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Constitution Day comes to CSUF OPINION 4
The “why” of PSY and his recent hit DETOUR 5
Batman in concert Food Court - Baja Fresh is now available in the food court for students to enjoy.
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PRESIDENT GARCIA ADDRESSES CSUF
IRVINE CAMPUS | Meet the dean
Irvine campus welcomes new associate dean Van Muse, Ph.D., the new associate dean at the Irvine Campus of Cal State Fullerton, talks with the Daily Titan NICHOLAS RUIZ Daily Titan
After working for Cal State Fullerton’s main campus for three and a half years, Van Muse, Ph.D., said he hopes to communicate the advantages of Irvine Campus as its new associate dean. All CSUF students have the option of using both campuses to allow them more flexibility in their schedules. The new associate dean met with the Daily Titan to discuss in-depth what advantages and resources students have available at the Irvine Campus. SEE DEAN, 3
CAMPUS | Parking
Student tracks parking stats Computer science student collects data on parking, most commuters not surprised by findings NURAN ALTEIR For the Daily Titan
A Cal State Fullerton computer science master’s student wrote a program that accurately tracks parking statistics on all CSUF parking structures. Brian Frick, 24, collected and graphed data from the campus’ parking space monitoring system found online. The statistics look at parking spaces in Nutwood, Eastside and State College parking structures — leaving the parking nature of College Park, Lot A, G and S unknown. “I think it (the results) was interesting,” Frick said. “It’s something that a lot of us have probably wanted to know, but I don’t think it changes much for us.” After collecting the data for one week, Frick then graphed the data in two ways: by day and by structure. The findings were published on the CSUF sub-Reddit page. Students trying to park in the structures Sept. 4-6 found virtually no parking spaces between 9-10 a.m., the statistics suggested. The same graph showed fewer than 200 parking spots are available in the structures, save Nutwood, until 2 p.m. “(The results) were kind of what I expected. I didn’t expect to see anything unusual,” Frick said. The high demand for parking is reflective of class schedule, said Joe Ferrer, director of Parking and Transportation Services. According to the admissions office, more classes are offered Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additionally, the lack of parking spaces is indicative of how busy the first four weeks of school can be. Some students, however, have attributed the lack of parking to the amount of parking passes sold. “(Parking and Transportation) sells so many parking permits that there’s not enough spots,” said Cameron Brownlee, 21, a health science major. SEE STATS, 3
ROBERT HUSKEY / Daily Titan
Newly elected President Garcia released a survey this summer to students and faculty. Her office received more than 2,000 responses to the questions.
Garcia unveils strategic plan Three-part proposal to ‘engage all voices.’ VANESSA MARTINEZ & DAVID HOOD Daily Titan
Newly elected Cal State Fullerton President Mildred Garcia delivered her first convocation address Tuesday morning to outline her strategic plan for the university to the public. Garcia, who became president of CSUF in June, was previously the president at Cal State Dominguez Hills and was the first Latina president in the CSU. Prior to her presidency at Dominguez Hills, Garcia served seven years as president at Berkeley College in New York and New Jersey, and held positions at Arizona State University, Montclair State University and Hostos Community College in New York. Before beginning her speech, Garcia took a moment to remember Sept. 11 victims from New York, 14 of whom were students at her campus, she said. The plan At the convocation, Garcia revealed a few answers from a survey sent to students and faculty members
in June and introduced three proposals for her strategic plan on campus: first, setting future horizons; second, ensuring student success; third, promoting Titan Pride with Friendraising and Fundraising. The facilitator in completing the strategic plan is Jolene Koester, Ph.D., president emeritus of CSU Northridge, who has served since 2007 as a faculty member in the institute for new presidents. “Our goal is to develop and complete a strategic plan using a university-wide process,” Garcia said. “We will use the assisting strategic plan draft as a foundation to develop a refined plan that guides and directs our decision making and budget allocations along with the articulation and support of a strategic position for the university’s future and finish by spring 2013. In order to do this, we must begin immediately,” she said. Garcia said she will convene a newly constituted strategic plan steering committee with doctors Bob Meade and Jenny Faust as co-chairs and Irene Matz, Ph.D., as the on-site coordinator. Garcia said she wanted to make CSUF the premier comprehensive public university in the state and, later, the nation.
ROBERT HUSKEY / Daily Titan
Students, faculty, staff and members of the local community gather in the Kathryn T. McCarty Grand Foyer to meet the president and discuss her speech and her vision for the university.
Graduation as a priority “As the largest CSU in the system, with a diverse student body and a faculty and staff second to none, we can be that model comprehensive premier institution that others look to,” Garcia said. “For me, and for so many who provided comments on the survey, graduation is not only
about your numbers, it is also about the learning that occurs.” According to the most recent graduation report, she said, the overall 6-year graduation rate for full-time non-transfer students has declined from 51 percent in 2010 to 50 percent in 2011. SEE PRESIDENT, 2
CAMPUS | Interim AD
New Interim Athletics Director talks ‘giant killing’ Stephan Walk looking to accomplish a lot with limited funds provided JUSTIN ENRIQUEZ Daily Titan
New Interim Athletics Director Dr. Stephan Walk calls Princeton, Illinois, a rural town with a population of 7,300, his hometown. He brings to Cal State Fullerton the mentality of coming from a small place and still trying to accomplish big things. Walk said he first gained an interest in kinesiology when he identified strongly with his high school basketball coach. He was a good, but not a great
player and his coach would hold meetings at the end of each competitive season and ask what could be improved on or done better, he said. “I went in to him with two-pages of notes and presented a bunch of things to him. At the end of that conversation he said ‘Steve, have you ever thought about being a coach?’” Walk said. He went on to Illinois State University as a first generation college student. Interested in youth sports, he received undergraduate degrees in physical education and recreation and parks administration. From there he went on to Michigan State University to study at the Insti-
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tute for the Study of Youth Sports and was there seven years to complete both his master’s and Ph.D. programs. As he was finishing up his master’s degree he realized that he was interested in the social aspects of sports, he said. “I think everyone’s education is a combination of them trying to figure out their own biographies and develop interest that they have. Some of my own experiences in sport were not positive, and I was trying to figure out how it is that I retained my interest in the sport world even though I didn’t fully benefit from the sport experience. So that is how I got interested in sociology,” Walk said. He came to Cal State Fullerton in
1994 as a professor of kinesiology. His love for the institution is the reason he hasn’t left for 18 years, he said. “The thing I love about Cal State Fullerton is we’re a humble institution and we’re small, we have resource issues, but we don’t let that stand in our way of achievement. I love the kind of ‘giant killer’ mentality that we have,” Walk said. Since Walk himself was a first generation college student and attended state universities he said he has an affinity toward them. He loves the challenges state universities offer to a faculty member. SEE WALK, 6
ROBERT HUSKEY / Daily Titan Stephen Walk, Ph.D., heads into his first term as Athletics Director.