Dean Emerita, College of Arts and Letters
Professor of Japanese, Dept. of World Languages and Literatures
Coordinator UFMN
Email: eyasuha@csusb.edu
Cell Phone: (909) 553-1948 (leave a message)
Areas In Which I Can Give Advice or Suggestions:
Teaching
I came up through the ranks at CSU Los Angeles in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures (Professor of Japanese), served as Associate Dean of their School of Arts and Letters, and came to CSUSB in 2000 as Dean of the College of Arts and Letters. Having read FARs and attachment files for 13 years, I can give a "dean's eye view" of this and the other categories.
Under the teaching category, I could advise on how to list courses taught; ways to account for innovations, "new" course preparations, and curriculum development; and how SOTEs can be read by evaluators.
Professional Development
It's useful to develop the mindset that, once your file leaves your department, NO ONE UNDERSTANDS WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR FIELD. So you have to explain—judiciously and with appropriate documentation—the significance of publishing in Journal X and receiving 'Award Z'. In some cases, even your departmental colleagues may not be as conversant with your particular field as you think. So never assume that anything you say or list is "self-explanatory." And it's always useful to have someone not in your field take a look at your FAR before you submit it.
Service / Campus and Community Involvement
There are many levels and arenas of service: campus (department, college, university), the profession (e.g. secretary of your discipline association), community. It's useful to have advice on how to choose your involvement in service, how to document that service, and the importance of saying "No" in your early years.
Relevant Life Experiences
English was not my first language, though obviously it is now my primary one. I was born in Japan and immigrated with my family when I was very young. I grew up bilingual and bicultural, with all the advantages and disadvantages of having to negotiate the boundaries of the many roles we all occupy through life. I can offer a sympathetic ear and advice on understanding some of the written and unwritten rules that govern our different spheres of activity. It's difficult to shed our identities as we cross boundaries on a daily basis—realizing and acknowledging this can help us make the necessary negotiations.
Personal Message
As others have said, coming to CSUSB was one of the best decisions I ever made. I hope your experience here will be as gratifying, and I'm happy to help in any way I can