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. To share faculty news, email lmckibbin@csudh.edu.
College of Arts & Humanities
Mary Talusan Lacanlale, associate professor of Asian Pacific Studies, won the Best Book Award of 2021 for Instruments of Empire: Filipino Musicians, Black Soldiers, and Military Band Music During US Colonization of the Philippines by the Filipino Studies Section of the Association of Asian American Studies. She also received the Engaged Artist Award as part of the music group Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble.
College of Business Administration and Public Policy
Professor of Information Systems Xuefei (Nancy) Deng and Professor of Public Administration Rui Sun co-authored “Using Generative AI to Enhance Experiential Learning: An Exploratory Study of ChatGPT Use by University Students,” published in the Journal of Information Systems Education. Designing a ChatGPT learning activity flow using the experiential learning model, the authors analyzed student survey data guided by the Bloom’s taxonomy. The study found that the knowledge type and the cognitive process of student-created prompts depended on those provided by their instructor, and that students considered the GenAI tool helpful with their learning. The study also proposed principles for GenAI-assisted learning.
In April, Associate Professor of Economics Nestor Garza was invited to Universidad Alberto Hurtado in Santiago, Chile as part of a research project he is conducting with the university. The event included presentations and discussions with Chile’s Minister of Housing and the university president, and was covered by university news (Spanish). The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a research institute with which Garza has had an extensive and long-term relationship, funded the activity.
Assistant Professor of Strategy Chacko George Kannothra co-authored “The Interplay of Market Choices and Social Mission: Learning From B2B Social Enterprises in Emerging Economies,” published in the journal Business and Society.
Based on field research conducted among impact-sourcing service providers and policymakers from Kenya, South Africa, and India, the study contributes to a more nuanced and context-sensitive understanding of business-to-business social enterprise model adoption. Such social enterprises need to choose which market segments to serve and how to organize their social mission accordingly, and the study found that the professional background of founders plays a key role in these strategic choices.
College of Continuing and Professional Education
CSUDH OSHA Training Institute Education Center Director Raul Guzman presented at the Southern California Facilities Expo in April about strategies to keep workers safe. His session, which covered OSHA mandates, training modalities, and effectiveness, was featured in Buildings.com, a site dedicated to facility management.
College of Health, Human Services, and Nursing
Associate Professor and Chair of Marital and Family Therapy Karen Quek is the 2025 recipient of the American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA) Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy award. The annual award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field that advance just family therapy and family-centered practices and policies and reflect cumulative achievement over a career.
College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences
Professor and Chair of Computer Science Mohsen Beheshti and Professor and Chair of Philosophy Brian Gregor are leading their departments in Embedded Ethics in Computer Science, a collaborative national project overseen by CAHSI (Computing at Hispanic Serving Institutions) and funded by the National Science Foundation. Following the project’s spring orientation at Google in Austin, Texas, CSUDH faculty are now developing ethics modules to be piloted in select computer science courses this fall. The Philosophy Department has also formed a new Committee on Technology Ethics, which will support the project and help shape policy and curriculum.
Associate Professor and Chair of Anthropology Ken Seligson co-authored “A Middle Preclassic Figurine from the Puuc Region, Yucatán, Mexico” with CSUDH students for the archaeological journal Mexicon. The article centers on the figurine Seligson and students excavated in Yucatán in 2023. To date, it is the only ceramic figurine excavated from its time period from all of northern Yucatán, and proves that the communities there were connected via trade and communication networks with large centers in Guatemala and Belize that were producing similar figurines.
The figurine was also the featured artifact of Archaeology magazine’s July/August edition, with Seligson providing context on the significance of the find.
Recent quotes and/or interviews in the media from faculty
“In recent years, ride sharing services (such as Uber and Lyft), food delivery services (DoorDash, Instacart) have become a major source of expense in big cities. Because of their variable nature, people cannot accurately budget those expenses and may tend to be ignored in a budgeting exercise.” – Prakash Dheeriya, professor of finance, was a featured expert in a WalletHub piece about categories to include when making a budget.
“Occupational therapists work with babies on developing motor skills, increasing cognitive function, helping with self-regulation, so they can succeed in their future milestones. We want to minimize stress in the NICU environment and create positive experiences for optimal development.” – Shawna Rafferty Townsend, Lecturer and Clinical Instructor of Occupational Therapy (OT), was interviewed for a Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital podcast about the role of OT for children across all ages.
“I think most people don’t understand what it takes to become a teacher, the hoops you have to jump through.” – Associate Professor and Chair of Teacher Education Jarod Kawasaki was interviewed for LAist‘s article about who can afford to become a teacher in California. The article also referenced Kawasaki’s research into the costs of becoming a K-12 educator, particularly for students from working class communities of color.
“Keeping the [credit card] balance low and paying it off frequently helps keep interest payments low (this is a strategy often used to help build someone’s credit history or improve a negative credit score).” – Melissa St. James, associate professor of management and marketing, gave WalletHub expert advice about the annual percentage rates (APR) for credit cards. She was also a featured expert for their piece about the benefits of a Costco credit card.
