New Cal State Campus Starts Building Faculty

Thirteen faculty members named Friday to the new Cal State Channel Islands campus near Camarillo are a diverse group, ranging from an Australian expert in molecular genetics to a community college history teacher who grew up in Oxnard.

University President Richard Rush selected the teachers from a pool of 2,300 applicants, calling them an “exceptional group” that will help prepare the campus for its planned fall 2002 launch.

Over the next year, these key faculty will help shape course work, formulate policy on everything from grading to how many units will be needed to graduate and recruit an additional 25 full-time professors, said Ira Schoenwald, the university’s associate vice president for faculty.

“It’s a big step for us,” Schoenwald said. “We’re moving from a planning cycle to becoming an institution.”

Nearly half are minorities--Latino, Asian and Native American. Women make up nearly 50% of those selected.

Five will transfer from other CSU campuses, with the others representing a range of academia around the world.

Louise Lutze-Mann, professor of biochemistry and genetics at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, has done NASA research on cancer risks for astronauts.

Kevin Volkan comes from Harvard Medical School, where he conducted research on the education and training of physicians and did post-doctoral work at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Anthropologist William Adams has most recently worked in developing countries, including Micronesia and Palau, helping people preserve their cultural heritage while developing economies.

Closer to home is Frank Barajas, who taught history at Cypress College in Orange County for the last eight years. Barajas was born and attended school in Oxnard.

Reached Friday at the Cal State Channel Islands campus, Barajas said he is thrilled he will be among those who draw the blueprint for how the campus operates for years to come.

But first, Barajas said, he has to find a home in high-cost Ventura County.

“There’s a lot of responsibility and challenge that comes with a new institution,” he said. “At the same time, the housing situation has been a bit of a challenge, too.”

Other professors are:

* Lillian Castaneda, Harvard graduate and professor of teacher education at Cal State San Marcos.

* William Cordeiro, professor of business management at Cal State L.A. since 1987 who has consulting experience with government and private sectors.

* Ivona Grzegorczyk, who specializes in mathematics, speaks several languages and has taught at Oregon State University, Warsaw University in Poland and the University of Liverpool in England.

* Phillip Hampton), 10-year chemistry professor at the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque.

* Joan Karp, special education professor at University of Minnesota, Duluth, who recently helped teachers integrate technology into course work.

* Jacquelyn Kilpatrick, English teacher at Governors State University in suburban Chicago and a Fulbright scholar.

* Dennis Muraoka, economics professor at Cal State Long Beach and a Santa Barbara native.

* Jack Reilly, art teacher who developed a video/digital program at Cal State Northridge and is the founder of the California SUN International Animation Festival.

* Ching-Hua Wang, biology professor at Cal State San Bernardino and the first doctoral candidate from the People’s Republic of China accepted into the immunology program at Cornell University.

Faculty will begin trickling onto campus over the summer. Their salaries range from $72,000 to $92,000.

Recruitment of the next batch of full-time professors begins immediately, said Schoenwald.