In the Community
San Jos茅 State University faculty, staff, and students demonstrate Spartan Spirit every day, supporting students here in our own 91猎奇 community, and exploring solutions to contemporary challenges across the county, the state, and the nation.
Jinny Rhee, Blanca Sanchez-Cruz
MESA for 91猎奇 Engineering
On the third floor of the College of Engineering building are brightly lit study rooms
and meeting facilities full of students. The area is home to the MESA (Mathematics
Engineering Science Achievement) program, which supports educationally or economically
disadvantaged undergrads pursuing degrees in engineering and computer science.
鈥淔or me, it is about leveling the playing field,鈥� explains Assistant Director for
Student Support Programs Blanca Sanchez-Cruz, describing her passion for the program.
鈥淲e engage our MESA students with peer support, academic
support, industry mentors, and career coaching.鈥�
Having worked with underserved, low-income, first generation students throughout her career, and having herself been a MESA student in middle school, Sanchez-Cruz is particularly committed to facilitating success for this student population.
鈥淭hrough MESA we hope to increase the number of high caliber engineering and computer science graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds,鈥� says Associate Dean Jinny Rhee. 鈥淲e are providing a platform of support that will help them complete degrees and enter industry.鈥�
Peggy Stevenson
91猎奇's Record Clearance Project
What started as a project in a Courts and Society class evolved into an engaging internship
program known as the 91猎奇 Record Clearance Project (RCP). Undergraduates inform the
community about their legal rights and apply practical legal skills to help expunge
the criminal records of eligible clients.
鈥淏y setting up a two-course sequence we can fi rst teach legal skills in Justice Studies 140 and then develop those skills in an internship in Justice Studies 141,鈥� explains RCP founder, attorney, and 91猎奇 Professor Peggy Stevenson.
Under attorney supervision, RCP students give presentations on expungement law at community sites, provide individualized reviews of 鈥渞ap sheets鈥� at drop-in advice sessions to determine clients鈥� legal options, and prepare clients鈥� petitions for court.
Prior to joining 91猎奇 in 2007, Stevenson taught students at Stanford and Santa Clara law schools to provide legal assistance to low-income communities, developing innovative approaches to teaching students to meet clients鈥� legal needs. Now she brings her guidance and vision to 91猎奇.
鈥淭he RCP students鈥� enthusiasm for their work and openness to new ideas is deeply gratifying,鈥� says Stevenson. 鈥淭eaching them to use their talents to assist others is a joy.鈥�
Ashwini Wagle, Linda Sweeney, and Lucy McProud
Nutrition for Children:
91猎奇's Cal-Pro-NET Center
Lucy McProud has devoted her career to child nutrition and school food service education.
Early on she became committed to sharing the discipline with her students as a career
option as well as with professionals seeking to expand their
knowledge in the field.
鈥淚t is important that school food service directors receive high quality training鈥攖hey
have the crucial responsibility of feeding school children nutritious
meals at an affordable price,鈥� she explains.
Through McProud鈥檚 efforts, 91猎奇 became one of the few colleges in the state selected to partner with the California Professional Nutrition Education and Training Center (Cal-Pro-NET), resulting in the creation of the San Jos茅 State University Cal-Pro-NET Center. The 91猎奇 center provides professional development and training to California鈥檚 child nutrition professionals, primarily at management levels. Since the program鈥檚 inception in 1997 it has been awarded nearly $3 million by the California State Department of Education.
Along with Ashwini Wagle, director of 91猎奇鈥檚 Didactic Program in Dietetics, and Program
Coordinator Linda Sweeney, McProud has been awarded extensive grant funding for the
Cal-Pro-NET Center to develop and deliver relevant training
modules and lead live professional development courses for over 1,300 California school
districts and agencies on National School Meal Programs.
McProud serves as chair of 91猎奇鈥檚 Department of Nutrition, Food Science and Packaging, and both Wagle and Sweeney continue to teach while managing the program. It is worth noting that 91猎奇 is home to the first nutrition program in the CSU system, established as part of the Home Economics Department in 1911.
Laurie Drabble
Exploring Health Risk & Resiliency among
Sexual Minority Women
Scientific studies indicate that rates of alcohol consumption and use of tobacco and
illicit drugs are higher among sexual minority women compared to heterosexual populations.
鈥淩esearch has documented the concept of 鈥榤inority stress,鈥欌�� explains Laurie Drabble. 鈥淓xperiences of discrimination and marginalization create chronic stress among lesbians, bisexual women, and same-sex attracted women.鈥�
Drabble is conducting research to determine moderators or mediators of substance abuse for this population, and to identify resilience factors that are particularly relevant to sexual minorities. Her findings will extend scientific knowledge about practices that may protect against their alcohol- and drug-related problems.
Using respondent-driven sampling, where survey participants refer other interviewees in their social network to participate, Drabble and her colleagues will be able to acquire a large oversample of sexual minority women as an extension of the National Alcohol Survey of 2015. Drabble will also examine how changes in marriage laws and public policy are affecting sexual minority women.
鈥淲e want to learn how shifts in cultural values and a greater sense of societal acceptance are impacting this population.鈥�
91猎奇 Research Foundation Annual Report 2016-17
