July 2016:
Dr. Cedric Hackett, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Director of the W.E.B. Dubois-Fannie Lou Hamer Institute for Academic Achievement (DHIAA), will organize the Black Youth Guidance (BYG) Forum in February 2017. This has been funded in part by a grant from the California Wellness Foundation. While the DHIAA seeks to implement community-based programs that provide a bridge between the campus and the communities from which the students of color come to CSUN, the BYG Forum will focus particularly on foster youth aging out of foster care and other youth exiting the juvenile justice system. Themes of health and wellness, developing racial pride, college readiness, leadership development and culturally relevant practices will be presented and discussed to provide strategies and recommendations to participants.
June 2016:
Dr. Kristy Michaud, Associate Professor of Political Science, garnered a $10,000 grant from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to participate in the World Water Forum, supported by the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation. The project “Improving Water Conservation Behavior among L.A. Renters by Understanding Its Causes” focuses on understanding what caused changes in water consumption behavior during the drought for renters who normally do not pay the water utility directly. The goal is to develop the communications strategies aimed at this population.
February 2016:
Dr. Larry Becker, along with Drs. Tyler Hughes and Jason Morin of the Political Science Department, have recently been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Center for California Studies. Their project will study the role of legislative coalitions in policymaking and how the influence of coalitions can vary over time due to changes in demographics, public attitudes, and institutional rules. Specifically, the California Latino Legislative Caucus will be a case-study in policy entrepreneurialism to explain the development, history, and legislative influence of the Caucus over time.
December 2015:
Dr. Moshoula Capous-Desyllas of the Sociology Department and Dr. Sarah Mountz of the Social Work Department have been awarded a Community Stories grant of $10,000 from California Humanities for their project titled “From Our Perspectives: Untold Stories of LGBTQ Youth in the Los Angeles Foster Care System”. This project will merge narrative approaches with photovoice methodology to better understand the reasons behind the overrepresentation of LGBTQ youth in the foster care system in Los Angeles County. Through story-telling and photography, LGBTQ youth will have the opportunity to share stories about their lives before, during and after care, with an emphasis on issues related to housing, social support, employment, economic well-being, mental and physical health, and family connectedness.