Task Force Seeks Ways for CSUF,
SCCO to Partner
by Paula Selleck
From Dateline (March 18, 2004)
Southern California College of Optometry |
Cal State Fullerton and its higher-education
neighbor to the north, the Southern California College of Optometry
(SCCO), have formed a joint task force to strengthen relations and
explore opportunities for mutual benefit.
The eight-member group, convened jointly by the presidents
of both institutions, began meeting in the fall to discuss sharing
institutional expertise and facilities.
“We’re exploring new ways to enhance
collaboration and maximize resources,” said CSUF Executive
Vice President Judith Anderson, who chairs the task force. Noting
that the two institutions have been working together for at least
three decades, she said that both are eager to build upon that foundation.
“What is best for our students is our main
goal,” said CSUF President Milton A. Gordon.
SCCO President Lesley L. Walls expressed the hope
that students and others would be “better off because of our
joint cooperation.”
Fullerton students already have benefited from internships
completed on the SCCO campus, in the library and the human resources
department. In addition, a long-standing agreement between the two
campuses allows students, as well as faculty members, joint borrowing
privileges at the CSUF and SCCO libraries.
Fullerton students currently have access twice a
week to urgent care vision services provided by SCCO at CSUF’s
Student Health and Counseling Center.
To branch out, four areas have been identified by
the task force for initial study: the Faculty Development Center
and Titan Bookstore, plus the co-generation of electrical power,
and employment training and development. Project groups have been
formed, bringing in additional SCCO/CSUF members, who have been
meeting to explore initiatives.
The possibility of merging bookstore operations and
of CSUF producing course packets for SCCO faculty members is being
discussed, along with permitting SCCO students to buy computers
from the Titan Bookstore.
Task force members are contemplating whether the
educational/training services offered by the Faculty Development
Center and Employee Training and Development could be offered to
those employed at SCCO.
“On those occasions when there would be vacancies
in our workshops, we could include SCCO faculty members on a cost-recovery
basis,” explained Sandra Sutphen, acting director of the Faculty
Development Center.
In the arena of scholarship, expanding the number
of joint research projects for faculty members and students has
emerged as an area of interest for both campuses. Records indicate
that scholars from both institutions have been collaborating for
decades on studies in a variety of areas, ranging from child abuse
to visual acuity.
The CSUF/SCCO collaboration incorporates services,
as well as scholarship. CSUF faculty and staff members can receive
eye care from SCCO – an approved vision service provider.
SCCO’s remodeled Eye Care Center and construction of a full-service
laser center slated to open in June will be available to those at
Fullerton who select SCCO as a provider.
Students are the beneficiaries of specialized services,
including vision training for athletes, low vision rehabilitation,
and electro-diagnostics for those who have had major head trauma
or a debilitating disease, such as multiple sclerosis. Customized
plans for those without health insurance coverage for vision care
also are offered. Expanding such services is contemplated, along
with extended hours for urgent care in the Student Health and Counseling
Center.
CSUF task force members are: Anderson; Willie Hagan,
vice president for administration; Robert L. Palmer. Jr., vice president
for student affairs; and Ephraim Smith, vice president for academic
affairs.
SCCO members are: Robert A. Baird, vice president
for administration; Morris S. Berman, vice president and dean of
academic affairs; John Nishimoto, dean of clinical affairs; and
Lorraine I. Voorhees, dean of student affairs.
Arnold Miller, a member of both the CSUF University
Advisory Board and the SCCO Board of Trustees, participated in early
meetings geared to enhancing collaboration between the two institutions.
“Both institutions have specialized skills
and specialized needs, and regardless of size, many of these cannot
reside in any one place,” noted Miller. “Here we are
in Fullerton, ‘The Education Community,’ with a remarkable
opportunity to utilize each other’s capabilities. ”
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