Daily Business Report: Wednesday, June 1, 2022
SDSU management professor takes
a hard look at inclusion in the workplace
By Suzanne Finch
For the past 40 years, the concepts of diversity and equity have been commonplace throughout U.S. corporations and organizations. However, the concept of inclusion — defined as the degree to which an individual perceives that they are a valued member of a group — has gained traction within workplace and organizational settings in recent years.
Beth Chung, management professor at the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University, has studied organizational behavior, leadership, diversity and inclusion for over 25 years and is a recognized expert in the field. Chung was one of the early academic researchers who sought to understand how organizational leaders incorporated inclusion into the workplace, and if inclusion was effective in building constructive work environments and improved corporate outcomes.
Chung and Lynn Shore, professor of management at Colorado State University, formed the Institute for Inclusiveness and Diversity in Organizations (IIDO) in 2007 to provide guidance and resources for businesses and organizations seeking to incorporate these principles into their work environment.
According to their 2021 research, employee inclusiveness starts with organizational leadership in which “minority members voice their opinions, share their knowledge, and make suggestions for improvement.”
University of California Television
reaches one-million subscribers
University of California Television is celebrating a major achievement with the acquisition of its one-millionth YouTube subscriber after contributing educational content to the platform for over a decade.
UCTV’s YouTube Channel is an intersection of informational video content from virtually every corner of the University of California system – and viewers need not be UC students (or even alumni) to watch. The channel hosts thousands of videos on an array of topics – from surgeries to concert performances to documentary films and much more – that can be viewed by anyone with internet access.
Managed by UC San Diego’s Division of Extended Studies continuing education platform, UCTV transports knowledge far beyond campus borders and into the homes and lives of inquisitive viewers around the globe.
“We are thrilled to reach this highly-anticipated milestone,” says Natalie Walsh, executive director, UCTV. “Our mission is to take the amazing work being done on campuses across the UC system and bring those ideas to the general public, free and accessible to all. It is wonderful so many people from across the world are not only watching but also engaging with UCTV YouTube videos to learn and find inspiration.”
MiraCosta College to break ground June 9 for
new Student Services Building at Oceanside campus
Groundbreaking ceremonis to mark the start of construction for the new Student Services Building at MiraCosta College’s Oceanside campus will be held June 9 at 9.a.m. The new facility will consolidate student service functions currently scattered throughout the campus into a single location and includes a new home for the Veterans Center. Swinerton Builders and DLR Group serve as the Design/Build team leading the project.
The $47.3 million project is scheduled to be completed in winter 2023 and is funded through MiraCosta’s capital improvement program using funds from Measure MM.
Located in the former home of Pedley Park, the new Student Services Building is strategically positioned to act as a gateway building for the campus, providing a much-needed sense of entry and easy wayfinding for new or prospective students.
The state-of-the-art facility will consolidate student service functions currently scattered throughout the campus to a central location, including Admissions & Records, Financial Aid, and Counseling.
The 39,040 square foot building also provides MiraCosta’s Veterans Center a new home, which will also benefit from $1.5 million in state funding awarded to help equip and furnish a lounge and resource area in the Center, among other enhancements.
IP Generator Inc. and La Jolla Institute for Immunology
announce collaborative research agreement
IP Generator Inc. and La Jolla Institute for Immunology, based in La Jolla, have entered into a Master Collaborative Research and Development Agreement that establishes a formal framework for the incorporation of promising drug target leads from LJI into IPG’s drug discovery platform.
The program enables LJI to propose drug targets to IPG for identification and development of lead compounds or modalities with the goal of licensing clinical development candidates to pharmaceutical companies. IPG aims for the efficient creation of innovative medicines and hopes to contribute to solving global social issues by reducing healthcare costs and expanding access to medicine.
For patients, personalized medicine holds great promise for the effective treatment and prevention of disease. For the pharmaceutical industry, personalized medicine provides the opportunity to achieve substantial clinical advances by tailoring treatments to the genes and personal circumstances that make every patient different.
In an effort to fast-track the development of highly personalized treatments that target known disease markers, IPG will invite global academia, pharmaceutical companies, and other entities to submit promising drug leads. This agreement between IPG and LJI is considered to be the significant first step toward the accelerated incorporation of drug discovery seeds from academia.
Summer Session begins June 13 at
San Diego College of Continuing Education
Enrollment is open now for Summer Session at San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE), which begins Monday, June 13, 2022. San Diegans can enroll at SDCCE to change careers, reskill, or upskill with free workforce training.
SDCCE offers over 300 hundred free classes, including career training certificates in programs that provide the skills and knowledge to land good-paying jobs in high-demand industries including Automotive, Business and Accounting, Child Development, Clothing and Textiles, Digital Media and Programming, Healthcare, Hospitality and Culinary Arts, Information Technology, and Skilled and Technical Trades from Plumbing to Welding.
Classes are offered in various formats: fully on-campus, fully online, partially online, or a new Hyflex model, which is online with optional in-person meetings. On-campus classrooms mirror onsite environments in sector industries such as an auto shop or a hospital for a hands-on learning experience. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed for in-person attendance.
SDCCE will host thousands of new and returning students at seven campuses and online for the summer 2022 session. Welding and Cybersecurity classes are some of the most popular.
Private colleges want more power to police tresspassers
By Elina Lingappa | CalMatters
Private colleges in California want more power to rein in trespassing on their campuses, particularly when people repeatedly enter to harass students.
Willful trespassing on the campuses of California’s K-12 schools and public universities is considered a misdemeanor, and can result in jail time. But private colleges can only hand out warning letters.
The issue is at the center of a bill that is one chamber away from reaching Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Private colleges say that the current state hampers their ability to protect students — but some students worry that the proposed changes could make campuses feel cut off from surrounding neighborhoods and lead to racial profiling.
The no-trespassing letters are ineffective because there isn’t a clear consequence for violating them, say the bill’s supporters, which include policing associations and the 86-member Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities.
DTx Pharma appoints Michael Huang
as chief medical officer
DTx Pharma Inc., a privately-held San Diego biotechnology company developing novel RNA-based therapeutics to treat the genetic drivers of disease, announced the appointment of Dr. Michael Huang as its chief medical officer.
Druang will provide leadership and supervision for DTx Pharma’s pipeline of clinical development programs.
Prior to DTx Pharma, Huang held key leadership roles at AmMax Bio and Spruce Biosciences.
Through his career, he has led programs in RNA therapeutics, biologics and small molecules from initial IND through clinical proof-of-concept, late-stage development and beyond.
Huang has also been recognized for supporting successful financing and business-development activities.
He is also the author of a multitude of peer-reviewed journal articles, abstracts, and scientific publications.
Huang holds a Bachelor of Science in molecular and cell biology from the University of California at Berkeley and received his medical degree from the Chicago Medical School.
North Island Credit Union presents Innovation
in Education award to Poway Unified School District
North Island Credit Union presented the 2022 Innovation in Education Impact Award to Poway Unified School District for its “Through the Lens of Equity: Jump Starting Pathways to Rewarding Careers” Program at the 19th Annual Classroom of the Future Foundation Awards event on May 26, 2022.
“We congratulate the outstanding educators at Poway Unified School District for receiving CFF’s Impact Award, which is well-deserved recognition of their efforts to support their students’ transition to college and rewarding careers,” said North Island Credit Union President/CEO Steve O’Connell.
In recognition of the award, North Island Credit Union provided PUSD with $10,000 to expand its career and college readiness program for under-represented student populations across the district. Offered as part of PUSD’s College & Career Technical Education curriculum, the grant will be used to help increase meaningful work-based learning opportunities, work readiness curriculum, career counseling, early college credit, and industry certifications.
NFINIT invests $8 million in cloud
infrastructure and data center upgrades
NFINIT, a LightEdge company, is undergoing an $8 million upgrade across its two San Diego data centers to boost energy efficiency and critical infrastructure reliability. As part of this upgrade, NFINIT is updating cloud infrastructure (both hardware and software), replacing an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), which is a battery that maintains operations in the event of a power outage, and adding new chillers. The new equipment NFINIT is investing in is among the most sustainable on the market.
LightEdge acquired NFINIT in April. Together, the companies have future investments planned to further increase NFINIT’s energy efficiency. Committed to sustainability, LightEdge recently partnered with Synetic to divert 6,800 pounds of e-waste from the landfill and support the Circular Computing reforestation program.
The Stepping Stones Group acquires HM Therapy
The Stepping Stones Group, a national provider of therapeutic, behavioral, autism, nursing and educational services to children in school, home and community settings, announced the acquisition of HM Therapy, a therapeutic and behavioral company.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us to continue to provide developmental services to infants and adolescents in schools and homes and expand our presence in the San Diego area and we are delighted to have HM Therapy join our team,” said Tim Murphy, the chief executive officer of The Stepping Stones Group.
“By joining The Stepping Stones Group, we are thrilled to have a reputable, national strategic partner to help us achieve our mission of providing the highest quality services for schools and families,”said Kyle Heebner, founder and CEO of HM Therapy.
Kyle and Alice Heebner will both remain with the company. Kyle will assume the role of Senior Advisor and will report to Anthony Rintala, president and COO, K-12 Practice. Alice will assume the role of director of clinical services.
PetDx to present at Stifel 2022 Jaws & Paws Conference
PetDx, – The San Diego liquid biopsy company for pets .is participating in the Stifel 2022 Jaws & Paws Conference taking place in New York City today. PetDx founder and CEO Daniel S. Grosu, M.D., and Vice President of Strategy and Business Development Lauren Holtvoigt, will present beginning at 2:25 p.m. (EDT), with a Q&A session immediately following.
Building on the recent publication of the landmark CANcer Detection in Dogs (CANDiD) study, the presentation will cover the market opportunity for liquid biopsy in the canine cancer space and review the development and commercialization of OncoK9, the company’s pioneering multi-cancer early detection test for dogs using next-generation sequencing (NGS) of blood-derived DNA.
Brixton Capital of Solana Beach acquires
Royalty at Sunfield apartments in Texas
Solana Beach-based Brixton Capital has purchased the Royalton at Sunfield, a 300-unit apartment community in Buda, Texas, immediately south of Downtown Austin, for an undisclosed price. The 2021-built, 276,080-square-foot property consists of 14 three-story buildings. The property is fully amentized with a pool, dog park, private office space, community kitchen and entertainment pavilion, tenant lounge and fitness center.
Brixton purchased this property from Dallas-based SWBC. In addition to rebranding the property as Ryze at Sunfield, Brixton is planning minor upgrades to the unit interiors. These will include the installation of washer/dryer units and a technology package with keyless entry, programable remote thermostats and USB ports.
