[Faculty] Engineering Valedictorian Vote Deadline: April 12th

Thu Apr 13 11:51:09 PDT 2017

Will do. Thanks, Andy!

Monte

On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 11:39 AM, Andrew Szeto <aszeto at mail.sdsu.edu> wrote:

> I agree with Allen Plotkin that we should discuss the issue of choosing
> the Outstanding Engineering Graduate through proper channels and thus avoid
> repeating this episode yearly.  Perhaps Dean Monte Mehrabadi can lead us by
> making this an action item for next year or have ExCom discuss it and
> present it to the faculty for ratification.  At issue are the following
> questions:
>
>    - What do we mean by the "Outstanding Engineering Graduate?"
>    - How can we achieve a wider faculty participation and interest in the
>    selection of this, our most significant award?
>    - What criteria shall we use to make our selection?  GPA only or
>    service to the college and community also?  What about admission to our JDP?
>    - Is impersonal e-mail voting okay or should we incorporate this into
>    one of our College of Engineering Faculty meetings?  Adding action items
>    and affording opportunities to vote on major and minor issues can give
>    greater significance (beyond hearing a status report from our Dean) to
>    these faculty meetings?
>
> As faculty, we are somewhat powerless outside of our classroom.  Choosing
> our Outstanding Graduate (college-wide and departmental) is one of the few
> prerogatives granted to us.  Let's not waste it.
>
> Andrew Szeto
>
> On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 11:17 AM, Allen Plotkin <aplotkin at mail.sdsu.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> We have a year to discuss this through proper channels.  Apparently we
>> didn't make very good use of this past year since the same comments
>> surfaced after the last election.  It is time to congratulate this year's
>> winner and put this email chain to rest.
>> Allen
>>
>> On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 9:09 AM, Satish Sharma <ssharma at mail.sdsu.edu>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Department Chairs and Dean's can easily make a plan that whoever is
>>> highest in the COE should automatically be chosen for this without voting
>>> as a procedure. If something is quantified there should be no scope for
>>> subjectivity. It can also be made as some score be given to GPA over a
>>> given units taken by the students plus some score for their overall
>>> behavior, etc. There may be several ways, it can made more reasonable. Just
>>> a thought.
>>>
>>> On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 8:57 AM, Ashkan Ashrafi <ashrafi at mail.sdsu.edu>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I agree with Andy. It would be utterly discouraging and disappointing
>>>> to our hard working student who has a GPA of 3.97 to find out that the
>>>> selected valedictorian has a significantly lower GPA (3.81).
>>>>
>>>> What kind of message are we sending to our students?!
>>>>
>>>> It is time to change this unjust practice and adopt a more reasonable
>>>> way to identify our valedictorian.
>>>>
>>>> Ashkan
>>>>
>>>> On 4/12/17 5:25 PM, Andrew Szeto wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi Donovan:
>>>>
>>>> If you desire to have greater participation in the voting process, you
>>>> might wish to allow more than 41 hours for the faculty to read your message
>>>> and vote.  E-mail voting, by its very nature, results in low turn-outs.
>>>> Furthermore, I presume that you gave the Chairs adequate time to solicit
>>>> their faculty for nominees and to also compose accurate descriptions of
>>>> them.
>>>>
>>>> This whole process seems a bit rushed.  In the past, we actually did
>>>> this in person in a regular College of Engineering Faculty meeting to award
>>>> which student (after 5 years of very hard academic work) deserved the honor
>>>> of being the Outstanding Engineering Student.
>>>>
>>>> Andy Szeto
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 2:46 PM, Donovan Geiger <dgeiger at mail.sdsu.edu>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hello Ashkan,
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm always interested to hear recommendations on ways to increase
>>>>> participation in this voting process as it has been a reoccurring issue. As
>>>>> for the faculty selecting the candidate with the lowest GPA, I cannot
>>>>> comment on that.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>> Donovan
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 1:51 PM, Ashkan Ashrafi <ashrafi at mail.sdsu.edu
>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Donovan,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It is interesting that the student with the lowest GPA among others
>>>>>> has been selected as the valedictorian by the vote of less than 1/3 of the
>>>>>> CoE faculty. This raises a lot of question marks above the whole process.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>> Ashkan
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Ashkan Ashrafi, Ph.D.
>>>>>> Associate Professor and Graduate Advisor
>>>>>> Director, Signal Processing Research Laboratory
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
>>>>>> San Diego State University
>>>>>> 5500 Campanile Dr., E-410A
>>>>>> San Diego, CA 92182-1309
>>>>>> Tel: (619)594-3703 <%28619%29%20594-3703>
>>>>>> Fax: (619)594-2654 <%28619%29%20594-2654>
>>>>>> email: ashrafi at mail.sdsu.edu
>>>>>> URL: http://jason.sdsu.edu/~ashrafi
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 4/12/17 1:33 PM, Donovan Geiger wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Andy,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This honor is the College Outstanding Graduate, but we internally use
>>>>>> the term Valedictorian as a more recognizable label for students and to
>>>>>> differentiate it as a higher honor than the Outstanding Graduates at the
>>>>>> departmental level.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>> Donovan
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 12:58 PM, Andrew Szeto <aszeto at mail.sdsu.edu>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Dear Donovan:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Can you please clarify?  To most people, the honor of being the
>>>>>>> Valedictorian is different from being the "Outstanding Engineering
>>>>>>> Graduate."  What exactly is this honor?  Thanks.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Andy Szeto
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 12:41 PM, Donovan Geiger <
>>>>>>> dgeiger at mail.sdsu.edu> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> COE Faculty:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Please join me in congratulating Victor Ortega as our Engineering
>>>>>>>> Class of 2017 Valedictorian!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The vote tally was:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> 10 Ortega
>>>>>>>> 6 West
>>>>>>>> 2 Reyes
>>>>>>>> 1 Akers
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Thank you,
>>>>>>>> Donovan
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Mon, Apr 10, 2017 at 5:35 PM, Donovan Geiger <
>>>>>>>> dgeiger at mail.sdsu.edu> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Engineering Faculty and Staff:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> As the departmental outstanding graduates have been selected,
>>>>>>>>> voting for Engineering Valedictorian will now take place. Please
>>>>>>>>> select one and email your choice to me by* 12:00pm, Wednesday
>>>>>>>>> April, 12th.*
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The candidates are:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> __________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> *Joseph Akers Major GPA 3.93, SDSU GPA 3.95 Environmental
>>>>>>>>> Engineering *
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I am a Marine Corps Veteran. I was living in San Diego since 2010
>>>>>>>>> at MCAS Miramar. I chose the major I wanted about a year before I left the
>>>>>>>>> military. During my research, I learned that an ABET accredited school was
>>>>>>>>> going to be as important to me as an Environmental Engineer as learning how
>>>>>>>>> to be an Environmental Engineer. I found several schools that fit the bill
>>>>>>>>> but after a few searches where google filled in the blank after SDSU with
>>>>>>>>> "best party schools" I knew that I would at least have a few years of fun
>>>>>>>>> if I couldn't cut it. San Diego State actually became my favorite choice
>>>>>>>>> really quickly. Everything about it just made sense such as the location
>>>>>>>>> and the teacher reviews. But it was February. Admissions were full and I
>>>>>>>>> was going to be stuck waiting a year or so to get a spot. Looked like I was
>>>>>>>>> going to Ohio State.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> There was a Marine Corps Program called the Leadership Scholar
>>>>>>>>> Program that allowed me to get into SDSU where my only competition for
>>>>>>>>> admission was other Marines. The spots were actually filled but through
>>>>>>>>> sheer luck of someone dropping out of going to SDSU and with my Marine
>>>>>>>>> Corps accomplishments, I was able to get a spot to start school in fall
>>>>>>>>> 2013. I quickly joined the Student Veterans Organization and even helped
>>>>>>>>> start their intramural sports teams. I met some good friends through there
>>>>>>>>> but decided to try more professional organizations like Engineers Without
>>>>>>>>> Borders and American Water Works Association.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> School was challenging but I benefited greatly from the GI Bill
>>>>>>>>> which paid for my schooling and gave me the freedom to keep my grades up.
>>>>>>>>> Unfortunately for me, I had to start with classes like Precalculus and
>>>>>>>>> would be playing catch up to My Map. Engineering requires a couple more
>>>>>>>>> credits than other degrees so I would be here for a few summer sessions as
>>>>>>>>> well. There were some challenging teachers, some unorganized ones and some
>>>>>>>>> amazing ones like Professor Smith and Professional Mladenov. Overall it was
>>>>>>>>> a great experience.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> During my time at SDSU I have become a Big Brother volunteer for
>>>>>>>>> Bigs of San Diego and I have been the recipient of several scholarships,
>>>>>>>>> including the Sinegal Veterans Scholarship. I am currently working with
>>>>>>>>> SPAWAR because of San Diego State's veteran's programs in a research
>>>>>>>>> fellowship. I can only look back and thank SDSU for the experience granted.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> * Victor Ortega Major GPA 3.81, SDSU GPA 3.91 Aerospace
>>>>>>>>> Engineering*
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Victor Ortega graduated valedictorian from Monte Vista High
>>>>>>>>> School in Spring Valley before being admitted to SDSU’s Aerospace
>>>>>>>>> Engineering program in the Fall of 2013. He will be earning his B.S. in
>>>>>>>>> Aerospace Engineering with a 3.919 cumulative GPA this May. He has shown a
>>>>>>>>> dedication to helping other students succeed through being one of the first
>>>>>>>>> to participate in Monte Vista’s peer tutoring program as a math tutor and
>>>>>>>>> later working as a college advisor at an inner city high school in City
>>>>>>>>> Heights. As a first-generation college student and son of immigrants who
>>>>>>>>> originally attended school in City Heights.  Since 2016, he has
>>>>>>>>> been working as an undergraduate research assistant looking at resin
>>>>>>>>> injection methods of repairing internal delamination in carbon fiber
>>>>>>>>> laminates in the Aerospace Engineering Department. He has been accepted to
>>>>>>>>> the SDSU-UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Structural Engineering and awarded
>>>>>>>>> a 5-year fellowship by UCSD.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> * Karl Reyes Major GPA 3.87, SDSU GPA 3.93 *
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> *Mechanical Engineering *
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Karl is a senior mechanical engineering student, and will be
>>>>>>>>> graduating in May 2017. As a student at SDSU, he was a member of numerous
>>>>>>>>> organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
>>>>>>>>> (ASME), Design/Build/Fly (DBF), and Tau Beta Pi – The Engineering Honor
>>>>>>>>> Society. In Spring 2015, Karl worked with a team to design and manufacture
>>>>>>>>> a wall-mounting mechanism of an all-terrain vehicle for the ASME Student
>>>>>>>>> Professional Development Conference (SPDC) student design competition. In
>>>>>>>>> Spring 2016, he contributed to the manufacturing of a prototype aircraft as
>>>>>>>>> a manufacturing team member for the American Institute of Aeronautics and
>>>>>>>>> Astronautics (AIAA) Design/Build/Fly competition. Currently, he is an
>>>>>>>>> officer in Tau Beta Pi California Xi. Outside of his extracurricular
>>>>>>>>> activities, Karl has also had internship experience with Solar Turbines
>>>>>>>>> Incorporated, where he was a Mechanical Engineering Intern in the
>>>>>>>>> Combustion Department. He has accepted a position with Northrop Grumman,
>>>>>>>>> and will be working as a Mechanical Engineer in the Vehicle Engineering
>>>>>>>>> Department after graduating in May.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> * Stephen West Major GPA 3.97, SDSU GPA 3.94*
>>>>>>>>> * Electrical Engineering *
>>>>>>>>> We nominate Stephen West as our outstanding graduate for his top
>>>>>>>>> 3.94 GPA that includes 97 units taken at SDSU.  Faculty who had the
>>>>>>>>> privilege to teach him in EE430 and other courses recall West to be a quiet
>>>>>>>>> studious, smart, and respectful student. He has involved in student
>>>>>>>>> organizations and extracurricular activities.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> __________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Once again, the deadline to vote is this Wednesday, April 12, at
>>>>>>>>> noon.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Best regards,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> *Donovan Geiger, MBA*
>>>>>>>>> Student Affairs Officer
>>>>>>>>> College of Engineering
>>>>>>>>> San Diego State University
>>>>>>>>> 619.594.6079 <%28619%29%20594-6079>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>> Faculty mailing list
>>>>>>>> Faculty at engineering.sdsu.edu
>>>>>>>> http://engineering.sdsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/faculty
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Andrew Y. J. Szeto, Ph.D., P.E.
>>>>>>> Professor and IEEE Fellow
>>>>>>> Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
>>>>>>> San Diego State University
>>>>>>> 5500 Campanile Drive  MC 1309
>>>>>>> San Diego, CA. 92182-1309
>>>>>>> 619-594-5723 <%28619%29%20594-5723> - voice   619-594-2654
>>>>>>> <%28619%29%20594-2654> - FAX
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Faculty mailing listFaculty at engineering.sdsu.eduhttp://engineering.sdsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/faculty
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________ Faculty mailing list
>>>>> Faculty at engineering.sdsu.edu http://engineering.sdsu.edu/ma
>>>>> ilman/listinfo/faculty
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Andrew Y. J. Szeto, Ph.D., P.E. Professor and IEEE Fellow Dept. of
>>>> Electrical & Computer Engineering San Diego State University 5500 Campanile
>>>> Drive  MC 1309 San Diego, CA. 92182-1309 619-594-5723
>>>> <(619)%20594-5723> - voice   619-594-2654 <(619)%20594-2654> - FAX
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Faculty mailing list
>>>> Faculty at engineering.sdsu.edu
>>>> http://engineering.sdsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/faculty
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Satish K. Sharma, Ph. D., Senior Member IEEE
>>> Professor and Director Antenna & Microwave Lab (AML)
>>>
>>> Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
>>>
>>> Associate Editor, IEEE Antennas, Wireless and Propagation Letters
>>>
>>> E202D
>>> Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
>>> San Diego State University
>>> 5500 Campanile Drive
>>> San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
>>>
>>> Office Phone: 619-594-0241 <(619)%20594-0241>
>>> Office Fax: 619-594-2654 <(619)%20594-2654>
>>> Email: ssharma at mail.sdsu.edu
>>> http://electrical.sdsu.edu/faculty/satish/index.html
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Faculty mailing list
>>> Faculty at engineering.sdsu.edu
>>> http://engineering.sdsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/faculty
>>>
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Faculty mailing list
>> Faculty at engineering.sdsu.edu
>> http://engineering.sdsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/faculty
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Andrew Y. J. Szeto, Ph.D., P.E.
> Professor and IEEE Fellow
> Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
> San Diego State University
> 5500 Campanile Drive  MC 1309
> San Diego, CA. 92182-1309
> 619-594-5723 <(619)%20594-5723> - voice   619-594-2654 <(619)%20594-2654>
> - FAX
>
> _______________________________________________
> Faculty mailing list
> Faculty at engineering.sdsu.edu
> http://engineering.sdsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/faculty
>
>
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