Walter R. Jacobs's Blog, page 20
August 18, 2015
New Social Media Presence
August 17, 2015
Speaking with 8th Grade Students
Today I spoke with 8th grade students from the Upward Bound program of Tarrant County College (Fort Worth, TX). Thanks to SJSU Professor Wendy Ng for the action shots!
August 13, 2015
The Future of Work
“What worries you most—and/or excites you most—about the future of work and workers? Put another way: What will be the most consequential changes in the world of work and workers, and what anxieties and possibilities will they produce?”
The above questions are posed on the Pacific Standard magazine’s online special section on “The Future of Work.” In a project that begun on August 3, short essays and analyses are posted weekly, and the November/December 2015 print issue of the magazine will include new original work that will be published with some of the articles that are first posted online. It seems like a very intriguing project; a similar initiative could be launched by a college of social sciences!
August 10, 2015
Alumni Fundraising
Yesterday I attended the San Jose Jazz Festival. In the main festival area I saw a couple of great high school bands on the “Next Generation” stage. In a loosely affiliated function, on campus SJSU’s African American alumni organized a BBQ that featured a jazz band. At the BBQ I was introduced to the community, along with other new African American administrators. There was also a presentation about a summer 2016 study abroad trip to Cuba, followed by an appeal for donations to help students make the trip. Overall the BBQ was a fun event, but afterwards my wife and I discussed a missed opportunity: the fundraising appeal did not provide any specifics about how much money is necessary to support the students, nor did it set suggested donation levels. While I can understand why the organizers were worried about being too pushy in asking for money at a social event — I’ve certainly experienced that before! — an appeal could have been crafted that set specific monetary goals at the event itself and afterwards via a soon-to-be-launched donation website. While any type of contribution would be welcome, of course, the appeal would be more successful with more information and targets for suggested individual and/or group contributions. I’ll have to keep that in mind as I start my own fundraising efforts later this week!
August 6, 2015
Scheduling Time for Reading [updated]
One of my earliest posts on this blog was about “Scheduling Time for Reading,” as learning new tasks crowded out some old activities. It seems that this challenge is popping up again two years later! My initial solution was to save articles to my Instapaper account, and read them on weekends. That approach worked particularly well in my second year at UWP, when I flew to Charlotte, NC to visit my wife just about every weekend, so I could read on the flights. Now we both have jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area and live in just one household, so I have to toss that solution out the window. My daily commute to campus via light rail is just a 10 minute trip door to door, so an option of reading while going to the office is also eliminated. Hhhmmm. OK, up until 2012 I read a paper copy of the Sunday paper on Sunday mornings, so maybe I can restart a tradition of reading articles and news at that time, but now on an iPad instead of the old fashioned way. Yes, I’ll give that a shot!
July 31, 2015
StoryCorps Animation About Police Violence
A former colleague at the University of Minnesota informed me about “I Was Almost Another Dead Black Male,” a short article and video. On his Facebook page Psychology Professor Rich Lee writes, “in the context of the recent string of violence against African Americans by police, here is another tale. This StoryCorps animation is about a young African American man, transracially adopted. It’s another perspective and reminder on the importance of talking about race/racism with our children at a young age to prepare them for the racial violence in the world.” Indeed!
July 29, 2015
July 24, 2015
The Riches of Others Makes You More Valuable
Yesterday I had lunch in the Student Center for the first time. I went to Panda Express, and my fortune cookie message read: “the riches of others makes you more valuable.” In a way, that’s a nice shorthand for describing the job of a Dean, as one of our major tasks is to make sure that the departments in our care are well supported and thriving. Money is probably the first thing that comes to mind when one hears the word “support,” and that is a necessary item, but another important aspect is the ability of department chairs to innovate, to try new things without unnecessary interference from above. I’ve started monthly one-on-one meeting with the chairs, and stress that the purpose of those meetings is not for me to give direction (or, worse, micromanage their decisions), it’s for me to become informed about issues and to help solve problems. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate department successes, and discuss ways in which we can maintain positive momentum. Monthly meetings with 12 department chairs will take a lot of time, but they are well worth the effort. In the end, successful departments lead to a successful college!
July 21, 2015
Spare Change and Minimum Wages
This morning I got breakfast at a Whole Foods, and my bill came to $8.02. At first I was annoyed: why can’t they calculate prices and taxes that land the total on the dollar? My second thought was that maybe generating a ton of change is intentional, so that it’s easier to give homeless folks a little something as we walk out of stores. My third thought was about the wages paid to Whole Foods workers. [Don’t ask about how and why my mind skipped from thought to disparate thought!] Earlier in the week I learned about how SJSU sociology students helped raise the minimum wage in San José. That’s the type of story that makes me proud to be in my new post. I’m looking forward to learning about additional examples of the powerful use of the social sciences here in the San Francisco Bay Area!
July 17, 2015
The Importance of the Social Sciences
San José State U’s brand is “Powering Silicon Valley,” which emphasizes the STEM fields — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. One of my tasks as Dean of the College of Social Sciences will be to advocate the importance of the social sciences. At my first meeting with department chairs we started to discuss some strategies in which the social sciences complement STEM, and other strategies that focus on questioning STEM’s place at the center of the equation. A page on the “Latin Correspondent” website captures many of the central ideas; perhaps I should ask the chairs to read it before our next meeting? Any additional ideas and/or resources I should share?
