2024 Faculty Awards Recognize Six Outstanding Educators The 2024 Faculty Awards Reception was held on April 30, with six members of the CSUDH faculty receiving honors for their contributions to the university. The awards are presented each year to selected faculty members for outstanding achievement in a variety of areas—from research and scholarship to lecturing and service to the community. The 2024 CSUDH Faculty Award recipients are: Jenn BrandtLyle E. Gibson Distinguished Teacher Award The founding faculty member in the Department of Women’s Studies, Jenn Brandt has been teaching at CSUDH since 2018. She has been one of the driving forces behind the program, developing the ... Read More
Administration
CSUDH Professor Uncovers Secrets About Snake Evolution
After almost a decade studying and researching the evolution of snakes, CSUDH Biology Professor Sonal Singhal has come to one undeniable conclusion. “Snakes are so cool!” Since 2014, Singhal has been one of the leaders of a project attempting to discover why snakes have been so successful in evolving traits that allow them to survive and thrive almost anywhere in the world. Their findings were published as the cover story of the February 24 issue of Science magazine. “Snakes are actually lizards if you use a technical definition,” says Singhal. “But if you look at them from an evolutionary perspective and how aspects of their biology are changing —what they eat, what they look like, ... Read More
Toro Men’s Basketball Earns NCAA Tournament Berth
For the first time since the 2010-2011 season, the CSUDH men’s basketball team is headed to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The team’s strong 22-7 overall record and 17-5 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference record earned them an at-large berth in the tournament. The Toros will start their quest for a national championship on Friday, March 15, against Central Washington University at 7:30 p.m. Their first- and second-round games will be played at Cal State L.A., the number one seed in the eight-team regional round. CSUDH is the fourth seed in the regional. The weekend brought more exciting news for the Toros when the CCAA announced its awards for the 2023-2024 ... Read More
Mental Health Takes Center Stage at Town Hall
CSUDH welcomed U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA) and the Born This Way Foundation (BTW) to campus on Feb. 22 for a Gen Now Youth Town Hall on mental health. The event brought together youth mental health advocates, students, faculty, and administrators for a panel discussion on ways to better identify the mental health needs of young people and improve the quality and availability of services in the spaces where they’re most needed. Butler was appointed to the Senate in October 2023 by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Dianne Feinstein. Since her appointment, she has conducted listening sessions with young people across the state on ... Read More
Staff Spotlight: Alex Oliva
Women earn only about one-fifth of the engineering degrees awarded by universities each year in the United States, according to data from the National Science Foundation. Cultivating an interest in engineering at a much earlier age is often touted as an effective way to bridge the gender gap. That’s how it worked for Alex Oliva, the only female building service engineer (BSE) on the CSUDH campus and one of the few across the entire CSU system. “I’ve always loved working with my hands and figuring out how things work,” says the 30-year-old Oliva, the eldest of three daughters. “My dad told all of us growing up that we should never have to rely on a man to do things for us. So, I was ... Read More
