Six Cal State LA faculty members were recognized for excellence in teaching and outstanding achievements during the university’s first combined Employee Recognition and Service Awards Celebration on Sept. 4.
The theme of the celebration was “A Sky Full of Stars: Every Star. Every Story. One Brilliant Community.” The event also honored employees reaching service milestones and those who had made significant contributions to the university.
Professor Ligiah Villalobos, chair of the Outstanding Professor Awards Selection Committee, introduced the faculty honors. She was joined by President Berenecea Johnson Eanes, Provost Heather Lattimer, and Academic Senate Chair Jessica DeShazo in presenting the awards.
Four faculty members received Outstanding Professor Awards, and one was recognized with the Outstanding Lecturer Award. These awards celebrate significant accomplishments in scholarly inquiry or creative work, professional contributions, and community service.
In addition, the President’s Distinguished Professor Award was presented to a previous Outstanding Professor Award recipient. As the university’s highest faculty honor, the award recognizes superlative teaching, exceptional dedication to students, and sustained professional excellence.
PRESIDENT’S DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR
Barry J. Hibbs is a professor of hydrogeology in the Department of Geography, Geology, and Environment within the College of Natural and Social Sciences. Since joining the Cal State LA faculty in 1998, he has built an international reputation for excellence in hydrogeology research, student mentorship, and professional service.
Hibbs has conducted research throughout the southwestern United States and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, with expertise in groundwater resources, hydrogeochemistry, isotope hydrology, and water quality in arid and semi-arid environments. His work integrates field investigations, applied research, and student-centered learning to address regional water resource challenges.
In addition to authoring or co-authoring more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and more than 225 published conference abstracts, Hibbs has secured approximately $4.5 million in external research funding as principal investigator and contributed to an additional $5.5 million as co-principal investigator. Much of this funding has directly supported undergraduate and graduate student research, fieldwork, and professional development.
Throughout his career, Hibbs has mentored nearly 100 undergraduate and graduate students through funded research experiences on his grants. Approximately 60% of his journal publications and more than 75% of his conference abstracts include student co-authors, reflecting his longstanding commitment to integrating students into meaningful scientific research and publication. His students have gone on to successful careers in environmental consulting, engineering geology, groundwater management, and state and federal resource agencies.
Hibbs has received numerous honors recognizing his contributions to research, teaching, and mentorship. In 2026, he was selected to receive the Karl and Ruth Terzaghi Outstanding Mentor Award from the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists, one of the organization’s highest international honors. He also received the Keith E. Anderson Award from the National Ground Water Association, was named Outstanding Professor at Cal State LA, earned the university’s Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award, and was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America.
A resident of Thousand Oaks, Hibbs received his Ph.D. in geology from the University of Texas at Austin.
OUTSTANDING PROFESSORS
Andres (Andy) Aguilar is a professor of biology in the Department of Biological Sciences within the College of Natural and Social Sciences.
His research interests include using genomic approaches to answer questions in evolutionary and conservation biology, as well as understanding factors that can increase diversity in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. His current research focuses on using rockfishes to understand speciation and demographic processes in marine environments.
Aguilar has served as a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on numerous research grants funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). These grants have supported research on speciation in rockfishes and the evolutionary history of fishes from Lake Baikal, Russia.
He has also collaborated with colleagues from the University of California system to sequence and analyze genomes from threatened and endangered fishes and crustaceans in California. Aguilar has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in leading scientific journals.
Aguilar is passionate about providing field-based learning experiences for students at both the lower- and upper-division levels. Recently, he has been part of a team investigating the role of field experiences in lower-division courses on students’ sense of belonging and persistence in STEM disciplines. This work is supported by an NSF grant, IUSE: Increasing Participation and Persistence in STEM by Incorporating Field-Based Experiences in an Urban Environment. He has also helped implement a faculty mentor training program at Cal State LA.
At Cal State LA, Aguilar teaches courses in introductory biology, evolution, conservation biology, and ichthyology. He earned his Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Aguilar currently resides in Monrovia.
Kathryn “Mandy” Hillstrom is a professor of nutrition in the Rongxiang Xu College of Health and Human Services.
Hillstrom’s research is focused on public health programs and community members’ experiences related to nutrition. Her recent research focuses on trauma-informed programming at food pantries and the impact it has on positive outcomes for community members accessing services.
She has published her research in prestigious journals and presented at a wide variety of state and national conferences. She also enjoys presenting to community groups of all ages about topics related to obtaining better health.
Over the years, Hillstrom has led her department in creating innovative classes and programs. She has been an enthusiastic supporter of online instruction and oversaw the creation of the CSU’s first and only online postbaccalaureate certificate program for students to become registered dietitian nutritionists. She also helped create a course on food justice and gardening.
Focusing on student success, Hillstrom has enthusiastically chaired eight Honors College theses and 35 master’s degree projects and theses, while serving on many more thesis committees. Some students have written about the urban learning garden at Cal State LA, which Hillstrom, along with three other faculty members, helped create in 2021. She views this as a lasting and impactful contribution to the campus learning environment.
Hillstrom received the Outstanding Dietetics Educator Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Outstanding Graduate Advisor Award for the College of Health and Human Services, and the Excellence in Community Nutrition Award from the California Dietetic Association.
A Lomita resident, Hillstrom earned her doctorate in education from the University of Southern California.
Yangyang Liu is a professor of chemistry in the College of Natural and Social Sciences. Since joining Cal State LA in 2016, she has established a nationally recognized research and education program that develops advanced materials for sustainability and human health, while creating opportunities for students to engage in scientific discovery.
Liu has mentored more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds. Her students have contributed to peer-reviewed publications and presented at regional, national, and international conferences. Many of her students have gone on to Ph.D. or M.D. programs or successful careers in industry and government.
Liu’s research focuses on designing metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, and other advanced materials to address challenges in sustainability and human health. She has secured competitive research funding from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Defense, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, and the American Chemical Society. She has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and a book chapter, and also holds one U.S. patent. Her research has been cited more than 8,000 times.
Liu teaches courses in inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry, and synthetic methods. She has developed new interdisciplinary courses and redesigned laboratory curricula to provide students with research experience and hands-on learning. She also supports STEM pathways by mentoring community college and high school students through summer research programs.
Liu also serves in university leadership roles, contributing to curriculum development, faculty governance, laboratory safety, and student success initiatives.
A Monterey Park resident, Liu earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Texas A&M University. She completed postdoctoral research at Northwestern University.
Edith Porter is a professor of microbiology and immunology in the Department of Biological Sciences within the College of Natural and Social Sciences.
Porter joined Cal State LA in 2001, where she established a thriving research program in innate immunity that engages undergraduate and graduate students while advancing innovative teaching in medical microbiology and immunology.
Recently, her focus has shifted to expanding student research training and preparing students for the biomedical and biotechnology workforce. She serves as campus coordinator for the CSU-STEM Pathways and Research Alliance, is associate director of the National Institutes of Health-funded U-RISE program, and was the University Faculty Undergraduate Research Liaison from 2023 to 2026.
Porter has secured substantial research funding that enabled her and her students to make discoveries about the role of host-derived lipids (fats) as antimicrobial agents, leading to numerous student-authored publications and countless presentations.
Her contributions to teaching were recognized with the 2020 American Society for Microbiology Award for Education in Microbiology and the 2025 Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Immunologists.
Porter has championed academic governance and service across the CSU. She has served on and chaired numerous committees at all levels and is currently vice chair of the Academic Senate.
CSUBIOTECH recognized her service with the Andreoli Faculty Service Award in 2020, and the Southern California Branch of the American Society for Microbiology presented Porter with the TD Beckwith Award in 2024 for Outstanding Contributions in Microbiology.
She earned an M.D. and completed a fellowship in medical microbiology at Johannes Gutenberg University, in Mainz, Germany. She later conducted research at UCLA on antimicrobial peptides—natural protein-based antibiotics that help defend the body against infectious agents.
OUTSTANDING LECTURER
Dawn Dennis is an instructor in the Department of History within the College of Natural and Social Sciences.
As a public historian teaching within the CSU system, she designs learning environments that connect students to community-based knowledge, professional pathways, and public-facing scholarship. She collaborates with museums, libraries, and community partners across the Los Angeles region to create project-based learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom and prepare students for careers that draw on historical thinking.
Her work in public history began in 2004 as a graduate student on the Natchez Courthouse Records Project in Natchez, Mississippi, where she developed a commitment to archival recovery, community engagement, and the ethical practice of history.
At Cal State LA, she has curated four student-centered exhibitions, including We Are the West, Too!, a student-driven exhibition presented at the Autry Museum in partnership with the museum.
She developed innovative digital pedagogy for large-enrollment, fully online asynchronous courses. She is Quality Matters-certified in online and hybrid course design and has completed training in effective and inclusive teaching practices.
In 2020, she received a California Humanities Quick Grant, in collaboration with the University Library to develop the “Mervyn M. Dymally, Bridgebuilder and History Maker” event series and exhibition. In partnership with the Autry Museum, she also co-developed three K–12 lesson plans centered on Dymally’s life and legacy.
Her teaching and research examine the intersections of race, ethnicity, and immigration, with a particular focus on the structures and enduring legacies of white supremacy. This work critically engages institutions, monuments, memorials, political rhetoric, and organized white supremacist movements in California, across the United States, and in comparative European contexts.
