CSUDH News

The primary source of news and information about California State University, Dominguez Hills, its students, faculty, and staff.

Paul Browning

Sheree Schrager Appointed Dean of Graduate Studies and Research

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Sheree Schrager, dean of Graduate Studies and Research.
Sheree Schrager, dean of Graduate Studies and Research.

California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) has appointed Sheree Schrager as dean of Graduate Studies and Research. She will begin her new position July 1.

As CSUDH’s new dean of Graduate Studies and Research, Schrager is responsible for leading and expanding the quality of graduate programs on campus, developing the university’s external funding portfolio, and developing policies and procedures related to these areas.

In her role, Schrager will lead the coordination of curriculum and program review for all graduate programs and work jointly with the dean of Undergraduate Studies in overseeing the University Curriculum Committee and the production of the University Catalog. She will also work in consultation with the university’s provost and vice president for Academic Affairs and the academic deans in other divisions on campus.

“The people of Carson, Compton, and Watts deserve access to a world-class institution of higher education – and academia needs their voices. Expanding funded research and graduate programs at CSUDH can create incredible opportunities right in their back yard,” says Schrager.

Prior to CSUDH, Schrager was the interim senior director of Research and Sponsored Programs at CSU Northridge (CSUN) and served as the chief research officer. Her tenure at CSUN began in 2017 as managing director of the department.

Schrager’s career in higher education began in 2008 as a research methodologist and statistician working with faculty in the Keck School of Medicine and the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California (USC). To support her primary research in the behavioral health of sexual and gender minority youth, she remains an adjunct research professor at the School of Social Work, where she is the principal investigator of three active NIH grants totaling $4.2M.

Prior to and during her time at USC, Schrager developed and led research programs in three divisions at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles that supported research development, conduct, and dissemination, with an emphasis on providing one-on-one mentorship to faculty and postgraduate trainees. She was inducted into the Society for Pediatric Research in 2015.

Schrager holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and master’s degrees in Statistics and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jessica Pandya Appointed Dean of the College of Education

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Jessica Pandya, dean for the College of Education.
Jessica Pandya, dean for the College of Education.

California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) has appointed Jessica Pandya as the dean for the College of Education. She will begin her new position July 1.

“I am so excited to support the excellent work of the equity-minded faculty and staff in the College of Education at Dominguez Hills,” says Pandya. “I especially look forward to supporting students, and to strengthening the college’s many educational partnerships in the surrounding community.”

Pandya joins CSUDH after serving more than 15 years at CSU Long Beach (CSULB). She is currently a full professor in the CSULB Department of Teacher Education and Liberal Studies, and has served as both an associate and assistant professor in the department.

She has held many leadership and administrative positions while at CSULB, most recently chair of the Academic Senate (2019-21) and chair of the Department of Liberal Studies (2014-20). She has also served as chair of the College of Education Faculty Council; chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee; and co-chair of the Highly Valued Degree Initiative Communications Taskforce.

While Pandya was chair of CSULB Department of Liberal Studies, the department achieved: the approval of an Elementary Subject Matter Program; the expansion of program learning outcomes to include intersectionality, critical thinking, and communication; the development of a bilingual pathway with a Chicano/Latino Studies emphasis through a $250, 000 grant; and the creation of a Minor in Equity and Education Studies.

Interim Dean of the College of Education Lisa Hutton believes that Pandya has the vision, experience, and leadership skills to foster positive change and growth in the college. “The faculty and staff of the College of Education are thrilled to welcome Dr. Pandya and look forward to her leadership as we continue the work to fulfill our mission and vision to prepare transformational educators who positively impact our local communities.”

Prior to her service in the CSU system, Pandya taught kindergarten, language arts, and was a master teacher. She holds a Ph.D. in Education in Language, Literacy and Culture from UC Berkeley.

Pandya’s primary duties as dean of CSUDH’s College of Education will include supporting and enhancing the college’s current degree and credential programs, and establishing new curriculum and innovative programs within the college and with external partners. Pandya will also lead the management resources and serve as spokesperson for the college on campus and within the academic and professional communities that CSUDH serves.

Daily Breeze: CSUDH Student Makes History as One of the Oldest Graduates with a Double Major

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Source: Daily Breeze

It’s never too late to receive an education, and one Cal State Dominguez Hills graduate set out to prove that.

During the first day of the school’s commencement ceremonies earlier this week, Maria Manning, a double major in liberal studies and Spanish public services, was among the students from the 2020 and 2021 classes to receive their diplomas at Dignity Health Sports Park. Manning did so at 88 years old – making her one of the oldest students in the Cal State University System to graduate with a double major.

But her road to success faced many setbacks along the way.

Manning, originally from the Cape Verde islands in West Africa, immigrated to America with her family when she was 31.

Manning had wanted to achieve her education in her home country, her daughter, Christine Manning, said.

But after marrying her husband, John Manning, and having a daughter, her education was put on the backburner.

“I wanted to earn my education,” Manning said. “But I had to look after my family.”

And so she did, raising her daughter and helping her through her own schooling.

Then, in the early 1990s, Manning enrolled in courses at the Compton Adult School and eventually transferred to Compton College and then to CSUDH. She also worked in many local schools in the Compton and Long Beach areas. But her husband then got sick and she had her own health problems that landed her in the hospital.

Her college career was paused again.

Manning had dropped all of her courses at CSUDH, having become discouraged by the setbacks. Her hiatus lasted around a dozen years.

Then, she got back to work.

“I didn’t let that stop me,” she said of her and her husband’s health issues. “My work wasn’t going to go down the drain.”

And now, she’s made her family proud – particularly her daughter.

“It’s the most beautiful thing,” Christine Manning said. “I can’t even put into words how proud I am of her.”

Her daughter, though, wasn’t alone in her enthusiasm.

During her time at CSUDH, Manning became a popular figure among her peers – many of whom were much younger – and even faculty.

“Everyone was so kind to me,” Manning said. “They were so helpful and encouraging to me.”

Employees around the campus’ food court would sometimes pay for her meals. And faculty members helped her with her studies, recognizing a student that persevered despite the setbacks she faced.

“After the ceremony, people were running up to her like, ‘Remember me?’” Christine Manning said. “She always talked about the names of friends she had made on campus.”

Manning was a constant in her classes – never wanting to be absent. Not if it rained. Not if Manning’s daughter couldn’t drive her – she’d take a cab or bus instead.

Not even when she had to start using a walker to get around.

“You can’t hold an umbrella when you’re pushing a walker,” Christine Manning said. “So I had to buy her a poncho for when it rained.”

And now Manning has a bachelor’s degree – at last.

Yet, she still has other plans for the future. Another lifelong dream she now wants to accomplish is learning to play an instrument. She has not decided which one yet, but, Manning said, she has always been interested in learning to play the piano, or even the organ.

“She is proof that with a sound mind and determination, anything is possible despite age,” Christine said Manning said. “I’m so proud to be her daughter.”

Commencement Delivers an Intimate Feel with Heartfelt Moments

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2020-21 CommencementWhile the number of graduates, and the family and friends cheering them on in person, was substantially less this year due to COVID-19, the scaled-down ceremonies for the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 Commencements helped mark a return to normalcy for the Toro Nation, and were some of most intimate and heartfelt in recent memory.

Seven commencement ceremonies in all took place May 24-26 in the Tennis Stadium at Dignity Health Sports Park. To comply with public health guidelines, seating was restricted, with graduates sitting in the stands with two guests, instead of on the stadium floor. To close each ceremony, graduates were recognized individually from the stands, and were shown on video screens for all to see.

Sallyanne Payton
Sallyanne Payton

The ceremonies featured remarks from CSUDH leadership, high-achieving graduates, and keynote addresses from a group of professionally diverse alumni and friends of the university who shared their paths to success and words of encouragement with the audience.

During CSUDH’s 2020-21 Commencement, Sallyanne Payton was bestowed a California State University Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. Payton was honored for her trailblazing career in law and government, and support of arts and education. Read her story at www.news.csudh.edu/sallyanne-payton. 
CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham
CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham

CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham’s positive energy and uplifting spirit never waned throughout the seven ceremonies. During his opening address, he expressed the need for graduates to avoid settling for the way things are and challenged them to “imagine what might be.”

“The human organism is in a constant state of trying to close the gap between our aspirational selves and our real selves. So, never stop growing!” he said. He also encouraged graduates to grasp for the possible, and not settle for the predictable. “Focus less on replicating privilege and more on leveraging the knowledge you discover, teach, and disseminate, so that it can be used to help resolve the social injustices that are so pervasive in this world.”

Along with traditional motivational remarks, the president served to voice the support and love everyone in attendance was feeling. At one point in his speech, Parham invited the graduates to do the one simple act many have been unable to do in the isolation the COVID-19 caused – hug their loved ones. And in an impromptu moment following Master of Education graduate Letha Wells’ student commencement speech, he welcomed Wells back to the podium to pay tribute to her resiliency upon the loss of her mother to cancer just two months before Wells completed her degree and graced the commencement stage.

One of seven students chosen to present the student commencement addresses, Wells talked about how much everyone has endured this year.

“Many of us worked from home, some of us teaching students and grading papers by day, and by night we were students turning in papers of our own for professors to grade,” she shared. “Among us are also parents who had to ensure that their children succeeded in virtual learning and were entertained long enough for us to focus during our own classes. These little ones sat in on so many of our classes that these degrees are just as much theirs as they are ours.”

Wells added that while some were with their families during the pandemic, others endured alone. “I personally endured the loss of my mother. Notice, I said ‘endured,’ past tense. You endured. I endured. We endured. We made it here today. You should be proud. Even though all of our families are not here in person with us, I know for a fact that their pride is not lessened.”

Alumnus Victor Rodriguez (B.S., Biology, 1992), who is a clinical professor in the Division of Cardiac and Vascular Surgery and director of the Aortic Center at the UC Davis Medical Center, served as a keynote speaker on May 24.

“You have come a long way, my friends, and have accomplished a great feat by graduating from this great institution,” he said. “I look at myself in your shoes when I graduated from Cal State Dominguez Hills, and like you I had a lot of dreams, a lot of ambitions, and I was determined to be somebody – to leave a mark in this world. Yes, leaving a mark in this world, in a positive way, is the greatest personal achievement a person can ever do.”

Alumnus Victor Rodriguez
Alumnus Victor Rodriguez

Rodriguez talked about some of his unforgettable moments as a cardiovascular surgeon and a professor of surgery who specializes in heart transplantations and complex aortic reconstructions. “I have held people’s hearts in my hands, from babies to the very old. And every single time that I do this I am humbled by the fact that these people have entrusted their lives and their babies’ lives to me.”

He also shared a story about a stressful yet successful operation he had performed on his boss that he initially had reservations about, then added, “Be confident in your abilities, be confident about what you have learned and carry it with you at all times, and know that all this learning and wisdom that these great teachers have imparted to you will serve you right.”

Rihab Shuaib, president of Associated Students, Inc. at CSUDH, reminded the crowd about a mother’s enduring love. Her parents immigrated from Ghana to the U.S. in the 1990s.

Her father was college educated and spoke English. He had a much smoother transition to local culture than her mother, who didn’t speak the language. However, she had worked in markets in Ghana since she was 12, selling food and accessories, and has always known how to run a business.

Unfortunately, Shuaib’s father died suddenly in 2009.

Rihab Shuaib, president of Associated Students, Inc.
Rihab Shuaib, president of Associated Students, Inc.

“We were broke and scared, but my mom did what moms do best,” said Shuaib, while her jubilant mother waved and blew kisses to her from the stands in the tennis stadium. “She picked up the pieces of our lives and made something beautiful.”

Shuaib continued. “This degree, this accomplishment does not solely belong to me. It’s confirmation that my parents’ sacrifices were not in vain, it’s hope for a better future for my family, it is inspiration for my younger siblings and cousins to follow in my footsteps, and it is a thank you to all of the teachers, professors, and staff that poured so much love and support into me. To my fellow graduates, do not forget the people who supported you through all the challenges you experienced to make it here. Thank them selflessly.”

Alumna Linda DeYampert (B.S., Business Administration, 1999), is the senior manager for Studio Environmental Health and Safety for the National Football League (NFL). She addressed the Class of 2020 on May 24 and asked them to stand and celebrate their achievements with the words “You made it!”

“It’s time to put last year behind us and to grow and learn from all that was lost. Continue to take chances and have faith in yourselves. Stretch yourselves and work hard; someone will notice you. Make your deposits in your career,” DeYampert said. “Be your best advocate, be seen, be goal oriented, and keep up with your accomplishments. …You’re fierce and you’re unafraid to use your voice. Be whatever it takes to make this a kinder, gentler world.”

Class of 2021: Sallyanne Payton Bestowed CSU Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters

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Class of 2021: Sallyanne Payton bestowed CSU Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
Class of 2021: Sallyanne Payton bestowed CSU Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.  — Photo courtesy of Stanford Lawyer Magazine

As a force for change on the national stage, and for her wide-ranging contributions to education and Black culture and history, Sallyanne Payton was bestowed a California State University Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by CSUDH during its 2020-21 Commencement on May 26.

Payton’s career is marked by major milestones and prominent appointments. From the early years at Stanford University and in the administrations of two U.S. presidents, to her work as an educator and leader of the preservation of sacred music, Payton has remained a principled advocate for societal change, and those she inspires.

“It’s wonderful to be recognized by the university. It’s always thrilling when someone confers something on you that speaks to their respect for the work you have done,” says Payton. “Dominguez Hills serves South Los Angeles really well, and the campus makes it possible for people in those communities to have the same range of opportunities as those in the northern part of the city.”

A Good Start

Payton was raised in the historic West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles in a Black middleclass family. Her mother was a math teacher at Dorsey High School, and her father was an underwriter.

A church-going family, the Paytons often gathered around the piano in their home with a young Sallyanne at the keys reading sheet music and playing spirituals (also known as “Negro Spirituals”). Originally unaccompanied monophonic (unison) songs, spirituals are best known today in harmonized choral arrangements.

“Spirituals would become your household music, and if you were a girl in a Black family that went to church back in the 1940s and 50s, you were going to learn how to play piano, and sing some hymns and spirituals,” Payton shares. “It’s what you did in church every week, and it is part of our culture.”

In honor of her parents, Payton helped establish the Georgia and Nolan Payton Archive of Sacred Music at CSUDH in the early 2000s, which consists of music, books, periodicals, documents, audio and visual materials, and oral histories.

“I am so proud to be able to celebrate this special accomplishment,” says Hansonia Caldwell, professor emeritus of music at CSUDH and founder of the CSUDH Jubilee Choir and the African Diaspora Sacred Music and Musicians program. “Sallyanne is a visionary, purpose-driven woman of substance and discernment who has valued the legacy of African American music and history throughout her life.  Because of her continuing generosity, the university is now assured to be an inspiring 21st century center for the preservation and performance of African Diaspora sacred music.”

A Swift Ascent

Payton’s parents also instilled in her the tenets of a successful career and fruitful life. She says, “They taught me to work hard all the times, to keep my eye on the ball, and to take on big projects and complete them.”

Payton left home to attend Stanford University at a time when the university enrolled very few Black students, and the legal profession hired few women or people of color. Undeterred, she earned her bachelor’s degree in 1964, and served as editor of the Stanford Law Review.

In 1968, the year Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, Payton made university history, becoming the law school’s first Black graduate, which helped to cut a path for those who followed. She graduated when the country was at war in Vietnam and the fight for civil rights and racial equality was surging across the nation.

Payton spent several successful years in private practice in Washington, D.C., including a stint at Covington, a leading law firm. At the firm, her workload included pro bono projects involving the Southeast area of D.C., which was home to marginalized communities and had experienced decades of urban decay. Payton’s successes in the region drew the attention of political leaders.

“Working to help rebuild the District of Columbia was the most rewarding project of my entire career. There had been disorder in the city after the assassination of Dr. King, and it had gotten out of hand,” Payton says. “Soon after, the Nixon administration got in touch with some people who knew me and asked if I would consider working for the administration. ‘Well sure,’ I said.”

In 1971, Payton was appointed staff assistant to President Richard Nixon in the White House Domestic Council and would soon begin representing the president on the commission on the Organization of the District of Columbia. Her work helped lead to Nixon’s signing of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act in 1973, which transferred certain congressional powers over D.C. to local government at a time when the downtown was still reeling after the rioting following MLK’s death, and continued neglect.

“The problem was figuring out how to get the district back in operation as a major American city and do that in time for the bicentennial in 1976. It was early in my career and I was just a kid, but it was important and difficult work, and very memorable and quite wonderful,” says Payton, who played the leading role in the restoration of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro).

“My favorite project was working on the Metro. When I see those cars, I think ‘That’s my Metro,’” she adds.

Payton’s success in D.C. and with the Metro led to her next appointment as chief counsel for the Urban Mass Transportation Administration in the U.S. Department of Transportation. She held that position until 1976, the year she transitioned to a career in higher education.

Educator

Payton has had a long and celebrated career as an educator. It began as a full-time faculty member in the University of Michigan (UM) Law School, where she was the second woman hired as an associate professor. As a full professor, she taught administrative law and her scholarship focused on health care.

Payton remained active in public service during her time at UM, and well-connected in government. During the Clinton Administration, she was appointed as an adviser for the Clinton Health Care Reform Task Force, which Payton says laid the groundwork for what would become the Affordable Care Act.

Her leadership on the task force led to a senior fellowship with the Administrative Conference of the United States, an independent federal agency designed to make the government function better. Payton was also elected to the non-profit National Academy of Social Insurance, which works to advance solutions to challenges facing the nation by increasing public understanding of how social insurance contributes to economic security.