Broadcasting professional shares perspective on media
Howard Bolter — a Fresno State graduate with 30 years of experience working in broadcasting, cable and new media — will speak on “TV to New Media; Now Everyone's A Producer“ on Wednesday, April 2 at 7-8 p.m. in the Alice Peters Auditorium in the University Business Center. Bolter is the current president and chief operating officer for LATV Networks, the first and only 24/7 bilingual multi-cast broadcast television network.

Deadline near for Library’s Steinbeck excursion
The reservation deadline is Saturday, April 5, for a Friends of the Madden Library bus trip on April 12 to John Steinbeck country. The daylong tour departs at 7 a.m. and includes a guided tour of Cannery Row in Monterey, lunch in Old Town Salinas, admission to the National Steinbeck Center and refreshments en route. There is a reception after the trip hosted by Donahue Schriber and the Fig Garden Village Merchants Association at the Whole Foods Salud Room. Cost: $90 for Friends members and $95 for nonmembers. For details, call Kellie Willis at 278.5790 or e-mail kelliew@csufresno.edu.

McNair Program 2009 applications due April 7
The Ronald E. McNair Program at Fresno State urges faculty and staff to remind candidates for graduate study that the deadline is Monday, April 7, to apply for the program’s unique blend of assistance. McNair scholars receive a $2,700 stipend, an opportunity to do research under a Fresno State faculty mentor, and the chance to attend seminars and workshops on graduate education. Click here for details.

April 7 is deadline for Staff Awards Luncheon
The reservation deadline is Monday, April 7, for the annual Staff Awards Luncheon buffet scheduled at 11:30 a.m. May 5 in the Save Mart Center. The event recognizes staff members who have reached milestone anniversaries as Fresno State employees and retirees. The theme of this year’s event, sponsored by the Staff Assembly, is “Aloha Luau.” For individual tickets and table reservations, contact Vikki Hensel, 278-5367.

Cafe Scientifique explores time scale links
“Deep Time: The Amazing Age of the Earth and Universe” will be Ray E. Hall’s (Physics) topic at the Central Valley Cafe Scientifique meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 7, at Lucy’s Lair, 10063 N. Maple Ave., Fresno. Hall will explore relationships among time scales associated with astronomy, geology and biology in scientific investigation. Click here for details.

Lecture focuses on South Asian Muslims in the U.S.
Sunaina Maira, a University of California, Davis professor of Asian American studies, will discuss “‘Good’ Muslim, ‘Bad’ Muslim: Youth, Terrorists, and Feminists” at 6 p.m. April 10 in the Alice Peters Auditorium under sponsorship of the Women’s Studies Program. Maira’s recent research has focused on post-9/11 civil and immigrant rights issues in the Boston area. Click here for details.

Free living will workshop available
A lawyer, physician and notary will participate in a free workshop on living wills at 4 p.m. April 10 at the Valley Caregiver Resource Center (3845 N. Clark Ave., Fresno). The Fresno State-based Central California Institute for Healthy Aging and the center are co-sponsors. For details, call Helen Miltiades at 278.7253.

Health Policy Institute seek leadership program applicants
The Central Valley Health Policy Institute is accepting applications through April 15 for the 2008-2009 Health Policy Leadership Program, which trains people to formulate and implement regional health and health care initiatives. Ten one-day program sessions meet Fridays beginning in May at Fresno State. For details, e-mail Debbie Wray at dwray@csufresno.edu or call 228.2155.

Traditional Pancake Breakfast celebrates 33 years
Vintage Days 2008 will begin 7-10 a.m. April 17 in the Free Speech Area with a Pancake Breakfast for staff, faculty and students sponsored by the Staff Assembly. Celebrity pancake flippers will serve up a breakfast of pancakes, sausage and all the fixings. Tickets are $5 in advance and $6 the day of the event and may be purchased from Staff Assembly Executive Committee members, or by calling Terry Lewis at 278.2158 or Delia Rau Cholakian at 278.2048.

Common Threads honors women in agriculture
The 12th annual Common Threads luncheon will begin at 11:15 a.m. April 18 in the University Courtyard Dining Hall. The event honors six Valley women with strong agricultural backgrounds who also find time for philanthropy and community service. Tickets are $35 before Friday, April 4, and $50 after. Proceeds benefit the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, Ag One Foundation and charities of the honorees’ choice. To reserve tickets, call Christy Melvold at 278.4266 or e-mail cmelvold@csufresno.edu.

Garden party on April 20 benefits Arne Nixon Center
The sixth annual Secret Garden Party will be held at 3 p.m. April 20 at a private residential garden in Fresno to benefit the Arne Nixon Center for Children’s Literature in the Henry Madden Library. This year's party honors author, librarian, and Booklist columnist Michael Cart, who is a major donor to the center and a founding member of its Governing Committee. The theme, “Passions and Pleasures,” is taken from Cart's book, “Passions and Pleasures: Essays and Speeches about Literature and Libraries.” Tickets are $50. For information, call 278.5790 or e-mail kelliew@csufresno.edu.

Stem cell research is Ethics Lecture Series topic
On April 23, Theologian Ted Peters will discuss religious and ethical issues that arise in the public debate about stem cell research and biotechnology. Peters, whose recent book, “The Stem Cell Debate,” is a professor of systematic theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley.  The lecture will be held in the Alice Peters Auditorium in the University Business Center from 12 noon to 1 p.m. More information is available by e-mailing afiala@csufresno.edu or at www.csufresno.edu/ethicscenter.

Student chefs plan fundraising dinner
Students in California State University, Fresno’s Culinology® 152 class, “Cooking for Health,” will hold the second annual Come Eat Our Homework fundraiser April 26 in the Vintage Room on campus. The $50-a-person event offers a six-course dinner prepared by the students under the guidance of master chef and faculty member Klaus Tenbergen. Net proceeds from the dinner and a silent auction will benefit the Bulldog Pantry, a student-operated emergency food source near campus. For reservations, e-mail ktenbergen@csufresno.edu or call 278.5068.

Engineering presents Starlight Gala on May 9
The College of Engineering is taking reservations for its Starlight Gala dinner and dance beginning at 6 p.m. May 9 at Pardini’s Catering. A highlight of the evening is recognition of the college’s Outstanding Community Partners for the year. Tickets are $25 per person and proceeds benefit Pathways: College of Engineering Student Services Program. Tickets are available online through the Fresno State Alumni Association or by contacting coersvp@csufresno.edu.

Rotary Scholarship applications available
Faculty and staff are asked to inform students that applications are being accepted through June 16 for Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship to be used in 2009-10. Rotary scholarships provide up to $24,000 for a full academic year and cover tuition, travel, room, board, insurance, etc. Applicants must have completed at least two years of university coursework by the time they go abroad and must be citizens of a country in which there is a Rotary Club. Click here for details.

Federal internships discussed
Faculty, staff and administrators participated with 35 students in a session about student internship programs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service. Participants included Sandra Witte (Agriculture),  N.P. Mahalik (Industrial Technology), Patricia Bruegman-Turnbull and Beng Ong (Marketing and Logistics), Jennifer Johnson (Maddy Institute), Hernan Maldonado (Engineering Pathways and MESA) and Tony Garduque (EOP).