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Regarding several “good news” items, I am happy to share that we’ve officially been selected as a recipient of the Seal of Excelencia and are one of only nine institutions across the country to earn the certification this calendar year. For those of you who may not know, the Seal of Excelencia is the only national certification that recognizes institutions of higher learning that are serving Latinx students with intentionality based on student success outcomes and data. Congratulations to everyone involved! For more information, please read President Beck’s official message regarding this certification.
Similarly, I’m excited to highlight our Equity in Faculty Hiring Initiative to reimagine the process of hiring faculty to recruit from more diverse backgrounds. In fact, we’ve already made significant progress in the intitative’s third year, increasing the number of hired faculty from underrepresented backgrounds from 9.8% [Fall 2022] to 34.2% [Fall 2023]! A huge shout-out to co-directors Dr. Sylvia Macauley and Dr. Elena Miranda and their team of college Faculty Equity and Compliance Representatives, Dr. Tracy Buenavista, Dr. Jade Huell, Dr. Dimpal Jain, Dr. Allen Lipscomb, Dr. Dana Stone, Dr. Casey terHorst, Dr. John Valdovinos, Dr. Yarma Velázquez Vargas, and Prof. Dianah Wynter for their tremendous work and dedication to this crucial initiative!
Furthermore, at our annual retreat earlier this month, I met with the deans and department chairs to reflect on what we’ve accomplished and discuss future efforts. I’ve highlighted many of these accomplishments in my previous messages, including our work towards increasing student engagement, retention and graduation rates, investing in advisement and enrollment efforts, and hiring more faculty and advisors. In relation to upcoming endeavors, we will continue focusing on enhancing our enrollment, reducing equity gaps in student outcomes, and keeping our curriculum refreshed for the 2024-2025 academic year. I look forward to partnering with all of you to meet these goals!
On a related note, this past Saturday, CSUN hosted an Open House for high school juniors and seniors as well as transfer students. A huge thank you to all the staff, faculty, graduate and undergraduate students as well as department chairs and college deans who gave up a Saturday morning to showcase our amazing academic programs and engage prospective students and their families in discussions about the value of a college degree.
Faculty research and creative activity is highly valued at CSUN, and I want to recognize the six faculty members who were nominated by their respective college deans and awarded with research fellowships at the 15th Annual Research Fellows Colloquium. This is an extremely competitive appointment and provides outstanding recognition and an excellent opportunity for faculty to pursue compelling research or creative activity. This year was very special in that many of the awarded faculty worked with graduate and undergraduate students in the research that they conducted and presented. Congratulations to all!
- Amir Gharehgozli (Systems and Operations Management, David Nazarian College of Business and Economics) — Impact of 3D Printing on Supply Chain Network Design: A Potential Solution to COVID-19 Disruption
- Mintesnot Woldeamanuel (Urban Studies and Planning, Social & Behavioral Sciences) — Built Environmental Disparity: Assessing the Impact of Urban Design on Active Living Across Different Socio-Economic Groups in Los Angeles
- Jamie Booth (Mechanical Engineering, Engineering and Computer Science) — Design of Tough Multi-scale Lattice Materials
- Ben Attias (Communication Studies, Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication) — Curated Sounds: DJ Performance, Technology, and the Body
- Brandy Underwood (English, Humanities) — The Black Crowd, Leadership, Affect, and Racial Uplift in African American Literature
- Hessam Ghamari (Family and Consumer Sciences, Health and Human Development) — Wandering Eyes? An Investigation of Wayfinding Behavior of Alzheimer’s Disease Patients in Care-Facilities
Finally, congratulations to all of the faculty who were honored at the recent men’s and women’s soccer games at the second annual Most Valuable Professors (MVP) Night. It’s always a pleasure to witness the impact our faculty have on students and student-athletes in particular. I truly enjoy the partnership with CSUN Athletics to make this possible and give our athletes a public forum in which they can express their gratitude for our faculty. Check out the full story and list of honored faculty.
Thank you for all you do and your dedication to our students and mission.
Take care, and stay safe.
Sincerely,
Meera
Meera Komarraju, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
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