Provost Communication: Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

I hope to see many of you tomorrow afternoon, Thursday, September 10, from 3 to 5 p.m., for our Academic Affairs Welcome Back Reception in the Kate Buchanan Room on the second floor of the Gutswurrak Student Activities Center. We have planned a wonderful program that will give us an opportunity to reconnect, celebrate all that we accomplished together last year, and set our sights on some important priorities for the academic year ahead. Hors d'oeuvres and non-alcoholic beverages will be served, and I hope you'll join us for an afternoon of conversation and community.

Speaking of celebrating the work of our colleagues, it is always a pleasure to recognize the accomplishments of members of our Academic Affairs community. I am especially pleased this week to share some wonderful national recognition for one of our own. Loren Collins, Director of Academic Advising, has been recognized by NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising for his outstanding leadership and commitment to student success.

Celebrating NACADA Advising Excellence Award Recipient Loren Collins

Cal Poly Humboldt is proud to celebrate Loren Collins, Director of Academic Advising, as a recipient of NACADA’s Outstanding Advising Administrator Award!

This national recognition honors Loren’s leadership and commitment to student success, advisor development, institutional collaboration, and the advancement of advising as a profession. His work reflects NACADA’s core values of Caring, Commitment, Empowerment, Inclusivity, Integrity, Professionalism, and Respect.

Through intentional leadership, strategic vision, and unwavering advocacy for equitable, holistic advising, Loren Collins has helped to establish a stronger culture of collaboration, assessment, inclusion, and student-centered practice across Cal Poly Humboldt. The embedded advising model developed during his tenure has more fully integrated academic advisors into departments, strengthening collaboration among faculty advisors, primary role advisors, students and support units. This model affirms the essential and complementary roles these partners play in supporting student success. His work demonstrates transformational impact at both the institutional and regional levels and exemplifies the very highest standards of NACADA advising leadership. 

Please join us in congratulating Loren on this well-deserved national honor and in celebrating the collaborative community of faculty, advisors, staff, and campus partners whose shared commitment makes this work possible. 

Register Now! Trillium Project Conference - Sustainability Across the Curriculum: Friday, October 2, 2026

Step out of the classroom and into an immersive experience where sustainability meets teaching, learning, and life. The Trillium Project Conference will be an experiential, yet analog retreat—designed to help you pause, unplug, and reflect. Educators and practitioners of all kinds can benefit from this sustainability curriculum session. Higher education students are welcome too! 

The conference will be held in-person on Friday, October 2, 2026 at the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, or register for the remote asynchronous option, delivered one month after the event. Use the following link to register: Registration - Trillium Project Conference

Funding Opportunity: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (RSCA) Grant Program, Applications Due September 24, 2026

We are pleased to announce that the Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (RSCA) AY 26-27 Grant Program is open! The goal of RSCA is to support research, scholarly, and creative activity. Projects may include support for activities such as research studies; writing scholarly papers, textbooks, or monographs; travel to archives or professional conferences; development of pilot studies; collection of preliminary data for grant proposals; participant incentives; recitals, performances, or exhibitions; and participation in clinical or professional workshops, etc. 

All members of Unit 3—Faculty, Librarians, Coaches, and Counselors—are eligible to compete for funding. For more details, please visit our Engagement Hub. For an overview of the program and how to write a successful proposal, you can watch this video on SPF’s YouTube Channel.

Application Due: Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 11:59pm

Funding Range: $3,000 - $5,000 per project

Apply: Find a link to the application in our Engagement Hub after Sept. 9. 

For technical support questions, please contact one of SPF's Research Development Support Coordinators: Cara Peters at cap924@humboldt.edu, or Kumi Nakadate at jkn24@humboldt.edu. For other application related questions, please contact Erika Wright, Research Development Lead, at erika.wright@humboldt.edu.

Until tomorrow!

Sincerely, 

Shawna