Connections

Applications are now open for the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program

The East Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Regional Consortium at Cal State LA is inviting students to participate in the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program for the upcoming academic year. College Corps is a statewide, paid service program that provides meaningful work to college students in exchange for serving their community. The program helps participants graduate on time and with less debt, while gaining valuable work experience. Fellows will receive up to $10,000 for completing up to 450 hours of community service. The application deadline is April 15. Students can apply online now or learn more about the program by visiting the University’s #CaliforniansForAll College Corps website.

Cal State LA, AltaMed offer on-campus COVID-19 booster, vaccination clinic

Cal State LA and AltaMed are hosting a free COVID-19 vaccination and booster clinic on campus on Wednesday, March 1. The clinic is part of an ongoing partnership that brings vaccination clinics to the campus and wider community. The pop-up clinic is open to the community and will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the Main Campus Walkway across from the Student Health Center. If it rains, the clinic will be moved to outside University Library North. First, second, and updated booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be available. Find more details and make an appointment on the Cal State LA COVID-19 vaccination clinics webpage.

Nancy Warter-Perez named dean of the College of ECST

Dr. Nancy Warter-Perez has been named dean of the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology. Dr. Warter-Perez brings to her role as dean three decades of dedication to helping improve teaching and learning in engineering education. She joined Cal State LA in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1993, and has been interim chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, chair of the Academic Senate, and has served on numerous college and University committees, task forces, and councils. Dr. Warter-Perez, who had been serving as interim dean since fall 2022, officially started in the role in January.

College of Ethnic Studies Dean Julianne Malveaux celebrated at Sisters with Superpowers awards gala

Dr. Julianne Malveaux, dean of the College of Ethnic Studies, was honored at the Inaugural Sisters with Superpowers Washington, D.C. awards gala last month. Dr. Malveaux was among six women leaders who were celebrated for empowering the community through hard work, sacrifice, and perseverance that transforms families, business, politics, and matters that impact the globe. Read more about the event. Photo by KidMax Photography.

Cal State LA math professor featured by Mathematically Gifted & Black

Dr. José Mijares-Palacios, associate professor of mathematics in the College of Natural and Social Sciences at Cal State LA, was selected as one of the 2023 honorees featured on the Mathematically Gifted & Black website. The online platform highlights the accomplishments of Black scholars in mathematical sciences and spotlights 28 Black mathematicians every February in commemoration of Black History Month. The website is run by the Network of Minorities in Mathematical Sciences. A Cal State LA faculty member since 2019, Dr. Mijares-Palacios is an expert on topology, set theory, and the Ramsey Theory.  

Cal State LA celebrates Black History Month

The Cal State LA community celebrated Black History Month with events exploring Black joy, resilience, art, history, and culture. Highlights of the month of events included a Black Brunch celebration, tailgate festivities spotlighting Black culture and student organizations before women’s and men’s basketball games, and a talk by Dr. J. Luke Wood, vice president for student affairs and campus diversity and chief diversity officer at San Diego State, on racelighting, Black joy, and the Black experience. Learn more about Black History Month at Cal State LA.

Cal State LA Commencement to take place May 22-26

Cal State LA will celebrate thousands of graduating students in the Class of 2023 on campus at Commencement from May 22-26. The 10 college-based ceremonies will once again be held in Commencement Pavilion, a formal event space that will be constructed on the north side of campus in Lot 5. Commencement will highlight the aspects of the ceremony that our students treasure most. Their names will be called, they will get to cross the stage while their loved ones watch in person and on the livestream, and graduate students will be hooded. The detailed schedule is posted on the Commencement website.

Food Network’s Chef Jet Tila visits Cal State LA, provides cooking demo for students

Local celebrity chef and Food Network star Jet Tila visited Cal State LA’s South Village residence hall for a cooking demonstration that taught students how to prepare a recipe from one of his cookbooks. Tila, who is from East Los Angeles, grew up spending time in his family’s restaurants and markets near Thai Town, Koreatown and Little Tokyo. These experiences have informed his culinary perspective. “We were excited to have Chef Tila visit Cal State LA and interact with our students. We hope the demonstration, and food sampling, will inspire more of our students to use the Community Kitchen located in South Village,” said Chad Fehr, executive director of housing and residence life. Tila’s cookbook was available for purchase at the event, and he plans to donate 100% of the day’s proceeds to the Cal State LA Food Pantry.  

WordsUncaged community exhibit to open

WordsUncaged, a collective of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men and women and their families, will host an art exhibition on Saturday, March 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Azadeh Shladovsky Studio. The exhibit, titled SIX by NINE, refers to the dimensions of the cells the artists were or are confined to. The show will feature work by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists from Los Angeles County Prison, California Institute for Men, Angola Prison, and Texas’ Death Row. The studio is located at 36411 Tenth Ave. in Los Angeles. WordsUncaged was co-founded by Dr. Bidhan Roy, a faculty member in the Department of English at Cal State LA.

Cal State LA VITA offers income tax filing assistance

The Department of Accounting in the College of Business and Economics is offering Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) to low- and moderate-income individuals, in partnership with the Internal Revenue Service. Free tax preparation services will be offered at Cal State LA, the Arroyo Seco Regional Library, the Lincoln Heights Branch Library, the El Sereno Branch Library, and at Young & Healthy, a Pasadena-based nonprofit organization. To make an appointment for tax assistance at Young & Healthy, call 626-795-5166. To make an appointment for any of the other sites or to get more information, visit the Cal State LA VITA website. The free VITA program is offered on Saturdays through April 15.

Join us for the College of Education Networking Mixer

Calling all educators! Join the Cal State LA Alumni Association and the College of Education for the COE Networking Mixer on Thursday, March 16, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the King Hall courtyard. This will be a chance for you to return to campus and reconnect with fellow alumni, educators, current students, and faculty. Register for the event online by March 9.

Golden Eagle women’s basketball heads to CCAA Tournament

Cal State LA women’s basketball is headed back to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament on the heels of a historic season for the program. The Golden Eagles (19-8, 16-6 CCAA) set a new program record of 16 conference wins and finished in third place to match their best conference result in history. All-CCAA First Team selections Nicole Flennaugh (16.2 points per game) and Lily Buggs (14.6 points per game) have led the way for a potent Los Angeles offense that has averaged 72.3 points per game—the second-best mark in the CCAA. Cal State LA will enter this week’s CCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will meet No. 6 seeded Sonoma State in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game on March 2.  

Cal State LA basketball players earn academic honors

Four players across Cal State LA’s basketball programs have each been named to the 2022-23 CSC Academic All-District team, selected by the district’s College Sports Communicators. Lily Buggs, Nicole Flennaugh, and Raya Smith from women’s basketball and Jaden Lazo from men’s basketball each earned their first Academic All-District selection, an honor that recognizes student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. To be considered for the honor, each student-athlete must hold at least a 3.50 GPA and have participated in 50% of the team’s games. Buggs, Flennaugh, and Smith become women’s basketball’s first winners since 2019-20, while Lazo’s selection marks the first in program history for Cal State LA men’s basketball.