Tyler Argüello, Ph.D., DCSW, Assistant Professor in the Division of Social Work, attended and presented at the Council on Social Work Education’s Annual Program Meeting (CSWE) in Atlanta during the first week of November. CSWE is the accrediting body for over 770 schools of social work across the United States, and they hold one of the two premier annual social work conferences attended by social work educators throughout North and Central America. Dr. Argüello organized and presented a panel on social work and HIV prevention, utilizing results from an original research study (supported by the Probationary Faculty Development grant). And, he presented an individual paper on HIV and the well-being of Two Spirit people in North America, which was based on a manuscript under final review in a peer-reviewed journal. Finally, Dr. Argüello also is a Councilor on CSWE’s Council on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity & Expression (CSOGIE; see cswe.org/CentersInitiatives/Diversity/AboutDiversity/15550/15548.aspx). At this year’s meeting, CSOGIE released two guidelines they have been working over the past year with CSWE to institutionalize LGBTQQ affirmative guidelines. As such, the purpose of these guidelines is to assist and support social work faculty, staff, and administrators in creating LGBTQQ inclusive and affirming classrooms, field placements, policies, and academic environments. Dr. Argüello was one of the authors of the guidelines related to LGBQQ inclusion: Craig, S.L.; Alessi, E.J.; Fisher-Borne, M.; Dentato, M.P.; Austin, A.; Paceley, M.; Wagaman, A.;  Arguello, T.; Lewis, T.; Balestrery, J. E.; and Van Der Horn, R. (2016); Guidelines for affirmative social work education: Enhancing the climate for LGBQQ students, staff, and faculty in social work education; Alexandria, VA: Council on Social Work Education.

Smile Dube, Economics, has been invited by the Journal of Statistics and Econometric Methods to be a guest editor of their special issue: Recent Developments of Financial Econometrics. The issue comes out in March 2017.

Jonathan Kaplan, Economics, was an invited speaker at the 2017 Sustainable Ag Expo held Nov. 14-15 in San Luis Obispo. His presentation, titled "Economic Hurdles to Early Adoption of Grapevine Trunk Disease Preventative Practices,” focused on understanding why, despite the high likelihood of infection and substantial yield losses from trunk diseases, many California winegrape growers wait to adopt field-tested preventative practices (delayed pruning, double pruning, and application of pruning-wound protectants) until after disease symptoms appear in the mature vineyard. This presentation also highlighted an interactive web-based resource developed to communicate the benefits from and potential hurdles to early adoption. In addition, Professor Kaplan was lead author on the manuscript titled "Identifying Economic Hurdles to Early Adoption of Preventative Practices: The Case of Trunk Diseases in California Winegrape Vineyards," which was recently accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed journal Wine Economics and Policy.

Here Lies Memory: A Pittsburgh Novel, the newest novel by Doug Rice, English, has just been published by Black Scat Books. The novel explores the place of memory in the daily practice of living scarred and sacred lives. It is the story of two Pittsburgh families struggling to survive trauma and love. The novel grapples with the volatile issues of race in America in the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam War.

Dr. Santos Torres, Division of Social Work, and co-authors Professor Debra Welkley, from the Department of Sociology, and Chris Kent Project Coordinator of the PRIDE Center and Women's Resource Center, all at Sacramento State had their article entitled, "SafeZONE Online: Creating and Serving as Safe Spaces on Campus," accepted for publication in the National Social Science Journal. The article was supported by a Center for Teaching and Learning Pedagogy Enhancement Award (2015/16).

Dr. Pia Wong, Teaching Credentials, provided a weeklong seminar in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to 75 professionals representing nine Brazilian institutions (seven universities, two state departments of education) on the principles and practices of clinical teacher preparation programs and guidelines for establishing school-university partnerships for the purposes of teacher preparation. She was part of a team organized by the Lemann Center at Stanford University.