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The Speakers Bureau provides speakers at no cost to service clubs, schools, senior centers, and other groups in the local area.

Booking a speaker is easy. Just e-mail your request to the CSUMB Public Information Officer.

CSUMB faculty and staff members are currently offering talks on the following topics:

Research at CSUMB: Why we do it and what it means for the Monterey Bay region

Researchers at the university bring in millions of dollars in grants. Those funds create jobs and support the development of new knowledge. We’re eager to discuss economic development and to share ideas for cooperation and collaboration between the university and industry.

Presented by a university administrator.

From ‘You’ve got to be kidding!’ to ‘Ah-ha!’ – hope for our oceans through insight and innovation

The talk discusses innovative ways to address the unprecedented threats of climate change, sea level rise, ocean acidification, pollution, fishery declines, coastal erosion, algal blooms and storm intensification on the coastal oceans and communities.

Presented by Dr. Rikk Kvitek

Peeling back the blue: how we map and use 3D visualization to reveal and learn from Earth’s hidden seafloor landscapes

Although the global ocean is the driver of weather, a highway for marine commerce, a reservoir of vast marine resources, and our playground, we know more about distant planets than we do about the seafloor. Imagine if the next time you were standing at the ocean's edge that instead of watching crashing waves, you were able to visualize submarine canyons, underwater seamounts and ridges, and even a kelp forest teeming with marine life. The State of California has undertaken a cutting-edge project to make this possible by mapping the seafloor of all the state's waters. Dr. Kvitek will show you the first images created from this effort and share with you how this new information is already being used in a multitude of ways.

Presented by Dr. Rikk Kvitek

Science with a mission at CSUMB

The CSUMB Science Division includes experts from both terrestrial and marine realms. Their common mission is to use sound science to solve environmental problems in the tri-county area. They use cutting-edge technology and student power for the good of the community.

Presented by Dr. Doug Smith

San Clemente Dam removal

San Clemente Dam will be removed from the Carmel River to reduce the risk of dam failure and to foster the historic salmon run. This large-scale project will have long-term impacts on the watershed, and could be a model for other dam removal projects in California.

Presented by Dr. Doug Smith

Water resources on the Monterey Peninsula

People on the coast between Carmel and Seaside have been seeking a sustainable water resource for decades. The search has been fraught with technical, political and legal pitfalls. What are the technical solutions? What are the political/legal constraints? What's the latest plan?

Presented by Dr. Doug Smith

The geology of coastal Monterey county: resource opportunities and geological hazards

Wherever you stand, there is a stack of rocks below your feet that records the local geological history and governs the kind of urban development that is suited to the region. We will consider the water resources and environmental hazards of our region. Water is scarce, and urban expansion is locally constrained by coastal erosion, landslides and hill slope erosion potential.

Presented by Dr. Doug Smith

Institute For Applied Marine Ecology (IFAME)

The primary goal of the IfAME is to provide science in support of government decision-making ranging from local municipalities to state, federal and international governments. That science includes monitoring the new state marine protected areas along California's coast, exploring the resources of National Marine Sanctuaries from Monterey to New England, studying the impact of commercial bottom trawling on seafloor habitats around the world, and diving from the world's only undersea laboratory in the Florida Keys. The closely linked secondary goal is to involve CSUMB students in the conduct of this research.

Presented by Dr. James Lindholm

Math, revealed – Cracking the mysteries of math for youngsters

New research examining thousands of students in two dozen California school districts finds that students already doing well in math in the seventh grade are more likely to take advanced math courses in high school and meet college entrance requirements. But for many students who struggle with math in grade seven, there is no clear path to learning and achievement. CSUMB math professor Hongde Hu uses math games, engaging presentations and curriculum he has been refining for years to reach those youngsters.

Presented by Dr. Hongde Hu

Innovation in higher education

Higher education is facing challenges in an era of increased demand, changing demographics and declining state support. American colleges and universities will need to adopt new educational approaches and technologies to serve more students while maintaining quality. CSUMB is addressing this through a variety of ways: a new three-year computer science degree developed in partnership with Hartnell College; creation of an Institute for Innovation and Economic Development; and exploring the potential to use technology for online programs.

Presented by Dr. Eric Tao

Eyewitness memory

Eyewitnesses are notoriously bad in the identification of the perpetrator of a crime. If you witness a crime, can you be sure that your memory for that event is accurate? Not really. Scientific evidence explains that memory changes over time, is malleable and is easy to manipulate via suggestibility and misattribution. Find out why eyewitnesses are so bad at remembering details of the crime and in the identification of the perpetrator.

Presented by Dr. Jill Yamashita

Creating memories for events that never happened

False memories are the remembering of events that never took place. Memory is easily manipulated and can change without our awareness. Memory research shows that it is easy to create false memories (for example, a memory of getting lost in the mall). One of the issues with false memory is that you cannot tell the difference between a false memory and a real one.

Presented by Dr. Jill Yamashita

They all look the same: the other-race effect

The other-race effect is a deficit in the ability to recognize or identify a face that is of a different race. You might hear a child say, “All of the faces look the same,” which is common response when looking at faces of an unfamiliar or different race. I examine what influences the other-race effect and what helps to minimize this effect.

Presented by Dr. Jill Yamashita

A vision for service: At CSUMB, giving back is a core value

CSUMB has won national acclaim for integrating community service with each student’s academic experience, and is changing lives – and our ideas about learning and community – in the process

Presented by Dr. Seth Pollack

Mexican entrepreneurs: a new look to immigration

Immigrants aren’t always who you think they are.

Presented by Dr. Juan Gutierrez

Creating customer loyalty

John Avella, head of CSUMB’s hospitality program, has 40 years of human resource development and teaching experience in the hospitality industry. He has been vice president of human resources for Marriott Corporation, The Rainbow Room and Windows on the World, and president of Human Resource Concepts. His work focused on management and executive development, Customer service and organizational strategic change. He has studied the application of emotional intelligence to customer service/loyalty, emotional labor and leadership. He has developed a process that teaches people to “connect” to the customer.

Presented by Dr. John Avella

The region’s hospitality industry – what’s ahead?

The lingering effects of the recession and looming water problems are just two issues facing the local tourism/hospitality industry. What’s on the horizon?

Presented by Dr. John Avella

Sustainable hospitality management

Presented by Dr. John Avella

Kinesiology gains in popularity

Kinesiology – the study of human movement – is the fastest-growing major on campus. As the U.S. population skews older – and fatter – there’s a demand for fitness trainers, physical therapists and researchers who study the science of movement and performance. Dr. Kent Adams, a prolific researcher as well as head of the kinesiology department, shares his findings to help people keep fit across the lifespan.

Presented by Dr. Kent Adams

Nursing program will meet a need

The health care industry is coping with the “silver tsunami” of aging baby boomers, combined with the impact of health care reform. Nurses will play a big role in meeting both challenges, but will need more than a two-year degree to do so. CSUMB has partnered with four community colleges in the region to offer a four-year degree that prepares them to serve as health care navigators, helping patients manage multiple conditions such as hypertension and diabetes outside a hospital setting.

Presented by Marianne Hultgren

Unraveling standardized testing and evaluation

Mark O’Shea, a professor education at CSUMB, has been studying the standards movement from the perspective of the classroom teacher for years. He has conducted extensive clinical research in standards-based education and has consulted with school districts and state departments of education. He can also talk about the new Common Core standards – he helped state officials develop the science standards – and their implementation in California.

Presented by Dr. Mark O’Shea

Digging through time

Dr. Ruben Mendoza is an archaeologist, writer, and photographer who has explored the length and breadth of Mexico, Central America, Europe, and the U.S. Southwest documenting both pre-Columbian and Colonial era sites and collections. He has directed major archaeological investigations and conservation projects at missions San Juan Bautista, Carmel, and Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, among others. Recent efforts at the Royal Presidio of Monterey resulted in the tandem discovery of the earliest Serra era Christian houses of worship in California dated to 1770 and 1771. And he has made astronomically and liturgically significant discoveries of solstice, equinox, and feast day solar illuminations of mission church altars throughout California, the U.S. Southwest, and Mesoamerica.

Presented by Dr. Ruben Mendoza

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is bringing seniors back to school

Are you sitting on an idea for the next great American novel and don't know how to begin? Would you like to understand contemporary art? Ever wonder where our special brand of weather comes from? Would you like to know the history of Cannery Row? Then the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI@CSUMB) is the place for you. These are just some of the topics that have been covered in courses that range from one day to eight weeks during the Fall and Spring semesters each year. For adults age 50 or better and funded in part by the Bernard Osher Foundation, many of our courses are taught by CSUMB professors. There are no test and no grades, just good fun and great fellowship with friends and neighbors in our region. Learn how and why OLLI@CSUMB came into being and how it has evolved to reflect the interests of our adult learners.

Presented by Michele Crompton

Summer arts

Sword fights, improvisational comedy, animation, painting: Summer school was never this much fun. Several hundred students – high school, college, and adult members of the local community – come to the university in July for the annual CSU Summer Arts program. The longtime CSU program relocated to CSUMB in the summer of 2012 for a five-year run. The program includes a couple of dozen public events, including lectures, readings, concerts and theatrical productions – in other words, the area’s summer arts scene has gotten a lot more interesting.

Presented by Dr. Ilene Feinman

CSUMB goes green

People across campus are working on many fronts to make Cal State Monterey Bay a more sustainable university. We developed a Climate Action Plan that will provide a road map for eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and Issues surrounding sustainability are addressed in many classes. We've also have a robust alternative transportation program in place. Mike Lerch, CSUMB's Manager of Energy and Utilities, can speak to the many energy efficiency upgrades on campus (that have cut our energy use 20% and reduced our carbon footprint.

Presented by Mike Lerch, CSUMB’s associate director of facilities services and operations

Art in the service of science

Science illustration is all around us – in books, magazines, posters, on websites, in films and TV, and in museums. Most of us don’t notice the extraordinary technical skill, the precision and carefully observed detail, or the beauty of these illustrations because we’re busy absorbing information from them. CSUMB is home to a nationally renowned science illustration program; graduates’ work is in the Smithsonian Institution, the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History; in top science magazines such as National Geographic, Scientific American, Nature and Audubon; at the National Zoo, in Washington, D.C., and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Presented by Jenny Keller

Athletics at CSUMB

CSUMB is dedicated to building champions, one victory at a time -- in our community, in the classroom and in competition. The university fields 12 teams competing at the NCAA Division II level. It has earned a national title in men’s golf, and a number of California Collegiate Athletic Association titles.

Presented by Kirby Garry, athletic director

Master of social work program meets local demand

CSUMB now offers a Master of Social Work program, created in collaboration with community partners to address a shortage of social workers with graduate degrees in the region.

Presented by Lisa Stewar

Family dynamics

Dr. Rob Weisskirch, a professor of human development, can talk about a number of topics including:

Communicating online

How do you present your business or yourself online? Liz MacDonald addresses how to develop a content strategy that works across websites, social media platforms and emerging technologies. The end result is clear, organized information that helps you reach your audiences, and helps your users make the most of the services you provide.

Presented by Liz MacDonald, web user experience specialist

Developing business models for new ventures

The focus of creating new businesses has changed from writing a business plan to creating a business model. This talk tells what it takes to develop a killer business model - and how to do it.

Presented by Dr. Brad Barbeau

Funding for startups – the ABC's

New opportunities for raising funding are emerging in online crowdfunding. When should a startup use angels, banks, and crowdfunding? This talk covers the latest developments in venture funding and where they fit into the founder's toolkit for fundraising.

Presented by Dr. Brad Barbeau

The current state of the economy

A discussion of current economic data and its meaning for business.

Presented by Dr. Brad Barbeau