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Gracie Babatola

Being In the Room: Meet New ASI President Gracie Babatola

Nov 3, 2022


Gracie Babatola
Gracie Babatola Babatola addresses an
audience of staff and faculty members at
Cal Poly's opening convocation in
September. Photo by Joe Johnston.

By Larry Peña

This fall, third-year Gracie Babatola began her term as president of Associated Students Inc. Babatola, from Santa Cruz, California, is majoring in political science and minoring in ethics, public policy, science and technology. In her election campaign last spring, Babatola ran on a platform of “rebuilding connections.” As the new school year began, she spoke with Cal Poly News about her goals for the coming year, and what it means to serve others.

What inspired you to run for ASI president?

I've always just loved being in a room where decisions were being made. In high school, I was heavily involved in student government. But what really motivated me to run was I felt that there was a disconnection between students and ASI. COVID had really taken a toll in student government, but I felt that I perhaps had a fresh perspective that could be brought into student government.

Your campaign was all about rebuilding connections. What does that mean to you? What will that look like during your time as president and how will it impact students?

Rebuilding connections starts off with having students understand what ASI and what student government really is. I often meet students who obviously understand the general idea of student government, but they don't see the particular ways ASI has benefited them.

So it starts off with letting them know the good work that is being done by students and by professional staff, and then acknowledging where we need to do more. For example, making sure student clubs and organizations know we are a resource for them, and then saying, “Okay, what are some problems that you're noticing and how can we come together to fix this issue?”

What other specific goals do you want to accomplish as ASI president?

The majority of both incoming students and continuing students have had to endure some sort of online modality due to the pandemic. I want to help students get back to that in-person comfort level from before COVID.

I want to help students address basic needs. I think as the cost of living has gone up, we have noticed that a lot of our peers are struggling to pay for gas or to have affordable fresh produce. I'm looking for ways we can make students' lives easier. We are going to start hosting regular clothing swaps, encouraging a circular economy on campus and encouraging students to support more sustainable options when looking for clothing.

What do you think is the full potential for student government at Cal Poly? How much can student leaders like you shape the campus experience for fellow students? 

In my brief time working with university administration, I've really seen how much they value student input. I don't think there's necessarily a limit. There are obviously processes and ways we go about things depending on the issue at hand. But I have found if there's an issue that is affecting students, the administration is always willing to work with student government to find a solution.

Tell me about the experience of running for president. What was the campaign experience like? What did you learn?

I got together with my campaign manager, Chloe Wardrick, months ahead of time to figure out why I wanted to run. She sat me down, making sure I was running for the right reasons, and that I would be actually capable of this position. I also met with Tess Loarie, the former ASI president, to understand what the role really is. And from there we built a spreadsheet of the steps of the whole campaign. It really took a lot of teamwork and effort, and the way I ran my campaign is the vision I want for student government — that it takes a whole lot of people to make something happen.

What are your career goals? And how does what you're doing now fit into what you want to do after you graduate?

During this campaign I discovered that I really do not want to go the route of election politics. The process of campaigning and the election itself was draining. I much prefer to just be in the room actually making policy.

I want to go to law school and become a public defender. I'm hoping that my role in student government will improve both on my communication skills and my network. In political science there's often two main routes for graduates to go: law or elected office. This position has helped me see other ways I can help people outside of politics. 

Public defender is a challenging role. What draws you to that specific form of law?

It’s something I’ve wanted since I was nine years old. I feel like it's a calling for me. In our pre-law courses, we’re made very aware of the issues within our criminal justice system. But I wouldn’t feel that I am working to my fullest potential if I'm not serving in a capacity that can improve things for others.

 

Read the story in Cal Poly News

Q&A with Transfer Student Advocate, Alumna Jackie Duerr

Oct 17, 2022


Headshot of Jackie Duerr
Duerr has led UC San Diego's
Transfer Student Success
Program since 2019. 

By Nicole Troy

Every third week of October, colleges across the nation celebrate National Transfer Student Week (NTSW) to foster transfer pride and community, challenge assumptions and educate the community about the transfer experience.  

In celebration of NTSW, we got to know alumna Jackie Duerr (Psychology, ’09; Master of Education, ’11), program manager for UC San Diego’s Transfer Student Success Program. 

Duerr gave us advice for current students and insight into how her experience as a transfer student inspired her to become a leader for the next generation of transfers. 

 

Where did your college career begin and how did you find yourself at Cal Poly? 

I started my college journey at Santa Barbara City College and I just knew that I wanted to help students somehow. I found my voice in psychology, and as I was trying to decide where to attend, I loved that Cal Poly’s Psychology and Child Development Department had an internship requirement embedded in its curriculum. My practical mind said, “This would be a great bonus — I’d get a degree and experience!” 

 

Why did you navigate into a career of working with transfer students?  

The reality is that my transfer experience wasn’t so great. I was working part time, so I didn’t attend orientation and my connection to academic advisors was minimal. I didn’t make connections until I looked around my classrooms and discovered that the other transfers were sitting in the back with me. Somehow, we found each other by being the outcasts.  

So, I really wanted to change the experience for transfers following in my footsteps. Because of that, I earned my M.A. in Counseling and Guidance for Higher Education and then I earned my Ed.D. 

 

What has your career trajectory looked like since graduating? 

After graduation, I went from being the graduate assistant of the Multicultural Engineering Program (MEP) within the College of Engineering to being an MEP advisor to becoming the MEP coordinator.  

I loved working with first-gen, low-income engineering students and ensuring they knew the potential and skills they already had! I was able to incorporate transfers into the program as well.  

Finally, I got to a point where I was ready to spread my wings and I went to CSU San Marcos to work in their Office of Undergraduate Studies. Later, I discovered that they were hiring someone to build a transfer center at UCSD and I couldn’t help but apply. And here I am now! 

 

What has been your greatest career achievement? 

Something I am proud of is our Transfer Storytellers Contest and Gallery, where transfer students submit diverse artwork focused on resilience and identity. We work with the campus to provide creative coaches and judges for the artwork, and it’s always so inspirational and moving to see transfer stories come to life. See the gallery. 

 

What is your workplace superpower and how did being a transfer student impact that?  

Oh geez – this is tough. I’d say I’m decent at thinking outside of the higher education “norm” when it comes to hosting events and sharing content. This is because I was both a transfer student and a commuter. I often ask my team, “Does this content need to be an event, or can we get the information out within an infographic as well? Can we find a way to do this in a hybrid format? Can we turn this content into an interactive video?”  

I try to innovate wherever I can to meet the diverse needs of transfer students and to be more accessible. 

 

What advice do you have for transfer students? 

Remember that you were selected to this university because you are a capable and amazingly talented human. It can be hard to remember that sometimes, especially when everything is so new and the unknown can be so scary. But when in doubt, remember you’re here for a reason, and you have the tenacity, drive and ability to accomplish your goals. 

 

If you could go back, what advice would you give yourself in college?  

Study abroad and slow down! As transfers, many believe we must finish in two years, and because of that we disallow ourselves from doing things, like undergraduate research or studying abroad.  

For me, personally, I moved fast through my education – I didn’t study abroad and didn’t take any classes simply for pleasure. I regret that.  And for any student that is unsure if they can make study abroad work, there are scholarships available and advisors ready to help create plans. In all my years working with students, I’ve never heard a student say, “I regret studying abroad.” Everyone should do it. It’s good for the mind and it’s good for the soul. 

 

Any final thoughts? 

As much as my education at Cal Poly was in CLA and COSAM, I truly found my home within the College of Engineering — specifically in Engineering Student Services. The office family we had and my supervisor Kim Marsalek’s ability to lead with kindness, let me try things and trust in me to create made me the professional I am today.  

 

Join the NTSW celebration and check out the Cal Poly Transfer Center’s event schedule

 

 

Read the most recent CLA News stories

Robot hand graphic

Cal Poly Wins $700,000 Federal Grant to Study the Social Impacts of AI Kitchens and Robot Cooks

Sep 30, 2022


Robot hand graphic
The research team includes faculty
from the Ethics + Emerging Sciences 
Group and faculty researchers from
the CLA and CAFES.

The Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group at Cal Poly has been awarded a grant of over $700,000 from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the social and ethical impacts of robot kitchens, which are already at work in some restaurants.

The four-year project will anticipate the effects of robot kitchens on society, kickstarting the first extensive conversation on the subject. Philosophy professor Patrick Lin, the principal investigator for the new project and director of the Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group, explains, “This project will help to draw out the hidden and very broad impacts of technology. By focusing on the trend of robot kitchens that’s just emerging from under the radar, there is still time for technical and policy interventions in order to maximize benefits and minimize harms and disruptions.” 

Because food is so fundamental, automating kitchens can have far-reaching impacts, raising questions about whether the new technology will further homogenize food or diversify cooking techniques, and how it will affect communities, parent/child education and bonding in the kitchen, restaurant kitchen employees, gender roles and expectations, and religious food preparation requirements. Technology ethics issues such as economic displacement, social isolation, the pursuit of efficiency and convenience, artificial intelligence bias and errors, and cybersecurity all add further complexity. 

The Cal Poly research team includes faculty researchers from the College of Liberal Arts as well as the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. They are: Patrick Lin and Ryan Jenkins (philosophy), Jennifer Jipson (psychology and child development), Anya Foxen (religious studies and women’s, gender and queer studies), and Shohreh Niku (food science and nutrition). The project is also supported by Susanne Gartner in the Grants Development Office and Stephany Martin in Sponsored Programs at the Cal Poly Corporation.

The interdisciplinary research team will map out and explore a full range of possible benefits and risks to individuals, family and communal relationships, creativity and culture, economics and society, health and well-being, and environment and safety. These discussions will guide the next decade or more of research, given the many rich dimensions of this interdisciplinary study. To ensure that the work is inclusive, it will be guided by three workshops in different geographies, accounting for any cultural or regional differences. Workshops will be held over the next three years in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, as the first likely adopters of robot kitchens at scale, since those geographies are developing the technology.

“Robot or AI kitchens would automate a special place and communal activity in the home, so that immediately warrants critical attention,” Lin said. “Outside of the home, restaurants are one of the most essential and oldest businesses, given the primacy of food. They are the bedrock for an economy, the soul of a community, and the ambassador for a culture. But the pandemic is causing a seismic shift in the restaurant industry, and robot kitchens could be a tipping point that forces many restaurants to evolve or die in the coming years.”

 

Read the most recent CLA News stories

Patrick Lin headshot

Cal Poly Wins First-Ever Grant on Space Cybersecurity from US National Science Foundation

Sep 12, 2022


Headshot of Patrick Lin
Philosophy Professor Patrick Lin is
the principal investigator for the 
groundbreaking project.

Cal Poly’s Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to study outer space cybersecurity, both technical and policy dimensions. The two-year project is the first that the NSF has funded on the subject. 

With interdisciplinary scholars and prominent expert consultants, the new project will generate novel scenarios for space cyberattacks while identifying and analyzing gaps in space law and norms that might allow for misunderstandings and conflict in the already contested but vital domain of outer space.

According to the project’s principal investigator Patrick Lin, director of the Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group and philosophy professor at Cal Poly, it is now urgent to study space cybersecurity given a perfect storm of factors.

“All of our space laws, such as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, are just too old and need to be updated for today’s technological realities,” Lin said. “At the same time, space systems are increasingly complex, which means more cyberattack vectors that need to be anticipated for informed policy planning and technical designs.”

The accelerating pace of space activities and the introduction of new tactics and technologies are increasing vulnerabilities and the severity of potential harms. As competition rises between states, cyberoperations are often a preferred method of attack because it is often difficult to identify the perpetrators. 

“Policymakers must have a grasp of the many possible ways that space assets could be cyberattacked,” Lin added. “But there are only a few scenarios that anyone usually mentions: hacking a satellite or ground station, spoofing or jamming signals such as GPS, and crashing space debris into satellites.  That’s pretty much it. We want to deliver a much more robust set of scenarios, along with policy analysis, to help inform planning discussions worldwide on space security.”

The Cal Poly research team includes faculty researchers from the College of Liberal Arts (technology ethicists Lin, Keith Abney, and Ryan Jenkins) and the College of Engineering (cybersecurity expert Bruce DeBruhl and space-systems expert Pauline Faure). The project is also supported by the Grants Development Office (Susanne Gartner) and Sponsored Programs (Stephany Martin).

The groundbreaking project also extends Cal Poly’s leadership in aerospace, which includes co-inventing CubeSats, organizing one of the first symposiums on space cybersecurity, and producing notable astronauts, such as Victor Glover, and aerospace pioneers, such as Burt Rutan. Its relationship with US Space Command, including nearby Vandenberg Space Force Base, and reputation in technology ethics also make Cal Poly a natural home for the NSF project.

As part of the project, Cal Poly is teaming up with Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) and Hoover Institution to organize an expert meeting on space cybersecurity in late March 2023. 

The two-year project is scheduled to end in summer 2024 and will culminate in a public report and other outputs.

 

Read the most recent CLA News stories

Headshot of Shanae Martinez

Meet Five Faculty Members Making Room for Inclusion in Their Courses

Sep 7, 2022


By Keegan Koberl

Headshot of five faculty from the 2019 cluster hire
The 2019 cluster hire cohort successfully
recruited 13 tenure-track professors.

In 2019, Cal Poly launched a university-wide push to increase diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts by hiring 13 tenure-track professors, in a move known as a DEI-focused cluster hire. The campuswide initiative followed the successful college-based DEI-focused cluster hire by the College of Liberal Arts in 2017.

These assistant professors, located across five colleges, focus on inclusive teaching strategies and more curricular coverage of areas related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

“There are many benefits to this effort, but one of the most immediate and impactful to our students is the DEI-related curricular expertise that these new faculty members can provide,” said Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti, interim associate vice president for Academic Initiatives in the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion and the associate dean for Diversity and Curriculum in the College of Liberal Arts. “Our students are exposed to new, fresh ideas and concepts and learn from faculty members who are often on the cutting edge of their fields.”

Teramoto Pedrotti, who led the recruitment for the cluster hire, said she’s seen other faculty members who were hired around the same time also develop courses that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. And there’s another cluster hire effort underway: in fall 2022, the College of Liberal Arts will welcome its third cluster hire, also college-based, with 10 new DEI-focused scholars in eight different CLA departments.

"It's great to see the continuation of the cluster hire program, " said Teramoto Pedrotti. "The level of expertise these scholars provide from their myriad identity perspectives is invaluable to our students and the college as a whole."

Recently, five members of the 2019 cluster hire spoke to Cal Poly News about the courses they’ve developed and taught at Cal Poly that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice — in subjects ranging from architecture to mechanical engineering and beyond.


Dr. Shanae Aurora Martinez

 


 

Shanae Martinez

Assistant Professor, English Department

Over the upcoming 2022-23 academic year, Martinez will pilot a three-quarter course sequence on editing and publishing for students interested in gaining hands-on experience in these fields.

“The idea for this course sequence came from my observations of the field and the ways in which English as a discipline can participate more directly in Learn by Doing,” Martinez said.

The first course in the sequence will introduce students to the field of literary editing and publishing. Throughout the fall quarter, students will develop their collective vision for the final publication they plan to produce by the end of the sequence. In the winter quarter, students will engage in editorial work according to their interests and skillsets. This includes soliciting submissions, grant writing, fundraising, and curating the future publication.

During the final course of the sequence — the lab portion — students will produce and distribute their final publication through the Book Arts Lab. The physical artifact will be archived in Cal Poly Special Collections and Archives, and the digital form will be available through Cal Poly Digital Commons.

The original form of the course sequence was developed over the 2020-2021 school year, when Martinez worked with two students, Eden Railsback and Juan Vergara, on an individualized version. Throughout that sequence, Railsback and Vergara developed their senior project: the inaugural edition of the Underground Anthology, a journal where BIPOC authors can share their creative works with the world.

The digital version of the Underground Anthology was submitted to and archived in the Cal Poly Digital Commons, but they had to forego the physical artifact because it would require meeting face-to-face during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students taking the course in the upcoming year will create both digital and physical publications as well, and can contribute to Underground Anthology, the English Department literary journal Byzantium or develop their own micropublishing project.

“The goal of this course sequence is not to make English work for capitalism, but to teach students how to use the skills our field offers in ways that can question and disrupt the status quo,” Martinez said, adding that studying English gives students valuable critical thinking, creative and close reading skills they can apply to infinite situations.

“This course sequence can change as bookmaking changes and new formats for publishing are made possible in the digital landscape,” Martinez said. “I hope to offer this course sequence every year, but it need not be taught by me.

“I think the sequence would benefit from other approaches to editing and publishing. Diversity is always a strength.”


Padma Maitland
 

Dr. Padma Dorje Maitland

Assistant Professor, College of Architecture and Environmental Design

In Maitland’s course, The Architecture of Hope, students trace histories of hope displayed through art and architecture, especially in times of uncertainty.

Maitland designed the course in connection with the exhibition, “After Hope: Videos of Resistance,” he curated for the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The art exhibit examines hope’s potential to animate form, method and action through interdisciplinary means — which the students taking Maitland’s course engage with as well.

“I’m interested in course topics and curriculum that invite active imagination and which ask students to think about something that may not make immediate sense to them,” Maitland said. “I think this course is designed to prompt rethinking or critical inquiry around a topic rather than outlining or surveying that topic.”

Throughout the course, Maitland gives his students the opportunity to interact with the creators involved in the “After Hope” art exhibition. In the thick of the pandemic, he even developed virtual “field trips” for the students to engage with the artists and examine the subject of hope themselves, thanks to a Hearst Teacher-Scholar grant from the College of Architecture.

“Even though traveling during that time was not possible, I do feel the students were able to have a sort of international experience by spending time with these creative individuals,” said Maitland. “They were able to hear about expressions of hope from Taiwan, Turkey and artists who are working with various mediums and inspirations.”

During the course, students developed group projects that involved one student describing an experience in their life in which they did or did not feel hopeful and another student designing a postcard in response to illustrate that experience. The project, inspired by a workshop led by artists Gazelle Samizay and Labkhand Olfatmanesh, allowed students to further examine the subject through different art forms.

“It is exciting to be able to bring in this global worldview to the students and see how they interact – there’s a dynamism to the conversations and the exchange that I hope is a more unique experience for the students,” Maitland says. “As the class evolves, I hope that it can continue to speak to our current moment and be responsive to who the students are and where they are at in their lives.”

Maitland taught Architecture of Hope during the 2022 winter quarter and plans to offer the course again in the 2023 winter quarter.


Benjamin Lutz
 

Dr. Benjamin Lutz

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Lutz explores how societal forces shape and are shaped by engineering designers and design processes in his class: Engineering, Design and Social Justice, which examines the ways in which design activities can promote or hinder efforts for social justice and equity.

“It's a lot of reading and familiarizing engineers with new ways of knowing and thinking about the world, and then using that knowledge in their projects,” Lutz said.

Lutz worked with a student assistant and a recent alum to choose readings and topics while developing the course in early 2021.

“We talked about what kind of questions are going to come up with students, what were they going to push back on, what they're going to be confused by, and we worked through some of these issues,” said Lutz. “Having a student and alum working in the industry is particularly helpful to identify what is important for students to know when they’re at Cal Poly and when they’re in the career after they graduate.”

One project, called product archaeology, asks students to pick an engineering artifact or design and work backwards to understand how it came to be. Students look at the context around the product’s development and environmental and economic factors that impacted the design process. Then they're asked to reimagine the product with a goal of creating something that would increase equity, justice and the wellbeing of society.

“It’s great to have a class that addresses such important issues and helps students grapple with those concepts,” Lutz said. “I think the material is most helpful to show students what things will look like when they’re working in the industry.

“I love this this class and think it's a really important one. It helps engineers really recognize the ways that they can impact society, how society impacts them and the relationships and complexities that are there between the two, especially as it pertains to them, making choices in design.”

Lutz taught Engineering, Design and Social Justice during the 2022 spring quarter and plans to offer the course again in spring of 2023.

“I wish everyone could take this class and that faculty can teach it from the perspective of their own fields – it’s fun and rewarding to see our students cross these conceptual thresholds.”


Joni Roberts
 

Dr. Joni Roberts

Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Public Health

Headshot of Ethan Gutterman

History Student Becomes First Cal Poly Scholar Selected for Congressional Internship in D.C.

Aug 9, 2022


Headshot of Nikki Trucco
Ethan Gutterman will serve as Cal
Poly's 2022 representative to the
Panetta Congressional Internship
Program.

By Keegan Koberl

Ethan Gutterman, a third-year history major and ethics, public policy, science and technology minor from the San Fernando Valley, will serve as Cal Poly’s 2022 representative to the Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program.

After a two-week training period at the Panetta Institute at CSU Monterey Bay, Gutterman will work in the capitol office of a California congressional representative in Washington, D.C., for 11 weeks in the fall.

“I have been interested in politics for a long time, and I am thrilled for this opportunity to work in Congress and be immersed in the experience,” Gutterman said. “I’m also excited to meet and work with so many accomplished students from across the state through the program.”

One of Gutterman’s earliest involvements in politics and government was participating in the YMCA Youth and Government program during his time in high school.

“I was able to go to the State Capitol, serve in a model State Assembly and gain a greater understanding of policy at the state level,” he said. “I’m looking forward to learning more about the federal legislative process and bringing this knowledge back to my work at Cal Poly.”

Gutterman is a Cal Poly Scholar and has performed research through Cal Poly’s BEACoN Research Program. The Cal Poly Scholars program aims to support and retain high-achieving California students who come from low-income backgrounds. Gutterman is the first Cal Poly Scholar to be named a Panetta Intern.

After earning his degree from Cal Poly, he hopes to work in local government with a focus on housing and transit policy.

He is the 22nd Cal Poly student to participate in the Panetta Institute program since 2001. He will join 24 other students, all nominated by the presidents of California State University campuses, as well as Dominican University of California, Saint Mary’s College of California and Santa Clara University. The program is open to all academic majors and is recognized as one of the leading internship courses in the nation because of the rigorous training it provides.

The Panetta Institute covers program costs, including course registration fees, campus services during orientation, air travel and housing in Washington, D.C. By covering these expenses, the institute can make the program available to interns from all socioeconomic levels. Cal Poly awardees are supported in part through the Ed and Jan Slevin Congressional Internship Endowment.

Read the story in Cal Poly News

Two CLA Professors Receive National Science Foundation Grant to Assess the Profession of Ethical Technology

Jun 20, 2022


English Professor Deb Donig, left, and ISLA Professor Matt Harsh, right.
English Professor Deb Donig, left, and Interdisciplinary
Studies Professor Matt Harsh, right.

 

 

 

 

By Nicole Troy

Two CLA professors are spearheading a project funded by a National Science Foundation grant to research the recent “techlash” phenomenon — a growing negative feeling towards big technology and new technological innovation — as it relates to ethics and the future of work. In response to this techlash, new jobs in “ethical technology” are being created by tech companies to respond to consumers’ increasing distrust and new ethical challenges. However, there is no educational framework to prepare individuals to enter this new field. 

Assistant Professor of English Deb Donig and Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies in Liberal Arts Matt Harsh are the principal and co-principal investigators, respectively, for their research project titled, “Assessing the profession of ethical technology for the future of tech work.” 

“The real hypothesis behind [the grant] had to do with noticing, number one, the growing number of jobs at the ethical technology intersection and that this is a new profession,” Donig said. “Hypothesis number two was that we really don't know what these jobs are meant to do, or how people should be trained to do them. So, what we should study, on a macro level, is what are these jobs, what are the overarching set of expectations or ideas behind these jobs, and how can we create a program of study that might be commensurate to that?” 

To answer these questions, Donig and Harsh, alongside a dedicated team of faculty, students and an outside consultant, are tackling these hypotheses in four parts. First, the team is exploring what ethical technology is as a profession and assessing the function of ethical technologists in the workplace. Second, the team is using data scraping to identify and compile key terms in job listings across the internet. Third, the team is interviewing stakeholders from the private, public and educational sectors, including hiring managers and notable technology critics, to get their perspective on the ethical technology profession. Finally, the team will work to support and develop an interdisciplinary class piloting educational strategies to build a pipeline of graduates who are ready for ethical technology roles such as “ethics officer,” “ethical hacker,” and “data ethics and integrity coordinator.” 

“The interdisciplinary team is really important because all of these questions cannot be answered by one discipline alone,” Harsh said. “This is really a team effort. We have some phenomenal students of all disciplines, many of whom were involved with the Strategic Research Initiative, which led to the grant application and are now involved in the grant itself.” 

Cal Poly faculty and students involved in research with the Ethical Tech @ Cal Poly Initiative and parts of the grant include David Askay (communication studies), Bruce DeBruhl (computer science), Hunter Glanz (statistics), Paul Jurasin (Dx Hub), Martine Lappé (sociology), Ava Wright (philosophy) and students Carson Craft, Daniela Flores, Jake Garner, Genevieve Kessler, Jaxon Silva, Lauren Tankeh and George Terterian. Outside expert consultant and Berggruen Fellow Yaël Eisenstat rounds out the team with her nearly two decades of experience in national security and global affairs as a CIA officer, diplomat and White House advisor.

 
The team, led by Donig, is ultimately studying this topic with the goal of teaching individuals to “think differently” since technology ethics is a profession not guided by laws. 

“Ethics is a decision in the absence of a rule telling us what we ought to do,” Donig said. “Technology doesn’t have laws — so we have ethics, and the system will override ethicists every time. What I can do is teach people to think differently.” 

In a profession where rules are absent, Donig says her answer to the lack of guidance is to constantly ask, “where can I reduce harm?” 

“The difference that I can make is educating the next generation of technologists to think differently and to mobilize the next generation of humanists to be able to go into the tech industry and make change from the inside out. And to, given this new profession, help cultivate it in the way that I think I am equipped to do to make the difference that I can make,” Donig said. 

Harm reduction also comes in the form of investigating the topic of ethical technology through a lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. 

“Diversity, equity and inclusion — I mean, that is the reason for this initiative,” Harsh said. “One way of thinking about it is ‘Who gets to be a technologist? People from what kind of race, gender or even geographical location?’ Then there are all of the issues once a technology is made –– certain people benefit, and certain people don't. There are a lot of different tradeoffs to understand.” 

The team began their comprehensive research in October 2021 and will wrap up their efforts this coming fall. Harsh says the team hopes to apply for a second NSF grant later this year to further their research. 

Learn more about the Ethical Tech @ Cal Poly Initiative. 

 

Read the most recent CLA News stories

Matia Mathes smiling at the ICA Conference in Paris

Communication Studies Alumna Presents Her Senior Project at an International Conference

Jun 10, 2022


Matia Mathes, left, with Dr. Anuraj Dhillon, right, in Paris.
Matia Mathes, left, presented at 
the ICA Conference with her advisor
Dr. Anuraj Dhillon, right, in Paris.

By Nicole Troy

Last month, Matia Mathes (Communication Studies, ’21) presented her senior project at the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference in Paris, France.  

Mathes initially came up with the idea for the project in Dr. Lauren Kolodziejski’s class, COMS 422: Rhetorics of Science, Technology, and Medicine, where she created an informational poster of original illustrations, “How to Apply a Tourniquet.” The poster provides visual instructions in four steps to easily teach tourniquet use for emergency situations.  

“In an emergency where someone is bleeding out, it is so much harder to read a paragraph of instructions compared to following four simple illustrations. I became very interested in the translation of difficult medical language into simplified visuals,” Mathes said. 

Mathes’ project in COMS 422 inspired and informed her senior project, which included an experiment she conducted via Qualtrics. Medical experts viewed an instructional video where an emergency medicine professor explained how to apply a tourniquet with differing visuals that met one of four conditions: realistic vs. cartoon-like or animated vs. still picture. Next, they answered a set of questions to assess their own perceived learning of the material shown. 

Mathes’ senior project advisor, Dr. Anuraj Dhillon, suggested submitting their research for the 2022 ICA Conference. Dr. Dhillon joined Mathes in Paris to present their research together. 

Mathes now works for Emergency Medicine: Reviews and Perspectives (EM:RAP), an emergency medicine education company, as both their Social Media Director and Project Manager of the Fundamentals Courses and the Daily Dose. 

“Fundamentals is a deep dive of lecture-style videos into specific emergency medicine topics and Daily Dose is a series of short-form vertical videos that teach emergency medicine in a more fun, TikTok-style way,” Mathes said.  

In her roles, she manages the company’s social media pages, facilitates communication among their medical content contributors, creates production schedules and travel accommodations, schedules studio time, and edits videos among various other administrative tasks.  

“I had been working part time with EM:RAP as a freelance artist doing medical illustrations throughout college, so this project was very much inspired by my work with EM:RAP,” Mathes said. “I am super grateful to have had awesome communication classes like the Rhetoric of Science, Technology, and Medicine and great professors like Dr. Kolodziejski and Dr. Dhillon who are so supportive of my work. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to share this research about medical visuals and medical education with the world. My work now revolves around expanding medical education in accessible ways to communities around the world. This research was and is really important to me and still impacts my work every day.” 

 

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Headshot of Nikki Trucco wearing a black shirt

Outstanding CLA Graduate Ready to Embrace a Future Shaped from Learn by Doing

Jun 7, 2022


Headshot of Nikki Trucco
Nikki Trucco won her department's
Outstanding Senior Award as well
as the University Award for 
Contributions to the Objectives and 
Public Image of the University at the
2022 CLA Student Awards.

By Jay Thompson

When Nikki Trucco considered a college to attend, the student-athlete knew it would need to fulfill dual priorities.

“It was tremendously important for me to find a school that was a good fit both academically and athletically,” said the women’s soccer forward. “I found Cal Poly to be a perfect match as it offered a D1 soccer program and high level of academic prestige. I also fell in love with Cal Poly’s coaching staff and heard nothing but great things about the faculty and staff.”

And in the past three years, despite the COVID-cancellation of the 2020 season, the child development major succeeded as an athlete and a scholar — balancing soccer, school and a social life.

“I would be lying if I pretended like being a student-athlete in college has been easy for me all the time,” she said. “Collegiate academics and athletics are highly demanding, and juggling both requires a great deal of time-management. All that being said, being a student-athlete is extremely rewarding and I truly wouldn’t trade my experience for the world.”

The San Ramon, California, native finished as the Big West's third-leading scorer in 2021 with 10 goals. Both a 2021 United Soccer Coaches All-West Region second-team selection and All-Big West Conference first-team honoree, she finished third among conference players with three game-winning goals and fourth with 21 points and 47 shot attempts. 

The team notched a tie with UC Irvine in the conference title standings. In helping Cal Poly to a share of the 2021 Big West regular season title — the program’s first in eight years — Trucco started 20 of 21 matches and averaged a goal every 142.2 minutes.

“It was so incredible to be a part of earning such a special accomplishment,” Trucco said. “Our team worked tremendously hard during the COVID season, so it was an indescribable feeling to see all our hard work pay off.”

Her coach also described her as a leader off the pitch, and it’s in the classroom where the buoyant 21-year-old shined even brighter.

“My biggest accomplishment is being able to graduate a year early, while still achieving success in both the academic and athletic environments at Cal Poly,” she said. 

Trucco earned straight As every quarter and received the College of Liberal Arts’ Outstanding Senior University Contribution Award. In addition, she was named Cal Poly’s 2022 Big West Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for achievements in and out of the classroom.

She succeeded in part because of extraordinary organizational skills and a team of supporters that included her parents (her “biggest inspiration”), twin sister Lexi on UC Davis’s soccer team, and campus mentor Professor Jennifer Jipson, chair of the Psychology and Child Development Department.

Jipson steered her to a research internship “where I was able to provide assistance on a wide variety of child development projects,” she said. “Through this I was able to connect with and impress The Goddard School, which hired me as a research consultant to continue supporting them on their projects.

“As a result of my experiences here, my passion for child development and early education have further grown, and I am more than eager to begin a career within the field. Through various internships, I have been able to develop skills that will be valuable in my future career and have been introduced to an array of opportunities that exist within the child development field.”

This fall she’ll begin work on a multiple-subject teaching credential and then start her journey as an elementary school teacher. But first, she can contrast the teen who arrived in fall 2019 and the mature young woman who will graduate Sunday, June 12.

“Coming into college, I was unsure of what to expect and how the transition would go,” she said. “I was unconfident in my ability to succeed on the field and in the classroom in the way I did in high school. Additionally, I was splitting up from my twin sister and was nervous about being alone socially for the first time.

“The freshman me would be proud of how independent and strong I am now. I have pushed myself to new limits and endured many challenges these past few years. Through this, I have learned so much about myself and about life itself. I am more sure of who I am and my abilities, and I feel empowered to take on the opportunities that lie ahead of me.”

Read about this year's other "great grads"

Ruby Ibarra, wearing a tan crop top and dark baggy pants, holding the microphone and singing on the University Union Stage

Renowned Rapper Ruby Ibarra Performs Free Concert for APIDA Heritage Month

May 31, 2022


By: Nicole Troy

 

Ruby Ibarra performing on the University Union Stage
Ruby Ibarra performing at the University Union
Stage on May 12.

 

On May 12, renowned rapper, producer and spoken word artist Ruby Ibarra took the Cal Poly University Union Stage in an open-air concert that was attended by the campus and local community. 

Ibarra was invited to come to Cal Poly in celebration of Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month. 

"I invited Ruby to come to our campus to celebrate [APIDA Heritage Month] with us, especially since she is an important voice in the Filipinx community,” Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies Ryan Buyco said. “I also invited her because I am Filipino American, and — as I have been told — am one of the first Filipino American tenure track faculty at Cal Poly. I invited Ruby Ibarra not only for APIDA Heritage Month, but also to acknowledge and celebrate the Filipinx community here on this campus." 

Before Ibarra performed, she guest spoke at a meeting with members of the Pilipino Cultural Exchange (PCE) club. According to PCE President Halle Gotico, Ibarra shared a presentation with the group where she connected with students. 

"Both Ruby Ibarra's closed talk and concert at the University Union allowed me to feel more connected to my Filipina heritage, as her music unpacks experiences that I had similarly gone through,” Gotico said. “Representation really does matter. To have Ruby, a strong, talented Pinay visit Cal Poly was important and needed as she helped provide a space for students to process their identities and gain a better understanding of themselves and their culture." 

See photos below of Ibarra performing for an audience of both campus and community attendees on the University Union Stage.

 

Ruby Ibarra, wearing a black and white jacket, singing alongside concert-goers

 

 

 

Ruby Ibarra, performing on stage, with concert-goers in the foreground
 

 

 

Ruby Ibarra, wearing a black and white jacket, performing solo on the University Union Stage
 

 

A close up of Ruby Ibarra, wearing a tan crop top, singing to the crowd
 

 

Ruby Ibarra, with her left hand up, encouraging the crowd to put their hands up
 

 

Ruby Ibarra, wearing a tan crop top and dark baggy pants, holding the microphone and singing on the UU Stage
 

 

Photo Credit: Izzy Pascua (PCE club member and CLA Student Photographer) 

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