Helda Pinzón-Perez and Chia Thao, both with the Department of Public Health, are currently working in coordination with the Fresno County Department of Public Health on a COVID-19 contact tracing course in Hmong for communities within the Central Valley. The project will be integrated into Pinzón-Perez's Public Health 100: Community Health course, where students will have the opportunity to help plan and develop the course as part of their class work.

Rosemary Wanis with the Department of Communicative Sciences and Deaf Studies coordinated a team of interpreting volunteers to provide latent interpreting of Gov. Gavin Newsom's daily COVID-19 briefings, specifically for the Deaf, Deaf/Blind, and Hard of Hearing communities. A YouTube channel has been set up to feature each of the videos. Latent means interpreting after the fact.

The Central California Center for Health and Human Services received an $80,000 grant from the Blue Shield of California Foundation to improve communications that address the COVID-19 public health crisis in support of healthy families and communities in California.

From the Office of the Provost -
In light of the operational needs within the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE), Dr. Matthew Zivot has been promoted as interim director for Institutional Effectiveness, effective Aug. 17.

Dr. Zivot will report directly to Provost Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, as he leads this critical area that directly supports the University’s strategic vision for student success.