CELEBRATING SUPPORT
INVESTING IN NURSES
To establish scholarships for nursing students, including those in CSUN’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, retired aerospace engineer Dale Sipma and his wife, Carol Sipma, donated $580,000 to the Department of Nursing, benefiting nearly 60 students as of December 2021.
SUPPORTING ARMENIAN STUDIES
Motivated by the large number of students of Armenian descent at CSUN, two anonymous donors invested a combined $5.1 million in CSUN’s Armenian Studies Program, in support of scholarships, programmatic activities, and an endowed directorship for the study and preservation of archives accompanying one of the gifts.
HELPING CSUN’S DREAMERS
To help undocumented students cover the costs of renewing their status under the federal government’s Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, The Change Reaction nonprofit provided a $150,000 gift to CSUN’s DREAM Center, supporting hundreds of CSUN students.
AMPLIFYING JAZZ STUDIES
With a vision to transform lives through the arts, the Herb Alpert Foundation continued its longtime legacy of creating opportunities for students in CSUN’s Jazz Studies Program, providing $1.1 million in scholarships, professional recording experiences, travel to jazz competitions around the world, and many other activities that enhance learning and performance experiences.
FUELING VISUAL ARTISTS
To encourage students pursuing all forms of visual arts, alumna and photographic artist Virginia Orndorff and her husband, investment firm executive Chris Orndorff, provided $250,000 to create the Virginia A. Orndorff Prize, which provides scholarships for students competing in the Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition of the Mike Curb College.
SUCCESS STARTS HERE
At our core, CSUN embraces a singular commitment to serving our community – a richly diverse, largely first-generation student population. Support for our students and programs elevates our academic environment and helps us on our mission to enable the potential of every student that enters our doors, so that they will flourish beyond them.
INVESTING IN STUDENTS
The total includes the largest gift from a single donor in CSUN’s history, $40 million from philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott and her husband Dan Jewett, reflecting the couple’s commitment to supporting high-impact institutions who successfully educate and empower students from historically underserved communities. Their generosity will transform our campus for generations to come, advancing our future as leaders in equity-centered student success.
One of the most impactful ways our donors have supported students is through scholarships. A scholarship is an investment in the promise of an individual, a helping hand for students striving to reach the commencement stage. Since 2017, donors provided an incredible $40 million in scholarship support. This assistance helps our students — many of whom have exceptional financial needs — to not only accomplish their academic goals, but to start their careers on firm financial footing.
“This scholarship gave me more confidence …that I am in the right space, in the right path,” said Monica Montoya, who received an Alumni Association Scholarship while in the Master of Social Work program. “Being a recipient of the graduate scholarship has not only supplemented my finances but also validated my personal and educational experiences.”
CELEBRATING SUPPORT
LIGHTS. CAMERA. FUTURE.
Parker Caston Jr. was in the fifth grade when his mother handed him a video camera. He used that camera to document his life growing up in rural Manteca, outside Stockton. “Pretty much everything from that point forward — fifth grade through high school — was done with the general goal of pursuing film or some sort of media,” Caston said. But life doesn’t always go exactly as planned.
At CSUN, Caston was initially denied admission to the competitive and highly ranked film production program within the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication. In the wake of this disappointment, he was introduced to Nate Thomas, head of the film production option. “This was the first time that I realized that Nate Thomas was Black,” Caston said. “He told me that my portfolio was great, but it didn’t stand out, ‘and we’re looking for people who stand out.’ He said it was up to me to decide how I stand out because attention is already on me as one of the few Black males in the class.”
Caston redid his portfolio application and threw himself into his classes, and his hard work paid off. He was admitted to the film production program and was later accepted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ prestigious Academy Gold internship program. The program granted Caston two mentors — acclaimed film editor Nick Moore and Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Sterling K. Brown. While Caston was directing his senior film project, “Cuffed,” Brown spent time on set. This mentorship helped Caston elevate the film, which was one of just five projects selected to be part of CSUN’s annual film showcase.