Connections

Cal State LA sociology major earns top CSU Trustees’ Award

Cal State LA graduate student Rebekah Reyes was honored on Sept. 24 with the top academic achievement award in the CSU system. Reyes is one of 23 students statewide to receive the 2024 California State University Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement. She received the largest scholarship, which was made possible by a donation from CSU Trustee Emeritus Ali C. Razi, who endows a scholarship fund to recognize the top-scoring CSU Trustees’ Award recipient annually. Reyes was awarded a $18,000 scholarship and named a CSU Trustee Emeritus and CSU Foundation Board Member Ali C. Razi Scholar. Read more about Rebekah Reyes’ award.

Cal State LA receives diversity awards from national publication

Cal State LA has received double honors from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the nation’s largest and oldest publication dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education. The magazine recently recognized Cal State LA with its 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for demonstrating an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. Additionally, INSIGHT Into Diversity granted the University the 2024 Health Professions HEED Award for its success in fostering diversity and inclusion in the Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing at Cal State LA. The Health Professions HEED Award recognizes U.S. health colleges and universities that exhibit excellence in DEI initiatives and strategies. Read more about the HEED Awards.

Cal State LA secures NASA grant to advance STEM career development

Cal State LA has received a $375,000 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Mentorship and Opportunities in STEM with Academic Institutions for Community Success (MOSAICS) program to support projects that offer career development opportunities for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students. The two-year grant will help create the Advancing Students Through Research Opportunities in Los Angeles (ASTRO-LA) Program, a sustainable partnership between Cal State LA and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The ASTRO-LA Program will support four faculty research projects in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, which is in the College of Natural and Social Sciences at Cal State LA. Working with Cal State LA faculty, students will be provided research opportunities in the areas of astrophysics, planetary sciences, and atmospheric physics at JPL. Read more about the NASA MOSAICS grant.

Cal State LA awarded $300,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant

Cal State LA has received a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase the number and diversity of students entering food and agriculture-related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Through the three-year grant, Cal State LA will partner with CSU Sacramento, the California Department of Water Resources, and the Salton Audubon Society to investigate scarce water resources in the Salton Sea area and recommend how to distribute water. Funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the capacity-building grant aims to assist in maintaining and expanding the capacity to conduct education, research, outreach/extension, and integrated activities relating to agriculture, renewable resources, and similar disciplines. Barry Hibbs, professor of geography, geology, and environment in the College of Natural and Sciences, is the principal investigator on the grant. Learn more about the USDA grant.

Cal State LA faculty helps to develop a free online course on field safety

Cal State LA Professor Allison Mattheis has teamed up with the Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder to develop ADVANCEing FieldSafety, a free online course that provides researchers with tools to promote safe and inclusive field environments. Mattheis is a collaborator on the ADVANCEing FieldSafety program and a co-principal investigator on the NSF-funded ADVANCEGeo Partnership that addresses harassment and exclusionary behaviors in the geosciences. “As a professor of educational leadership, I’m especially interested in how power dynamics impact the physical and psychological safety of those involved in field research, and am looking forward to learning about the impact of ADVANCEing FieldSafety on participants’ capacity to advocate for themselves and others,” said Mattheis, a professor of education in the Department of Applied and Advanced Studies in Education. Learn more about the online course.

Cal State LA nursing students traveled to China in the summer

A group of eight students from the Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing was invited by Kevin Xu and Dr. Li Li of the National Rongxiang Xu Foundation to travel to China this past summer. As part of the Rongxiang Xu International Scholars program for nursing majors, the students had the opportunity to tour hospitals, medical universities, and the home offices of MEBO, a company founded by Dr. Rongxiang Xu that produces Dr. Xu’s burn ointment that is used all over the world. The company is focused on regenerative medicine. The scholars, along with two nursing faculty, traveled to the cities of Chengdu, Beijing, Yantai, and Nanyang to visit burn units, where Dr. Rongxiang Xu’s discoveries are used to treat burn victims. The firsthand experience of observing and learning how nurses and physicians care for patients with significant burn wounds was informative and vastly different from the techniques employed in the United States. The Xu Foundation covered all travel, hotels, meals, and sightseeing expenses. The trip was a transformative experience for everyone involved and emphasized the importance of fostering international partnerships to benefit Cal State LA students. The nursing program is housed in the Rongxiang Xu College of Health and Human Services.

Cal State LA faculty collaborates on Art of Peace project

Cal State LA Professor Sarah Minslow is collaborating on an upcoming Art of Peace exhibition that will feature works by artists from former conflict zones where western peacekeepers were deployed in the 1990s, such as Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Timor-Leste. Minslow is a co-principal investigator on a grant project, entitled “Art of Peace: New Perspectives in Visual Art on Peacekeeping from the 1990s.” The exhibit is a component of the project, which is funded by the largest grant ever given to a humanities and arts project by the Australian Research Council. Minslow is an associate professor of English in the College of Arts and Letters at Cal State LA. Read more about the grant project.

California Scottish Rite Foundation gift to Cal State LA expands speech-language services to the community

The Rongxiang Xu College of Health and Human Services at Cal State LA has received a five-year pledge totaling $386,500 from the California Scottish Rite Foundation to expand speech and language services offered to the Greater Los Angeles community. Through the foundation’s funding support pledged this past spring, the Los Angeles Scottish Rite Childhood Language Program partners with the University’s Department of Communication Disorders to cover operating expenses associated with services provided to pediatric clients at the Robert L. Douglass Speech-Language Clinic. Read more about the foundation’s pledge.

Cal State LA serves as Vote Center this month

Cal State LA is designated by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to serve as a Vote Center for California’s November General Election. The Cal State LA Vote Center will be open to the campus and surrounding communities from Saturday, Nov. 2, through Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The center will be located in the Los Angeles Rooms of the University-Student Union. The L.A. County Registrar-Recorder’s Office has also installed an official ballot drop box permanently on campus. It is located near Lot 4, across from the Career Center. Learn more about the Cal State LA Vote Center.

Cal State LA illuminated messages of #LAForAll

Cal State LA joined iconic landmarks across Los Angeles during the weekend of Sept. 27-29, in celebration of the third anniversary of the award-winning LA For All campaign. As part of the #LAForAllChallenge, Cal State LA shined bright alongside the city, with messages standing against hate while promoting diversity, unity, and inclusion. The LA Civil Rights Department developed the LA For All campaign in partnership with the Department of Public Works and the Department of Cultural Affairs. Find out more about the LA For All campaign.

LA BioSpace director appointed to county’s advisory board

Howard Xu, director of the LA BioSpace incubator at Cal State LA, was recently appointed by the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity to serve on the L.A. County Bioscience Advisory Board. The incubator provides critical laboratory space and helps emerging entrepreneurs turn their scientific discoveries into job-creating businesses. The Advisory Board, consisting of about 15 leaders from key stakeholder groups across the biosciences sector in Los Angeles County, will work to develop a strategy to advance a more dynamic and inclusive biosciences industry in L.A. County. Xu is also a professor of microbiology in the College of Natural and Social Sciences at Cal State LA.

Prospective students invited to Eagle Fest

The Office of Admissions and Recruitment is hosting Eagle Fest on Saturday, Nov. 16, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. During the event, prospective students and their families can explore the campus, meet with faculty, advisors, and current students, and learn all the reasons why they should apply to Cal State LA for fall 2025. Campus and housing tours will be offered, as well as application and financial aid workshops. Learn more about Eagle Fest.

Cal State LA runners race in support of Homeboy Industries

More than 40 members of the Cal State LA community participated in the 15th Annual Homeboy 5K Run/Walk and Community Festival in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 21. For the first time, Cal State LA fielded a team in support of event sponsor Homeboy Industries, which has provided training and support to former gang members and previously incarcerated people for more than 30 years. Read more about the Homeboy Industries 5K.

MESA STEM Day draws young, aspiring scientists for its 20th anniversary event

The College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology (ECST) hosted its annual MESA STEM Day on Oct. 19, welcoming about 750 students from 17 high schools, 13 middle schools, and three community colleges. The program, which celebrated its 20th anniversary, is a potential game-changer for some of the scientifically inclined students who visited the campus. “MESA STEM Day is a main tool to recruit students to our program,” said Adriana Tellez Andrade, ECST outreach coordinator and MESA director at Cal State LA. MESA is an acronym for Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement, a program designed to enhance the academic performance of underrepresented students in those fields through hands-on activities and mentorship. Read more about the MESA STEM Day.

Women’s volleyball receives National Championship rings

Members of the 2023 NCAA Division II National Champion women’s volleyball team received personalized championship rings at a ceremony during a home Cal State LA volleyball game in University Gym on Sept. 27. The rings are adorned with players’ names, a trophy, volleyball, and other imagery celebrating the momentous achievement. The Golden Eagles’ first national title in volleyball is also the first for a women’s team sport at Cal State LA in the NCAA-era that started in 1982.

Cal State LA associate coach inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame

Former Los Angeles Lakers’ great and current Cal State LA associate head coach Michael Cooper is now officially a part of the best of the best. Cooper was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Oct. 13 as part of a 13-member class and delivered a poignant 10-minute speech as part of a distinguished ceremony at the Springfield Symphony Hall. The induction ceremony was the centerpiece of a weekend of celebration for the newest Hall of Fame class. Read more about Michael Cooper’s honor.

Join us for the College of Education networking mixer

Be part of the transformative work of Cal State LA’s College of Education (COE) and join fellow educators from the Los Angeles region at the Educators’ Mixer on Thursday, Nov. 14. This inspiring evening offers a chance to engage with the new COE dean, Dr. Marcos Pizarro, who will share his vision for fostering a justice-driven community for holistic wellness. Together, we will explore ways to shape a future of collective thriving for all educators and students. This mixer is open to alumni, current students, staff, faculty, and friends of the University. Please register online to attend the mixer.

Recap of the Chicanx Latinx University Alumni Network Mixer

On Oct. 10, the Chicanx Latinx University Alumni Network brought the greater Cal State LA community together in celebration of Chicanx Latinx Heritage Month. Attendees heard inspiring remarks from Vickie Castro (’73), a key leader in the historic 1968 East L.A. Walkouts, and were treated to performances by the University’s student-led folklórico and mariachi groups. Watch a video message from President Berenecea Johnson Eanes and view photos from the event online. Stay connected and informed about future events by activating your free Alumni Association membership.

Alumna Billie Jean King named grand marshal of 2025 Rose Parade

Cal State LA alumna Billie Jean King, a sports icon and champion for equality, will serve as the grand marshal of the 2025 Rose Parade presented by Honda. Tournament of Roses President Ed Morales announced on Oct. 7 on the front steps of the iconic Tournament House as King made a grand entrance to Elton John’s hit song “Philadelphia Freedom”—a song famously written in her honor. King’s selection as grand marshal ties seamlessly into this year’s parade theme: “Best Day Ever!”, celebrating life’s best moments. Read more from the grand marshal announcement.