The Cultural Pages Win CASE District VII Grand Gold Award

The UC Davis Cultural Pages—print and digital guidebooks to cultural and ethnicity-based resources and community life on campus—recently received a Grand Gold Award in Diversity Programs from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), District VII.

A team encompassing many departments within Student Affairs contributed to The Cultural Pages, and student employees had a leading role in the design and development process.

Participating departments and programs included:

Center for African Diaspora Student Success, Center for Chicanx and Latinx Student Success, Middle Eastern and South Asian Student Support, Native American Academic Student Success Center, Student Affairs Marketing and Communications, Student Recruitment and Retention Center

Student employees:

Student creative team—Nicole Sullivan, Karissa Tom, Jeremy Dang, Melanie Zelaya, Emma Hoppough, Jie Song, Cindy Cheung, Elijah Tech, Solon Yiu, Alexander Park

Student editorial team—Naman Ajmera, Carmina Acebu, Luana Xiong, Denise Castro, Tara Saghir, Ellen Sanders-Raigosa

The award, which was announced at the CASE Connect West conference in Anaheim last month, was one of only eight Grand Golds awarded out of 603 entries this year.

Designed to be a resource for prospective and current students identifying with an underrepresented racial or ethnic community, The Cultural Pages (now renamed “The Cultural Guides”) are six booklets—also available online and via the UC Davis NOW mobile app—that feature advice from students, staff and faculty from each community. They also contain information about student life, cultural organizations and events, academic resources and more.

Now, recruiters take the booklets on the road to showcase campus diversity to prospective students, and retention and community centers use the guides as part of their outreach and keep a permanent stack in their offices for students to take.

Student Affairs Staff Honored with Chancellor's Staff Excellence Award

Several staff from the division were honored with Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Awards this month. The award recognizes recipients’ extraordinary contributions to the university.

Kevin Sitz, director of the Writing Support Center at the Academic Assistance and Tutoring Centers, was among those recognized. As director, Kevin helps coordinate services with partner programs and assists in the creation of new programs and resources, such as the Writing Studio, which has given students a comfortable, dedicated space to practice their writing while receiving support. 

 

 

Chancellor May presented a team award to members of the team responsible for Developing Deeper Advising Relationships, a popular workshop series focused on social justice, self-awareness, cultural humility and communication for staff who work closely with students. More than 200 advisors have gone through the training, which has become a model for other campuses around the country. Six members of the 20-person team honored with this award are from Student Affairs. They are:

• Julie Agosto-King, director, Center for Opportunity Scholar Success, Office of Educational Opportunity and Enrichment Services
• Dionica Bell, student affairs officer, Department of African American and African Studies
• Josh Chave, conduct coordinator, Student Housing and Dining Services
• Lina Mendez, associate director, Center for Chicanx and Latinx Academic Student Success
• Krissy Ocampo, community advisor, Student Recruitment and Retention Center
• Annalisa Teixeira, coordinator, success coaching and learning strategies, Office of Educational Opportunity and Enrichment Services

Jason Lorgan Wins Aspen Award at CAMEX 2019 Conference

Jason Lorgan, executive director of Campus Recreation, Memorial Union and UC Davis Stores, was honored last month with the Aspen Award at CAMEX 2019, the largest conference and trade show in the campus store industry. 

This lifetime contribution award salutes a leader who has raised the level of professional practice in the collegiate retail industry and served as a mentor to staff and colleagues. 

“One of his staff members summed it up well by saying Jason is ‘well-known in the industry as a leader, an innovator, a visionary and sometimes a rebel,’” said Steve Alb, outgoing National Association of College Stores president.

Lorgan was a driving force behind UC Davis Stores’ partnership with Amazon on Amazon@UCDavis and its innovative use of price-comparison software to demonstrate competitive and transparent textbook pricing to students. More recently, Lorgan and UC Davis Stores pioneered the inclusive access model, which hundreds of campus stores have since adopted in some form.