Nicholas Academic Centers to Host Chapman University Lectures on Digital Media and Satellite Technology
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Robert G. Magnuson, 949-290-9382
Second Event in the “Visiting Scholar” Program Featuring Chapman Professors Helps Prepare Santa Ana Students for College, Build Ties with Top Local Colleges
SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Nicholas Academic Centers on Saturday will host the second in its “Visiting Scholar Series” with Chapman University—an innovative program designed to help expose students from Santa Ana’s high schools to college and strengthen ties with highly-respected local universities.
“We are pleased at the impact this important program is having in raising our students’ awareness of the college experience and of Chapman University in particular,” said Dr. Corina A. Espinoza, assistant executive director of the Nicholas Academic Centers (NACs). “The partnership between Chapman and the Nicholas Academic Centers is just one component in our effort to strengthen and forge new bonds between our students and local universities.”
Mildred Lewis, Assistant Professor of Film and Media Arts, will give the first lecture, “Downloaded, YouTube’d, 3-D’d, and Flickr’d: Media Aesthetics in a Multiplatform Digital World.” Assistant Professor of Physics, Dr. Hesham El-Askary, will speak about “Hazards, Global Change and Satellite Technology.”
The lectures, which began in September, take place monthly through December at the Nicholas Academic Center I Annex in downtown Santa Ana. Future speakers include Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and Philosophy, Carmichael Peters, Chapman University Chancellor, Dr. Daniele C. Struppa, Associate Professor of Law, Ernesto Hernandez-Lopez, and Dean of the Leatherby Libraries, Charlene Baldwin.
A standing room only audience of students was present at the first lecture in September, where Associate Professor of American Studies, Paul Apodaca, spoke about “Valuing Our Lives” and Assistant Professor of Art History, Liliana Leopardi, gave a lecture on “Love and Magic in Renaissance Italy.” All lectures are open to the public.
As part of its university partnership initiatives, the Academic Centers recently joined with the University of California, Irvine to offer students an educational “Day at the Bay” program, which included a tutorial with UCI staff at the Back Bay Science Center in Newport Beach and a tour of the university campus led by now-retired Vice Chancellor Manuel Gomez. In another project with UCI, the university’s Department of Education is working with the Nicholas Academic Centers to assess the Centers’ academic performance and growth potential.
Chapman University Asst. Professor Mildred Lewis addresses NAC students during her lecture: “Downloaded, YouTube’d, 3-D’d, and Flickr’d: Media Aesthetics in a Multiplatform Digital World.”
The Nicholas Academic Centers serve hundreds of students in the Santa Ana Unified School District on a daily basis throughout the school year and summer. This fall, 66 Nicholas Academic Center graduates are attending college, including some of the nation’s best four-year institutions such as Georgetown, Smith, Haverford, UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Irvine. Nearly all of the students have received full scholarships and financial aid.
The Centers are based on a program started by Retired Superior Court Judge Jack Mandel in the early 1990’s in an effort to fill an urgent need for after-school tutoring and mentoring in Santa Ana. In 2007, Judge Mandel partnered with Henry Nicholas, co-founder and former Co-Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom Corporation, to create the Nicholas Academic Centers. The first center was established in 2008 and a second center opened a year later.
About the Nicholas Academic Centers
The Nicholas Academic Centers are directed by retired Superior Court Judge Jack Mandel and higher education expert, Dr. Corina A. Espinoza, and were established by the Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation. Located in downtown Santa Ana and on the campus of Valley High School in Santa Ana, the Centers provide free tutoring and mentoring for students, as well as computers and a safe place to study. For more information, visit www.naccenters.org. Become a fan of the Nicholas Academic Centers on Facebook.
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