Hello! Oi!
For those who have asked, “Oi” is hello in Portuguese, the language spoken in my native Brazil. I always think of it as such a warm greeting to be shared between friends and strangers alike.
We have been busy wrapping the
Spring 2020 Seed grant award process as well as announcing the
Presidents’ Commission Scholars. It has been wonderful joining the CSUPERB staff this time of year, delivering a little bit of joy throughout the CSU. I look forward to hearing about how these awards help individuals, while recognizing that continuing or starting new projects during this time may be challenging. We have built in flexibility when issuing these awards so recipients can accept the funds and start the work at the appropriate time, given the circumstances. We have already heard from many of our recipients that they have been approved to start their projects, or are planning to delay the start to when they can resume activities.
I have been fortunate to reconnect with so many colleagues and meet new ones over the past few weeks. I have been engaging with folks all over the state, including
COAST and the
Life Sciences/Biotech group at the California Community Colleges. I am also thrilled to welcome
Dean Kaufman from SJSU,
Dean Meyer from Fresno State and
Dean Roberts from SDSU to our
Strategic Planning Council (SPC). I have enjoyed meeting them and hearing about their campuses and colleges. A common thread through all these meetings has been the desire to support students and faculty despite the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here at CSUPERB, we are interested in learning how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected CSUPERB-supported faculty and students, with a special emphasis on equity and what it will take to engage in biotech related research and education activities. We have sent out a survey that will help inform our next steps in terms of programming and resources. We are also planning to continue this exchange in an online community. If you have not yet received a survey from us and would like to contribute and/or join the online community, please email us in the office (
csuperb@mail.sdsu.edu)
I want to make a correction to last month’s newsletter.
Kathie McReynolds serves as the Chair of the Faculty Consensus Group (FCG) and the SPC. Kathie works closely with
Paula Fischhaber, Deputy Chair of the FCG and the SPC. I continue to be so thankful for their continued leadership and support during this transition.
Tweet
Share