Emeritus Faculty Association Awards Scholarships and Grant to Dedicated Students and Faculty

The California State University, Dominguez Hills Emeritus Faculty Association awarded its 2014 scholarships and grant to four CSU Dominguez Hills students and a faculty member to encourage professional and academic development in areas such as public service and the life sciences.

The association, which is made up of more than 200 members, was established to serve the interests of retired members of the general faculty at CSU Dominguez Hills and to support the academic life of the university. Donations from emeritus faculty and their friends support the association’s scholarships and grants. The recipients are below:

 

Leo F. and Margaret B. Cain Scholarship

The Leo F. and Margaret B. Cain Scholarship, named for the late founding president of CSU Dominguez Hills and his wife, is bestowed to students demonstrating academic excellence and career commitment to teaching, academic research, educational administration or other types of public service. Both recipients were awarded $2,500 each.

Brittany Thompson: Thompson is an occupational therapy student in the master’s program who completed her first year with a 3.8 grade point average (GPA). While a baccalaureate student in psychology and social behavior at UC Irvine, she was given an opportunity to work in undergraduate research with a focus on maladaptive and self-injurious behaviors in children with autism. This led her to focus on becoming an occupational therapist with a concentration on children and mental health.

“I’ve been supporting myself through school since I was 18 years old, and thanks to this award, some of the financial weight has been lifted from my shoulders,” Thompson said. “Now I can continue to follow my dreams of becoming the best occupational therapist I can be.”

Jacqueline Noelle Sanchez: Sanchez, who completed her first year toward a master’s degree in occupational therapy with a 3.9 GPA, is the vice president of the CSUDH chapter of Pi Theta Epsilon, the national honor society for occupational therapy students. She is also a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, and is a student representative from the Student Occupational Therapy Association. In addition, Sanchez won first place at the 2014 CSUDH Student Research Day competition and is “extremely grateful” for the award.

“It’s wonderful that the Emeritus Faculty Association provides this support to students,” she said. “I’m honored to be chosen by them.”

 

Dr. Lois W. Chi Scholarship in Science

Named for the emerita professor of biology and EFA member, the Dr. Lois W. Chi scholarship in Science is open to students pursuing a degree in biology, chemistry or in a related field in the natural sciences. Applicants must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and each student is awarded between $1,000 and $2,000.

Elizabeth Grotemeyer: The biochemistry student has spent the last eight months working on a research project at LABioMed, a nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to saving lives in Los Angeles and the world. She has also been an on-campus physics tutor for three years at the Toro Learning Center and hopes to pursue her Ph.D. She is in the Minority Access to Research Careers – Undergraduate Student Training for Academic Research (MARC U*STAR) program on campus.

Anthony Jones: Also a biochemistry student and in the Minority Biomedical Research Support – Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (MBRS RISE) program, Jones has a goal of earning a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry after graduation. Jones has presented scientific research at several research conferences and been accepted into Caltech’s prestigious summer research program this summer. Jones says the scholarship is an “amazing gift.”

 

Faculty Legacy Fund Awards

Established in 2007 by Bill Blischke, professor emeritus of sociology, and Leni Cook and Sue Gemmell, professors emeritus of teacher education. The FLF awards were created to provide financial assistance to current tenure-track and tenured faculty members to encourage and support their professional development in the areas of teaching, research and creative activity. 

Tara Victor: The associate professor of psychology was awarded the grant to investigate the relationship between meditation and its positive effects on the brain, including how well people can use it to regulate their emotions. Victor, along with two graduate students in clinical psychology, aims to understand how meditation could possibly be used in educational and clinical settings.

“I know that many of us who have retired remember how difficult it was to do research while teaching four classes,” Diane Henschel, president of the Emeritus Faculty Association, said. “Oftentimes, there weren’t enough resources to do justice to both, so the FLF is a way of providing those funds to help further research and advancement.”