When Cristina Rose (Smith) is teaching, she doesn’t just lecture while students jot down notes. Rather, Rose acts as an active and engaging facilitator of conversation – letting students take the lead in their own discoveries. Rose, who has taught in the CSUDH Women’s Studies program since 2014, describes herself as relational and feminist in her teaching approach. Her pedagogy is “less about having the answers, and more about asking the questions that will bring us into fuller lives,” she says. “I share my life and who I am with students. It feels like I am actively part of this community. I think from here, I am from here, and this is my home.” That passion for connection has ... Read More
Faculty
Terry McGlynn Honored with 2021 Presidential Outstanding Professor Award
Professor of Biology Terry McGlynn says it’s not the technical details that really drive research, or the “very minute questions” scientists seek to answer. He believes the best fundamental questions are often asked by those who are new to the field. McGlynn has always treasured the curiosity-driven insights his students bring to his research of the natural world, and the “really big questions” they have asked often during field research in remote locations such as the rain forests of Coast Rica, in Australia, or while just exploring a location’s raw beauty. McGlynn began teaching at CSUDH in 2007 as an assistant professor of biology, but he began traveling to rain forests to study ... Read More
Kirstin Ellsworth Named the 2021 Lyle E. Gibson Distinguished Teacher
Being a conscientious learner isn’t enough for Associate Professor of Art History Kirstin Ellsworth. She also wants her students to be “knowledge makers.” “This comes from what is called the social construction of knowledge,” says Ellsworth. “For assignments like research papers, I like to have students choose what they want to write about, develop an argument, and follow the argument through. The students present their arguments verbally or in their writing, and it typically becomes part of the class conversation.” Ellsworth refers to this inclusive teaching style as self-selected topics that are guided by a thesis. “It really draws out their creativity,” she adds. “So much so that ... Read More
Donna Nicol Wins 2021 Excellence in Service Award
Donna Nicol, associate professor and department chair of Africana Studies, has a personal connection to CSUDH. “I grew up nearby, and my mother went to Dominguez Hills,” says Nicol. “My first job out of college was also at CSUDH. It’s been a staple in my life.” Nicol says that after working for a decade as an assistant/associate professor in women’s and gender studies at CSU Fullerton, getting the position at CSUDH “felt like I was coming home.” Nicol has been a vibrant, vocal presence on campus since her return. Her work helping to revive the Africana Studies department, spirited support of ethnic studies efforts, and efforts co-chairing the CSUDH Anti-Racism Task Force have helped ... Read More
CSU Lecturers Bring Pedagogy to Podcasting with Las Doctoras
In the opening lines of their Las Doctoras podcast, Cristina Rose (Smith) and Renee Lemus invite listeners to join them at their kitchen table to question systems of power, sip on some tequila, and change the world. It’s a premise rooted in the duo’s shared mission: to demystify academic discourse by taking it beyond the classroom, and into public spaces. By chance, Rose and Lemus had met and hit it off at their children’s playgroup, where they discovered their mutual academic and personal backgrounds. Not only did they hail from the same area of Los Angeles and share similar family experiences, but they also both taught within the CSU system. Rose is a lecturer of Women’s Studies at ... Read More
