Category Archives: Provost Announcement

Show Your Spartan Spirit at Feb. 25 Interdivisional Competition

Event flier

Event flier

SJSU staff and faculty are invited to attend the second annual interdivisional competition Feb. 25 at the Spartan Women’s Basketball game against Boise State, in the SJSU Event Center. Doors open at 1 p.m. and the game starts at 2 p.m. RSVP online.

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Andy Feinstein and Vice President for Student Affairs Reggie Blaylock launched the event last year when they competed to see which division could fill more seats in the stands during a women’s basketball game. Faculty and staff, along with their families, were invited to attend. The pair provided a meal and lots of entertainment throughout the evening, including a free throw competition, a cheer off and a relay race. At the end of the evening, Academic Affairs was crowned victorious for the evening’s competition and Provost Feinstein accepted a trophy on behalf of the division. This year’s event promises even more fierce competition as invitations have been extended to include University Advancement and Administration and Finance colleagues – all four divisions will compete to take home the trophy and the title of most Spartan Spirit.

February 2017 Newsletter: Provost Update – Celebrating Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity

The research, scholarship and creative activity conducted at our campus enrich the educational experience of our students while providing faculty and staff the opportunity for professional development. These activities elevate the reputation of our campus and boost our prominence as a world-class institution. We have greatly expanded RSCA resources at SJSU and I am especially proud to share our accomplishments this month.

As you will see, faculty and students are working closely with industry partners, government agencies and nonprofits to create innovative solutions that enhance the quality of life in the Bay Area and around the world. Our faculty are enhancing our understanding of the impact of trauma on well-being, the effect of alcohol on human development, ways to increase cybersecurity and how Haitian and Cuban culture have influenced American arts, among many other lines of inquiry.

The spring semester brings with it many opportunities to acknowledge the exemplary work conducted year-round. SJSU’s Celebration of Research will be Feb. 16, from 4 to 6 p.m., in the Diaz Compean Student Union Ballroom. During the festivities, Early Career Investigator Award recipients Rachael French and Miranda Worthen will be honored for launching strong research agendas early in their time here at SJSU.
At the Celebration of Research, we will also recognize the shared benefits of faculty and student research partnerships through our Student-Faculty Research Pairs program and honor the winners of SJSU’s Student Research Competition.

Participation in hands-on RSCA is a high impact practice that helps students gain skills for their future careers, prepares them for graduate-level work if they chose to pursue a higher degree, fosters bonds with faculty mentors and peers, and promotes student success.

I am pleased to continue offering the University Scholars Series this spring, in which selected professors from across campus share a one-hour presentation of their RSCA. The series’ topics and details about dates and times are provided below.
Finally, the Office of Research, theResearch Foundation and the Center for Faculty Development continue to support faculty and students in pursuing RSCA agendas. The University Grants Academy is in its second year with 22 participating faculty members. I am encouraged by the strong outcomes of the 2015-16 cohort in completing applications for external grants and expect great things from the 2016-17 members as well.

I look forward to hearing about all the RSCA accomplishments that will come in 2017, and I remain dedicated to supporting your efforts.

Kathleen McConnell Appointed as Chair of Accreditation Review Committee

Kathleen McConnell

Kathleen McConnell

The Office of the Provost and the Academic Senate are pleased to announce that Kathleen McConnell, associate professor of Communication Studies, has been appointed as the new chair of the Accreditation Review Committee. The Accreditation Review Committee is a special agency of the Academic Senate charged with leading the campus in preparation for its accreditation review in accordance with the most current WSCUC guidelines (formerly called WASC). Kathleen will lead the university community through development of our Special Visit report this spring and our visit with the WSCUC team September 27-28, 2017.

Kathleen has a strong record of university service having served on the Curriculum and Research Committee, the Board of General Studies and the Writing Requirements Committee. She represented SJSU as a team member at the AAC&U Institute for General Education and Assessment and at the CSU Institute of Teaching and Learning symposium on Assessing General Education. She developed the COMM 100W assessment plan and is currently serving on the Writing/Information Literacy Core Competencies Task Force. She is active in the Western States Communication Association and the National Communication Association.

Kathleen came to SJSU from Indiana University in 2009. She teaches in the areas of communication theory, rhetorical criticism, writing and gender studies. Her scholarship explores the relationship between universities and invention. She has written on topics such as academic professionalism, race and equity in education, and impacts of educational reform. In addition to her appointment in Communication Studies, she serves as a faculty member in the Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership.

Kathleen will replace former accreditation chair Camille Johnson, who has recently joined the Office of the Provost as the chief operations manager. Cami led SJSU through the last accreditation cycle with energy, enthusiasm and professionalism. We would like to thank Cami for her important contributions to SJSU.

December 2016 Newsletter: Provost Update – Spartans Help Spartans Year Round

Photo: David Schmitz A Peer Connections mentor works with students during the beginning of the semester.

Photo: David Schmitz
A Peer Connections mentor works with students during the beginning of the semester.

As 2016 comes to a close, I am grateful for the multitude of ways I see Spartans regularly supporting other Spartans. Our students, staff and faculty are engaged directly and collaboratively in efforts that benefit other campus community members.

At the Academic Affairs Staff Appreciation Breakfast this fall, we continued our practice of “Full Circle Giving.” In the past two years, staff and administrators have donated to SJSU’s Student Hunger Fund, contributing more than $11,000 to help students who struggle with food insecurity. These gifts enable students to focus on their studies without worrying about where they will get their next meal.

During this holiday season, I am especially thankful for how students, faculty and staff generously contribute their time and talent to fostering the success of other Spartans. I am pleased to share in this newsletter stories of students mentoring other students and helping them find their footing at San Jose State University; emeritus and retired faculty who are providing grants to further the research of current professors; and the many ways donations from faculty and staff to our Spartans Supporting Spartans campaign help fuel student success.

I appreciate your support of Spartan causes above and beyond your job duties, and I look forward to seeing more of this generous Spartan spirit in the new year.

Happy holidays!

Andy Feinstein
Provost and Senior VP for Academic Affairs

Lucas College and Graduate School of Business Dean Appointed

Dr. Dan Moshavi

Dr. Dan Moshavi

Dr. Dan Moshavi has been appointed as dean of SJSU’s Lucas College and Graduate School of Business, effective Feb. 27.

Moshavi has previously served as a business school dean at Montana State University and at Dominican University of California in San Rafael, where he is currently a professor of management.  He began his academic career at SJSU in the late 1990s as an assistant professor of management. He brings extensive experience in higher education administration, fundraising, community and alumni engagement, and interdisciplinary program development.

Moshavi’s teaching, research and consulting has focused on leadership, change management, high performance teams, and attitudes and emotions in the workplace. He has consulted for a variety of organizations, including health care institutions, universities and municipalities.  Moshavi has been a faculty member in an executive master’s program at the University of Lugano in Switzerland and has served as a research fellow at the Nemours Center for Medical Leadership.  He has won more than a dozen teaching awards throughout his career, including the university-wide teaching award at Montana State.

He received a bachelor’s in international affairs and an M.B.A. from The George Washington University before completing a doctorate in management at the University of Oregon.

During the search process, Moshavi expressed a desire to build interdisciplinary programs and to engage with a variety of internal and external stakeholders to build a strategic vision for the college. More importantly, he has a strong history of working with first-generation and diverse student populations in innovative ways to help them succeed in business arenas.