November 29th Keynote Speech: STEM vs. COVID-19
Dr. Richard Corsi, Dean, College of Engineering, UC Davis
Richard Corsi is the Dean of the College of Engineering. He was previously a faculty member, endowed chair and department chair in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin for 24 years, and Dean of Engineering and Computer Science at Portland State University. Dean Corsi is internationally recognized for his research on indoor air quality.
November 30th Keynote Speech: Rethinking Education
Randal S. Bassett, Superintendent, Fontana USD
Randal Bassett is the Superintendent of the Fontana Unified School District (FUSD) in Fontana, California. Under his leadership, FUSD has achieved success by establishing student-centered innovation processes that often challenge the norms. Based on the belief that learning can occur at any place, time, and virtually any pace, Fontana has embarked upon the first large-scale purpose-built education cellular network to ensure high-speed connectivity inside and outside the classroom for its students.
He was one of the first educational leaders on the West Coast to bring fiber-optic connectivity to all of his organization’s facilities. Under Bassett’s leadership, Fontana Unified established the first two computer science immersion schools in the region and implemented C-STEM to integrate computer coding into mathematics instruction in a district where over 85% of students are considered low-socioeconomic.
December 1st Keynote Speech: Seizing C-STEM Student Opportunities for 21st Century Careers Now
Dr. Alfonso Jimenez, Superintendent, Hacienda La Puente USD
Dr. Alfonso Jiménez is in his 2nd year as Superintendent of the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District. The District serves 16,552 students from the cities of La Puente, Industry, and a small area of West Covina as well as the Los Angeles County unincorporated communities of Hacienda Heights, West Puente Valley and Valinda. The District also serves 14,000 students in the second largest adult education program in the state. Through his leadership, various programs continue to thrive such as C-STEM, New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL), fine arts, robotics, music, instructional supervision, and principal leadership. Leading the District through the pandemic, his focus has been on creating a positive culture and climate with all stakeholders to ensure student success!
Prior to his present position, he served as Deputy Superintendent of Educational Services for the 45,600 Santa Ana Unified School District. He joined the district in October 2016 as Assistant Superintendent of Teaching Learning and was promoted to Deputy Superintendent in November 2017. As Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Jimenez oversaw the division of Educational Services and supervised the assistant superintendents and sub-divisions of School Performance & Culture, Special Education, and Teaching & Learning. Under his leadership, the district experienced increased graduation rates, increased the percentage of students completing a rigorous course of study, expanded Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways, received numerous grants, honors for high number of schools earning PBIS awards, and CORE District school honors for closing the achievement gap, and increased the number of preschool opportunities for students. He also led the development of the district’s highly acclaimed Early Learning Framework.
Dr. Jimenez has 25 years of experience in K-12 education. He began his educational career as a Teacher for 7 years in the Long Beach Unified School District. He has held positions as Assistant Principal, Principal, Director of Curriculum & Instruction in Southern California districts. As a principal for over 6 years, his school was honored by the California Business for Educational Excellence for increasing student achievement consistently for three consecutive years in all sub-groups (English Learners, Hispanic, Special Education, and White). He served as Director of Elementary Education K-8 and Director of Instructional Services K-12 for Lynwood Unified School District from 2013 to 2016. While overseeing schools in Lynwood, six elementary schools received the California Department of Education Gold Ribbon Award and the district was named College Board’s National AP District of the Year. Dr. Jimenez believes in providing equity and access to ensure all students have the opportunity to pursue a college education.
Dr. Jimenez holds a B.S degree in Physiology with a minor in Chemistry from California State University Long Beach, M.S in Administration from Pepperdine University, and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California. On the personal side, Dr. Jimenez is married to an educator and has three children, a recent college grad, one in college and one in elementary school. He enjoys reading, music, genealogy, and traveling with his family.
December 2nd Keynote Speech: Developing the C-STEM Talent Pipeline
Dr. Ian O. Williamson, Dean, The Paul Merge School of Business, University of California, Irvine
Ian O. Williamson was appointed dean of The UCI Paul Merage School of Business on January 1, 2021. Prior to joining the Merage School, he served as pro vice- chancellor and dean of commerce at the Wellington School of Business and Government at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Williamson received his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree in business from Miami University. He has served as a faculty member at Melbourne Business School, Rutgers Business School, the Zurich Institute of Business Education, the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and Institut Teknologi Bandung.
Williamson is a globally recognized expert in the area of human resource management. His research examines the impact of “talent pipelines” on organizational and community outcomes. Williamson has assisted executives in over 20 countries across six continents enhance firm operational and financial outcomes, improve talent recruitment and retention, enhance firm innovation and understand the impact of social issues on firm outcomes.
Williamson’s research has been published in leading academic journals (e.g. Academy of Management Journal, MIT Sloan Management Review, Organization Science, Journal of Applied Psychology) and has been covered by leading media outlets across the world. He has served on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal, Academy Management Review, Academy of Management Education and Learning, Journal of Management and Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal and Journal of Management.
He is a past recipient of the Academy of Management (AOM) Education Division Best Paper Award for his research on high performing teams, the AOM Human Resource Division Best Paper Award for his research on the effect of employee mobility on firm performance and the AOM Ralph Alexander Best Dissertation Award for his research examining the top management team (TMT) selection decisions of Fortune 500 firms. He is a recipient of the AOM Best Practices Mentoring Award for his role as the founding President of the Management Faculty of Color Association (MFCA). He also received the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School Outstanding PhD Student Award.
A passionate educator, Williamson has been recognized for his innovative approaches to business education. He is a past recipient of the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business Krowe Teaching Award, the Melbourne Business School Senior Executive MBA Teaching Award, the University of Melbourne Award for Excellence and Innovation in Indigenous Higher Education, and the Business/Higher Education Round Table CPA Australia/ABDC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Business Education Collaboration. Williamson was inducted into the PhD Project Hall of Fame for his efforts to enhance diversity in academia and the business world.
