Emanuel Prince stood behind a throng of other college students and watched intently as two FBI agents behind a booth marked “Evidence Response Team” demonstrated how to test fabric for traces of blood. Prince, a senior sociology major and Presidential Scholar at CSUDH, was one of a couple hundred students from 11 CSU and UC campuses across Southern California who were invited to learn about potential career paths at the FBI. Agents, analysts, and support staff explained how their accounting majors, foreign language skills, and even their passion for undersea diving could be put to good use to protect the nation. The recruitment open house is part of a broad national initiative called ... Read More
diversity
Bobbie Porter: Fighter for Equity and Diversity
Bobbie Porter's passion and enthusiasm for her work are evident the moment she starts speaking–and she's ready to put that energy to work as CSUDH's first vice president and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer. “Education changed my life,” she says. “If you look at the statistics, there's no way I should be where I am today. But I'm here. My mission is to help anyone that's choosing education as that bridge, as that gateway to a better life. I want to help create the conditions so students can do that–so they don't just survive college, but they thrive in it. And then they go out and change the world!” Porter grew up in a military family–her father was in the Navy, so she ... Read More
Symmetry: Ximena Cid Builds Community by Cherishing her Roots
Source: Symmetry Magazine It took Ximena Cid three tries to pass her introductory physics class as an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. Most people would have given up after the first attempt, and certainly after the second. But “I'm really stubborn,” Cid says. She was especially stubborn about passing a class in which she was both the only woman and, as an Indigenous Chicana, the only person of color. “When people tell me I don't belong in places, or I'm not good enough, it really gets me fired up and motivated just to prove them wrong,” Cid says. Now, as an associate professor and chair of the physics department at California State ... Read More
CSU Research Project Nurtures STEM Faculty
Faculty often face a steep learning curve when they begin their careers. In addition to juggling courses and research, they must navigate the complex maze of academia, its power structures, and its demands. For faculty from underrepresented populations, the experience can be especially isolating and discouraging. To address this, a collaborative CSU research project aims to improve retention and tenure for early-career, underrepresented, faculty in STEM by providing strengths-based training and personalized support. “CSU AGEP Alliance for Diversity and Strengths of STEM Faculty” implements, evaluates, and scales the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) ... Read More
Inaugural Juneteenth Symposium Calls for Systemic Change
California State University (CSU) held its first Juneteenth Symposium June 15 and 16, celebrating Black history and achievement while demanding justice and equity within higher education and beyond. The event, hosted by CSUDH, was titled “By Any Means Necessary: Synthesizing the Voices of Our Ancestors and Everyday People.” Recent San Diego State graduate and CSU Board of Trustees Emerita Maryana Khames led the push to create the symposium after listening to students demand action in the wake of George Floyd's murder. Students called on the CSU to take the lead in combating anti-Black racism and champion diversity, equity, and inclusion across the CSU's 23 campuses, and throughout ... Read More
