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
Awards
CSUDH Ranked First in the Nation for Social Mobility
CSUDH has been ranked first in the nation on CollegeNET, Inc.’s 2023 Social Mobility Index, a benchmark for universities according to how effectively they graduate students from low-income backgrounds into good-paying jobs. The 2023 Social Mobility Index (SMI) includes 1,198 four-year institutions. Four other CSU campuses placed among the top ten. The Index utilizes five variables in making assessments, including tuition, economic background, graduation rate, early career salary, and university endowment, with the greatest emphasis put on tuition and economic background. CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham noted that excellence, affordability, and accessibility are key components of ... Read More
Occupational Therapy Student Wins 2023 CSU Trustees’ Award
Krystal Lopez is pursuing an advanced degree in occupational therapy (OT) for one simple reason. "I want to help people," she says. "A lot of us don't realize how much we take the things that we're able to do for granted, until we're no longer able to do them," Lopez continues. "Being able to help people regain their independence, become happier, and have a better life overall—that's what really inspires me." Born and raised in Santa Ana, Calif., Lopez is an OT graduate student at CSUDH. After graduating from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and social behavior, she decided to transition over to OT studies for her graduate work. ... Read More
CSUDH Alumna Brings Toro Pride to DC Politics
Ruby Robles loves being where the action is. That's one big reason that the CSUDH alumna's current job, working in Washington, D.C., as the press secretary for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, suits her to a T. “I'm right here where the laws are made,” says Robles. “Washington, D.C., is at the center of the news all the time. I'm really drawn to that–the excitement and the atmosphere.” As press secretary, Robles is part of Warren's communications team and is responsible for everything from writing press releases and coordinating interviews to pitching stories to reporters or providing the public with background information on pending legislation. Robles also helps manage Warren's ... Read More
From Skid Row to College Graduate
Kevin Jones never expected to graduate from college. In fact, after graduating from high school in 1988, he made the conscious decision not to pursue higher education - even though his three sisters had all gone on to university studies. “School and I were not friends,” recalls Jones. “All the way through elementary school, then in high school, I just wasn't the typical kid. I was the nerdy type that wasn't accepted. So by the time 1988 came around, I had made up my mind. I was done with school.” Jones went so far as to hold a mock funeral in the backyard of his mother's house, digging a hole and burying his textbooks in it. He had decided that the blue collar lifestyle suited him ... Read More
