Teacher Pathway Program With the goal of “growing our own” educators to remedy the critical teacher shortage in our region, CSUMB partnered with Hartnell College to launch the Teacher Pathway Program in fall 2016. “The program is truly unique in the CSU system and is just one example of the potential that CSUMB offers to collaboratively address the workforce needs of our region,” said CSUMB College of Education Dean Jose Luis Alvarado. The program is achieving remarkable success. It expanded to include Monterey Peninsula and Cabrillo colleges, and student retention rates have far surpassed those of traditional programs. In its first three years, 86 percent of students earned their associate degrees in two years. “Our Teacher Pathway Program is designed to eliminate barriers to ensure that our local talent is able to pursue workforce training that allows them to become educators who serve their local communities and are reflective of the students taught in our local schools,” Alvarado said.
Nelson Graff, Associate Professor The CSU honored Nelson Graff, associate professor and director for CSUMB’s Communication Across the Disciplines program, with one of 19 CSU Faculty Innovation and Leadership Awards for 2019-2020. The award acknowledges faculty who have demonstrated leadership to improve student success and outcomes in courses with traditionally low success rates or persistent equity gaps. Since his arrival in 2015, Graff centered reading practice as the foundation of education at CSUMB. Graff boosted student performance by bringing the Reading Apprenticeship (RA) framework to multiple disciplines on campus, including First-Year Seminar and freshman mathematics and statistics. He also collaborated with CSUMB’s tutoring center to implement RA in tutoring practice. In addition to his campus leadership, he has become a system leader in RA efforts, presenting in several webinars and at RA conferences.
Master of Science Physician Assistant Program Central California’s underserved communities lack access to quality healthcare. CSUMB launched a new Masters of Science Physician Assistant (MSPA) Program in 2019 to help fill the gaps. The program is the first of its kind in the CSU, and only one of three in the country to teach in Spanish, according to Director Christopher Forest. Physician assistants provide many of the same services as doctors, including performing physical exams, diagnosing illnesses, and prescribing medications, but less training and certification are required. More than 1,600 people applied for the 32 spots available in the program’s inaugural cohort which started classes in January 2019. Read about the MSPA Program’s first White Coat Ceremony on Page 46.
President’s Sustainability Committee CSUMB defines sustainability as the simultaneous pursuit of human health and happiness, environmental quality, and economic well-being for current and future generations. The President’s Sustainability Committee at CSUMB promotes sustainability throughout the university in planning, development and operation of the campus facilities, including student support services. The committee works to build awareness, understanding, and a culture of sustainability. It aims to support sustainability through curriculum innovation, faculty, staff, and student research, and outreach to the local, regional and global community. Learn more about CSUMB’s sustainability efforts at csumb.edu/sustainability.
Adolfo Gonzalez, Alumnus When 58-year-old Mexican farmworker Adolfo Gonzalez graduated with honors from CSUMB last May, his remarkable achievement made USA Today’s “Top 10 California Stories of 2019” and gained international attention.
T HE M AG A ZINE OF CS U MON T ER E Y BAY | CS UM B .EDU/M AG A ZINE
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