013

Dr. Ruben Mendoza
continues to win accolades
for his work on missions in
California and the Southwest.
An archaeologist and
founding faculty member at
CSU Monterey Bay, Dr. Mendoza
did a weeklong residency
at Arizona State University
in June. He delivered two
presentations as part of a
program on research and digital

preservation of missions.
In July, through a program
funded by a National
Endowment for the Humanities
grant written by Dr. Mendoza
and two of his students,
educators from across the
country came to Asilomar
in Pacific Grove to study the
history of California’s missions.
For six years, Dr. Rina
Benmayor’s students at CSU
Monterey Bay have worked
to preserve memories of the
Chinatown area of Salinas.
In partnership with the
nonprofit Asian Cultural
Experience, students in her
Oral History and Community
Memory service learning classes
have designed, conducted and
archived oral histories focused
on life stories and memories of

cs um b .edu/m ag a zi ne

Chinatown residents.
They will be the basis for
“Imagine Salinas Chinatown:
An Oral History Walking Tour,”
thanks to a $10,000 grant from
Cal Humanities.
“D.C. Home,” a composition
by CSU Monterey Bay music
lecturer Dr. Lanier Sammons,
won a top honor in the Young
Composers Competition
sponsored by the National
Association of Composers/
U.S.A.
Sammons also was selected
for the Santa Cruz Museum of
Art and History’s participatory
performing artist-in-residence
program. His eight-week
residency culminated in the
premiere of a new composition
at the museum’s music festival
in August.

Provided

leadership program, and
A Greater Vision, a series of
forums on agriculture-related
issues.
Philanthropy is an important
part of the foundation’s
mission. Since June 2012, it has
donated more than $75,000 to
pay for salad bars in Chualar,
Gonzales, Greenfield, Monterey
and Salinas schools.