Janaki Santhiveeran

Janaki Santhiveeran, Ph.D., is a Full Professor in the School of Social Work.  Dr. Santhiveeran earned her Ph.D. from Barry University, Miami Shores, FL.  She began her career at CSULB as an Assistant Professor in 1999. Dr. Santhiveeran has spearheaded various initiatives at CSULB focusing on student success, faculty governance, program review, curriculum policies, and technology integration since 1999. 

Dr. Santhiveeran has contributed to student success beyond the classroom by engaging with and mentoring graduate students in joint presentations, peer-reviewed research publications, and newspaper articles, in addition to serving on various committees and in advising roles, including international student advising.  Dr. Santhiveeran has chaired over 350 master’s thesis research projects, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary topics spanning psychology, public policy, sociology, health sciences, economics, healthcare administration, human resources, data science, and other disciplines.  Dr. Santhiveeran has been ahead of the curve in adopting new technologies by bringing LMS (CourseInfo) to SSW, launching a website and online applications, and establishing Student Corner (using Blackboard/ CourseInfo) in the early 2000s. Her publications, presentations, and faculty development workshops highlight how she has maximized technology usage and its effectiveness in promoting student success, engagement, and classroom learning. Dr. Santhiveeran has spearheaded collaborations with academic and student affairs on the determinants of undergraduate student success using predictive analytics, ML algorithms, and performance metrics, which were the steppingstones in developing advising dashboards and evaluative insights.

Dr. Santhiveeran has been committed to faculty governance, program reviews, and growth by being the longest serving Retention, Tenure, & Promotion (RTP) member in addition to serving in numerous college and university wide committees and councils including Academic Senate, Academic Senate Executive Committee, Faculty Personnel Policies Council (FPPC), CHHS Faculty Council, Institutional and Program Assessment Council (IPAC), Lecturer Evaluation Committee, Technology, Research, Scholarly, Creative Activity (RSCA), professional leave, assessment, search, and several other committees at various levels since 1999. 

Dr. Santhiveeran is proficient in curriculum policies and curriculum development, including syllabus modifications, catalog changes, new course development, and course modifications to meet GE foundation guidelines. She has also participated in more than six CSWE accreditation cycles.