The College Spring/Summer 2021

spring/summer 2021 CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY’S PUBLICATION FOR THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES

ART ENGAGED: HOW WE USE ART TO CONFRONT, TEACH AND HEAL

ART ENGAGED: HOW ALUMNI, STUDENTS AND FACULTY USE ART TO CONFRONT, TEACH AND HEAL USING ART AS A SOCIAL JUSTICE STATEMENT

USING ART AS A HEALING THERAPY

Hüicho Lé ’12 was born and raised in California, a member of the Mixtec community from the Mexican state of Oaxaca who now lives in Ventura County. A former Marine, he served two tours in Iraq as a machine gunner in an infantry division. After he returned home, drawing and painting helped him cope with the trauma of PTSD and a brain injury and to heal mentally and physically.

Growing up, drawing came naturally to Denielle Billing ’15, as did learning about people and studying their behavior.

At Cal Lutheran, the psychology major and art minor was drawn to art therapy, with the encouragement of her mentor, senior lecturer Terry Spehar-Fahey, whom she calls the advocate she needed to nurture her passion for art as a therapeutic tool. Now, with an MA in psychology, she works as a behavioral therapist at Art Trek, a community art center in Newbury Park, CA.

Lé attended Cal Lutheran, on the GI Bill, completing bachelor’s degrees in art and Spanish. With the help of his mentor, professor of art Michael Pearce, Lé learned what he needed to do to become a working artist. In 2013 and 2014, he served as the first artist-in-residence at the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard. His work has been exhibited in City of Brea Art Gallery, Carnegie Museum, Oxnard and Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture, among other locations.

A figurative painter, Lé’s riveting work combines contemporary imagery with themes from indigenous Mexico. A baby in pink pajamas decorated with peace signs and hearts, for example, is shown against a brightly colored Mixtec pattern.

“I create art to bring respect and honor to our indigenous community and more importantly to build a bridge of harmony between our worlds,” Lé said. “We’re all brothers and sisters in this world — it’s that simple. But there has to be a goal to get along. Not everybody is there yet, so there’s no need to get angry. Everybody is evolving at their own pace.”

I tried to acknowledge someone who was inspired by justice...

Art minor AJ Nybo ’21 created a powerful drawing called “X” as a final for his class, Islam in America. The business administration major discovered the speeches of Malcolm X, human rights activist and spokesman for the Nation of Islam.

“I wanted to create a piece to represent his intelligent words and his powerful movement — driven demeanor,” Nybo said. “I tried to acknowledge someone who was inspired by justice, and who ultimately aimed to create a better world for others.” He added that “X” is also about understanding each individual’s perspectives and beliefs about society and respecting them, whether you agree with them or not.

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Billing guides her clients through the process of therapeutic art making. “It gives my clients permission to be vulnerable,” she said. “Creating art about a problem offers a new perspective and externalizes the problem onto paper. Clients sometimes say that creating an image offers more insight than they can express with words. I’d love to see a greater need for art recognized in society.

So many stories are told through art, and more people might feel seen or understood if they shared their art with one another.”

USING ART AS A CATALYST FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION Arts education is central to the work of Maureen Lorimer, PhD, who promotes effective learning and social equity in an inclusive environment. The professor of education believes the visual arts are a catalyst for transformative change and an influential factor embedded within successful teaching and learning. In her Visual Art Education in Diverse Communities class, she tasked students with designing an artwork that advocated for a social justice issue. “One student used art to highlight the assets of incarcerated youth — a great example of connections between art and social justice,” she said.

As Dr. Lorimer’s student, Melissa Dennin ’22 researched the impact arts education has on youth in juvenile detention centers.

The interdisciplinary educational studies major found that creating art helped the youth increase their self-esteem and view themselves as subjects in a world where they are often treated as objects. “Art allowed them to feel a range of emotions, to communicate and to be praised by others for doing something good,” Dennin said. “I want to make sure that all my future students have access to art. Art is a way for them to express their identity, recognize their inner humanity and form connection with others.”

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SUPPORT BE A PATRON OF THE ARTS By supporting the arts, foster important conversations and deepen understanding for students and all those who experience their work.

Contact: Edgar Aguirre

EdgarAguirre@CalLutheran.edu

Photos: 1. “California” by Hüicho Lé; 2. “Reaching,” a piece by Denielle Billing while a student at Cal Lutheran; 3. “X” by AJ Nybo ’21; 4. One of the pieces Melissa Dennin studied by formerly incarcerated and gang-involved individuals at Homeboy Industries for Dr. Lorimer’s class.

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MORE FUN FACTS ABOUT EDDY GOLDFARB e was inducted into the Toy H Industry Hall of Fame in 2003. n early video game inventor, A he decided not to follow that path.

Even though he knew they would become big, he wanted to stay true to his craft of creating mechanical toys. is Baby Beans from the 1960s — H a set of soft, poseable, collectible dolls — were a precursor to Beanie Babies. e grew his business from one H person tinkering in a garage to three buildings full of 39 model makers, industrial designers, engineers, sculptors and support staff.

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2 SUPPORT CREATE SPACE FOR CREATIVITY Whether it’s films or vaccines, the creative process is a function of every discipline in the College. Support interdisciplinary programs that foster creative thinking.

Contact: Edgar Aguirre EdgarAguirre@CalLutheran.edu

3 Photos: 1. Yakity-Yak Talking Teeth are Goldgarb’s most famous invention.; 2. Eddy’s World promotional poster; 3. Shark Attack is one of 800+ games Goldfarb created.

Photo credits: Eddy’s World.

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THE ICONIC TOY INVENTOR FROM ACROSS THE STREET: STUDENTS AND FACULTY MEET EDDY GOLDFARB One of the world’s most prolific toy inventors is 98 years old and still inventing toys and building prototypes in a machine shop set up in the garage of his home in University Village, a retirement community just across the street from Cal Lutheran.

In October, an interdisciplinary group of Cal Lutheran students and faculty met Eddy Goldfarb at the screening of a new awardwinning documentary about his life, Eddy’s World, and learned about the multifarious life of an indomitable inventor.

Born in Chicago in 1921, the son of Jewish immigrants, Eddy Goldfarb’s own favorite toy as a boy was a broken radio he took apart to see how it worked. After Pearl Harbor was bombed, he enlisted in the Navy and was sent to study electrical engineering and radar. As a radar technician, he volunteered for submarine duty and was assigned to the USS Batfish, where he invented a specialized radar antenna — and designed his first three toys. After the war, the first toy he sold became a cultural icon: Yakity-Yak Talking Teeth. It sold by the millions to both children and adults who loved winding it up and watching it chatter away.

Over the next seven decades, Goldfarb dreamed up hundreds of toys.

“I’m able to visualize each toy,” he explained, “and how I’m going to build it, step by step.” Some of his most popular toys are Quiz Whiz, Shark Attack, Bubble Guns, Stomper Cars, Vac-U-Form and Kerplunk.

Kerplunk consists of sticks, marbles and a hollow tower punctured with little holes. The object is to carefully remove sticks from the holes in the tower while dropping the fewest marbles possible. Classic Goldfarb toys were mechanical — employing the laws of physics — and they were educational, requiring patience and skill to play.

EDDY’S WORLD INSPIRES CAL LUTHERAN AUDIENCE Eddy’s World explored what it means to pursue a passion, enter a saturated industry and balance artistic creativity with the logistics of market demand. The film had already garnered awards at the Port Townsend Film Festival and the Raw Science Film Festival before its special campus screening, months before its wider release.

Award-winning filmmaker Lyn Goldfarb, Goldfarb’s daughter, joined her father for a lively Q&A session via Zoom after the screening, where topics ranged from toy industry changes since the 1960s to how to cultivate creativity and an innovative mindset.

“The main takeaways for me were to cherish the little things, to be truly in the moment, to embrace life to the fullest, to be a positive influence on your community and to bring joy to others,” said Cooper North ’24, a film and television major. “The film was incredibly endearing.”

For Mahmoud Salimi, MFA, assistant professor of film & television, the event was a great opportunity for his students to learn from professionals. “The film captured both the process of an artist’s work and an innovator’s entrepreneurial role in society,” said Professor Salimi. “It was inspiring for my students to see how Eddy’s toy inventions touched the lives of millions of people and to learn how the ups and downs of life inspired and drove him forward. They also were excited to learn how one can find a subject and bring it to the screen.”

Film and television major Evan Vega ’21 had the opportunity to talk with the filmmaker. “I learned what the days documenting Eddy’s life involved, in terms of capturing his unique lifestyle and perspective,” said Vega. “Eddy reminded me to stay creative and that doing what I love — creating — will keep me happy and healthy.”

Professor of multimedia and chair of the Visual Arts Department, Timothy Hengst, MA, was thrilled to see many of the toys and cereal box playthings that he enjoyed as a child.

“Eddy’s creativity and his ability to incorporate new materials and technology into his work was very inspiring to me, and I’m sure to the students.” He continued, “It allowed for quite innovative and enjoyable solutions to his designs. Eddy certainly went beyond art and design by incorporating a working knowledge of physics, materials science and shop production skills.”

Eddy reminded me to stay creative, and that doing what I love — creating — will keep me happy and healthy.

Beloved toys also connected Mike Panesis, MBA, to Goldfarb.

The executive director of Cal Lutheran’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship was thrilled to meet the inventor of one of his favorite childhood toys, Battling Tops. “Students learned from Eddy how to invent through experience, build a business that prioritizes your independence, and do something you love for your entire career. From Lyn, they learned about telling a compelling and inspiring story and finding inspiration in everyday life.”

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MEET THE PROFESSORS DAVID GRANNIS, MFA Associate Professor, Director of the Film & Television Program ound editor for lauded feature S films like Sister Act and Mississippi Burning irected Turf Wars: SoCal Water D Conservation, a documentary on Southern California drought J udge, Television Academy Foundation’s student film and television festival for 7 years

VIRTUAL AND HYBRID CLASSROOM EXPERIENCES THRIVE Thanks to technical innovation and interactive teaching skills, faculty and students experimented with new approaches to teaching and learning in the fall. Nine new outdoor classrooms allowed some students to return to in-person learning. Professors sharpened their Zoom skills and created ways to engage onscreen and in-person students simultaneously with the help of technology.

BEGINNING TV PRODUCTION

LAVERNE SEALES, PhD Associate Professor of Languages and Cultures hD, Latin American Literature, P University of Buffalo elected areas of research: S Afro-Caribbean culture and identity in Latin America, feminism, race and identity in Latin America, neo-colonialism

Professor: David Grannis, MFA Students from near and far shot and directed a television production in a multi-camera studio environment, taking on the jobs of actor, director, camera operator, technical director and more.

How? Professor Grannis taught from the control room of a Cal Lutheran television studio. Four local students came to the studio and took turns acting and running three cameras. Students from around the country directed their scenes—calling shots over Zoom.

“For a live television production, the director must see multiple monitors at one time,” Professor Grannis explained. “One of our biggest challenges was figuring out how to share that over Zoom. Working with Media Services, we were able to use a cam-link 4K converter to take the output of the switcher and convert it to a camera signal over Zoom. The student director could then make the picture full screen, see all cameras and the preview and program output, hear the audio over control room speakers, and communicate with camera operators via their headset.”

ork in progress: W Afro-Panamanians in Southern California: History, Language, Politics, Race and Ethnicity

A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE REV. JULIA FOGG, PhD Professor of Religion cademic specialties: New A Testament, first century Christianity, theologies from the margins, border crossing narratives, cross-cultural reading practices ew book: Finding Jesus at the N Border: Opening Our Hearts to the Stories of Our Immigrant Neighbors Named Professor of the Year, 2008

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“When I came to the studio, I was assigned to act, work in the control booth or run a camera. It’s surprising how well we utilized technology to film a scene with so few in-person crewmembers. We wore headsets that were synced up with the Zoom audio, so we could hear the director while shooting. The director had a copy of the scene script and told us what cameras to switch to during taping, giving us feedback on our performances after each take. It was so much fun!”

EVAN VEGA ’21 Major: Film and Television

SPANISH CONVERSATION & COMPOSITION Professor: LaVerne Seales, PhD Two classes worked together to produce stories for El Eco — a sister publication of the student newspaper, The Echo, that highlights the interests and concerns of the campus’ Spanish-speaking students.

Two Spanish class El Eco writers received input from two mentors from the communication class that produces The Echo. Writing on topics related to the pandemic, students Zoomed in from all points of the globe, sharing their experiences to bring depth and dimension to the publication’s content.

“Past El Eco stories have explored ways for Hispanic/Latinx students to get involved in STEM and the experience of Dreamer students attending Cal Lutheran,” Dr. Seales said. “This year we took on immigration and the pandemic. Having students Zoom in from countries around the world with their unique stories was priceless.”

View El Eco at: callutheran.edu/eleco

FIRST YEAR SEMINAR AND BIBLICAL GREEK Professor: Julia Fogg, PhD Dr. Fogg taught about one-third of her students in an outdoor classroom and the other two-thirds via Zoom. Students attending her classes in-person were thrilled to be there face-to-face, she reported. One challenge was using the new 360-degree white board cameras to best effect to make sure both outdoor and Zoom students felt equally present and recognized in the classroom. Her goal was “to make each class come alive for all students as whole persons learning in community.”

A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE “My class partner and I wrote an article on how preschool and childcare have learned to operate with restrictions during the pandemic. I loved the research involved with the story. In class, Dr. Seales prompted us with intriguing questions that encouraged us to interact with one another and practice our Spanish-speaking skills. For example, responding to her question, ‘What does the Spanish-speaking Cal Lutheran community NEED to know during a pandemic?’, we all dove deep to explore the multi-faceted challenges of childcare.”

ALEXANDRA INFANTE ’23 Major: Criminal Justice Minor: Spanish

SUPPORT HIGH TECH NEEDED FOR HIGH TOUCH To create more engaging virtual environments for student learning, donate to fund the acquisition of necessary technical tools.

Contact: Edgar Aguirre

EdgarAguirre@CalLutheran.edu

“We were able to create an intimate discussion space where we could have conversation on lecture points and theories, apply case studies, explore ideas and analyze materials,” Dr. Fogg said. “There was also a lot of room for showing clips and bringing in outside speakers — they didn’t have to commute to the classroom! This meant we added to the diversity of classroom voices and brought in many more perspectives.

I learned a lot about how to orchestrate all perspectives and help my students integrate and explore.”

A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE “Coming to class in person helped keep me engaged and gave me something to look forward to every week. Dr. Fogg did an excellent job at questioning and responding to students in person and online equally. A big surprise was how much Greek plays an important part in my math and science classes. Encountering Greek letters so often allowed me to associate them with STEM class concepts. In just a few weeks, I became comfortable with, and intrigued by, a language that is unusual to learn.”

HALEY TYRELL ’22 Major: Biology Minor: Theology

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Photos: 1. The light-filled entrance of the Swenson Science Center; 2. A lab with energy-efficient glass-sided fume hoods; 3. Dr. Michele LeBlanc works with students in the biomechanics lab.; 4. Emily Jabourian works with Dr. Marcey in the Cell/Developmental Genetics Teaching Lab.

THE NEW SWENSON SCIENCE CENTER PUTS SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION ON DISPLAY The Swenson Science Center (SSC), a light-filled contemporary structure, is the new home for the biology, chemistry and exercise science departments. Opened in September, the state-of-the-art building features an open gallery atmosphere that puts science on display.

Students can showcase their research projects for the wider community — and the work in the 12 teaching and eight research labs is similarly transparent to visitors. There’s also plenty of open, collaborative space designed to bring disciplines together to share and grow ideas.

Thoughtful planning defines the SSC according to Michele LeBlanc, PhD, Nena Amundson Professor of Biomechanics, who served as project shepherd for the new facility. “The planning committee was

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committed to creating a building that clearly celebrated and highlighted the scientific work of the students and faculty,” she said. “Often science buildings are closed off and only the people inside the lab can see what is going on. By having a lot of outside windows in the SSC, and windows from the inner hallways into the labs, students walking by can see science happening. We believe that when people see science in action, it will inspire them, whether or not they are science majors.”

INSIDE CAL LUTHERAN’S LARGEST ACADEMIC BUILDING The SSC features three floors of labs — 12 dedicated to teaching and eight for faculty-student research. In the past, these spaces have been one in the same, which limited the activities that could be done, especially on the research side.

Students use “smart” equipment, similar to that found in commercial labs. Some labs have glass-sided fume hoods allowing faculty to easily see student work and provide energy savings with tighter controls for supplying and exhausting air. Chemistry labs are equipmentintensive fixed lab spaces, while biology and exercise science labs are flexible spaces for multiple configurations.

The purpose of the building’s “sandboxes” is for science to spill out of the lab and into collaborative spaces. “We hope that these sandboxes will motivate community-building among students outside the classroom and lab,” LeBlanc said, “and will encourage interaction not only within, but between, disciplines, as that is where much of science occurs — in the blurred lines between disciplines.”

Even design details signify science in the SSC. The colors of the window shades outside the building suggest water, land and sky, with blue on the first floor, green on the second and white/silver on the third.

A railing on the higher floors resembles a close-up image of trabecular bone tissue.

THE STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCE “In the new biomechanics lab, everyone has plenty of room to do their work and have their own individual area,” said Olivia Kemp ’21, an exercise science major. “In my old lab, we were all very close together and fighting for space. Also, because of all of the natural light, the lab feels so much more inviting.”

Working regularly with Dr. LeBlanc and another student, she notes that “the lab has helped tremendously with our communication and my overall learning experience.

We’re looking at symmetry, specifically in the lower body when performing a traditional barbell squat. When the load is increased, how much symmetry is lost or maintained, and is symmetry related to the individual’s stronger or weaker leg?”

“Our new lab is double the size of the Ahmanson lab,” said Emily Jabourian ’21, a biology major. “I have a designated shelf to keep my project separate from others.

This reduces the errors and other risks in my research that have been issues before.”

To her, the best part of the huge space is the new technology and equipment.

“We have a brand-new quantitative PCR* machine which amplifies and detects DNA that I’ve been looking forward to using for three semesters. I feel really lucky to be able to meet Dr. Marcey in person in the lab where we look at genetic behaviors by studying head deformities of fruit flies produced by the extra-eye mutation.”

EQUIPPING THE LABS California Lutheran University is grateful to the donors whose gifts have helped purchase state-ofthe-art equipment. alifornia Lutheran Regent C and chemist Arnold Gutierrez’s gift helped to obtain chemistry lab instruments that will help train students on digital equipment akin to that used in commercial labs. niversity Regent Rod Gilbert’s U gift helped secure autoclaves for labs throughout the Swenson Science Center.

THE TEACHING LABS Floor 1 Exercise Physiology Ergometer Biomechanics Physiology/Neuroscience Marine Science Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Floor 2 Cell/Developmental Genetics Biochemistry/Virology Microbiology/Molecular Floor 3 General Chemistry Quantitative Chemistry Organic Chemistry Instrumental Analysis

We believe that when people see science in action, it will inspire them, whether or not they are science majors.

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SUPPORT SUPPORT DISCOVERY Cal Lutheran’s commitment to hands-on student research requires equipment and materials. Find out how you can support a student project.

Contact: Edgar Aguirre EdgarAguirre@CalLutheran.edu

* polymerase chain reaction

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FROM THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES PROFESSORS SAMUEL CLAUSSEN, PhD, History Published his book Chivalry and Violence in Late Medieval Castile (Boydell and Brewer).

ANDREA HEILMAN, MFA Theatre & Dance Department Designed the lighting for the Chance Theater’s production of Fun Home, which was selected as one of the top ten shows in Los Angeles for the 2019-2020 season and awarded Outstanding Design.

KIRSTIE HETTINGA, PhD, Communication Became a member of the board of the California College Media Association. Presented “Corrections Decrease at The New York Times—Is This A Good Thing?” at The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference. Students Ellie Long ’20 and Erin Niemi ’20 contributed to this research.

KATHERINE HOFFMANN, PhD, Chemistry Published “Cofactor Complexes of DesD, a Model Enzyme in the Virulence-Related NIS Synthetase Family” in Biochemistry Journal with nine co-authors, several of whom are Cal Lutheran students or alumni: Eliana Goncuian ’21, Kimya Karimi ’17, Kiera Lathan ’17 and Yasi Mojab ’19.

JESSICA LAVARIEGA MONFORTI, PhD Political Science Was interviewed for the PBS Show Washington Week’s blog and the China Global Television Network about Latino voters in the 2020 US presidential election. Co-authored “Elusive Inclusion: Persistent Challenges Facing Women of Color in Political Science.”

DAVID NELSON, PhD, History Presented “Understanding 20th Century Korean History” for Ventura County Library’s One County, One Book program. Two Cal Lutheran music faculty also performed as part of the program: Dr. Keum Hwa Cha on violin and Soon Kim on piano.

EDLYN PEÑA PhD, Education JODIE KOCUR, PhD, Psychology Led a College Bound Academy to prepare autistic students, ages 14 to 22, who use augmentative and alternative communication to transition to higher education.

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ALUMNI CHRISTOPHER KROMM ’18 Math & Swenson Summer Science Researcher Received a Master of Science in Applied Statistics and Data Mining with merit from the University of St. Andrews. His thesis, “Deciphering News with Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedastic (GARCH) models: Risk in the Shadow of Climate Change and Pandemics,” received a mark of distinction.

KEN MAGDALENO ’88 MS Counseling and Guidance ’96 Served as panelist for “Transformative Voices: Educators for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion,” sponsored by UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and the UCLA Women’s School Leadership Academy (WSLA). Magdaleno is the Founder/ President/CEO of the nonprofit Center for Leadership, Equity, and Research (CLEAR).

FRANKIE MANES ’17 Communication with a Film and Television Production Concentration Associate producer and actor in the movie “This Is The Year,” a coming of age teen road trip film directed by David Henrie and executive produced by Selena Gomez.

GABRIELLE REUBLIN ’19 Theatre Arts and Communication with a Film and Television Production Concentration Won a Gold Award for Best Web and New Media in the July 2020 IMDb Independent Short Awards for her film Metanoia.

SHARENA RICE ’15 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Featured in 1 Million Women in STEM. Rice is a PhD candidate in neuroscience at the University of Michigan & co-founder/chief scientific officer of Intvo Inc.

MARIA RODRIGUEZ ’19, Sociology Awarded the first Social Justice Fellowship from The Social Justice Fund for Ventura County (SJFVC). Rodriguez’s project will address issues with inadequate, and outright false or scam, legal representation for undocumented immigrants.

STUDENTS NICHOLAS ARREDONDO ’21, Biology Inducted into the Tri-Beta National Honors Society, a biological sciences honor society.

Arredondo, working with his faculty mentor Dr. Chad Barber, is investigating the effects of berberine, a natural alkaloid found in plants, on cancer cells.

KRISTIN BARRY ’21, French; INGER SMUTS ’21, German; ABIGAIL ESPINOZA ’21, Spanish Awarded the 2020-2021 Bucholz-Derr World Language Scholar- ships for senior majors in French, German or Spanish who plan to teach world languages in a middle or high school setting.

LESLIE MADRIGAL ’20, Criminal Justice and Spanish Featured in the California Student Aid Commission’s #CAStudentsSpeak campaign. Madrigal’s video was highlighted on YouTube and addressed the importance of financial aid for students during the COVID pandemic.

MONA SAII ’21, Art Awarded second place in GRoW @ Annenberg’s poster contest for the production of LA Opera’s The Marriage of Figaro. Contest organizers selected three winners from hundreds of students across Los Angeles for the annual contest.

STUDENT ONLINE NEWSPAPER AMONG TOP IN NATION The Echo was recognized as a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press’s Online Pacemaker award—the association’s preeminent award. The Echo is considered one of the top-50, four-year college newspaper websites in the country.

UNDERGRADUATE HISTORY JOURNAL PUBLISHED The Scribe of the Ages: Ruminations on History, an undergraduate journal produced by Cal Lutheran’s chapter of Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, is available online. History major Eleanor Barker ’20 served as editor-in-chief of the sixth volume, with student editors Aaron Morse ’20, Alexander Barr ’20, Jay Knee ’20 and Cristina Farias ’20.

View the journal at: callutheran.edu/TheScribeVol6

DID YOU EVEN DURING THE PANDEMIC

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STUDENTS CONTINUED FUNDED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ON PAR WITH PAST YEARS

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STUDENTS HAD VIRTUAL INTERNSHIPS IN VARIOUS LIBERAL ARTS PROGRAMS

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STUDENTS WERE AWARDED VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS SCHOLARSHIPS WORTH $940K

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STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN THE VIRTUAL STEM ACADEMY PROGRAM

FROM THE DEAN DR. JESSICA L. LAVARIEGA MONFORTI You may not expect a business publication to contain a strong argument for a traditional liberal arts education. However, citing data from a recent study from the Center on Education and the Workforce, Forbes columnist Michael Poliakoff noted, ‘The median ROI of liberal arts colleges is nearly $200,000 higher than the median for all colleges.’ He also cited a national survey that found employers seek employees with excellent written communication skills (82%), problem-solving skills (81%) and analytical/quantitative skills (72%)—the skills we cultivate in the College through our undergraduate curriculum.

I appreciated Poliakoff’s article for ‘myth-busting’ the narrative that liberal arts graduates are not competitive in the job market.

Alumna Sharena Rice ’15, featured on the website ‘1 Million Women in STEM,’ will graduate from the University of Michigan this year with a PhD in neuroscience. Asked why she chose that field, she said, ‘As an undergraduate, I studied biochemistry, philosophy and psychology, all fields that resonated with me. I realized that by pursuing neuroscience, I could combine all of these disciplines while developing new technologies.’ On her LinkedIn profile, Rice wrote that at Cal Lutheran, she ‘seized the opportunities of a liberal arts education...My learning extended beyond the classroom. ...It was more than a degree. It was an education.’

Whether you are an advocate of education for its intrinsic value or believe college is a necessary stepping stone to a career and a good living wage, our College curriculum is designed to encourage every student ‘to seize the opportunities of a liberal arts education.’

Siempre adelante.

Photo by Inga Parke, published with permission from The Echo.

CONTACT INFORMATION College of Arts & Sciences 805.493.3015 TheCollege@CalLutheran.edu Soiland Humanities Building

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NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA PERMIT NO. 68

Soiland Humanities Building 60 West Olsen Road Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 CalLutheran.edu/college-arts-science

MEET THE INAUGURAL COMMUNITY SCHOLARS FOR BLACK LIVES LANDRY IRUMVA ’22

ZINO AYETUOMA ’21

Major: Political Science Career Goal: enter the legal profession

Major: Biology Career Goal: become a hematologist oncologist

Irumva is organizing a networking forum to connect Black Cal Lutheran students with local Black leaders.

Seminars and workshops will address the challenges Black people face in the workforce and provide tips for success. He is president of the College Democrats, a senior senator at Cal Lutheran and interned for Vice-President Kamala D. Harris when she served in the Senate.

Ayetuoma is addressing medical racism and its effect on the Black community. She is creating a website and scheduling a speaker to educate people on the topic. She is a former hospital volunteer and member of the Sickle Cell Impact Group at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

ABOUT THE SCHOLARS PROGRAM ELYSIA WILLIAMS ’22 Major: English Career Goal: become a high school English teacher or work in publishing Williams is starting a virtual book club that will focus on novels with positive Black coming-of-age stories. She is a member of Cal Lutheran’s Her Campus chapter and has written articles about the need to expose people to these types of stories and other Black issues for its online magazine.

The Community Scholars for Black Lives program empowers students to work together with community leaders and create conditions for Black lives to flourish. cholars are selected based on a proposed project S addressing conditions that contribute to the oppression of Black people. cholars receive a $5,000 fellowship, up to $2,000 in S project funding, and travel funds to attend a conference. epresentatives from six Ventura County-based R organizations that focus on the advancement of African Americans—along with professionals from Amgen, who provided funding for the program—are part of the selection process and serve as advisors to the Scholars.