CSUN Leaders – CSUN Today https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu California State University, Northridge Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:52:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.30 CSUN Prof Confident Media Will Survive Recent Newsroom Upheavals https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/arts-and-culture/csun-prof-confident-media-will-survive-recent-newsroom-upheavals/ Tue, 12 Mar 2024 16:47:24 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55319

CSUN journalism professor José Luis Benavides is confident that that the field of journalism will survive the recent spate of newsroom upheavals. Image by metamorworks, iStock.

Newsrooms across the nation. CSUN journalism professor José Luis Benavides is confident that that the field of journalism will survive the recent spate of newsroom upheavals. Image by metamorworks, iStock.



 

As political polarization threatens the foundations of American democracy, newsrooms across the nation — which have long played a vital role in checking political power and keeping the citizenry informed — are laying off staff or disappearing all together.

Those that remain are struggling to retain readers/viewers while trying to figure out how to successfully transition to the digital age. California State University, Northridge journalism professor José Luis Benavides is confident that they will figure it out.

“I am a journalism professor, so I kind of have to believe,” Benavides said, with a laugh. “But at the same time, if you look at what has happened in the past, when there has been a need, journalists have found a way to fill it, to let people know what is going on.”

José Luis Benavides

José Luis Benavides

Benavides admitted that journalism as we currently know it is in flux.

“I think that the size of the crisis in journalism is growing,” he said. “The industries that created journalism or have been creating journalism in the last century are in decline. ‘In decline’ is really a friendly way to say that they are going through a period in which they can’t find a way to sustain themselves as a business, which means that many of them are likely to disappear. That means a really uncertain future for those who are practicing journalism at the moment.”

Benavides, who teaches in CSUN’s Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication, pointed to a study by the Pew Research Center that said in 2008 there were 115,000 people producing news across a variety of platforms. Today, that number is about 80,000, he said.

“The decrease in newspaper employment is just dramatic,” Benavides said. “Broadcast news has remained slightly steady, but the numbers do seem to be going down. The only area where employment is growing is in digital platforms.”

He pointed to digital publications like ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism news site. Its reporting has drawn attention to political, health and public safety issues across the country and inspired policy changes.

 “It does a wonderful job, and is a successful nonprofit,” he said. “But as a nonprofit they can’t really employ as many people as a newspaper.”

Those newspapers that are succeeding, such as The New York Times, Benavides said, are doing so by positioning themselves as “global newspapers.”

“They are able to generate enough revenue that they can continue to grow,” he said. “They are doing significant, important work, but not everybody can work at The New York Times, nor is The New York Times able to tell the stories needed to be told in communities across the country.”

In the “old days,” Benavides said, reporters would start out a small community papers covering anything and everything and work their way up to important beats or editing positions, or on to bigger, more prestigious newspapers in their community or somewhere else.

 Today, he said, reporters must become “subject-matter specialists” and create a following of “readers” who respect their work and want more of it.

“They also need to be more versatile about all the forms of content creation that are not necessarily based on the written word,” Benavides said, pointing to the variety of digital platforms that are now available like podcasting.

Digital platforms, he said, are providing opportunities for communities not often covered by traditional media to get their news heard, particularly as that media continues to significantly cut their staff sizes.

He noted that the LAist, Los Angeles’ largest National Public Radio station broadcasting at 89.3 FM, is successfully filling the gaps in the coverage of the city’s numerous communities left by the downsizing of the Los Angeles Times and the variety of newspapers — from the Los Angeles Daily News and the Pasadena Star-News to the San Bernardino Sun — that make up the Southern California News Group. He pointed out that it was a reporter with Knock LA, an online nonprofit community journalism project, that broke the stories about gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“Public media and nonprofit media are creating viable media alternatives and still providing valuable information to the community,” Benavides said. “I think ethnic newspapers, which have been heavily hit by the current crisis in journalism may find that they can thrive in a digital environment.”

“The problem is that so much of the digital media is fragmented,” he said. “You like one news site, and the algorithm sends you a link to a similar site and soon you are just seeing content that has all the same perspective. That doesn’t mean that partisan journalism is not journalism. Then, it becomes incumbent on the consumer to seek out different news sources.”

But that doesn’t mean that important topics will not make it beyond new media digital platforms, he said.

 “While Knock LA may have broken the story about gangs in the sheriff’s department, the Los Angeles Timesand the other media in LA are now covering and monitoring the story,” he said. “If journalists are covering important news that impacts a community, the community will find a way to learn about it. And if there is important news that needs to be told, there will always be a journalist who will want to tell that community’s story.”

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carmen
CSUN Lecturer to Spend Summer on Fulbright Project to Develop Programs to Support Queer People in India https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/csun-leaders/csun-lecturer-to-spend-summer-on-fulbright-project-to-develop-programs-to-support-queer-people-in-india/ Tue, 05 Mar 2024 19:25:38 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55281

CSUN criminology and justice studies lecturer Denice Labertew has been named a Fulbright Specialist. She will spend this coming summer working with faculty, students and the surrounding communities at National Law University Odisha, India to help them develop plans that support the queer community in that country. Photo credit Photo credit, lakshmiprasad S, iStock.

CSUN criminology and justice studies lecturer Denice Labertew has been named a Fulbright Specialist. She will spend this coming summer working with faculty, students and the surrounding communities at National Law University Odisha, India to help them develop plans that support the queer community in that country. Photo credit Photo credit, lakshmiprasad S, iStock.


Denice Labertew will spend this coming summer working with faculty, students and the surrounding communities at National Law University Odisha, India to help them develop plans that support the queer community in that country.

Labertew, a criminology and justice studies lecturer at California State University, Northridge, has been named a Fulbright Specialist by the U.S. Department of State and invited to take part in a project, “Capacity Building in Law and Queerness Teaching and Research,” at National Law University Odisha in eastern India. The work includes capacity development of legal efforts to support “liberty and justice for queer people in India,” she said.

“It’s really exciting, given all the changes that are taking place in India right now,” said Labertew, who teaches in CSUN’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. “Truth be told, they are progressing when it comes to issues surrounding queerness and gender in ways that are no longer happening here in the U.S. In fact, we’re sort of shifting backwards. I was a little surprised that they wanted an American expert to work with them, and I am honored that I get to take part in this project.

Denice Labertew at a meeting at the United Nations. Photo courtesy of Denice Labertew.

Denice Labertew at a meeting at the United Nations. Photo courtesy of Denice Labertew.

“In meeting with the teams from the National Law University Odisha, we were talking about expanding how we think about gender within the context of queerness,” she said. “They also are really interested in ways to incorporate a gendered lens beyond criminal law — applying a gendered lens to the other courses like housing laws, civil rights, corporate law, environmental law. So often, we forget about the impacts all of these aspects of people’s experiences have when it comes to gender.”

In addition to working with the faculty and students to develop curriculum that includes addressing legal issues and the queer community, Labertew has been invited to co-teach a course with the school’s vice chancellor, one of India’s leading experts on gender, and to teach a short course on gender and queerness in the law.

“One of the most exciting pieces is that the school facilitates village legal clinics, which do a lot of legal education in the villages and communities throughout the region (country),” she said. “They’ve invited me to go with them to some of the village legal clinics and support the work there.”

This summer will not be Labertew’s first visit to India. In 2013, following the violent sexual assault and death of a female medical student, Labertew — a CSUN alumna who trained as an attorney and has spent nearly 30 years working, including with the United Nations, as an advocate for women’s and gender rights — was invited by the U.S. Department of State to work with Indian officials to help them develop capacity around gender-based violence.

“Efforts like these are an opportunity to share my years of experience as an advocate on gender issues, but I also get something in return,” she said.  “One of the great things for me about going to India in the past and a lot of the international work that I have done, is that, even though I am seen as an expert in my fields, I learn so much about people and people’s lived experiences. This project presents another opportunity to learn.

“Every semester I start my classes by talking about theory because it’s an important foundation,” Labertew said. “Then I start talking about people’s lives. One of the things I tell my students is that people are messy, and they should never forget that theory and real life can often seem to contradict each other, but we need to respect and understand real lived experiences.

“So much, at least in this country — in other countries like India not so much — so much is seen through a binary frame,” she continued. “But that binary frame loses important aspects of people’s real experiences because, even if you aren’t queer, not everyone woman conforms to a very rigid idea of femininity, nor every man conforms to the rigid idea of masculinity.”

Labertew said what drew her to the Fulbright Specialist Program was its emphasis on exchange.

“Exchange is critical,” she said. “When we are faced with the narratives of other people’s reality, then we can contextualize our own experiences and understand concepts better. It removes boundaries and invites conversation.”

The Fulbright Specialist Program, part of the larger Fulbright Program, was established in 2001 by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program pairs highly qualified U.S. academics and professionals with host institutions abroad to share their expertise, strengthen institutional linkages, hone their skills, gain international experience and learn about other cultures, while building capacity at their overseas host institutions.

Specialists are competitively selected to join the Fulbright Specialist Roster based on their knowledge, skill sets and ability to make a significant contribution to projects overseas. Those individuals approved to join the roster are then eligible to be matched with approved projects designed by foreign host institutions from more than 150 countries and other areas. Once abroad, the specialists partner with their host institution to conduct project activities in support of the host institution’s priorities and goals.

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carmen
Fellowship Supports CSUN Prof’s Efforts to Improve Offshore Energy Safety https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/csun-leaders/fellowship-supports-csun-profs-efforts-to-improve-offshore-energy-safety/ Tue, 20 Feb 2024 18:59:56 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55160

Maryam Tabibzadeh

Maryam Tabibzadeh

Maryam Tabibzadeh is in the process of developing a digitized, data-driven, early-warning system that could prevent disasters like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico — considered the largest marine oil spill in history — which devastated the Gulf Coast and killed hundreds of thousands of marine animals.

To help her achieve her goal, Tabibzadeh, an associate professor of manufacturing systems engineering and management at California State University, Northridge, has been named an Early-Career Research Fellow in Offshore Energy Safety by the Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

“It is quite an honor to receive the fellowship, and it is an affirmation that the work I am doing is important,” said Tabibzadeh, who teaches in CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

The GRP Early-Career Research Fellowship helps researchers to further develop their professional career. Fellows receive a $76,000 financial award along with mentoring support to provide them with independence, flexibility and a built-in support network as they take risks to research ideas, pursue unique collaborations and build a network of colleagues.

Tabibzadeh and other recipients of the fellowship will be working to improve the understanding, management and reduction of systemic risk in offshore energy activities.

Her research focuses on risk analysis in complex safety-critical and technology-intensive industries such as the offshore drilling sector. Specifically, Tabibzadeh is investigating the roles human and organizational factors play, along with technological elements, in offshore drilling failures.

“When a disaster happens, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, we tend to look at the ultimate, technical failures that led to the drilling accident,” Tabibzadeh said. “In many cases, we ignore the soft components, the human and organizational factors, that may have actually been the root causes of those incidents. Even the technical failures have roots in human and organizational factors, or those factors played a critical role in related errors.”

Tabibzadeh has developed both qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methodologies to analyze the critical role human and organizational factors, such as safety culture, business procedures or governmental policies, play in the safety of offshore drilling operations. In some studies, she specifically emphasized the risks involved in implementation and interpretation of a critical procedure called negative pressure test as a primary method to ascertain well integrity in offshore drilling. A negative pressure test involves lowering the pressure inside of a well by pumping fluid out in order to make sure that the well’s structure can withstand leaks. The misinterpretation of the negative pressure test was one of the major contributing causes of the Deepwater Horizon blowout.

“One of the issues with drilling accidents has been the misinterpretation of negative pressure tests,” she said. “I want to develop a conceptual risk-assessment framework that captures the role the human and organizational factors play in the interpretation of such tests. The goal is to understand where the first error is made. One error can lead to other errors, which in turn can lead to an accident if they aren’t caught in time.

“One of the ideas I have is to look into several offshore drilling incidents, identifying their contributing causes across the AcciMap (a systems-based technique for accident analysis) framework, which is a systematic accident investigation methodology,” Tabibzadeh continued. “I would then identify the common contributing causes of all those accidents and use that as a foundation to develop a list of leading indicators that could be used to predict and prevent future accidents. That can then be digitized and automated through an interface such as a dashboard to help safety managers better monitor the safety of their offshore operations.”

Tabibzadeh said one of her biggest obstacles is collecting the relevant data from energy companies that are reluctant to share that information. She is hoping that the Offshore Energy Safety fellowship will help open doors so she can gather hard data from their systems.

If her research is successful, it could have long-term impact, both ecologically and economically, on the human and marine communities that rely on the Gulf of Mexico for survival. It could also help oil companies save money by improving offshore drilling safety and preventing future accidents in this field.

“We really do not want another Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico or anywhere else in the world,” she said.

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Caruso Talks Shop(ping) at Valley Economic Alliance Summit https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/csun-leaders/caruso-headlines-valley-economic-alliance-summit/ Fri, 19 Jan 2024 22:29:43 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=54913

Legendary retail developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso headlined a gathering of more than 200 of the region’s elected officials, business leaders, CSUN leaders and alumni at the campus’ Orchard Conference Center on Jan. 11. Caruso — whose eponymous company, Caruso, is known for iconic L.A. shopping centers such as The Grove and Calabasas Commons, addressed the second-annual “Our Region, Our Future” summit convened by the Valley Economic Alliance. He spoke about his background, starting from scratch in real estate, and emphasized the need to build a range of housing — especially affordable housing — and more mixed-use (residential with retail) development. “There is buying power in the Valley, like nowhere else in L.A.,” Caruso said.

Chandra Subramaniam, dean of CSUN’s David Nazarian College of Business and Economics, which co-sponsored the summit, welcomed Caruso and all the program’s dignitaries to campus. On the very cold and blustery January morning, he also presented Caruso with a welcome piece of Nazarian College swag: a fleece vest.

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30 Years Later: Remembering the Northridge Earthquake https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/university-news/30-years-later-remembering-the-northridge-earthquake/ Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:31:30 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=54801

Monday, January 17, 1994

4:31 a.m.

 

The 6.7-magnitude Northridge earthquake and subsequent aftershocks caused destruction throughout the San Fernando Valley and across the region. “When the dust settled, 57 people had died — including 33 from fallen buildings. Of those, 16 were killed when the 164-unit Northridge Meadows apartments collapsed atop its downstairs parking garage,” reporter Dana Bartholomew wrote in the Los Angeles Daily News, in a 20-year retrospective article. Two of the victims were CSUN students living in Northridge Meadows.

Numerous buildings and parking structures on CSUN’s campus sustained severe damage, including the iconic University Library, whose east and west wings were badly damaged.

Later this spring, through new interviews, a review of the recorded oral histories of numerous CSUN leaders and by highlighting some gems of CSUN’s digital archives, CSUN Magazine will look back over three decades — offering a glimpse at how the university responded to, recovered from and, ultimately, thrived after the 1994 earthquake. To commemorate Jan. 17, 1994, here are a few highlights:

A closeup of the catastrophic damage to the University Library, immediately after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Numerous buildings and parking structures on CSUN’s campus sustained severe damage, including the iconic University Library, whose east and west wings were badly damaged. Photo courtesy of University Library, Special Collections & Archives.

Recalling her initial survey of the damages, former CSUN President Blenda Wilson expressed relief that the quake took place during Winter Break. “The timing — for the school calendar, and the time of the morning, and that it was a holiday weekend (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) — was a real blessing. It would have been a horrible scene otherwise,” Wilson recalled in an 2013 oral-history interview.

Vice President Al Gore visited the campus in 1994, immediately after the earthquake, promising federal aid. One year later, President Bill Clinton spoke on campus, praising CSUN staff and faculty for demonstrating the strength to move forward after the devastating earthquake.

Commemorating the one-year anniversary, Clinton held up the university as a model in disaster recovery — campus reopened and classes resumed after just two weeks — and he praised federal, state and local agencies for their recovery efforts on campus and throughout the area devastated by the quake. Clinton spoke on campus in front of a large black-and-white photograph of CSUN’s former Parking Structure C, which had partially collapsed during the early-morning temblor.

“[We] said that we wouldn’t let you pick up the pieces alone, that we would stay on until the job is done,” Clinton told the crowd at CSUN. “Twenty-seven federal agencies worked with state and local officials in unprecedented ways, and this was the most efficient and effective disaster operation in American history. [CSUN] is a symbol of the ability of the people of this state to keep coming back, adversity after adversity.”

 


 

‘The Power of Community’

Alumnus Steven Parker, then Associated Students President, stands at a microphone, introducing Vice President Al Gore. CSUN President speaks to Gore in the background.

Associated Students President Steven Parker ’94 (Political Science, at microphone), introduces VP Al Gore, while President Blenda Wilson stands with Gore on the makeshift stage.

As chief innovation officer for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Steven Parker ’94 (Political Science) frequently calls on his skills as a former corporate lawyer, political campaign director and survivor of the Northridge earthquake. “CSUN was my training ground for all things leadership development,” said Parker, who was president of Associated Students at the time of the quake.

In the aftermath of the temblor, which he likened to a “living horror movie,” Parker worked closely with then-President Blenda Wilson on recovery and communications efforts, becoming a spokesperson for the student body. “Dr. Wilson allowed me to do TV spots and news interviews,” he said. Parker also helped Wilson greet visiting elected officials as they toured the quake-damaged campus, using the opportunity to pass out his resume.

Parker said his quake experience was a lesson in leadership and coalition-building. “The Associated Students knew we had to get money into students’ hands for books and supplies, and we moved quickly to make that happen,” he said. “We learned how to work through conflict with grace and learned how to get things done in unconventional ways.”

Parker said the initial recovery period showed him what elected officials and government leaders can do in the face of adversity. “I believe in the power of community, and I believe in the ability of government to get things done,” he said. “I hate that often, it is a crisis that is the catalyst for getting things done. But I’ve seen it enough times now, and much of it started from my experience of going through that earthquake.”


 

The Resilience of Students

William Watkins, vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, speaks at the all-university commencement ceremony on May 15, 2021.

William Watkins, now vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, in 2021. Photo by Lee Choo.

As a freshman at what was then San Fernando Valley State College in 1971, William Watkins ’74 (Urban Studies) lived through the 6.5-magnitude Sylmar earthquake. Decades later, as CSUN’s assistant vice president for Student Life, he survived the 6.7-magnitude Northridge earthquake and helped inform students about the rebuilding process. “One of my primary roles was assembling student leaders and leaders of clubs and organizations to inform students about what was going on,” Watkins said. “We were having these meetings, open forums and town halls out under trees and in very makeshift kinds of ways.”

In the aftermath of the 1994 quake, students faced “a pretty rugged existence,” Watkins said. “It was just a little city of bungalows with rows of asphalt. It was a pretty spartan life. We have always revered the ruggedness and the resilience of the students who made it through that experience.”

Today, Watkins serves as dean of students and vice president for Student Affairs. Reflecting on the Northridge earthquake, he said the rebuilding effort brought students, faculty and administrators together in a common vision for the university. He recalled the special challenges faculty and staff faced at the time. “We were coming here as professionals trying to create a college experience, and we were still filing FEMA claims for our own homes,” he said. “It was personal and professional. We were working on both those fronts and trying to project a level of calm and can-do to provide students with some stability.”

Unlike the recent global pandemic, which forced people to stay apart, Watkins said, a key aspect of CSUN’s successful recovery from the earthquake was the ability to be together. “I’m absolutely confident that part of what permitted us to get through the Northridge earthquake was the fact that we could be in community, as imperfect as it was,” he said. “We could hear from each other. We could encourage each other. We could be in those spaces together. Not so with the pandemic.”


 

In Memoriam: Students Manuel Sandoval and Jamie Reyes

CSUN student Manuel Sandoval, 24, was spending his first night in his new, first-floor apartment at the Northridge Meadows apartment complex — on Reseda Boulevard, one block from the CSUN campus — when the Northridge earthquake struck, according to the Feb. 7, 1994, issue of the Daily Sundial. He was one of two CSUN students — along with 14 other people — killed when the structure collapsed.

Sandoval’s younger brother, Juan DeDios, told the Daily Sundial that Manuel pushed his siblings to get an education. At CSUN, Sandoval developed a passion for teaching, working as a tutor with the Operation Chicano Teacher Recruitment and Support Program and using his math and science knowledge to assist future teachers. “He was always into school, but when he started tutoring, he found he really liked it,” DeDios told the Daily Sundial.

Also killed at the apartment complex was student Jamie Reyes, 19, who loved ones remembered for his commitment to the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Summer Bridge Program for academically at-risk students. Reyes’ sister-in-law, Marina Reyes, told the Daily Sundial that Jaime loved CSUN. “Oh, how much he wanted to come to school,” Marina said. “He had been told many times that he wasn’t college material. He was determined to prove them wrong.”

CSUN Associated Students established memorial scholarships in Reyes’ and Sandoval’s names. The scholarships “are humanitarian awards from students of this university to future CSU Northridge financially need-based students,” according to My Matador Scholarships.

With 16 of the 57 earthquake-related deaths across Los Angeles occurring at Northridge Meadows, lawmakers and civic leaders called for the retrofit of similar structures and for increased building safety. Months after the earthquake, crews razed the damaged complex to make way for the Parc Ridge Apartments.

 

For more, look for CSUN Magazine in your mailbox, on campus newstands and online in April.

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Olivia Herstein
One of CSUN’s Very Own Named Appointee for Small Business Administration https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/uncategorized/one-of-csuns-very-own-named-appointee-for-small-business-administration/ Tue, 14 Nov 2023 21:56:27 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=54416

Tim Tiemann, managing director of California State University, Northridge’s Innovation Incubator, has been appointed to the United States Small Business Administration’s Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Advisory Committee (IIEAC).

Tim Tiemann, managing director of California State University, Northridge’s Innovation Incubator.

Tim Tiemann, managing director of California State University, Northridge’s Innovation Incubator.

Tiemann, who works in the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics, is one of only 15 people from across the country appointed to the committee, which will serve as an independent source of information, advice, and recommendations on matters broadly related to the U.S. startup and small business innovation ecosystems. Furthermore, he will serve on the committee for two years and has already begun his work with the IIEAC.

“It is essential that the power and opportunity of entrepreneurial programs be widely disseminated across all, especially under-represented groups,” Tiemann said.

The ultimate goal of the U.S. Small Business Administration is what makes the “American dream” of entrepreneurship a reality to those seeking it out. The government-endorsed administration serves as a voice and support for small businesses across the country.

Tiemann said his role at CSUN gives him insight into how to assist others, “not only as a form of creative self-expression, but, in a world where money is considered a form of speech, it is vital to ensure such programs include voices of those who may have been historically overlooked.”

His intention is to give everyone an equal opportunity to make a leap in their career and pursue the dream of becoming an entrepreneur regardless of how that takes form. Cultivating and embracing the diversity of U.S. citizens creates more effective solutions and a more competitive experience on a global scale. Giving individuals from underrepresented communities a seat at the table, can additionally constitute inclusivity and a better chance at continuing to the global marketplace.

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CSUN’s 2023 Distinguished Alumni Awards https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/university-news/wendy-and-david-knoller-and-fred-rivera-csuns-2023-distinguished-alumni-honorees/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 22:50:16 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=54347

The 2023 CSUN Distinguished Alumni Awards was held on Saturday, Oct. 21, and brought together alumni, faculty, staff, students and supporters for a memorable evening showcasing the accomplishments and enduring spirit of three alumni: Wendy ’87 (Radio/TV Production) and David ’86 (Theatre) Knoller and Fred Rivera ’90 (History).

A successful entertainment industry couple, Wendy and David Knoller shaped award-winning and beloved television and premium cable series such as “Friends,” “Carnivale” and “Big Love” (HBO) and most recently, “The Changeling” (Apple TV+). Together, they run Knollwood Productions. As the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the Seattle Mariners, Fred Rivera has successfully paired a stellar legal career with his love for baseball. In addition to the remarkable achievements in their respective industries, this year’s honorees have also been instrumental in making an impact in their communities. David Knoller sits on the board of The Scleroderma Research Foundation and Fred Rivera has leadership positions with United Way of King County and ArtsFund among others.

Felicia Conlan (MS ’09; EdD ’17), Alumni Association President, welcomed the close to 400 attendees to the awards ceremony and emphasized the importance of CSUN’s reputation, resources and relationships, praising the Alumni Association for elevating “CSUN’s distinction and reputation, strengthening partnerships and relationships and securing philanthropic resources… all in support of our students and university programs.” CSUN President Erika D. Beck, also commended the work of the Alumni Association and stressed the role of a “very special trifecta of Matadors – students, alumni and faculty” as they “changed the world for the better.”

Each of the honorees spoke about the influence of CSUN on their lives and career paths: Wendy Knoller credited her successful career to what she referred to as the “little black book … a substantial three-ring binder tucked away in the basement of the Oviatt Library,” which provided her with opportunities to find internships that helped kickstart her career. “My experiences at CSUN were the roots of my career, and they set the stage for everything that followed,” she said. David Knoller, who started his CSUN tenure at the CSUN Teenage Drama Workshop while still in high school, praised the CSUN theatre department for teaching him, “the art of collaboration — balancing leadership, understanding when to lead and when to listen.”

Fred Rivera thanked the Alumni Association for the award, saying that the true value of the recognition rested with, “the institutions and people who believed in me, taught me, nurtured me, and made me the person I am today.” He acknowledged and credited CSUN with giving him “more than just an education,” and teaching him valuable lessons about community, responsibility and opportunities. “I became an ‘adult’ at CSUN—I learned how to think critically and develop the tools necessary to do my part to make a difference in the world,” he said.

This year, the Awards also featured the CSUN mission of excellence in education by highlighting the exemplary work of our faculty and students. Dean Yan Searcy (College of Social and Behavioral Sciences) praised faculty speaker Professor Allen Lipscomb (Department of Social Work) as “one of the rare people who embody all things in his own life, vision and mission and is grounded in service.” During his remarks, Dr. Lipscomb expressed his “deep appreciation and gratitude for teaching at CSUN in the graduate social work program, mentoring male students of color, and conducting research on Black male traumatic grief and healing.” He also emphasized the importance of empowering “individuals to create positive change in their own lives and the lives of others … breaking down barriers and dismantling systemic inequalities … and making the world a better place, one student, one mentorship, and one research inquiry at a time.”

Graduate student Sandra Illescas ’23 (Cellular and Molecular Biology), the 2023 recipient of the Alumni Association’s Cindy and Dan Chernow Graduate Scholarship, is currently working towards her master’s degree in biology at CSUN. A single mother of Mexican and Native American descent, she plans to start a career in teaching to achieve her dream of bridging the gaps in education for underserved students. As a representative of CSUN’s diverse and dedicated student body, Sandra credited CSUN with providing her, “with motivation, profound understanding, exceptional support and the essential resources that have been instrumental” in achieving her goals. Her heartfelt remarks were acknowledged by the audience with a standing ovation.

Wendy and David Knoller and Fred Rivera join close to 80 past honorees as CSUN Distinguished Alumni.

 

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Jenny Omara-Steinbeck
CSUN Professor Singled Out for One of Geological Society’s Top Honors https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/csun-leaders/csun-professor-singled-out-for-one-of-geological-societys-top-honors/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 18:04:39 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=54273

CSUN structural geologist Elena Miranda accepting the Geological Society of America’s Structural Geology and Tectonics Division for its highest publication honor, the Structural Geology and Tectonics Division Outstanding Publication Award, from Eric Cowgill of UC Davis. Photo courtesy of Elena Miranda.

CSUN structural geologist Elena Miranda accepting the Geological Society of America’s Structural Geology and Tectonics Division for its highest publication honor, the Structural Geology and Tectonics Division Outstanding Publication Award, from Eric Cowgill of UC Davis. Photo courtesy of Elena Miranda.


As a student working on her doctorate in geology nearly 20 years ago, Elena Miranda was excited at the prospect of exploring a burgeoning new field of research that could provide insights into the causes of the Earth’s faults and shear zones, key information for understanding earthquakes and other tectonic movements.

But Miranda, one of only a handful of Latinas in such a Ph.D. program at the time, was discouraged from pursuing that field of study. Advisors said she didn’t have what it took to succeed. Miranda, now a professor of geological sciences at California State University, Northridge, disagreed.

She taught herself the subject and is now considered a leading structural geologist in the field of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD)—a scanning electron microscopy technique used to study the crystalline structure of materials. One of her papers, published in 2016, was singled out last month (October) by the Geological Society of America’s Structural Geology and Tectonics Division for its highest publication honor, calling it “of exceptional distinction that clearly advances the science of structural geology or tectonics.” The paper features the first EBSD data to come out of Miranda’s lab at CSUN. Miranda is the first Latina and only the seventh female lead author to receive the award.

“I am over the moon about this honor because the paper on which it was based has a back story,” Miranda said. “I am one of the most stubborn people I know. I found it unacceptable to be treated like an incapable Ph.D. student, that my advisors did not expect much of me. I knew I would be capable of great work if I was just given the chance. If no one was going to teach me, then I was going to teach myself. I wanted to show that I could become an expert despite everything that was thrown at me.”

Miranda’s paper—“Microstructural evidence for the transition from dislocation creep to dislocation-accommodated grain boundary sliding in naturally deformed plagioclase” was published in the Journal of Structural Geology—was nominated by geologists across the country who said it was integral part of their teaching and provided a foundation for their own research. It was awarded the Geological Society of America’s Structural Geology and Tectonics Division Outstanding Publication Award. The society was founded in 1888 and is the oldest and the largest geological professional society in North America, with more than 22,000 members. The publication award was first given in 1984.

“To see the list of previous awardees is quite humbling,” Miranda said. “Some of the greatest and most impactful papers in my discipline are listed as awardees on the society’s website, and my publication is now among them.”

Miranda originally trained as a marine geologist, and spent time doing submersible dives on the ocean floor studying mid-ocean ridges and ocean basins to understand tectonic deformation. While doing this research, she learned about a relatively new field of study involving electron backscatter diffraction analysis.

“I came from marine geology, so I knew how to identify microstructures really well with light microscopes,” Miranda said. “But this electron backscatter diffraction analysis was something else. I knew this technique was the future of being able to do microstructural analysis.”

Miranda spent hundreds of hours on her own, learning EBSD. Eventually, with the support of Jerry Stinner, dean of CSUN’s College of Science and Mathematics, she established the Department of Geological Sciences’ Scanning Electron Microscopy Lab as a collaborative user facility with EBSD analysis capability. There, she uses EBSD to understand the causes of movement along faults and shear zones that can cause earthquakes and other tectonic movements.

“We use this technique to look at how strong or weak fault rocks are within a fault or shear zone because that’s where a break in the material can lead to earthquakes,” she said. “By using EBSD, we have some insight into seismic risk. We can interpret the ways in which these shear zones have moved in the geologic past. We can use it to interpret past plate motions, past movements along fault lines and the character of the deformation that we find. The technique allows us to interpret temperature, the stresses being put on the rock and how large those stresses are. We can quantify and use equations that describe the behavior of these materials to predict how strong and how fast that material is going to move.”

Miranda said she is particularly proud to receive the honor as a member of the California State University faculty.

“I might be one of the only recipients who did the work at a master’s-granting institution,” she said. “People like us don’t usually get awards like this. But I did, and I hope there will be others like me—Latinas, women and people of color working at master’s-granting institutions—who will get recognized in the future for their work, too.”

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Profesor de CSUN distinguido con uno de los máximos honores de la Sociedad Geológica https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/csun-leaders/profesor-de-csun-distinguido-con-uno-de-los-maximos-honores-de-la-sociedad-geologica/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 18:03:17 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=54336

CSUN structural geologist Elena Miranda accepting the Geological Society of America’s Structural Geology and Tectonics Division for its highest publication honor, the Structural Geology and Tectonics Division Outstanding Publication Award, from Eric Cowgill of UC Davis. Photo courtesy of Elena Miranda.

CSUN structural geologist Elena Miranda accepting the Geological Society of America’s Structural Geology and Tectonics Division for its highest publication honor, the Structural Geology and Tectonics Division Outstanding Publication Award, from Eric Cowgill of UC Davis. Photo courtesy of Elena Miranda.


La geóloga estructural de CSUN, Elena Miranda, acepta la División de Geología y Tectónica Estructural de la Sociedad Geológica de Estados Unidos por su más alto honor de publicación, el Premio a la Publicación Sobresaliente de la División de Geología y Tectónica Estructural, de manos de Eric Cowgill de UC Davis. Foto cortesía de Elena Miranda.

Como estudiante que trabajaba en su doctorado en geología hace casi 20 años, Elena Miranda estaba emocionada ante la perspectiva de explorar un nuevo campo de investigación que podría proporcionar información sobre las causas de las fallas de la tierra y las zonas de cizallamiento, información clave para la comprensión de los terremotos y otros movimientos tectónicos.

Pero Miranda, una de solo un puñado de latinas en un programa de doctorado en ese momento, se desanimó de perseguir ese campo de estudio. Los asesores dijeron que no tenía lo que se necesitaba para tener éxito. Miranda, ahora profesora de ciencias geológicas en la Universidad Estatal de California, Northridge, no estuvo de acuerdo.

Ella se enseñó el tema y ahora es considerada una geóloga estructural líder en el campo de la difracción de retrodispersión electrónica (EBSD), una técnica de microscopía electrónica de barrido utilizada para estudiar la estructura cristalina de los materiales. Uno de sus artículos, publicado en 2016, fue señalado el mes pasado (octubre) por la División de Geología Estructural y Tectónica de la Sociedad Geológica de América para su más alto honor de publicación, calificándolo de “de distinción excepcional que claramente avanza la ciencia de la geología estructural o la tectónica”. El documento presenta los primeros datos de EBSD que salen del laboratorio de Miranda en CSUN. Miranda es la primera latina y la séptima autora principal en recibir el premio.

“Estoy encantada con este premio porque el artículo en el que se basa tiene una historia de fondo,” dijo Miranda. “Soy una de las personas más obstinadas que conozco. Me parecía inaceptable que me trataran como a una estudiante de doctorado incapaz que mis asesores no esperaran mucho de mí. Sabía que sería capaz de hacer un gran trabajo si me daban la oportunidad. Si nadie iba a enseñarme, iba a hacerlo yo misma quería demostrar que podía convertirme en un experto a pesar de todo lo que me echaran encima.”

El artículo de Miranda —“Evidencia microestructural para la transición de la fluencia por dislocación a la frontera de grano acomodada por dislocación deslizándose en plagioclase naturalmente deformada” — fue publicado en el Journal of Structural Geology, fue nominado por geólogos de todo el país que dijeron que era parte integral de su enseñanza y proporcionó una base para su propia investigación. Fue galardonado con el Premio a la Publicación Excepcional de la División de Geología Estructural y Tectónica de la Sociedad Geológica de América. La sociedad fue fundada en 1888 y es la sociedad profesional geológica más antigua y más grande de América del Norte, con más de 22.000 miembros. El premio a la publicación se otorgó por primera vez en 1984.

“Ver la lista de premiados anteriores es muy humilde,” dijo Miranda. “Algunos de los artículos más grandes y más impactantes de mi disciplina están listados como premiados en el sitio web de la sociedad, y mi publicación ahora está entre ellos.”

Miranda se formó originalmente como geóloga marina, y pasó tiempo haciendo inmersiones sumergibles en el fondo del océano estudiando las crestas y cuencas oceánicas del medio océano para entender la deformación tectónica. Mientras hacía esta investigación, aprendió sobre un campo relativamente nuevo de estudio que involucra el análisis de difracción de retrodispersión de electrones.

“Venía de la geología marina, así que sabía cómo identificar las microestructuras muy bien con microscopios de luz,” dijo Miranda. “Pero este análisis de difracción de retrodispersión de electrones era otra cosa. Sabía que esta técnica era el futuro de poder hacer análisis microestructurales”.

Miranda pasó cientos de horas por su cuenta, aprendiendo EBSD. Finalmente, con el apoyo de Jerry Stinner, decano de la Facultad de Ciencias y Matemáticas de CSUN, estableció el Laboratorio de Microscopía Electrónica de Escaneo del Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas como una instalación de usuario colaborativa con capacidad de análisis EBSD. Allí, utiliza el EBSD para entender las causas del movimiento a lo largo de fallas y zonas de cizallamiento que pueden causar terremotos y otros movimientos tectónicos.

“Usamos esta técnica para observar qué tan fuertes o débiles son las rocas de falla dentro de una falla o zona de cizallamiento porque ahí es donde una ruptura en el material puede provocar terremotos,” ella dijo. “Al usar EBSD, tenemos cierta visión del riesgo sísmico. Podemos interpretar las formas en que estas zonas de cizallamiento se han movido en el pasado geológico. Podemos usarlo para interpretar los movimientos pasados de la placa, los movimientos pasados a lo largo de las líneas de falla y el carácter de la deformación que encontramos. La técnica nos permite interpretar la temperatura, las tensiones que se ponen en la roca y cuán grandes son esas tensiones. Podemos cuantificar y usar ecuaciones que describen el comportamiento de estos materiales para predecir qué tan fuerte y qué tan rápido se moverá ese material.”

Miranda dijo que está particularmente orgullosa de recibir el honor como miembro de la facultad de la Universidad Estatal de California.

“Podría ser uno de los únicos beneficiarios que hizo el trabajo en una institución de concesión de maestría,” ella dijo. “Las personas como nosotros no suelen recibir premios como este. Pero lo hice, y espero que haya otras como yo —latinas, mujeres y personas de color que trabajan en instituciones de otorgamiento de maestrías— que también sean reconocidas en el futuro por su trabajo.”

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CSUN Professors Raise Awareness For Environmental Justice in Chicana/o Communities https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/arts-and-culture/csun-professors-raise-awareness-for-environmental-justice-in-chicanao-communities/ Tue, 17 Oct 2023 18:32:09 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=54128

 The Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA) started in 1985 when a group of women organized to fight a proposal for the construction of a new state prison in their neighborhood. Their efforts were successful and the group has gained national recognition. The Mothers have become known for their advocacy and activism on behalf of issues that include protecting the environment, lead-poison awareness, water conservation, graffiti abatement and various other social issues

The Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA) started in 1985 when a group of women organized to fight a proposal for the construction of a new state prison in their neighborhood. Their efforts were successful and the group has gained national recognition. The Mothers have become known for their advocacy and activism on behalf of issues that include protecting the environment, lead-poison awareness, water conservation, graffiti abatement and various other social issues. Photo credit: Oviatt Library, Urban Archives Center.

Chicana/o communities have been fighting for civil rights for roughly 70 years. That fight has expanded to include environmental justice in the past two decades.

Hoping to spotlight the struggle, California State University, Northridge Chicana/o studies professors Mary Pardo, Rosa RiViera Furumoto and Stevie Ruiz continue to raise awareness to the issues they outlined in an article entitled “Environmental Justice in Chicana/o Communities” that appeared last year in the journal, Resilience: A Journal of Environmental Humanities.

“Our goal was to bring awareness not only to the conditions within Chicana/o communities, but also how those conditions affect society as a collective,” Ruiz said. “These communities have been placed on the front lines of having to fight for environmental justice in addition to their battle for civil rights.”

Ruiz pointed to the Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA) as one of the many Chicana/o groups that have taken on the burden of fighting environmental problems found in their neighborhoods.

“Living in tight quarters in communities with the poorest air quality and being regularly displaced is a never ending cycle for so many members of these communities,” he said.

MELA started in Boyle Heights in the mid 198os when the mothers successfully fought to fight the building of an incarceration center in their neighborhood. Its leaders have evolved the organization into one that takes on issues that bring harm to their communities, whether the construction of jails, freeways or oil refineries.

“The Black community was among the first to align civil rights with environmental justice in North Carolina years ago. The Mothers of East LA were following in their example,” Ruiz said, noting that pollution does not discriminate.

More recently, Ruiz said, Chicana/o communities have taken on increased development in their communities. These efforts have been led, he said, by a younger generation who are following in “their mothers’ footsteps.”

“This the longest standing model of activism,” he said. “Younger people are becoming more inspired by the wins of their elders and are getting involved. It’s similar to the tradition of Black activism, which is passed down through generations.”

While the efforts to fight for environmental justice seem community focused, Ruiz said their impact is felt across society.

“Many in the United States view Chicanos as a liability [to the environment],” he said. “In reality, they come to the United States with a certain level of cultural knowledge, tradition and respect in regards to nature and the environment, and they are applying that knowledge, those traditions, to fight the impacts of climate change and preserve their communities.

“Many of these people don’t consider themselves ‘environmentalists’ or ‘activists’,” he said. “They are just trying to save their neighborhoods, and in the process are passing down traditions to their children and grandchildren and training a new generation of environmental activists.”

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