Betty Garcia (Social Work Education) was elected as the California Region XIII representative to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) in Washington, D.C.  She also is chair of the NASW Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity (NCORED). 

Christina Leimer is the new director of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment. She has a bachelor's and master's degree in sociology from the University of Houston, where she also served as a planning analyst for five years. She worked four years as the director of planning and research at Seattle Community College, and where she served on several Seattle Community College system institutional planning initiatives. Her expertise is in the area of institutional effectiveness, strategic planning and assessment.

Garo Kalfayan (Accountacy) has been appointed Faculty Athletic Representative, effective July 1, 2006. He will be working with current representative Peter Simis this year in preparation for assuming the position next year.

Community Connections Project, a new program that Mitzi Lowe (Social Work Education) helped organize to help inmates stay out of trouble after they are released from jail, was featured in a Fresno Bee article on Aug. 21.

Barbara Benedict (Advising Services) has been appointed director of transition services in Academic Enhancement Services. She will retain responsibility for coordinating DOG DAYS in addition to providing oversight for the Office of Advising Services/ Reentry, where she will be responsible for planning, developing and implementing programs and services to foster the academic and personal success of students in their transition to, persistence in, and graduation from the university.

Peter Robertson (Alumni Relations) presented "Effectively Pre-Testing Direct Mail Campaigns" at the West Coast Membership Conference held at Oregon State in Corvallis last month.

Timothy M. Stearns (Management) has been elected chair of the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management. The Academy of Management, with a membership of more than 16,000, is the professional organization for faculty in the management sciences worldwide. The Entrepreneurship Division, with nearly 2,000 members, is the most comprehensive association for faculty who conduct research and teach in the field of entrepreneurship. See a Web interview with Stearns at www.fresnobee.com.

Gena Strang (Development), a former Fresno State softball All-American, has been named assistant director of development for Athletics. She is responsible for assisting the director of development in the identifying, cultivating and soliciting major gifts from individuals, corporations and foundations. She will also assist with the development and campaign strategies efforts in athletic fund-raising and with coordination of sport team booster clubs.

Philip Levine (English, Emeritus) is a featured poet in the Starbucks “The Way I See It” coffee cup poetry campaign. “The Way I See It” is a collection of thoughts, opinions and expressions provided by notable figures that now appear on Starbucks’ cups.

George B. Kauffman (Chemistry, Emeritus) published "Goodyear patently improved our lives," The Fresno Bee, Jan, 8, 2005, p. B9; "Pet Tales: Everyone lucked out in this story," Feb. 19, 2005, p. E4; "Terrible appointment [Bolton nomination]," Apr. 5, 2005, B8; "Join in the Earth Day Celebration," Apr. 16, 2005, p. B9; "Comforting but outdated [Creationists and ideological education], June 1, 2005, p. B8; "Accidents can happen-in a very good way [Nitinol, the Memory Metal]" (with student Isaac Mayo), June 25, 2005, p. B9; "A Topic That Affects Us All, ChemBioChem: A European Journal of Chemical Biology, 6, 445-446 (2005); "From Alchemy to Atomic Bombs, Canadian Chemical News (L'Actualité Chimique Canadienne), 57(1), 11 (2005); "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography," The Chemical Educator, 10, 50-53 (2005); "Genetics, Genomics, and Proteomics," 53-54 (2005); "Nineteenth-Century British Scientists," 55-56 (2005); "Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry," 56-59 (2005); "Chemoinformatics: From Data to Knowledge," 59-61 (2005); "Exploring the World of Plastics" (with student Brian Fischer), 61-63 (2005); "Chemically Speaking," 63-64 (2005); "Memory Effects," 64-66 (2005); "Nuclear Chemistry," 67-68 (2005); "Visions of the Universe: Science and Art," Chemistry & Industry (London),  3, 24-25 (2005);"Newton's Darkness: Two Dramatic Views" (with Laurie M. Kauffman), Angewandte Chemie: Eine Zuschrift der Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, 117, 1465-1467 (2005)(in German); "Newton's Darkness: Two Dramatic Views," (with Laurie M. Kauffman), Angewandte Cheme, International Edition, 44, 1440-1442 (2005); "The Transformation of Organic Chemistry," Endeavour:  A Quarterly Review of the Progress of Science and Technology in the Service of Mankind, 29(1), 8-9 (2005); and "Obituary: Élogue: Christian Klixbüll Jørgensen (1931-2001)," Journal of Coordination Chemistry, 58, 381-389 (2005).

Aribilola S. Omolayo (Geography) had his book "Violent Weather: A Study Guide" recently published by Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co. He was interviewed about Hurricane Katrina by KSEE TV, Channel 24.

Dickran Kouymjian (Armenian Studies) was invited by the foreign minister of Armenia to participate in a conference on the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, held in Yerevan last April. Genocide and holocaust scholars from around the world discussed the consequences of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and its continual denial by the Turkish government. Kouymjian was chair of a session entitled “The Ultimate Crime.”

Jane Middleton (chair, Social Work Education) was elected president-elect of the California Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the largest professional organization of social workers statewide. She will begin her term as chapter president July 1, 2006. She will be the first African-American woman to serve as California Chapter President. The NASW, based in Washington, D.C., is the largest national membership organization of professional social workers with 153,000 members worldwide. It promotes, develops and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well being of individuals, families and communities through its advocacy.