VOLUME 11, NUMBER 7 FEBRUARY 23, 2009

California University

Dr. Carol Bocetti’s off-campus work is clearly for the

birds, and her goal is to put herself out of business.

Bocetti has spent 23 years with the Kirtland’s

Warbler Recovery Team, leading an effort to save one of

the rarest songbirds in the world.

An assistant professor in Cal U’s Department of

Biological and Environmental Sciences, she has been

working to rebuild the habitat of the Kirtland’s warbler, a 6-

inch bird with a streaked yellow breast and a distinctive,

melodious song.

The warbler nests only in a small area in and around

Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, where forest fires naturally

thin and regenerate the jack pine forests.

The warbler shares those forests with the brown-headed

cowbird, an aggressive bird that lays its eggs in the nests of

other species. In spring, young cowbirds hatch before the

smaller warblers, often pushing the endangered Kirtland’s

hatchlings from their nests.

By 1987, habitat loss and cowbird parasitism had

reduced the number of Kirtland’s warblers to just 167

nesting pairs.

Bocetti’s recovery team — the first ever appointed under

the Endangered Species Act — has tracked the warbler

population and modified its habitat, planting and

harvesting trees in patterns that replicate the patchy growth

after a wildfire, and removing cowbirds.

More than 1,800 pairs of Kirtland’s warblers now are

nesting in both the Lower and Upper Peninsulas of

Michigan and adjoining areas of Wisconsin and Ontario.

The birds fly to the Bahamas for the winter.

“ Now we have a success story,” said Bocetti, who

began working with endangered species as a graduate

student at The Ohio State University. “The goal was 1,000

breeding pairs for five years running, spread across the

landscape. Well, we’re there. As soon as we started the

habitat management program, it was one of those ‘if we

build it they will come’ situations.”

Bocetti hopes the warblers eventually can be “de-listed”

as an endangered species, although the birds’ survival still

— continued on page 2

More than 120 student

government members from

across Pennsylvania’s State

System of Higher Education visited Cal

U Feb. 6-8 for the PASSHE Board of

Student Government Presidents

Leadership Conference.

The board consists of Student

Government Association presidents from

all 14 of the PASSHE institutions. The

BSGP holds an annual leadership

conference at one of the participating

institutions.

Cal U played host to a number of

presenters, including keynote speaker

Steve Toprani, a 2001 Cal U grad who is

district attorney for Washington County.

“Having the Washington County DA

really fit in with the theme of the

conference, which was value-based

leadership,” said Ryan Jerico, Cal

Student Government president and one

of three students who serves on the

PASSHE Board of Governors.

“(Toprani) spoke about his campaign,

but the whole moral compass he brought

really added value. Afterward, he

answered questions from the students for

more than half an hour. Being an

alumnus, he gave a great reflection on

the University, and

— continued on page 4

Cal Hosts Conference forPASSHE Student Leaders

California University’s Office of

Continuous Improvement will be

administering the Faculty Survey

of Student Engagement (FSSE) this

spring.

Coordinated by the National Survey

of Student Engagement (NSSE) at

Indiana University-Bloomington, FSSE is

designed to measure faculty expectations

of student engagement in educational

practices that are empirically linked with

high levels of learning and development.

The survey also collects information

about how faculty members spend their

time on professorial activities and the

kinds of learning experiences their

institutions emphasize.

FSSE results can be used to identify

areas of institutional strength, as well as

aspects of the undergraduate experience

that may warrant attention. The

information is intended to be a catalyst

for productive discussions related to

teaching, learning and the quality of

students’ educational experiences.

The survey will be administered by

the Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research at Indiana

University-Bloomington (IUB). It

parallels the NSSE student survey that

also is being administered this spring.

Through IUB, all full-time and part-

time faculty will be invited to participate.

The survey should be completed online.

Administration will be overseen by Cal

U’s Office of Continuous Improvement.

President Angelo Armenti, Jr. has

authorized this survey at Cal U.

“I encourage all faculty members to

participate,” he said. “The results will

allow us to assess and improve the

quality of our academic offerings, while

at the same time letting us see how we

stack up against comparable universities

across America.”

All responses are anonymous; survey

— continued on page 4

Professor’s Work Helps Rare Songbirds Rebound

Faculty Askedto Complete

Survey

More Than a Wing and a Prayer

Decades of work by Cal U’s Dr. Carol Bocetti and the recovery team she leads has restored the Kirtland’s warbler so effectively that thebirds may soon be taken off the endangered species list.

Washington County District Attroney Steve Toprani ’01 delivered the keynote address at thePASSHE Board of Student Government Presidents Leadership Conference hosted by Cal U.

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Professor Shares Lessons atUniontown School

Washington County Commissioner Lawrence O. Maggi ’79 has been

awarded Cal U’s Medallion of Distinction Award, which is

presented to alumni who have distinguished themselves and brought

credit to the University through their professional and personal achievements.

A lifelong resident of Washington County, Maggi is serving his second term

on the Board of Commissioners for Washington County.

After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Cal U,

Maggi served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a Pennsylvania State Police

trooper for 24 years.

Maggi’s political career began in 1998, when he was elected sheriff of

Washington County. He was re-elected in 2002 and served until 2003, when he

was elected a county commissioner.

“Larry Maggi has long been a model leader and mentor in the southwestern

Pennsylvania community and has accomplished much in his career,” said Cal U

President Angelo Armenti, Jr. “His dealings with the community at large have

been something that we here at Cal U have long admired.”

Maggi and his wife, Mary Jeanne, are the parents of four children and live

in Buffalo Township.

Maggi is an active member of his church in Claysville, where he serves on

the Board of Trustees and as a Sunday school teacher. He also serves on the

Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society and Community Action

Southwest, and he is active with numerous veterans and community service

organizations.

“Larry Maggi’s exemplary military service, work and volunteer service is

proof positive that he lives by California University’s core values of integrity,

civility and responsibility – and has been doing so throughout his life,”

President Armenti said.

County Commissioner Awarded Medallion

What can eighth-graders learn

from a coin toss? Plenty about

the practical applications of

mathematics, thanks to a collaborative

effort between Cal U and a class at St.

Mary Nativity School in Uniontown, Pa.

Jeffrey Sumey, a professor in Cal U’s

Applied Engineering and Technology

Department, recently conducted computer

labs at the school that involved basic Java

programming and included interactive lab

projects such as an introduction to

statistics using coin-toss simulations, the

arithmetic of fractions and percentages.

The projects were designed to

complement the lessons of eighth-grade

teacher William Pillar. “The computer

projects give the students immediate value

to the concepts they learn in algebra

class,” Pillar said.

Sumey, who teaches various courses in

the Computer Engineering, Electrical

Engineering and Robotics Engineering

Technology programs, said, “The

potential of using computer lab projects to

reinforce math concepts provides a

powerful opportunity for all students to

become more at ease with mathematics.”

He praised technology/computer

teacher Mary Ann Prah for facilitating the

presentations in St. Mary’s computer labs.

Added school Principal M.D. Sepic, “Our

students need to see early on how

important math skills are to their future.”

depends on a

carefully managed

habitat.

To accomplish

this, she is working

to establish a

conservation

partnership that

would include a

private endowment

and a series of

agreements with

public land

management

agencies.

One group that

could help is the

National Fish and Wildlife

Foundation, which has agreed to

match non-government contributions

if the Kirtland’s warbler can be

designated as a “keystone

management” species.

“This paradigm shift from public

funding to a public-private

partnership has attracted much

attention nationally,” Bocetti said.

“Basically, this is the last piece of the

puzzle we must have before I can

consider de-listing.

“We can’t de-list without

assurances that we can maintain

annual management,” she explained.

“Every year, if we don’t generate

2,000 acres of habitat and remove

cowbirds, the population again will

decline. It will always need on-the-

ground-management to replace what

the wildfires are not doing anymore.”

Bocetti discussed her work in

December at the Department of

Defense Partners in Environmental

Technology’s Technical Symposium

and Workshop in Washington, D.C.

She will give similar presentations at

the American Ornithologists’ Union

meeting in August, and to a meeting

of The Wildlife Society in

September.

“For me, this is a real Catch-22,

because the goal of any endangered

species biologist is to research and

manage them-

selves out of a

job,” Bocetti said.

Still, this

program’s active

habitat manage-

ment creates

numerous job

opportunities, she

said, and the work

finds its way into

her classroom.

In Ornithology

class, she uses the

warbler as a case

study when

discussing

population decline. The Endangered

Species Act is covered thoroughly in

her Law and Policy class. Her work

with warblers also crops up in the

Wildlife Management Techniques

course.

She also engages her students in

field experience in Michigan, taking

12 students into the jack pine

ecosystem over the past four years to

participate in hands-on research and

management.

“These students benefit from the

real-world experience that I can

bring to the table as a faculty

member,” Bocetti said.

Thanks to the recovery team, the

Kirtland’s warbler has the potential

to become the first conservation-

reliant vertebrate to be removed from

the protection of the Endangered

Species Act.

“In my mind we’re a success

story, but I can’t claim my success

yet, because it’s ongoing and I have

to defend it year after year,” Bocetti

added. “If I de-list the warbler, it’s

no longer an endangered species,

which means it will no longer receive

public funding. The private

endowment will provide the money

for annual management, and then we

can celebrate a true and lasting

success story of the landmark

Endangered Species Act.”

Professor’s Work HelpsRare Songbirds Rebound

— continued from page 1

By 1987, there were only 167nesting pairs of Kirtland’swarblers. Through Bocetti’s work,more than 1,800 pairs of warblersnow inhabit the Upper Peninsulaof Michigan and adjoining areas ofWisconsin and Ontario.

President Angelo Armenti, Jr. presents Cal U’s Medallion of Distinction Award to WashingtonCounty Commissioner Lawrence O. Maggi ’79 during a special luncheon in November.

Trustees Meeting Reminder

The Cal U Council of Trustees will hold its first quarterly meeting of 2009 at

7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb 25, in the President’s Conference Room, Room 110 of Old

Main Hall.

Enjoying a moment during their computer lab sessions at St. Mary Nativity School are M.D.Sepic, principal; Mary Ann Prah, technology/computer teacher; Matthew Soles; Toni Ardabell;Jeff Sumey, Cal U Applied Engineering and Technology professor ; Jenna Sumey; ChloeShowalter; Jared Beck; Natalie Szewczyk; Chris Pindro; and William Pillar.

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Cal U men’s and women’s basketball teams are

heading into the final week of the regular

season with contests that will be significant to

the Vulcans.

Both teams conclude the regular season at home

with a pair of PSAC-West doubleheaders.

Slippery Rock will visit Hamer Hall on Wednesday,

Feb. 25, followed by conference newcomer Mercyhurst

College on Saturday, Feb. 28. Both divisional

doubleheaders begin with the women’s games at 6

p.m., followed by the men’s games at 8 p.m. or 20

minutes after the women’s games end.

Senior Recognition Night will be held on Feb. 28.

Women’s basketballCal’s women’s team, under the direction of first-

year head coach Heather Kearney, is hoping to reach

the PSAC championship game for an unprecedented

ninth consecutive year and make an eighth-straight

NCAA Division II tournament appearance.

The Vulcan women are the defending NCAA East

Regional champions. They advanced to the “Elite

Eight” last year after winning the NCAA national

championship in 2004 and making the national “Final

Four” in 2003. The Cal women won PSAC basketball

titles in 2002-2004 and in 2006, with runner-up finishes

in 2001, 2005 and each of the past two seasons.

As of Feb. 17, the Vulcan women owned a 20-3

overall record and a 9-1 PSAC-West mark. Senior

Brooque Williams already has been named PSAC-West

Player of the Week four times this season.

The 2009 PSAC Women’s Basketball Final Four

tourney will be contested March 6-7 at the highest

remaining PSAC-East seed’s home court.

Men’s basketballCal’s men’s basketball team, the defending PSAC

champion, is striving for a 23rd consecutive winning

season — its 13th straight under veteran head coach

Bill Brown.

Despite enduring a rebuilding season in 2008-2009,

Big Games Wrap Up Regular Basketball Season

With three years remaining, freshman Kelsey Williams looksto help the Vulcans quickly return to the national prominencethat has become a trademark of Cal men’s basketball.

Brooque Williams’ consistent and dominant play has theCal U women’s basketball team primed for another memo-rable post-season run in 2009.

the Vulcans have won eight of the past 11 PSAC-West

championships and a year ago won the program’s third

NCAA Division II East Regional Championship.

Brown is the winningest coach in program history

with 270 career victories as of Feb. 17. Cal leads all

PSAC-West basektball teams in conference

championships with eight.

Freshman forward Kelsey Williams has provided a

glimpse into Cal’s exciting future by earning PSAC-West

Freshman of the Week honors four times this season.

For information on all Cal U athletic teams, visit

www.calvulcans.com.

Cal U’s baseball team was ranked ninth in the pre-season National Collegiate

Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Atlantic Region Poll

released earlier this month.

The Vulcans open the PSAC-West season by hosting Slippery Rock University on

March 13 in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at CONSOL Energy Park in Washington, PA.

Under the direction of 13th-year head coach Mike Conte, the Vulcans have

achieved nine consecutive seasons with at least 25 wins, including a 28-18 overall

record last season.

Shippensburg earned the top spot after finishing last season ranked No. 4

nationally. West Chester was No. 2, followed by West Virginia State, Pitt-Johnstown

and Kutztown. Concord was ranked sixth, followed by IUP, Slippery Rock, Cal U and

Shepherd.

The Vulcans were one of eight PSAC teams in the NCBWA Atlantic Region Top

15. Mercyhurst and Millersville landed at No. 12 and No. 14, respectively.

Cal U also received votes in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Division II

preseason top 40 national poll.

One of just three Cal U head baseball coaches in the past 49 years, Conte owns a

328-237-4 career record with a 151-88-1 cumulative PSAC-West mark. Two seasons

ago, the five-time PSAC-West Coach of the Year guided the Vulcans to their first

NCAA II post-season appearance in 24 years. In 2004 he coached the Vulcans to their

first PSAC baseball title since 1979.

Preceding Conte as Cal’s head baseball coach were emeriti professors and

University Hall of Fame members Chuck Gismondi (1980-1996) and Mitch Bailey

(1960-1979).Head baseball coach Mike Conte prepares to open his 13th season at Cal U.

Poll: Baseball Team No. 9

Cal U’s Black History Month celebration continues this week with a lecture by Dr. David

To-baru Obermiller, an expert on Asian-American history and Japanese and Chinese

studies.

Obermiller, an assistant professor of history at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter,

Minn., will discuss “Yellow Bondage in America.” The talk is set for 2 p.m. Thursday in Room

210, Duda Hall.

Obermiller’s teaching focuses on the social constructions of gender, race, ethnicity and

class; East Asian film; and transnational environmental/sustainability issues.

His research focuses on the U.S. occupation of Okinawa from 1945-1972. He currently

is exploring a comparative approach to the occupation of Okinawa with the current U.S. occu-

pation and civil service efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Major sponsors of Black History Month include the Black Student Union (BSU),

Frederick Douglass Institute, Black History Month Programming Committee, History and

Political Science Department, History Club and Peace Studies Club.

For more information, contact Dr. Kelton Edmonds (Edmonds_k@cup.edu), Cindy

Speer (speer@cup.edu) or Timothy Williams (wil2436@cup.edu) at 724-938-4054.

Thank you

Milo Messenger

(Custodial Services)

would like to thank

the university

community for

all of their sup-

port, generosity

and acts of kind-

ness following the

loss of his mother,

Barbara Roberta

(Bobbi Messenger). The

thoughtfulness is sincerely

appreciated.

Talk Addresses Asian ‘Bondage’

Cal U’s Black History Monthcelebration continuesThursday when Dr. DavidObermiller discusses ‘YellowBondage in America.’ The talkis set for 2 p.m. in Room 210,Duda Hall.

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Dr. Angelo Armenti, Jr.University President

Geraldine M. JonesProvost/Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Joyce Hanley Executive Vice President

Dr. Allan J. Golden Vice President for Administration and Finance

Dr. Lenora Angelone Vice President for Student Development and Services

Angela J. Burrows Vice President for University Relations

Christine KindlEditor

Bruce Wald Writer

Office�of�Communications�and�Public�Relations,�250�University�Avenue,�California,�PA�15419

724-938-4195�����wald@cup.edu��

The California Journal is published weekly by California University of Pennsylvania, a member of The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

The Journal is printed on paper made from trees harvested under the principles of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (www.SFIprogram.org).

— continued from page 1

everyone was impressed with his poise

and honest answers.”

Jerico and BSGP Chairman Larry

Brink of Slippery Rock offered

welcoming remarks, along with Cal U

President Angelo Armenti, Jr., who

greeted the students via video.

Presenters from Cal U included

Drs. John Cencich, Joyce Hanley, Ron

Paul, Dan Rota, Michael Hummel,

Loring Prest, Emily Sweitzer and

Scott Helfrich.

“Our administrators and teachers

gave the conference participants

exceptional insight, and walking tours

of the campus in the midst of the

presentations worked well,” Jerico

said.

Also presenting was Dr. Peter

Garland, PASSHE’s executive vice

chancellor, who praised Cal U’s team-

oriented effort. Among those who

played a significant role in

coordinating the conference were the

Student Association Inc., Student

Development and Student Services,

University Conference Services,

University Welcome Center, AVI

Food Service Inc. and the Office of

the President.

“My hat is off to California

University,” Garland said. “From the

many faculty and administrators who

presented on timely topics to the

quality of meeting space and food

service, the conference was a success.

As a result, student leaders

throughout PASSHE not only learned

important skills in leadership but were

very impressed with Cal U. It will be

hard to top this conference.”

The conference concluded with a

series of round-table discussions.

“Sunday was a think-tank of

sharing ideas,” Jerico said. “We

discussed many different issues, such

as how to structure elections,

competitions, community service and

how to deal with student apathy and

get students more involved. I believe

all of us got a good feeling of what

we could take from this conference

and use at each of our schools.”

The 14 PASSHE Student

Government presidents meet in

Harrisburg every two or three months.

In October, Jerico was one of several

presidents who made a bid to host the

conference.

“Everybody left with a ‘wow’

experience,” he said. “Hosting this

was a big deal for California

University. It was phenomenal what

we were able to put on, thanks to the

commitment of many people and

departments on campus.”

— continued from page 1

administration will conclude in mid-May.

The data will be analyzed by IUB, and

the 2009 reports will be sent to

participating universities, including Cal

U, in August.

Resources intended to help with the

use and interpretations of FSSE data are

available online at www.fsse.iub.edu. Past

FSSE and NSSE results are posted on the

Cal U website in the Continuous

Improvement area, cwis.cup.edu.

Comparing NSSE and FSSE results

yields information from both the students’

and faculty’s perspective. The Faculty

Professional Development Committee

uses the information for continuous

improvement.

For more information about FSSE,

faculty should contact Norman

Hasbrouck, special assistant to the

president, at Ext. 1561; or call the Office

of Continuous Improvement, Ext. 1673.

NormanHasbrouck,specialassistant to thepresident anddirector of theOffice ofContinuousImprovement,will beadministeringthe FacultySurvey ofStudentEngagementthis spring.

Faculty Asked toComplete Survey

The Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania

State System of Higher Education has

approved changes to teacher education

programs offered at 11 of the 14 PASSHE

universities.

The changes were made to comply with new

guidelines developed by the state Department of

Education to enhance the training of early

childhood, elementary and middle school teachers.

The guidelines establish separate certifications for

pre-K through fourth grade and grades 4 through 8.

They also require all special education teachers to be

certified in grades pre-K through 4, 4-8, or 7-12.

PASSHE universities are moving ahead with

program changes now to help ensure that students

enrolling in teacher education programs will have

adequate time to meet the requirements for

certification when the new guidelines take effect.

The Board approved program revisions

developed at California, as well as at Bloomsburg,

Clarion, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven,

Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg and West

Chester universities. Cheyney, East Stroudsburg and

Slippery Rock are in the final stages of preparing

materials for approval.

The revised programs also must be approved by

the Department of Education before they can be

implemented.

The new certification requirements are intended

to improve the knowledge, skills and dispositions of

all teachers to provide instruction effectively to

diverse learners in inclusive classroom settings.

Teachers graduating with the new certificates

also will have significantly more knowledge in

content, teaching technique and human

development.

“The faculty and administrators at each of our

institutions are to be commended for the incredible

work they have done under a tight timeline in

redesigning their education programs to better

address the needs of Pennsylvania’s children,” said

Dr. Jim Moran, PASSHE’s vice chancellor for

Academic and Student Affairs.

PSSHE Board OK’s changesfor Teacher Education

Cal U student Jamie Perchinsky is surrounded by her class atBomar Elementary School last spring while student teaching.PASSHE has approved changes to teacher education programsoffered at 11 of the 14 PASSHE universities, including Cal U.

The new certification

requirements are intended to

improve the knowledge, skills and

dispositions of all teachers to

provide instruction effectively to

diverse learners in inclusive

classroom settings.

Cal Hosts PASSHE Student Leader Conference

Ryan Jerico, Cal U Student Government president, led the charge that brought thePASSHE Board of Student Government Presidents Leadership Conference to campus.

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