Author Archives: Melissa Anderson

Faculty Tenure and Promotion: Katherine “Katie” Wilkinson

Katie Wilkinson

Katie Wilkinson

Katie Wilkinson

Tenure and promotion to associate professor

Years at SJSU: 6

Department: Biology

RSCA focus: Neurons in the muscle that sense stretch and how diseases impact them.

Associate Professor Katie Wilkinson, who has enlisted the help of undergraduate and graduate students in her research, is working on a four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue their work in understanding basic biology of stretch-sensitive neurons. She and her students have published four papers since 2015, including a cover article for Nature Neuroscience as well as recent pieces for the Physiological Society’s Physiological Reports and PLOS One. She is especially pleased that four former lab students are now in doctoral programs.

“I love seeing where students end up after they leave SJSU,” she said.”

In addition to her research, Wilkinson led the redesign of introductory biology courses, served on the University Graduate Studies and Research Committee, and was active with the management team for the STEM Cell Internship in Laboratory-based Learning masters program, among other service activities.

Her advice to students?

“Pursue research experiences early,” she said. “The best way to know if you like Biology and want a career in research is to try it out.”

Note: Congratulations to the 43 faculty members who received tenure and/or promotion for 2018-19. We have invited each faculty member to participate in a series of posts profiling their teaching, service, and research, scholarship and creativity activities. Those faculty who opted to participate will be featured throughout the fall semester on the Academic Spotlight blog and the digital sign in the Administration Building lobby.

 

Praise for SJSU Students from Prospective Employer

San Jose State University students made such an impression on Harold Mann, a recruiter for Mann Consulting who attended a STEM Career Fair hosted by SJSU’s Career Center this week, he took to LinkedIn to praise the soon-to-be graduates who were seeking employment.

“My company recruits at numerous universities and colleges throughout California,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post on Sept. 19. “The typical behavior at job fairs is that students saunter up to our table and ask questions like ‘so, what do you guys do’ and ‘can you tell me what positions are available?’ At our first job fair at San Jose State University, however, the results were different.”

He noted the professionalism of the students, their preparation of resumes specific to his company rather than a generic photocopy handed out to multiple employers, and the background research students did before lining up to speak with him at the job fair to better understand his company and its needs.

“Sure, we saw a few skateboards and tee shirts, but the overwhelming takeaway was that this was a professional, motivated, humble and polished group of students,” he wrote.

Catherine Voss Plaxton, director of SJSU’s Career Center said the staff offers several well-attended Job Fair Success workshops, along with several other forms of on-going career education.

“The behaviors described by the author of the article represent the exact direction we give to students regarding preparation,” she said.

SJSU’s Career Center has hosted several jobs fair so far this semester including an on-campus/part-time job fair, a business and government job and internship fair, and this week’s a STEM undergraduate and graduate fair. For a list of upcoming activities and job fairs, visit the Career Center online.

Faculty Early Tenure and Promotion: A.J. Faas

A.J. Faas

A.J. Faas
(Photo: James Tensuan, ’15 Journalism)

A.J. Faas

Early Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor

Years at SJSU: 4

Department: Anthropology

RSCA focus: Disasters, environmental crises, and displacement and resettlement, with a focus on the historical production of vulnerability, postcolonial practice, social memory, and community organizing and social support. His research has primarily been in Latin America, with some work conducted in the American northwest and the San Jose area.

Associate Professor A.J. Faas’s work in post-disaster resettlements in highland Ecuador has led to several recent publications including a study on reciprocity and vernacular statecraft and one on  the conversion of peasants into “entrepreneurs.” Closer to home, he has studied wildfire responses in the Pacific Northwest.

In his time at San Jose State University, Faas has also enjoyed planning and organizing his department’s annual AnthROX! event.  It is one part party with refreshments and live music, one part expo of the best of Applied Anthropology at SJSU, with multimedia exhibits and “Ignite Talks” by graduate students, alumni, and emeritus faculty.

As a first-generation student himself, he encourages anthropology majors to get involved beyond their classrooms.

“My entire career began nearly two decades ago when I shyly walked into my department chair’s office and asked if there was a way for me to get experience working on a real study,” Faas recalls. “He got me working that day, and I’ve never looked back.”

Note: Congratulations to the 43 faculty members who received tenure and/or promotion for 2017-18. We have invited each faculty member to participate in a series of posts profiling their teaching, service, and research, scholarship and creativity activities. Those faculty who opted to participate will be featured throughout the fall semester on the Academic Spotlight blog and the digital sign in the Administration Building lobby.

Faculty Promotion: Colleen Haight

Colleen Haight

Colleen Haight

Colleen Haight

Promotion to full professor

Years at SJSU: 12

Department: Economics

RSCA focus: Economics regulation and economics of religion

Dr. Colleen Haight is currently the chair of the Department of Economics, has served as the acting chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and recently headed the search committee for the vice president of Student Affairs.

“I love our students. Working at SJSU, you have the very real opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life,” Haight said. “Our students come from a wide variety of backgrounds and often are the first in their families to attend university. Helping our students find their paths is extremely rewarding.”

Haight suggests students follow their passion and fall in love with their careers.

“If you haven’t found love yet, don’t stop looking,” she said. “It’s out there waiting for you.”

When she is not teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, she is actively engaged in research on the business regulatory environment, taxation, the economics of religion and Fair Trade. She has published articles on Fair Trade coffee, government intervention in the champagne market, and regulation of automobiles.

Note: Congratulations to the 43 faculty members who received tenure and/or promotion for 2017-18. We have invited each faculty member to participate in a series of posts profiling their research, scholarship and creativity activities. Those faculty who opted to participate will be featured throughout the fall semester on the Academic Spotlight blog and the digital sign in the Administration Building lobby.

 

New Study Recognizes Marine Animals as ‘Global Citizens’

Professor Scott A. Shaffer, from the Department of Biological Sciences, and his co-authors from other universities, research centers and nonprofits, have published a new study this month in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution that highlights how marine animals are global citizens. These animals such as seabirds, turtles, sharks, tuna, and marine mammals migrate through seas and coastlines belonging to multiple countries around the Pacific Ocean. With the aid of tracking tags attached to the animals, scientists have been able to establish the year-round movements and distribution of these animals. This information was used to determine how much time and space a given species resided in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of each Pacific Rim country.

This information is critical for the future protection of marine animals because stakeholder countries do not always agree on the most effectual policies, measures, or responsibilities to protect marine animals that reside in or simply travel through their EEZ. The results published in this current study reveal the proportion of time spent by each species within a given countries EEZ, thus providing greater insight on the jurisdictional responsibilities of each Pacific rim nation versus a shared governance of the high seas.

“This study really sheds light on the complexities of shared governance for species protection because the animals we tracked range so widely across the Pacific. For example, policies that protect a seabird when traveling through one country’s jurisdiction may do little to protect the same individual when flying through the jurisdiction of another country with different (or no) policies.”

Read the full paper: Harrison2018NatureEcolEvol