Thank you also to the members of the Veterans Services Initiative and the Student Veterans Organization for your efforts in recent years to support veterans at Cal Poly and to remove barriers to their success and participation in campus life. It’s tremendously encouraging to see how far we’ve come in the past year, and I have no doubts that what has been well begun will in due time be thoroughly done.

I also want to offer personal thanks to Dr. Barbara Way, former CLASS dean, to Dr. Sharon Hilles, associate dean, to Mary Haddad of the dean’s staff, to Dr. Liliane Fucaloro, chair of the English & Foreign Languages department, and to my many colleagues on the faculty and on staff who showed me and my family such kindness and support during the year when I was away from Cal Poly. You truly made my service abroad and my reentry to campus life a worry-free and (thanks to care packages!) a fattening and caffeinating experience. Thank you!

My topic today concerns the significance for higher education and America of the massive expansion of education benefits to veterans under the new GI Bill. You’ve already heard some of the numbers involved, but what about you?  How many of you are here because of the GI Bill, new or old?

For many service members, joining the military was a deliberate choice to change the trajectory of their life, whether that meant getting out of Modesto, CA, getting valuable training to launch them in a career, or making a down payment through their service on a college education that they could not otherwise have afforded or had the discipline to take advantage of. By being here today, you are a personal testimony to the promise of America, the democratic opportunity which you pledged your lives to support and defend.

In mentioning these motives that seem self-interested, do not think that I am in any way downplaying the patriotic and idealistic motivations that may have preceded or outweighed these considerations. The genius of America, as Benjamin Franklin himself most memorably demonstrated, is that there is a harmonious relationship between the private and public good. Our personal welfare, rightly understood, is of great benefit to our community as a whole, and this is a point I will return to more thoroughly later.

In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln committed the country to

bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

Lincoln’s majestic vision of a nation coming to peace within itself by caring for veterans has inspired generations of caregivers and lawmakers, and it remains the motto of the Veteran’s Administration today. The new GI Bill continues the fulfillment of this pledge for a generation of veterans who experience higher unemployment rates than the population at large, greater internal dissonance over the rightness of our current wars than any other group of veterans other than those of the Vietnam era, and who reenter our society at a time when our economy is, compared to other veteran generations, least capable of rewarding their industry and experience with the jobs and opportunities they merit. The new GI Bill, in fact, does what many peace activists have been demanding—it focuses our human and financial resources on building up our own country here at home.

However, the new GI Bill does not just benefit veterans. It is also a massive subsidy for higher education, much like its predecessor, the Montgomery GI Bill, which facilitated the dramatic expansion of higher education in the post-WWII era. Like Pell Grants and CAL Grants, the new GI Bill is a direct contribution to the bottom lines of America’s universities at a time when fully funded students are a precious commodity. I say this cautiously on a Cal State campus where the costs of education are not fully covered by fees, but overall, America’s universities profit greatly from programs like this. This generous subsidy will help our institutions survive a season of leaner public support and a dwindling population of students capable of affording college on their own.

Yet there is also a presumption within the rationale for the new GI Bill that veterans are good people to receive a leg-up in American society. Increasing the number of veterans in higher education is expected to be good for the country as a whole, and this is a point that I’d like to explore in the reminder of my time with you today.

By most demographic measures, military service-members are a good slice of America, even so far as to include non-citizens in their ranks, among other groups representing different religions, races, and ethnicities. Today’s veterans are also more likely to include women than at any other time in our history.

All of this diversity makes it difficult to generalize about veterans. The political and social views of veterans are extremely varied, and our motivations for military service range from the personal to the patriotic. There are even some bad eggs in the military population, though I would like to think at a somewhat lower rate than in the U.S. population as a whole.

Yet with all of these differences, there are a few things that most veterans hold in common. First, and most apparent, is a common commitment to service and discipline as it is articulated in the oath of enlistment and the oath of office.

Here is the oath that I swore when I was commissioned:

I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

The oath taken by enlisted members of the military is very similar, with an additional emphasis on a commitment to obey the orders of the President and officers appointed over them.

The oath is a rich affirmation of resolve, discipline, courage, and faithfulness. The principal commitment of the oath is to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” This is a curiously phrased allegiance, is it not, for the Constitution here is a document which outlines the principles, values, and procedures by which the country is formed.  Yet implicit in the document’s name is a function which I believe it could only foster by maintaining the appropriate conditions. The purpose of the Constitution—which it has brilliantly achieved for over 200 years—is expressed in its preamble:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The Constitution is that which constitutes us as a nation. It is literally what holds us together, but it is also the innumerable strands of peace, justice, prosperity, security that daily enact our union. Think of our other uses of the word, such as “He has a good constitution.”  Constitution refers to our sources of strength and health. The Constitution of the country (big c) is meant to guarantee the constitution of the country (little C).

Now, the verbs in the military oath which all veterans have taken—to support and defend—frequently blend together in people’s minds into an emphasis only on defend, but our commitment to “support” the Constitution is given equal weight in the oath.

Since I’ve returned from Afghanistan and have reentered the world of higher education, I have pondered what it means to “support the constitution” as a veteran. Most notably, the military supports the constitution by strongly supporting civilian leadership—from commanders in the field to sailors on liberty in San Diego.

Yet there are other things that strengthen our constitution as a nation. My oath to support the constitution—our (lower-case) constitution, this social and political organism called the United States of American—leads me to be involved in my local community, to donate to charities and disaster relief, to serve in my local church, to pay taxes ungrudgingly, to vote, and to help my neighbors when their kids or their food pantry are in need. Indeed, when the pleasures of my job as a professor slacken—as they do on some days in California—I encourage myself by remembering how what I do as a teacher prepares others to lead productive and responsible lives as citizens. Actions like these help to bind us together, make us strong, and foster the health of our society. They “support” the C/constitution.

Now I don’t claim that all veterans have these same ideals and commitments, but I do believe that they are more likely to have them than the general population. I base this belief on another experience shared by the vast majority of military veterans—a deep appreciation for the value of teamwork and a visceral commitment to those comrades-in-arms with whom we’ve served.

This camaraderie, this esprit de corps, is born out of shared hardships but also out of tremendous accomplishments which no individual could claim credit for. Getting a ship underway is not the work of single Captain saying, “Make it so.” A fighter pilot is incapable of flying a mission without dozens of other airmen and women planning, supporting, preparing, maintaining, repairing, feeding, sheltering, developing, training, and reviewing. A wounded infantryman doesn’t stop his own bleeding and evacuate himself to the rear. A rifleman doesn’t storm the enemy stronghold alone.

Beyond this practical experience of teamwork lies the way high ideals and political ideologies can melt away in combat and leave behind a single, overwhelming reason to fight: for the love and safety of the soldier to their right and left.

However, loyalty expressing itself through love, sometimes sacrificial love, is both a base-level emotion that forges bonds between veterans and a fundamental building block for society. The fraternity—and increasingly, the sorority—of war binds veterans together beyond ideology, but that emphasis upon loyalty is precisely what has sustained our nation through some of its most precarious and chaotic times.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Historian Joseph Ellis, in his 2002 bestseller, Founding Brothers, developed the thesis that the political coherence of the early republic depended upon the bonds forged between dissimilar men of the northern and southern colonies who served together on General Washington’s staff during the Revolutionary War. Ellis’ political coherence is simply foxhole friendship writ large, and I think it’s worth considering how much our idealistic commitments to campus, community, and country depend upon this fundamental experience of loyalty based on common experience rather than shared blood.

Our country needs more people who understand that their welfare is inextricably tied to the welfare of the person to their right or left, more people who refuse to lie, cheat, or steal from their brother in order to get ahead, and more people who have a reason to come back together after the policy debates and political differences have run their course. We need businessmen and women, community leaders, engineers, architects, teachers, and yes, even politicians who will keep true faith with our neighborhoods, schools, cities, and state.

It’s a small step, but a positive one, I think, to realize that we need more veterans in college so that we increase the pool of people who see their personal welfare as inextricably tied to the health and welfare of our community. Veterans are by no means uniform or alone in a predisposition to use their education to benefit our country more broadly, and as I look around I know that many of you are equally committed to supporting our constitution as a nation. On this Veteran’s Day, I salute all of you for pursuing higher education, for supporting veterans, and for keeping faith with those to your right and your left. I wish you all the greatest success.

Dr. Liam Corley

November 2009

The $3,000 scholarship gives 70 students in the CSU the opportunity to explore and prepare to succeed in doctoral programs. CSU and UC faculty members play an integral part as they work closely with scholars to prepare them for graduate studies.

During the summer, Kizer and Su traveled to several universities, learned about their graduate programs and met with faculty and graduate students. Their sociology faculty advisor at Cal Poly Pomona, Mary Yu Danico, accompanied them to UC Berkeley; the University of Illinois, Chicago; the University of Chicago; Northwestern University; Stanford University; Boston University; and Brandeis University. Su’s sociology faculty advisor, Dennis Loo, accompanied them to Harvard University.

The trips helped the young scholars finalize their top graduate school choices as they apply to doctoral programs this fall. Kizer plans to study the socialization among families and religious organizations and the impact on racial and ethnic identity. Su will examine Vietnamese American communities in the context of community formation and diasporic identities. Both women hope teach at a CSU, preferably at Cal Poly Pomona.

“The trips to grad programs were incredibly useful,” Kizer says. “I talked to faculty members about their current research and work styles, and I spoke with graduate students about their experiences in the department and with their advisors. It was such a wonderful experience!”

The California Pre-Doctoral Program is designed to increase the pool of potential CSU faculty by supporting the doctoral aspirations of CSU students who have experienced economic and educational disadvantages. Students are selected by a committee of faculty from the CSU and the University of California.

Each scholar works closely with a faculty sponsor to develop a plan with individual career and educational goals. The program places a special emphasis on increasing the number of CSU students who enter doctoral programs at a University of California campus.

Sally Casanova Scholars may use their award to:

• Participate in a summer research internship program at a doctoral-granting institution to receive exposure to the world of research in their chosen field
• Visit doctoral-granting institutions to explore opportunities for doctoral study
• Travel to a national symposium or professional meeting in their chosen field; other related activities such as membership in professional organizations and journal subscriptions
• Pay for graduate school application and test fees.

For more information about the California Pre-Doctoral Program, visit www.calstate.edu/predoc/cpdp_program.shtml.

Originally Published: Polycentric, Cal Poly Pomona – week of 10/11/09

Students from all majors, freshmen through graduate students, are encouraged to apply.

The NMUN program is an exceptional activity. Each spring a delegation from Cal Poly Pomona participates in the national simulation in New York at the UN Building and at a nearby hotel. Prospective students must complete an application form no later than Friday, October 9, 2009. All applicants will be accorded an interview by a screening committee. This year the NMUN budget will finance a delegation of 12 students.

The NMUN program on this campus is generously supported by ASI/IRA funding, by the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences, and by the Hassen Endowment. Individual team members must also contribute a portion of the total cost.

Team members are required to take a rigorous preparatory class during the Winter Quarter. They will then attend the national meeting during the long week of March 26-April 4, 2010 in New York. Some 250 colleges and universities, and more than 2500 students will be participating in this student-administered conference.

For further information pick up an application form from the Dean’s Office, CLASS, Building 5, Room 158.

The Shakespeare Festival resides at the university and is an acting troupe comprising five actors from the Actors Equity Association and 14 student actors.

To celebrate its fifth season, the troupe will stage the Shakespeare play on Sept. 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26, and Oct. 2 and 3. All performances have an 8 p.m. curtain call and will be held in the Studio Theatre, Building 25. A gala reception will follow the performance on Sept. 12.

Tickets are available for purchase beginning Aug. 1. General admission is $15 and is $12 for seniors, students, faculty and staff.

“Much Ado about Nothing” is set in picturesque Sicily and follows a pair of lovers, Claudio and Hero, who are due to be married in a week. The lovers team up with Don Pedro, the prince of Aragon, to trick their friends, Beatrice and Benedick, into confessing their love for each other.

However, things begin to heat up when the prince’s brother, Don John, enters the picture.

With his jealousy of Don Pedro’s power and his affection for Claudio, Don Pedro conspires to sabotage the coming wedding celebration.

Student actors auditioned in April and will begin rehearsal in August.

The Southern California Shakespeare Festival aims to establish a classical, professional repertory theatre company dedicated to nurturing artists and student-artists and enriching the diverse community of the Inland Empire.

“The Festival is one of the very few professional theatre companies in the Inland Empire,” said Linda Bisesti, director and associate theatre professor. “It’s a way for communities to see good professional theatre close to home and for theatre students to gain professional experience.”

Since 2004, the Shakespeare Festival has performed plays, such as “The Merry Wives of Windsor” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to sold-out audiences.

It was developed by Bisesti, who serves as its artistic director, and is co-produced by Instructional Related Activities and Theatre department.

For more information, visit www.class.csupomona.edu/th/scsf/. Because the Studio Theatre seats 64 people and the shows often sell out, reservations are recommended. Call the Theatre department at (909) 869-3900.

Originally Posted by PolyCentric

Click here to view the embedded video.

POMONA – Sitting on a mound of clothes in a van headed for Mexico was a frequent road trip Cal Poly Pomona graduate Jennifer Smith-Hollett took with her family. Her grandmother would take her grandchildren across the border two to three times a year to donate their secondhand clothes and toys to needy village families.

“I grew up with a strong sense of giving back,” Smith-Hollett, 24, said.

These acts of giving inspired her at a young age to continuously find ways to serve her community and speak up for those whose voices have been silenced.

Before graduating with a history degree and nonviolent studies minor last month, the La Verne resident designed a food distribution system that would feed hundreds of hungry people in Pomona.

Her 19-page class project was so well received by the university’s Ahimsa Center (nonviolent resource center) that she won $1,000 for the Bipin and Rekha Shah Ahimsa Award for the Outstanding Capstone Project. This award goes to a student with the best project finished by the completion of the minor.

Smith-Hollett’s food recovery program collects uneaten food from the university’s all-you-can-eat buffet at the Los Olivos Dining Commons and donates it to families and community agencies, like Pomona Homeless Resource Center and Pomona Valley Christian Center.

Los Olivos employees call Pamela Lynn, donation coordinator for the Pomona Valley Christian Center, to pick up the food which she delivers to low-income or homeless people in the area. The remaining food goes to local shelters.

So far Lynn has done three pickups and has fed 300 to 500 people. On a single pickup she distributed barbecue-style food like hot dogs, hamburgers and corn that fed about 200 people, she said.

“It was awesome. Everyone got something to eat,” Lynn said.

The people receiving the food are extremely grateful because many have lost their jobs and live on a small amount of money, she said.

Upon receiving the food, Lynn said that some people get so excited to eat that they say things like, “I’ve died and went to heaven!”

Many organizations and individuals are discouraged from donating food because they think they can be sued if people get sick, Smith-Hollett said, but there is a law in place to protect donors.

The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act prevents people from being sued when they donate, in good faith, apparently wholesome food to a nonprofit that distributes to needy individuals. The bill was a major incentive for Cal Poly to participate in the program, Smith-Hollett said.

As apart of her minor she needed to do a capstone project and chose to focus on food recovery after researching how much conflict arises when people have minimal resources. This led to the donation program.

“Statistics really open you eyes, and you realize how grateful you are,” she said.

Smith-Hollett said that the department will continue her project, and she would like to see the program implemented at other institutions.

With her degree completed, Smith-Hollett plans to backpack through Europe for two months starting in August. When she returns she plans to start studying for the LSAT exam so she can enroll in a public advocacy law program in the fall of 2010.

“I have this momentum going, and I don’t want to lose it,” Smith-Hollett said.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related Links:

• Center for Geographic Information Science Research

The Theatre Department at Cal Poly Pomona has added a new feature to their website. Photos of the Theatre facilities such as the Lobby, Stage, and Seating are now fully interactive. The photos take you in for an almost personal experience.

Check all the photos out at the Theatre Department website here: http://www.class.csupomona.edu/th/facility

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.