Incoming Associated Students President Calvin Worsnup plans to build a sense of community on campus (Dillon Adams photo).

By Amanda Holst, Public Affairs Assistant

The election is over, the votes are in, and although senior computer science major Calvin Worsnup was just elected Associated Students of SJSU president, his passion for student government started much sooner. While attending Branham High School, Worsnup served as publicity officer, producing videos, events, and media to promote school activities. The native San Jose resident came to SJSU for its advertising program, but has since changed his focus to computer science networking. Worsup welcomes his new position as an opportunity to stay involved on campus, and explore his interest in politics.

“I really like being an advocate for students and a representative,” Worsnup said. “If it goes well and I do a good job, I might consider this as a possible future career for me.”

The new AS president talked to SJSU Today about why he ran for office and his plans for the coming year. The following is edited for length and clarity.

SJSUToday: What are your top priorities for AS in the coming year?

Calvin Worsnup: My two priorities are to try to organize students and build a sense of community. I really want to work with all of the organizations that we built. I want to get together and really talk about the issues. To go along with community and having more collaboration, I’d like to provide more opportunities for citizenship. It’s really important for student to feel like they are a part of AS, to feel like there is an avenue for them to express their opinions and make changes, and to know that AS supports them.

SJSU: What are your plans in the future, professionally and personally?

Worsnup: I might try to go for a more political avenue. My main plan for right now would be to continue on to my graduate degree. I want to go into some sort of administration; whether it be public or nonprofit, I’m quite not sure.

SJSU: Why did you run for office?

Worsnup: I had been apart of AS for two years and I really like it. I see the potential that it has to be a better organization and I want an opportunity to show the campus what AS can do. I want to help students live and fulfill their dreams and AS is a great opportunity to do that.

SJSU: What’s new and cool for fall 2012?

Worsnup: I want to have one general assembly at the beginning of the year. I don’t want to share too many secrets but definitely look for some different things that you haven’t seen on campus before. I am looking to turn heads and get students’ attention.

Business leaders at the 2011 Economic Summit (Robert Bain photo).

By Marco Pagani, Assistant Professor of Accounting and Finance

The Center for Banking and Financial Services within the College of Business will host the San José State University Economic Summit 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. August 14 in Morris Dailey Auditorium.

The gathering will focus on the analysis and forecast of economic activity both at the local and national level. SJSU President Mo Qayoumi will open the event. College of Business Dean David M. Steele will introduce three speakers, and moderate a question and answer session.

San José Mayor Chuck Reed will provide up-to-date information on the political and fiscal landscape of our city.Greg Cornelius, managing director at Hudson Clean Energy Partners, will offer insight into the clean energy industry and how it can impact economic growth at the national and global level.Finally, Dr. Chistopher Thornberg, founding partner of Beacon Economics, will round up the panel of notable experts and delivers a lively analysis of the latest economic trends as well as a forecast of economic growth and labor market activity.

The event provides its intended audience, small and mid-size business owners and executives, with relevant information to make educated decisions.The title sponsor is Bridge Bank, with associate sponsor Hopkins & Carley, and affiliate sponsors CBIZ, Filice Insurance, San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, Sensiba San Filippo. The media sponsors are AlwaysOn, KLIV, and the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

Diana Pham (left) and Tanya D'Silva (right)

By Pat Lopes Harris, Media Relations Director

Two young women who are attending SJSU while working at Silicon Valley companies were honored at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce’s 10th Annual Women in Leadership Dinner on May 9. Tanya D’Silva, a business major with a concentration in management information systems, and Diana Pham, a business major with a concentration in organization and management, received grants from the chamber’s Community Education Foundation, which supports the region’s schools and their students’ success. The College of Business nominated both women. The Spartans connected with the speakers, especially the keynote address by Blair Christie, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Cisco Systems, where D’Silva serves as an intern. Pham interns with Tectura. Christie spoke about women in leadership positions and the importance of “blending” modern work and life, as opposed to “balancing” the two. She explained that “balancing” work and personal life implies that the two are segregated. However, the more you can seamlessly “blend” the two, the less stressed and more satisfied you will be.

Posted by USA Today May 15, 2012.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Mention the Western Athletic Conference to Hall of Fame football coach LaVell Edwards, and he thinks back to Brigham Young’s 1984 national championship with a junior quarterback named Robbie Bosco and a team that wasn’t even ranked when the season started.

It’s a high point that seems ancient history now.

The football conference that once was so big it spanned four time zones and required quadrants to arrange its 16 teams, is withering.

“I feel bad for the WAC,” said the retired Edwards, an assistant at BYU when it and five other schools banded together in 1962 to form the conference. “That was a great conference. It had a lot of teams that were coming on the scene, getting better all the time.”

This fall could very well be the league’s last as a football entity.

Hawaii, Fresno State and Nevada jump to the Mountain West this fall. In 2013, Utah State and San Jose State also leave for the Mountain West, while Louisiana Tech heads to Conference USA.

Texas-San Antonio will play this fall in the WAC but decided to jump to Conference USA for 2013 as well. Texas State also will play one season in the WAC before jumping to the Sun Belt in 2013.

That leaves two remaining football-playing members: Idaho and New Mexico State.

Trying to figure out where to go from here is interim Commissioner Jeff Hurd, who called the last few months hectic, frustrating and challenging and knows a decision that offers long-term stability, not just a quick fix, is needed soon.

He refuses to concede the WAC will become a non-football conference, though that is certainly an option.

He knows some already have written off the WAC.

“If the WAC goes bust, it won’t be from a lack of effort and lack of exploring every possible avenue there is,” said Hurd, who is working with a consultant, athletics administrators and the WAC’s board.

His belief is based on WAC history, specifically the 16-team conference’s split just three years after it became the biggest in the land.

“Every newspaper column I read (back then said the) WAC was done,” Hurd said. “It was done as a football league, was done as a conference, and couldn’t possibly survive without the schools that left.

“I think we not only recovered from that, but very nicely. I believe with every fabric of my being the same thing will happen. We can recover from this and rebuild.”

Hurd cited the Clint Eastwood movie —The Good, the Bad and the Ugly— when describing the 26 years he has been part of the WAC.

“The bad and ugly fall into the same category — primarily the constant movement the league has experienced over the past 15 years,” he said. “It seems to me if it’s not been a revolving door, it’s close to it. That’s been frustrating.”

While some see the WAC as the Rodney Dangerfield of conferences in that it gets no respect, it has had more than its share of success — and stars.

Steve Young (BYU), Marshall Faulk (San Diego State) and LaDainian Tomlinson (TCU) played their entire college careers in the WAC. Chad Hennings (Air Force, 1987) won an Outland Trophy; Ty Detmer (BYU, 1990) won a Heisman; and Hall of Fame basketball coach Don Haskins (Texas-El Paso) followed up his historic NCAA championship in 1966 by joining the WAC a year later and winning seven conference titles, mentoring players such as Nate Archibald and Tim Hardaway along the way.

In 1996, the WAC became so big, expanding from 10 to 16 teams, some — including BYU’s Edwards — thought it was too big.

“In retrospect, perhaps the WAC was ahead of its time,” Hurd said, pointing to the super-conferences of today. “The unfortunate part is it was never really given an opportunity to succeed.”

The 16-team alignment lasted just three seasons before Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, UNLV, New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah and Wyoming left to form the Mountain West Conference.

Boise State was added in 2001, but it left the league to play in the Mountain West starting in 2011.

The devastating blow, Idaho athletics director Rob Spear said, came when Fresno State and Nevada found a way in 2010 to get out of their agreement to stay in the WAC, “creating a tremendous amount of turmoil” within the league.

Other dominos would fall across the country, many driven by the lure of additional television revenue.

But it was the defections that gave “the perception of instability,” Hurd said.

That, in turn, made it more difficult to negotiate television contracts.

“It may not be all about money, but certainly money plays a very significant role in it,” Hurd said,

In other cases, “There’s almost a fear of being left out or left behind as conferences reconfigure.”

At this point, the ones left behind are the Aggies and Vandals.

Both schools could try independence, though that is a tough road.

The Big Sky definitely wants Idaho to become its 14th football-playing member, joining regional schools Idaho State, Eastern Washington, Montana and Montana State.

Commissioner Doug Fullerton said the Big Sky may be part of the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-AA— but he argues that it wouldn’t be a step down for Idaho.

He said the Vandals would become stronger in the FCS than at the bottom of the FBS “because they will become successful.”

As for the WAC, Fullerton wasn’t as optimistic. He said he can envision it disappearing completely in one year, or playing only basketball — but would be surprised, “barring major help,” if it remains an FBS conference.

Lawrence Fan, sports information director at San Jose State, was thankful to be among the nearly two dozen FBS schools nationwide with WAC ties.

“It’s all part of progress,” Fan said. “Without membership in the WAC, San Jose State would not be where it is today in Division I-A athletics. San Jose State needed the WAC, and the WAC extended its arms to San Jose State. That has to be remembered.”

The 1984 BYU team, meanwhile, still is hailed as the last school outside one of the major football conferences to win a national championship

“A lot of things fell into place,” Edwards, 81, said recently.

BYU pulled off a road upset of No. 3 Pittsburgh during ESPN’s first live college football broadcast, survived a nailbiter against Hawaii then rallied behind a beat-up Bosco to beat Michigan in the Holiday Bowl.

“If that same team would have played in the last two-three years, I think we would have been like TCU or Boise State,” Edwards said. “They were good. They got a BCS game, but never got a smell as far as a national championship game.”

An assistant professor of chemistry whose research focuses on one of the most challenging reactions in organic chemistry and an assistant professor of library and information science whose innovative work includes a partnership with the School of Social Work are the recipients of the 2012 SJSU Research Foundation Early Career Investigator Awards. The honor recognizes tenure-track SJSU faculty members who have excelled in areas of research, scholarship or creative activity as evidenced by their success in securing funds for their research, publishing in peer-reviewed journals and carrying out other scholarly and creative activities at an early or beginning point in their career at SJSU. Here is the official announcement.

***

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Lionel Cheruzel from the College of Science, and Dr. Lili Luo from the College of Applied Sciences and Arts have both been chosen to receive the San José State University Research Foundation Early Career Investigator Award for 2012.  Their selection is made at the recommendation of the Early Career Investigator Subcommittee of the Research Foundation Board of Directors.

The SJSU Research Foundation Early Career Investigator Award recognizes tenure-track SJSU faculty who have excelled in areas of research, scholarship or creative activity as evidenced by their success in securing funds for their research, publishing in peer-reviewed journals and carrying out other scholarly and creative activities at an early or beginning point in their career at SJSU. Our two recipients are outstanding examples of individuals who have achieved this level of success.

Lionel Cheruzel

Dr. Lionel Cheruzel, in his third year at SJSU, has been tremendously productive in his field of bioinorganic chemistry.  Since joining the Department of Chemistry, he has successfully competed for multiple grant awards totaling $480,000. These grants have come from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Research Corporation, and the CSU Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology. In addition to an impressive record of grantsmanship, Dr. Cheruzel has become a valued member of the SJSU faculty through a combination of excellence in teaching and research. Dr. Cheruzel currently leads an active research group comprised of eight undergraduate students and one graduate student. He and his group are focused on Cytochrome P450, and the synthetic potential for biotechnological applications. More on the Cheruzel Research Group can be found at www.sjsu.edu/cheruzel. Dr. Cheruzel has made significant contributions to the development of knowledge in his field as evidenced by his strong publication record with three publications in peer reviewed journals since joining the faculty and one publication currently in review.

Lili Luo

Dr. Lili Luo, also in her third year at SJSU, has demonstrated an outstanding record of scholarship that has been recognized by federal grant funders. Her work has resulted in several invitations for collaborative research with SJSU scholars, as well as with scholars from external organizations. Since joining the faculty of the School of Library and Information Science, Dr. Luo has been an active researcher in the area of reference services, online learning, and research methods education. In 2010, Dr. Luo received a $122,683 grant award from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services to conduct the first in-depth research regarding text reference services.  Dr. Luo’s scholarly activities also include a partnership with the SJSU School of Social Work, conducting joint research to explore how librarians and social workers can collaborate to improve access to information regarding local social service resources.  Dr. Luo has presented her findings in publications and at professional and scholarly conferences, and was invited to present findings at the International Federation of Library Associations this summer.  Dr. Luo has published eight journal articles since joining the faculty and in 2010 received the Outstanding Teacher’s Award from the School of Library and Information Science.

The SJSU Research Foundation has established two Early Career Investigator Awards in order to encourage participation beyond those colleges where large numbers of faculty have traditionally participated. One award goes to a faculty member in the Colleges of Science and Engineering and another is made to a faculty member from all other colleges. Each awardee will receive a cash award of $1,000 to be used at their discretion.

Marti Malloy

By Pat Lopes Harris, Media Relations Director

With the 2012 Olympics just around the corner, and Asian-Pacific Heritage Month in full swing, ESPN recently sent a camera crew to San Jose State to interview judo legend and alumnus Yoshihiro Uchida. Slated to air at 8 p.m. May 20 on ESPN, the segment will focus on Uchida’s leadership role in elevating judo to an Olympic sport, and his many years of coaching at SJSU. After enrolling at San Jose State in 1940, Uchida served in World War II, graduated with a degree in biological sciences, and founded and later sold a chain of medical laboratories to Unilab, all the while coaching and advocating for a sport he learned as the child of Japanese immigrants to California. Uchida’s legacy includes recent SJSU graduate Marti Malloy, an American judoka set to make her Olympic debut in London. The ESPN segment follows up on a New York Times profile.

By Pat Lopes Harris, Media Relations Director

In our new YouTube series, videographer Dillon Steele Adams interviews four students about the choice that could define the rest of their lives. “I wanted to go into different departments across San Jose State and capture the stories of students who have done extraordinary things and have a passion for what they do,” said Adams, a University Advancement student assistant. “As my colleague Ryan Whitchurch and I started to create these short films, I realized that there is much more to these students than just a passion for their major. Spartans are dreaming big, participating in internships relating to their field, and making connections with professionals in their industry. These are examples of why our students have an advantage on the job.” “Major Decisions” begins with Theodore Reid from the Department of Television, Radio, Film and Theatre. Watch now on the San Jose State University YouTube channel.

By Pat Lopes Harris, Media Relations Director

Spartan Racing, the SJSU student chapter of SAE International, recently returned from Michigan, where the team unveiled SR-4, the fourth formula race car built in recent years from the ground up at the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering. Check out this video to see the amazing work undertaken by this student club and follow Spartan Racing on Facebook to learn more about the group’s most recent road trip. By participating in competitions sponsored by SAE International (formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers), Spartan Racing strives to give members a competitive edge after graduation by providing them with invaluable industry and leadership experience.

Published by the San Jose Mercury News May 4, 2012.

By Mark Purdy

Friday’s big announcement at San Jose State was not just a celebration.

It was revenge.

With speeches and balloons in a building adjoining the football stadium, SJSU officials declared that the school has accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference (MWC) in the summer of 2013.

In doing so, the Spartans will leave behind their former league, the rapidly disintegrating Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

And all this excitement led university president Mohammad Qayoumi to proclaim an Affirmation Of Possibilities (AOP).

“I’m glad these schools and teams in the Mountain West are seeing the potential for what San Jose State can bring to the conference,” Qayoumi said.

And it was especially sweet because many of those very same schools were the ones who totally dumped on and deserted the Spartans 14 years ago when the Mountain West was originally founded. Qayoumi did not add that part. So I will.

Qayoumi does remember, though. In 1996, he was a San Jose State associate vice-president in charge of facilities when the school made its first attempt to move up significantly in the college sports world. With great fanfare, SJS left the very-small-time Big West Conference to join the then-more-prestigious WAC, which included higher-profile programs such as BYU, Air Force and Colorado State.

“I was working on the Spartan Stadium expansion,” Qayoumi recalled. “I went to all the games.”

In jumping to the WAC, San Jose State was joined by several other schools to create a 16-team league that was supposed to be a “superconference.”

It never worked out that way. In 1998, eight of the 16 WAC teams — including BYU, Air Force and Colorado State — decided they were far too superior to do business with plebeian SJSU and seven of the league’s other “new” members. So those eight allegedly superior schools broke away to form the Mountain West. This left SJSU and the other “new” WAC schools to scuffle along and try to survive.

Ah, but now the tables have turned. Over the last few years, college athletic conferences have been shaken and broken as schools have ditched one league to join another — often accompanied by bitterness and espionage and financial treachery. It’s been sort of like the Prussian War, only with network television contracts and water polo.

The Mountain West has been in the thick of the tumult. Over the past two years, the league has been abandoned by 1998 charter members Utah, BYU and San Diego State. This put the Mountain West in desperate need for new schools to step in and keep the conference viable.

Hello, Spartans.

How cool, eh? Four of those Mountain West schools that once ditched and ran away from San Jose State as if it had bad breath — Colorado State, Air Force, Wyoming and New Mexico — are now reaching out in need to the Spartans.

“This is just part of life,” Qayoumi said of the irony, denying any notion of reprisal.

Good strategy on his part. In truth, San Jose State athletics needs the Mountain West as much as the Mountain West needs SJSU. With the WAC falling apart on its own Prussian War front, the Spartans’ other options were not so terrific.

That’s why SJSU worked hard to gain the Mountain West invitation. Qayoumi says the idea was already on the radar when he was named president last year. Over the past several months, he’s spent one-on-one phone time lobbying the presidents of all the current Mountain West schools to gain their backing and convince them SJS is serious about upgrading facilities, fundraising and improving its basketball programs.

“We’ve got to deliver on the entire package,” Qayoumi said. “If any part of your body hurts, you’re sick.”

It surely helped, as Qayoumi lobbied the other Mountain West presidents, that he is a real college sports fan. Qayoumi played soccer as a kid in Afghanistan. And when he served as president of Cal State East Bay from 2006 to 2010, he often drove down from Hayward to attend San Jose State home football games. On a wall of the Simpkins Football Center where donors to the building’s 1994 construction are listed, Qayoumi’s name is on the plaque.

This enthusiasm for sports by a school president very much matters. It means that, as former athletic director Tom Bowen (now at Memphis after resigning last month) and interim athletic director Marie Tuite were trying to finalize the Mountain West deal, Qayoumi was along for the ride at every step.

“These last eight days have been intense,” said Tuite. “But the president has answered every email, returned every phone call, attended every meeting.” And now?

“This is just the beginning of the journey,” Qayoumi said.

Is it ever. We all know the story about San Jose State and its athletic struggles, particularly in football, the largest revenue driver. The university has so many assets — a large local alumni base, many successful graduates in Silicon Valley, a good tradition in many sports — but never has been able to translate those assets into consistent financial sustenance and home attendance.

To remain in the Mountain West, the school needs to upgrade facilities and yearly fundraising. Otherwise, it again could be left out of a party one day. Tuite was seizing the moment Friday, with so many excited alumni and fans gathered for the Mountain West announcement.

“If you’re not a donor, now is the time,” Tuite told them in a room adjoining Spartan Stadium. “And no donation is a small donation. We need all Spartans to step up and buy season tickets. Or if you already own them, you can buy more. And we just happen to have a table set up here where that can be done.”

She added pointedly: “There is no limit on how many season tickets you can purchase.”