Honors & Awards – 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 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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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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CSUN Vocal Jazz Director Captures Grammy Award https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/university-news/csun-vocal-jazz-director-captures-grammy-award/ Mon, 19 Feb 2024 21:48:51 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55156

California State University, Northridge Vocal Jazz Director Erin Bentlage reached a huge milestone in her career when she took home a Grammy Award at the 66th annual show in Los Angeles on Feb. 4.

CSUN Vocal Jazz Director Erin Bentlage won her first Grammy on Feb. 4 2024. Credit: Erin Bentlage/ Instagram

CSUN Vocal Jazz Director Erin Bentlage won her first Grammy on Feb. 4 2024. Credit: Erin Bentlage/ Instagram

The accolade, under the category of “Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals,” was given to Bentlage for her part in the song “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.” The award-winning piece is a part of the debut album of her all-female vocal super-group, säje, formed in collaboration with Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, and Johnaye Kendrick.

“Grateful beyond measure to these people and tiny slivers of time for everything they’ve taught me, grateful for the opportunity to pause and reflect on our dreams coming true in the music that we are lucky enough to make and the life that we are lucky enough to pour into that music,” Bentlage said in a social media post. “I take none of it for granted, no matter how courageously joyful or sickeningly devastating the moment and might not be able to digest one bit of it without music…”

The Grammy victory isn’t her first brush with recognition. In 2020, Bentlage was nominated in the same category for the debut original song “Desert Song” by her group.

“The music department is very proud of Erin Bentlage for the fantastic work she has done with her group säje, and especially for her well-deserved Grammy win in collaboration with Jacob Collier,” said CSUN music department chair John Roscigno. “Erin joined our faculty just two years ago to re-vamp our jazz vocal program and has been a fabulous addition to our faculty.”

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Faculty and Staff Achievements Fall and Winter 2023 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/community/faculty-and-staff-achievements-fall-and-winter-2023/ Thu, 08 Feb 2024 18:15:07 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55077 The work of CSUN faculty and staff members is recognized in a variety of ways, including:

  • Funding from outside organizations to support unique programs and cutting-edge research facilitated on campus.
  • Publications of books or articles.
  • Professional awards.
  • Presentations at conferences.
  • Appointments and elections to governing boards.

Please use this link to announce your achievements for publication in CSUN Today.

Below is a list of the individuals whose work was recognized from November 2023 to January 2024.

Awards

Tigran Arakelyan (Music) is named among the Top 30 Professionals of the Year by Musical America Worldwide. Earlier this year, he earned a “40 Under 40” award in Washington’s 425 Business Magazine.

Irene Clark (English) received a Campus Initiative Fund Award titled “Literacy Narratives and Current Multicultural Perspectives.”

Maria Dunlap (English) won the 2023 Margaret Atwood Society award for Best Undergraduate essay — titled “Through Double Doors.”

Xóchitl M. Flores-Marcial (Chicana/o Studies) is now the chair of the Mexican Studies Section for the Conference on Latin American History which is part of the American Historical Association (AHA). She recently chaired the roundtable at the AHA annual meeting in San Francisco, “New Voices in Mexican Historical Studies,” and presented a paper at the same conference — on a panel titled “The Issue of Marriage and Family in the Colonial Iberian World: Representation, Consumerism and Survival.” She co-authored a recently published Digital Studies / Le champ numérique article, “Colonial and Nineteenth-Century Latin American Studies and Digital Public Humanities.”

Vanessa L. Martínez (Office of the Dean of Humanities) has been selected by the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education | NASPA Center for Women to receive the 2024 Ruth Strang Award. At the NASPA Annual Conference in March 2024, she will be presented with the award at the Center for Women/Womxn in Student Affairs Knowledge Community Alice Manicur Symposium Alum Reception.

Khanum Shaikh (Gender and Women’s Studies) received a 2024-25 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Award to pursue research for her current book project, “Moving Through Culture: Gender and Urban Transformation in Contemporary Pakistan.”

Danielle Spratt (English) along with co-project directors Nicole Shibata (University Library), Heidi Schumacher (Gender and Women’s Studies), Ellen Jarosz (University Library) and Melisa Galván (Chicana/o Studies) received a 2024-25 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Award for their project, “Blank Spaces in the CSUN University Library Archives.”

Mitchell Thomas (Finance), Certified Public Accountant, has been named a new audit partner for the Santa Barbara and Ventura-based accounting firm Nasif, Hicks, Harris & Co. LLP.

Brandy Underwood (English) has been elected to the executive committee of MELUS, the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States, as project chair. She will serve from 2024-27.

Publications

Ryan Baylor, Sean Flanagan, Jacob Hinkel-Lipsker and Victoria Jaque (Kinesiology) recently published an article, “Older People Trip, Some Fall – A Program to Decrease Seniors’ Fall Risk.” It was published in the Strength & Conditioning Journal Vol. 45, No. 6, December 2023.

Jennifer Berry (Gender and Women’s Studies) recently had a piece published in Best Stage Monologues for Women 2023 by Smith and Kraus Publication, edited by Debbie Lamedman.

Danielle Spratt and Jennifer Sams (English) were featured in the “Remnants of Resistance” podcast by CSUN’s Queer Studies Program and the University Library Special Collections & Archives. The episode is titled “Queering the Page and the Nature of Disruption.”

Colleen Tripp (English) published two articles, “Empires of Extraction: Silver Field Ecologies and Eugenics in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s ‘Mexican Gothic’” in Studies in American Fiction, and “‘Coach, I Got a Feeling We’re Not in Kansas Anymore:’ Ted Lasso and the Heartland Mythos” in The Journal of American Culture. She also has a forthcoming article that’s scheduled to appear in the journal Nineteenth-Century Studies entitled “Ornamentalism and Spectacle Ethnography in Sui Sin Far’s ‘Mrs. Spring Fragrance.’

Svetlana Tyutina (Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures) recently published a bilingual book of short stories about the Mexican deaf community, Escuchar sin oír: Relatos del Silencio // Listening without Hearing: Tales of Silence.

George Uba (English) published a poem, “Full Service at J & S Shell,” in the New England Review, Vol. 44, No. 2. His poem, “Girl Receives Rose, a Narrative” was named a finalist for the 54th New Millennium Writing Awards.

Research and Sponsored Projects

Ravinder Abrol (Chemistry and Biochemistry) has received $71,862 from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in support of a project entitled “Targeting Brain-Metastatic Breast Tumors with HER3-Homing Bioparticles.”

Alyssa Arentoft (Psychology) has received $55,134 from the University of North Texas Health Science Center, in support of her project, “The Health and Aging Brain Study – Health Disparities (HABS-HD),” and $26,417 from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in support of a project entitled “Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI-4).”

Behzad Bavarian (Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management) has received $18,375 from the Savannah River National Laboratory, in support of a project, “Tank Bottom Corrosion Control Monitoring for Materials Technology & Energy Section.”

Annette Besnilian (Marilyn Magaram Center) and David Boyns (Community Health & Well-Being) have received $395,500 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, in support of the project “CSUN CalFresh Healthy Living Program.”

Tiffani Brooks (Social Work) has received $20,061 from the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, in support of a project entitled “Mentored Internship Program.”

Robert Carpenter and Peter Edmunds (Biology) each received $145,556 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in support of their project, “LTER: MCR IV: Long-Term Dynamics of a Coral Reef Ecosystem.”

Zhen Chai (Special Education) has received $248,606 from the U.S. Department of Education, in support of the project, “Project CREATE: Preparing Culturally Responsive Early Educators in Teacher Education,” and $119,065 in support of a project entitled “The Bridge Project: Bringing Early Childhood Special Educators and Behavior Interventionists Together Through Interdisciplinary, Evidence-Based Preparation to Serve Young Children with High-Intensity Needs.”

Thomas Chan (Psychology), John Valdovinos and Xiyi Hang (Electrial and Computer Engineering) have received $100,000 from the National Institutes of Heath (NIH), in support of a project entitled “NIH AIM-AHEAD PAIR,” and $100,000 from the NIH in support of a project entitled “Health Equity in Aging Congenital Heart Patients.”

Gary Chapman (Physics and Astronomy) has received $72,213 from NASA, in support of his project, “Studying solar irradiance variations using full-disk indices from continuum, UV, magnetic field and spectrographic data from ground- and space-based images ”.

Rafi Efrat (Bookstein Institute), Merav Efrat (Health Sciences) and Sara Berzenski (Psychology) have received $450,000 from the U.S. Department of Treasury, in support of a project entitled “The CSUN VITA Program.”

Maria Elizondo (Student Affairs) has received $80,904 from the Cal State Chico, in support of the project “CalFresh Outreach FFY 2022-24.”

Michael Eller (Chemistry and Biochemistry) has received $246,554 from the Brookhaven National Laboratory, in support of the project, “Angstrom Era Semiconductor Patterning Material Development Accelerator” and $141,158 from the Mayo Clinic, in support of a project entitled “Mass spectrometry for highly sensitive and sample-sparing analysis of extracellularvesicles in liver diseases.”

Brian Foley (Secondary Education), Virginia Oberholzer Vandergon (Biology) and Kellie Evans (Mathematics) have received $241,651 from the National Science Foundation, in support of a project entitled “Extending and Enhancing the STEM Teacher Pipeline through a Community of Learners and Virtual Lesson Study.”

Holli Tonyan Gajadhar (Institutional Research) has received $30,000 from the California State University Chancellor’s Office, in support of the project “Building Transformational Cultures of Data Use for Student Success.”

Shu-Sha Guan (Child and Adolescent Development) has received $99,983 from the National Science Foundation, in support of a project entitled “Establishing an Inter-institutional San Fernando Valley Collaborative to Improve STEM Transfer Student Support, Retention and Graduation.”

Nhut HoAmiel Hartman (Mechanical Engineering), Xunfei Jiang (Computer Science) and Kacie Blackman (Health Sciences) have received $77,596 from the Administration for Community Living, in support of a project entitled “Development of Semi-Autonomous Wheelchair and Socially-Aware Robot Health Aid to Encourage Community Participation for Persons with Low Mobility.”

Bradley Jackson (Electrical and Computer Engineering) has received $25,000 from the Aerospace Corporation, in support of a project entitled “Wideband Array Antenna with Digital Beamforming.”

Xudong Jia (Engineering and Computer Science, Office of the Dean) has received $800,000 from UCLA, in support of the project “Climate Action – Community-Driven Electric Vehicle Charging Solution (CA-CLEAN),” and $25,126 from Cal Poly Pomona, in support of a project entitled “Statewide Collision Data Analysis, Research Studies and Ranking Program.”

Jonathan Kelber (Biology) has received $129,526 from the National Institutes of Health, in support of a project entitled “Spatiotemporal mechanisms of eIF5A1/2-mediated metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer.”

Jing Li (Mathematics) has received $90,343 from the National Science Foundation, in support of a project entitled “Collaborative Research: Structured Population Dynamics Subject to Stoichiometric Constraints.”

Tyler Luchko (Physics and Astronomy), Ravinder Abrol (Chemistry and Biochemistry), Maria-Rita D’Orsogna (Mathematics), Rabia Djellouli (Mathematics) and Rachel Mackelprang (Biology) have received $730,520 from the National Science Foundation, in support of their project, “MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a High-Performance Computer Cluster for Computational Biology.”

Regan Maas (Geospatial Science and Technology) has received $100,000 from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, in support of a project entitled “Geological and Geophysical (G&G) Dataset Improvement.”

Rachel Friedman-Narr (Special Education) and Flavia Fleischer (Deaf Studies) have received $249,415 from the U.S. Department of Education, in support of their project, “Project PRISM-Ed (Preparing a Pipeline for Recruitment and Retention of Social Justice and Equity-Minded Deaf Educators).”

Jennifer Pemberton (Strength United) and Merilla Scott have received $204,500 from the California Office of Emergency Services, in support of a project entitled “Campus Sexual Assault (CT) Program.”

Dianne Philibosian (Community Health and Wellbeing ) has received $67,730 from the San Fernando Community Health Center, in support of her project “Child Development Screening Referral Program with San Fernando Community Health Center and the Institute for Community Health and Wellbeing at California State University, Northridge.”

Bethany Rainisch (Health Sciences) has received $374,960 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in support of a project entitled “MATAspire: Mental health Awareness Tailored App for Substance Prevention and Integrated Resilience Education.”

S.K. Ramesh (Engineering and Computer Science) has received $599,658 from the U.S. Department of Education, in support of a project entitled “Strengthening Equitable Culturally Responsive Environments (SECURE) for Student Success: Using a Servingness Model to Support Hispanic and Underrepresented Students.”

Nayan Ramirez (Criminology and Justice Studies) has received $45,551 from Northeastern University, in support of a project entitled “The Impact of Longitudinal Social Networks on Young Adult Substance Use and Misuse.”

Luca Ricci (Physics and Astronomy) has received $152,820 from the Space Telescope Science Institute, in support of his project, “Investigating the Disk-Planet Interaction in the HD 163296 System with JWST.”

Cristina Rubino and Loren Naidoo (Management) have received $267,571 from Social Policy Research Associates, Incorporated, in support of a project entitled “Evaluation Services for the Youth Jobs Corps Program in the City of Los Angeles.”

Emily Russell (Child and Adolescent Development) has received $102,857 from Jumpstart Inc., in support of her project, “Jumpstart Northridge,” and $293,037 from Brown University, in support of a project entitled “Scaling Student Support with Conversational Artificial Intelligence.”

Christoph Schaal (Mechanical Engineering) has received $40,000 from the Aerospace Corporation, in support of his project, “Concept Development and Feasibility Study for In-Space Inspection of Bonded Joints.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) has received $26,265 from the City of Los Angeles, in support of a project entitled “Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Program,” $196,906 from the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), in support of a project entitled “Unserved/Underserved Victim Advocacy and Outreach Program,” $90,000 from CalOES, in support of a project entitled “Sexual Assault Response Team (XS) Program,” $3.5 million from Rising Communities, in support of a project entitled “Community Public Health Teams,” $377,804 from the California Office of Emergency Services, in support of a project entitled “CalOES RAPE CRISIS PROGRAM NW16” and $694,470 from the California Office of Emergency Services, in support of a project entitled “CalOES RAPE CRISIS PROGRAM VN16.”

Nyssa Silbiger (Biology) has received $29,608 from the Regents of the University of California, in support of the project “Sustaining and Expanding the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS)” and $694,470 from the California Office of Emergency Services, in support of a project entitled.”

Jolene Swain and Darlene Woo (Social Work) have received $18,004 from the Rancho San Antonio Boys Home Incorporated, in support of a project entitled “Mentored Internship Program (MIP).”

Maryam Tabibzadeh (Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management) has received $51,660 from UCLA, in support of her project “Extending Human Reliability Analysis Methods for Explicit Inclusion of Organizational Factors: Methodology and PRA Implications.”

Joseph Teprovich (Chemistry and Biochemistry) has received $40,099 from Sandia National Laboratories, in support of a project entitled “Synthesis of practical high temperature superconductors in hydrogen-rich materials.”

Samantha Toews and Fatmana Deniz (Special Education) have received $211,856 from the U.S. Department of Education, in support of a project entitled “Reconceptualizing Educator Preparation to Empower All Students through Culturally Sustaining and High Leverage Inclusive Teaching.”

Svetlana Tyutina and Daniela Salcedo Arnaiz (Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures) recently participated in the 2024 MLA Annual Convention in Philadelphia, in a roundtable, “Teaching Beyond University.” Tyutina organized the table and Salcedo Arnaiz presented “A Learning journey: 3 Experiences of Traveling and Studying Languages and Cultures.”

Ivor Weiner (Special Education) has received $385,620 from the California Department of Education, in support of a project entitled “Family Focus Empowerment Center,” and $326,682 from Heluna Health, in support of a project entitled “Community Navigator Program.”

Jenn Wolfe (Secondary Education) has received $25,000 from the Regents of the University of California, in support of a project entitled “CSMP Learning Acceleration Funds.”

Xu Zhang (Physics and Astronomy) has received $128,084 from the National Science Foundation, in support of the project “RUI: Exciton-Phonon Interactions in Solids based on Time-Dependent Density Functional Perturbation Theory.”

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CSUN Professor’s Work Included in ‘Best American Short Stories of 2023’ https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/arts-and-culture/csun-professors-work-included-in-best-american-short-stories-of-2023/ Tue, 16 Jan 2024 19:23:54 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=54771

Kosiso Ugwueze

Kosiso Ugwueze

Isioma is fleeing her mother’s house after recovering from a suicide attempt when the bus she is on is taken over by armed kidnappers.

The short story chronicling what happens next, “Supernova” by Kosiso Ugwueze, an assistant professor of English at California State University, Northridge, has been included in “The Best American Short Stories 2023,” an anthology of the year’s best short stories as selected by National Book Award finalist Min Jin Lee and series editor Heidi Pitlor and published by Mariner Books/Harper Collins.

“To have my short story included in the anthology feels surreal,” said Ugwueze, who teaches in CSUN’s College of Humanities. “I was actually in New York when I got the email, and I thought I was being trolled.”

Once Ugwueze realized that the emailed notification was authentic, she said her feelings turned in to “euphoria.”

“The story is set in Nigeria, where I was born — though I was raised in Southern California,” she said. “The fact that a story set outside the United States was selected as among the best American short stories says something about the universality of the immigrant experience. My stories are often weird and sad, whether set in Nigeria or the United States, and sometimes I wonder where they fit.”

In addition to “The Best American Short Stories 2023,” Ugwueze’s short fiction has appeared in Georgia Review, Joyland, Gulf Coast, Subtropics and The New England Review. She is the winner of a New England ReviewAward for Emerging Writers and the recipient of a Barbara Deming Memorial Fund grant for feminist fiction. “Supernova” was originally published in The New England Review.

Ugwueze said “Supernova” was inspired by a grad school creative writing prompt about a character in physical danger.

“Most writers write about what they know, but the idea of a kidnapping popped into my head. Though I’ve never been kidnapped, I had a close encounter in 2010—and I just started writing,” she said. “The story took a life of its own.”

The first draft of the story was completed in one sitting.

 “I wanted to capture, in the tone of the story, the incongruence between how we react to trauma and how we’re expected to react,” Ugwueze said. “The main protagonist, Isioma, is doing weird things, and her emotional reactions are not what you would expect in this high-stakes situation.

“I think a lot of my work is layered, even if it does not seem outwardly so,” she continued. “I wanted to capture the general terror, though with some humor, of what it’s often like to navigate parts of Nigeria.”

Ugwueze said that her story made her think of a tweet by a Nigerian publication that noted Nigeria was ranked as the “third most terrorized country in the world.”

“We face security issues and I wanted to talk about that experience,” she said. “I wanted to talk about that Nigerian experience of kidnappers and vigilantes, etc., and people just having to continue living their lives, going to work, and serving their country. I wanted to explore the bravery in that.”

It’s that sense of having to continue to live one’s life, regardless of the circumstances, that may appeal to readers, Ugwueze said. That, and the simplicity of her word choices.

“Accessibility is very important to me as a writer,” she said. “I want people to get what I’m doing.”

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CSUN Receives $3 Million Grant to Increase Number of Underserved Students in STEM, Arts Disciplines & Close Equity Gap https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/university-news/csun-receives-3-million-grant-to-increase-number-of-underserved-students-in-stem-arts-disciplines-close-equity-gap/ Tue, 09 Jan 2024 18:48:08 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=54767

CSUN has received a five-year, $3 million federal grant for the creation of a new project to increase the number of underrepresented students studying science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and the arts, and health sciences and to close equity gaps. Photo by Ringo Chiu.

CSUN has received a five-year, $3 million federal grant for the creation of a new project to increase the number of underrepresented students studying science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and the arts, and health sciences and to close equity gaps. Photo by Ringo Chiu.


California State University, Northridge has been awarded a five-year, $3 million Title V grant from the U.S. Department of Education DHSI (Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions) program for the creation of a new project to increase the number of underrepresented students studying science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and the arts, and health sciences and to close equity gaps.

The money will support cross-divisional and multi-disciplinary “Strengthening Equitable Culturally Responsive Environments (SECURE) for Student Success (SfS2),” a collaborative effort between CSUN, Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills and College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita.

“Our goals are quite simple, but impactful,” said CSUN electrical and computer engineering professor S.K. Ramesh, director of SfS2. “We hope to increase enrollment, improve academic performance — including retention and graduation rates — and reduce equity gaps. To that end, the project will expand and enhance curriculum, research fellowships and culturally-responsive, work-based learning experiences in in-demand industry sectors for our students.

“For the project to be successful, and this is key, we are providing support and increasing faculty capacity to plan and implement culturally-responsive pedagogies, proactive advisement and mentoring,” Ramesh continued. “To put it simply, our students cannot succeed to the best of their abilities unless we give the faculty the tools they need to help our students succeed.

“This is an exciting new approach that we hope will serve as a model, not just for the rest of the CSU, but for institutions of higher learning across the country,” he said.

SfS2 is patterned after CSUN’s acclaimed AIMS2 (Attract, Inspire, Mentor and Support Students) program in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, also the brainchild of Ramesh, which launched 2011 with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. AIMS2 students work in cohorts and have access to a wide range of academic resources such as faculty and peer mentors, tutors, educational field trips, workshops, career opportunities and travel grants to participate in conference.

With a student retention rate of more than 90 percent, and a three-year transfer graduation rate of more than 70 percent, AIMS2 was hailed by Excelencia in Education as a national example of an evidence-base program that advanced Latino student in higher education.

Ramesh said he expects SfS2 — which, in addition to STEM majors will include students studying the health sciences and the arts— to have similar success.

“We anticipate that the project will positively impact approximately 6,000 students at CSUN and our partner community colleges over the five-year duration of the grant at an average cost of less than $500 per student,” he said.

He said he hopes the programs and services envisioned through the project will be institutionalized across the CSUN campus “with measurable and accountable goals and aligning resources to ensure long-term collective success.”

Ramesh said SfS2 will be “all encompassing” when it comes to students. The project includes support for community college students before and after they transfer to CSUN; summer workshops; internships, industry engagement and career advisement; research opportunities with stipends; faculty and industry mentors; peer mentors; and undergraduate research symposiums, as well as ways to involve family members.

For participating faculty, the project includes curriculum enhancement and development support, workshops on multi-cultural competency and other forms of professional development.

SfS2  is closely aligned and complements CSUN’s Road Ahead Strategic plan under the able leadership of President Beck and colleagues campuswide.  “. “If we want our students to truly succeed, then we take and explore different approaches to education — different approaches to how we teach and a deeper appreciation for how our students learn.”

]]> carmen 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 Again Named HSI Leader by Fulbright Program https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/uncategorized/csun-again-named-hsi-leader-by-fulbright-program/ Mon, 30 Oct 2023 17:14:22 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=54213

A drone shot of the CSUN Library

The designation recognizes the “noteworthy engagement” that selected Hispanic-Serving Institutions have achieved with the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Photo by David J. Hawkins.


California State University, Northridge has been named a Fulbright HSI Leader for the third year in a row by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

The designation recognizes the “noteworthy engagement” that selected Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) have achieved with the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. The initiative encourages administrators, faculty and students at HSIs to engage with Fulbright and highlights the strength of HSIs as destinations for international students and scholars.

Marta Lopez, director of CSUN’s International Programs and International and Exchange Student Center, said the university was pleased to receive the designation for three years running.

“It is an honor for CSUN to have received this nomination for the third year in a row,” Lopez said. “Fulbright presents a distinguished opportunity to the CSUN community. Having been selected as one of the 2023 Fulbright HSI Leaders highlights our achievements and contributions to the Fulbright program.”

The recognized colleges and universities include two associate degree level colleges, five baccalaureate degree awarding colleges and special focus institutions, 14 master’s degree level colleges and universities, and 25 doctoral degree awarding universities. Currently, there are 559 HSIs across the country. For an institution of higher education to be designated an HSI, it must have an undergraduate student enrollment that is at least 25 percent Hispanic.

CSUN will be representing master’s institutions at an upcoming interactive virtual workshop featuring representatives from Fulbright HSI Leaders. The workshop is open to the public and is specifically designed for faculty, staff, and stakeholders at HSIs.

“During this session, Fulbright’s role in campus internationalization efforts and experiences in promoting Fulbright opportunities and culture will be shared,” Lopez said. “We are honored to have been invited to be a part of this presentation representing master’s institutions.”

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international academic exchange program. Since its inception more than 75 years ago, the Fulbright Program has given more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad, exchanging ideas and contributing to finding solutions to complex international challenges.

Each year, the U.S. Congress appropriates funds to the U.S. Department of State to sponsor the Fulbright Program. Many foreign governments contribute substantially as well. Additional funding and in-kind funding is provided by U.S. and foreign host institutions, non-governmental organizations, private organizations, corporate partnerships and individual donors.

The Fulbright Program has designed and implemented a wide range of initiatives to increase participant diversity and inclusion. The program strives to ensure that its participants reflect the diversity of U.S. society and societies abroad. Fulbrighters come from all backgrounds and are selected through an open, merit-based competition, regardless of their race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, geographic location, socio-economic status, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. Information on the Fulbright Program’s diversity and inclusion initiatives is detailed on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program website.

Learn more about Fulbright at https://fulbrightprogram.org, including information about Fulbright’s efforts to further DEIA within the program and about the Fulbright HSI Leaders initiative.

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