Donna Nicol, associate professor and chair of Africana Studies, arrived at CSUDH in fall 2017. As a faculty member, she teaches Comparative Ethnic and Global Societies. As chair, Nicol is working with her colleagues and the university administration to strengthen the program’s curriculum and bolster its presence on campus and in the region. A fourth-generation “Comptonite,” Nicol’s deep local roots and unique upbringing in a community-focused family has had a profound effect on her as a researcher and educator. She briefly left South Los Angeles for Ohio State University where she earned a Ph.D. in Social and Cultural Foundations of Education with a specialization in African American ... Read More
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Trailblazing African American Alumni Share Career Insights and Advice
California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) enrolls and graduates the largest number of African American students of any California State University campus. As Black History Month puts a spotlight on the achievements and accomplishments of African Americans throughout this nation, CSUDH pauses to share the great successes and insights of its alumni. Towalame Austin (’04, B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies) has forged a path in the non-profit sector that one might call a quintessential Los Angeles success story. In 1998 she began her career as a receptionist with the Magic Johnson Foundation, often being “the first to arrive and last to leave” both then and seven years later ... Read More
Beverly Palmer’s New Book Offers ‘Love Demystified’ for Would-Be Valentines
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. For the very young, it’s a curious yet cheerful day when often illegible sentiments scribbled on adoring cards, accompanied by pastel-colored candy hearts, pile by the dozens on their school desks. As adults, love becomes much more challenging, and often as hard to decipher as a note from a 2nd grader. Many turn to the web for advice, only to become more frustrated, according to psychologist Beverly Palmer, emeritus professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills. She noticed that much of the information about love and relationships on the Internet is misleading opinions, so she decided to write “Love Demystified: ... Read More
DACA Student Maricruz De La Torre Honored with CSU’s Crellin Pauling Student Teaching Award
Whether she becomes a biomedical researcher, a professor, or both, California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) graduate student Maricruz De La Torre will always consider dispelling ignorant cultural views about science, and who teaches it, among her most important professional obligations. After sharing such values in an award nomination essay, De La Torre was honored with the Crellin Pauling Student Teaching Award, and its $2,000 prize. She was one of two California State University (CSU) students given the annual award that acknowledges outstanding teaching in biotechnology-related settings, courses, and programs. The award was presented at the CSU Biotechnology Symposium on ... Read More
Sarah Lacy Hangs with ‘Hot Hominins’ on Social Media
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
