Sarah Lacy really likes a “good brow ridge.” She thinks “it's hot!” In class, Lacy, a new assistant professor of anthropology at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), and her anthropology students call that facial characteristic a “supraorbital torus,” which was sported by Neandertals around 40,000 years ago. They have also given the long-extinct human species a “sexy” social media presence with Lacy posing with their skulls in a series she calls “Hot Hominin of the Day.” “I dress a bit unusual, and my students were joking about it. They thought I should create an 'Outfit of the Day' blog. It seemed a little frivolous, so I came up with a way to have fun with that idea, ... Read More
Archive
Paz Oliverez named Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate by National Resource Center
Paz Oliverez, associate vice president for student success at California State University, Dominguez Hills' (CSUDH), has been named a 2017 Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate by the National Resource Center First-Year Experience and Students in Transition (NRC). She received the prestigious honor for her role in developing some of the most robust programs for first-year college students in the university's history. Under the umbrella of the award-winning two-year Bridge initiative on campus, Oliverez has led CSUDH to its highest first-year student retention rate in 22 years by providing visionary leadership and an overarching and comprehensive approach to the university's Dominguez ... Read More
Alumnus Victor McKamie Helps MAP a Better Life for Those with HIV/AIDS
“For a lot of our clients, they felt they had zero, then they became infected with HIV, and felt they had less.” For the past 28 years, Victor McKamie ('98, B.A., sociology; '01, M.S., public administration), executive director and CEO of Minority AIDS Project (MAP) in Los Angeles, and his colleagues have been successfully showing their clients with that feeling of having “less” that they have so much "more;" more to accomplish, more to give, and more reason to live. The not-for-profit organization was founded in 1985 by Archbishop Carl Bean and members of Unity Fellowship of Christ Church in Los Angeles California. It is the first community-based HIV/AIDS organization established and ... Read More
CSUDH Student Ramneek Kaur Honored for Spreading HOPE
For Ramneek Kaur, helping others requires a lot of hard work, and plenty of hope. Kaur, a cellular and molecular biology major at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), is providing hope in her own way, as president of the Homeless Outreach Promoting Empathy (HOPE) student organization. HOPE's outreach involves providing hygiene kits, medical care, and assistance for homeless individuals–up to three times per month–by organizing events in areas where homelessness is prevalent. “My passion for community involvement comes from growing up and realizing the issues surrounding our community, and seeing people struggle for basic needs, like hygiene items,” said Kaur, who ... Read More
Faculty Highlights, November 2017
Our faculty members participate in conferences around the world, conduct groundbreaking research, and publish books and journal papers that contribute to their field and highlight their expertise. We feature those accomplishments and more in this section. College of Arts and Humanities Nancy Cheever, professor and chair of Communications research, was referenced in the article, “Don't be ridiculous, put down the phone,” which was published on Nov. 1 in The Creightonian, the weekly news publication of Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu, lecturer of Africana Studies, recently led the talk “How Africa Can Use Its Traditional Knowledge to Make Progress” at the ... Read More
Teodross Avery Draws from a Storied Jazz Career to Inspire his Students
As a seasoned jazz saxophonist, Teodross Avery gives his students a lot to aspire to, and a life filled with rich experiences to learn from. When Avery joined the faculty at California State University, Dominguez Hills in the fall of 2017 as an assistant professor of Jazz Studies and Commercial Music, he brought with him an “outstanding pedigree” and an abundance of abilities on the saxophone that have been in demand in the music industry since he was 19 years old. It was at that age–when he was still an undergraduate student at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston–that A&R executive Carl Griffin of GRP/Impulse Records signed the young artist to his first recording ... Read More
Natural History Museum L.A. Partners with CSUDH to Prepare Science Teachers
A new internship with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles (NHMLA) and the STEM Teachers in Advanced Residency (STAR) program in the College of Education at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) is giving teacher candidates additional classroom tools to excite young students about the sciences. Cristina Gonzalez ('13, B.A. Liberal Studies) and LeiLani Zaragoza ('15, B.A. Liberal Studies) were among the first to take part in the two-month internship in the summer of 2017. During the program they were immersed in active local fossil and other geological research going on behind the scenes at NHMLA to help create and develop units of instruction, or lesson plans, which ... Read More
Research Scholars Achieve First Place at SACNAS Conference
California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) research scholars Chad Thomas and Adrianna Perez took first place for their poster presentations at the Society for the Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Conference from Oct. 19 to 21 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference is considered one of the largest annual gatherings of minority scientists in the country. Thomas, a cell and molecular biology major and a Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) scholar, presented his research “NMR Methods in the Structure Elucidation of Bioactive Alkaloids from Mostuea brunonis.” Perez, a ... Read More
Theatre and Dance to Perform ‘RISE – Fall Faculty and Student Dance Concert’
California State University, Dominguez Hills' (CSUDH) Department of Theatre and Dance will perform “RISE - Fall Faculty and Student Dance Concert,” December 1 and 2 in the University Theatre. “No matter the situation, artists will continue to boldly rise to express their art and beliefs,” says the concert's artistic director, department chair Doris Ressl. “Indeed, it is the driving force of creativity and true artistry.” RISE features original choreography from CSUDH's dance faculty. In “härt”²brÅ”²kÉ™n,” Amy Allen explores making a choice between two undesirable options. Through dance, video, and music, Ressl's “Things Are a Stirrin',” celebrates women who challenge the ... Read More
CSUDH Alumni Honored During CSU Media Arts Festival
On their home turf, four proud Toro alumni were honored for their video production prowess during the 2017 CSU Media Arts Festival (MAF), which took place on Nov. 4 at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) for the first time in the festival's 27-year history. The MAF was hosted by CSUDH's College of Arts and Humanities and the Digital Media Arts Department. Hosted at a different California State University (CSU) campus each year, the MAF provides talented students studying film, broadcasting, video, screenwriting, and new media from throughout the 23-campus CSU system the opportunity to showcase their work for their peers, faculty, and industry professionals, while ... Read More
