VOL. 119, Issue 3 - Sept. 23, 2021

04 05
THURSDAY
SEPT. 23,
2021
NEW FACES IN FAMILIAR PLACES • Front Page
Newly named senior vice provost for Equity,
Inclusion, and Faculty Excellence, Pamela Balls
Organista, will now oversee the Office of Diversity,
Engagement, and Community Outreach. “I started
here many years ago in the psychology department
and I taught in the ethnic diversities program,” said
Balls Organista. “Having been a faculty member, I
am particularly interested in supporting faculty so
that they are able to provide good service.”
Balls Organista said her responsibility is “overseeing
and coordinating the intersections between
diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as holistic
faculty development.”
She said this “is a newly envisioned position...
there have been people who held different parts of
what I am holding now, but what I bring to the
role is my passion and values. The mission of this
university brought me here.”
Prior to teaching at USF, Balls Organista
worked in internal medicine at the University of
California, San Francisco and said she “spent a lot
of time studying race, ethnicity, and culture, as well
as looking at health issues in underserved populations.”
She wants to incorporate her background
into the work of her new role, working closely with
the McCarthy Center.
In addition to her diversity, equity, and inclusion
(DEI) work, USF’s Institute for Nonviolence
and Social Justice will now be under Balls Organista’s
office. She also will handle academic planning
at Star Route Farms, a property and brand purchased
by USF in 2017 for $10.4 million. “What's
so special about USF is that so much happens on
campus, but so much learning can happen outside
of the classroom,” she said. “Star Route Farms has
a lot of potential for student and staff learning.”
Academic planning in the SONHP will also
see new leadership as Dr. Patricia Pearce was appointed
interim dean of the program. Pearce, who
was a nurse for 40 years, was previously the director
of the School of Nursing at Loyola University New
Orleans and the interim dean of Loyola’s College of
Nursing and Health.
Pearce described her new role as “overseeing
faculty and collaborating with students and administration
on a regular basis.” Pearce is replacing
Margaret Baker, who held the position since 2016
and is now retiring. “We are both very much servant
leaders, so she and I have very similar ways of
thinking about a deanship,” she said.
In her first year of the position, Pearce hopes
to “keep things stable while gearing up to help recruitment
of students and staff.” She also anticipates
challenges that may arise from the pandemic.
“The challenges are always in resources; could be
time, money, human resources, space resources,”
she said. “As we put on new initiatives we have to
tap into new resources and stay close with our collaborators.”
While part of her role will be to help
find a permanent replacement, Pearce says she
would consider staying longer if the search is unsuccessful.
More than anything, Pearce is excited about
returning to campus. “I have really missed this energy,”
she said. “I went to a meeting last week with
nursing students who are getting their white coats,
and I thought, ‘Wow, this energy could just change
the earth.’”
Even as USF has adapted to a modified return,
the University still faces various challenges. Looking
ahead, Balls Organista offered a guideline for
the administration. “Our success will be how well
we are able to share knowledge with each other,”
she said. “To really affect change it has to be a collective
effort. That’s how we move through crises.”
HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEKLY SENATE MEETING
NEWS
Besides receiving an update from Dan Lawson of Public Safety, Senate is preparing for representative elections this week, including tabling at UC 1st floor.
PHOTO BY MIGUEL ARCAYENA/SAN FRANCISCO FOGHORN
NEWS
As interim administrators, Crabtree and Pearce will be partaking in finding a permanent replacement, however, both are open to staying indefinitely.
PHOTO BY MIGUEL ARCAYENA/SAN FRANCISCO FOGHORN
ANNIKA DAHLBERG
Staff Writer
During last week’s ASUSF Senate weekly meeting, Senate met with Senior
Director of Public Safety Dan Lawson, as well as new candidates for vacant and atlarge
senate positions prior to elections.
Lawson, discussed a few new safety devices to be implemented on campus. He
revealed that Public Safety has been working with the city to install a beacon light.
The new light will serve as a flashing warning to caution vehicles when students are
crossing the street.
Senate agreed that the beacon’s prospective location should be on Turk Street
and Roselyn Terrace, across from the new Lone Mountain dorms. This particular
street has heavy foot traffic, with students going between classes and walking to and
from the dorms. Lawson also mentioned details from a prior conversation about
purchasing and staffing new shuttles. Due to current issues with staffing and budgets,
the Department of Public Safety only has three shuttles in use.
Additionally, Lawson laid out possible future plans for his department’s presence
on campus in reference to the student-led movement to disarm Public Safety
Officers and reduce patrolling of dorm buildings. This issue was addressed by a
Senate resolution in September 2020.
“My vision has been and currently is to listen to the students,” said Lawson.
“We are looking at options currently of having one armed officer on campus but not
visible unless there was an emergency and then having two unarmed officers that
will rotate over 3-4 days.”
Afterwards, ASUSF Vice President of Finance Berklee Jimenez led a discussion
and vote over funding for the Model UN’s trip to Washington D.C. for the NCSC
XLIX Georgetown Model United Nations Conference. The funding would include
travel and boarding costs for 12 Model UN students and will require proof of vaccination.
Senate moved to approve the budget totaling $6,009.
With student representative elections taking place, a few applicants introduced
themselves to Senate. Running for the freshmen class representative position, both
Anagh Shetty, a finance-business analytics double major, and Julia Noel, a entrepreneurship
major, were present at the meeting. Other candidates for the position
include Akhnoor Sidhu and Rahul Pratap.
At-large applicant Jasleen Dhillon introduced herself and her plans as a prospective
Sikh Student Representative for Senate. Dhillon, a biology major, is the
co-founder of the Sikh Student Association on campus. As a Sikh Student Representative,
Dhillon expressed her goals of educating people on everything happening
in the Sikh community. Her initiatives included addressing the prevalence of hate
crime within Sikh and Punjabi communities. She also wants to pass a resolution for
religious accommodation for Sikh students during holidays and standing in solidarity
with Indian farmers during the farmers strike. Senate will vote for approval of
Dhillon’s position at next week's meeting.
Senate concluded their meeting and brainstormed possible topics of discussion
for the first ASUSF Town Hall taking place Oct. 27.
ASUSF Senate holds meetings every Wednesday from 5–7 p.m. via Zoom.