Author Archives: Melissa Anderson

Social Work connects with South Korean university

The School of Social Work in the College of Applied Sciences and Arts at San José State University has launched an International Social Work Education Exchange Program Initiative with the School of Social Welfare at Soongsil University in South Korea.

Visitors from South Korea will be meeting with SJSU social work students and faculty members this week, with a brown bag seminar planned for Nov. 19, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Washington Square Hall 215. No RSVP is necessary, but for more information contact Dr. Meekyung Han at meekyung.han@sjsu.edu.

Other news

School hosted clinical symposium Oct. 5

The School of Social Work Alumni Association hosted its second annual clinical symposium October 5th. The title of the program was, “Understanding Opioid Addiction and Addiction Medication: How it Works to Achieve Recovery.”  The keynote speaker was Dr. Mark Stanford, Director of Addiction Medicine and Therapy Services at Santa Clara County VMC. Five panelists, all whom are alumni from the School of Social Work and who work at the center, presented on their specific work with various populations within the program.

Author in Conversation event Nov. 13

School of Social Work professor Emily Bruce helped to coordinate an Author in Conversation event featuring Jewelle Taylor Gibbs on Nov. 13, an event sponsored by the San Jose State University African American Studies department. Gibbs discussed her book, “Destiny’s Child: Memoirs of a Preacher’s Daughter” at the event.

Gibbs book traces 200 years of history to show how the Taylor family achieved upward mobility despite social and racial barriers.

Gibbs has a bachelor’s from Radcliffe College, a master’s of arts, a master’s of social work and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked as a psychiatric social worker at Stanford, as a clinical psychologist in private practice and is a faculty member at UC Berkeley.

She is the author of four other books, “Young, Black and Male in America: An Endangered Species,” “Children of color: Psychological Interventions with Culturally Diverse Youth (with Larke Nahme Huang,)” “Race and Justice: Rodney King and O.J. Simpson in a House Divided,” and “Preserving Privilege: California Propositions, Politics and People of Color (with Teiahsha Bankhead.)”

Bruce said via email that Gibbs has spoken at the School of Social Work graduations and is a mentor to current faculty at SJSU.

 

Hospitality Management students host Beers Around the World

San José State University Hospitality Management students hosted a Beers Around the World Tradeshow Nov. 13 that was open to SJSU faculty, staff and students over the age of 21 along with invited guests.

Participation in the tradeshow is worth 25 percent of their grades for students enrolled in HSPM 148 Beer Appreciation this semester and also serves as a class project for students enrolled in HSPM 140 Meetings and Event Management. Many of the students in beer appreciation showed up with well-researched visuals along with at least two samples from their assigned brewing region or country while those in meetings and events management coordinated guest check in, concessions and other logistics.

The students hosted the fall event at the Glasshouse, an event venue on Market Street in downtown San Jose, with guests paying $5 admission for 5 beer tastings or $10 for 13 tastings.

Marylou Zuniga, a hospitality management student who works in the hotel industry, said she took the beer appreciation course because it is an elective for her major.

“I learned about the brewery processing and we took tours of breweries,” she said. “We had tastings in class. I thought I knew what kind of beer I liked, but now that I’m educated I realize I love dark beers.”

Zuniga, whose group represented Denmark, said learning about food and beer tastings will especially help her in her career goals in the hotel industry.

“I know what beers go with different food based on taste and style,” she said.

The student groups were charged with finding at least two beers from their country or region and they also put together a food pairing. Denmark’s group served salami, cheese and cookies with its Carlsberg Lager and Elephant beer.

“Carlsberg has a monopoly in Denmark because (the country) is so small,” Zuniga said.

Doug Lukanc, an Aerosapce Engineering major, said he took the class to have the opportunity to try a wide variety of beers.

“The class is a great way to explore nicer beers rather than just the cheap stuff,” he said.

Lukanc and his partners featured Oregon brews, complete with a slideshow presentation set up on an iPad to inform guests about the region.

Lukanc said one of the interesting parts of the class was getting to try some East Coast beers that are not available for sale on the West Coast because Professor Kate Sullivan was able to get them. At the event, his group shared a chocolate stout made by Rogue Ales and  Deschutes’ Fresh Squeezed IPA.

“I learned that some beers I thought I liked, I don’t and others I thought I didn’t, I actually do like,” he said. “I gained a lot of knowledge on how beer is made – the wheat that is added changes it. The water that is added changes it, the yeast and the hops. It’s a complexity that adjusts the flavors.”

At the event, the beer presenters competed for judges’ choice and people’s choice award based on their presentation, beer selection and food pairings. Japan, England and Mexico were selected by the judges and Japan, which served sushi with its two beer selections, won people’s choice.

Emeritus and Retired Faculty lunch with current CASA affiliates

The College of Applied Sciences and Arts hosted its annual Emeritus and Retired Faculty Luncheon Oct. 29, at Flames Eatery and Banquet.
Emeritus and Retired

Faculty were invited to join Assistant Chair of Kinesiology Shirley Reekie and Associate Dean Greg Payne for a tour of some of the newly completed construction on campus. About a half dozen faculty members participated in the tour of the newly renovated Yoshihiro Uchida Hall and the new Student Union.

“This is one of our favorite events to host each year because it gives us a chance to catch you up on what has been going on in CASA and around campus and also for us to hear what you’ve done this past year,” said Interim Dean Alice Hines in her welcome.

The highlight of the program included three College of Applied Sciences and Arts students who attended summer study abroad programs who shared how the experience left a strong impression on them. The students speakers included Aly Mauro, an Occupational Therapy student, Mia Gonzalez, a Journalism and Mass Communications student and Michael Celso, a Social Work student. The students each received the Helen L. Stevens Faculty-Led Program Scholarship, helping to off-set $500 of the cost of the summer programs. The College is currently working to develop more scholarships to support study abroad opportunities for students.

Emeritus and retired faculty from seven CASA departments, including some that have merged with other departments, attended the luncheon with current faculty from nine of the departments offering updates on their activities. The attendees included a former dean and emeritus faculty member, Robert Moore, who taught in the Division of Technology. Moore, who is in his mid-90s, said he recalled hiring Helen Ross Mico, a retired Health Science professor in attendance, and Lee Walton, a retired kinesiology professor in attendance.

Justice Studies hosts debate on mass incarceration today

The College of Applied Sciences and Arts Justice Studies department will host the Fall 2014 Ann Lucas Lecture in Law & Justice at San José State University Nov. 13, from 4-6 p.m. in Yoshihiro Uchida Hall 124.

The lecture today will feature a debate on Jonathan Simon’s recently published book “Mass Incarceration on Trial: A Remarkable Court Decision and the Future of Prisons in America.”

The debate panel will include Simon, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Elliott Currie, of UC Irvine,  Mohamed Shehk, the national media and communications director of Critical Resistance, and Edith Kinney, an SJSU Justice Studies professor.

In his book, Simon argues against the system of mass incarceration that he says relies on “racist gangs, lockdowns, and Supermax-style segregation units to maintain a tenuous order.” His book discusses how the 2011 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Plata could transform the prison system and Simon presents the opportunity to “replace mass incarceration with a system anchored in the preservation of human dignity.”

The lecture is free and open to the public.

For more on the event, view the flier here (PDF): Mass Incarceration on Trial flyer

Yoshihiro Uchida honored at re-dedication ceremony

The College of Applied Sciences and Arts celebrated the renovation of Yoshihiro Uchida Hall Nov. 7 and honored the man whose name adorns the building.

The festivities included a panel of speakers, taiko drummers, judo demonstrations in the dojo, guided tours of the renovated space that is shared by the College of Applied Sciences and Arts and the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, and the presentation of a medal for distinguished service from San José State University President Mohammad Qayoumi to Yoshihiro Uchida.  The event was hosted by the Office of the President, the College of Applied Sciences and Arts, the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, University Advancement and the department of Kinesiology.

Namesake

While the event celebrated the reopening of Uchida Hall, one of the primary focuses included honoring Uchida for his long history of service to the campus.

Uchida, ’47 Biological Sciences, has had a long history with San José State University, starting when he enrolled in 1940 as a chemical engineering student. While enrolled, he competed on the wrestling team and coached police students in judo, a sport he started as a 10-year-old in Garden Grove to connect to his family’s Japanese culture. He left the campus for four years, when he was drafted into the U.S. military during World War II while his family members were incarcerated in internment camps in Poston and Tule Lake. The former men’s gymnasium in the then-Spartan Complex West building was used as a registration center for Santa Clara County Japanese and Japanese-American citizens before they were sent to internment camps during World War II. As part of the re-dedication, a plaque will be placed outside the gymnasium to denote its historic significance.

When Uchida returned to campus after WW II, he re-enrolled at SJSU and graduated with a degree in biological sciences in 1947. He continued to teach judo and was instrumental in creating a judo program on campus as well as bringing the sport to national and international attention. Uchida helped to establish a weight class system for judo that allowed it to be practiced as a competitive sport, helping to spread the sport throughout collegiate circles. He also worked to establish judo as a sport in the Amateur Athletic Union.

The first National AAU championships were hosted by San José State in 1953. Uchida was the tournament director. On an international level, he was able to qualify judo as a sport in the Olympics and was the first Olympic judo coach to the United States judo team in 1964 for the Tokyo Olympics. In 2012, he attended his tenth Summer Olympics in London to watch SJSU’s Marti Malloy take bronze.

In addition to his efforts on campus and with judo, Uchida has also contributed to the greater community. He founded the Japanese American Chamber of Silicon Valley in 1996 and serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board; founder of the National Collegiate Judo Association; Chairman of the Japanese American Citizen League Advisory Board; Board of Director for the US Olympic Committee (1996-2000;) President of Uchida Enterprises, Inc.; Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the Japanese American National Museum in Southern California; Board of Trustee for the San Jose Chamber of Commerce’s San Jose Metro Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee; Elected President Emeritus of United States Judo, Inc.; and more.

In 1997, San José State University renamed Spartan Complex West to Yoshihiro Uchida Hall in honor of Uchida’s many years of service to the university and to the community. Uchida received the San José State University Tower Award, in 1992; was inducted into the SJSU Hall of Fame in 1999 and into the SJSU “Legends Hall of Fame” in 2012, to name a few of the honors and awards bestowed on him through the years.

Re-dedication

The festivities on Nov. 7 started off at the North Entrance to YUH, with San José Taiko performing for 15 minutes as the crowd began gathering for the event. Chuck Jefferson, an SJSU judo alum, served as the emcee for the afternoon. The speakers included:

SJSU President Mohammad Qayoumi

Gene Bleymaier, director of athletics

Alice Hines, interim dean for the College of Applied Sciences and Arts

Honorable Norman Mineta, a former U.S. Congressman, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and Commcerce, and former Mayor of San José

Michiyasu Sengoku, a SJSU judo alum, Japanese businessman and philanthropist

Masato Watanabe, the Japanese general consul, San Francisco

Sam Liccardo, San José District 3 councilman and mayor elect

Matthew Masucci, chair of Kinesiology

Near the end of the ceremony, Qayoumi presented Uchida with the medal for distinguished service, noting that the prestigious award is rarely given and has only been bestowed upon two other people. Uchida kept his own remarks short as he thanked those in attendance, who numbered close to 250. The guest list included distinguished alumni of the judo program, community members, donors, university administrators, faculty from CASA, students and more.

During the ceremony Masucci and Mineta both talked about the history of Yoshihiro Uchida Hall and its connection to World War II. Then known as the Men’s Gymnasium, the building was used as a processing center for Santa Clara County Japanese resident aliens and Japanese-Americans to report for registration into internment camps during World War II. Qayoumi commissioned a plaque to acknowledge the use of the space during World War II. An artist rendering designed by Michelle Frey, of the Office of Marketing and Communications, was on display at the event. The plaque will be fabricated by Nathan Cox, of the SJSU Foundry, and will soon be on display.

As part of the ceremony, Marti Malloy, an SJSU judo alum and Olympic medalist, accepted two proclamations on behalf of the judo team. One was presented from the Japanese Consul General Masato Watanabe and the other from the city of San José, presented by Sam Liccardo, District 3 councilman and recently confirmed as mayor-elect.

At the end of the ceremony, Uchida invited those on stage with him to cut a ceremonial ribbon. Following the formal program, guests were invited to watch judo demonstrations in the dojo/mat room, take a tour of the building with highlights of the renovated spaces, watch video tributes to Uchida in the amphitheater or enjoy a performance by TONE Ensemble, a jazz quartet, on the rooftop terrace while helping themselves to light refreshments.

Renovations

YUH reopened in August for the start of the Fall 2014 semester after a year-long renovation. The $54.7 million bond-financed project includes the renovation of YUH, which cost $27 million, and the renovation of Spartan Complex that is currently under way. From conception of the design to the final construction, the project took two years and five months. The newly renovated space in YUH is shared by the College of Applied Sciences and Arts and the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, two of the units hosting the re-dedication ceremony with the Office of the President, University Advancement and the department of Kinesiology.

The space has a refurbished mat room that will be used by SJSU Judo, which has a history of training Olympic athletes. The space will be shared with other Kinesiology courses that use floor mats, such as yoga. The building has an amphitheater that is already being used for several large classes this Fall semester and will be used to feature a video tribute to Uchida on the day of the event. On the second floor, the roof of the amphitheater has been designed as a terrace garden that looks out toward Tower Lawn.

The building has an updated weight training classroom, an exercise physiology research lab, stress management lab and classroom, and an updated instructional gymnasium. The building has additional office space that is being used jointly by Kinesiology faculty and staff, along with the Athletics Department.