WISR Celebration 2024

Celebration!

WISR is now Accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (deac.org)

MS in Psychology/MFT
MS in Education and Community Leadership
EdD in Higher Education and Social Change

and . . .

A Half Century of successful action-inquiry devoted to

Personalized learning
Quality Distance Graduate Education
Community improvements
Social justice and change
Diversity, inclusiveness, multiculturalism
Affordable education
Collaborative dialogue

The June 15th Celebration Event is over, but we celebrate WISR's continued operation as an accredited institution!

Everyone is invited to use this site as a source of information about WISR's history, distinctive qualities, and the people who have contributed to WISR's success, and those who are currently involved.

We thank

Sajad Shakoor's Falafel Corner for providing food and refreshments
everyone who planned the event and who participated in the event on site, and by zoom
the Vukani Mawethu Choir for their inspiring and uplifting singing
Thousand Oaks Baptist Church for providing space for WISR's operations and special events

The June 15th Program was:

Opening the Celebration! Vukani Mawethu Choir--20 minutes of singing by some of the members of the multi-racial community-based social justice choir (https://www.vukani.com/ )

1. Overview of WISR and WISR history (WISR President and co-founder, John Bilorusky, PhD)

2. Richard Lawrence, former WISR Board Member--on the 1965 Selma March https://sandiegofreepress.org/2015/03/a-note-about-the-50th-selma-jubilee-march/

FRIDAY, JUNE 14 UPDATE--JAKE SLOAN HAS TOLD JUST US HE IS ILL AND WILL BE UNABLE TO PARTICIPATE. Still, we will take several minutes to share with those attending highlights of the story of the successful 1960s Civil Rights Suit Against the U.S. Navy ----

3. Jake Sloan, former WISR doctoral student--on his book, Standing Tall: Willie Long vs. U.S. Government at Mare Island Naval Shipyard (America Through Time). The story of how Willie Long and 20 other African Americans (including the book's author) led a protest for economic and social justice at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo in early 1960s. [The Standing Tall book website is https://mareislandoriginal21.com. It has more material about the book and links for purchasing the book. Jake prefers people buy his book from Bookshop.org because 10% goes to his favorite African American owned bookstore Marcus Books in Oakland.

https://bookshop.org/p/books/standing-tall-willie-long-vs-u-s-government-at-mare-island-naval-shipyard-jake-sloan/19881928 ]

4. Marcia Campos, WISR Board Chair, and longtime WISR Board member--about WISR's WISR's mission and relevance to social justice and change; and also a tribute to founding WISR Board member, the late Fernando Alegria [The WISR-produced video biography of Fernando Alegria: https://chiptaylor.com/fernando_alegria2.html --video can also be purchased through WISR--mail@wisr.edu ]

5. About Native Americans at WISR-- comments by WISR CEO and Faculty Member, John Bilorusky--about three Native Americans who earned doctorates at WISR over the years. There will be a brief discussion of the dissertation by the late Dr. Dennis Hastings and Dr. Margery Coffey, which impacted a US Supreme Court decision in favor of the Omaha tribe, as well as their other contributions, recognition of the lives and contributions of the late Dr. Sandra Tomlin and the late Dr. Lee Francis III.

6. About WISR's project, the Center for Child and Family Development, which provides school-based family counseling to low-income students in a dozen Bay Area schools. Comments by Sheena Sattarpour, LMFT.

7. WISR Alumni speak about the experiences at WISR, and their subsequent involvements. Comments by: Ms. Vera Labat, MPH (former faculty member and former Board member), Dr. Ronald Mah, LMFT (current WISR Faculty Member), Dr. Marilyn Jackson (currently WISR's Chief Administrative Officer, Sevgi Fernandez, and Stephen Douthit.

8. Remembering key WISR leaders who have passed away: