Approximately 3,500 students are expected to attend classes when the fall 2008 semester begins at California State University Channel Islands on Monday, Aug. 25. Saturday classes begin on Saturday, Aug. 23.

Beginning with the fall semester, students will have two new degree programs—Chicana/o Studies and Applied Physics—available to them, and Early Childhood Studies, a program that was introduced last year with pending approval from the California State University Chancellors Office, has gained approval. This brings the total number of undergraduate degree programs offered at CSU/CI to 22.

The Chicana/o Studies program is an interdisciplinary degree that will provide students with instruction in Chicana/o Studies with a focus on transborder issues, while at the same time provide them an opportunity to minor or double major in a related discipline. Students who choose to pursue a degree in Applied Physics can choose technology or physical science as an area of emphasis. The Early Childhood Studies degree program was introduced in fall 2007. With CSU approval, the curriculum now includes competencies for the Childhood Development-Permit Teacher or Director from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

The Early Childhood Studies Program recognizes that students in the major will have different career goals, including working with young children in preschool settings, seeking a teaching credential, or working in health and human services agencies, explained Steve Lefevre, Associate Vice President of Academic Programs and Planning at CSU/CI.

Just as the University has increased the number of academic programs it will offer this fall, it also welcomes eight new full-time faculty members to campus. These instructors have been hired to fill roles in the following academic programs:

• Dr. Minder Chen, Associate Professor, Management Information Systems, Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics; previously employed by George Mason University
• Dr. Jun Zhao, Associate Professor, Management, Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics; previously employed by Governors State University
• Dr. Claudio Paiva, Associate Professor, Economics, Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics; previously employed by International Monetary Fund
• Dr. Jose Alamillo, Associate Professor, Chicana/o Studies; previously employed by Washington State University
• Dr. Laura Newton, Assistant Professor, Nursing-Pediatrics; previously employed by the Commissioned Corps of Public Health
• Ms. Elnora Tayag, Assistant Librarian, Librarian-User Services; previously employed by California State University Channel Islands
• Dr. Ruben Alarcon, Assistant Professor, Biology-Behavioral Ecology; employed as a Postdoctoral Research Entomologist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service and a Research Associate at the University of Arizona. (Alarcon will arrive in fall 2009.)
• Dr. James Meriwether, Professor, History; previously employed by California State University Bakersfield (Meriwether was appointed in 2007-2008 and is returning after a leave for a Fulbright Scholar year in Africa.)

For media inquiries about the first day of the fall semester, new academic degree programs, or new faculty members, contact Ceal Potts, Communication Specialist at CSU/CI, 805-437-9840 or cecilia.potts@csuci.edu

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CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.